2003 (WIP)

Breakfast

Inola woke up to find Nicodemus in the kitchen making some sort of breakfast that smelled amazing.
Shadow was still dead asleep, his beak lazily hanging open as he laid on his stomach.
She sat up, scratching her head as she swung her legs over the blanket she was using. The familiar scent of bacon and eggs made her mouth water. It had been a long while since she's had that.
She walked quietly across the living room, being careful not to wake Shadow. She went into the kitchen, seeing Nicodemus in his familiar tank top and sweatpants, which she now dubbed to be his pajamas.
She saw the familiar bandage from yesterday but she chose not to mention it. There was already enough shit on his arms in the first place.
Best not to make him feel worse about it anyway.

She padded over next to him, silently startling him as he moved over.
"Morning Nicodemus" she smiled.
"Good morning Inola my dear" Nicodemus smiled briefly at her before looking back at his culinary.

"Whatcha makin?" Inola asked despite obviously knowing the answer.
"Eggs and bacon, had enough money left over from the bills so thought I'd make something special" Nicodemus glanced at the other pan next to him.
"Smells good" Inola resisted the urge to lick her muzzle.
Her mentor only chuckled in response.
"My dear could you wake Shadow please? Food's almost ready and there can't be any stragglers" He told her before moving over to wash his paws.
"Yeah sure" she scampered over to the living room, throwing her arms over the back of the couch.
"Sha-dow" she whispered in a sing song voice, her finger going to poke his cheek.
Shadow only groaned, muttering nonsense as he turned further away from her.
"Get up!" She whispered loudly, poking him again.
"Inola! Stop!" Shadow whined, grabbing his blanket and pulling it over him.
"Nicodemus is making breakfast!" She protested, shaking him again, feeling slightly frustrated.
She heard her teacher's stifled laughs from the kitchen.
"Come on!" Inola shoved the blanket off of him.
Shadow's lavender eyes were looking up at her with anguish.
"He's making eggs and bacon" she felt a strange excitement go through her. Maybe she was just hungry.
"Fine" Shadow grumbled, slowly sitting up.

Inola heard heavy pawsteps treading slowly downstairs and she turned to see Caramel in an oversized t-shirt from the 70s and some sweatpants that probably weren't hers.
"Morning Caramel" Inola and Shadow almost greeted her in unison.
"Morning my dears" she said sleepily before walking into Nicodemus's tiny kitchen.
Caramel wrapped her paws around Nicodemus's stomach, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Bonjour" the tabby smiled, chuckling as Caramel kissed his cheek before rejoining Inola and Shadow in the den.
The three of them sat down as Nicodemus walked out with plates of food dangerously balanced on his arms.
"Be careful.." Inola watched him gently slide all the dishes off onto the already ittity bitty coffee table.
"What happened to you?" Shadow commented on his bandage.
"Nothing interesting, just cut myself while I was out" Nicodemus shrugged.
Inola watched nervously as he set the dishes down. Nicodemus seemed to notice.
"It's alright, I did customer service when I was younger" Nicodemus chuckled at her concern before sitting down next to her.
"What do you mean?" Inola made a confused face.
"He used to be a waiter" Caramel pointed at him with a fork.
"You were?" Inola held back an amused smile.
"Yes yes I was, and..I used to be a florist, now eat your food" he nudged her with a rather embarrassed expression.
"Florist?!" Shadow looked up, his mouth half-full of scrambled eggs.
"Taisez vous!" His snapped in French before Shadow could say anything else.

Inola shut her mouth with pursed lips, stifling her giggles. She abruptly started eating, almost shoveling the food into her mouth. It had been a while since she had a decent meal like this.
"Slow down" Caramel shot her a warning from across her line of vision.
"Seriously man" Shadow murmured, watching her wolf down her eggs.
She finished her food in no time at all, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
She looked up to see Nicodemus staring at her with a raised eyebrow, his utensils positioned awkwardly as he barely even touched his food.

