After seeing Rachel off to school, Graham went to the mirror to give
one last look—maybe a light hair-brushing—before heading off to
work. Looking one's best at a job was the kind of responsibility that
old Graham took very seriously, but of course the Nekomata was even
more interested in making sure she'd look good late that
afternoon, with Damon...
In the middle of such thoughts she paused, the brush still stuck in
hair, flinching just slightly. Looking left and right at the
reflection of her bedroom in the mirror, then turning around to
examine the room itself, she couldn't find what she'd thought had
been there, just in the edges of her peripheral vision in the mirror.
Well, she shrugged to herself, it must have been nothing. Her new
'senses' would have felt someone coming into the house long before
they could've reached her room, anyway.
A couple of hours later, Graham felt someone familiar, but also
rather different from before, walking into the store. After wandering
briefly around, that person caught sight of her and came eagerly
running up to her. "Oh, hey there," she said, waving to the
black-haired catgirl who felt—but didn't look—familiar.
"Something I can help ya with?"
"Well, I can't rightly say," she said, grinning, and
evidently not at all out of breath from the brief dash over. "I
feel a little like ya already helped me out enough." Her voice
was very deep, and that made it feel somehow similar to how
she'd sounded as an older man despite a lack of any real, direct
similarity. "We met a coupla
days ago—I'd say you
looked a little older then, too. I got your
name then, but don't think I ever gave ya mine. It's Billie,
now," she said, offering Graham a hand to shake.
"Nice to see you again," the Nekomata said, smiling back. "I guess you're..happy enough with the results, then?" There was no use pretending she wasn't responsible when 'Billie' seemed so grateful, after all.
"Nice to see you again," the Nekomata said, smiling back. "I guess you're..happy enough with the results, then?" There was no use pretending she wasn't responsible when 'Billie' seemed so grateful, after all.
"Sure am."
She put a hand through her hair for a moment. "My goodness, I
really hadn't imagined myself as a pretty girl, but things've
been looking more and more up since I first met ya. I did swear to
myself I'd find me a woman too, and that was a little tougher
like this, I'd tell ya—but I think I've got me a candidate now!
Heheh..."
"Oh? Well, that was awfully quick. Good luck with that,"
Graham said. "Just don't get so eager that you scare her
off."
"Ahh, sure, sure," Billie nodded. "Welp, I gotta get
back to work. Thanks again!" She gave a brief wave, then dashed
off.
Graham watched her leave, thinking: And here I thought I
was full of energy after being made young again.
"Hmmmnhh..." Onida had gone to the trouble of buying
clothes for this male form. It seemed oddly like a waste to have it
and not use it for anything, after all. And then she'd suggested a
date with Sam as a way to use it. But now, looking at himself
in the mirror, he still wondered whether this was remotely a good
idea.
Sam wouldn't mind, if he turned back into a woman and they both went
out like that. Sam wouldn't mind being 'the man', either. But...this
was what they'd agreed on. The male appearance in the mirror,
which was a little strange to him still, certainly looked good in
some business-casual wear. Anyway...he certainly felt something
nice from imagining actually picking the cute wolf-girl up in his
arms at the end, and..maybe kissing..!?
Onida jumped slightly, and then Sam poked her head through the
bedroom door and gently asked, "Having second thoughts?"
One could be mistaken for thinking these two events happened in the
other order—they were near-simultaneous, after all—but the tall,
broad-shouldered, white-haired werewolf had jumped because he thought
he saw his own reflection wink at him.
He quickly turned around to face Sam and respond. "Uh, no—I
mean, I'm nervous, but I still want to do it this way. Maybe...we can
do it differently at another time, you know..." Right, nerves.
He must've just imagined it. Reflections did not wink, nor
otherwise move, independently of the viewer.
"Alright." Sam opened the door the rest of the way,
concluding that Onida was basically clothed and ready to go anyway,
and looked him up and down briefly. "For what it's worth,
aaaah..you look really good in that. Or, aah, you know. Just
in general."
"Um. Th-thanks. You—you do too," Onida said, smiling
slightly. The wolf-girl had decided to be a little adventurous
wardrobe-wise tonight, and wear an actual dress: A deep purple
strapless kind whose skirt trailed to a little past the knees. She
drew the line at still not wearing any heels, however, which Onida
more than understood.
"Heheh." Sam just cutely giggled back, her face lighting up
with a slight blush. "So, you're ready?"
