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Time flies when you’re having fun, or so the popular saying went. But what do you say when someone is basically living in the dark ages and just don’t get out enough to see that the seasons have already shifted?

Had Tinakesite not of abducted her from the cafeteria, Lavendulan would have remained none the wiser to the leaves changing colors. At least she got to see them before they all fell off the branches and left the trees naked.

Now that Fall was in full swing she had decided that, for one day, she could enjoy the simple pleasures life had to offer and asked one of the Generals to help teleport both her and Wolframite to Destiny City for a few hours. Just enough time to run a few quick errands and be back before their glamour wore off.

Time itself, however, was a fickle thing and when in the company of friends it seemed to run out all too quickly. Today was no different but for once Marissa didn’t really seem to mind because while they had been running around she had managed to drag Winter into the bakery where there were small single-serve pre-baked pies for sale. She bought five, two of which to share with him; each one no bigger than the size of her hand but when placed in his pawy they’d be considered tiny.

In addition to the little deserts, as they were leaving the bakery a homely woman on the street had been giving out bags of candy corn. Despite Marissa’s attempt to politely decline the offer, the lady was adamant and nearly dropped it in her bag anyway. She had looked over at Winter, clearly uncomfortable at being so close to someone who did not know who, or what, she was and so, in a haphazard attempt to get the woman to leave, she accepted the candy with a brief thanks and like a pigeon being chased by a kid, she sped walked away.

Candy Corn was definitely not a go-to candy, it didn’t even make it on a list as a potential topping for her ice cream, but perhaps Tinaksite or Lopezite might enjoy them… At least, that was the thought she had once the General showed up to taxi the two of them back to the Barracks, as compensation for his time and generosity Laven offered him one of the deserts before retreating down the hallway towards their rooms.

The hinges groaned as she opened the door to her room and turned on the light. “Oh man,” she yawned “I blame it partially on the weather but I’m exhausted.” Laven set the deserts atop her mini-fridge as she powered down into more comfortable clothes and crawled into her bed.

Burred under a down comforter Laven moved the plushy he had won for her to the side. “Take a small nap with me?” she asked sleepily while moving one of his furs onto the spare pillow.

“Hnnn?” Laven groaned in protest to being woken up and opened one eye lazily.

Flexing her claws she stretched under the covers, an act that pulled from her small little noises as she tried to rouse herself awake. She was quite comfortable in her little pocket of warmth wedged between his back and the wall on the full size bed and had to resist the urge to tug Wolframite’s arm and pull him back under the covers.

But then she heard something that sounded an awful lot like one of her river rocks rolling across her desk before they were met with a loud thudding sound as it hit the floor. “What the heck?” She sat up with a very confused look on her face and after a moment made a move to crawl over the top of him to pick it up.

However, when her foot touched the ground it was not just the carpeted rug she stood upon but rather something small and kind of hard, like grave, had seemed to have fallen off her desk as well. When she leaned over to pick it up Laven heard the low pitch snarling sound coming from behind the trash can next to the bookshelf.

Her eyes went wide as the little triangle shaped gremlin lunged at her and in that same moment both feet came up off the ground with a startled scream as she jumped back up on the bed, and subsequently into Wolframite’s lap.

The tiny monster was quicker than she was, especially in a groggy state, and latched on to her heel with it’s pointed teeth. “Agh!” She yelped loudly in both surprise and pain as she then kicked her foot wildly until it let go.

It sailed across the room and into the wall on the other side with a resounding thud then fell gracelessly in her clothes hamper.

For a half-youma it was in part to be expected for her to meet this little challenger head on, growl back and fight it on her own. Instead… Laven was more like an elephant being confronted by a mouse. Clearly she was the bigger threat and yet she instead gripped her bedsheet with one hand then pointed her finger over to where it landed and like a coward told him to “Kill it! Burn it! I don’t care… It bit me!” And god did it hurt like a b***h.

“How the hell should I know?” She snapped back unintentionally. “I don’t even know what that thing was! Didn’t even have a signature.” Or if it did then she was simply too surprised by it’s sudden attack to have noticed it.

“You have keener senses than I do!” Ornery from being woken up, angry from being bitten by some little critter that had invaded her space. Laven truly didn’t mean to direct her ire at Wolframite but damn it, that little ******** hurt.

She reached out to gingerly touch her heel which caused her draw in a sharp hissing breath. Son of a b***h. a small whimper escaped her as she held her foot above the bed to keep from smearing blood across her comforter. Scooting to the edge of the bed Laven half hopped half limped over to him.

“Let me see…” Her tone of voice and expression dared him to protest as she took his paw into her hand to inspect where he had been bitten.

“What?” She glanced at Wolframite with a puzzled expression “No, why?” She had been cocooned in the blankets between him and the wall since the two of them laid down. Surely he would have woken up if she had tried to get up.

