Chapter 70: Easter Morning
"Shhh..." Comes a low tone in the night, "I think he's asleep..."
There came a pause, before Arnaav turns in the couch, groaning cutely in the big, fluffy blanket.
"Ok, he's fine..." Whispered someone else, "He's usually a deep sleeper."
"Alright, careful..." Rustling sounds of plastic can be heard as they creep around in the dark.
THUNK
"AH-" Someone moans and whines loudly in pain in a very strained effort to keep quiet.
"What happened??"
"Fuckin stubbed my toe, dammit!" Someone moaned with furious agony.
"Walk it off before you wake him."
"I can't walk it off, mah foot's fuckin crushed!"
"SHHHH!"
"Gah, dammit."
"And me the box of Faberge eggs." She whispered a small, bright light clicked on.
~~~
"Mmm..." Arnaav stirs in his sleep, slowing coming too as he can make out the morning light in the dwelling. He lets go of his big mochi plush doll, and rustles in his blanket. It's been almost a week now since he's first come here. He feels fine right now, but he can tell he's getting more sluggish in the mornings.
The boy sniffs the air as he detects several appetizing scents. His tummy growls as he rubs his eyes and peers out.
Arnaav gasps as he sees the house decorated all around! Strings of bright color are hung and drapped around the corners of the room, colors of pink, yellow, blue, and green. Shiny spirals with big thin flowers attached are nailed up on the ceiling. Adorable, happy knick-knacks of long-eared animals and small, fuzzy yellow birds are perched where other possessions were put, as well as many elaborate, beautiful, elegant jeweled eggs strategically placed around the house.
He pushes out of the bedding, and sees several large objects placed on the table - five baskets wrapped in whimsical shapes and plastic, arranged in alignment on the coffee table.
Arnaav picks up the large shirt on the floor, and slips it on before climbing off of the couch, to walks to the kitchen to see the female human, and the dark-skinned human creating food in there, as well as tanner human placing utensils and large discs onto the big round table, and Merrick is opening a couple of cans of food for a patient dog and cat.
"What's going on?" The boy asked up. Yuri looks and smiles at him.
"Oh, good morning, Arnaav!" She greets warmly.
"Happy Easter, lil man!" Jamal says with a plateful of bacon, and ruffling the kid's hair.
"Happy... Wha??" Arnaav asks, once again confused out of his little mind. How did the house change so much in so little time?
"Humans have a lot of festivals and celebrations, see" Adam answered, "Called 'Holidays'. This one is called Easter. This is where we're celebrating the beginning of the warmer times of the world - where plants get bright and bloom all over and as they get ready for another year for new hopes!" Adam says, but feels awkward when all is met is an estranged look from the kid.
"Yeah, you don't have to get it," Merrick says as he gets up while Sally glomps on her bowl and Roxas starts deftly licking his fancy feast, "Humans just like to throw a lot of gatherings and givings."
"Ooooook?" Arnaav is still confused, but if Merrick says it's fine...
"Come on up, Kiddo," Adam takes him, and helps him up on one of the chairs, "Breakfast is just about ready." Yuri comes in with the waffles and a gravy boat full of strawberry marmalade.
As Arnaav looks about the table loaded with food, and everyone coming up to the table, he really takes notice and how alien the human world is. It doesn't necessarily scare him, but compared to life as merfolk, humans in comparison seem so... Busy. So much developed, lifestyles so intricate, even how they feed has been made into such a complicated system instead of just hunting prey and eating it on the spot.
They even put items and things all over the dwelling in a sort of imaginative array to feel different, that they'd be capable of having so much to own and set-up at all. Just like in that strange visual story these humans showed him about a partially humanized mermaid with long red hair in her hiding spot filled with human items.
Everything just entices him and leaves him starving for more views. Arnaav growls with hunger as a large, circular, grid-like yellow mat is put onto his plate, with a glob of strawberry chunk-sauce lathered on it before a loud hushing sound tops a frill of white cream, and a few strips of what he suspects is meat on the side, and a couple of white pads with bright yellow globes in the middle.
Looking at everything here, and everything he has seen in the society on the docks, merfolk can gain so much more. If they only knew what they can have, to indulge, if just once, to take one moment to have more joy than the ocean would ever allow.
As soon as he was served, Arnaav sinks his teeth into the waffle. "HANGH! Anngghh, hanngghh!" He slurps with abandon as he devours his meal ravenously.
"We have GOT to teach him how to use forks..." Yuri commented as the boy tucks in, honestly feeling a little disgusted.
~~~
"Gnng, gnng, gnng..." Arnaav tips the glass to his mouth as the milk washes down his throat before he drains the glass, "Ahhhh!"
"Ah gawd, I'm full." Jamal groans as he kicks back, and sitting up when Sally props her paws on his lap, "Here you go girl," He moves a half eaten sausage to the golden retriever, which is snatched right up in a second.
"Oh lord," Yuri rolls her eyes, "You two eat the same, I swear, and now Arnaav too."
"Hm?" Arnaav looks up curiously.
"Aight, shuddup, Yuri!"
"Adam, does Yuri hate Jamal?" Arnaav asked as Merrick picked up his dish, "They seem to fight a lot."
"Haha, trust me," Adam said as he scoots his chair back, "THAT is not fighting. And no, she doesn't hate him, she just doesn't care for the dog."
"The dog?" Arnaav turns as he watches the gold-colored canine chomps on the scraps on the floor, "Why not?"
"Well, Yuri's had some bad experience with dogs, for starters," Adam indicated, "And like me and Merrick, she's more of a cat person. Up until a year or so ago, she would not let Jamal have a dog."
"What changed?"
