Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night

Dawn woke up and stretched. She stifled a yawn, and her ears twitched. Last night had been rather hectic, what, with Gina coming by in the middle of the night to bug them. But that had some upsides as well. Gina had been more than happy to accept Morgana’s diary entry for the night, which meant that Dawn didn’t have to put up with it. So she’d gotten a pretty good night’s rest, all things being equal.

That brought a smile to her lips. She couldn’t help her tail from swishing back and forth behind her, and she let out a giddy little giggle. After all, tonight was going to be her night with Nick! The two of them would get up to… well…

She blushed.

All sort of exciting things.

“Good morning…” Morgana sat up in bed and yawned, rubbing her bleary eyes. It was one of the rare glimpses Dawn got at her real eye color, before the goth girl put her contact lenses in.

“Good morning,” Dawn said offhandedly. She walked over to the closet and examined her wardrobe. She wanted to wear something cute for today, so she could look her best. After all, that would make things more enjoyable for her and Nick, right?

Ultimately, she decided on a nice white blouse with a high collar, and a pair of sleek black leggings. They clung nicely to her muscular legs, showing off her gymnasts’ figure.

“What do you think?” She asked, turning to Morgana. But the goth was busy getting changed herself. Morgana let out a tiny gasp and jumped, her curvaceous figure shaking. She turned and looked at Dawn with wide eyes.

Dawn couldn’t help but be a little amused. “You, uh… you a little jumpy?” She noted with a smirk, walking over to the other girl. “Anything wrong?”

“N-no,” Morgana said, swiftly shaking her head. “I was just lost in thought…” She gulped. “You know… about last night?”

“Last night? You mean, dealing with that annoying brat who kept bugging us and doesn’t have any consideration for other people?” Dawn scoffed. “…Oh, and Sylvia, too.”

She snickered at her own little joke as Morgana smiled awkwardly.

“They said they were going to see Nick in the Master’s Suite,” Morgana said warily. “Do you really think they went there? I mean, Nick and Mary were having their night together, right? That seems kind of rude, don’t you think?”

Dawn didn’t recall Morgana saying anything about rudeness in the moment when Gina had pitched the idea. But that was just like her, wasn’t it? She didn’t have the courage to say a lot of things in the moment, apparently.

“Knowing those two?” Dawn scoffed. “I’d be surprised if they didn’t go bug Nick and Mary. I’m shocked that it took Gina so long to buy those keys, knowing how noisy and how much of a pest she can be all the time.”

Dawn hadn’t actually seen what Gina had purchased, but she’d memorized the BP sheet her first night here. She knew what the punk girl was capable of buying, and she knew that Gina had the lack of restraint to do just that.

“It’ll be fine, Morgana,” Dawn said, stretching her muscles. It felt good, bending her body like that. “Even Gina won’t mess around too much… and Nick will be cool with it. Right now, I think we need to go to breakfast, don’t you?”

Morgana nodded. She was feeling a bit hungry, that was sure.

“…You look good!” She burst out. “…By the way. Your clothes are pretty cute.”

Dawn beamed and her ears twitched. Her tail swished through the air in glee. “Well, thank you!” The cat girl chirped. “I’m happy to hear that! Looks like today is going to be a great day!”

When Dawn and Morgana got down to the Banquet Hall, they learned that they’d had quite a refreshing night’s rest. After all, they were the last ones to make it down for breakfast!

And given that included the chronically late-sleeping Gina, that was saying quite a bit.

The punk girl wasn’t clinging to Nick’s arm for once; she had relinquished that spot to allow Sylvia to have a chance!

Dawn found that rather amusing.

“How was your night?” She asked Nick, hardly able to suppress her smile.

Nick rolled his eyes. “It was… quite something,” he said, trying to laugh it off as a joke. “A few unexpected guests, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Thanks for taking such good care of me, Daddy!” Sylvia chirped, nuzzling her cheek against his shoulder.

Nick rolled his eyes again and Dawn laughed out loud.

“It was a nice night,” Mary agreed with a nod. Dawn noticed she was positively glowing.

