Chapter 20-B: Aiden and Amber
Eryn guided his new guests to the table and chairs near the kitchen. The couch was not an option, obviously. He considered asking them to sit on the carpet (it was comfortable, he believed) but that's not how he wanted to treat his guests. That would be disrespectful of me.
"I'll be with you soon." Eryn walked to the bathroom with the two monstergirls. "Come on, Melty. Lofie."
"Eryn, Lofie splashed water on me!" Melty pouted.
"Is that true, Lofie?" Eryn turned his face to her, raising a brow.
"… Maybe." Lofie avoided his eyes.
"Mhmm…" Eryn cracked a smile. How adorable. "There might be consequences if you lie, Lofie."
"E-Eh?!" Lofie's eyes widened, her ears tingling with panic. Dealing with consequences was the last thing she needed. "It was just a splash, Eryn!"
"See?!" Melty puffed her cheeks out at her. "She's a meanie!"
"You just don't know how to have fun." Lofie stuck her tongue out.
"You're not making it any fun!" Melty bit back.
"Oh, dear…"
Aiden and Amber watched their interactions silently from afar. They turned to each other and exchanged smiles.
"It already looks like they are a family." Aiden folded his arms. "Wouldn't you agree, sis?"
"You're right about that." Amber nodded. "Melty and Lofie are already attached to him." And I wonder where Iris is.
"I'd say Eryn is also attached to the monstergirls." He chuckled. "They seem adjusted to life together within a week."
"Not surprised at all." Her lips curved into a smile.
After heading to the bathroom, Eryn set the new clothes on the laundry machine. Lofie climbed back into the bathtub while Melty stood next to him.
"You're back!" Iris said, raising her hands in the air.
"Eryn doesn't let me play with Melty." Lofie sunk herself to her neck.
"You weren't playing with me!" Melty hissed. "You were being a meanie!"
"… so, Lofie." Eryn cleared his throat to distill some tension in the air. "Will you promise to behave yourself and not splash water on Melty?"
"… Yes." Lofie nodded, averting her eyes.
"Great." Eryn turned to Melty and patted her head. "Well, Melty? Would you like to get in the bath now?"
"I don't trust Lofie." Melty pouted, crossing her arms.
"It'll be fine." Eryn lifted her by her arms and slowly let her down in the bathtub. "I'll watch over you. If Lofie tries anything…"
"I won't, I won't!" Lofie shook her head frantically.
"Okay!" Melty beamed.
"So!" With a slap of his hands, Eryn stretched his fingers outward, resulting in some satisfying cracks. "Ready for your bath?"
"Yeah!" all the monstergirls said in unison.
After the bath…
…
..
.
"And done!" Eryn wrapped the towel around Melty and gently rubbed her hair. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"
"It's because Eryn bathed me!" Melty grinned.
"My turn, my turn." Lofie head-butted his arm.
"Okay, okay." He chuckled. After drying off Melty, he moved on to Lofie and wrapped the towel around her. Lofie hummed in satisfaction, her tail waving around in delight.
"Don't forget me, Eryn…" Iris pouted, tugging on his shirt.
"Yes, yes."
After drying all the monstergirls, Eryn put on their new change of clothes. It fit them just fine.
"These clothes are comfy!" Melty twirled around.
Lofie grabbed the fabric of her shirt and took a few sniffs. "It feels good to wear."
"Thank you, Eryn!" Iris said.
"Of course." He returned a smile. "I'm glad you all like them." And I have Akiko to thank for that.
Eryn and the monstergirls stepped out of the bathroom and walked to the living room. There the monstergirls saw Aiden and Amber sitting in the kitchen area.
"Oh!" Iris's eye widened in surprise. "The caretaker siblings!"
"And there's little Iris!" Amber rushed to her and crouched down. She squeezed the catgirl's cheeks. "It's so good to see you!"
"Hewwo…!" Iris greeted them through her squeezed lips.
"Easy there, sis." Aiden held her shoulder. "You wouldn't want to scare her."
"Sorry, sorry." Amber let go of her face. "I'm just so happy to see them well."
"Well, we came here for that exact reason." Aiden cleared his throat. "Eryn, mind if we talked about the monstergirls?"
"Sure." Eryn nodded.
