《Twisted Destiny》


 Chapter 1: Birthday

    TW Homophobia


    It''s the year 2060. October 25th, the beginning of the 22nd year of my useless life. In other words, my birthday.


    ¡°Here, son, this is for you,¡± my mom says as she hands over a heavy package with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s from your dad and me.¡±


    I look into her eyes and fake a smile back. ¡°Thanks, mom.¡±


    For years my parents have gifted me things I really didn¡¯t want: male hygiene products, shaving kits, gift cards for ¡®high testosterone adventures¡¯, the list goes on. All presents that make me cringe the moment I get them.


    I doubt this year will be any different as I open the package. ¡°Wow, thanks...¡± I give another oscar-worthy acting performance as I see what¡¯s inside: a pair of 5kg dumbbells and a gym pass.


    ¡°It¡¯s time you work on those muscles of yours, kiddo,¡± my dad says after hitting me on the shoulder. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to get the girls when looking like a faggot.¡±


    My dad is so open minded when it comes to the LGBTQ community¡­


    ¡°Sure, dad, I¡¯ll work on it.¡± Another present that would need to mysteriously disappear.


    ¡°Here, Lucas,¡± my sister says, handing me a small box. I open it up and find a bottle of deodorant inside with a small paper that reads, ¡°I¡¯ll bring the real present to you later ;)¡±


    I love my sister; even though she¡¯s five years older, she¡¯s the only one who really gets me. She was the only one who supported me when I chose to follow an arts degree in college ¡ª  against harsh protest from my parents, of course.


    Such a shame she doesn¡¯t visit often. Although, I can¡¯t really blame her, with the parents we have. It¡¯s a wonder she visits at all, but I have a suspicion that it¡¯s mainly for me that she makes that sacrifice. I just wish I could talk with her more regularly in any way ¡ª with her visiting here, or otherwise ¡ª but I don¡¯t even really message with her, given that we¡¯re both aware our parents monitor my phone.


    ¡°Thanks, ¨¦lise.¡± I give her a quick hug and turn towards my parents. ¡°It¡¯s been a long day with uni work and all, I¡¯m going to go upstairs to get some rest,¡± I lie, hoping my parents don¡¯t see through it.


    ¡°Sure, kiddo, maybe give those weights a lift before you turn in, though!¡± he laughs.


    My rather heavy gifts in hand, I make my way upstairs, then immediately store them under my bed, already planning how I''d get rid of them.


    A few minutes later, I hear a knock on my door. ¡°Hey, Lucas, can I come in?¡± I hear my sister¡¯s whisper.


    I unlock the door with a smile. ¡°Any time, sis.¡±


    ¨¦lise walks through the door with a medium sized package. ¡°I hope you¡¯re still into gaming.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Definitely! But with mom and dad monitoring my bank accounts it¡¯s really hard to buy any game without them blowing up on me¡­¡± I sit down on my bed, looking down at my feet.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you have me, right?¡± She places the package next to me and ruffles my hair.


    ¡°Quick, look what¡¯s inside.¡± Her eyes seem to sparkle with joy.


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± I open the box and I¡¯m instantly awestruck. ¡°Oh. My. God. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡± My jaw drops and I glance back up at her.


    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s the real thing.¡± Her eyes are still sparkling like diamonds.


    ¡°The D3u5XMachina...¡± Turning back to the brilliantly designed black and white headpiece, I find I can¡¯t look away.


    ¡°Indeed it is.¡± She gently takes it out of the box and places it next to me.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it incredibly expensive?¡± I ask, my eyes getting misty.


    ¡°As it seems your sister¡¯s got a job with certain perks¡± ¡ª she winks ¡ª ¡°me and the girlfriend got sent three of these a few months ago. We had to wait until today to give one to you, though... Oh, and we also got you this.¡± She takes out a piece of paper and runs it through a side slot on the Machina, which instantly makes a beeping noise.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± My misty eyes perk up with curiosity.


    ¡°This, my little sibling, is ¡®Turn of Destiny XIX¡¯, the latest Fantasy VRMMO by CircularPhoenix,¡± she says with glee. ¡°It¡¯s a game me and Nikki have been playing together as part of the alpha test ¡ª they gave us that extra copy to give away for the official launch.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± I walk up to my sister and embrace her. ¡°Thank you so, so much. And Nikki too!¡±


    ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°No problem, bro, I¡¯ll pass the message.¡± She pats my head. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m taking off. Not going to stick around the folks any longer than I have to. When you get in-game, add Elise_Windwalker and NikkiHeat, okay? I¡¯ll text you the usernames later if you forget them.¡±


    ¡°Yes! And thank you again, sis! Bye-bye.¡±


    She smiles and walks down the stairs.


    After my sister leaves, I immediately run for the Machina headset to take a look at the manual. From my reading, I find that the D3u5XMachina is designed to be a stand-alone, rechargeable, full-dive VR console. It has a battery life of 12 hours and recharges completely in 30 minutes, though it can¡¯t be used while it¡¯s charging. Apparently they designed it that way so that people can¡¯t spend entire days in VR without a break to eat or drink. On the plus side, though, your body rests while you are in VR. The manual states that the Machina has a AAA safety rating ¡ª even safer than drinking water. Finally, I get to the section of the manual for play. To go into the VR-mode, I simply have to lie down on a flat surface and press the buttons on the side of the headset.


    Putting the box on the floor, I prepare myself in my bed. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, I suppose¡­¡±


    I¡¯m a bit hesitant since this is my first full-dive experience; it¡¯s a scary thought to lose control of your body. On the other hand, I¡¯m also super excited ¡ª I¡¯ve always used gaming as a way to escape the drags of real life, and full-dive VR will probably bring this escapism to the next level.


    Finally putting the little doubts I have to the side, I press the VR button. ¡°Let¡¯s go on an adventure!¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 2: Creation

    After pressing the button, I close my eyes and feel my entire body going numb, the dim light through my eyelids fading to complete black. A couple of moments pass, until I can feel my senses coming back to me together with the return of light. Okay, that felt really strange.


    When I open my eyes, I find myself lying on the floor in a completely gray room.


    I open and close my hand to test my body. ¡°Wow, it feels exactly like real life,¡± I murmur, feeling my slightly longish nails softly digging into my hand. After my successful grip test I try standing up, but as usual I stumble in the process. Even though I¡¯m not unusually tall with my 180 cm, I¡¯ve always felt incredibly clumsy trying to maneuver my body around. Well, I suppose VR wouldn¡¯t fix that either.


    I look around, finding the game selection screen floating a couple of meters away from where I had been lying. Next to some demos that came with the console, it prominently displays the game I was given, Turn of Destiny XIX. I cautiously touch the thumbnail and the game selection screen disappears. Almost immediately the map of ToD¡¯s world ¡ª Haurchefaud ¡ª is being projected around me, a bit like those old globes you see in museums, but from the inside.


    ¡°Welcome to Turn of Destiny XIX, adventurer!¡± a woman''s voice excitedly calls as the title of the game pops into view. ¡°Please note that Turn of Destiny uses one-to-six time dilation ¡ª for every six hours you spend in the game, only one hour will have passed outside. While this will greatly extend your gaming time, it may lead to some temporary discomfort when quitting. Enjoy your time in Turn of Destiny XIX. Your destiny awaits!¡±


    A couple of moments later the globe background starts to change, leaving me in a nicely decorated wooden room. In the middle of the room stands a perfect yet basically naked copy of myself. I cringe. Ugh, this game is way too realistic.


    When I approach my clone the character creation UI pops up, with on the first tab the race selection.


    Hmm, which one should I pick¡­


    Like many of the previous ToD titles, this game has a very broad selection of races: from the typical humans, called ¡®Ulusu¡¯; ¡®Langor¡¯, which are the elves; and a gigantic list of beastkin races. Some are very humanlike, replacing only a couple of traits; others ¡ª while still keeping a somewhat human form ¡ª go a lot further.


    My eyes fall on two races in particular: the ¡®drakone¡¯, creatures who are part-human, part-dragon, and the ¡®nekote¡¯, which are basically your catgirls and catboys. Although I do feel drawn towards picking the Drakone, my anime soul pushes me towards the Nekote instead.


    I select the nekote from the list and my mirror image begins to morph. Two cat ears grow up from underneath its scraggly black hair to replace the human ears. A black cat tail appears at the back, snaking through a specially designed hole in the underwear.


    Curious, I lean closer to my image and touch its mouth ¡ª Wow, this feels too real ¡ª pushing up its lip to reveal a slightly longer canine tooth. ¡°Incredible detail¡­¡± I murmur.


    The next part is the part I¡¯m most interested in ¡ª the ¡®choose-your-gender-tab¡¯.


    ¡°Wow, they even added intersex as an option!¡± I can¡¯t help but exclaim. Yet pretty impressive for an MMO, this was not the option I would choose.


    I select ¡®female¡¯ from the list. My mirror image immediately shifts to leave a catgirl standing in front of me, a catgirl which bears an uncanny resemblance to my sister. That was to be expected ¡ª I smile ¡ª they do use your genetic code just in case you want to swap genders. And I did, already more comfortable with the avatar staring back at me.


    Now it¡¯s time for the real work to begin.


    I¡¯ve always been one of those people who can spend hours trying to perfect their character, and I do it in any kind of game I play ¡ª from making characters in ¡®The Pims¡¯ to picking or creating skins for ¡®Tunnelcraft¡¯, all of it is just so I can play a character I enjoy. In nearly every case, this is a girl.


    I start by changing the general body structure of my avatar: shrinking her down to 155cm; slightly narrowing her shoulders; adding a tiny bit of hip; settling on a C-cup for the breasts. I make her perfectly proportioned ¡ª I dislike those clowns that put all the sliders to max.


    Next is her face, which, to be honest, I quite like already, probably thanks to the resemblance to my sister ¡ª it just feels right. I only do small tweaks to my face, but I do change her eyes. I¡¯ve always liked characters with heterochromia and ¡ª seeing that the game has that option as well? ¡ª I can¡¯t resist. I turn her left iris light pink and her right light blue.


    The last change I make to her body is her hair. I lengthen it until it falls to her collarbone, choosing a long, layered hair style with the upper layer tied at the back in a wide braid. For the colour, I choose to match it with her heterochromic eyes, making it pink for its majority, with some light blue highlights.


    ¡°Wow,¡± a contented sigh leaves my lips ¡ª I¡¯m incredibly happy with my work. ¡°Just a couple more things and I¡¯m done!¡±  Specifically, to give her a voice, and then afterwards choose a class and tweak her stats.


    I¡¯ve never played a game before that lets you customize your character¡¯s voice to this level, but for a FDVRMMO it¡¯s definitely not a minor detail. The voice you choose is the voice you¡¯ll have for the entire time you¡¯re in the game, after all. Millions of people running around speaking in the same seven presets would get old fast. After a long time spent messing with sliders, I decide to go with a fairly deep and smokey voice for a girl. A high pitched voice just doesn¡¯t fit my personality at all.


    Next up are the classes. My hand immediately goes towards the healer section of the list, since I¡¯ve always been drawn to support roles. I just really like the satisfaction I get from helping people, I guess.


    There¡¯s a couple of different archetypes on offer: some kind of alchemist who does most of their healing and buffs through potions; an engineer archetype who uses contraptions and healing sprays; the ¡®idol¡¯ who uses song and dance to heal. I don¡¯t choose any of these, instead going for the lunar mage class. According to the description, the class gets its power from the moon to perform healing magic.


    After selecting the lunar mage class, the UI brings me to the stats list, where I see that Nekote have higher base stats in dexterity and perception. Makes sense, felines are more perceptive than humans. The UI suggests I put the majority of the points in faith and intelligence to increase my mana, its regeneration, and the amount of healing and damage my spells do. I do mostly follow this suggestion, but I also put some points in dexterity, perception and constitution. I don''t really plan on getting hit, rather relying mostly on dodging, but if I do take a hit I don¡¯t want to get one-shot.


    ¡°Want to finalize your character? Warning: It is not possible to change your character¡¯s appearance after finalization!¡±


    I quickly go over all options again, then press the confirmation button.


    This brings me to the end of the character creation, what rests is to pick a name and where to spawn. I¡¯ve been thinking about a nickname since my sister told me hers; I want something similarly themed. Hmmm...Amicia...Yes, that¡¯s a good name! And for the second part...Lightbringer? Nah... Candlelight? Almost...OH! Auxchandelles! I fill in ¡®Amicia_Auchandelles¡¯ in the box prompt and continue to the world map.


    ¡°The Vinanian Empire will do. It¡¯s pretty centered so meeting sis there shouldn¡¯t take much time at all.¡± I highlight the nation on the map and...


    That¡¯s it. I¡¯m finally ready to start my first FDVR experience! I press the spawn button, and my vision goes black.

 Chapter 3: Renaissance

    I wake up, staring at yet another unfamiliar ceiling. I¡¯m lying on my back, on a grassy patch in a forest. My body feels¡­ different, but for the first time ever, it feels right.


    I take a slow, deep breath, making my chest rise, not quite believing how comfortable I feel. Lazily, I raise my arms up to the sky so I can look at my small, feminine hands, then drop them down onto my belly when I¡¯m satisfied. I¡¯m so relaxed... I could just fall asleep... I take another slow, deep breath, feeling my hands rise as my lungs fill with the crisp forest air.


    As I start to slowly close my eyes, a soft breeze makes my new ears twitch. Right... I probably should get moving.


    I sigh, sitting up from my natural, grassy bed and blushing slightly at how cute my sigh was. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Amicia,¡± I say softly. ¡°It¡¯s so nice to meet you!¡±


    Oh my Gooood. It sounds so good. I blush even more and giggle to myself. I can¡¯t believe this is happening!


    I do realize I basically tailor made this voice for me, but hearing it come out of my own mouth? Oh boy, that is an amazing experience. Getting up, I realize there¡¯s another piece of my body that feels a bit different, and a little numb...


    ¡°Oh yeah, I have a tail now!¡± Definitely should make sure not to sleep on it again in the future. Shaking the life back into it, I inspect the rest of my body and my grayish healing robes.


    When I look around a moment later, I find a staff lying next to where I spawned. Though it does just look like a big stick, that tends to be the case with starting gear.


    ¡°Now, how do I open my character info?¡± I said aloud, partially to hear more of my voice. With a bit of trial and error, and by following the advice of years of isekai tropes, I manage to open it with a simple swipe of the hand. My starting skills are a basic ranged heal (which I thankfully can cast on myself), a resurrection skill with a pretty long cast time and mana cost, and a basic ranged attack.


    I try out my attack skill on an unfortunate tree nearby. A ball of blue light shoots out, hitting the tree and leaving some nasty scorch marks.


    ¡°Sorry, mister tree, it was for scientific purposes,¡± I say, patting it. ¡°But maybe¡­¡± I cast my healing skill on mister tree. A ray appears around the tree, starting to emanate a light with hints of green and a similar blue as my attack skill, which I lovingly refer to as the blue-ball-of-death. Gradually, the scorch marks from that ball of death disappear.


    That¡¯s cool, I can heal nature too! I lean in close to the tree, inspecting if there is any lasting damage, finally pulling away and patting it once more. ¡°Sorry again for the inconvenience.¡±


    After some more testing, I come to understand that all of my current skills require my staff as a casting focus. At least I can whack stuff with it when I run out of mana.


    Further inspecting my character info sheets, I finally figure out how to access my inventory, finding a limited number of inventory slots. I put some small pebbles from the ground in one of my robe¡¯s pockets, watching as they pop up in one of the inventory slots. An entire slot, just from those pebbles... ¡°I sure hope there¡¯s a way to enhance this, otherwise I¡¯ll run out of space real fast.¡± I mumble to myself.


    Emptying my pockets, I look at the world map. Except for my immediate surroundings, it¡¯s almost entirely blank. I assume I¡¯ll need to fill it in myself, probably by exploring, which is fine. Fun, even. I smile at the map. ¡°This is going to be amazing.¡±


    Using my surroundings to determine my orientation, I set out towards the one city that appears on my map, Cacogonte. It doesn¡¯t appear to be that far from where I spawned, but I guess it¡¯ll probably still take me a couple of hours.


    It feels simply amazing not to stumble over my own feet like I normally do. Sprinting through the trees, jumping over roots and bushes... It just feels so blissful ¡ª my hair blowing in the wind...


    Until, suddenly, a growl stops me in my tracks. I look over my shoulder, to my left, to my right, but... nothing. I crouch down to make myself a smaller target and perk my ears up. Again I hear a low growl, but this time I know where it¡¯s coming from ¡ª right in front of me. I silently move up, making my way from cover to cover, until while peeking out from behind a tree, I finally see what¡¯s making the noise. A wolf is circling the body of a person. They don¡¯t seem to be moving.


    I huddle back behind the tree. Shit! I didn¡¯t expect to run into a hostile mob that fast, let alone a wolf. But I can¡¯t just leave that person there with it, can I?


    Gathering together all my courage, I take my staff from my back.


    Okay, let¡¯s do this. I slowly peek around the side of my tree friend, but the wolf isn¡¯t there anymore. Where the hell did it g¡ª


    From the corner of my eye I see the wolf leaping at me from my side. I barely manage to dodge it with a backwards roll. Ooooooh shiiit!


    The wolf skids past me and lands only a couple of meters away, already preparing itself for another leap. I begin casting my blue-ball-of-death, but the wolf doesn¡¯t grant me the time need, leaping at me once more. Fuck!


    This time, instead of trying to dodge, I duck and use the bottom end of my staff as an impromptu spear, jabbing the wolf full-force in its belly. It barely does any damage, but it has the effect I¡¯m looking for ¡ª the wolf lands badly, stumbling and gasping for air. That gives me plenty of time to cast the BBOD.


    When it hits, the blue light scorches the wolf¡¯s fur, but that¡¯s definitely not the end of it. Instead, it only appears to piss him off.


    Now it¡¯s a race against time. The wolf is getting back on its feet, bloodlust in its eyes. It jumps at me, but while it¡¯s in midair my second BBOD casts, setting his already scorched fur completely ablaze. I roll out of the way of the flying, burning furball, and it crashes into the dirt, completely immobile.


    What a shitty way to die. ¡°I¡¯m sorry wolfie, it was you or me.¡± After quickly using some dirt to put out the fire on the wolf¡¯s corpse, I run back to the downed person.


    When I arrive, I see she¡¯s an elder lady, with bite-marks and scratches all over her body. No signs of life. Remembering my resurrection spell, I immediately start channeling it. Another ray of light ¡ª this one pink and blue ¡ª comes from my staff, entering the lady¡¯s body. After approximately 15 seconds, the channeling is over.


    ¡°Please, please work.¡± I move closer to her body and sit on my knees. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± For good measure, I cast my healing spell as well, causing all her visible wounds to disappear. But, still... no movement.


    Tears start rolling down my cheeks and I throw my staff a couple of meters away. ¡°I was too late¡­¡± Even though this is just a game, and I don¡¯t know the old woman at all, it just feels like... such a failure. I¡¯m already sad, but combined with the pure exhaustion of casting the resurrection spell, I can¡¯t help but start full-on crying.


    A couple of moments later I¡¯m startled by a sudden movement right in front of me.


    ¡°Why are you crying dearie?¡± I almost fall to my back from the surprise. ¡°Y-y-you¡¯re alive?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, and thanks to you I take it?¡±


    I shuffle back towards the old lady. ¡°I think so? Do you feel alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my old body just needs some time to restart.¡±


    I offer some help to sit her upright, and ask, ¡°Were you all alone out here?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I just wanted to take a stroll through the woods, like in the old days.¡± She snickers.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that pretty dangerous? I mean, at your age.¡±


    The old lady looks kind of upset. ¡°Young lady! Just because I¡¯m old doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m defenseless!¡±


    She opens her hand, showing black flames intertwined with red lighting. ¡°That bugger just got the drop on me.¡± With a slight wink, her angry look turns into a playful pout.


    I can¡¯t hold back a laugh. ¡°Maybe you should get some of these.¡± I point towards my cat ears, making them twitch. ¡°Super useful.¡±


    ¡°If only I could, dearie,¡± she laughs.


    My laughter dies down as I smell the burnt fur of the wolf I killed. I look over towards its charred remains, feeling somewhat sad about what I did to it.


    ¡°Want to give it a burial?¡± The old woman asks, picking up on my train of thought.


    I nod. ¡°I feel bad for burning it... I read that dying by flame is such a horrible, painful death¡­¡±


    ¡°You have a very compassionate soul, child.¡± She puts a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Help me up and maybe I can give you a hand.¡±


    I lift her back to her feet and together we start making a small grave for the wolf, only then it striking me that the wolf was incredibly skinny. ¡°Must¡¯ve just been looking for food¡­¡± I pick up the wolf¡¯s remains and put them into our makeshift grave.


    ¡°These forests get over-hunted by the emperor¡¯s men, making it hard for beasties like these to find food for themselves. So, I can¡¯t really blame them for going after humans... Although, more often than not, that doesn¡¯t end well for them.¡± The old lady begins filling the grave.


    I collect some small stones and place them as a little marker on top. Wanting to say a prayer I remember that I actually don¡¯t know any deities of this world.


    ¡°Uhm, granny, this is maybe a bit awkward but I¡¯m pretty new to this...area... what deities are followed here?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I figure you want a deity that fits best with you, right? You do have the aura of someone who¡¯d pray to Veanya, the Goddess of love and compassion.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, granny!¡± Wait, why have I been calling this old lady ¡®granny¡¯?


    I look at her smiling face, realizing what I¡¯ve been doing. I feel my cheeks redden.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, dearie.¡± She pats me on the head, only making me blush more.


    After calming down, we both say a prayer to Veanya. It does give me some peace of mind.


    ¡°Dearie, this old lady needs to start heading home now. I don¡¯t really have much to give you as a thanks for saving me, but I still want to give you something, because you are such a lovely, sweet girl.¡±


    What¡¯s up with this lady? Is she deliberately trying to make me blush? ¡°Y-you don¡¯t really need to give me anything.¡±


    ¡°But I insist!¡± She grabs my hand and opens it, putting in a small round ball in a paper wrapper in my palm. ¡°Eat this when you feel unhappy, it will help you a lot.¡± She smiles and turns around, starting to walk off.


    ¡°T-thanks!¡± I yell after her. ¡°I still haven¡¯t heard your name though!¡±


    She calls back over her shoulder, ¡°¡®Granny¡¯ will do just fine, dearie!¡± Then the woman disappears from sight.


    I can¡¯t help but blush. ¡°What a lady.¡± I sigh with a smile and turn once more towards my own destination. ¡°Cacogonte, here I come.¡±

 Chapter 4: Rogue

    While I walk, I start unraveling the wrapped ball granny gave me, revealing a pink candy with twirls of white light inside. Wow, that¡¯s crazy. I wonder what it does? Maybe some status effect or something?


    I cover the ball with the wrapper again and put it in my pocket, but, to my surprise, it doesn¡¯t pop up in my inventory. Huh? Where did it go?


    I come to an abrupt stop and check my pockets. Did I drop it? I look around, retrace a couple of my steps, but... nothing. Absolutely nothing is on the ground. How did I manage to lose it so fast? I put my head in my hands, pretty saddened by the loss of my pretty candyball.


    Maybe it¡¯s a bug and it¡¯ll appear later on? I take a deep breath and get myself moving again ¡ª I¡¯ve still got some distance to go before I¡¯ll get to Cacogonte, and there¡¯s nothing I can really do about the candyball, anyway.


    The sun is setting when I finally arrive at the city wall ¡ª or city fence, based on your  perspective. It¡¯s largely made out of wood with only a few stone blocks here and there. The gate itself is made of two large wooden doors fortified with steel beams. It¡¯s guarded by a couple of men who look like some kind of militia, clad in woolen gambesons and armed with spears. They nonchalantly wave me in, and as I walk past, I swear one of them checks me out, but when I turn to look, he¡¯s staring towards the forest... Must¡¯ve been my imagination.


    When I get inside it¡¯s clear that Cacogonte is quite a small town, if it can even be called that. It¡¯s barely bigger than the villages back home in Wallonia. I do hope they have an inn where I can stay here, don¡¯t really fancy sleeping in the forest for my first night in-game...


    Luckily, though, it doesn¡¯t take me long to find a hostelry. As I open the door, I see that the bar is actually pretty empty. The only people present are the innkeeper, built like a house, and one other patron, a roguish looking woman probably in her thirties clad in a very nice leather jacket and with her pitch black hair tied back in a ponytail.


    ¡°Good evening, lass, what can I do for ye?¡± The innkeep asks in a thick scottish accent.


    I¡¯m slightly intimidated by his size, which doesn¡¯t go unnoticed by the leather-clad lady. ¡°Don¡¯t worry little miss, he isn¡¯t going to eat ya.¡± She winks.


    ¡°C-could I get something to drink?¡± I finally stammer.


    ¡°Sure thing, what would ye like?¡±


    ¡°Some water is fine.¡± I take a seat at the bar.


    ¡°Here ye go, that¡¯ll be one copper coin.¡±


    I look in my inventory and to my shock I realize I didn¡¯t have any coin on me whatsoever.


    ¡°I uh, I¡­¡± My face goes bright red.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Argus, I¡¯ll cover for her.¡± The rogue slides over a coin to the innkeep.


    ¡°Th-thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Are you new to adventurin¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Ye, I just spawned today.¡± I sip from my water.


    ¡°Then you had a pretty rough day, didn¡¯t ye?¡±


    ¡°H-how do you know?¡±


    She reaches her hand behind my back and starts brushing something off. ¡°The backside of yer robe is a bit scorched.¡±


    ¡°I had somewhat of a run-in with a burning wolf, might have brushed me a little.¡±


    ¡°A burning wolf you say?¡±


    ¡°Well, the burning was my bad.¡± I start recounting today¡¯s events to her, the barkeep listening in attentively.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s pretty wild for a newbie. I¡¯ve been playin¡¯ since the alpha test phase of ToD and I recall wolves being pretty hard targets for low level players, especially casters. Why didn¡¯t you loot the wolf for coin though?¡±


    ¡°Wait, you can do that?¡±


    She nods. ¡°Didn¡¯t ya read the manual?¡±


    ¡°Uhh, I kind of just jumped in the moment my sister gifted me the game. I don¡¯t think she had a manual with her either, she just used a piece of paper.¡±


    ¡°Ah, she must also be a test player as well ¡ª we get extra codes to give out before the game¡¯s release, and those don¡¯t come boxed. What¡¯s her name?¡±


    ¡°Ye, her name¡¯s ¨¦lise.¡±


    ¡°Delafontaine?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Do you know her?¡±


    ¡°I do! We work for the same company, I didn¡¯t know she had a sister?¡±


    I wiggle uncomfortably in my chair. ¡°T-that¡¯s because she doesn¡¯t really...¡± Looking down at my knees.


    ¡°Oh, so you are Lu¡­¡± She stops herself mid-sentence, frowning to herself. ¡°What¡¯s your in-game name?


    ¡°A-amicia.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a nice name! I¡¯m Hilda by the way.¡± She ruffles my hair. ¡°Amicia, do you need a place to sleep?¡±


    ¡°I do, but I can¡¯t really impose further on you¡­¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, this girl isn¡¯t going to let her friend¡¯s sibling sleep in the cold outside. Ya can sleep in my room, it has two beds anyway. And don¡¯t worry about the price, it¡¯s gosh darn cheap in places like this. No offense, Argus.¡±


    Argus waves her apology away. ¡°Don¡¯t ye dare to insult mah fine establishment,¡± he says, simultaneously tapping the table he¡¯s cleaning and causing it to fall apart.


    Hilda and I can¡¯t hold back our laughter.


    ¡°Fine, ye got a point.¡± He gets down on his knees to start trying to fix the table.


    ¡°Can I try something, Argus?¡± I stand up and take my staff out.


    ¡°Sure thing, missy, but what are ye gonna do?¡±


    ¡°Just a hunch...¡± I concentrate and start casting my healing spell on the table. Although I did plan for it, the result surprised me nevertheless, as the table gets fixed right in front of our eyes.


