Archive of Our Own ^beta

Floral Forest village was in full swing on this fine early morning. Coffee shops and bakeries flipped the signs on their doors to say ‘open’, farmers were putting their produce out on display in their stands, and children were running around the streets, giggling as they played on this school free day.

A lightning bolt shot through the town, scaring the store owners, sending the produce flying, and making the children scream. Surge skidded to a stop, just outside of a quaint cottage sitting in the outskirts of town. She let down the fennec and raccoon sitting on each of her shoulders.

“Alright, you two,” she addressed, “Here we are.”

“Strewth!” Marine marveled at the house, “Just one question. What is ‘here’?”

“Vanilla’s house,” Kit replied through a smile.

“Who?”

“Amy’s rabbit mom,” Surge kneeled down, “We struck a deal with her to babysit the two of you.”

“Aw, come on, Surge, mate!” Marine whined, “We don’t need a babysitter! Me ‘n Kitsy are chums now, y’know?!”

Surge’s smile was traded for a light scowl.

“That doesn’t change the fact we can’t trust you two after you made a mess of the water park,” she crossed her arms, “Which reminds me, Amy wanted me to tell you that if you misbehave with Vanilla, your asses are grass and you’re re-grounded. Understood?”

“Yes, Surge,” Kit nodded dutifully.

“Ah, she’ll be apples, Surge!” Marine waved off, “Get off our case and maybe we’ll improve.”

Surge rolled her eyes, “If you’re still a little punk with Vanilla, she'll get you straightened like that.”

She snapped her fingers to make her point clear.

“Kit ‘n I can attest to that, personally. Right, little dude?”

Marine glanced over to Kit, who nodded at her.

“So she’s a killjoy. Great.”

“Only if you give her too much crap,” Surge flicked her ear, “And if you do that, Amy’ll flatten you. So just be good for a day, okay?”

“Not possible!” Marine stuck her tongue out.

Surge sighed, but couldn’t help but smile and snicker. She stood up and walked past the kids. After a knock on the door, the trio heard footsteps approaching from inside. The door opened with a creak, and Marine’s jaw dropped upon seeing the towering rabbit standing on the other side.

“Good morning, Surge!” Vanilla greeted sweetly.

“Ey! How’s it goin’, Momma Buns?!” Surge laughed, hugging the rabbit, “I got a delivery for you.”

She gestured to the kids as they pulled away from their hug. Before anyone could react, Kit sprang forwards and clung to Vanilla’s midsection. His tail was wagging so fast it was a blur. After a moment of surprise, Vanilla chuckled and squeezed him tightly.

“Good to see you again, Kit sweetie,” she said, pecking him on the forehead.

Kit didn’t reply, only hugging the rabbit tighter. Finally, he relented his grapple and hopped down. All eyes then landed on Marine, and Vanilla beamed upon seeing her.

“Ah! And you must be Marine, yes?”

“You’ve heard of me?” Marine questioned, before spluttering, “I-I mean of course you’ve heard of me! I’m a big name on the seas! Glad to see my reputation precedes me.”

Vanilla chuckled, shooting a quick glance at Surge, who hissed quietly to herself.

“Blaze has told me all about you,” Vanilla went on, “She’s said you’re quite the character.”

“Blimey, miss! You’re Amy’s mum, Surge and Kitsy’s mate, and now you know Blaze too? You’re a right social butterfly, ain’t ya?”

“Oh, I just do my best to give everyone a shoulder to cry on. I’ve been told I’m a mother to all quite a few times.”

She quickly looked at Surge and Kit. The pair smiled back, tails wagging.

“But it was actually my daughter, Cream, who introduced me to Blaze. She dragged that poor, confused princess everywhere with her when she first came to save our dimension.”

Surge and Kit snickered to themselves, having heard the story before. Marine, on the other hand, slowly dropped her smile as her pupils shrunk. Her hands slowly curled into tiny fists, shaking violently. Nobody noticed, though, and Vanilla stepped to the side, inviting the kids inside.

“I have some yummy waffles waiting for you two in the dining room. You should get them while they are still warm.”

“Yes ma’am! Thank you, ma’am!” Kit squealed, running past her.