I assumed she was already pregnant from her wedding intercourse, and the night that followed, Dawn assessed. But if it didn’t happen then, I bet she certainly is now.

Things were a bit awkward, that was for sure. Now that she was considering things on that front. Her eyes couldn’t help but slide towards Mary’s belly. Thin and trim now, but in a couple months…? Who could say?

Dawn blushed and snapped her eyes up to meet Mary’s innocent green orbs, and smiled.

“I had a great night’s sleep, too!” Rose stated, butting into the conversation. “You know, in case anyone wanted to know.”

Dawn rolled her eyes and smiled. That was just like Rose.

That’s when Dawn realized that she had actually gotten used to the idea of all these people in her life. That was quite a thought.

“Um, Nick…” Dawn walked up to him, her tail bobbing behind her. She looked a little uncertain, but she smiled anyway. “I was wondering… would it be possible for the two of us to spend today together?” She asked eagerly.

Carly whistled. She was dressed up as a cheerleader with long blue hair, in a white and purple cheerleader costume. Dawn thought that the resemblance to Dani was uncanny, and judging by the shifty look in Dani’s eye, the tomboy thought the same thing. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! Way to be bold, Dawn! Go get him!”

“Gotta love a girl who knows what she wants,” Rose giggled, wiggling her eyebrows.

“I’ll say,” Gina nodded, sticking her tongue out at the small cat girl.

Dawn rolled her eyes. The three of them might have been giving her a hard time, but they weren’t important right now.

What mattered was that she wanted to spend today with Nick. It was only right, after all, that she spend that time with the boy she loved…

Rose got it! And she wanted that too.

Unfortunately for the yearning in her heart, Nick looked a little uncertain. That made her feel anxious in response, a feeling that was quickly conveyed by her feline parts.

“Actually… there’s something I wanted to talk with you all about, first,” Nick said, turning to the others. He had his arm wrapped protectively around Sylvia. “It’s about Sylvia.”

“What about her?” Dani asked, frowning in concern. “What did she do this time?”

“Hey!” Sylvia pouted. She crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s this assumption that I did something, huh? That’s really rude, my girl!”

“But not entirely unwarranted,” Kim pointed out.

Sylvia didn’t really have a response to that. All she could do was offer a halfhearted shrug.

“So? What do you want to tell us?” Marley asked anxiously, glancing at her mother. “Is it bad?”

Like Kim and Dani, she didn’t exactly have a lot of faith in her mother’s better angels. But she was considerate enough to not say that to her face, and simply hope that Sylvia’s worse instincts wouldn’t kick in.

“No!” Nick quickly shook his head. “It’s not bad, or anything you need to be worried about. It’s just… we were talking this morning, and I thought… well, Sylvia… I don’t know if she’s had a lot of chances to really feel human, do you know what I mean?”

The others looked at him, perplexed expressions on their face.

“…Not really, no?” Carly said, shaking her head.

“I thought I gave her plenty of chances last night,” Gina shrugged. “And she seemed pretty human to me, all things considered.”

Nick opened his mouth to reply, but his voice died in his throat. He sighed and shook his head. “No… guys, that’s not what I’m talking about,” he said.

“Then what are you talking about?” Dani asked. She looked uncomfortable, like she wanted to say something, but was holding back.

Dawn suspected that Dani wasn’t enthused about anything involving Sylvia, but was trying to be considerate of their feelings on the matter. Which was a good thing. That earned her a nod of approval from the cat girl.

Nick winced and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s just that… well, look at it like this way,” he said, turning to Sylvia. “Sylvia… she’s almost brand new. She just because human a few days ago, really, properly human. And before that, she was, well…”

He didn’t need to say anything other than that. They’d all been there, they’d all seen exactly what Sylvia was like in the past. And they knew the circumstances that had led to that person.

“I’ve been trying to be better,” Sylvia offered, giving everyone a shaky half-smile. “But as you guys can probably tell, I’m not exactly the best at it… I keep messing up and sticking my foot in my mouth, you know?”

