#Title means “Way of Operating” aka “Zarya's routine”

[ascendancy-echoes]

Interlude: Modus Operandi

Zarya knew she was special. Her mom and dad said so. Dad called her his little star and he was always smiling at her, even when his head hurt or he felt sick and was too tired to play. Sometimes he and her mom got frustrated but they always said sorry and tried to explain things to her.

As far as Zarya could remember, certain people in her life were very different from most. Mom always had a warm glow around her, like a fire in their hearth. Dad always had rainbow sparkles and shadows around him the way trees made spotty shadows on a sunny day.

Her uncle and aunt also shimmered and sparkled. The flickers of sparks around Uncle Crono reminded her of a distant thunderstorm while Aunt Marle and cousin Liz reminded her of a snowy field on a sunny day, sparkling and foggy. Zarya liked cousin Oren’s sparkles. It was like a misty rain all around him. She thought it was funny how he never got wet from the rain only she could see.

Of course, she had sparkles too. It was fun to flap her hands and watch the swirls of iridescent sparkles flow around her.

Everyone else didn’t sparkle and Zarya always wondered why. She just couldn’t find the words to ask.

One day, she saw someone glance into the library and they had black air, like dark smoke and black downy feathers around them. Zarya remembered she wanted to follow them, curious who this new person was. She would have followed if her mom and dad hadn’t stopped her. Then Dad got sick and they had to go home.

For some reason, Dad got sick a lot after that day.  Zarya grew bored and frustrated that she didn’t get to visit the castle as much as she wanted.

“Go to the castle?” was constantly met with “We’ll see.”

Zarya knew that “We’ll see” was really “Not today and we won’t tell you when we’re going because we don’t know yet.”

Zarya preferred routine. It was safe and made sense. Routine wasn’t as routine these days. It was worrisome. So she made her own routine.

First, wake up nice and early so the day could start. Next, put on her favorite green dress (with pockets) and comfy boots. Then, read all the books in the living room. Once mom and dad were awake it was time for breakfast. Then, if dad wasn’t sick, he went to work at the castle.

After that, the day pretty much consisted of Mom teaching her things like “math” and “writing”. Zarya liked writing but not always what or when Mom wanted. Math was also fun sometimes. There were patterns to numbers. Something routine.

Lunch usually meant a sandwich because Mom wasn’t that good at cooking. She got distracted easily. Dinner was sometimes fun because if Dad wasn’t sick, Zarya could help out and Dad was the best cook. He taught her songs and they would sing together while they cooked. Otherwise it was sandwiches again and no singing (Mom couldn't sing very well). Zarya didn’t mind sandwiches and quiet.

The afternoons in between lunch and dinner were the most un-routine times for Zarya. Maybe Mom would take her to the castle to see Dad and her cousins. Sometimes Mom would be busy in the workshop on their property and kinda forget the world around her unless Zarya reminded her. Zarya didn’t mind much because she liked reading or drawing quietly and just enjoying being with her mom on those days.

One day, Zarya followed her kitten Maia into her parents’ bedroom. She usually wasn’t allowed in there alone but there was nothing unsafe about the room, so Zarya figured it was okay once in a while. Maia somehow got on top of her parents’ bookshelf and Zarya wanted her to come down and cuddle in her lap.

“Maia come cuddle?”

Zarya moved a stool over to the bookshelf and climbed up to coax her cat down. Maia meowed at her from the top shelf. As Zarya reached for Maia, the cat leapt down. That’s when Zarya spied the book that Maia had been sitting on. Carefully, she pulled it off the shelf and looked at the cover. There was no writing on the outside but a quick peek inside showed it was some sort of picture book.

“Zarya? It’s time to go to the castle,” her mom called from downstairs.

Zarya slipped the book into her messenger bag and ran down the hall and stairs to her mom. Maybe she could ask her cousin Oren to read the book to her. He was a really good reader and the smartest person she knew besides her parents.