Surge and Vanilla were too engrossed with watching Kit, they still didn’t notice Marine glaring. Not that her gaze lasted much longer. The aroma of the breakfast delight finally reached her nose, and it made her facade of rage break away all at once. She followed the smell, her feet instinctively taking her along as her nose led the way.

Surge and Vanilla watched her walk to the dining room before the tenrec glanced up at the bunny.

“Thanks again for doing this for us, Momma Buns. It’s gonna be a long day, and we can’t trust them to be alone right now. Little shitfucks…” she added quietly.

“It’s nothing,” Vanilla smiled, “I’m very happy Cream will have some playmates today. She’s been missing her playdates with Amy and their brothers dreadfully.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then!” Surge saluted, “Good luck!”

“Have a wonderful day, Surge!”

The tenrec shot back through the town, scaring the daylights out of everyone again. Vanilla just giggled to herself, and closed the front door behind her.

By the time Vanilla made her way to the dining room, both Kit and Marine were nearly finished with their waffles.

“These are delicious, thank you ma’am,” Kit said as she walked by.

“Of course, Kit,” she playfully ruffled his hair, “You know I always treat my little ones when they come over.”

Marine glanced over at her. She would have narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but the waffles were so good she couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. A rapid set of footsteps could be suddenly heard from further in the house.

“Are they here?! Are they here?!” came a voice.

Cream came skidding into the kitchen, and instantly marveled at the other kids sitting at the table. Kit lit up upon seeing her too, and jumped off his chair to hug her.

“Hi, Mister Kit!” Cream squeezed, “It’s so nice to have you over again!”

“Good to see you, too,” Kit smiled.

They pulled out of their hug, and Cream instantly locked onto the raccoon still seated at the table. She skipped straight over to her, full of giddy excitement.

“And you must be Miss Marine! I’m Cream! Miss Blaze has told me all about you, so it’s very nice to finally meet you!”

Marine’s eyes narrowed. She made a face, scrunching her chin as she glared at the tiny rabbit. Kit instantly grew worried, and glanced over to Vanilla. She glanced too, looking confused and worried herself.

“So…” Marine drolled, “You’re the landlubber Blaze is always banging on about, huh? Her best mate in this dimension?”

“Uh-huh!” Cream nodded happily, “She’s my best friend!”

Marine nodded slowly. She reached over to the side, never breaking eye contact with Cream, and stabbed her last slice of waffle before sticking it in her mouth. The fork scraped against her teeth on the way out, making a noise like a knife being sharpened.

“I’ve got my eye on you…” she waved her fork in Cream’s direction.

That got Cream to finally clock Marine’s nasty look. Her smile fell and she backed up ever so slightly, eyes darting between the raccoon’s glare and her fork. Marine just kept staring. It was so awkward for Kit, he was tempted to shrivel up right then and there.

A light fluttering reached the fennec’s oversized ears. He turned around just in time to see two Chao float in through the kitchen, and right up to Marine. She did a double take before breaking her gaze on Cream, and gawked at the little guys.

“Woah! Who are these two ankle biters?”

“This is Cheese and Chocola!” Cream perked up, “They’re our family Chao, and my other best friends other than Miss Blaze!”

“Chao!” Cheese greeted cheerfully.

Chocola only fluttered closer to Marine. She held up a finger for them to sniff, before they brushed their cheek against it. Marine smiled from ear to ear.

“Chao, huh?…We don’t have anything like these guys in our world.”

“You don’t?!” Cream squealed, sounding hurt, “That must be awful!”

“Oi!” Marine blurted, “I don’t knock your dimension, don’t be knocking mine!”

Vanilla had silently taken away Marine’s empty plate. She brought it over to the sink, where Kit was already washing his with water tendrils. Vanilla sighed as she placed Marine’s under the faucet, which got Kit to look up at her.

“She’s a handful, isn’t she?” she whispered, lightly nodding towards Marine.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Kit scoffed, “But…she’s nice. Fun, even.”

“I see. Well, I’m no stranger to getting difficult children to come out of their shells. I’m sure she’ll be comfortable in no time.”

Kit could only nod in response, a slight smile crossing his lips. As Vanilla scrubbed off the sticky syrup clinging to the dish, she glanced up at the clock hanging over the sink. It was nearly 9 o’clock. She turned to address her daughter.

