Fine Feathered Friends

Weak early morning light filters in from the large paneled windows on the garage door and dust motes float lazily in the sun beams. They are disturbed by a tiny gust of wind as feathered wings flap restlessly behind one pale humanoid figure. Their eyes squint minutely behind the glare of their eyeglass lenses. They turn around to face their extremely busy companion. Their confusion is writ evident on their face and their head tilts as they examine some sort of machine? Their best friend is working on.

"So.... What's this for anyway?" Sky questions from their spot on top of a wooden-work table. Their talons hit the wooden legs with a clack and their calves bounce back after their feet do. They watch Miranda fiddle with some wires on the motor that she's working on.

She's also sitting down, but in a chair so that she is not towering over her creation, or over her best friend. She sits with a ramrod straight posture and her legs would be curled under her if that position were comfortable to do in the chair that she's currently sitting in. Miranda is sucking absently on her necklace that her mother gave her back when she was still alive. Her mother, not Miranda. Miranda will always be alive, she will never die and she shall always embody Life herself. The Woodland elf's vines move purposefully around her with precise, graceful movements. She maneuvers the intricate machinery and wires in ways that are completely baffling for Sky.

The Siren waits for a while before they receive a response to their inquiry. Their head tilts minimally as they're enraptured by Miranda's vines and plant-tendrils moving around her fluidly. Sky hums a bit in the near silence, broken only by their hums and Miranda's movement of machinery around them. Sky waits a while longer for Miranda to organize her thoughts and verbalize them into word form.

Their legs bounce all the while, patience was a virtue that they wish they had and didn't have to work at actively, but their mind has other ideas. However, they are extra-patient with children, and people that they care deeply for. Obviously Miranda fits in the latter category as they both have reached adult development for their species a while ago. Although, Sirens are meant to develop faster than other species, but then eventually stop aging at around their mid-thirties. If the current culture that they exist in weren't so stuck on youth being attractive, maybe Leslie, Nina, and Sky could physically age past that point.

Finally the elf answers. Without looking up, but after spitting out her necklace, Miranda says: "It is a.... motor. For a car. Of sorts... Pass me the.... Phillips head screwdriver. Please." Miranda puts her hand out, palm up.

The Siren startles at Miranda speaking suddenly. Then, Sky scrambles to both remember which one that is and to find one. They lean towards the giant hodgepodge pile of screwdrivers and other various tools on the wooden table next to them. This is not the kind of chaos that the deity of Chaos, Sky, enjoys. It is also the antithesis of what would be expected of Miranda as the Goddess of Order and Life. The two are opposites in a great number of ways, their magical fortes just scratching the surface.

"Uhhh, that's the plus-sign one, right? I always forget. Wait! Yes, I'm right! The other one is called a 'flat head' screwdriver! Duh! But of course!" They question with a face-palm, half-attending and fully digging through piles of screwdrivers; a few clatter noisily onto the garage floor. "I found them!" They grab a few of the correct types and tilt their head taping their lips with one clawed finger. "But what size do you need?" They ponder aloud.

Miranda finally turns away from her work to browse through the screwdrivers that Sky has chosen. They are clasping a multitude of Phillips head screwdrivers in all of their six hands. Some tumble out of Sky's hands, and they clang to the hard floor. The leftovers branch out from between their fingers at odd, uncomfortable appearing angles. Sky sends Miranda a proud grin and they sit up straight on the table-top.

They space out and their grin drops minimally as they wait for the elf to process their statement. Sky's legs jiggle idly and they bob their head side to side as if dancing clumsily to unheard music. Which must be heard in their head. They begin to sing, their feet and calves banging in time to the lyrics.

"This one should do." Miranda comments while plucking one from their hand. She peeks up at Sky and flashes them a quick, close-mouthed smile with her eye still looking downwards, not quite meeting Sky's. "Thank."

"Welk!" Sky stops singing and chirps back at her with a beam. Miranda nods minutely and turns around. She becomes absorbed in her work yet again. Sky pats their hands on their thighs; their gaze darts around at the mechanical clutter surrounding them. Sky rapidly becomes bored in the silence, they don't talk, not wanting to interrupt Miranda from her work.

They quickly hop up and off of the table that they were just sitting on. They land clumsily with a crash and some soft, but creative curses. The word 'bollocks' thrown in there for good measure. They must've recently spent a good time at their brother's office. They never know what to do when on a break from work due to school being out. But, at least they can curse all they want now!

"Okay this is fun, but, I'm gonna go harass or bother uhhh someone, Nina probably seeing as she's not here right now! Or maybe Circe? Whomever I run into first and isn't busy honestly! Good luck with your engine-car! Love you miss you nigh' night! Bye!" Sky shouts as they burst from the garage with a wave. They only bump into a few things and walls along the way and their tail swishes behind them. Sky does not wait for a 'good bye' from the other as they dash away with a few resounding thumps.

