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It's what Phainon thinks to be a normal Tuesday morning when a mysterious clowder descends upon them. With the dawn rising above them and the rising tide subsided, Phainon is still getting used to the leisurely change of pace. He also knows that whatever this is supposed to be has to do with the hero from beyond the skies, away from the looming darkness of Destruction that used to haunt them.
Despite that, he's a little confused by the situation.
"Where did this even come from?"
Phainon stares at the Trailblazer in bafflement as a bunch of pastries—cats? there are definitely cat features on those cakes—bounce around the Slumbering Courtyard. Hyacine is playing with a couple of them, giggling and laughing while these creatures chase after her floating friend. There are others stacked up beside the fountain, looking ready to topple right into the mystical waters.
"We call 'em critters! They're the creations of a Genius, like Herta and Screwllum, and they're now for me to bestow life upon!" The Trailblazer holds up one of said critters. The closer Phainon looks at it, the more it looks like… him?
"From what Dan Heng and I learnt, the animals of Amphoreus are referenced from the wildlife of other worlds—even the chimaeras created in the Garden of Life are based on actual animals from different worlds," the Trailblazer says, his voice taking on a serious tone. "So, we figured we would be able to write in these critters into your story, and even the Lifeform Oven I use to create them! Isn't it cute? It's called Coconut Cake and it looks just like you!"
This cake-cat fusion creature does quite look like him. It has a white shell adorned with blue and gold, similar to his own clothing. Bright blue eyes stare up at him; its body inside the pastry shell is a mix of white and blonde, its tail decorated with a black strap around it while it swishes about.
Cute as it is, Phainon is still trapped in the hows and whys of this situation. The Trailblazer holds it out for him to take, so Phainon does. The creature is quite soft—Phainon fears hurting it on accident, but the long, contented meow it lets out does allow him some comfort.
"You're practically twins! Great!" The Trailblazer checks his non-existent watch on his wrist. "I should head back now."
"What." Phainon says blankly. "You're not going to explain why they're here to the others? To me too, actually—you haven't really done that."
"Because the world deserves to be graced with the presence of such cute creatures," the Trailblazer replies sagely. Then, adds, "and I like creating new designs, but Herta told me she's kicking us out of her space station if I keep taking up space there."
He pokes at Coconut Cake's shell. It squeaks in indignation, trying to bounce in its pastry shell in Phainon's arms.
"I haven't gotten to allowing them to communicate with you guys yet. But feel free to use the Lifeform Oven—you can create any critter you can think of in it, if you have the talent like me!"
Phainon ignores the gratuitous self-praise for creating critters. Critters that are able to resemble him.
"Can I—"
"Make one that looks like Mydei, yes, yes," the Trailblazer sighs. "I already did it for you; it's baking right now."
Phainon thinks he's slightly offended that the Trailblazer just interrupted and assumed his incoming words. But he also wasn't wrong, so Phainon shuts up and waves him off as he turns into an orb of light.
An unbidden thought of how cute a creature that looks like Mydei would look creeps into his mind. He rushes off to the machine that the Trailblazer mentioned, tucked in a corner of the courtyard. The critters that are reluctant to explore are stacked around it, meowing and occasionally hissing at each other.
There's one that looks like Aglaea, resting on top of the closed oven. Its golden paws are tucked beneath its chin, a laurel wreath surrounding its light yellow shell. It meows when Phainon steps up to the oven, the ribbon on its tail swaying over the button.
"Hello, little one. Would you like to move off? We can't have you trapping your friend inside." Phainon is still holding Coconut Cake; he manages to stack the other critter on top of Coconut Cake, almost blocking his own vision with the two critters.
There's a holographic screen beside the oven being produced by a tiny robot beside it. From it, he's able to see the previously generated lifeforms and the one currently baking. There's Garment Kitty and Velvet Mochi already baked and out of the oven—Phainon spots a red critter with a flower on its shell in the distance. The one currently in the oven is called… Pomegranate Cat?
"Is it more cat than cake?" Phainon wonders out loud. Besides the designs, they all look relatively similar—besides the couple of dumpling-shaped critters bouncing around the bushes. "Mydei is pretty even in cat and cake…"
"What exactly are you rambling about this time, Phainon?"
Mydei's voice has quite the odd effect on him. Phainon always feel the urge to respond to him in an instant, or else he deserve to keel over and die. He's decided to blame that on the hazy memories that returned from the previous cycles.
