#Luisa is Mirabels mattress

[george-washingmachine73]

“You shouldn’t have said that”

just a small oneshot, post movie.

If there’s one thing everyone knows in encanto it’s that you don’t insult the Madrigals, with the family being in town all the time it’s bound to get back to you one way or another

Mirabel was walking through town, minding her own business like she always had, her eyes were focused on the book in front of her and her ears tuned out all conversations around her, she was in her own little world and was content that way, the town was content to let her stay that way as well.

 “-that bruja, Pepa Madrigal, ever since the magic came back she has refused to water the crops for us, her husband gets angry whenever we bring it up! Last time I checked our town eating is more important than her stupid emotions, she’s already super emotional anyway, after she’s done crying she forgets about it and leaves us to deal with all the damage, she doesn’t care about it because it’s all ‘clear skies’ again”

 Mirabel stopped and listened when she heard Pepas name, with each new line of complete bullshit that left that guys mouth she could feel herself growing angrier, she wasn’t about to let him get away with badmouthing her amazing tia, she looked up and saw that it was Diego, of course it was him, he was a farmers son and always complained too much, he had a huge ego and expected everything to be done for him, then bragged about amazing and difficult feats he most certainly hadn’t accomplished, he also bullied Mirabel, she would let him get away with that but this was too far.

 “What the hell did you just say about my tia? Just because she won’t water your fathers fields for him doesn’t mean that you’re gonna starve, there’s a river right beside your house! You’re just too lazy to put any actual work into “your” farm, if you can even call it that, my sisters grows your plants for you and my tia waters them, but even when she does that you find something to complain about, you were whining about the destruction in her wake, what, were the fields a little too muddy for you to do your weekly walk through? That’s the only actual work you do on your farm, any actual damage done by her is repaired by her and Luisa!”

 Mirabel wanted to say more, her tia was very aware of the damage she caused, one time Luisa (who was the only one able to bear the full power of her storms) had gotten struck by lightning and Pepa spent the entire week apologizing and offering to chores for her, she even gave up drinking black coffee so Luisa could have more, when Luisa recovered they jumped right back into arguing about it again though.

 Diego looked shocked and angry, Mirabel wasn’t wrong but she just called him out in the middle of town, he wasn’t about to take that

 “shut up you stupid nobody, what are you gonna do about it? Cry? Even as terrible as your tias gift is at least she got one, I bet your family wants nothing more than to get rid of you”

She turned the other direction and started walking away, at least he had stopped talking about her family, that was all that really mattered to Mirabel, she still really wanted to teach him a lesson for saying that about her tia but she could let it go, this time, but if he said one more thing-

“-you’re nothing but a curse like your tio Bruno! I guess being a failure runs in the family”

 Mirabel stopped in her tracks, growling under her breath so quietly no one but Dolores could hear

 “you shouldn’t have said that”

 Isabela and Camilo were in the small crowd that formed around the yelling teens, they could see Mirabel stopped and her lips moving, they heard what the other boy said and were about to go beat him up themselves when Mirabel whipped around and tackled him, making him hit the stony street instantly, he cried out on pain but Mirabel didn’t give him a chance to recover, instantly pouncing on top of him and punching him over and over, he threw a few weak punches in her direction but Mirabels barely felt them, she was too intent on breaking every bone in his body, when his nose cracked she smiled, that was one down.

 Isabela and Camilo watched from the side, neither of them made a move to help the boy, Camilo was debating grabbing popcorn, Isabela had a slight grin on her face

 “should we step in or..?”

 “Nah, she’s got this”

 nobody in the crowd wanted to get in the fray of that, when Mirabel hit she hit hard, Diego’s eyes were both swollen and purple, his nose was bent out of shape and bleeding profusely, his lips were split and puffy, blood ran from his mouth, a weak groan escaped his lips but Mirabel wasn’t done yet, her mind was a haze of anger.

 Dolores finally arrived on the scene pulling Luisa behind her, she knew this was the most likely outcome when she heard Diego and Mirabel start to argue so she went to find Luisa, Luisa strode forward and split the crowd, pushing through them easily, she didn’t look surprised by Mirabels violence, more tired or unimpressed, this obviously want her first rodeo.

 She reached towards Mirabel, trying to get a grip on her while dodging her flailing limbs, but she failed and got punched across the jaw and in the arms a few times before she could finally slightly pull Mirabel off of Diego, he groaned and tried to sit up but Mirabel broke out of Luisa’s grasp, she reached and grabbed a large vase that was on display outside of the potters and swung it around, Luisa kept Mirabel from reaching Diego and in her rage she blindly turned her violence on Luisa, swinging the vase at her instead but Luisa brought a forearm up and blocked it from hitting the side of her head, as Mirabel recovered from the momentum of swinging such a heavy object Luisa grabbed her, tucking her underneath an arm and pinning her still punching arms to her sides.

 Luisa reached down to the ground and picked up Mirabels glasses, it would be impossible to put them on without them falling off again, Mirabel was shaking her head and gnashing her teeth, her entire body was trying to wiggle out of Luisa’s grip, Luisa just folded them and put them on the front of her shirt and used her free hand to try and steady Mirabels head while taking sternly to her

 “you need to calm down hermanita, I won’t put you down until you are under control again”

 Diego coughed, finally managing to stand up before collapsing into the arms of his friends, he tried to speak through swollen lips

 “She’s fucking psychotic! She could’ve killed me! She needs to be-“

 “You shut up” Luisa sneered, now looming angrily over him with a still rabid Mirabel under her arm, she glared down at him and he shrunk a little more

 “if I hear one more fucking word leave your mouth I’ll be the one trying to break all of your bones, and I’ll succeed”

 he whimpered under gaze and tried to walk away, half limping with a friend under each arm while hissing in pain, he tried not to fall over his own feet when Luisa called after him

 “you can forget about seeing my mama for your pain, Dolores will tell her about everything you said”

——————

Luisa eventually made it back to her room, Mirabel would give a halfhearted jerk every few steps but had mostly tired herself out, her teeth were tightly clenched together so Luisa couldn’t feed her yet with the few arepas she grabbed on her way through the kitchen.

 Luisa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, wishing Mirabel want so damn protective of her family, then she wouldn’t have to waste her time and energy stopping her from murdering random people in the street every few weeks, while it was awesome to see awful people get what they deserve it would be considerably less awesome if her hermanita was convicted of first degree murder.

 Luisa gave Mirabel a gentle squeeze as she wiggled again

 “I’m gonna put you down now, but if you try to hit me again I’m gonna pick you right back up”

 Mirabel growled in response, but didn’t attempt to swing at Luisa as she got set on her feet, Luisa sat on her bed so they were at the same level and put her hands on Mirabels shoulders

 “What did I say about attacking people”

 “…not to do it”

 “And what do you do if you feel like attacking someone”

 “…get you or Isabela”

 “this is the second time this month Mira”

 “he deserved it! He was saying the most awful things about-“

 “Mirabel!”

 Luisa growled angrily and sighed again, her grip on Mirabels shoulders had slightly tightened, then it relaxed again, Mirabel went quiet and let her speak

 “it’s pretty damn annoying to have my chores interrupted just because-!”

 Luisa took a breath, trying to bring her voice back to a normal level

 “just because you can’t control yourself”

 Mirabel looked at the floor, her eyes a little misty, she scratched her arm and Luisa instantly regretted raising her voice, Mirabel sounded so sad when she spoke

 “…I’m sorry, I really am, I don’t mean to interrupt your chores or anything”

 her voice had a small waver in it and Luisa’s anger disappeared, she could never stay mad at her hermanita, Mirabel looked up at her with a few stray tears on her cheeks

 “you aren’t… mad at me, are you?”

 “Of course not Mira, c’mere”

 Luisa opened her arms and Mirabel rushed in, Luisa grunted at the sudden impact and fell backwards while Mirabel buried her face in her shirt, drying her tears, her arms were wrapped tightly around Luisa but soon relaxed as she curled up on Luisa’s chest, letting the warmth of Luisa’s body seep into her, her energy was finally drained, Luisa lightly patted her on the back and wrapped an arm around her

 “That fight really tired you out, didn’t it”

 “mhm”

 Mirabel couldn’t find the energy to open her mouth, but slightly nodded her head

 “I still have chores to do y’know”

 “nm”

 the noise that left her wasn’t quite an answer but her head slightly shook, her limbs tightened around Luisa and relaxed again, too tired to hold that position, it was an obvious no, Mirabel was sleepy and Luisa was her mattress, she refused to leave Luisa when she got comfortable and Luisa would never knowingly remove her if she didn’t want to go, which she never did

 “alright, I’ll stay, I can never say no to you anyway, you’re lucky you’re so adorable and baby sized”

 Mirabel wanted to come up with a retort but her mind was too fuzzy to do so, a small smile was on her face, she abused the power that the position of favourite sister held whenever she got the chance, Luisa knew she would be stuck here for a few hours at least when she heard Mirabels slight snores, but she didn’t mind, to have the (occasionaly) murderous teen curled up on her like a kitten made potential starvation and dehydration all worth it in her mind.

 She closed her eyes, she could feel Mirabels soft curls tickling her neck, eventually her snores accompanied Mirabels soft ones, and there they stayed for the rest of the day and night. 

[luisaenjoyer]

Madrigals Sleeping Headcanons 😴

Part 1: Grandkids

Mirabel

-Has extremely vivid lucid dreams that she tells everyone about at breakfast, soon realizing they’re absolutely nonsensical when said out loud

-Every night, without fail, wakes up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water

-Accidentally sleeps in late frequently

-Often times talks in her sleep, usually just quiet mumbles

Luisa

-Always needs to hug/hold something

-Easily disturbed by any sudden noises, she’s a protector at heart. Thankfully she can go back to sleep fairly easily when she knows there’s no danger

-When she wakes up, she’s got crazy hair frizz and her voice is so deep and raspy… and yes, it’s extremely hot

-She doesn’t snore but her breathing is very powerful, like listening to ocean waves

-Doesn’t really collect a whole bunch of stuffed animals, but has this one teddy bear from when she was little that she could never get rid of and she sleeps with it when she needs it

Isabela

-Won’t admit it but has the WORST case of snoring in the whole family.