"Love you miss you nigh' night." Miranda calls sadly after them. Her eye flits to the spot where Sky's voice originated from, and her pointed ears droop. She brushes the hair out of the membrane that covers her empty eye socket on the other side of her eye. She pulls her head-vines into a fluffy ponytail and ties it off with a hair tie. Her deep green eye re-focuses on her work and she gets back to work. She telekinetically organizes the fallen and originally disorganized tools on the work table next to her and continues her work. Her pointed ears resume their natural, neutral positions as she gets sucked into the early morning project.

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Sky crashes down the hallway that leads out of the garage that they were just in. They then clack through the parlor, waving silently at Matsuri, a blond vampire, and Thrasher, a black-haired Eldrich demon, both of whom sit at the upright piano. Sky seems surprised to see them out of their room if their wide eyes are anything to go off of. They don't appear to expect a response from the two, but they get one from Thrasher anyway as he waves with a small smile.

Matsuri has earplugs in both pointed-ears, his long, tan fingers press methodically on the keys.

On the couch next to them is a pile of four men. Matt, a Draconic man is braiding his long, straight black hair. His scaly wings flapping idly behind him; he has to maneuver his clawed-hands around his sharp horns which are curled, as is common for 'females' of his species. Anno, another Draconic man, is sprawled out across his lap, resting his head on his own squishy arms. His head lolls to the side and he absently pets the arm of one of his boyfriends: Savyor, an incredibly tall Woodland-Elf man, sits with a ballerino posture. Anno's horns are also curved. He scratches at a cluster of scales on his otherwise human-smooth cheek as he listens to another one of his romantic partners. A short, chubby, Faeron, a male fairy, with blue and green dragonfly wings, Phill, prattles on about something. Phill's antennae bob animatedly as he gestures throughout the story. He stops when he notices the Siren. He cheers loudly and Matt covers his membranous ears.

Sky and the four men exchange pleasantries with each other. I wonder why a lot of the people in our house are dating in sets of four? Sky wonders thinking about the quartet of her four best friends, and the men on the couch. They share simultaneously casual and short small talk. Thrasher joins in, and Matsuri does not.

Matsuri is Savyor's brother, Sky assumes that they have already greeted each other via their usual head pat and 'hello brother'. The vampire's hands are no longer on the piano, but flapping frantically as he hums tunelessly with a small smile. Although he does not engage in the conversation, he appears happy to be there.

Sky finally bids them all farewell as the sun settles midway in the sky. They transition into the living room from the parlor. Their talons clack noisily across the tile as they skip and their tail bounces around behind them.

They faintly feel the red, spiky, familiar aura of one of their best friends as they enter the room, but soon Sky becomes captivated by the lagomorphs interacting adorably in front of them.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be alone!" Circe shouts with good humor as she looks up from her phone to greet Sky as they make their way to the living room. Sky is standing stock still and staring at the Sirens' rabbit-bird familiars grooming each other. Sky startles at Circe's voice, even though they definitely felt her aura around them in the room. And also through the wards that they and Mariah have placed all over and outside of the house. Huh. Must've been distracted by the rabbits again. Circe muses amused.

"You're not supposed to be alone either you hypocrite!" Sky says distractedly and sternly with a smile, still engrossed in watching Sapphron, their Rex rabbit and peacock mix, clean the head of Leslie's familiar, Oregano, a Netherland Dwarf rabbit and Large Niltava mix. Nina's familiar, Rosmary, an English Lop rabbit and Raven mix, rests with her feet sprawled out behind her, her furry belly flat on the tiled floor. Sky softly creeps closer to them in attempts not to scare them, but to also see them better.

All of the rabbits' ears perk up, but when they notice it's Sky, and not an actual threat, they relax again. Although, logically, they should be terrified of the powerful beings around them, they aren't. These weird little predatory-ish prey animals are accustomed to both Sky and Circe. Sky slowly kneels in front of them with adoration writ large on their face.

"You! Are! All! Soooo cuuuute!!" They coo shrilly and softly with their top set of hands on either side of their cheeks, Sky quietly verbal stims by saying 'Saph de Waph' repeatedly and their rabbit, who pays them no mind as he's busy. Circe plops down next to Sky, and she gets the same response from the rabbit-familiars as they gave to Sky. Sapphron rapidly shifts his intense cleaning focus on to Rosemary's long, floppy ears, somehow sensing her through his constantly closed eyes. Circe quickly gazes at Sky next to her, then at the rabbits in front of them.

"Yeah, they are super cute." Circe agrees as she gently bumps shoulders with Sky, they bump theirs back into hers with unintentional force. Sky stops repeating their phrase and looks at Circe, then looks back at the rabbits. Both humanoids giggle as their wings rustle behind them with the motions and their eyes lock for a moment. Circe rubs where Sky hit her.

Sky misses the motion as their eyes drop down and their hands move to their lap. Their bottom set of arms roll up in their blue T-shirt. Sky's gaze shifts back over to staring at the rabbits in front of them.

