I slept in a little bit, tired from the previous day. When I woke up the house was quiet, thinking I must be the first one awake aside from whatever staff roamed the halls. I scratched my face, snout still a bit sore, and rolled onto my back. Awake, but still tired and just wanted to think.

Everything had come a long way in such a short time.

The altercation in town was, what, only about a week ago? I'd lost track of time by now, unable to recall the exact day. With how fast everything happened from there it felt like ancient history, with only my sore snout and healing cuts to remind me otherwise.

I wasn't sure where things would go from here. Morissey's staff seemed apprehensive, even suspicious around me...in my own home, no less. Morissey himself, while initially almost extravagant in his behaviors had also grown more wary and distant, as though troubled by something since meeting my child. I hoped these people would start coming around, but the longer this went on the less sure I became. Riv didn't deserve to live his life in a corner just to appease a bunch of strangers.

I think from here I would try to pick up some extra work if I could to at least get him some nice things. The boy lived such a barebones life but seemed as happy as ever...and it really made me wonder what he might have lived through in Stipa. From what I remembered he lived only with his mother, and I hoped I had been providing at least as much as she had until her unfair, untimely departure. I hoped, too, that she could forgive me for my previous hesitation toward him.

Slowly I sat upright, my body sore from all the activity yesterday. Perhaps if the weather were nice today we could go outside again. I was sure he'd like that. With a big yawn and several twists and stretches I slid off my bed, ready to begin the day. I was tired enough last night to forget to set out any clothes, so I turned on my lamp to pick through my rather limited wardrobe for something to wear after a shower.

Looking in the mirror my hair was extra messy-- I must have slept hard. I laughed a bit to myself as I grabbed my comb, setting it atop the clothes I carried. Leaving my room I noticed from here that Riv's door was again slightly ajar. Pushing it open he was still asleep, curled up on his futon under the covers. Odd. I quietly pulled the door closed before heading to the bathroom to take a shower, eager to get it all over with.

Past the changing curtain I undressed, turned on the water, and stepped inside. The hot water was soothing against my sore muscles, having used some I didn't even know I had. The memory of Riv so happy and exploring the outside brought a smile to my face, even in the shower. I took a generous amount of soap and ran it through my hair, body, and tail to rid myself of whatever stray seeds or dirt might have stuck. Going outside more often would mean showering like this more often, but I didn't think I would mind that.

Once clean I turned off the water and wringed out my tail and hair, grabbing the towel from the changing area and drying myself off. I put on my clothes and stepped out of the shower area, heading to the mirrors to do something about my hair. I did what I could, though it did look a lot better than it had when I woke up, at least. Balling up my clothes and towel I left the bathroom, looking once back to Riv's door.

It was ajar again.

My brow furrowed as I walked back to it, nudging it open a second time. He was still lying in bed, sleeping peacefully. I hadn't heard anyone come into the bathroom while I was showering, though it's possible the water had just been too loud. I again pulled it closed before going downstairs to deal with laundry.

Dropping the clothes in the washtub I filled it up with some soapy water, then turned around to get the laundry from outside. So far the day was similar to the previous, with a pleasant breeze and partly-cloudy skies. The breeze carried the ocean's saltiness with it to the yard, mixing interestingly with the grass and flowers not far from the back of the house. The clothes from yesterday were also nicely dry though I don't think I'd risk overnight drying more often than I had to. I brought them inside and folded them neatly on the lounge bench to take upstairs once this laundry was finished.

Not long after starting the new small batch of laundry I had a small child stuck to me.

"Good morning, sleepy," I said, rubbing the side of my snout against his head. "I hope I didn't wake you."

He just shook his head.

"I have your clean clothes on the bench here if you'd kindly take them upstairs," I motioned behind me. "If you put those on I could take your pajamas and wash them while I still have the tub out."

I was freed from his clinging so he could take his clothes upstairs. After a couple minutes he returned, now changed and with his nightclothes in hand. I received them, putting them in the soapy water to soak while I took out my skillet.

"I have an idea for breakfast this morning that you might like, but it will take a little time," I said. "You'll be able to help with a lot of it."

He cocked his head in interest from the bench behind me.

