I checked my watch and saw that it was getting around lunchtime, so I stood up and offered my controller to Mero. "Hey, wanna play? I need to talk to Kurusu real quick."

"Oh!" Mero started, looking surprised that I'd even looked her way. "Are you sure you want me to take your place? I might make you lose all of your hard-earned accolades…"

"Huh? Oh, those stars? Eh, they don't matter. Besides, I gave up reaching the top thanks to this one," I poked Suu, who poked me back in response, "It's no biggie."

"Then I shall gladly accept!" Mero replied, taking the controller in her webbed hands.

"Here, I'll move you up more so you get a better view," I offered, pushing her closer to the bantering group crowded around the TV. Once that was done, I leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, "Play as Game & Watch, no one's seen him yet so they won't know what to expect."

"I see," Mero whispered back, her face a perfect mask of serenity and kindness, "And how might my Smash Master suggest I play him?"

Why did the way she said that make me uneasy?

"Just do side B, it sometimes does an instant KO if you're lucky," I answered, stretching back to my full height, "It'll annoy the hell out of them, at any rate."

"Duly noted, Smash Master," Mero giggled.

I laughed a little at that and lightly patted her shoulder as I left. I walked over to Kurusu, who wasn't playing in the next round and was standing over by Rachnera to keep her company.

"Hey man," I greeted. "Getting close to lunchtime. What're you thinking?"

"Well, I'd hate to kick them out since everyone seems to be having a good time," he said. As if to emphasize that, loud cheers erupted right then after a particularly nasty Ganondorf dunk play by Tio of all people. "So maybe I'll just suck it up and make some lunch. It's really no trouble, especially since food isn't a money sink anymore."

"You're too nice," Rachnera noted, though her tone didn't seem nearly as scathing as I thought it would've. "This is your house, after all, you shouldn't have to bend over backwards for people that just invited themselves over."

Kurusu shrugged and put on a smile. "It's no trouble," he repeated.

I looked back at the group crowded around the TV, noting the empty bowls of chips and other snacks, and thought of a compromise.

"How about this; we've been snacking this whole time, so people might not be up for a full meal right now." Of course, these girls tended to eat far more than the average human, but they'd be fine. "So why not I just run out and get some lighter food, stuff like snacks and some fruit so we can say we at least tried to be healthy?"

"You sure you want to do that?" Kurusu asked, "I could go…"

"Nah, you're the host; you should man the fort here where everyone is. Besides, you do enough work as is."

"Heh, you may be right," he admitted. "Maybe someone should go with you to help out, at least."

I nodded. "Sounds gucci. Hm…" I scanned the room to see who wasn't playing. "Hey, Papi! Wanna go out and get some food with me?"

"Sure!" she chirped, hopping off the couch to join me. "I've been wanting to stretching my wings, too!"

"Glad to hear it," I said with a smile before turning to face Kurusu, "Anything you need while I'm out?"

"Laundry detergent," he answered immediately, before looking sheepish, "If it's not too much trouble."

I snorted. "Trust me, I'm actually glad to be getting orders from you for once. C'mon, Papi." The two of us were about to leave the room when another thought occurred to me. "Hey, Rachnera, wanna join us?"

The arachne's six eyes blinked at me, a look of surprise on her face. She recomposed herself pretty quickly, though. "Oh, go on without me. I'd rather just stay in, if it's all the same to you."

"Aw, come on, Rachnee!" Papi whined, running over to her and pulling on Rachnera's arm, "It'll be fun!"

"About as fun as grocery shopping can be," I admitted with a laugh, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

She hummed in response, resting a cheek against her palm as she glanced at Kurusu and the rowdy Smash players.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to stay," Rachnera eventually decided, folding her arms. "There's some things I need to do in my room anyway."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged. "Alright, we'll see ya guys in a bit."

"Bye bye!" Papi waved her wing as we left the room. Everyone was too engrossed in the current match to offer much more than grunts of acknowledgment.

Right as I was about to open the front door to leave, it swung open to reveal a face that frankly I should've expected at some point or another. Granted, she looked a lot more drained than usual.

"I. Hate. Paperwork." Smith stated as she entered the house without so much as an invitation. Just then, shouts of outrage resounded through the building. "And I see you all have been having fun."

"Yeah, well," I offered sheepishly, feeling the full weight of her judgmental gaze, "Uh, sorry we don't have your job?"

Smith sighed and her shoulders sagged. "I swear, I would've punished that damn orc more if I'd known the headache his deportation was going to cause me. Oh, you didn't hear that, by the way."

"In one ear and out the other," I assured her, "They're playing some violent video games in the living room, so you should totally join in and blow off some steam."

"You know, I just might," Smith nodded, "After I get some of Darling-kun's coffee, of course."

"Of course. Anyway, Papi and I'll be back in a jiffy, we're just running out to get some food."

"Neat." Smith was already walking away. "Oh, and don't forget your next session is tomorrow!"

How could I? It'd be my first time dealing with one of the universally hostile liminal species, and I'd spent no small amount of time wondering how the hell I was going to deal with a raptor. Papi would hopefully be a good reference in this case, since raptors were a subspecies of harpies, but I was well-aware of the significant differences between the two.

Well, you don't know until you know, you know?

"Don't worry, I haven't," I said, leading Papi outside. Smith didn't respond, making it clear the conversation was over. I closed the door behind us and we began our little journey to the supermarket. Papi almost instantly took to the skies, kicking up into the air and soaring around me in circles like a giggling, adorable vulture.

It was difficult for me to look away and keep my eyes on the sidewalk, to be honest. I had yet to really see Papi fly since I came here, and watching her filled me with wonder. Whenever I felt like I'd gotten used to the fact that liminals existed, one of them would go ahead and do something I never thought I'd see in reality. It was the small things that always stood out, like Miia using her tail to pick things up, or Suu doing… well, anything.

As silly as it might've sounded, living in a world filled with fantastical monsters was something I'd dreamed of ever since I saw my first toy dragon. The fact that that had become my new reality, and I could even honestly call some of them my friends, never ceased to amaze me. It was a dream I'd never thought it would come true.

It was just a shame I couldn't experience it with the people I'd left behind.

Papi swooped down and grabbed onto my shoulders with her talons. Before I could offer any protest, she flapped her wings and swiftly launched back into the air with me in tow.

"Hey, what're you doing?!" I shouted as wind blew into my face. I frantically reached for my glasses to keep them from falling.

"Well, you kept watching me fly around, and you looked… um…" Papi humming as searched for the word. "Logging?"

"Um… maybe longing?" I guessed weakly, desperately trying to ignore the fact that was I well over ten feet in the air now.

"Yeah, that!" Papi giggled. "You looked a little sad, so I thought flying would make you happy because it makes Papi happy!"

I went limp, letting my feet stop their fruitless kicking and having them dangle idly in the air. I hadn't realized until then how gently Papi was clutching me, her talons using only just enough pressure to keep me from falling. I'd expected bone-crushing force, so the fact that the opposite had occurred spoke to an amount of restraint that I honestly never expected from Papi.

… Huh.

I wasn't really sure about what to say to the gesture, so I went with an old standby.

"Thank you," I breathed, taking a deep breath and allowing myself to go completely slack.

"You're welcome!" Papi replied, "Now let's go get some munchies!"

"Yeah, let's," I said with a smile, spreading my arms to match Papi. "Onward!" I shouted, knowing full well how dorky I sounded and not caring in the slightest.

And so the two of us flew over the city, laughing in the clear blue skies.