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”Oh yeah! You haven’t met my parents yet, right?”
Tangle and Whisper had been helping clean Jewel’s museum when Tangle suddenly dropped that piece of information. Honestly, Whisper didn’t even know Tangle had parents. She hadn’t really ever brought them up, so Whisper figured Tangle had fended for herself her whole life, much like the wolf had to before she had joined the diamond cutters.
”…Huh…?”
”I figured since we’re together now, I could introduce you to my moms!” Tangle leaned on her broom in an attempt to look cool. ”Don’t worry, they’re really nice.”
The idea of meeting Tangle’s parents was a little nerve wracking to the wolf. She already wasn’t a huge fan of meeting new people, and she CERTAINLY wasn’t looking forward to the potential shovel talk she’d be given. She’d witnessed it firsthand from Smithy when Slinger had gotten a boyfriend.
She smiled at the memory, which did not go unnoticed to Tangle.
”Oooohh, I see a smile! Sounds exciting doesn’t it?”
Whisper had stopped polishing one of the glass displays when she heard Tangle’s question.
”Yes…?”
Her previous genuine smile was replaced by an uncomfortable-looking grin, which wasn’t helped by the shaky thumbs-up.
Tangle wasn’t quite convinced.
Her tail took over sweeping duties, as she gave it the broom before she went over to Whisper. She held both the wolf’s hands, looking into her eyes.
”We don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable.” Tangle softly stroked Whisper’s hands with her thumbs. ”But I promise they’re super chill. Plus, if it starts to feel overwhelming, you can just let me know. They’ll get it.”
Whisper felt conflicted. It’s not that she DIDN’T want to meet them, it just felt a little scary. Despite Tangle saying they were very laid back, Whisper still felt like she had to live up to some kind of expectation.
”Okay, how about this: If we go visit my parents, we can camp out at the whispering fields for a whole week afterwards.”
Seeing as the whispering fields was filled to the brim with wisps, and was probably Whisper’s favorite place in the whole world, this had suddenly become a very easy decision for the wolf to make.
”I’m convinced.” Was all she said, prompting Tangle to snicker.
”Well, they live just up the block, so we could visit after we finish up here!”
Choosing to ignore how insane it was that she had lived in the same village as Tangle’s parents for a month, yet never having met them, she continued cleaning the museum along with the lemur.
”Are you sure you’re fine? We could do this some other day if you want.”
”’M alright. Just a bit nervous.”
The two of them were standing outside the home of Tangle’s moms. It was a very unassuming two-story house, similar to most buildings in Spiral hill. If they were anything like Tangle, however, the simplistic exterior of their house was not reflective of the owners’ personalities. Tangle turned to Whisper. ”Ready?” She asked softly.
”Mm.” Whisper hummed in response.
Tangle reached for the doorbell, pushing it. A small ding was heard, accompanied by footsteps gradually becoming louder. The door then swung open, revealing an adult ring-tailed lemur, who looked eerily similar to Tangle. The only thing that really told them apart was that instead of a pompadour-esque haircut, the adult lemur had her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She was wearing a light blue short-sleeved button up shirt, complemented by a long, dark blue skirt. She spotted the two girls, face lighting up in excitement.
”Hi ma!”
”Slinky!”
Tangle was immediately swept up into a mighty hug by the larger lemur, nearly having the life squeezed out of her.
”We’ve missed you so much you little rascal!”
”Ma, I visited last week!” Tangle chuckled.
The older lemur eventually let Tangle free from her embrace, with her focus shifting to Whisper.
”Whisper, right? Name’s Tilda. Nice to meet ya!” She stretched out her hand to Whisper, with the wolf hesitantly accepting the handshake.
”H’lo. Nice to meet you too.” She replied shyly.
Tilda leaned closer to Whisper and lowered her voice.
”Tangle talks about you non-stop every time she visits, by the way.”
Whisper blushed at the thought of Tangle ranting about her. Does she really talk about her that much when she isn’t present?
The idea was certainly flattering.
”Anyways, come on in! We’ll make you both some tea!”
Tilda gestured for the two girls to follow her, which they did. The interior of the house was somewhat simplistic, but not at all lifeless. Despite being very tidy and well-kept, it felt very lived-in. Family photos lined the walls, seeming to span many, many years. Some of them didn’t have Tangle in them at all, some of them featured a much younger-looking Tangle, while some of them looked like they could’ve been taken yesterday. Notably, in many of the older pictures, Tangle was sporting a chipped tooth and multiple colorful plasters all over her arms and legs. Whisper smiled to herself, knowing how the lemur has always been energetic and reckless.
