The Next Chapter: 9

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The Next Chapter
Chapter 9: What're You Trying to Do?

Nancy found Jay eating lunch in OZK's dining area on Monday, and came up to sit across from her. "Heya, Jay."
"Oh, hi!" she gave a bright, cute smile.
"How're things going? With, being a girl and all?"
"Oh, fine. I think I might kinda like it?" she said. "Is that weird?"
"I don't think so, but I do come from a pretty weird family," Nancy admitted.

She leaned slightly in toward the fox-girl. "You know, it seems like Ed and L'hoxifel really hit it off. At least, since she became a wolf-girl anyway."
"Yeah!"
"Huh." Nancy sat up slightly again, noting the earnest, cheerful tone of voice, and the immediacy of that response. "So, you're not..."

"Not what?" Jay tilted her head slightly.
"Well, you know. You two have been friends for a long time, haven't you? Isn't it..weird, like, having someone else butt in on that?"
"I'm happy for Ed," she said. "Besides, we're still hanging out a lot!"

"So you're not even a little bit jealous?"

"Nnnoo? What would I be jealous of?"

Nancy shrugged. "I just thought you might be the one who wanted the first shot at her. After how cute she turned out, and all."

"Oh. I mean, yeah, Ed is super cute. But he—or she, or whatever—has always been kinda touchy about uh, touch. Anyway, I'd feel a lot weirder thinking about her that way, you know?"
"I guess that makes sense. Anyway, good to know there won't be any..significant conflict about all that," she said.

"Yeah!" Jay nodded. "Besides—this morning, a really cute guy wanted my number. He says he's a kitsune."
"Uh-huh? I am glad for you, but.." Nancy leaned in slightly again. "You do know they're practically a whole race of like, trolls, right? Maybe he's pulling a prank on you or something."
"I guess that'd just mean I should play along? Anyway, it's just like, a casual meeting or whatever. If he's not serious, it's no big deal—we've barely even met!"

"Faaaiiir enough."

"I just feel like I should look out for our members, is all," Nancy said, giving her best cheerful, winning smile. That wasn't quite how she felt on the inside, of course.

She caught up with Ed on the way to the house Tuesday afternoon—just happening to be headed the same way at around the same time, and all. "Hiiii there!"
"Uh. Hi." The wolf-girl was giving every physical-language signal she possibly could of wanting to be left alone with her thoughts. Nancy just acted oblivious to all of that.
"How're you doooiing? Getting used to being a girl?"
"I don't know if this is something I can really 'get used to'. But, I'm fine despite that," she said. "Like I told you before...I'll keep this up the rest of this week, at least."
"Sure, sure," she nodded. "Hey, it seems like L'hoxifel really likes you!"
"Yyyeah. We, actually went on a date Sunday."

"That's great. Oh, but uh."

Nancy turned her head Ed's way, whispering quietly enough to need those wolf-ears to hear. "Did you know—she used to be a guy back in high school? Used his own power to transform for some reason."
"Uhh, yeah, I knew that. She told me Sunday, before the..um...date." Ed had a cute blush on from having to mention the date again. That was at least something, anyway.

"Oh. That's good," Nancy said, quickly shifting back to a cheerful tone. "I just thought, you know, there might be some empathy there. Although it does seem like she got pretty used to it by now. I guess that could mean there's some hope for you yet!"
"I..guess?"
"Hey, but uh. She is really into anthro girls and stuff. Do yooouuu thiiink she'd still be dating you, if you changed back? Or had someone help you change to a more 'normal human' look as a girl?"
"I dunno. Not like I can read her mind or anything," Ed said, shrugging slightly. This was perfect! She was clearly feigning apathy about the answer to that question, probably especially to herself.
"Well, just a thought I had, is all. Oh, I've gotta get on to class," Nancy announced suddenly, just as they came to the house's front doors. "See ya later!" She dashed off, barely hearing the wolf-girl's response.
"Ssssure."

