Aegis woke up to the smell of eggs and butter.
The cot was empty beside her. Talia's side was cold, which meant she'd been up for a while. Aegis pulled on a shirt and pants, then padded barefoot down the hall toward the kitchen.
She stopped in the doorway.
Talia was standing at the stove next to Lisannia, holding a pan with both hands and staring into it with the same intensity she usually reserved for combat. Lisannia had one hand on Talia's wrist, guiding the angle of the pan.
"Now flick. Quick, from the wrist."
Talia flicked. The egg flopped over, mostly intact, with only a small piece of white folding under itself.
"That's wrong," Talia said.
"That's breakfast. Nobody's grading you."
"It's lopsided."
"Aegis will eat it lopsided."
Talia frowned at the egg like it had personally insulted her bloodline.
[My wife, who can freeze an entire lake solid, is losing a fight to an egg.]