    ¡°Wow, it looks even better than it did before!¡± Argus exclaims. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about paying tonight, Hilda, this one¡¯s on me.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Argus!¡± Hilda replies. ¡°But what class did you say you were again, Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Lunar mage, why?¡±


    ¡°I never knew Lunar mages could do that.¡±


    ¡°Really? I tried it on a tree when I spawned in and worked on that so I figured it might work here too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty smart. Lunar mage never was a popular class, of all the healing classes it was seen as the least versatile, and most people don¡¯t really like to play healers in the first place. But seeing this it might be a lot more versatile class than most people think¡­¡± She goes quiet in her thoughts.


    I yawn; it¡¯s getting pretty late already.


    ¡°You should probably go to bed, Amicia. Want me to show you to your room?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be nice Hilda, I feel like I just got hit by a truck.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty normal on the low levels, once your stamina increases it gets a lot better.¡±


    I stand up from my seat, but I¡¯m rudely interrupted by my growling stomach.


    ¡°Or maybe you should eat something first!¡± Hilda laughs.


    ¡°That might not be such a bad idea...¡± With all the commotion, I had kinda forgotten about eating.


    ¡°Maybe give her some fish, Argus.¡±


    ¡°Comin¡¯ right up, it¡¯s on the house as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really a fan of fish though¡­¡± I mumble.


    ¡°Oh, really? Maybe you should try eating it again. I heard from people who play Nekote that their tastes in game are drastically different.¡±


    My nostrils pick up an amazing fragrance, and I begin to drool. ¡°Oh my, what is this divine smell!¡±


    ¡°And it looks like they weren¡¯t lyin¡¯.¡± Hilda grins as Argus brings a plate from his kitchen, setting down a nice piece of raw salmon in front of me.


    I look at the fish dubiously, but it doesn¡¯t take long before the smell is overwhelming and I overcome my doubts. Sinking my teeth into the salmon, I¡¯m immediately blown away by its flavour. ¡°Goddess, this is simply amazing.¡±


    Quickly the salmon is reduced to its bones. ¡°Thank you for the food, Argus,¡± I pant.


    ¡°No problem, lass, glad ye liked it.¡± He winks.


    With my belly full of fish, the exhaustion comes back in full force and I nearly fall from my chair.


    ¡°Ho, there kiddo.¡± Hilda grabs a hold of me before I fall off my seat. ¡°I think it is definitely time for your nap now.¡±


    I nod in silence.


    Without another word, Hilda picks me up from my chair, beginning to princess carry me to the bedroom as I blush profusely.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯ll be wanting to meet your sister?¡± she says, obviously completely unencumbered by my weight.


    ¡°Y-ye, that was the plan.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll shoot her a message in a bit then, she can meet us in the next city. It¡¯s one of the big player hubs, even has a teleportation platform.¡± Hilda opens the door to one of the inn¡¯s bedrooms with her elbow, revealing a pretty pragmatic sleeping setup for 2 people.


    ¡°Us?¡±


    ¡°Well, I ain¡¯t really got much to do here so I¡¯ll tag along. Roads to the city can be pretty dangerous too.¡± She lays me down on an empty bed.


    ¡°Why did you come here in the first place, then?¡±


    ¡°Well, this place is nice and quiet. I don¡¯t really do well with big crowds, and the big cities get a bit too crowded for me at times.¡±


    I nod. ¡°I know the feeling.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, have a good night, Amicia. I¡¯m going to give Argus some more company, don¡¯t stay up for me.¡±


    ¡°Ok, good night, Hilda, thanks again!¡±


    ¡°No problem kiddo, good night.¡± She smiles and closes the door behind her.


    When she¡¯s gone I force myself up to take off my clothes. Taking off my healing robe, I find that it is indeed somewhat scorched from the encounter...guess I¡¯ll have to fix it later.


    Getting out of my brown leather boots goes pretty easily, as well as getting out of my gray cotton briefs. The only thing that¡¯s left now is a shirt and my underwear. I can¡¯t really sleep with clothes on, so they¡¯ll have to go too. After the shirt¡¯s off, I¡¯m pretty surprised to find that this game does have regular bras. I suppose they implemented them that way to make it easier for women. Running around without one all day would probably be hell.


    I dump all my clothes on the floor, my underwear on top for easy access, then duck under the extremely cozy covers of my bed. The feeling of my bare breasts brushing the bedsheets does entice me a little, but... I¡¯m just too exhausted to act on it.


    My tail wraps around my leg and not five minutes later I¡¯ve already fallen fast asleep.

 Chapter 5: Milk

    ¡°Wakey wakey, Amicia.¡±


    ¡°Only five more minutes, mom,¡± I grumble.


    ¡°I¡¯m not yer mom, kiddo.¡± Hilda laughs and I open my eyes.


    ¡°Oh, Hilda, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± My face reddens.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, ¡®t was pretty cute.¡± She winks while putting on her black leather jacket.


    ¡°How late is it?¡± I sit upright in bed, chest uncovered by the blanket.


    ¡°Around noon, you might want to cover yourself around other people, though.¡±


    I¡¯m confused until I look down, my face almost explodes from shame. ¡°Oh Goddess, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± I quickly grab hold of the bra I put next to my bed. Hilda respectfully turning herself around.


    After a minute of having trouble with the bra clasp, I give up.


    ¡°Uhm Hilda, could you help me with my bra?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, Amicia.¡± She smirks. ¡°Not used to bras yet?¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s my first time wearing one.¡±


    She sits down next to me on the bed.


    ¡°I see... Here, let me teach you. Turn around.¡±


    I do as she says.


    ¡°Now, you bring back your hands like this¡± ¡ª she gently guided my arms to my back ¡ª ¡°to grab the straps. And then bring them together like so, and voila! It¡¯s closed.¡± She pats my head. ¡°It¡¯s not that hard but it does require some practice.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Hilda.¡±


    ¡°No problem. Anyway, you should get ready so we can leave for Ribaquen. I¡¯ll go get some stuff for the trip. Meet you at the bar in 15 minutes?¡± She gets up and heads towards the door with a small backpack slung over her shoulder.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll try.¡±


    Hilda laughs ¡ª ¡°See you in 15¡± ¡ª and closes the door.


    I get out of bed and start getting into the rest of my clothes. Even though wiggling my tail through my underwear and briefs isn¡¯t straightforward, it doesn¡¯t take nearly as long to put them on as my bra. Next are my robes, but before I put them on I cast a quick heal, and, like last time, the scorch marks disappear. It¡¯s definitely a useful spell if I can repair things with it as well. Might be able to make some money that way too. I smile to myself as I walk towards the door, but hesitate at the door knob. I¡¯m going to meet my sister like this. In a body I truly feel comfortable with, for once. What will she say? What will I say? ¡®Hey sis, I always kinda wanted to be a girl, so, here I am!¡¯ No, that¡¯s dumb. But... I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait and see¡­ I turn the knob and leave the safety of the room.


    When I enter the bar, Argus greets me with a smile. ¡°Ah, lass! Had a good night?¡±


    A smirk spreads across my face. ¡°Yes! Your beds are definitely better than your tables.¡±


    ¡°Gettin¡¯ a little cheeky, aren¡¯t ya?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    ¡°Can I get ya somethin¡¯ to drink while yer waiting for Hilda?¡±


    ¡°Do you have milk?¡±


    ¡°Indeed I do.¡± He ducks below his counter and grabs a big milk jug and starts pouring me a glass. ¡°Farmer Jon brings me a couple of jugs with fresh milk every morning.¡± He shoves the glass over to me.


    ¡°Thanks, Argus.¡± I put the glass to my lips and ¡ª oh, Goddess ¡ª just like with the fish yesterday, the taste of milk is ten times better than it used to be. I even like milk already, which results in me drinking so fast that I accidentally spill some on my robes.


    ¡°Maybe I should get ya a cat-bowl instead.¡± Argus snorts.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the cheeky one now?¡± I finish off my milk with a satisfied sigh. ¡°Do you know if Hilda is going to be gone long?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Hilda walks in through the pub¡¯s open doors. ¡°What¡¯s going on in here? I could hear Argus laugh from outside.¡±


    ¡°The little miss here spilt some of her milk.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, nekote and their milk addiction.¡±


    I start blushing profusely. ¡°A-are there other things that change for people who play nekote?¡±


    ¡°A few.¡±


    ¡°Any I should know of?¡±


    Hilda thinks for a second before smirking widely. ¡°I¡¯m going to let you find out on yer own, it¡¯s a lot funnier that way.¡±


    ¡°Meanie!¡± I pout.


    She sits down next to me and rubs one of her hands through my hair. ¡°None of them are dangerous, otherwise I¡¯d tell you. Let¡¯s eat something before we head out.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good plan.¡±


    ¡°Twice the usual, then?¡± Argus offers, already heading towards his kitchen.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯ll do.¡±


    A few minutes pass, and then we have two plates of bacon and eggs in front of us. Hilda starts digging in immediately, and I follow her lead, but, after eating fish and drinking milk in this game, the food was... well...


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t taste as good as the other stuff, does it?¡± Hilda pokes my side.


    ¡°Mhm, yeah¡­ The bacon is okay but the egg¡­¡± They tasted kind of dull...


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s another one of those side effects. Sadly enough for you, you are still part-human, so you need other nutrients as well. In real life you could probably take some pills to get those sorted, but this world isn¡¯t that advanced.¡±


    I pout. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that it tastes bad, so it¡¯s okay. Just a bit disappointing.¡±


    A short while later we finish our meals. Hilda gets up from her seat and puts a small coin pouch on the counter. ¡°Argus, can we get some dried meat for the trip?¡±


    ¡°Right away! I¡¯ll throw in some dried fish for the lass too.¡± He gives me a wink.


    As I awkwardly thank him, he fills up a small bag with the meats and holds it out to Hilda with a smile.


    Storing the small bag of dried meat in her backpack, she turns to me. ¡°Ready to head out?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Bye Argus! Thanks for everything.¡±


    ¡°No problem missy. See you later, and try to keep Hilda out of trouble.¡±


    ¡°Haha, just make sure you don¡¯t burn yer inn down while I¡¯m gone.¡± She laughs, and we wave our goodbyes.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a ten hour trip to Ribaquen, so we¡¯d better get movin¡¯ if we want to be there by dusk,¡± Hilda says, squinting at her map. We¡¯re currently walking in the middle of the forest, not long after leaving the little town.


    ¡°That long? Doesn¡¯t really look that far,¡± I glance at her map. Darn, she¡¯s almost filled out the entire continent!


    ¡°Well, it would be faster by road, but I try to avoid them because of bandits and highwaymen. And that¡¯s especially important since I¡¯m escorting a newbie.¡± She pats my shoulder.


    ¡°Hey, I did kill a wolf by myself.¡±


    ¡°True, that¡¯s pretty impressive, but, still, a lone wolf doesn¡¯t compare to a group of bandits.¡± She winks. ¡°We could probably take them on but I don¡¯t really want to risk it, since you¡¯d spawn back in Cacogonte. Dying also isn¡¯t one of the most pleasant things ever.¡±


    ¡°Have you died already?¡±


    ¡°Of course I have, I¡¯m an alpha-tester after all. That includes testing things like dying.¡±


    ¡°Is it painful?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s not the same as pain in real life obviously, otherwise no one would play this game. It¡¯s severely dulled down, but, in addition to that, you¡¯re also feeling your entire body go limp, and that is extremely unsettling. Especially the first couple of times¡­¡±


    ¡°Ouch... H-how many times did you...¡±


    ¡°More than I¡¯d like to admit.¡± She laughs.


    We actually make good time, even though we go through heavily forested areas. Just like yesterday, I have little issue manoeuvring over branches and other tripping hazards. That ease of movement and the beautiful forest around me thoroughly distract me, making time fly past ¡ª I¡¯m quite surprised to find out we¡¯ve already been on the move for over five hours.


    ¡°What level are you now, anyway?¡± Hilda asks while running ahead.


    ¡°I actually have no clue, I didn¡¯t check after I spawned¡­¡±


    She slowly comes to a halt.


    ¡°Want to take a look now, then we can also take a snack while resting.¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure.¡± I sit down on a nearby fallen tree and open my stat window, Hilda setting herself down next to me.


    ¡°Damn, you¡¯re level 5 already? Just from killing one wolf?¡±


    ¡°Is that strange?¡±


    ¡°Wolves are a good source of experience, but not that good.¡±


    ¡°Oh... Anything else that gives exp?¡±


    ¡°Mapping and quests... but you haven¡¯t really explored much yet so if it was mapping, that would be weird. That lady you saved, though... maybe that was some kind of quest.¡±


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t get any quest window, though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s how ToD 19 works. Quests are very dynamic and have an unlimited amount of results depending on how you handled the situations. They are really more like events than actual quests.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see, so that candy I got with it was also part of the reward, then?¡±


    ¡°Probably, although I¡¯ve never heard of NPC¡¯s giving out consumables as rewards before. Might be a new addition, maybe that¡¯s why it was a little bugged.¡± She shrugs.


    ¡°That does make some sense, I suppose.¡±


    While Hilda takes some of our supplies from her backpack, I assign some of the stat points I received into faith and intelligence to give my healing and other spells some more oomph.


    ¡°Decided what new skills to take yet?¡± She hands me a piece of dried fish. Ah, fish, my love.


    ¡°Not yet, how does it work?¡± I nom my tasty fish. Sooo goooood.


    ¡°You can either upgrade your current skills or take new ones.¡± Hilda bites into her dried bacon as well. ¡°There are skills people your class get and skills that are specific to you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s pretty neat.¡±


    ¡°Indeed it is, makes sure no one is the same.¡±


    I put a couple of points in my BBOD and my healing ray and I take two more skills: A generic heal over time, and ¡°Shield of Faith¡±, a skill that casts a shield of blue light on my arm to defend against attacks.


    ¡°Those are definitely some solid picks. You won¡¯t regret picking the shield.¡± Hilda swallows the last of her dried meat. ¡°Anyway, are you ready to continue our journey, Amicia?¡±


    With some regret I eat the last of my fish and stand up. ¡°Right behind you.¡±


    Another few hours pass before the huge, stone walls of Ribaquen loom in front of us.


    ¡°Amazing, two hours ahead of schedule!¡± Hilda comes to a standstill, sighing with relief. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I made this much ground in that little time, especially together with someone else. Good job, kiddo!¡±


    ¡°Yay, and I¡¯m only slightly out of breath!¡±


    Hilda pats my back. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the hostel so you can sit down on a decent chair.¡± She winks.


    ¡°That¡¯d be nice.¡±


    Hilda leads on towards Ribaquen¡¯s main gate, an impressive feat of engineering ¡ª just like the wall it¡¯s completely built out of enormous, dark gray, stone slabs. We get inside the city without issue ¡ª it looks like Hilda knows these guards pretty well, as, when we walk by, they greet her quite enthusiastically.


    ¡°You seem quite popular?¡±


    ¡°Ye, I run some errands for them from time to time and sometimes slip them some wine. It¡¯s a pretty boring job guarding the gates all day long. So I try to lift their morale when I can. NPC¡¯s also have their own lives and emotions, some people tend to forget that¡­¡±


    ¡°You mean players who murder them?¡±


    She balls one of her fists. ¡°Yes... some of the brutality I¡¯ve seen, and its consequences¡­¡± Her grip releases. ¡°Luckily, it¡¯s been a lot better lately.¡±


    I wonder what exactly she saw, but on the other hand, I think I should be glad I haven¡¯t seen anything like it yet.


    ¡°Are you okay Hilda?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Awh, are you concerned about me?¡± She grabs me in for a hug. ¡°Thank you for worrying. I¡¯m fine, really. ¨¦lise has such a compassionate sister.¡±


    ¡°N-no problem, I don¡¯t like seeing people being sad...¡± Why did she say sister though? I mean, I definitely don¡¯t dislike it, and it even makes my heart beat a little faster...


    ¡°Anyway, the inn is right around the corner, from there you can also see the city¡¯s cathedral.¡± She leaves the hug and runs a bit ahead.


    ¡°I can never get enough of this sight... Sadly the city gets so busy at times.¡±


    I round the corner after her and see, in the distance, contrasted against the orangey sky, the amazing cathedral.


    ¡°Wow, it looks a bit like the Notre Dame used to, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yep, Ribaquen city is based on Paris, and the Vinanian Empire as a whole on France.¡±


    We walk towards the hostel¡¯s door and enter the premises, the plaque above telling me it¡¯s called ¡®Le Charognard¡¯.


    ¡°Looks like your sister isn¡¯t here yet; want to get something to drink?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please!¡±


    We set ourselves down at the bar and Hilda calls for the waiter.


    As I¡¯m sipping from my milk I start thinking and my heartbeat increases. I¡¯ll meet my sister soon... what will she say about my avatar? However, my thought process doesn¡¯t go far, getting cut short by a couple of adventurers entering the inn.


    ¡°Hey, Hilda! Long time no see!¡± One of them calls out.


    I peek from behind Hilda¡¯s back towards the door. My eye first falls on the human who¡¯s clad completely in Victorian fashion. She has long, pitch black hair, flowing free over her black dress with white accents. But unlike any other human I have seen, she is incredibly pale, like her skin is made of snow, and on top of that, her pupils are a blood red.


    The adventurer to the right, who is waving to Hilda, is a heavily armoured human paladin, longsword to her side and a kiteshield on her back. She has chestnut brown hair tied back into a ponytail. From her face I can immediately tell... she¡¯s my sister.

 Chapter 6: Sisters

    I quickly hide behind Hilda again and I hear my sister approaching.


    ¡°So where¡¯s my little brother? You did bring him with you right?¡±


    Hilda turns her head to look at me and then looks back. ¡°Of course I did.¡±


    ¡°And who is the cutie hiding behind you?¡± ¨¦lise peaks over Hilda¡¯s shoulder and meets my gaze.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± I try to mutter.


    Hilda moves back in front of me and stares my sister straight in the face.


    ¡°I-is she¡­?¡± ¨¦lise¡¯s eyes go wide.


    Hilda nods.


    I close my eyes, fearing what my sister will say next, but I hear nothing, no tirade, no cursing, no crying, nothing.


    Until I hear the heavy clonk of her armour hitting the floor, followed by her warm embrace.


    ¡°Hey Lucas, there¡¯s no need to be scared of me, I would never hurt you.¡±


    I hear someone whispering in my sister¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Oh.¡± ¨¦lise pauses for a second before she whispers to me ¡°Do you want to be a girl?¡±


    I nod and start crying, all the stress falling from my shoulders.


    ¡°Shhh, you¡¯re safe with me.¡± her embrace tightens. ¡°Is it alright if I call you Amicia as well then?¡±


    I nod again as put my arms around my sister.


    ¡°She really is a good kid, ¨¦lise, I was kinda surprised to find out she was your sister.¡±


    ¡°I know, I¡¯m very proud of her, Hilda.¡± she tightens her embrace once more before letting go.


    ¡°Shall we get some food? I¡¯m starving. Oh, and that lovely vampire lady over there is Nikki.¡±


    ¡°Hey there, cutiepie.¡± She winks


    ¡°Nikki, I¡¯d appreciate you¡¯d only flirt with me and not with my sister, thanks.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon sweetie, look at her, she looks adorable.¡±


    I blush and wipe my tears from my face.


    ¡°Well¡¯ that¡¯s definitely true.¡± ¨¦lise help me dry my face with a clean handkerchief.


    ¡°Hey Nikki, long time no see.¡± I finally manage to utter. ¡°Sorry that you have to see me like this emotional wreck.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry that¡¯s normal. Coming out as trans isn¡¯t easy.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Trans?¡± Is that what I am?


    Hilda looks over to my sister with a questioning look ¡°Wait, she doesn¡¯t know?¡±


    ¨¦lise shakes her head. ¡°You know my parents aren¡¯t very keen on LGBT stuff, they blocked every source of information about it. And if you asked they¡¯d say they are all degenerates or misguided souls¡­¡± She looks over to me. ¡°I got out eventually, if only I knew sooner, then I could¡¯ve let you live with me and Nikki.¡± following with another deep embrace.


    I¡¯m still not entirely sure what being trans meant and it was clearly visible on my face.


    ¡°Being transgender means that your gender identity doesn¡¯t match the gender you were assigned at birth. So people thought you were a boy when you were born, but now we know that they were wrong.¡± Hilda explains. This woman is waaaay too perceptive.


    ¡°Oh, so I¡¯m transgender?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± Hilda ruffles my hair.


    My stomach suddenly decides to interrupt my sister¡¯s embrace with a big rumble.


    ¡°Oh ye, food.¡± ¨¦lise breaks her embrace and takes up the chair on my left. ¡°Soooo, fish?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Fish.¡±


    She smiles and calls over the barmaid. While waiting for her to approach, she looks over at me again. ¡°This is definitely going to need some getting used to.¡±


    ¡°To what?¡± I ask, already anticipating the juicy fish in front of me.


    ¡°Having a cute sister instead of a brother.¡±


    I blush but instantly also feel some regret building up. ¡°Well, in game anyway¡­¡±


    My sister puts her hand on my leg. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Amicia, we¡¯ll figure something out. Modern medicine is incredibly advanced.¡±


    By now the barmaid has reached our group. ¡°What will it be?¡±


    ¡°For me, the steak with pepper sauce and fries please.¡± ¨¦lise answers.


    ¡°Same for me.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Oh, and the best fish you have for my little sister here.¡±


    I feel my face redden again. ¨¦lise calling me sister just feels so good; I¡¯m so happy she accepted me.


    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± The barmaid confirms by repeating our order, staring at Nikki in particular.


    Nikki nods. ¡°That¡¯s all indeed.¡±


    ¡°Okay ladies, I¡¯ll be right back with your order.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry, Nikki?¡± I ask, quite confused.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯ll get my dinner later.¡± She smiles and looks at my sister.


    Hilda leans over to me and whispers in my ear. ¡°Just like in the books and movies, vampires drink blood. If you look closely at your sister¡¯s neck¡­¡±


    I sneak a peek at my sisters neck and see two dimples in her skin that could be some bitemarks.


    ¡°They say that a vampire¡¯s bite is incredibly erotic, both for the vampire and her ¡®food¡¯¡± Hilda continues. At the same time Nikki notices me staring at ¨¦lise¡¯s neck and gives me a wink.


    My face goes completely red and I immediately stare at my own lap. The smell of fish quickly distracting me as the waitress finally arrives with our food. ¡°Here you go ladies.¡±


    ¨¦lise swiftly orders some drinks for herself and Nikki and we start to dig in.


    ¡°Hey sis,¡± I say after taking a bite of the godly smoked salmon. ¡°I¡¯m really happy I can play games with you again.¡±


    ¡°Me too Amicia, me too.¡± She rubs my back. ¡°Has Hilda been nice to you on your way here?¡±


    ¡°Yes! She¡¯s amazing! She has taught me a lot of things.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    I lean closer to my sister: ¡°She even taught me how to put on a bra.¡±


    ¡°Did she now?¡± ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°It¡¯s pretty hard isn¡¯t it.¡±


    ¡°It is, but I think I got it now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± She pats my head. ¡°By the way, thanks Hilda.¡±


    ¡°No problem, Lise.¡± She takes a swig from her jug of ale.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were good at teaching other people things like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve done it before, so I got some experience with it.¡± Hilda winks.


    We all finish our food in a timely manner before we start discussing what to do tomorrow.


    ¡°So, would you like to party with us for tomorrow Amicia?¡± Nikki asks, my sister eagerly nodding at the suggestion.


    ¡°That¡¯d be fun!¡±


    ¡°Nice! What about you Hilda?¡±


    Hilda thinks about it for a second but agrees in the end. ¡°Sure, but I¡¯d like to take a +1 with me then.¡±


    ¡°Of course! Who are you bringing?¡±


    ¡°My niece, she also just started out, might as well show both newbies the ropes at the same time.¡± she ruffles my hair again.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Now for the sleeping arrangements.¡± ¨¦lise picks up where Nikki left off. ¡°I kinda want to sleep together with my sister, but Nikki hasn¡¯t eaten yet¡­¡±


    ¡°No problem sweety, I¡¯m sure Hilda also tastes pretty well.¡±


    Hilda¡¯s face explodes in a bright red, completely losing her composure she¡¯s usually so good at keeping. ¡°I...Uhhh... Amicia can sleep in my room again¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Nikki gets up and walks over to Hilda. ¡°Like you said earlier¡­¡± she leans in closer to Hilda¡¯s ear and whispers ¡°it feels reeeaaaalllyyyy goooood...¡±


    I laugh, happy it¡¯s not me being teased for once. Hilda¡¯s flustered face is also incredibly funny to watch.


    ¡°Stop teasing her Nikki.¡± ¨¦lise laughs ¡°I¡¯ll leave Amicia in your care once more, Hilda. If you are okay with that of course, little sis.¡± She winks at me.


    ¡°Of course. We can always have a sleepover later on.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¨¦lise gives me one last hug, after which she wraps her arm around Nikki¡¯s hip and they head off to their room. ¡°Dinner¡¯s served, sugar.¡±


    ¡°Yum!¡±


    ¡°Geez, finally some rest.¡± Hilda pufs ¡°Those two are always so energetic but they definitely are a good couple.¡± She finishes her ale. ¡°Anyway, should we go to bed too? Tomorrow will be a pretty active day as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best.¡± I get out of my chair and follow Hilda towards our assigned bedroom.


    ¡°Damn, this is definitely a lot nicer than Argus¡¯ inn, it even has a rug!¡± I stare in awe at the fancily decorated bedroom.


    ¡°Haha, you shouldn¡¯t tell him that or he won¡¯t serve you fish anymore.¡±


    ¡°Nooooooo! Not the fish!¡±


    Hilda laughs and pats me on the head. ¡°By the way, want me to leave the room for you to undress?¡±


    ¡°Uh...n-no, I¡¯ll just turn around, you don¡¯t have to leave.¡± I quickly claim the bed on the right and start taking off my clothes, I can hear Hilda doing the same behind me.


    ¡°Hilda?¡± I ask when taking off my breeches.


    ¡°Hmm? Yes, Amicia?¡±


    ¡°D-don¡¯t you feel uncomfortable sharing a room and undressing together with someone who is... was a boy?¡±


    ¡°You never were a boy, Amicia. Sure, people thought you were when you were born, but you definitely aren¡¯t. You are just as much a girl as I am.¡±


    ¡°Thanks H-Hilda.¡± My voice breaks and tears start running down my cheeks until I feel Hilda¡¯s hand on my head.


    ¡°Want a hug?¡±


    I nod and Hilda brings me close to her.


    ¡°If you ever want to talk or just vent, you can always come to me okay? I¡¯m sure your sister and Nikki are open for that too.¡±


    ¡°T-thanks.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s absolutely no problem kiddo.¡± Her hug tightens a bit.


    We break the hug after a couple of moments and finish getting undressed.


    I jump beneath the extremely puffy blanket, wrapping myself like a burrito, with only my eyes popping up above it.


    ¡°Good night, Hilda.¡±


    ¡°Night night, little purrito.¡±


    Luckily Hilda can¡¯t see my flushed face like this. It doesn¡¯t take long before I fall asleep in my cozy cocoon.


    Thank you so much for reading my stories!!!

 Chapter 7: Nightmare

    TW: Severe homophobia, transphobia, violence


    I wake up, staring at the ceiling of our inn room. It takes only a moment for me to sit upright and just be content with myself. But suddenly, in front of my eyes, the room begins to twitch, to change. Nausea builds up in my chest as this nice inn room gets transformed into my room back home.


    ¡°W-what, what¡¯s happening?¡± Oh, no, my voice.


    I grasp my throat and feel my prominent adam¡¯s apple, my hair, again short and spiky.


    My body, disgustingly male.


    ¡°No, nonono, nooooo!¡± I scream out, trying to find the D3u5XMachina, nowhere to be found.


    Footsteps rumbling up the stairs, the door flies open. Dad standing is in its opening, fuming with a bright red face. ¡°You were dreaming about being a girl again, weren¡¯t you, faggot!¡±


    ¡°No, Dad, please!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll beat those ideas out of you pretty fast.¡± He takes the belt from his pants and takes it in his hands. He locks the door and approaches.


    I scream, ¡°No, no! ¨¦lise, help!¡±


    ¡°No-one will come and save you; no-one will hear you.¡± Lifting the belt to lash out at my exposed skin. The first hit immediately draws blood. Dripping from my thigh on my bed sheets. The pain is almost immeasurable. I curl up, trying to protect my face. The stinging pain now nailing my back, time after time. My screams muffled by my mattress, now soaking wet with both tears and blood. ¡°Yes, keep crying you fucking homo.¡±


    ¡°Amicia!¡± Suddenly, everything¡¯s gone.