After interviewing the three prospects, Nancy hurried outside to catch up to the last one to leave. "Hey, Kyo."
"Huh? Oh, hi." He turned to face her; the other two who'd come in with him continued their walk, evidently having already planned to head off in a different direction. Perfect. "Did I forget something?"
"Oh—no no, nothing like that. There's just like, a little thing I realized, a second ago. The other day Jay told meee, that she was dating a guy who said he was a kitsune? I guess it'd be pretty dumb to assume that you're the same person, but some of the details do match up...so I was just curious, is all!"
"Uhhh yeah." He nervously rubbed the back of his head with his left hand. "Funny thing, right after hearing from her and Ed about OZK's whole deal, only for my roommate to just barge in on me and ask me to join with him."

"Don't feel pressured into if you don't want to," she said. "As much as we'd like to have new members, we want people who really wanna be here, too."

"Yeah, of course," he nodded. "I'm still, thinking about it."
"Well, I mean." She put a finger under her chin, smiling. "I guess it would be a pretty funny trick, overall."
"What do you mean?"

"I mean like—if you joined, had the house transform you? Maybe used a different name and some illusions sometimes to still look like a guy? You could be dating Jay while staying in the same house with her. I bet that'd be a pretty impressive deception, right?"
"I..guess?" He said, uncertainly.

"You could probably earn a third tail if you kept it up for a whole year or something," she suggested.

"That...I dunno about that," he said. "It's not that easy to earn a tail, you know."
"Oh, well, I was just speculating," Nancy admitted. "It's not like I have any experience being a kitsune. Just a little thought that occurred to me, is all." She leaned in slightly, conspiratorially, and said a little more quietly: "Hey, if you do wanna do that though—your secret's safe with me."

"Cool. Thanks." He gave her a thumbs up with a fake-looking smile. "I'll, keep that in mind. Anyway, I've got a...thing. To get to."

Nancy watched him leave, feeling like she was maybe one-for-three this week so far. At least she could take some enjoyment in flustering a fox enough for him to give out such a terrible lie.

But she had another shot once she'd walked back into the OZK house and gone through the hallway on the way to the stairs: She nearly ran into Robyn. "Whoop—sorry! Somehow almost didn't see you there," she said.
"That's okay. I think I have like..extra reflexes or something." The purple-haired girl was the one who'd prevented their collision, after all.
"Hey, so—you're a catgirl again?"
"Yyyeah. Camilla swiped my ring," she said, giving a cute little frown and sounding somewhat irritated.
"Isn't that really annoying? I guess I should've asked for the enchantment to include some security. Like, 'only the person wearing it can take it off'. That'll be the plan for the next batch."

"It's not that bad," Robyn said. "I-I mean uh..." She flushed.

"Ooooh. You like it when she does that?"

"Not. I mean. Not as much as like, staying a guy and getting a kiss. But the petting isn't, bad," she admitted. "Uh, anyway—I was just going to the bathroom, we've got a game paused, so I gotta head back."
"Okay, see you later~," Nancy said cheerfully, waving. This one needed a little more time to ripen, she figured, and then she could prod at it a little bit more...

"Dinner was great~!" On Thursday, the demon-girl had cooked for the new members, and everyone else who'd been present for supper. Nancy was helping her clean up. "I still don't get how you got to be such a great cook."

"Like I said, it's all just practice," L'hoxifel said, but her expression didn't quite match the humility of her words.

"Psst, hey...I heard you and Ed are dating?" Nancy said much more quietly.
"A little. I mean, just one 'date' so far, really."

"But, you like her?"

"Yeah?"
"I mean do you really like her?"
"I'm not sure. We did just meet last week, you know."
"Oh, I know. I'm just curious, is all. What made you wanna go on a date in the first place?"

"Honestly? She's really cute, and I'm really hoping for a chance to pet her ears," L'hoxifel said, briefly clasping her hands together with a big, blushing grin at the mere thought of such petting. "After talking to her some, though...I think we'd still definitely be friends, if we'd met under more 'normal' circumstances. She's really smart and clever, and a deep, careful thinker. Puts up a spiky exterior, but that's 'cause she's sensitive and caring deep down. That's the impression I get, anyway."

"Heh. Given that you can read people's emotions, your impressions must be pret-ty accurate, right?"
"Maybe," the demon-girl said, grinning in a way that said that meant 'yes'.