That was an understatement if Dawn ever heard one.

“But I want to be better than that!” Sylvia pleaded. She gazed up at Nick. “I want to be someone that Daddy is proud of! Someone that he can love!”

Nick stared back at her. “…And because being considerate of others is the right thing to do,” he reminded her.

Sylvia gasped. “R-right, and because being considerate of others is the right thing to do!” She nodded quickly.

Yeah, Dawn wasn’t exactly buying it.

“So what do you want from us?” Dawn asked with a sigh. She didn’t have an issue with helping Sylvia, but at the same time, she felt a bit of uncertainty within her own heart.

Mainly, because she wanted to spend that time with Nick, and Sylvia would get in the way of that. but that was something she’d have to get over. Doing the right thing for someone else took precedence after all.

“It’s nothing major or anything like that,” Nick said quickly, shaking his head. “It’s just… well, I was thinking that Sylvia needs to find a hobby. Something that she can be passionate about, something that she can enjoy on its own merits. Because… I don’t think she has one of those, do you?” He asked, turning to the blonde.

Sylvia shook her head.

“…Right, see?” He sighed. “Dakota’s already saying that she’s not human, that she’s designed and programmed and whatever… but I don’t think that’s the case.”

“Of course it’s not the case!” Dani said hotly. “For better or worse, Sylvia’s in control of her own actions and always has been!”

Sylvia’s eyes watered.

“Aww, Dani!” She wailed, throwing her arms around the tomboy and hugging her tight.

“G-get off me!” Dani sputtered with embarrassment. “I still don’t like you, you know! Let me go!” She tried to shake Sylvia loose. But given the fact that she had super strength, she didn’t seem to be trying very hard.

“Anyway, that’s my whole idea,” Nick said, knowing it sounded kind of lame. “I just want to find a hobby that she can get excited about, something that can give her a bit of purpose, a little bit of focus, you guys get what I mean?”

“So what does that have to do with us?” Mary asked curiously. “Do you need us for anything?”

That was the next part of Nick’s request.

“I was wondering if over the next few days, whenever you have the chance, you could let Sylvia join in on whatever you guys are doing,” Nick suggested. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be anything major, just… help her find things that she can enjoy, you know?”

A chorus of murmurs and nods went through the crowd as some of the girls considered the idea. Nick was relieved that there didn’t seem to be anyone who was outright opposed to the possibility.

“I get it,” Rose nodded. “So in other words, you’re trying to find friends for your daughter since she’s absolutely rubbish at socializing herself!”

Dawn felt targeted by that statement and Morgana turned bright red.

Nick gave Rose a sour look while she cackled at her own joke. Dawn rolled her eyes. Sometimes the actress thought she was the funniest person in the world.

“It’s not like that,” Nick said testily, pressing his lips together into a thin line. “I’m serious here, Rose. I want-”

“I know you’re serious,” Rose cut him off, sobering up a little. “And if you ask me, Nick, I think it’s a great idea!”

Nick blinked, surprised. “Really?”

“Of course!” Rose shrugged. She grabbed Sylvia and pulled her over into a sideways hug. “In fact, I volunteer! I’d be happy to teach her all sorts of fun stuff!”

“Really?” Sylvia asked wryly, flashing a smile that was a little too close to her old expression as a host for anyone’s comfort. “What kind of fun stuff were you thinking then, Rose?”

“Oh, you know, maybe we could go check out an art gallery or something along those lines? Spend the day in Paris?” Rose batted her eyelashes at Nick. “A big outing, you know what I mean? Of course, I don’t know if we can go to the Dream Alley on our own, but-”

“Hey, are you just using Sylvia as an excuse to monopolize Nick’s time?” Dawn demanded, storming over to Rose and crossing her arms over her chest.

Rose gasped, her expression turning scandalized. “Why, I never! How could you insinuate something so horrible?! Merci!”

Dawn blinked. “…Wait, doesn’t that mean ‘thanks’?!” She demanded, remembering the small bits of French she’d picked up in passing.