Circe's eyes rove over to the enthralled humanoid next to her. Her stare roams over Sky's pale, freckled face, she notes that Sky's red glasses have a slight smudge on the left eye, that would likely bother the ever-loving shit out of them if they could see out of that particular eye. Their left eye also has a long since healed-over scar through it that either Miranda or Circe left there from one of the lifetimes that they hated each other. Both of their eyes are molten gold. Their third eye that rests in the center of their forehead is closed and covered in a vertical scar as well. This scar is fresher, pale pink, and puckered at the edges; it has begun to heal through the slow-healing curse Circe placed on it weeks ago. I think it's Miri's turn next to cut that one open again. Otherwise they'll try to scratch it out again. Circe thinks worriedly while idly chewing on the tip of a sharp, dark claw. We should get the knife ready.

"Where's Kitty?" Questions Sky as they look at Circe, she startles out of her reverie because of their quandary with a small jump. Her smoke grey wings flare alarmed behind her. "Oop! Sorry, didn't mean to scare you!" Sky claims, then their eyes narrow in thought. "Are you okay? Your aura got all wonky." They ask the demon-angel. Circe flippantly waves off their concern with an actual hand wave.

"It's whatever, I just got stuck in my own head again." Circe claims with an eye roll and Sky watches her with their eyebrows pulled up and together.

"Was the place that you went to in your head positive or negative?" Sky wonders with a head tilt. Their eyes looking upward in thought. Suddenly, a winged snow leopard brushes against Sky's torso. "There she is! Who's the cutest kitten in the whole entire dimension!" Sky baby-talks, and grins at Circe's familiar while they pet her on the head. The stocky feline chuffs, pleased in response and makes her way to her person. Sky lets their hand drop to the floor as a result.

"Hey Kitty." Circe greets in a detached manner, gently pulling her left top set of claws through her familiar's thick fluffy back fur.

The leopard notices Leslie's familiar Oregano and Kitty spreads out her wings, then flaps them in agitation. Oregano grunts out a growl at her with a thump of her foot, while displaying her predatory-esque sharp teeth and hops swiftly away from Kitty. Rosemary follows her after quickly nuzzling Kitty. As soon as the two female rabbits are gone, Kitty's wings close and she plops her large head directly in Circe's lap, who begins to pet her again.

“Good girl. And to answer you Sky, it was a mostly neutral place. I was just thinking about the fact that we need to cut your eye open again, or closed as the case may be." Circe eventually responds and Sky turns their gaze back on her.

Sky was distracted by the two animals interacting poorly with each other. Sky coaxes their rabbit towards them. Sapphron hops over to Sky who leans their head down for Sapphron to lick their forehead better, as he has to stand up on his hind legs to reach their forehead. Which is quite cute, but likely not enjoyable for him in the long run. Sky grins with their eyes closed and hums contently. Their legs are spread in front of them now, with their feet bouncing on the tile beneath them. Their talons clack satisfyingly and they giggle as Sapphron gives up on licking their forehead and licks their celestial nose instead. They smell a touch of rotting meat when his tongue accidentally finds its way inside their nostril.

"Okay good! Yeah, probably soon! And yours and Leslie's familiars get along about as well as you two do, which is to say, really fucking poorly." Sky says with their eyes still closed, deeply enjoying the love their familiar is giving them. Circe laughs beside them. Sky's eyes open when he stops licking them and hops into their lap. He presents his head, bowed to Sky and shoves it into one of their hands. They gently pet his head, then his ears. Sapphron begins to chatter his teeth in a tooth-purr.

"Yeah, it's really fucking funny honestly."

"I wish you two would get along better though. Honestly! You're both like cats and dogs or whatever, it's ridiculous." Sky states with a level of tired exasperation, a soft smile still on their face as they pet their familiar with their middle set of hands and an upset gesticulation of their top and bottom pairs of hands. Their bottom pair tense in pain as a result of the freshly re-opened and still healing stigma that Sky created there to match the government-given stigmata from lifetimes ago, back when they only had four hands.

"Or like Sirens and Woodland elves." Circe quips with a smirk. Sky snorts a laugh out; Sapphron's ears tilt towards the sound and he stops purring momentarily, then Sky pets him again and it starts up again.

"You two are seriously like angels and demons!" Sky states as they realize what Circe is getting at and chuckles. Circe's smirk becomes a grin.

"Maybe that's why I hate myself?" Circe ponders as her grin drops off her face. Her fingers tap nimbly against her black basketball shorts.

"Because of Leslie? Or the fact that you are both an angel and a demon? And also, stop with your self-depreciation right now! Please." Sky commands firmly and then sweetly, Circe startles. Her musing is interrupted and she turns bashful, muttering out a 'sorry' to Sky, and they nod approvingly.

"I'm not quite sure really." Circe comments, then she thinks about it. "No, actually, I just hate Leslie, she's never made me hate myself." Sky nods in understanding.

"Good, because if she did I would be furious with her! And vice versa! Obviously." Sky says with a hair toss using one of their unoccupied hands, their eyes squint behind their lenses. They obviously don't want to play favorites, but Circe knows that she's Sky's favorite, alongside Miranda. At least, she hopes she's one of Sky's favorite people. They are unusually friendly with many people.

"Obviously. And thank you, you've cured my self-loathing." Circe claims sarcastically and scoffs with an eye roll.