"What!? I was hungry!" Inola complained, swallowing the last bits.
"Weren't nothin bad to it" she muttered.
"It wasn't nothing to it" Nicodemus corrected her.
"Speak like a lady" he added before beginning to eat his own food.
Inola snorted.
She'll speak however she wanted to.
"Now rinse it off when you're done my dear" he told her after swallowing.
"Alright -- Okay" Inola forced herself to not sneer as she picked up her plate and went to the kitchen, rinsing it clean of grease and such.
A sudden knock came at the door, causing both Nicodemus and Caramel to flinch.
Nicodemus shoved a little more food in his mouth before peeking through the curtained window by the couch. He opened the door, swallowing.
"Crystal my dear" he smiled, although his expression became a little forced as he saw Copper standing next to her.
"Thanks for walking me Copper!" She smiled brightly at him.
Nicodemus shut the door as soon as the she-bat walked inside, turning it around and leaving it like that.

"Nicodemus--!" Caramel yelped with irritation before standing up and opening the door again.
Inola saw her call Copper's name back towards them.
"Would you like to come inside?" She offered.
"Oh uh no thank you miss" Copper rubbed the back of his head.
"Alright! You're always welcome anytime my dear!" Caramel closed the door.
Inola watched as Caramel glared daggers at Nicodemus, sitting back down at her previous seat.
Inola swallowed, going to sit back down next to her teacher.
Nicodemus looked relaxed, finishing up his food.
She glanced at Shadow, who was looking at Caramel as he chewed silently.
The she-fox looked unusually bitter.
"Why is it so quiet?" Crystal asked, staring at the four of them.

"I dunno" Caramel responded before suddenly standing, taking her plate to the kitchen, it landing quite loudly in the sink.
Nicodemus looked up, pausing his chewing.
"She sounds pissed" Inola whispered to her mentor.
Nicodemus hummed an answer as he finished eating, his long tail gently grazing her as he stood. He went into the kitchen and added his plate to the pile, murmuring something to Caramel as he did so.
The she-fox apparently saved her breath, coming back to sit down where she originally was.
Crystal sat next to Shadow, stretching her paws out and playfully messing up Shadow's feathers.
"Hey-!" Shadow swatted at her paw.
"He-y!" Crystal stuck her tongue out as he did.
The two began tugging and pulling at each others fur and feathers, almost like siblings.
"Stop" Nicodemus's tone was strict.
Crystal and Shadow glanced at Nicodemus before stopping immediately, looking awkward as they scooted away from each other.
Inola began to feel like they should leave for the day, she could feel the tension coming off of both her mentors. Everything was fine until Copper showed up.
"My dears I think you should run along now, Nicodemus and I have things to take care of and the sorts" Caramel smiled at them, but it was easy to tell it was forced.
Nicodemus looked taken aback at her statement before sighing in disagreement.
"I believe Caramel is right, but if anything happens feel free to come back, we'll always be here" Nicodemus smiled semi-forcefully, but he momentarily gave Inola a look, his green eyes flashing with irritation.
He made a face that Caramel couldn't see.
Inola swallowed. It was a given all couples would argue but..it's difficult to imagine them angry, especially at each other.
"Yeah..uh, we'll go, right Shadow?" Inola glanced at her friend for some sort of help.
"Yeah, c'mon" the avian nudged Crystal before quickly walking over to the door.
"Thanks for making food" Inola smiled at Nicodemus, who did genuinely smile back. But his expression was quickly erased as Caramel stood up, the she-fox standing in front of him as she talked. Now he just looked annoyed.

"Wait there was food?" Crystal suddenly looked hungry as she turned around, staring at the two with a bit of worry as Caramel muttered something ill mannered to the tabby.
"C'mon!" Inola snagged the she-bat by the front of her hoodie, pulling her onto the doorstep and shutting the door.
It seemed awkward as they all stood on the cement porch, staring at the curtained window of their mentor's apartment.
Suddenly a raised voice echoed from inside the door. It was muffled, hard to understand, but it was definitely Caramel's.
"Let's go.." Shadow flicked his head towards the sidewalk.
Inola glanced at Crystal before following her friends suggestion, stepping off the porch steps.
The three of them began walking down the street, unsure of where to really go.
"Maybe we could go see Deacon?" Shadow spoke up, knowing he always came to them.
"Do you guys know where he lives?" Inola couldn't remember a time where they actually went to Deacon's house.
Shadow looked at Crystal.

The she-bat sighed "I know the place"