There was a lot of food left on Remi's plate when they decided they had had enough screen time. Quinn could never quite work out what was a healthy amount for an omega to eat. Sometimes Remi could put away more food than seemed capable of fitting inside her tiny torso, others it felt like she was picking at the edges. It was impossible to get an admission of dislike out of Remi, so Quinn decided she would have to start trying to track the foods that Remi ate the most of.

While Remi scraped her plate and filled the dishwasher, Quinn hunted around the dining area for a fresh notebook. Atop the storage unit that held a selection of her uniform stationery, was Remi's notebook. Looking was not an intentional act. It was open and Quinn had stepped up to the storage unit innocently. Once she had seen though, it was too difficult to drag her eyes away.

There was a mind map on each page with scrawled lines and notes around an activity: the activities that Quinn had offered her at the local leisure centre.

On the left page was PYROGRAPHY and the pros and cons surrounding it were overwhelmingly negative. Remi was scared of burning herself or setting something on fire and causing damage. Most of the scribbles were these same two sentiments reworded.

On the right page was PAINTING and there were only two lines pointing out from the word.

The first: I like drawing.

The second: I don't think Alpha likes painting, she does not have any in her house.

She wasn't wrong. Quinn didn't have any art on her walls. The less clutter, the better, she thought. Calm home for a calm mind.

But Remi likes drawing, apparently, so painting they would do if that was the next best thing. Quinn made a note on her phone to call the leisure centre first thing in the morning and book in a class. Preferably a private one, or at least a quiet one with less humans to overwhelm Remi. Quinn would do anything to avoid the mess of creativity from her all-white abode, but she also knew crowds of humans were to Remi what mess was to Quinn.

They turned in for the night, and while Remi was dragging her feet and fighting to keep her eyes open, Quinn was filled with unspent energy. She hadn't worked out and she'd had a meal high in fat, salt and sugar. Her body felt on the verge of shock.

She really needed the sleep, though. She was behind by at least a day already. She forced herself to lie still in bed, clutching at the top of her covers and squeezing her eyes shut. Eventually, she drifted off. And woke up exhausted Friday morning.

Slumped in front of her computer, she tried to calculate exactly where she was going to make up the lost sleep since she clearly wasn't doing well enough without it. Jordan mercifully left her to her thoughts with a lack of messages about non-work subjects.

At least by the end of the day, it almost felt like she and Remi were finding their routine. And Quinn loved nothing more than routine.

Quinn returned from work to find Remi sitting still on the sofa, then they made dinner together after Remi refused once again to choose between any options given to her. They ate and talked a little about their days, then Quinn did yoga in her bedroom to an online video, and finally they watched TV and wrote in their matching notebooks on the sofa before bed.

It was an amalgamation of Quinn's own routine, much longer meal times, and sporadic conversation. Quinn didn't hate it. She hoped Remi didn't either, even if she might not stay for long. The thought twinged a little in her chest, but Quinn brushed the tight pain aside. It was not hers or Remi's fault, it was the Assembly’s. They could only do their best in the meantime.

Friday night, she finally slept well again.

Saturdays were for errands and chores. Sundays were for silence. Quinn woke early both days, it wasn't enough to get the most of her time to get her household in order, she took her resting time just as seriously. This Saturday she would allow Remi to sleep in, though. That form of rest was clearly what her body needed. 

It was an issue Quinn had faced herself when she left her pack - re-discovering the ability to listen to her own body. Not following the routine dictated to her because the rest of the colony were. There was no true individualism inside of the pack mentality. Technically, you were a unique person, but in reality you would always be another furry body making up the group.

When Quinn had first walked away from her father’s dictatorship, she had attempted to emulate the routines and lifestyles of humans she encountered. They were all so different. Even within family units, they didn't feel the need to take every action as one amalgamated being. They didn't all eat, sleep and bathe at the same times. There were communal activities, but they were still individuals who could act according to their own needs.

Quinn hadn't made any real friends since entering the human world, and she blamed the fact that she needed to work out who she was, what she wanted to do, and how she wanted to spend her time for the rest of her life now that she was free.

Eventually she knew herself but no one else.

Sometimes she chatted to the ladies in her yoga classes, but the culture barrier was always there. Without the ability to relate to humans, she couldn't connect with them. And they were constantly evolving. There was always a new musical artist, a new funny video on the internet that somehow they all had viewed but not at the same time, or a tv show that had released just days before but somehow they’d consumed every episode. Although she had switched to admitting to not watching TV, it was one of many mediums of media.

It was… overwhelming. And so, Quinn could admit, she had retracted back into her routine of intense self-care.

She was indulging in an extra long yoga session in the living room, following a voice from the assistant’s speaker, when Remi arrived late in the morning. Fleecy pyjamas dislodged and black flicks of hair stood straight up to the ceiling, Remi managed to exude a gentle warmth no matter how dishevelled she appeared. She squatted in front of Quinn’s yoga mat and gave her a sleepy smile. Quinn returned it from her plank, and then pushed into downward dog. She was grateful for the excuse to look away or she might be too tempted to poke and pinch at Remi’s puffed morning face.

Remi toddled around her and Quinn heard the kitchen door swing open and shut. There were some cupboard clatters and the sound of running water. Then the door opened again. Quinn looked between her legs at the head poking back into the living room.

“Would you like coffee, Alpha?” Remi squeaked.

“Sure.” Quinn stretched her arm up to side plank and felt her muscles pulling through her shoulders. She let out a soft groan of satisfaction. “Thanks, Remi.”

The kitchen door closed again.