The 'Trash Trio'

## birdman | Valentine01/24/2019

Now, these certainly weren't the things that Valentine thought through very often. It'd just been the routine- after he'd been granted his own room for all his own stuff, he'd simply accepted the fact a small cat had wandered into his room every evening to sleep, and the pair often found themselves curled up in a ball at the end of the bed, before the cat would just wander off again in the morning. It was comforting, if he was to be honest, to have a little partner to sleep with in an unfamiliar place- he still hadn't been given an official tour, so having to function around what he knew was hard enough- and his new little friend had been at least a *bit* of security.
He really wasn't sure what time it was when he was woken up by a *whump!* on his bed, but it'd been enough to make him shout- before anything had even happened. Only moments later, the actual event happened and he'd shrieked even louder, trying to scramble up to figure out what in the hell had just landed on him.

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/24/2019

It was out of habit that Rhett had begun matching his sleeping schedule with Val’s. His sleep buddy was quite the heater. Of course Andy was still the best in that department but Rhett had been kicked out after an accidental incident revolving around him shifting in his sleep.
Even after swearing to the leader that it wouldn’t happen again, Andy wasn’t all that easily swayed. Apparently waking up to a semi-nude person wasn’t cool with him. Whatever. Rhett had found an even better sleeping partner.
Most nights were pretty uneventful. He’d strip down to his boxers and shift to make things comfortable for all involved. He wasn’t sure why sleeping in a different form felt better, but it did. However, this night was a rare occasion as the boy was jolted awake by a shout loud enough to break through his dreaming mind.
Through the dark, his eyes could make out Val’s much taller figure trying to get up at a much faster pace than usual. “Wha-“ Rhett had reached up to grab at him when realization hit. “Oh, crap! I’m sorry!” Jumping up on the bed and trying to get off as quickly as possible, his footing wasn’t nearly stable enough to walk before tripping and landing on top of the very confused Valentine. “Val, oh my god, are you alright?!” Rhett’s mind was in overload as he tried pushing himself back onto the bed.

## birdman | Valentine01/24/2019

Valentine's panicked efforts were mostly in vain- due to the subsequent tangling of his sheets- and he only managed to get backed up against the wall as he tried to recognize who the *fuck* was talking to him. "Cole?!" he started, before cycling through the voices in the house. "wait, Kyle? L- fuck, not Leo- what the hell?" he finally decided on generally being confused, and was able to calm down a little from what'd shocked him awake. "the fuck's going on dude?" he asked, an incredibly confused expression crossing his face.

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/24/2019

When Rhett landed safely back onto the mattress, he threw his hands up as if getting ready to be swung at. He certainly didn’t know what to expect with Valentine. How he’d react once the panic subsided.
He was a little surprised as Val cycled through the names not naming him *once*. It was hard to keep himself from frowning but then again, it was good that he was beginning to settle down. With a deep breath, Rhett spoke. “Uh. Firstly, it’s Rhett. Secondly, ya know the cat that comes in and sleeps with you?” He paused for a second then pushed forward preparing himself for the same rejection he’d gotten from Andy. “I’m the cat.”

## birdman | Valentine01/24/2019

"You're the- ohh..." A sleepy Valentine replied, only now beginning to piece things together in his head. "Rhett, Jesus, I don't think I've... have we ever spoken? Or has belly rubs and spooning been the extent of our... interactions thus far?" he asked, slurring his words as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "Fuck, man, I am *so* sorry, guh... The screaming was probably less than warranted, good grief," he stuck his tongue out, "I tend to do that when I'm woken up by the future. Ouch." he could only chuckle at his embarrassment until it went away, trying to sort out his hair in the meanwhile. "You do make an excellent bed buddy, though, man."

January 25, 2019

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/25/2019

Rhett’s eyes took in the confused expression before it started melting away with realization. Then came the questions. Questions even Rhett wasn’t quite certain of. “Ha, I think this might be our first time.” Smiling dumbly, the shifter relaxed against the bed again. “You give the best belly rubs, I swear.” He wasn’t lying either.
Chuckling, he shook his head. “No, don’t worry about it...it’s my fault for shifting..I don’t normally turn into a human when I sleep but uh,” he trailed off not sure what else to say. It was good that Val was blind in the way that Rhett wasn’t as embarrassed as he could have been.
“You’re taking this...really well.” He laughed and scooted a little closer to the seer. “Um, does that mean I can stay in here? Andy kinda kicked me out of his room and I don’t know, it feels nice sleeping with someone.”