“Cream? It’s nearly time for your show. Why don’t you ask our guests if they’d like to watch it with you?”

Cream gasped, “That’s a brilliant idea, mother!”

She whipped her head towards Marine, stars in her eyes, “Would you like to watch cartoons with me, Miss Marine and Mister Kit?!”

Marine was taken aback, both mentally and physically with Cream getting right up in her face. Kit glanced up at Vanilla, confused. She gently took his plate, and put it on the drying rack with the others. After sending a nod his way, Kit smiled and walked over to the others.

“Sure.”

He shot a glance Marine’s way. The raccoon stared back, then side eyed the bunny still staring wide eyed at her.

“Ehhh…yeah, I’ll have a gander.”

“Yay!” Cream cheered.

She ran around Marine’s chair and into the living room, Cheese and Chocola trailing behind. Kit calmly walked past her, with Marine finally jumping down from her seat to join them.

Cream was already standing right in front of the TV, flipping through the channels when they walked in. Cheese and Chocola looked over her shoulders, watching hypnotically as she scrolled. Behind them was a coffee table, where Gemerl was clearing off a few empty teacups and coffee mugs. Marine gasped when she saw him, then made another angry face as she marched up to him.

“I knew something was off here!”

Gemerl turned to see a finger jabbed directly into his face.

“What’s a family of rabbits doing with a rusty ratbag like you in their house?”

 

“That’s Gemerl!” Cream introduced, “He keeps the house tidy and protects us from bad guys. He’s my third best friend along with Blaze and Cheese!”

“Oh yeah? Well I’m not buying it!” Marine got right up in Gemerl’s face, “I know you’ve got something planned, you rustbucket!”

Gemerl stared in abject confusion for a moment before he responded.

“I assure you, I have no ulterior motives. Cream described my primary objectives precisely as they are.”

“And how can I trust your word on that? Huh? Huh?!”

Gemerl stared for another moment.

“…We met during the Amnestic Amethyst Crisis,” he explained calmly, “I was part of the task force that infiltrated White Park Chateau with you to apprehend Clutch.”

Marine kept her harsh glare planted firmly for a few more seconds. Then, she blinked, and it all went away. She stepped back and put a finger on her mouth.

“Oh yeah, you were.”

Kit facepalmed, hard.

“It’s on, it’s on!” Cream squealed.

Everyone looked towards her and the TV. She bounded backwards, setting down the remote on the coffee table, and hopped up onto the couch.

“Do you want to watch with us, Gemerl?” she offered.

“Negative. I apologise, Cream, but I am needed to help Vanilla clean the tops of her dressers.”

“Okay!”

As Gemerl left, Kit and Marine became glued to the screen. The intro for the show played, displaying a blimp flying down towards a town-wide Chao Garden. They walked as they watched, with Kit hopping up onto the couch next to Cream, and Marine slumping down to the floor, leaning against it.

The kids watched an orange haired monkey walk into the town, marveling at the sights and spinning around with all the differently clothed Chao. A montage began showing all the Chao characters doing different things, like licking lollipops, racing, and typing away on computers.

In the middle of it, Marine felt something light lay down on her head. She glanced up to see Chocola resting on top of her noggin, also engrossed in the show. She giggled, and gave them a little scritch, then went back to watching.

A zebra guy in a snazzy red, skin tight exercise suit showed up next, running around and doing a whole bunch of flips. A tall and slender human man, in a purple and blue striped suit was seen next, digging a hole in the middle of the road. He saw the zebra guy coming, and covered it in sticks and leaves to hide it. The zebra jumped right over it, and the guy was so mad he stomped around and fell in the hole himself.

Despite not knowing anything about this guy, beyond the fact he was obviously the antagonist, he was already Kit and Marine’s favorite.

How lucky it was for them that this episode starred him. All three kids laughed, watching him fail another plan to catch the zebra guy. After he made a phone call to…somebody, three more guys who looked almost exactly like him fell into his evil lair. They were bumbling and goody, but did help the main guy in his plans to catch the zebra.

