Chapter 4: Important First Impressions

In Riley's past life, it was well known amongst her friends and family that when a situation called for it, she was ingenuitive, great at problem solving, and performed well under pressure. However, what they were not aware of, was the amount of freaking out she did when those situations arose. The key to hiding said freak-outs was simple; acting. And boy howdy, what an actor she was. Give her a role, set the parameters, and she'd slip that fake personality on like a mask. Playing the calm, collected fool and seething internally, or outwardly raging when no one was around.

The situation Riley found herself in now, however, was beyond even her capabilities. Sadly, Riley had no point of reference to even remotely compare this shitshow to. The tantrum she threw once she got over the shock of the bombshells Death dropped was both a glorious and frightening sight. Although she had no knowledge of how to use it, her magic had curled and whipped around her as she raged. Surprisingly, or more like, suspiciously, her parents never awoke nor showed signs of hearing the event.

Roughly an hour after Death made his dramatic exit, Riley could be seen staring into the shadows of her room and clutching the blankets on her lap, repeatedly trying and failing to come up with a plan of action. She was already mentally and physically exhausted, but there was no fucking way she'd fall asleep before one was in place.

"What the fuck am I going to do?" She groaned, falling back against the pillows and observing the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. "Hold on," she mumbled, "are those accurately placed?" Frowning to herself in realization, she traced the constellations she knew with her eyes.

At some point, her shitty toddler body could no longer keep up and she passed out. The next time she awoke, it was to the smell of bacon and something familiar she couldn't quite place. Listening to sounds of movement and clanging from what she assumes to be the kitchen, Riley drowsily contemplated following them. She abruptly sat up, beyond distressed and anxious.

"Oh, shit. I fell asleep. I can't believe I fucking fell asleep. Sleep is for the weak and now I'm one of them." Hearing footsteps heading her way, she frantically searched the room for exits or ideas or something to help her. " Shit, shit, shit."

The click of the door opening froze Riley in place. Snapping her head up and staring at the man peeking his head in, no doubt resembling a deer caught in the headlights, she dropped all thoughts of escape. Recognizing him to be the man from last night and subsequently her father, she forced herself to relax, trying to remember their past interactions in hopes of building a template for how to act. Of course, she came up blank. 'Fucking toddler brains!' She cursed as she met her Father's eyes.

Noticing his daughter already awake, Antares smiled and fully entered the room, greeting Riley on his way towards the window to fully part the curtains and lift the blinds, allowing more of the early sun in.

"Hello, Riley. It's another beautiful morning, don't you think?"

Riley blinked and leaned slightly out of the ray now assaulting her. 'Dude, that was a bit unnecessary, they were already open.' Watching as he turned to face her, she drank in his appearance in the light of day. Observing the adoring look and beaming smile he was directing at her, his general posture, and the energetic greeting, she came to one horrible, absolutely world ending conclusion.

"Oh my god, you're a fucking morning person, you sick fuck!" She cried, not able to contain her outburst in her state of shock and disgust. Realizing her mistake, she smacked a hand to her mouth, panicking. "Oh fuck." She breathed, studying Antares and waiting for all hell to break loose. However, instead of hysterics, his smile grew wider as he came to sit on the bed.

"Aw, my little star is so cute." He cooed, leaning forward and wrapping Riley in a bear hug.

Confused by his response, she hesitantly returned the embrace, thinking back on what Death said about people perceiving what she says differently. She sounds like a kid to him. 'Thank fuck, for that. I barely even lasted 20 seconds before I fucked up. How does it even work? Does it translate what I say into babble or edit my words?' Despite her gratefulness and inner turmoil, she couldn't help but wonder what her father thought she said.

Unaware of his child's emotional state, Antares was having a crisis of his own. 'How can she be so cute? My daughter is the most adorable creature alive!' Meanwhile, Death watched from the veil, amused by the complete contrast of the duo's thoughts. He was more than a little bemused, as well. Because honestly, his magic didn't really need to do all that much to trick Antares. Apparently, he has his own rose-tinted Riley vision.

