"Looks are deceiving," Silence said, sitting on the kitchen counter. When did she get there?! 

Echo slightly jumped, startled. 

Missy ran past Time, hissing a bit as she passed him, and jumped up into Silence's lap and arms. The cat nuzzled into Silence's shoulder and arm, purring. Silence didn't react much other than stroking the cat's fur, causing Missy to purr louder. 

Silence glared at Time, almost accusingly as if he committed a crime. 

"The (censor) did you just say?!" Silence spat. "(Censor)ing (censor), I'll (censor)in'-" 

"Silence!" Echo blurted out, interrupting. She quieted down on the next part after Silence's gaze hit her. "That's not nice..." 

"I'm not a (censor)in' nice person, Echo, nor is your little friend there. He's a (censor)in' moron who needs to keep his (censor)in' mouth shut and be a greatful, pleasant guest." Silence tauntingly smiled on the last part, a sneer in her voice as she tilted her head for emphasis. Her eyebrows raised up into an annoying expression that challenged Time to talk back, to defend himself. Her cold eyes studied him and stared at him as if he was trash on the road, her grin somewhat looking like a terrible snarl of disgust with upturned corners. 

Echo looked over to Time, pleading by using her expression for him to not snap back at her sister. She nervously pulled on the ends of her hair, praying that the fight Silence was looking for wouldn't break out. 

Missy curled up in Silence's arms, not bothered by anything going on at the moment. 

"Hmph." Silence studied Time again, standing up and getting closer. She's extremely tall, so she definitely loomed over him and started to stare Time down. Missy started to make a growly hissing noise the closer Silence got to Time, her tail swishing aggressively. 

Echo, already seeing where this was going, announced loudly, "Who wants tea?! Tea is nice! I'll make tea!" 

Silence paused, turning to look at Echo. She backed away from Time, watching Echo grab a box of tea from a shelf. 

"Sure, tea sounds good." Silence nodded, her voice softer now as she watched Echo's shaking hands set three tea bags on the counter. 

Echo looked borderline about to have an anxiety attack, tears in the corner of her eyes as she filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove. 

Missy meowed at Time, annoyed.

"...And your dog thing looks..." Silence trailed off, staring at Lyre. "...incomprehensible." 

Missy as well was keeping a close eye on Lyre, burying herself into Silence's elbow. 

Silence moved away a bit more from Time and Lyre, her nose wrinkling a bit. 

Echo was getting cups out, setting them down carefully on the counter beside the tea bags. 

Silence made a face, moving the bottom of her dress away from Lyre and backing away a bit more. Missy made an irritated noise at Lyre, her fur sticking up a bit. 

Echo looked over and crouch down onto her kness, calling Lyre over in a baby voice. "Lyre~ Come here, boy! Lyreee!" She made some kissy noises to get Lyre's attention. 

"Yay! Good boy!" Echo smiled, holding her hands out to pet Lyre. 

Silence scoffed, "How inelegant." 

Echo said, "He's just a baby, Si. You can't expect him to be very graceful, can you? We weren't graceful any." 

"Hmph." 

The water was boiling, the heat on the stove set too high. 

"Little baby boy~" Echo singsonged, giving Lyre a few more pats before standing up. She looked over to the kettle and gasped a bit. "Oh no, the water!" She quickly pulled it off the heat, grabbing a thermometer and checking the temperature. "It's too hot, so we'll have to wait a bit before using it." Echo looked a bit disappointed in herself for leaving the kettle on long enough for the water to boil. 

Echo carefully stepped around Lyre, grabbing a spoon to stir the water. She took the lid off of the kettle, immediately burning her hand from the steam. She jerked her hand back, the skin red. Later she might have some blisters if left untreated. 

Silence noticed this, stopping Echo for a moment. "You burned yourself." 

"Oh, it's fine! It doesn't hurt." 

"Let me see your hand."

Echo continued to stir the water, trying to cool it down faster. She said, "Si, it's fine. It doesn't hurt." 

"It most definitely did hurt. Echo, let me see your hand!" 

Silence set Missy down on the floor, in which Missy immediately ran out of the kitchen, hissing at Lyre and Time on the way out. Silence quickly approached Echo, grabbing her sister's arm a bit too roughly. Echo jerked herself away, making a yelping sound when Silence touched her. 

Silence backed off. Echo held herself, wrapping her arms across the top her stomach in a protective self-hug. 

Echo, gritting her teeth, smiled. "It's fine, Silence. Everything is fine. How about you two go into the livingroom? The tea will be done soon." 

Echo sounded a bit forceful, her tone strange. She smiled, though, tilting her head in a carefree way. 

Silence stared at Echo for a moment. Then she sighed and exited the kitchen. 

"Lyre, go with Time," Echo softly said, turning back to the kettle. She continued her stirring. 

"Hmph, as if you could do any better." Silence rolled her eyes, her voice equally quiet. 

"I doubt it. You barely know each other." 

Silence took a seat in her rocking chair. Missy jumped up from the cat bed and rushed into Silence's lap.