## birdman | Valentine01/25/2019

"Jesus Christ, d'you not have a bedroom? Sleepin' in here this whole time, I mean... I don't really *mind*, not at all, but... wait, hold on." in keeping with his rather slow and groggy thought process, Valentine took a moment of silence to realize what would happen when asked the question regarding what Rhett used to keep warm when not covered in fur. "oh, no, you're not- are you *naked*?" he asked, and figured he didn't need the answer from Rhett's mouth to figure it out. "There's a big shirt in the drawer, if you want that until it's kitty time again," he shrugged, scooting back down into bed again. It was very warm under the covers, and very cold up top. "Is a cat your only form?" he asked, just out of the blue once he was cozy again.

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/25/2019

At the mention of having his own bedroom, Rhett shook his head slowly. “No, I don’t like sleeping in beds anyway. They feel too *empty*.” The word was softer than the rest of what he was saying before the young man resumed his earlier enthusiasm. “So, I can stay??” His smile loosened as Valentine made a new connection. “I-“ He stopped when offered a shirt from the dresser and took the chance to get up and retrieve the item. Slipping it on, he felt a new sense of warmth. “This is nice.” He breathed in Val’s scent as it had become one that soothed Rhett. Getting back onto the bed, he didn’t immediately snuggle back up to the other man. Taking a minute to answer any more questions.
“No, actually! It’s only one of a couple. I can turn into an owl and a bear!” His smile had returned while laying on his side facing Val. “So, you can really see the future?” Since they were awake now, it made sense to him that they had a proper conversation. Afterall, this guy was still letting him sleep in his bed.

## sephet01/25/2019

With the amount Kyle paid for rent it was fairly reasonable that heating just plain didn’t work sometimes. Combined with poor insulation and his general lack of blankets it all turned his apartment into an inhospitable wasteland. Having no desire to sit in his room and freeze he’d tossed some homework into his backpack and headed out to HQ. His new lack of hair around his ears was noticeably colder now going out into the world and he kind of wished he had a scarf, but the bus ride to HQ wasn’t too terribly long and soon he was stomping snow off his boots and kicking them off at the door.

It was still pretty early to be there, a part of him really wished he could just curl up and try to get some sleep. But it was probably weird enough that he was kind of barging into Andy’s home like he owned the place. He figured the least he could do was put the coffee on, that way it was there when people got up and he could warm himself up a little bit. He set that to brew and tossed his bag on one of the couches. He felt chilled to the bone between his frozen apartment and the blustery outdoors. Surely as eccentric as the decor was there had to be excess blankets somewhere. Maybe one of the bedrooms. Were all the bedrooms being used? Kyle wasn’t sure anymore who lived where at this point.

He opened the door into one room without really thinking, his mind frazzled from sleep deprivation and the single minded goal of ‘blankets.’ He looked on with complete confusion as he found himself in Val’s room, with Val and Rhett seemingly cuddling and Rhett only wearing a shirt that might not even have been his own. “Wow. Uh. Sorry.” He hurriedly closed the door with a little bit of a snap and gave up on his blanket search altogether. It made perfect sense, thinking about it, that people were fucking in this house, but it had never occurred to him that the team would already be intermingling like that. He’d noticed both of them flirting with Leo so maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all but he’d kind of figured Leo just got that reaction from people. He wouldn’t have been surprised if someone told him *he’d* flirted with Leo. The man was an unending well of charisma.

