Leo couldn’t help but feel incredibly awkward as Luna kept touching his body as if to physically check that he was okay. No matter what he said, she couldn’t shake her skepticism. It had been 30 minutes since he had woken up and probably the 7th time that he heard:
"Are you sure you’re okay Leo?"
He had a wry smile as he nodded his head again.
"Trust me Sis. I honestly feel really good."
What he didn’t want to tell her though was that the reason he felt was most likely due to the skill he had received in the game: Heart of the Void.
Placing a hand on his chest, he could feel the strong and steady beating of heart. As he sat in the living room that he had not seen for years, he found himself looking around, trying to take it all in once more.
This was the place that held so many memories for him and Luna and when he went into the hospital all those years ago, he was positive that he was never going to see this place again.
"Seriously though Sis. I honestly never thought that you would keep the house.."
He remarked as Luna floated a sheepish expression in response.
"Yeah, well keeping it was all LIly’s idea. She was the one who made sure it was all paid off before. You know I..."
Her voice trailed off as she tried to forget the horrible memory. This was their parent’s home. The place that they left and never made it back to.
In an attempt to distract her, he cleared his throat and asked
"Ahem! So what should we do next. I know it’s late but I feel like going to sleep now would be a total waste."
"Well there a few things we could do~"
Lily called out from the couch, laying sprawled out as she played some sort of game on her phone.She turned her gaze away from her screen to flash Leo a flirtatious gaze, causing Luna to scowl. Seeing Luna react , Lily laughed cheerfully and remarked.
"We can do things like watch a movie, play a board game, or maybe..."
"We can go meet my Gramps!"
A third voice called out from out of sight. It was the voice that Leo had come to call Nyx. Turning his head, he saw the young woman sauntering into the room with an impish grin on her face.
She asked as she did a twirl on the spot, allowing Leo, Lily and Luna to get a good look at her. Just like in the game, she had a long slender monkey-like tail that sprouted from the base of her spine and she had punched a hole in her jeans large enough for the appendage to slip through.
The tail was wrapped around her waist like a furry belt while her thin but smooth ears were on full display as she didn’t even try to hide it anymore. Leo’s own tail flicked as he looked at her being unapologetically herself. He knew that he had been the one to encourage her to act but he still found himself being a little envious of her attitude.
He nodded his head and sincerely praised
"Yeah it definitely suits you...Nyx?"
’Shit. What was her real name again?!"
He realized that he had forgotten her real name and scratched his temple with a single finger in embarrassment.
"Oh Cutie~! My name is Rachel~! I wouldn’t mind it though if you called me Love, Darling or Honey~"
She responded with a wink and giggle, much to the displeasure of Luna and Lily who were sporting matching frowns.
"Absolutely not Rachel. My brother has better things to do than flirt with you. Besides..."
Luna growled immediately while Lily turned off her phone and followed up with
"What was the result of the thing that we asked you to do?"
Rachel’s charming and chaotic smile instantly flipped into something more serious as she remarked
"I told my Grandfather and he passed it onto someone in the Government. Who, I have no idea though."
Lily nodded her head as she sat up with a soft groan.
"That’s good. We need to avoid mass panic if possible. This is our new reality unfortunately."
She remarked as she grabbed a lock of her forest green hair. She could feel that the Tiger-like ears on the top of her head had grown bigger and would soon become a prominent feature while she felt a growth near her tailbone, akin to the nub of a growing tail.
She too was going to have similar features to Leo one of these days and there was nothing she really could do about it. Seeing her best friend looking a bit dazed and down, Luna immediately clapped her hands together.
The loud noise caused Leo and Nyx to wince from their sensitive ears however Luna continued on regardless.
"There is one other thing we really need to discuss since my brother insists that he will be fine!"
Leo tilted his head in response, unsure of what they could possibly discuss right now. He racked his mind for the possibilities but was left speechless when Luna went on to say
"Now that Leo is out of the hospital. We need to consider School. He needs to attend some classes once the summer break is over."
Leo froze as Lily crossed her arms and nodded in understanding.
"I see what you mean. Little Brother definitely needs an education but he hasn’t been accepted into any college yet, has he?"
Rachel started grinning as she chimed in
"Well I could probably ask Gramps to get him in somewhere through the backdoor."
Luna’s eyes brightened as she stared at the monkey girl with some newfound respect, not for her specifically but for her background.
Leo’s mouth opened and closed but no words would come out. His gaze flicked between the three girls in the room who were discussing his future without him despite being in the room himself.
He pinched his cheek to check if he was dreaming. He felt a twinge of pain and groaned as he came to terms with the one thing that made him regret getting out of the hospital.
Soon it would be Back to School Season and he would be among one of many to attend class and would most likely draw a lot of attention because of his tail and ears.
He shouted to himself in quiet frustration.