Rose tittered and batted her eyelashes at the brunette. Dawn sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, guys, I don’t think you understand,” Nick said, shaking his head. “This isn’t about me, okay? This is about helping Sylvia. If I’m around, then it’s just going to **** into her throwing herself at me again.”

“Well…” Sylvia batted her eyelashes at Nick and he rolled his eyes and sighed. Yup, it seemed to be going that direction alright.

“Sylvia…”

“What?! I’m just playing around!” She laughed.

“That’s the problem,” Nick groaned. “It seems like the only thing that actually motivates you is playing around.”

“Hey, nothing wrong with that!” Gina said, cracking a smile. “Playing around definitely has its advantages, you know?”

Nick stared at her and just shook his head.

“Yeah, but… never mind, that’s not what I’m talking about,” he muttered, turning back to Rose. “Look, Rose, I’m not going to be involved in this. But I would still really appreciate it if you and the other girls could just spend some time with Sylvia, doing the things you already like doing, you know? It would really help her out.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Rose said, her expression turning serious. “Then again, I don’t know if my hobbies are really the best course of action…”

Nick raised his eyebrow. “…Your hobbies being…?”

“Looking pretty for my man,” Rose answered automatically, batting her eyelashes.

“…” He said nothing. He just stared at her until she turned red with embarrassment and looked away.

“You can count on us,” Marley said, stepping forward. She turned to Carly. “Right, sis? We’ve got all sorts of fun stuff we can do.”

“That’s right!” Carly nodded. “We found a nice little swimming hole out by the hiking trail with Morgana! Sylvia, how do you feel about hiking?”

Sylvia made a face. “…I used to be able to teleport to anywhere on this island with a tap of my cane,” she said sourly. “So you’ll forgive me if that doesn’t sound like the most amazing thing in the world, my girl.”

Seeing how disappointed Marley looked made her reconsider, though. Not enough to change her mind, but she definitely gave it some thought.

“I know!” Kim chirped. “What about working out with Dani and me? Today’s our scheduled workout, we could always get you involved, right Dani?”

She turned to the tomboy with a hopeful expression on her face.

Dani frowned. “Well… I mean… I’m not the biggest fan,” she muttered, looking away from Sylvia. “But if she wants to come, I’m not going to say no…”

Sylvia’s eyes widened in surprise. That was big, coming from Dani.

“Um!” Morgana raised her hand, her eyes swimming in her head. Everyone turned to her.

“Yeah, Morgana? You have something?” Dawn asked, encouraging the goth to speak up.

Morgana gulped, and nodded shakily. “Well, it’s just… look, I mean…”

She couldn’t keep staring at one person for too long, she was getting too self-conscious. So she decided to focus on the ground instead. Good, old, safe ground. Never hurt anybody!

“Tonight… tonight is my night with Sylvia, right?” She reminded everyone. “So maybe… maybe we could do something then?”

She finally managed to tear her eyes away from the floor to look hopefully at Sylvia. To her relief, the blonde seemed to be open to the possibility.

“I know!” Mary clapped her hands together. “Before any of that, Sylvia, you could join my cooking class! Cooking is a great way to pass the time, and it’s productive, too!”

“Yeah, that’s a good one,” Dani nodded, rubbing her stomach. “Plus, you get to eat whatever you make!”

“Hmm, cooking did seem pretty fun,” Sylvia considered, recalling how things had gone previously. The idea of a cooking class certainly did seem striking.

“And hey, if you don’t want to do any of that, I can definitely think of a few things you could do, you know, to pass the time,” Gina offered with a shrug.

Nick winced and shook his head quickly. “Gina, just… no, no,” he said, cutting that terrible idea off at the root. He had no clue what the punk girl was going to suggest, he just knew that it wasn’t going to be good.

Dawn nodded in agreement. That was definitely the right call.

As the girls started discussing amongst themselves, though, about things that Sylvia could be doing, something striking hit her.

Nobody was talking to her.

The other girls had become an important part of her life. So important that she couldn’t even think in terms of not having them around anymore.

Apparently, though… that didn’t mean the other way around held true.