## birdman | Valentine01/25/2019

Valentine had barely had time to prepare himself for the door opening when another guy (of whose voice he still didn't really remember) spluttered and slammed it as quick as possible, letting a draft of cold air in.
"Whoa, hey!" he shouted, not unkindly, in almost a tone one would use with timid animals. "We ain't doing anything, he's uh- he's a cat, who- who was that?" he stammered, trying to compose some sort of coherent sentence with sleepybrain. "Enter if ye dare."(edited)

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/25/2019

Rhett had just laid down when the door to the bedroom opened. His head snapped over thinking it was only Andy until he was able to make out Kyle’s form in the doorway. It was a brief glimpse, of course. As the door quickly closed again and the two were left in the dark again.
Sitting up, Rhett was curious as to why Kyle had suddenly appeared and laughed a little. “I think he got the wrong impression. I’ll get him.” Sliding off the mattress and quickly going to the door, he opened it and peered out into the hallway. “Kyle, come back!” He practically shouted while also trying to be quiet. Not something he was entirely good at.
Stepping out, he walked the couple feet before taking the heroes hand and tugging him along. “Why’re you so cold and *here*??” He tried not to sound rude but ya know.(edited)

## sephet01/25/2019

“Uh like. I didn’t mean to spoil your moment or whatever. Ah hah…. I was just looking for blankets. I uh. Didn’t know this was your room. Or that you shared a room. That’s cool. I mean it’s none of my business you dudes can like… just like do whatever you want. If you don’t want me to say shit I won’t.” Kyle rambled absently as Rhett came to grab him. Wow really definitely no pants at all. He kind of remembered that level of comfort and intimacy and it made him a little nostalgic for a relationship that had not ended even remotely well.

“Uh. Like the heating’s out in my apartment. It’s like bullshit levels of cold so I thought like since Andy generally chill with us just showing up at random that it was cool if I came here to hide for a bit. I put some coffee on I was just gonna cover myself with blankets on the couch.” Rambling was all he could think to do. Why was he being brought into an intimate moment like this, why did he open the door like a stupid child or something? Why? “I just wanted some blankets but I don’t know the layout of the house super well and I didn’t know what rooms had people in them except Andy’s ‘cause it’s like out of bounds so…”

## birdman | Valentine01/25/2019

"Is *that* Kyle?" Val tried to whisper-shout from down the hall, not moving from his warm groove in bed. He craned his neck to listen, both slightly annoyed and very curious as to who in the hell had interrupted his impromptu sleepover. He sort of liked having human being Rhett in his bed as well, though he wasn't quite sure where those feelings came from.
"Rhett!" he called, still sitting in his bed. "Bring that bastard back here, we've got loads to share, man!" he explained- his bed was essentially a mattress on the floor covered with afghans and quilts, so he was in no shortage of warmth on such a chilly night.

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/25/2019

“Catch your breath, you didn’t ‘spoil’ anything. Besides, this isn’t my room, it’s Val’s but I do sleep in here most nights...not usually like this, though,” glancing down, he realized how bad this all looked. “I, uh, I shifted in my sleep. I don’t sleep as a human often...*especially* in someone else’s bed..unless it’s acceptable.” The shifter’s shoulders shook as he laughed and shoved open the bedroom door again.
“Kyle, no one’s having any intimate moments here.” He let go of Pestilence’s hand then walked back to the mattress where Val was still cozy under the blankets. When he mentioned the heating in his place, Rhett frowned. “For real? That’s horrible, of course Andy won’t mind.” Looking around, he had half a mind to locate his clothes and put them on but lost that motivation soon after. It wasn’t like he was completely nude. He still had his boxers on and the shirt he was wearing hung down to about mid-thigh.
“You came at a bad time, is all.” Throwing a hand to the back of his neck, the blonde soon opted to snatching up one of the numerous quilts and tossing it to the hesitant arrival. “Come get comfy, it can be like a sleepover.” With that, Rhett picked up another and wrapped it around himself before plopping down at the head of the bed.(edited)

## sephet01/25/2019

Kyle wrapped the blanket around himself and, a little hesitantly, sat down at the foot of the bed. Did sleeping together as an animal make a big difference he considered, then he shook his head a little to dislodge all the directions those thoughts could go. Rhett just seemed generally kind of cuddly no matter what. He hunched up so he could sit on his feet and warm them up, and tried to ignore the feeling he still had of intruding on something.
“Yeah, my place is a shithole, I dunno when it’ll get fixed.” Kyle shrugged a little thinking about it, it wasn’t the first time the heating had crapped out, there was always something going wrong with the building it seemed. “At least it isn’t a plumbing issue, though it may turn into a plumbing issue if the pipes freeze and burst. Ugh.”
“So uh.” He shifted a little in his blanket and glanced at the other two. “How are you this fine morning, I guess?”

