---

Tossing the large blanket aside, Kejirah squinted against the bright sunlight that had managed to find its way past the dark curtains hanging on the window. Again, her bed was a complete mess due to the fact that she couldn't sleep still, but she'd grown accustomed to it though it was honestly tiring making it everyday. Not that she made it everyday of course. Cleaning wasn't something she did often, only if she had a reason to.

Pausing to enjoy the comfort of her bed a moment longer, she finally stood up, sighing loudly while moving toward the window to pull the curtains apart, lighting up her room. Standing there, she blinked a couple of times while staring out into the distance, placing her hands on her hips, slowly furrowing her eyebrows.

God, it was so quiet. Too quiet.

Moving out of her room, Kejirah made her way into the kitchen, opening the fridge for something to eat. Preferably leftovers, her favorite breakfast food. "Listen," she started, hoping her roommate, Niora, was up already. "Do we really have to go to work today? Like, I love them and all, don't get me wrong, but holy frick, I'd rather do something else today. Seriously though," she said, pulling out some slices of pizza she didn't know they even had. "Is this old? I hope not, I'm hungry."

As if on cue, Kejirah could hear barefoot steps as her red haired roommate came to the kitchen. The girl was wearing a gray, oversized t-shirt, the gnawed holes on the hem of it revealing that she was wearing pajama shorts too.
”Morning to you, too,” she replied as she pushed past, grabbing a slice of the same old pizza and shoving it into her mouth. ”I’d love to skip work but you know I can’t,” Niora added as she leaned on the kitchen counter. She stared at her bare legs, yawning.
”Zahra didn’t let me sleep all night. And like… guess who woke up to a murder scene again? I need to buy a new pillow. Again,” the plant hybrid sighed, looking at Kejirah with a tired smile.

"Heyyy, that was mine," the young woman pouted, moving away before her roommate could grab anymore.
As Niora rejected her skip-work plan, she sighed dramatically, leaning against the same counter and tilting her head back, taking a bite of the cold slice of pizza. "Of course, I guess that's reasonable," she said, not that she was super against going to work, she just enjoyed being extra. "Oh honey," Kejirah went over and patted her friend's head in an attempt to be supportive "But listen," she added, "The option of sleeping with me is always on the table. I'm pretty sure I could get her to stop," she smiled, winking playfully.

Niora blushed at the comment, her cheeks turning a deep shade of green. As soon as the succubus patted her, Zahra moved and tried to nudge Kejirah’s hand to pet its head instead. For whatever reason, the plant had never been violent towards Niora’s succubus roommate. Quite the opposite, Zahra seemed to really like Kejirah.
”If only,” the plant hybrid responded with a small smile on her lips, ”you’d probably wake up with sticky plant drool all over you. And no, not in that way,” Niora specified before her roommate could make a dirty joke. Not that she minded, really. Niora was very grateful to have Kejirah around. Not many people wanted to share an apartment with her because of Zahra, and for the same reason, finding and maintaining a job was also quite the task.
”Maybe we can do something today after work instead of skipping it? I know it’s not the same, but…” Niora trailed off, feeding the rest of her pizza piece to the plant attached to her.

Kejirah paused to slowly pet her roommate's plant friend as it tried to squeeze itself under her hand. She liked Zahra, she really did. She thought it was hella cool, also a useful bodyguard, but seemingly a nuisance as Niora would often describe to her.
"Oh really?” She asked, tilting her head, raising an eyebrow. She was going to add something else, but decided against it by biting her tongue. She backed away, raising her hands and throwing her hair into a ponytail, stretching while she was at it.
"Something after work, hmm?” She pondered it for a second. "Sounds great to me, I don't see why not. I mean, other than pillow shopping, yes?" Kejirah laughed.

”Yeah,” Niora nodded with a small smile, ”I mean, you always say I shouldn’t wither away in this apartment for all my free time like a hermit, so I might as well listen to that.”
Brushing her chin length red hair out of the way, Niora gave an absent-minded pat to Zahra before saying: ”I should get dressed probably.” With Zahra, all her clothes needed some modifications. Niora had gotten pretty good at amateur sewing and stitching in her lifetime because of that. Zahra opened its mouth like a venus flytrap as Niora scratched it under the chin, an odd sensation as they both felt it. I suppose they were one and the same, after all.

"Exactly! You should always listen to me, I give the best advice," Kejirah nodded, clapping her hands together. "But yes, I probably should as well, not that I want to, but I guess I have to," she shrugged. "We should get going soon anyway, though I love to be fashionably late, Q will probably get upset and I don't wanna listen to that," she waved her hand, slowly moving back to her bedroom.

”That makes two of us,” Niora smirked as she walked back into her bedroom, opening her wardrobe and picking out her work clothes.

"Yep. Sure does," Kejirah responded, doing the same, briefly stopping to lean out of the door frame and say, "Oh, and next time, hands off my pizza."

---

It was a beautiful morning outside. The sun was rising above the horizon, flowers were opening their petals to greet the new day, birds had been singing for a few hours now… and Jess hated every second of it. Her alarm clock had gone off half an hour ago, yet here she was still in her bed with all of her arms holding on fast to the blanket drawn to her ears. She had an agreement with a friend, so this was the last thing that she should be doing now. They were going to be meeting for breakfast at the cafe and all. But despite swearing that she would get up, she wasn’t making much progress, if any.

“Do I really need those clients?” she asked herself a question, pushing the cover off her face so that she could have a look at the ceiling. The shadows were weird. Not in angles that she was used to. But that was probably just them being where they were supposed to be at this hour, when she would for the most time be snoozing away. “I don’t, but on the other hand they won’t hurt me either. I could use the extra cash. For something. Right. I’ll count down from five and be up. Five, four, three, two, one…” she murmured to herself and… failed. She was still laying in her bed, under the blanket, face up to the ceiling. “Dammit”, she cursed to herself.

Generally, Valerie was fairly fast when it came to moving about. The thing about being a internet spirit was that one could quite easily maneuver oneself around via the web, but ever the non-confrontational individual that she was, she only did that when someone gave her explicit permission to do so, so instead she was walking the old fashioned way to Jess’ house.

