A Tail’s Misfortune

Sora felt the heat rising in her chest with the cool ocean breeze wrapping around them. The chaos of what she’d just experienced swept past as her mother drew back with a soft, comforting smile. Rubbing her wet cheek with care, she looked between Wendy and Eyia.

The brunette was trying to hold back her quivering bottom lip and tears while Eyia freely let them fall, joy lighting her deep-blue eyes at the reunion. Noelia sat on the sidewalk, looking lost, unsure, and distant while no doubt running through the vengeful red-furred vulpes’ welcome. Her mother’s gentle voice moved to each of them in turn.

“Eyia, I extend the same invitation to you, and I do not seek to take your mother’s place, but as the matriarch of this family, I will gladly extend an open arm of blood solidarity with you and yours. Will you accept the responsibility of mine and that which is mine for a seat at my table? All faults are forgiven. Also,” she winked, “you needn’t do the shedding of blood within this offer, as is typically custom for you.”

The blonde’s nose turned red, looking as if someone finally understood her, when the fox stretched out her arm with an open palm. Sora felt warm fuzzies in her belly as Eyia clasped her mom’s forearm, her mother mirroring it.

“I accept the offer of blood for blood and accept your offer of hospitality in a union made in peace. Those that would offer hostility to you and yours are offered in kind to me so long as I sit at your table.”

Her mom’s left eye creased with a playful twist to her lips at the blonde’s held breath and apprehensive expression. “I do accept your pledge as a Sisters-in-Arms with my daughter. So long as you retain your honor to my daughter, you are a daughter of mine.”

“You honor me greatly, Mia the Fox!” Eyia chimed, the much taller girl pulling her mother in for a hearty embrace. “I am happy to have met my sister and to have a place in your home. I have spoken to the reflection of my father, and he tells me to study and learn your ways. I hope to be of service to your house!”

“You already have been,” Sora chuckled, feeling the pressure band around her chest as her mother finally turned to her reluctant best friend. “Wendy?”

Wendy forced a smile, her gaze continuing to dart to the various people walking around them on the sidewalk, unable to keep her eyes totally on or off the stunning nine-tailed fox. “So, umm, you’re…staying now, right? Stephanie is, uh—shouldn’t we go to her… Where is she?”

“Yeah,” Sora piped up, her worry setting in. “What’s wrong? Why is, umm…” she trailed off, not knowing how she should phrase it since she hadn’t talked about the ice giantess to anyone out of respect for Ron.

A soft puff of air passed through her mom’s nose as she observed the closed-off human girl hugging herself. She didn’t seem to know what to do with herself, shifting uncomfortably as the beach music played in the background while trying to deal with the attention she was getting.

“Stephanie has timed things appropriately for me since she has total control over time, being such a high-dimensional entity.”

Wendy blinked, Eyia and even Noelia looking up at her with a questioning gaze; the fox’s earlier statement seemed to just register with them, not that Eyia knew much of anything about the Celestial.

“Stephanie…isn’t human?” Wendy mumbled. “Wait, wait. You said…you said she was losing her powers? Ron’s amazing, super-awesome wife he never brought around but always talked about?”

“Mom! Not cool.”

“Huh…” Wendy looked a lot less surprised than she thought she should. “I just thought he was making her up when I was a little girl. So…is this like Eyia, and we’re not supposed to ask what she is? Hah. It’s just like…everyone is suddenly a monster…”

Sora directed a scowl at her mom, knowing Wendy was still going through some kind of imposter syndrome about not belonging in a monster friend group as a human, despite how awesome she’d been, helping Sora get through things no one else could have helped her with.

“It’s fine, Sora,” her mother reassured, motioning Noelia to her feet. “Stephanie has chosen to allow those present to be aware of that fact since it will cut past much of the confusion when she is…well, obviously going through a lot. You all can think of her as a Snow Woman. She is using her rapidly draining powers to make what changes she can to safeguard Ron and her new baby.”

She turned back to the spiraling brunette, her compassionate words popping the tension that had built. “Wendy, you are my daughter’s best friend. I adore you and everything you have done to help shape Sora into the budding young woman she is becoming.”

Sora couldn’t keep her scowl as her mother continued, making her nose burn.

