Chapter 70: Easter Morning
"Shhh..." Comes a low tone in the night, "I think he's asleep..."
There came a pause, before Arnaav turns in the couch, groaning cutely in the big, fluffy blanket.
"Ok, he's fine..." Whispered someone else, "He's usually a deep sleeper."
"Alright, careful..." Rustling sounds of plastic can be heard as they creep around in the dark.
THUNK
"AH-" Someone moans and whines loudly in pain in a very strained effort to keep quiet.
"What happened??"
"Fuckin stubbed my toe, dammit!" Someone moaned with furious agony.
"Walk it off before you wake him."
"I can't walk it off, mah foot's fuckin crushed!"
"SHHHH!"
"Gah, dammit."
"And me the box of Faberge eggs." She whispered a small, bright light clicked on.
~~~
"Mmm..." Arnaav stirs in his sleep, slowing coming too as he can make out the morning light in the dwelling. He lets go of his big mochi plush doll, and rustles in his blanket. It's been almost a week now since he's first come here. He feels fine right now, but he can tell he's getting more sluggish in the mornings.
The boy sniffs the air as he detects several appetizing scents. His tummy growls as he rubs his eyes and peers out.
Arnaav gasps as he sees the house decorated all around! Strings of bright color are hung and drapped around the corners of the room, colors of pink, yellow, blue, and green. Shiny spirals with big thin flowers attached are nailed up on the ceiling. Adorable, happy knick-knacks of long-eared animals and small, fuzzy yellow birds are perched where other possessions were put, as well as many elaborate, beautiful, elegant jeweled eggs strategically placed around the house.
He pushes out of the bedding, and sees several large objects placed on the table - five baskets wrapped in whimsical shapes and plastic, arranged in alignment on the coffee table.
Arnaav picks up the large shirt on the floor, and slips it on before climbing off of the couch, to walks to the kitchen to see the female human, and the dark-skinned human creating food in there, as well as tanner human placing utensils and large discs onto the big round table, and Merrick is opening a couple of cans of food for a patient dog and cat.
"What's going on?" The boy asked up. Yuri looks and smiles at him.
"Oh, good morning, Arnaav!" She greets warmly.
"Happy Easter, lil man!" Jamal says with a plateful of bacon, and ruffling the kid's hair.
"Happy... Wha??" Arnaav asks, once again confused out of his little mind. How did the house change so much in so little time?
"Humans have a lot of festivals and celebrations, see" Adam answered, "Called 'Holidays'. This one is called Easter. This is where we're celebrating the beginning of the warmer times of the world - where plants get bright and bloom all over and as they get ready for another year for new hopes!" Adam says, but feels awkward when all is met is an estranged look from the kid.
"Yeah, you don't have to get it," Merrick says as he gets up while Sally glomps on her bowl and Roxas starts deftly licking his fancy feast, "Humans just like to throw a lot of gatherings and givings."
"Ooooook?" Arnaav is still confused, but if Merrick says it's fine...
"Come on up, Kiddo," Adam takes him, and helps him up on one of the chairs, "Breakfast is just about ready." Yuri comes in with the waffles and a gravy boat full of strawberry marmalade.
As Arnaav looks about the table loaded with food, and everyone coming up to the table, he really takes notice and how alien the human world is. It doesn't necessarily scare him, but compared to life as merfolk, humans in comparison seem so... Busy. So much developed, lifestyles so intricate, even how they feed has been made into such a complicated system instead of just hunting prey and eating it on the spot.
They even put items and things all over the dwelling in a sort of imaginative array to feel different, that they'd be capable of having so much to own and set-up at all. Just like in that strange visual story these humans showed him about a partially humanized mermaid with long red hair in her hiding spot filled with human items.
Everything just entices him and leaves him starving for more views. Arnaav growls with hunger as a large, circular, grid-like yellow mat is put onto his plate, with a glob of strawberry chunk-sauce lathered on it before a loud hushing sound tops a frill of white cream, and a few strips of what he suspects is meat on the side, and a couple of white pads with bright yellow globes in the middle.
Looking at everything here, and everything he has seen in the society on the docks, merfolk can gain so much more. If they only knew what they can have, to indulge, if just once, to take one moment to have more joy than the ocean would ever allow.
As soon as he was served, Arnaav sinks his teeth into the waffle. "HANGH! Anngghh, hanngghh!" He slurps with abandon as he devours his meal ravenously.
"We have GOT to teach him how to use forks..." Yuri commented as the boy tucks in, honestly feeling a little disgusted.
~~~
"Gnng, gnng, gnng..." Arnaav tips the glass to his mouth as the milk washes down his throat before he drains the glass, "Ahhhh!"
