“Mom! Let’s make cookies!”

She looked up to see her interrupting kid and goblin walking out of the bathroom, filled with energy.

“Coovies!”

Wyver stuffed her phone back into her pocket and got up. She supposed it was time.

“The first cookies we’ll make are mommy’s favorite.”

She pulled out a double boiler and two metal pans that she had Squiggs and Little Cutie spread with tin foil.

Then, she grabbed two bags of white chocolate chips, a bag of mini marshmallows, and a massive jar of peanut butter. It was a good thing she’d been planning to make these this week or she wouldn’t have had the ingredients on hand.

Then she poured some water in the bottom pot of her double boiler and threw a bag and a half of the white chocolate into the top pot.

“Go grab me my big bowl!”

Little Cutie grabbed a giant blue glass bowl from the lower corner cabinet.

While he was doing that, Wyvern reached for her crispy rice cereal from the top of the fridge and poured two cups of it into the blue bowl.

“Now, measure one cup of marshmallows,” then she whispered, “But if you measure a little bit more than that, it won’t taste bad.”

He giggled.

“Squiggs!”

“Voss?”

“I have a very important job for you.”

He nodded.

She opened the peanut butter and used a spoon to scoop out a half cup of it, then she gave the spoon to Squiggly. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it. Is to lick the peanut butter spoon clean.”

He hit his chest with a green fist, which Wyvern assumed was a goblin salute, then he attacked the spoon.

She pulled out a green flexible spatula out of her utensil drawer and scooped the peanut butter out of her measuring cup. It plopped into the double boiler and she quickly began mixing the chocolate and the peanut butter until it turned a beautiful cream color.

Then she mixed the ingredients in her blue bowl.

Finally, she turned off her stove and used the same spatula to pour every last ounce of chocolate peanut butter mix onto the rice cereal and the more-marshmallows-than-necessary.

Once that was carefully mixed up it was time. She handed out two spoons each.

“Let’s make our cookies!”

“Cookies!”

“Coovies!”

She grabbed a scoop and used her second spoon to push the mixture onto the prepared sheets.

Then she helped the kid and goblin do the same.

“Can we eat them now?”

“Not yet!”

She put one tray in the freezer and the other in the top part of her fridge.

Though they didn’t look the greatest and the sizes varied from very large to very small, that wouldn’t affect their tastes at all.

“Mmmrower”

“I haven’t forgotten about you, Marsh.” She grabbed a few cooked pieces of frozen chicken and threw them in the microwave. Then she pulled out three whole chicken breasts from her freezer and threw them in a bowl filled with cold water to defrost for later. Once the microwave beeped, she pulled them out and allowed them to cool before placing them in a metal cat dish for her big kitty.

“This is just a snack for now. We’ll have to go hunting later so you can eat your fill.”

“Prrrrrrr.” Marsh delicately ate its snack in one bite. She gently stroked its face, taking some of the dirt off. “Good kitty. I’m going to give you a nice brushing later.”

Congratulations! Your compatibility with your second tamed monster has reached 60%! Well Done! Because you’ve focused on improving your relationship with your tamed monster, you’ve earned extra XP!

Unfortunately, she didn’t level this time. But she’d take the extra XP.

“Now, Who wants to help me make pumpkin cookies?”

One green and one child-sized arm went up.

Wyvern grinned and enjoyed the little things while she could.

“Mmmmmrower! MmmmRoooooower!”

That was definitely a distressed kitty!

She rushed out her back door to see a mechanical bug the size of a kitchen trash can shoot lasers at her Marshmallow.

Warning! Your stamina is low. Please rest for 15 minutes to regain it!

The large cat monster jumped from side to side avoiding the laser and getting closer and closer to the mechanical monster.

“Marshmallow! Don’t let it hurt you! I’ll be right back. Squiggs, grab a knife and help Marsh!”

“Voss!”

She dashed into the living room to grab her sword then, dashed back. Unfortunately, that was when the system betrayed her.

Warning! You are out of stamina! Rest now for 15 minutes or your Health will go down.

Then the bug retreated.

“Sweetie? Are you in the backyard?” Mechaonyx’s confused voice came to her then he turned the corner. The man wasn’t tall, he didn’t have the best physique, but he looked absolutely beautiful to her eyes. And then she noticed him patting the head of the mechanical monster that had just attacked her kitty.

“Love? Is that… yours?” She pointed to the mechanical monster.

He smiled. “Yeah. I wouldn’t have made it back here without it.”

“Mmmmrower!”

“I know. It’s my bad, I should have told him about you.”

He held up his phone. “Actually, the battery ran out or I would have called and told you about it.”

She sighed then sat down on a nearby bench before she started losing her health. “Now come over here and give me a hug!”

He sat down and wrapped his arms around her. It was the warmest hug that she’d had that day.

“Daddy!” Little Cutie ran over and jumped on them both causing the bench to creak and groan.

“Group hug! Get in here Squiggs.”

“Gobo!”

“You too Marsh!”

“Prrrrr.”

Wyvern didn’t know what would happen in the next hour let alone the next week. She didn’t know if she’d even survive the night. But what she did know, was that they’d face the System Armageddon together, as a family and try to survive as long as possible, no matter how fucked up the world got.