APOLLO
Dr. Lawerence led me out of the torture chamber, into the main room, out of another door, and up a steep flight of stairs. Entering a room in the mansion I'd never seen, I relied on Dr. Lawerence leading me by my leash to navigate the halls. Finally, we left the mansion and entered the world again, sunlight blinding me as we stepped onto the front porch.
A red ATV was parked outside. The human loaded us both onto it, and not three minutes later, he led me through the front gate of Luka and I's home. Equal parts guilt, terror, and excitement took over my now-weak body.
The door was unlocked with a click. Before we entered, I remembered how I clawed, bit, and spit at my master.
The front door opened. Standing on the other side was a shaken, bandaged up, but otherwise almost-in-one-piece Luka. My heart swelled at the sight.
"Master!" I exclaimed, rushing towards him.
Luka groaned as I embraced him, but I didn't pay it any mind. When I squeezed, however, he shouted, "Ow ow ow ow ow!"
"Sorry!" I apologized. "I'm so happy to see you!"
I smashed my face into his in and attempt to kiss him on the cheek. All I succeeded in doing was muzzle-punching him.
"Can you please take all this off of me?" I asked as politely as I could.
Luka fidgeted uncomfortably. "I'd feel safer with them on."
"Well, I did try to kill you, so I guess that's fair." I rationalized aloud, fighting a growing sense of displeasure.
My master looked incredibly uncomfortable. Fidgeting, with eyes refusing to meet mine, he stood shifting his weight from foot to foot.
It's possible that it's because I ate him.
"I'm glad you're okay." I hummed, "I'm sorry I tried to kill you."
Luka nodded stiffly. I noticed sweat began to bead on his forehead.
"Master?" I asked softly, "Are you okay?"
I watched as the brunet took a deep breath, held it, and forgot to let it go. It appeared to be strangling him. Guilt began to hook its ugly claws into my heart.
I did this to him.
"Luka," I hummed, putting a soft hand on his shoulder, "It's okay."
The human yelped and pulled away. I spied black stitches under his white t-shirt.
"Sorry...." I mumbled. I was really bad at the whole consolation thing.
Dr. Lawerence rushed to Luka's side. "Lu, Lu, it's alright." He purred with love. "He can't hurt you."
"I can't do it, Kye!" My master burst out into tears. "I can't keep him right now."
An invisible knife traced around my heart, in much the same motions as Will's knife traveled, and plunged into the organ, twisting as it landed.
"What do you mean?" My voice was a trembling whisper. "You can't just get rid of me!"
"Kye, can you take him for now?" Luka pleaded desperately.
"No, no, no, no!" I shouted, "I want to stay with you, Master!"
"I can't keep you right now, Apollo, I just can't!" The human sobbed. "Every time I look at you, all I can see are the claws and fangs that tore me apart."
The knife twisted in my chest again, and I wanted to take a stab back. "You beat the living shit out of me, Luka."
"I disciplined you, Apollo!" The aforementioned human cried, "And you ate me for it!"
"You try it!" I retorted with similar distaste. Both humans sported confused expressions, at which I continued. "Beaten nearly daily, collared and leashed like a dog, restrained, caged, should I continue?" I scoffed between words.
"Maybe if you were a good bird, you wouldn't have to be subjected to all that!" My master growled, "Seriously, Apollo, what's happened to you? You used to be thrilled to obey and serve. Now you're akin to a rebellious teenager."
I snarled angrily, and Luka's face paled. Kye shortened my leash, holding me taut, as my feathers ruffled and fangs bared.
Dr. Lawerence's voice was a growl. "Don't do it, Apollo."
"Don't do what?" I snarled, "What I was born to do?"
"Okay, I'm getting him out of here. I'll see you later, Lu." Dr. Lawerence murmured and began pulling me towards the door.
"W-Wait." Luka instructed him shakily. "Let me pack him a bag."
I watched with sadness like a heavy stone in my chest as my master retrieved his duffel bag from under his bed. He packed as many clothes as he could fit. Books and toiletries were jammed in next. Finally, he zipped the impromptu suitcase closed, grabbing his bird collar remote on the way back to us.
Trembling as he approached, Luka cautiously offered Dr. Lawerence the bag in an outstretched right hand. It confused me at first, since my master was left handed, until I remembered the chunk I had taken out of his left shoulder.
