My Mix of Muses

" Oh!!! You're Dylan's sister! " The nervousness dropped from her almost instantly, replaced with a genuine big smile, " Dylan told me about you! Only good things, of course! It's so nice to meet you! "

And now that the dog wasn't actively barking at her and she received confirmation that no bites were awaiting her, she finally allowed her feet to touch the ground and relaxed her posture.

" Eve, huh? " her eyes curiously examined the dog sniffing her shoes, " Well, aren't you pretty~ " she reached out her hand to let the dog sniff it, but hesitated with the pets. It felt too risky when she couldn't read her body language.

But there was someone else's body language she could read, it didn't take her long to notice the slumped shoulders on Adelyn. Stephanie could tell that the energy had shifted just with one little detail that betrayed the smile. She had intended to be polite and not invade her personal space, but it seemed it didn't come across that way.

He expected some sort of sad or concerned look, which he scoffed and rolled his eyes at. "An' dun' think that King Dedede is gonna run some daycare. M'palace ain't nah playschool, so keep me outta it..."

Then, he watched how Kirby managed to gain some sort of maternal attention, which began to spawn some jealously across his mindset. While he was jealous of Kirby rightfully stealing the glory, this was more of a new reason; sadly to say that even Dedede didn't have anyone, besides the Waddle Dee's, to act as his parents.

Besides, Kirby was already overly-excited, where he jumped into the lady's arms, more so to glomp her into a huge embrace. Joyous squeaks came from his lips, where the answer was obviously agreement. The King eyed them with jealously in his blue eyes, surprisingly not turning green.

"... but dun' keep me outta plan t'bake 'nothah cake!!"

" G-good doggy! I-I'm not mean, I-I-I s-swear! " Stephanie pulled away as far as she could from the still barking dog, slight panic plastered all over her face. Dogs were not native to her world, but imported from here. She had never had a chance to interact with one until now and wasn't sure what to look out for in terms of body language.

A moment had passed and the dog had not bitten her... Maybe it was safe? Maybe that's where the Earthly saying of 'all bark and no bite' comes from?

Her posture relaxed a little, letting her legs drop slightly, but not quite resting them on the ground just yet. Now that she wasn't in full on active panic mode, her eyes were drawn to the girl looking back at her. She was a little too familiar with this sort of reaction to her appearance, though she couldn't really say she was entirely fond of or even used to it, truth be told...

But, it was only natural to react in such a way, even back in her world. Besides, her own reaction to her unusual looks was much more intense when she saw herself like this for the first time. Compared to that, the teenager was showing her the most polite display of bewilderment Stephanie could ask for.

The woman's hands unconsciously flew up in front of her, like she felt she needed to prove she wasn't a threat or a weirdo (altough, the weirdo part was still up in the air...).

" H-Hi there! Hehe... " she chuckled nervously, back to her stuttering the moment another person was introduced into the conversation. " I-I hope I'm n-not intruding or a-anything! J-just wanted to e-ensure D-Dylan made it home alright... "

As she sat down on the rocking chair next to him, nervously tucking some of her white hair behind her ear, she couldn't help but subtly study the man relaxing with her eyes. His own eyes were closed and he looked so tired. It was a surprisingly longer walk than she had expected, so it made sense the exhaustion would hit like this at the end of it, but seeing him so tired and seemingly prolonging their chat just for her sake made her feel bad, like she was forcing him to stay up.

She looked at the beautiful building before them in awe, it looked warm and homey, the exact opposite of her own home. So this was it then? To say she was sad for their time together to come to an end would be an understatement. Even if she tried her best to not let that show on her face as she turned to Dylan, her ears still gave her away, drooping down slowly. The idea of returning back to all that quiet just didn't feel appealing at all, but, he was tired and at home now, she wouldn't feel right forcing him to keep talking to her.

" Ah, I guess this is it... Glad we were able to get you home. " she smiled back at him, " It was nothing, I should be thanking you, really. This has been the nicest conversation I've had in a while. " her ears twitched a little and she fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke. It was actually the only conversation she's had in a while and it still would've been the nicest even if she had seen her sisters that week.

