What does it mean to be alive? Medically speaking, a person is alive when their heart is beating, their lungs are taking in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide, and their brain is operating consciously. However, that may not necessarily be spiritually correct. A man is more than just flesh and blood. Deep inside the soft pink brain tissue, there lies a whizzing circus of electrons that work in harmony to create a collection of thoughts and feelings we commonly refer to as "you". Even still, those thoughts and feelings are not the total package. There is still more to you than how you think and feel. Something that lies deep within all of that. It has no organ, no tissue, and no fluids, but it is very much inside of us. No doctor can find it on an X-ray or an MRI or a CAT scan. No, this thing that I speak of was something given to us by our divine creator.
Your soul.
Each and every one of us has a soul inside. Something that you cannot see, hear, taste, smell, or touch, but you know it's there. It is only by the presence of this divine core, that we can say with full certainty that we are alive. After all, there is nothing more beautiful than that which comes from the soul.
Now, given this context, it is important to remember that one can still be technically "alive" but without said soul. Life can evolve into a soulless hellscape. Bleak, gray surroundings. Actions being nothing more than going through the motions. Muscle memory replacing any sort of genuine interactions throughout our day. Such an existence is sadly the current state of many people's lives. We may feel that we are surrounded by such people too. Those whose thoughts and actions are not their own. Mindless meat husks pre-programmed to be nothing more than NPC's in a video game. After a long time around them, you may begin to think of yourself as just like them.
You are wrong.
You are a beautiful creature, and your life is a beautiful thing.
Don't ever let the demoralization defeat you. You are so much stronger than you know. You have the ability to perform feats that seem impossible. As long as you have your heart and soul in everything that you do, you will never be defeated as long as you live. Never forget, dear reader: I believe in you. I know you can do it, and I know that you WILL win. Why? Because I love you. Now all you have left to do is love yourself.
X
It had been a while since the full moon incident with Lily and that Lich girl, Greta. Ronnie and I had been texting each other regularly since that night, and I was happy to hear that he was doing well with his new girlfriend. At least that's what I called her. She was still calling him her "test subject", and while I thought that was some kind of weird BDSM roleplay thing at first, he later explained to me that it was actually a term of endearment among her people.
All's well that ends well, I guess.
Meanwhile back at the Casey house, things had become much more awkward. Something about the full moon night had awakened a sort of heat within my housemates. Now, it goes without saying that these girls were always a little promiscuous, but lately it has escalated to an entirely different level. Let's take Ellie for example: Whenever I would go around to collect everyone's laundry, she used to throw her clothes all over the backyard, including her underwear. Now she's taken things up a notch by…. Well…..it's kinda hard to explain.
Yesterday
It was just another sunny day, and Cole Casey was outside mowing the yard. The grass was getting tall, and it was his job to make sure that the yard was looking it's best. As the gasoline engine hummed along, he noticed that one of the big trees in the yard was shaking a lot more than usual. It was not windy at all today, which only made him more curious. He kept mowing the yard, but since it was hot outside, he decided to take his shirt off. With his sun hat on, and his shirt off, he pushed the lawnmower onward across the grass.
The sun was beating down, and he was still sweating. This time it was making his muscles glisten in the sun. Cole continued mowing the lawn, but now he was noticing little brown feathers floating around him. He looked up and saw nothing, so he kept at his chore. Eventually, he got close enough to the tree that he heard some kind of moaning sound. Cole looked around and saw nobody around. Soon the moaning got so loud, and a large amount of brown feathers fell in front of him that he finally looked up. What he saw was truly strange.
Ellie was sitting on one of the tree branches, perched on her talons, and she had one of her wings rubbing her crotch.
She must have seen him, because she suddenly froze, then flew away in a hurry.
Yeah… It was hard to see exactly what she was doing because the tree leaves were covering up most of her body, but I could clearly see she was rubbing herself. The whole thing was weird, and she hasn't said a word about it since then. I never brought it up either, so hopefully we never have to talk about it, but I know she knows that I saw her.