Dr. Lawerence held me fast by the back of my collar as he accepted the duffel bag, wiggling it over his shoulder. The collar remote was next, which he took from Luka with a "Thank you.", and placed around his neck.
Curious, the dark-skinned human pressed a button on the remote. We both screamed; his hand was still under my collar, and electricity coursed through the both of us— It was still set to 100.
"Oh my god!" Luka exclaimed, "Kye, are you okay?"
I scoffed. "Yeah, fuck me I guess."
"I-I'm f-fine." Dr. Lawerence was still twitching.
"That's the stim button." My Master clarified. "This one is to call for help, you'll know it's activated when that little red light is flashing. This one is for the radio capacity. Over here you have your tone button, and the screen on the back is for GPS readings. This little dial adjusts how high the stim level is— let me lower that, real quick— Apollo's working level is a twenty-four."
The receiving-end of the lesson scratched the back of his head. "I might have to call you later for a refresher."
Luka nodded stiffly. "Yeah, don't hesitate." A big sigh. "Thank you for taking him for a while."
"No problem, Lu." Dr. Lawerence hummed. "I'll see you later."
I bit my tongue and kept my gaze forward as Dr. Lawerence led me out the door. A stinging in my eyes was beat down, and the heavy weight in my chest grew tremendously as I pretended it didn't hurt.
The door closed behind us.
The ride to Dr. Lawerence's house was short, maybe four minutes. He was situated in the South-East corner of the ranch in a small one bedroom, one bath. Dilute yellow-beige colored wooden panels covered the exterior, with dark brown shingles. Two white windows framed the matching door. Perfectly-manicured shrubs lined the front of the building.
Unlocked, the door opened with a twist of the knob. Inside the home was a living room front and center, a large reef aquarium to the right wall with a leather pull-out couch facing it. To the left was a white door that lead to the master bedroom. Just beyond that was the only bathroom, and past the living room was a small kitchen with a dining area.
The human unleashed me with a click.
"I'm sorry, Apollo, but you stink. You should go take a shower." Dr. Lawerence informed me. "The bathroom is the second door on the left. I think Luka put some hygiene products in your bag."
The doctor hesitated for a moment before asking wearily, "May I remove your restraints?"
I nodded, and he got to work unfastening my muzzle. Once it was falling into the human's hands, he began on the mitts, which came off with the unlatching of metal closures. Those were wiggled out of, and for the first time in nearly two weeks, I was able to stretch my hands and jaw.
Cringing as my fangs and claws were bared, Dr. Lawerence took a cautious step backwards. Once I showed disinterest in eating him by untying and slipping out of the boots I wore rather than mauling him, he relaxed.
"Can I leave these here?" I asked politely.
"Yeah, no problem." Dr. Lawerence seemed unsure of how to interact with me. In lieu of talking, he handed me the bag on his shoulder.
"Thanks." I said simply, and made my way to the bathroom, duffel bag in tow.
As soon as the door closed behind me, I broke down. Pent-up tears rushed down my face in a torrential downpour. Near-silently, I sobbed, letting go of all of the negative emotions the past two weeks had brought.
I was no stranger to torture, but damn, did Will's treatment hurt. In more ways than one, he had scarred me— I was scared of my body again, of humans again, and felt repulsed by the sensation of hunger clawing at my stomach.
Then there was Luka's abandonment of me. I didn't even want to think of it. Without my consent, memories of his shaking frame and trembling voice assaulted me. Had I really harmed him that badly? Were a few scratches and bites the end-all-be-all of torment like he had made it seem?
Maybe humans are cut from a different cloth. Or maybe I'm just jaded.
With a big sigh, I silenced my thoughts and wiped away my still-flowing tears. A little sniffle left me as I inspected myself in the mirror of the small bathroom. Dozens of shallow gashes marred my cherry-red throat. Turning around to take a look at my back, I saw a plethora of bruises and wounds. Battered wings were sliced-up, aching, and sported tattered feathers. My forearms and thighs were covered in a smattering of cuts, knicks, slashes, and stab wounds.
It was only now, as I was safe and beginning to relax, that they started to hurt.
The shower was painful. Soapy water in my wounds caused me to whine lowly throughout the course of the wash. Hair that was caked in sweat and blood was cleaned, nearly clogging the drain with the amount that was pulled out with every swipe. Vomit, blood, and flesh flowed off of my body under the steady stream of the shower head.