In the end, his plan failed when his three goons ditched him to watch over the zebra. While the monkey girl dealt with him, some of the Chao sent a big piece of fruit down a tube to the zebra. He ate it, got super strength or something, and defeated the goons.

The episode ended with the zebra talking directly to the audience, giving a forced message about staying out of trouble and eating fruit. Cream clapped when the credits started rolling.

“That was wonderful!” she turned to the others, “Did you enjoy that too?”

“Mhm,” Kit nodded, “Though I wish the human guys won.”

“He’s the bad guy! They’re the bad guys!” Cream huffed, “They’re not supposed to win!”

“Yeah, but…they were my favorite characters.”

“Hear, hear, Kitsi!” Marine raised her fist.

Kit fistbumped her with a snicker. Cream couldn’t understand it, but said nothing and simply shook her head.

“What should we do next?” she asked the others.

Kit and Marine both gave her strange looks. They glanced towards each other before returning to eye the rabbit.

“I dunno,” Kit shrugged, “Never really been over to a friend’s house before.”

“You haven’t?” Cream frowned.

“Nah, yeah, nah,” Marine nodded, “This is all kind of a new thing to me too. Don’t really have any friends my age where I’m from.”

Cream’s frown worsened. She put on a determined face, tapping her chin in thought. Then, she gasped, and leapt up from the couch, causing Cheese to fly up into the air.

“I know just what to do! Wait here!”

She hurried off down the hallway and towards her room, Cheese hot on her tail. Kit and Marine watched her run off. She gave the fennec a questioning look, to which he just shrugged.

Cream returned a short while later, a stack of papers flailing in one hand and a massive box of crayons spilling out everywhere in the other.

“We can draw together!” she proclaimed.

She ushered everyone to the other side of the coffee table. She laid down on her stomach as she spread the pages all around the floor. Kit hopped off the couch to join her, but when Marine stood up Chocola slid off her head and floated down to the couch for a nap.

“Draw what, exactly?” Kit asked, sitting next to Cream.

“Whatever you want. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re having fun.”

Kit raised a brow, watching the bunny slide a piece of paper his way.

“So…we’re doing individual tasks as our way of hanging out?”

“Together!” Cream chimed in, “Even if you’re doing something by yourself it's more fun when you do it with your friends.”

“Works for me!” Marine rubbed her hands together, “I’m always down for an excuse to do some sketchin’!”

She grabbed a few blue and brown crayons rolling her way and started scribbling on her page. Kit watched, rather perplexed, as Cream did the same with some other colors.

A lime green crayon rolled up and bumped his finger. He looked down at it, carefully taking in its hue. He suddenly had an idea, and snatched up the crayon, nabbing black, blue, and purple ones too.

The trio colored in silence, making their own lines to stay within and fill. Kit listened to the rhythmic scraping of wax sticking to each page. He fell into a rhythm himself. Each of his strokes was either smooth and rounded, or sharp and long. The faint noise of his crayons blended in with the others, until all three moved in formation like a band. Cream was right, this was more fun together.

“Wow! You’re really, really good at drawing, Miss Marine!”

Kit snapped out of his mini trance and briefly glanced at Cream. She was looking past him, smiling brightly. Once he registered what she actually said, he turned to see Marine also jerk her head up and blink in confusion.

“Huh?”

“You’re drawing,” Cream pointed with her crayon, “It’s really good. I like it.”

Marine looked down at her paper, seemingly only now realizing what was on it. A great big galleon took up most of the page, with a deep blue sea under it and a bright blue sky above. Marine had drawn herself standing on the bowsprit, looking out through a spyglass, and Blaze at the wheel far behind.

“Oh! Uh…thanks, mate.”

“Yeah, that’s really good,” Kit nodded.

“Ah, stop now, you’re gonna make me blush!”

Cream giggled, and grabbed her paper to flip it around.

“I drew the three of us drawing!”

Kit and Marine scanned the piece presented to them. Sure enough, three crudely colored figures sat on their stomachs, scribbling on sheets of paper. There was even a cyan blob sitting next to Cream that was probably supposed to be Cheese.

“That’s not very creative,” Marine pointed out.

“I know,” Cream smiled, “But drawing simple stuff that’s around me helps me warm up.”