From Antares' point of view earlier, from 30 seconds ago, instead of being called a sick fuck, all he heard was disgruntled sleepy mumbles and the sweetest, "Morning, Daddy." he has ever heard in his life. Seriously, all Death did was blur everything except "morning". He didn't even need to change Riley's tone or attitude. Antares' mind did it by itself. He was actually kind of impressed.

If anyone with freakishly trained eyes were to have observed Antares while he listened to Riley talk, they would have noticed an ever so slight glaze to his eyes that had absolutely nothing to do with Death. It was like the trace amounts of magic Antares has as a squib is used solely for manipulating his perception of her. Death's magic on the other hand. Completely unnoticeable. He's too old and skilled for that.

Riley narrowed her eyes, suddenly feeling an urge to stab Death with a rusty butter knife again.

Pulling back from the hug, Antares ushered Riley out of bed and into some Scooby Doo slippers. 'Damn, these are cool as fuck, vintage too… Wait no. Oh god, I'm vintage now. The fucking 80's!' Riley was forced from that dilemma when she was suddenly picked up and settled on her father's hip.

"Let's get some breakfast, little star." Antares cheered.

Letting herself untense, she attempted to map out the house as they headed towards the kitchen. She caught glimpses of a bathroom, a study, and two more bedrooms before leaving the hallway. The living room was a decent size, but Riley was abruptly reminded that she was in the fucking 80's again when she caught sight of the horrid furniture. 'The TV! Why have you forsaken me so? Has the VCR even been invented yet?' She mourned for her Saturday morning cartoons.

Turning left and entering the kitchen, Riley caught her first sight of her new mother. Mildred looked up from the plate she was placing on the table and smiled at them. She was slim, average in height, and had perfectly styled blond curls pinned back from her dark blue eyes and face. She seriously wouldn't look out of place in a Better Homes and Garden magazine. Overall, she was really pretty… That is, until she visibly gave Riley and Antares a once over and scowled. 'Whoa, that's an ugly look.'

"Antares, what on Earth do you think you're doing?!" Mildred nearly screeched. Wincing, from the unexpected shrillness, Riley glanced up at her father who looked unruffled.

"It's the weekend, Mildred." Antares intoned with an air that only comes from repeated use.

"You can't wander around in pajamas! The entire neighborhood will think we are loons! And what the hell is Orion wearing?! Where did she get those?!" She continued, gesturing aggressively towards Riley.

Startled at being called out, Riley looked at herself then her father, having forgotten they were in their nightwear. 'Are we going out or something? What's wrong with pajamas? Last week, I saw that one fat lady that always has a NASCAR hat on wearing fuzzy acid green pj pants to Walmart and no one said anything. We all just judged silently.' Tuning out the harpy noises, Riley zoned out while her mother kept ranting.

"Mildred, we are just eating breakfast, at home, unobserved. And for the last time, I bought those for her last week." He shot back exasperatedly.

"They are absolutely hideous. She's not keeping them. Throw them out after you change." She demanded. Finally realizing what Mildred has been referring to, Riley decided to make her own opinion known.

"The fuck did you say to me, bitch?! These are fucking vintage, one of a kind, Scooby Doo slippers. They cost more than your life. You're lucky Spongebob hasn't aired yet. Touch my shit and I'll fucking destroy your dollar store Martha Stewart looking ass. Try me, bitch, I'm fucking ready!" Riley fumed.

Sadly, her verbal abuse went unheard and her threat was not taken seriously. All Mildred heard was a very angry and caustic, "No, mine!" Antares, with his delusional ass, heard the same words, but they were sad and heartbreaking.

"No, Mildred. We'll go change, but Riley's keeping her slippers." He stated, glaring at his wife when she looked ready to argue.

"Fine. Just make sure Orion is presentable." Mildred huffed.

Riley glowered at her over Antares' shoulder as they left the room. Even though it's been less than ten minutes, she decided that while Antares is her new favorite person, Mildred is the worst and will never be her mother. Afterall, first impressions are everything.

"Wait, are those fucking beans? On the toast? What is wrong with you people?!"