Chapter 7-A: High Five!
"Hum…"
Eryn was sitting on the carpet cross-legged, facing his burnt couch, or at least what remained of it. The trusty couch that has served me for years… gone to ashes. Literally.
"Eryn, Eryn!" Iris held a chunk of vanilla cake and drew it to his lips. It was the birthday cake they were having a while back.
"Mhmm…" he mindlessly chomped down on the cake as he stroked his chin.
"What are you staring at, Eryn?" Melty asked, sitting beside him.
"The couch…" he replied, folding his arms in deep thought. "I'm thinking of throwing it out to clean the place up."
"Oh..." Melty looked at the couch. She still felt guilty about burning it down. Her ears draped down which didn't escape his attention.
"Haha." Eryn gently stroked her red hair to comfort her. "Don't worry about it, Melty. We'll get a new one later."
"Okay…" she nodded timidly.
"All right!" he stood up and walked to the couch. He tried lifting it on one end and surprisingly, it didn't feel that heavy. It's really destroyed…
"What are you going to do with the couch, Eryn?" Iris asked.
"I'm going to–…ungh…–throw this out." He grunted as he lifted it and dragged it across the floor. Maybe I should push it, instead? "Make the living room a little cleaner."
"Can I help?" she asked eagerly, her tail wagging around in anticipation.
"No, it's fine." He smiled. "I think this is a bit too heavy…"
Iris walked to the other end of the couch and tried to lift it with her little hands. "Mnnngh!"
"Haha, it's okay." He chuckled at her cute display of strength. "I'll try to do this myself."
"What if we all do it together?" Melty suggested, moving to Iris's left. "I think we can do it!"
"Me too. Me too." Lofie followed, walking to Iris's right.
"Hmmm…" Eryn didn't want to bother them with this heavy lifting. But how can I say no to those bubbly eyes? All their tails were wagging with excitement. One doesn't simply say no…
"Okay, okay." He sighed with a smile. "But I don't want you to lift it. Why don't you all push it together?" He figured that would be the easier solution for them. And probably more fun.
"Okay!" they all exclaimed in unison, putting their hands against the couch.
"Alright... on the count of three, two, one…!" Eryn lifted his end of the couch and started dragging it towards the hallway.
"Mnngh!" the monstergirls began pushing with all their strength. The couch moved smoothly with their combined efforts.
Huh, this is working better than I expected. He wasn't having that much trouble at all. Well, monstergirls are stronger than the average human…
They moved the couch together towards the door. Eryn opened it up first before taking the couch out to the field. "Be careful with the steps!"
And finally, the burnt couch was out in no time with their cooperative efforts. They're stronger than they look… he's seen what Melty's capable of, so maybe it did apply to both Iris and Lofie.
"Yay, we did it!" Iris hopped up with joy.
"The couch is no match for us!" Melty grinned, putting her hands on her hips.
"The couch you burnt down." Lofie said in a deadpanned tone.
"H-Hey…! It was an accident!" Melty huffed. The anubis' words struck a nerve within her.
Eryn found their antics amusing. Who would have thought they could find excitement in something tedious as moving a couch… maybe he'd find other things fun now with them.
"Great job, everyone!" Eryn extended his palm to them for a high-five.
Unexpectedly for him, they all stared at his palm confused. Iris thought he was going to give her head pats, so she happily wrapped her little hands around his fingers and put them on her head.
"Uhh…" Eryn drew his hand back, much to Iris's disappointment. Let me guess, they've never heard of high-fives, huh?
"Aren't you going to pat me, Eryn?" Iris asked with a pout.
"N-No, I was going for a… high-five." He clarified.
"A high-five?" Their ears twitched in curiosity at the unfamiliar concept.
"What's a… high-five, Eryn?" Iris asked. "Does that mean five head pats?"
"It's when… you want to celebrate with someone for achieving something together." He explained, organizing the right words in his mind to say. "A gesture of celebration."
"Ohhh…" their mouths formed into O's.
"A high-five…" Lofie stared at her little hands. She imitated a clapping motion.
"How do you do a high-five, Eryn?" Melty asked.
So, they don't know. Eryn's guess was proven true. It's time for them to learn what a high-five is! He figured this could be fun.
"Iris, could you show me your palm?" he asked and crouched down to their level.
"Okay!" Iris obliged, presenting her palm to him.
"All right." Eryn raised his palm. "Here's how high-five works! It's quite simple, really."
He gently slapped her palm with his, resulting in a little high-five. "There!"
"Oh!" Iris's eyes widened in surprise.
"Pretty easy, isn't it?" he smiled warmly. "I want to give you high-fives for taking the couch outside together."
"I want to try! I want to try!" Melty's tail wagged around intensely. She raised her palm to him excitedly.
"Haha, okay." Eryn found her excitement infectious. He raised his palm to her own and Melty instinctively slapped her palm against his, resulting in a stronger high-five.
"Hehehe!" Melty grinned sweetly.
"Can I use two hands?" Lofie asked timidly, staring at both her palms as she curled her fingers in and out.
"Why not, Lofie?" he showed both of his palms to her. "Try giving me a double high-five." It's double the fun!
Lofie looked at her hands, then back at his. She lightly pressed her palms against his own, resulting in a gentle high-five. "Oh!" The little gesture made her ears bob up with joy.
It was interesting to him that they each performed a high-five differently, yet they were all equally adorable.
"Now, let's do it all together!" Eryn exclaimed.
"Yeah!" they all replied in unison. They all brought their palms together in sync and met his palm, this time resulting in a team high-five.
CLAP!
"Well done, everyone!" Eryn congratulated them on bringing the couch outside. They all shared a small yet special moment of happiness.
On this fine occasion, he taught the monstergirls about the high-five.