Marine looked to the side and nodded understandingly. Both girls then lay their eyes on Kit. He looked between them, then down at his doodle. He blushed in embarrassment, but reluctantly held it up.

“I-I…drew Surge…as the bad guy in the show we just watched.”

Cream and Marine were in awe. It was definitely Surge, and definitely in the outfit of the bad guy, but it was different from their drawings. Nothing was colored completely in. Surge’s green and black fur was simply an outline of her figure, and the blue and purple stripes of the suit were represented by a single line of color each.

“I know it sucks…” Kit hissed, pulling down the page, “I-I-I just was-”

“Nah! It doesn’t suck!” Marine cut it, “I like it! It’s…abstract.”

She made a grand motion with her hands, emphasizing that last word. Kit gave her a strange look before turning to Cream.

“You should be very proud of yourself, Mister Kit. It’s wonderful.”

“Heh,” Marine nudged his shoulder, “Maybe Surge’ll even wanna hang it on the fridge, huh?”

“That’s a great idea! You should ask her if she’d like to,” Cream beamed.

Kit rolled his eyes, another blush crossing his face as Marine cackled loudly. Cream paid no mind to either, simply shifting her drawing aside and grabbing another blank canvas.

“Do you want to draw again?” she offered.

Kit and Marine glanced at each other, then nodded and shrugged respectively. Cream slid them two more papers, and all three went straight back to drawing. Cream tapped her crayon on her chin for a moment before drawing a huge, round circle on her page. Marine instantly started drawing herself again, with a full pirate getup and a sword held upwards. Kit glanced down at his purple and blue crayons. Their colors seemed oddly familiar. He suddenly had an idea, and got to scribbling.

The kids were engulfed in silence. Vanilla peaked her head into the room, and chuckled to herself, seeing the kids so engrossed in their work. She sighed contentedly, leaving them to their process. Cream dotted plenty of little colored lights around her ferris wheel doodle, then looked up and eyed Kit’s piece of paper.

The centerpiece was a big purple and blue water slide, with a bowl, a steep drop, and a halfpipe in that order. There were several other slides in a variety of colors behind it, and what looked like scaffolding holding them up. She recognized the tall, wooden wall he was drawing that surrounded everything.

“Oooh! I know that water park! Have you been there, Mister Kit?”

Kit’s head snapped upwards, eyes bulging. Marine looked over at the paper, and gained a similarly horrified expression. She and Kit locked eyes for a moment. They looked over to Cream, still smiling and waiting patiently for her answer.

“Uh…y-yeah, I’ve been there…Amy ‘n Surge ‘n everyone brought Marine there too…”

Marine flattened out her mouth, looking to the side worriedly.

“It must have been fun. I wanted to go there recently, but Mother told me it was closed for some reason.”

Kit and Marine’s pupils shrunk further and they began sweating.

“She heard it was a flooding issue, or something like that. I hope nobody got hurt.”

“I’m getting something to eat!” Kit suddenly stood up and hurried back to the kitchen.

Cream followed him with her head. Once he was out of sight, she turned forward again, giving Marine a concerned look. The raccoon forced out a light scoff and chuckled.

“Ah, that Kitsy,” she shook her head, “He’s a good bloke, but always a bit iffy in the head, right?”

She winked at the rabbit. Cream didn’t reciprocate, she only looked down at her drawing sadly.

“I worry about Mister Kit sometimes…” she admitted, “When he and Miss Surge first visited us they both acted really weird. Like they were grumpy and…cautious…”

Marine’s smile fell too. She looked down at her paper, seeing she had already, instinctively, started drawing a pirate Kit clashing his sword against hers.

“Yeah…that sounds like Kitsy.”

“I’m glad they’re much happier around us now,” Cream added, “But Mother told me they had a scary past and…I don’t want them to be sad or angry anymore.”

Marine lifted her head to look at Cream again. She was idly tapping one of her crayons against her page, not really drawing anymore. Cheese gently pat her arm to soothe her. She didn’t know why, but Marine felt this sudden urge to say something she never usually did.

“Yeah, well…take it from someone who’s been in a rut or two in her life. It’ll always get better once you’ve got a fine set of mates to fall back on and help get you on your feet. Between her sheilas, me, and you two, I think Kitsy and Surge have plenty of fair dinkum supporters to keep their heads above water.”