"Mydei! Come look at these guys!" Phainon turns around to hold out the two critters. "It's Garment Kitty and Coconut Cake! Don't they look like Aglaea and I?"
Mydei is dressed in a light chiton—he must have just woken up and intended to head for the baths. He squints at the creatures. "Is this what Lady Hyacine was spamming my teleslate about? What is this entity supposed to be?"
"The Trailblazer calls them critters. Apparently, they're creations of a Genius."
Mydei picks up Garment Kitty with careful, bare hands. He's gentle with every touch—Phainon has to be careful not to be too mesmerised, seeing how soft Mydei can be without the duty of Strife upon him. With a finger, he strokes the golden pastry shell, eliciting a meow out of Garment Kitty.
"This is amusing," Mydei admits. "Lady Aglaea as a cat—the thief will get a kick out of this one."
Phainon turns back to the screen. "If we attempted to create a critter with Cipher's image, would it just be her stuffed into a cake?"
"Why cakes?" Mydei frowns at it, patting the critter on its head. "Food shouldn't be handled around animals."
"I'm not the one who invented this cute creature." Phainon does take a sniff at Coconut Cake's shell—it certainly smells like a coconut-flavoured pastry. "Do you think we could eat it?"
Coconut Cake makes a meow similar to a shriek. Both Mydei and Garment Kitty look at him in horror. "Do not suggest such a thing about the harmless animals," Mydei hisses, hugging Garment Kitty to himself.
"Hey, they could be dominators of planets, for all we know." It would be nice to be able to converse with these critters like they could with chimaeras, but he doesn't want to rush the Trailblazer on such a trivial thing.
Mydei glares at him. Before Phainon can point out how much they look like a pair of angry kitties, the oven makes a blaring ring, causing all the critters to jump in place.
The lid of the oven pops open, smoke rising from the inside dramatically. Phainon nearly drops Coconut Cake as he leans over the oven, squinting through the hazy cloud.
There is a long meow coming from the opening. Phainon practically holds his breath as the critter bounces out of the oven.
That orange shell with stripes of red is the only thing he sees, because the critter is facing the machinery in its newborn confusion, wriggling in place. Phainon crouches beside it to help it turn around, chuckling at the excessive gold jewellery on its pastry shell and tail. The face of Pomegranate Cat is too innocent, golden eyes sparkling as it looks up at Phainon, nose twitching as its paws reach for Phainon's feet. The fluffy tail is just like Mydei's hair—beautiful golden-blonde fur tipped in dark red.
"So cute!" Phainon gasps, hugging Coconut Cake under one arm to pet Pomegranate Cat. He hears a whiny squeak from Coconut Cake as he shifts his focus to the Mydei-lookalike, rubbing and fiddling with its shell.
Mydei steps over to see what has caught Phainon's attention. "They're all cute. Why—"
There's a beat of silence. If Phainon were not so keenly aware of Mydei's dazzling presence, he might have been too distracted by Pomegranate Cat to realise Mydei standing behind him.
"What's wrong? Aren't you cute as a critter?"
A fist lands on the top of his head, knuckles digging into his scalp. "Of course this is what you're focused on."
Phainon grins, lifting up Coconut Cake for Mydei to hold. Garment Kitty is placed on the ground, who takes the opportunity to hop towards Velvet Mochi as quickly as it can with distressed cries. Now Phainon feels a little bad for his comment. Coconut Cake purrs as Mydei takes it in his arms, cooing at it under his breath while he assumes Phainon isn't paying attention.
Phainon might faint from the cuteness surrounding him. He lifts Pomegranate Cat from the ground, the scent of the tart fruit swirled with vanilla reaching his nose. He presses his face into the critter's shell, the pastry soft and inviting.
"They really do smell delicious…" Phainon sighs, rubbing his cheek on the pastry.
Pomegranate Cat cries out, paws wiggling for help. Mydei growls at Phainon, shaking him by the hair. "Stop threatening them! You're scaring it!"
"You know, it even smells as delicious as you. Maybe I should take a bite out of you first," Phainon teases.
Mydei takes a step back. Takes another three. "Clearly there's something Hyacine missed during your multiple checkups. We should get you checked again."
He really is too easy to mess with. Phainon throws his head back and laughs, scratching Pomegranate Cake's chin. "It seems like a case of 'cuteness overload'. I'm afraid sending me to Hyacine will just catastrophise it."