## birdman | Valentine01/25/2019

"is it morning already? Jesus," Valentine said first, groaning at the prospect of the hour. Or, maybe just groaning at the existence of time itself. "is it even light out?" he scooted down a little in his bed to lean on his elbow, listening to the other two.

"my old place was just like that, man, such bullshit around here." he agreed, "it's like everything's crumbling, just cause the city's not willing to put a bit of money in." he stuck his tongue out. "glad you didn't freeze on the way over, man."

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/25/2019

“The sun’s not up yet.” Rhett clarified when being asked about there being light out. He listened to both speakers with interest, he wasn’t unfamiliar with those living terms but hadn’t been in them long enough to truly know the effect. No wonder Kyle always looked so tired and fed up. The poor guy must always be stressed out his mind.
“Well, why not ask to stay here?” Rhett looked over at Kyle with a smile. “He has two other empty rooms.”
“And I wouldn’t be awake if *someone* hadn’t have shouted...” the shifter wiggled around before curling into himself and covering most of his face.

## sephet01/25/2019

“It’s stupid how lax some of the buildings can get with upkeep. I woke up and my apartment was just freezing. And we aren’t allowed space heaters ‘cause the building would probably light on fire.” He crawled a little to get more sturdy on the bed, realising that if these guys were rooming with Andy they were probably in a similar near-homeless situation. He didn’t really feel embarrassed about his lot in life, not a lot anyway, but he could be a little self-conscious of how people looked at him for it. It was *mostly* just funny how unnerved Leo got driving to his place.
“I don’t know about asking… I mean I don’t actually know him real well.” He flushed a little bit thinking of it. “It’s a little more forward than I’m comfortable being, I think.”
“Y’know sometimes you come across more like a cat who can turn into a guy than a guy who can turn into a cat.” Kyle snorted watching Rhett cuddle up in a ball.

## birdman | Valentine01/25/2019

"Listen, I didn't even *know* we didn't have a straight up cat-only-cat in this fucking house, and I've been here for almost a month." Valentine laughed, turning over on his side almost completely now.
"I'm glad to live here, though, and the sleep buddy is a plus. No commitment or smelly armpits, either. Its kind of a dream." he shrugged, turning to Kyle. "I get the weirdness of asking, but... I don't think Andy'd mind, so much. He's got this house to help us all out, yknow?"(edited)

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/25/2019

"Jesus...yeah, I'd rather you not burn alive but freezing to death is almost the same thing." He shrugged from under the blanket which was hardly noticeable. "Andy would be totally welcoming if you let him know what going on...heh, I don't think I've even asked to stick around." Turning his head to look at Val, his smile grew. "You're not as warm as Andy but I will admit, it's nice sleeping with you too!"

When Kyle mentioned him being more cat-like, the shifter laughed. "I think you're the first person to say that. Not like it bothers me. Being a cat is so much easier. No one bothers you, you get to sleep wherever and people don't question your presence as much." With that he redirected his attention to Val again with a sheepish smile. "I really am sorry about that. I don't know what causes me to shift back but it wasn't intentional, promise."

## sephet01/25/2019

“Hm. The armpit cuddle. You look more like the big spoon type than the ‘headlocked in my sleep’ type?” Kyle snickered a little and shifted to nudge Val’s leg, if only just to add a physical element to the communication. The logistics of when he could tolerate being touched and when it felt like bees bursting out of his skin seemed completely unreliable.
“From what I have heard burning to death is one of the most painful ways to die, in comparison freezing to death is supposed to be much more pleasant.” Kyle nodded knowingly then snorted and shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think I could ask. I feel awkward just thinking about it. I think I kinda creep people out, anyway. So. I mean I barely sleep or have anything so I can do that anywhere I guess…”
“Uncontrollable sleep embarrassments? You’ve finished puberty, right?” He snorted and squirmed so he could gently kick Rhett’s lump of blanket.

