Chapter 3-B: Fiery Morning!

After a good walk, he finally reached the door of his house. He inserted the key inside and pushed the door open. As soon as he stepped inside, an unsettling scent passed by his nose. A scent that shouldn't be here. It smelled like something was…

… burning.

Is that… smoke? Eryn raised an eyebrow. Did I leave the stove on? He didn't remember if he did. My sister tends to leave the stove on when she lived with me. He locked the door behind him and–

"ERYN! ERYN!" Iris shouted out, running towards him at full speed with Lofie.

"Iris…? Lofie…?" Eryn dropped the bag of items down to the ground. He smiled at them. "I see you two are already awa-…"

"It's Melty!" she grabbed onto his arm. "She's burning!"

"…Huh?" Eryn blinked a few times, in disbelief at what he just heard. She's… burning?

Soon, the smoke was visible, traveling through the air. Eryn noticed the smoke… and the color immediately left his face as the realization of what was happening hit him like a truck.

"MELTY!" Heart beating fast, he willed power into his legs and dashed towards the living room at an incredible rate he didn't believe was possible. The smoke became even hazier and clouded as he got closer. He reached the living room…

"W-What the?!" The sight before him shocked him to the core. Before his very eyes, the couch was writhing in flames, burning with a deadly intensity… and in the center of it was Melty, who was crying violently.

"WAAAAHH!" Melty cried out, her entire body covered in flames.

"Melty!" Acting on instinct, Eryn reached out his hand towards her but immediately pulled it back, wincing in pain due to the searing heat. "Ouch!" It's crazy hot!

"Eryn!" Iris called out, running to him with Lofie.

"Iris, don't come any closer!" Fearing for their safety, Eryn shouted at the top of his lungs, surprising both Iris and Lofie. "Take Lofie and stay back! Don't breathe in the smoke!"

Iris grabbed Lofie's hand and distanced themselves away from the flames.

Damn it! What do I do?! Coming to his home in flames was not on his agenda!

"WAAAHHH, ERYN!" Melty's cries broke through the flames.

"… Melty!" Right, I need to act quickly! Gotta save Melty! He didn't know how this happened, but he'd figure this out later! Melty needs me! His heart could leap out of his chest at any moment.

Right now, the fire was only burning the couch. It hadn't spread to the carpet or the walls… yet. It's only a matter of time. The source of the flames seemed to be coming from… Melty? That's what his observation was telling him. How is that even…

Eryn made a beeline to the bathroom and took a big bucket, filling it with water. After filling it, he dashed back to the living room with the bucket. It's only a hunch but… forgive me, Melty!

Using the bucket, he splashed it over the couch, aiming it at Melty mostly. The water extinguished her flames, and soon the surrounding flames began to die down. Taking off his jacket, Eryn stepped over the smaller flames and vanquished the rest with his jacket.

"Eryn!" Crying with reckless abandon, Melty ran over to Eryn.

"Melty!" Dropping down to his knees, he spread his arms apart and Melty jumped into his embrace. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?!"

"Eryn…!" Melty wailed heavily into his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears. Her body's temperature was reaching extremely high levels, up to the point Eryn could feel burning sensations as he made contact with her skin. In spite of all that, he couldn't care less. He gritted his teeth and bared the pain, tightening her arms around Melty. Calming Melty down was his top priority.

"It's okay, Melty… it's okay." Eryn whispered, stroking the back of her head to comfort her. "I'm here now. Everything's okay."

"Urhk…!" Her sniffles and coughs could be heard between her sobs. He continued stroking her hair, glad that she was right here in his arms. After a moment, the temperature around her began cooling down.

He let out a long sigh of relief, his nerves calming down. Thank God… it seems she's okay. His eyes drifted to the couch… or at least what was remaining of it. The couch was mostly black and disfigured, having been burnt to ash. My trusty couch… he was admittedly sad to lose his valuable couch, but he'd take Melty over the couch any day.

"I'm… sorry…" Melty sobbed softly, her tears slowing down.

