Vellatra hummed as she stirred the pot. The air was thick with the smell of fresh Fruit of Darkness. Nabikio came in as she was ladling jelly into a clay jar.
"Mom, what's the Creeping Horror?" he asked.
Vellatra turned to look at him, still ladling jelly. "It's a terrible sickness," she said. "Where did you hear about it?"
"Izak said his brother had it," said Nabikio.
CRASH.
"Are you okay, Mom?"
"I..." she looked down at the mess that used to be a pot of jelly. "His parents were letting him just run around?" she suddenly asked, looking back up at Nabikio.
"Well... it kind of looked like he'd run away, but then his dad found him and dragged him home." He looked down at the mess. "Are you okay?"
"Y...yeah," said Vellatra, taking off her apron and trying to wipe up the jelly. "Just... go tell your sisters you're not allowed to leave the house right now. No friends over, either."
"What did we do?!" Nabikio cried.
"It's not a punishment," Vellatra said gently. "We just need to be safe."
"Okay, Mom." Nabikio walked into the bedroom he shared with his sisters.
"Where's the green headband?" asked Veelia.
"Here," said Aileev, tossing it over. Veelia picked it up and put it on her rag doll.
"She's ready for the party!"
"Hey," said Nabikio. "Mom doesn't want us leaving the house. Can I play with you?"