Priya has also been acting strange too. Now don't get me wrong, she has always been a little possessive and clingy, but now she's following me around the house everywhere I go.
Except for today, which has been nice, but i've been doing chores for a few hours now, and I have yet to see her. As welcome as this is, i'm starting to get a little concerned.
I walked upstairs to see the doors closed to her room, but the lights are on inside.
*knock knock*
"Priya? You hungry for lunch?"
"Go away Cole! I don't want anyone to come in here right now, not even you." Well this is a troubling development. Why would she suddenly shut herself off like this?
"Is there something wrong? You know it's my job to help you with anything you need."
There was a brief pause before she replied.
"If you promise not to laugh, then i'll let you come in, but you have to promise!"
"Okay Priya, I promise not to laugh at you. Now what's wrong?" I heard the door unlock from the inside, so I invited myself in. What I saw was nothing I was prepared for.
Priya was laying on her bed, with her tail scattered all over the room. I had seen her tail plenty of times, but this time it looked very different. When I looked closer, I could see that there were large pieces of thin white skin coming off. Very similar to a sunburn, or rather, after a sunburn heals, and the dead skin starts peeling off.
"I'm sorry you have to see me like this Cole, but you're the only person I can count on right now. See my tail? Right now i'm m-m-molting. Aaaggghhh this is so embarrassing! Please don't tell the others! They can't see me like this.'
Of course! I remember reading about this when I first moved in with her. According to the file Ms. Smith gave me, lamia shed their skin regularly like normal snakes. But, what am I supposed to do?
"Hey, you have nothing to feel embarrassed about. This is perfectly normal. Don't worry, I won't tell the others."
Priya grabbed a pillow and hid her face under it. "Yeah I know, but I don't want you to see me like this."
Hmm… If this is just dead skin peeling off, then maybe I could treat it just like a sunburn?
"Hang on, wait here." I left her bedroom and went to the bathroom to grab some lotion, towels, and a bucket of warm water.
"Cole, what are you doing?" She looked up at me from the pillow.
"You're molting right? Then we need to get the rest of the dead skin off before it starts causing a rash." I soaked one of the towels in the warm water and gently rubbed her tail.
"This should help to moisturize the skin." As I rubbed the towel into her tail, she started moaning a little bit.
"Mmpphh that feels good."
"Okay, looks like it's wet enough. Are you ready? I'm going to begin." I whispered in a soft tone as Priya slowly nodded her head.
With her permission, I reached down and started peeling the patches of dead skin.
She kept squealing and moaning each time I did.
"You okay? I'm not hurting you?"
"N-no, i'm fine. Please keep going."
Using the wet towel, I wiped down her tail a little more, and peeled off some more skin. Things were going pretty well but now I was having a different problem.
"U-um, Cole, you're getting a little close to my… sensitive areas." Right when I looked down to see where my hand was, I finally noticed that Priya was not wearing any underwear. It was only a nanosecond, but I saw her womanhood in all it's glory. An image that will be burned into my memory for the rest of my life.
As soon as I stole a glance, her tail struck me in the face with a hard slap.
"D-don't look! You're not allowed to look!" Priya scolded me in embarrassment.
"Oww.. that hurt. Dammit Priya, how am I supposed to finish if you won't let me look?"
She wrapped her tail around my head to cover up my eyes. "If you promise not to look, then i'll let you finish." She eased her grip a little bit, but my eyes were still covered. I moved my hands back to her tail, and raised up her lamia thigh to get the last bits of remaining skin.
Priya was not squirming and trembling. Her moans had gotten louder, so she had to use the pillow to keep her voice down incase anyone else heard her.
"Ahhh ahhh oh god, i'm so close….. Err I mean…. You're so close. Don't stop now!"