## birdman | Valentine01/25/2019

"I'm more of a little spoon, personally," Valentine joked back, crossing his arms. "Size isn't everything, you know!" he huffed and could only hold his face for a few moments before bursting into laughter. It silenced, though, as the topic of freezing to death was brought up.

 "My uncle almost died from hypothermia once," he said, much like a fourth-grader would, as some sort of cool fact or achievement. "He's fine, but livin' in North Caribou Lake is all about the freezing. He stumbled outside one time an' got locked out in -34, froze his toe off. Said it was like fallin' asleep, though. Doesn't sound so bad to me," he shrugged.

## Mob Boss Peggy01/25/2019

The smell of coffee in the morning was always enough to cause the owner of that colorful home to stir. Andy had woken up hugging a big pillow, his black hair a messy nest in his face, clad in a big, chunky sweater and some flannel pants, although when he turned over it was clear that he was smuggling some sort of 'uncontrollable sleep embarrassment.'
He stretched out all of his limbs with a little groan. Sprawled out on the mattress, Andy caught on to some sounds coming from outside, muffled enough to be coming from across the hall in Valentine's room. His eyes cracked open as he tried to discern who was speaking.
Was Rhett... Already here again? With Valentine, again? Andy was growing suspicious of the two. Not that there was anything wrong with them getting more action than he ever had in that house...
For now, he just laid there trying to make out words like some kind of gossip whore.

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/25/2019

"What if we asked together then? I mean, I don't really know what I'll do if he says I can't stay but I guess it's kinda inevitable." Laughing quietly, Rhett looked on as the two men with him on the bed continued the conversation of sleeping positions and whatnot. He shook his head then huffed. "You don't freak out either of us, man."
When he was kicked, his head poked out from behind the cover briefly to stare back at the dark-haired hero. "W-what?" His laughter came up again and the blanket loosened around his body until he was sitting up again. "It's just no one really likes sleeping next to a total stranger yet being a cat is kinda different.." He hadn't realized quite how dumb it sounded until he'd said it but it was too late to take back.
When Val brought up his uncle having his near-death experience, Rhett rubbed his arms rigorously. "That all sounds so unpleasant...but yeah, I'd take the cold over heat any day, to be honest."

January 26, 2019

## sephet01/26/2019

“Hey, that’s fair. As a little guy I get boxed into little spoon by default.” He laughed a little and considered Rhett’s offer. “I… maybe. I might feel less awkward with you with me. Dunno. Also, you said I was like creepy or cold or something when we first met. I got a gross power and it weirds people out.” He shrugged nonchalantly and blew out a breath. It wasn’t like he was unaware of what his powers were.
“Yes. Sleeping with strangers by surprise is weird. Next time ask with your people mouth.” He snorted despite himself and then smothered a yawn. Even with a nap under his belt he felt like his head was swimming a little. “Sorry ‘bout your uncle, man. Just going to sleep is like… creepy. I’m not great with cold at all honestly.”
“Speaking of, I put the coffee on and I think I need some to wake up and warm up. You guys want any?”

## birdman | Valentine01/26/2019

Valentine scooted up again into a little bit more of a seated position. "Uncle's totally fine, besides the toe," he laughed, "My cousins were scared to shit but he's all good nowadays. I dunno why all uncles are just fuckin'... like that." his shoulders shook as he giggled at himself, as a question popped into his head.

"Fuck, I don't even think I know what your power is, Kyle," he admitted. How gross could it possibly be? Val was sure it'd be fine unless his power was to cause other people to shit their pants, or something of that respect. "I really gotta get out mor- oh, no thanks, I don't drink coffee. More of a tea guy. Thanks though, dude," he cut himself off mid-sentence, before leaning back against the lump of pillows he'd created.

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/26/2019

Rhett's eyes grew twice in size as he recalled his previous observations of Kyle. "Oh, my bad. Please disregard that..I didn't know you well then and it's just the way you keep to yourself that bothered me, I guess...not really bothered me, no. You're super cool and totally not creepy or weird." His words came out a bit faster than intended but he'd begun to panic again as the words didn't form into complete sentences in his brain. "Look. I'm sorry, I totally misjudged you! My fault for being a dummy."