Dr. Lawerence was right. I must have stank something awful.
When I finally felt clean enough to turn off the shower, I made the mistake of attempting to shake off the excess water soaking my wings. Upon the sudden, jarring motion, I let out a startled yelp with the twisting of my wounds.
"Everything okay in there?" The human called out from his living room.
I decided to be truthful. "I'm in a lot of pain." I confessed.
"Come on out. I can give you something to ease your discomfort." Dr. Lawerence called back.
Dressing quickly in a pair of loose, black shorts, I exited the bathroom shirtless. The doctor's jaw dropped when he saw me, and not in a good way.
"Dear god, what did Will do to you?" He blanched as the words left him. "I thought you were covered in his blood!"
"Nope." I deadpanned awkwardly. "All mine."
The throbbing, burning pain in my body was starting to take its toll on me. It was all I could do to walk over to the couch Dr. Lawerence sat on and collapse next to him.
"I don't feel so good...." I groaned out, and the human placed a careful hand on my forehead.
"You're burning up." He hummed. Quickly, he hopped up, fetching his brown leather suitcase. Returning and popping it open next to me, he procured a non-contact thermometer, which was pointed at my forehead.
It beeped. "One hundred and eight point six." He remarked.
At my cocked head, he clarified, "It should be closer to one hundred and four. You've got a fever."
"Fun." I remarked. The human ignored me.
"Lay down." He commanded, and I did as I was told.
Dr. Lawerence inspected the wounds on my body, starting at my wings and working down. When he got to the stab wound on my right thigh, he paused. It was swollen, red around the wound and yellow in it, with red streaks decorating the skin around the injury.
"Yep, that looks infected." The man hummed informatively, "How long has it been swollen and red?"
"I'm not sure," I admitted, "Maybe a week?"
"A week?" He remarked, stupefied. "It should have been healed by now, infected or not. Have you been sleeping okay? Getting enough to eat?"
I laughed at his question. "I've been getting tortured for twelve days straight. No, I haven't been sleeping well. No, I haven't been eating, not unless you count a few bites of rotting meat here and there."
A deep puff of air left the man. A hand rested on the back of his head, rubbing his locs gently. "I'm going to need to clean this up. Sit tight for a minute."
With that, the human was up. Gone, then back in a flash, he carried two different bottles of pills and a manilla envelope. Flickering through the files inside, he thought for a moment, then set the envelope on a coffee table in front of the leather sofa. Next, the man retrieved two white pills from each translucent orange container they were held in.
A practiced mouth popped open, into which Dr. Lawerence chucked the four tiny pills. I swallowed them dry with a huge gulp. We waited in silence for the painkillers to take effect. Several minutes passed before I began to feel a little loopy. A few minutes after that, my mind began to float away. About twenty minutes later, I couldn't feel the burning sensation in my body anymore.
After I was thoroughly numb, Dr. Lawerence began applying antiseptic to my extensive collection of wounds followed by antibiotic ointment. Next were gauze and bandages. I was wrapped completely on my thighs, forearms, back, and throat. There wasn't much the doctor could do for my wings.
"Why aren't you scared of me?" I asked through my drug-induced haze.
"I've never hurt you, so I know you won't try to hurt me." Dr. Lawerence hummed, "Plus, if you hurt me, you aren't getting fed."
Hunger pains clawed at my stomach with his words. A growl sounded out, and the doctor chuckled.
"I have a little bit of human meat in the freezer. I'll go ahead and thaw it out for you. How do you like it prepared?" He asked kindly.
"Warm and raw, please." I replied groggily.
In a blink of an eye, I was snoring on the couch.
A paddle struck me right across the face. Gasping and sputtering, I recoiled at the intense sensation. Luka grabbed me by the throat, splitting open the cuts under my bandages.
"Why don't you try it?!" He snarled, teeth growing into fangs, fingernails growing into talons, eyes glowing red with rage.
Flipped around so that my face hit the wall, a fanged bite took a mouthful of my shoulder. I screamed with agony. Nausea overcame me at the sound of Luka chewing a bite's worth of flesh. Pretty soon, I wash choking on my last meal. It came up messily, dripping down my chin and coating the wall before me and the shirt on me.