"Yyyes," she said, nodding. "Let's go on out."
"Yyyes," she said, nodding. "Let's go on out."
They nearly ran into Onida's sibling on the way out the door. A
familiar pickup truck was waiting in the driveway for her.
Damon would've been fine on her own anyway, but her staying over with
Graham was even better than that. Onida hadn't realized it, but at
some point she'd come to trust the catgirl quite a bit with her
brother. It was obvious they liked each other; she made Damon happy
just by being near. And Damon seemed to have started recovering the
rest of her memories—the rest of her very self—better and
faster right around the time they'd first met. It might've been a
coincidence, really, but...either way, it was fine.
And now Graham was a 'Nekomata', which Sam had explained for the
other two werewolves in a little more detail. The amount of power she
had would be terrifying to someone who thought they'd crossed her, or
knew her to have bad intentions...but, if anything, it was even more
reassuring for her to be with Damon while the two of them were out on
their date. If it wasn't enough how very capable the werewolf Damon
was of hurting an intruder, then Graham as she now was could
probably render them into a fine mist...but also, probably wouldn't
actually do that. She would make sure that things ended a lot more
peacefully, even in such a worst-case scenario. So, overall, Onida
felt that he had absolutely nothing to worry about. He could just
focus on Sam...
They had picked a place within reasonable walking distance, so the
two of them struck out toward it on the sidewalk. After the first few
steps, Sam tried bringing an arm up around Onida's waist, making him
jump slightly at the hand suddenly there. "Aaah—too much?"
she asked, taking the hand off of him.
"Er—no, just..um. Surprised. It's fine, really. I mean I...really, I should..." Rather than continuing to try to explain it, he gently placed his arm over the shorter girl's shoulder.
"Pffheheh...aaah, man, I feel kinda giddy," Sam said, returing her arm to his back. "I guess that's normal enough?"
"Er—no, just..um. Surprised. It's fine, really. I mean I...really, I should..." Rather than continuing to try to explain it, he gently placed his arm over the shorter girl's shoulder.
"Pffheheh...aaah, man, I feel kinda giddy," Sam said, returing her arm to his back. "I guess that's normal enough?"
"S-sure...not that I'd really know..."
They didn't say anything else for nearly the entire rest of the walk.
There wasn't anything to say, and just being together felt like it
could be enough. After a while, Sam did lean her head on
Onida's shoulder, and he felt a brief rush from that, a temptation to
pat her head or something...but that kind of thing should come after
the dinner, he thought. This was good enough for now.
Not far from the restaurant, Onida noticed a car going the other way.
It belonged to his boss, Felix, but there was a woman inside...maybe
Zotha had 'gifted' him a female form in the process of helping him
out? Today Felix had seemed a little off all day, like he was tired
or nervous, and nearly every time Onida had seen him in the morning,
he'd been leaning his head in a hand like he was nursing a massive
headache. None of this was really any of Onida's business, but
Sam briefly followed his gaze and looked up at him with a slight
headtilt.
"Uh—thought I recognized a coworker," he said. "In that car? Nothing important."
"'Kay."
"Uh—thought I recognized a coworker," he said. "In that car? Nothing important."
"'Kay."
Logan was the last to arrive at the small nook between a couple of
buildings. It seemed that 'Andrew' and Steph had acquired folding
chairs and a card table with some drinks and disposable cups on it;
everyone but Thomas the dragon was currently sitting on the chairs.
"Heey, Logan!" Steph greeted their late-comer, waving.
"Glad you could make it. We've got to get started pretty
soon."
"Yeah, sorry. My roommate was pestering me all through breakfast," he said, shrugging. Julian was the very definition of a morning person, but tended to seem outright narcoleptic by mid-afternoon. He'd always suspected it was a 'cat-person' thing, but maybe it was just a 'Julian' thing after all. He went and took a seat while the three-tailed kitsune gave some instructions one last time.
"Yeah, sorry. My roommate was pestering me all through breakfast," he said, shrugging. Julian was the very definition of a morning person, but tended to seem outright narcoleptic by mid-afternoon. He'd always suspected it was a 'cat-person' thing, but maybe it was just a 'Julian' thing after all. He went and took a seat while the three-tailed kitsune gave some instructions one last time.