"You're welcome Cirs'! I still don't get why you two despise each other?" They continue. Circe sighs, she's heard something like this from Sky before. They likely understand why, they just don't like that two of their best friends abhor each other. They might as well be saying 'stop it' for as much good as it does. Circe continues to pet Kitty with her top set of hands, her bottom set of hands tap on the sides of her thighs. Sky's feet bounce harder on the tile and their tail feathers splay out behind them.

Circe pulls out her phone from one of her pockets. "Our vibes just don't mesh." Circe asserts offhandedly with a hand wave while not looking up, and Sky nods. There's another reason, but I'm not one hundred percent sure that I feel like telling you that yet. Circe thinks bitterly as she types forcefully to one of her other best friends, a Fennec Fox man named Tex:

Circe: Shit's getting real domestic over here perro. And Sky just asked me why I hate Leslie again. Also, Kitty almost kicked Oregano's ass! :)

Tex(pendejo cabrón) : Lol. Good luck,maybe you'll finally tell em you're jealous of Leslie flirtin' with em all the time today? Instead of your usual BS excuse you usually use? Panocha :P

Circe tenses and growls softly at Tex calling her a pussy. She angrily drops her phone on the floor, it's in a protective case so she's really not worried about it shattering. She's not quite mad enough to break her phone, but it's a close thing. Kitty's head suddenly moves from Circe's lap, and Circe worries that she upset her familiar, but Kitty just huffs and curls herself around the demon-angel, who then lifts up her wings and lies down on the torso of the overgrown kitten with a sigh. She releases her tension with another deep sigh. Circe picks up her abandoned phone, fiddles with something on it, trying to come up with a response, and teleports a black and red fidget infinity cube into her bottom right hand.

Sky twirls their head feathers with their hands that are not bandaged or petting their bunny. Sky worries their bottom lip at Circe's deep exhale. "I suppose that's fair. And who are you texting?" Sky asks warily, they lean and their eyes shift to Circe's phone, not truly reading what she's typing, just seeing that she's typing something on her phone and that she's obviously irate; possibly about what she's writing on her phone. Sapphron has fallen asleep on Sky's lap and Kitty's head is flat on the floor at Circe's side. Her tail lazily swishes on her side, her eyes are at half-mast and she appears close to sleeping as well.

Circe's jaw visibly clenches and Sky reaches out to put their hand on her shoulder with awkward intent to comfort."Who do you think I'm texting? It's Tex." Circe grits out, her fluffy tail flicks behind her in irritation,

Sky quickly retracts their hand before it reaches her shoulder. Kitty lifts up her head to check on her person, then she plops it back down when she determines that no threat is present. Circe forcefully messages Tex back with:

Circe: You're literally the worst! Do you have cameras set up here? I legitimately just told them that! And now they're worried about me, awesome. Great work asshole!

Tex(pendejo cabrón): Nah, you're just super predictable. I'm sorta surprised they haven't figured it out yet! And aww cute!

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

Circe: ¡Vete a la verga! Bye asshole. Talk to you later. If I determine that I still like you. >:(

Circe brutally shoves her phone into one pocket and lets out a strong sigh.

"Oh yeah?" Sky says with little surprise, their eyes wide with concern instead. "How is he doing? Also is he with Al' right now? Miranda wanted to ask him something I think, but I forgot? She could probably text him if she wanted to, but like, she's in the middle of a project, so I doubt she'll remember what she meant to ask him..." Sky rambles and Circe looks sideways at them with an endeared look on her face. Sky startles and their feet stop bouncing as they mentally reach another worry that they have. "Also are you okay?" Sky asks with genuine concern dripping from their voice and a warmth blossoms in Circe's chest.

She pulls out her phone, turns her phone off and puts it down on the floor in front of her. She doesn't know why she still talks to Tex, he knows her too well and exploits her weaknesses whenever he can. Although, she's the same way with him, soon she'll have to tease him about his crush on Alejandro, maybe when he's not with him, or maybe she will when the two of them are hanging out just to spite him.

Sky forcefully throws their back into Circe's torso to get her attention. They look up at her with a sympathetic grin.

"Yeah I'm fine, my Dove. Why do you ask?" Circe lies out of her ass while soothingly stroking Sky's head feathers. She glances at Sky to see if they've bought it, although Sky can be easily fooled for such an intelligent person, so it's likely that they've been convinced. Circe almost feels bad for lying to them. Almost.

"As long as you're sure, then good! I'm happy to hear that!" Sky responds with a look up, flashes a sunny grin and one of Circe's icy hearts melts even more at their warmth.

They're so fucking cute though. Also, where is Miri? I hope she's eaten today. Circe contemplates and watches Sky gently float a still snoozing rabbit back into their lap with their smile fixed on their familiar now.

"Hey, Sky?" Circe questions the Siren in front of her.

Sky looks up from staring and cooing at their precious bunny. Their feathery ears perk up at Circe's voice and they look at her with their head tilted upwards.

"Yes? This is Sky! How may I help you today?" Sky chirps with a pointed grin. Circe's eyebrows furrow minutely at that, then she shakes her head with a scoff.