" Thank you, truly! It's been great. Hope I'll get to hear you talk about more movies sometime soon. " her face flushed red again just thinking about it, she had really enjoyed herself spending time with him and how quickly he made her feel at ease. " I-I suppose I should let you rest and head home myself now. "

" WAIT, REALLY? " her face lit up with glee yet again when he said they could do both, doing a little hop in excitement. Was that too much again? Yes, that was too much again.

She cleared her throat to compose herself a little bit again, it was too early to be showing off her easily excited nature. " I-I meant to say... That sounds lovely! " she said with a smile on her face. Though she managed to put on the front of someone who's the appropriate level of excited, her ears perked up high and the sparkle in her eye betrayed her efforts.

She listened to his train of thought, rather flattered that he considered what she'd enjoy, even though they'd only met, but also a little embarrassed. " I-It doesn't have to b-be a romance! I-If that's not something you'd enjoy... " as far as she heard, men weren't always quite so keen on romances, and she could easily imagine that most people weren't as crazy about it as she was.

"We?" the Majesty asked, navy brows rising from his enlarged eyes, watching the woman's new idea that bombarded his mind. "Whu'dya mean WE? There ain't nah we here, lady,... though anuddah pie does bare potential. Y'think y'can make 'un jus' like that there? Maybe 'un that dun' get lost in tha window? Cos' y'dunno when's tha next time some'un swipes yer Dede-dessert like that there..."

He tried to lessen his own crime of thieving the pastry by saying that anyone could have done so. However, it didn't clean up his slate just yet.

"Huh? Aw, that there's Kirby, a Star Warrior. He's kinda big Dede-deal 'round Dream Land, but not like Yer's Royal Truly standin' in frontah ya." He emphasised by stretching his arms out, before his belly stuck out, causing him to cover it with his triangular-patterned band.

"Dun' expect nothin' t'leave his mouth, cos' its like interrogatin' mimes Though, he does make tha odd squeak ev'ry now an' now, not like tha Squeak Squad... gah, I hate those rodents..."

Before he could ramble about old grudges, he looked in between the lady and the child.

"As for his folks,... uggghhhh, that I dunno nothin' 'bout. He kinda jus' landed here from tha sky 'un day on a shootin' star, which is odd cos' I surely didn't make a wish! That was back when I helped m'self t'alla food... before that there pink parasite came up..."

Kirby began laughing where he started miming a hammer swing, aiming an invisible weapon towards the King's noggin. However, his response was a calm palm across his face, pushing him away. Kirby wasn't bothered but laughed at both the memory and Dedede's annoyance.

Kirby was gluttonous but he knew how to share.

Dedede however had no pie in his hands, where a huge majority went all over his face and collar, messing up his finery. Wiping the excess mess from his face with a sleeve, the King tried to process the overall situation.

"Gaaahhhh... egg in m'face, but it ain't jus' tha ingredients...!"

Kirby with arms wrapped around the newcomer's neck began laughing in his high-pitched tone, finding some comedy from the King's state.

The atmosphere around them seemed to get a lot lighter again as they stood there together, hand over hand, smiling at each other. The universal had to fight tooth and nail in her head to not go all red in the face - all of that over the smallest bit of reciprocated physical contact - Especially one that she initiated herself! Embarrassing, truly.

Her hand pulled back a moment after Dylan's. She was about to reassure the young man that it wasn't a bummer at all, but then he dropped a question - another question that seemed to perfectly tickle all the easily-excitable brain cells in her head. Not only was he not mad at her, they now also had a 100% confirmed next meeting! How exhilarating!

" OH! OH! CAN WE GO TO ROLLER RINK, PLEEAAAASE? " she immediately perked up without needing to think about it, her face lighting up, struggling to contain her excitement as she completely forgot about the soft voice she was trying to maintain.

She froze. Was that too much? That was definitely too much. Time to scale it back a little! Just a tad bit. She always struggled to show just the right amount of emotion when it came to something she was thrilled about, especially when pure excitement was running through her veins.

While grown, Dedede was around a head shorter than her, causing him to feel… well, underpowered for starters. He was taller than many of the dwarfish people around this whole world, such as the pinkette that made way more of a first impression than he ever did.

Taking a step back, he looked down at the pie, mushed up and half-devoured.

“Apallah-gise?”

Should he really? Anyone would. But he…?