    My eyes open, for real this time, my body covered entirely in sweat, my eyes aching from crying. My sister embracing me.


    ¡°¨¦-¨¦lise?¡±


    ¡°Thank the Goddess, you are finally awake, Hilda came running to get me, saying you were screaming in your sleep. My poor little sister.¡± Her embrace tightens.


    It was just a nightmare. I feel the tension in my body melt away.


    Tears of relief are streaming down my face.


    ¡°Shh, you¡¯re safe now. You should scoot up a little though.¡±


    I brush my tears away. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s barely midnight, and if you think I¡¯m gonna let you sleep alone now, you¡¯re wrong.¡± She crawls under the blanket and cuddles up to me.


    ¡°What about Nikki?¡±


    ¡°Eh, she has Hilda to toy with for now, she understands.¡±


    Only now I realise I¡¯m still completely naked under my blanket.


    ¡°Uh...¨¦lise...¡±


    ¡°Hush now,¡± anticipating what I was about to say. ¡°We¡¯re sisters aren¡¯t we? Just try to sleep a bit more. If you need me, I¡¯m right here, okay?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I blush. ¡°You are the best sister I could wish for.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She giggles and gives a kiss on my cheek. ¡°Good night, little sis.¡±


    ¡°Good night ¨¦lise.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t take long for me to fall asleep again, and this time the nightmares stayed away.


    When I wake up I don¡¯t feel my sister next to me anymore.


    ¡°Huh, sis, where are you?¡±


    I hear mumbling from next to my bed, seeing ¨¦lise lying on the floor with a blanket over her.


    ¡°That derp of a sister of yours must¡¯ve rolled out of bed and just continued sleeping. I covered her with my blanket when I came to get my clothes, you two sure like sleeping au naturel!¡± I hear a voice coming from the doorway.


    ¡°Oh, hey Hilda.¡±


    ¡°Good morning Amicia. Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine now, thank you.¡±


    A smile appears on Hilda¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that, you gave me quite a shocker.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Hilda tugs her scarf. Wait, since when does Hilda wear a scarf?


    ¡°Why are you wearing a scarf Hilda?¡±


    Her face goes bright red. ¡°Uh... no reason.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you slept in Nikki¡¯s room¡­Did she¡­?¡±


    ¡°I...I¡­Yes...¡± She grabs her scarf a bit tighter


    I burst out in laughter ¡°Oh goodness!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you are definitely feeling better I see,¡± she pouts. ¡°Anyway, would you care to wake up your sister? I¡¯ll go and look for my niece while you get ready.¡±


    ¡°Okidoki.¡± I give Hilda a thumbs up. ¡°Oh by the way, don¡¯t grab your scarf that hard, it makes one of the bite marks poke out above it.¡±


    Hilda quickly tucks up her scarf and leaves the room ¡°Goddess, how am I ever going to survive these sisters.¡±


    After Hilda leaves I poke my sister on her cheek. ¡°Hey sis, are you gonna wake up?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm, just five more hours please.¡± She rolls on her side away from me.


    ¡°Geez, guess I¡¯ll get dressed first then.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t take long for the sound of me getting dressed to wake up ¨¦lise from her slumber.


    ¡°Oh, looks like I fell out of bed, teehee.¡±


    ¡°Ye, Hilda covered you up when she came to check on us.¡± I say, pulling up my trousers and sticking my tail through its designated hole.


    ¡°Make sure to remind me to thank her! By the way, are you getting used to your tail - it isn¡¯t too annoying, is it?¡±


    ¡°Not at all! I still forget about it sometimes when sitting or turning over in bed but I¡¯m definitely getting the hang of it.¡±


    ¡°And the rest of your body?¡± My sister sits upright and starts clothing herself. ¡°Have you tested it out yet?¡±


    With her shirt over her head I couldn¡¯t see it but I could definitely hear her smirk.


    ¡°Uh...I¡­I¡¯m actually not really interested in that...kind of stuff...¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± She finally manages to get her shirt on.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love this body, I love it to bits. It¡¯s definitely gonna suck when I¡¯m out of the game, whenever I think about it I feel my chest tighten immediately...¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that what your nightmare was about?¡± ¨¦lise almost trips trying to get on her padded trousers.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± I nod in confirmation.


    *Bonk!*


    Correction: she did trip trying to get on her trousers.


    ¡°Are you okay, sis?¡±


    ¡°Ye, ye. Ugh, this always happens to me.¡±


    ¡°I see at least some of my clumsiness runs in the family.¡±


    ¡°Ey, don¡¯t make me grab your tail.¡± Her painful expression turns into a playful smug.


    ¡°No, no touchy.¡± I protectively put my tail against my chest.


    ¡°Anyway, as I said yesterday, we¡¯ll figure something out about your IRL body, okay?¡±


    ¡°I know but¡­¡±


    ¡°It still doesn¡¯t fully reassure you?¡±


    ¡°Ye.¡±


    ¡°I get what you mean, it must be incredibly hard for you.¡± She gives me a quick hug. ¡°So don¡¯t feel afraid to ask me to come and cuddle you up if you need someone.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but sometimes I get these attacks out of the blue, it¡¯s hard to anticipate the need for cuddles.¡±


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll need to be with you all the time, then.¡± ¨¦lise laughs.


    ¡°Haha, thanks sis.¡±


    Shortly after, we both finish dressing up and make ready to head out.


    ¡°Before we leave, can I ask something, Amicia? About something you said earlier.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I look at her questioningly.


    ¡°You said you weren¡¯t interested in testing out your body right?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± I nod


    ¡°Could you explain it a bit more?¡±


    ¡°Uh, well, I like touching my boobs once in a while. Because they are soft, and I just like the feeling.¡±


    ¡°World cold and hard, tiddy soft and warm, am I right?¡± ¨¦lise laughs


    I blush. ¡°Exactly... But whenever genitals get involved¡­I¡¯m happy I don¡¯t have, you know, that thing anymore. But I don¡¯t really want to have sex or anything like that, even with this body.¡±


    ¡°And when you see attractive people?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I definitely think some girls are cute, but I want to cuddle them, not have sex with them.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see.¡± She comes closer and ruffles my hair ¡°It¡¯s good that you know what you like and dislike. It doesn¡¯t matter how anyone leads their life, as long as they enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°And now that I know you are into girls as well, we can gossip about them all day long!¡±


    ¡°¨¦lise, please.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m joking, I¡¯m joking. But feel free to talk to me about things like this though. That¡¯s what sisters are for, especially if they are as gay as me.¡±


    I snicker. ¡°I will, I will.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go, Hilda will be angry if we are too late.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that reminds me, Hilda wears a scarf now.¡±


    ¡°Haha, Nikki?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s gonna hear about this all day long.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± We giggle as we leave our room behind.

 Chapter 8: Musketeer

    We soon arrive on the main floor of the inn, still somewhat giggling about Hilda¡¯s predicament when we see Nikki sitting at the bar sipping from a glass of water.


    ¡°I heard from my little sis that you got to Hilda.¡± ¨¦lise snickers


    ¡°Hey, you told me she was free game!¡±


    ¡°Yep and you did a great job.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, she was teasing Amicia yesterday so I wanted to pay that back a little.¡± Nikki giggles.


    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t have to do that for me.¡± I blush


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that Amicia, we both enjoyed it.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Nikki, if you tease my little sister I might have to do some payback of my own.¡± ¨¦lise smiles.


    ¡°I¡¯m already looking forward to it.¡± Nikki gets of her seat to give ¨¦lise a good morning kiss.


    ¡°Good morning, sweetie.¡± My sister embraces her girlfriend and lifts her a bit above the ground.


    ¡°Good morning to you too, Lise.¡±


    ¡°Geez, get a room already,¡± I laugh.


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s too early for that kind of thing. Besides, we need the energy to do some fighting today.¡± Her comment makes me blush a bit more.


    ¨¦lise puts down Nikki and heads towards a table. ¡°We should probably eat something before we head out.¡±


    ¡°Ye, I¡¯d definitely like some porridge. Oh, and milk!¡± I scream out, my mouth¡¯s already watering in expectation.


    ¡°Haha, that was to be expected.¡± ¨¦lise runs her hand through my hair. ¡°Watch out though, they serve their meals really hot here, and I don¡¯t want the kitten to burn her tongue.¡±


    I stick my tongue out as I sit down with Nikki, ¨¦lise heading back to the bar to order our food and drinks.


    A few moments pass before Nikki speaks to me.


    ¡°Hey Amicia, you don¡¯t mind me being this touchy with your sister right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± I say, a bit taken aback by the sudden question ¡°Why would I? I love both of you, and I think you two fit super well as a couple.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Thanks, we never really spoke much before so I just wanted to make sure.¡± She pats my head.


    ¡°Gee, don¡¯t worry about it!¡± I laugh. ¡°Also, why does everyone keeps patting my head, my hair is going to get all frizzy!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? Everyone likes petting catgirls, it must be the ears. Don¡¯t you like it?¡±


    I pout. ¡°It¡¯s not like I dislike it or anything... it¡¯s just... everyone I meet does it¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because we all love you, silly; we want to make you comfortable.¡±


    ¡°I guess...thanks¡­¡±


    ¡°Is this better?¡± She moves her hand behind my ear and starts giving me ear scratches.


    Oh Goddess. This heavenly feeling...


    ¡°I...I¡­¡±


    ¡°You like that, don¡¯t you? That little tsundere act disappeared real fast.¡± She winks.


    I try to speak but find I¡¯m almost completely unable to do so.


    Luckily ¨¦lise arrives at the table with the food before I completely get entranced by Nikki¡¯s scratching.


    ¡°Hey Lise, so I just found out your little sis here likes getting the scratchies behind her little ears.¡±


    ¡°Oh, does she now?¡± she smirks and places down my plate in front of my bright red face.


    ¡°W-w-w-when is Hilda coming back?¡± I stammer, trying to change the subject.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t take that much longer, this city isn¡¯t that huge and I heard her niece was in this half of the city center already.¡± Nikki replied.


    ¡°And Hilda is not someone who just dilly dallies around.¡± ¨¦lise ads.


    ¡°I kinda noticed that when traveling with her from Cagogonte.¡±


    ¡°Do I hear people gossiping about me?¡± Hilda suddenly appears at my shoulder.


    ¡°U-uhm, n-no. I was just asking when you were coming back¡­¡± My heart beats in my throat.


    ¡°I see,¡± she smirks. ¡°Anyway, I got someone to introduce.¡±


    We all look around but we can¡¯t see anyone.


    ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t imagining things Hilda?¡±


    ¡°Hush kitten, hush.¡± She motions behind her back ¡±You can stop hiding behind me now, Ember; these are my friends.¡±


    A tiny girl with bright red hair and a brown musketeer¡¯s hat pokes out from behind Hilda.


    ¡°She¡¯s a little bit shy.¡±


    ¡°You are Ember, right?¡± ¨¦lise puts up her usual friendly smile ¡°I¡¯m ¨¦lise and this is my girlfriend Nikki, we are colleagues of your aunt.¡± Then she points to me. ¡°And this cute catgirl over here is Amicia; she¡¯s my sister.¡±


    ¡°Hey Ember.¡± I try to put on the same smile as my sister.


    ¡°H-hello¡­¡± She steps completely steps out from behind Hilda revealing her very short size.


    ¡°Give me a sec, I¡¯m going to get some drinks for us.¡± Hilda removes herself from the conversation, making Ember even more nervous.


    ¡°Oh my, you are tiny!¡± Nikki exclaims.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t laugh... I wanted to play a small character for once but I didn¡¯t realize how inconvenient that would be¡­¡± She pouts. ¡°I even had to modify my blunderbuss so it wouldn¡¯t be so cumbersome for me...¡±


    Her blunderbuss with a shortened barrel and stock is clumsily flung over her shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re a musketeer then?¡± I ask tentatively.


    ¡°Ye! I really didn¡¯t want to be playing a melee character, or a mage. So I went for this instead!¡±


    ¡°What about an archer?¡±


    ¡°Bows are a bit too long for me. Can you imagine me pulling a longbow?¡±


    I picture it in my head and it would indeed look comical, a typical longbow would even be longer than my new self.


    I snort.


    ¡°Yes, exactly, you can make pretty small guns that still work though. So that¡¯s why I picked it.¡±


    ¡°By the way Ember, how old are you if I might ask?¡± ¨¦lise jumps in.


    ¡°Uh¡­I¡¯m actually 22.¡± Ember starts to blush.


    ¡°You¡¯re the same age as me!¡± I exclaim.


    ¡°Oh, really? That¡¯s cool!¡±


    ¡°Haha, I see you two are already getting along, that¡¯s great.¡± Hilda smiles getting back with the drinks. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s do some fighting after we¡¯re done here. Teach the newbies how work in a party.¡± She winks to both me and Ember.


    As it was said, so it is done. After the food and drinks we pack our stuff together and head for the western city gate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to attune yourself to the teleportation stone in the market square. It just takes a second and makes it so you can teleport here from basically anywhere.¡± Hilda explains when we near the center of the city.


    ¡°Can we teleport all the time or is there a cooldown or something?¡± Ember asks, struggling to keep up with her short legs.


    ¡°Good question, young Padawan. There is a 1-hour cooldown but you generally don¡¯t need it that much.¡±


    ¡°Padawan?¡± I ask.


    ¡°It¡¯s from this old sci-fi movie from like a century ago.¡±


    ¡°Wait Amicia, you haven¡¯t seen Galaxy Conflicts?¡± Ember says with a surprised look on her face.


    ¡°No, my parents really don¡¯t allow me to watch or listen to media that much¡­¡±


    ¡°Our parents are straight up arseholes.¡± ¨¦lise ads.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Ember looks down at her feet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ll go rescue my sister from them soon.¡± My sis catches up to Ember and gives her a pat on the head.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± She looks up at ¨¦lise who scoops her up from her feet without any issue. ¡°What are you doing, you crazy paladin?!¡±


    ¡°Just making sure you don¡¯t tire out before getting to the fight. I have enough invested in strength and stamina, I can carry you all day if I want to.¡±


    My sister is such a flirt.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll allow it for now...¡±


    As Hilda said, it doesn¡¯t take long to attune to the teleportation stone at all. You basically just have to raise your hand at it and say a small incantation. Since it was my first time doing so however, I did get the teleportation skill too.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s set out now, it shouldn¡¯t take very long before we can get in some combat after we leave the city.¡± Our glorious leader Hilda proclaims, still tugging a bit at her scarf.


    It makes me giggle.


    ¡°What are you laughing about kitten. Just wait until she gets a hold of you¡­¡±


    My face goes bright red.


    ¡°Ye, that¡¯s what I thought.¡± Hilda smirks and leads us further towards the western gate.


    Before we manage to reach it a guard runs up to our party, clearly in panic.


    ¡°Quickly! Come and help at the western gate! A goblin warband is approaching fast!¡±


    ¡°What?! This close to the capital?!¡± Hilda replies.


    ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t get it either, but some scouts just came back and one of them had goblin arrows stuck in his chainmail.¡±


    ¡°What about the army?¡±


    ¡°Some of the royal guard is here but most of the army is at the Vinilian border.¡±


    ¡°Crap, that¡¯s not good.¡± ¨¦lise ads.


    ¡°Why?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Well, a goblin warband is a pretty big host. While a goblin on it¡¯s own is less dangerous than most wildlife, when they come in groups this big¡­¡±


    I gulp. ¡°How big?¡±


    ¡°Typically between 700 and 1000¡­¡±


    ¡°Shit¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly, and this territory is seen as a beginner zone, plus the game is still in pre-release so not that many people are in the game yet. We do have this one guild of alpha test players in this city, specifically to help the flood of new players that¡¯ll soon arrive. Me, Nikki and Hilda are part of it too.¡±


    ¡°Yep, I¡¯ve already sent a message to Crystal. But we should go to the gate to stem the flow before they arrive. If they get inside of the walls it will be a massacre...¡± Hilda already starts running ahead towards the gate.


    ¡°Why¡¯s Hilda so hasty?¡± I say while we all pick up the pace.


    ¡°Well, for us it wouldn¡¯t be as big of an issue because we can respawn... but the NPC¡¯s...they can¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± My eyes go wide with realization.


    ¡°Everything that happens to this world ... is permanent.¡±

 Chapter 9: Horde

    After a 5-minute run we catch up to Hilda who¡¯s currently yelling at the gatekeep


    ¡°What do you mean, the fucking gate is stuck?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry ma¡¯am! Everything is rusted shut, these gates haven¡¯t had to close in years.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you twats do fucking maintenance for fuck¡¯s sake!¡±


    ¡°B-b-budget cuts¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my fuck¡­ I can¡¯t believe this...¡±


    ¡°Goddess, this can¡¯t be good.¡± ¨¦lise let¡¯s out, already drawing her sword and shield.


    ¡°Wait just a second¡­ Amicia?¡± Hilda quickly turns her gaze towards me.


    ¡°Uhm...yes?¡±


    ¡°Could you try to fix the gate?¡±


    ¡°Well... I¡¯m not really a mechanic¡­¡±


    ¡°I meant with your skill you dummy.¡±


    ¡°Oh right!¡± I totally forgot that I even could do something like this.


    I aim my healing spell at the gate and start casting. I¡¯m at it for at least 30 seconds before I see a single speck of rust disappear. I stumble backwards from exhaustion.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t think I can do this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you are pretty low level so I didn¡¯t really expect it to work but it was worth the shot¡­¡± She pats my head and hands me a mana potion. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to Sparta the F out of this.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± ¨¦lise starts rounding up the shieldsmen and the spearmen of the royal guard.


    ¡°Uhm?¡± I insert, nervously twisting the cap of the mana potion.


    ¡°Battle of Thermopylae. Spartans fought the Persians in a bottleneck, mostly negating the numerical advantage the Persians had. Why do you know so many things about weapons but not about history? Didn¡¯t you have history in high school, Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Hey, not everyone is interested in both... and I kinda fell asleep during history classes¡­¡±


    Hilda sighs and ruffles my hair. ¡°What are we supposed to do with you.¡±


    Nikki walks up to me and whispers in my ear. ¡°Hilda has a master¡¯s degree in history.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, I see.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, we should probably get ready, the goblins could be here any second now. Ember you go with Nikki on top of the wall, fire as much as you can into the mass of enemies, but do watch out for their archers.¡±


    ¡°Okidok-iiiiiii!¡± Ember quickly gets scooped up by Nikki who teleports to the top of the wall.


    ¡°Darn vampires, I¡¯ll never get used to that. Uhm, anyway, Amicia, it¡¯s your job to heal the tank line as best as you can, these are pretty experienced soldiers so they can soak up a lot of damage. Just make sure they don¡¯t drop. I¡¯ll stay down here with you to take out anyone that manages to sneak through the line, okay?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°Good girl. We just need to hold out until the guild gets here, might take more than half an hour though¡­¡±


    At that moment I hear my sister call out ¡°Hilda! They are here!¡±


    ¡°Looks like we are up.¡±


    It stays quiet for a couple more moments before I start hearing the stampede of the goblin horde. Silent at first, but becoming louder and louder as more goblins close the distance. The flicking of the bowstrings from our archers, almost completely in sync with each other. The occasional bang of Ember¡¯s blunderbuss and the fiery explosions of Nikki¡¯s AOE blasts.


    Not long after that the first goblins clash with the shield wall at the gate. Their cries high and piercing as the spearman poke them full of holes.


    Even though the goblins lack any martial skills they occasionally get a hit in on our frontline tanks. I do my best casting my healing spells, both my channelcast and my heal over time. The line bulges in a bit due to the sheer mass of the goblin assault, luckily the line does look like it¡¯s holding out.


    However¡­


    ¡°Hilda, I need a second line behind us now!¡± My sister calls out.


    Hilda immediately goes off to get some random militiamen in the neighbourhood.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s happening!?¡±


    Hilda doesn¡¯t say anything and just quickly points at the mass in front of the gate.


    The goblins are starting to climb on top of their comrades to use them as a sort of bridge to get over our shieldwall. Some of them are getting picked off by our ranged fighters on the wall but it looks like some are still getting through.


    ¡°Oh no you don''t!!¡± ¨¦lise yells out as she overhand cleaves a goblin in twain who tried to jump in behind her. Quickly bringing her sword down again for a horizontal swing, lobbing off the heads of several goblins in front of her too. One of their heads comically bouncing of her shield, into the face of another gobbo.


    I also try to do my part to stop the overflow, casting my big blue ball of death in between my healing casts. Sadly enough for the goblins they wear pretty flammable clothing, setting some of the allight immediately and fall in between their comrades, starting yet another wildfire besides those that Nikki has started with her fireballs.


    Hilda quickly comes back with what looks like 10 citizens she just handed some spears too.


    ¡°Here Amicia, have another mana potion, I¡¯ll give you five more to be sure.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, sorry that I¡¯m not more useful.¡±


    Hilda is visibly taken aback a little by my comment. ¡°You kiddin¡¯ me kiddo? You¡¯re doing great. Without you our shieldwall would¡¯ve gone down already. This empire rarely has any magic casters, except for some high nobility.¡± Right when she ended her sentence she sent a throwing knife flying towards one of the militiamen, barely missing his head and plunging itself into a goblin that was jumping at his throat. ¡°Heads up, mate.¡±


    ¡°T-t-thanks ma¡¯am.¡± The soldier quickly goes back into full alert.


    ¡°Just keep doing what you are doing and we¡¯ll be fine, okay?¡± she pats my shoulder.


    ¡°Okay. Thanks Hilda.¡± I smile.


    The battle goes on for ten more minutes without really any notable events. Goblins that run over our first defense are either getting struck down by the second line of militiamen or get served a throwing knife by Hilda. I¡¯m keeping up with the healing but I did just use up my last mana potion. Hopefully this battle won¡¯t last much longer...


    Suddenly a pair of goblins run up to her, apparently having managed to sneak past a couple of militiamen. She grabs her cane from the belt on her hip and unsheathes a sword from it as one of the goblins lunges for her. She quickly raises her cane to block the incoming attack while embedding the long thin blade in the chest of the goblin¡¯s compatriot, swiftly bashing in the head of the remaining goblin with a nasty crunch.


    Hilda takes out a red cloth and wipes the blood off her sword and cane combo when she sees me staring at her in awe.


    ¡°Red hides blood better, y¡¯see,¡± she grins.


    Wow, she almost looks like a completely different person when she¡¯s in combat mode.


    I keep looking at Hilda for a bit as she is cleaning off the last bit of blood when I almost get run over by a man in heavy armour, and another, and another.


    ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t those¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hilda! We have an issue!¡± ¨¦lise comes running to us too, followed by Nikki and Ember. ¡°Most of the goblins are dead, but-¡±


    An extremely loud crack fills the air as the gatehouse is shattered leaving a huge creature standing there.


    ¡°Well, that!¡±


    ¡°What?! This wasn¡¯t in the scout reports!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened either, we looked up one second and it was just there.¡±


    ¡°What in Goddess¡¯ name is happening, first the goblin horde now, thi- Watch out!¡±


    We all jump out of the way before a huge boulder hits the spot where we were just standing. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can handle this¡­¡± ¨¦lise says, out of breath from all the fighting. ¡°Not with this party. No offense of course, but you two basically just started yesterday.¡±


    ¡°No offence taken.¡± Ember replies but clearly a bit upset.


    ¡°So, should we run for it?¡± I add.


    Hilda sighs and wipes away some tears. ¡°...ye¡¯, let¡¯s start evacuating.¡±


    ¡°Giving up so soon?¡± A voice rings out from behind us, followed by a giant barrage of crystal shards towards the huge creep.


    ¡°Crystal, thank Goddess!¡± Hilda calls out.


    I look back as I see a woman standing there, together with a small army of well-equipped adventurers. Her entire body looks like it consists of green leaves, but rather than soft and flowing, they look hard and crystalline. ¡°Ooooh, that¡¯s why she¡¯s called Crystal....¡± I say, a bit louder than I intended


    ¡°Yes indeed little miss.¡± She laughs and turns herself towards Hilda  ¡°Are these the rookies you mentioned, Hilda?¡± She gestures towards me and Ember.


    ¡°Yes, yes they are.¡± Hilda says in a proud tone.


    She comes closer to the both of us and gives us a soft pat on our heads ¡°You two did a great job, but let us veterans take care of this now, okay? You three can also rest a bit, you all look like hell.¡± Crystal smiles and quickly moves back towards the adventurers as we move back to a safer distance.


    After a short speech the entire group rushes towards the incoming threat, covering almost the entirety of the creature in a rainbow spectacle of explosions, and multiple forms of projectiles.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing.¡± my mouth almost falls open when I look upon the spectacle.


    ¡°That¡¯s the guild for ya.¡± Hilda replies, coming to sit next to me watching the battle unfold.


    ¡°So Crystal is the guild leader?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. She didn¡¯t really want to do it at first but all of us voted for her nonetheless, she¡¯s a natural leader.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t that bad either, Hilda; you just shoved her forward because you really didn¡¯t want to.¡± ¨¦lise and Nikki sit down next to us as well.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t like all the politics involved with it, and big groups of people make me shiver.¡± She visibly cringes at the thought.


    It doesn¡¯t take long before the lumbering creature goes down to the enormous firepower of the alpha testers, its corpse completely blocking the western entrance.


    ¡°How are they going to remove it?¡± I ask, looking at the devastation.


    ¡°Have you ever seen how they get rid of dead whales that have been beached?¡± Nikki explains.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s nasty.¡±


    ¡°Indeed it is, and it takes quite long too. On top of that, creatures like that don¡¯t really have anything useful for the city, except for the loot drops. The bones do generally fetch quite a price though - they¡¯re basically ivory.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± I never really thought of all the logistics that go into fights like this. I¡¯m pretty happy I don¡¯t have to clean it up.


    ¡°Hey girls, we should probably go collect our loot, well, from the goblins that didn¡¯t get smooshed by the giant at least.¡± Hilda calls out.


    ¡°Ye, you two really need some better gear.¡± ¨¦lise takes me by the shoulder.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, I definitely want something that shows of my figure better.¡±


    ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re such a girl.¡±


    ¡°Indeed I am!¡±

 Chapter 10: HQ

    Looting took a lot longer than expected, who¡¯d have thought that manually going through each and every single goblin would take this long.


    Having looted all the goblins, the people from the guild invited us to go get a drink at their headquarters, being all pretty thirsty and tired, it was an offer we couldn''t refuse


    ¡°So, a lunar mage huh? You don¡¯t see those a lot.¡± Crystal says while leading us to their HQ.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Hilda told me they were pretty rare.¡±


    ¡°Yep, indeed. I tried playing it before the first reset but I got bored out too fast. No offense of course. But I can see you are enjoying it a lot.¡±


    ¡°Definitely!¡± I smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s the most important thing, as long as you are having fun, don¡¯t let anyone tell you to do live life differently.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the advice!¡± I say, my eyes wandering back over to Crystals body. I wonder how her skin feels like.


    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Crystal caught my gaze.


    ¡°Oh...no... it¡¯s nothing¡­¡± I blush and quickly turn my head.


    ¡°Really now? You weren¡¯t just asking yourself how my skins feels, were you?¡±


    My eyes go wide in shock and I stare at Hilda ¡°There¡¯s two of you!?¡±


    Hilda immediately bursts out in laughter.


    ¡°Haha, no, I¡¯m not as intuitive like Hilda.¡± She grins ¡°I just have the ability to do some surface mind reading, that¡¯s all.¡± saying that she sticks out her arm. ¡°Here, if you still want to touch it, that is.¡±


    I slowly stick out my hand and feel her skin. It feels incredibly smooth but cold to the touch, like marble. Although it appears she can make it flex pretty easily. ¡°Wow, so smooth!¡± But even though her skin feels cold I can sense a lot of energy running through her arm. ¡°I think I can feel the power inside of you Crystal¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s possible. Unlike humanoid creatures, my race has pure energy running through instead of blood. Sure has its advantages like not having to wash the blood of clothes for example, but if I were to die in combat you better not be standing next to me.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± I tilt my head a bit.


    ¡°The core that powers her race basically goes nuclear when the body is dying. Sending shrapnel everywhere... ¡° Hilda ads.