"Has Miri eaten yet today?"

"Uhhh probably? I'm not sure, she's like part plant and also a grown-ass adult, so I'd assume competence? Likely yes!" Sky thinks for a bit on what they've said with a finger in their mouth, and they continue: "Actually, yes! I remember eating breakfast with her this morning! She had a salad with quinoa and tomatoes or something." Sky shrugs with a nose wrinkle in response to the tomatoes and Circe nods. Sky's top set of hands go numb from continuous petting, so they shift to their middle set of hands to pet Sapphron.

"Well that's good! Also, how the fuck does her being part plant have anything to do with her eating?" Circe questions with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Photosynthesis or something?" Sky states unsure with their top set of palms up, they shrug again. CIrce chuckles, Sky tilts their head curiously at her.

"You know that Woodland Elves don't necessarily photosynthesize just because they have vines with chlorophyll in them, right? Like you haven't started to believe the joke that you've been telling Miranda's brother, correct? Like what are you even talking about right now and why?" Circe asks with worry. Sky vehemently shakes their head, their crest feathers wobbling in response.

"I-- yes? I know that? Also, it's because I'm ADHD, get off my ass!" Sky asserts. "Please?" They ask more timidly. Sapphron's ears twitch in his sleep and Kitty's soft snores fill the silence as she's finally fallen asleep.

"I also have ADHD, you weird egg!" Circe states forcefully, but quietly in attempts to not wake up their sleeping familiars around them. She still emphatically throws her top set of hands up in the air, regardless of how quiet her voice is right now. Sky begins to laugh in response. "Sky, what the shit? Why are you laughing?" Circe's voice pitches up incredulously.

Sky shakes their upper torso then curls up with their head in their hands, they continue to shake with laughter. This lightly squishes Sapphron, thus he wakes up with a small squeak. He stretches, arching upwards, yawning, and hops off towards the other room where his rabbit-familiar peers had gone earlier. Sky pouts slightly at this, then uncurls, sitting in a more upright position. They blink in confusion and upset. Their nictitating membranes flick over their eyes a split-second before their opaque eyelids do.

"Goodbye you soft, wonderful, traitor." Sky whispers despondently in the direction of the bunny.

Circe shakes her head, laughing under her breath. Her torso shakes as her laughter devolves into a hysterical fit. Kitty snorts, and wakes up. She glares at Circe, stands up, and saunters away, very clearly sick of her person's shaking body not being a good enough blanket any longer. Circe falls a bit backwards before she catches herself from falling.

Sky pulls away from Circe's body while they almost fall too, now facing her. Sky pats Circe's head with a bemused smile, then their eyebrows furrow as Circe continues to giggle. Circe takes a deep breath, stops laughing, and then sits back up.

"Why do all of our conversations turn into incomprehensible bullshit?" Circe says through her laughter-tears. Sky rapidly unrolls the bottom of their T-shirt and looks at Circe with wide eyes. Their eyes rapidly blink.

"What?" Sky asks bewildered, then they process what Circe has said. "Possibly the aforementioned ADHD. And also, like I definitely, five-trillion percent need more sleep. I don't know what your other shit is honestly? I think you might just be broken." Sky says with a grin to soften the blow aimed at their best friend. "And, oh, to respond to your question about why I was laughing before, 'you weird egg', is the second thing that was originally one of my phrases that you've absconded with and used within like, the past two days?" Sky comments with a shrug. Then they turn around and collapse, face up, on top of Circe's lap, who gives a gentle huff in reaction.

Circe manifests her jet black tentacles and runs them through Sky's head feathers. They smile up at her as a result, their eyes crinkle at the corners. Circe swiftly looks away from them, her hearts racing at Sky's open fondness for her.

Sky's legs cross at their ankles, one foot jiggles. Circe summons her infinity cube back into her hand and wriggles her extra inky tentacles around her, relaxed.

"Miri's right." Circe deadpans, her infinity cube clacking quietly as she fiddles with it.

Sky 'hmms' absently. They're fascinated, visually tracking Circe's extra tentacles undulating around in the air. Their tongue swipes across their teeth, then they stick it out a small amount between their two front teeth. Sky lightly bites their tongue, releases it, then licks their lips.

"Wait, she's right? About what? I mean she usually is but...?" Sky asks, looking up at the woman that they're currently using as a pillow. They lift their back up, wiggle and squirm around as they re-adjust their wings, crack their neck, then they plop back down. Their bottom hands brush against the demonic angel's thighs and Circe's breath hitches audibly. Sky's eyes snap back to her. "Are... you okay?"

Circe nods silently with a tight-lipped smile. Her tentacles smooth through Sky's head-feathers, almost of their own volition in attempts to soothe herself.

"I uh... she's right about something? Oh wait! I remembered wrong, she said I was rubbing off on you, not the other way around. Fuck." Circe groans while throwing her head into her hands, after she places her fidget cube down on the floor next to her. Her tentacles stop stroking Sky's head-feathers and they writhe around her on either side of Sky's torso.

