It wasn't the sort of place where he had ever pictured himself living. An actual house, unattached to the ones next door. A porch in front. A yard off to the side.

Rabbit stared at it for a little while, reluctant to move closer on the off chance Olivia had given him the wrong address. He relented once his lurking got creepy, slinking up the three shallow steps to rap faintly on the front door. There was a minor stampede on the other side, a pause, then ten seconds after he'd knocked, the door swung open with such speed that Rabbit worried it might splinter against the wall. It went unnaturally still just short of doing so, frozen in place where it had stopped.

He waited. All was quiet. No one peeked out at him or asked who he was. He could hear himself breathe. This was almost as uncomfortable as the scene at his former apartment. With nothing else to do, Rabbit took a deep breath and stepped inside. The door swung closed behind him, slamming just a little, and a variegated brown blur circled him at top speed, wrapping feathered arms around his waist.

"Benben."

He squeezed the child back instinctually, slipping into a strange sort of shock as his forearms pressed against bony shoulders. Shortly before Halloween, the squeeps had started growing new feathers to replace the down Pax had encouraged him to brush away. Though they had been little more than weird plasticky-looking straws when he had gone off to stop Sunny, it was easy to see the colors they would be once they'd fully emerged. Flashy blue and tawny brown. This was a siren. There was no denying it, even if she was four feet tall and speaking english.

"Sy?"

"Duh, stupid."

She pulled her cheek away from his windbreaker and looked up with practiced disdain, her eyes chips of amber in the midday light.

"Something happened."

He nodded, loosening his grip and holding her at arm's length. Despite her rapid growth, this was very clearly Sywyly, from her determined expression to her indomitable stance to the impatient tap tap tap of her bare foot.

"Where is everybody?"

"Why?"

"Because this is a big deal and I only want to say it all once."

She shook her head, her crest of feathers waving gently back and forth. "No."

"What?"

"Tell me now."

"Where's Olivia, Sy."

"Out. Nev wanted a banana or something." She shrugged free of his hold and drew closer again on her own terms, hanging off of his clothing in an awkward triangle. She was far lighter than she looked. "Tellll meeeeeeeeee."

"This is so weird."

"Whattttt iiiiiiiiisssss?" She rocked to and fro, pulling at his bloodstained jacket as she did. Rabbit curled his fingers around her forearms, very conscious of her wings, and pulled her up straight again, walking Sy deeper into the room as she giggled. It was a large, cozily-decorated space, and it made his stomach prickle with familiarity. Despite his initial uncertainty over the house's exterior, this was definitely a space he could call home. He started to deposit the siren in the nearest chair, but as he lowered her slightly, a surprised coo bubbled out of the girl's throat. It was adorable.

"We don't sit in here. This room's for boring stuff." She glanced at him as she regained her feet, not bothering to hide the question in her eyes as she led Rabbit to an adjacent space. This room was filled with toys, puzzles, painted figurines, and cushy recliners complete with pizza stains. It was familiar too.

Sy flopped onto a beanbag chair, her tail going sleek against her legs before she fell. "So. What's wrong with you?"

Rabbit kneeled nearby, gathering several loose action figures into a pile. "Well..." He inhaled. He exhaled. "The last time I saw you, you were six inches tall."

The front door swung open without warning once again, and this time it smacked hard into the stopper designed to keep the wall from harm. What could only be described as a delighted trill followed, and Rabbit watched as Sy opened her mouth and replied in a short series of chirps.

So weird.

"Dad?"

This was going to take a lot of getting used to.

"In here, Nev!" Sy hopped to her feet and met her brother halfway, leading him back into the room and dragging him down to sit beside her. Neverain had a bit more trouble with the beanbag thing, his massive tail crumpling under him until he shifted his weight and set things right.

"Benben's been away."

"Ohhh. Yes. That makes sense." Nev turned his fathomless eyes on his father, examining his face after evaluating his clothing. Evaluating with extreme prejudice. Rabbit almost smiled. Of course a peacock would care about clothes. "Where did you go?"

"I..." Rabbit looked past them, focusing through to the other room just as the front wheels of Liv's chair rolled into view. He sprang to his feet, directing a "hold up" at the squeeps as he hurried to his sister's side, leaning over her and hugging her hard enough to crack ribs.

"You're okay."

"Y...es?" Liv raised her eyebrows as he pulled away, looking back and up at Jim where he stood behind her.

"Hey." Rabbit was surprised by the impulse that pushed him to give the giant man a hug too, but after only a moment of hesitation, he followed through. Here, in this new world, it seemed it was appropriate since Jim hugged back.

"Dad's been away."

"Ohhhh."

In the next room, Nev and Sy's laughter rang out, melodic and sudden, in response to Jim and Liv's simultaneous reply.

Hours later, after Rabbit had showered and taken an awestruck, self-directed tour of Five Pinewood Avenue, he sat down with his family once more, answering their questions about where he had been as vaguely as he could get away with while still seeming credible. They told him of his life in return, a life that was just unfamiliar enough to make him wonder if he could pull off living it. Working at Bibliophile? Commonplace magic? Giant sirens?

He was grateful that the house was still full of Jack, even if Olivia pulled a face when he asked. At least some things never changed.