"Ah gawd, I'm full." Jamal groans as he kicks back, and sitting up when Sally props her paws on his lap, "Here you go girl," He moves a half eaten sausage to the golden retriever, which is snatched right up in a second.
"Oh lord," Yuri rolls her eyes, "You two eat the same, I swear, and now Arnaav too."
"Hm?" Arnaav looks up curiously.
"Aight, shuddup, Yuri!"
"Adam, does Yuri hate Jamal?" Arnaav asked as Merrick picked up his dish, "They seem to fight a lot."
"Haha, trust me," Adam said as he scoots his chair back, "THAT is not fighting. And no, she doesn't hate him, she just doesn't care for the dog."
"The dog?" Arnaav turns as he watches the gold-colored canine chomps on the scraps on the floor, "Why not?"
"Well, Yuri's had some bad experience with dogs, for starters," Adam indicated, "And like me and Merrick, she's more of a cat person. Up until a year or so ago, she would not let Jamal have a dog."
"What changed?"
"On Jamal's birthday one time, his boyfriend... Uh, mate, I mean, got him a puppy - that's what we call a baby dog."
"Yeah." Yuri said as she picks up a discarded dish on the table, "Yuri was NOT pleased with that." She leered before returning to the kitchen.
"Yeah, and Jamal's mate didn't know about Yuri's policy. But the puppy was a gift, he couldn't just take a living animal back to the store. And besides that, Cats and Dogs are usually two kinds of animals that get very violent when they're near each other."
"Violent?" Arnaav looks to Sally, who is now licking the plate clean, and then to Roxas, who is grooming himself under the sunlight of the window, "They don't look so angry to me."
"When puppies are around cats, they tend to mellow out around them. Thing is..." Adam leaned in to whisper in Arnaav's ear, "Yuri has always disagreed with that, and she's bitter about it because she was wrong."
"Damare, imaimashī baka!" Yuri calls as a leftover slice of toast comes spinning across the dinning area, and hits Adam's head.
"Gah, dang it," Adam takes the toast, and puts it on the table, shaking his head, "So yeah, bitter grapes on that department."
They clean up the rest of the dishes, and gather to the living room, "So, what are these?" Arnaav asked as they came to the couch.
"Easter Baskets." Yuri answered, "Depending on what holiday we're celebrating, we get each other gifts. Nothing too much, just something amusing and fun."
"Wait..." Arnaav looks up with a remorseful look, "I didn't know anything about this... I didn't get you anything... W-What happens now??"
"Yes you did," Merrick said, "Remember when we went to... It's ok, they'll find out." Merrick helps Arnaav sit onto the couch, and sets one of the baskets onto his lap. The boy looks in awe at the bright wrapping, and looks to see Merrick's fingers untie the top of the basket, until it was loose and good to open.
"Then we just dig in," Adam said, before pausing as the basket on his lap shifted, "Um... Mine is moving."
Merrick grinned, "Open it then." Adam unties his basket, and pulls out at the wrap, and then hearing a high-pitched squeal.
"Oh no you didn't!" Adam smiles as he yanks at the plastic, and then gasps as he sees a beaming white, fuzzy critter crawling in the midst of trinkets and candy, "Ohhh my God!!"
"Eeeerr" The tiny kitten mews as its sky-blue eyes look at Adam as he tenderly picked it up.
"Oh my gosh, he's so adorable~!" Adam coos as he holds the little feline as it practically rattles as he rubs his fingers into its soft fur.
"His name's Skyler," Merrick said as he came beside him, "I snuck him into your basket when you went to the bathroom. He's a Flame-Point cat. See the orangish-gold coloration on his ears, face, and tail?"
"Hi, Sky-Sky~" Adam says to the cute kitten, giddy with happiness as Skyler puts both his tiny paws around Adam's finger and nips a little on him. Sally comes up, and sniffs at the fuzzball in Adam's hand.
"Saaalls," Jamal calls firmly, "You be nice, girl."
"It's ok, I can tell her to back off if she gets any ideas." Merrick said.
"Thank you babe!" Adam hugs his boyfriend with one arm while placing Skyler back onto the basket. The little kitty climbs out, and starts to traverse the house, "Oh, damn, there he goes-"
"It's ok, I got this," Merrick said. He sent a few strange noises, that catches the attention of Roxas from the dining area, before the feline stands up, and stares at Merrick. After a pause, Roxas trots over to the kitten, and watches over him. Merrick then shifted his focus to Sally, and performed a few strategic clicks and sonic-like growls, before the dog lost interest in the kitten.
"Oooooh..." Arnaav's eyes beam and twinkle as he sees an array of sparkling, colorful crystals in his basket, all of them emanating a sweet aroma.