Sky spontaneously grabs one that wriggles right by the side of their face, like a frog catching a worm. They don't shove it into their mouth, but it was a near occurrence, and they honestly did want to shove one of Circe's tendrils in their mouth, and run their tongue along it. Just maybe not here, and not now. Right now, they gently run their fingertips and sharp claws along the length of one of Circe's smooth tendrils.

"Watch the tip." Circe comments breathily behind her fingers.

Sky softly hums in assent. The particular tentacle that they're focusing on has a sharp-toothed mouth appear on it. This mouth gently nips at Sky's fingers and they giggle, delighted.

Circe moves her hand over her mouth as she covers up a moan from deep in her throat when, with a hand twitch, Sky accidentally scrapes a razor-sharp claw along her tentacle.

Sky jolts back with a squeak and Circe pulls away her tentacle and they flutter aimlessly around her. The mouth on the one touched by Sky disappears. Sky's hands tremor in the air due to their nerve-damage. They clasp them in their lap in attempts to stop this and numbness creeps up to their fingers. Sky's fingers un-clasp and they flap their hands, secured at the wrists. With another of their unoccupied hands they then grab the end of their ponytail and whip it up and down on their head.

"I'm so, so, sorry Circe!" Sky reacts with a grimace deep on their face. Their feathers on their tail and their wings puff up as they shake them and their hands stop flapping. "You told me not to and my hand slipped and..." Sky finally notices that Circe is essentially unresponsive. "Are you okay?" They ask with their brows lifted up as they gently touch Circe's exposed shoulder. Their pale hand juxtaposes with Circe's deep brown shoulder and Circe jerks back in surprise. Then, she leans her head and torso back into Sky's touch; Sky softly rubs a thumb across her cheek and Circe shivers. Her hands drop from her mouth into her lap and her lips part lightly. Sky's breathing picks up pace and they swipe their tongue across their lips. Circe finally blinks and tenses away from Sky. Sky's hand falls from Circe's cheek and they blush and avert their eyes.

"I... you're fine Sky." Circe responds and rubs the palm of her hand on the back of her neck. Sky's eyes dart back to her face with furrowed eyebrows and a wrinkled forehead.

"That's.... not what I asked? Good I guess?" Sky responds softly with a little chuckle that's barely a breath of air, their fingers twirl wildly through their hair. "Cirs', Doll, are you alright?" Circe nods absently and then shakes her head with a deep sigh.

"Yeah." She states breathily. "Yes I'm fine." Circe continues more strongly, rubbing her bottom pair of hands harshly on her upper thighs, she minds her claws and avoids them. Sky's eyebrows un-furrow, then they send a renewed anxious look at Circe as her aura still hasn't stabilized. The angelic-demon shoves her face into her top set of palms with a groan of "Fuck."

"Fuck." Sky parrots back at her, perfectly imitating her voice with a pat to her head. "Fuck de wuck." They say as an afterthought. Circe looks up through her fingers and chortles at them. Sky's face lights up at this outward expression of Circe's happiness.

"You weirdo." Circe grins and cuffs the top of Sky's head gently, minimally moving their crest-feathers around as she ruffles Sky's hair. Sky's breath hitches and they gulp down a sigh. They rapidly shake Circe's hand off.

"Mind the base!" Sky comments regarding their crest feathers, and curls into Circe's lap.

"That sounds awfully familiar, little Mix 'I shall touch the tip of Circe's tentacles even though she told me not to'." Circe states mock-derisively while running her fingers through Sky's head-feathers, now intentionally avoiding the base of their crest feathers. Sky hums their approval, at her actions or her use of the gender-neutral prefix, it's unclear. It could be both.

"That is a really cumbersome and unfortunate designation honestly! And I'm sorry, you know it was an accident!" They exclaimed, a little distraught. Then, their eyes drift up towards Circe's face. "Though I would do it purposefully if you were into it." They continue tacitly as their eyes flicker away just as rapidly. Circe's eyes widen, she inhales sharply, and she blinks swiftly to re-compose herself.

"Oh! I... Huh?" Circe's eyebrows pinch together with confusion. Then she processes what Sky has said. "Oh. Oh?"

Sky makes direct eye contact with Circe, a smirk graces their features. Circe gazes at them with a gaping mouth, her teeth worry at her bottom lip. Sky's eyes are drawn down towards this movement and the serrated teeth that are exposed due to this action. This compels them to move forward, figuratively and literally speaking.

"Yeah, I'd probably use my tongue and everything. And maybe even gently scrape my teeth..." Sky resumes their thoughts salaciously while they sit up and lean into CIrce's personal space even more. Circe frantically grasps Sky's arms as they reach to touch her face again. They freeze and drop their hand, securing their claws into Circe's thighs with a startled little yelp. They pull their claws out of her legs when they feel pinpricks of her own ichor drip out from her bare thighs. Circe hisses air in through her teeth.

