Soup Day

  The winged being writhes under their heavy blanket in a futile attempt to get comfortable; the hum of the air conditioner almost too loud in the near silence of their room. Sky's eyelids clench and their brows furrow in frustration at the idea of another sleepless night. They picture themselves pouting as the lights from the street outside and the sounds of motors drift into their room. Why’s it always too bright and too loud for sleep? They imagine yelling at the drivers outside to go home and stop driving past their window. Sadly that image doesn't seem to help as it just reminds them of how quiet and empty it was without the familiar breathing and comforting pressure of their best friends in the bed pressed against them.

Another car whizzes by their window and the noise harshly grounds them back to reality. They sit up holding their head feathers with a groan and one pair of hands on their head. They release a frustrated burst of air magic; the gust ruffles their hair and crest feathers and sends a shiver down their body. They make the gale suddenly fade into a slight breeze that mixes with the one that was created by the whir of the fan. They let it flit around their room. At least now the air is less stifling here. Sky thinks and cracks open their three eyes and the pulse behind them throbs irritatingly and they immediately close them. What the hell is the time anyway? Fumbling with their left hand over the surface of their nightstand and nearly knocking various objects over, they clumsily locate their phone and turn it on. The Siren huffs as it turns on. The sudden light is an unwelcome contrast to the lovely dark behind their eyelids. This brightness is the bane of my damn existence. They open their right eye only, yawn and stretch their smart phone in their hand above their blonde feathered head. Finally it flashed the home screen on and the time of 3:03 a.m. appeared in large, obnoxious, digital numbers. Ah so it took me like four hours to not fall asleep? They flip to their side to free their wings and tail from their uncomfortable position. They lean their head against the large pillow pressed to the wall. They relish the fact that they don't have to illusion to hide their less than human attributes to avoid persecution from humans like they normally do. They stare at their phone for a while before apparently reaching a decision.

Might as well make plans for this morning, or later this morning. They open their messenger app to a group chat. As it loads, they idly flick their tongue over the surface of their front teeth. Then, they stick their thumb-claw in between their teeth. This action appears to help to slightly soothe away some of their annoyance from having to wait for the chat to load way too slowly. Finally it opens and they cheer internally. They grab their glasses from the nightstand and place them on their face after they change head positions to not knock their glasses off. They jiggle their muscular leg and remove their thumb from their mouth so that they could type out a question to Leslie, Nina, Mariah, and Sally. Who were their best friends, and Mariah their sister. Even though they probably weren’t awake they had forgotten to ask them before they forgot. The Siren wishes that Circe were in this group chat too. However, the angel-demon often clashes with Leslie, so it was unlikely that she would be added successfully to any group chat beyond one used for the house updates or one with Sky, Miranda, and Circe in it. Miranda actively refuses to be in any other group chats as they can trigger her anxiety. The current group chat loads in a flurry of messages, Sky's eyes rapidly scanning across the warm hue of the Night Shifted screen.

Pea-Foul [Me] >>> Plum-Done [Leslie], Mother-Goose [Nina], Ba-Ba-Nope [Mariah], and Clydes-Damn [Sally]

3:05 a.m.

Pea-Foul: Hiya friends, I can’t sleep and I’m asking before I forget! Any of y’all want to have a soup breakfast at my house at like before noon tomorrow??

Mother-Goose: Wtf Sky, why are you still up? Go to sleep you precious peacock.

Pea-Foul: Uh insomnia????? You know why Leslie, please.

Pea-Foul: Also I’m sorry if I woke you :c

Mother-Goose: Don’t sass me go to your room! (Also don't be, you're fine to reach out whenever, just don't always expect a response!)

Pea-Foul: I’m Here. Where you at??

Plum-Done: Listen 2 mother birb!

Plum-Done: Also she’s n bed with me @ her house ;)

Pea-Foul: Gross :c Why are you like this! Also you’re not my real dad!! And no one is answering my question?? Please come here when possible and bring soup! Also, this whole family thing we do is super middle school?? Only Mariah is related to me!

Plum-Done: Well then! OUCH MY FEELINGS :p Also Nina n I will come be there at 9, not sure bout Sally n Mariah as theyre @ Sally’s. Cant we make soup @ urs?

Pea-Foul: Haha nope, I have no food here!

Plum-Done: As in no food @ all or none that is the Good TextureTM?

Pea-Foul: Yes?

