Simon and Rowan were occupying seats facing each other in one of the
VI's lounges. The former gestured emphatically: "No no—that
part is supposed to be more of a 'swoop' sound."
Rowan sighed. "I don't know what a 'swoop' sound is. Just repeat
the second half again, slowly."
Overall, this was going better than Rowan's attempt to teach
Light his phrase. He understood from some communication with the
Quinns that the process could be quite slow, but had perhaps
underestimated how frustrating it would be. Simon wasn't the most
patient of people, and would probably be fed up with this already if
he weren't so eager for the end result.
There was a gentle, polite knock on the front door of Amory and
Blake's apartment. Amory stood up. "I'll get it—pretty sure I
know who it is anyway." Blake vaguely grunted in
acknowledgement, remaining seated on the couch with his computer in
his lap, continuing to work on some kind of programming project or
homework.
When he opened the door, he found Emma standing a bit behind the
person who'd knocked—who was almost undoubtedly her sister. She was
tall, dark-haired, with a fit but quite filled-out figure, and
stylishly dressed—managing to even make a cat-ear band look good.
While Emma's new look made it easier to see the family resemblance
between the two of them, Amory felt sure he could've discerned it
with her original form, too. Either way...
"Hey! You must be April, right? I'm Amory," he said, offering her a hand, which she gently took and gingerly shook.
"Hey! You must be April, right? I'm Amory," he said, offering her a hand, which she gently took and gingerly shook.
"Indeed. Pleased to meet you~," she said. "Emma's told
me so much about you!"
"Oh? Nothing bad, I hope?"
"Oh? Nothing bad, I hope?"
Emma stammered, "Um—"
"Actually, precious little so far," she said, leaning
forward slightly with a teasing sort of grin. "But that she's
fond of you tells me quite a bit!"
"Ah, okay. Well—that's my roommate back there, Blake." He
sat up a bit and turned half-around to wave.
"Hi."
"Hello there~. Well, shall the three of us get going, then?" It was previously agreed that they'd go somewhere of April's choosing to actually sit down and talk—a restaurant of some sort, Amory assumed.
"Hello there~. Well, shall the three of us get going, then?" It was previously agreed that they'd go somewhere of April's choosing to actually sit down and talk—a restaurant of some sort, Amory assumed.
"Yeah, sure. Right?" he directed this question at Emma,
making her jump slightly.
"Uh, right."
"Heheh~," April lightly giggled, seeming to find this
exchange entertaining.
Once they were out the door, she said, "So—why don't you
tell me about yourself?"
"Alright. I'm a chem student, thinking about going into biochem.
So—huge nerd, I guess. I'm an only child, my dad's a surgeon, and
my mom...passed away when I was little."
"And how did you and Emma come to meet?"
"And how did you and Emma come to meet?"
"I do some tutoring, we first met during that sometime uh, last
year?" he asked Emma to confirm.
"R-right..."
"And she asked me out a little while after getting powers."
"She asked you out?" April repeated, halfway
directing the question Emma's way.
"Uh-huh," she answered ahead of him. "I-I was super nervous, and it took me forever to work up the courage to try. I-I had some help, too..."
"Uh-huh," she answered ahead of him. "I-I was super nervous, and it took me forever to work up the courage to try. I-I had some help, too..."
Amory said, "'Gemma' actually saved my life a couple of times
before that, you know."
"Ooh. So you were aware of her identity?"
"At some point, yeah. Because of all that, I'm sorta involved with the vixens around here—you know, mostly giving moral support."
"A-and thinking up plans, and stuff," Emma added.
"Ooh. So you were aware of her identity?"
"At some point, yeah. Because of all that, I'm sorta involved with the vixens around here—you know, mostly giving moral support."
"A-and thinking up plans, and stuff," Emma added.
They came to the doors leading out of the apartment building at this
point, and Amory hurried ahead to open the door for both of them.
"My, what a gentleman~," April commented a bit teasingly,
brushing past.
"Uh—thanks," Emma added rather shyly.
"Uh—thanks," Emma added rather shyly.
"So—where are we headed anyway?" he asked while catching
up to them.
"I spotted a wonderful little casual cafe in easy walking
distance. They won't mind people sitting around to chat for a while.
And if we get hungry after some conversation, we can do lunch there
as well."
"Sounds good."
"Sounds good."
"So—what has Emma told you about us so far? That is, her
family?"
"Let's see..that it's pretty big—six older siblings, and all
your names. I don't think she said what order, although I have a
guess."
"Oh?"
"Well, it seems like your parents went for an alphabetical sort of theme? And I know you're the oldest. I don't know exactly where Atlas fits, but since Ben and Carrie are twins, he must be second or third, and Beverly the other one. And then Doris, and finally Emma. Right?"