I reached into the cabinets to retrieve the flour, baking powder, and both the brown and white cane sugar. From the icebox I took out two apples and set them aside. By now Riv was very curious, unsure where this was heading as I acquired the measuring cups and spoons.

"Alright," I said, topping a mixing bowl with a strainer, "I will need a cup and a half of flour."

I handed him a measuring cup and tilted the bag of flour toward him. He reached in and pulled out a large cup of flour, which I leveled off with my finger. Carefully he dumped it into the strainer and I traded that cup for a smaller one, repeating the process.

"Very good!" I said, grabbing the baking powder. "This is baking powder. I will need three and a half teaspoons of it. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" he eagerly squeaked as I handed him the measuring spoon and tilted the can of powder toward him.

He reached in to pull out a spoonful. I showed him that the top of the spoon hole could be used to level the amount, so he did and continued to spoon each amount into the strainer. Once to the half I switched out that spoon with another until the desired amount was in the strainer.

"You're doing very well, Riv," I assured as I grabbed the salt and white sugar. "We need only one teaspoon of salt, so take this spoon and hold it very still."

I gave him the teaspoon again and added the necessary amount of salt. He dumped it onto the pile in the strainer.

"And now just a tablespoon of sugar."

I grabbed the bag and gave him the tablespoon. Up he pulled a spoonful, which I once again leveled before he added it to the strainer.

"Alright, that's all the dry ingredients," I said, tapping the strainer repeatedly. "This is called sifting. It's to make sure that there aren't any clumps and it keeps a smooth consistency all the way through. It's also used for combining dry ingredients like what all you added."

I rinsed off the measuring supplies in the sink.

"I think the skillet is warm by now, so I'm going to add about this much butter to it," I showed him, sweeping a little more than three tablespoons from the tray and putting it in the pan. "I need the butter melted for this, so I'll let the pan do that for me."

From the icebox I grabbed one of the milk bottles and gave Riv the liquid measuring cup.

"I will need milk up until this line here, so hold the cup very still."

The boy did as he was told as I filled it to a cup and a quarter. Removing the strainer I made a well in the center, then directed him to gently pour the milk in the center. He did so quite well and I pat his head. Trading the milk for an egg I had Riv crack it into the bowl, adding it to the well with the milk. Finally I grabbed the melted butter from the skillet and poured it atop everything else in the well.

"Now all that's left is to mix it all together," I said, grabbing a whisk from a drawer for Riv to try. "We need everything mixed just enough, so I'll let you know when everything is good."

He took the whisk and, per my instruction, he started in the middle with the wet ingredients, slowly moving outward as I grabbed a small saucepan. To it I added some brown sugar and water, setting it on the stove to boil while I stirred. While Riv worked on mixing the batter I worked on what would hopefully be a decent brown sugar syrup. I didn't want him messing with the stove, else I'd have him help with this process, too.

Movement from my periphery caught my attention. I turned around to see one of Morissey's staff watching us, they quickly looking away when noticed to resume their business elsewhere. A hint of a sneer as they turned away made me roll my eyes and turn back to my stove.

The sugar by now had dissolved. I lowered the heat to let it boil on its own for a few more minutes. Turning back to Riv he seemed just about finished with the mixing. Plopping a pat of butter into the skillet I took over the mixing, dipping the whisk to check the consistency. He did a very good job as it wasn't overmixed, my lightly tugging his ear to reinforce that.

"With everything mixed we can scoop about this much into the skillet," I said, showing him the quarter-cup. "I'll do these parts, but you can watch."

He smiled and watched closely as I scooped two helpings into the skillet, further watching them expand and bubble from the heat. To my saucepan I added some butter, letting it melt into the sugar syrup as I stirred. It didn't take long for it to dissolve so I removed it from the burner and set it aside. When the batter no longer bubbled I slid my turner underneath and flipped them over to reveal a nice browned underside.

Riv's eyes widened, eager to try whatever this could be. It wasn't long before I had enough to serve him up a plate, topping his helping with the brown sugar syrup and placing some cut apple wedges on the side. With a glass of milk to drink his breakfast was complete, so he climbed onto the bench and waited.

"Don't worry, I promise I will eat with you once my share is finished," I reassured from the stove. "You don't need to wait for me, and you don't want it to get cold."