"It's okay, Melty." Eryn patted her back gently as he cooed. "It's okay."

Iris and Lofie walked up to her sister, visibly worried about her condition.

Eryn glanced at them. "Iris, what… happened?"

"I d-don't know, Eryn..." Iris bowed her head down, clenching the hem of her dress. Her body was trembling.

"I've never seen this happen before…" Lofie answered, her body trembling as well.

First time, huh… he guessed it never happened at Aiden and Amber's shelter. But maybe before that…

Noticing their trembling bodies, Eryn stretched his arm out. "Come here, you two."

The catgirl and Anubis moved into his embrace, feeling a sense of safety wash over them. Eventually, their trembling bodies subsided.

"You must have been afraid…" Eryn whispered, angry at himself. "I'm so sorry…"

A moment of silence passed. He embraced them, trying to reassure them and also himself. What would have happened if he came home later? Hell, what if he didn't go out instead? He despised himself for allowing them to go through such a thing.

"Melty…" Eryn whispered. "Do you… know what happened?"

"I… don't know, Eryn." Melty rubbed her tears away, her crying coming to a halt. "W-When I woke up, I didn't see you." She sniffed. "I got… really scared. I thought you…"

"I see…" Eryn sighed at himself. "It's okay. I would never leave you, Melty. I'm always here for you."

"Mhmm…" Melty buried her head in his chest.

Eryn pulled his arms away and forced a smile. "Well, I'm glad all of you are safe." He turned to the burnt couch. "I'm… going to clean this up first, alright?" Standing up, he observed the situation around him. "Iris, Lofie… could you help Melty to the bathroom? Help clean her up?"

"Okay, Eryn." Iris nodded, then gently held Melty's hand while Lofie held the other. They walked her to the bathroom.

"Fuaaah…" After they were out of his sight, he let out a long, depressed sigh. First, he opened the windows to let out the smoke. He took a broom and dustpan and began sweeping the burnt remains. I'll miss this couch… it was the best couch he ever had, too. After sweeping the remains, he threw them in the trash. That's better for now. He'd throw this mess of a couch later. He went to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, clawing his face with his hands. He could still feel the burns on his hands and cheeks from hugging Melty.

What a way to start the day, huh? It was only the second day, and it was already overwhelming him… last time he felt like this was when he faced his high school exams.

No, I can't lose face now. I should have known what I was getting myself into. Right now, he wanted to be strong, he needed to be strong… for the monstergirls.

Eryn opened up the notebook and placed it on the table. He flipped through the pages till he found details pertaining to the hinezumi. It wasn't already obvious to him, this incident should have cleared up any doubts about her being a… fire mouse. His eyes began scanning the lines of words…

"Being a hinezumi, she has a lot of energy and tends to get overly excited. Much like a fire, she's brimming with energy."

I see… that kinda makes sense. Eryn nodded.

"We often take her on daily walks to keep her distracted. Maybe she'd enjoy physical activities?"

Hmmm… judging by this, it seemed Aiden nor Amber were aware of her being able to cause fires. Very lucky for them. One of the things Aiden said flashed through his mind when he adopted them, namely that…

"And well… bonding with an adult monstergirl, especially if you're new to this… it comes with serious risks."

Was this… one of the risks? Since he adopted Melty, she seemed to have a fear of being abandoned, being left alone. I wonder… did she cause this fire because she thought Eryn left her? Did she lose control of her emotions, and in turn, lose control of the fire? These were all just his assumptions, and he wasn't going to try proving this. I can't risk another accident.

I think… I need to show Melty she can trust me. That was his first step. Now, how he was going to go about this… he was still thinking.

"Eryn…" a lowly voice called out.

"Mhmm…?" Eryn shifted his attention away from the book to the voice. He saw Iris and Lofie supporting Melty from her sides. Melty's cheeks were puffy with her eyes appearing slightly red. Awww, Melty… he walked up to them and crouched down, facing Melty. "How are you feeling, Melty?"

"Better…" Melty replied, sniffing.

"That's good to hear." Eryn smiled, caressing her head.