”Honey! We’ve got visitors!”
A loud groan was heard, followed by yet another adult ring-tailed lemur exiting the living room. She was relatively taller than Tilda, being almost an entire head taller than Whisper. That height, combined with the irritated look on her face, intimidated Whisper a little. However, as soon as she saw who was visiting, her irritation instantly dissipated, giving way to a cheerful (if a little tired) expression.
”Tangle! Wasn’t expecting a surprise visit, but I’m not about to complain!” She ruffled Tangle’s hair affectionately, before her gaze got directed at Whisper.
”And you must be Whisper, yeah?”
Whisper nodded sheepishly.
”I’m Twist. Nice to finally meet the person that she endlessly rambles about.” She cocked her head towards Tangle, whose face was flushed from embarrassment.
”Mooooom, can you stop mentioning that?!”
”Sorry Slinky, embarassin’ you is too much fun.”
As opposed to the light gray streaks decorating Tilda and Tangle’s fur, Twist’s were a deep black. Her outfit consisted of dark gray sweatpants, a black tee, and a black cardigan. The only colorful part of her outfit were her slippers, which were hot pink. This, along with the bags under her eyes, gave her an all-around tired look. Despite this, she was full of energy at the moment.
”Well, now that introductions have been made, why don’t you girls have a seat?” Tilda asked, gesturing to the dining table. As Twist, Tangle and Whisper sat down in their respective chairs, Tilda had started rummaging through various cabinets, grabbing mugs and tea bags.
”Oh yeah, Whisper?” She asked.
Whisper flinched from surprise.
”Y-yeah?”
”Is tea fine or would you like something else?”
Whisper wondered for a moment. She didn’t really like tea, but she also didn’t wanna come off as impolite by asking for something else.
”Is coffee okay…?”
”Of course!” Tilda smiled warmly at the wolf. ”How would you like it?”
”Just black is fine.”
”One black coffee coming right up!”
While Tilda busied herself by preparing everyone’s respective drinks, Twist turned to the two girls.
”So,” she began. ”How long has this -” she gestured vaguely to the couple. ”-been going on?”
”Um, just under two months I think?” Tangle answered, face slightly red.
Twist reacted to this with faux surprise. ”Really? I thought it had been longer, considering you’ve talked about how cool she is for at least half a ye-ow!”
Twist had been interrupted by a kick to the shin under the table, courtesy of Tangle. The latter was currently blushing intensely, and giving the former a glare that could kill.
”Fine.” Twist pouted. ”You’re no fun.”
At that moment, Tilda walked over to the table, carrying four mugs.
”Tea for you two…” she said as she placed down Tangle and Twist’s drinks. ”…and coffee for you!” She put the steaming cup of caffeine in front of Whisper, and then took her seat at the table. Whisper inspected the mug, and noticed how it had ” TANGLE’S MUG!!!! ” written on it in black sharpie.
”Oh cool, you got my mug!” Tangle commented. ”Hopefully none of the ink got in the coffee. I wouldn’t wish that fate on my worst enemy.”
Tangle’s wording led Whisper to believe that the lemur had ingested ink at some point in her life, but the wolf decided not to ask further.
Turns out, Tangle wasn’t exaggerating when she had said her moms were ”super chill.” Their kindness and relaxed demeanor had gotten Whisper to calm down considerably. As a plus, she’d found out some interesting family history. For example, Twist was an ex-G.U.N agent, having gotten fired due to an attempt to expose corruption within the organization. However, this had turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as when she went to have a drink at the local bar to dampen her frustrations later that night, she had met Tilda. They hit it off immediately, and the rest is history.
Tilda used to be the owner of a gym in central city, but sold the property to be able to move into Spiral hill with Twist. After moving in, she started working at a local bakery, owned by a blue rabbit named Ron.
Twist, meanwhile, had started working as a nurse, already having the medical training required to work at G.U.N. The intense shifts often left her quite exhausted, but it paid well, and Twist seemed to be content with it.
In the middle of a story about how she got one of her many childhood injuries, Tangle was interrupted by Tilda. ”Tangle, you got a little something…” she said, gesturing to her nose. Tangle proceeded to wipe her nose with her thumb, staining it red in the process. She instantly pinched her nose.
”Ugh, not again. Be back in a bit.” She said as she stood up and walked off to the bathroom.