    ¡°Yep. Pretty dangerous for allies but you can bring down foes with you as well.¡± Crystal suddenly runs a few meters ahead of us before stopping at a huge building with big oak double doors. ¡°And here is our cozy home.¡±


    ¡°Woah, this is definitely an upgrade from the last location.¡± ¨¦lise and Nikki say in unison.


    ¡°I know right!¡± Crystal cheers happily and swings open the doors. ¡°Welcome friends!¡±


    As she opens the door we are greeted to a big open bar. Style wise it reminds me of those old jazz bars you find here and there, with lots of cozy sitting corners and a podium for a band to play.


    ¡°We also have game rooms at the back, you can pool, play darts, watch a movie¡­¡±


    ¡°You can see movies? What¡¯s the point of playing a game then?¡± Ember asks.


    ¡°Good question! We made it for people who want to meet up in game because they aren¡¯t able to in real life, people in long distance relationships, or who don¡¯t get accepted by their parents.¡±


    Ouch, that stings.


    ¡°Oh, I see! So they can enjoy and go on dates here that would be hard to in real life.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Crystal clears her throat and continues on. ¡°If you aren¡¯t into games or things like that you can also go up a level, we have an almost full fledged wellness centre so you can just relax, and also a lot of cozy bedrooms.¡±


    My mouth drops. ¡°Wow, how did you all pay for this.¡±


    Hilda pats me on my shoulder. ¡°Crafting.¡±


    Crystal nods in agreement. ¡°Crafting.¡± as they both start laughing.


    After finishing the tour and grabbing lunch, Crystal invites us to stay here for the night, and since we are all pretty tired and this is the most fancy place I¡¯ve been in, like ever, we all decide to do so. As it¡¯s not yet time for bed, we all decide to spend some more time relaxing in the HQ. Nikki and ¨¦lise decide to go to the wellness centre while the rest of us decide to play some games together. After me and Crystal getting our arses handed to us multiple times by Ember and Hilda it¡¯s pretty much time for bed.


    ¡°Darn, those two are way too competitive.¡± Crystal says, wiping the non-existing sweat from her forehead.


    ¡°I think it runs in the family,¡± I snicker.


    ¡°Hey, I heard that!¡± Ember and Hilda catch up, both still boasting to each other about their finest gaming moments.


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s pretty much time for all of us to log off, I¡¯ll show you to your rooms.¡± Crystal replies.


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± Suddenly it dawns on me that I won¡¯t be waking up in the gaming world tomorrow.


    Hilda grabs me in for a hug. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, okay?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Crystal asks.


    ¡°Can I tell her?¡± Hilda whispers.


    I nod.


    ¡°Well, this little sweet potato found out she¡¯s trans.¡±


    Crystal¡¯s face immediately goes soft with sympathy. ¡°Oh I see. I should¡¯ve guessed.¡± Crystal approaches and kneels down in front of me. ¡°Hey kiddo, everything will be fine, okay? I went through this all as well, and I turned out somewhat fine.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°A-are you also transgender?¡±


    ¡°Yes, indeed!¡±


    ¡°I-is it hard?¡±


    Crystal sighs but keeps smiling. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie to you, Amicia, it can be pretty tough at times, especially at the start... But, you¡¯ve got a great sister, Nikki, and Hilda to count on. On top of that I can see you are a tough little cookie, so you will be more than okay!¡± She ruffles my hair.


    ¡°Thanks Crystal.¡± I hug her, which she clearly wasn¡¯t expecting.


    ¡°No problem.¡± She cautiously hugs me back.


    I release my hug, glad I met another person just like me.


    Afterwards we go to the third floor where Crystal shows us our rooms. ¨¦lise decided to room with me again, just so I can go to sleep with her comforting me. Leaving Hilda in the clutches of Nikki yet again. I could swear I heard Hilda¡¯s mind yell ¡°Nooooooooooooo!¡± but that might have been my imagination. We all say goodnight to each other and enter our rooms. ¨¦lise immediately rushes over to me and grabs me into a big embrace after she closed the door.


    ¡°My little sister...promise to call me after uni, okay? We will try to figure something out as soon as possible.¡±


    Tears start welling up ¡°I will¡­ c-can we stay like this a bit longer?¡± I look her into the eyes.


    ¡°Of course.¡± She grabs me even closer as I immediately start crying.


    A few minutes go by with me just crying on my sister¡¯s shoulder while she soothingly rubs my back in the embrace.


    ¡°I love you so much sis.¡± I sniff.


    ¡°I love you too, Amicia.¡± She takes out a handkerchief from her pocket. ¡°Here, blow your nose with this.¡±


    ¡°I was planning on just wiping it on your shoulder¡­¡±


    ¡°Ew ew ew, please don¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°J-just kidding.¡± I get out of my sister¡¯s embrace and wipe my nose.¡±I should probably try to sleep now, or the headset will kick me out by itself¡­¡±


    ¡°That might be best¡­ Want me to sleep next to you?¡±


    I nod ¡°I¡¯d like that¡­¡±


    We both undress and get in bed, my sister snuggles closely up to me.


    ¡°Good night Amicia.¡±


    ¡°G-good night Lise¡­¡± my body starts shivering, like it knows what¡¯s going to happen. Only for it to stop once ¨¦lise grabs hold of me and pulls me even closer. Her warmth makes me want to curl up...and just...sleep...

 Chapter 11: Phoenix

    FieryKathy


    As soon as I fall asleep in-game my eyes open to darkness in real life.


    I slowly take off the headset and for a moment just stare at the overly familiar ceiling of my room, trying not to think about the body I currently inhabit. Although I try not to think about it, it¡¯s still pretty obvious; my body feels wrong, completely wrong. And the worst part is that I really have to get going now, not to miss my morning classes.


    I block out my emotions so I don¡¯t start crying my heart out and try to stand up, immediately getting hit by severe nausea. The world around me seems to move so slow. I wave my hand in front of me and it¡¯s like I¡¯m watching a slow motion camera in action.


    I suppose this is the time dliation the game was telling me about¡­


    I take my clothes and head downstairs towards the bathroom for my morning routine, the world slowly getting back up to speed. Luckily my parents have already left for work.


    As I enter that bathroom and put my clothes on the bathroom table I look up and see the mirror with a guy staring back at me.


    Hell.


    I can¡¯t hold back the tears anymore as my knees collapse beneath me.


    ¡°Why does this have to happen to me¡­!¡± I yell out, getting even more distressed by the sound of my voice.


    I want ¨¦lise here so badly.


    I drag my body over to the shower, hoping the warm water will calm me down.


    It doesn¡¯t.


    The confrontation with my naked body, the body I hate so much, only deepens the already gaping wounds of my emotional state. The shower water mixing with the cascade of tears¡­


    How do people like Crystal do this? How do they live with this every day without wanting to make it end...


    I turn of the shower and dry myself. Avoiding contact with my unwanted bits the best I can.


    Putting on my clothes doesn¡¯t take long, wanting to cover up this disgrace as soon as possible. Until I hear something. The sound of a marble on the floor.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    I look around but I don¡¯t see a thing.


    On the floor, nothing.


    Next to the shower, nothing.


    Next to the bathtub, nothing.


    The toilet, nothing.


    I get to my knees and look under the cabinet.


    It can¡¯t be¡­


    My arm almost gets stuck under the gap trying to reach, but luckily it didn¡¯t roll too far.


    A ball in a familiar paper wrapper¡­


    I immediately roll the ball out of the piece of paper and it looks just like it did in game, pink with a twirl of light inside.


    The words of the granny coming back to mind. ¡°Eat this when you feel unhappy.¡±


    Normally I wouldn¡¯t advice eating candy from an old, strange lady you found in the woods. But honestly, right now I don¡¯t give a single flying fuck¡­


    I launch the little ball into my mouth where it almost immediately dissipates. Leaving a strong apple and strawberry flavour in my mouth.


    However...my throat suddenly starts burning, hotter than the hottest spice I¡¯ve ever eaten.


    My head starts to explode with pain.


    And my heart¡­ it stops¡­


    I gasp for air as I try to take my phone to call 112, but my arms suddenly lose all their strength, making it fall on the cold marble floor, its screen shattered.


    The strength in my legs, leaving me for the second time today.


    I collapse against the closed door with a thud, my sight going darker by the second, still trying to get some air, to no avail.


    No...Not like this¡­


    Five seconds later I lose consciousness.


    I find myself floating in darkness.


    ¡°Am I¡­ dead?¡± My voice echoes around me ¡°I-it¡¯s Amicia¡¯s voice!¡±


    A point of light appears in the darkness around me.


    ¡°Live!¡± A voice calls out, faint but clearly audible.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± the light expands ever more.


    ¡°Live!¡± the voice repeats, sounding louder and a lot more familiar to my ears.


    ¡°Wait...granny?¡±


    ¡°Go, and live your new life to its fullest child!¡± The light explodes and completely engulfs me.


    With a shock I¡¯m wide awake, still slumped against the door. Air rushing into my lungs, it feels like they had been empty for hours.


    Strength flows back into my limbs, as I try to hoist myself up with the nearby cabinet.


    Everything appears...bigger.


    My pants falls down when I try to reach for the mirror, that¡¯s when I see it.


    Instead of my past self staring back at me, it¡¯s Amicia. Cat ears and all. Dressed in an oversized hoodie.


    I bring my hands to my face. The image in the mirror repeating my every move. It feels soft to the touch, no more dark stubbles to be felt. My hands move up to my head, touching the ears.


    Fluffy.


    Tears running down her cheeks. Running down my cheeks.


    The feeling of happiness filling my body, bringing a warm glow to my chest, until suddenly I realize. ¡°I¡¯m a catgirl¡­¡±


    ¡°This is real life... And I¡¯m a catgirl¡­¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m still in my parent¡¯s home.¡±


    The warmth I previously felt makes place for this chilling cold gut feeling.


    ¡°Shit, I need to get out of here. I have to call ¨¦lise¡± I look down and find my phone smashed on the floor.


    ¡°Oh Goddess, I forgot that happened.¡± I take the bits and pieces of my phone and stuff them into the pockets of my hoodie as to leave no evidence behind.


    ¡°Next, I should probably try to hide my catgirlness¡­¡±


    I quickly grab my pants and use my belt to secure it around my waist, my tail going down into one of the trouser legs. It¡¯s incredibly uncomfortable, especially now that my hips are so wide, but it¡¯ll have to do. I pull the hoodie over my head and try to get my ears as flat against my head as I possibly can before I check myself in the mirror.


    ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t look like a cat now, although I do look horrible in these clothes¡­¡±


    When I speak, I see my canines also grew like they did in-game.


    ¡°Should probably avoid speaking and smiling as well¡­¡±


    I quickly leave the bathroom and go upstairs.


    There¡¯s just a couple of things I can¡¯t leave behind.


    I take a bag, put some more hoodies in it.


    Rushing over to my bed I grab the D3u5XMachina and last but not least, take Mister Snuggles, a small tiger plushie my sister once gave me, and put them on top of the hoodies.


    Taking one last look at my PC, feeling incredibly torn I can¡¯t take it with me right now, I zip up the bag and take it with my downstairs.


    When I¡¯m putting on my shoes a noise catches my attention.


    Someone is coming!


    I quickly slide behind the sofa, my back against the wall.


    Shit, my bag for uni is still on the table.


    But before I can go and get it the lock clicks and the door swings open.


    It¡¯s my dad, he¡¯s on the phone.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll just get the paperwork from my desk and I¡¯ll be right back.


    Yes. I¡¯m sorry boss, it won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    He puts his phone away and walks over to his desk, just a few metres away from my hiding spot. I hold my breath. Luckily for me it doesn¡¯t take long before he turns around and walks to the door again.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± He halts next to the dinner table. ¡°Looks like that faggot forgot his shit again. That cunt is such a failure, nothing good will ever come of him. Or his sister...¡± He wacks my school bag, making it crash to the floor. ¡°Oops.¡± and walks out of the door.


    I wipe some tears out of my eyes before getting up.


    I hate my dad but hearing him say stuff like that still hurts...Definitely won¡¯t miss this place.


    Quickly grabbing both my bag and my schoolbag for uni, luckily I keep most of my books at uni so it doesn¡¯t weigh that much, I peek out of the window to see if my father has left already. I just catch a glimpse of his car racing off.


    Walking out the door has never felt more ¡®final¡¯ than it does now. I won¡¯t be able to come back, ever.


    ¨¦lise and Nikki live in the center of the next city over. So I¡¯ll have to take the bus there. I hide myself in the corner of the bus stop but fortunately the bus doesn¡¯t make me wait for it that long. Apart from a couple of stairs on the bus, the ride also goes more smoothly than anticipated, although my tail is basically killing me right now.


    I get out at the stop 100 metres away from their apartment and walk over as fast as possible.


    ¡°Please be home, please.¡±


    Going up to the eleventh floor I ring at the door. No response.


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon!¡±


    I put my bags down and let myself slide down the wall, putting my head on my knees.


    Sitting there for an hour or two, in the cold hallway, it dawns on me what challenges are in store for me. How will my parents react? How will I live life as a catgirl? Will the government catch me and experiment on me?


    ¡°¡®Live life to it¡¯s fullest¡¯, ye, easier fucking said than done... but... at least I¡¯m a girl now¡­¡± Getting overwhelmed, I start crying for the umpteenth time today until I get interrupted by the sound of groceries hitting the floor in front of me.


    ¡°Who are you and what are you doing here?¡± a woman demands.


    I look up and see her face, a face of fear and surprise, turning soft in an instant when she sees mine, followed by her sliding to her knees to embrace me.


    ¡°A-Amicia?! What?! How?!¡±


    I sniff, ¡°Hey Nikki, it¡¯s a long story¡­¡±


    Chapter 14 is now released on my Patreon!


    Link to my discord: Link

 Chapter 12: Pocky

    Nikki embraces me and takes her groceries from the floor. ¡°Quickly, come inside, it¡¯s too cold in the hallway. I hope you haven¡¯t been waiting there too long¡­¡±


    ¡°A-an hour or two.¡± A shiver goes down my spine.


    ¡°Poor girl.¡± Nikki opens the door to the apartment and points towards the sofa. ¡°Get in the sofa with a warm blanket, I¡¯ll bring you some hot cocoa.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Nikki.¡± I get into the sofa and take both my hood off and loosen my belt so my tail can slither out of my pants.


    That was so uncomfortable.


    ¡°Hey Amicia, why didn¡¯t you call your sister? Or did that klutz forget to notify me?¡± She calls out from the kitchen.


    ¡°I wanted to¡­ but my phone fell and it was completely smashed¡­¡± I take a nearby blanket and pull it over me when I lay down on my side.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯d explain it.¡±


    ¡°Meow!¡± a tiny grey and white kitten suddenly appeared at the sofa.


    ¡°Do you have a cat, Nikki?¡± I ask, staring at the little kitty.


    ¡°Yes! Her name is Pocky; we adopted her last month!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. She¡¯s very cute.¡± Pocky jumps on the sofa and cuddles up to my chest. It feels like I have a mini-heater strapped to me.


    ¡°I know right! Is she there with you? She¡¯s normally pretty scared of strangers.¡± I hear Nikki walking over to the sofa.¡±


    ¡°Oh my Goddess, you are a catgirl, just like in-game!¡±


    I blush and pull the blanket a bit higher. ¡°Ye¡­ w-when I turned into a girl, I got all these extra bits as well¡­¡±


    Nikki puts down the hot cocoa on the coffee table and sits in front on me on the sofa. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t feel ashamed of that, Amicia¡­¡± She pauses and pats Pocky, making her purr softly. ¡°Do you want to tell me what happened?¡±


    I nod and tell her the events that followed me waking up.


    ¡°So¡­ you got up in your ¡®old body¡¯, you ate a candy, passed out, and then you looked like this?¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe¡­ I wouldn¡¯t believe it myself either, but it happened.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I believe you.¡± She smiles as she turns to look in my eyes. ¡°It¡¯s just that this is pretty much a miracle, isn¡¯t it? Stuff from myths and legends...¡±


    ¡°I-I guess it is¡­ It did force my hand though...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I see why you had to get out of there as fast as possible.¡±


    ¡°Mhm¡­¡± I yawn, exhausted by the emotional stress of the day.


    Nikki smiles and pets my head. ¡°Why don¡¯t you and Pocky sleep for a bit? I¡¯ll call Lise to say you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°After I drink some of that cocoa first.¡± I smile back.


    It doesn¡¯t take long to fall asleep after finishing the hot cocoa.


    In my dream I felt wrapped in safety and warmth. A hand rubbing me behind my ear, making me drift around on a cloud of bliss. This dream feels so comfortable; I don¡¯t want to leave. A familiar scent and the sound of giggling finally makes me open my eyes, as I see my sis sitting on her knees in front of me.


    ¡°Hey there kitten.¡± She smiles. ¡°I see you¡¯ve met our other kitty.¡±


    Pocky has crawled under the blanket with me and is rubbing her head on my chin, still purring lightly.


    ¡°She¡¯s so cute¡­¡±


    ¡°So are you.¡± she says with a grin. ¡°I can¡¯t figure out who was purring louder, you or Pocky.¡±


    My face immediately goes red. ¡°I-I-I was purring?¡±


    Elise nods ¡°Mhm! You definitely like ear scratchies a lot.¡±


    ¡°D-don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s weird?¡±


    ¡°You liking ear scratchies?¡±


    ¡°No. Me being a catgirl and all¡­¡±


    ¨¦lise leans back a bit. ¡°Hmm. Nikki told me what you told her, and what happened to you is indeed pretty darn strange...inexplicable even...¡±


    My face drops down a bit.


    ¡°But, that doesn¡¯t take away we love you Amicia, even with all your extra bits and pieces. You might be the only catgirl on earth, but you are our catgirl. And my cute little sister.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°But how am I supposed to live like this? I can¡¯t go out looking like a cosplayer¡­¡±


    Nikki leans over the sofa and confidently says, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Amicia, we¡¯ll figure something out, together.¡±


    ¡°T-thanks, does that mean I can stay here?¡±


    ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡± My sister reaches in and hugs me, being careful not to move Pocky. ¡°Of course you can stay here. We both earn plenty of money and we have a room to spare.¡±


    Even Pocky chimes in with a little meow.


    ¡°And it looks like Pocky doesn¡¯t want you to leave either.¡±


    ¡°T-thank you, thank you so much... I love you all¡­¡±


    ¡°We know.¡± ¨¦lise and Nikki both take turns to give me a hug. ¡°You¡¯ll need to sleep in the sofa for one night though. We are going to buy you a bed tomorrow, and maybe even some clothes.¡±


    ¡°Going out like this?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we already have a special plan doctored out.¡± ¨¦lise says with a grin.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan then?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait and see, kitten.¡± Nikki adds, smirking even harder than my sister which makes me pout.


    ¡°Two months ago we had no kittens, and now we suddenly have two. Isn¡¯t that great my love?¡± Nikki continues to tease me.


    ¡°I know right, maybe we should get them matching collars?¡± ¨¦lise joins in.


    I look at Pocky and ask ¡°Are they always like this?¡±


    Pocky nods and lets out a affirming meow that stops the two lovely teases in their tracks.


    ¡°Did you just communicate with Pocky?¡±


    ¡°Uhm. I guess? Doesn¡¯t she normally do this?¡±


    ¡°Not really no¡­ Pocky, do you understand us?¡± Nikki addresses Pocky.


    The little kitten tilts her head.


    ¡°Now you try, Amicia!¡± ¨¦lise quickly sits down again next to us.


    ¡°Can you understand me Pocky?¡±


    Pocky meows and nods.


    ¡°And you can¡¯t understand Nikki and ¨¦lise?¡±


    Again Pocky meows and nods.


    ¡°Wow. You are a cat whisperer as well¡­¡± ¨¦lise¡¯s mouth drops wide open.


    ¡°I mean¡­ I am partly cat aren¡¯t I? Maybe that¡¯s why?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s possible.¡± Nikki thinks out loud. ¡°Have you tried your magic from in-game. To see if that works?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I actually haven¡¯t! But I doubt I¡¯ll be able to do anything without a focus.¡±


    ¡°You do indeed do all your casting through your staff¡­ Maybe there¡¯s magic trees nearby so we can make you one.¡± My sister jokes.


    ¡°Haha, maybe we should look out for those.¡± I laugh.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll start making dinner so we can eat soon. Your sister brought some herring.¡±


    My eyes go wide with excitement ¡°Did she?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, easy there kitten.¡± My sis smiles. ¡°I thought your tastes would probably have changed too.¡±


    Pocky looks up at me and meows.


    ¡°Oh, Pocky wants some too.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, both kittens will get some tasty fishies.¡±


    After the most amazing dinner ever exhaustion strikes my body again.


    Who¡¯d have thought that dying and reincarnating would sap my body of this much energy.


    We find a place to put down my D3u5XMachina and my uni-stuff.


    ¨¦lise and Nikki also decide it¡¯s probably best to go to bed early because tomorrow might be a long day of shopping.


    ¡°Thanks for everything, again.¡± I say to both of them when they tuck me in.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, little sis.¡±


    ¡°I just hope our parents won¡¯t come to look for me¡­¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t know where we live, so they shouldn¡¯t be able to find you so easily.¡± Nikki says, giving a kiss on my forehead. ¡°Goodnight, Amicia.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight, Nikki.¡±


    ¨¦lise does the same and gives me a big hug as well. ¡°We¡¯ll get through this, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight, Sis.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight to you too, sweetheart.¡±


    Pocky jumps on top of my chest and starts pawing my boobs the moment they disappear to their bedroom.


    ¡°Haha, that tickles, Pocky. Sleep well.¡±


    Pocky meows back and closes her eyes, still softly massaging.


    I do the same and it doesn¡¯t take long before sleep catches me.

 Chapter 13: The Plan

    I get woken up by some activity next to the living room.


    ¡°Shh, or you¡¯ll wake up the two kittens,¡± I hear Nikki say to my sister.


    ¡°Oh ye, sorry,¡± she replies.


    I peek my head up over the sofa.


    ¡°What are you two doing?¡±


    ¡°See, you woke her up you dolt.¡± Nikki gently slaps ¨¦lise on her head.


    ¡°Oof, ouch, ouchie, ow! Save me from this abuse little sis!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, nope,¡± I smirk.


    ¡°Traitor!¡±


    Nikki gives me a thumbs up and mercilessly starts tickling ¨¦lise.


    I turn my attention to Pocky who¡¯s still asleep next to me and gently pat her.


    A couple of minutes later Nikki and my sister join me in the living room.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be making some pancakes for breakfast, after that we can ready ourselves to go shopping, is that okay?¡± Nikki says while rubbing me gently behind my ear.


    Oh Goddess.


    I lean into her rubbing with my head when suddenly she says ¡°Oh, sorry, that was unintentional,¡± and pulls her hand away.


    My face goes bright red ¡°D-don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Nikki smiles and goes off to the kitchen, leaving my sister with me.


    ¡°Lise, don¡¯t you cook?¡±


    ¡°W-well, uhm¡­¡±


    ¡°Only under strict supervision, last time she almost burned down the apartment.¡±


    I chuckle as my sis starts to pout.


    ¡°I just wanted to impress you with my flamb¨¦ skills.¡±


    ¡°Those definitely were some skills alright.¡± Nikki laughs.


    My sis¡¯ pout grows ever stronger as she takes out her phone to play some games.


    ¡°Have you heard anything of our parents yet?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I think I¡¯m the last person they¡¯ll come to anyway¡­Want to play something while we wait for the pancakes?¡± She¡¯s a master at switching subjects, probably for the better.


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    ¡°Cool, Fabio Rally 10?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I always wanted to play that game!¡±


    ¨¦lise gets up from the sofa and walks over to their TV cabinet, taking out two steering wheels, a blue and a pink one.


    ¡°Do you know how it works?¡±


    ¡°Is it similar to the one we played when we were younger?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± She giggles.


    ¡°Why are you giggling?¡±


    ¡°I just remember you always picking the girly characters, I really should¡¯ve guessed.¡±


    ¡°Hey, guys can play them too!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but they generally don¡¯t shine as much as you did back then.¡± She gives me the pink controller and ruffles my hair. ¡°Here, it matches your hair.¡±


    ¡°Bully.¡±


    She laughs. ¡°I know, I only bully the people I love though.¡±


    We start the game and although Lise does go easy on me, I still manage to get last place every time.


    ¡°Hey, you almost won that last round.¡±


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for those meddlesome blue squirrels, I would¡¯ve.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Haha, yeah, they can be really annoying. Hey Amicia, I was thinking.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯d be a first.¡± I hear Nikki say from the kitchen.


    ¡°Ha ha ha, I¡¯ll pay you back for that later, and for the tickles as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, what should I do now?¡± Nikki¡¯s laughs maniacally.


    ¡°A-anyway, I was just thinking about your hair, a lot of people would be pretty jealous not having to pay lots of money to keep it that way.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Did you think colouring hair was free?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I suppose not¡­ is it really that expensive?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and it generally doesn¡¯t stay in very long either.¡±


    ¡°Guess I¡¯m lucky then.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Definitely, you basically got a free pair of eternal highlights as well. I do wonder if you can bleach your hair though, maybe it¡¯s got some magical protection too...¡± ¡°Pancakes are ready!¡± Nikki yells from the kitchen.


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    After the delicious pancakes and a marvelous glass of milk my sister and Nikki go to their room to make ready.


    ¡°Oh here Amicia, take this.¡± My sis throws a pink hoodie to me and a skirt. ¡°This should fit a lot better than your other clothes, although they are probably still too big.¡±


    ¡°Thanks sis.¡±


    I put on the clothes she gave me and indeed, just like she said, they do fit a lot better.


    ¡°We¡¯re coming out!¡± Nikki says after five minutes, with the door swiftly opening.


    Nikki and ¨¦lise are standing there, both with cat ears and a tail.


    ¡°Really now? This is your plan?¡±


    ¡°I know right, it¡¯s brilliant.¡± My sis ads. ¡°They¡¯ll never suspect a thing.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, they¡¯ll never suspect a thing? Now we¡¯ll draw even more attention.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but less attention will be drawn to you specifically.¡± Nikki says while booping my nose.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true¡­  How did you get your tails and ears to match your hair that well?¡±


    ¡°Nikki is quite heavily into cosplay, she made these herself, they can even move.¡±


    ¡°Yep, animatronics.¡± Nikki says proudly. ¡°If they can¡¯t compare by touching them, they can barely see the difference.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s actually pretty amazing.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, it¡¯s actually not that hard when you know what you¡¯re doing! Anyway, are you ready to go out?¡±


    ¡°Uhm. I think so, I don¡¯t have any shoes that fit though.¡±


    ¡°I think my shoes will be the best fit for you. I¡¯m a bit smaller than your sis.¡± Nikki walks over to the shoe rack to examine her collection. ¡°Here, take these.¡± She hands me a pair of plain white sneakers. ¡°That should work for a short trip.¡±


    I swiftly put them on and while walking is a bit uncomfortable, it¡¯s not the end of the world. ¡°Thanks Nikki.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go shopping for shoes first, so you don¡¯t get blisters while we look for your other clothes.¡± ¨¦lise says with a hint of concern in her eyes.


    ¡°Yeah, that might be best, can¡¯t have the kitten hurt her paws.¡± Nikki winks.


    I pout as I walk over to Pocky, who¡¯s still sleeping on the sofa.


    ¡°Hey Pocky, we¡¯ll be home soon okay.¡± I say as I softly pat her.


    Her eyes open slowly as she gives me an agreeing meow.


    ¡°See you later.¡± I give her a gentle kiss on her head to which she quickly licks my chin.


    ¡°Awwhh.¡± The two lovers behind me say in unison. ¡°This level of cuteness should be forbidden by law.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, we know.¡± Both me and Pocky stick out our tongues.


    After saying goodbye to Pocky we all leave the apartment, it feels so weird not to cover up my catlike features.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, we¡¯ll be with you all the time.¡± My sister quickly puts a soothing hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°Exactly, unless you want to taste test some cat food, you¡¯re on your own for that.¡± Nikki teases.


    ¡°Thanks for the support¡­¡± I can¡¯t help but think about that last comment though, it probably doesn¡¯t taste that bad...

 Chapter 14: Operation Neko Part I

    ¡°Let¡¯s head down to the garage and take my car.¡± Nikki says pushing the -1 button inside the elevator.


