After laying the ground rules, Elijah unchains me and takes me upstairs. He shows me to the guest bedroom across from his where I'll sleep from now on and grabs me a spare toothbrush, towel, and other necessities for washing up.
My first mission once left to my own devices is to take a nice, hot shower. I clean myself quickly before slipping into a black shirt and gray pair of sweats that Elijah left out for me. There's not much to be done about the large size of the shirt, but I roll up the pants a few times at the waist until I am confident that they won't fall down.
Seeing my reflection in the mirror unsettles me a bit as I dress. I haven't seen my human form in a long time... Maybe a few years? Longer? My hair has grown quite a bit and now hangs down to the middle of my back. I also look starved, with my cheek bones hollowed out a bit too harshly and my collar bone overly prominent. I've been fed well since I came here, but that unfortunately only affected my animal body. Not this one.
I shrug at myself, figuring things simply are the way they are now, and there's no use fretting about it. I'll get this body into good shape too; it'll just take some time.
I finish up in the bathroom and make my way down to the first floor. The house features an open concept design, so the living room and kitchen are merely separated by the transition of grey, speckled carpet into white tile.
Standing quietly at the base of the stairs, I observe the room and begin to feel a bit awkward, unsure of where to go. Andrew lounges on the L-shaped couch, flicking through TV channels with one hand and fiddling with a gold ring in the other, while Elijah searches for something on the floor underneath Andrew's reclined footrest. Andrew turns the ring between his fingers, and it glimmers abnormally in the light. From his lack of reaction to the glimmer, I assume to Andrew it must look like a normal ring. It would make sense that his brain is not able to comprehend it properly if he hasn't ever seen traces of magic prior to now.
"Hey Eli, look at this. Theo gave it to me. Said it didn't fit 'im anymore and it's more my style anyway," Andrew chuckles. "Isn't it cool?"
"Very cool," Elijah mutters, head stuck underneath the couch.
"You didn't even look," Andrew grumbles under his breath.
Elijah moves on to the next section of the couch, reclining it and checking underneath for whatever it is that he's lost.
"Has anyone seen my cat?" He questions anxiously.
Theo makes direct eye contact with me from his seated position at the dining table, probably connecting the dots, if he hasn't already.
"I'm sure she's around somewhere," he responds, still looking at me.
Elijah groans and double-checks the window seat behind burgundy curtains, which has always been one of my favorite spots to hide.
"I haven't seen her in days. I'm really worried."
When he turns back around, he notices me and gives me instructions.
"Cynthia, nice of you to join us. Theo made breakfast. Yours is on the counter. Go eat." His sentences are short and clipped, and he wipes all traces of emotion off his face while he talks to me. He doesn't hate me, but he definitely doesn't like me either.
I meander towards the food, finding a plate full of scrambled eggs and toast sitting in front of an open bar stool. I hesitate to sit near it. Not that long ago, this counter had been covered in double sided tape that Elijah put down in an attempt to stop me from jumping on the counters. It worked well, and while I can clearly see that the tape must have been removed at some point, the memory of feeling stuck to it still puts me on edge.