“I appreciate your heartache. I acknowledge it. You should feel lost, angry, betrayed, scared, and confused. When you are ready, I’d like to have a one-on-one walk with you along the beach so that you can express what is building within your heart. On your time… Haha. Unless you need a little kick in the tail from your bestie! Fair?”

Wendy’s stress didn’t seem totally abated, but she nodded with a thankful smile. “I’d like that… I have a lot of questions…like, a lot…but maybe not a lot. I am confused, and yeah…we’ll, hehe, play it by ear,” she said, looking up at their fox ears, making Sora feel a little envy enter her sister’s aura.

“And that is okay,” her mother reassured. “I think you have more to hope for than you can possibly know…but I know it is hard to feel that way as it stands. Now, Noelia…”

“Umm. Y-Yes, Lady Mia?” the tanuki stammered, sounding breathless as she tried not to hold her currently very bushy raccoon tail. “You wish for me to teleport us to the hotel, where the SCC Foundation is gathering?”

The woman swept back her salt-and-pepper hair, looking to the east. “There are a few agents scanning the area with their drones and advanced satellites, attempting to pinpoint Sora, which is focused on Miami, but I have maintained a barrier to, umm…to provide you privacy,” she gulped, still sounding a bit scared.

Sora quickly pulled out her phone to text Aiden and the others that their plans had changed, yet her mom’s calm words drew her gaze.

“You are one smart raccoon, Noelia…who is quite trapped by fear,” her mother sighed. “It may take some time for you to trust I am not stringing you along, but I am thankful for your actions thus far…if a little annoyed at a few. We can discuss those small slights I felt another time,” she giggled, baffling Sora a bit on how that was supposed to make the tanuki more trusting.

“In the meantime, I do need you to teleport us to the hotel lobby and do precisely as I say. It will be difficult for you…taxing even, and a little frightening, given your raw, untrained fingers in the finer details of magical weaves.”

Sora frowned at that comment; to her, Noelia was a freaking absolute goddess in magical manipulation. Her mother seemed to operate on a different level, though. “What about us? I need to tell everyone our plans have changed.”

Her mother shifted to pull her into another hug that helped relax her stiff tail. “You will all do your own part. I don’t even need to say anything. It’s just who you each are. Alright, Noelia…”

Sora didn’t even feel any magic woven—no gut jerks or eye tricks—without any signal, they were just suddenly inside the bustling hotel lobby.

She blinked, hearing a rush of voices as black holes punched through space all around them. Hardened military men rushed out, and Doctor Ferdinand Fischer stood off to the side, discussing things with a decorated officer.

The moment they appeared, all movement came to a halt as if frozen in time, and once again, Sora knew it was Noelia. Yet, her magic was entirely invisible to her—by the serious expression she wore, the tanuki was actually putting her full concentration into doing whatever the red-furred fox wanted.

Her mother was the first to move, walking them around the petrified people, and Sora even spotted people half through the warp gates. It was almost a little scary how totally still and silent everything abruptly got.

“Free Ferdinand, Noelia, and send the teams around us back to the lunar base. Bring Ron here; he should be only a few streets away.”

The tanuki woman’s fingers tightened around the purse strap around her shoulder and shook her head. “I, umm… I can’t find Ron with my magic; he’s shielded from my sight. I’m sorry, Lady Mia… Eh-haha. What kind of Snow Woman is Stephanie again? I, eh…don’t think she is a Snow Woman.”

“Close enough,” her mother chortles before puffing out a small breath and shifting her gaze to Eyia, who was already dispersing into mist, rushing outside to find Ron. “Eyia should be able to locate him since she has similar energy patterns; I just wanted to confirm that Stephanie’s powers hadn’t diminished too far.”

“I, umm, Lady Mia?!” Noelia choked, teleporting away everyone in the building and looking up as black ice began creeping out of the ceiling; it was Stephanie’s arctic, all-encompassing power. “It’s…hard to see past the dimensional twisting she’s doing. I think she’s in… The moon is going to discharge its weapon soon.”

“I know. I know… And Stephanie is in the special realm that I created for Sora,” her mom replied. “No need to fret or feel intimidated, Noelia. Relax, it should…yes. It will collapse about now. She is simply preparing a place of recovery while she has the strength; it just bled through the dimensions due to her haste.”