She nodded, "You've got it—and Beverly is the second oldest. But names and ages are far from everything. Let's see, ah..."
"Oh?"
"Well, it seems like your parents went for an alphabetical sort of theme? And I know you're the oldest. I don't know exactly where Atlas fits, but since Ben and Carrie are twins, he must be second or third, and Beverly the other one. And then Doris, and finally Emma. Right?"
She nodded, "You've got it—and Beverly is the second oldest. But names and ages are far from everything. Let's see, ah..."
Their conversation was interrupted by someone running up with his
phone in one hand..Amory was pretty sure he was in their school news
club or something. "Emma, hey! Can I—"
"Ahem," April interrupted, subtly placing herself
between him and Emma with her fists on her hips. For as friendly and
cheerful as she'd been up to this point, she had a surprisingly
imposing presence when she wanted it. "Buzz off, Gemma's
enjoying some personal time with her family. You can quote
that—right, m'dear?" she asked Emma.
"Um—I-I can do an interview later," she said nervously.
"Oh, cool. Sorry about that," he said, waving once with his free hand and heading off.
"Um—I-I can do an interview later," she said nervously.
"Oh, cool. Sorry about that," he said, waving once with his free hand and heading off.
"Hmph. At least that was a polite one," she said. "I
deal with the media occasionally in my profession—if you need any
tips."
"Uh, th-that's okay...people have usually been pretty respectful so far," Emma said. "And uh—I can kinda, just disappear if I wanna?"
"True—oh, that the rest of us had such powers," she said.
"Anyway—where was I..." Shaking her head slightly, April started leading the way toward the cafe again. "Right. So: Beverly is an actress—stage, not screen. Not on Broadway, mind you, but the troupe she works with does quite good work. Atlas works at a high-end gym, even training some sports players you may have heard of. He's always been into bodybuilding, and he has a fondness for superhero comics and the like as well, so recent events have had him pretty excited."
"Oh, yeah? My roommate's pretty into comics too," Amory said.
April nodded. "Perhaps we could arrange a meeting sometime. Anyway—Benjamin works at a university, teaching philosophy—or, more likely, arguing with his students day in and day out. He's our sweet oddball, constantly asking questions ever since he was young. Carrie's an artist, does graphic design work at an ad firm, and Doris is still working her way through grad school. Ah, she'd hate being mentioned last, though—always been out to prove she's the most talented and important of all of us."
"Uh, th-that's okay...people have usually been pretty respectful so far," Emma said. "And uh—I can kinda, just disappear if I wanna?"
"True—oh, that the rest of us had such powers," she said.
"Anyway—where was I..." Shaking her head slightly, April started leading the way toward the cafe again. "Right. So: Beverly is an actress—stage, not screen. Not on Broadway, mind you, but the troupe she works with does quite good work. Atlas works at a high-end gym, even training some sports players you may have heard of. He's always been into bodybuilding, and he has a fondness for superhero comics and the like as well, so recent events have had him pretty excited."
"Oh, yeah? My roommate's pretty into comics too," Amory said.
April nodded. "Perhaps we could arrange a meeting sometime. Anyway—Benjamin works at a university, teaching philosophy—or, more likely, arguing with his students day in and day out. He's our sweet oddball, constantly asking questions ever since he was young. Carrie's an artist, does graphic design work at an ad firm, and Doris is still working her way through grad school. Ah, she'd hate being mentioned last, though—always been out to prove she's the most talented and important of all of us."
"And, what about you?" he asked.
"Me? Ah, yes. I work in fashion. Largely in coming up with new designs," she said. "Sometimes costume design for shows, as well. But I'm not really cut out for the runway myself."
"Really? You look like you could be a model."
"Eheh, you charmer," she said. "But really, I enjoy wearing whatever's in, but I could hardly walk the walk. I think it's a much harder life than my own. And, since you're both 'in on things', perhaps I should mention...I'm actually doing some consulting work for the Vixen Initiative lately."
"Me? Ah, yes. I work in fashion. Largely in coming up with new designs," she said. "Sometimes costume design for shows, as well. But I'm not really cut out for the runway myself."
"Really? You look like you could be a model."
"Eheh, you charmer," she said. "But really, I enjoy wearing whatever's in, but I could hardly walk the walk. I think it's a much harder life than my own. And, since you're both 'in on things', perhaps I should mention...I'm actually doing some consulting work for the Vixen Initiative lately."
"For the—wait," Emma said. "You mean—are
you involved in designing the uh.." After this stream of words
came out all at once, and a bit loud, she quickly lowered her voice
to a near-whisper despite the lack of anyone near enough to overhear
them, "the masks and stuff?"