"I'm sure we could still do without threatening the poor creatures. They've just been brought into this world and are still acclimating to their new home." Mydei looks too serious for someone who's crouching amongst a colony of critters, nearly crawling out of their shells just to get his pets.
Phainon gets it. He'd get on his knees and beg if it'd earn him some pets from Mydei too.
"Well, I'm definitely taking this one with me." Phainon pokes at Pomegranate Cat's cheek, which causes it to duck back into its pastry shell with a mewl. "Got a favourite you're trying to steal away? Cute pets that double as a sweet snack don't come by very often."
Mydei slaps him on the shoulder. "Stop calling them snacks! Are we really supposed to take them out of the courtyard? What do they even eat?"
Phainon shrugs. "The screen there says anything will do. Just try to avoid trash—it gives them a stomachache unless it's Trash Cake."
"What in the Titans' name did the Trailblazer bring to us," Mydei says, distraught.
Phainon has never been so amused. Watching the Crown Prince of Kremnos fluster over a bunch of cake-kitten hybrids while scolding Phainon for teasing them is quite the sight to behold. He's always known that Mydei has a soft spot for animals, but for him to reveal his tenderness so conspicuously…
Phainon smiles. They're all healing together, after all.
"I take it that you'll be taking my clone along with you? You're squeezing the poor thing against your chest." Phainon doesn't mention how jealous he's currently feeling at the moment, or how delighted Coconut Cake seems to be at the opportunity to nuzzle those voluptuous pecs.
Mydei blinks down at it and pulls it away. "Ah, my apologies. Are you alright?"
Coconut Cake lets a long meow, weak and pitiful. Phainon is sure it's just manipulating Mydei into giving it more pets.
"Schemer," Phainon mutters. "You should abandon it on the side of the road."
"What are you even talking about, Deliverer." Mydei gets to his feet, eyebrows furrowing as he sees the other critters cry for his attention. Coconut Cake mews when it sees Mydei's attention diverted, pawing at his chest with wide eyes.
Phainon watches with disdain, scowling at the smug look on Coconut Cake's face when Mydei scratches between its ears. He's starting to feel a sense of dread. Mydei should be doing that to him, not some pastry animal that spawned out of nowhere.
Pomegranate Cat meows. Phainon is shaken out of his stupor, looking down at the poor critter that seems upset at the lack of attention.
"Don't worry, I'll be taking you with me," Phainon says, kissing Pomegranate Cat on its sweet shell. "Since someone has decided to replace me."
Mydei blinks at him in confusion. "You are nothing like a cake cat. They have paws and can't spar. How would it replace you?"
Of course he's nothing like a cake cat. Mydei is the sweet kitten who likes baking around here. Phainon glares daggers at Coconut Cake, who looks way too arrogant for a tiny critter to be. "Better start training it, then. We can't have you falling behind."
Mydei rolls his eyes and mutters something like "petty" as he helps Phainon to his feet. They don't take long to turn their attention to the screen by the oven, setting it to nurture a critter that from Phainon's assumptions, would look like Castorice.
"She'd probably love these things, with how much time she's been spending with chimaeras." The breaking of her curse has made Castorice too excited to interact with animals. She, Polyxia, and Hyacine had spent the first few days hand in hand, hanging out with the chimaeras and dromases all day long.
The critters seem to take quite a while to bake; Phainon and Mydei decide to take their lookalikes for a walk around the Marmoreal Market. It must look ridiculous—the two of them walking around Okhema's streets with two familiarly-shaped cake-cat creatures. Hysilens had walked by them a moment earlier, looking at the critters with a mild hint of worry before rushing off to the courtyard. Phainon's pretty sure there aren't any fish for them to eat. Probably.
"See anything you like, little guy? I bet a pomegranate-flavoured cat would want to eat pomegranates."
"What an illogical line of thinking," Mydei scoffs, holding Coconut Cake at eye level to make sure it can see above the crowd's heads. "A person's appearance does not have to match their taste—why would these critters be the same?"
Phainon frowns at Mydei. "Probably because they look like cakes."
Maybe feeding a critter a pastry would be considered as cannibalism. Phainon thinks that if he looked like a dessert, he wouldn't have the heart to eat dessert. But then again, Phainon is not a critter, and he rarely has sweet snacks, so perhaps his opinion is unfounded.