“Moon weapon?!” Sora coughed, her throat locked up as the ice crystals along the ceiling shattered. Stephanie’s expanding, overwhelming power faded, leaving twinkling black snow falling over them in a light powder. “Everyone is out!”

“Noelia is generating a shell to shield them. They will be fine, and it only affects the memories of the last hour.”

Honestly, Sora felt her anxiety building again with everything happening, and she whipped out her phone to message Aiden; if anyone could provide some supporting magic, it was the rainbow firebird. She did it with one hand since Wendy took her other, giving it a squeeze for reassurance.

Her mother stopped right in front of the Ethics Committee representative as time started turning for him again.

“…We need—eh… L-Lady Mia, that celestial phenomenon—who is this? Where did you send—”

“Yes, I know,” she laughed, cutting him off. “It reshaped everything you thought you knew about physics, but listen closely, Ferdinand. The Black Gamma-RAY Anti-Memetic Protocol is about to be issued; the whole world will be scrubbed of any information regarding that incident from the Black Death on the moon. We do not have much time. Follow me.

Sora’s mind flashed back to the giant containment shell with the ominous vibes that she’d seen on the moon. She suspected that was what her mom was talking about, but she had no clue what an anti-memetic was. An anti-funny joke?

Ferdinand’s eyes widened slightly while looking at the nine tails weaving behind her and catching up to speed. “W-What do you need me to do?”

Her mother’s vision shifted to the front as Ron came running through the rotating doors with Eyia beside him. “Mia, Steph—”

“I’m working on it… When we get to the realm I created, Noelia is going to make a trans-dimensional, spatial crossroad between Doctor Kusumoto Ine’s special medical facility. It will need to be shielded, as well.”

Ferdinand’s brow furrowed. “The second leading expert in monster childbirth in the SCC? Why not Doctor John Hendrickson? No, never mind. You need me to convince her to perform…an operation?”

Noelia’s face turned ashen at the demand. “I-I’ve never done this much intricate magic across such cast distances, Lady Mia! And an anchored trans-dimensional crossroad…for several hours, while, hehe, shielding select individuals across Miami? If I could bring them here…”

“No,” her mother flatly shut down, making the woman’s ears fold back further. “You need to stretch yourself if you’re going to do what I require. The anti-memetic will blanket the planet for twenty-four hours, creating a blank space in time. You won’t need to shield those connected to my daughter for more than thirty minutes, but the split in focus will stress you.”

The tanuki groaned as they moved toward one of the elevators, and Sora used her magic to open the doors, allowing them to file inside. “The shielding isn’t hard…it’s constantly being aware of each position and moving it with them while doing something as complicated as bridging dimensions not my own and whose rules differ greatly…”

Sora smiled as she pressed the button to take them to the floor below her suite. “I have faith in you.”

“Aww. Thanks…”

She felt the woman bite her tongue before saying ‘little kit’ with her mom present. There really was a lot of stuff to clear up when this was solved.

Finished sending the mass text out, explaining the gist of what was happening and to meet in her private realm between Earth and Avalon, Sora sent her phone into her purse with a desire, currently floating near the ceiling. Hand now free, she offered it to Ron with an encouraging smile; it was cold and clammy, the husband’s aura a mess of emotions that didn’t fully translate to his appearance. Still, he looked like he wanted to vomit as her mother continued to give instructions to Noelia and Ferdinand.

“You okay?”

Ron didn’t try to hide his stressed smile. “I just learned my wife is going through a difficult surgery that could have…could have complications,” he laughed, sucking in his bottom lip and shaking his head. “Mmh…no, I’m not doing well. Ms. Moore…”

Her mother paused to give him a sad smile and predicted what he was going to ask. “Why didn’t I perform it myself when I had all my power? Many reasons that are too complicated to explain at this moment, and also to comply with your wife’s desires. Done within the folds of this universe, she is shielded by many forces that will keep her energy from leaking out to…undesirable parties. It is a miracle she managed to return without setting off any alarms with the other Founders, which proves how skilled and cautious your wife is… There she is.”

Wendy’s troubled expression softened as she scooted around Eyia to take his other hand as the doors slid open. A dark mist slid past them, making Sora blink. When they left the box, her focus centered on a giant black ice bed beside the path.

She blinked, and an elegantly dressed blonde woman was standing beside the bed, a parasol resting against her shoulder. Pandora spoke a few words that didn’t reach her, a half-smile lifting her mischievous lips and touching her illuminated lilac eyes as they shifted to her.