    ¡°Oh, we aren¡¯t going by bus?¡± I reply.


    ¡°Well... We could but I thought you wanted to have some privacy.¡± she subtly points at my tail and ears.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah. I guess that would indeed be better.¡± I laugh.


    ¡°We¡¯ll probably get quite a lot of new clothes for you, it¡¯s a bit of a pain carrying that back home with public transport.¡± ¨¦lise ruffles my hair.


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway, the car is just around the corner.¡± The lift¡¯s bell sounds our arrival.


    We all get into Nikki¡¯s car and swiftly take off to the shopping mall.


    On our way there we pass a couple of speed bumps making my breasts bounce beneath my shirt, making my sensitive nipples rub its fabric.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I moan softly, my face going red with a blush.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¨¦lise looks back at me after noticing my distress.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that¡­¡± We pass over another speed bump almost making me yelp. ¡°These speed bumps and my n-nipples.¡± I cross my arms over my chest to try to keep them in place.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I forgot to give you a bra didn¡¯t I¡­¡± ¨¦lise also begins to blush.


    I nod. ¡°It¡¯s not only on you though¡­ I forgot it as well¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there so don¡¯t worry. Luckily we didn¡¯t take our bikes or something, that¡¯d have been¡­ interesting.¡± Nikki hops into the conversation. ¡°For short distances it¡¯s fine, but any longer than a kilometer or two, let¡¯s say you¡¯d definitely feel it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to remember that.¡±


    We get out at the rooftop parking of the shopping mall, it looks like there aren¡¯t that many cars around.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be pretty quiet inside, I guess it¡¯s a school day after all.¡±


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s what we were aiming for.¡± Nikki holds out her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She smiles.


    I take her hand and we start walking towards the escalator, ¨¦lise walking on the other side of me. It doesn¡¯t take long for us to reach the first stop, the shoe store. The store clerk does look at us a bit strangely at first but greets us with a friendly ¡®good morning¡¯ immediately after.


    ¡°So, what kind of shoes do you want?¡± ¨¦lise asks, walking us towards the women¡¯s shoe section.


    ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t really know...¡± I look down at my feet. ¡°I don¡¯t really have any experience with this kind of thing¡­¡±


    Nikki squeezes my hand. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll just look around and see what you like, okay?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve got an idea, why don¡¯t we just buy you a pair of loafers now, so we can come back here once we finish clothes shopping. I find it easier to buy shoes once you¡¯ve got some outfits in mind already.¡± ¨¦lise proposes.


    ¡°That sounds good.¡±


    ¡°Wow, a good plan from you, that¡¯s new.¡± Nikki teases.


    ¡°Hush.¡± ¨¦lise reaches over and gives Nikki a kiss. ¡°I¡¯m full of good plans from time to time.¡±


    After grabbing a pair of white loafers we ask the cashier if I can start wearing them immediately.


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll put your old shoes in the new box and you can be on your way!¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± ¨¦lise says, grabbing my old shoes and handing them over. We depart to our second stop as soon as we¡¯ve payed for the shoes.


    ¡°So, bra¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°That might be best.¡± I say, my breasts getting quite sore already just from walking.


    ¡°Do you know what size you have?¡± Nikki asks, grabbing my hand again.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ I think I selected a C-cup in the chara creator, they do look the same as in-game.¡±


    ¡°Well then you probably couldn¡¯t have worn any of Nikki¡¯s bras.¡± Lise says.


    ¡°Hey! You know I¡¯m insecure about my boobs.¡± Nikki pouts


    ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t be, lovely. Every girl is different, and I like yours just as they are now.¡± ¨¦lise scoots over and embraces her girlfriend from behind.


    ¡°I know, I know, but still¡­¡±


    ¡°We can always go for surgery if you really want to, just know that I¡¯ll find you the most beautiful woman in the world, no matter what.¡±


    ¡°You flirt¡­¡± They both share a quick kiss before Lise takes Nikki¡¯s other hand and we continue on.


    I chuckle. ¡°We must really look like a family now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because we are, you silly.¡±


    It¡¯s true, finally I have a family I can be safe with, be myself with. It feels so good not having to hide who I am.


    A single tear of happiness runs down my cheek.


    ¡°I love you both.¡±


    ¡°We love you too.¡±


    When we finally arrive at the lingerie store, the two clerks react very similarly to what happened in the shoe store, just a quick surprised look-over before we are greeted with a smile.


    ¡°Wow, this plan is actually working.¡± I whisper to myself.


    ¡°Did you doubt it would? We are expert schemers you know.¡± ¨¦lise whispers back and ruffles my hair. ¡°Excuse me, could we have your help measuring this girl here for a second?¡± she continues to one of the clerks.


    ¡°Of course!¡± She replies in a friendly tone.


    ¡°But I thought we knew my cup size already?¡± I look confusedly at my sister.


    ¡°Well yes, your cup size, but we don¡¯t know what your band size is yet.¡±


    ¡°Band size?¡±


    ¡°The band size tells us how long the band of the bra needs to be, so it locks comfortably around your chest.¡± The clerk jumps in. ¡°Is this your first time getting a bra, miss?¡±


    ¡°Uhm, ye¡­¡± my face grows red from embarrassment.


    ¡°Her parents basically left her locked up her entire life.¡± Nikki replies.


    The clerk looks compassionately back over to me. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go get my measuring tape and you can wait over there.¡± she smiles and points towards the changing rooms.


    We walk over and it doesn¡¯t take long before she comes back to us.


    ¡°You can keep your shirt on for this. What we basically do here is, we measure your chest circumference under breasts, the underbust, to know your band size. And if you want to know your cup size, you just have to measure the largest circumference, your effective bust size, over your chest. Then look at the difference between your underbust and your bust size to find out which cup size you have. There are useful tables for this on the internet.¡± She smiles while showing me all the different steps one by one. ¡°This way you can also do it at home if you ever want to know your measurements again.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡±


    ¡°No problem! That¡¯s what we are here for.¡± She wraps up her measuring tape again. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get you a few bras in your size so you can fit them in there.¡±


    ¡°Thank you ma¡¯am.¡± My sis says while pushing me in one of the changing booths.


    A few minutes later the clerk comes back with a couple of different kinds of bras. With the help of ¨¦lise it doesn¡¯t take that long to try them all on and take my picks.


    ¡°Wow, you definitely do prefer the frilly ones don¡¯t you?¡± she says while holding the ones I picked.


    ¡°T-they just look and feel nice.¡± I blush.


    ¡°They are definitely very cute.¡± ¨¦lise pokes her head through the curtain and speaks to Nikki. ¡°Hey honey, could you go and get some panties that match these.¡± Giving her a quick peak of the bras.


    ¡°Okay, give me a second.¡± as I hear Nikki walking off.


    With my face even more red now. ¡°Y-you didn¡¯t have to do that!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Amicia, it¡¯s always nice to have a couple of pairs. We¡¯ll get you some more plain underwear later.¡± She comfortingly rubs behind my ears.


    Nikki soon returns with the panties, which surprisingly enough fit me immediately.


    ¡°Wow, Nikki you choose well.¡± I say a bit flabbergasted.


    ¡°Thanks, I have a good eye for sizing someone¡¯s bum.¡±


    ¨¦lise can¡¯t hold back her laughter. ¡°So you¡¯re saying you¡¯ve been sizing up my baby sister¡¯s bum?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t deny she has a nice body.¡±


    This entire conversation got me red as a tomato again. ¡°C-can we please not do this in public.¡±


    ¡°Alright alright.¡± They both say in unison, with ¨¦lise still sniggering a bit.


    We ask the clerk to immediately start wearing one of the bras, which again isn¡¯t an issue, as long as we pay for them.


    After grabbing some more bras my size and a couple of sport bras just in case I¡¯d want to be more active in the future, we leave the store, on to our next destination! I can¡¯t help but feel even more excited about going shopping for ¡®normal¡¯ clothes, after having stared enviously at the women¡¯s section in shops for years, it¡¯s finally my turn to indulge!


    Happy Amicia noises.

 Chapter 15: Operation Neko Part II

    ¡°Which clothing store are we going to?¡± I ask


    ¡°Well, we can go to a couple of them but I know this one store around the corner which has a very wide range of fashion.¡± ¨¦lise says while leading us on ¡°So you can find clothes that suit your taste more easily.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that sounds good.¡±


    ¡°And we can dress you up in all of the clothes we like too.¡± Nikki squeezes my hand.


    ¡°Also that.¡± ¨¦lise smirks.


    ¡°Please no.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t act like you won¡¯t enjoy it, because we know you will.¡± ¨¦lise winks at me which makes me pout. ¡°Anyways, we¡¯re here.¡±


    A store clerk who¡¯s standing at the entrance welcomes us inside ¡°Please let me know if you need help with anything ladies!¡± She says with a huge smile on her face.


    ¡°Thank you, we will!¡± Nikki waves at her.


    ¡°No flirting with the clerk Nikki.¡± ¨¦lise reprimands


    ¡°Awh¡­¡±


    ¡°Amicia, want to go explore on your own or do you want us to help?¡± My sis turns her attention to me.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know the store yet s-so¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay, roger that, clothing stores can be pretty overwhelming.¡±


    ¡°Y-ye...¡±


    ¡°So, skirts first?¡± She looks over to Nikki.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ll look good on her! Anything will, but still.¡± Nikki smiles in my direction.


    ¨¦lise and Nikki drag me off to the heart of the store as they begin their work. In my entire life I swear I¡¯ve never had to try on as much clothes as I did today. From your classic anime girl outfit with thigh highs, pleated skirts and nice blouses. To your more casual jeans and blouse combo and some amazingly pretty dresses, this one white dress with little birdies on it and a thin leather belt was definitely my favourite. Birdies for the cat hehe. They also tried getting me into more ¡®cool¡¯ clothes with faux leather jackets and while I felt like most of them didn¡¯t really fit my personality that well we did get a light brown one because it paired really well with some of the lighter blue jeans we bought and a black one because according to Nikki black is timeless. Typical vampires.


    ¡°I think this is enough for today, we can always come back later if you need more clothes.¡± Nikki takes the clothes and motions towards the register. ¡°Otherwise we don¡¯t have any place in the car left.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Amicia, did you have fun?¡±


    ¡°I did!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, which outfit do you want to wear now?¡±


    ¡°Skirt and thigh highs.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t trying to hide your weebieness at all are you?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Nikki laughs and pats my head.


    We pay for all the clothes and I change into my new clothes, a light pink blouse with a pale blue skirt and white thigh-highs. It feels incredibly liberating.


    ¡°So, back to the shoe store or do you want to go eat something first?¡± Nikki asks my sister.


    ¡°Uh, either is fine for me, really.¡± ¨¦lise says, looking a final time at the store. ¡°Hey, we forgot to buy you a choker.¡±


    Nikki laughs. ¡°We can do that next time. What about you Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Same for me really.¡± But the moment I say that my stomach makes the loudest growl I¡¯ve heard, ever.


    ¡°Well, sounds like Amicia''s stomach decided.¡± ¨¦lise laughs out.


    I didn¡¯t get time to properly react before I hear something from behind me.


    ¡°Wow, so cute!¡± A girl¡¯s voice exclaims which makes us turn our head around.


    A girl is standing there in a college sports jacket and some jeans, she¡¯s a bit taller than me and has somewhat darker, long blonde hair, partly tied into a side ponytail. What jumps out to me after a closer look, are her beautiful red eyes.


    Having noticed we turned around she promptly covers her mouth. ¡°Oh, sorry! I...uhm¡­ didn¡¯t mean to say that out loud.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¨¦lise smiles at the girl.


    ¡°U-uhm, this happens to me sometimes, I j-just thought y¡¯all looked really cute with the cat ears and all¡­I-I really should go now. Sorry again! Bye!¡± The girls face grows redder by the second before she turns around and runs away.


    ¡°What a peculiar girl.¡± Nikki laughs and slowly turns around again.


    ¡°I think she was most interested in Amicia though.¡± ¨¦lise turns around again after waving at the girl.


    ¡°W-what makes you say that?¡± I blush.


    ¡°Her eyes were shifting over to you the entire time when she was speaking.¡±


    ¡°I mean, you can¡¯t blame her, she is incredibly cute.¡± Nikki squeezes my hand to signal to start walking again.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but Amicia, wasn¡¯t that jacket from your university sports team?¡±


    I shrug, still a bit flustered by the encounter and my banes their comments. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t go to watch their games, nor do I know anyone in a team.¡±


    ¡°You never were that sporty, that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°I always had to play with the guys¡­and the locker room...¡±


    ¡°Oh...Ye, I can see what that sucked for you. Sorry sis.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s all over now. And I bet I¡¯m a lot faster and flexible now.¡±


    ¡°You are part-cat, that¡¯s basically cheating.¡±


    I stick out my tongue at ¨¦lise, and my sister does the same at me.


    ¡°Children, please.¡± Nikki says with a laugh.


    The food court offers many different kinds of food, and it¡¯s up to me now to choose.


    ¡°What about pizza?¡± I say hesitantly.


    ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± My sis says, confidently walking over to the pizzeria. ¡°Giorgio¡¯s pizzas are the best!¡±


    ¡°Looks like the hunger awakened in her as well.¡± Nikki quickly follows suit.


    ¡°Already know what you are going to eat, ¨¦lise?¡±


    ¡°Yep, Pizza Prosciutto.¡± She sits down at a table near one of the fountains. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m debating between Frutti di mare or a pizza Napoli.¡±


    ¡°Tough choice.¡± Nikki gets seated as well.


    I nod. ¡°What about you Nikki?¡±


    ¡°Quattro formaggi.¡± She licks her lips.


    ¡°Nikki loves cheese.¡± ¨¦lise notions the waiter.


    ¡°Oh I see. Hmmm¡­ I think I¡¯ll take the Napoli, I have a craving for anchovy now.¡±


    ¡°You always have a craving for anchovy.¡±


    ¡°This is true.¡± I stick my tongue out again, just before the waiter arrives.


    After eating our Giorgio¡¯s amazing pizzas we again set out towards the shoe store we visited earlier today.


    ¡°Oh, I see someone got a makeover!¡± the store clerk excitingly exclaims. ¡°It looks very good on you, miss!¡±


    ¡°T-thanks.¡± I reply shyly before we move on towards the women¡¯s shoe section.


    ¡°Want to try on some heels Amicia?¡± ¨¦lise asks, poking my side.


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t do that, it tickles!¡± I yelp.


    ¡°Oh my goddess you two, are you going to tone down your cuteness before I get a nosebleed.¡± Nikki says while taking out her handkerchief out of precaution.


    ¡°Ok, ok. We¡¯ll try.¡± ¨¦lise pouts. ¡°So what about heels?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine for me, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to walk on them though.¡±


    ¡°It can be a lot of practice, that¡¯s true, but you can¡¯t know before you try it!¡± My sisters says while guiding me towards a couple of cute pairs of heels.


    ¡°Here, these go well with a couple of your dresses.¡± Nikki hands over a pair of red heels.


    I take them and hesitantly wiggle on my feet. ¡°So I just slip them on?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. Here, I¡¯ll help you.¡± She sits me down on a nearby stool and slips them on my feet. ¡°How does that feel?¡±


    My heart pounds in my throat. ¡°T-they actually feel pretty nice...I¡¯m actually getting somewhat excited¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like...something I always wanted to do, but I always thought I would be a freak by doing so¡­ you know?¡± My voice stutters a bit from all the emotions raging inside of me.


    My sister kneels down next to me and hugs me. ¡°The world is so fucked up, forcing people to wear certain kinds of clothes, demeaning anyone who walks out of line. It¡¯s just stupid. It only ends up hurting people. Who the fuck cares what other people are wearing?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the truth girl!¡± We hear the clerk yelling from behind her register which makes us chuckle.


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Nikki yells back.


    Still sniggering ¨¦lise turns back to me. ¡°Anyway, try taking a couple of steps if you are ready.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try.¡± I slowly lift myself to my feet with ¨¦lise supporting my right arm.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to let go now.¡± She slowly but surely lets go of my arm as I take my first tentative steps.


    Surprisingly enough walking like this poses practically no effort.


    ¡°Wow, you are doing really well!¡± Nikki looks on in amazement. I step up the pace a little more.


    ¡°It feels incredibly comfortable.¡± My hearts skips a beat. I¡¯m so happy now. I make a celebrative twirl with ¨¦lise cheering me on.


    ¡°Huh, cats walk on their toes don¡¯t they?¡± Nikki crosses her arms pensively.


    ¡°Oh, do you think that¡¯s why it¡¯s so easy for me?¡±


    ¡°I think so, I¡¯m not 100% sure but I can¡¯t think of anything else.¡±


    ¡°It would make sense at least.¡± ¨¦lise beckons me over. ¡°Let¡¯s get you a couple more pairs, maybe we can even get you some stilettos!¡±


    Just like the first pair, all the other heels and stilettos I try on are just as easy to walk with.


    ¡°A couple pair of flats and I think we are done for today.¡± Nikki says while putting the last pair of heels back in their box, ready for purchase.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Strangely enough after wearing the heels, flats definitely feel a lot weirder to wear but not uncomfortable in any sense.


    ¡°I hope you had fun shopping at our store!¡± The store clerk says while adding up our total.


    ¡°Definitely! It was a very nice experience.¡± I say to her with a big smile.


    She smiles back at me and hands over a bag with our purchases ¡°Have a nice day!¡±


    ¡°You too!¡± we all say in unison.


    ¡°Huh, she gave us an employee¡¯s discount.¡± ¨¦lise is reading the bill while we¡¯re walking back towards the car.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice of her.¡± I say, barely being able to carry my designated shopping bags.


    ¡°She definitely was very friendly.¡±  Nikki says. ¡°This world needs more people like her.¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± ¨¦lise pops the bill back in on of the bags. ¡°Let¡¯s take the elevator or Amicia will fall over.¡± She laughs, taking one more bag of me.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that they weigh much, it¡¯s just a lot of volume, and I¡¯m so small now it¡¯s hard to carry.¡±


    ¡°Ain¡¯t got nobody to blame for that but yourself, kitten.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡±


    The car trip back was uneventful, the speedbumps definitely weren¡¯t as ¡®noticeable¡¯ as the last time we went over them.


    ¡°Pocky, Pocky, I wanna cuddle Pocky!¡± I sing softly to myself in the elevator to our apartment.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be reunited soon.¡± ¨¦lise scratches behind my ear.


    I have to force myself not to purr when the elevator doors open.


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s strange.¡± Nikki says, walking out of the elevator ahead of us. ¡°You didn¡¯t order anything right, Amicia?¡± She kneels down in front of the door.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t, why?¡± I say while me and my sister walk up to her.


    ¡°There¡¯s a black velvet box here, ¡®for Amicia, from G.¡¯¡±


    ¡°You sure you didn¡¯t order some super spicy underwear?¡± ¨¦lise softly bumps my shoulder.


    ¡°Ah, shush you.¡± I stick out my tongue yet again. ¡°Can I see the box Nikki?¡±


    She picks it up and shows it to me.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I inspect it closer and that¡¯s indeed what it says. ¡°G¡­ G¡­ I don¡¯t know anyone whose name starts with G¡­? Wait¡­¡­.¡°


    Could it really be?

 Chapter 16: The Gift

    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying this package might come from a random NPC grandmother from inside Turn of Destiny?¡± ¨¦lise asks while she puts the package on the living room table.


    Pocky approaches me and meows, making me pet her immediately. ¡°Uhm...Ye...Pretty much¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bit far-fetched?¡± ¨¦lise comes over to pet Pocky too.


    ¡°Uhm, sis¡­¡± I motion towards my body.


    ¡°Oh ye¡­ point taken¡­¡± She laughs awkwardly.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to open it?¡± Nikki stares curiously at the table.


    ¡°Last time I literally died from her gift.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you are alive and a lot happier now. So I don¡¯t think she meant you any harm.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also true¡­¡±


    ¡°So, are you going to open it?¡± Nikki walks over to the package, ¡°Otherwise we can do it together.¡±


    ¡°O-okay... that sounds good to me.¡± I leave Pocky alone in the sofa but both her and ¨¦lise and up following me to the table anyway.


    ¡°You ready?¡± Nikki puts her hands on the package.


    ¡°Y-yeah, go ahead.¡± I squint my eyes and turn away my gaze.


    Nikki cautiously lifts the lid and almost immediately yelps, ¡°Oh. My. Goddess. This is definitely meant for Amicia, alright.¡±


    ¨¦lise bursts out in laughter ¡°This is brilliant,¡± and even Pocky gives me a mocking meow.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I turn my head back towards the package and see Nikki already holding onto something, hanging between her two thumbs.


    ¡°Someone sent us a cute little choker for our new kitten.¡± Her grin almost reaching her ears.


    I ignore their teasing, the best I can, and inspect the choker from up close. It¡¯s a black choker, the band a centimeter and a half wide, with the two halves of the choker connected by a cat-shaped silver ring.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty cute¡­¡± I involuntarily let slip, to the great amusement of my family.


    ¡°Hey, look sis, there¡¯s a card in it for you too.¡± ¨¦lise takes the card out of the box and hands it over to me. ¡°Want to read it out loud?¡±


    ¡°Sure! Ahem. Dear Amicia, sorry for the rough transformation but sadly my magic doesn¡¯t allow for it to be smoother than that. That said, I¡¯m terribly glad you¡¯re happy with the results. This choker I¡¯ve sent you will help you blend in a bit better in your day to day life.¡±


    ¡°Oh, maybe it hides your kitten features or something.¡± ¨¦lise interrupts.


    ¡°It¡¯ll hide your ears and tail from sight, although it does not get rid of them!¡±


    ¡°Called it!¡± My sister does a victory pose before getting hushed by Nikki.


    I cough again. ¡°To continue, so make sure contact with other people is on your terms, invisibility doesn¡¯t mean untouchability. Oh, and as a final note, don¡¯t worry yourself over all the paperwork around your new identity, Granny will take care of it. Live your life to the fullest Amicia! Or should I say ¡®Kitten¡¯ ;p¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s something¡­¡± Nikki is still covering ¨¦lise¡¯s mouth, but she finally manages to break free.


    ¡°Want to try it on?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t deny I¡¯m very curious if it¡¯ll work or not.¡±


    Nikki hands over the choker ¡°I can help you put it on.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Nikki.¡±


    She gets behind me and guides my hand to close the choker.


    Heh, this reminds me of that one time with¡­¡±


    *RIIIIING* The doorbell suddenly rings.


    ¡°Are we expecting someone Lise?¡± Nikki puts her hands back down, the choker still unclasped.


    ¡°Not that I know off¡­¡± She walks over to the door and opens it wide.


    ¡°Don¡¯t open it that much, you idiot!¡± Nikki yells out but it¡¯s already too late. The person standing in the doorway has a full view of me standing there, in all my majestic catgirlness.


    ¡°Amicia? Is that you?¡± A familiar voice calls out, my mind still barely processing the situation.


    ¡°Oh, hi Hilda¡­. uhm¡­ this is just...uhm¡­ a new doll...?¡± ¨¦lise tries to explain while I can literally hear Nikki facepalm.


    Hilda looks almost exactly like she does in-game, perhaps just a couple of years older although the difference is negligible, even her choice of outfit is almost spot on.


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s your best excuse ¨¦lise?¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Wow, you look the same as in-game.¡± I comment.


    ¡°Well, apparently that makes two of us, Kitten.¡± Hilda smiles and turns back to ¨¦lise. ¡°Can I come in?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah, definitely!¡± ¨¦lise still looks a bit confused. ¡°Can I ask why we owe you the visit though?¡±


    Hilda walks over to me. ¡°Did you forget we normally play boardgames today?¡±


    ¡°Oh, confound it. I completely forgot.¡± Nikki facepalms for the second time, ¨¦lise nods, mimicking the same feeling.


    ¡°And you both weren¡¯t at work today so I was kinda worried something had happened, I guess I know why now.¡± She gently rubs behind my ear, making me purr slightly. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s new.¡±


    I blush. ¡°I-I guess I¡¯m already comfortable enough with you¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s hella cute.¡± She sits down next to me at the table. ¡°Do you want to explain what happened? If you don¡¯t want to, you obviously don¡¯t have to.¡±


    Pocky jumps on my lap and I give a quick look at Nikki and my sister.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you, Amicia. Hilda is one of the most trustworthy people I know off.¡±


    Pocky looks up to me and gives a nod.


    ¡°And Pocky likes her too.¡± Nikki giggles.


    ¡°Ye, she just said so too.¡±


    ¡°Talking with cats as well?¡± Hilda says confusedly, but with an amused smile on her face.


    I nod and after a quick pause explain the entire story, just up to the package I just received.


    ¡°Wow¡­ so basically everything we know about how the world works could be wrong since magic is apparently a thing.¡±


    ¡°Yep, pretty much.¡± ¨¦lise nods.


    ¡°You are all pretty darn calm about this.¡±


    Nikki shrugs. ¡°Amicia is what matters most to us now, she is clearly a lot happier than she used to be, and that¡¯s the most important part.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, the rest is practically meaningless compared to her happiness.¡± My sister adds, giving me a big hug from behind, making me tear up a little.


    ¡°I understand.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your secret is safe with me.¡±


    ¡°T-thanks.¡± I say, trying to keep my emotions somewhat in check.


    ¡°So, do you want to test the choker now?¡± Nikki picks up the choker again.


    ¡°Definitely!¡±


    Nikki walks back up to me and just like before the interruption, she guides my hand to lock the choker.


    The second it locks Hilda gasps. ¡°This is amazing!¡±


    ¡°Did it work?¡± I look behind me and don¡¯t see my tail anymore. ¡°Wow.¡± Although I can still definitely feel it.


    ¡°Your ears are also gone.¡± Nikki checks my head. ¡°I wonder if you can see them if you put a cloth on your head, I¡¯d assume you would if I can still touch them.¡± She sneakily scratches behind my ear.


    I smile. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll need to watch out while cosplaying ghosts I guess.


    ¡°Your canines are also still pretty visible though, but that shouldn¡¯t be super obvious.¡±


    I take the choker off again after checking myself out in a nearby mirror. ¡°Now I can go to uni looking without attracting attention.¡±


    ¡°Well, you are still incredibly cute though.¡± Nikki jumps in.


    Hilda and ¨¦lise nod in agreement.


    Their comments bring a warm glow to my cheeks


    Being called cute is so aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.


    ¡°Do you and Hilda want to pick out a board game while your sister and I order you a bed online?¡± Nikki takes out her laptop.


    ¡°Oh? Are we playing?¡± Hilda looks a bit surprised.


    ¡°You are here now anyway, and it¡¯s not like we have anything else to do today either. We can also order some Asian food later. If you are up for that.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°What about you, Amicia?¡±


    I nod gleefully, already heading towards the board game collection.


    We end up playing some Battlesun Milkyway and some Ticket to Train for almost the entire evening. Just laughing and having fun together, eating together, I went for the frog legs with garlic this time, and generally laughing at my sister¡¯s misfortune in the games.


    ¡°I really thought I was going to win this time.¡± She puts her face on the table.


    ¡°Better luck next time ¡®Lise.¡± Hilda pats her on the back before looking at her watch. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time to head home. Are you both coming to work tomorrow?¡±


    Nikki and ¨¦lise look over to me. ¡°I kinda want to try going to uni tomorrow, I still want to pass my courses.¡± I smile.


    ¡°In that case I think we will. We¡¯ve set the bed delivery for tomorrow evening anyway.¡±


    ¡°Great, it¡¯s always a bit lonely at work without you two.¡±


    ¡°I understand, I¡¯m incredibly entertaining after all.¡± ¨¦lise sticks out her tongue.


    They get into a big group hug. ¡°Amicia, come in for a hug as well.¡±


    They don¡¯t need to tell me twice. ¡°I love you all so much.¡±


    ¡°We love you too.¡±


    After that Hilda says goodbye and it¡¯s practically already time for bed.


    As me and Pocky get cozy for another good night¡¯s rest I can¡¯t help but think that tomorrow will be my first day at uni as my true self. I wonder what¡¯s going to happen.


    I hope it¡¯s going to be a good day.

 Chapter 17: Panorama

    *Lick lick*


    ¡°Oh hey, good morning little Pocky.¡±


    ¡°Un-be-lievable! I¡¯ve been trying to wake you up for five minutes now and Pocky manages to do it first thing.¡± My sister is sitting next to me with her hands in her hair.


