Gray Angels 2

Darcy snuggled into the nest of fleece blankies, eucalyptus leaves and various other items with which he had painstakingly outfitted the cereal box on the floor in the back of the enclosure. Today, Elva deigned to honor him with her elvish presence; Darcy chittered happily and vigorously groomed his cherished Elf as she tried to sleep. A sharp hiss and bluff-snap soon convinced him to curl up quietly beside her instead, and they both began drifting into the deep daytime sleep. Pixie quietly crept in and added her warmth to theirs, setting off a fresh round of contented clicking. Suddenly, Daimon joined them too, jostling everyone as he settled himself on his back in their midst. Ignoring his much smaller mother’s sharp disapproval, he washed his face and fingers meticulously, then he too fell asleep, his wet hands loosely folded across his chest.

Donna chuckled softly, shaking her head as she peered inside the open end of the cereal box with a red flashlight. Of all the delightful sleeping spots available to her fur family, Darcy’s current favorite was a scruffy old cereal box. She had already replaced it once; cereal manufacturers just didn’t provide boxes sturdy enough to withstand a few weeks’ constant use by a sugar glider and his family. Actually, it would have lasted longer if she didn’t have to pick it up with the four of them inside-without the floor to support it evenly, their combined weight seriously stressed the structure of the thing.

But she couldn’t go to work alone, so she had to lift the box of priceless sleepers out from behind the exercise wheel, so she could gently reach in and pull Darcy and Pixie out to accompany her for the day. Of course they were all in a tangled heap at the very back of the box; Donna carefully tried to sort out who was who-chomp!

“OK, that’s Elva,” Donna laughed to herself, and cupped her hand around the next glider.

A loud crabbing informed her that she had disturbed her Demon at his rest. She let go and apologized, stroking his side instead. Instantly the crabbing changed to unintelligible Morse Code.

The next glider neither bit nor crabbed, and Donna carefully pulled her out and kissed the solid stripe on her head. Pixie blinked her wide eyes in the dim early dawn, her hands, feet and tail curled tightly around Donna’s fingers. Donna offered the snuggly bonding pouch Auntie Karin had sent, and Pixie dove in headfirst and curled up on her back, looking so infinitely adorable that Donna felt her heart overflow with love. She tenderly held Pixie in the pouch against her as she reached back into the cereal box.

“Darcy,” she called softly. An answering chitter immediately identified Darcy in the warm furry pile, and she brought him out and kissed him, then weighed him. “One sixty-nine, my love. Not bad, but not as good as you could be.” She let him slide into the pouch with Pixie, then tucked the bag into her blouse with a grin-good thing she didn’t care what people thought of her figure. She put a couple of grapes and a few pieces of Asian pear in the cereal box with Daimon and Elva, whispered to them that she loved them, and left the enclosure, making sure to latch the door securely behind her.

Darcy and Pixie curled up together quite nicely in the soft pouch, and both periodically woke during the day to snack on grapes or supplement or the occasional cricket. Pixie was the least likely to steal food from her father, so they got along without any of the arguments that raised an eyebrow or two on Donna’s coworkers.

Donna basked in their nearness, enjoying the secret pleasure of feeling them move around, or scratch an occasional itch. They both eagerly stretched toward the new berry-flavored supplement in the film container-Darcy drank steadily and then was done; Pixie lapped a bit, licked her lips, then came back for more, drinking in a series of sips. Donna gazed lovingly at their drowsy features, promising them that there would always be plenty of their favorite foods.

Darcy chittered briefly at her voice, then burrowed beneath his daughter and both went back to sleep.