Twist noticed Whisper’s shocked expression, and gave an explanation to soothe the wolf. ”Don’t worry, this stuff happens to her often. She’ll be fine.”
”Oh. Okay.” Whisper simply replied, before realizing:
She was alone with Tangle’s parents.
They could drop the nice act anytime now and give her the shovel talk that she had been dreading. She was subconsciously looking down at her legs, avoiding eye contact.
She must have zoned out without realizing, as she suddenly heard Tilda’s voice.
”Whisper? Is everything alright?”
The wolf snapped out of her daze at the lemur’s words. She looked up and saw Tilda and Twist’s concerned expressions.
”Yeah I-I’m fine…” Whisper replied, voice shaking slightly. She cringed internally at how unconvincing it sounded. Apparently Tilda thought it was unconvincing too.
”Now, Whisper, I don’t wanna press, but are you sure you’re fine?”
Whisper avoided their gaze once more, not knowing what to say.
”Listen, we’re not gonna threaten you or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Twist said softly.
The wolf was shocked. Either Twist could read minds, or she had just happened to hit the nail on the head. Maybe it was a G.U.N thing.
”…Really…?” Whisper asked, surprised.
”Really.” Tilda responded. ”We’re already aware of how happy Tangle is with you, and correct me if I’m wrong, but she makes you happy too, yes?”
Whisper nodded slowly.
Tilda smiled warmly. ”Then I don’t see an issue.”
”Plus,” Twist cut in, ”we’ve always thought all that shovel talk stuff is stupid. I got one from Tilda’s parents when we were younger, and it wasn’t pleasant.”
Whisper felt herself relax, and looked down into her empty cup.
”Thank you.” Was all that she could get out.
The married lemurs sitting across from her smiled in unison. ”No need to thank us, kiddo.” Twist said. ”If anything, we should be thanking you for making our daughter so happy.”
It took a second for Whisper to realize what the lemur had said. She wasn’t really sure how to respond to their gratitude, but even if she did, she would’ve gotten interrupted by Tangle walking into the room, two small pieces of cotton stuffed into her nostrils.
”Boom! All better!”
She pulled back her chair and sat down. ”Did I miss anything?”
Twist was quick to reply. ”Nah, not really. Me and your ma were just making small talk with our future daughter-in law.”
Expectedly, Tangle and Whisper both blushed heavily at that quip.
”M-mom!” Tangle shouted. ”You can’t just say stuff like that!”
Twist was leaning back into her chair, a shit-eating grin present on her face. ”Am I wrong though?” She asked smugly.
Tangle didn’t answer the question, making her answer obvious.
The room fell silent, before said silence was interrupted.
”Um, excuse me, but it’s getting a bit late. I think we have to go.” Whisper’s voice cut in, small enough to barely be heard.
Tilda looked out the window, and sure enough, the sky was a deep, dark blue, getting darker by the second.
”Oh dear, you’re right.” She said, picking up all the empty mugs and putting them in the dishwasher. ”Thank you for coming over, you two have been wonderful company!”
She paused for a second, turning to Whisper.
”Oh, by the way, Whisper?”
”Mhm?” The wolf replied.
”You’re welcome here anytime, you know.”
The wolf stared at her in disbelief.
”Really…?”
”Yep.” Twist responded. ”You’re family now, kiddo.”
Family.
Ever since what happened to the diamond cutters, Whisper tried to not get too attached to anyone. ”Family” was pretty much a foreign concept at the time for her. But that was not the case anymore. Thanks to Tangle, her friends, and Tangle’s parents, she felt loved.
She felt safe.
Twist’s words made her tear up, which quickly turned into sobs.
”Aw, c’mere.” Tangle said, hugging her girlfriend tightly. It didn’t take long for Tilda and Twist to join in on the hug, embracing the crying wolf.
A few minutes passed, with Whisper’s crying becoming sparse sniffles.
Tangle and her moms pulled away from the hug, the former grasping Whisper’s hand.
”If you need anything, feel free to come over.” Tilda said warmly. ”You only live like two minutes away anyways, so we’re really close by.” Twist added.
Whisper simply nodded, words failing her at the moment. The four of them exchanged goodbyes, and then Tangle and Whisper were on their way home. It was chilly outside, with the town being completely empty. Time had flown by quicker than they had thought. The silence between the two girls was comfortable, but Whisper ended up breaking it.
”So… slinky, huh?”
”Don’t you dare.”