After a moment to take a few deep breaths and ease her anxiety, Riley walked downstairs once more, turning directly into the kitchen and offering help-
"Hey. Can I help with the dinner?"
She saw Lily freeze briefly as Ella turned around with a wide smile-
"Well, the casserole is done and cooking, will be ready in a bit, but you could prepare the plates and all."
Riley nodded, taking a look around, realizing she didn't know where the plates actually were. Ella quickly caught that, opening one of the cupboards and pulling out a few plain white plates, before sliding the utensil drawer open, adding-
"Oh, grab the blue plastic fork for Timmy as well."
Six plates and five metal forks later she was on her way towards the dining table, laying them out along the chairs, placing the plastic fork next to the chair with a small booster seat on it.
"Thanks Riley. It's still gonna be ten minutes at least until it's ready, so feel free to do whatever."
She nodded and turned to take a look at Lily, who seemed to have gotten the same idea, the two sisters locking eyes. Riley tried her best to come off as unthreatening and even smile a bit, which didn't seem to be too successful as Lily still looked hurt, even if not as absolutely despairing as yesterday.
Riley was the first to break this invisible connection, looking to the side with an apologetic expression before turning around and laying down on the couch, letting out a small yawn and quickly sitting back up. This couch was way too soft to lay on without actually sleeping.
As she leaned deeper into the couch she tried to think through the situation with Lily once again, and how to come off as an actual sister for her, and not just an intruder in her own house. Guess bonding and such with the other siblings is a good start, and she was happy she managed to have some of that earlier today.
Beyond that, only time could really help. And with the Christmas break and all, they had time in abundance, fortunately.
Riley let out a quiet yawn as the warmth of the room made her feel too comfortable for her own good, forcing her to stand up and stretch to avoid sleeping through the dinner.
With a sniff she finally smelled the dinner being made, her nose leading her in front of the oven, Lily having since went back to her room, Ella checking something in the fridge.
"Have a nose for good food, don't you Riley?" Ella chuckled, taking out a carton of milk from the fridge and pouring three cups, sliding them into the microwave and turning it on.
"Heh, I sure do. What's for dinner?" She can't see much through the grating at the front of the oven, only able to discern that the meal contains some carrots and tomatoes.
"Just some veggie casserole. Carrots, peppers, all the goodies."
Riley nodded, straightening up and looking back at Ella.
"Sounds like veggies with Timmy are a world of fun..."
"I know what you mean, but thankfully we got him used to them from the get go. Still, doesn't mean he never complains about food, but when he does he can just not eat it, not like we chain him to the chair until he cleans his plate. Half the time he comes back to it anyway after we reheat it."
"And half the time he doesn't?"
"We make him a sandwich or something, it's not a big deal. Point is to eat and not be hungry, not to eat specifically what I cook up."
Riley took in the words, realizing just how different Ella's approach was to that of her mother, whenever she was sober enough to cook. You ate the whole thing, no matter how long it took or how disgusting it was, and there was no going to bed before you did. Fortunately or not, after a certain point she never was sober enough anymore...
"Everything alright Riley?" Ella asked concerned, noticing the grimace and tension on her face.
"Yeah, was just... not used to an attitude like that."
"In the orphanage?"
"Nah, they didn't give a shit whether you ate or not as long as you didn't starve to death. I meant... earlier."
"With your biological mother?"
Riley nodded, the mere mention of her causing her fist to clench and expression to sour into a scowl. Her mother, Bridgette, was someone who Riley tried to erase from her mind as hard as she could, sadly succeeding less often than not.
"Yes... her. You know how you said you don't chain Timmy until he cleans his plate? Well, she would, even into the night, not even letting him sleep before he finished the barely edible undercooked chicken on the plate."
"Christ... I'm so sorry Riley." Ella walked up to her looking apologetic, her arms slightly spread.
Riley shook her head slightly, appreciating the gesture but really not feeling like physical contact right now. Bad memories of that one.