Cream’s eyes widened a little, but then she smiled and giggled.

“You’re right, Miss Marine! I only need to keep being Kit and Surge’s best friend!”

“Bloody oath, Cream,” Marine laughed, “How many best friends do you have?!”

“As many as I want!”

They both laughed, almost not noticing Kit as he walked back into the room. Marine gasped, seeing both the cookie in his hand and the crumbs surrounding his mouth.

“Where’d you get that?!” she pointed.

Kit glanced at the cookie, “Kitchen.”

“They’re Mother’s,” Cream smiled, “She baked them yesterday.”

“You’re telling me you had them just laying around your house and thought to hide it from me?!” Marine stood up, “You dirty, dirty scoundrel!”

Cream giggled, and stuck her tongue out at the raccoon. Marine scurried around the coffee table, and slid into the kitchen. Shielding some light from her eyes, she scanned the room for any cookie containing apparatuses. She spotted a big jar with a Chao’s head on it.

“X marks the spot,” she rubbed her hands together.

She ran up to the counter, and tried to reach for the jar. It was slid back against the wall, and the countertop was exactly as tall as Marine. She grumbled, trying to jump up and reach for the jar to no avail. She spotted a tiny stepping stool in front of the fridge, but even with its help she could only barely reach across the counter.

“Bloody hell…” she muttered, “How did Kitsy manage to nab some of these?”

Her ear flicked, and she finally noticed the hiss of the running faucet right next to her. She stared at the water for a bit before rolling her eyes. She hopped up one last time, rapidly kicking her legs to get up onto the counter. She crawled up to the cookie jar, tongue hanging out and drooling.

The lid opened with a creak, and Marine looked down inside. Tons of delectable cookies sat within, like buried treasure finally uncovered. Marine licked her lips, and pulled out two cookies. She gobbled up one before a harsh voice rang out through the kitchen.

“Young lady!!” Vanilla thundered, “We do not climb on the countertops! Get down from there this instant!”

Marine snapped her head in the rabbits direction. Her eyes wide and ears folded down. Vanilla held her hands on her hips, holding a look that would make Queen Flare surrender.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Marine scampered down to the floor.

“That’s alright,” Vanilla turned off the faucet, then moved to wipe up the shoe marks Marine left on the counter, “I understand that you are not accustomed to staying in conventional houses, yes?”

“Spot on,” Marine chuckled, “I’ve always lived in either me self built huts or big ol’ castles, ha ha!”

Vanilla didn’t see the funny side. She looked down at the little raccoon sitting against her cabinets on the floor, nibbling on her cookie.

“May I ask…who raised you?”

Marine paused, slowly turning to look back at the tall rabbit standing next to her.

“Uhh…A band of koalas named the ‘Coconut Crew’ from an island down unda’.”

“A raccoon raised by koalas…oh boy…” Vanilla thought.

“Me folks just up and dumped me there, if you’re wondering. No one knew them, where they came from, or where they ended up sailing off to. Just left me on a warm, sandy beach in the middle of nowhere.”

Vanilla resisted the urge to make a hurt noise, gripping her chest tightly and closing her eyes.

“…I don’t miss ‘em…don’t need ‘em,” Marine continued, growing increasingly venomous, “I had me crew, me mates on Southern Island. Who needs a pair of bludgers always breathing on their neck?! Makes it all easier, I say! You don’t gotta prove yourself to nobody! Nobody but…”

Vanilla listened to Marine take in a shaky breath. She wasn’t eating her cookie anymore, just staring at it, almost crushing it under her grip.

Before any tears could form in her eyes, Marine felt two pairs of arms wrap around her as Vanilla enveloped her in a tight hug. Marine wasn’t quite sure what to do in response. She didn’t need to do anything for Vanilla to hug her tighter, and feel a warmth flow throughout her body.

Eventually, she pulled away, keeping one hand on Marine’s shoulder as she gave her a soft, warm smile. Marine continued to gawk at her in return, still completely lost on what just happened.