For anyone that knew Valerie well, the outfit she was wearing was thoroughly normal for her. Plaid, jeans, a beanie that kept the tips of her ears close to her head rather than popping off at emotion-revealing angles. Arriving at the door of her friend, she would press the doorbell once… And then again a few more times just for good measure.

And there it was. She was being expected. Jess hated not living up to expectations. Oh there was nothing more frustrating than to not live up to what others expected of you. “But Jessamine, why isn’t your design as detailed as I was expecting?” or “Oh, but I had thought you would have it done a day early since you said so.” And here she was, having promised that they’d get to the cafe this early. No, she was nowhere near ready to just walk out of the door. As the rings brought their friends to the mix, she finally managed to kick the blanket off and prop herself upright on the floor next to her inviting and warm bed, but returning just wasn’t on the list of things she could do. So instead, she headed straight to the front door, not looking to keep Valerie waiting.

The already fully dressed E-Cryptid would meet a woman still in her pyjamas on the other side of the door, Jess’s two eyes obviously still somewhat drooping despite her having been awake for half an hour by now. “Morning. Come on in, I’ll get changed and we can go right after”, her voice droned without the least bit of enthusiasm, one arm rubbing her forehead while three others supported the door, the rest staying idle for the time being. Jess turned around, her single colour fuchsia red outfit not really fitting the best with the blackness of her partial exoskeleton or her usual attention to every detail ever, but it wasn’t something most people would get to see anyway, her everyday sleepwear.

The atelier featured numerous display pieces all around it, Jess having finished her full transition to Summer fashion and already starting work on the upcoming Autumn catalogue. The front featured a multitude of brochures detailing all that the seamstress could do for you, and a price chart that really didn’t seem to have an end to itself, climbing to sums few in Foxbridge could afford without taking a loan if it got to it. But they were all available for purchase, if one consulted the spider hybrid.

It was rare that Valerie actually entered Jess’ house. She wasn’t one for needing a custom seamstress, nor did she generally visit homes in general- she preferred her meetings public. What was rarer than her entering Jess’ house was Jess’ state however- Valerie didn’t think she’d ever actually seen the arachnid woman in anything but her best clothes.

“Wow, I didn’t think you ever took all the fancy stuff off.” The disadvantage of the skull-like facial covering was that it was hard for her to do things that might seem normal to other people- like raising her eyebrows, but still, the message was conveyed nonetheless. Walking through to the entranceway, the therianthrope would take a seat, indicating around. “I’ll just wait here then, no need for me to watch you change.” A toothy smile to go along with her words.

Jess stopped in her tracks at the comment, the two higher up arms on her right side grasping at the edge of a shelf while the bottom one was used to point in Valerie’s direction. “Well I wasn’t thinking on ever letting that image go, so you better not be telling”, she groaned and let go of the shelf, heading deeper into her shop and back to the upstairs area, flicking a switch to transfer any doorbell rings into the store rather than her home. She had someone who could handle that, in case somebody forgot that she wasn’t open at idiotic o’clock.

Soon the seamstress would return, this time in much more characteristic short and puffy sleeved dress that let her exoskeleton and craftsmanship both shine with its details. It was more striking red in its colour, with a very softly pink white for the bottom. Several embroideries decorated the surface in colours just a hint off the base nearly everywhere, whilst the larger, more attention grabbing images were sewn in silver thread. “Thanks for the patience!” she smiled broadly as she returned to view from behind all the shelves. “Now, I sure hope this breakfast will be as good as you have made me believe. And on a related note, the morning people better come up with something they’d want from me since I bother changing my schedule for this. Whoever thought waking up before twelve was a good idea should be…” her speech trailed off, ending up in her pushing her tongue far past her lips in an expression of disgust.

Valerie would raise her hands in mock-surrender, her toothy smile only growing wider. “My lips are sealed, your secret is safe with me.” She would wait, patiently at first, and then a little impatiently… Although, to be fair, she wasn’t the sort of individual that liked sitting still for long. By the time Jess came down the stairs, Valerie had almost gotten to the point of just setting her laptop up here and accepting this as her new home. Luckily though, Jess would come down, and Valerie would get to admire the fine craftwork involved in her outfit.

“Jess, you can’t only exist between the hours of midday and two in the morning. There’s this thing called ‘dawn,’ have you ever seen it?” Good natured teasing would continue as Valerie stood up, tail wagging up a storm. “Let’s get going then, shall we?”

Jessamine followed Valerie’s eyes flitting about her dress, letting her lowest pair of arms fluff the skirt part a little so it would descend just where it belonged and not hike up to risk any embarrassing moments. “Yes. I know it’s time to call it a night when dawn breaks on me working. Weren’t you tech nerds supposed to be the nocturnal sort?” she jabbed right on back, flicking one of her upper hands through a curl of her hair. “But yes, better we get going or we’ll miss the window we were aiming for even harder. You did say that the fresh pastries you liked were often among the first to run out, no?”

Jess opened the front door, pat one of the cute little pockets on the front of her dress to make sure her keys were with her and ensured the lock would click shut once the door was closed again. “Come on then!” she called out to Valerie in case she wasn’t already out there with her and shut the door, even applying one of her sturdier keys to the safety lock set in the door, a heavy clink of metal signalling breaking through the structure would be ever so much harder now. “Besides, it’s easy for you to think morning are tolerable. You don’t want to die harder if you get caffeine in your veins!” she made a friendly jab accompanied by a quite literal nudge with one fist on Valerie’s shoulder, another hand scratching her friend under the skull’s chin.

“I’ll have you know that I like to work when there’s the opportunity to talk to people.” She would stick a tongue out at Jess, before shrugging. “They’re fresh pastries, of course they sell out fast… Hence why I get there early. Also, the coffee is freshly ground so it tastes so much better in the morning…” Ah, but the spider couldn’t drink coffee. “Well, maybe that last part doesn’t apply so much to you. We’ll get you some hot chocolate and it’ll all be fiiiine.”

Reality is what people think it is. And yet, what one calls reality is merely what one is able, or willing to perceive. You don't want to believe in monsters? Then a viral video you dismiss as CGI or a hoax. You don't want to believe in magic? Then you can go make fun of a group of "LARPers" who are dressed as wizards. Aliens? Its just a bunch of fringe people, aliens don't exist.