"Okay, am I almost done? It feels really wet over here". I reached my fingers around to see if there was any skin left. Now I was at the part of her body where her snake half merged into her human half.
"A-a little to the left mmmppphhh." I moved my fingers to my left, but instead of feeling snake skin, I felt something very wet and slimy. Almost like a hole.
"Wait, your left or mine?"
****CRACK*****
Unfortunately for me, Priya's tail damn near snapped my neck before she threw me into the wall.
X
When I regained consciousness, I found myself in the softest blanket I ever felt. Warm soft fur surrounded me, and I felt truly at peace.
"Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling?" I looked around and saw nothing. Then I looked up and saw Liz looking down at me. Her giant bear paws were stroking my head like a lap dog.
"Ugghhh my head hurts. That damn snake gave me a concussion."
"How many claws am I holding up?" Liz raised a paw in front of my face.
"Two"
"Very good. Do you think you can stand?" I did my best to stand up. It was a little shaky at first, but I managed to get my feet steady.
"Yeah yeah i'm good. What time is it?"
"Umm… 7:30 ish?" Liz shrugged.
"Wait, you mean 7:30 as in 7:30 PM?! Dammit, that means you girls missed lunch and dinner! I better hurry and get to the kitchen." I shuffled past Liz and found myself in the kitchen. Unfortunately, when I checked the refrigerator, there was nothing inside.
Not one single thing.
"Where the hell is all of our food?!" I blurted out.
"Umm…. well…. You see…. You were unconscious for so long…. And I was hungry…. So I….."
"Liz, did you eat every single piece of food in the fridge?" I turned and slowly asked her. By this point, I was getting very angry. The giant grizzly bear monster girl looked away and blushed like a little kid who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"I…I was hungry…."
Son of a bitch! This giant walking carpet ate every single piece of food in our fridge. What the hell am I supposed to cook for dinner? What are any of us supposed to eat tonight? The grocery store is closed until tomorrow morning.
"Cole… are you okay?"
Just then, from the other room I heard Ellie yelling.
"Woooo! Touchdown! Fly~Eagles~Fly. On the Road to Vic~tor~ry! Fight Fight Fight!"
Liz growled. "Dammit Ellie, would you turn that down please?"
Ellie turned and raised one of her feathers to look like a middle finger. "Fuck off cunt! You're just mad because the Eagles are the best fuckin' team in the league this year."
She then turned to me. "Oi Cole, you're finally awake? About fuckin' time mate. When is dinner? I'm fuckin' starvin' here."
My anger was starting to get the best of me. "Sorry Ellie, but dinner is canceled. Apparently, someone ate every single piece of food in the fridge." I turned to give Liz the death glare.
"You fuckin' what?! Fuckin' hell, can you not stuff your fuckin' face for 5 minutes you fat cunt?" Ellie was scolding Liz, as she rightfully deserved.
"Who are you calling fat, you overgrown chicken?!" Liz pointed one of her claws at the eagle harpy.
"What the fuck did you just fuckin' call me? You wanna take this outside you fuckin' shit cunt?"
Just before things got heated, Priya came downstairs. "Both of you shut the hell up! God you two are so fucking annoying!"
"Fuck off you slithery cunt! Go crawl back into the little fuckin' hole where you came from."
"Yeah! Maybe if you hadn't thrown Cole into a wall, and knocked him unconscious, he would have been able to make dinner!"
Priya was getting angry too. "How is this my fault? He was the one being a little pervert earlier. He should have known better then to take advantage of a helpless little girl in her moment of weakness."
Liz replied "Helpless little girl? Bitch please, you're a fucking king cobra! You don't get to call yourself that."
"Whatever. But still, I don't see how Cole not making dinner is my fault. Maybe he should stop being such a lazy bum and get back to work."
Ohhhhh noooooo…. She did not just call me that. That's it. That's the final straw.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL ME?" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The entire room went silent. Priya looked at me with wide eyes.
