Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden chuckled and grinned. ”Yes, my little imp. You can pick whichever one,” he told them, happily following behind Nero.
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL Skills:
Cassi looked at Nic, holding the urge to tell him they should go now. ”Sounds fun,” she said and waited for the others to move their items in before she took the trolley back into the elevator to head down and load more boxes.
Avery finished the French Toast and pulled the bacon from the oven. He baked the bacon slowly with a brown sugar glaze. His mouth was practically watering from the smell.
”Do you want to take this all upstairs or just eat here?”
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Nero hops to give Caden a kiss on the cheek before going carriage to carriage and looking at each horse carefully. “This one!” They declare when finding an all black horse, waving at Caden to get his attention.
“Where do these carriages go?” Nero asks Caden once he’s joined them.
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Nic’s Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
Once the couch is set down, Nic makes his way back down with everyone stuffed into the elevator. Maybe it’s because they set a good pace with unloading yesterday, but they made short work of unloading. Jane and Kat offer to help Ren with arranging everything so that Cass and Nic can go back to his old apartment to clean it up and then finish cleaning his dad’s home.
“I figured I could clean the rest of my dad’s place while you work in the garden, if you’d like.” He says while the plans are being discussed.
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills:
Kiki has to think about it for a moment. “Hmm… I feel like it’d be easier to eat down here, but… the weather in Chicago is too nice - can we eat on the patio?” She asks, taking the sausage off the stove.
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden joined Nero once he found the right horse. Caden stood beside the carriage and offered Nero his hand to help them get into the back. ”They go around the park and sometimes on the main roads when the traffic isn’t too bad. We’ll stay in the park, though. We can take this to the zoo or the carnival. Where would you like to go first?”
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL Skills:
Cassi sat down, drinking some water while she watched Jane, Kat, and Ren talk about where some of the furniture should go. She took a sip of her water when Nic came over. She smiled at him and set her water down.
”Oh! Of course. Todd and Jason could take the truck back if you want to drive the SUV. We’ll need the room to bring the cuttings back to my house,” Cassi explained. ”We have to work, though,” she said teasingly.
Avery smiled and started to cover the food and put it onto the trolley. ”We can definitely eat on the patio. Do you want juice or something else to drink?”
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Nero accepts Caden’s help into the carriage. “Zoo first since animals will be more energetic earlier than later, right?” Nero asks as they sit and scoot over to make room for Caden before wiggling in their seat, tapping their feet side to side.
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Nic’s Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
Nic laughs, kissing her cheek. “I make no promises.” He says with a wink, pretty sure it wouldn’t be the right time and place anyhow.
“Do we need to pick up Jason and Todd afterwards? Or does the moving truck belong to Caden?” He wouldn’t put it past the man to have a personal box truck.
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills:
Kiki grabs the orange juice from the fridge. “Does Caden keep champagne on his bar trolleys? I’m thinking mimosas.” She places the orange juice on the little cart before helping with getting the rest of the food on it.
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden stepped up and sat next to Nero. ”Generally. The zoo first then,” Caden said, and told the driver. The carriage rolled a little before it was pulled tight and moved forward as the horse started to trot.
Caden smiled, remembering when this had been the only mode of transportation, aside from flying.
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL Skills:
”They can Uber home. That way they won't have to wait around for you to drive them back after I'm done off-loading the plants. It'll take me a little while to make sure I do it right. Plus we still have to finish cleaning,” Cass said. She didn't want to tie the two of them down when they could just leave after they've helped so much.
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Nero curls into Caden’s side, happily enjoying the ride and the view on the way to the zoo. “Glaubst du, sie sprechen Deutsch?” They ask Caden, gesturing towards the driver. The driver didn’t glance behind him, steadfast in his focus directing the horse and carriage.
Do you think they speak German?
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Nic & Ren’s Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
Nic nods along to what she’s saying. “You focus on the plants, I’ll do the cleaning.” He tells Cass with a smile. “It’ll probably be best to go to my old place first and make sure it’s all done. Then we can head to your place for the tools on the way to the house. Does that sound good?” He asks as he puts his arm around her shoulders and kisses her head again.