Stephanie’s pretty, sweat-slicked face wore a brooding frown, her downcast eyes on her plump belly illuminating with a faint blue light that bled through the black sheet. Another blink and the Herald of Sakura was gone, replaced by a chiming bell, and Nilly was now at the edge of the bed, her head cocked to the side in her cat form.

“Steph!” Ron lurched forward, slipping out of their grip to rush to his wife’s side. “Are you okay—what can I do… Tell me what I can do. Is this…Nilly? Is everything alright?”

“Meow!”

No one else seemed to have seen the ominous, reality-cutting woman, and Sora dismissed it. However, what she had a hard time dismissing were the creeping black thorns crawling up the bedframe, but a swat from the playful cat sent them retreating back into the frozen grass.

Aunt Rose, what are you doing?! I need to figure out what is happening with her. Also, are Nilly and Pandora on Stephanie’s side? Whatever. Why are all the women in my life total drama starters?! She pursed her lips when Mary’s name popped into her head. Okay, maybe not ‘every’ woman in my life. I’m here for Ron, not to think about stuff that doesn’t matter!

Sora’s heart went out to the man as she moved to join Nilly and him. He tried to control his panic and show his wife a calmer side once he approached the bed. It wasn’t like his wife was stronger than any goddess in this multiverse and could probably read him like a book.

“Hey, Stephanie! I get you probably don’t want all of us around. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m perfectly fine, Sweetie… I have help…even if it does come at a price, it is worth it.”

Wendy and Ferdinand stayed in the box, apparently too stunned to approach the over-three-metertall blue goddess. Strangely, Eyia was also locked in place upon seeing the giantess, an unusual expression on the blonde’s face as if connecting concerning dots in her head, and Sora stopped halfway to the panting woman.

“Eyia… What’s wrong?”

Her mom put a hand on her back, prompting her forward.

“Yes, Eyia, it is what you fear… And it is okay. Come. I’ll show you.”

“A Celestial… An Aurgelmir? A True Giantess.” Eyia breathed, a lump forming in her throat, and hesitantly proceeding with them after another physical prompt. “I… I do not think I should be here. I have never sensed this…mmgm. My father…”

“As I said, it is okay, Eyia,” her mother soothed, the Valkyrie now looking more nervous than Sora had ever seen the warrior. “Stephanie told me about the Primordial and Celestial’s history. You have nothing to do with your father’s sins… Sins you know nothing about. You do not even know why you fear Celestials, but she needs your help, Eyia.”

“M-Mine?” Eyia fidgeted with her dress front while slowly approaching. “I do not understand why, but my body trembles… What is happening, Lady Mia?”

Sora’s stomach cramped at the strange response from her Primordial friend. She reminded herself that all of their families had a complicated history, and this was yet another weird puzzle to fit into the complex mix of interactions between their various onions. This conflict between Eyia’s father and the Celestials probably predated the Onion War.

Stephanie breathed out a frosted breath that left black snow falling around them, her size increasing slightly. Her jaw locked, and a look of pained concentration appeared on her red cheeks, a sharp contrast to her sapphire skin. Her expanding size constricted, and she streamed out the air in her lungs.

Sora looked up in surprise as a thin, solid black cloud shot out from between her lips into the sky and expanded, blanketing the cosmic sky in a fog of obsidian snow crystals that gently fell to blanket the landscape. The temperature plummeted to dangerous levels, yet Noelia seemed to protect them from it, if with a little trouble by her concentrated expression. At least her nervousness had dispersed.

Her focus returned to Stephanie when the giantess responded to Eyia instead of her mother. “It is fine for you to approach, daughter of Odin and Freyja. Your powers are a divergence from the Celestial’s…mmgm. The details are not required now, but you could…”

She paused, taking a few breaths and smiling at her husband. “You could see us as distant cousins since the Primordial Asgardians used my father’s Divine Soul to ascend, charging their small Existence with his power… It was never going to last due to that instability. You are a pure soul unmarred by their sins… I would never blame a child for their father’s actions.”

Eyia gripped her elbow, clearly uncomfortable at the implications. “I…am here as a guest. I shall do what I can if you will accept my aid. My father and mother were united through a pact of peace…and I have learned there are many nuances to be seen. What do you wish from me, Daughter of Aurgelmir?”