Ella got the message with a nod, the loud 'ping' noise interrupting her before she could say anything else. The oven had run its course and turned itself off, Riley stepping back and the skunk opening it, the savory aroma of the casserole only intensifying.
After grabbing some mitts Ella lifted the dish out of the oven, tilting her head towards the counters and quickly adding-
"Riley could you grab that metal grate and place it in the middle of the table?"
She got the message, picking up the small cast iron trinket and clearing space in the middle of the table for it, after which Ella set the actual casserole on top of it.
"Don't wanna damage the table, it's a nice one after all." Ella explained with a small chuckle, walking back to close the oven and wiping the sweat off her forehead. Afterwards she pulled the warm milk from the microwave, Riley having missed the beep apparently, and set the cups down in front of the booster seat and two other chairs.
"Want any particular seat?" She asked off handedly, Riley sitting down next to Timmy's seat as she walked up to the stairs and shouted upstairs-
"Dinner's ready!" -before taking a seat herself, sitting on the opposite side to Riley, pulling one of the glasses of milk to her plate and taking the lid off the casserole, serving herself a hearty portion. Riley followed in suit, the aroma making her shudder as she saw Andrew run down, looking a bit less disheveled than when she saw him, his hair still slightly damp.
He took a seat next to Ella as Riley stabbed some carrot and tomato slices onto her fork, the cheesy, tangy sauce adding further to the flavor as it burned her tongue a bit, the girl not used to food straight out of the oven.
She took a few breaths to cool down her mouth, Andrew cracking a small giggle as he realized the cause, Riley returning the favor by sticking out her burned tongue.
After a few more moments she resumed eating, taking her time with the still hot food, the variety of veggies spicing the flavor with every bite. She was slowly going through her plate as she spotted Lily and Rick making her way down the stairs, the latter appearing to be gently encouraged the former forward, his palm on he back of her shoulder. He took a seat next to her, Lily taking the last remaining chair without a booster seat on it.
Riley tried to avoid upsetting her any more by looking at her, her sister speaking up first much to her surprise-
"Where's Timmy?"
Rick responded, smiling back at her and explaining-
"He took a nap on Riley's lap while they were playing, and should be waking up soon enough. If not then I'll just prod him a bit so that he can go to bed normally later."
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Riley kept eating, the dinner going down faster with the tension in the air.
"Who gets his milk then?"
In the corner of her eye she spotted him shrugging, bringing up off-handedly-
"Guess Riley if she wants?"
She shook her head, hoping Lily would take it as a kind gesture and not just not giving a darn about anything. She took a small breath and slowed down her eating, really not wanting to be the first one to have to get up from the table.
"Feel free to have it then Lily."
Riley was thankful as she heard the glass slide along the table, the motion being interrupted as she heard Timmy slowly walk down, Riley looking up behind Lily who herself turned around as the little kit let out a tiny yawn and tried to stretch, his tail puffing up a bit.
"...or not. Hey Timmy, slept well?" Rick continued, getting up as Timmy walked up to them with a quiet nod, lifting up his son onto his seat, putting a small portion on his plate as Lily slid back his glass of milk.
"Alright, guess now that we're here we can get prepare some sort of agenda for the next week before Christmas." Rick spoke up again after a while, taking a long look over the rest of the table.
"So, Monday, me and Riley will head to IKEA to grab some furniture and decorations for her room, anyone wants to some with us?" He asked, judging by his calm expression he didn't exactly expect anyone to join in on them.
Surprising both him and Riley, Andrew raised his hand, smiling confidently at them both.
"You sure? Furniture shopping isn't exactly riveting." Rick responded in surprise, a piece of tomato sliding off his fork, making Timmy wake up a bit with a giggling fit.
"You'll need someone to help with lifting the stuff, won't you? As strong as Riley is, I'm not sure she'll be the best fit for carrying things like drawers and such." Andrew looked at Riley as he said this, looking a bit apologetic, his sister dispelling his worries with a small smile.
"We'll have help from the shop, doubt we'll need to actually touch the boxes until they're already in the room and ready to assemble."