-Sleeps super sprawled out with her limbs going in literally every direction

-Somehow wakes up with perfect hair

-Always needs earplugs and an extra soft sleeping mask or else she will riot

-Will only sleep on the SOFTEST of mattresses

Dolores

-Bedroom is soundproofed but wears earplugs every night for extra measure

-Loves essential oils to help her sleep

-Very easily woken up by any little noise

-Sleeps silent as a mouse and still as a doll

Camilo

-Takes second place for the worst snoring in the family

-Always has the funniest or wackiest dreams and entertains everyone in the morning by retelling them

-Antonio loves hearing about his silliest dreams

-Can fall asleep in 2 minutes or less. When he’s out, he’s OUT.

Antonio

-Always needs a bedtime story before bed and either Mirabel, Camilo, or Luisa are the ones happy to do it for him.

-Has every animal plushie imaginable. His goal is to find every kind of animal in the world

-Instantly comes to Mirabel and cuddles her when he has a nightmare

-Always needs a night light

[droppingdonkeys]

SLEEP HABITS

NAME: Luisa Madrigal RESIDENCE: Casa Madrigal TYPE OF BED: Kingsized, rectangle-shaped, made of granite but the mattress is soft but firm. The headboard resembles a geode. NUMBER OF BLANKETS: Luisa has three, she uses only one, but Luisa throws it off during the night. NUMBER OF PILLOWS: One for her head, one for her knees, and a SHIT TON of pillows in various shapes and colours that she doesn't need. TYPE OF CLOTHING: Nightgown, or camisole and underwear. DO THEY SLEEP WITH COMPANY?: When they were younger Mirabel and Isabela crawled into her bed because her bed was the warmest. As adult, Luisa doesn't sleep better or worse with company. She has a tendency to wrap her arm around someone, though. DO THEY SLEEP BETTER WITH COMPANY?: 50-50. Her quality of sleep isn't that much worse or better, but Luisa likes having someone beside her. DOES IT MATTER WHERE THEY SLEEP?: Luisa could sleep anywhere but doesn't get as much rest as in her own bed in Casita. WHAT DO THEY DO IF THEY CANNOT FALL ASLEEP?: Get up. Take a walk. Drink some tea. Take another walk. Read a book. Count the stars. Turn the pillow. Fantasize. Count donkeys. Drink some water. Accept you're not gonna fall asleep, and then fall asleep. FREQUENT DREAMS, NIGHTMARES: Luisa rarely dreams, but when she does, they're ful of nonsense. She has nightmares about drowning, maybe once every 2-3 months. If someone is sleeping beside her, she'll cuddle up to them, seeking comfort. DEEP SLUMBER OR NAPS: Deep slumber because Luisa doesn't make time for naps. WHEN DO THEY SLEEP: Preferably at night, after the work is done and problems are solved. WHAT COULD WAKE THEM UP: A lot of things. Loud noise, someone shaking her, someone calling her name, EARLY OR LATE RISER: Early riser.

stolen from @xxlordalexanderxx

[lunatic-flores]

𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑧𝑒𝑛 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡.

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

Some days, (Y/N) found it hard to get out of bed. She found that by staying in bed, nothing could get her. She found that if she rotted in the covers that she used to seek comfort; that no one could reach her.

“How is she?” Camilo asks Dolores who used her gift to hear anything from (Y/N)'s room, but as always, nothing special or new happened. All she could hear just (Y/N)'s steady breathes and her normal heartbeat.

“She's ... Okay, but clearly not one hundred percent okay to herself.” Dolores responds as she started to walk away leaving Camilo staring at (Y/N)'s door with confusion and concerned.

“We're still waiting for you to come out, mi prima.” he mutters and began to walk away.

Some days, while lying in bed, (Y/N) didn't want to exist. They found that when opening her eyes, she could see. Especially whenever she saw her Abuela. And that was terrifying to her. She wanted nothing more than to sink into nothingness and be gone with it.

“She's not coming out yet?” the older woman asks to her daughter while frowning.

“No, Mamá. We tried our best to talk to her but we've got nothing but silence from her room.” Pepa explained as a grey cloud started to forming. The didn't notice until Julieta came out of the kitchen.

“You shouldn't be harsh to her too, Mamá. (Y/N) is far different from any of us, yes she is quite like Dolores, but she always kept her feelings or her problems to herself. She is— fragile.”

Alma stare at her daughters and then moved her gaze to the flickering door that almost dying and fade away. “Tell me if she's feeling better.”

With that, the older woman left her daughters. Pepa put her hand on her twin's shoulder, “I'm sure she will come out.” Julieta can only sighs in defeat. “I keep trying to be a better mother, even when everything I do seems to ... backfire.”

Some days, much like this one, Y/N felt slipping away from herself. Going into an unhealthy isolation. She didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't respond to any of her family. She could hear the distant noise of her family calling her name multiple times but did nothing about it, her bones seeming to be glued to the mattress.

“Hermana? Are you awake? I've brought you ... Your favorite dish! Come on, open the door if you want to get it right away!”

As always, Mirabel keep trying her best to pull (Y/N) out of her room and so is Isabella who always trying to find a way to open her door. Unfortunately, she noticed that (Y/N) have froze the door knob and the window.

Nothing can melt (Y/N)'s ice except the warm of a fire. But Isabela knew that if she's going to use a fire, she'd be burned the casita down. That doesn't mean she's going to stop.

As for Luisa, all she can do is sit beside (Y/N)'s door and tell her how is her day without her sister's companion. She always told her how she missed her so much, she would always slipped a letter or two to your room and hope that (Y/N) would read it.

Until one day, (Y/N)'s roon began to froze anything, she swear she could die in frozen. She didn't even acknowledge the sound of her room door opening, or perhaps she did, just chose not to do anything about it. She didn't even know that she had to melt some of the ice.

“Mi corazón?”Julieta's voice came out soft and motherly like, staring down at Y/N's lifeless body.

She did not speak, Don't know why. But that was okay, words were not needed to express how she felt. Julieta sat down on the bed, resting (Y/N)'s head on her lap while playing with their (H/C) locks. (Y/N) let a single tear drop from her eyes, wanting nothing more than to let her mother embraced her tightly.

She's afraid, but she's also numb.

Soon Julieta decided to sing a lullaby, lulling her baby to sleep even though sometimes (Y/N)'s already asleep. “i love you, dear. Don't you ever forget that.” (Y/N) did not respond, and somehow, somewhere, that was enough. Her frozen heart slowly started to melt and finally can feel the warmth of her Mother's presence.

“please don't kept all your feelings to yourself, if you ever having a breakdown like this again, i am sure that i have failed you to be your mother.” Julieta brush (Y/N)'s hair slowly and carefully.

All (Y/N) can do is nod her head and hold her mother's warm hand shakingly. “Thank ...-you, Mamá...”

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

[toaverse]

I have an idea for a angsty AU centred around Dolores and Isabela (because I love them :D)

It basically came from the idea that since it’s pretty much canon that travellers from outside the village can venture into the Encanto, they would obviously leave with stories about a magical village with a magical family and this would intrigue some people who want this for themselves. When going to take this magic for themselves they decide to take the two girls because kidnapping two six year olds is easier than three adults. This would obviously wreak the family and probably make the adults more protective and loving of their family. Maybe they even got casita to hide their dimmed doors because they couldn’t stand to see them everyday thinking their children were dead

Only after 14-15 years do they finally succeed in escaping and 1-2 years later find themselves back at their old home

This takes place when Dolores and Isabela are 6 year olds so they would have their gifts but Luisa wouldn’t and Mirabel, Camilo and Antonio aren’t born yet.

Anon, what are you doing to me :(

Warnings! Child abuse, mentions of force feeding (to a child), mentions of amputation (to a child), angst!

Yup, this is quite a heavy one…

The Madrigals didn’t know it, but there where travelers coming in and out of the Encanto.

Some have seen the magical house with the magical family, and told others stories about that, and some of those travelers wanted to have that magic for themselves…

So, they made a plan to kidnap at least one member of the family, wether that being an adult or one of the kids.

As they spied on the Madrigals, they saw that the two kids also had powers, and seeing that they where alone without their parents, the travelers saw their chance…

They grabbed the two girls and put them in a (quite huge) chest so that they couldn’t escape.

Isabela and Dolores were panicking, not knowing what was going on, who these people were, or why they’re being taken away.

After hours upon hours of being trapped in a chest together, the two girls where finally let out, only to be thrown into a room with two mattresses on the ground.

Unbeknownst to them, they where far away from the Encanto, specifically in a small town near the city Bogota.

Their captors, consisting of three men and one woman, interrogated them about the magic, their powers, and how to get it.

Obviously, Isabela and Dolores didn’t know anything about how to get magic, so they could only shiver in fear.

Though the travelers soon found out what the two girls’ gifts where. The pink dressed girl could make flowers bloom, while the curly haired girl had superhearing.

Figuring out that they couldn’t get much info out of the girls, and figuring that their families had taken extra measures to secure their place, the four travelers decided to keep the girls around, and make their lives a living hell…

They would shout or purposely make loud noises (clapping and similar sounds) at Dolores, trying to deafen her as much as possible. While they constantly put Isabela down, saying that the flowers she grew where ugly, and even force her to eat them…

(No, Isa didn’t discover that she could grow actual food…)

Throughout their captivity, Isa and Dolores actually began to think that they where sisters, because one of their captors made a remark (“You don’t want to end up like your sister, so behave!”).