    ¡°Hush, me and Pocky are in a relationship, it¡¯s perfectly normal.¡± I wink to Pocky, and she winks back.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± My sister fakes her discontent. ¡°Anyway, me and the missus are going to work, don¡¯t be to late on your first day to uni as Amicia!¡±


    ¡°Wait, how late is it right now?¡±


    ¡°Around 9.¡±


    ¡°Oh no.¡± I softly take Pocky from my lap and place her in the sofa where I was laying down just a second ago. ¡°You can continue sleeping my lovely. My lessons start in an hour so I should run and get ready.¡± Pocky meows and curls up.


    ¡°Haha, you do definitely look like you are in a relationship.¡± Nikki says from behind the sofa. ¡°Anyway, we should get moving too or we¡¯ll be late as well.¡± She softly taps ¨¦lise on her bum and after a quick wave they leave the apartment.


    ¡°Just got to quickly comb my hair and get dressed.¡± Luckily my sister¡¯s place is a lot closer to uni than where my ex-birthgivers live, and it also has a very easy tram connection so it shouldn¡¯t take long at all to get to my lessons.


    After a quick comb I try to decide which outfit I¡¯m going to wear.


    ¡°So Pocky, what do you think? Should I go for this outfit or this outfit?¡± Pocky looks for a second while tilting her head before mewing at the blue blouse, white skirt, black stockings combo.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I was thinking too.¡± I dress myself, this time not forgetting the bra, and put on a pair of stiletto black heels. Since it¡¯s still pretty cold outside I also take a cardigan with me, just in case. Last but not least I grab my choker, put it on, and walk to the door.


    ¡°Alrighty, let¡¯s go. See you tonight Pocky!¡± I say while closing the door, but not before she meows me goodbye.


    It doesn¡¯t take long before tram 7 arrives at the stop near our apartment and after a short 15-minute ride it stops practically in front of my campus. I take my agenda from the purse Nikki lent to me and take a look at where my lessons are being held.


    ¡°Pff, art-history first, I totally don¡¯t like that auditorium either, it¡¯s always either too warm or too cold.¡± I mumble to myself.


    ¡°Urgh...it¡¯s on the top floor and the elevator has been out for weeks¡­¡± I sigh as I make my way up 15 flights of stairs.


    Art-history has never been my favourite course but at least it isn¡¯t as bad as regular history. I do kind of enjoy looking at the old-masters¡¯ artworks. Rembrandt is definitely my favourite.


    When I walk over to the auditorium I spot my professor standing by the door.


    Oh darn, he won¡¯t recognise me.


    I decide to confidently walk towards the door anyway but just before I enter he stops me.


    ¡°Uhm, excuse me miss, are you by any chance Amicia Delafontaine?¡± He says with a friendly smile on his face.


    ¡°Y-yes sir.¡±


    ¡°Okay, great. I got note we were getting a new student. Since it¡¯s already partway through the semester, please don¡¯t be afraid to mail me if something is unclear about the course, for the rest of the faculty members that also shouldn¡¯t be too much of an issue.¡±


    ¡°Oh, t-thanks sir!¡± I enter with a sigh of relief. ¡°Well I guess that¡¯s what Granny meant by paperwork.¡±


    I sit myself down somewhere near the front of the auditorium so I can pay full attention to the class, and try my best not to fall asleep. I¡¯ve always been somewhat of a loner in class so I never really had any groups of friends I belonged to.


    ¡°I wonder if they¡¯ll even notice if I¡¯m gone.¡± As the time of the class draws nearer, more of the students start seeping into the auditorium, some faces I recognized, others not so much.


    A few of the students do stare at me for a couple of moments but most of them start paying attention to the front of the class when the professor walks up to the desk.


    ¡°So class. Today we¡¯ll start by explaining this year¡¯s group course.¡±


    Oh no, I forgot this was a thing.


    ¡°Your group will consist out of 3 people maximum and the task is pretty simple, choose a piece of historical art and try completely analyse it. Try to find a piece of modern art and compare the styles and techniques used. I¡¯ll give you a couple of minutes now to find your own groups, while I boot up this computer. Well, one could say this computer is ancient art as well.¡± The professor ducks under the desk to boot up the ancient relic.


    I nervously look over my shoulder but see no one who¡¯s not already in a group until I feel a tap on my shoulder. I panic and with a little yelp slide off my chair, hurting my tail in the process.


    ¡°Oh my goodness, I¡¯m sorry for that.¡± I hear a girl say with an American accent, as I try to hoist myself back on my chair.


    ¡°Carol, you really should be more careful with stuff like that.¡± The girl behind her says.


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± She lends me her hand and pulls me back up.


    ¡°T-thank you.¡± I stutter, still a bit taken aback, biting away the pain.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± The other girl says with a concerned tone.


    ¡°I think so, I just landed a bit badly¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh... so uhm¡­ I know the timing of the question is a bit off, with Carol hurting you and all¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, it was an accident!¡±


    ¡°But would you like to join us for the group work?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me!!¡±


    I giggle - these girls look pretty fun. ¡°Sure, I guess so!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! My name is Hailey by the way, and this is Carol.¡±


    Carol waves, this time from a bit further away to avoid hurting me.


    ¡°My name is Amicia.¡±


    ¡°Well met.¡± Hailey smiles. ¡°Are you new here Amicia? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen you here before.¡±


    ¡°Uhh...Yes, kinda. I used to study at home because of  illness....¡± I lie.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I hope it was nothing that bad.¡± Carol states.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine now; it¡¯s all in the past.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear.¡± Hailey sits down next to me. ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind us sitting here?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead; I¡¯d be alone otherwise anyway.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s always more fun together.¡± Carol smiles as she sits down next to Hailey.


    Did I just make my first friends?


    The rest of the lesson just gives some more information about the task at hand, together with some examples of previous years. After that the professor continues on with the lesson of last week. It does feel kind of strange that just a week ago I was following this lesson as my¡­ old self.


    ¡°For next week try to read up on chapter 22 in your textbooks, as it¡¯ll be useful to understand next lesson better, it¡¯ll be an abstract one. See you all next week and have a nice weekend.¡± The professor rounds off his powerpoint and starts shutting down the pc.¡±


    ¡°See you at practical arts in a couple of hours Amicia?¡± Hailey packs her things and stands up from her seat, Carol does the same.


    ¡°Yep, I will be there.¡±


    ¡°Cool, see you there!¡± they say as they walk out.


    I guess I could¡¯ve asked them to get some lunch together. Oh well.


    I put my notepad back in my purse and start to make my way to one of the university¡¯s cafeterias.


    I think I want a tuna sandwich¡­.mhhmmm...tuuuunaaaaa¡­


    Saliva is already building up in my mouth when I suddenly catch a glimpse of granny waving at me in the corner of my eye. I wave back.


    Wait a second¡­ Granny?!


    By the time I realize who I just saw and turn my head she¡¯s already gone.


    What the hell?


    I start running in the general direction I spotted her in. I should be able to catch her if I can keep up the pace. I round the corner to the left as I catch sight of her again, already standing at the next corner, waving at me. Then the next corner, the next, and that one after as well.


    Are you bloody taunting me?


    I sprint over, seeing her take a right turn, just a couple of seconds more and I can catch her.


    I take the corner at full speed and *BONK*


    End up flat on my ass for the second time today.


    ¡°Ouch, ouch, ouch. That hurts.¡± I say to myself, grabbing my elbow in a jolt of pain, apparently I scratched it too on the fall.


    ¡°Oh, hey, are you okay?¡± a girl¡¯s voice calls out to me.


    I open my eyes and look up. It¡¯s the girl from the mall, standing there in a university track suit. Her bottle of sports drink on the floor. Luckily it¡¯s still closed.


    ¡°Here, let me get you up.¡± She gently takes me by the arms and slowly lifts me off my but.


    ¡°T-thanks¡­¡±


    ¡°No problemo! Oh, you are that super cute girl from the mall, aren¡¯t you¡­¡± She quickly covers her mouth. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, these things just slip out sometimes... I have like no filter¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Aren¡¯t you hurt?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve had worse.¡± She jokes. ¡°I definitely prefer if girls hit on me not quite so literally.¡±


    I giggle, which makes her blush even more.


    She scratches the back of her hat¡­ ¡°Uh...You definitely managed to get some speed on those heels there, who were you chasing?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­.I thought I saw someone I know, did someone come by?¡±


    ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware off, you¡¯re the first to pass by here in 15 minutes. This part of the campus is usually super silent, I often come here to cool off... calm down after training. It has a pretty nice view too.¡± She points at the row of windows.


    I walk up a bit closer to them. Since we are pretty high up it gives a nice overview of the city.


    ¡°Woah, I can see my house from here.¡±


    She laughs and walks up to my side. ¡°That¡¯s such a clich¨¦ thing to say.¡±


    ¡°Hey! But it¡¯s true!¡± I pout.


    ¡°I believe you.¡± She grins. ¡°Name is Sam by the way, short for Samantha but nobody really calls me that, except my mom if she gets angry at me.¡± she holds out her hand.


    ¡°Amicia.¡± I shake it.


    ¡°So the catgirl has a name.¡± she giggles


    I instinctively grab for my choker.


    Phew, it¡¯s still there.


    ¡°Were you testing out some cosplay animatronics or something? I¡¯ve been curious about that ever since I spotted saw you all.¡±


    ¡°Kinda, my sister¡¯s girlfriend is really into cosplay and she wanted to field test them.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see! They were really cute! Especially yours - they looked super life-like!¡±


    ¡°T-thanks I¡¯ll definitely tell her!¡±


    Sam goes quiet for a while, while the both of us just stare quietly at the panorama in front of us.


    ¡°So¡­ I was wondering¡­ I know this is all pretty sudden and all, but¡­¡± She goes quiet again.


    ¡°But what?¡± I turn my head towards her, with a slight tilt.


    She bites her lip and I can hear her whisper under her breath, inaudible to human ears but not to mine. ¡°Omg, too darn cute¡­¡±


    I smile, pretending to not have heard anything.


    She clears her throat. ¡°But would you like to come watch my basketball game tomorrow? It¡¯s just here in the gymnasium. It¡¯s the first big game of the semester and I¡¯m nervous as hell...¡±


    ¡°And you would like a familiar face in the crowd¡­¡±


    She nods. ¡°But you obviously don''t have to!¡±


    She definitely sounds like a very kind and fun person...she¡¯s also quite cute herself¡­


    ¡°Hmmm, what will I do¡­¡± I toy her around a bit. ¡°I think I will.¡±


    ¡°Will you?! Thanks! Oh, and the match starts at 14:00!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be there!¡± And of course this is the moment when my stomach decided to interrupt our talk with a loud growl. My face goes tomato red in an instant. ¡°U-uh, sorry, I¡¯m pretty hungry.¡±


    ¡°I can hear that.¡± Sam laughs. ¡°Want to go get a sandwich or something? We can go get it and eat it here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be great!¡±


    We head down towards the cafeteria, buy ourselves some food, I obviously go for the tuna sandwich, Sam goes for ham and cheese, after which we head back to the hallway we met in.


    ¡°Still have lessons in the afternoon?¡± she sits herself down on the floor, I do the same next to her, the sun shining through the window, warming up my skin.


    ¡°Yep, still got practical arts.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you are an art student then?¡± she takes a bite from her sandwich.


    ¡°Yeah, at least I get to do something practical after art-history.¡±


    ¡°I get what you mean.¡±


    ¡°What do you study, Sam?¡± I take a bite of mine.


    ¡°Physiotherapy. I¡¯m happy I can train with the basketball squad after some the theory lessons. Keeps me focussed.¡±


    I smile. ¡°Sounds interesting, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something for me.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I understand, sports aren¡¯t for everyone. What are your hobbies?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­ I like to play games.¡±


    I start going on about Turn of Destiny and recount the tales of combat I¡¯ve had, omitting my transformation and about the boardgame I was playing yesterday with my family. Until I notice Sam has been quiet for a while.


    ¡°Oh, sorry, I was monologuing wasn¡¯t I?¡± I blush.


    Sam smiles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I like it when girls talk passionately about things they love. I really like listening to you.¡± Her comment makes me blush even more.


    After we finish our sandwiches we deposit the trash in the bin and say goodbye.


    ¡°I should probably go shower before the next lesson, can I get your number so I can text you?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Sure!¡± that¡¯s when I realise. ¡°Oh¡­ I forgot my phone kinda broke¡­¡±


    ¡°Darn, that sucks.¡± She scratches the back of her head, not really knowing how to react.


    ¡°What about I write down your number and I¡¯ll text you when I get a replacement.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a good plan.¡± She dictates me her number which I write down in my agenda.


    ¡°See you tomorrow? Two o¡¯clock right?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll definitely try to win!¡±


    ¡°Trying to impress me?¡±


    ¡°Maybe a little.¡± She smirks and walks away, waving me goodbye. ¡°Have fun at your lesson!¡±


    ¡°You too Sam!¡± I let out a sigh of contentment, clasping my blouse with my right hand.


    I¡¯m so glad I met her.

 Chapter 18: Mangaka

    FieryKathy


    After relaxing for a bit more in the hallway, I head towards my next class. There I meet Carol and Hailey who are already waiting in front of the art room.


    ¡°Hello again! Hope you had a nice lunch; we kinda forgot to invite you¡­¡± Carol apologizes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I forgot to ask you two as well, and I had a very nice lunch anyway, so¡­¡± I lean against the wall next to them.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! We could actually tell because you were beaming like crazy when you came into view.¡± Hailey giggles.


    I cover my face, and now that I pay attention to it, I can feel my tail going wild as well too.


    ¡°Crazy cute, we won¡¯t pry what happened though.¡± Carol reassures me.


    ¡°T-thanks, it¡¯s not that it¡¯s a secret or anything¡­ I just met a very nice girl, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Hailey smirks.


    ¡°So you¡¯re gay then?¡± Carol questions.


    ¡°Carol, please! Unbelievable.¡± Hailey gives her a tap on the head.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± I giggle. ¡°Yes, I think I am in fact, gay.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for being so direct. I¡¯m bi, by the way.¡± Carol smiles, rubbing her sore spot on the top of her head.


    ¡°You still really should try to think before you open your mouth sometimes though.¡± Hailey lectures.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± She sticks out her tongue.


    ¡°So, are you two¡­?¡±


    ¡°Dating?¡± Hailey stops her lecture. ¡°No, I¡¯m straight.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see.¡±


    ¡°We actually met when I tried to flirt with her, sadly to no avail. But we ended up as very good friends, Hailey is very easy to talk to.¡± Carol takes Hailey in for a hug.


    ¡°And Carol isn¡¯t always insufferable.¡± Hailey answers the hug.


    ¡°Well, I hope I can be your friend too!¡±


    ¡°Definitely!¡± They both take me in for a group hug. ¡°You sound like an amazing girl, even though we just met.¡±


    A couple of tears run down my cheeks.


    ¡°Oh, why are you crying Amicia?¡± Hailey notices my tears.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m just really happy!¡±


    ¡°Awh!¡± Carol, squeezes our hug even tighter. ¡°No crying in the cuddle puddle!¡±


    We all start laughing.


    This day is just great!


    A little while later it¡¯s finally time for our lesson. The professor introduces himself to me at the door, just like the professor of art-history did earlier today.


    ¡°Miss Delafontaine, could you paint a picture in your own style, just so I know what we have to work with?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± This is actually the same thing we had to do at the beginning of this year.


    ¡°If you have any questions please don¡¯t hesitate to ask!¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    I go and sit beside Hailey and Carol, on the left side of the classroom, near the windows and start preparing my set-up.


    ¡°What are you planning to paint?¡± Carol asks while setting up her station.


    ¡°Hmm, maybe an anime version of our group hug or something, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± I smile


    ¡°Really? That¡¯d be so cool!¡± Hailey enthusiastically leans over my shoulder. ¡°Let us see when it¡¯s done!¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I laugh and get to work with a rough sketch.


    Before my ¡®change¡¯ I never really was good at anything artistic - when I wanted to put some lines to paper, it was like my body never agreed with my movements, but now¡­every line goes exactly where it should, my thoughts getting transferred directly to the canvas.


    ¡°Wow, it looks like you¡¯ve got some talent Miss Delafontaine.¡± I almost fall of my chair again, but luckily I did hear the professor coming up behind me. ¡°You¡¯d make for a very good manga illustrator.¡±


    ¡°T-thanks sir.¡±


    He nods and moves on to supervise the other students.


    ¡°Woah, that does look great indeed.¡± Both Hailey and Carol look over and watch me draw.


    ¡°Your lines are so smooth, do you draw a lot?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, not really that often, but I think I¡¯ll definitely start drawing more now.¡±


    ¡°You should, you definitely should.¡± Carol pats me on the shoulder. ¡°Maybe you can make a cute yuri manga or something.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I like that idea actually!¡± We giggle and continue our respective artworks.


    After colouring and letting the paint dry a bit, I call over the professor to show the finished product.


    ¡°Very good, very good indeed. I¡¯d even ask to hang it up somewhere in class here, but since it covers your friends it might be more fun for you to take it home and hang it somewhere there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯ll do that.¡± I smile. ¡°Hey Sir, could I do a manga for our art-project this year?¡±


    ¡°Definitely! I think that¡¯s a great idea with your skill, and who knows, if it ends up being good I might ask some connections to publish it.¡±


    ¡°Really, that¡¯d be amazing!¡±


    ¡°Indeed, but don¡¯t get too overconfident - it would still need to pass the publisher¡¯s approval.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely try!¡±


    ¡°Oh, before you go - if your friends want a copy of your work, you can use the photocopy room next door once it¡¯s completely dry.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Sir!¡± I head back and tell my friends the news.


    ¡°I¡¯d definitely want a copy!¡±  Hailey answers as soon as she hears the professor¡¯s proposal.


    ¡°Me too!¡± Carol joins in.


    I wait until they both complete their goals for the day and head over to the copy room.


    ¡°Damn, this is a high quality printer.¡± Carol exclaims.


    ¡°Yeah, luckily the faculty gets quite a lot of funding. Is this your first time seeing it, Carol?¡± Hailey looks over to her friend.


    She scratches the back of her head. ¡°Yeah¡­ My work wasn¡¯t really good enough to ever warrant copying it, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Awww, you poor sod.¡± Hailey takes Carol¡¯s head onto her bosom.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pity me! Hmmm¡­ although I do like the position I¡¯m in now though¡­ Pity me more!¡±


    Hailey laughs and after a couple more seconds releases her friend.


    ¡°Awh, but I wanted more.¡±


    I start laughing at my friends, after which they soon start laughing too.


    ¡°How am I ever going to survive with you two?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll find a way,¡± they smile.


    After having made some copies, we head back to class.


    ¡°You three can leave already since you are done with your work; no point in just sitting around doing nothing.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you are my favourite professor, Sir!¡± Carol says enthusiastically.


    ¡°Yes, yes, Miss Y?ger, I know.¡± He waves us away with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be heading home. I still need to get a replacement for my phone?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Hailey takes out a piece of paper. ¡°I might as well give you my phone number then.¡±


    ¡°Mine too!¡± Carol swings her arms around our necks.


    ¡°Easy, Carol, I can¡¯t write like this.¡± She quickly scribbles her number down and hands the paper over to Carol who does the same.


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ll text you when I get a phone. Bye bye!¡±


    ¡°See you next week!¡± they both wave me goodbye as I make my way to the tram stop.


    The tram only has a small delay before it continues its journey to my sister¡¯s part of town. A delivery hovermobile had unwisely parked on the tram tracks, but luckily the delivery man noticed immediately when the tram beeped its horn.


    I get off at the stop and make my way towards the appartment. The moment I open the door Pocky almost jumps into my arms.


    ¡°I missed you too, princess.¡± I pick her up to give her a big hug.


    ¡°Oh, you are home already?¡± I hear ¨¦lise speak out from the kitchen.


    ¡°Yep, the professor let us go early because we were done with our work already.¡±


    ¡°We?¡± My sister smiles.


    ¡°Ah, I made a couple of friends during art-history, they are going to work together with me for the group task.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice to hear.¡±


    I put the tube container with my painting on the table.


    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the painting I made for practical arts. It¡¯s a painting of me and my new friends.¡±


    ¡°Can I see?¡± ¨¦lise walks over.


    ¡°Sure!¡± I take it out of the container and show her.


    ¡°Damn sis, I didn¡¯t know you had such talent.¡± Her mouth almost falls open wide.


    I chuckle. ¡°I didn¡¯t either. Can I hang it in my room?¡±


    ¡°Of course! The delivery guys just left so your bed is here too. I probably have a frame approximately that size laying around somewhere too.¡± She goes off to rummage in their storage room.


    ¡°Oh, uhm, sis?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± She says while picking a frame from behind some boxes. ¡°Gotcha!¡±


    ¡°Could you go buy a phone with me a bit later today?¡±


    ¡°Ah right, your phone got crushed, so sure. Any reason why you need it today?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I kinda met this girl and¡­¡± I recount the entire story of seeing Granny and meeting Sam, together with her invitation for her match tomorrow.


    ¡°I got the feeling that Granny is trying to ship you two together.¡± ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°I¡¯ll get my jacket so we can go to the mobile phone store a bit down the street.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it, sis, I¡¯ll do everything for love.¡± She says with a dramatic voice.


    We leave shortly for the store which is only 300 meters down the road.


    Entering the store I immediately start looking at all the different phone models.


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t really need anything new. An older model will do fine.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all basically supercomputers anyway.¡± ¨¦lise starts looking around as well. ¡°Oh, Amicia, look at this.¡± She drags me over to one of the displays. ¡°What about this one?¡± ¨¦lise points at a YESKEA 560, a generation or two older than the current one, even though it just released a year ago.


    ¡°That looks good, but why specifically this one?¡±


    ¡°Because I found this!¡± She takes a case from behind her back, it¡¯s a light pink case with several feline cat prints in hot pink, purple, orange and red shades dotted randomly around. My eyes go wide.


    I need this in my life.


    ¡°So whatcha think?¡± ¨¦lise looks expectantly at my face.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ brilliant.¡±


    ¡°I know right!¡± She says with clear excitement in her voice. ¡°We can get you this strap too.¡± And picks a strap with a little anime cat girl hanging from the accessory rack.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that going to be too much...you know... cat?¡±


    ¡°Who cares? Do you like it? Then you should go for it!¡±


    Her excitement is extremely contagious.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I do love it.¡± I smile.


    We quickly make our way to the register. Luckily it wasn¡¯t too expensive - prices do drop off pretty quickly after the release of a new model.


    We head back to the apartment, where we find Nikki looking at my painting.


    ¡°Oh hey you two lovelies!¡± She turns around with a smile ¡°Did you make this Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s great work! You should try making a manga or something like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s actually the plan for my art project, the prof even said he¡¯d look for a publisher if it ends up being good.¡±


    ¡°Wow, going to become a mangaka?¡±


    I raise my shoulders and smile ¡°Why not.¡±


    ¡°Oh Nikki, our little kitten has a date tomorrow.¡± ¨¦lise hugs me from behind.


    ¡°Does she now?¡±


    I tell Nikki what happened today as well.


    ¡°If she is as nice as you described her to be she might even be a better catch than your sister.¡± Nikki jokes.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m a great catch.¡± She pouts.


    Nikki gives her lover a kiss.


    ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you for now.¡±


    ¡°Thanks sweetie.¡± Nikki moves back to the kitchen to unpack today¡¯s groceries. ¡°Want to play some more Turn of Destiny today Amicia? Since your bed is here and all.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯d be amazing!¡±


    ¡°Thought so too, with all that¡¯s happened lately it might be time for some good ol¡¯ escapism.¡± ¨¦lise joins in the unpacking. ¡°Oh, by the way, we just went out to buy Amicia a phone.¡±


    ¡°I figured as much.¡±


    ¨¦lise makes a shocked impression ¡°How did you know? Do you have psychic powers you never mentioned.¡±


    ¡°No, I just saw you walking towards the store as I came into the building...Or did I.¡± Nikki giggles.


    I show Nikki the phone we bought together with the case and strap.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s very cute.¡± She says after a short inspection. ¡°It suits you a lot.¡±


    ¡°Thanks! Do you want some help with dinner, Nikki?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be very helpful, as long as you¡¯re a better cook than your sister.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I heard that!¡±


    We all start laughing.


    After a nice dinner with my family I set up my new phone and send messages to Hailey and Carol. And last but not least, to Sam.


    ¡°Hey Sam, this is my number, see you tomorrow! Amicia.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Amicia! I¡¯ll do my best!¡±


    ¡°You better :) I¡¯ll be off playing Turn of Destiny in a bit so I won¡¯t be able to respond to your advances for a while.¡±


    ¡°Awh, shoot, I had so many cheesy lines waiting for you too! I guess I¡¯ll have to send them all later ;) Have fun!¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡±


    ¡°Sending texts to your girlfriend?¡± ¨¦lise teases.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I stick out my tongue.


    ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ll be going to bed and get ready for the game.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ¡°Could you give Pocky another can of food and water before you do the same?¡± Nikki asks, heading towards her room.


    ¡°Definitely!¡± I head over to the cupboard and select a can labelled ¡°salmon¡±. ¡°Will this do, or would you rather something else?¡±


    Pocky meows.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll just get your water and go to bed. I¡¯ll leave the door open so you can sleep with me.¡± Pocky mews once more.


    I give her the water and head to bed to install myself. Pocky almost immediately joining me and settling on my stomach.


    ¡°Goodnight Pocky.¡±


    She meows me goodnight as I press the VR button.


    Ready for yet another adventure in the world of Haurchefaud!

 Chapter 19: Upgrade

    ¡°Hey there kitten, welcome back to Haurchefaud.¡± I hear my sister say, my body curled up in her warm embrace.


    ¡°Hey sis.¡± I groggily say, my eyes barely being able to open.


    ¡°We should get dressed and get some food.¡±


    ¡°But we just came from dinner,¡± I whine.


    ¡°These bodies don¡¯t know that,¡± as her stomach makes a loud growl. ¡°Gonna get me some bacon and eggs before I get back in my armour.¡± She jumps out of bed, leaving me without her heat.


    ¡°Nooooo! Come back, my personal heater!¡±


    ¨¦lise puts on her bra and looks back at me, sticking out her tongue.


    That¡¯s when my stomach starts to revolt. ¡°Okay, some food might not be a bad idea.¡±


    I get dressed and leave the room together with my sister.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to check your skills while we are eating, you probably leveled quite a bit because of that goblin horde. And with our loot we can probably give you an upgrade in gear later on as well.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Oh. That¡¯d be neat!¡±


    We enter the dining area of the guild HQ and find Nikki and Hilda already sitting at a table.


    ¡°Good morning, Amicia and Lise.¡± Hilda waves us hello.


    ¡°Hey Hilda!¡± I go to her and give her a quick hug.


    ¡°You are surprisingly happy today.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe it¡¯s because of the date she¡¯s going on tomorrow.¡±


    My face goes red.


    ¡°Oh? A date? Tell me more!¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not a date! This girl just invited me to come watch her game.¡±


    ¡°And does this girl like you?¡± Hilda smirks.


    ¡°I-I guess.¡±


    ¡°And you like her?¡±


    ¡°M-maybe.¡± my face starts blushing even more.


    ¡°Amicia, that¡¯s a date.¡±


    I sit down next to Hilda and put my face on the table. ¡°I know¡­¡±


    Hilda starts rubbing my back. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m very glad to hear you¡¯ve found someone you¡¯re interested in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very happy too...but... ¡°


    ¡°But what? If she finds out you... uhm... are trans?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess that as well, but more like...¡± I touch my ears on top of my head.


    ¡°Oh yeah¡­Well, if your relationship with her gets serious, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure something out. We did, didn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but you¡¯re practically family.¡±


    ¡°Awh, I¡¯m very happy you think of me like that.¡± Hilda hugs me. ¡°But trust me - It¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°I hope so. We connected immediately. She¡¯s also pretty funny.¡±


    ¡°As funny as me?¡± Hilda points to herself.


    ¡°Hmmm... funnier I¡¯d say.¡±


    ¡°Darn it.¡± Hilda slaps her knee dramatically.


    We both start laughing.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s eat something.¡±


    ¡°Good plan.¡± I say as I steal a small piece of sausage from her plate.