Laven looked down to where he was pointing and nearly snarled at what she saw. “That little ********…” Whatever filter there had been between her mind and mouth had clearly been removed Woke me up, bit me, AND destroyed my room “I swear to god if you didn’t kill it I will catch that son-of-a-b***h, carve out its teeth with my Dremel then shove it in the microwave until it bursts.”

If hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn then where did that put a female half-youma who was physically exhausted, injured and just all around pissed? On a scale of one to ten… this was leaning more towards a DAYMN. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she didn’t think this way when sparing…

Lips pursed she seemed as if she was about to be on the verge of tears when she opened one of her drawers under her bed where she kept the spare bathroom towels. “At least you woke up. I’m not sure I would have it I was in here alone…” She had become accustomed to the sounds of people walking down the hallway at odd hours that she would have just assumed it was someone leaving and that they dropped something.

Now it seemed she would be adding a nightlight to the list of things to replace along with a new set of pillows. <******** my life… And of course, he would see her when she’s being snappy.

“Sorry…”

Laven tossed the bloody sticky rag into the trash bin then picked up the stones it had knocked over and set them on the desk as she got up.

“I feel like I’ve been demoted from lieutenant to chew toy.” She took a seat on the edge of the bed and lifted her leg so he could see the damage it had done. “You weren’t the first thing with pointy teeth to get me and definitely not the last it seems.”

Even though she had scales that wrapped around the sides of her ankles, the little b*****d still got her in the sensitive fleshy part of her foot. Probably a good thing he was the one with the more expressive ears otherwise if she had his traits her own would be pinned so far back they’d be flush with her head.

Such useless placement. Then again the only ones that made sense were the ones on her back.

Laven gave him a little bit of a puzzled look when he licked his claw clean of her blood but ultimately dismissed the action because it was not the first time he had done such a thing nor the first time he had tasted it either.

Then the peroxide hit and it took all she had not to kick him as she had done to the little gremlin before it went flying across the room. Son of a… Bitting down on her lower lip to keep from swearing, Laven let out a small whimper as she laid back on the bad and smothered her own face with a pillow.

Whelpling... her youma side seemed to scoff as it settled back against her consciousness with a smug expression.

When finally the stinging started to subside, she let out a dry humorless laugh. “Ow…” Laven groaned as she removed the pillow and propped herself up on her elbows.

To keep her mind and thoughts off her foot, she reached tried to focus on his previous statement. “You know…” Leaning forward, Laven poked him in the cheek teasingly. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were jealous.”

She let the thought linger for a moment before pinching the fabric of her pant let and slowly pulled it up towards her knee.

The act itself would have been questionable if anyone passing down the hallway had seen them sitting there until the crescent row of teeth marks on the side of her calf was revealed. “I’ve only been love bitten by a shark. While it left a hell of an impression it really wasn’t enough for me to invite home or welcome in my bed.” While she didn’t directly say it, there was an underlining suggestion that he was, in fact, the first she allowed to lay beside her even if it was only for a nap.

“Hmm?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know. Am I? Too sweet that is.”

Once he finished patching up her heel Laven pulled her pajama leg back down to cover the marks then hung her feet over the edge of the bed. “I was seventeen when it happened. As a graduation gift from my parents, we all took a two-week vacation, rather... it was supposed to be a two-week vacation, to Australia.”

“At that point, I had already been diving for…” She took a moment to think about it. “Seven… eight years I think? Long enough to not be considered intermediate.”

“Anyway, my dad had blocked out a chunk of time for us to go reef diving together. First day was great but I… was too enamored by the beauty and color of it all that while I was distracted a blacktip shark kind of snuck up on me.” Her father had been trying to make the underwater clapping sounds to get her attention but she had trouble popping her ears earlier and honestly couldn’t hear him.

“Trust me it could have been a lot worse.” Laven shrugged as if it was no big deal even though at the time it really was.

“Bite me once, shame on me. Bite me twice shame on it. As it stands, you’re the only one to have got me a second time. So… I suppose that puts you in the lead.” She leaned to the side and nudge Wolframite with her shoulder.

No doubt she’d be walking around with a limp for a day or so but at least with his help and tender care it should be healed in no time.

“Mmm, not my mom. She could swim but preferred to be the one driving the boat.” That was kind of inadvertently how her parents had met.

“Nathan, my older brother, was the one that taught me how to swim. Although, I didn’t find out until later after…” she paused for a brief but noticeable second. “After my shark bite when we were all reminiscing about the ‘good ole times’ that he had been bribed, offered an incentive to teach me.” Seemed that there was more to it than that but wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

“He tried to teach me how to dive off the side of the pool or a diving board but after a summer of graceless belly flops I was deemed to be a lost cause.” She laughed at the memory of him sitting on the concrete ledge at the public pool face-palming at another failed attempt. So much chlorine water had gone up her nose that summer it was a wonder how she didn’t end up with sinus problems.

When Wolframite sat back down beside her with the pie, she looked at it with sudden interest. Her brow twitched and she smiled at him. “I want a bite!” Like a little bird, she opened her mouth expectantly. "Share, please."

"Ahh"