Unfortunately, due to being constantly abused, they forgot about their parents, and only had each other as support…

The girls tried to escape once when they where 11, but where caught…

Their punishments weren’t pleasant to say the least… Isabela had to grow roses and got them force fed (by the woman, who looked quite like Julieta…), while Dolores had her left ear cut off (by one of the men, who looked like Félix…).

Their remaining 8 years in captivity weren’t any better for the two girls, especially after their punishments…

They didn’t dare to escape again, but when they where both 19, they tried again, and succeeded…

Meanwhile in the Encanto…

Everyone was obviously shocked when they couldn’t find Isabela and Dolores anywhere around town, especially Julieta, Pepa, Agustín and Félix…

They turned the entire Encanto upside down, but they couldn’t find the girls anywhere…

Alma was just as shocked as everyone else, and decided, to protect her family, to dim the doors, fearing outsiders would see them.

Luisa, Camilo, Mirabel and Antonio would never be left alone in town without one adult around, all the adults fearing that the same scenario would happen…

For years and years. The adults held hope that Isabela and Dolores would find their way back home, but as each year passed, that hope became smaller…

In those years, something just told Agustín to go back to his home city, Bogota. He couldn’t quite place what it was, but his gut told him.

And finally, 13 years after Isabela and Dolores vanished and where presumed dead, he decided to go…

Julieta heavily protested, saying that he couldn’t leave his family, that Luisa and Mirabel need him and that they couldn’t lose him too.

Agustín however, promised that he would be back, and that he would write to them.

So, he left the Encanto, going back to the city he was born in, not knowing what, or rather who, he would stumble upon…

[glitternightingale]

❛ no offense, but you look terrible. ❜ With Bruno and Pepa! If you want! No pressure!!!!!!!

You can also read it here on AO3

"No offense, but you look terrible."

Pepa Madrigal had, for the first time in quite a while, an unmistakably horrendous morning. Sure, she had never been an early and motivated riser like her older sister, but she usually did her best to spread some positivity in those dreadful, gloomy hours.

However, her usual mornings did start with passionate kisses from her beloved husband Félix, who was unavailable today. He had been gone since the previous evening with Agustín to gather some firewood. They had either gotten lost or gone camping, but Pepa trusted her husband enough to return to her unharmed (she couldn’t guarantee the same unblemished state for Agustín, though).

Grumpily, Pepa opened her heavy eyes and punched the empty side of the couple’s spacious bed in an impulsive fit of rage. The pillows coughed feathers as if they took their last breaths, and then the woman hurled herself over the edge of the mattress, pouring onto the ground like the boneless pit of flesh she would use to describe her mortal body.

She groaned like a hog, her cheek squashed on the hardwood floor and her breath making it moist. 

“Casita?” she asked with exhaustion, although she hadn’t done anything yet, pawing at the wardrobe in the corner, “Can you gimme my dress…?”

The living house took pity on her like it had done for almost forty years and shoved the piece of furniture toward her, opening the cabinets and hurling pieces of fabric at her. A pair of panties landed on her face, a dry reminder of what to start with.

“…Gracias, Casita,” came her muffled voice, and Pepa wiped the cloth away from her eyes.

Somehow, she managed to stand up and stagger to the entrance once she had navigated her limbs into her day clothes, opening her magical glowing door with a glower directed at all who had the unlucky experience of meeting her.

Then she barely registered a tug on her dress and looked down like a zombie, only to squint at the radiance of pearly white milk teeth of one special Isabela Madrigal.

“Camilo ate dirt again!” the young girl chirped with feigned innocence, expecting Pepa to have a stern parenting talk with her son.

Little did she know that whatever she tried, her boy would never quite grow out of that nasty habit and still eat everything in sight ten years into the future.

“Ugh-huh,” Pepa gurgled and slinked out into the hallway, the girl dressed in hard pink skipping beside her, talking her ear off. 

“Did you know that Abuela’s gonna take me to the market today?” Isa asked cheekily, twirling in her flowery dress, “And Mamá’s gonna come along, so you have to watch the little kids.”

Green eyes slowly slid to the side, widening in horror and ignoring that the young girl lorded the few weeks she had on her oldest cousin. Then again, taking care of her own kids was nothing, Pepa thought, trying to calm herself, and Mirabel and Luisa were pretty easy to manage (unlike Camilo).

“Why don’t we make a sunny rainbow first, Isa?” the older woman suggested and went over to the window, pushing open the shutters. 

Revealed was the sky, of course, but unfortunately not as inviting-looking as Pepa had hoped. It was gray and cloudy, and the redhead would have to do her best to swear upon the sun to make an appearance.

Pepa tried to pull herself together and tugged at her hair, pressing her lips on top of each other and concentrating on her wish to offer her family a nice, happy day. (She felt anything but spunky, although she learned to control her emotions to some degree and fool herself into being content.)

Clear skies. Clear skies. Clear skies!

Isabela was awed by the scenery, watching as the clouds constricted and her aunt moved the largest heavenly body she knew. Influencing the sun actually wasn’t part of her Gift, but Pepa would like to let the girl dream a little longer and consider her aunt cooler than she really was.

But nothing ever went according to plan, and the dark clouds suddenly exploded into pouring rain that soon turned their front yard, and the Encanto at large, into a swamp.

“That’s not a rainbow,” Isa observed expertly, raising an eyebrow that was too sharp for someone her age and too reminiscent of Julieta if Pepa was being honest.

“Let’s go get some breakfast,” the older woman offered in defeat, too tired to attempt using her magic again. If anything, it worked much better when she wasn’t trying to control it, and it felt much more natural that way, too.

As they walked to the dining room (Pepa was sure they wouldn’t eat outside in this dreadful weather) Isa was surprisingly quiet until the little girl offered her a dainty flower she had grown on the railing.

“Maybe this will make a rainbow happen, Tía Pepa!” Isa offered, and like any other aunt in her position, Pepa could feel her heart melt when she took it from her, securing the plant under her headband. 

As innocent and effortless it was, Pepa felt better already. 

Better, but not as perfect as she should be. She was sure there was nothing that could be done to cheer her up without Félix around. There was an emptiness and senseless frustration inside of her she just couldn't put her finger on.

The kitchen was blossoming with life when the pair got there, and Pepa could spot her sister navigating platters through the unruly sea of children running about. With a quick snatch, the redhead grabbed her son by the scruff of his neck and told him once more that eating dirt could make him sick.

With a broad and far too cheeky grin (who did he get that from?), the young boy half the size of a pint educated her that Tía Julieta could always fix him, and Pepa let him go after that valid argument, not up to the task of dissecting his logic any further.

Pepa greeted the other kids (really, who cared that they weren’t all hers?) and promised them a rainbow for tomorrow. Then, exemplary as she was, she set the table, and even Casita was in a better, more helpful mood as it slid back the chairs when the family sat down around it.

Alma took her seat at the head of the table and animatedly advised Isabela on the optimal shopping route through town, while Julieta passed out heavily filled plates and Pepa tried to tie some napkins around the openings of Camilo and Mirabel’s shirts. One was much easier to manage than the other, the woman noticed once again and sighed.

Breakfast resumed, and Pepa finally got her coffee fix, leaning back when caffeine replaced her blood cells, and she finally felt alive and impulsive again. She droned out the childish chatter around her and closed her eyes. A power nap was in order, or just a moment when she could let her mind wander.

“S-sorry for being late,” a cutting but quiet voice muttered, and embarrassingly, Pepa needed a second to connect it to her brother. A brother she, or even most of the family, had lately forgotten even existed with how much he isolated himself up in his imposing tower.

But different from her, he always woke up alone. Day after day, night after sleepless night.

Perhaps, the hot coffee and energy boost had burned her tongue into a fork because Pepa couldn’t help but comment on her brother’s dreadful state when he scrambled on top of his chair.

“I’d say you’re on time for once, considering you usually don’t even show up,” she said hotly, setting her cup back on the placemat.

Julieta huffed at her when she handed Bruno a plate of his own and was still glaring at her when she sat back down. Pepa held her gaze evenly, not backing away.

“Err… yes,” her little brother mumbled and mechanically rubbed the heavy purple bag beneath his eye, looking glossily at his cutlery as if he had forgotten how to use it.

Blood shot into Pepa’s head, offended that Bruno hadn’t even listened to her, always ignoring her when she talked to him. But deep down she knew why he acted like this. She knew that nightmares and guilt plagued him every hour of his life, but that was the fuel, wasn’t it? It was entirely his fault that he didn’t confide his fears in anyone, not even in his older sisters, worst of all.

It infuriated Pepa to no end that he kept to himself and seemed so passive, so unaffected, about slipping away from the people who loved him so dearly.

It felt like they didn't even matter to him.

“No offense, but you look terrible,” Pepa continued recklessly, trying to get a rise out of her brother. Any reaction at all that wasn’t plain, numb acceptance would satisfy her. She wasn’t greedy, she was only desperate.

If he could only give her the bare minimum...

“Always deflecting from yourself, hm? Even though you're copying my wonderful eyebags,” Bruno grunted, finally looking at her face when he picked up his knife, and Pepa’s heart fluttered when his biting sarcasm rose to the surface.

“Children, please,” their mother chastised, folding her napkin and wondering if her triplets would ever grow out of their adolescent hair-pulling habits.

Pepa grinned like the cat that got the cream (because she had!) and rounded the table with a long step, cupping her brother’s cheeks in her palms before he could flinch away. And holding him like that, seeing him again, made her weak in a completely different way. 

“Good morning, hermanito!” she laughed and put Isa’s flower into his hair, making him look just as radiant as the sparkling rainbow outside.

[encantickling]

You Call That A Prank?

Suggested by someone in the comment section of my post for prompts. Here's what I got from it!

Mirabel loves a good prank! But an unoriginal or poorly executed one? Yeah, no, that irritated her.

***

Camilo needed tickles.

OK scratch that. He didn't just need tickles - he needed to be wrecked. He had such a lee mood that he just wanted to be tackled down and tickled to tears. But finding someone to do that was... Difficult.

