"He sleeps sometimes. I think he does it half the time just to avoid talking to me in bed, though," I said lightly as I handed Fly another dish.

We were on the bottom floor of the house, in the room behind the kitchen. Doing dishes.

"Talking or something else?" Fly asked nonchalantly as she went to scrubbing the plate.

Glancing at the young bird, I couldn't help but smirk at her. This wasn't the first time she'd made such an innuendo.

I couldn't remember her making such jokes, or talking about such things, back in Lumen. So maybe this new topic of interest was from the Bell Church.

It was cute of her though. She was trying to tease me in her own way.

I didn't want to admit that the reason Vim rarely slept was because of his strange exhaustion. How he didn't need to sleep, yet did. So this was far better a thing to talk about.

"You seem to be going to bed early lately, though, Fly," I said as I handed her another plate. This one was smaller, about half the size of the others we'd been cleaning.

In fact I had seen her yawn a little bit ago. We had just had dinner, and it wasn't nightfall just yet, but it seemed she was starting to get tired already.

"Hm… I don't know why but once the sun goes down I get tired. Used to be the opposite back at Lumen, I wonder what happened?" she wondered.

I assumed it was exactly because of her lifestyle in Lumen, but I didn't mention it as I watched her scrub the smaller plate.

Her arms were covered in feathers, as were parts of her hands. I worried a little over them getting so wet, especially with the soap, but it seemed she didn't mind or care. But I guess she had to get used to such things anyways, even if such water and bubbles did bother her feathers. She'd need to clean them even if alone, after all.

Though I suppose many birds got wet… maybe I was just being overprotective. After all my ears and tail got wet all the time, and although it took time to dry them off it didn't matter much.

"Do you stay up late Renn? Being a cat and all?" she asked as I handed her one of the last plates. We had a small stack of bowls left, and a large pot, but nothing else.

"Sometimes. I can go a few days without any real sleep without much effort… but I enjoy taking naps and being rested, when I can, so I try to do so," I said.

More so lately I'd been trying to sleep as often as I could, as to try and get Vim to do the same. With me.

"Cats are usually lazy. You don't seem lazy," Fly said.

I smiled at her. "I can be sometimes," I said. I used to be, I think, before joining the Society.

Or well, maybe not lazy… just bored.

"Hmph… oh!" Fly perked up a little and turned to look at me. I smiled at her, since she had some bubbles on her cheek. "On our trip here, I met Lomi and the rest! Your friend," she said.

I nodded. Vim had told me. "How was she? I've been hoping I could go see her before Vim makes us leave the area, but I'm afraid I might not get a chance," I said.

"She's great. I had fun with them… I don't really know what a fox is, but I'm told it's kind of like a dog? But the only dogs I ever knew were the mutts in the sewers. They were mean, always biting at people," Fly said.

"Lomi did bite Vim once," I said as I remembered it.

Fly laughed at that. "Good! But no… It was fun to visit them. All the kids back at Lumen were kind of mean, and the Bell Church didn't have many my age so…"

Oh…? I thought the Bell Church had kids. Maybe most had been too young, or too old, in Fly's eyes. "How long did you stay there? At Lomi's?" I asked, hoping to discard the bad taste of the current conversation.

"Three days. Or well, two? We left on the morning of the third," Fly said as she thought about it.

Hm… And Vim said they had been here for only a few days before Lilly and I got back.

Fly had told me about the few stops they'd made on the way here. A strange family where Vim had to fix their house with a wheel on it, which I assumed was a mill of some or a river-wheel like at the Summit. And they had met Brandy, alongside Vim taking her to a few stops where he had done odd things. Like digging up a book, or something.

I'd not yet found out what that was about, but I had a small assumption. After all, he had dug up something weird nearby too. A box.

It was strangely solemn to know what Vim was doing… and the meaning behind his actions.

He was gathering up things he's hidden away. Because he knew, here soon, he might either need them or be unable to easily access them without permission.

I wasn't sure yet what to think of him also grabbing the item he had hidden here. Since I didn't see how Lilly was a threat. Even if Vim got voted out of the Society completely, I doubted Lilly would ever ban him from her home… so I was unsure of what to think about his lack of trust in her.

Did he think it would get so bad that even Lilly's home wouldn't be available to him…? Or was it something more?

Finding myself very concerned with it, I hoped I'd soon get a chance to talk to him privately. So far, even though I'd been back for over a day already, I'd yet to get the opportunity. I had taken a small nap last night, after we had all talked through the night after Fly and Root had gone to bed… but before I could sneak off with Vim and invite him to my room he had disappeared. I had searched the house for a few moments, until I realized he didn't want to be found for a reason. He hadn't been in the house at all, likely, and since everyone else was including Lilly, I decided to just go get some sleep while I could.

Vim was a little rude sometimes. I was supposed to be his wife, right? Why'd it sometimes feel like I was being neglected?