The scent of hot human flesh awoke me. Heart racing, I took a deep, calming breath. Fangs bared and claws protracted, I let out a ginormous, stretching yawn, ridding my body of all of the worries of my nightmare.
"Hungry?" Dr. Lawerence asked from an adjacent leather armchair, holding a plateful of chopped up human steak.
Upon seeing the bite-sized morsels, I knew there was a catch. "Are we training?" I asked with a growling stomach.
"Kind of." The doctor answered. "Open your mouth."
Slowly, I complied. With jaws full of fangs wide open, I watched as the human took a cubed piece of meat between his fingers and came to sit next to me on the couch.
If I didn't know any better, it looked like he was about to—
Dr. Lawerence gingerly placed the treat inside of my mouth and onto my tongue. If I wanted to, I could have taken his hand off.
Once he removed his hand, I chewed my food, eyeing him suspiciously. What were his motives? Why hand feed a bird that had just mauled his Master?
"Open." The human commanded, and more eagerly this time, I opened my mouth. Again, a piece of steak was placed into it.
By the tenth bite, I was much calmer and more accepting of the hand moving between my teeth. On the eleventh bite, however, Dr. Lawerence pulled back. At the cock of my head, he instructed, "Catch!"
The treat was tossed at me. Darting after it, I just barely caught it between my fangs, throwing it into my mouth with a toss of my head. Again, Dr. Lawerence repeated the command. This time, the treat landed perfectly on my tongue.
"Good boy, Apollo!" The human praised, and I stifled a smile.
For about twenty minutes, we practiced tossing and catching bites of meat. Save for a few misfires, miscalculations, and misunderstandings, I caught the vast majority of the treats. Finally, I laid with a full belly and a content grin.
It was then that the doctor scooted a little closer. Stomach jam-packed, I didn't notice at first; my eyes did pop open, however, when a gentle hand was placed on the side of my head. My entire body froze stock still. Inch-by-inch, the hand began to stroke back and forth. The stroke turned into a rub. The rub turned into a rougher pet, and I somehow found myself with my head in the human's lap.
It was a few minutes into the petting when I realized I was purring up a storm. I was conflicted:
Do I remain happily purring and let this human take a victory over me, or do I man up and cut the shit?
I settled on the prior. Rumbling purrs grew louder. Snuggling into the human's abdomen, I let myself be vulnerable with a member of another species for the first time in a long time. Dr. Lawerence didn't hurt me (intentionally). He trusted me. He fed me. He cared for me. So was he really as bad as the others?
At the very least, he wasn't as bad as Luka, whom I had to take bites out of to get back at.
How did we go from loving each other to hating each other?
The purring stopped.
"What's wrong?" The human questioned. "You were just purring like a Harley."
"I wish I had my old Luka back." I rumbled. "The Master that loved me."
"Luka loves you, Apollo. He's just not himself right now." Dr. Lawerence reassured me.
"You don't beat the shit out of people you love." I huffed.
"You don't maul them, either." The human and I locked eyes.
I had another decision to make.
Do I snarl in his face or begrudgingly agree?
The later sounded better than throwing away the progress we had made. A single, unamused laugh left my throat. "I guess you're right."
"You should apologize." The doctor hummed, and I frowned.
"If anything, he should apologize for beating me!" I borderline-hissed.
"Woah, woah, take a chill pill, little bird!" Dr. Lawerence exclaimed, and before I could protest, he popped another bite of steak into my mouth.
Disgruntled, I chewed it and swallowed, but couldn't hold onto my anger as the meat went down. Instead, I realized I was drifting back into blissy paradise. My forehead found Dr. Lawerence's abdomen again, and again, I was purring a soothing rumble.
I watched the fish tank while we.... snuggled? All of the fish were concentrated at the front of the tank, stock-still, watching me.
"That's creepy. Your fish are watching me, Dr. Lawerence." I whispered to the human, who chuckled.
"They've never seen a bird before. I'd be curious too." Another pet was placed on my head. "Call me Kye."
"Okay." I hummed, and tested out the word. "Kye."
"That's me." The human deadpanned.
Upon receiving another rough pet, I wondered if humans liked pets, too. So I sat upright, and placed a dull, testing hand on Kye's head. Moving it around left and right, I carefully observed the recipient's features for signs of enjoyment.
