novelraw Chapter 340 282 - What You Missed While You Were Out
Chapter 340 282 - What You Missed While You Were Out
That morning, Taika's heart was light with glee.
Shouri, Pacifica, and Rebecca were returning today!
She was so excited, it made sleeping all the more difficult, but somehow she had managed to get a few hours in before she had to get ready.
As she brushed her teeth, she considered the last couple weeks since their departure. She would never admit to how much crying she got done while they were gone.
It was okay.
Everything was okay.
They didn't even spend that long with the Naturals.
It almost made her regret not going.
There was one thing she had put at the back of her mind.
When I get back, we're going to dive as deep as possible in à deux. I'm going to learn who you really are.
The dread of that statement had weighed her down for all this time. It was only all of the clean-up and renovation work she had done in the interim that kept her from just becoming a ball of stress. The new construction also helped to distract her during the day.
Five new Resonators to find homes for. They weren't going to take them in permanently. Shouri insisted they needed more success stories like Dancer--they need to find who in the community they could trust with their rescues.
Taika stepped out of the shower and began to dry off. She brushed her hair and tail, and went the the extra step to ensure she practically glowed for her beloveds. The girl reflected in the mirror was akin a show Resonator from how brightly she shined.
Satisfied with her physical appearance, she got dressed and stepped out of their room to face the day.
Her timing couldn't have been better even if Sage Seres planned it himself, as right when she stepped out, the rental van rolled up. She couldn't stop her tail from wagging with excitement. Rebecca was so cool behind the wheel. Taika's smile was unstoppable, as was her swishing tail. Even her beads trembled with the feverish anticipation of their reunion.
Shouri stepped out first; a mistake he was rewarded for when he got tackled by his overzealous fox.
"I guess you missed me, huh?" Shouri managed to groan with a chuckle. He patted his precious partner's head as she squealed and nuzzled her face into his chest.
"Jeeze, save it for the bedroom," Mila groused as she stepped around the two.
The rest of the guild, along with their five new residents piled out of the van in short order. The newcomers looked around in awe of their new surroundings.
Two Earth cats, a Water bird, a Solar dog, and a Nature snake were the compliment of Resonators that were to join the humble little guild for the time being.
Taika got up and helped her Maestro to his feet. "Did you all have lunch yet?" asked the vixen.
"Not yet," said Pacifica, stretching. She trembled suddenly and looked around in annoyance. "What the heck? Why is it still cold?! It's almost April!" she complained.
Everyone laughed at the otter's usual bellyaching about the temperature.
"Vince, Ems, Miro, y'all can go rest, we'll take care of getting these guys to their new rooms," said Shouri to his guild.
Normally, they'd argue with him, but Taika could tell they were wiped out. None of them protested their dismissal and it wasn't long before there were seven fewer people outside. The little band of five Nabhonan Resonators stayed clustered together. They were clearly bewildered by everything that was happening, but weren't necessarily scared. They mainly looked to Shouri for guidance.
"Alright, come on you all."
Shouri and Taika led the way upstairs to the four spare rooms they had left. "Which one had the two beds?" Shouri asked his fox.
"The first one here," Taika said as they passed by Miro's room.
"Midas, Argyros," Shouri called. The two Earth cats stepped forward. The Maestro opened the door for them, and motioned for them to enter. It was clean, warm, and had two single occupant beds--one for the each of them. Just like the other rooms there was a small kitchen and a fridge ready to go. "This'll be your home until we find someone who clicks with the two of you," he told them.
The two cats nodded slowly and entered the room, taking a look around.
"You're free to wander around. Just be careful after dark, we do get Scherzando on the property," he advised.
"Thank you sir," said the two cats, opting to close themselves in the room.
"They're brothers," Shouri informed Taika, who nodded.
"Kinda skittish," Rebecca said.
"They all are," Pacifica added, patting the backs of the dog girl and snake girl by her side.
"Boris, you'll be in this room," Shouri put the bird boy in the second room. The crane poked his head in for a moment, before stepping out.
"Can I fly around?" he asked.
"Sure, just don't crash again," Shouri chuckled.
"I won't!" the boy exclaimed. Without warning he extended his wings and jumped over the railing, taking off into the sky.
That just left the two girls, Mzia and Mayumi, the dog and snake respectively. Taika expected Mzia to want to follow them around more, but, much to her shock, Mayumi was the clingier of the two girls. The aloof Mzia collapsed on her bed, while Mayumi stuck to their group like a shadow.