"Again, asking before sleeping in someone's bed would probably be super smart but alas, I am stupid." He forced a lopsided grin before shaking his head at the offer for coffee. "No thanks, that stuff is gross." He made a face then brushed the blanket from his shoulders. "By the way, you're looking good. Your hair, I mean. It looks nice." Giving the best smile he could, Rhett eventually scooted further over until he was beside Val again. "If this weirds you out tell me, okay?" He mumbled while leaning against the guy's shoulder. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself til now. Oh, and Kyle's power is actually really interesting. He can cause all kinds of crazy skin stuff. Like, warts and pimples and all that. With just a touch."

## sephet01/26/2019

He snorted at Rhett’s mild panic and reached to mess up his already messy bedhead. “Just making a point, don’t panic.” He untangled himself from his blanket and slid onto the floor. “I think probably everyone has at least one uncle with stories that are just… totally wild. I guess all things considered I could become that uncle. It would make sense, imagine trying to explain all this to nieces and nephews?”

He rubbed his hands a little self-consciously over the buzzed sides of his hair and smiled a bit, mumbling thanks before he headed out of the room and down to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee with a decent dollop of dairy mixed in.

January 28, 2019

## birdman | Valentine01/28/2019

"That's fuckin dope," Valentine replied in regards to Kyle's powers, not really minding at all that Rhett had curled up on him. "Kyle, don't go freezing your nuts off in search for the Joe, alright?" he called, hearing Andy grumbling about in the kitchen already.

"Man, everyone's got such cool fucking powers," he replied to Rhett, leaning down a little bit as the pair sat in bed. "I kinda feel like mine are sorta sub-par sometimes, y'know?"

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/28/2019

Having his hair ruffled actually put a smile back on his face. “Sorry.” He breathed out slowly before watching Kyle untangle himself and head out in search of the coffee he’d brewed. “You’ll be the crazy uncle with tons of insane stories from his youth.” Rhett laughed softly before leaning into Val.
“What do you mean ‘sub-par’??” The shifter lifted his head curiously before shaking it slightly. “No way, you can see the freaking *future*. That’s cool as hell alone.” He closed his eyes for a moment taking in the calmness before speaking again. “Listen, your power might not be nearly as flashy as some of ours but it’s still just as important and unique. Andy has high hopes for you and I know you can expand, just gotta work for it.” He hoped that his words would help but had his doubts. “You’re more powerful than you realize.”

## birdman | Valentine01/28/2019

"Oh I'm sure," Valentine started, shifting in bed. Rhett was mighty warm, and he didn't mind scooting closer at all. He was a good buddy, if nothing else, but there was something in Valentine that wondered if he'd ever be a little bit more of something. "Just wisht'a had something a little more... I dunno, powerful. Wipes me the fuck out to see anything past like, an hour," he groaned, "and it doesn't make any sense anyway, so I don't bother, unless it shows up in front of my face for no reason," he shrugged again. "Still wish I could turn into a cat more."

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/28/2019

As Val scooted closer, the shifter’s smile grew. He wasn’t entirely sure if he should go ahead and shift back into a cat or remain as his human self. Regardless, Valentine’s close proximity was quite comforting in a way. Rhett couldn’t remember the last time he’d cuddled against someone that actually didn’t mind it. At least, outside of being a cat. “Hmm,” he murmured quietly while adjusting himself to where they were much closer than what Rhett would have previously thought allowed. “Well, you could just focus on your fighting for now. After that, maybe you can learn some kind of mind stuff from Andy.” He didn’t know what he was talking about in the least but didn’t like Val feeling down.
He laughed into the blanket he’d brought back up to his neck and shook his head. “Ya know, turning into a cat was all I used to be able to do. I hated it sooo much but when I came to terms with it, I was suddenly able to shift into an owl too!” He spoke muffled words but continued anyway. “Of course, it took jumping off a building to find that out.” He shut his eyes then and moved his body closer into Valentine, his head eventually resting against the dark haired man’s shoulder. “There’s still plenty of time to improve.” In all honesty, listening to his friend’s heartbeat and the warmth that accompanied it was practically lulling him back to sleep.(edited)

