Welcome to Gaia! ::

It still took him by surprise each morning when he woke up exactly how tall he was. The kuppy Hyte sighed and flipped through a small album of photos that Kuro had found from when he was just a little kuppy, growing to his adulthood. Scary. But, there were always pictures of Ciaran somewhere in the album. The centaur's rump sticking out in the picture, or his arms around Zane's kuppy body.

Zane was curled up on the couch, faithful blanket tucked around his new adult body. HyTech was nearly empty at this point and Kuro had only dumped him here because she said he needed to get out of the house. So, the kuppy had called Ciaran, his most faithful Knight friend, and asked for a late-night snack. Milkshakes and some french fries never hurt anyone. So, Zane waited for the centaur.

"I wonder where Cia is," he mumbled to himself, dozing off a little bit.

A hand touched between his ears and Zane tensed a bit in his sleep, but then he blinked open sleepy eyes and saw Ciaran standing over him and he couldn't help but purr contently. The kuppy yawned and stretched, holding the blanket to his chest and rolled around a bit. "Snacks," he managed to mumble while rubbing his eyes.

There was a slight pause as Zane remembered the real reason why he'd called Ciaran, but it was quickly brushed aside as the Hyte swung his legs over the edge of the couch. "Lemme just get my jacket on." Zane stood and gathered up his things - a jacket, the money that Kuro had given him until he could find a proper job, and a hat with two holes to stick his ears through so he didn't overheat.

Returning to the centaur, Zane gave a sly smirk and linked arms with the other Hyte. "Alright. I'm ready now. Do you have anywhere specific you want to go for snacks? I was thinking milkshakes and fries." Happiness already, evidenced by the fact that Zane's tail was wagging at high speeds and they hadn't even gotten out the door yet.

Zane huffed, indignant, but jokingly so. "Of course I'll be able to stay awake. I'm not a kid anymore." Indeed, he wasn't. The kuppy followed along - or rather, dragged Ciaran out the door - in his quest for strawberry milkshakes and greasy fattening fries.

Once the pair was outside, the kuppy shivered and wished he'd brought his blanket along, no matter how embarrassing. "Y-yeah," Zane said, teeth chattering. "Let's hurry or else I'll be a popsicle."

Zane would have protested, but that meant having to pull away from Ciaran. So, he didn't say he didn't need the scarf or that his animal genes gave him a high body temperature, too. Just a small smile. Just a quiet, "Thank you." Just snuggled closer to the centaur, nodding and half-dragging poor Ciaran towards the diner where he planned on eating as much as he could before passing out on the HyTech couch.

He adjusted the scarf a little bit so that he got the full warmth of the other Hyte. Zane could see the lights of the diner down the street from HyTech. Thank goodness it was close. He opened the door and ushered Ciaran inside. "Hurry, hurry. Kuppy ice pop in the making."

"Booths," he said as an explanation. Just like their HyTech couch, only far larger and more cushy. When the hostess came over, Zane got them a booth for two in the corner, even though nobody was in the diner. He tugged on Ciaran's arm to get him to move forward with him to the semi-circle seating in the very back of the diner, just like he wanted. Some privacy always went a long way.

Zane plopped down on one side and pulled the table a bit towards his side so that Ciaran could fit. "Is it big enough?" he asked, worried that the centaur Hyte might be uncomfortable. Then it wouldn't be fun for either of them. Though, from what his nose sniffed in the air, the french fries were greasy and ready to be served.

Zane made a face of disbelief, but didn't prod at the issue any longer. "Well, tell me if you get uncomfortable or numb, okay?" Alright, maybe he would push the issue further. The kuppy ducked his head into one of the menus that the hostess had left for them and instantly knew what he was getting. "Ooooh~ Look at this! 'Boysenberry pancakes with whipped cream and sausage links' - I love sausage links - 'and a side of home fries. Perfect at any hour of the day.' That sounds delicious." Well, there went milkshakes and french fries.

The kuppy closed the menu with a decisive sound of plastic lamination on plastic lamination. "I'll be able to waddle. Somehow. But, we can waddle together," he said, chuckling. He smiled and waited for the waitress to leave before crossing his arms on the table and resting his head on them. It really was late; Zane had failed to notice when he'd called Ciaran and now he felt bad.

The kuppy felt a yawn coming on, but in order to prove that he wouldn't fall asleep (and also because Ciaran had teased him earlier), Zane launched into conversation. "So, what do you think of being an adult? And we even grew at the same time, so you can't say that I'm older than you."

Zane actually sighed, but it was very dramatic-sounding and could have possibly won him an Oscar. "Kuro wants me to get a job." It sounded like he had decided to martyr himself for the good of humankind even though they didn't deserve it with all their polluting and wars. But, what Kuro said was followed to the strictest rules in the house. "Dad's getting married. And we all know that he isn't going to get a job what with Mom aiming to be the next Nobel Prize Winner in the field of Monsters, so she says that someone has to be the bread-winner in the house."

There was just one problem with that: Zane didn't want to go to school. Or go out into the world to become a real adult. He had just grown up from being a teen. His parents had ages to bum around and be adults and not do anything, but here he was, fresh out of teenhood and he had to go start getting a job? "I dunno if I really want to, though. It sounds... scary."