"Umm uhh" I walked right up to her and put my face right in hers. My nose was maybe a centimeter away from hers.
"Listen here you fucking reptile. If you ever call me a lazy bum ever again, I will peel off your real skin, and turn it into a new pair of boots. Do I make myself clear?"
The king cobra held fear in her eyes for the first time in her life. "Y-yes sir." I pulled away and turned to the other two.
"That goes for all of you! I work my ass off around here, every single day. Not ONCE have any of you said "thank you" to me EVER. You all just expect me to clean up your shit every day, cook you food and wipe your ass like some kind of fucking house maid… well you can all go fuck yourselves!"
I stormed off, grabbed my car keys and my jacket.
"From now on, you're cooking your own fucking food. You're cleaning your own fucking clothes. I'm not doing this anymore."
All of the girls looked at me with shock as I stormed out of the front door into the night.
X
The late night road is a very lonely place, but lonely places are exactly where I want to be right now. I had no idea where I was going, but I just needed to get away from that house. The nerve of those girls! After all the things I do for them, and they treat me like that? The worst was Priya. That stupid fucking reptile. How dare she call me a lazy bum?! How could she? After everything I did for her.
Where the hell am I even going? I don't recognize this neighborhood. Hang on, let's text Ronnie and see what he's up to. Maybe I can spend the night at his place.
"Hey, it's Cole. Are you free tonight?"
…
"Sorry man. Greta and I had plans. Maybe another time."
…...
"No worries. TTYL"
…
Well shit, what should I do now? I've got some cash in my wallet, and nowhere to be. You know, now that I think about it, i've never actually been anywhere in this city outside of my neighborhood. Let's go exploring.
And so, I drove around on the highway until I reached downtown. There were a few tall buildings, but nothing too huge. I pulled into a street and parked the truck parallel next to some other cars.
It was a clear night, and i'm sure the stars were out somewhere. If not for the light pollution of the city, I bet they would be beautiful.
There were all sorts of things to see down here. Shops, restaurants, and other cool buildings. The trees were very green and covered in leaves. Summer was almost here, but I was thankful to still have my jacket on.
As I kept walking through the downtown streets, I heard my stomach growling. That's right, I never ate lunch or dinner. Maybe one of these restaurants has a table open.
"Cole? Cole Casey? Is that you?!" A woman's voice spoke nearby. I turned around and saw a face I had not seen in years.
"Oh my god. Alex?!" The woman came over and gave me a big hug.
"It's been so long. I never thought I would get to see you again." She sounded like she was almost crying.
"M-me too. How are you? How have you been? God, we have so much catching up to do!" I broke the hug and smiled brightly at her.
X
The two of us got a table in some random pizza restaurant downtown. We sat down and ordered a large pizza to split between the two of us.
"Okay, now that the shock has worn off, tell me everything! What happened? How are you even here right now?" Alex took a sip of her cola.
"Well, I was in Afghanistan, and long story short I missed the last plane out of Kabul."
"So, the marine corps left you behind?!" I nodded slowly. "How could they possibly do that?"
I poked my straw. "I ask myself that question everyday." Alex paused a second, and I felt the air becoming tense. "But enough about me, let's talk about you! What have you been up to all these years?"
Alex smiled. "Well, after a few years at community college, I got into my dream school!"
"No way, you got into UT Austin?!" Alex nodded. "Holy shit congratulations! You used to tell me all the time that it was your dream school."
"Thanks! But wait, there's more! After getting my Bachelors, I got into law school too!"
"Wow, that's incredible. I'm so proud of you Alex! You know, I always said you were the smartest kid ever born in our town."
Alex and I laughed together. God, this was so magical. I haven't felt this way in so long. What are the odds that I would run into her of all people?
"So what are you doing here? In this town I mean. Shouldn't you still be in Austin?"
Alex finished her cola and politely asked the waiter for a refill. "Actually I was on my way to DC for a legal conference. My firm is one of the few that are representing demi-humans."