But the reality of reality is that perception can change in a moment. A meteor turns out to be an object from space, a cryptid turns out to be real, some show changes your understanding of existence. But some people never change. And some refuse to believe the truth so much they go out of their way to suppress it. Even if it means trying to kill it.

This town of mystery, home to the beings that the outside world refused to believe in, had one thing going for it. No matter how vile a person was who tried to denounce monsters and aliens as demons, or as fakes, they couldn't come here unless they met the right conditions. For those seeking sanctuary, it was a place of safety. Recently, a few monsters or general outsiders had turned up, bringing with them tales of being chased by humans of various backgrounds for one reason or another. But always with the same thread between them, an armored figure saving them, busting skulls, escorting them to safety, before telling them the town's name, and then disappearing into the night. The same figure being reported on and off across the world. The Rockwoman, a figure larger than life, a warrior of the night who struck down both lynch mobs and deranged monsters hellbent on harming innocents, but only killing when there was no choice. Better a person scarred for life, then a "monster" going to their grave smug. Urban legends had swelled the mysterious being to levels that one might have expected from most tall tales. Claiming that the armor hid their true form, a giant monster, or a human who knew the truth but swore to protect both, or a cross between the two. All sorts of crazy tales that you'd find on deep forum boards. Some stories were so out there that even the more popular tale tellers would scoff.

The reality was far from that.

The Rockwoman wasn't some larger than life figure.

In reality, she was just an ordinary looking person. Underneath that armor was a young woman, or looked so. A slightly freckled face, the most "bizarre" traits to her were her eyes, easily explained away as a genetic glitch, and her hair, excused as a wig or extensions. Even the few times a random person saw underneath her baggy clothing to the skintight outfit beneath, dismissed as a cosplay costume. She didn't dress to stand out, she looked like anyone else.

But that was the point. To hide in plain sight. By day, a normal looking girl, by night, the hunter. At least, that had been until a brush with a shotgun wielding pyscho hellfire and brimstone preacher had nearly caught her. She'd gotten away, but had been forced to lay low, travel from the South, to the North-west. After all, a dead body, a dead body killed in a decidedly not normal way...head melted, anyone, was enough to stir up a mob of crazed people. She had enough blood on her hands. She'd gone to a place she'd only sent others towards hoping it was really safe, and well, as of a day before, had arrived. Just a normal person you'd pass on the street, maybe question why the dark blue hoodie and jeans in summer, but otherwise not spare a second glance. But in a place of monsters and beings not normal, she was the probably abnormality.

The night before, she'd camped on the outskirts, hiding out of sight, just to be sure she had the right location. After all, magic fountain or not, she had to be careful. Also why she'd come in at night, using her tech to cloak herself, so even if someone was around at night, watching the way into the town, they'd see nothing. Not unless they had the ability to see heat. But it mattered nill. The sun had begun to rise, and for someone who hadn't slept at all, staying constantly alert, it was both a welcome sign, and a reminder of the need to move. Emerging from the makeshift shelter, she rose to her feet, brushing off, confirming that the hoodie was in place with its hood, and that no sign of the suit beneath was visible, before pulling the hood forward. A breath was taken in, before being slowly let out. And without any further hesitation, she began to walk.

Time passed, as she had walked, into the town, exploring, but acting like she was just out walking. Hopefully, this wouldn't draw any sort of negative attention. The last thing she wanted was a fight. But eventually, she came to the cafe's vicinity, and moved onto a bench across from the entrance, deciding it would be a good place to see if they had food and drink she could enjoy, while getting a feel for the locals. She smelled fire in the air, tasted it even. Perhaps a fire roared inside the building. She kept herself still, just a jeans clad hoodied figure, that in a worst case could be mistaken for a modern grim reaper. The robot was already present, and she could feel it's..oddity. Having a sort of sixth sense when it came to machinery, she felt a mystery to be solved, but buried that urge. Perhaps if the version of Sherlock Holmes she'd run around with once upon a time had been there, she would have been more confident, but she had to maintain that whole low profile. Ergo, despite the early morning situation, she just seemed to be a part of the scenery, motionless, only movement being her breathing. She was good at that. Waiting...

Hopefully she wouldn't get any odd looks before the place opened up....Right?

"Monsters! That is what we are!" The teacher began with his elementary class, beginning their lessons on history and social sciences. He raises all of his tentacles to emphasize the creepiness of the word, two tentacles grabbing chalk behind him, writing the word in big bold letters. "As defined in the dictionary and I quote "Monster, derives from the Latin monstrum, itself derived ultimately from the verb moneo ("to remind, warn, instruct, or foretell"), and denotes anything "strange or singular, contrary to the usual course of nature, by which the gods give notice of evil," "a strange, unnatural, hideous person, animal, or thing," or any "monstrous or unusual thing, circumstance, or adventure." The confidence and skill at speaking and writing at the same time while flapping his dozen or so tentacles in the air was nothing short of memorizing.

"Throughout human history it has been your forefathers and fore-bearers that have influenced cultures throughout the entire world. To us, Monster stands for the truly unique. The strange and wonderful. The odd and creepy. Monsters are the mandatory chaos that is thrown in a perfect natural system. You children are that legacy. You defy reality and biology as science understands it. You break barriers and norms, inspire, and bring about that sense of fear that stirs the hearts."

"Children! What I'm tell you is that without Monsters, the planet earth would be SUPER BORING!" He actually opened his mouth for that last part emphasizing just how passionate and grateful he was to be where he is. He expected it to be a joke but he only managed a few chuckles, but that might be mostly cause the Professor was acting so weird. He was as cuddly as an octopus on too much sugar

"Open your text books to page 394. We're going to learn about recent history. The finding of Foxbridge."

---

[Mentions - Riley]@Fabricant451



It was another beautiful morning in Foxbridge, Planet Earth. After communing with his patron for the mandatory 131 minutes and then dreaming another universe into existence before waking up and bringing his creations cataclysmic destruction in the blink of an eye, Leo woke up on the hour. It was the perfect time. He can slither his way through the house and take his time, preparing breakfast, coffee, check up on some emails, read reddit, watch MuuTube, and prepare lunch for himself and his daughter Riley. Despite his best efforts to try to get her to follow a strict schedule, 8 hours of sleep, food same time everyday, he gave up on that plan. Her human biology was just so antagonistic to the concept of order that she tended to stay up late and sleep late doing her little bits of distraction. "Teenage rebellion." He said to himself, before sipping his cup. "Isn't she twenty two?" A paradox.