I got a laugh instead. "Did you think people like getting pet, too?"
"Maybe." I admitted with the lightest of flushes gracing my cheeks.
I felt tremendously better after having eaten and relaxed. My fever was already going down, too, Kye confirmed.
"You haven't been out in weeks, and your immune system is kicking on again." Kye hummed, placing his thermometer on the coffee table. "Do you want to go see your friends?"
The question hit me like a brick. He was asking me what I wanted?
"Ummm...." I stalled, "Yes?"
"You'll have to wear muzzles and gloves, does that work for you?" The human asked.
Okay, this is seriously weird.
"Yes, that's fine." I agreed.
"Okay, sounds good." He responded.
Without another word, Kye fetched my usual pair of gloves and black basket muzzle with silver wires from the bag my master had packed me. I stayed perfectly still while he affixed the muzzle over the bottom half of my face, and wiggled my fingers into the Kevlar gloves when he offered the open ends to me. Both devices were locked in place, and I noticed that Luka's collar remote was around Kye's neck.
Not a half hour later, Roo and I were romping around, wrestling and play fighting. Chiaki and Kye stood off to the side, chatting. Roo seemed especially carefree today.
The aforementioned bird pinned me down, snarling in my face with fluffed-up brown-and-tawny wings. His expression changed to glee in a flash. "You're it!"
Roomba jumped into the air, nesting in a nearby oak tree. I was slow to follow.
"What's the matter, slowpoke?" Roo teased from high up in the canopy.
"You know," I groaned, slipping down as I lost my grip, "This is a lot harder to do when you can't fly or use your claws."
"Sucks to suck!" Roo holler and jumped out of the tree. He stuck a rolling landing, and this time, I was right behind him. The bird ran as fast as he little legs to carry him. Too bad I was faster.
Tackling Roomba to the grass, we rolled, grappling each other for the upper hand. Finally, I ended up on top. I didn't notice the smaller bird blush as I straddled him.
A dominant, spitting snarl left me as I held Roo down and got in his face with fluffed-up, shimmying feathers. The smaller male whimpered, baring his throat.
"Woah," My facade dropped immediately. "I wasn't being serious!"
"That was really hot." Roo purred, and I recoiled immediately.
"Gross, Roo! You know I'm taken!" I faked gagging.
Roomba only laughed at me before pouncing. He knocked us both over, snarling and spitting as we went down.
"You're it!" He razzed, hopping up and running off.
"You little bastard!" I grinned through my words.
We chased each other and wrestled until both of us collapsed from exhaustion. Dog-tired, we laid side-by-side in the grass. I was very, very happy that the painkillers I had taken were still working.
"Chiaki is keeping me." Roo broke the news.
"That's awesome!" I purred as I spoke. "I'm so glad you're not going anywhere."
"What's been up with you?" Roomba questioned. "I haven't seen you in weeks. My Mistress said Luka got hurt, but neither of you have been anywhere to be found."
Silence ate the air between us. With a big gulp, I found Roo's hand and gripped it tight.
"He beat the hell out of me." I whispered. "So I attacked him."
Roomba sighed with disappointment. "I'm guessing you met Will?" He motioned to my countless bandages.
"I did a lot more than meet him." I murmured. "He creamed his pants torturing me."
Roo winced. "Are you okay?" He continued before I had the chance to respond. "What am I saying? Of course you're not okay. I'm so sorry you went through that."
"I've gone through more than my fair share of torture. I'll be fine." I revealed. "I'm actually more upset that Luka doesn't want anything to do with me right now."
"I noticed Dr. Lawerence was with you today. I was just about to ask." Roo hummed.
"Yeah." I groaned. "Luka pawned me off to him for a while."
Roomba paused for a few minutes to think. Finally, he said, "You need to get your emotions under control, Apollo. You get so strung up and let your pride get ahead of you." The bird squeezed my hand back. "Captivity is so much easier when you comply."
"What if we didn't have to be captive?" I asked, and Roo whipped his head towards me to meet my eyes. "Shhh!" He shushed, whispering, "Don't let the humans hear you talking about that."
"I'm serious, Roo!" I whispered back. "What if the pack escaped?"
"Shut that shit down." Roomba insisted with a serious tone. "We are not doing that."
"Okay, okay." I conceded. "I'll stop talking about it."