"Wait hold up… demi-humans? what exactly do you do?"
"I'm an interspecies exchange attorney. My firm is one of the first of it's kind. We represent interspecies clients in court cases both civil and criminal. Here, see for yourself." Alex handed me her business card.
Alexandria Walters
Attorney at Law
Ken, Kou, & Cross LLP
Austin, TX 78701
As I was looking at her business card, the waiter came by with our pizza. It looked and smelled delicious.
"Wow Alex, I can't believe you actually made it big. That's so amazing." I congratulated her again. She smiled while eating her slice.
The two of us continued eating in relative silence. Damn, I was way more hungry than I thought.
Finally, the two of us were down to the last slice of pizza. We both reached for it, and both of our hands were hovering over the slice. Neither of us dared to flinch. Hang on, what's that on her hand?
"Hey Cole, you have some sauce on your face." She pointed at my cheek. I instinctively reached to my face to wipe the phantom sauce, when she smirked at me.
"Haha sucker! The last slice is mine. No matter how old you get, you always fall for that trick!"
Stupid girl. She always used to do that to me when we were kids. I guess some things never change.
"Alex, what's that on your finger?" She turned down and looked at the diamond ring on her left hand. Her childish laugh was gone, and now replaced with a somber sigh.
"Oh that… it was a gift."
I raised an eyebrow. "From?"
Alex hesitated. "M-my fiance".
"WHAT?! What do you mean your fiance?! What about the ring I gave you? What about the promise we made? Did none of that mean anything to you?"
"That was 7 years ago, Cole. Things change. People change."
"Oh, so now that you're some hot shot lawyer you forgot all about me? Alex I… I loved you."
"That's not fair, Cole! You were dead! We had a funeral for you back home. What was I supposed to do? Spend my life waiting for a man who was never coming back?!"
"But I did come back!"
"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO COME BACK". Alex yelled at me, in front of the whole restaurant. We were causing a scene, so we quickly paid our bill and left.
The two of us were now outside. She was starting to walk away.
"Alex please wait!"
"I'm sorry Cole, but I've moved on. We all moved on. I suggest you move on too."
Alex started walking towards me. I thought she was going to kiss me, but instead she took something out of her pocket and placed it in my hand.
"Here. It was getting too heavy to carry around anymore." I looked in my hand saw a small golden ring.
"Alex… you kept it? After all these years, you still kept it?"
She leaned in and gave me a small kiss on the cheek.
"Goodbye Cole." With that, she turned and walked down the dark street into the night. I could only stand there and watch as the love of my life vanished into the darkness forever.
X
Meanwhile, back at the Casey house
Cole had just stormed out of the front door, leaving the whole room speechless. Nobody said a single word. The only sounds were coming from the distant TV which was showing the Philadelphia Eagles football game.
Everyone just stood there, contemplating their actions, until they all went their separate ways.
A few hours later, Priya came down to the kitchen to get a drink.
"Cole isn't back yet?" She asked herself. Ellie walked in with a concerned look on her face.
"Oi, have you seen Cole? Little bugger has been out for a while now. I'm startin' to get a little worried."
"No, I haven't seen him either. It's getting late. Should we call Ms. Smith?"
Liz walked in from her room down in the basement. "No, don't do that! If you call her, then we have to explain why he left in the first place! But hey, if you want to tell her that you threw him into a wall and gave him a concussion, then be my guest."
"Like you're one to talk! He only got mad because you ate all the food in the house!" Priya pointed at the giant grizzly bear.
"Don't you go changing the subject you slithery cunt. You know what you did!" Ellie pointed back at Priya. Sensing another fight, Liz stepped in.
"Guys, stop! All this fighting isn't going to solve anything. Cole is out there somewhere, and it's up to us to find him. None of us can find him alone, so we have to work together."
All three of them looked at each other and nodded their heads.
