Cadence smiled to herself, happily nomming on a bowl of mashed potates that Sun had made for her, as well as mixed in hashbrowns and a pinch of salt to add some crunch that would be sorely lacking otherwise.
Sun was giggling to himself, sipping on some sort of almost radioactive green smoothie as he was scrolling on what looked like a phone.
Cadence tilted her head, leaning over to look at Sun's screen. It seemed like some sort of messaging system in that language that the boys always used. She couldn't understand it, but was thinking of starting to learn.
"Wat?" She chirped curiously, letting Sun pull her against him as he nuzzled the top of her head.
"Oh, oh, oh! You know Mani, from a while ago?" Sun chattered happily, "He's asking if he can watch over you again! He thinks you are soooo adorable! And he was wondering if he could show you his house! Like soon!"
Cadence's mind flashed to the incident that happened the first time, where Mani had tried to scrub her with a rock and gave her a light scratch. But then again, this time, she was sure Mun wouldn't try to put her into the shower to get her away from him.
"I mean, sure, why not, I don't have much else to do. Can do it right now, I guess," Cadence replied with a shrug, staring blankly at the phone screen and tilting her head as she saw a picture being sent.
It was Mani, doing a pleading face while the angle was taken from up above the forehead. If Cadence remembered right, it was the .5 angle?
Sun giggled, his paws and frills wiggling happily as he hurriedly tapped a response back, which was responded to with lots of happy emojis.
"Yay!" Sun cheered, happily hugging her tightly to his chest, "Do you need anything before I drop you off?" He tilted his head, grinning widely.
Cadence shook her head as she let herself be picked up and cradled. "Not really. I can summon my tab at any time, so I'll be good," she replied, then pointed at her shoes on the floor, "Need shoes though."
Sun chittered happily, easily picking up her shoes and slipping them on her feet as he stepped out of the room and made his way down to his personal ship, which was small and meant just for transport.
He hummed happily, keeping her close and setting her on his lap when he sat in his captain's seat. He made little chirpy noises as he nuzzled her hair, eyes focused on the screen as he started up his ship and put in the destination.
"How the hell you going to get to somewhere in a different universe?" Cadence asked curiously, tilting her head to look up at Sun, blinking when he kissed her forehead.
"We go to the Dimensional Mirror, we cross over, and then we get a UTC the rest of the way!" Sun replied cheerfully.
"What about your ship?" Cadence asked as she tilted her head inquisitively.
"Oh, I park it, and then it will go back home, and when I come back, I call it back!" Sun smiled down at her, "And then I do the same when I come back to pick you up in a few hours! And the ship can be teleported because you won't be on it!" Sun booped her nose with a giggle.
Cadence smiled, resting her head on Sun's chest. "Das nice," she murmured, humming softly as she waited for the ride to be over.
At some point, she had fallen asleep, having made no move to stop herself, and in the next moment was assaulted with the smell of lemons and ash, opening her eyes to see Mani's face move close to hers.
"Hiiiii Cadence!" Mani cooed, "I didn't want to wake you, you looked so cute when Sun dropped you off!"
She sat up, realizing she was lying on a couch covered in a crinkly plastic sheet, no doubt put by Mun to prevent her 'human germs' from being on their furniture.
"Thanks," she murmured, yawning and stretching her arms above her head, cracking her neck side to side. She looked at Mani, tilting her head as she asked, "What are we gonna do, then?"
Mani giggled, hopping from paw to paw as he squished his cheeks and grinned. "Ooh, ooh, ooh, we can draw! Or, or, I can give you a tour!"
Cadence swung her legs over the side, looking at her socked feet. "Tour sounds nice," she remarked, silent when Mani slipped plastic scrubs over her feet, allowing her to walk around without worrying about Mun complaining.
"So! This is the ✨️living room✨️," Mani started as he motioned around.
The living room was decorated in dull shades of tans and greens, giving a very earthy and relaxing feel. Cadence was seated on a plush couch that was originally tan, but now covered in a patchwork of muted colors and visibly sewn claw marks. There was a nice wooden coffee table on top of a plush dark green rug, and an old sort of TV set on an ornate little cabinet with small leaf designs painted green.
"I like your living room," Cadence remarked as she carefully lowered herself to the ground, seeing as the couch cushions reached over half her height in the air, just like her universe's Jesters.
"Thank you! Mun decorated, my tastes are a lot more... 'eclectic', as he says," Mani giggled, happily scooping Cadence up into his arms and bringing her into the kitchen, "And this is the kitchen! Are you hungry? Sun said you ate before coming here but I want to make sure all your needs are met!" He grinned, his hat wagging back and forth like an excitable puppy.