"Well, if it's anything like me, it'd like pomegranates." Mydei reaches out to rub Pomegranate Cat on its orange shell. "Something's been plaguing my thoughts—goods that are pomegranate-flavoured are usually more of a red. Why is this creature bright orange?"
"There's a critter named Sesame Cake that is blue and red. Don't question these things, dear Mydei." Besides, he wouldn't consider Pomegranate Cat a bright orange. It's more like the strawberry-blonde of Mydei's hair, right where the red meets gold.
They end up in front of a fruits vendor, who is more than happy to chat with two Heirs about their produce while the critters sniff and meow.
Unsurprisingly, Pomegranate Cat reacts instantaneously when it's hovered in front of the large, ripe pomegranates. Its golden paws wriggle and claw for the fruits, whining and howling at Phainon noisily in the middle of a decently crowded market during the Entry Hour.
Phainon winces, quickly grabbing a basket to pick out a few fruits. "Alright, alright, don't cry over it! Mydei, do you cry over not getting your favourite fruits too?"
"Your brazen audacity knows no bounds." Mydei nudges him aside to choose the freshest pomegranates. Phainon allows him so—just like his attempts at appraisal, Phainon's never been great at picking out produce. "Unlike this poor thing, I'm never short of the foods I enjoy. I'd hope you learn to make sure Pomegranate Cat will not be either."
"Of course not, I'll always take care of you!" Phainon hugs Pomegranate Cat tightly against his chest, rubbing his cheek against its chunky jewellery. The critter only squeaks as its shell is being squeezed, paws waving towards the basket of pomegranates that Mydei is holding up.
"Stop suffocating it and take out your wallet, Deliverer."
Phainon's not much of an animal person.
Chimaeras are terribly cute and spark warmth in his heart, and dromases… well, Phainon is physically incapable of speaking ill of dromases, lest he wants to be hunted down by one professor of his.
But his home is certainly unfit when it comes to caring for an animal. He has plenty of antiques crowding his shelves and tables, this house more like a temporary stay than an actual home he feels connected to, despite how long he's been in Okhema.
The Garden of Life has play areas and toys for their resting chimaeras; Phainon's home is nothing of that sort. He keeps in mind to message Hyacine for some sort of entertainment for Pomegranate Cat as they enter his quarters, Mydei on his tail with Coconut Cake and a bag of snacks.
"Not that I'm complaining, but why exactly are you in my house?"
Mydei pushes him aside, waltzing into Phainon's house like he owns it. "Shut up and cut up those pomegranates."
"Yes sir." Phainon walks right to the kitchen without another word, placing Pomegranate Cat on the ground.
The critter squeaks in distress when it meets the hardwood floors. It bounces after Phainon—how does that even work, aren't cakes flat at the bottom?—but Mydei snatches it from the ground to move to the living area.
"No pets in the kitchen," he scolds Pomegranate Cat mildly. "Even if you look like a snack yourself."
I know someone else who looks like a snack, Phainon thinks. He'd be more proud of that one if it wouldn't earn him a punch by Mydei.
Pomegranate Cat whimpers, tucking its face beneath its paws. Mydei sets both critters down; Coconut Cake takes the opportunity to stack itself on top of Pomegranate Cat to bat at the other critter.
Phainon huffs, taking a knife to the hard peel of the fruit. "Getting along like peas in a pod."
"They are cats in cakes." Mydei frowns.
"I can't tell if you're trying to piss me off or make me hard." Phainon cuts out the end of the flower like Mydei once taught him to.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing. Keep entertaining the cakes."
"They're cats."
Prying open a pomegranate is never easy. Phainon gets the urge to pull out Dawnmaker to chop it up, but Mydei would curse him out for "disgracing a beloved fruit". Whatever that means.
"Yours is more cake than cat. It's in the name. Coconut Cake."
"They are living creatures. They might look like cakes, that doesn't make them cakes."
"Smell them. Tell me that doesn't smell like cake."
They sound terribly stupid. Phainon breaks apart the six sections into two smoothly out of pure spite.
"So they have a sweet scent to them. They're still animals—ergo, not cakes."
Pomegranate Cat whines. Coconut Cake, still above it, nuzzles at Pomegranate Cat's gold headband.
"Besides, cakes don't purr." Mydei lifts Coconut Cake away from the orange critter, making it yowl and cry. "You're getting attached, Coconut Cake. This critter is now your enemy. You'll be training to defeat it in combat one day."