“Heh, I could apallah-gise for neglectin’ sendin’ ya mail for no notif ‘bout tha common cold creepin’ ‘bout. But, ya caught me at tha right time, I was… ‘bout t’award this here for bein’ tha perfect pastry ‘round Dream Land!” He tried to soften the blow.

As for Kirby, he had enough. Immediately, the pink child opened his mouth and brought the pie closer to him; not by the power of physical grabbing, but by super inhalation, causing the King to resist.

“H-Hey, ya pink parasite, that there’s got m’name on it! Or at least m’engravin’s!!”

On top of all of that, she was quite frankly taken aback by the honesty and openness he had shown her. They weren't close in any way, he didn't owe her an explanation, but he still gave one... Perhaps to calm her? No matter the reason, such clarity was something not even her own family afforded her. She really appreciated it.

" Dylan... " his name quietly left her lips before she took a deep breath to hopefully close the pit in her stomach, trying to think of a good response... This was truly a sensitive topic, she had to make sure she knew exactly what she wanted to say. He deserved some reassurance.

" Th-that couldn't have been easy to admit... And I... I think I understand how you f-feel... Been in a s-similar place myself with my- " she finally replied, keeping her voice at a soft tone. For a moment the girl pondered if she should talk about her 'condition' again, but decided against it. It wasn't really about her. " Um... W-well, labels can be rather hurtful... E-even the ones we u-unwittingly apply to ourselves. "

Multiple came to mind in her case, be it the bad ones - monster, inhuman, magical creature - or even the good ones - pure, innocent... They were so restricting, making one feel like they couldn't be anything else, anything more complicated than that.

" E-either way... R-real p-people can't be boiled d-down to a few t-traits or w-words, so I can't say that I agree th-there's not more to you than j-jokes. I-I mean, you said it y-yourself. Y-you like making people laugh, you're really perceptive, y-you took the unwanted attention off y-your sister a-and you absolutely g-glow when talking about your family. Y-you even gave someone l-like me the time of day. J-just from that it's clear y-you have a big heart. Isn't that a-already a lot to be proud of, m-more than just some jokes? " she asked.

" O-of course, what do I know? W-we only just met. " She smiled at Dylan, resting her hand on his arm reassuringly, warm red hues making themselves at home on her cheeks again, just like a moment ago.

" That's why I-I'll just have to get to know you better to prove your w-worries wrong. I-I'm an entirely unbiased party, after all! Th-though, I can't promise I-I'm not a little nuts. " she chuckled to herself. " H-How does that sound? "

" ...What? " she blinked at him in confusion.

All that previously intoxicating confidence vanished in an instant. It felt like a pit had opened in her stomach, a feeling she knew all too well. They were cheery just a moment ago. Did she say something wrong? Her brain ran circles at full speed trying to figure out what in the very little she had said caused such a change in energy, but every branch of thought came up empty. Why couldn't she see it? Was she ruining this already? Of course she was, she always did. That's why neither of her sisters came by to visit her in weeks. It's why Icy hasn't come back to see her in years.

She really was the worst, always somehow messing things up... She couldn't have him be angry at her, not when they were just starting to truly get along, otherwise Dylan would never want to see her again! Her one chance at having a friend dashed.

" Act, Stephanie! Do something! Anything! Speak!!! " her head screamed, practically tearing her out of thought.

“I always think that anyone complimenting me is doing so out of obligation, like my family, or are nuts, also my family.” He gave a weak chuckle. “But when you said it? It was like… natural. Real. You meant it. You didn’t even make a big deal out of it. Just said it and moved on like it was nothing out of the ordinary. It’s hard for me to take a compliment like that because-” He wondered if he should continue. Did she really need to hear his life story? Well, he couldn’t just cut off his sentence and leave her curious. “Well, ya see, I’ve always liked to make people laugh. Ever since I was a little kid. It didn’t matter whether they were laughing with me or at me, as long as I was making someone smile, I was happy. Well, most of the time. Anyway, I knew not everyone felt that way. When Adelyn came along, she was often laughed at, and when she was supposedly laughed with, she didn’t like that either. She’s just really sensitive, you know? It’s a weakness and a strength. So, since I liked the laughter and she didn’t, I did my best to draw it to me. I’d tell jokes, even at my own expense. I’d let people insult me. I’d insult myself. That was perfectly fine with me. I took the laughter she didn’t want. But after a while,”