Chapter 19: Photos.

"Melty, what do you think about school?" Lofie asked, crawling towards her.

"School… I think it sounds like a fun place!" Melty replied with a grin.

"I see." Lofie nodded, then turned to Iris. "Iris, what do you think about school?"

"I don't know." Iris shook her head. "My previous owners never took me to school. They never talked about it."

"I see." Lofie nodded, stroking her chin. The idea of school fascinated her. What would it be like to go to school?

"Does Eryn think schools are fun?" Melty asked them.

"I'm not sure." Iris twiddled with her fingers. "Eryn didn't seem very happy when I asked him about it."

"Maybe school wasn't fun for him." Lofie guessed.

"I want to ask Eryn about it, but I don't want him to be mad at me." Iris bowed her head, a frown appearing on her face.

"Why would Eryn be mad about it?" Melty asked. "I wanna ask him!"

"Do you want Eryn to be mad at you?" Lofie asked, folding her arms.

"What? No!" Melty waved her hands frantically. "Will he be mad at me for asking him about school?"

"That's what you just asked me, Melty." Iris sighed.

"I think… Eryn won't be mad." Lofie placed her palms on the floor. "Eryn always makes us feel safe."

"Yeah!" Melty agreed. "Eryn is the best!"

"Eryn has given us so much…" Iris's lips curved into a grateful smile. "He makes me really happy..."

The monstergirls shared sweet smiles with each other. Rarely do they get the chance to sit down, relax, and have sisterly bonding moments. They felt extremely grateful to Eryn.

They hope to be together for a long time.

"Hey, everyone." Eryn walked to the living room, carrying a photo book. They seem to be bonding together. That's nice to see. "I found my old photo book."

"A photo book?" Lofie asked.

"Oh, oh, I want to see!" Melty stood up and ran to him.

"Easy there." He chuckled softly as he sat down, dropping the hefty photo book on the floor. "I didn't find any of my old school books, but I think I do have some school pictures here."

"Oh, school pictures!" Lofie's eyes lit up with sparkles, her ears twitching with delight.

The monstergirls gathered around him, huddling close to the book.

"And I think… you'll see pictures of me when I was a kid." Eryn playfully poked Iris's nose. "Just like you three."

"Oh!" Iris's eyes widened in surprise. Like her sisters, she was quite curious to see little Eryn!

Eryn dusted off the cover. Let's go down memory lane! He flipped the photo book open, and they were immediately greeted with photos of Eryn and Riana when they were kids.

"Awww!" The monstergirls shared a collective reaction at seeing the photos.

"W-Well…" Eryn scratched his cheek awkwardly, heat rising in his face. I wasn't expecting to see my child self on the first turn.

"Is this you and your sister, Eryn?" Melty asked, pointing to a photo. "You look so cute!"

"Little Eryn…" Iris's eyes focused on the photo. He was such an adorable boy!

"Yep, that's me and my sister." He replied. "Back when we used to live together."

"Why doesn't your sister live here anymore, Eryn?" Lofie asked, curious.

"Because of her job, I think?" He folded his arms in deep thought. "She told me she wants to make a living for herself." And I never knew her job involved dealing with monstergirls…

Eryn flipped the page. There were photos of a crying boy wearing a school uniform and standing in front of a school building.

"And this… I believe this was my first day of school."

"Awww, why is little Eryn crying?" Iris rubbed her palms over the picture, feeling the instinct to comfort the crying boy.

"Being separated from my family… little me found that a terrifying experience." He chuckled.

"Is school scary, Eryn?" Melty asked.

"No, I don't think it's necessarily scary…" he adjusted himself, laying down on his front. His hands, plopped on their elbows, supported his face. "It was just a new experience for me."

"Eryn is brave." Lofie gave him a thumbs up. "Very brave for going to school."

"Haha, I had to be brave." He slipped his hand under the page. "I'm sure you three would do better than me going to school."

"As long as Eryn is with us, there is nothing to worry about." Lofie's eyes sparkled with determination, her ears twitching upward.

"And you have each other, too." Eryn flipped to the next page of photos. He and his sister could be seen doing various activities. He shared more stories about his childhood with the monstergirls. They happily listened to every word.

Then he turned to the next page, and there was a photo of his best friend, Azusa. They could be seen holding hands and eating ice cream.

"Azusa…" Lofie narrowed her eyes at the photo, her ears twitching with annoyance. A low growl escaped her throat.

I don't think she's going to warm up to Azusa anytime soon. Eryn ruffled his hair.

"Eryn, how long have you known Azusa?" Iris asked.

"We've known each other for a very long time." He answered. "At least seven years."

"Wow!" Melty bobbed her head.

"Does Eryn love Azusa?" Lofie asked, holding her breath, a bit afraid to hear the answer. Even Melty and Iris were holding their breath in anticipation.

"… Yeah?" He raised a brow at her question. "She's my best friend. Of course I love her." It would be odd if I didn't like her at all.

"Oh." Lofie breathed a sigh of relief. "Good!"

"Sure…?" Eryn blinked in a comical fashion.