Mother-Goose: Bringing soup! Also why no food babe? :(

Pea-Foul: Savyor and Anno are on vacation and I haven’t asked anyone to drive me to get more. Thank you beeb!! <3333

Mother-Goose: So you haven’t eaten or taken your meds in how long?? <333

Plum-Done: Stop being gay u 2

Mother-Goose: We are literally cuddling you lesbian

Mother-Goose: Like romantic cuddling

Pea-Foul: Huh interesting! And Leslie "I'm upset when we aren't talking about me??"

Pea-Foul: And uhh haven’t taken my meds in awhile and I'm not sure how long?? At least that way I can wait longer before Mariah has to get my prescription refilled!

Plum-Done: Omg Sky!! Babe u need 2 eat n medicate! Also Sky I resent that comment!

Plum-Done: Rnt we always canoodling?? Also were gettin more than soup for u tmrw then, we com @ 10 w groceries u mess. Confirmed w Nina.

Pea-Foul: Thank! <333333 Also that’s an hour later than you’re bringing soup??

Plum-Done: Yes were gonna do both @ 10 now as our reckless child kept us up n so did our canoodling

Pea-Foul: Ewww. "Canoodling" And that me! I guess! I’m sorry Leslie! And sounds good!! :D See you two at 10 a.m.

Mother-Goose: You seriously need to care for yourself better! I thought someone would be home to remind you to eat? Have you showered recently?

Pea-Foul: Uhhh???? There's definitely people here, I feel them through the ward, but like it's Matsuri and Thrasher, and you know how they are.

Plum-Done: So thats a no

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Mother-Goose: Figures. You better shower tomorrow morning! Please for us?

Pea-Foul: I’ll try! c:

Clydes-Damn: Y’all are a mess, especially you Sky!! Sorry but Mariah and I can’t come for breakfast tomorrow, we have plans already! We might come over later in the day though.

Mother-Goose: Sally! My love! Give Mariah and yourself a kiss for me please!!<3333

Plum-Done: Chill Neen, u saw them 2 days ago

Mother-Goose: Um so??? I still love them??

Plum-Done: Same!

Clydes-Damn: Can do when she wakes up! Not sure how to kiss myself, but I’ll let you save a few for me later ;) We’ll keep y’all updated! Good night! <333

Pea-Foul: Tell my sister I love her please! Also love you miss you nigh' night!

Mother-Goose: Love you miss you night!! Go to sleep please!

Clydes-Damn: Ditto and I shall! Kisses to all!

Plum-Done: Nite my gay nerds <33333333

They sigh and turn off their phone. At least Nina and Leslie can come tomorrow! They think and place their phone on the nightstand with a smile. They snuggle underneath their weighted blankets and wrap their six arms around a stuffed lop-bunny petting his soft ears as they try to calm down their excited brain and fidgety body so that they could, hopefully, sleep.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Sky glances up from their noodle soup and barely manage to suppress a snicker as their best friend Leslie energetically shoves a large spoonful of kislye shichi into her mouth. She peeks up at them with her arched lilac eyes that are slightly squinted from the broad, barely close-mouthed smile. Her four pairs of sharp canines, along with her other teeth barely manage to hold the cabbage and broth at bay. From the bar stool next to her, Nina snorts affectionately at the scene and attempts in vain to stop her girlfriend’s mauve-colored hair from dipping into the sour Russian soup. Leslie swallows her mouthful; she bats Nina’s tan hand away, tosses her hair back over her dark-amber shoulders, and smirks at her cheekily. Sky giggles lightly at them and redirects their attention and gaze back to their udon; the heat fogs their glasses and they desperately rub at the right lens in an attempt to allow their working eye to see their food. They don't trust their proprioception enough to trust where their mouth is without their sight. They huff out a frustrated sigh and whip their glasses off their face. Sky folds and places their glasses gently, lenses face up, on the counter next to them.

"Well at least Sky puts their hair up so they're not eating their own head-feathers!" Nina snaps and Sky lifts up their head and eyes to better focus on her, they feel as if they have missed something. Like an entire conversation. Their golden eyes glaze over as if lost in thought. Nina and Leslie continue to bicker with each other in the background.

"Hey! Wait a second, what's up with Sky?" Leslie questions concern lacing her voice. Nina startles at Leslie's pondering. Her black wings flare behind her in surprise. Is she trying to distract me or is something actually wrong with Sky? Nina wonders in her mind. She looks over at the peacock-Siren and notices that their aura is inconsistent and lacking vibrancy. Oh shit, she's right! Why and how did I not notice? I assume I was stuck in my argument with Leslie! Nina thinks upset. Her feathered ears droop in response to this realization.

"Shit! You're correct! Their aura is all wonky." Nina responds as she re-adjusts her short, curly head-feathers. Leslie smirks with pride, her royal purple feathers on her wings fluff up behind her.