Luisa wasn't a vicious ler, so she was out. Obviously Dolores couldn't due to her hearing, and his Mami was currently watering the fields. His papi was with her, Isabela was out in the town along with Julieta and Agustin, both of which would never go that far with tickling anyway...

He frowned. The only other people in Casita were Mirabel and Bruno, and he wasn't close enough with his tio yet to feel comfortable asking. And unless Mirabel was in a ler mood herself, she had to be provoked...

Camilo perked up. He knew what he could do.

***

Now here's the thing. Mirabel loves a good prank. So Camilo pulling a prank on her wouldn't result in the ending he wanted.

However, Mirabel had a massive pet peeve for unoriginal or poorly executed pranks. So that was the shapeshifters angle.

He shifted into Luisa, holding a bucket (which he was sure he'd seen on Bruno's head at some point) filled with water and 'attempting' to balance it on the top of Mirabel's door frame. He 'accidentally' made some noise, hissing in frustration before returning to his task.

Despite planning to be caught, Mirabel's sudden opening of the door had his shrieking, and as he accidentally shifted back to his own form he tripped and dropped the bucket on himself. Water doused him, his mouth hung open as he looked at a smirking Mirabel.

"Really? You call that a prank?"

Camilo bristled. "Hey! Can't beat the classics!"

His cousin rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You didn't even change the liquid. Do you know how fun it would be to use orange juice? Or wine? Or literally anything other than water?!"

Camilo pouted, before shivering a little. It had been cold water, and he must have looked like a bedraggled kitten because Mirabel just sighed and gestured him in. "Come on, Camilo. I've just finished mending some of your clothes anyway and your mother would kill me if I let you catch a cold."

"Mami is harmless!" The shapeshifter defended his mother as he entered Mirabel's room. He was a little resigned, not getting the ending he wanted but it could have been worse.

"Tia has access to lightning, primo. Tia is scary."

As Mirabel flung a shirt and some pants at him, turning her back to her older cousin, Camilo stripped off his ruana, pouting. "I need another ruana... I feel weird without one." He mumbled, pulling on the clothes and dropping on the bed next to Mirabel with a huff.

"You're just like tio," Mirabel laughed, poking him teasingly. "Take the ruana off and you become a thousand times smaller!"

"I'm not that small!" He scoffed, "Tio looks like he could waste away without his ruana!"

Mirabel could only nod. That was true. "But still, look at how small you are!" She poked at his stomach, before poking his thighs. "You're so skinny! How do you eat so much and it never shows up? I'd be concerned if I didn't literally see you eat so much at meal times! I bet I could count every one of your ribs without even touching them!"

Camilo slapped at her hands, suddenly feeling nervous. "That's not true!"

"Oh really?" Mirabel raised an eyebrow, grin turning playful, "Why don't we try?"

The shapeshifter's eyes widened, and he tried to sit up only for his cousin to fling herself on his body to trap him. As he landed face down in the mattress, he felt her sit on his waistline and pull up his shirt.

"Mirabel! Don't!" He tried to dissuade her, "I'm fine!"

"Mmmmm... No." She laughed, tracing her fingers all over his lower back to get him giggling. "Did you seriously think I didn't know what you were looking for, Cami?"

"I don't knohow what you're tahahalking about..." Camilo tried to reach back and grab her hands, only for her to pin his wrists under her knees.

"Yeah, whatever. Now, your weight is a serious health concern you know." Mirabel spoke in a faux-serious voice, "So I need to check on your ribs to make sure that they're all intact and OK. Luckily Mama taught me a few things about medicine, so it should be done quickly if you hold still!"

She hovered her hands over Camilo's ribs, grinning widely as he started to giggle from nerves. He actually laughed when she wiggled her fingers teasingly, phantom sensations kicking in.

"Just a warning - this might tickle."

With those words, she went straight for him. She didn't even try to pretend like she was counting, knowing that was what he was expecting. As Camilo squirmed and squealed under her, she mock-sighed.

"I'll never be able to check them if you don't stop moving! How am I supposed to count all your ribs, Cami?"

She wasn't even on his ribs, and Camilo managed to tell her that through his laughter. Her hands tormented his sensitive sides, and he really wished he hadn't removed his sodden ruana.

It wouldn't have protected him much, but it would have been something.

As Mirabel's hands moved up his back, he shuddered, before squealing as she touched his neck. Mirabel's hands paused, and Camilo's eyes widened.

"How, in fifteen years of living, have I never found out your neck is ticklish?"

"It's not!"

"Don't lie to me Cami, you're squeaking like one of tio Bruno's rats."

Before Camilo could get offended about being compared to a rodent, Mirabel got right back into spidering her fingers over the sensitive skin of his neck, and Camilo shrieked with laughter. Mirabel laughed herself, watching her cousins shoulders try to move to protect his neck. Eventually, she stopped, grinning as the shapeshifter went limp on the bed.

"Camilooooo," She sang, climbing off him and rolling him over so he wasn't breathing in her bedsheets anymore.

"What?"

"Cami-Lee."

He flushed a rather embarrassing shade of red, and Mirabel couldn't help but laugh as he covered his face with his hands.

"Rookie mistake!" She attacked his underarms, relishing in the shriek of surprise which was quickly followed by panicked laughter. "Cami, Cami, Cami, you really should know my tricks by now."

Her cousin couldn't even respond, too busy trying to roll away from the evil tickles. He couldn't lift his arms though for the life of him, and he drummed his feet on the bed as his eyes started to water.

"Oh hey, Luisa," He heard Mirabel say casually, like he wasn't dying from this evil torment. "How are you?"

"I was just wondering why the floor outside was wet. Want me to take the wet clothes?"

"Yeah sure, put them in the washing basket for me to do tomorrow please!"

Luisa's large hand gently patted Camilo's head as she passed him, and his face burned brighter as he pleaded with her to save him.

"Primo, even I know not to mess with Mirabel in a ler mood. Good luck though!"

As the door closed, so did Camilo's chance of rescue, and he resigned himself to his fate.

He had asked for it, after all.

[casitafallz-a]

Decay AU | Metamorphous (rewritten)

Isabela sat boredly against her headboard, arms wrapped around herself as she moped. She knew she shouldn’t but… it all ached.

Her heart ached for things to go back to normal…for the little knocks at the door every morning, for her parent’s smiles and compliments on her dress or the flowers she made… she longed for Abuela to look at her with pride…her warmth and affection. She missed Abuela… she missed it all and she had no idea how to claw any of those little things back.

The distance felt like she was on another planet set adrift. Isabela knew she couldn’t keep moping; she needed to try and do something. Maybe Abuela wouldn’t be so cold with her? Isabela couldn’t fathom of what could she possibly do? Her punishments were clearly a base level and nothing of that would impress Abuela… she needed to do better. Do more.

Isabela was already through her second week into her confinement now; she couldn’t go out into town and help… and even if she could, Isabela realised, she wouldn’t be able to help much without her gift.

She looked down at her hands.

Her gift that had played a part in her entire fall from grace. Flowers, vines and pretty things because what else was she actually good for? What use was her gift with those sorts of limits? Her eyes rose to the mess.

Not all of it was pretty, she noted.

Not all were pink either… in fact, colours were way easy to change. She had always kept to the pinks and warm pallets for them because people enjoyed that. Men loved romantic colours for their wives or girlfriends.

Her eyes traces over a few of them; the whole room’s vibrancy was…gone. Most of the colour was only a portion of what it used to be…and Isabela found she didn’t care. This whole room felt like her personal prison. It was in a real sense; confined from 8 pm until morning and often, Isabela didn’t know when it was the appropriate time to leave in the morning so…she often left when she heard Luisa leave.

Abuela had told her to clean her room up and…Isabela felt bad that she hadn’t… still hadn’t for that matter and it ate at her a little. Perhaps that was a starting point?

Isabela eyed the dead and decayed flowers before she closed her eyes, letting them vanish and the watery mess seep away. It’d take some time before the smell would vanish, even if she was already used to it. She didn’t like seeing the slight wrinkle on her mother’s face when she hadn’t changed her shoes.

A dull thud outside pulled her attention from replacing the empty patches. In fact, it was multiple echoes that…didn’t sound like Casita’s normal movements. It was late afternoon, there were no chores left to do and clearly, something was happening that she hadn’t been informed about. Curiously, Isabela went to investigate and poked her head out around her door frame.

Outside, it was busy with a good number of people from town… like the cute carpenter boy that had the hot sister, Papi and Tio Felix were down by where Luisa’s door used to be… wait.

She stepped out, craning to see… a whole new doorway that…was very different to magical doors but it stood in the place where Luisa’s door used to be. Now, Isabela realised, Luisa’s door had moved down to the centre where Mirabel’s door had been before it faded. The cabinet that had set there since been there was newly settled between her doorframe and Luisa’s. Even the pictures had moved down as well.

The busyness was from the new door, Casita’s tiles shifted and rolled; and the thumps, she noticed was the new furniture that was being lifted in.  Her head tilted even more though in the gaps of people to peek inside, she noticed a brand new bedframe.

The metal frame was still very similar to the old one but almost a polished bronze. Unlike the nursery bed frame that had blue and yellow balls, the tops of the new frame poles were little iron cast butterflies and the bed was missing its covers and a mattress for now. A new wardrobe…probably. The thing making the thumps looked to be Mirabel’s desk with her sewing machine. She couldn’t see much more before the door was shut. A beautiful dark brown door though could make out pencil markings of what looked to be measurements and a basic sketch to go on front; far from completion but a stand-in for the real thing.

Isabela blinked, her head turning to the nursery door that was open.

“Oh…” her voice cracked.

The last week had been…quieter. Even with the family getting back to work in the town; almost normal but the family members were much more around than they used to be but Isabela had noticed the adults talking a lot more hushed and together. Nothing she caught except talks of wall colours… she had just assumed someone was redecorating.