As he turned to the next pages, empty spaces in the pages became increasingly apparent. Eryn would chalk it to a disorderly arrangement of the photos, but it seemed the empty spaces were deliberate. Have they always been empty? I don't remember exactly…

Iris noticed something strange about these photos. There wasn't anything odd about the photos themselves, but she expected two certain people to show up. Their previous caretakers, Aiden and Amber, were nowhere to be seen. She recalled Aiden and Amber saying this when Eryn stopped by the shelter to see her.

"You came here with your sister often when you were younger."

"It seems little Eryn is all grown up now!"

Judging by this, Eryn must have known them for a long time. Why aren't they here? Maybe he didn't take any photos with them. That seemed like a simple explanation, though it felt off to her…

Turning to the last page, only a single photo was visible. Two kids, one boy and girl who were obviously Eryn and Riana. Two adults, a man and a woman, holding the kids in their arms.

"Oh…" the monstergirls said in awe. It was strange that, before this moment, the photos didn't show any of his parents. Eryn didn't mention them even once to the monstergirls.

"And these… are my parents." Eryn brushed his fingers against the photo. A wave of faint memories hit him. Memories tainted with sadness and bittersweetness. Memories he buried in the depths of his mind.

"A beautiful family," Lofie commented.

"They raised wonderful children!" Melty exclaimed with a grin.

"Where are your parents, Eryn?" Iris asked. "I would love to meet them."

Eryn slightly flinched at the question leaving her lips. It was such an innocent question, and yet…

"I… would love to meet them too, Iris."

"… Huh?" Iris tilted her head to the side.

"My parents… they, uh…" He let out a deep sigh and clenched his fingers into fists, casting his gaze down. "They… passed away when I and Riana were kids."

The monstergirls froze, their eyes widening in shock. They stared at Eryn, processing the words entering their ears. His parents were not here anymore. They'd never have the chance to meet his parents.

"I'm… so sorry, Eryn." Iris bowed her head, her ears depressing. "I… I didn't… I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay. You didn't know." He patted her head and rubbed it. "Riana and I… we did what we could to… move on. Become people our parents would be proud of."

Melty drew her little hand to Eryn's much bigger hand, wanting to comfort him. She did not know what to say. Knowing his parents weren't here anymore left her speechless.

"And I'm sure if they were still alive…" Tears welled up in his eyes. Tears he was holding back. "They would have loved to meet you three and cherish you like the grandchildren they never had."

"I'm sure Eryn's parents must be proud." Lofie stood on her knees and inched closer to him. She gently cupped his cheeks and rubbed his tears away with her small thumb. "Eryn is an amazing person."

Eryn could only return a weak smile. Getting comforted by my monstergirls… this made the pain in his heart easier to bear. Normally, he wouldn't want the monstergirls to ever see him cry.

But they were his family, too. Maybe it's okay to lean on them. To share sadness and go through it together.

He held Lofie's hands and gently put them away. With his forearm, he rubbed his eyes to clear his tears. He shifted into a sitting position and crossed his legs.

"I… don't remember my own parents, Eryn." Iris said softly.

"Huh…?" Eryn turned to her.

"Me too." Melty nodded her head. "I never met my parents."

"I don't know who my parents are, either." Lofie added.

They don't know who their parents are…? Eryn thought. At least he knew he had loving parents. That was surprising to hear. Had they always been alone growing up? As if having bad owners wasn't enough. They didn't seem very hung up on it, though.

"But we have each other now!" Iris got in between Lofie and Melty, wrapping her arms around their shoulders.

If there's one thing obvious about the monstergirls, it's that they truly saw each other as sisters. A catgirl, an Anubis, and a hinezumi, three different monstergirls from three different backgrounds. And yet, Eryn has once never felt they couldn't be sisters. They love each other dearly.

"And we have a wonderful parent now." Lofie smiled brightly.

"Oh, who would that be…?" Eryn asked, his mind not fully registering the question.

"It's you!" Melty exclaimed and leaped into Eryn's arms.

"Woah…" Eryn caught her by reflex. I'm… their parent? That thought hadn't fully sunk in with him yet. He's never seen himself as a parent, but now that the monstergirls were adopted into his family…

"No fair, Melty!" Lofie and Iris followed Melty, squeezing into his arms.

Eryn let out a soft laugh. He wrapped his arms around the monstergirls, holding them close to his heart. That's right. I'm a parent now, aren't I?

"Eryn has done so much for us." Iris nuzzled her head into his chest. "We want to be there for Eryn, too!"

"Yeah!" Melty grinned. "Cause we're family now! And family are there for each other!"

"A happy family." Lofie softly head-butted his chest.

That's how they've always seen me, huh? His gaze drifted to drawing on the fridge. A day after he adopted the monstergirls, Lofie drew a picture of them, what she saw as a happy family. Without question, she and her sisters already saw Eryn as their family, even before the official adoption.

Deep inside, I've always felt hesitant. He closed his eyes. To fully accept them as my family. But now, there was no reason to feel hesitation. Seeing the monstergirls' joyful expressions was all he needed to confirm his own feelings.

I'll do my best to raise them.

As my parents have raised me.