With some hesitation he gave in, cutting into the pancakes with a fork. He seemed to really enjoy them as far as I could tell as I made and assembled my own helping. Taking my seat he looked back up at me, mouth full and smiling.

"Do you like them?" I asked, cutting into my own small stack.

He happily nodded, finally swallowing.

"What are these?" he asked.

"They're pancakes," I replied after a bite. "Pretty common breakfast food and not too hard to make. We could make them more often if you like them, probably on weekends when I have more time in the mornings."

"Oh, can we?"

"Of course."

We continued eating our rather large breakfasts. From behind me I saw the shadows of one or two workers as they walked by.

"...Riv, did you get up sometime last night after going to bed?" I asked, slightly turning my head. "Perhaps to use the bathroom?"

He looked down in thought, seemingly trying to remember.

"It's okay if you did, or if you can't remember," I said, taking another bite. "You were pretty tired last night from all that running around, after all."

He giggled.

"But...did you happen to use it while I was in the shower today?" I continued. "It was only just this morning, shortly before you got up."

"...No?" he responded. "At least I don't remember doing it."

"...Hmm."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, everything is fine. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, Riv. Please don't worry."

"...Okay."

"Come now, don't be like that," I softly said, poking his nose. "Things are just fine. When Daniel gets here, how about we go outside again?"

His big eyes lit up.

"That's much better."

Once we were finished eating I started washing up the dishes. Daniel arrived not long after I began, carrying a bag.

"Found something you might like for later," he said, setting it aside to help with the laundry in the tub. "Gotta admit that looking for anything your size is a pain unless you want to look real pretty."

"Heh, don't remind me..." I said to myself. "I'm looking forward to it. Thank you very much for doing that for me...I'm sure it was awkward."

It's always been frustrating to find men's clothes small enough for me that weren't intended for children, and those were often not long enough.

"Eh, not really," he said, scrubbing Riv's nightshirt. "Clothes are just clothes. The most they'd probably assume is that they ain't for me. Don't worry too much."

"...I'll try not to."

I was soon finished with the dishes, freeing the sink for the clothes to be rinsed.

"Would you be alright with taking him outside again?" I asked, looking over to the boy still sitting at the table. "He really enjoyed himself yesterday."

"Sure, it's nice enough outside and we gotta hang these clothes up anyway," Daniel replied, wringing out my towel.

Riv smiled big, ears perked and tail twitching. When everything was finished we took the damp clothes outside to the line, letting Riv wander out in the back yard again.

"There's something I would like to ask you to do starting tomorrow, if you're willing," I said hushedly to Daniel as Riv chased a grasshopper.

"Hm?"

"Tomorrow we're supposed to get two new residents," I recalled from Friday. "If it isn't too much to ask, could you...watch Riv and those new residents to make sure they get along? He's so uneasy around pures and I don't want him to feel uncomfortable in his own home."

"Nah, I don't mind that," he responded, putting his hands in his pockets. "There'll be a couple days or so after the infirmary is finished when you might not see much of me until after hours, when I'm filling order forms and starting people's records. Aside from that, and when my field is actually needed, I'd be more than happy to."

"Would you...also be alright with taking them outside, like now?" I continued. "I wouldn't be able to come with except during my lunch break, at least during weekdays."

"I don't mind that, either," he said. "It'd give me a little something to do. Maybe keep those staff in check while I'm at it."

"Pardon?"

"I know you know how they look at the two'a ya. I don't like it."

"...Ah."

"Don't it bother you?"

"...Well, given this area, I thought maybe they would come around after a while from the proximity if given a chance."

"For both your sakes, I hope you're right."

We walked side-by-side to join Riv in the farther reaches of the yard, running through the grass and exploring for the remainder of the day.

---

That evening I reached into the bag to see what Daniel had gotten for me-- a pair of loose, breathable drawstring pants and a soft short-sleeved shirt with a polo-style collar. The pants were a simple solid black while the shirt was a warm, muted red. To my surprise there were two of each in the bag, though I...thought I only paid enough for a single set.

Once I put Riv to bed for the night I put on these new clothes. They were soft and comfortable, able to breathe without issue. This wouldn't be hard to get used to. I felt a little bad using my money for myself like this, but thought it was better than the alternative.

By this time I was quite tired. With these new clothes I was ready to turn in for the night and prepare for a new week.

---