Lily spent several minutes arranging the last of her toys around her hoard under the bed after her brother left. There, that would do it! She wouldn't have to worry about people finding her stash and taking it, it would be safe until she needed it! She pulled another impressively limber turn, ready to head back out, content in the knowledge that it was protected.
Only she found her mother crouched down beside the bed, her belly gently sagging, just brushing the thick carpet. She smiled. "Everything safe and sound, Lily?"
The squirrel-girl gasped. She thought she'd been hidden! "D-did Stacy tell?" she asked.
Her mom shook her head. "Nope. Moms just notice these things. You didn't take anything that will spoil, did you?"
Lily shook her head and bit her lip. "S-sorry," she said, feeling a little guilty. Mrs. Gordon smiled and gently ruffled her hair. "You don't need to be sorry, Lily," she said. "You're just doing what comes naturally. Just don't take too much more, okay?"
This surprised her. "O-okay!" she said. "Mommy? 's it...weird f'r me to do that?"
"Doesn't matter if it's weird or not, sweetie," she said, scratching between her ears. "It's what you are, isn't it? You don't need to be ashamed of that."
Lily smiled. "Thanks, mommy."
"You're welcome," her mother said. "Now it's time you were getting to bed."
"Aww!" the squirrel-girl moaned. "Stacy gets to stay up late!"
"Stacy's at an age where he doesn't need sleep as much," Abigail said. "You're a growing girl, Lily. You need to get to bed earlier."
Lily muttered unhappily to herself, but went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. It wasn't fair! Just 'cause Stacy was older now...she hadn't thought she wanted to grow back up if it meant growing into a lady, but maybe it would be worth it just to be older again, so she didn't have to go to bed early or anything...
Still, she was happy that her mom hadn't been mad about her hoarding. Maybe it was a little weird, but it felt right to her, so it was nice that she wasn't gonna get in trouble for it. The little squirrel-girl brushed her hair out like her mommy had shown her, so that it wouldn't be so tangled in the morning, pulled on the long shirt that served her for pajamas, and then went to the bathroom. It was still weird to be doing this as a girl, but at least she didn't forget this time like yesterday...
She finished up and went to bed, her mother kissing her goodnight and tucking her in. Before she knew it, she was asleep.
Riley thought. One...one was a single unit, a singularity. A single point...that was it! She knew, somehow, that to her, the town and the strange world Adam had deacribed could be one place, one point in spacetime in which she stood. And from that point, all she had to do was decide which of the real locations that point represented...she could get there!
"Give me the stone!" she said. "I can go to the town and bring it back from there, I think."
Terri gasped. "A-are you sure, kiddo? If you can't get back..."
The magical girl nodded. "I think I just know this. And if I take the air-stone thing there, where it can affect the town...maybe I can get it home."
Toby nodded. "Just...be careful."