## sephet01/28/2019

Kyle finished getting his coffee and shuffled quietly back to the bedroom. He leaned on the doorframe for a moment and watched as the other two had worked their way into a cuddle pile. There was a feeling of being an intruder, but it also seemed like it would be weird to go get coffee and then disappear. He finally moved back to his place on the foot of the bed and carefully bundled himself up in blankets. It was *extremely* troubling how Rhett discovered his owl powers and he took the long moment of bundling back up to decide if he wanted to ask.
“Did y’ have a backup plan going off a building?” He squirmed a little bit closer so his legs were kind of touching Rhett’s.

## birdman | Valentine01/28/2019

"Yeah, how'd that go down?" Valentine laughed, shifting over so he could hear Rhett a little more square-on, and to make room for Kyle. "I've been in some weird scenarios before, but never ones that necessitated the action of me yeeting myself off a building," he howled (somewhat lower-volume). "So you've got Cat an' Owl, d'you have anything else?"

January 29, 2019

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/29/2019

Rhett’s head rose as Val shifted around, his face turning to look at Kyle as he rejoined them. Smiling a bit sheepishly, the boy shook his head. “Ha, there was no backup. Just a bunch of crappy ‘friends’,” he purposefully put air quotes around that word as he spoke, “and a brilliant idea of how to force a new transformation...” He forced a laugh at what he’d said. Not that it was funny but because of how easily he’d told them. Normally none of that information would have left him but there was no surprise that the boy had his own demons and idiotic ideas growing up.
“It was dumb, I know. But at the time, no matter the outcome, I was fine with it.” He gave himself a moment to take a breath before grinning up at Valentine. “You don’t know??” His eyes had regained their usual spark as he clumsily climbed off the bed, keeping the blanket he’d claimed with him. “I think you’re gonna love this!” He paused next to Kyle and tilted his head. “If you know, don’t tell him.” He whispered as quietly as possible into the other man’s ear not having figured that their blind comrade could hear his soft words.
“Don’t freak out this time, ok?” Going behind Kyle as to give himself a bit of privacy, he stripped off the over-sized shirt he’d had on and shifted. He was particularly proud of this one as it was the most useful, he felt.
“Hold your hand out,” Rhett spoke while moving closer to Val and around Kyle’s side, his much larger and furrier self causing the floor boards to creak quietly under the unnatural weight. He pressed lightly against the raven haired boy and even gave him a quick sniff against the side of his face before going to the seer and brushing his massive bear head against Val’s palm.

## birdman | Valentine01/29/2019

Valentine didn't often show the entirety of his face to anyone. His eyes were always shaded, either by his own eyelids or sunglasses, so the chance he might pop them open was a rare one- and this was that opportunity. His face froze as he felt a very heavy animal press against it, letting his eyes go wide as teacup saucers.
"Uh," he started, unsure really where to go with that. His hand moved slightly, across Rhett's head and down to his ear. "God, somehow the smaller animals are less freaky, um... unless you're a *really* fucking big dog, are you a *bear*?" he put his other hand on Rhett's face, still completely wide-eyed at what he was witnessing. "Kyle, does this freak you out as much as it's freakin' me out right now, dude?"

## sephet01/29/2019

“Sounds like great friends.” Kyle remarked dryly, glad at least that it worked out but it’s still concerning that Rhett had been in a position where that felt like the best out. “If we ever meet them let me shake their hands.”
“Oof. Yup. That’s a bear… This is still mildly less stressful than when he decided to break into the zoo enclosures.” He raised a hand lightly and rested it on Rhett’s head, feeling the coarse fur and wondering if the floorboards could actually keep this much weight. Bears were *heavy* weren’t they? “Yo maybe turn back before you have to explain breaking a hole in Andy’s floor, too.”