Logan was in charge of keeping the group unseen and unheard. People
usually didn't go to this little corner area, but if there was a risk
of someone bumping into the invisible group, he'd have to do
something, maybe including making just himself visible to them, to
get them to go away. If he started to feel tired from doing that
while contributing his energy Anika's way, then the two-tailed
girl would take over that job for a while to give him a break. In the
meantime, she was doing the relatively lightweight work of swapping
the apparent names of the two buildings.
He'd wondered whether it would end up just being boring for their
group, sitting well out of sight of the 'victims' and their confusion
at the swapped buildings. But Steph was a couple of steps ahead of
that thought, using some of his power to make one of the walls they
were next to work like a screen showing the view of a few "cameras"
that would catch people going through the doors from both sides.
Logan had the thought that using kitsune power like that would
make a person really good at stealth and/or security, given the lack
of a visible camera for the person you were trying to catch to avoid.
But then, literal invisibility would be a pretty obvious counter to
that advantage. How did people having access to powers like these not
result in tons of valuables constantly 'going missing' from the
mundane world, anyway?
Once Steph had chanted out the spell for channeling magic, a faint
line of light appeared going from each willing participant into
Andrew. Each light was in a different, characteristic color: Stella's
was pure white, Steph's was gold-colored, Logan's was the same shade
of blue as his hair (of course), and Thomas's was actually not
faint but rather a thick, blinding, grassy green light that felt like
it'd hurt one's eyes to look at for long. Soon Andrew had a kind of
halo of light around him that seemed to be formed of a mixture of
those colors. Then he took a deep breath, looking hard into the wall
Steph was projecting illusions onto to help concentrate, and set up
the link.
The four-tailed kitsune visibly strained for a moment, and the
'Andrew' illusion flickered out, revealing the long-haired, curvy
girl Logan had originally met, all four of her tails out in full
view. She took a few more deep breaths, seeming to get a little more
stable, before looking around at everyone and visually realizing that
the illusion was gone. "Uh..."
"Yeeeaah, maybe we should've mentioned this sooner," Steph said, mostly in Thomas and Stella's direction. "Soo, that curse we're trying to get rid of.."
"Yeeeaah, maybe we should've mentioned this sooner," Steph said, mostly in Thomas and Stella's direction. "Soo, that curse we're trying to get rid of.."
"I already knew that," the dragon said.
"I had guessed as much, given Lady Zotha's involvement,"
the angel-girl added.
"Yeah—Prama introduced her to me as 'Anika'," Logan said.
"Uhm...so, like, I'm the only one who didn't
know?" the remaining kitsune in the group said. "How did I
not know!? I was in that weird cult before Zotha was!"
"I did..go to a lot of effort..to hide it," Anika said.
"I did..go to a lot of effort..to hide it," Anika said.
"Aaaaaanyway," Steph said, clearly wanting to change the
subject. He waved at the illusion on the wall. "Look, our first
'customer' is coming."
The other kitsune, and Stella, laughed at the first several people
going back and forth through the portals several times, looking at
the signage that said which building was which, trying to make sense
of what was happening, becoming more and more confused, before
finally giving up and going over to the other building's entrance to
reach their actual destination. Even Thomas chuckled a couple of
times, especially when one fairly old chemistry professor seemed to
grow increasingly angry for several minutes, climaxing at turning
entirely livid and attempting to lift a heavy trash can in hopes of
throwing it through a window. An English grad student had to hurry
over and carefully talk him down.
Logan felt like he was the only one not particularly entertained by
all this. He couldn't quite see how it was so funny. Maybe he had
just a little too much empathy for what they were going
through: Their basic understanding of how the world worked, all of
the assumptions that they lived their lives under, were being
undermined—maybe even assaulted. He knew exactly what it was like
to be shocked and confused at a sudden shift in the laws of reality
around him. And he knew what it was like to just eventually give up,
get used to it, and grow numb to how incredibly strange everything
was. To wish that someone, anyone, would just explain what was
really happening...
He eventually turned away from the 'screen' and toward the entrance
to the alleyway, deciding to focus on his 'job' instead. He reminded
himself that he was participating in this not because he ever thought
he'd enjoy it, but because Anika had helped him out. Maybe the
experience would help him understand what it meant to be a kitsune or
something...but he really didn't want to ever do something like this
again.
During a lull where nobody was trying to get in or out of the
buildings for a bit, the group chatted some. Only Anika kept quiet;
the way she chugged her way through two entire bottles of water
suggested the physical strain of using everyone's power was starting
to get to her.