At any case, on weekdays Leo would leave before his daughter got up to start her work day. He had a lesson at the elementary school for the diurnal students that rose with the son, but then a free period to visit Riley at his new hangout (he went to the little cafe alot, but since Riley started working there, its been almost an everyday thing). The school year was always tough for him, he had classes throughout the day and night, at all the schools. He didn't mind, teaching the next generation of eager brains was an honor and an absolute delight. The only sad part was less time with his little girl.

Still, he did his usual bits of fatherly duty. She'd have coffee, juice, toast, some scrambled eggs waiting for her along with a little brown bag containing some cut vegetables, dipping dressing, panino wrapped cheese, and one of those cupcakes she likes to snack on. Of course this was all topped with a little note.



This was all accented with a little cartoon squid with a '^^' eyes on it and a bunch of hearts. She hated all that mushy stuff and that's what made it so funny to him.

---

Free period. He would get to the cafe just before it opened. He giggled to himself as his tentacles scurried across the sidewalk and streets leaving a slime trail that somehow cleaned and polished whatever he walked on if making it slightly slippery for a few minutes, much to the chagrin of a few pedestrians who slipped on it a few times in the past. Thankfully it was still early enough that the morning rush wasn't in full swing quite yet. He went through his rounds, greeting, getting to know everyone on his path. He was definitely a positive influence on the community. That odd squid man that liked to say hi and talk about stuff he saw on the internet, no matter how mundane or bizarre. "Morning Mrs. Korderoy." A cute werewolf grocer was setting up her display. "Did you know a black hole will hit the earth in another 1.1 billion years? Better enjoy the beach while you have it." He yucked. The werewolf just smiled confused.

He went to the corner and made the turn, the quaint little shop coming into view. And like clockwork there was already a line forming. That silly robot, and someone with their hood up. Odd to see primarily human shapes in Foxbridge but she probably was hiding her features. Punk was all the rage with the kids.

________________________
@DocRock@ScreenAcne

"Good morning, good morning." Said the odd octopus creature two of his tentacles waving in the air like snake toys. He could never just sit and wait in silence. "4000, you're breaking my hearts standing outside every morning. You need more hobbies." The creature coo'd and yucked to himself. Robots and AI were still something he didn't quite get yet. "I hope they made those little lemon squares today." He could already tell he beat Riley to work. He hoped that sleepy head wasn't going to be late.

It had been a long time since Tehlarissa Wranvaris first set foot in the Foxbridge community. She'd only been here once before, and that was only to accompany the teenage daughter of the scientist that had revived her, as she went from place to place. Ironically, it was the last stop along the way in which Tehlarissa didn't feel entirely out of place. Morning Star Cafe had quite the assortment of other-worldly creatures from memory, who both had worked inside and were served as customers. However, the fact that she was well over one and a half times their size on average had still made Tehlarissa feel uneasy. She could barely even fit inside the bus she took to get into Foxbridge.

There were still quite the number of streets that Tehlarissa would have to go down to get from the bus exchange where she was dropped off to the cafe that brought so much familiarity in her life. As such, she'd have plenty of time to start looking for a source of income for herself while she was here, which was good because, although she may have looked to be wealthily dressed, she actually had no real amount of money on her person. Tehlarissa had only brought three things with her; a violin case with an accompanying violin, a parasol and a hiker's backpack that would've presumably contained the entirety of her remaining belongings. Perhaps she could put the former two to good use? Well... it was worth a shot. Tehlarissa opened up her parasol, but purposefully held it upside-down from the top, placing it in front of her, and holding it with her front-most legs while she used her hands to pull the violin out from its case.

As she held it in place with her hands and her chin, Tehlarissa began playing to the melody that was Amazing Grace, using her free tentacles to fine-tune the violin as she went. She had a keen mastery of the violin from her former life, and it was good to see that her muscle memory had not been affected by all the extra... additions to her body. Her voice, however, wasn't something she was entirely confident in. She settled for simply whistling the first verse of the song after she completed the fine-tuning of her violin as a result. The "wretch" that was part of the verse had hit Tehlarissa especially hard; and it stung so much because deep down, she knew that was exactly all she was. A wretch. An abomination. A grotesque, badly oversized obstacle that never failed to position herself in someone's way whether she'd meant to or otherwise. Perhaps trying to fitting into any sort of community was too much to ask of Tehlarissa, now that she was like this. She continued playing on the move, being considerate of where she was going but trying not to overthink it.



Deciding to start from the second verse instead, Tehlarissa unveiled a somber, yet soothing singing voice, tears starting to fall as it escaped her lips. Perhaps it was merely an act, perhaps how she truly felt. What mattered more to her now was that the song go on.



Through the third eye that was on her midsection, Tehlarissa saw that some of the pedestrians had stopped and lent their ears.



A slight smile slowly curved onto her face as she presented the upside-down parasol to those who stayed, ensuring her movements were slow so as to not appear pushy or desperate. The sound of coin making contact with the felt of the parasol was just the sign she was looking for.



It would've been awkward to try and mouth "thank you" mid-performance, but to compensate, Tehlarissa held a couple of free tentacles to her heart, her eyes conveying her appreciation for her. With that being enough to keep her going, she continued on her path, stopping at a corner where traffic lights were present and pressing a button that would allow her safe passage across the street in due time.



Curiously enough, the song caught the ears of a young Nekomata girl who was waiting at that same set of lights with her grandmother. She was a larger girl; probably 7 or 8 years old if Tehlarissa had to guess her age. She evidently wanted to sing too... so she did.



Well, the girl had said "was" instead of "'twas" and "this" instead of "thus" but, considering she may have still been learning her words, Tehlarissa couldn't exactly fault her. In fact, she found it to be cute. She playfully rubbed the tip of one tentacle underneath the girl's chin, which tickled her and made her purr. Sure enough, the walk signal turned green for Tehlarissa, so it was time for her to take her leave.

This was it. Just one last street to go down before she'd reach Morning Star Cafe. With her confidence starting to come into fruition, Tehlarissa made sure to belt this last verse out and let her true singing talent shine.