"Agreed".
"Fuckin' oath."
"Okay, let's go!"
X
Why did she do that? What sort of cruel sick joke are the gods playing on me? The love of my life randomly comes into town, and I just so happen to bump into her, then I go on my first real date in years, only to find out she is already engaged to another man?
God dammit. Damn it all to hell. Fuck everything.
I need a drink.
I looked around and all of the shops were closing now. Looks like i'll have to go to the convenience store. I walked back to the truck and started up the engine. Once I pulled out of the parallel parking spot on the street, I started driving down the road until I got on the highway.
As the lights rolled by, I looked up at the sky and did my best to see stars. Unfortunately for me, there were none, despite the clear night sky. All of that time looking away from the road was not good, as I now noticed that I was about 6 inches from hitting the guard rail at 75mph.
Time seemed to slow down as my whole life flashed before my eyes right as the truck hit that railing. All the way from my early childhood, growing up in a small town, to the day when I first met Alex in kindergarten. I saw all of those years that we spent together in elementary school, middle school, and then finally in high school when I grew the courage to ask her out. I saw myself attending my parent's funeral, and Alex being there for me. I saw us slow dancing at prom, and walking across the stage at graduation. She was so happy when I proposed to her. That cheap little golden ring was all I could afford, but she loved it. When I told her I was going to the Marines, she made a promise.
"I'll wait for you, Cole. When you come back, i'll be right here waiting for you. Then the two of us can live happily ever after."
As the airbag deployed, everything went black.
X
When I woke up, I was sitting under a tree, with a fox next to me. It was still night time, and the woods looked very similar to the ones in my city.
The fox looked at me, then ran off. Just before it went out of sight, it looked back at me. I stood up and followed it.
The fox led me through the woods for a minute before I found a Japanese shinto shrine.
"Hello there, young man. Welcome to my home." There was a beautiful woman standing near the shrine. She was dressed in a traditional shrine maiden outfit, and upon further inspection, she had fox ears and tails!
"What happened? Where am I? Who are you?"
The woman giggled. "One at a time, handsome. My name is Tamamo, and you are at my shrine. You are here because you are near the end of your life."
"Wait, what? The end of my life? Does that mean~"
"Yes, you suffered a fatal accident earlier. Your life will be ending in about 10 minutes."
The news was such a shock that all I could do was sit down on the ground and think.
"You seem to be taking this rather well. Most people usually freak out and start screaming or crying or begging." Tamamo seemed amused.
"Well, maybe this is for the best. It's a long story, but I basically died already. A long time ago."
Now Tamamo was interested. She started walking towards me. "Really? And yet you are still here. Why is that?"
"You see, I was rescued by these lamia. They nursed me back to health, and sent me back into the world~aaahhhhh" Tamamo put her hand on my chest and touched her forehead to mine.
"Yes, yes I see now. You bear the blessing of Najah, the lamia queen."
"Wait, you know her?"
"You could say that. Najah and I are… old friends. Though it has been centuries since we have seen each other, the two of us are familiar."
Tamamo continued. "I know Najah well enough that she would not do such a thing for any regular human man. She must have seen something special in you. I cannot think of any other reason why she would go to such great lengths to save one mortal life. Did she say anything to you?"
"No. She never said a word to me the entire time I was there. But, on the day she let me go, she said to me: Go Be Alive"
Tamamo stroked her chin. "Interesting. Very interesting indeed. So, human man, have you done what she asked? Have you lived well?"
I sat there in thought. Ever since I came back, I lived my life as a homeless bum on the streets. Until Ms. Smith took me into the FIRE program. I was given a big house, plenty of food, and three beautiful girls to take care of.
That's right, the girls.
Priya, the poor thing, was so hostile when I first met her, but turns out it was all a front to cover a lonely life. Once I got past that, she finally let me in, and we became inseparable.