"So, so, Logan," the two-tailed girl said. "You were
out of the veil thing for two whole years?"
"Yeah. Almost three before this happened," he said,
pointing at one of his ears.
"But you didn't tell, like, anyone?"
"But you didn't tell, like, anyone?"
"That's right."
"Oof. I mean—I like. 'Awoke' as a kitsune when I was a
teenager, and that yanked me right out of the veil. My parents
are totally human, still under it and stuff. But I basically went
bawling to the first person I halfway knew that suddenly had a tail
too, and got it kinda explained for me right away. I totally can't
imagine just keeping it a secret for that
long!"
"Indeed...if anything, that seems quite an impressive feat of deception," Stella said. "Or at least discretion. I would expect the Ruler of Foxes to be suitably impressed to award you another tail, if she looks closely enough at you to comprehend the full extent of the achievement."
"Indeed...if anything, that seems quite an impressive feat of deception," Stella said. "Or at least discretion. I would expect the Ruler of Foxes to be suitably impressed to award you another tail, if she looks closely enough at you to comprehend the full extent of the achievement."
"Yeah, like, if this isn't enough to get someone
something," the two-tailed fox agreed.
"I'm uh..not sure I want one of the world's
literal gods looking right at me," he said nervously.
"I know what you mean," Steph said. "First time I met
Zotha was terrifying. But honestly, you've got nothing to
worry about with the Ruler. She just wants to help her own
kind, after all."
At this, Anika grunted slightly, and then spoke up, slowly. "I've
seen..how she 'helped'...Zotha. Re, mem, ber?"
"Eeeeh, that was a one-off," Steph said. "She was nice
enough awarding me my third!"
After a couple of hours, Anika was obviously running on empty. Logan
himself could actually feel a little bit of strain from his continual
contribution plus the illusion he'd been keeping up the whole time.
She held on until a group of students went inside the English
building's entrance to find themselves inside the other one, then
released it just as they were all confusedly turning around; there
was an uproar of laughter from everyone but Logan as the group found
themselves outside the wrong building and briefly argued with each
other about who had led who the wrong way, and then Steph waved his
hand to dismiss the view from the wall as well.
"Great work, everyone!" Steph said, standing up to applaud;
Anika was slumped over onto her arm on the table, looking fully
unconsicous. "Make sure to eat a good lunch—you've spent way
more magic than you might think, and in a different way from usual
for sure."
"Yeah..I haven't felt this kind of 'spent' since becoming a dragon," Thomas admitted. "Closest thing was after fighting that lesser demon, maybe?"
"Yeah..I haven't felt this kind of 'spent' since becoming a dragon," Thomas admitted. "Closest thing was after fighting that lesser demon, maybe?"
"I'll treat you to some steak~," Stella said, gently
rubbing one of his horns. The horn probably didn't have sensation the
way someone's skin would, but the way he blushed from the gesture
made it obvous enough that he knew she was doing it.
"Uh, d-don't spend too much.."
As the others began to filter out, Steph went and sat down next to
Anika again, gently rubbing one of her ears. "What do you think?
Earned that fifth tail yet?" he said softly.
"Mmmnnh. Hope so," she half-mumbled. "Even...hffh...if not...progress, is progress."
"Yeah, that's the spirit!"
"Mrrr~rrh..." She lifted her head just barely enough to look at Steph, her face lit up with a bright, blushing smile.
Starting to feel like he wasn't supposed to be seeing this, Logan hurriedly turned and left. He had...places to be anyway. Right.
"Mmmnnh. Hope so," she half-mumbled. "Even...hffh...if not...progress, is progress."
"Yeah, that's the spirit!"
"Mrrr~rrh..." She lifted her head just barely enough to look at Steph, her face lit up with a bright, blushing smile.
Starting to feel like he wasn't supposed to be seeing this, Logan hurriedly turned and left. He had...places to be anyway. Right.
Did kitsune always like being pet that much? Or did it have to
be someone special doing it? He had a feeling it was the latter, and
thought briefly about Prama. Either way, they'd be meeting up later
today...
"Uh, yeah, so..the potion's still working the same as ever.
You..want me to show you?"
"Sure," Boreas nodded.
Jack took a moment to take hold of his pants, then shifted forms to
the redheaded 'Jackie'. The alchemist stared down at her for just
long enough to make her start blushing, then nodded.
