Life was not a cake walk; it hadn't taken Eli long to figure that out. The beginning of his wasn't a very pleasant time for him. He was faced with painful experiments and tests, his freedom stripped from him. But he was no longer sitting in a dog cage, counting the tile of the ceiling for the one hundred and fifth time. Now, he was in the grocery store, facing yet another one of life's trials: decision making. 

He had five dollars to feed the family tonight, and so he had to choose. Should he get the loaf of bread that could feed several people for a couple days, or should he get the pound of meat that would feed them for one night? The bread was an obvious choice for your average family. It was cheap, did not require refrigeration, and was filling. However, Eli did not have an average family. Half of them couldn't even [i]eat[/i] grain. Jabiko, Sammy, and Elsa were all strictly carnivores. Caleb could eat anything, but he preferred raw meats. Eli honestly didn't care either way. He scratched his head as he looked at the loaf of bread, then finally decided to go with the meat. They would be fed for one more night, at least. Who knew, maybe he would get another thank you card with a hundred bucks in it.

Eli took his purchase to the check out. He looked at all the wonderful little candies that he couldn't have while he waited in line, then turned to greet the cashier lady with a smile. 
"Will that be all for you?" She asked pleasantly as she scanned the meat. Eli couldn't hear what she said, but he could hear the nice tone of her voice. She probably practiced that every day she worked here. Luckily for him, he could read lips fairly well. 
"Yes ma'am," He said politely, earning an honest smile from the girl that was probably just a couple years older than him. That was kind of a cute smile. He gave the girl his wadded up five dollar bill and took the handful of coins that was his change, then grabbed the bagged meat as he headed away. 

Once he was outside, he shrugged his wings loose, letting them slip through the slits cut in the back of his shirt. A couple people stopped to stare at the bird boy took flight, right there in the middle of the parking lot, and flew away. Subtly wasn't really his thing. Eli's secret identity was non-existent. He wasn't particularly worried about any villains following him home and hurting his family, since his family consisted of a wolf man with anger issues, a lizard girl, a devil child that threw one hell of a tantrum, and a giant, sentient larva that could bite through anything. They were a pretty capable bunch.

Eli flew across the city to his little hideaway: the attic of an old, abandoned catholic church. It was on one of the shadier parts of town, but it was high up enough that no one would think to come up there to mess with them. He could usually slip in and out of the broken out windows without drawing much attention to himself. The large, castle-like building was often passed by without a second glance. 

As he landed inside, he was met by the typical sight of his ragtag little family. Caleb was snoozing on the floor, curled up with his head rested on his hands. Sammy was on his back, playing with his hair and giggling as his ears twitched. Elsa was reading a dusty old book with Jabiko curled up in her lap, one hand absentmindedly stroking the smooth, chubby little grub. 
"I'm home!" Eli announced as he held up his purchase victoriously. The other perked up and scrabbled to make their way over. Caleb, jumped up so fast that Sammy was sent tumbling. 
"Dinner?" Caleb questioned, his tail thumping happily as he sat back on his haunches. Sammy, upset at being abandoned, began to quiver his lip. Elsa scooped him up to put the waterworks on pause. 
"What're we having?" She asked curiously as she peeked into the bag. 
"There was a sale on roast chickens," Eli reported, "So I got a whole bird." 
"Just one?" Caleb sounded a bit disappointed. He probably could have eaten one chicken all by himself. 

As Eli set up to carve the bird, Caleb hung over his shoulder with extreme interest. Eli was too nice to shove the dogman, who had no concept of personal space, away. Or to even show that it might have bothered him. Luckily, Elsa was on the lookout. She set Sammy down with his lonely rubber chew bone and sat down to pat her lap.
"Oh Caleb," She called, getting the dogman's attention. Caleb's ears perked up as he looked past Eli and over at her. "Come here." He obediently shuffled over on all fours, curiosity piqued. 
"Who's a good boy?" Elsa asked in a ridiculous baby talk voice. Caleb tilted his head. "Huh? Who's a good boy." 
"Is it...is it me?" Caleb asked, a bit confused. Elsa made a very exaggerated gasp and grin. 
"Yes it is, that's right!" She reached up to scratch under his furry chin, hitting that one spot that made him melt onto the floor. Caleb tilted his head back, his long tongue lolling out of his mouth as his bald tail thumped the floor furiously. The entire sight was completely ridiculous. Sammy took notice and began to laugh. 

Meanwhile, Jabiko crawled his way over to where Eli was cutting up the bird. He climbed up onto the table and peered hopefully up at the man, chirring innocently. Eli smiled and let out a chuckle. He knew Jabiko's game: look cute and maybe he'll get a handout. Eli cut off a small piece and carefully snuck it into the grub's tiny, stumpy little front legs. 
"Don't tell anyone," He whispered.

Jabby made a happy little chirp and scuttled away with his prize. Eli finished cutting a few moments later and set the chicken out for everyone to have at. The mismatched mutant freaks descended upon their prey like savage wolves. The roast didn't stand a chance. Within the half hour, the bird had been completely stripped clean of meat, with several larger bones being drug off to be chewed on.