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/29/2019

It was a real treat seeing so much emotion in Val’s expression. He’d never thought he’d get the chance to see the blind man’s eyes so wide. “There’s nothing freaky of stressful about it.” He laughed and let the two pet his fur. It was nice, no doubt. Both having real friends and getting the chance to show off like this.
“Uh, you’re probably right.” He smiled inwardly at Kyle’s smart thinking and shifted, without doing so on his part. Resting on the floor, he quickly crawled to the discarded shirt and blanket. Choosing to just wrap himself in the cover before returning to the bed.
“That’s all I can do, unfortunately...Andy wants me to learn a new form but I don’t know how I’ll manage that. Two out of three were defense mechanisms.” Sitting cross legged sort of between Kyle and Valentine, he glanced at each of them before stopping on Kyle. “Let’s go back to the zoo.” He was mainly joking but maybe it would make his shifting easier if there was actual danger. “Sorry for stressing you out.” He was genuine in saying this despite his lack of shame for what he’d done. “Have either of you even seen the cub yet? He’s the cutest.”(edited)

January 30, 2019

## birdman | Valentine01/30/2019

"I've only heard the rumours around this alleged cub," Valentine started, still wide-eyed from touching a full on bear- at least, one that wasn't also a giant gay man, and was, in fact, an actual bear. "How'd that shake down anyway? I think I'm missing a few pieces of the story. Andy's not gonna be as pissed off when you run into him in the kitchen tomorrow morning, so don't worry about it." he gave another shrug.
 "...But like... if you need to turn into a lion, I dunno what kind of a difference it'd make, but if you can already turn into a cat *and* a bear, those're basically the recipe for a lion right there. Mix the two together, big kitty." he chuckled. "get back here, anyway. You were making a nice warm spot over here, man."

## sephet01/30/2019

“I don’t really know what goes into shape shifting. I know if I want to cause a specific thing I gotta think about it. When it first started and I didn’t have any control things just popped up all over but… once I was able to focus it to stop I started figuring out how to cause certain things.” He shrugged a little bit and took a big gulp of slightly too hot coffee and winced. “I lost my temper a little while ago, though. Things got a little out of control.”

“Maybe Valentine’s right though, sorta reach on wherever you go to become both of those guys and combine them? Commune with your ill gotten critter.” Kyle shifted just a little bit closer again to the cuddle pile. “I don’t know that I’ve actually met our new exotic pet, but I do know not to leave you unattended at the zoo ever again. I’m lucky I’m not catching blame for leaving you unsupervised.”

## Rose | Rhett | Marci01/30/2019

“Andy was drunk when I got home so I just sorta snuck him in and kept him busy.” He laughed lightly at the ordeal that had taken place on Valentine’s Day. It was funny now but in the moment it had actually been pretty intense. “He was so mad...like yesterday.” He said in Val’s direction. “Sorry if he woke you with all that shouting.”
Looking back to Kyle, he shrugged. “Maybe,” He gave it a moment to sink in. Their takes on his power were actually pretty good. The suggestion stuck as he continued on. “I heard you really messed up that DeeDee guy...he deserved it for what he did to you and that other old man though.”
At Val’s invitation, he scooted back to where he’d previously been but not before tugging on Kyle’s blanket. “I know you’re still cold. Come get in the middle.” With a smile the shifter left room for their friend in hopes he actually would. There was no reason he needed to be at the end of the bed like some kind of outcast.
Laughing at Kyle’s ending statement, Rhett shook his head. “I’m glad too, you had nothing to do with it! Though, I still think you should’ve petted the polar cubs. They were soooo soft!”

## sephet01/30/2019

Kyle hunched up a little, pulling the blanket up around him more. He didn’t necessarily feel *guilty* for hurting Dee Dee, the man had done a lot of harm and if someone else had done it Kyle would have celebrated them. But it seemed like it showed a weakness of his own personal character. He didn’t want to be the kind of person who acted out of anger and hurt people, and that seemed all his power was good for. “Yeah I uh… I was real fucked up at the end of that. I don’t like being… like that…”
He inched forward a bit more at the invitation but had to stop when his legs pressed against the other guys’. It really didn’t seem like such a big thing that he needed to get over, but there was a tingle in the back of his skull, a tightness in his chest that wasn’t helped by thinking about what happened to Dee Dee. He felt his fingers start to tingle a bit as the blood began to rush from his extremities and he raised his mug in shaking hands to drink a bit more of his coffee. “Thanks, naw. Uh. No cuddle pile f’r me. Thanks.”