"Even then, I wanna help!" He kept his enthusiasm up, Riley curious but deciding not to pry him on this, at least not at the table.
"Well, your call I suppose." Rick shrugged verbally, taking another bite as he kept on-
"Later on we can try painting the room with whatever we get at the store, and add some more coats on Tuesday and Wednesday. Speaking of Tuesday- How does going out ice skating together sound?"
Andrew, Ella and Timmy responded with small cheers each, Riley and Lily staying silent for different reasons.
"Lily? Riley?" He asked them both, noticing their silence.
"Sure, hope you'll be ready to babysit me through it tho." Riley responded with a chuckle, Ella smiling widely as she responded-
"I babysat four kids through learning how to skate, I sure enough can babysit the fifth one."
Something didn't add up as Riley processed her response and looked around, Andrew barely holding back a giggle at his mom's words, Lily and Timmy as confused as she was before Rick stuck his tongue out at Ella, the mystery solved with a group laugh.
"Ha, ha, ha." Rick's laugh was as fake as much it was holding back a very real giggle at Ella's tease, a small chuckle forcing its way through his lips before he continued-
"Alright, now Wednesday, that's easy enough as we need to register Riley at the family clinic and it's time for our checkups."
Timmy let out a whine at this, trying to disagree with grunts, Riley noticing his tail bristling a bit at the base.
"Don't worry Timmy, there won't be any injections, you're up to date on your shots, promise."
He calmed down a bit afterwards, tail falling down, eventually letting out a quiet "Okay...".
Riley could definitely sympathize with his fear.
"Thursday, we should be done with painting by then so we can try to get Riley's room assembled and ready so the large bedroom bed stops trying to swallow her, hah."
Riley and Ella chuckled at the joke, others apparently not having had the... experience of sleeping in that thing.
"And Friday... well, my parents called today, and they said they'd want to visit!"
This time, everyone seemed to cheer, even Lily, to Riley's surprise. Weren't Rick's adopted parents human?
Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice Riley's silence, Lily asking-
"What about the weekend? When will we decorate the Christmas tree, or get it?"
"That's what I was thinking about for Saturday, we could pick it in the morning and spend the rest of the day decorating it. And then Sunday, we cook and cook for Monday!"
Lily and Timmy seemed satisfied, Riley briefly confused as to next Monday's significance before realizing-
It's the Christmas Eve.
"Will we make cookies for Santa?" Timmy asked, Ella and Rick sharing a warm smile before his mom responded-
"Of course sweetie!"
He let out a small 'Yay!' of response as the family collectively returned to eating, Riley realizing her plate was almost empty already.
Thankfully, she was spared from having to get up first as Andrew stood up, quickly adding- "Thanks for the dinner~" -as he put the plate in the dishwasher and jogged back upstairs.
With that out of the way Riley had the invisible permission to finish her own plate, cleaning it as Timmy spoke up-
"Where were you all day Lily?"
She yielped quietly, Riley slowing down as the actual reason felt like it was stabbing at her again.
"I-I was just feeling sick." Lily responded, Riley thankful that she at least had the courtesy to not drag Timmy into it.
"Did you catch it from Riley?"
Goddammit Timmy.
"N-no, it's just a- just a cold." She deflected the question, slightly panicky tone suggesting she didn't expect it any more than Riley did.
"Did you get it because you didn't sleep enough?"
"What?" She was dumbfounded, probably a good call for Riley to get going.
"Thanks for the meal." She spoke up and quickly stood up, sliding her chair in under the table and the plate into the dishwasher, catching Lily sneaking a glance at her as she walked upstairs. She let out a breath of relief as she turned the corner, the tension leaving her muscles.
She felt proper tired after this, the hot food making her feel good and drowsy, but there still were a couple of threads she had to tug on.
After knocking on Andrew's door she stood back, looking at him expectantly after he opened it, thankfully not looking like he was caught in the middle of something important this time.
"W-what's up Riley?" He asked, sounding a bit unsure as he eyed her down.
"Why do you want to come and help us so much at the furniture place?"
