The young captain had to admit that her efforts had certainly paid off more than just a fair bit these past two months. The new aubergine and tomato trees already had some neat pale purple and white flowers blooming, waiting to be pollinated so they could swell into the luscious vegetables hiding in them. The bok choy and the spinach plants had already grown about five sets of leaves and were looking healthy, with no signs of insect damage to them. The fruit trees were still tiny saplings for now, but then again, they needed years, not months.

Lydia followed her soon-to-be daughter-in-law around, sniffing each shoot and digging up any weeds she found with her claws. Today, she had chosen the form of a red fox, and was now trotting beside Ichika while keeping on a lookout for any predators thinking to nab her for a morning meal. Foxes were tenacious predators, but only so much. Even a bear wouldn't hesitate to make a meal of a fox when the chance presented itself.

"Does anyone help you with the garden"? she asked, despite knowing the answer already.

"Shin waters the vegetables from time to time, but I tend to this garden myself", Ichika answered, kneeling down to inspect a row of beetroot shoots that were just starting to turn red. "The rest of the team offers to help out from time to time, usually by weeding it".

"Perhaps I can be of help myself"? Lydia asked.

"There isn't much to do now, except water them, but that'll be later in the evening", Ichika replied, then turned to pet her soon-to-be mother-in-law as a fox. "You offer to help me everytime you come here, Lydia. I pity you sometimes. Aren't you tired"?

"Cheap shot, coming from the woman who does the bulk of the housework here", the shapeshifting Ultrawoman snorted, idly flicking her tail. "If you're going to expect a new daughter, then you should care for them the same way you care for your own children. In-law or not, if you're marrying my son, I'm damn well taking care of you like my own daughter".

"Sounds like something someone said to me a long time ago", Ichika mused, then looked away. "But unlike you, they never kept that promise".

Lydia let out a soft whine, pushing her whiskers against the woman's calf as she did so. Recovery was not linear, but if she had been given the choice, she would've killed Ichika's ex-in-laws and then her ex-husband right where they stood. Such monsters they were to treat their new addition to the family that way. They should be counting on the fact that, despite everything they had done to her, Ichika could still worry for them on worse days.

"Do you want to stay for dinner"? Ichika asked her at that moment, mainly to break the awkward silence between them. "I know you should probably get going soon"-

"I'm eating if you're cooking", Lydia purred, brushing her fox tail against her legs. "'Peasant food', my fluffy ass. No food is peasant food".

"I'm starting to think you should stay away from my ex-in-laws for the time being", Ichika murmured, then picked Lydia up and padded off to the house.

-

There was one thing Shin had definitely proven but not reminded Ichika of when it came to his mother; her appetite.

Lydia had been patient enough to let everyone else have their share before she filled her plate, but nothing had prepared Ichika for how fast she would eat everything piled into her little porcelain platter. By contrast, Logan seemed to have literally lost his own appetite, idly picking at his rice and only swallowing pinkie nail-sized mouthfuls, while Shin was still eating, albeit at a slow pace on account of his throat condition.

At least I know where Shin gets his appetite from, she thought, as Lydia purred contentedly, her green eyes narrowed to slits in a manner indicating satisfaction.