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills:
“Thank you!” Kiki calls after Avery as he walks away. She takes a second, leaning on the counter while closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. “Fuck you, Terrance and Levi.” She whispers angrily to herself. She just wants to feel normal again, to feel okay to go out into the woods, to be able to talk without the memories haunting her.
The nails of Kimiko’s fingers start shifting into claws, her anger and frustration starting to eat away at her.
Avery disappeared into the wine cellar to get a bottle of champagne. He headed back, walking into the kitchen. ”If you want it colder, we should bring up some ice to chill it,” Avery said as he walked back into the kitchen.
Kimiko didn’t look right, and Avery’s quick eyes saw the claws where her hands should be. Avery set the bottle down slowly. ”Little fox…” He used his nickname for her rather than Kiki, knowing she seemed to respond better to it.
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Nero smirks. “Das war letzte Woche, aber ich nehme an, es an einem Ort wie New York zu sagen, wäre großartiger.” They tell him cheekily, trying not to squirm from Caden’s nuzzling of their neck.
“Ich wollte gerade sagen, dass mich das Fahren in diesem Stil daran erinnert, wie weit die Technik gekommen ist.” They can remember riding in something similar as a human, though it was much cruder and simpler in design.
That was last week, but I suppose saying it in a place like New York would be grander // I was just going to say that riding in this style reminds me of how far technology has come (cum)
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Nic & Ren’s Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
Nic laughs before grinning lopsidedly. “As if I would leave you barren, my little drink gremlin.“ He holds her closer into his side before kissing her cheek. It’s a quirk Nic has come to love about Cass - he’d even added cup holders to his bike so that he could bring Cass a drink if there was a place on the way.
“What are we in the mood for today?”
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills:
Kiki kept her eyes closed, still taking steadying breaths, but she could feel her hands turn back. “Sorry, I’m okay, just… had a moment.” A moment where she had wished Terrance had been left alive long enough for her to make him suffer until his last breath.
“I’ll get ice for the champagne.” Kimiko says, straightening while opening her eyes to look at Avery. “Thank you, Mon loup.” She says and kisses his cheek. She wants to mention how much his little nickname means to her, to make sure he knows it’s not his fault for bringing up running, and to let him know how much she appreciates him, but the words don’t seem to form. She flashes a bright smile before heading to the ice machine.
Location: Central Park Zoo – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden grinned and wrapped his arm around Nero’s shoulders. He let himself enjoy the quiet ride, feeling like he could be in the seventeen hundreds courting Nero.
”Ich habe das gleiche gedacht.” They neared the zoo. Already, Caden could hear some of the animals and the patrons running around excitedly. The carriage stopped in front of the gate, and Caden paid the man before helping Nero exit the carriage.
I thought the same.
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL Skills:
Cassiopeia happily snuggled into Nic’s side, enjoying the closeness. ”Mmm, I’m thinking a smoothie of some kind. Something thicker,” Cassi declared.
The concern didn’t quite leave Avery’s eyes as he watched Kimiko regain control and move to get ice. He moved the champagne to the trolley but didn’t take his eyes off her. Avery had no idea what to say.
He didn’t want to push her but he didn’t want to ignore what had just happened either. It was so easy to dissociate and push things aside, but that never solved the problem.
Once they had the ice, Avery pushed the trolley to the elevator and pushed the button for the main floor. ”Do you want to talk about it?”
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
“Was für ein Paar alter Seelen wir doch sind.” Nero tells Caden as he helps them down off the carriage. They find themselves briefly wondering what it could have been like if the two had grown up in the same time.
Nero tilts their head as they gaze at the gate. “Why does it say ‘children’s zoo’?”
What a couple of old souls we make
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Nic & Ren’s Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
Nic rests his cheek on Cass’ head. “Oooo, a smoothie sounds great actually. I’m sold.” He says, thinking about getting a peanut butter and jelly smoothie - they’re one of his favorite kinds of smoothie.
“Do we want to get them on the way to my old place or after?” His thumb on her shoulder rubs in a circle. While Nic waits for her answer, he signs over to Todd and lets him know the plan. He gives a thumbs up in response before turning to Jason to relay.