"Do you even know how much trouble we'd get in? Mistress would have my wings as a mantelpiece!" The other bird hissed quietly.
"I get it, I get it!" I responded. "No escaping."
Roomba gave a sigh of relief. "Thank god."
Conversation effectively squished, we snuggled quietly until Chiaki called "Roo Roo! Time to go!"
Snickering, I teased, "See you later, Roo Roo."
Roomba "accidentally" knocked me upside the head with his wing as he rose to his feet.
"Bye, muzzle." He picked back.
"That's not even a good one!" I hollered after him as he jogged to his Mistress.
"You too, Apollo!" Kye called, and to everyone's surprise, including my own, I ran to him.
"Good boooooy!" The man praised, reaching over to ruffle my hair. "Good boy, Apollo!"
I turned a modest shade of peach-pink.
"Whatagoodboooooy!" Roomba teased me quickly, right before Chiaki swatted him on the back of the head. My eyes rolled at his antics.
"Master, may I—" Both Kye and I blanched."WOAH, I mean, daddy—Oh my god! Shit, I mean—" I groaned harder than I thought possible. "Nevermind!"
Roomba was red in the face from fighting laughter, and Chiaki had a hand clamped over her mouth to prevent a guffaw from escaping.
I was flushing cherry-red now.
"May you what?" Kye chuckled.
"It's not important." I grumbled, embarrassed.
Eventually, Kye and I were able to split off from Roomba and Chiaki. We headed back to Kye's house, where I let out a huge yawn as soon as stepping through the door.
"Time for a nap?" The human hummed.
Nodding sleepily, I made my way to the couch.
"No," Kye stopped me, "Follow me."
He took me by the hand, leading me across the small house to his bedroom. Anxiety set in once I saw our destination. I started to drag a little bit, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.
Noticing my hesitation, Kye told me, "It's okay. I'm not going to do anything bad to you."
I believed him, but it didn't magically banish my nervousness. Following him nonetheless, he opened the white-painted door and guided me through.
The doctor's bedroom was laid out with a queen-sized sleigh bed opposite of the door, the frame of which was cherry, and the sheets of which were forest green. Two nightstands framed the bed. To its left, it held a small, freshwater fish tank containing a plethora of red cherry shrimp. On the righthand side, a table lamp plus alarm clock. A large window with blackout currents that were currently drawn open sat on the left wall when entering the room. In the corner just left of the door sat a free-standing floor-length mirror, and to the right of the door was a cherry dresser with a large flatscreen TV atop it.
"The bed is all yours." Kye hummed. "Make yourself at home."
I shifted my weight from foot to foot awkwardly. "Can you lay with me?" I asked eventually. "Luka always holds me when I'm trying to sleep."
The human looked surprised, but shrugged. "Why not?" He asked rhetorically.
And so, we climbed into bed together. Kye wasn't sure if he should touch me at first. Taking my opportunity, I darted into his arms. A pleasant chuckle left the man at the action.
"I should get this off of you, huh?" The human referred to my muzzle. With that, he expertly unlatched the restraint, hands behind my head and out of sight. I took a deep, relaxed breath at my newfound freedom.
He smelled like saltwater and sandalwood. I wanted to get the smell of feathers and musk on him.
I started with a testing stroke of my jaw against his chest, waiting for a reaction. Kye only ruffled my hair with a pet.
Go time.
Embracing him, I wiggled around like a dancing worm. My wings were next— the hotspot of lionheart scent. Carefully ruffling my damaged feathers, I rubbed them against the human in a back-and-forth fashion.
Kye stayed totally still during the process. Thankfully, he seemed fully aware of what I was doing. I didn't want him to think I was attacking him.
Rubbing my forehead and jaw against his collarbone, a rumbling purr began to vibrate Kye and I's bodies. The doctor sighed contently and petted my head as I worked.
When I was finally done rubbing my scent on my second-ever human, I relaxed into his chest.
"What did that mean?" Kye inquired peacefully. "I didn't mind it, but it felt meaningful."
"I was under the impression that you knew what I was doing. I marked you." I hummed happily. "You're my human, now."
"Alright." Kye accepted. "That's fine. I'm just happy to hear you purr."
"Thanks for giving me a reason to." I sighed contently.
"No problem." My newest human let out a hearty sough, snuggling into me and joining me in my nap.