Even at Telmik, although we had spent time together and he had even invited me himself as to do so, it still had felt like I had not been his main focus.

Though… I suppose that was just what I had agreed to upon claiming him. He had warned me… that he'd always place the Society before me. Even when he didn't want to either.

"Renn," Fly snapped me out of my slight daze, and my thoughts, and I hurried to help her lift the pot. She had finished the bowls while I had been deep in thought.

We both cleaned the pot, and then finished cleaning up the small mess we had made. I dried off the large basin, dealing with the few remaining bubbles, while Fly dried her own feathers off.

"So uh… Renn," Fly stepped closer as I placed down the towel I'd been using. I smiled down at the bird who glanced around the room, as if to make sure we were alone, and then she leaned closer. "Where do you live?" she asked.

Oh.

"Well… technically nowhere. I just travel around with Vim, we never stay in one place long," I said gently.

The young bird's eyes softened a little, and I realized I had just likely squished a tiny little flame of hope within her.

Grabbing the side of the basin we had used to clean the pots and dishes, I felt suddenly weak as I realized what was happening. Right now. Right here.

"I see…" Fly looked down, blinking slowly as she did. She seemed lost in thought as she turned a little, as if to return to doing dishes… but there were none left to clean.

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I gulped, and felt horrible. "Sorry, Fly…" I whispered.

She glanced back up at me, tilting her head as she did. She smiled at me. "What for?"

"For not having a home for you," I said honestly.

She blinked again, and the moment her eyes reopened they became full of tears.

My own welled alongside hers as she stepped towards me. I not only accepted her hug, I returned it in full as I bent down to wrap my arms around her.

"It's okay!" she said as she buried her face into me.

No. It wasn't.

"It's okay," she said again, sounding a little steadier this time. I felt her small squeeze as she took a deep breath. She really wasn't very strong… not physically, at least… but everywhere else?

Fly took another deep breath and we separated as she smiled up at me. "It's okay, Renn," she said again, without a tear in sight. Though her feathers around her face did look a little stained.

I smiled and nodded. "Okay… And yes. It will be. I promise," I said as I grabbed her shoulders. I gave them a tiny squeeze, not hard enough to harm her, and vowed to find her a home. If Lilly and Windle wouldn't accept her, or she them, then I'd find her one myself. Even if I had to build it with my own hands.

Though I likely had nothing to worry about. Lilly and Windle had mentioned a few times last night during our conversation that they were already considering it… and a few of the things they had said had implied it was already a done deed. Not so much a maybe, but an inevitability.

Fly smirked up at me. "You got snot Renn," she said with a point at her nose.

Ah.

I nodded as I reached over to grab the rag we'd been using to clean the dishes. I used it to clean my face, and had Fly check to make sure I was fine now.

"Why'd you cry harder than me?" she asked with a grin.

"It'd be stranger if she hadn't."

The two of us turned to find Vim. He was standing just beyond the doorway, in the kitchen, and staring at us with a look of utter annoyance.

How long had he been there…? He must have seen and heard everything.

"Maybe she cries so much because you don't at all?" Fly asked.

I shifted a little, since I knew such a thing wasn't true. Vim did actually shed tears. Just… rarely, and not like most of us did.

"Maybe. Are you two done playing with bubbles?" he asked.

"We weren't playing!" Fly complained as she looked back at me. "He's been very rude lately you know?" she told me.

"Has he…? Really?" I asked. I wonder how so?

Fly shifted as her feathers puffed up a little… and then she glanced at Vim, only to look back at me real quick. "Well… no. But still!"

I smiled and nodded. I see.

"Stop being mean to Fly, Vim. You're mean enough to me, you don't need to be mean to everyone else too," I said, taking her side in her little attempt to tease him.

"Yeah! Wait… you're mean to her too? Really? Your own wife?" Fly asked, crossing her arms as if in disappointment.

I smirked at her as Vim sighed at the two of us. "Lilly's leaving. You two should go say goodbye, may not see her again for a time," he said.

"Wait… already?" I asked. Yea we had talked about it last night… but…!

"Lilly doesn't waste time. You could learn that from her," he said as he stepped away, heading into the kitchen deeper as to leave.

I grumbled as I went to follow him. Fly quickly joined me, but not before I tossed the towel into one of the small baskets near the door. The one used for dirty cloths.

If Lilly was leaving already… that likely meant Vim would have us leave soon too. That was too bad. I had hoped to stay here for a little bit. Both to spend more time with Lilly and Fly… and well…

Glaring at Vim's back, I was half tempted to start interrogating him right here. Even if Fly, and who knows who else, heard everything as I did.

"Where's Lilly going?" Fly asked as we followed Vim through the kitchen and to the hallway.

"To get her children. They live nearby but it'll take her a bit to get them, I guess," I said.

