"Daybreak, I'm half-awake,
Today is all there is..."
--The Lost Dogs
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Erin awoke from a restless night's sleep entanlged in a mess of sheets and blankets, on her almost-too-soft feather bed. At first, she was disoriented, and panicked, managing to fall off the bed onto the floor, hitting her head with a painful "THUMP".
As she lay dazed, she tried to recall the previous day's events, but her mind was blank. Her head hurt, and now she realized that it had hurt ever since she woke up.
She felt sick.
Struggling to her paws, she dragged herself to the bathroom and vomitted into the sand box.
She felt a little better, but her head still hurt.
The first thing that popped into her mind after that was Apollo, and how hurt he had looked the last time she saw him.
Then it all came back.
Erin folded her cloak, which she realized she had worn all night, and laid it on the chair. The she gave herself a quick wash with tongue and paws (she still didn't trust the idea of the bath-pool), then went to the dresser to find some clothes.
Erin didn't like the idea of clothes to begin with. They restricted movement, obscured scents, and, in her opinion, ruined the natural beauty of a creature's fur, form, and coloring.
But it was custom in the city, so she relented.
The drawers didn't offer much that was appealing, a number of obscenely frilly blouses and dresses were to be found, and Erin had to dig to find anything that suited her.
At last she chose a plain white shirt (which was a bit too big, so she had to roll up the sleeves), a plain green skirt much like the now ruined one she had arrived in, and a black bodice with slate-blue trim, which she had a terrific time trying to lace.
At last, taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked out to face the rest of the world.
Erin met Evvey and Reshat at breakfast, which was held in the same place as dinner had been. Except this time the trestle table was jammed with all manner of creatures, all eating and talking and clattering dishes and generally making enough noise to make a keen-eared vixen with a headache wish she'd stayed in bed.
"Where's Tikkcik?" she inquired of Evvey.
Evvey yawned. "Tikkah, uh, slept a bi laite t'day." The wallaby winked and snickered a little. "'Ee 'ad a terrible 'angovah."
"I suspected as much." Said Erin distantly. She was glancing around looking for Apollo.
At last she spotted the hare, sitting apart from the crowd, dabbing despondently at his plate. Erin went over and sat beside him.
A cook brought her a bowl of porridge, a cooked egg, buttered toast and a glass of fruit juice. Erin ate silently, casting sidelong glances at Apollo every now and then.
Apollo pretended to ignore her.
The meal was finished without a word between them.