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit: Sleep shorts & Avery’s Hoodie
Kiki takes a steadying breath as she looks at her fists, clenching and unclenching them. “I’m just so frustrated with it all. I want to have conversations without words or phrases reminding me of what they did.” She grits her teeth before leaning on the back of the elevator and closing her eyes.
“And then of course, I get angry all over again and wish that I had him chained up in a dark hole where I could torture him and make him die agonizingly slow.” Kimiko takes another deep breath before chewing on her lip and opening her eyes to look at Avery. They are already on the ground floor, but she likes the absolutely privacy of the elevator for the moment.
With an awkward laugh, Kiki smiles half-heartedly. “A run later will definitely help me… There’s so much emotion bottled up inside me right now, my fox is practically begging to come out and play.” That has to be the reason her claws were coming out, right? Kiki doesn’t notice that she’s sprung a second pair of ears, two fox ones on the top of her head, the white fur tinged with pink and orange.
Location: Central Park Zoo – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden looked up at the stone arch before he smiled and pulled Nero along to pay for admission. ”It’s a section of the zoo. The old part crumbled, and this remained standing. The zoo has been rebuilt several times over, but they kept this for nostalgia. The children’s zoo is like a petting zoo,” Caden explained.
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL Skills:
”Either or,” Cassi said, having no particular preference. She just knew she would like a smoothie at some point before going to Ren’s to tend to the garden.
Avery listened to Kimiko, feeling he could identify with her easily, especially when she spoke about wanting to chain Terrance up and make him suffer a little more. Part of Avery wished he had left the killing blow for Kimiko, but he was so angry there was no way he could have held himself back.
The elevator opened. Avery pushed the trolley out and stepped closer to Kimiko. His eyes flicked from her face to her head, and he brushed his fingers along her ears. ”I think she wants to come out sooner rather than later,” Avery said in bemusement.
Location: Central Park Zoo – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden looked up at the stone arch before he smiled and pulled Nero along to pay for admission. ”It’s a section of the zoo. The old part crumbled, and this remained standing. The zoo has been rebuilt several times over, but they kept this for nostalgia. The children’s zoo is like a petting zoo,” Caden explained.
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL Skills:
”Either or,” Cassi said, having no particular preference. She just knew she would like a smoothie at some point before going to Ren’s to tend to the garden.
Avery listened to Kimiko, feeling he could identify with her easily, especially when she spoke about wanting to chain Terrance up and make him suffer a little more. Part of Avery wished he had left the killing blow for Kimiko, but he was so angry there was no way he could have held himself back.
The elevator opened. Avery pushed the trolley out and stepped closer to Kimiko. His eyes flicked from her face to her head, and he brushed his fingers along her ears. ”I think she wants to come out sooner rather than later,” Avery said in bemusement.
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Nero beams up at Caden as he explains, loving the little things they’re learning from him right now. Their eyes go wide at the mention of a ‘petting zoo’. “You can pet the animals?? Can we pet a lion?” The lady behind the glass gives Nero a startled look as she hands a receipt to Caden.
“Ich schätze, man kann den Löwen nicht streicheln.” They say in a pout.
I’m guessing you can’t pet the lion
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Nic & Ren’s Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
Nic gives it a moment’s thought. “I think on the way will be best so you can finish it before getting your hands all dirty… dirt-covered.” He figures that Cass is probably a fan of feeling the earth on her hands.
”We should probably go now so it doesn’t get dark while you’re in the garden.” He gives Cass another kiss on her head before getting up and offering his hand to help her up.
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit: Sleep shorts & Avery’s Hoodie
Kiki’s eyes follow Avery’s moment as he reaches out towards her head, confused about what he’s saying. Then she feels him brush her ears. A pleasant shiver goes up her spine. Wait, what? She reaches up with her hands, feeling Avery’s fingers first before she feels her ears. Her face flushes as she realizes what’s happening. “O-oh gods…” She mumbles in embarrassment, much of her anger dissipating. And just like that, she only has human ears.
“I can’t remember the last time that happened.” She says with a small laugh, her face and ears a close shade to the strawberries on the trolley.