"Mydei, what in Zagreus' name are you talking about."
Coconut Cake blinks up at Mydei. Pomegranate Cat makes another meow of distress.
"If you insist on competing with a critter, it is only right that Coconut Cake gets a fair fight. It should be an one-on-one between two even participants."
Phainon stares at Mydei. "Right. Two even participants— Hey, must everything be about battle to you? I didn't mean it like that!"
Coconut Cake is practically glaring daggers at him, even with its wide round eyes filled with innocence. Pomegranate Cat whines, pawing at Mydei's thighs to try and reach Coconut Cake. Mydei glances down, petting Pomegranate Cat's shell before setting Coconut Cake beside it.
"Hm? Did you not want Coconut Cake to be fit for battle?"
"It's cake, Mydeimos."
Mydei rubs Coconut Cake's chin, causing it to purr. "No, this is a cat."
"I might paint my counter red if we keep up this argument."
The seeds of the pomegranate are plucked out in chunks, like red jewels sparkling in the light of the lamp. Phainon puts it in a wooden bowl, walking over to Mydei with a skip in his step.
Pomegranate Cat rubs at Phainon's ankle while he's attempting to sit on the floor without tripping over cake. He holds out a handful of seeds to Pomegranate Cat, who lets out a meow of delight before lapping up the glistening fruit.
"So cute," Phainon sighs. "Mydei, would you meow for treats too?"
"?"
Phainon takes another handful of pomegranate seeds. "Like this."
Mydei stares at him. Phainon doesn't falter, though he does feel like running out the door right about now.
"Do not share food with animals. That's unsanitary."
Phainon nods. "Yes, that's exactly the point you should be focusing on. Very well done, Mydei."
He turns away with an uncomfortable tightness in his pants to feed Pomegranate Cat, who's looking up at him with slight judgment in its pleading eyes. Phainon hands it the seeds, pointedly looking away from the orange critter.
Coconut Cake hisses, batting at Mydei's thigh as it glares at Phainon. Mydei takes it as its hunger, opening his bag of snacks from when they stopped by a vendor selling pastries for breakfast.
"Here's your meal, there's no need to be jealous."
"I don't think you understand the meaning of jealousy." Phainon raises an eyebrow at a still-scowling Coconut Cake—though it gobbles up the mini mousse cake placed in front of it.
Mydei tilts his head in confusion, but doesn't bother questioning Phainon. It would probably end up with them talking in circles anyway.
For someone who's been insisting that it would be a great idea to pit two cake-cat creatures against each other in a boxing ring, Mydeimos seems very insistent on bring Coconut Cake over for "playdates". Except he does not call them playdates, but "getting to understand your enemy". Phainon does not know how they got here, but he is also horrible at saying "no" to Mydei when it matters, so it's probably why they're in this situation.
Coconut Cake and Pomegranate Cat are racing to see who can climb up a chimaera tree faster—on their own accord, surprisingly. A chimaera tree that, from what Phainon knows, is catered to creatures with four legs.
There are two cake-shaped creatures with no legs bouncing up the steep steps of the chimaera tree. And when they miss—which happens considerably often with the lack of paws—they end up tumbling down like a cake falling off a tray. Tragic.
Mydei is hyping Coconut Cake up and coaxing it to get back onto its… base? Bottom? Phainon doesn't want to think of that any further, not when he's a bit too distracted by the sound of Mydei's praise and smooth encouragement.
"What does that damned cake have that I don't…" Phainon sits in front of the chimaera tree, cheek resting against his palm as he glares at Coconut Cake.
Pomegranate Cat gets to the third highest step on the chimaera tree—the highest either critter has ever reached. Instead of going even further to reach the zenith, it just tucks itself into the hammock there and shuts its eyes.
Wait. "Hey, you have to keep going! You don't want Coconut Cake to beat you, do you?"
Pomegranate Cat purrs. Its paws reach out, claws glinting golden, as it scratches at the carpeted pole.
"Hah, it looks like your critter has decided to yield in the face of adversity. Coconut Cake will reign superior."
"Mydei, Coconut Cake fell again."
"And it will get back onto its feet as always."
"They're cakes. They don't have feet."
Coconut Cake is on its back. Paws flailing and yowls sharp. Phainon can barely hold in his laughter; Pomegranate Cat peeks out to see Coconut Cake's underside and lets out an amused meow.