Cadence nodded and looked around, noting how the kitchen was sort of 'woodland cottage core', if that was the correct term. The flooring was a simple bone color, and the walls were dark brown hewn wood. The counters were a lighter bone color than the floor and looked almost marble, with the edges of the different bits of furniture being rounded by a rich brown, and there was a small flower pot on the windowsill that looked to have what seemed to be a white buttercup plant with multiple of those flowers that looked like tea cups with saucers.
"Let me set down something for you to sit on," Mani remarked as he put Cadence down on her feet, walking over to one of the cabinets connected to the ceiling and bringing out what looked like a box of cling wrap, then took a bit out to set on the counter. He then gently picked Cadence up and set her on the cling wrap, which worked as an effective 'safe seat'.
"I wouldn't mind food," Cadence remarked with a tilt of her head, "Something, hmm, I crave meat. Are you vegan like Sun?"
Mani shook his head with a happy smile. "Nope! I just don't eat aquatic meat! How about, uh," he looked thoughtful, looking into his fridge, then pulling out a plate of what looked to be bright yellow meat with ashy grey fat, almost similar to Mani's coloring. "This! I don't remember the name, Mun orders it for me, but it's really yummy! It tastes sweet and is a bit crunchy!"
He happily unwrapped the plate, then picked up one of the steaks. It was about the size of a teacup plate, and looked almost jiggly as it sagged in his grip.
Honestly, Cadence was a bit iffy about eating a guy's flaccid mystery meat, but there was no harm in trying. Worst case, she throws up or gets hospitalized.
She leaned forward, eyes trained on the meat as she hesitantly opened her mouth. Mani excitedly brought it right to her lips, and she hesitantly took a small nibble. The yellow part of the meat was tangy and almost lemony, with a nice sweet overtone that made her tongue tingle; meanwhile, the ashy strips of fat were quite bland with a tiny hint of what tasted like... ash. How original.
"Weird," she remarked as she chewed on the small bit, which was sticky like a mix between gummy and taffy, or like cartoon gum. After a few moments, she swallowed it, thinking for a moment before saying, "Yeah, I'll eat it." She leaned forward again, happily just eating from Mani's hand.
"It's my FAVORITE food!" Mani giggled, grinning down at her as she ate, then set the plate back inside the fridge after wrapping it back up. "I'm so glad you like it," he continued, gently scooping her up into his arms as he kept the small chunk of meat close to her face so she could easily keep eating.
"Yeah. It's weird and an adjustment, but it isn't like, hurting me or anything, so," Cadence shrugged, taking another bite.
"Oh, don't worry, this is human-safe! Nova made sure of that!" Mani said happily. Cadence tilted her head at the word Nova but stayed silent as Mani walked down the hall that separated the living room and kitchen. "This is our main hallway!" Mani said happily, "We have the doors to our rooms here, and the door to the backyard, and the door to the basement and attic!"
He pointed at a door that was a pale robin egg blue as he said seriously, "Never go in there when you are here. Don't touch it either. That's Mun's room, and I know he would not appreciate having to clean up human substances from his living space."
Cadence nodded, understanding that the Jester with allergies would not want to clean up allergens.
"Aaaaand that's the backyard!" Mani finished as he motioned to the outside as he reached the back of the house, opening the door and screen door to step out onto the back porch. "Don't touch any of the plants, this is Mun's garden," Mani added as he motioned to all the different wild plants growing all throughout the backyard, with some more of those plants that look like a mix of buttercups and whatever flower had the sagging arch, though at this angle she could see the little cups were filled with a syrupy substance, and bugs were drowned in them.
"Oh, those things remind me of pitcher plants. Or jack in the pulpit," Cadence remarked as she looked at the flowers, then yawned. Seemed she was still tired.
"Oh! You should sleep!" Mani said happily, going back into the house as he carried her gently, "You can sleep in my room! I can leave the door open for you, too."
Cadence nodded, resting her head on his chest as she closed her eyes. "Sure," she murmured, moments later feeling herself be lowered down onto soft blankets, though it was actually pretty nice and let her sink into it a little, just as she liked.
"Have a good sleep," Mani whispered, petting her head for a moment before stopping, and she heard him walk away, the creak of the door letting her know he had left it open. How nice.
She listened to the sounds of the house, hearing Mani's footsteps as he walked somewhere else in the house, maybe to the kitchen. She heard another pair of footsteps, this one a little heavier. Maybe Mun?
As she drifted off into a dreamless sleep – surprisingly fast for someone who used to take an hour or more to fall asleep –, she didn't really pay attention to the third set of heavier footsteps.