But no, it seemed now she understood the context.

They were moving Mirabel…

A sharp inhale filled her lungs before she stumbled back into her room though…she felt the familiar ache that had long since taken up residents between her ribs return to squeeze with weight at her heart.

It made sense, Isabela could see the logic; they wanted Mirabel far away from her. Her room and the nursery never did have too much space between them. Clearly…clearly too close. Now Luisa truly was stuck right there between them… and Mirabel was close to their parents.

Did…did they think she was that much of a threat to do this? Did they continue to see her as someone on the verge of snapping again? Did…they not trust her any more to have Mirabel’s room a few meters away? Were they scared she’d sneak in there and—

Pop

Isa let out a shaking breath, making a move to step forwards, only to be met with a sharp pain that rang through the arch of her foot. She yelped, jumped back and hissed in pain before pulling her foot away from the source, a—

“Cactus? Really?”

Isabela glowered at the offending plant, though bent down and picked it up before hobbling back towards her bed. Ignoring the slight blood from the punctured on her foot. The spikes pressed into her skin and she could see the flecks of lingering blood on the spikes but that mattered little as she turned it around.

She had made…a cactus.

Mirabel’s room lay forgotten in her mind as she examined the…new creation. She had never made a cactus before.

Her heart pumped a little faster, swallowing nervously. If…if she could make a cactus… what else could she do? What plants was she capable of creating?

Her eyes flickered around her room, touching along the vastly different flowers. Not ones she had ever really done but… while still flowers; they were very different. She set the cactus down, licking her lips.

If she could do much more than flowers; she could show Abuela she was capable of so much more than décor…. Surely Abuela could then…allow her to use her gift outside the tight limits she had been living under the last two weeks.

She could almost feel the potential tingling as she felt the wash of excitement; one of the first few positive emotions she felt in the last two weeks. A whole space where she could play with her gift... Her lips curled up into a smile.

Let’s see what else she could do!

-

Mirabel knew something had been up the moment Dolores and Camilo, and Antinio for that matter joined her in town, though it made her anxious, she felt content with their presence, Antonio, as shy as he was with the town kids happily ran off to play with them. Leaving Camilo and Dolores with her as she took a seat by the fountain and the glances Dolores shot towards Casita didn’t lessen her concern.

Dolores winced once.

“What happened?” Mirabel asked.

Dolores's attention returned though smiled softly. “Nothing serious. Isabela stepped onto a cactus.”

Camilo was the first to snigger, “Good.”

“Camilo.” Mirabel gave him a look though he didn’t look at all put off before she snorted herself. She could see the humour there; she doubted Isabela would be really hurt. Nothing Mama’s food couldn’t fix. If she fell down a flight of steps…then she’d be concerned but again, Mama’s concern; the notion of going near Isabela made her heart beat too fast and she hated the anxiety the thought brought.

“So, think Antonio will make friends with these children?” Camilo decided, “He’s a quiet kid but…too quiet”

“I know those three. He’ll be fine.” Mirabel smiled. “He should be around kids his age anyway so nothing bad should come from this. Maybe he’ll convince them to like animals. Cecilia has a tarantula—“

“Ugh!” Camilo jumped up in disgust, “A tarantula! Why?!”

“She says they’re cute.”

The look on her primo’s face suggested he was convinced something was wrong with the girl before he shuddered and began muttering under his breath. “Ugh, who gives children things with eight eyes and lots of legs… that’s no pet… that's what you use to scare people—”

Dolores gave him a look at he looked like he had been struck with an idea.

“Isabela likes tarantulas, Camilo.” Dolores pointed out before his face fell in disappointment.

Mirabel gave him a soft prod in his arm. “Please stop finding ideas to scare my sister with. She’s being punished already.”

Camilo’s head tilted to her but made no comment but a sniff of discontent with her half-hearted plea.

“Anyway,” Mirabel hoped to distract the two, “What’s going on? I’ve barely seen anyone today. Even Luisa who’s gotten back to work and normally, this is part of the new schedule where she’s helping”

Dolores’s posture straightened up, a squeak echoing which only really validated her suspicions though Camilo looked far too relaxed.

“You know, I’m hungry. I wonder if Mami’s got any Arepa’s left—“

“Or,” Camilo interjected smoothly, “we can treat you to one of Señorita Rios’s goods at the bakery.”

“Oh, so you can ogle her, Camilo?” Mirabel teased.

Camilo’s face dropped. “This isn’t about me, Mira, this is about your empty stomach.”

“It’s Señora Rios working today, Alita is with her father talking to the farmer.”

“See, and I am not all bothered by that fact.”

Mirabel raised an eyebrow. Not really believing him because…Camilo was just as much as a teenager like her with less restraint. It was no surprise he had a crush and on someone who made food for a living.

“What are you hiding from me? What’s happening at home?” Mirabel asked again, “I have a feeling it’s something to do with me… and I don’t know if I should be worried.”

“It’s…it’s a surprise!” Dolores piped up, wincing. “Look, Tio and your Abuela have agreed about this…surprise and they’re just getting it sorted.”

“What…could they possibly be doing to be a surprise? My Quinceañera was eighteen days ago—“ she didn’t have to count far given it was…4 days before what Isabela had done to her two weeks ago— “and there’s a lot still left over. I don’t need a surprise.”

Dolores smiled softly. “You’ll like this one.”

Mirabel looked to Camilo, only to find his space vacant and his running form pelting up towards Casita.

“Should I pretend to be surprised entirely or just go with it?” Mirabel asked.

Dolores shrugged, “Up to you. Either way, I’m not spilling.”

“I take it you’ll let me know when the surprise is ready?”

“Of course.”

-

Luisa moved the furniture easily as Abuela surveyed the space.

The room Casita had made was just as big as the nursery, as it wasn’t a magical room, it had it’s limits. Without Antonio’s bed like the nursery had, there was double the space and much more open with a window out towards the tree line. Its base colour had been white but the walls were now a soft blue and teal.

There had been a debate about if the colour should be green like the Nursery before Julieta overruled on the matter and settled for the bluer colours to match the family’s colours until Mirabel decided herself.

Luisa was glad though that it wasn’t green; this was a new step in her life; she shouldn’t have call-backs to the nursery and she was happy to move all the new furniture into the new room as well, a new bed, wardrobe and a whole new chest of draws. Abuela had also ordered another set for Mirabel’s spare fabrics; they had found too many to be put into a single draw with her normal clothes. Her desk, they had to move given her machine was very much part of the desk but Luisa doubted Mirabel would mind too much.

Though as soon as the furniture was set and the townspeople had left, moving Mirabel’s belongings in were fairly simple though a few things, Luisa was glad to leave at the foot of the bed for a better option for Mirabel to choose though she felt a welt of excitement as Abuela deemed the room done before everyone cleared it.

The door, the real door would take a longer to get but the carpenters would take another week to get it carved and painted but again everything else was ready and they didn’t want to wait too long to show Mirabel.

Luisa knew they should have done this a long time again. 10 years and yet, it hadn’t occurred to anyone that they could get her her own room; that the nursery was still suitable for a teenager. Everyone had only focused on the fact she didn’t get a door, not that she was still living in a baby’s room.

This… this shouldn’t have come from Isabela’s actions but…they had to start being better. She did. Because now they had to rely on her to be the protector… they couldn’t pretend everything was perfect… couldn’t shove anyone aside for that they didn’t have. Luisa felt guilty that she didn’t step in sooner to see to the small things with her little sister… but time and availability had been so few between.

At least now, Luisa felt relief that she had to come home more. The demands were present as ever but echoing Abuela’s words had been what she needed to turn a few down. The Donkeys, as such have been removed as her chores given Abuela hadn’t been pleased to find the cause was a broken fence lock and Luisa couldn’t deny the freedom that had given her. She didn’t have to do stupid things.

She could hang around with Mirabel, help her mother or father or even…have time for herself. It felt odd but…she’d take it to be around more for when the family needed her.

“Dolores, time to bring Mirabel back,” Abuela called.

Luisa shut the door after her but immediately helped with putting up the curtain over the doorframe with her Papi’s help, securing it before the rest of the family seemed to appear to them. Tia’s cloud disappeared with an echo of a rainbow

“Did you really have to take my glasses?” Mirabel’s voice echoed. “I can barely see”

“Would you rather I covered your eyes and not see at all?”

The pause made Luisa smile before she looked over to see Dolores walking next to a near-blind Mirabel, glasses in hand but Mirabel looked to be squinting, using whatever sight she had to pick out shapes that she wasn’t going to trip over. Casita though seemed to help along the way before they began to make their way up the steps. Though Tia Pepa and felix moved further around towards Abuela’s door just to give more space, Felix tugged Camilo along as well.

“Where’s Antonio?” Tia Pepa asked.

“Playing in town.” Camilo answered, pulling free from his mother’s grip, “I figured he was making friends…”

Pepa’s face melted into a soft smile before she looked at Tio Felix. It was no mistake that Antonio was a shy boy and barely had friends outside the family, though it seemed like he’d miss this; Antonio would no doubt have fun in the room as well once he got back.

“What’s going on?” Mirabel sounded exasperated before she almost tripped up the top step. Luisa stepped forwards but Dolores caught her before handing the girl her glasses back.

Mirabel blinked once the glasses were back on her face before she took in the crowd along the balcony. “Hola, familia?”

“Mirabel!” Julieta was the first to move, pulling Mirabel into a hug before kissing her cheek. Abuela and the others hung back though to not overcrowd the girl, even if Luisa itched to lean down and hug her as well.

“Mama?” Mirabel pulled her head back, “what’s this all about? Kinda…weird. My birthday was over two weeks ago.”

Julieta smiled at her. “Call it something we should have done a long time ago.”

Mirabel’s confusion didn’t leave until Julieta led her towards the covered door.

“Here.”

“This?” She pointed to the fabric, though hesitantly reached forwards after an encouraging nod and pulled the curtain down.