"Yeah duh Darling! I"m always right! Don't you know this by now?" Leslie purrs while leaning into Nina's personal space, her bottom set of hands bracing her lithe torso on the bar stool. The movement emphasizes her ample breasts and distracts the raven-Siren momentarily. Nina then tears her three eyes away from her girlfriend's boobs, which Leslie notices and pouts at. Nina shakes her head as Leslie leans back and continues to eat her soup. They both begin to yell Sky's name as they watch Sky curl all six of their arms around their muscular torso and curl up.

"Sky!" Nina's voice finally breaks through Sky's addled mind. Nina places her hand on Sky's shoulder, shocking the images from past lives from Sky's mind. They uncurl their body and forces themselves to breathe. They emit a soft squeak in surprise and focus on Nina's brown eyes feeling slightly detached as they did so.

Sky begins to reorient themselves and their eyes refocus. Sky's eyes dart quickly to their soup, left forgotten on the counter next to them. Ah yes I was eating wasn't I? My udon probably cold now… Sky thinks and looks up sheepishly at Nina. Sky moves one scarred hand to twirl their head-feather around a clawed finger and the other behind them to give me some support. They lean back, a gentle attempt at getting Nina's hand off of their shoulder. Poor Nina, we've kinda been pushing her physical display of her affections away today huh? Sky thinks. They finally thank Nina and she gives confused ‘no problem’ in response. Maybe I’ll tell her later. Sky thinks guiltily. They don’t really have the words for that in any language and decide that it isn’t worth worrying her. They shake their head at this thought.

"What? Oh yeah!" Sky turns slightly to face a frowning Leslie. They sit up and remove the hair tie that they had from their wrist attached to the hand that was petting their hair. "Here!" Sky grasps the tie and offers it towards Leslie. Her eyes flick at their hand and her immaculate eyebrows arch. Her frown lessens in intensity as Sky grins at her. This exposes their four pairs of sharp canine teeth. Their teeth are immaculate and straight, to which they'd probably joke 'unlike me!'

"Here Les' please take it so you're not eating hair soup! Kislye shichi is gross enough with all that sauerkraut in it anyway, might as well avoid getting hair in it and making it grosser, right?" She smiles at Sky's comment and takes the hair tie. Leslie throws her dreadlocked head-feathers into a messy ponytail. Sky leans back on their forearms and stretches white feathers out. The bones of the base of their wings cracking back into place with a satisfying sounding pop. They stretch their arms above their head and yawn. Leslie yawns and plops back into her original seat with a flick of her tail feathers through the slots of the backrest. The final Siren also yawns in response. We must be close if our yawns are that well synchronized! Sky thinks with a silent giggle. The tension leaves their body with wiggles of their wings and tails.

"Thanks one-with-over-sensitive-taste-buds! Also way to forget your food!" Leslie jokes and elbows Sky lightly. Leslie's purple wings waggle lightly from a laugh. Sky gives her an affectionate, light snort in return. They also shake their head fondly. Nina grins at both humanoids and twists her stool around to face Leslie. The tips of Nina's short black tail feathers brush Leslie's long, thighs as Nina situates herself into her lap. She fidgets for a bit. Then, she finally gets comfortable with her tail and wings pressed into Leslie's torso; her girlfriend snugly wraps her arms around Nina's sizable abdomen. Leslie kisses her cheek, and places her head on the curve between Nina's neck and shoulder. Both girl's lips curve softly at each other. They then focus their eyes on Sky with Leslie's head still resting comfortably on Nina's soft shoulder. They twist their head-feathers and give them a loving smile. Both women then gaze deeply at each other. They then stop staring at each other to look at Sky with concern, which they determined by reading the others' auras.

"Also you forgot us too! We called your name like a thousand times! At least we don't go cold if you get distracted and forget about us!" Nina comments lightly, and Leslie huffs indignantly in response. Sky raises their eyebrows in preparation for whatever dramatics were coming.

"Speak for yourself! I feel ice forming in my heart from your betrayal!" Leslie exclaims with a faux-pout, her hands move from playing with Nina’s hair to fidget with Nina’s shirt straps. Sky rolls their eyes at her with an amused smile. Leslie turns to her girlfriend and asks as an aside: "Can I touch your skin right now?" To which Nina nods with wide red eyes.

Leslie decides to swing her taloned-feet in the air above the floor and play with Nina’s thick fingers instead of her shirt straps.