"Let's sit here together." Aiden sat down on the carpet. Amber followed.
"Oh, are you sure?" Eryn rubbed the back of his neck. "I can grab some chairs."
"No worries, it's fine." Aiden waved his hand. "We've known each other since we were kids, Eryn."
"… I suppose that's right." Eryn sighed with a smile, then sat down. The monstergirls gathered around him, with Lofie claiming his lap.
"So!" Aiden clapped his hands. "How has this week been for you raising the monstergirls? Anything you'd like to bring up to us?"
"It was a rough start, I'll admit," Eryn replied. "But I'm slowly learning more and more about the monstergirls."
"I see." Aiden nodded. "Have the monstergirls done anything… questionable?"
"Well…" Eryn's eyes drifted to Melty. "Can I answer with a question?"
"Shoot."
"Did you know Melty can use fire?"
"Oh, she is a fire mouse, after all!" Amber smiled. "She showed us some of her fire tricks before!"
"Eryn…" A frown appeared on Melty's face as her tail curled downwards. She had an idea where this conversation would be going.
"It's okay, Melty." Eryn patted her head to reassure her. "I think it's important to talk about this."
"Did something happen with Melty?" Aiden asked.
"Well…" Eryn crossed his arms. "You might have noticed this living room is… quite empty."
"Mhmm, I suppose."
"There used to be a couch here."
"Oh, what happened to the couch?"
"It was… burnt."
"… Ah." Aiden's eyes lit up. The gears slowly snapped in the right places. "An accident?"
"I didn't mean to." Melty bowed her head. "I got so scared when I didn't find Eryn anywhere…"
"I left the house to do some shopping, and the monstergirls were asleep," Eryn explained. "When I came back, Melty's body was covered in flames, and the couch… well, you can guess what happened next."
"Wow." Amber's mouth went agape. "That never happened when she was in our care."
"… Really?" Eryn asked. So, it never happened to them…
"Interesting," Aiden said calmly, stroking his chin. "How is she now?"
"I've taken some measures…" Eryn hummed. "I spend time with Melty to direct her energy towards other things."
"Yeah! We go jogging in the mornings!" Melty grinned.
"That is nice to hear." Aiden smiled. "How about Lofie and Iris? Did you face anything unexpected with them?"
"Well, not exactly unexpected…" Eryn chuckled softly, shifting his gaze to Lofie. "Lofie bit my friend's finger. A funny incident."
"Mhmm, I see." Aiden nodded, not surprised at all to hear it. In fact, he looked like he expected this.
"You haven't grown out of it, Lofie." Amber poked her nose. "I hope you apologized sincerely to Eryn's friend."
"I did, I did." Lofie puffed her cheeks out.
"This isn't the first time?" Eryn raised a brow, surprised. Huh, has she bitten others in the past?
"I think that's a story the monstergirls can share with you." Amber winked.
"Now, a question to the monstergirls!" Aiden directed his attention to them. "How do you feel about Eryn? Has he been taking care of you well?"
"Yeah!" Melty answered first, pumping her fists into the air. "Eryn is the best!"
"Eryn makes us feel safe and sound." Lofie nuzzled into his chest.
"Eryn has been so kind and caring to us," Iris said softly, putting her palm on Eryn's hand. "We're so grateful."
"Mhmm…" Eryn's face rose in heat. Red crept up to his ears. He was growing embarrassed by the monstergirls' words.
"I see." Aiden expected nothing less. "I take it all of you would like to stay with Eryn?"
"Yeah!" Melty bobbed her head in approval. "Because we're a family now!"
"We've never found a place I could call home before…" Iris gazed at Eryn. "This is where we want to stay. With Eryn."
"You're all going to make me cry, you know that?" Eryn sighed. Their words touched his heart. He's always wanted to give the monstergirls a family, a place they could call home. And that has never changed.
"… The monstergirls will be safe with him," Amber whispered in Aiden's ear. "You can just see it on their faces."
"Knowing Eryn, he'd do his best to make them happy," Aiden whispered back. "And he's already doing so."
"That's not so surprising to see, isn't it?" She nudged his shoulder.
"Of course." He gave a soft chuckle. After all, …
… he's always had a soft spot for monstergirls.