Luisa’s heart thudded in her chest, watching as Mirabel’s eyes grew wide, her jaw slacking and it tugged in almost an endearing way to see the tears well up in her eyes as she set sights upon the door, as rough as it was.

“You…you gave me a door?” Her voice wavered before she looked straight at their parents. “I have a door?”

Julieta moved forwards, pulling Mirabel back into a hug. Mirabel threw her arms around.

“It won’t be magical, Corazon but—“

“I don’t care! It’s a room! My room!” Mirabel pulled back but turned her attention back to the handle before she opened it up and ran straight in. Luisa’s heart lifted with hearing her sound of happiness…

But before she could fully enjoy seeing Mirabel’s reaction, another sound echoed and almost seemed to interrupt.

“Abuela!”

The mood dampened for the people outside the room if a little though Luisa’s head turned behind her to see Isabela slinking out of her room and Luisa felt her jaw drop at the sight.

Isabela was coated head to toe in…what she could only assume was pollen of various colours; her hair and skin were stained and her clothes took the brunt of the colour and yet, Isabela seemed completely oblivious as she held what looked to be a plant pot with a large cactus in.

“Look! Look what I made!”

Luisa winced if a little in pity at the look on Abuela’s face as she too realised that Isabela looked like a complete, colourful mess and was not even aware of what was going on or the sheer weight this had only for the interruption...

Isabela’s excited face dimmed as she noticed, taking in Abuela's expression and the darkening of Tia Pepa's cloud though Felix rubbed her back. “What?”

Deciding not to get involved, Luisa ducked into Mirabel’s new room but hung by the door though she was relieved to see her parents talking to Mirabel; keeping her distracted before she could have a clue about what was going on outside. She didn’t need to know and Mirabel certainly didn’t need any sense of unjustified guilt about Isabela right not either.

She didn’t feel envious of her older sister right now either.

tbh... I'm not entirely convinced about the ending.... like... i don't know if it feels a little out of place or if it's too early for this? Like, I wanna balance the good times, neutral with the bad times for Isabela bc having it too heavy all the time is boring, and the deep stuff needs to be validated; i don't want to villainize Abuela or anyone.

What do you think?

I figured...I'll keep the chapter up for now while i work on the next chapter. I think maybe the next chapter will balance out the whole Isabela discovering her gift a lot more. I know a few said it was weird and i do agree but i think isabela just...got lost in the moment of discovery if how I justify a little on her behavioural response. if the next chap doesn't work, i'll redo :) Thanks for all your feedback tho, i love hearing about it

[happyandticklish]

Hey! How do you imagine the rooms of other members of the Madrigal family, not shown in the movie? It's a strange question, but I would like to discuss it with someone

It's not strange at all! From what I remember, they only showed Bruno and Isabella's rooms, as well as Mirabel's nursery, so if they showed any others and I missed it, sorry about that!

I like to think of each of the rooms with the whole "bigger on the inside" mentality, because their house definitely didn't seem big enough for Isabella's rooms, but that fit, so... that's the theory I'm going with!

Julieta:

. I feel like it would be quite homey, small, with a built-in kitchen. The kitchen itself is just this little stove/oven, with a couple cabinets for ingredients. She used to cook there when she was little, but as she grew older, she gradually moved to the kitchen. She still comes back there though, when she's feeling nostalgic.

Pepa:

Big, spacious, with one of those glass dome things covering it. Sparsely decorated, but built to handle her more stormy moods. She has a little garden off to the side that Isabella added for her, where she goes when she's feeling upset, so she can see that her rain isn't all bad, and that it can even help prosper life in some cases.

Antonio:

Okay, so I feel like his would be almost like a jungle of sorts? A tree sprouts in the middle of it, and one of the branches acts like a slide all the way down. Inside the tree is this little hole that he treats as a secret club. Sprawling vines and branches, and a tub of water for the animals. He likes to have sleepovers with them often.

Camilo:

I like to think he has little puzzles in his room that people have to solve to get in, because he thinks of it like a fun little game every time he needs to get in his room. Like, trick locks, and combinations and handshakes executed to Casita. Inside, it’s huge, with sloping walls and unusual placings for furniture, so he can use his abilities to reach things. Pretty messy overall, a fact Alma is constantly getting on him about. 

Luisa:

She has her own little gym in the corner, with a bench-press and several weights, but the room itself is pretty minimalist. I like to think she’s put up artwork on the walls (because I headcannon her as an artist in her spare time—because art is something simple, without function yet still beautiful, still incredible to look at). Large bed with an extra soft mattress for her sore muscles.

Dolores:

Soundproof walls and carpet floors to muffle noise. There’s beautiful decorations around the baseboard, flowers and spiraling shapes that all tell a story. She has a large bed with one of those covering things over it that looks like a curtain/veil thing. 

Mirabel:

So we obviously know what the nursery looks like, but at the end she gets her own room. I like to think that Mirabel’s room is everchanging, decorations going up and then down, garnering help from Casita to rearrange the shape of her room at times. She has a cactus, a gift from Isabella, that sits on her dresser, and is the one constant of her room. 

[ashdreams2023]

Encanto ask this time, if you don’t mind. I LOVE protective Tîo Bruno content so, could you do something where Bruno has a bunch on involuntary visions that lead to him saving his sobrinos and sobrinas from random situations all day (post Casita revival) ? Bonus points if Bruno gets very very stressed so his Nieces and nephews decide to so something super sweet to thank him and help him relax? Is that super weird?

Got it 👌

Bruno couldn’t sleep, it has been a lot lately.

Vision after vision, each and every single one of them being bad and bad.

But one thing he learned about the whole saving casita thing is you can change fate if you tried hard enough, and he was doing his best, even if it meant stopping little unfortunate events.

It started with seeing Isabela fall from her window one morning and him not being able to be calm the entire day and putting mattresses under her window just in case.

Fortunately nothing bad happened from that and she wasn’t hurt, then there was Antonio who he saw was running from a group of monkeys in his room.

Turns out he just slipped but was saved.

Dolores, Mirabel, Camilo and even Luisa he tried to help everyone, but it all resulted in him being more sleep deprived than usual.

It’s of course noticed by the family and the young ones decided that their tío deserves a break and a reward for his hard work.

"Mama please bring tío, we are ready"

Julieta covered Bruno’s eyes, he follow her a little confused but giddy neither the less.

"What’s this all about?" He said

"You’ll see just a few more steps"

When bruno stepped into the kitchen Julieta dropped her hands and he was surprised by the sight of the kids all grinning at him and casita bouncing a sign that said.

"Thank you tío bruno" he read.

He felt butterflies in his stomach when Antonio approached him with a cupcake that had a small candle on it.

"We wanted to say thank you, for everything you’ve done for us"

"From the very beginning" added Mirabel.

"Looking out for us" said Isabela

"Making sure we are in one piece by dinner time" said Camilo.

Bruno took the cupcake from the small boy, he looked fondly at the green icing on the cupcake and matching candle.

"I’m only looking out for my familia" he said.

After blowing off the candle he took a bite of the sweet treat, then the world became peaceful for a second.

His loved ones smiling and safe, him being with him and not hiding, it was all perfect.

They were perfect.

"I love my family"

[avatarvyakara]

Another little bit—this time a touch of father-daughter bonding, hopefully a bit less gloomy than the last...

167. Desarrollo

(nm) development, growth

She doesn’t get to spend as much time with her Pá as she’d like. Back when she was younger, they used to do piano lessons, before Luisa came to think of the instrument as a movable object instead of a source of music. And she’d like to start them again; she likes the piano. But her Pá is busy even if she’s learning how to take some time off, and just like with Mirabel and Antonio and Camilo, just like with the Grown-Ups, just like with Lio, Luisa Does Not Distract.

(Shut up, imagination. If you’re going to behave like that, I’m leaving you at home. ...in my room. In a safe. Under a rock.)

But there’s still time—more time, somehow, these days—to pop by the factoría around lunchtime to see Pá and take him something from home. Today it’s just some fruit, but Luisa’s found that if she doesn’t persuade him and her mother to eat then, well, they don’t eat. Which isn’t good for either of them at their age.

(...little nagging voice of self-care, do I have to leave you at home too? I eat lunch. A lot of the time. Once or twice a month at least.)

There isn’t much in the way of banking in San Ambrosio. Oh, the factoría does have a few families’ money stored safely away, most of it actually belonging to Tío Félix’s and Mariano’s families (and maybe hers too), but most people prefer to keep their centavos and pesos hidden under the mattress.

What the factoría mainly does is exchange favours.

“¡Hey chaparrita!” calls her father happily from inside through the window.

“Hey Pá,” she replies with a smile, ducking through the doorway into the surprisingly crowded office, Cerbero hot on her heels. “Another deal?”

“Just some trouble with the Salazars again, they’re complaining about the price of iron again. Madre de Dios, Arcadio, it’s not like it’s anyone’s fault. But it’s been cutting into their savings, and since—thank God—nobody can make iron appear out of thin air they want to include the price of the stuff in whatever they make.” Pá looks surprisingly tired behind a mountain of papers and one rusty horseshoe. “Ay, Luisa, word of advice: never get a blacksmith started on ‘artisan workmanship’. It will make your entire morning pass like a week.”

Luisa clucks sympathetically. Cerbero has found himself a nice patch of sunlight to flop down in and pant happily, and she strokes the fino hound’s ears. “So what did you do?”

“I mean, it seems reasonable to charge a little more, or maybe to import the iron directly to the village as one of the bulk goods. We can talk to the heads of the families about that, and I think there’s a good case for it. But Arcadio wasn’t listening, so I told him that he should take it up with your Tío Félix.”

“He’s not going to be very happy with you,” she teases.

“I think I’ll survive. ...probably.”

She snorts. Mind you, Arcadio Salazar probably will be a lot more willing to negotiate with Tío Félix. Her parents are good at providing essentials, practical solutions. Just like her. But Tío Félix dabbles in words and emotions, delights in making people get along well, and has a reputation of absolute honesty.

