Fluff

Chapter Sixty-Four - Borealis

She watched as her sisters, her brand new sisters, of which there were many, pranced around and danced and fought between each other.

It was a little overwhelming, but at the same time... not? She wasn't nervous, she wasn't on the verge of panic. She was just sitting there and watching as her many sisters did their own thing. With each other. Without her, because she was new, and didn't know them well.

She wasn't exactly sure how to put it to words, but she did know how it made her feel: envious.

Not extremely so, but... Teddy had one arm wrapped around one of Trinity's necks and was burying her knuckles into Trinity's hair. Another Trinity was munching on Teddy's calf while yet another was trying to free her stuck self by tugging Teddy's arm free. Teddy was screaming "Rabies! Rabies!" for the room at large to hear, though she'd occasionally break out into laughter, cutting off her own chant.

Off to the side, Athena was next to Maple, and the two of them were leaning close to each other, both talking in low tones, sometimes breaking out into giggles. Maple was fussing with something small, a remote? And she sometimes passes it to Athena who'd inspect it before returning it.

She had no idea what they were doing, but they were doing it together.

In the meantime, she was sitting on the far end of the couch, separated from all the rest by only a few dozen centimetres, but that gulf felt massive at the moment.

It wasn't just physical. She was... not the same as her sisters. They all felt younger. Energetic and loud and very silly, but in a fun way. She felt that too, but maybe not as much as they did. She could be silly, if she wanted, but it would be... sinking into silliness, as opposed to just being naturally silly.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to do that yet. But maybe she'd have to, if she wanted to fit in with the rest.

And she desperately wanted to.

"Hey."

She looked up and to the side, then smiled as she discovered her only bigger sister coming over. Emily had two cans of soda in hand, both closed, both a little damp on the outside. "Want me to scoot over?" she asked.

"Just a little," Emily said. She sat down next to her, then handed one of the cans over. "Here. I know what you like yet. It's orange flavoured. Teddy and Athena don't like it, but Maple and Trinity do."

"Oh. Thanks," she said as she took one of the cans. It was cool to the touch. She popped the tab, then sniffed it before taking a swallow. It was fizzy and sweet and... she wasn't sure if she liked it right away, but it wasn't all that bad.

"We're going to need to get a bigger couch in here," Emily muttered. She was hip-to-hip already, and there was only some space left on the rest of the couch. Just enough for Teddy and maybe one Trinity to squeeze in.

"I can help carry it in," she said before raising an arm. She flexed and her bicep bulged up a little. "Being strong's not part of my power or anything, but I think I should be pretty strong anyway."

"Don't go telling that to Teddy," Emily said with a soft smile. "She'll get jealous."

"I'll keep it to myself, then, eh?"

Emily nodded along, then looked her up and down. "So... I guess that leads to a safe subject. Did you want to talk about your powers?"

"Oh, yeah, I can do that. Did you want to see my stats screen?"

Emily considered it, then nodded. "Sure. Though I wouldn't mind an explanation, if you don't mind."

She gestured before her, even if she knew that the gesture was entirely unneeded. It still felt right, and soon there was a small hovering screen for her sister to look at.