"It does look the same," she said. "I'm sure you've
got 'nough sense to tell me if anything felt off. You can change back
now."
"Oh, uh—if that's okay, yeah." She quickly shifted back to being male, and breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Oh, uh—if that's okay, yeah." She quickly shifted back to being male, and breathed a small sigh of relief.
"I did make you stay a woman last time, but I'm sure
you're more comfortable like that."
"Yeeeah."
"Yeeeah."
"So let's go on our date like this, then."
They went back to Jack's car again. After sitting down in the
passenger seat and shutting the door, Boreas said, "You got a
place picked out?"
"I do, yeah! Um, I thought you might like some variety, so—I mean unless you really want to go back to the same one?"
"Nah. Variety's good," she said. "Let's get going."
"I do, yeah! Um, I thought you might like some variety, so—I mean unless you really want to go back to the same one?"
"Nah. Variety's good," she said. "Let's get going."
"Yeah!"
From a bench just outside the restaurant's door, Billie watched for a
good several minutes before recognizing the driver of a car pulling
into its parking place. She hopped to her feet and hurried over. "Hey
there! I was gettin' concerned I'd scared you off," she said.
"Uh, no—sorry. If I, if...well, I'd at least tell you."
Fel was wringing her hands a little, and didn't seem entirely
comfortable in the dark, sparkly ankle-length dress she was wearing.
"Some things just..came up at work, and piled up on me at home,
and so I'm just—late. So..sorry."
The catgirl gave her a look of false suspicion for a moment, then giggled. "Naaah, don't you worry 'bout that. Clocks lose their use when folks get together for a good time, you hear?" Seeing that the wolf-girl looked genuinely relieved, she pressed her luck a little bit, stepping closer to pat Fel's head. "I just meant to say I'm glad to see you at all~."
The catgirl gave her a look of false suspicion for a moment, then giggled. "Naaah, don't you worry 'bout that. Clocks lose their use when folks get together for a good time, you hear?" Seeing that the wolf-girl looked genuinely relieved, she pressed her luck a little bit, stepping closer to pat Fel's head. "I just meant to say I'm glad to see you at all~."
"Uh—um." Her face flushed and she stammered, about as
expected. But it was best not to push any farther for now.
"C'mon, let's mosey on inside, then," she said, stepping
back again, turning around, and heading for the entrance. Her ears
picked up the other girl's footsteps following her after only a brief
hesitation.
"Say, you didn't wind up too sick from last night, did
you?"
"Uh, no. I mean I—I had some trouble sleeping, and woke up with a bad headache but..it definitely could've been worse," Fel said.
"Uh, no. I mean I—I had some trouble sleeping, and woke up with a bad headache but..it definitely could've been worse," Fel said.
"Woof. Guess we've both learned our lesson, then: None of
the strong stuff for you tonight."
"R-right."
"R-right."
They got inside, requested a table for two, and were promptly sat
down across from each other in a booth way off in a corner of the
restaurant. Fel visibly struggled with finding the right way to slide
into her seat in the dress for a moment or two.
"You know, you look downright gorgeous in that,"
Billie said. "Feel like I'm pretty underdressed for the
occasion." She'd at least changed out of her work clothes that
afternoon, but only into a loose, casual top and short skirt.
"Um, n—no, you..you look great in that too," Fel said.
"Um, it's, if anything maybe what I wore is too
much..."
"Heheh..." Billie just chuckled lightly, watching the wolf-girl pick at her dress with her hands a bit.
"Heheh..." Billie just chuckled lightly, watching the wolf-girl pick at her dress with her hands a bit.
Then she leaned forward a little bit. "So—tell me 'bout
yourself. I know so far that you're a werewolf and a real cutie, and
that's nearly it."
"Uh...w-well...there isn't that much to say. I'm
actually...mostly a pretty boring person. I work an office
job..middle management. I have boring hobbies like reading books,
watching TV. Um..oh! I..keep a dream journal. I guess that's at least
slightly interesting," she added quickly under her breath.
"Ooh? Did ya dream of me last night?"
"Err." Fel blushed brightly again. "I...didn't
actually dream at all, last night. Too little, s-sleep in the first
place, I think."
"Aww, well, I'm make sure you have sweeter dreams tonight~,"
Billie said a little bit flirtatiously. "How'd you get started
on that hobby, hmmn?"