A few more payments of spare change from enchanted pedestrians later, Tehlarissa made it. She could see a few people inside Morning Star Cafe already, but it didn't look to be open just yet, judging by the queue outside. Perhaps it would open up to the multitude of customers by the time she finished her performance? Whether that would be the case or not, she didn't mind. She was merely grateful that people would pay to hear her sing. Judging by the sheer volume of change contained by the parasol, it was safe to say Tehlarissa had a good run. She turned to look toward the direction that she came, wanting to thank her audience despite having a feeling they'd all be gone by now...



She wrapped a tentacle around the bow of her violin and pressed hard against the instrument itself, before relinquishing grip from her hand.



She closed her eyes and held said hand to her chest for a few seconds, making a single, deep inhale of breath. She then extended it far to the direction that she came, slowly opening her eyes again as she did.

---

---

There was one thing Riley was absolutely certain of: she really needed to get her own place. Of course she had nothing against her father, but all his affection and attention and father-daughter time was almost more exhausting than work itself. It used to be worse when she was younger but that was also when she was young enough not to know what helicoptering was. Since she got older she got better about talking to her father about her little concerns without arousing suspicion...not that there was anything suspicious about Riley in the first place, other than the fact that she was and ever remained an ordinary figure in an extraordinary community. Though the thought that she was probably extraordinary to the others had kept her up late on more than one instance.

But as she descended the stairs and saw the breakfast, note, and brown bag waiting for her - stopping to place some eggs on a slice of toast to eat on the go - a thought rang in her head that maybe staying at home wasn’t really the worst after all. She probably would’ve used fewer hearts and none of the cutesy talk but...to her father she was probably barely out of childhood in comparison.

Or maybe he just liked to give her a bit of embarrassment and paternal affection in the morning.

Much like the days before it, Riley was awake and outside shortly after the sun announced its arrival to Foxbridge and its inhabitants. This was her favorite part of the day, when the breeze was just picking up and it felt as if the world itself was waking up from a deep, deep slumber. With one hand in a pocket and the other holding a small case containing her tools of the trade, Riley felt on top of the world. The only time her hand left her pocket was to wave at strangers she passed on the street; sometimes they even waved back.

She didn’t live terribly far from her place of employment but even so she was often the last of the kitchen crew to arrive but then she didn’t have the advantage of taking up residence in the cafe itself which was a totally unfair move. Standing outside the Morning Star Cafe, her place of employment, she pulled a small keyring from her pocket, inserted a key into the hole, turned it, and went to open the door only to pull and pull at a locked door. After the fourth attempt to open the door she pressed her face close to the door and cupped her hands around her eyes. Fiona was inside...or was it Flint..she couldn’t tell through the glass.

Realizing her mistake of locking an unlocked door, Riley properly re-unlocked the door and stepped inside the cafe, hanging the sweater she always wore around her waist up on the coat rack. “Mornin’, Auntie Fiona.” Riley waved to her coworker, stifled a yawn, and headed to the back kitchen that was her cohabitated domain. Back when she didn’t know any better, Riley stubbed her toe on her fellow chef’s body and that had hurt like the dickens for a day. Now, however, she knew better. “Rise and shine, big guy.” Riley turned the lights on in the back and carefully stepped around Artaide. “Hope the rats didn’t eat ya.” Riley knew there weren’t any rats. Well, other than some of the customers.

Dark, purple gas started to ooze out of the suit of armor as it started to animate. A loud groan could then be heard escaping the armor as it started stretching as if it was a human that just woke up. "Woah, what the hell?" said Artaide groggily as he began to pull himself up. Most of the time, Artaide was an early riser, and would be the first one awake and unlock the cafe for everyone else. Unfortunately for him, he spent the night before cleaning up the mess some ignorant, messy, and perhaps drunk, customer made. "You're already here? Damn, I thought I could still rely on my body clock even after what happened last night." Bringing himself up to his full height, Artaide let out a groan as he looked around the kitchen, making sure that nothing was out of place. "Heh, as if any rats would even want to eat me." He replied to his co-worker. The oniwha then paused for a moment, almost as if something just clicked inside his brain before asking Riley, "Please tell me we're the only ones here and that Walker didn't stare at my deadbeat crumpled hobo body earlier with contempt while I was still asleep."

While the taller of the kitchen staff was rising and shining, Riley was setting her cutlery and tools out in her work station; unlike her they would get some extra time to sleep before their services were truly needed. It was kind of unfair but then, as long as her knife was asleep it wasn’t yapping her ear off and tricking her into miscutting something - often a nick of her finger - so it was really a boon more than anything. “Fiona’s here, got here before I did. Fortunately I don’t think she noticed you so you’re in the clear.” With her tools aligned and her kit tucked away for safe storage, Riley grabbed a waist apron and promptly tied it in place.

“You don’t have enough for your own place yet? Man, how bad is real estate around here? I’m definitely gonna get you a raise soon, if only so you can know the joys of an actual bed.”

Artaide let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, because that has happened before and I think he might cut my pay if he caught me doing it again." The suit of armor then walked around Riley and headed towards the pantry. Moments later, he came out bringing several different spices and sauces, such as salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce. Artaide's forte was cooking up savory dishes, like entrées, unlike his kitchen companion's which was making sweets and desserts. After setting all of his ingredients down on his own workstation, he replied to Riley. "Beds are scams and so is real estate. Although I've never tried either, I'm sure they're just as good as sleeping on the hard, cold, and maybe a little bit dirty floor. I would appreciate the raise however. There's some stuff that I'm planning on ordering from the outside but I have no idea how much it costs, so I'm scrounging as much money as I can find. He would then follow suit and put on his own apron. There are some parts of the armor that he would rather not spend five hours cleaning.

“Real estate I’ll maybe grant you, but then again I don’t have to pay rent until I move out so what do I know. But beds? BEDS? If I could I would literally not ever leave my bed. It’s like...sleeping on a cloud that’s also... sleeping on a...marshmallow.” Riley searched and struggled for the perfect metaphor and settled on one that seemed just descriptive enough. Effort was better spent elsewhere, such as checking on the goods she left in the chiller overnight and grabbing a carton of eggs and making sure there was filling in the frosting bags. In contrast to the more savory side of things, the sweet kitchen often required a more delicate touch and Riley’s small, human fingers were delicate enough to spread icing evenly or make sure there was an equal amount of fruit in any given fruit cake. It was stressful work but every dish she made and displayed was done with care. One time she once said she put a piece of herself on every plate she sent out and several customers complained that they were eating zombie skin. That was a fun day of explaining idioms. Her dad would’ve been proud to see her explaining something to people.