Sora’s tension eased, feeling the pride welling up within her chest at how much Eyia had grown. In part, she knew it was her discipline and training that gave her the mental fortitude to think through fear, but her moral framework was solid enough to be flexible to adapt. A new thought budded within her.

What if Odin didn’t want Eyia to be entrenched in the prejudices of their culture and tried to raise her away from all of it in order to bring up a new generation? Maybe it’s just my own little headcanon, but I’d like to think that… We can get along if we can just see each other’s differences and see what we have in common.

Her mother directed Eyia to the woman’s covered belly. “You just need to send a consistent amount of your energy into her body to act as a stabilizer.”

Sora’s ears flew up, and she saw Ron’s anxiety gradually settling down. One very important and treasured item of hers burst to the surface of her mind.

“Hey, I, uh…I have this, Steph!” She snatched everyone’s attention while bringing her purse down and extracting the black rose the giantess had given her. “Will this help?”

Stephanie smiled, lifting her large hand to direct her to the blue giantess’ husband. “That’s sweet, Sora, but I would completely consume it if I were to touch it. However, I can feel its gentle pulses through Ron. Will you hold it for me, Dear?”

“Of course.” He streamed out a long sigh of relief upon accepting the item. “Thank you, Sora. Steph really does have a way of making beautiful things… You should see our small suite and all her little arts and crafts.”

“Ron…”

“Aww. There’s no need to be embarrassed,” he chuckled, tightening his grip on her hand. “I look forward to seeing you finish that Sora sculpture you were making before you left.”

“A sculpture of me?!” Sora asked with instant interest. “That’s so cool! I want to see it.”

Stephanie gave her husband a light glare, but their focus was soon pulled to the side when a ripple in space melded dimensional space, linking to a shocked operating room of doctors preparing for surgery. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wendy standing off to the side, looking out of place and unsure what to do with herself, so she joined her, holding out a hand for her sister to take with a thankful sigh, no doubt feeling useless.

A female Japanese surgeon approached the divide without hesitation, glancing between them and fixating on Stephanie. “What is… Doctor Fischer. Is there an SCC emergency—a Snow Woman? No…much larger of a species and more…ethereal from what my enhanced eyes see. I see some similarities, though… What is the situation?”

The two doctors connected, and she saw her mother whisper in Stephanie’s ear before straightening and joining them. She nudged her head toward the elevator, and a flash of rainbow lights brought Aiden into the box. He jogged out, scanning the situation.

“Sora, I got your…text. Umm. What do I need to do, Ms. Moore?”

“Hehe. You can all call me Mia, if you like, and if you could offer your supporting flames to everyone here, increasing their probability of success, easing her pain, and comforting them, then it would be a big support.”

Aiden shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it to the side before rolling up his sleeves and shooting her a confident grin. “I can do that! I can also maintain it while not being present—well, if I’m not startled and lose concentration, but I doubt they’d want me hanging around in the background. Give me just a second. I’ll put my all into it! How long are we expecting it to last?”

“One to several hours,” her mother responded, making Aiden force a laugh and puffing out a laugh.

“Phew! Well, I’ll moderate my output then.”

“Thanks, Aiden, and I think I can give you some energy, too,” Sora chimed, feeling a wealth of positive emotions flowing through everyone now. “My magic is pretty adaptable, after all! We’ll be upstairs in the living room… Hang in there, Steph,” she called out. “I’m going to be close if you need me.”

“Hehehe. How the tables turn, Sora… I comforted you in your moments of crisis, and despite my foresight, I did not expect the opposite… When I deliver my son…I fear that I may not even recognize myself. It is as if he is sapping everything I am… It is terrifying. You truly are fearsome, Sora… I cannot fathom the enemies you have managed to somehow bring together, young as all of you are.”

Sora fought down the tears from falling out. “Just…stay strong! We are a family…and you’re always welcome in it. You’re not alone.”

Aiden’s hands lit with rainbow flames as he neared, getting a strained smile from Eyia, still struggling with many questions, no doubt. She figured maybe Stephanie and her would talk through the operation as the doctors figured out what exactly to do.

“High-five?” he asked, getting a chuckle from the Valkyrie as she slapped his hand. “Oof! That’s some muscle!”