"I thought, I was having a lot of weird dreams, and wanted
to..understand them. Try to, understand myself, and
hopefully...improve myself somehow that way? But the thing is—some
of those 'weird dreams', were actually me half-remembering what I was
doing on some full moons. But not..all of them. Like there was, was
this one recurring dream where I was standing in front of this giant
pit..."
Damon realized, as she stepped past her sister (currently "brother")
and out of the front door, that this was the first time, since
becoming a werewolf and everything, that she'd left the house without
the rest of her 'pack'. But she didn't feel particularly
uncomfortable about that, at least not with Graham's truck waiting
right there for her. She hurried over and hopped in the passenger
seat, swinging the small backpack she'd brought with her around to
place in front of her legs. "Hi!"
"Hey there, pretty lady~," the Nekomata said cheerfully. "Shall we head off?"
"Yeah, sure!"
"Hey there, pretty lady~," the Nekomata said cheerfully. "Shall we head off?"
"Yeah, sure!"
Once they were on the road, Damon said, "Um, thanks for inviting
me over."
"I should thank you for agreeing to come," Graham said. "I've got something going in the oven for us for supper."
"You..don't thank Rachel will mind?" This concern had only really occurred to the wolf-girl this afternoon.
"I should thank you for agreeing to come," Graham said. "I've got something going in the oven for us for supper."
"You..don't thank Rachel will mind?" This concern had only really occurred to the wolf-girl this afternoon.
"She went to study with a friend for the night, actually. She
even wanted to make extra sure I'd be all right with it. So—it'll
be just the two of us, for tonight~," she said, her voice going
into a sort of deep purr.
"Oh. H-heheh...!"
"Oh. H-heheh...!"
Damon followed the catgirl into the latter's house, looking around as
they made their way through to the dining room. Noting her interest,
Graham said, "Well, what do you think?"
"Um...don't take this the wrong way. I mean—it's not like it's a bad thing, but. It looks like a place where an older person lives?" Damon said. "I mean. There's lots of books, that huge bookshelf over there. And tons of other knickknacks and stuff all over. A big collection."
"Um...don't take this the wrong way. I mean—it's not like it's a bad thing, but. It looks like a place where an older person lives?" Damon said. "I mean. There's lots of books, that huge bookshelf over there. And tons of other knickknacks and stuff all over. A big collection."
"Heheh. Well, that's true enough. I've read nearly every one of
those books, you know? And each item has some memories
attached—though, not all of 'em good. I can tell you about some of
it some time, if it won't bore you."
"You must've had some actual, real adventures when you were, um, young the first time? Travelled around, gotten to know a lot of people?"
"I suppose I did..." Graham said, her tone suggesting a mild feeling that she might have been underappreciating that.
They arrived in the dining room, and she pulled out a chair and gestured for the werewolf to go sit in. Then she kept talking as she continued into the kitchen: "You know, I wouldn't mind taking you around places, if it's something you'd be interested in. I suppose it'd mean a long time off from work for you, though."
"You must've had some actual, real adventures when you were, um, young the first time? Travelled around, gotten to know a lot of people?"
"I suppose I did..." Graham said, her tone suggesting a mild feeling that she might have been underappreciating that.
They arrived in the dining room, and she pulled out a chair and gestured for the werewolf to go sit in. Then she kept talking as she continued into the kitchen: "You know, I wouldn't mind taking you around places, if it's something you'd be interested in. I suppose it'd mean a long time off from work for you, though."
"Well—um—I've never really thought about it," Damon
said. "I guess I've always been happy with my games in my room,
and Onida and I were pretty much just paying the bills..taking
time off to travel wasn't something we could afford, I guess. And it
never really, came up."
"That's a shame. Don't get me wrong—the adventures you can
have in books—or as I've learned recently, games—are amazing. But
there's some things where you just can't beat the real experience of
seeing them for yourself." The Nekomata walked back into the
dining room carrying two cups, some plates and silverware, and a
couple of dishes with their meal on them. None of it was in her
actual hands; instead it all floated around her by use of her magic.
"Here we are~. Dinner's served!" After carefully setting it
all down, she hurried to the other side of the table.
After a couple of slightly awkward, false starts, Jack got his date
to really start talking by bringing up the subject of old times: Her
adventures with other werewolves when she was younger. And through
the course of that, a particular name came up.
"Hold up—did you say Lucent?"
"Yep," she nodded.
