Painted Ghouls

Chapter 7

"Today will be a lot better than yesterday," Brendan spoke, stretching out his arms with a hefty yawn. Athena looked up at him, her head rested on top of the blue blanket his bed contained.

I hope so, she thought, raising her head off of the fabric reluctantly. Yesterday was really boring.

The rain had lasted all through the rest of the previous day, and even managed to stretch to the night. Thankfully, the power had managed to return, but that was when the torchic was already sound asleep due to the insane amounts of boredom she witnessed. With a small yawn of her own, she watched as Brendan lifted himself off of the bed, his hand outstretched for his shoes.

It's only morning! she thought, blinking her eyes. What does he want to do now?

She was too tired to move about so early; even though the sun had risen ages ago, she had only just woken up. Brendan apparently had been up for a while, for when she woke up, he was already moving about in the room. He was even wearing his hat by the time she had her eyes opened.

Interestingly enough, he did not put on his shoes. Instead, he simply held both of them with one hand as he used the other to escort Athena off of the bed. Once she was on the carpet, he made his way out of the room, and toward the stairs. Silently, she followed, and was once again picked up by a single hand as he went down the long staircase. Hopping off of the last step, he placed her back on the floor, before making his way to the kitchen.

"Since today is actually nice weather-wise, we can hang out with May," he said, dropping his shoes next to a chair beside the dining table. "That sounds fun, doesn't it?"

Not really, Athena mentally responded, watching as the human walked over to the kitchen. But I guess being with Damien sounds fun.

For a few moments, she stood still, listening to her stomach rumble as she watched Brendan open the door to the fridge. After what felt like ages of prepping up food, he placed Athena on top of the dining table, giving her a plate of corn to occupy her.

More corn? she thought, eyeing the yellow substance. She couldn't help but notice he had given her a slightly smaller amount than what she had received the day prior. Is that because he thought I wouldn't finish it if he gave me any more?

Releasing a small chirp, she picked up a small pellet of corn in her beak, and promptly swallowed it whole. As she did so, Brendan placed a white bowl on top of the table. Inside the bowl was a strange, white liquid, with brown grains floating in the substance. Sitting in a chair, he bent forward, and scooped a circular utensil into the food.

What even is that? she thought, her eyes narrowing slightly. It looks so gross! Silently, she watched him eat the food, before turning her head back to her own plate. Bending her head, she swallowed down another piece of corn, savoring the taste. This probably tastes a lot better than whatever he has.

After their breakfast, Brendan stood up from his chair, and grabbed hold of the plate and bowl. Stacking the bowl on top of the plate, he walked over to the kitchen, and carefully placed them inside the sink. Once he was done with that, he made his way back to the table, and silently helped Athena back to the floor. As her feet made contact with the wood, she cringed slightly, still not used to the odd feeling of the floor.

His hindquarters plopping down onto the floor, Brendan grabbed hold of his shoes, before promptly shoving them onto his feet. Athena watched with slight interest as he fiddled with a strange lace, strapping it down against the white material of the shoe. Almost mechanically, he did the same thing to the other shoe. Right after that, he lifted himself to his feet.