(She knows her uncle feels guilty about his reaction to her other tío’s Gift. If Félix Madrigal thought Bruno’s visions were bad luck, didn’t that just confirm what everyone already knew?)

Anyway, that’s probably that.

But...

“What if that doesn’t work?”

“Then your tío will send him up to Abuela.”

“Ouch.”

Pá raises an eyebrow, but bursts out laughing before Luisa has time to feel worried about doing something wrong. He’s good like that, her Pá.

She thinks about the issue. “Didn’t Tío Bruno say something about a tunnel on the edge of the encanto? Something he found when he was younger.”

Why does her father’s face droop a little at that?

“I think I know what you mean. Your uncle found it with a friend of his. What’s the thought, Luisa?”

“I’m just thinking...have we ever tried mining our own iron? Maybe that’s what the tunnels were for.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure, chaparrita. It’s a big job, and it couldn’t be done by one person alone.” He grins, and looks at her pointedly over the top of his glasses. “Or maybe the better way to say it is that it shouldn’t be done by one person.”

“I wasn’t gonna go all on my own,” she protests.

She does not need her dog to give her a deadpan look worthy of a donkey, thank you very much. She gets enough of those from her father.

“Hmmmmmm. Well, alright. But it’s worth looking into. We don’t want to disturb too much of the hills, though...hmm...”

He brightens up. “Ah, something for later.”

Cerbero chooses this moment to climb up onto her lap, tongue out and tail wagging.

“Cerbero, come on.”

“Buenas Dias, Cerbero,” chuckles Pá. “Excellent timing.”

Cerbero barks happily.

“Anyway, what’s been going on in El Mundo sobre las nubes?”

“Páááá...” she groans at the mention of her childhood dream-world, but smiles all the same. “I’m twenty-one years old, I’m too big for living in a fairy tale world now.”

“Corazón, I hope that never ever happens,” says her father sincerely. Then he laughs. “Especially given where we live.”

She laughs too.

Her own day’s been full of boring stuff, just regular chores and the like. (“He wanted you to carry what?”) And Pá’s got another meeting with the Acostas about getting their coffee into the “brand-new” San Cristóbal market. (“Definitely gonna need to bring Abuela in on this one, Pá.”) But it’s nice to have a chance to stop and chat. Even if he does insist on playing that silly game where she has to eat a piece of food before he’ll eat one, and he doesn’t count the pieces Cerbero “takes”. It’s not like she needs it.

...but maybe she needs it.

(Abuela never disapproved of this. Never. But Luisa felt, for a time, just a little ashamed of how much of her father’s time and her village’s time she was taking up this way. Luisa Does Not Distract, after all. And so she stopped by less and less, even if she felt guilty about it.

Now, though...things are different now.)

[achitka]

Doors (Chapter 10) Desayuno Sorpresa

Desayuno Sorpresa

Camilo heard the knock on his door, but he really did not want to get up yet. This bed was extremely comfortable. When the knock came again, he sighed, yelled “Enter!” and pulled his pillow and blanket over his head.

“Camilo, we need your help downstairs,” it was his sister’s voice and Camilo groaned, “Come on sleepy head, we need to have things ready before Mamá gets up.”

“Why?” In answer to his question, Casita tilted his bed just enough that he rolled with his blankets, out of it on the floor. “Hey!”

“Really, Cam, do not tell me you forgot what today is?”

What was the date today? His mind raced through some possibilities, but nothing of note came to mind. He had kind of lost track of the calendar…so answered in a sheepish tone, “Maybe?”

Dolores sighed, “You forgot your own Mamí’s birthday…”

“Of course not,” Camilo said as he flung the pillow away, trying to sit up as he struggled to disentangle himself from the blankets. “I did not forget…it just had not occurred to me yet.”

Dolores made no move to help him and said, “You're responsible for the cake. You can make one big one or three smaller ones. That’s up to you, but you’d better pull it together, hermanito, or you’re gonna miss breakfast.”

He had half a mind to shout, but Dolores pinned him with a look that made him change his mind and go limp. Dolores nodded and was out the door. How did she do that? Camilo shifted to Juancho, a smaller child in the Encanto, and the blankets finally let go. He crawled out, stood up and shifted back to himself. Shape-shifting sure came in handy sometimes. His foot was still tangled in the blankets, so he kicked it and stubbed his toe on the headboard. He grabbed a clean shirt, put it on and jerked his ruana over his head. Sitting on the bed, he looked around for his sandals and regretted ever sharing with his bossy older sister that he liked to bake.

Casita bounced his shoes to him, and Camilo stopped and smiled. Up until that moment, he did not realize just how much he missed Casita and the little things it did for him. For everyone really. He was never one to talk to the house but said, “Thanks Casita.” There was a short musical clatter of tiles that Camilo took as ‘you’re welcome.’ He put on his sandals and headed for the kitchen.

_______________________________

Mirabel woke a little before dawn, the way she usually did, sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Not quite awake, Casita bumped her glasses to her and Mira put them on. As she focused on the room around her, her breath caught, it was real, not a dream. There were parts of her room she had not seen too clearly the night before, since it was late when she finally got up the gumption to go inside. Now that it was morning and the Casita had opened the shutters, flooding the room with light, Mirabel slowly looked this way and that. She broke into a wide smile as she flopped back on her pillow and followed the mountains up the wall. Their tops were cloudy, but the sky above her head was mostly clear. Mirabel did a quick double take when she noticed the wispy clouds above her were moving lazily across the ceiling.

“Thank you, Casita. Everything is just so beautiful and…and…,” Mira wanted to say perfect but couldn’t, that word scared her…it was, though. She sat up again and felt the tears as they fell down her smiling cheeks. The tears did not stop when she climbed out of her new bed and poked the mattress, so soft. She spun around happily, and Casita did its best to keep her from falling over things that she was not used to being there. There was a soft knock and Mira quickly grabbed her robe and said, “Come in.”

Luisa poked her head in, and she too was smiling, but it turned to concern when she saw her sister’s tears.

“Mira what’s wrong?” Luisa asked as she entered and closed the door behind her.

“Nothing’s wrong, I just never…” Mirabel faltered and was a little embarrassed when her tears started up again, “Just never thought it could happen, you know?

Luisa took two steps toward her and swept her baby sister up in a hug. “Do not be sad, Mira. No one deserves this more than you.”

“I’m not sad, these are happy tears.” Mirabel said once Luisa set her down. “I’m just…”

“Overwhelmed?” Luisa offered as she looked wide-eyed at here room.

“Yeah.”

“I get that. My own room is so different, Mira. I can’t wait for you to see it.”

“Oh, what’s it like?”

“Nope, you’ll have to wait, ‘til you can see it in person.”

“Can’t we go now?”

“Wow, you are overwhelmed; did you forget what today is?”

Mirabel’s eyes went wide. “Birthdays! Oh my gosh! Oh Antonio, I promised to…”

“Slow down there little missy, Issa’s got that handled. Just wait ‘til she shows you what she learned to do with her Gift. Besides, I need you to help with breakfast. There is no way I was gonna let Issa help…probably poison us all.” Luisa laughed as she opened Mira’s closet, pulled out her clothes and laid them on the bed. “I’m gonna head downstairs, Dolores is already making the coffee and juice. See you in a few minutes.”

Luisa left, so Mirabel got dressed and pulled her unruly hair into a kerchief. As she was leaving, she noticed the picture on the inside of her door had changed. The little tree was a bit bigger. The tiny leaves she saw last night were now fully formed. There was no change to the bigger tree, and the butterflies were in the same spots as before. Papá had said Casita was trying to show her something about her future, but she still had no idea what. That made her look at Abuela’s door. It was open, but she was not there. The floor bounced her lightly and she remembered what she was supposed to be doing and hurried down to the kitchen.

_______________________________

Alma woke to the sound of several rats squeaking near her. She sat up and remembered she was in Bruno’s room. She looked out the nearby window, it was a beautiful day. So, she turned back to the high-backed chair and looked again at the rats atop it. They appeared to be waving at her, and Alma’s heart sank. She hurriedly got up and went around the chair. Bruno was awake, but his hands were shaking terribly and Alma remembered the teacup, it was here last night. Maybe there was still some draft left that Julieta had made the night before. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on the cup. She rushed over to it and saw that Bruno had not drunk all of it.

She picked it up with unsteady hands, almost spilling its contents as she came around in front of him and held the cup to his lips. Bruno took a sip, and the trembling eased enough for him to take the cup from her. He drank the rest and let out a relieved sigh and relaxed and said with a mirthless grin, “I’m gonna have to have Juli bottle that stuff.” Alma sat heavily onto the sofa and took a few deep breaths to calm her own nerves.

“I’m alright now Mamá, thank you,” Bruno said and stood up. He walked over to the desk and pulled out the sketches he had made the night before. He paused, looking at something there. He slowly closed the drawer and instead of returning to the chair, Bruno sat next to her on the sofa. Alma stared at him in disbelief but smiled and so did her son. It was a wry smile, but not a forced one. He handed her the sketches and said, “Sorry, I got a little carried away once I got started.”

Alma took them with a quivering hand, but she couldn’t really look at them. The tears were coming, tears for all the remembered pain she had caused him. There were not enough words for her to say, or even to try to mend that rift. She had all but broken her only son. Forgiveness was truly impossible. A tear dripped onto the paper, then another. Her head came up when Bruno put one arm around her shoulder and the other on her hands, and he said very gently, “We’ll get through this, Mamá. From the beginning, yes?”

They sat like that for a while until Alma took a deep breath and nodded. She handed him back the sketches and said as she dabbed her eyes and cleared her throat, “I think we will do this tomorrow. Your sobrinos are preparing a surprise for you and your hermanas this morning.” Alma rose from the sofa and said, “I am supposed to be helping them.” She paused as she looked at his door, what she noticed made her smile. She turned after opening it and said, “Ten un buen cumpleaños, Brunito.”

