Homecoming

Among the alleyways of Ponyville, a single blue door, marked with a glowing white star opens. From the threshold of white light beyond, Nar steps out onto the streets of Ponyville. Jeez. It’s hot out tonight. It’s gonna feel nice to get home, and cool off. After getting his bearings, Nar begins his trudge home. From the looks of things, it’s pretty late at night, as Nar doesn’t see a single soul on his walk home. Arriving home, Nar reaches into his pack to look for his keys. It takes him far too long to remember that he doesn’t HAVE his keys right now. Right… he gave the spares to Autumn, and Asuka. At least his parents’ house is only two houses down. Approaching his parents’ house, Nar’s brain goes into auto pilot. It recalls his teenage years, coming back home from school. Wordlessly, Nar uncovers the stone hiding the spare key, and uses it to unlock the front door. Opening the door, Nar begins to take off his shoes. He calls out with a tired “Tadaima.” His head looking down to focus on taking off his shoes. Kisho is wrapping up his meal prep for the coming week. His wife, Betty is in the living room, watching her favorite soap opera before bed. While in the middle of cleaning up, Kisho hears the front door open, and a low voice call out. His wife lets out a shocked wail, then goes silent. His mind begins to race. Did someone just break in? Maybe the voice he heard was from the TV, and Betty was just reacting to something on it? Did she fall, and get hurt? Kisho hurries out of the kitchen to find Betty with her face buried in their son’s chest. She sobs uncontrollably, while Nar simply stands there, looking mildly confused. He looks so… haggard. He’s sporting a few new scars, and bruises too. Oh Nar… What have you been through this past month? Kisho allows the scene to play out for a few moments longer. It's only when Nar finally looks up from his mother that Kisho speaks.  "Welcome home, my son. I'm overjoyed to see you alive, and well." He smiles a pleasant smile, not even trying to stop the few tears that roll down his cheeks. This seems to finally get the gears turning in Nar's head. "Oh. Yeah. I'm... Sorry I was gone so long. It's a long story." Finally, Betty releases Nar from her grip, only to launch into a motherly tirade of questions. She asks about how he feels, if he's hurt, if he knows where he is, if he knows how long he's been gone. All questions of love, and concern, but Kisho can see that Nar is in no condition to be answering these questions right now. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, Kisho steps in. "Now, honey. Nar looks quite tired. Perhaps we should wait until he has had proper rest before we ask him about what happened." At this, Betty nods, and steps back to give her son some breathing room. "You're right. I'll go get the guest bedroom ready." With that, she hurries upstairs, leaving father, and son alone. The sound of a grumbling stomach reaches Kisho's ears. "Are you hungry?" He's already heading to the kitchen when he asks the question. Nar doesn't need to answer. Given Nar's appearance, his father doesn't think he'd be able to stomach a large meal at the moment. Something simple that can be saved for later should do the trick. As Nar takes a seat at the dining room table, Kisho sets to work on making him a simple dinner of rice, and miso soup. Partway through cooking, Betty rejoins the two to sit at the table with her son. It's quite clear she would love to bombard him with information about what's happened since he went missing, but she manages to hold herself back for now. Once dinner is ready, Kisho sets the food before his son. Nar picks up the chopsticks provided, and gives an exhausted "Itadakemasu" before he begins to eat. Notably, he's eating much slower than he usually would. Taking small sips of his soup, where he would normally gulp it down, and not practically inhaling his rice. It's... sad, in a way. Seeing his son without the energy, and vigor he's known for. Nar is not one to let his exhaustion show. So for him to be so visibly drained... Kisho can't begin to imagine what he went through while he was missing. The thought crosses his mind to send a text in the family group chat to let everyone know Nar is back, safe, and sound. Though, he'll probably ask that Nar be allowed to rest for the night. They can all meet up tomorrow for breakfast, if Nar is feeling okay. After dinner, Nar is lead upstairs, and shown to the guest bedroom. As much as he wants to just pass out immediately, he knows he hasn't showered in weeks, and his clothes are absolutely filthy. Once his parents are back downstairs, Nar slips out of his ragged clothes, and makes his way to the bathroom for a nice shower. The feel of hot water against his skin/fur almost seems to melt all the aches, and pains he's been feeling away. His muscles finally begin to relax, and his mind begins to blank. For the first 5 minutes, Nar simply stands under the water, letting it wash over him. It's not until he begins to feel himself overheating that he remembers to actually clean himself.  The feeling of being clean is something Nar had almost forgotten. Being able to rub his arm, and not feel all the built up dirt, and grime feels strange. It's almost unnatural in a way. He has to remind himself that being clean is actually the norm, and not the other way around. When he steps out of the shower, he dries himself off, and stops at the mirror to get a look at himself. Damn. That scar near his left eye kinda gives him a 'handsome rogue' look. Maybe he should start playing into it a little more. Autumn might like that. Hmmm... Nah. The vacation dad look suits me better. I don't have the personality to match the whole 'handsome rogue' look. With his body clean, mind blank, and energy spent, Nar shuffles back to the guest bedroom. He barely manages to get the door closed behind him before he flops onto the bed for a well deserved night's rest. Oh mattress and pillows. How I missed you.