Cecil finished the mile-high stack of waffles, and set it on the table. He then went to the refrigerator to get some of Slink's breakfast, an assortment of animal products that would suit the little guy quite well. He'd gotten very good with balancing their pet's diets, and Lassie was definitely doing better on raw than she ever had on kibble. He sort of took care of all of those things, he liked nutrition, it's why he'd gotten a minor in animal nutrition in college. He'd majored in animation, but that didn't mean he couldn't take care of his pets well. "Dig in while I go feed Slink and then I'll see to breakfast and take care of the cats on the way out."
Because of all the other animals around, mostly the chickens, Adrien usually had Juniper stay in his room until his morning work was done.
"Got it," Adrien said, heading to said room to bring the fox her food. Humming, he smiled as be brought the chicken pieces in on the tray, calling Juniper over to eat. He closed the door behind him to actually get ready for the workday, humming a show tune under his breath.
After pouring an ungodly amount of cream and sugar into her coffee, Raya grabbed a plate, a can of whipped cream, and some maple syrup, and helped herself to a few waffles. After a bit, the caffeine started to kick in and wake her up a little. "This is great, Cecil," she complimented after swallowing a massive bite of syrup-and-whipped cream-covered waffle. "I've got lunch, though, alright?"
He walked up the stairs, giving the ferret a hearty meal of bone-in meat and a bit of organ, that was what he'd prepared for the schedule today and when it came to raw feeding, you didn't really want to go off-schedule. Cecil patted the little guy on the head and walked back downstairs, stretching some and cleaning up the leftover scraps of meat in Lassie's tray. He'd toss that out, once Lassie had slobbered all over meat there was no saving it no matter how low your standards were. "Well, what's the plan for the day? I know we have to do our regular chores, but since we all doubled down on our work yesterday who's to say we can't go into town and have a bit of fun?" he asked, ruffling his pink hair.
Sam followed Raya's lead and took a stack of waffles. Grabbing the whipped cream from her, they said, "You have to let me help with lunch." They nodded towards Cecil excitedly, trying to their signal approval.
Luna dug into her waffles, smiling. “Thanks, Cecil!” she smiled. “As for the plan…Yeah, let’s go into town!”
"Sure thing hon, I'd love your help!" he said sweetly, serving himself and chowing down. "So," he said through a mouthful of waffle, "who's coming into town with me today then? We have to get groceries anyways, and I have to visit to butcher and a few other places to take care of animal affairs." he said, voice heavily accented, very Southern and very sweet in a low alto that just made you want to sit and listen to Cecil's voice forever. He was going to get that ferret, he decided, Slink could use a friend and he didn't mind taking on another animal.
“I’ll go! I’ve been meaning to buy something for my little kittens for a while now,” Luna offered, grinning.
"Ooh, me too. Mittens and Jerry need new collars. And I could use another sweatshirt," Sam said, playing with the strings on their hoodie, which was indeed extremely ratty. They thought it was slightly ironic that Cecil was going to the butcher in the same trip he was probably planning to get three other pets, but they stayed silent on that part. "I'm not going to the butcher though. It smells like death and I feel like the guy there is gonna murder me."
“Yeah…same here…” Luna muttered. “Never been a fan of butchers to be honest, despite me eating meat.”
"I need to head up to the clinic. Mary asked me to look at one of her patients." Mal stated, rummaging in the fridge for an apple. "Apparently there's something with a broken bone opening up an old wound the patient didn't even know they had!" He looked down at his appleless hands. "Also we need apples."
“Okie dokie!” Luna smiled.
"I'll make sure to pick them up, dear. Anyone else have things they want to add to the list?" he asked, finishing off his plate and taking it to the sink to wash off. "And I'll be fine going to the butcher's alone. I have some other errands to attend to that would bore y'all to death, so I understand if you'd like to step out of those."
“I don’t think I have anything but I might head into town with y’all anyway.” Tyler said before taking a big bite of the waffles left on her plate.
Luna nodded, taking her plate to the sink as well. “Depends on what they are.”
Malcom closed the fridge with a hum, turning back to the group and clicking his cane against the floor absentmindedly. "Clinic should only take about an hour and a half, not too long. I can go with you to the butchers so you don't have to go alone."
"Hon, I'm perfectly capable of handling my own. I can handle a little dead quail." he chuckled, scrubbing his dish and setting it into the rack to dry. "You worry about your patients, Dr. Malcom Practice. I'll worry about our pets." he said. He did worry about his pets, and the finances, especially with how he was planning to go into veterinary school. He'd saved up enough for a couple semesters, but soon he'd run out if beekeeping business didn't pick up soon. He really wanted to care for their animals, and the animals of others. But what would happen when he told his friends of his dreams? Would they get mad for the waste of money, of space that he was?
Adrien soon came out of his room with Juniper at his feet, looking over as he got his own breakfast now. He did always end up coming later than the others.
"Going to town? I'll probably come too, I need to get a couple new brushes for the horses, and some spray for the tomatoes. Bugs are at them again." They shook their head, sitting down with their plain waffles and taking a bite.
"I don't think I'll be able to go into town with y'all, not for too long at least," Raya said with a frown. "Damien's comin' home from college for a week. Some kind of campus-specific break or whatever. We're gonna be havin' a big dinner to welcome him back, over at Mom and Pop's. I was plannin' on having him over sometime this week if it's alright with you guys? Either way, I'm gonna have to go help out with that about three-thirty-ish."
Luna smiled. “It’s alright! Your family’s nice!”
"Fuck yeah, you make really good food when he's here. Oh, and Cecil," Sam said. "We need more whipped cream." They punctuated this by squirting half the can onto their now empty plate and shoving a spoonful into their mouth. They were as neat as they could be, but shoveling whipped cream into one's mouth when one was not fully awake was bound to be a little messy.
"Come to think of it, I should just get some of my own. So when do we leave?"
“Soon hopefully…” Luna sighed.
Raya gasped in mock-offense, hand flying to her chest. "So my cooking isn't good enough normally?" she asked, then laughed. "If we're going soon, then I'm gonna have to get ready quick." She gestured to her absolutely chaotic hair and her pajamas, then got up and took her empty plate to the sink. "Well, girls, gays, and theys, I'll be right back," Raya said, then made her way to her bedroom to pick out an outfit for the day.
Cecil washed Raya's plate too, and looked over to his friends. They all seemed so happy today, so content, but still with their usual levels of excitement. He laid out the cat's food for them in their dishes, and then went out to feed the chickens and clear his head. He was a mess inside since that letter, which he still hadn't told anyone about.
Luna was smiling as she cuddled with Judd and Rosie. Both cats, surprisingly, didn’t fight for her attention and just coexisted.