“I’m sorry you had to grow up like that. Believe me, I know way too many children who were abandoned by their parents, and what lasting impressions that can have on someone as young as yourself…”

Marine said nothing. She blinked, her only sign that she was still paying attention to Vanilla’s words. The rabbit sighed, and glanced towards the living room to ensure the others weren’t listening.

“…Have you ever noticed, before she started her relationship with the others, that Blaze would sometimes disappear from your dimension for a short while, without explanation? Perhaps a little randomly?”

“…Uh…I mean, I guess, a few times…it’s always kinda weird when someone tries to find her and she takes a hot minute to actually show herself.”

Vanilla nodded, “Well…more often than not, it’s because she’s come to confide in me. While she may not have been abandoned by her parents…from what she’s told me of her mother…she does not have it much better.”

Marine’s eyes widened in awe, “You know Mongrel Majesty Flare???”

“Mhm. Blaze has come to me for comfort after many of their fights. That poor girl, always so strong and brave, brought to tears over what that horrible woman says to her…It sickens me. And I simply can’t allow any child to be left in the dark like that…”

She turned, and leaned in to hug the raccoon again, “So, if you’re ever in need of someone who’s more than a friend to cry to…I’ll be here. I’ll listen to anything you have weighing on your mind, and I’ll make it better…”

Marine blinked again. Tears made their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks as she did. Finally, she allowed herself to sniffle, and hug the momma rabbit back. They stayed in their tight embrace for another moment before Vanilla kissed her on the top of the head and leaned back.

“Heh…You’re a fair dinkum angel, sheila...th-thank you,” Marine wiped her eyes.

“You’re welcome,” Vanilla chuckled

She reached up and grabbed one last cookie from the jar, handing it down to Marine.

“You should take this back to your friends. I’m sure they’re wondering what’s taking you so long.”

“Right!” Marine snatched up the cookie, and stuffed her last, half eaten one in her mouth, “F’ank yuu, F’anuhu!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“O’gah! Suhry!”

Vanilla chuckled, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

When Marine tore into the living room, she was surprised to see no one was there. Well, aside from Chocola still sleeping on the couch. Papers and crayons still littered the floor, and her drawing was right where she left it, but Kit and Cream had completely disappeared.

“There she is.”

Marine turned towards the hallway to find Cream, Cheese, and Kit re-entering the room, a long flat box in the rabbits hand.

“Sorry, Miss Marine,” she apologized, “While you were talking with Mother, Kit and I decided we were done drawing. I brought out a boardgame for us to play if you want!”

Marine glanced over at her drawing, then back at the brightly colored box being presented to her.

“Ah, no wuckas,” Marine waved off, “What’s the point of a party if we’re stuck doing one thing?”

Cream giggled, with Kit behind her just shrugging. When the rabbit opened her eyes again, though, she was surprised to see a cookie being thrusted towards her.

“Your mum wanted me to give this to ya. ‘Spose it’s not real fair that me ‘n Kitsy get some but you don’t.”

“Aw, thank you, Miss Marine!” Cream accepted the offered cookie.

“What’s game anyhow? Fair warning, sheila, but I don’t know too many of the games in this dimension.”

“That’s okay! Mister Kit says he hasn’t played it either! And it’s Candy Zone, a really fun and simple game.”

“Ripper!” Marine thumbsed up, “Let’s get ‘er set up.”

Since Gemerl had already cleared off the coffee table, they had the perfect space to play. Cream took the game out of the box, and explained the simple rules to the others, handing each their pieces. Cheese was eager to play too, so they had exactly the max of four players.

As Cream rambled on about the rules, Marine reached for her drawing and placed it on the table with the game. After everyone took their first turn, and Kit immediately got a huge lead by going through a shortcut, Marine would look down and work on her drawing when it was the others’ turns. There was just enough space for one more person between her and Kit.

By the time the game was over, and Marine had caught up, overtaken, beaten, and bragged to Kit, it was finished. As Marine gloated, stepping up onto the coffee table to Kit’s aggravation and Cream’s horror, the piece of paper went flying.

It managed to flutter into the next room, where Vanilla spotted it and caught it. She pulled the piece in front of her, and smiled at the drawing of Marine, Kit, and Cream all clashing swords together, ecstatic to be playing together.