- Person A waking up to person B cooking breakfast. Person A hugs them from behind, gives them a smooch and whispers a soft "Good morning" in their ear. Person B smiles and replies with a "Good morning".

Silky had fallen ill this morning.

This came to Chise Hatori's surprise when she woke up on this fateful day, only to find that the brownie wasn't tending to the house like she usually was at this hour. Her delectable breakfast wasn't cooking and the house seemed to have a new layer of dust that was normally rid of by this time. She was rightfully concerned when she found her still sleeping, and only prodded once she was conscious enough to inform her through a gesture of the hand that she wasn't feeling well. Chise assured her she would take care of breakfast as well as the chores around the house until she had enough energy to leave her bed.

"I guess it makes sense she'd catch something after taking care of everyone else for so long," The sleigh beggy mused to Ruth. "I'm surprised it didn't happen earlier."

"She takes good care of herself. It might not be a regular occurrence. But who knows? Maybe it's best she takes one morning off from everything she does."

He sniffed the air and sneezed when some dust came in his nose. She rolled her eyes as she stepped into the kitchen, grabbing the necessary pots and pans to make breakfast this morning. Her familiar watched her keenly as she looked through an assortment of knives and spices, as if she had done this as routinely as Silky did. He morphed into his human form quickly and went right to her side, watching intensely as she grabbed the butter.

"What are you making? Is it going to be what she usually makes?"

Chise tittered. "I don't think I can cook as good as her. I'm just going to make simple eggs, bacon, and toast with some tea. That'll please you, right, Ruth?"

His posture deflated. With Silky's food, he could shove practically everything into his mouth and down it in one go. With eggs and bacon...that was far too greasy and left too much of a mess. He sighed and bowed his head, nodding slightly before retreating to the table. He sat patiently as she began to cook their breakfast. He noticed when she started humming to herself, her voice sounding unusually angelic. By this point, the sun was finally making its appearance through the window, leaving many complimenting strands on her face and appearing to make her green eyes glow.

It was at this moment he noticed Elias walking in through the doorway. Ruth could sense his surprise upon not finding Silky over the stove this morning. He turned his skull to the familiar and dipped his head slightly to acknowledge him. Then he held a gloved finger in front of his muzzle. Ruth complied to his plead of silence and merely watched as the magus crept on the unsuspecting slay vega, who was invested in the tune she was currently humming to not notice.

Chise felt two arms suddenly wrap around her from behind, then the presence of his skull on her shoulder. Quietly, he told her, "Good morning."

He nuzzled the side of her cheek and she turned hot very quickly. She smiled, ignoring the nervous butterflies in her stomach, and replied, "Good morning, Elias..."

He let go of her to observe all of the things cooking, then eyed her from the corner of his socket. She could feel his gaze pressing against her skin as she cooked, then suddenly wondered if she was doing anything wrong. It wasn't that hard to cook bacon and eggs, was it? And she was sure she wasn't burning the toast...wait, did she put any in the toaster, yet? She remembered buttering something-

"Where is the Silver Lady?" He suddenly asked, snapping her out of her panicked daze.

"O-Oh! Well, she wasn't feeling that good this morning, so I wanted to help her out and make some breakfast. I hope you won't mind something simple?"

"Of course not. I was just wondering..."

He turned his skull to find Ruth patiently waiting at the table. He decided to join him by sitting in his usual spot. He grabbed a book he left nearby and began to read its contents while waiting. Chise realized quickly he was missing his morning tea and made him some in his cup, carefully setting it in front of him and smiling when he thanked her. Then she turned back and tended to the food. She can see why Silky does this so often...it feels very peaceful.

Ruth cleared his throat to get the magus' attention at the table. "-So, has she ever gotten sick like this before?"

Elias looked up from the pages, flipping absentmindedly while addressing his question. "Only a few times. She is very clean in nature, and tends to herself when she is feeling unwell."

"How long will it be until she's better?"

"Last time, it took nothing more than a few hours. She is very attentive to her needs. I wouldn't be surprised if we find her up and about in an hour from now."

Chise had been listening to their conversation, and set down a plate of buttered toast with jelly on the table. She couldn't help but grow curious from what she's heard. Were all brownies like this? Or was it just Silky who was able to overcome her sickness so easily? Regardless, she found herself respecting more and more of what she did, and how much work it exactly was to make such a hearty breakfast in the mornings that would fill them until dinner...

She listened as Ruth helped himself to a couple of pieces, then attempted to make conversation in the meantime. "-So, Elias...how did you sleep?"

"Fine. It was new to not wake to you wishing me good morning."

She could feel his gaze on the back of her head. She didn't bother turning around to show him the guilt on her face. "I know, I'm sorry...when I didn't smell breakfast, I was wondering what happened to Silky and I wanted to take care of matters for her."

"I wasn't serious, Chise. But it was quite cold this morning until I stepped in here." He paused for a moment. "-I'm sure the Silver Lady will appreciate you helping out."

"I hope so. I'm, um, sorry this breakfast isn't as good as hers, but this was the best I could do..."

Uncertainly, she placed their plates of food on the table in front of them while fidgeting with her fingers. Ruth made no hesitation to try it while her husband had to spend some time putting his tea aside and his book down. Her eyes were locked on her familiar as he took a bite of both the eggs and the bacon, then turned to her with an unimpressed stare. She huffed before he ever said a word.

"I tried really hard, Ruth, and I know-"

"-Calm down. I was going to say it's good." He stuffed another piece of bacon in his mouth. "It goes without saying that nothing can compare to her breakfast..."

She sighed. "Yeah, you're right." When she turned, she found her husband finally trying his own share. "What do you think, Elias?"

He took a bite of his toast first before trying what was left on his plate. She grew nervous waiting for his reaction, hoping that her cooked meals would suffice for him. She wanted dearly to impress the magus with whatever she did. She was relieved to find his pupils curved slightly, turning to her and bowing his skull.

"-It is very good. A great substitution for this morning. Thank you."

She smiled, taking a seat at the table and grabbing a serving for herself. "That's a relief..."

As she continued to eat her portion of toast, eggs, and bacon, she found that the food wasn't entirely that bad. It was nowhere near as flavorful when crafted by the brownie's hands, but it was good enough that it left her feeling full for the morning and she had no problems finishing it. Even Ruth chowed down on what was left of his bacon, and Elias took his time eating whilst reading the papers. Every so often his eyes would come up and glance at her, and she'd return the gaze with a smile. Despite missing a valued member of their family for the morning, Chise and Elias felt completely at peace.

That was soon interrupted by an audible belch sounded from Ruth, to which Chise started to scold him. As he watched the humorous scene display before him, Elias shook his skull slightly as he continued to read from the papers, extend his arm to hold his gloved hand over his wife's. He soon felt her squeeze back, and smiled to himself inwardly.