Ivy is not sure at all how they ended up outside in the godawful hours of the morning, except something something, late coffee, no sleep, taking a walk. The only thing they do know is that when they started walking, without bothering to look at a clock or pack a watch, it was in fact still dark out. They walked for a bit and then sat down for a bit in the shade of one of the buildings, because walking is exhausting. Ivy did not pack sunglasses. When they woke up it was past sunrise and Ivy has since been stuck in the patch of shade the building (Are they near the radio station or something? Ivy is kind of bad at directions and locations and is probably lost, on top of mildly glareblind) and is frantically trying to shield their eyes with their hands, ranting under their breath about how much they should never leave their blessedly canopy'd bed-pile, ever, until they take root. From somewhere there is a faint smell of coffee and Ivy really wishes it was theirs.
Bel is wandering around waiting for people to wake up when he sees Ivy doing something with their hands and mumbling something. They seem distressed. Maybe they need a hug? Of course they need a hug. Bel runs up and throws his arms around Ivy.
"Oof. Shade! And hugs! Nice." The words come out kind of flat and monotone. Ivy basically oozes against Bel, buring their face into the other's shoulder. Blessed Darkness...! "You wouldn't happen to have coffee?" they slur, barely audible. Man, hugs are nice but they remind Ivy of how tired they are right now and how much they do not want to be outside.
"No coffee! Sorry! I can try to get you some, though?" He isn't entirely sure what coffee is, but he's willing to find out. And Ivy is very good at hugs.
"Mrhmhmn no, hugs first. Coffee, like, immediately after, but later." Ivy has their priorities super in order. Oh speaking of priorities. "Where exactly are we? I got lost."
Lazarae was already on its way to get coffee, not particularly because it needed it but because it was early morning and where there was coffee there were people. It was nice, and the coffee was nice, and people like nice things, and Laz likes people liking nice things. Instead there was a scratchy feeling of annoyance at the back of its brain and it followed that instead. By the time it gets there the feeling had faded and it finds Bel and Ivy hugging. Hugs! Hugs are great! And Laz is kind of hungry, with the warm fuzzy hug feelings being sooo nice. It runs up, hooves clopping on the sidewalk and its skirt making a pleasant swoosh, and wraps its arms around them both! Wait, its arms are a little short for both of them and being disproportionate feels funny, so it adds a foot to its height and makes its arms longer in response. Much better! Wait, Ivy said something about coffee as Laz was running up. It was getting coffee. "I was on my way to coffee!" It says, but it comes out closer to "Ih mmmmph mehm mrpmee" because its face is buried against someone's hair. Probably Ivy's.
((@Scheherazade feel free to join the cuddle pile :P Ivy really has zero idea where they are atm so they could be like a block away from Holy Gate and Ivy wouldn't know)) More hugs! "Mornin' Laz!" Ivy mumbles. Laz is also very good at hugging also there is more shadows to not squint so much at! Great! "Was that something about coffee? Do you have coffee, Laz? Please gimme coffee........" The most pitiful 'It's-too-early-I-need-caffeine'-whine escapes Ivy. But to locate coffee would mean moving and moving would mean breakign up the hug party. Unacceptable!
"Huh, a hug pile. Welp, that's definitely not the weirdest thing I've found on my doorstep this week. Hello, all." Doorstep might be a slight exaggeration, they were really more huddling under the shade from one of the western buttresses on the outside of Holy Gate. Scheherazade had just come out to change the sign- she had rather liked the ones with movable words that other churches used to recommend proverbs and the like, and had installed one outside Holy Gate, just underneath the one that proclaimed it's name. Last week it had shown four interesting facts about magpies. The week before that it had just said "well, why not?". She hadn't actually made up her mind what it was going to be this week, yet, but she was sure she'd find something.
Bel shouts, "Scheherezade! Come join the hug pile!" and unlike Laz's attempt to speak, it's coherent enough to be conceivably heard.
Ivy makes a breathy sound that could be a giggle. Maybe. A very lazy and tired giggle. If Scheherazade is here, that means that they are probably near Holy Gate though! That's a start. "Yes, join the hugpile..." Ivy mumbles, barely audible. Being cuddled so good makes them want to fall right back asleep.
Scheherazade laughs lightly. "Well, why not." She leans down, so she's crouching beside the rest of them. Instead of reaching out with her arms, she unfurls her wings and drapes them around the rest of the pile like a warm, feathery blanket.
Laz lifts its head and mlehs, trying to get a hair out of its mouth. "Yep! I was on my way to get coffee and found you instead!" This time, it's actually audible rather than being muffled. It straightens up a little, not letting go, and follows Bel's gaze. "Scheherezade!" And oh, look, she's already on her way! Feather hugs are the best, so soft and floofy and wonderful. The huge cluster of Good Feels is soooo nice, like being warm and inside during a nice snowfall. Oh, that's Ivy being sleepy. Laz nuzzles her head with a little yawn, not really trying to wake her up more. It starts making a noise from somewhere in its ribs(?), like a cross between a cat purring and a cicada's hum. This is nice. Everything is nice. (Laz picks up weird things from aliens :D)
"Assuming the downstairs kitchen is still where I left it last- and by Holy Gate's standards it tends to be pretty stationary- I can make you coffee." Scheherazade offered. "Or something else, if you'd like. I think we have some raspberry danish left, too. That's technically a breakfast food."
(gonna do the thing, then) Em had been wandering around town aimlessly for a while. Okay, sleep was important, but it wasn't like it was that important. Totally. They yawned awkwardly. Coffee would be really, really nice right now. A squeak in their ear from one of the mice pointed out, hey, people! Em mustered up the energy to move at a pace that was closer to a jog, as opposed to a zombie like shamble, and reached the group. "Hey, is that a hug pile? Can we join?" Em yawned again, and added, "Also, I heard something about breakfast?"
A small hand sneaks out of the middle of the hug pile and pats Scheherazade appreciatively on the shoulder, albeit apparently stuck in tired slow motion. "You. Are my new favorite. Coffee, please!" Ivy can hear Em but not see them from within the group hug. Waving vaguely in the right direction (hopefully) with the hand that patted Scheherazade before, they say "Hi! Yes, come join us!"
Grinning, Em delicately inserts themselves into the hug pile. They nearly step on a foot, but successfully snuggle up underneath the feathery wings/convenient sunlight blocker. Happily, they relax into someone's side. Wow, this is really comfy. Really comfy. Naps sound nice, actually. Especially in a hug pile. They begin to doze off. Hopefully nobody moves too much.
Ivy wanted coffee. But coffee would require moving, which requires breaking up the hug pile. Well, that's a problem. Unless... "Hey guys, want to see if I can just pick up the pile without moving you too much? Holy Gate's got couches I can leave you on while I go to the kitchen." Weird magical superstrong hair: quite possibly the best thing to have when all your other limbs are occupied. She was so glad she'd decided to grow it out.