"I bet, someone like that used to be bullied back in high school. Especially with how 'he' looked before."
"Hmm...could be a part of it, yeah. I don't see any reason to bring up unpleasant memories, if so."

"Uh-huuuh..."

"So, are you gonna ask her out again, then?"

"Oh, she asked me out—to be perfectly clear. I figured it's understandable if she needs some time to keep up with school this week. But yeah, if she doesn't make a move soon..maybe tomorrow."
"That's great. Go for it, girl!"

Later that afternoon, another opportunity knocked—or something like that. Nancy was getting a little work done in her room at the time. "Coming!" She went and opened the door to find a tall, extremely curvy woman with short, sky-blue hair, but it was really the wings that confirmed for her who she was most likely speaking to. "Oh—Polaris? Wooow—did you take a five-minute nap or something?"

"I was able to get the enchantment to act on me without sleeping," she said. "Its implementation is quite clever, but I fear a false positive may be possible on just the right sort of person."
"Weeeeell," Nancy shrugged. "I don't really know that much about magic. What I do know is, that enchantment was made by one of the most powerful and talented mages in the world—a member of the original chapter of OZK—and was carefully inspected by like, two or three more experienced experts. It's been tested out, too, before anyone moved in."
"I wouldn't question its safety at all, certainly," Polaris nodded. "But if a man with a particularly weak resistance to magic were to enter this place..."
"Look. If you find someone who'll make a false positive happen, I'm sure the ones who made and tested the enchantment would be interested to see. Maybe hear any ideas you've got about how to fix it. But they're not gonna take my word for it without any evidence," she said.
"Oh, certainly," the winged girl said with a small nod. "I only meant to mention that in passing anyway. The true reason for my visit is that I do find myself in a different physical form as a result," she said, gently gesturing at her own appearance.

"Ah, yes. Heh, well, I've got some free time if you're saying you'd like to go shopping for clothes and stuff now. I sure wouldn't want to put up with jugs like those unbound for very long, that's for sure."
"Would you believe there's a spell for that? But I would certainly appreciate it all the same."

With that, they headed to the store. Polaris had such an incredibly straightforward, readable personality that it made Nancy second-guess herself. What if it was a mask over something else? But even if so, the commitment to the mask seemed strong enough that planning around that displayed personality should still work out just fine.

"I guess it doesn't bother you at all, to live in the same house as a demon?" Nancy asked, curious.
"Please. You've seen a hint of Mary's power. If dark powers disturbed me, we would not be friends," Polaris said. "Besides, greater demons are 'human', and all celestials are made with Sol's unerring respect and care for 'humanity'."

"Do any of them, like, lose that?"
"There have been several such cases, naturally. Those who truly lost their way and began using their power for harm were either rehabilitated or slain."
"Uhh huh. So—you and Mary. Seriously just friends? Nothing more?"
"Indeed. Frankly, neither of us has the slightest romantic inclination toward anyone, least of all each other. That's actually quite fortunate in her case; the extreme emotions that may arise from such an attachment would be exceedingly dangerous."

"To her?"
"Oh, no—she'd be perfectly fine. Everyone around her, however, might not survive a significant outburst."
"I see..." Nancy made a mental note to tread carefully around the goth girl. Well, miss emotionless had seemed like a lost cause from the start anyway.

After getting undergarments sorted, Polaris started eagerly grabbing outfits to try on. She first came out of the changing room in a bright blue dress that trailed all the way down to the ankles.

"What do you think? Does this not accentuate my immaculate beauty?"

"It's a good look," Nancy admitted, "but uh..not very practical, you know?"

"I have a more sensible wardrobe picked out, worry not. But I see no reason not to indulge a little."
"Sure." Nancy was feeling especially grateful right now that this was one of her elder sister Valencia's stores.

Polaris saw fit to show off a few more of her outfits, although how long she took in the changing room in between those suggested she was at least trying most everything on for size. Eventually she came out in a kimono top and some stockings...just the top.

"What do you think of this one?"

"Uhh. You're supposed to wear a hakama with that. Where'd you even find that in the store?"