He let out a breath of relief, happy it wasn't... the other question she could potentially ask in this situation.
"Just wanna help you out with choosing, since I feel you may need some advise at times or something. Besides, I enjoyed spending time with you, so that's the other reason."
"Enjoyed spending time with me?"
"Yeah, you're an awesome sister. Plus, quite cute when you want to be, haha."
She stuck her tongue back at him, happy that she wasn't being crushed on by her own brother.
He responded with a small chuckle before responding in kind and asking quietly-
"Anything else Riley?"
"Weeeeeellll, I may have one more question...~" She teased, giggling internally as she saw his eyes go wide in panic at that.
"...buuuut I feel like I already know the answer. Have fun Andrew." She smirked, Andrew taking a moment to collect himself from the depths of embarrassment before he finally responded-
"Y-y-you too R-Riley..."
And closed the door quietly, Riley feeling almost a bit bad for teasing him like that as she made her way back to her room.
A few minutes later she was already in the shower, enjoying how relaxing having actual hot water was, feeling like she was melting in the good way, not unlike earlier today under Ella's touch.
Shampoo and conditioner later she felt like her hair has never felt better to the touch, so smooth and clean and a bit tingly on her head in a good way. It was never really a point of pride of her, Riley spending her earlier years at the orphanage cutting herself almost as short as she could, just because she got her hair color straight from her mother and despised it so much.
But right now, she almost liked the nondescript shade of blonde as it reflected in the fogged mirror, almost shining from the white light of the attached bathroom.
After putting something on she went back to her room, damp hair bouncing with each step as she overheard someone walking in the corridor, peeking out to see it was Ella.
She grabbed her attention with a wave, the slightly tired skunk asking softly, tail drooping behind her-
"Is something wrong Riley?"
"No, not per se, but I'm just curious about something if you have a moment."
"Shoot."
"Rick's adoptive parents are human, right?"
"Yeah, is something... it's about Lily, isn't it?"
Riley nodded quietly, Ella taking a deep breath as she thought a response through, shrugging slightly as she answered the unspoken question-
"Well, it's quite a bit different when you grow up with someone, even if their group starts being shitty towards you after. When she was Timmy's age they would show up here almost every week, and Lily loved all the attention, still does from them. Even then, at school, as far as I can gather it's really only a couple of human girls that are actually being awful towards her, but they're the popular ones so nobody really wants to oppose them, human or not. And one just so happens to have your height and more or less hair."
"That... does explain some things, yeah. Thank you Ella."
"You're welcome Riley. In case you're having any doubts yourself... Rick's parents are wonderful people, I can assure you of that. All of Rick's best qualities? He definitely took them from his folks."
"I see, guess I have no excuse not to look forward to meeting them myself, eh?"
"Indeed you don't, haha." Ella laughed at this, clearly tired.
"One last thing, what are their names?"
"Marvin and Liz Asher. I remember being unsure about taking on an adopted surname when I was just Rick's girlfriend, but after getting to know them some more I hadn't regretted it one bit."
"Thank you. Sleep well Ella." She waved her goodbye as she walked to her room, barely keeping her tail off the ground anymore.
Riley yawned at the sight, closing her door and turning off the lights, the hole in the ground providing some leftover ambient light from below as she sat down on her bed.
She couldn't wait to ask them both all sorts of questions, too many to count even. And probably none of them original, since Rick has probably asked most of them in his time anyway.
With a quiet whistle of wind from the outside and the light on the ground floor being turned off she slipped under the covers, wondering how will they be like, the possibility that her tired mind found the most funny that they were carbon copies of Rick and Ella just without fur. Still had tails and snouts, just no fur.
God she was exhausted after all that happened today.
And no matter how much fantasizing she did about her grandparents, there was still the entire week to get through first anyway.
Best start it off on the right foot then. Did anthros say on the right paw instead? Or hoof? Or-
She didn't finish the thought as her racing mind was silenced by the shroud of sleep, the rest of he house joining her soon after. Six souls huddling under covers as the almost-winter kept playing its window tunes off into the night...