"Hey! Woah woah woah, stop this! You tease." Circe shouts, still clenching onto Sky's arms. Circe's breathing is ragged and her pupils are noticeably rounded.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry! Fuck! Goodness, I need to be more careful!" Sky exclaims with a hand to their mouth, their teeth nervously clamping down on their claws, the Siren absently laps the golden ichor from their fingertips with a softly pleased hum. Coming back into reality, they endeavor to veer away from their best friend, but they fail and flail. Their legs tighten around Circe's hips so as to not fall over and hit their head on the floor. "Fuck. Goddamn it! This isn't helping is it?" They say as they re-affix themselves on Circe's lap in a way that's looser. "That better?" They question, and Circe nods and then shakes her head in quick succession.

"No wait." She responds, lifting Sky up so she's sitting on their lap instead. "Now it's better!" She shoves her head into Sky's chest, which is padded by their chest-feathers.

Sky grasps Circe's cheeks and plants an apologetic kiss on the top of her head. They then try to place their chin atop her head, but remember her horns and think better of it. Circe's throat vibrates with a deep sound, which sounds distinctly purr-like. She pulls her head back and looks up at Sky with a spaced-out look on her face. Her breaths even out with her meticulous care so that she can speak again without excess sounds escaping from her mouth as well.

"What. The hell. Was that?" She hisses at them through gasps. Sky looks taken aback, was she accusing them of making her purr? They push their hair back with a minuscule shudder from accidentally pushing their crest-feathers back.

"I'm not super sure what you're talking about? Me trying to chin you to claim you like a rabbit? Or you purring like a cat?" Sky inquires with a grin that becomes more pronounced as they continue.

Circe inhales and exhales deeply a few times, then she chokes out a laugh. Her hearts are still rabbiting in her chest, but they're slower now. Sky's tail wags in delight. Albeit somewhat slowly due to its ponderousness.

"Yeah that's... huh?"

"You good hun?"

"I suppose I am. Maybe. No thanks to you!" Circe complains and diverts four crimson eyes away from Sky's where they fixate on how Sky's chest patterns shimmer. The eye shapes glint in the setting sun and both non-human humanoids' breathing cycles regulate and even out. "Also I don't purr!" She crosses the top set of her sculpted arms and looks away, her braid tosses over her should with the motion.

"Sure." Sky placates, their tail stops wagging, but they continue to grin while picking the dead ends of their blonde head-feathers. "Also, no mention as to how I chinned you like a rabbit?" They question with a head tilt, their crest feathers atop their head follows the motion. Circe's fidgeting stills and her eyebrows furrow in consternation.

"I'll chin you like a rabbit!" She retorts at last, her eyebrows still bunched together.

"Please do!" Sky replies lightly while thickening the air around them slightly to make it more satisfying to hit their hands against. The floor is the only hard surface nearest to them, and the floor won't do as it's too loud! Circe huffs out a laugh and shakes her head with a devil-may-care attitude. The air around Sky disperses as they decide against hitting it as they might go too hard and hit Circe accidentally. Not again. Sky stares openly at Circe, who notices.

"What?" She rumbles out and jerks back from Sky's lap a tad.

"I love you." Sky says with a sweet smile. The other startles a bit and then smiles back at them.

"I love you too, I guess. Whatever." Circe responds with an eye roll, but she feels her cheeks warm, although it won't be noticeable. Sky feels her blood rush to her cheeks and grins harder knowing that Circe meant it, but was likely embarrassed by the fact. So cute! Eeee! Sky squeals internally. Their hands externally still clasp the sides of their cheeks. Suddenly Sky's ears tilt outwards towards footsteps, their hands drop from their cheeks to gently rest on Circe's thighs. Circe's snow-leopard ears do the same in response to the auditory stimulus. They both sense the well-known pale pink, cloudy aura emanating nearby from the unseen being.

"Hi Miri!" They chirrup with a wave at the elf who is not there yet. Circe laughs lightly through her flat nose.

"You should really wait until the person comes into view before greeting them. It usually startles them when you do it before you could conceivably see them." Circe states matter-of-fact. Sky glances at her with a thoughtful face.

"Ehh, nah." Sky responds dismissively with a mischievous smile. "I'm sure she doesn't mind. Miranda doesn't care about social norms really."

"I know that you do though, so that's why I'm letting you know. But whatever, no keratin off my horns." Circe replies coolly with a shrug and turns bodily away from Sky's face with her arms crossed yet again. Her bottom pair of hands fidgets with the bottom of her shorts.

"Thanks! That's sweet of you!"

"Shut the fuck up." Circe growls back at them.

"I mean it genuinely really and truly though!" Sky's ears droop and their smile disappears and their head hangs as they attempt to defend themselves. "I'm sorry! I know you don't like exposing the fact that you care about others to them." Circe blinks with surprise at them, sometimes Sky is bizarrely perceptive. Sometimes.

"I was just kidding! I promise!" Circe soothes effusively with her hands waving in front of her as much as the limited space between the two will allow. They feel a presence get closer to them as Miranda appears. She looms tall over the two wing-ed humanoids.

"You know I can't interpret that accurately!" Sky shouts exasperatedly with a throw of their top hands in the air. They sigh and send, what they hope is interpreted as an apologetic smile Circe's way. Both Miranda and Circe pat their head. Miranda pulls away. Her hand with long, elegant fingers brings her silver cross necklace from her neck into her mouth. Circe continues to irritatingly pat Sky's head.