Ellie, such a bubbly and carefree girl. It always amazed me that she could be so cheerful and optimistic after everything she went through. Even now, whenever I'm feeling down, she's always there to crack a joke or do something silly to put a smile on my face.
Liz, my mama bear. The scariest one of them all, turns out to be one of the sweetest. Not only is she the strongest one physically, but she had the strength to keep going after her son died. That is strength that many people will never know.
All of them were misfits in their own way, and they all spent much of their lives alone in the world, before coming together to live with me. Together, we were our own happy little family.
"Yes Tamamo, I want to live!"
"Oh? But why? You said it yourself that you have already died a long time ago. Why not finish the job?"
"Because there are three women out there who need me! They are my family now, and I love them."
Tamamo smiled. "That was a great answer, Cole. I think our time here is done. Go now, and be with your family."
I stood up and started walking away from the shrine. "Wait, how did you know my name?"
"Until we meet again!" The fox woman waved at me.
X
When I woke up again, my body was in excruciating pain. There was blood on my head and pieces of glass on my arms. There was also a giant grizzly bear ripping the door off the truck.
"COLE! Are you alright?! Oh thank god, you're alive! It's okay baby, mama's here." Liz ripped the door off the truck.
"Hang on Liz, I'll clear that out of the way". Ellie used her talons to cut my seat belt and pop the airbag.
"It's okay Cole, I got you." Priya used her lamia tail to free me from the driver's seat and place me on the ground.
I was still a little disoriented when I saw their faces. There were flashing red and blue lights in the background and ambulance sirens too. Everything went black again.
X
When I woke up the third time, I was now in a hospital bed. The bright neon lights blinding me for a little bit, until my vision adjusted.
"Welcome back, Mr. Casey." I looked to my right and saw Ms. Smith sitting there in her black suit, drinking a cup of coffee.
"W-what happened?"
"You were driving alone at night and hit the guardrail on the highway. Thankfully, a certain group of girls found you in time, or else you would have died of blood loss."
I looked to my left and saw Priya, Ellie, and Liz all sitting across the room in shame.
"Ladies, do you have anything to say to Mr. Casey?"
"Sorry Cole." They all said in unison.
"Why are you apologizing? You saved my life! If anything, I should be apologizing to you."
Priya stood up. "This all my fault! None of this would have happened if I didn't~"
Liz cut her off. "No, it's my fault that you were out that late. If I didn't eat everything in the house, you wouldn't have had to go get food."
Ellie sat there with her wings folded. "Yeah, you cunts sure are a couple of drongos." Liz nudged her in the side. "Ahh alright, i'm sorry too."
These three stupid girls. God, I love them so much it's unreal.
"Girls, you have nothing to apologize for. We're family, and nothing will ever change that. Sure, we may fight, and have our differences, but in the end, the four of us will always be together, no matter what. We will always be there for each other, because that's what families do."
"Cole!" The three girls rushed to my bed and gave me one big hug.
"That was very touching, Mr. Casey. In fact, as a show of good faith for your excellent work taking care of these three ladies, FIRE would like to offer you an all expenses paid trip to Florida! What do you say?"
I looked around at my girls. Priya, Ellie, Liz, all looked on with pleading eyes.
"I say it's time to live a little!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Bonjour dear reader! Hope all is well with you. Today is Thanksgiving: an American holiday where we gather together with family and friends to enjoy a delicious meal and give thanks to all of the blessings in our lives. Whether or not you are able to do such things, please know that you are always welcome at the Casey house. Priya, Ellie, Liz, and Cole would be happy to have you anytime. Please also know, that I am truly thankful for you, my dear reader. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you so much. Knowing that you are reading my story makes me very happy, and I hope it has made you happy too. Happy Thanksgiving, and GO BE ALIVE!
Next time, on Everyday Life with Apex Predators, it's the beach episode! Also, there will be a new girl moving in with Cole. Her name is Olga, and she is an Orca type mermaid, so you better get ready!