Location: Central Park Zoo – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden laughed and shook his head. ”No my darling. The petting zoo has smaller prey-like animals that you can pet. Like goats, ducks, some reptiles. The larger dangerous animals we can look at from a far,” Caden said and kissed Nero’s cheek. Of course, Caden and Demi were probably the most dangerous things in the zoo at the moment. Ironic.
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Driving – Chicago, IL Skills:
Cassiopeia nodded, letting Nic help her up. She waved goodbye to everyone before getting into the SUV and left with Nic. She didn’t mind if she lost track of time in the gardens. She could create her own light if she needed to.
”Do you think you are going to work overtime next week to make up for the time you missed?” Cassi asked curiously as they drove to his place.
Avery laughed and walked out of the elevator. He pushed the trolley to the back door and propped it open before walking through. ”That must have been interesting navigating while growing up. My eyes are the only thing that changes when I have a high emotional response to something. Usually anger.”
Avery starts taking the plates and food off the trolley, and setting them on the glass table outside. The pool area looks relatively okay after last nights party, but there are some beer cans and things still littered about that would have to be cleaned at some point today.
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Nero sniffs. “Sounds awfully boring.” They mutter before looking up at Caden, a curious twinkle in their eyes as an idea starts to form. “Wir sollten das Tier besuchen, in das du dich am liebsten verwandelst.” They declare excitedly, grabbing a map to look at the list of animals.
We should visit whichever animal here you like shifting into the most
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Driving to Nic’s Old Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
Nic sets his smoothie in the console after taking a sip. “I’ll have to work at least a half day next weekend since I traded with someone to get off early on Friday.” He says, hoping to ease her mind. “I meant it when I said I wanted to take as little overtime as possible - so it’ll only be around three to four hours.” He reaches his hand over to gently squeeze Cass’ leg before offering his hand to hold.
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit: Sleep shorts & Avery’s Hoodie
Kiki shakes her head, a little offended that he found this amusing but also understanding the hilarity of it. “Brag about it more.” She teases as they make it to the patio. “At thirteen, everything felt so large scale and life ending so I got angry pretty easily. I was homeschooled for the next couple of years until I got it under control… I need to feel strongly angry about something to shift… or apparently scared enough in a dream. Speaking of, how’s your arm today?”
Location: Central Park Zoo – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
”Ich bin der einzige Drache auf diesem Kontinent,” he whispered into Nero’s ear before looking at the small family of panda bears.
”What sort of animals do you like, my little imp?” Caden asked instead.
I am the only dragon on this continent.
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Driving – Chicago, IL Skills:
Cassi looked at Nic and smiled. She took his hand in hers and kissed the back of it before resting their joined hands on her leg. ”I know what you said, but I don’t mind if you have to, Nic. I know it’s hard to say no sometimes. And there will be times I’m busy with a case,” she added.
She appreciated how considerate Nic was, and even though she would love to monopolize all of his free time, she didn’t want to do that to him. He had friends and family who deserved one-on-one time with the man. Cass didn’t want to be that woman who had to tag along with her boyfriend wherever he went.
Avery smirked when she mentioned being a teenager had her needing to be homeschooled for a few years. Avery sat down in his usual seat at the table before he flashed Kimiko his unblemished, black skin.
”Perfect and undamaged,” he said with a wink. Avery turned to the food on the table, properly hungry now and started to load up on pancakes, bacon, and sausage.
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Nero turns and boops Caden’s nose. “Ich meinte die Tiere, die hier sind.” They say with amusement. “Well, I’ve always been font of cats, no matter what size they are, but you’ve certainly become my favorite animal as of late.” They throw a suggestive wink at Caden before following his line of sight to see the pandas.
I meant of the animals that are here
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Driving to Nic’s Old Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
Nic chuckles and shakes his head. “Sorry, what I mean to say is I used to be a workaholic. Yes I had times I went to dinner with my family or with Jane and Kat but I really let the hospital take most of my free time. The couple of weeks I spent not working since my mom had died was the first time I took time off in a long time. So I want to make sure I don’t turn into that version of Nic again.”
The human pulls up to his old apartment and parks the SUV, getting out to open Cass’ door before retrieving the cleaning supplies from the back.