    Hilda pats my head and continues eating, while my sister comes back with plates for us both.


    ¡°Looked at your stats yet, sis?¡±


    ¡°Nope, will do now.¡± I put a piece of bacon in my mouth as I open my character screen. ¡°Wow, I leveled quite a bit.¡± I see I got to level 20 just from fighting that horde.


    ¡°Well, it was a pretty big horde. Normally a new player like you shouldn¡¯t be able to fight a big fight like that,¡± Hilda says while taking a bite from her meal.


    ¡°But you had fantastic support of course,¡± my sister winks. ¡°My arm is still pretty sore from blocking all those attacks.¡± She loosely swings her left arm around.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I laugh and look at the new skills I can pick. ¡°Wow. There¡¯s one that¡¯ll allow me to cast without a focus.¡±


    ¡°Take it, take it, take it!¡± ¨¦lise enthusiastically stands up from her chair.


    ¡°Woah there, why so hyped?!¡± Hilda almost chokes on some bread because of ¨¦lise¡¯s sudden movement.


    ¡°Well, when Amicia first became Amicia, we were discussing if she could use magic or not. But since we didn¡¯t have any magical sticks laying around the house¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you want to see if she has her skills from the game, in real life?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°I mean, the choker I got from Granny is magical, so it seems like it¡¯d definitely be possible.¡±


    ¡°Would be pretty useful too if ¨¦lise cuts her finger again while attempting to cook.¡± Nikki laughs.


    ¡°That only happened once! ...Okay, maybe a couple times more than that, but still.¡±


    I select the skill while ¨¦lise is having her lovers¡¯ quarrel. I also upgrade my healing spells and the big blue ball of death. ¡°Hmm, I still have three skills left I can take before I run out of points.¡± My eye falls upon the skills Divine Armour and Divine Swordsmanship. The tooltip reads that they respectively cast armour around me and transform my staff into a sword for a short period of time. ¡°I guess these are similar to Shield of Faith. Sounds like a pretty fun combo too.¡± I select both of them and start looking for my third and final skill.


    Fifteen minutes later, I¡¯m still looking.


    ¡°Can¡¯t find one you like?¡± Hilda asks and puts her chair next to me so she can search along.


    ¡°Not really, most of these skills don¡¯t really suit my playstyle.¡± That¡¯s when I suddenly see a skill that¡¯s marked with a question mark.


    This wasn¡¯t here when I first opened the list¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s this Hilda?¡±


    ¡°I have absolutely no clue, first time I¡¯ve seen a skill like that.¡±


    ¡°The tooltip also says absolutely nothing.¡±


    ¡°Question marks all over. Hmmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Should I take it?¡±


    Hilda leans back in her chair. ¡°Well. It¡¯s up to you, but this is just weird - I get the feeling this game is giving you preferential treatment. I want special skills too!¡± She pouts.


    I hesitate for a second but decide to go for it anyway. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll get to see what it does.¡± I shrug.


    ¡°I¡¯m definitely curious.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Ladies, I¡¯m going to put on my armour, after that we can also go upgrade Amicia¡¯s gear. The guild has set aside quite some money as a thank you for holding the line.¡± ¨¦lise flexes and heads towards the staircase.


    I quickly spread out most of the stat points that I also received, this time I try to evenly distribute them,so I don¡¯t become some kind of glass canon. Then I eat a bit of my food, which has already cooled down a lot.


    ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s cold.¡±


    ¡°Give it to me.¡± Nikki holds out her hand above my plate for a second and then hands it back. ¡°Try it again.¡± She smiles, steam rising from my food.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s neat.¡±


    ¡°I know right. It¡¯s also pretty fun in bed.¡± She winks, Hilda getting a shiver over her body.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s probably not too unpleasant.¡± She says with a stutter.


    ¡°Well, you should know.¡± Nikki teases.


    Hilda is sometimes so easy to read. I giggle and start eating again.


    It takes quite a while for ¨¦lise to come back downstairs.


    ¡°You took your time.¡± I say, having finished my food a couple of minutes ago.


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to put on several layers of armour and padding.¡± She stands behind me and pokes my sides.


    ¡°Nonononono, it tickleeees!!!¡± I yell out, laughing frantically.


    ¡°Should¡¯ve thought about that before you made fun of me, kitten.¡±


    ¡°Nooooooooooo!!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go before she needs to take her armour off again to pee.¡± Nikki drags ¨¦lise away.


    ¡°The pain of heavy armour.¡± My sister sighs.


    Hilda lifts me from my chair. ¡°You kinda deserved that.¡± She pats my head.


    ¡°I did.¡± I laugh my breath still unsteady from the tickling.


    ¡°The market is not far from here.¡± Hilda takes the lead as we leave the headquarters.


    ¡°What part of my gear are we going to upgrade?¡± I start ask to my sister who¡¯s walking besides me.


    She gives me a quick lookover. ¡°I¡¯d say everything, your current gear is meant for starters. You aren¡¯t quite the starter anymore at level 20.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°This kind of reminds me of our shopping trip.¡± Nikki comments from behind us.


    ¡°It definitely does.¡±


    I smile.


    Happy memories.


    We enter the market and start looking for stalls stores selling healer equipment.


    ¡°Hey Hilda, are these NPC¡¯s or actual players.¡± I ask, browsing some of the stores we pass.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell most of the time. But the general rule is, the more specialised the store, the more likely it is to be a player. That¡¯ll probably change after the official launch next week though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to get a lot more lively around here then.¡± I note.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s why I kind of wanted to propose going further towards Reykland, to avoid most of the initial rush. And to fill out my map a bit more.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you have most of it filled out already?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the map of this continent. But the launch official will make the other continent available to travel to. And to get there¡­¡±


    ¡°You need to take a boat.¡± ¨¦lise finishes her sentence.


    ¡°Yep. And since Reykland is the most westward nation on this continent, it¡¯ll be easiest to set sail there.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see. Can we join you?¡±


    ¡°Of course. That¡¯s why I wanted to propose it.¡±


    ¡°Cool! I want to see Hilda not knowing where to go!¡±


    ¡°Tough luck sis. Hilda has this incredible sense of direction so I doubt we¡¯ll see that happen.¡± ¨¦lise comments with a sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I always know where I¡¯m going, it¡¯s just that I pretend to know.¡± She laughs. ¡°And I have a compass which helps.¡± Hilda takes a compass from her pocket, and hands it over to me.


    It¡¯s a very nicely decorated piece of equipment. Engraved with gold and small jewels at the edge.


    ¡°Wow, you must¡¯ve paid a lot for this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually not that expensive if you collect the resources for it yourself. Especially if you can sell the rest for profit.¡±


    ¡°Neat! You should teach me how to do that one day.¡± I hand back the compass to Hilda.


    She pats my head and smiles. ¡°I will.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t take very long find a store specialized in healing equipment.


    ¡°Hey there little lady, a lunar mage I see.¡± the dwarven vendor smiles when he sees us stopping before his store.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I smile. ¡°Do you have some equipment for my class?¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± He rubs his beard and turns around to look at his wares. ¡°Let me see. What Goddess do you pray for?¡±


    ¡°Veanya!¡± I say with enthusiasm. Now that I think about it, it¡¯s been a while since I last prayed to her.


    ¡°Love and compassion, huh.¡± ¨¦lise laughs.


    ¡°I know right! It fits her so well.¡± Nikki joins in with a giggle.


    ¡°No laughing.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Allright allright. We¡¯ll stop, it¡¯s just that Veanya fits your personality perfectly.¡±


    That¡¯s when the dwarf puts equipment on the counter. ¡°I think this¡¯ll fit perfectly.¡±


    I inspect the equipment laid before me. It¡¯s a light blue and gray surcout with white sleeves and a dark gray woolen collar. The buttons and several other small details hold the sign of Veanya, a heart interwoven with two double helixes.  There¡¯s a white shirt and white pants there, matching the colour combination. And to complete the outfit some thigh high brown leather boots, which has Veanya¡¯s emblem embroidered on it.


    ¡°So what d¡¯you think?¡± The dwarf smiles.


    ¡°I think this will definitely do. What about a staff?¡±


    ¡°Oh right!¡± the dwarf smacks his head and goes back on his search, yet he returns almost immediately. ¡°I already had it laid out but forgot to take it with me.¡±


    The staff is almost as tall as me and has points sticking up from the twirly top.


    ¡°Nice! What do you all think?¡± I turn towards the party.


    ¡°That will certainly fit you! It will give a pretty nice stat boost as well so you won¡¯t have to rely on Hilda¡¯s potions anymore!¡± ¨¦lise sticks up both of her thumbs and both Nikki and Hilda nod in agreement.


    ¡°Alright. That¡¯ll be 500 gold.¡± The dwarf holds out his hand.


    ¡°Master dwarf, I suspect that¡¯s a little overpriced but it¡¯s your lucky day.¡± Hilda hands over a coin purse.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± The dwarf takes the coin purse and puts it in his safe. He gives the equipment to me, which I swiftly put in my inventory. Since I don¡¯t really want to head back to the headquarters at this time, I decide to equip it through the in-game system and *Poof* All my gear is immediately equipped and ready to go.


    ¡°Lookin¡¯ good sis.¡± Lise pats me on the back.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I give her a quick hug in return.


    We head off and wave the dwarf goodbye.


    ¡°Did we really use that much of our gold on my equipment?¡±


    ¡°Eh, not really, our reward was a lot higher than that.¡± Nikki shrugs.


    ¡°Really? How much higher exactly?¡±


    ¡°Just add a few zero¡¯s. That¡¯ll do.¡±


    I gulp. ¡°Wow, how is it so much?¡±


    ¡°Well, without us the city would¡¯ve been sacked before the rest of the guild arrived, the merchants were pretty happy about that not happening.¡± ¨¦lise smiles.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m going to upgrade my sword and shield if y¡¯all don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, I think me and Hilda will do the same.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°See you all in fifteen minutes here?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good, after that we can start traveling to Reykland!¡± Everyone starts moving there separate ways.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ What about provisions?¡± The moment I say this everyone stops dead in their tracks.


    ¡°Riiigggght...Maybe we should put Amicia in charge.¡± Hilda says, laughing out loud. ¡°I completely forgot.¡±


    ¡°Luckily one of us got her mind together.¡± ¨¦lise scratches her head. ¡°Come with me, Amicia, we can go buy some, the food stalls are next to the blacksmith anyway.¡±


    Nikki and Hilda go on their way as I join my sister.


    I wonder what adventures await us beyond Ribaquen...

 Chapter 20: Catnap

    FieryKathy


    Hello, my name is Pocky, that¡¯s the name my humans gave to me, I like it a lot! I¡¯m only a couple of months old and I live together with a nice family. Before I met them I was together with my mommy, but I somehow lost sight of her and couldn¡¯t find her anymore. My new family found me on the side of the road, shivering in the cold, they carried me to their apartment in a cozy shawland and took me in. Not a moment has passed since then without their love and warmth. At first I was a bit wary of them, since humans are scary creatures after all. Those ears are just weird. Can they even hear anything through them? But soon I got used to them. They give me lots of pets and cuddles, and the food they give me is nice too! Did you know some of their food comes in hard shells? I wonder how they hunt those without claws.


    Anyway, I learned one of my humans is called Nikki, and the other one is ¨¦lise. Both of them are wonderful but I prefer ¨¦lise a bit more - her cushions are somewhat bigger and nicer to sleep on. But on the other hand Nikki scratches me behind my ears more... so I guess it''s a tie. While they are away from home, I like to cuddle up next to a heater or sleep on their bed, or the sofa, on top of their clothes, in the closet, in a box, or on the rug, everywhere I fits, I sits! From time to time I get up from my naps and snack on a bit of the dry food they leave me before they go off, and then sleep a bit more! I love sleeping! Sometimes I meet my rival Mr. Fluffy Mouse on my way to the next sleepyspot. He just lays there on the floor, like a predator, waiting for a moment to strike me. But Mr. Mouse has never bested me in one-to-one combat, preferring the ¡®play-dead¡¯ tactic over all others, to no avail. I always let him go after a while though, for I am a merciful kitten. From time to time I even allow him to sleep with me - I take him by his fluffy neck to my lair and curl up around him. You must keep your food close, but your rivals closer...He¡¯s actually more my friend than my rival, but don¡¯t tell him that, or I¡¯ll nom you! Later on in the day my humans come back home so I can play with them some more, and give me all the pets I desire until they go to sleep. One day a week they have a guest, I like her quite a lot, she smells nice and gives me pets as well! Although they do pay a lot of attention to pieces of cardboard when she¡¯s here, I guess humans like boxes too, but only when they are cut up. But they are happy, and when they are happy, I am too!


    One day my humans appeared to be pretty distressed, so I wondered what was going on, maybe something went wrong with the device they wear in their bed? But later that day I found out, as Nikki came home with a person I¡¯ve never seen before. She smells very similar to ¨¦lise, so she must be related somehow. Nikki put her on the sofa and left her there for a bit. Her familiar scent made me want to investigate her up close and to say hi. And that¡¯s when she took her top layer of clothes off. Wow! She has a tail and ears, just like me! I meow at her as she stares at me. ¡°Do you have a cat, Nikki?¡± I heard her say. Why could I understand her? This made me even more interested! I jump on the sofa and start cuddling up to her as she gently stroked me with one of her hands. She¡¯s a good person as well! It took a little bit of time for her to understand I knew what she was saying, but the moment she did my life got a whole bunch easier! She even managed to let my other humans give me some nice fish! On top of that, her cushions are very nice too - I tested them out and they are soft and squishy. ¨¦lise¡¯s ones are still better though.


    I do still miss my mom a lot, but at least I still have a family that cares about me, and I care about them too. Especially my new sister Amicia. Although I probably should have a word with her sometimes, she got this new collar and it hides her ears and tail! Why would you do such a thing, it¡¯s such a shame!! I also need to wake her up by licking her from time to time. I don¡¯t really mind that much because she tastes pretty sweet, but a good kitten must be able perform her duties in a timely manner, without intervention!


    *sound of a key turning in the door*


    Oh, I need to stop talking to you all now because I can hear Amicia arriving again!


    Chapter 23 is now released on my Patreon!


    I always try to stay at least 3 chapters ahead of time on Patreon.


    Link to my discord: Link

 Chapter 21: Historian

    ¡°Ah, it feels good to be on the road again.¡± Hilda stretches after a two-hour hike away from the city. ¡°I gosh darn love these woods.¡±


    I take a moment to take in the surroundings. After leaving the immediate surrounding farmland around Ribaquen, we find ourselves in a mixed forest, primarily oak and birch trees. The city air has made place for the smell of fresh woodland. ¡°I can definitely understand why.¡±


    ¡°Just wait until you see the mountains Amicia; you¡¯ll love them.¡± ¨¦lise nonchalantly swings her new longsword around.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Well...maybe not so much the mountains themselves, more like the salmon-filled mountain streams.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± my mouth already starts watering.


    ¡°Since we won¡¯t pass any cities until we get to Skaok we¡¯ll have to forage our food ourselves, to lengthen our provisions.¡± Hilda adds to the explanation.


    ¡°That means our kitten will get to learn how to fish.¡± Nikki pets my head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget the smoking.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll never want anything else after having eaten Sinmaa pine smoked salmon. Goddess, that taste even makes me drool like an idiot.¡± ¨¦lise sheats her sword.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got something else that¡¯ll make you drool like an idiot.¡± Nikki caresses ¨¦lise¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Oh, do you now? Rawr.¡±


    ¡°Keep the flirting for your private tent, ladies.¡± Hilda sighs.


    ¡°Okay, mom.¡± ¨¦lise replies while giving Nikki a loving embrace.


    ¡°Hey Hilda?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up kiddo?¡±


    ¡°Is the road up ahead dangerous? When we first went to Ribaquen you tried to avoid taking the roads.¡±


    ¡°Well, those were just small forest roads, while this is a major trade artery, so it should be fine. Although those goblins also came out of nowhere so you can never be sure,¡± she shrugs.


    ¡°I sure do hope we don¡¯t run into a horde like that again.¡±


    ¡°Yeeaaahhh¡­ that¡¯d be pretty bad. Taking them on in a chokepoint is one thing, taking them on in the ¡®open¡¯ like this, probably won¡¯t end too well.¡± She puts her arms behind her head. ¡°No point in being scared of it happening though. The chance is so low, and if it happens we can just teleport back, although that¡¯s going to be pretty annoying depending on how far we get to Skaok.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    Hilda quickly stretches her neck and says: ¡°If everyone is done stretching we can move on. I¡¯m really looking forward to wake up to the incredible smell of pine forest!¡±


    We quickly gather up and start moving again.


    ¡°This feels pretty much like a family camping trip, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Nikki says, still dangling from ¨¦lise¡¯s arm.


    ¡°It does. We got some tasty snacks.¡±


    ¡°Check.¡±


    ¡°Some, good ol¡¯ tents.¡±


    ¡°Check.¡±


    ¡°And the people we care about most.¡±


    ¡°Check!¡±


    This makes me blush quite a bit. ¡°If only Pocky could be with us¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, in the real world: ¡°Squishy squishy cushions, squish them all the way. Dozing off on them, is the way I play!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure Pocky is much of an outdoors cat, to be honest.¡± Nikki finally has left her lover alone.


    ¡°Yeah, we found her shivering all alone on the side of the road. Since then she¡¯s been indoors all the time.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I feel an immense sadness welling up inside of me.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you cry now, Amicia. She¡¯s very happy now.¡±


    ¡°B-but if you hadn¡¯t found her¡­¡±


    ¨¦lise hugs me from behind. ¡°But we did.¡±


    ¡°What about her mom?¡±


    ¡°We looked around for a bit but couldn¡¯t find any other cats¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should ask her next time, then we can go looking for her with an actual description!¡±


    I think for a second, getting a little bit more optimistic. ¡°T-that might work!¡± I smile.


    ¡°There you go! A smile better suits a catgirl.¡± ¨¦lise pets my head.


    ¡°I can come and help with your search too. Well, if you let me of course.¡± Hilda says while marching on.


    ¡°Naturally!¡± Nikki walks up to Hilda and pokes her in the side. ¡°We can¡¯t do a search action without our glorious leader.¡±


    Hilda smiles and looks over to me. ¡°We¡¯re gonna find her Amicia, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I smile back.


    I sure hope so.


    We quickly move on, apart from a couple of almost industrial scale forestry areas, signs of civilization soon start to lessen and lessen.  According to Hilda it will takes us approximately three days before we reach the mountainous area on the border between the Vinavian Empire and Reykland, and after that it¡¯ll take another four days to reach our destination.


    ¡°Well, sorry, I got to interrupt your narration there Amicia, but what I said isn¡¯t 100% true.¡± Hilda interjects.


    ¡°Wow, rude, what did you lie about then?¡±


    ¡°Lie is a big word.¡± She pouts. ¡°Anyway, we aren¡¯t really passing through the border of Reykland and the empire in one go.¡±


    ¡°How so? Don¡¯t they border each other then?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Yes and no.¡±


    ¡°Heh?¡± a question mark appears above my head.


    ¡°Okay, small history lesson.¡±


    ¡°Amicia, what hath thou done.¡± ¨¦lise interjects with a sigh.


    I shrug.


    ¡°Shush. So, according to the Vinavian historians I have had the pleasure to talk to, around thirty years ago the Vinavian empire and the kingdom of Reykland were at war with each other over a certain piece of contested mountainous territory.¡±


    ¡°Oh, S-s-shima?¡±


    Hilda smiles. ¡°Close, Sinmaa.¡±


    ¡°Why fight over some mountains?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°Oh, oh, the salmon!¡±


    Our resident historian laughs. ¡°Haha, that¡¯d be something to fight over, ¡®the great salmon wars¡¯ of 1599.¡± She takes her compass out of her jackets and lets it swing by its leather strap. ¡°How did the Spaniards and Portuguese procure their wealth in the Early Modern Era in South America?¡±


    ¡°Gold?¡±


    ¡°Yep! Precious metals. The area of Sinmaa is notoriously rich in silver, gold and gems. The salmon probably didn¡¯t hurt either.¡± Hilda puts her compass away again. ¡°Obviously both nations were extremely interested in this unimaginable wealth the area produced which led to multiple wars between the two. The height of the conflict almost resulted in the entire continent being at war. Reykland, Osvik and the principality of Djuvogia on one side and the empire and it¡¯s vassal states of Vinilia and Tea on the other.¡±


    ¡°Tea? Why is it named Tea?¡± I ask. Sounds like an incredibly weird name for a state to me.


    Hilda shrugs. ¡°I have honestly no clue. I went there to explore once and their tea wasn¡¯t even that good.¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s like ordering a hamburger in Hamburg, nothing really special.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. Anyway, the war was pretty brutal and ended up decimating a large proportion of the population in all countries involved.¡± An air of sadness is clear in Hilda¡¯s voice. ¡°But luckily it was decided at the peace conference to find a more long-term solution to the conflicts on the continent. First of all the contested area was made autonomous with a strict 50/50 profit policy. Meaning that both nations will profit equally from the Sinmaa mountain range. And a supra-national federation was formed to keep the peace on the southern half of the continent. Since then it¡¯s been relatively peaceful in the area, except for the occasional bandits trying to loot transport convoys.¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s good to hear they found a way to keep the peace.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I¡¯m a bit fearful about the future.¡±


    ¡°Oh no.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ The other two big political entities on the continent didn¡¯t look very kindly upon the creation of this federation. Luckily it has been pretty calm, but lately tensions have been rising again. Food shortages in the northern half of the continent are making people incredibly agitated, and they automatically look at the prosperity in the south.¡±


    ¡°I heard the empress is a good cookie though, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll figure something out.¡± ¨¦lise tries to reassure Hilda.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Sometimes I get too much into my own doom-thinking.¡± She tries to force a smile.


    ¡°Here, this will cheer you up.¡± ¨¦lise throws a cupcake with glorious pink frosting at Hilda who handily catches it. ¡°Me and Amicia passed a baker and we couldn¡¯t keep ourselves.¡±


    Hilda smiles. ¡°Thanks. And thank you for listening to my explanation too.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Hilda, as Amicia said, you are basically family. And on top of that it was pretty interesting too!¡±


    Hilda blushes.


    ¡°Who needs an encyclopedia when you¡¯ve got a Hilda handy to explain everything!¡±


    ¡°Geez, you guys.¡± Hilda laughs.


    A few hours go by with us just chit-chatting around when ¨¦lise stops the group. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we set up camp? It¡¯s going to get dark soon and I ain¡¯t setting up no tent in the dark.¡±


    Me and Nikki give each other a high-five ¡°Darkvision sisters!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably not a bad idea Lise.¡± Hilda takes out her compass. ¡°Let¡¯s leave the road and walk ten minutes to the north-east, so we aren¡¯t in immediate sight of the road.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye, captain!¡± We all sing in choir.


    We manage to find a suitable spot for a couple of tents and start setting up camp for the night.


    Me and Nikki are put on firepit duties while ¨¦lise and Hilda set up the tents.


    Luckily it¡¯s pretty easy to find enough firewood just laying around in the forest. I actually quite enjoy looking for firewood as it¡¯s pretty calming, especially after a pretty exhausting walk. When I get back to camp I find the tents already set up and the firepit expertly dug out with Nikki and Hilda relaxing on a big log they dragged to the fire pit.


    ¡°Your sis went out to get some more firewood as well. She¡¯ll be back shortly.¡± Nikki smiles.


    ¡°Oh, okay. By the way, does this game have any mounts?¡± I ask while putting down the firewood I managed to gather.


    ¡°It does, but the stables of Ribaquen were all sold out. They needed all the horses to transport stone to rebuild the gate.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°Oof.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Although taking horses across the sea might not be a terribly good idea. We don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll find on the other side anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡±


    That¡¯s when ¨¦lise comes back with a metric shitload of firewood.


    ¡°What? How?¡± I ask in disbelief.


    ¡°I got a little carried away testing my sword on a dead tree.¡± She awkwardly laughs at us.


    ¡°How are we going to burn that up in a night?¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got the carrying capacity for it.¡± ¨¦lise smirks.


    ¡°Well at least we won¡¯t have to worry about that for quite a while.¡± Hilda gets up and lays out a couple of logs in the fire pit. ¡°Let¡¯s wait until its a bit darker so the smoke isn¡¯t that obvious anymore.¡±


    We do as Hilda says and when the sun finally sets on this pretty exhausting day Nikki lights the firepit with one of her fire spells.


    We chat and laugh a bit more around the fire.


    I really love my family.


    ¡°Can I sleep in your tent today, Amicia?¡± Hilda sits herself down next to me.


    ¡°Of course!¡± I say, soon followed by a pretty big yawn. Damn I¡¯m tired.


    She smiles. ¡°Good, you can go to bed already if you want, I¡¯ll take the first watch.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll do that. Good night Hilda. Good night Nikki and Lise.¡±


    ¡°Good night to you too kitten.¡± They smile as I get into the tent and roll myself up in my cosy bedroll.


    The soft popping and crackling of the fire soon puts me to sleep.


    Hmmm.... Gib salmon¡­.

 Chapter 22: Bandit

    The next day doesn¡¯t really differ much from the first, lots of walking through the forests, lots of chit-chatting and teasing along the way until we reach a good spot to camp yet again. Luckily we haven¡¯t encountered anything dangerous yet, although Hilda did say that tomorrow would be the beginning of the most dangerous part of the entire trip. We set up our tents and go to sleep. Just before we are supposed to get up, way too early in the morning, we get violently woken up by a loud yelp right beside one of our tents.


    I immediately get up and peak outside with my staff at the ready.


    ¡°Holy shit, what was that!?¡± I hear my sis call out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry - I took care of it.¡± Hilda appears from the shadows and walks towards our fire, blood splattered all over her face and clothes. ¡°Some twats tried to raid us but they didn¡¯t look up well enough.¡±


    I get up and leave the tent, beholding the massacre around our camp.


    My sis did the same and is already standing next to the fire, putting on her gear.


    ¡°Geez. You really should¡¯ve woken us, Hilda.¡±


    Hilda wipes the blood off her face and walks over to one of the corpses, wiping off the blood from her cane and daggers on their clothes.


    ¡°Maybe I should¡¯ve, but I thought stealth was a better option.¡±


    ¡°You call this stealth?!¡± ¨¦lise motions all around us.


    ¡°Well, only the last one of them saw me coming, so yeah.¡± She smirks


    ¡°Is Nikki still sleeping?¡± I ask my sister.


    She looks back at the tent and back of me and she nods. ¡°Yeah, Nikki can pretty much sleep through a hurricane.¡±


    ¡°Who said mine name?¡± a mumble arises from the tent.


    ¡°Unless you call her by her name.¡± She laughs.


    Nikki stumbles from the tent and walks over to ¨¦lise.


    ¡°Lise, I¡¯m hungryyyy.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± She uncovers a part of her neck as Nikki almost immediately latches on. First a couple of licks, then she goes in for the bite, a soft moan escaping from ¨¦lise¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Ah really, there are children here!¡± Hilda calls out.


    ¡°She¡¯s old enough.¡± ¨¦lise barely exclaims. ¡°And on top of that, you¡¯re literally covered in blood.¡±


    Hilda looks at herself again. ¡°Fair point.¡±


    Nikki does look like she is enjoying herself a lot. Almost unable to control her own moaning.


    I¡¯m not gonna lie, it is making my heart skip a couple of beats too, seeing them like this...


    Almost two minutes later Nikki stops indulging herself and wipes her mouth with a huge blush on her face. ¡°S-sorry you had to see that, but sometimes I just can¡¯t hold myself¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I smile ¡°Were you really that hungry?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve not eaten the last 2 days.¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t you eat some snacks on the way?¡±


    ¡°I did, but human food just doesn¡¯t cut it. They taste well, but it doesn¡¯t fill me. And coupled with certain phases of the moon, my hunger just gets amplified.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s interesting.¡±


    ¡°Well, the moon is important for you too, Amicia.¡± Hilda turns herself back to the group, she probably hasn¡¯t been watching for the last couple of minutes. ¡°Being a lunar mage and all.¡±


    ¡°Now that you say it, I do feel a little bit more powerful today.¡±


    ¡°Yep, if I read it correctly on online forums, you generally get a bigger buff the fuller the moon is, with a slight debuff when there¡¯s a new moon.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I should probably pay more attention to that then!¡±


    ¡°You probably should.¡± Hilda smiles and pets me on the head.