"You mean Lucent Merrow, right? Alpha of the last great pack? That Lucent?"
"Yep," she nodded.
"You mean Lucent Merrow, right? Alpha of the last great pack? That Lucent?"
"Oh. Sure," she shrugged.
"Man, I had no idea you knew someone as famous as that. And he
was really like that when he was younger?"
"He was like that 'till the day he died, I'd say." She took
a swig of her drink. "Suppose he got better at hiding it with
age, but any time the two of us were together...
"Don't get the wrong idea. I reckon he was a pretty good alpha.
I can barely imagine keeping that many folks in line."
"You seem to be pretty good at controlling your territory,
though. I mean, like, your alchemy shop?"
"Sure, but I can kick anyone out I don't like. Packs aren't like that—whoever you let, in you're stuck with unless everyone wants 'em out. Besides, you have to worry about making folks happy. For my business, all I have to worry about is making sure the potions are paid for."
"Sure, but I can kick anyone out I don't like. Packs aren't like that—whoever you let, in you're stuck with unless everyone wants 'em out. Besides, you have to worry about making folks happy. For my business, all I have to worry about is making sure the potions are paid for."
"I guess that makes sense.
"..About that 'last' thing, though. You think there really won't
ever be a pack that big again?" Jack wondered.
"Who knows. Seems like modern day is pretty different from back then. Maybe big packs—the sort Lucent managed—aren't really needed anymore. Different sorts of folks mingle a lot more these days, too. I reckon anyone wanting to form a pack that big will need to be willing to have foxes and cats and demons, and some normal humans as members, too."
"Who knows. Seems like modern day is pretty different from back then. Maybe big packs—the sort Lucent managed—aren't really needed anymore. Different sorts of folks mingle a lot more these days, too. I reckon anyone wanting to form a pack that big will need to be willing to have foxes and cats and demons, and some normal humans as members, too."
"They wouldn't just get bitten to join or something?"
"There's plenty of reasons to stay human. Not that I'd really
know," Boreas said.
"Yeeaaah, me either." Both of them were born werewolves. He wondered briefly whether he might have felt differently about things if he'd been born human, like Logan was.
"Yeeaaah, me either." Both of them were born werewolves. He wondered briefly whether he might have felt differently about things if he'd been born human, like Logan was.
Just about when the subject of Fel's dreams had been truly exhausted,
a waiter showed up to get the pair's drink orders, neatly wrapping
that conversation up. "Um, so—what do you..do?" Fel asked
afterward. "For a job, I mean."
"Oh, me? Just like around a third of this town, the university
employs me. I'm a groundskeeper on campus," Billie said.
"Meaning...you must work with your hands a lot?"
"Sure do. And tell you what, I got no less fit from bein' made
young again," she added, flexing her right arm briefly. Fel saw
that the limb was slim, but couldn't make out any actual biceps;
nonetheless, their couple of hugs the night before were enough to
convince her this claim was truthful.
Their drinks arrived at this point. Fel took a sip of hers, while
Billie chugged maybe a third of her glass like she was at a frat
party. "Billie..?"
"Mmhm?"
"I just can't help but feel like...maybe this is a little too blunt, but. You seem really...uh, eager. Forward? I-is that the right word?"
"Sure. Aawh, you could say 'desperate' without insulting me," Billie said. "Sure, I'll admit to that. It's down to at least a few things. For one, you ain't exactly saying no. And when I can get that shy, blushing look outta ya..it's downright adorable!"
"Mmhm?"
"I just can't help but feel like...maybe this is a little too blunt, but. You seem really...uh, eager. Forward? I-is that the right word?"
"Sure. Aawh, you could say 'desperate' without insulting me," Billie said. "Sure, I'll admit to that. It's down to at least a few things. For one, you ain't exactly saying no. And when I can get that shy, blushing look outta ya..it's downright adorable!"
"Oh..uh.." Being called that made it feel like Fel's
heart was in her throat.
"Heehee~...!" The catgirl just giggled softly, then slowly
sat up, visibly composing herself a bit.
"That ain't all, though. See, before I got made young again, I
realized somethin' awful. You got many friends, Fel?"
"Well..sure. I mean—some, at least.
Mostly..coworkers."
"Family?"
She shrugged. "My parents are still around, I call or visit them sometimes. And, other relatives..scattered around. No siblings."
"Family?"