“When you do get your own place...are you going to still sleep on the floor? I would say that’s uncomfortable but to me...your entire, like, body looks totally uncomfortable. I could never wear something so bulky. It would hide my shoulders.”

"IF I get my own place… then yeah, I'll probably still sleep on the floor. But your bed ‘proposition’ does sound intriguing, I might try it sometime. Also, I don't wear this suit, I am this suit. I am literally just gas and a tiny flesh ball underneath this, so yeah." Artaide didn't really plan to get his own place anyway. It was mostly because he couldn't afford it alone but also because he was already mostly satisfied living in the kitchen itself. But there was this small part of him that wanted to try living in an actual house, maybe he would take up an offer if it was presented to him… someday.

"Hey, I'm gonna head out for a bit and get some fresh air. You wanna come with or are you just gonna stay here?"

“Fresh air?” Riley repeated, keeping her comments about if air even felt noticeable on armor promptly to herself - the last thing she wanted to do was cause some kind of awkward faux pas. Her answer followed physically before it came verbally; Riley shook her head while maintaining an oddly chipper morning grin about her person. “Nah, got plenty of that on the walk over. Besides, got eggs to crack. Just get back before the morning rush, yeah?”

"Yeah, yeah, no problem mom." Artaide said jokingly as he walked out the kitchen door. Fortunately, the doorframe was a little bit taller than him so he didn't have to bend to get through. While heading towards the exit, he also greeted the fiery bartender with a simple "Mornin, Fiona.", before going outside. The sound of a deep inhalation could then be heard from the suit of armor as he looked up at the sky. He continued staring for several minutes, reminiscing about the world he came from and how Earth's blue sky was a stark contrast to the constant bright red and orange of his homeworld. "Another day in this new world." he said to himself before heading back inside the cafe.

Even with the hood pulled forward, it would have required her to be completely unaware, and asleep, to miss the sensation of a machine nearby. Well, not a pure machine. She could smell something off as the machine turned towards her, trying to process what she was sensing. A cyborg, maybe? In that kind of shell? It looked like something straight out of a 50s science fiction film. Maybe a prop that became self aware? She'd seen stranger. Then a sound cut the air. Two sets of sounds. With her ability to hear into ranges beyond normal humans, as well as pick up on faint sounds that came from far away, she had to always work to filter various sounds away when her helm was off. The first was someone's laughter, as she turned her eyes towards the yellow...octopus? Something about it made her skin crawl briefly, her senses tingling, before she internally relaxed. A native, probably lovecraftian if she had to guess. Only a theory based on the whole...tentacle thing? Then she heard the singing. She turned away from the robot, Serene's attention drifting towards the singing source. Her heart turned over, a memory of a life long past flickering up into her mind, causing a tear to come to her eyes. More than a single memory at that. It took a long moment, and she fought down the memory of that time...when she'd been the Idol Queen, the top performer in an empire. And all the adventures held during that time. She sighed under her breath, not in annoyance at the singer, but in sadness, an almost mournful sigh, recalling the past.

But at the same time, the music made her heart swell with joy, as she had to admit, the voice was beautiful, and the violin was clearly being put to good use. She froze though when she saw the source. Serene couldn't process what she was seeing. A...person with half their body replaced by tentacles? Frankenstein-esque experiment? Either way, it wasn't a thing that made her stare for bad reasons, from under her darkened hood, rather in intrigue and interest. The scientist in her was riveted at the thought of learning. But just as quickly, she heard the yellow guy and the robot engage, and Serene turned back, trying to process what had been said to her. Radiation...or something? Yeah, that sounded like a cheesy b-list sci-fi film's character. Maybe a freak accident fusing the mind of an actor with its shell? Maybe. That could explain it. Who knew. All the others present seemed content to merely stand around and chitchat. Like they all knew each other, and belonged. Unlike her. She figured she'd get it over with. A hand moved from the pocket of her jacket, revealing...some sort of material covering her flesh, almost like what you'd find in a skinsuit, or a plugsuit, moving to grip the side of the bench. She pushed herself up, careful to not exert too much force, mindful of how people could freak at extreme feats of strength. At her full height, she was nearly six feet tall, perhaps not an anomaly in a world of monsters, but it was still short in her mind. A reminder of her impure blood. Perhaps.

She shuffled slightly, moving around the talking duo, offering a soft apology, that was barely audible, almost in a whisper, before moving towards the door into the cafe. Unless someone got in front of her, she would enter the cafe, eyes kept low, her hood further forward than before, the solo hand out slipping back into the darkness of her jacket pocket. She moved to one side of the entrance if able, not yet moving towards the ordering counter, her hooded head lifting slightly, her eyes moving around. She was looking for anything that could help her figure out what to order, and what kind of currency they took. Hopefully no one was short enough to look up her hood, let alone be that unaware of personal space. In essence, she stood there, against one part of the front of the cafe, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other, just there. Trying to figure things out. Hopefully this wouldn't cause any issues, right?

Promises of everything being fine or not, Jess wasn’t so certain about the chance of her bad case of early morning trying to have her just bundle up on the street and have a nap being that conducive to actually proceeding with the plans they had had. Especially given the silly idea was not sounding quite as silly in her head as it should. She had crossed four of her arms across her abdomen, kept one occupied in rubbing her head and trying to shake the sleeping sands from her eyes, while the last just hung limply at her side, bouncing as her exoskeleton covered legs clicked against the ground on each stiff step. All in all, her posture was anything but presentable. And she was out in public. Not a good combination to be going through, she knew, but didn’t have the energy to fight that bed head.

“You know Valerie sweetheart…” she opened again, them finally making it to the street of the Morning Star Cafe was on, most of those that had gathered outside the cafe earlier already having made it in by now and thus not there to see the disheveled mess of a seamstress in the company of her hacker friend, “I don’t think I can go in there looking like a fungus took over my brain and started shambling me across the streets”, she let out a chuckle that had no heart behind it and turned to look her friend in the eyes that she could catch from her slumped over walking, the weave of her arms opening up to let more and more of them to just be jostled about by her steps. “You got anything to perk me up or do I just need to slap my face enough?”

