"You have one missed call." A robotic voice came from a telephone that sat on a desk in the middle of an apartment in a tall skyscraper.
"Bummer." A feminine voice came from the bed on the other side of the room. "What a time to nap eh?"
From the bed, a woman arose into a sitting position before stretching. Amidst her shortish grey hair, two tufts of black and teal feathers lined each side of her head, resembling a pair of wings.
The bed made a slight creaking sound as she got off of the bed to deal with the telephone on her desk. Her scaly black and teal tail wagged in the air as she let out an audible yawn.
"Maybe I should just go and meet up with him." She muttered to herself. "Oh well...Much better than playing hard to get."
{ - Adventures across Terra - }
It was evening when the group returned to the Green Spark.
"Ugh...My legs are killing me." Susie was using her staff as a walking stick as she plopped down onto one of the seats. "Ahh...The sweet release."
"Ahhh...I'm goin to bed." Yuki yawned as he walked up the stairs. "All this stress has been going to my mind..." Was the last thing that the girls heard before they heard doe door to Yuki's room shut.
"Quercus, Susie..." W looked at Susie who was T'd out on the chair. "Y'know...You can just stay there."
"Thanks..." Susie gave W a thumbs up.
"What is it W?" Quercus took a seat in front of W.
"So, basically-"
{ - Adventures Across Terra - }
It was the next morning and for Yuki, he was still in bed, sleeping his tiredness away.
*Creak*
The soft creak of the door to his room, echoed throughout the room. On the other side of the door stood W. As she tiptoed towards his bed, she let out a slight chuckle to herself as she saw the Snake boy, cradle his tail like a large pillow as he slept peacefully.
"Yuki~" The Sarkaz said in a soft tone. "Wake up." She lightly shook his shoulders.
"Mmmm...W, go bug that Ines girl. Didn't you say she was a morning girl or something." Yuki pulled the covers of his sheets over his head.
"No. She's no fun to mess with in the morning. Plus, she's not even here." W sighed as she tugged at his sheets. "C'mon, get up."
"Why?"
"Ugh, just get up." W's brows furrowed in annoyance as her grip on the bedsheets tightened.
"Fine..." Yuki relented as he got up. "Happy now."
"Yes. I am very happy now!" The Sarkaz girl gave him a toothy grin, revealing her fangs hidden within her mouth. "Now come on, hurry up." W rushed out of Yuki's room and down the stairs.
"Yes, I'm coming. Why'd you even wake me up so early in the morning?"
"Surprise!"
As Yuki arrived at the first floor of the pub, he was met with Susie, Quercus and W all standing side by side as they beckoned him to join them at the table.
"What's happening?" Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Y'know it's not my birthday, right?"
"You think we don't know that?" Quercus chuckled. "We just wanted to Thank you for everything you've done."
"Eh?" Yuki straightened up as he heard this. "Aww, you didn't have to do this. What have I even done to warrant such a celebration?"
"I've wanted to thank you for so long for helping me with my arts." Susie spoke up. "Even with how inexperienced I was, you stayed patient with me."
"That's just what I had to do to teach you." Yuki sheepishly scratched his nape.
"Even if that's so, I still wanted to thank you. For all that you have done for me." Susie handed him a small box. "It's a gift from me." She gave him a soft smile.
"Fine...I'll take it." Just as Yuki was going to open the present, Quercus interrupted him from continuing.
"Before you open that. I think that I should also voice my thanks to you." Quercus chuckled as she also handed him a slightly larger box. "I still needed to thank you for saving me on that mission in Harlan. Hope you like it."
It was then W's turn to hand him a present. "Thanks...For being there for me when we were younger." She cut her thanks short, not needing to elaborate more on the topic.
"Seriously, you didn't have to do such a thing." Yuki's heart melted at this kind gesture from the girls. He felt a comforting warmth and tightness coming from within his chest. "Thank you...Really."
"Come on Yuki, open the presents." Susie egged him on with an impatient tone.
"Alright alright." Yuki chuckled as he opened Susie's present.
As he lifted the lid off of the box, what sat inside was two bottles of what seemed to be shampoo and conditioner.
"Do you like it?" The Catgirl fiddled with her hair anxiously.
"Are you insinuating something with my hair?" Yuki tilted his head.
"N-No. Absolutely not!" Susie frantically shook her hands in denial as she rushed over and picked up the bottles. "This is just something that I thought you might like. It'll keep your hair silky smooth and it has a good scent. I know you always had a certain affinity for good scents so I thought you would like it."
"Haha I was just messin with you. You don't have to explain it. It's the thought that matters most, right?" Yuki smiled. "Plus, getting these types of things from an aspiring hairdresser; must mean it's good. Thanks Susie."
"R-Right." Susie looked to the floor, allowing for her hair to obscure her face. "You're welcome."
"Now onto the next one..." Yuki got to opening the present that Quercus had given him.
Inside, there was a small wooden box with a hole in the centre. Over top of the hole was a a range of differently sized metal rods attached to the top.
"It's a Kalimba. I heard from the folks at Rhodes Island that you were quite fond of music. Hope you like it." Quercus gave him a soft smile. "I wanted to give you something that you could bring on the road without too much of a hassle."
"Well you certainly heard right." Yuki picked up the Kalimba. "It may take me a while to learn it, but I won't disappoint." he chuckled.
"Then I hope to hear your performance when you master the art of the Kalimba." Quercus chuckled. "Maybe you'll even pass those Leithanien musicians."
"Now I dunno If I'll be that good."
"C'mon Yuki. I don't have all day. My patience only lasts for so long." W shoved her present in front of Yuki.
"Okay okay W. I get it, you want me to see your present." Yuki opened the present and inside was a wooden case. "What's this?"
"Open it. You think I would just give you a box inside of another box?" W impatiently said. "C'mon already. Open the box."
When yuki opened the wooden box, there laid two daggers on a padded surface. One dagger was as white as the snow whereas the other was a black as a moonless night.
"Daggers?"
"Thought an upgrade would be nice." She gave him a wide smile.
"Well, I just so happen to be needing a secondary weapon with my Scythe." Yuki flipped the knife in the air and caught it by the tip of the blade.
"That's good." W's smile widened as she heard this. "I hope you put it to great use."
"Haha, my definition to great use is very different from yours."
W's eyes slightly furrowed as she crossed her arms. "Oh come on, it's a mercenary saying. You know this."
"Do I now?" Yuki feigned ignorance as he shrugged his shoulders.
W let out a huff of annoyance before speaking with a hint of irritation in her voice. "You sure do know how to get under this Sarkaz's skin do you?"
"I have to ask though; what's with all the sudden presents for me?"
"Guess we cant hide it forever." Quercus looked to the other two girls for conformation and after getting a nod of confirmation from the two, she began to speak. "Well with the recent events. You've been kind of tense, uneasy. We were thinking of a way to cheer you up."
"And we thought that, giving presents to you would help cheer you up. Or at least make your morning better." Susie finished off Quercus's speech.
"..." Yuki looks to the floor, his tail losing all motion as it laid limply on the floor.
"U-Umm. Yuki? Did you not like it?"
Before any of them could make any other moves, Yuki embraces the girls into a tight hug.
"W-Woah."
"H-Hey, Yuki..."
"Are you okay, did we do something wrong?"
"Thank you all...Seriously."
{ - Adventures Across terra - }