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit: Sleep shorts & Avery’s Hoodie
Kiki sits down next to Avery and grabs his arm gently to inspect. Looking at it closely, she sees that the scratches are indeed gone. She release his arm and smiles in relief, trying not to let her thoughts spiral out again. “Alright, is this bacon going to taste as good at it smells?” She asks in an effort to change the subject. “And will I start forcing you to make bacon your way from now on?”
Location: Central Park Zoo – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden laughed and took the park map from Nero. He scanned the names of the enclosures before he tucked the map into his jacket and led Nero down a path.
”Eines Tages werde ich dir meine wahre Form zeigen,” he promised Nero. He led Nero down a path before he stopped. On either side, there were enclosures that held the bigger animals. Lions were on one side, with panthers on the other. A couple more enclosures held tigers and leopards.
One day I will show you my true form.
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Driving – Chicago, IL Skills:
”Okay well, don’t let me become your new work then. I don’t want to monopolize all of your time, either.” She hopped out of the SUV and helped Nic carry in the cleaning supplies.
Nic’s old apartment seemed somehow smaller without all the stuff in it. She ran her fingers along the counter in his kitchen, remembering the first night she came here. They had just had their first date, and we were still wet from being in the fountain. Cass still couldn’t believe Ren didn’t say anything about Cassi wearing Nic’s clothes. That had only been a couple of weeks ago, but it had felt like a long time.
Avery grinned and took a bite out of bacon before he saluted Kimiko with it. ”You’re going to want it with every meal,” he informed her confidently. It was the perfect combination of salty and sweet. It really brought out the natural taste of the bacon more, and it usually took all day for Avery to get the taste out of his mouth. It was one of his favourite things to make. The entire breakfast Avery had prepared was his favourite thing to eat for breakfast.
Location: Central Park – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Nero beams up at Caden at his promise and happily prances alongside him as he leads the way. Nero can’t help but notice that he had kept the map of the zoo for himself. Nero immediately runs to the lions, their wire-y manes reminding Nero much of her own hair, and notices with glee that many of them are sunbathing. “Just big cats.” They observe with a cat like smirk.
Nicholas “Nic” Wu
Location: Nic’s Old Apartment - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit
“I’ll try my best, but you should know I find you very addictive.” Nic whispers the last part of his sentence in Cass’ ear as they enter his old place. He gets right to work filling in any hole larger than what a thumbtack would make with the little container of spackle, wanting to give it enough time to dry so he could paint over the more noticeable ones.
Next he goes to the spots he knows need a little extra love if he wants to get his security deposit back, like the part of the linoleum floors that were starting to come off in the bathroom.
Kimiko “Kiki” Voss
Location: Caden’s Home - Chicago, IL Skills: Fit: Sleep shorts & Avery’s Hoodie
Kimiko’s tempted to steal the bacon off his plate to try, but she resists and loads her own plate with food before trying a bite of the bacon. “Oh my gods, Avery.” She practically moans, her eyes going wide at the delicious taste. “I thought you were just being cocky but that’s bloody delicious!”
Location: Central Park Zoo – New York City, New York Skills: Fit
Caden watched Nero run ahead to the lion enclosure. He walked up behind Nero, sliding his arms around their waist and rested his chin on top of Nero’s head.
”Do you believe in reincarnation?”
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Location: Driving – Chicago, IL Skills:
Cassiopeia froze at the kitchen counter when Nic spoke. Her entire body seemed to ignite from those whispered words, and then he was gone. Cassi knew her face was redder than a tomato at this point, so she was glad when Nic went off to start fixing holes and other things.
Cassi stood alone in the kitchen, willing her body to move so she could start cleaning the kitchen. She envisioned herself forgetting the kitchen and following Nic. She didn’t care if there was no bed. She’d have him on the floor and be happy about it.
Finally, Cassi’s feet moved. She went to the sink, grabbed a cloth, and wet it before she splashed her face. Nic was going to be the death of her, she was certain now. Cass put all her energy into cleaning the kitchen. By the time she was done, everything looked bran new. Including the inside of the stove and fridge.
Avery’s eyes danced when she moaned from the taste of the food. He liked the way his name sounded, as well. Avery focused on his meal, cutting into his pancakes before adding syrup so it would soak in better.
”Secret number two. I love to cook, and I’m good at it.”