The biggest problem with rousing Jess was that caffeine- the typical method of waking anyone and anything up, had… Less than pleasant effects on the spider-woman’s physiology. Furry hands rubbing furry chin, Valerie would think for a little while, before finally remembering something. Digging around in an abandoned side-pocket of her laptop carry case, she would pull out a small sachet and hand it over.

“Energy sachet. Caffeine-free. Tastes like chalk mixed with straight syrup, but it’ll wake you up, that much is for sure.” She shuddered to think how unhealthy they were, but at the same time she herself had used them and the therianthrope could say from first-hand-experience that they would do more than just perk one up.

Jess picked the packet up in two of her hands, stopping in her tracks and reaching for the packet with a third from the other side, holding it in front of her face. Her red eyes squinted as she tried to read the diminutive text on the wrapper detailing some of the things that were in it, until she finally managed to draw enough focus to see the details. Bless her eyes, still actually working despite it being a little bright here in the morning sun! But once she got the process over with, she let go with the last hand to join the party and offered the packet back towards her friend and shook her head.

“Little too much, little too much… I’ll have to pick up a decaf and get some sugar in. That should do it. I’ll just have to fake it ‘til I make it until then, as much as faking it and posing is so unlike me. But so is waking up in the morning, so let’s go for the full house or nah?” she refused in what might constitute in her mind as polite and rubbed her face with three hands, focus mostly on her right eye and the left side in a little more general manner.

As she stood up straighter now, she had managed to make scarce with the frown that had had ‘end my suffering’ written all over it in favour of a more neutral expression, had her back straight and instead of letting her hands hang limp she got a bit of angle to each of them like one might see in one of those Far Eastern dances. Not much she could do about her squinting though. “Let’s get this over with before I lose focus”, the corner of her mouth opened just a bit as she mumbled in Valerie’s direction.

Wow, the seamstress… Really… Didn’t deal with mornings well. Shrugging at her words, Valerie would hold up a paw and then plant it atop Jess’ head, following it up with more pats once the first one was accepted. Hey- it always cheered her up, why wouldn’t it work for someone else?

“It’ll be fine, we’ll get some sugar into you and then it’ll all be better.” Taking the packet back, she would tuck it away into the same pocket it had come from, and then walk ahead of her friend, opening the door to the coffee shop and offering a wave to those already inside. “Hello folks!” She would say, smiling, before quickly hurrying her way to the till, indicating with her hand for Jess to grab a table for the pair.

The headpats were allowed to happen. It was less accepting them and more on not just having the energy to try and reject them, but they weren’t a bad attempt at solving the problem as by the third Jessamine’s frown had turned upside down and she broke into laughter. “Oh you’ve got something the wrong way around, silly”, she chastised, in a very loose sense of the word, her companion and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, ruffling her fur at the base of the skull with another hand. It hadn’t been the most obvious method of getting more life into Jess, but it had worked out if nothing else.

A faint hint of the smile remained even when she stepped inside Morning Star with her friend and gave a quick look around, using her six arms to greet as many of the people she knew simultaneously without saying a word to bother them. Valerie had handled the announcement of their arrival already, so all she had to do was smile and wave. Which suited her state just fine, one might add. The flame at the register had chosen their more feminine look on this fine day, as much as any morning could in the spider hybrid’s mind be called fine, and she had to concede that she was happy with that. A preference one might have a hard time explaining to anyone. But one she was aware of.

She neglected to make it to the counter herself, and instead took the opportunity to delegate the task to the friendly E-Cryptid. A hand descended on Valerie’s shoulder, and Jess leaned in to be able to share her order without speaking up too much. Her smile fell off now, focus being in talking instead, but it wasn’t like it was important after the initial greetings. “Get me a medium decaf, an ice water and something as sweet as they come. I’ll pay you back as always. And you’ll get extra scratches on top, okay?” she tried brokering a deal, already eyeing for a nice table to sit at where she wouldn’t be too far from people but far enough to allow for private conversation if a client did pop up.

“You got it,” she would nod, before heading to the counter and blurting out the full order in one long sentence. “Twochelseabunsonezillionaire’sshortbreadonedecafflatteonedoubleespressoandapitcheroftapwaterplease.” Panting a little bit afterwards, she would then explain herself a bit slower, pay with a wave of her hand (her card details were stored inside herself! Convenient!) and retrieve the various baked and brewed goods, placing them down before the spider and herself.

“One shortbread and decaff for you, one double or me, one and a half buns for me, half for you, and water to be shared. Good?” It seemed to be. “Scratches.” That was all she would add.

Jess had sat down for a moment and spent her time staring at the table surface, wondering how good of a pillow the wood would make but fighting against the urge to test the idea even with her arms in between for a little more softness. Thankfully this was stopped by the arrival of her friend, the breakdown of their order and demand for the promised reward. Jess puffed through her nose, a smirk flashing briefly on her face as she considered the very open demand of affection, but she would reach on over with a hand on one side to rub Valerie behind her ear, another for her shoulder and neck at the opposing side and lastly one just at the top of her head. “You got it”, she nodded, letting the scratching last a minute just like this and then shifting it to the other ear, under Valerie’s jaw and a soft tap between her eyes. “Now let me try and be less dead”, she mentioned as she finished, another few hands reaching for the shortbread and coffee. Of course, she needn’t stop the scratching, but she wouldn’t focus as intently.

The first twenty minutes or so of the initial opening was always the busiest, as the once happily and patiently waiting line, suddenly turned into a deluge as the cafe patrons rushed to the front counter. Eager as they were, whether they wanted a pastry sweet, or their morning coffee, Fiona had it more than under control. A veteran of a thousand openings, they simply cracked their knuckles, small sparks flying from their fingers and braced themselves as each order was placed. Like a focused machine, they took the order, packaged the baked goods, poured the morning elixir, and all without breaking a sweat, exuded their positive proclivity as they shouted after the departing guests, "Have a nice day!" Truly, this elemental was in their element. After all the initial excitement though, Fiona had a responsibility to attend to the needs of the remaining patrons. Making their rounds, Fiona made sure to refill drinks, bring extra pastries and generally converse with those around them.



