Meet Lilly

"Lyra, I'm home!"

It was several hours later and the shout echoed through the house. Lyra - now finally dressed again - trumped out of her room to see her mother waiting for her in the in the hall below the stairs. Lyra waved at her with a smile. The two of them did not look particularly alike. She'd taken a lot more from her father than her mother.

Lilly - also known as Redwing - had long hair drawn up into a ponytail. It was a lustrous shade of brown that seemed to catch the light. Her face was finely boned, but pretty with large eyes green eyes - the only major trait that her daughter had inherited from her. She was tall, and confident. With an energetic, booming voice. when she dwelt on it at all - which wasn't often because that was _not _something she liked to think about - Lyra had to admit that her mother's body was exactly the sort of body she herself would have wanted. Strong, but slender. Her power kept her young looking, so that even pushing into forty she appeared at first glance just to be twenty something. It was part of the same factor which gave her her strength, and let her make do with so little sleep. Lyra knew a lot about her father's powers since she shared them, but her mother had been a mystery to her for a while. A minor heroine in the old days, Redwing had started out at eighteen and by around twenty seven, had become one of the big names in the city. But she had never told anyone where she got her powers. Whether they were originally hers, or granted by something else. She simply showed up one day with her powers complete and ready. As far as anyone knew, while she had gotten better at using them, they'd never evolved or changed like some powers did as they grew older.

Lyra had asked a few times, but Lilly just brushed it off with easy comments.

Lyra peered over the banister at her mother. Blinking owlishly.

"Were you on the computer again?" Lilly asked. "I've told you that spending too much time on that thing will hurt your eyes."

"Not as much as getting punched in the face, mom." Lyra said. "That's what you used to do, right?"

"It's what I still do," Lilly shot her a smirk. "I'm just usually the one delivering the punches."

"Blah," Lyra shrugged. "Where's dad? I thought he was supposed to be back around the same time?"

"So did I," Lilly said. "But I am sure he's fine. Not much could slow him down anyway. Have you eaten yet?"

Lyra's stomach rumbled, and Lilly's mouth quirked into a smile.

"I see the answer to that one is ''no''."

"Well, you know..." Lyra blustered. "I've been doing schoolwork all day. Haven't had a chance to eat properly."

"Right," Lilly said. Her voice was teasing but gentle. "You want something to eat then? I haven't had a chance to eat either. Been working all day."

"Anything interesting?"

"You mean anything I can tell you? I thought you weren't interested in hero stuff."

"I said I didn't want to be one," Lyra clarified as she came down the stairs. "But if there's juicy information to be had, I'll happily listen in. Just on general principles, you understand."

"For the sake of nosiness, you mean?"

Lyra drew her face into a false look of confusion.

"I thought that was what I just said?"

Lilly laughed, shaking her head.

"You're too much like me, you know? Anyway, where's that damned tiger? I always meant to get your father to give it back, but after the war, there weren't exactly any sanctuaries around."

"I don't think you would have had much luck anyway," Lyra said. "Dad lets him sleep on the sofa when you're not looking."

"I know," Lilly sighed. "I've spoken to him about that, but all he ever says to me is ''My love, when a cat is that big, he can sleep where he wants.'' Maybe for a normal person. But that excuse doesn't hold if you're strong enough to hoist the cat over your head and not even notice!"

After that, they had dinner. It wasn't as simple as it sounded. Lilly was, by **** technicality, a very good cook. Which was to say that the things she could do to food were truly amazing. They didn't taste good, but when you saw and ate them, you had to admit that there was no way they should have naturally been able to do what they did. She possessed a sort of anti-talent which you had to applaud as much as actual talent.

So as a result, much of the cooking of dinner consisted of Lilly happily working away while her daughter desperately tried to salvage something out of the meal. it was a ritual that they both had gone through time and again, and combined they managed to eventually produce something that was palatable. During the ritual, Stripes made his way to the kitchen, moving far more stealthily than several tons of muscle, claw and fur ought to be able to. he curled up under the table, and because he was, well, a tiger, he curled up under the whole table and pushed the chairs away.

While they ate, they chatted about this and that. How her schoolwork was going, Lilly latest case with the league of heroes. Nothing serious. Nothing very major. By the time they were done, Alexi still had no returned and Lilly was starting to get a bit anxious.

"He's not usually this late," She said with a frown. "I mean, he's probably fine. Like I said, even if someone _wanted _to hurt him, I'd be more worried for them than him. But maybe I should make some calls. Just to be safe."

As her mother went to do that, Lyra retreated back upstairs. she wasn't worried. She knew - just as Lilly did - that her father was one of the most powerful people in the city. Maybe on the planet. The guy had fought Avatar. Not _won, _mind you because that would be insane. But he'd fought him and still been in mostly the same piece afterwards.

She closed the door behind her and sighed as she sat down at her computer desk. it was late now, and the moon was shining in through the window in her room. She still had work to do, but there was a few more days before it was due. She was in no hurry.

She was, however, kind of bored. With the destruction of the war, the internet was not quite what it used to be. Though, it wasn't gone either. It connected many City States, spreading from one to the other like a spider's web. But there were always those who didn't want to be connected, or who were enemies with those who used it, so there were many internets now. Some connected hundreds of cities, some only a few. Many were tied together too, though often traffic was closely watched when moving from one to the other. New Ember City's net was bustling, and she used the chance to check in on some of her friends. After that, she watched a few videos, but soon enough she got bored of this as well.

Downstairs, her mother was talking. Lyra didn't pay much attention to it though. A peculiar feeling was creeping over her. Her mind turned back to the bag of sex toys that she had left in her closet. Obviously, the magic wand was out. It was too loud, and she didn't want her mother to hear it. But there was a dildo, and those nipple clamps still...

It was a bit risky, but did she want to try them out again?