She shrugged. "My parents are still around, I call or visit them sometimes. And, other relatives..scattered around. No siblings."
"Mm-hmm," she nodded. "As for me, I haven't got much
of anyone. Family's buried or don't care to talk to me. I have
friendly coworkers too, drinking buddies, neighbors...plenty of folks
I can have fun with. It's easy for me to get along with other people,
is what I'm sayin'. But I don't feel like I'm all that close to any
of 'em. So I thought—if I had me a woman. Someone I was
living with, and all. Maybe that'd be someone I could really
talk to, get to know very well."
"Uhhm...don't take this the wrong way, but—it sounds more like
you just want a friend," Fel said.
"Ain't lovers supposed to be friends, too?" the catgirl
said, tilting her head. Despite her declared age and usual
confidence, the werewolf felt like this question and expression
seemed intensely naive.
"Well..'supposed to be' and 'are', are two different
things."
"Ehh, sure, sure. But anyhow, I figured if I ran into the right lady, with the same sorta goal—we could make it work," she said. "Only that was more of a pipe dream, at the time—being then a balding old man."
"Uh—man," Fel repeated, half a question.
"Hmn?" Billie tilted her head. "Didn't I mention that part?"
"Nnnooo.."
"Well, I don't see no reason to be coy about it. What made me young again, also sprouted these kitty ears," she said, pointing at one of them, "and swapped me to the other team. You really couldn't tell?"
"Well, I admit there were definitely clues...in retrospect," Fel said. "But then—if you're a girl now, are you still dead set on uh..a woman?"
Billie shrugged. "I hadn't thought about it too hard, actually. Maybe a handsome fella would do nicely for me, too. But I'm darn sure I like you, for now."
"Ehh, sure, sure. But anyhow, I figured if I ran into the right lady, with the same sorta goal—we could make it work," she said. "Only that was more of a pipe dream, at the time—being then a balding old man."
"Uh—man," Fel repeated, half a question.
"Hmn?" Billie tilted her head. "Didn't I mention that part?"
"Nnnooo.."
"Well, I don't see no reason to be coy about it. What made me young again, also sprouted these kitty ears," she said, pointing at one of them, "and swapped me to the other team. You really couldn't tell?"
"Well, I admit there were definitely clues...in retrospect," Fel said. "But then—if you're a girl now, are you still dead set on uh..a woman?"
Billie shrugged. "I hadn't thought about it too hard, actually. Maybe a handsome fella would do nicely for me, too. But I'm darn sure I like you, for now."
"Uhhm, it's just...since we're admitting to these kinda things
now...when I found out I was a werewolf, last week. Was the...first
time I looked like this," Fel said, gesturing vaguely
downward. "Before that..and a lot of other times since then,
like at work, I'm a guy."
"Oooh?" Billie's response was about equal parts surprising and expected. She leaned forward with interest, her tail winding around through the air behind her. "You mean to say you can change yourself whenever you like?"
"Uh..y-yeah..?"
"That's amazing! I'll bet you're a real handsome young man, too," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "No way you'd be any less attractive than you are as a lady, at least."
"Oooh?" Billie's response was about equal parts surprising and expected. She leaned forward with interest, her tail winding around through the air behind her. "You mean to say you can change yourself whenever you like?"
"Uh..y-yeah..?"
"That's amazing! I'll bet you're a real handsome young man, too," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "No way you'd be any less attractive than you are as a lady, at least."
"Uh, w-well, I d-d-don't know about that..."
Fel was more or less rescued by the arrival of their waiter to get their food orders. Billie had leaned forward so much that she had the slight impression that the catgirl had been about to pounce across the table at her, and now she simply sat up straight again and gave the man her order, just as if they'd been having a perfectly normal, casual conversation. The werewolf took several deep breaths during this, focusing hard on deciding what to order herself...and not on the fact that a part of her had responded to the sight of the beautiful catgirl grinning across at her like that with a desire to be the one doing the pouncing.
Fel was more or less rescued by the arrival of their waiter to get their food orders. Billie had leaned forward so much that she had the slight impression that the catgirl had been about to pounce across the table at her, and now she simply sat up straight again and gave the man her order, just as if they'd been having a perfectly normal, casual conversation. The werewolf took several deep breaths during this, focusing hard on deciding what to order herself...and not on the fact that a part of her had responded to the sight of the beautiful catgirl grinning across at her like that with a desire to be the one doing the pouncing.