"Oh, very well, I confess—this is an illusion." With a small wave of her hand, the top disappeared, seeming to reveal "behind" it some more normal clothes: A tank top and some jean-shorts.

"I thought I might wear these out. Practical enough for your liking?"
"Yeah, sure. So, you're done shopping?"
"I believe I've selected a wardrobe sufficient to enhance my natural physical perfection by now," she said, nodding.

"Great. Let's go check out."

"Hey, how good are you with illusions, anyway? I thought that was a kitsune thing," Nancy said while they were waiting to check out.

"I am a natural at all forms of magic," Polaris said (rather predictably), but she did elaborate after that. "I became interested in illusions after meeting my roommate, however—previous roommate, that is. Kyosuke. There's a surprising variety of ways they can be implemented; many foxes use entirely different methods from each other without even realizing it. Some are certainly more effective than others—consider the difference between an illusion you can only see, versus one that you can hear or touch. Naturally I prefer the sort that are the most difficult to tell from reality."

"Of course." Now she was on to something. "So you could, like, make yourself look completely different, without doing any actual transforming? Or someone else, for that matter?"
"I certainly could."

"Make someone think they were eating or drinking something when they were just swallowing air?"
"In theory; I can't say I've attempted something like that."

"I guess static objects that aren't really there is basically trivial, then."
"So long as I know what the object is meant to look like, feel like, sound like, smell, taste like..."
"Taste? If you're faking a lamp or something, I'm sure you don't need that!"

"Ah, but if it were food or drink then I would," Polaris said.
"Yeah, that makes sense."

After the clothes, they bought a few other necessities, and then they were on their way back to the chapter house. The sun had long since set by now, but the streets were well-lit. Anyway, Nancy could defend herself just fine, and she was pretty sure that celestials were all created with the power to summon weapons out of thin air or something.

"So you have zero interest in romance, ever?" she asked the winged woman.

"Well now, I didn't say that. Only that I have yet to meet anyone I'm so inclined towards," Polaris said.
"What do you think would make someone attractive to you?"
"Hmm. At the very least, it must be someone who appreciates how perfect I am. Then again, that is only natural for most people. I suppose I would also be interested in, hmm...a challenge. Yes."
"A 'challenge'?"

"If someone were infatuated with me upon a single glance—not that I would blame them—then it would give me no opportunity to demonstrate my exceptional talents. But someone difficult to impress, well, winning a person such as that over would prove how irresistibly perfect I really am."

"That sounds like the opposite of what you said the first time. Wouldn't a 'challenging' person be unimpressed by you at first?"
"Hmm, you are correct. I suppose I mean...perhaps, someone who at least understands my excellence intellectually, but must be won over emotionally.

"..Since we are on the subject, how about yourself?"
"Me? Oh, I don't think love works quite that way," Nancy said. "It's not something you look for or plan for. It ambushes you when you least expect it. The person who makes you feel that way could have any personality, any looks, any interests. Naturally, it helps if you're compatible in those ways, but it's not dependent on any of them. And I'm still waiting to be ambushed, myself."

"Interesting theory..."

Polaris didn't really seem to know what she wanted, but Nancy had a very good idea of the kind of person who would be a perfect match. Mary was clearly unimpressed by the celestial, but their friendship was deep and close (devoid of attraction as it was). Someone so vainglorious would be best paired with someone equally unimpressed, but also a little more aggressive. Someone who could and would deflate that big ego on a regular basis...

Well, she could be on the lookout for someone like that, then. In the meantime, she was already getting some ideas of how to make use of the angel-girl's self-proclaimed capabilities. It'd be no good to put on a show before it was ready, of course, but once she had the script all put together...then the fun could really begin.

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And this is it: The final part of this story that I completed before deciding to actually go back and edit and publish what I had! Here we finally get a glimpse of what Nancy's all about, and she is...not at all like her older brother. Anyway, I got lots of good results for Polaris wearing various kinds of clothes, so decided to use three of them. They don't all have the color of her wings quite right (it's supposed to be pure white, not the blue of her hair), but we can just say that's the lighting or something, I guess.