"That's right," she nodded. "They had a rather bizarre series of requests for me, but I rather enjoyed the challenge. It was really something to see my haute couture on the news last Friday—you know, Magus's debut? It seems like she's customized it a little to her own tastes since then, and especially for practicality, which is just fine by me. I mean, it was only as ostentatious as it was in the first place because apparently nothing subtler was working.
"That's right," she nodded. "They had a rather bizarre series of requests for me, but I rather enjoyed the challenge. It was really something to see my haute couture on the news last Friday—you know, Magus's debut? It seems like she's customized it a little to her own tastes since then, and especially for practicality, which is just fine by me. I mean, it was only as ostentatious as it was in the first place because apparently nothing subtler was working.
"Ah—here we are," she said, gesturing toward the front
door of their destination. She hurried to the door to open it ahead
of Amory, saying "Allow me this time," and gesturing
for them both to head inside.
"Alright—thanks," Amory said. After that, they wandered
around briefly before finding a table in a more distant, deserted
corner of the cafe to sit around. A waiter immediately showed up, and
April ordered herself some coffee, offering to take care of whatever
the two of them wanted as well. So Amory asked for a hot chocolate,
and (after some fidgeting) Emma just got a soda.
After a brief period of more casual conversation, their drinks
arrived. April took a sip of hers, then put her elbows on the table
and made a little bridge above her cup with her fingers, leaning her
chin gently onto it. "So, tell me Amory..." she started
during this maneuver. "Does does the prospect of a ménage à
trois excite you?"
"Uh.." He briefly had
difficulty believing that he had the meaning of that phrase quite
right, because it didn't seem possible for her to have suddenly asked
that
out of the blue.
Emma had been in the middle of taking a sip of her drink, and nearly
choked on it, barely managing to swallow before saying, "A
what!?" in a mortified sort of half-whisper, her face
instantly going quite red. So she'd understood her question the same
way he had.
"Oh, don't get me wrong," April said calmly. "My
meaning is—since Emma can be in two places at once...this is
the first time in human history when just two consenting
adults could enjoy such a thing~."
Still blushing furiously, Emma quietly sputtered out some
incomprehensible, high-pitched stammering. Amory decided to try and
help her out. "We...really haven't even thought about
anything that, uh, intense."
"Oh?" April said. "How far have you gone,
then?"
"Just, you know—hugs, some kissing, and um.." he felt a
little heat on his cheeks from this, but it was best to be honest:
"...petting."
"Petting?!" April sat up a bit, seeming surprised by this word—but maintaining quite a wide grin for that.
"Petting?!" April sat up a bit, seeming surprised by this word—but maintaining quite a wide grin for that.
"That is, uh—literally," Amory corrected quickly. "Like,
since she's capable of having, fur? I-I can't say I ever thought
about that kind of thing before but..we, enjoy that."
"Ah, I see," she said, lowering her chin onto her fingers
again. "But you do realize that word has some more
intimate meanings, hmn?"
Emma finally found her voice in time to loudly, squeakily whisper,
"Apriiiiilll!"
Her elder sister, who'd been looking Amory's direction this entire
time to the point of seemingly ignoring her, lifted her chin to free
up a hand to sort of dismissively wave it downward just once. "Oh,
please. I've teased the potential lovers of all my other
little siblings before, and roughly half have sworn to have their
vengeance whenever I find the right man. It's only fair~."
"That's it—that's it. You only stumbled on that very
last part."
Rowan nodded, and tried that part again slowly.
Rowan nodded, and tried that part again slowly.
"Aaah—no, it's—" Simon repeated it for him yet again.
After exhaling briefly he said, "So, then..." and tried the
entire second half again.
"Yes! Yesyesyes!" He stood up excitedly. "Now
do the whole thing!"
"Okay..."
The effect of finally getting it right was not too different from
when he'd accidentally 'won the right to command' Cynthia. Simon's
power manifested as a fuzzy, dark-brown, quickly-moving haze that
rushed on him very suddenly and quickly. He paused for just a moment
in the wake of the strange rush of feeling from gaining that, and
then said the phrase a second time to pass his power back to him.
"Odd—Cynth made that look a lot more unpleasant. It just felt
sort of weird," he said.
"She was using her powers at the time."
"True, yes," he nodded, and then quickly moved on: "So we should be able to do the thing now, right?!"
"She was using her powers at the time."
"True, yes," he nodded, and then quickly moved on: "So we should be able to do the thing now, right?!"
"Yes?"
"What, you don't want to try it out at least once? You know, find out how it works so we won't be surprised if at some point we really need it?"
"What, you don't want to try it out at least once? You know, find out how it works so we won't be surprised if at some point we really need it?"