“Haha. Kari showed me the five of highs, each finger a lord and lady that joins in the union of fair game. She is quite skilled in the war of thumbs, as well.”

“Oh? You spent time with Kari recently, huh? Cool! I’d like to hear about that.”

Sora held up her arms in an x-sign. “Girls don’t talk, Fluffy Feathers; you’ll have to pry it out of Kari, and good luck there, bud!”

“Yes!” Eyia roared, straightening her stance with the enthusiasm returning. “The Lips of Sealed Sisterhood, as Jin professes! A bond of no discussion between friends and sisters…but I still have not understood what does not fall under such seals. Hmm. Is there nothing to speak of outside of the sister circle? Curious…”

They laughed at her internal confusion, trying to puzzle out something so simple. Eyia really was precious.

“And, Noelia!”

“Y-Yes?” she asked, relaxing a little as Aiden shook her hand, spreading the rainbow flames to her. “Ooh. Such a wonderful power. Hmm. I feel much better!”

“Good!” she cheered. “When you’re done, we’re going to watch some good J-dramas! We need to catch my mom up on all of them.”

Noelia seemed to calm down for the first time with Aiden’s supporting fire. “I look forward to it, Little Mistress. Is that acceptable, Mistress?”

“Not Big Mistress?” her mother snickered. “Of course, it is acceptable. If you wish to enter our service, then I am happy to accept you. Just realize my daughter sees you more as a part of this family rather than a servant. So keep that in mind.”

“I look forward to being a part of it,” the tanuki chirped, and Sora was happy to see her bushy tail weaving gleefully at her back.

My family is growing! We’re growing… We’re healing.

She took one last look at the group. Aiden had moved on to the doctors, making a bit of small talk with them as they questioned what his senses told him about Stephanie’s body, trying to get further insight. A few of them were pulling in several alien machines from the operating room, using extension cords to some huge external power source in whatever building they were using.

Stephanie directed them to her, though, telling them exactly what to do with her body and what special items to use. Noelia had to teleport them in for the doctors. Ron seemed to be taking things well now, and Eyia was listening intently, trying to follow the conversation.

The one oddity was Nilly, sitting on the edge of the bed. No one appeared even to see the cat but her, which wasn’t out of the ordinary. For some reason, Sora saw a lot of things others didn’t, and sometimes, Nilly was one of those weird creatures—she still smelled the cat everywhere.

Sora’s focus returned to her mom as she guided them into the elevator.

“Everything is in place to give Stephanie the best chance for a successful delivery. Let’s go upstairs, grab some ice cream, and chat a little… I want to see my husband for a second anyway. I look forward to having my first bowl of sweets in this new body.”

Hope blooming within her, Sora’s smile grew. “Is Dad going to wake up soon?”

Her mom leaned in to nuzzle her cheek, looping an arm around her waist as they walked, Wendy holding her other hand and trying to remain positive; she was listening intently to this question, though, holding her breath since she still thought his coma was her fault.

“Yes, Sora… Yes, your father will be able to tackle me and throw me into a wrestling hold soon enough. I’m sure he has a…lot to yell at me for.”

Sora looped her own arm around her mom’s side to bump into her with a giggle. “Let’s not pretend there won’t be kisses, too. Lots and lots of kisses.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I’m worthy of that, but we’ll see how mean and teasing your father can be because he is the type of man to hold a grudge… And he’s also the kind of man to forgive.”

Sora felt lighter upon seeing her mom’s nerves finally start to show as she gulped, and it clicked in her head. “You didn’t give yourself any information on how he’d respond, did you? Oooh. You’re scared!”

“Of course, I am!” her mother mumbled with a stressed laugh as Sora felt a shiver run down her frame, including their linking tails. “I’ve ghosted him for sixteen years. I deserve to have my tails yanked and ears bitten—eh… vulpes talk—my mom used to do it to me!” she swiftly added, her cheeks going bright red.

Sora gave Wendy a lifted eyebrow, and even her brunette sister couldn’t help a smile at the deviant angle. “Mmhmm. You are a fox, Mom. But…Dad was the one who caged you, huh? Better run, run before he tackles you and throws you in a tail-lock!”

“Bad daughter! Where is your mind…”

“Hehehe. Happy places, Mom! Happy, family places… We’re a family.”