"There there." Circe coos with a saccharine voice. Sky shoos her pats away with chaotic hand motions above their head with their top set of hands. Circe cackles loudly at this.

"Asshole." Sky remarks fondly and rolls their slit pupils at Circe's antics. They cross their arms with a small pout that fades quickly. Circe dramatically gasps and throws her hands to her chest.

"How dare you! Also, I thought I was a bitch?" Circe exclaims. And the other two chuckle in response to her exaggerated acting.

"You still are. No worries!" Sky chirps with a side-to-side motion of their head. They then bounce their ponytail with their hand. "Also, how very Leslie of you!" They continue with a mischievous tilt of their lips. Circe's eyebrows furrow and she scoffs at the mention of the purple Siren.

"You're the worst. You know that? Also, I hate you!" Circe growls with little heat at Sky's comparison.

"I know you don't, also it's so fun to rile you up!" Sky sing-songs with an excited flap of their wings. They giggle and Miranda stares at both of them for a beat before verbally engaging with their best friends.

"Hello. Are you two... fighting again?" Miranda says after she spits out her necklace so that she can speak clearly. Her mother used to always get on her about doing that. Old habits die hard.

"Hi Miri!" Sky cheers with a beaming grin up at her, their eyes almost seem to sparkle. "And no! Circe and I don't fight! Never ever ever ever!" Sky tells her with pats on the sides of their thighs to emphasize their point on each of the 'nevers'. Circe wraps her top set of arms around Sky's taut abdomen. Miranda sits down on the floor with her knees under her butt and she adjusts her long skirt as she does so. Miranda processes this for a bit, then tilts her head. Her multitudinous micro-braids swing to the side as well. Only the front lock of hair is braided.

"Sarcasm?" She asks tentatively to confirm her suspicions. Circe gives her a small, proud smile in return.

"Yeah!" Sky cheers again with one fist pump. "Wait no to the fighting bit, we usually are bickering, but not fighting. Unless we're sparring! Speaking of which!"

"Huh? What?" Circe asks distractedly. Miranda makes a vaguely questioning noise around her necklace.

"You ready?" Sky shouts cheerfully as they stand up, their legs bent in a plié of sorts and their bottom hands in fists on their hips. "Let's go spar!" Miranda gracefully rises from the ground where she was sitting before. Circe shakes her head with disdain and a huff as she stands.

"Stop bringing your work voice home. Please." Circe groans from the palm of her hands. Sky sticks their tongue out at her and turns around.

"Okay. I shall not." Miranda answers Circe after she takes her necklace out of her mouth.

"Make me!" Sky taunts after turning to face Circe. Their bottom set of hands clenched at their hips.

"No. I won't do that." Circe comments with a head shake. "Also, usual rules? No biting, decapitation, fire..?"

"No dismemberment." Miranda continues while they head to their home gym.

"Aw man!" Sky complains with a frown. They face Miranda and bump into a wall with an 'ouch', they move on, walking forwards. "Also, no breaking bones. And no stabbing people in the abdomen with your horns. Again, Circe!" Sky shoots an accusatory finger at the angel-demon. Who then puts their bottom set of hands up in a 'fine' manner.

"That was one time! Also, I'm the only one of us with horns!" Circe defends with her top set of arms crossed. She flings her bottom set of arms into the air.

"You're definitely the horniest out of all of us!" Sky comments with a self-satisfied grin at their pun. Miranda snorts and Circe narrows her eyes at Sky. She then smiles back with a little laugh. Sky's grin grows larger at this response.

"Nah, that'd definitely be Leslie."

"Nope! Not necessarily, it's mostly a bid for attention. Like an attention-seeking behavior!" Sky cheers when they remember the phrasing that they wanted to use from one of their Behaviors of Communication courses that they took about three years ago. Circe looks heaven-ward at that, she braces herself for the inevitable info-dump about behaviorism and how it has mostly fallen out of favor in practice and the current research supports the use of cognitive behavioral approach more. The neurologist didn't really care much what therapy treatments her patients got after their diagnosis, she'd just give prescriptions and referrals and be happy she didn't have to deal with the children's parents or whomever again. Circe decides to redirect before the usual rant occurs.

"Aren't all of Leslie's behaviors attention-seeking in nature?" Circe mentions with minimal malice, a genuine inquiry. Not taking the opportunity to bash Leslie for once, as she knew that Sky wouldn't appreciate it in the slightest. And Miri's been getting closer with Leslie too, so I bet she wouldn't appreciate that shit either. Circe thinks derisively. The goddess of Balance hopes that Chaos and Order won't kick her ass too badly today. Although, all three of them are evenly matched, Miranda and Sky have known each other much longer and have fought each other for much longer before Circe came into existence. So, one would think that they could read each other better while fighting

"Yeah most of them! Let's go spar!" Sky redirects as they open the door to the gym in front of them. Both women behind them nod, fortunately Sky is facing them so they can see their responses. "Alrighty then! Let's go!"