"I don't think it's getting up," Phainon says.
Mydei stares at Coconut Cake. Then, he lets out a sigh.
"You know what? It's starting to look exactly like you."
Mydei reaches out to flip Coconut Cake over, rubbing its head comfortingly while handing it snacks. Pomegranate Cat snorts, turning away to face the sunlight glaring through the windows.
"If anything, you're the one that's similar to the critter." Phainon tosses a piece of candy up at the chimaera tree, which Pomegranate Cat catches with a hop. "Always taking a nap in any patch of sun, and a stubborn brat that wouldn't listen to a thing I say."
"I listen. I merely do not feel the need to grace you with a response."
In Phainon's opinion, that is the same as not listening. But Mydei does not care for Phainon's opinion, so that does not matter.
Pomegranate Cat peeks back out when it's done with the candy, purring in delight while swatting at the toy hanging from the side. Coconut Cake looks up and cries, rubbing on Mydei's leg while staring at Pomegranate Cat.
Mydei sighs, "You wanna get up there, huh? Alright, big guy."
"You're fatshaming the cake now?"
"There is no body that anyone should be ashamed of. Also, all these critters are the exact same shape."
Mydei lifts Coconut Cake up to one of the higher perches, the one above Pomegranate Cat. There's a purr of happiness from the white critter and one of annoyance from the orange one, making Mydei chuckle at their competitive drive.
"You're instigating them," Phainon mutters, flopping back against the ground. "You're evil. An evil, evil cat."
Pomegranate Cat meows in agreement. Mydei pats it on the head too, watching its disdain melt into reluctant enjoyment.
"I do not believe those words describe me." He turns around to lay himself on Phainon's couch, splayed out on the cushions like he owns it. Mydei's eyes reach Phainon's, smug and entertained.
Phainon rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to the critters. Pomegranate Cat is dozing off in its hammock, looking pleasantly at peace. Coconut Cake is still leaning over its perch, reaching out to try and mess with Pomegranate Cat. Black-clad paws press on that orange shell, flicking at the golden chain hanging from it.
Phainon would complain about it, but Pomegranate Cat doesn't seem to mind. It yawns and toys with Coconut Cake's pressing with its tail, waving it around and baiting Coconut Cake into swatting at it.
Now that he thinks about it… hasn't he messed with Mydei that way before? Phainon quite enjoys pressing Mydei's buttons just to get a reaction out of his friend. While Mydei does bite back as wonderfully as he imagines sometimes, Mydei has always been like a duck, letting water slide down his back without a problem.
Phainon's face flushes as he watches Pomegranate Cat purr. He's comparing them to cakes. What the hell. Sure, the intention was totally to mess with Mydei by making them keep the critters that look the other, but this is not what he meant to happen.
"What happened to 'studying your enemies'," Phainon desperately tries. "This is not rivalship, or whatever you're trying to stir between them."
"I'm not trying to do anything," Mydei murmurs. His voice is muffled beneath the pillow he has over his face. "Shut up and let me nap."
It's Phainon's couch. It's Phainon's house. And it's Phainon that is on the verge of imploding from cuteness aggression to avoid getting all in Mydei's personal space.
"You have your own house around here, last I remembered." In fact, it's not even all that far from here. There's no need to be in Phainon's home, allowing himself to be in such a vulnerable state for Phainon's eyes.
He watches as Mydei's breathing evens out, one arm hanging over the side while the other is folded over his stomach. By some sort of spellbound pull, Phainon shifts over to the spot on the ground by the couch, lying down beneath him—close enough to hear the slowing inhales and exhales, enough to make sure he's within reach to guard Mydei's back, even if threat no longer looms over them.
From the corner of his eyes, Phainon sees Coconut Cake move from its perch to sit on Pomegranate Cat. The orange and white critters look like snacks on top of a tea tray, though the affectionate purring and entwining of tails is much sweeter than any dessert could taste.
Phainon sighs, his own eyes fluttering shut. If every day could be like this… spent with Mydei and the domesticity of sharing a space together, along with undeniable cute pets that look like snacks that kind of make him hungry…
Instinctively, his hand reaches to hold Mydei's, indulging in that soft comfort for just a moment. He could fall asleep right there, but…
A flurry of meows assault his ears, followed by the loud thud of something near him.
"You're putting your guy on a diet tomorrow, Mydei."