"I'm… sorry for ruining your couch…" Melty averted her eyes.

"Melty…" Eryn shook his head. Honestly, he missed his couch already, but… "It's okay. I'm just glad you're safe."

"You… don't hate me?" Melty asked softly. "You won't… kick me out?"

"Melty…" he pressed his forehead against her own. "Of course not. I could never do something like that…"

"…" Melty cast her gaze downwards, unsure of what to say or do next.

Soon, a strange, rumbling sound followed, causing everyone to look at… Lofie.

"… Oh." Lofie put her hands over her stomach. Her cheeks were dyed red, probably from embarrassment.

"Ah, right…" Eryn stood up, trying to change the mood. "You all haven't had breakfast yet."

"Oh, breakfast!" With such innocence, Lofie's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"I'm sorry, Eryn…" Iris scratched her cheek awkwardly. "We don't know how to make food…"

"Haha, don't worry about it." Eryn chuckled. "I'll fix us something up."

He walked to the kitchen and prepared a pan for frying. What should I make… to be honest, the fire incident took a lot out of him, and he just wasn't in the right mood to try out the new meals he bought for them. Since they can eat like humans, I don't think I have to worry about it for now…

He opened up the refrigerator and took three eggs and several slices of bread. He was a simple man in the ways of the kitchen.

"Are you all okay with eggs and bread for breakfast?"

"Yeah!" Both Iris and Lofie answered in unison while Melty simply nodded.

"Alright!" Eryn rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. "Let's get cooking!"

He turned on the stove to a low flame and set two pans on top of it. One pan would be used for frying the eggs, while the other would be used to toast the bread. He poured oil into the pan that will be used for the eggs, and he let it heat up for a while.

Iris and Lofie walked up to him, trying to take a peek at the stove. They seemed to be watching in admiration.

"Don't stand too close, you two." Eryn patted both their heads and gently urged them away. "Why don't you wait at the dining table?"

"Can I help you with anything, Eryn?" Iris asked in a curious tone, her tail wagging from side to side.

"Uh…" Eryn hummed in deep thought. He didn't want them to bother themselves.

"I want… to help, too," Lofie said, tugging on the hem of his shirt.

Don't give me those puppy eyes… Eryn sighed in defeat. Still, he found them adorable for wanting to help him.

"Okay, okay." Eryn placed his hands on his hips. "Why don't you two help me set the table?" He pointed at the plates organized on the kitchen table.

"Okay!" They nodded and went to take the plates to set them on the table. They were rather eager to do so.

It's like having little helpers around the house… he chuckled at the thought. He drew his attention back to the pans. This should be enough. He cracked each egg down on the table and split it open over the frying pan. It resulted in cracking and popping sounds as the eggs landed on the oil. Then, he set the bread on the next pan, waiting for it to be toasted before he flipped it upside down to heat the other side.

"It smells really good, Eryn!" Iris said, walking up to him.

"It's making me really hungry…" Lofie's tail began wagging around.

"It'll be done soon." Eryn smiled, flipping the bread over. "Make sure you wash your hands first!"

After he was done with cooking, he used a spatula to lift the sunny-side ups onto the slices of toast, then covered them with toast, too… therefore, making a simple sandwich.

"Alright, the meal's ready!" He placed each sandwich on their respective plates. He then opened the refrigerator to take a carton of chocolate milk. "Do you want chocolate milk, too?"

"I love milk!" Lofie's eyes sparkled with stars. She nodded frantically.

"Me too!" Iris raised her hand.

Eryn smiled in response. He took three small empty glasses and a mug for himself. He usually had milk and cereal for breakfast since he wanted something easy. He poured the chocolate milk into each of them, then set them on the table. He then helped Iris and Lofie to their own chairs and tucked them in.

One empty chair caught his attention. In the corner of his eye, he saw Melty, who had been remaining in the same spot since he last saw her. Her head was bowed down to her feet. Melty… Eryn could feel a strange sensation coil around his heart.

Over breakfast, he hoped they could bond and help ease her mind.