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Of the group, Mayumi was the oldest, probably around twenty or so. Taika noted the way she had looked into each room herself. Perhaps she felt like a big sister figure? The two cat boys were the youngest--around their early teens maybe? Boris looked to be around Vince's age, fifteen or sixteen, but Taika felt she could be off with that appraisal. Mzia meanwhile also looked to be an older girl, maybe their age?
At any rate, it seemed like Shouri, Pacifica, and Rebecca had taken the time to start to get to know their five new residents.
Placing them was going to be a different story. Taika wished them all the luck in the world in that endeavor--she knew what it was like to be raised in a foreign world.
She shook her head. "Sho, Paci, Rebby!" exclaimed the fox. "Do you want to see the cafeteria?"
Pacifica and Rebecca looked to one another in surprise. "It's done?" they asked.
"Yeah, they finished a few days ago," Shouri informed the two who were out of the loop. "Holly told me and Ems the government contractors worked fast," he replied. "Emily almost didn't believe it," he added with a chuckle.
"Si!" Taika beamed. "They worked really hard. Made sleeping in kind of difficult, they were always here really early in the morning and left late at night," she informed her Maestro.
As the quartet made their way down to the new facility, Shouri probed further into the construction. "What all did they do?" he asked.
"They made this new path," Taika started as they reached ground level of their little guild hall. She led them down the path where a new building stood.
"What's that?" asked Rebecca, as they walked.
Down a seperate path was a small concrete slope with a door on it.
"Uh, they said that was a storm shelter," Taika recalled. "For when there are tornadoes," she added.
Shouri nodded. He'd check that out later. He definitely wanted that not for their safety but for any guests. Cheryth agreed and worked it into the construction plans. "We can check it out later," he offered. None of the girls argued--the more interesting new addition was ahead.
The front of the building was all glass, letting the weary travelers see the cluster of tables and chairs on the inside--a seating area for them to eat in the building, if they so desired. They stopped before the door. It slid open allowing some of the heat to escape.
"Oh, there's these like metal sheets, uhhh--" Taika snapped her fingers a few times. "Storm shutters! There's storm shutters that we can pull down if the weather starts getting bad, to protect the windows," she informed them.
Upon closer inspection, there was an entire assembly rolled up above the front tucked neatly into the building complete with a set of controls and locks at the base of the foundation that allowed for the shutter system to latch into.
"The controls are on the inside," Taika added, walking into the building.
As Shouri and the girls walked in, their stomachs growled as the aroma of food in progress hit them.
The kitchen was open, so anyone in the dining room could see what the chefs were up to. Solana, Vivi, and Holly were hard at work prepping food.
"Come here, come here!" Taika excitedly pulled Shouri along.
Off to the right, was a door labeled "Infirmary". Taika gently opened the door which led to a small hallway with two offices on either side. Taika led them to the office on the left, which had her name on a little plaque next to the door.
"Woah…" Shouri, Pacifica, and Rebecca gasped. It was just like the doctor's offices they had been to in the past. There were a couple of chairs, cabinets, an examination table for patients, and even a whole computer set up. Taika's medical bag lay on one of the counters, with her various tools strewn about. It even came with the scent of cleaning chemicals--clearly the two doctors took sterilization very seriously.
"The people that help set this up said that we can get the computer attached to the guild ones. I think they said uhhh…" Taika snapped her fingers a couple times trying to remember what she had been told.
"I believe they said we can store the medical records in our systems, Lady Taika."
The group spun to see Lee standing in the office opposite.
"Many apologies for eavesdropping, I heard the commotion and couldn't help myself," the axolotl said with a smile.
Shouri couldn't help his own nosiness and stepped across the hall to check out Lee's office. It was another examination room, however, unlike Taika's, Lee's had all manner of different jars, vials, and other medicinal implements strewn about. His office felt far more cluttered than the fox his opposite, but Pacifica sensed he was extremely pleased with the set up.
"Lady Taika and I agreed she would handle general check-ups and first aid, while I have domain over nutrition and medicine," explained the axolotl. "I've always leaned more towards being an apothecary," Lee added.
Shouri nodded, unable to hide his grin. "Are you both happy with it?"
"Si!"
"Most definitely."
"I'm glad," the boy stumbled back, and was quickly caught by his Lunar fox.
"Sho?!"
"Sorry love, just we've been going hard for a few weeks. I guess the relief got to me," he chuckled.
"Perhaps we should run everyone through a general check-up. I don't think any of our patients have gone through one," Lee suggested.
"Yeah, especially those new five," Taika told her fellow doctor.
"Oh, there are five of them? Goodness. Let me go tell Lady Solana," and with that, Lee rushed back into the cafeteria part of the building.
Shouri laughed. "So, what's the prognosis, doc?" he joked.
"You need rest and lots of cuddles, effective immediately," Taika joked back.