Rowan shrugged, standing up himself. He wasn't convinced it was
necessary—'Wave' had had no difficulty exercising her powers with
no prior practice, after all—but he'd suspected from the start that
he wasn't getting out of this encounter without them trying it at
least once.
"A test shouldn't hurt, at least," he said, and then his
own phrase to shift into blue-haired, fox-girl form.
"Ah, right...!" Seeming to just now realize he needed to be
in vixen form himself, Simon quickly blurted the phrase Rowan had
just learned to become Petra, maintaining a giant, excited grin the
entire time. "So, so—we need to hug or something, right?"
"..A handshake was sufficient for Light and myself," Rowan said. "I suspect it just needs to be a show of mutual trust—" She was cut off by the two-tailed vixen excitedly glomping her.
"Let's gooo!"
"..A handshake was sufficient for Light and myself," Rowan said. "I suspect it just needs to be a show of mutual trust—" She was cut off by the two-tailed vixen excitedly glomping her.
"Let's gooo!"
Rowan sighed, patting her head gently a couple of times and speaking
the newly-learned phrase.
She shifted into water and flowed 'into' the other vixen's more solid
form, merging them together. The resulting body grew slightly taller
and curvier, Rowan's tail appearing alongside Petra's two along the
way. She had one ear in Petra's color and the other in Rowan's, and
mostly the former's hair color with the light blue appearing at the
tips of her locks.
The fused vixen spread her arms out, looking down briefly at herself
and around. "Whoa—okay okay, pretty dissimilar from last
night." She felt immeasurably strong, solid, and agile, with
command of both vixens' swords and a myriad of ways to use them in a
fight popping into her mind unbidden. The excited energy Simon nearly
always had was tempered by Rowan's calmer nature, making her feel
sort of..balanced.
Still, she couldn't help chattering to herself a little bit.
"Anything peculiar to this combination I can't do on my own?
Well, an earth dragon's a given, but I've got no desire to demolish
this building doing that now. Fancy swordplay feels like
second nature, sure sure, and maybe a modicum more precision for
sculpting rocks. Additional power behind the water too, as though I
don't have enough already!"
"...Shouldn't waste too much more time or energy staying
together, really...but I at least need a name!" She
tapped a finger on her chin a couple of times, trying to think of
something good—and halfway wishing Karis was around to help out.
"Water plus dirt makes..mud? Gross, no good," she said,
shaking her head. "Hang on—" an image of the grand canyon
popped into her head, and she brought the hand away from her chin
into an 'I have an idea' kind of upward-pointing gesture. "Water
cutting through the earth, carrying pieces with it
everywhere...Erosion. That's a little more evocative!"
Between Petra's steadiness and stamina, and Rowan's agility and
strategy—well, up against an opponent she couldn't shred right
away, there was a good chance she could still outlast it, and
eventually wear it down to nothing. "Eh—sufficient for now, at
least? No need to announce it unless I—we—whatever—do
this in public, huh? Hup—"
Splitting apart was reasonably effortless. Rowan didn't feel nearly
as winded afterward as from being Wave, but then 'Erosion' hadn't
really done much more than stand around and talk. Still,
compared to the constant, noticeable effort needed to maintain Wave's
fused state, being in the merged form with Petra had come with only
the sense of a slight, perhaps even negligible drain. It probably
came down to the other vixen's absurdly high stamina, plus the fact
that simply standing on solid ground 'recharged' her. Definitely an
advantage to keep in mind.
"Aww, we didn't even test anything out," Petra
complained..although Rowan had the distinct feeling it was insincere.
The split had been as 'mutual' of a decision as anything conceivably
could be.
"I'm certain we'll have plenty of time to 'play'
tomorrow, if it really is worse than yesterday," she
remarked.
"Yeah, yeah—you're right. Gotta be responsible and all. I do have work of my own to get to!"
"Yeah, yeah—you're right. Gotta be responsible and all. I do have work of my own to get to!"
I know, it's been a while. This isn't all I've been working on; I have a couple of other things hopefully near completion. When it comes to this story in particular, though, I've been having a little trouble just because, after "Rainbow in the Dark" and the fallout from that, we're kind of back in a part of the story where I don't already have a good outline for exactly what should happen. There is another known "landmark destination" things are headed toward, but it's on the next in-story day because back when I had ideas for that, this "break day" in between hadn't even been planned to happen at all.
I lost the link to your writings for a while, and I have just caught up on reading all but 2 that you did during that time. The two that I haven't read yet are your two most recent captions. I'll need to look at them on my laptop, since the text is too small on my phone.
ReplyDeleteI really like reading any of your writings.
Sorry about the text size. I try to make sure things are readable, but can't really tell how it'll look on a phone while editing on the computer. Maybe I can try to remember to increase the size a little on future ones.
Delete