Satisfied with their work, Fiona began to attend to her other duties, or rather they would have, but...how long had they been standing there? Standing somewhere between the front door and the counter was a rather tall, hooded and imposing figure, almost statuesque in a way. Had they been standing there the whole time? Fiona wasn't entirely sure, yet something in the back of their mind almost tickled that they had been, yet they weren't actively seeking attention either. Whatever the reason Fiona felt ashamed they hadn't noticed the individual in the first place and were determined to make the situation right. Approaching the hooded figure Fiona started, "I'm so sorry we haven't taken your order yet, please, come with me!" With their best friendly, customer service attitude, Fiona latched themselves onto the arm of the patron began leading them towards an open table before forcibly coaxing them into a seat. "Wait just a moment please, I'll be right back~!" Skipping away behind the counter, Fiona began to gather an assortment of pastries, pasties, ceramics and cutlery onto a tray and carried back the sampled assortment of delights back to the newly greeted guest.

Setting the tray in front of the figure, Fiona immediately bowed in apology, "I sincerely do apologize for the delay and inconvenience, please accept these fine samples from our cafe as compensation." While not mountainous, the display was certainly sizable, including things such as croissants, scones, muffins, other assorted pastries and sweets and a cup and saucer for either coffee or tea, both of which had been accompanied with a small kettle. Raising their head from the bow, Fiona looked at the new guest somewhat closely for the first time, from what they gathered it was a woman, unusually tall, but perhaps they were a half-breed of some kind? Fiona didn't really know, but what they did know was that this person was a new face, and a new face deserved proper greeting. "Are you new in town Miss? Well let me personally welcome you to Foxbridge! My name is Fiona, and I'd be happy to serve you today!"

---

Tehlarissa shifted her "earnings" from the open parasol that contained them to the violin case that she opened up, and then waited for everyone to pass through before trying to enter herself. It was a tight squeeze, unsurprisingly. The door frame was definitely short on Tehlarissa and it looked to be much too narrow, but she managed to get herself and her stuff through to the other side, after approximately 30 seconds of great care not to bump anyone else in her efforts. She may have made it look easy due to having done it umpteen times, but it really wasn't.

It was here that she caught wind that there was a talent show coming up soon. Tehlarissa never really got the chance to settle herself in the community yet, so jumping straight into a talent show may have been too big of a leap right now. Even more so if she just so happened to win it over some favorites. She'd need time to mull it over, but for now she figured she should actually order something. She waited patiently for a certain fire elemental named Fiona, who seemed to be in charge of dealing with all the customers.

"I'll have the house blend, please," Tehlarissa said, once Fiona was ready to take her order, before going one delectable treat that was on display to another, "Actually, I'd like a couple slices of the lime key pie on top of that, and... six of those blueberry muffins you have there; I love blueberry muffins! Oh wow, these lemon squares look so cute, I gotta have at least of them! And...!"

Tehlarissa paused, suddenly realizing that she'd been caving in to her sweet tooth and gone off on the deep end. It was supposed to be a simple order of a few select things to keep herself sustained, and yet here she was almost trying to buy out the whole cafe's worth of food.

"I'm sorry; am I trying to take too much for myself?" she asked, now considering redoing her order from scratch.

Having someone decide for her what to do next, was, on one hand, nervewracking, after all, some part of her didn't want to be a bother. On the other hand, she was relieved. Fiona would find that the arm she grabbed onto, while hidden beneath the hoodie sleeve, was lean, yet with a clear hint of muscles. Someone strong, without any real "fat" on the bone. Maybe the sensation would also be accompanied by a slippery feeling, given the material that acted as a second skin to the Traveler's body. Sitting down, she couldn't help but take in the smells, and the sounds. All of it was nice, lovely, in fact. Sensations most welcome. However, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel as if she was being a nuisance. After all, she'd not even begun to come up with something to order. But anything further was dashed away at the sudden placement of food before her. A few moments passed as Fiona spoke, before the hooded woman did respond.

"It's...no bother. Hadn't made a decision yet." There were two things to note about her speech. The first was, despite how few words were spoken, there was a clear accent, or tone, that one would associate with a higher status in life, noble, royal, or perhaps, even higher. But on the flip side, there was no negative side to that, no haughtiness, no entitlement, a humbleness to the tone, like one might expect of a common place soldier, or say, normal person. A sort of oddness then, a refined tone, yet without any sign of the negatives that came with stereotypes regarding upper classes. "Just...a traveler passing through. Thought I'd spend a few nights here..." The slowness wasn't a speech impediment, rather the woman pausing, as if trying to decide which words would be best to use. She studied the food items from under her hood, considering each one in turn, before picking one. One hand left its dark enclosure, the biosuit clad digits reaching up and onto the table, to grasp one of the croissants. It was held a moment, then lifted, another study given, before it was lifted up further, under the hood, somehow abruptly vanishing into the darkness, as if it had literally just been...sucked away. A few seconds of chewing, then a swallow. It was good, very good. There was a talented baker here, clearly. Probably a monster or human with superb cooking skills. A few moments more passed, then the traveler turned her head directly towards Fiona, and despite the hood, well it was clear eye contact, to a degree, was being held. Not in an intense or threatening manner, merely the politeness one might expect from a diner towards their server. And yet, there was a sense of intensity, not directed outwards, but as if there was a sort of...internal energy behind those eyes. If one was attuned to the right kind of energy, they'd sense the pool inside. A swirling "maelstrom" of magical energy, hidden deep beneath the surface, yet just there, as if waiting. Energy foreign to the world, yet at the same time, natural.

"Do you have...anything cherry related?" There, a slight note of hesitation this time. As if asking made them nervous. Probably some reason for that. "Or cinnamon sugar...if that's not a bother to ask?" Someone clearly wasn't used to more common, mundane stuff. Her attention was, however, quickly pulled away, towards the singer from earlier. She couldn't help but smile internally at the other's energy. Sweettoothes are a guilty pleasure the world over, it seemed. Still, she had to be careful, being an outsider, an alien at that, made life tricky sometimes. She didn't want to cause trouble here, not in the place she was certain was a safe haven...