(Really happy with these faces, esp Lysander's)

Willow: Slumber
“Those are elementalists,” I whisper to Maple and Lily, “You can tell by the clothing they wear.”
“So these are the opponents you can duel to resurrect grandmother?” Maple asks, coming off as rather skeptic.
“Yes, that’s right. I think it’s too late to start a duel now, so let’s go over to them and make friends?”
Lily perks up. “You want to make friends with someone who you plan on fighting later?” It doesn’t sound like she understands what I’m doing, but I don’t want to come off as manipulative. She’s so young, anyway.
“I think that’s the best approach to do it,” I reply, “A duel is kind of like playing a card game. You like playing games with your friends, right, Lily?” She grins and nods.
Maple faces me. “Except this isn’t a game to you,” she states, “is it?” We both know it’s not actually a question she’s asking me. I am determined to get Grandma back. I don’t understand why she has to be so upfront about my methods.
“You’re right, there’s more to it than that.” I look toward Lily. “Hey, Lily, have you ever heard of gambling?” She shakes her head.
Without missing a beat, Maple chimes in. “Willow, where are you going with this? Do not encourage gambling in front of your younger sister!”
“Just let me make my point, okay?” Maple huffs. “Sometimes people put money into a game. Like, let’s say we play hide and seek and we both put five silver coins on the line. The winner gets to keep their coins, the loser gets the other’s coins.”
Lily wags her fluffy tail. “I don’t get it, that doesn’t sound very fun.”
I nod. “It’s sort of like that, except the loser doesn’t lose anything. The winner gets a prize, instead. If I win enough games, I get my wish. If someone else wins enough games before me, they get their wish instead. It’s like that. We’re not so much opponents as we are playmates.”
Lily nods a bit. “I think I get it…”
Maple pats Lily. “We don’t play like that at home, though, because it can hurt people’s feelings. How would you feel if a game that was meant for fun made you feel bad for losing?”
Lily shakes her head. “I wouldn’t like that at all…”
“See,” Maple continues, although I can’t quite tell where she is going with her analogy, “The game Willow will be playing will be like that. If someone loses, they won’t feel good about it.”
I interrupt. I have to. “Okay, but I won’t lose. And grandma is more important than some hurt feelings, anyway.”
Maple huffs again. “Willow, that’s…” She pauses, then sighs. “I’m not going to talk about this with you this late at night. Let’s just see if we can’t set up camp and maybe get some food before we go to sleep.”
I can’t disagree with her, there. I’d rather stop talking about this and get ready for bed, too. We approach the camp and introduce ourselves to the other campers. They’re a friendly bunch, and they invite us to share a meal with them.
“These are fantastic,” Maple sighs as she bites into a bun. It seemed they had enough for each of us to eat one.
I decide to get to the point. “I’d love to duel you two tomorrow, if that’s alright.” Cutlass and Lysander nod.
Cutlass leans toward me and asks, “I’m curious, what’s your story? Lysander is trying to get their home back and I’m trying to learn more about elements and make friends. What are you coming out here for, if I may ask?”
I look down to the ground. I need to talk about this, but it’s hard to know where to start. Maple begins trying to explain for me.
“Our grand-”
I interrupt her. “Please,” I beg, “I know you’re trying to help, but could I answer this myself?” She leans back, seemingly giving me room to speak.
“Thank you,” I continue, “As Maple was saying, our grandmother was… well, she was taken from us. And I want to get her back.”
Cutlass signs to Lysander, and they both seem shocked. Lysander asks a question and Cutlass interprets it. “Lysander asks who took her? If we team up, maybe we can save her.”
“It’s not that easy,” I respond, “It’s… well, it’s complicated.” I can feel Maple glaring at me. I’m just thankful she isn’t speaking up or correcting me.
“Lysander offers his condolences,” Cutlass responds.
“It’s fine,” I reply, “I just need to act fast. We’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning, no offense.”
“None taken,” Cutlass nods, and Lysander also nods.
With that out of the way, I pull out my teapot from our supplies. “I have some good tea that will help us get the rest we need. It’s the best thing for evenings. May I serve it to you all?” The others nod as I heat up the water and prepare the herbs.
“Lysander wants to know what’s in the tea?” Cutlass asks.
“This is a blend of dried raspberries and mint,” I reply, “It provides a very soothing feeling while providing warmth.”
I place cups in front of me and pour five cups of boiling tea. Lily reaches for a cup, but I block her with my arms.
“Oh, careful, Lily, it’s too hot to drink right now! You wouldn’t want to burn your tongue or spill any on your clothes, would you?” Now that my body is over the cups, it is time for me to act. In my right paw is a vial of sleeping powder, and I sprinkle some in four of the five cups. “Alright, I think they’ve cooled down enough. I’ll hand you each your cups.” I pass everyone their cups, making sure to leave the clean cup for myself. Judging by how everybody is acting, it seems as if my act went unnoticed.
We all drink from our cups as we drift into the night. I put in just enough powder to ensure a sound sleep, so I decide to initiate the sleeping routine. “Aah, well I think I’m done for the night. Thank you, Lysander and Cutlass, for inviting us for dinner!”
Lysander grins and nods, then yawns, making their way to their tent.
“I look forward to facing you tomorrow,” Cutlass winks and gives me a thumbs-up.
I head to my bed and go to sleep. I have an alarm to wake me up before the others’ powder wears off. Once I wake up from a good sleep tomorrow, I can begin.