“Gracias, Mamá, lo haré.”

Alma returned to her room, but paused as she passed through Mirabel’s portion. Casita had made a point of reflecting all of Mira’s many talents in its construction. The floor, walls and ceiling were unusual, though. Alma could see the edges of the Encanto’s building peeking out from the edges of the rug, but she had no time to investigate that now. She went to her bedroom and changed into her regular clothes and went down to the kitchen.

Half expecting there to be chaos, she was pleasantly surprised to find everything was going smoothly. She watched from the door as Luisa directed the activity. They all did what she asked quite promptly. Alma noted Issa’s absence and was relieved. That one could not be left to watch over anything that would be eaten. She was likely with Antonio, as he was missing also. Mirabel was making arepa’s and keeping an eye on the sausages while they cooked. Camilo was ladling something into some baking dishes, while Dolores was cleaning strawberries and chatting with Luisa as she set the table. All in all, they did not actually need her, she was about to turn back to the plaza when she heard Dolores say, “Good Morning, Abuela.” The other’s turned, and they too smiled and said good morning to her.

“Come sit, Dolores has made your coffee already,” Luisa said and turned to pick up the cup Casita had filled. She set it delicately on the table that was near the window overlooking the patio. Luisa did a quick double take and said, “I mean, if you'd like to, Abuela.”

Alma came over to the small table and laid a hand on Luisa’s arm, “Thank you, Luisa. I think I will do that; you have everything well in hand, and the aguapanela smells delicious, Dolores.” She sat down and everyone returned to their tasks. Luisa moved over to the stove to check on the eggs that were boiling.

Alma sipped her coffee and she realized that Camilo was putting a cake in to the oven. She had not realized he had an interest in cooking. Eating, yes, but cooking? Once all the baking dishes were in the oven, he went over to where Mirabel was and snitched a few fresh arepas from the top of the stack. Mirabel waggled a wooden spoon at him, but she was smiling as she asked, “So what kind of cake is it?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Really?”

“No, I’m making a Tres Leches. Tía’s own recipe.”

“Oh wow, that one has so many steps, how do you keep them all straight without a recipe card?”

“With magic, of course,” and he quickly shifted from himself to Julieta and back again. Mirabel laughed, then realized the arepas were burning. She removed the finished ones and flipped the rest with practiced ease.”

Abuela lost track of them as she turned to look out the window and wondered again. Just how far away were the people in the mountains. Maybe they should search, but she knew without an idea of which way to look, it was likely they would not be found. She reminded herself that they could look for those answers tomorrow. Casita’s tiles were tapping a happy tune on the nearby windowsill, and Alma closed her eyes and remembered birthdays long ago with a mixture of sorrow and joy…it almost seemed like yesterday.

_______________________________

Julieta awoke to the smell of freshly brewed mint tea and smiled at the man who was ever so carefully setting it on her bedside table.

“Happy Birthday, mi amor,” he said, sitting on the bed next to her. “I’m going to tell you now; you are not allowed to leave this room until breakfast is ready,” Agustín said and helped adjust her pillows as she sat up. “I, too, have been told I also may not enter.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I am to use all means necessary…” he leaned in close and added, “So you know what that means, right?”

“Do I?”

Agustín leaned in closer and said, “It’s time…to…make a sandwich.”

Julieta pushed him playfully and said, “You’re so weird.”

“Admit it, woman, you like weird.”

“So, I do.”

_______________________________

Félix awoke to the sounds of drawers being opened and closed with gusto. He sat up to find his wife going through the contents of several with little care to where things were landing. Luckily, Casita caught the tossed items into a basket and Félix got out of bed. His robe flew by, and he snatched it from the air and pulled it on. Pepa’s cloud was steadily getting darker, and she was just about to start on the closet when he asked, “What are you looking for, mi vida?”

There was a low peal of thunder. “My favorite hair tie,” Pepa said and opened the closet.

Félix gently took her elbow and turned her toward the mirror. Pepa paused long enough to look at her reflection, the cloud dissipating as she touched the tie in her hair. There was a knock on the door, so Félix opened it to find Bruno standing there with two cups of coffee. He handed one to Félix and offered the other to Pepa, who took it and settled onto the sofa nearby and said, “Thank you, Bruno and Happy Birthday.”

“You’re welcome, and Happy birthday to you hermana,” he said and turned to go so Félix began to close the door, but Bruno stopped him when turned around and asked, “Mass is still at noon?”

Pepa choked a little at the question, but nodded.

Bruno nodded, then left, saying, “Well, see you at breakfast.”

Félix closed the door and turned back to his wife, who was sprinkling into her coffee. He sat down next to her and Félix saw she was smiling.

“Did not see that coming,” Pepa said and took another sip of her coffee, making the cloud above her head evaporate.

_______________________________

Isabela, Antonio, and Parce walked along the wooded path just west of Casita. Parce was walking slowly, so Issa could keep up and help Antonio balance the foot long stick with a few sad-looking leaves on it. They stopped in a glade near a small stream and Antonio announced that Parce needed a drink. They sat under the large oak there until Parce finished. Issa took the stick from Antonio as he climbed back up on the jaguar.

“Thanks for helping me find this, Issa,” Antonio said, taking back the stick.

“You’re welcome, primo pequeño,” she said as she stood, “I’m glad I could help you out.”

“What’s the stick’s name again…plumberi…?”

“Plumeria rubra, and it’s actually a flowering tree.”

Antonio looked at the stick dubiously. “How big will it get?”

“If we take care of it properly, it will grow to be quite tall.”

“Why not just use your Gift to make it bigger?”

“Yes, I could do that, but then we would miss the chance to watch it grow and see all the changes it has to go through to make its beautiful flowers.”

“Oh, I never thought of it like that.” Antonio said and brightened. “I saw the flowers you made for Mira’s door last night. They were so pretty, and they smelled good too.”

“Thank you, Toni, you were up late then.”

“I was asleep, but Tío Bruno’s friends woke me up, so I could get Mamá.”

“Is that when you went into your room?”

“Yeah, that was fun too! When I touched the doorknob, it was like the magic was giving me a hug…and it tickled.”

“That sounds wonderful, Antonio.” Isabela said. Dolores had said, she was extremely nervous about opening her door and probably would have stood there until morning if her mother had not come along. When she finally did, she said that it felt like Casita or maybe the magic was trying to understand what she needed. Luisa said something similar. Issa was mildly jealous in that moment; she had just plowed into her room, barely stopping to look at her door.

They were within sight of Casita now, and she heard Parce let out a low growl. Antonio responded with, “Oh, okay, Parce.” And hopped off the jaguar's back. “I will see you after breakfast.” The jaguar huffed and disappeared back into the forest.

As they neared the house, Casita opened the door and both heard the clatter of activity in the kitchen.

“’Bout time you two got back,” a voice said nearby.

Issa turned and waved to her Tío Bruno and said, “Buenos días Tío, feliz cumpleaños.”

He was in the hammock near the door, swaying slightly as he balanced a mug of coffee, as Antonio’s coatimundi hopped off onto the floor and greeted her tiny cousin. Issa smiled when Antonio shoved the stick into her hands and ran over to Bruno.

“Tío Bruno, you’re better!” Antonio said, “I was really worried last night. Papá said you would be okay. I’m glad he was right.”

Bruno cocked an eyebrow and nodded. “I am,” he said as he swung out of the hammock and knelt, so he was eye level with him. “You did your Tío a solid last night. Thank you, Tonito.” Antonio was all smiles now. Bruno stood up and said to Issa, “I have instructions to collect my sisters upon your return. You have returned.” He turned to go and Antonio grabbed his free hand, Bruno shrugged, and the pair headed toward the stairs, Antonio regaling him of his morning adventures.

This was how Issa always remembered him. As a kind and giving man, who loved his family more than anything else. When he disappeared, she worried for months, then it was years. Slowly losing bits of her memories of him as she strove to be perfect. Well, back to the present, she thought, holding the cutting out in front of her. She wasn’t sure how, but she could tell there was still some life in this slightly dried up stick. Isabela was tempted to make it bloom, but decided against it. Instead, she set the stick next to a pot on a nearby table and attempted to create a garland of plumeria. It was turning out to be a little trickier than she expected. Most flowers had flexible stems…the plumeria had wooden branches. Her first few attempts looked a little too wild, so she discarded them. When the next one turned out about the same, she realized she was trying to make the plant/crown, which was actually stunning as it was, conform to her desires for it. A dangerous thing for a recovering perfectionist. She draped the garland on the table and headed for the kitchen to see if there was something she could do to help.

Next Chapter:

Previous Chapter:

[rpsocsandcanonohmy]

“Right. Okay....” Mirabel sat on the bed and pat the mattress for Esmer to do the same. “You’ve already met my tío Bruno.”

“Y tu madre,” Bruno cut in.

“Okay, so that’s Julieta. Did she already show you what she can do with food?” Esmer was going to have to learn about the magic eventually, especially with Pepa and Luisa. May as well get it out of the way.

Everyone had gone to bed for the night. The dinner dishes had been cleared away, the rats were scurrying to their holes in the wall, and even Bruno was attempting to sleep.

But Casita still had work to do. After all, the house wasn't just loyal to the Madrigals; they had to take care off the whole of Encanto. So the back door was propped open just enough for someone in need to notice and a small, inviting fire was lit in the hearth. Just in case anyone needed it.

Esmer did notice, but was really unsure about this whole thing. Still, he was desperate as he was raggedy at this point. So he slipped in, carefully, through the door toward the fire. It wouldn't hurt to rest himself just a few minutes right? Then slip right out. No one would notice.

He made it to the hearth, collapsing and laying down in the gentle warmth. Just for a few minutes. Then he'd need to go find somewhere else for the night, not bothering these people that lived here.