"Anyway what were you thinking about that had you so distracted? We were worried." Nina tilted her head quizzically and Sky tenses as they remember the awful tangent their brain wound up on earlier. I need to avoid answering this, don’t think too hard. They think and give a forced laugh to try and brush it off. Leslie stops swinging her feet and looks at them, her hands still entangled in Nina’s. Both have furrowed eyebrows and they wait a bit.

"Sorry, guess I forgot that I was actually Sally and my primary element was ice. Whoops!" The golden-eyed Siren deadpans. Nina and Leslie both snicker in response. "And you feel with your brain and soul, not with your heart Leslie! Thanks for your concern though." Sky continues with a sheepish smile.

"Untrue! You feel panic and such with your heart!" Nina gasps, untangles her hands from Leslie’s, and dramatically places a hand on her chest in front of where her hearts are located. Leslie quirks an eyebrow at Nina and then faces Sky. Leslie pulls a loose feather from her wing and rubs it over her bottom lip. This motion removes a little of her deep plum lipstick, which she appears unaware of.

"You neglected to answer what had you so distracted! I mean you're usually pretty distracted, but damn if that wasn't the most in this lifetime that we've had to repeat your name…" She says from behind the purple feather. Leslie tries to stop the oncoming neuropsychology debate by showing her concern. Sky shakes their head, avoiding answering as they knew that their best friends would be upset about it.

"Incorrect. The heart beats faster as a secondary physiological response to the feelings of fear or panic, but it doesn't make you feel those emotions." Sky retorts at Nina. Both Nina and Leslie roll their eyes at the smaller Siren, but luckily they seem to take Sky's avoidance of talking about the cause of their panic as a hint to move on. They would probably tell them an abridged and detached version later. Maybe. Leslie narrows her eyes at them and runs her slender fingers through Nina’s hair. Nina's jaw clenches in response to either pain or at how messed up her hair is getting by Leslie's ministrations.

"We're definitely discussing this later." Sky hears Leslie tell them telepathically in Russian. Their eyes widen and then Sky shrugs, the motion moves their stark white wings. She narrows her eyes further, her slit pupils still focused on Sky. They look down at the counter and smooth their crest feathers back. They squirm in discomfort as they try to find a better place for their train feathers and distract themselves from Leslie's intense concern. They huff in annoyance as their tail feathers were too damn long and their tail was too heavy for them to sit comfortably. They give up and decide to lie down on their stomach and prop up their head with their hands. They rest their elbows on the cold countertop. Nina clears her throat to break the silence and Leslie smiles at Sky with a telepathic message of "We still aren’t through with this though." Sky averts their eyes and shakes one leg.

"Anyway! According to some theories of emotion, yes. But according to others I'm correct." Nina points a finger at Sky and leans her body closer to Sky. Leslie flicks her eyes at Nina's face with a smirk.

"According to some theories about processing emotion yes." Sky nods; Nina smiles and leans back against Leslie. Leslie re-positions herself comfortably on Nina; Leslie wraps her arms around Nina and entwines their fingers, again fidgeting with Nina’s fingers. "But," Sky continues, they could talk about the brain and psychology all day if they were allowed, but the opening and closing of the front door stops them from finishing their thought. They feel the auras of Sally, Mariah, and Miranda. The others trip the wards as well, even if the trio in the kitchen weren't as aura-aware as they actually are. Two of Sky's eyes widen in shock, their third in the center of their forehead is scarred closed. They were obviously not expecting the three women to arrive home so soon. Leslie and Nina look at them while Leslie wrings her hands together. Both women raise their eyebrows in concern. Sky jumps off the counter they were sitting on and places Nina and Leslie’s empty bowls into the dishwasher. They cover their still mostly full bowl to put into the fridge. Sky turns out of the fridge to hear what is going on.

"However, you c-c-an't do that, it's too weird." Sally says with a giggle, the other two humanoids giggle too. Their laughs are followed by the sound of hooves clopping on the tile. Leslie and Nina drag Sky by the arm as they flit excitedly towards their centaur girlfriends, well Mariah was a sheep-taur, but none of them have come up with a separate name for that yet. Nina grabs her cane and steadies herself on the tile. Leslie gracefully throws her body off the bar stool. Their hearts speed up. Fuck, Miranda doesn't know that I haven't been caring for myself properly unless the other two told her! Sky thinks and they hope that the Woodland-elf can't sense that Sky's not taken adequate care of themselves. They clasp one of Nina's five unused hands and one of Leslie's six unoccupied hands. Both girls look even more worried at Sky as they sense the shift in their aura.

Sky takes a deep breath, tighten their grip on Leslie's, and Nina’s hands before releasing them. The trio then heads towards the others. Sky braces themselves for another maelstrom of concern.