Fly hummed, and I knew she wanted to ask why… so I simply pointed upward. Where I knew Windle and Root were likely located. "She likely wants to let them meet their new sister," I said.

"Oh! Right!" Fly nodded quickly, finding that to be perfectly believable.

Honestly it wasn't an outright lie, but it felt like a good one to make at the moment.

Fly did know of the vote, and the circumstances… but I didn't want her fretting over it. Not at the moment anyway.

She had just cried over finding out I had no home. Because she had been hoping to ask to live with me.

Someone with those kind of concerns didn't care much about anything else, I'd bet. Plus I didn't want her, who felt like she had no home at the moment, to have to worry about any possible homes being taken or lost to her all because of a vote by people she didn't know.

"How old are the kids she's going to get?" Fly asked as we followed Vim down the hall.

I smiled at her. "Older. One even was married, or had been…?" I said softly as I wondered how to phrase it.

"Yes. Her husband died," Vim said. I noted he didn't mention he had been human.

"Oh…" Fly made a small noise, and I knew she was now more upset she had said something insensitive than finding out Lilly's children weren't around her age.

"Bark isn't much older than you Fly. He's the youngest son. He's… well…" Vim slowed a little as we neared one of the larger rooms, which branched into other rooms. He turned to look at us as we slowed and stepped up to him. He frowned at Fly, and nodded. "He's kind of like those at the Bell Church."

"Oh…" Fly again made that noise, this time she sounded genuinely sad.

"He's… still Lilly's child, right? Surely he can't be that bad," I said.

Vim's soft glance at me told me the truth as he turned and headed for another hallway. One that I knew would lead us to the front of the house. "Some say he is," is all Vim said about him.

Great.

Fly and I glanced at each other as we were led to the front of the house, near the front door. Lilly was alone in one of the larger rooms next to the front door, sitting on a couch and fastening her boots.

"Are you really leaving Lilly?" Fly asked as she hurried into the room to stand near her.

"Yes. My children don't stay in one place too long, so if I don't it'll just make the task harder for me down the road," she said as she went to finish securing her other boot.

"Hm…" Fly made a small noise as she hummed, and I wondered why she seemed so bothered by it. Maybe our earlier conversation about her children, particularly Bark, had made her worried of their soon-to-be arrival.

"Take care of Windle and Root for me Fly. I should only be a couple weeks at most, but you never know nowadays," Lilly said to the young bird.

"Oh…? Okay! Sure!" Fly nodded without hesitation, and I wondered if she even realized what had just happened.

I glanced at Vim, and found him smiling gently at Fly. We were standing behind her, so she couldn't see us, and I felt my own smile grow and become warm too.

"Windle will write a letter for my other children, Vim. If you would also maybe check on Branches… but Windle has a connection with him, via letters, so you may not need to go find him too," Lilly said as she finished with her boots and glanced up over Fly and at Vim.

"Of course. It's not fair he gets to have all that fun anyway," Vim said.

Lilly laughed as Fly turned to look at Vim, frowning at him.

"I'd ask if you'd like to come with me Renn, but I think if I did he'd break my wings," Lilly said with a sigh as she stood.

I smiled at her. "He'd be offended, yes, but not as badly as that I think."

"Keep it up and I'll make her stay here forever," Vim said.

Fly was the one who laughed at that. "He says that as if it's a threat!"

Well… to him it was. He liked Lilly, a lot, but I knew Vim well. He didn't like anyone enough to linger near them too long. Though… for not so obvious reasons.

"With that being said, stay safe Renn. Keep near him, he's a fool sometimes but Vim's the safest place to be in the whole world. If you do find my flock, send them home," Lilly then said to me.

I nodded slowly. "Sure… Stay safe as well, Lilly. Stand tall," I said as I watched her bend down to pick up a small bag. She slung it over her shoulder, and reached over to pat Fly on the head.

"Don't stay up too late," she warned Fly.

"What…? I don't?" Fly though didn't get the joke as Lilly smirked and nodded.

"Is Windle not going to say goodbye? Or Root?" I asked lightly as Lilly stepped around Fly, as to walk between Vim and I and head for the exit.

"Already did. It's a mother's job to gather her children, so it's all good. Later Renn. Vim, remember what we talked about," Lilly said as she slipped between us and left.

"Fly well," was all Vim said as Lilly opened the door and then stepped out of it. Half a moment later the door was shut and she was gone.

Feeling strangely cold all of a sudden, not just because of the small breeze of cold air that had rushed in from the door, I wondered what to say or think of Lilly's sudden departure.

It hadn't just been quick; in my opinion… it was a little unceremonious.

"She'll be fine. Unlike you Renn she stays out of trouble," Vim said.

Fly giggled at that. "I bet that's true!"

I crossed my arms at them. "I've been doing rather well, lately, I thought? If anyone's been getting in trouble it's you," I said to Vim.

Fly giggled some more. "That's probably true too!"

Vim sighed but smiled.

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