    Talking about paying attention to certain things, I should probably pray to my Goddess Veanya, who I¡¯ve been neglecting quite a bit. Totally not because the author forgot about it, at all, I promise.


    I quickly say a little prayer to my Goddess, thanking her for the company I have, the body I received, and the holiest of holy things in the world, fish.


    I swear I could hear someone giggle a little about that last bit. Must¡¯ve been the wind.


    ¡°Are you ready, Amicia? We¡¯ve finished looting the bandits.¡± Hilda comes up to me and pats me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Pretty much, yeah.¡± I stand up from my knees and wipe off the dirt on my knees.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to really keep an eye open today, this area is pretty dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that.¡± I smile. ¡°Thanks again for protecting us.¡±


    ¡°No problem, kiddo.¡± Hilda moves to the front of our little group and leads us back to the road.


    While we are on the road, even though we see some movement in the trees a couple of times, it doesn¡¯t look like they are willing to engage our party at all.


    ¡°Do you think they are scared of us?¡± I ask Hilda, still keeping a good eye on the treeline.


    ¡°Hmm, perhaps, but I think they might be scouting us instead.¡±


    ¡°Uhm, you might be right about that.¡± ¨¦lise says, the sound of her sword unsheathing from her scabbard.


    In the distance we see the silhouette of a blockade, together with a couple of carts torched by the side of the road.


    As we come closer we see a guy confidently standing up on top of the wooden blockade. His compadres standing closely behind the top of it or in make-shift bunkers, skillfully crafted inside of it.


    ¡°Halt!¡± He yells out. ¡°My name is Billiam the Black-Blooded Bastard, and I am here to relieve you of your goods!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, interesting.¡± Nikki addresses Billiam, with her head slightly cocked.


    Billiam¡¯s confident pose crumbles, nervously starting to shift his weight from one foot to the other. ¡°W-what¡¯s interesting? Out with it!¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s probably nothing. I don¡¯t want to comment on your banditting or anything, what do I know of it.¡± Nikki waves his question away.


    ¡°E-exactly! B-but still, out with it!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that you made your barricade out of wood.¡±


    ¡°So? What does that have to do wi¡­.¡± WOOSH


    A fireball, shot out of Nikki''s hand with a flick of her finger sets the center part of the barricade alight. Followed by a stream of flame, shot to both side¡¯s of said barricade out of the palms of her hands. Some of the bandits who didn¡¯t immediately collapse to the deluge of fire, start running hecticly around with their clothes ablaze.


    ¡°Holy mother Veanya.¡± I let out with a gasp.


    A couple off guys do come out of the woods to our sides but Hilda and ¨¦lise quickly take care of those. Two of them approach ¨¦lise, one of their blades parried by her shield, while she cuts them both down in one fell swoop. Her sword cutting through their padded linen armour like its butter.


    The people approaching Hilda fared even worse, not even reaching her before getting hit by her throwing knives.


    ¡°Well, I guess that was that.¡± ¨¦lise sheats her sword again once it¡¯s clear there¡¯s no more enemies trying to approach us.


    ¡°Job well-done Nikki.¡± Hilda walks over and gives her a fist-bump.


    ¡°Thanks, I wanted to test out my flamethrower skill!¡±


    ¡°You tested it pretty well I¡¯d say.¡± I giggle. ¡°Too bad we didn¡¯t get to hear his big bad evil guy speech.¡±


    ¡°Amicia is right, it was terribly rude of you to interrupt the guy, Nikki.¡± ¨¦lise laughs out.


    ¡°Billiam the big bad evil guy, everyone shudders in fear once they hear his name!¡± Nikki mimics an overly dramatic narrator. Even Hilda can¡¯t keep her laughter in at that one.


    After this short interlude with Billiam we quickly search the bandits for useful items and move on. The rest of the day is pretty calm in comparison, until I finally get the smell of salmon in my nose.


    ¡°Hilda! Hilda! Hilda!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know, we are basically in Sinmaa now. We can set up camp next to one of the streams since it''s already getting late.¡±


    ¡°Yaaay!¡± I start sprinting of the road towards the sound of water and the divine smell of fish.


    ¡°I guess Amicia is leading the way.¡± Nikki giggles.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you teach her how to fish while we set up then?¡± ¨¦lise proposes.


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Nikki quickly follows suit.


    It doesn¡¯t take long to catch a couple of fish with my cat-like reflexes.


    Sadly enough I did get quite soaked in the process.


    ¡°Get out of those wet clothes and sit down next to the fire Amicia, before you get a cold.¡± Hilda sternly points towards one of the tents so I can undress there.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hand you some of my reserve clothes until yours are dry.¡±


    ¡°Yes mom.¡±


    Hilda smirks. ¡°Quickly now or you won¡¯t get supper.¡±


    ¡°Nooooooo.¡± I follow Hilda¡¯s wise advise and quickly get into the change of clothes she handed me while undressing. After which I sit down next to her.


    She takes out a blanket and puts it over me.


    ¡°Thanks Hilda.¡± I give her a quick hug.


    ¡°No problem kitten.¡± She smiles. ¡°Are you mentally prepared for your date?¡±


    I blush ¡°A-after Billiam I¡¯m prepared for everything!¡±


    Hilda laughs. ¡°I¡¯m sure you are. Call your sis if something happens okay?¡±


    I nod. ¡°I will.¡±


    She pets my head and scratches behind my ear as I lean against her. Softly purring while the sun goes down.


    ¡°Say Hilda?¡± I glance up to her.


    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Do you play any other games on the Machina?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do.¡± She tilts her head at me. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I was just wondering, I¡¯ve only ever played this game so I was a bit curious.¡±


    ¡°Well, I mainly play this one too. There¡¯s a couple more I play though occasionally. If you ever want to you can join me in one of my play sessions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± I smile.


    ¡°So, are you ready being all lovey-dovey you two?¡± ¨¦lise says, holding the prepared fish on a plate. ¡°Already cheating on your girlfriend I see.¡±


    ¡°Hilda is family! Cuddling with family is allowed!¡± I grab hold of Hilda even tighter.


    ¡°Just pulling your tail sis.¡± ¨¦lise laughs and hands over the fish.


    The taste of it is unbelievable. Fish is usually already divine, but nothing can beat this freshness.


    Hilda finishes her food and gets up from the log we were sitting on.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to ward the camp so we won¡¯t have to worry about getting killed in our sleep.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t we have done that for our other camps?¡± I ask, a bit confused to why we were doing guard duties the nights before if we could just ward.


    ¡°We could¡¯ve, but I only bought one of them in town. They are consumables and not the cheapest ones at that.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°And since we normally have someone keeping watch at all times, it¡¯s not really necessary anyway. But now we all need to sleep.¡±


    ¡°As long as the ward is up nothing can enter or leave within a 10 meter radius.¡± ¨¦lise starts cleaning up the rest of the food.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡± I put my plate aside as well and let out a big yawn. ¡°Do you mind if I already go to bed?¡±


    ¡°Nah, you can go ahead Amicia, I¡¯ll be going to bed in a bit too.¡± Hilda waves me goodnight.


    ¡°Okay! Goodnight everyone. I love you all.¡±


    ¡°We love you too Amicia.¡± Nikki waves too.


    ¡°Lots and lots.¡± ¨¦lise sends me a blow kiss.


    Once I¡¯m in my bedroll, fatigue quickly takes me.


    ¡°Sam, here I come.¡± I whisper to myself before I finally fall asleep.

 Chapter 23: Blue

    I wake up with a tiny fur ball on my chest. ¡°Hey there little Pocky, how was your night?¡± I say while taking off the D3u5XMachina. She immediately starts pawing my breasts.


    ¡°Oh I see, that¡¯s what you¡¯ve been doing, huh?¡± I giggle as I softly take her from my chest and put her on my bed instead.


    She meows.


    ¡°I¡¯d love to let you go at it for a bit but I¡¯ve got a date to prepare for. Want to help me pick which clothes to wear?¡±


    She meows again.


    ¡°Great!¡± I walk over to the closet and start browsing through all the clothes we recently bought. I take out the white dress with the birdies and the thin leather belt.


    ¡°Maybe this one with a pair of light green heels?¡±


    Pocky tilts her head inquisitively.


    ¡°It fits the colour of the birdies.¡±


    She nods.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go with this then.¡±


    I smile and give Pocky a little pet on her head. Opening the door to the hallway a little bit more, I can¡¯t hear any activity yet. ¡°Nikki and my sis are probably still resting in bed.¡± I look over to Pocky. ¡°I¡¯ll take a quick shower, it won¡¯t take long I promise.¡± I take the dress with me to the bathroom and start showering. I¡¯m actually pretty nervous for my date with Sam but at least the warm water helps me to calm my nerves a bit. I still can¡¯t really get used to water flowing over my new body though. You¡¯d think that after a couple of days in the real world and almost a week in-game I would already be accustomed to my new self ... I do very much prefer this body though! I smile to myself and continue washing up. Just a side note for all cat girls out there, washing your tail with shampoo and conditioner is very important if you want to keep the fluffiness intact. And don¡¯t forget to clean your ears!


    After having dried and combed myself, tail included, I put on my dress and head towards the living room.


    ¡°Hey there Amicia. Looking good, girl!¡± I get greeted by Nikki who is preparing breakfast in bed for my sister.


    ¡°Thanks Nikki! And good morning to you too. ¨¦lise hasn¡¯t gotten out of bed yet?¡±


    ¡°Nope, she¡¯s gonna stay in it for a bit longer, the lazy bum,¡± she giggles.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re totally enabling her.¡± I laugh and look at the assortment of food Nikki put on the plate.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I am.¡± Nikki smiles. ¡°I already gave Pocky her food so you can just relax a bit before heading to your date.¡±


    ¡°Okido!¡± Nikki passes me with the plate of food and leaves me alone in the kitchen.


    I quickly grab myself some chocolate milk and get a small plate with bread with some charcuterie.


    Prusciutto di Parma is soooo gooood. I slip a slice of it into my mouth, the meat basically melting on my tongue. Hmmmmm. Thank you for the food, Veanya¡­ Why did I just thank my Goddess in real life? Heh, I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter much, if magic is real, maybe so is she, so I better stay on her good side.


    I shrug, head over to the sofa and plop myself down in the corner, opening the message app on my phone the moment I¡¯m settled in.


    ¡°Heyaa, ready for today? <3¡± I send to Sam.


    A few seconds later I get a reply. ¡°Of course! Also, is that a cute little heart I see? uwu¡±


    ¡°Maybe :3 I see you are one of those uwu-people.¡±


    ¡°Maybe :3¡±


    ¡°Lol.¡±


    We continue texting each other with some small talk for a little bit longer while I¡¯m slowly eating my breakfast.


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint you Amicia, but I still need to get my stuff ready before the game :<¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, make sure you don¡¯t forget your shoes are something like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s never happened before!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Okay, maybe once, but that was when I was little.¡±


    ¡°I mean, you are still not that tall, I¡¯m even taller than you!¡±


    ¡°Hey, you were wearing heels last time, that doesn¡¯t count!¡±


    ¡°:p¡±


    ¡°I really need to prepare now, bbye!¡±


    ¡°Okayy, I will see you before your game starts!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it :)¡±


    ¡°Me too ^-^¡±


    Somewhere in another part of town~


    ¡°Aaaaaaaargh she¡¯s just tooo cuuuuute!!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, you raging lesbian! And get ready for your game!¡±


    ¡°Okay mom!¡±


    When I¡¯m done with my food I head back to the sofa to play on the gaming console, my sister and Nikki joining in ten minutes later.


    ¡°Had a nice breakfast?¡± I ask my sister, while Nikki takes the other controller.


    ¡°Yep! My sweetie knows what I like.¡± She smirks.


    ¡°Indeed I do.¡± Nikki smiles. ¡°Anyway, open split screen so I can whoop your cat girl butt.¡±


    ¡°Waaah!¡± shocked by Nikki¡¯s sudden competitivity. Now that I think about it, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever played against Nikki. I glance over to my sister.


    ¡°She¡¯s surprisingly good at this game, even though she isn¡¯t much of a console player.¡±


    ¡°Yeeeesh.¡±


    One solid asswhooping later¡­


    ¡°Holy fishsticks. How did you even do that.¡±


    Nikki dusts off her shoulder. ¡°Pure skill.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just button mashing.¡± My sister whispers in my ear.


    Nikki taps the controler lightly on ¨¦lise¡¯s head ¡°Is that jealousy I hear?¡± she laughs.


    ¡°Nah, I could easily take you on.¡±


    I can already see the writing on the wall and hand my controller to my sis and head back to the kitchen to get some water ¡°Good luck, sis.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± (Spoiler alert, she did.)


    After our little gaming session, it¡¯s almost time for me to leave for my date.


    ¡°Hey Amicia, do call us if anything goes wrong, okay?¡± Nikki hands over my choker.


    ¡°Yep, I already promised Hilda I¡¯d do that.¡±


    ¡°And no lewding on the first date!¡± My sister adds, with a smirk.


    ¡°Y-you know I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± My face goes fiery red.


    ¡°We know,¡± she laughs.


    I put on my choker, grab my purse, and do one last tour through the house, making sure I didn¡¯t forget anything. Pocky is sleeping on my bed, so I give her a quick pet and a kiss on her head before I go out. ¡°See you later, Pocky.¡±


    She meows goodbye too.


    My sister and Nikki both give me a kiss before I leave.


    Luckily the sun is shining pretty brightly outside, which makes it pretty warm for a late-October day.


    It¡¯s actually pretty fun wearing a dress, feeling the wind flutter with it while I¡¯m walking, and the soft breeze on my legs. I do get a couple of stares from some random guys. Sadly you aint the right gender boys, although your parents should¡¯ve taught you that staring is incredibly rude. The trip to uni doesn¡¯t take terribly long, trams are incredibly useful to get somewhere fast if you don¡¯t have an electric bike lying around and soon I make my way towards the gymnasium. It¡¯s only a short trip through the park in front of our campus but I check my phone to be sure. 13:15¡­ I guess I¡¯m a bit early, teehee. That¡¯s when I suddenly see Sam sitting around on a bench in her tracksuit, chatting with some guy. She waves at me, she must¡¯ve seen me coming.


    ¡°Wow, you are early!¡± She yells out and stands up from the bench when I approach.


    ¡°Hehe, I might¡¯ve been a little overenthusiastic.¡± I pat the back of my head.


    ¡°Oh I see! You look beautiful by the way! I really like the bird and cat combo.¡±


    I blush ¡°T-thanks.¡± That''s when I look over to the guy who was sitting next to Sam just a moment ago but also stood up when Sam did so. He¡¯s pretty handsome, just as tall as Sam with short styled hair, dyed blue and has the same university jacket Sam had on when we first met.


    ¡°Hey there.¡± He smiles and waves when he sees me looking over.


    ¡°H-hi!¡±


    ¡°Oh, this is my friend.¡± Sam adds.


    ¡°And that friend''s name is Thomas.¡± Thomas laughs out. ¡°Me and Sam used to be on the same team together. I take it you are the notorious Amicia?¡±


    I blush ¡°Notorious?¡±


    ¡°Oh, she couldn¡¯t shut up about the girl she met at the mall, and when she finally got your name..¡±


    ¡°Shushh! Don¡¯t tell her!¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s just say she was incredibly enthusiastic.¡± He winks.


    Sam¡¯s borderline devastated reaction makes me giggle.


    ¡°Anyway, I gotta go now, my part-time job isn¡¯t going to do itself.¡± Thomas waves goodbye and leaves us alone.


    ¡°He looks nice.¡± I say while still waving at Thomas.


    ¡°Ye, he¡¯s one of my best friends, I¡¯ve known him for ages.¡± Sam smiles.


    ¡°Oh cool!¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°By the way, would you like to get some snacks before the game? I¡¯ve got like 10 minutes before I need to go to the locker room so we can go buy you some now. It¡¯s on me of course.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± I smile and we are on our way to the gymnasium¡¯s store.


    Maybe they have fish and chips?

 Chapter 24: Red

    ¡°So, what would you like?¡± Sam asked while we were browsing the many different snack options.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I would¡¯ve liked some fish and chips, but it looks like they don¡¯t have any,¡± I pout.


    She laughs ¡°You sure do like your fish, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah.¡±


    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you try that?¡± Sam points at another customer who walks away with fries and what looks like fried meatballs.


    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Fries, obviously.¡± She giggles.


    I tap my hand on her head. ¡°I meant the fried meat baka.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh. Those are called bitterballen, it¡¯s something Dutch and Belgian immigrants brought here during the Great Immigration. It¡¯s pretty tasty - I¡¯d say it¡¯s one of my favourite snacks.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think I¡¯ve heard of those! My family is originally from Belgium, but my sister and I never really got in touch with a big part of the culture.¡±


    ¡°I guess that explains your French last name.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I reply while walking over to the counter.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°To order the stuff you told me about, I¡¯m curious to how it tastes now.¡±


    ¡°Haha, alright, I¡¯ll pay for you.¡±


    ¡°You know you don¡¯t have to, right?¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. But you are here because I asked you to be.¡± She smiles and takes out her wallet and orders for me.


    It doesn¡¯t take that long before the order is ready.


    ¡°Should I show you where the grandstands are?¡±


    ¡°Yesh pwease.¡± I say, already with a bitterbal in my mouth. They are actually surprisingly tasty.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Yesh!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good! They are even better with ketchup.¡± She smiles and starts leading the way.


    It¡¯s only a two-minute walk towards the grandstands, the gymnasium itself is a bit smaller than I expected and the stands have room for like 100 people maximum.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± I say, debating whether I should put another bitterbal in my mouth or save them for a bit later.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sam asks worryingly.


    ¡°I expected the place to be bigger.¡± I look around the room a bit more. ¡°It looks a lot bigger from the outside.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because this is only one sport court. There¡¯s a couple more. We even have an Olympic pool!¡±


    ¡°Oh wow!¡±


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s completely roofed with a skylight which is incredible when it¡¯s a bit cloudy.¡±


    ¡°It definitely sounds cool.¡±


    ¡°I can take you there once...if you want of course.¡± Sam rubs the back of her head nervously.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it closed to public?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. Well, obviously when there¡¯s contests going on it is. But when there aren¡¯t any going on, it¡¯s free at all times. They even open at night! Not a lot of people know it¡¯s open to everyone so it¡¯s never really crowded. I¡¯ve had the pool all to myself a couple of times.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d definitely be interested in that.¡± I smile, making Sam blush a little.


    ¡°G-great! I¡¯ll have to get dressed real fast now or the coach will be angry at me. See you in a bit!¡±


    ¡°Okido!¡± I wave her goodbye, almost making her trip on the edge of the grandstand.


    While I¡¯m waiting for the game to start a couple more people come in, including a couple of guys who come sitting a bit behind me.


    ¡°Which teams are playing today?¡±


    ¡°I have no clue, dude. But it doesn¡¯t really matter. Seeing girls play is always nice.¡±


    ¡°Even though they suck at the game.¡± They both start laughing.


    Oh great, it¡¯s those kind of people¡­


    I see some other people in the grandstands staring daggers at them, but no one says a word.


    Not long after that the teams slowly start entering the field, including Sam. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen her wearing shorts, and I notice one of her legs is completely made out of metal, almost identical to the other in all but colour.


    That¡¯s a pretty neat feat of bionics if you ask me.


    She quickly walks over to me, when I hear the twats behind me speak up.


    ¡°Dude , they have a cyborg, that¡¯s not fair for the other team, is it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, also what a shame, she would be a cute girl as well but sadly she¡¯s a freak. Fucking robot.¡±


    By the painful look on Sam¡¯s face she¡¯s clearly heard their remarks.


    Anger fills my mind. ¡°Excuse me, what the hell do you think you are saying!?¡± I immediately stand up, turn around and yell in their faces.


    ¡°Who the hell do you think you are, coming in here, judging everyone by their looks? Objectifying everyone and being incredibly rude and disgusting? Do you have any idea what she has gone through? That maybe your shitty remarks might hurt her or bring up painful memories?¡±


    ¡°Hey chill ou¡­¡±


    ¡°NO! Get the fuck out of my sight!¡± A red haze goes over my vision as I feel power surging through my body, especially my right hand getting incredibly warm. The aura in front of me, changing dramatically. I see fear rising in the eyes of the two fucknuggets.


    ¡°W-w-we are sorry!¡± they exclaim in choir before hastily standing up. ¡°L-l-let¡¯s go.¡± They quickly run of before I get to say anything else but I keep furiously staring after them until a hand on my shoulder pulls me out.


    ¡°Amicia, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The anger subsides in an instant, making me hear my surroundings again, apparently the other supporters and even some basketball players have started applauding my actions without me noticing.


    ¡°Whew, for a second I thought you were going to kill them.¡± Sam sighs out with relief. ¡°Those idiots come to the games of girls¡¯ clubs all the time. I think this time might¡¯ve been the last, going by their faces.¡±


    ¡°Uhh..¡± I¡¯m still pretty confused to what happened, I¡¯ve never felt that kind of rage before in my entire life. ¡°I hope so..¡± I look back at the exit.


    ¡°Hey Amicia?¡± Sam asks for my attention, and as I turn my face back to her, she gives me a kiss on my cheek. ¡°Thanks for defending me.¡± I start blushing furiously, which makes Sam giggle as she walks back to her team. A few of her teammates who watched the kiss are whistling and are cheering her on. ¡°Woohoo! You go, girl!¡±. This time it¡¯s clear Sam is a bit flustered by it as well.


    I¡¯m still a bit paralysed by her kiss as I sit myself back down on my seat, popping another bitterbal in my mouth. Delicious.


    Five minutes later the game finally starts. I¡¯m not going to claim I know anything about competitive basketball at all, but I can definitely tell Sam¡¯s team is the better one on the field. Well, at least they¡¯ve scored more points than the others. But I¡¯ve been forced to watch enough sports programs to know commentators sometimes disagree, saying the opposite team clearly deserved victory. I mean, how can they deserve it if they lost? But again, what do I know. At halftime the score is 36 to 25 for the home team. Sadly for the other team their lucky break didn¡¯t come in the second half either, ending the game on a 72 to 52 score. Also I ran out of bitterballen ten minutes after half-time, which is very sad. At least I still have the fries to nom on I guess.


    ¡°So, what did you think of the game?¡± A sweaty and exhausted Sam comes up to the grandstands.


    ¡°I think you all did a very good job.¡± I smile, trying to hide my total ignorance of the sport.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know much about basketball do you?¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Nope.¡± I smile. ¡°Do you think you did well?¡± I return her question.


    ¡°We definitely didn¡¯t do badly, I think a lot of us where a bit fired up because of your actions to be honest. But I think that also counted for the other team.¡±


    ¡°Yep! Thanks for that, it¡¯s nice to have the crowd support a nice atmosphere.¡± One of the opposing team¡¯s members comes over to the stands as well. ¡°Well played by the way.¡± She extends her hand towards Sam.


    ¡°Same to you.¡± Sam smiles as she shakes the girl¡¯s hand.


    The other girl waves goodbye as her team leaves for the changing rooms.


    ¡°I probably should get a shower too. Meet you outside?¡±


    ¡°Sam, c¡¯mon! Stop drooling all over your girlfriend!¡± one of her team members shouts.


    ¡°Geez, shut up Max!¡± She yells back with a blush on her face.


    I start giggling. ¡°You can go. I¡¯ll wait on the bench where we met earlier today.¡±


    ¡°Okay, cya in a bit!¡±


    As I wander outside of the gymnasium towards our meeting spot I can¡¯t help but think about the incident with the two idiots.


    Whatever that was, I hope it won¡¯t happen again, luckily Sam was there to stop me this time. But if she wasn¡¯t, I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done...

 Chapter 25: Green

    I make my way towards the bench and sit down so I can watch my surroundings a bit. The trees, some still green, gently swaying side to side in the wind. Losing the occasional leaf along the way. The park being very quiet, apart from the occasional cyclists in the distance, no one really passes by. What a shame, people should really go out a bit more when it¡¯s such good weather outside. Not that I can really blame them though. Just a week ago I wouldn¡¯t have voluntarily gone outside either. Such is the power of feeling comfy in your body¡­ I gently touch the cat-shaped silver ring on my choker and smile to myself. Thanks Granny and Veanya... Now that I think about it, wasn¡¯t Granny the person who proposed to start praying to Veanya? What if¡­


    ¡°Sorry for the wait, Amicia.¡± Sam¡¯s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. ¡°Hope you didn¡¯t have to wait that long.¡±


    I look at the time on my phone. ¡°Not really. Only had to wait 15 minutes¡­ How did you shower that fast?¡±


    ¡°Trade secret.¡± Sam puts her index finger in front of her mouth and winks.


    I laugh ¡°Want to go somewhere?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s the same for you I¡¯d like to stay here for a while, I¡¯m pretty exhausted from the game.¡± she plops herself down next to me, a little too far away for my liking.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± I say while I shuffle closer to her on the bench. Her body tenses up, clearly betraying her surprise. ¡°Is it not okay?¡± I ask, looking up into her eyes.


    ¡°Ah! No no! Go ahead!¡± She blushes furiously.


    I rest my head on her shoulder. ¡°Payback for that sudden kiss you gave me earlier.¡±


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re even then.¡± She smiles as her body relaxes. ¡°I just hope my teammates don¡¯t pass by.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Embarrassed to be seen together with me?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, they saw me kiss you already¡­..¡± She pauses,  ¡°It¡¯s just that they are going to start teasing you as well, or tell you even more embarrassing stories about me¡­¡±


    ¡°About escapades with other girls?¡±


    She laughs, ¡°More like about me being a useless lesbian. You¡¯re actually the first girl I¡¯ve had the guts to ask out¡­¡±


    I look back over to her to see she¡¯s clearly blushing again. ¡°I¡¯m glad you did.¡± I smile, making her blush even more obvious.


    ¡°T-thanks again for defending me by the way.¡±


    ¡°No problem, those douches were being incredibly rude. What the heck were they thinking, talking trash about something like that. It¡¯s none of their bloody business!¡± The moment I think back about it, the anger starts flowing back, but it immediately dissipates as  Sam massages my right shoulder with her hand. Oh Goddess, that feels so good. AMICIA, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON¡¯T START PURRING!


    ¡°Uh, Amicia, what was that?¡±


    Oh heck, I did it. I fake a cough. ¡°Sorry, I got phlegm in my throat.


    ¡°Oh, I hope it¡¯s nothing bad, it¡¯s not because of that sickness you had, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah no, no. It¡¯s totally unrelated.¡± I smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s good... So you don¡¯t want to know?¡±


    ¡°Know about what?¡±


    ¡°About my leg...¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me anything if you don¡¯t want to, Sam.¡± I take my head off her shoulder and look into her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange? People always look weird at me when they first find out, and..¡± Her voice gets a bit shaky.


    ¡°Sam.¡± I interrupt her. ¡°To me you are, and will always be, Sam, the cool girl I literally and figuratively fell for. Do you have an amazingly cool looking leg? Sure! But that doesn¡¯t take anything away from you Sam. You are just different from ¡®normal people¡¯, but what is normality, really?¡±


    Sam looks a bit shocked. Maybe I overdid it a little?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°D-did you just confess to me?¡± Oh


    I blush, ¡°I guess I did, but if it wasn¡¯t clear I like you, you probably should buy some glasses or something. I don¡¯t pu-, I mean, rest my head on any girl''s shoulder, y¡¯know?¡±


    She laughs. ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°But if you want to tell me, that¡¯s fine too. I don¡¯t mind either way.¡±


    ¡°Well the story isn¡¯t that special really¡­¡± I start listening to her attentively. ¡°When I was in my second year of high-school I got involved in a car accident on our way to a basketball game, it was pretty bad and the docbots had to amputate my leg to save my life. At first, I had to go through life with older prosthetic technology since my parents didn¡¯t have that much money. So basketball was out of the question. On top of that people in my school were pretty shit about it too, my class was fine, but the others¡­¡±


    ¡°Kids are cruel to people who are different¡­¡±


    She nods. ¡°Well, then one day someone found out I was immensely into basketball and donated money specifically so I could get prosthetics that allowed me to play again.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Do you know who it was?¡±


    ¡°No, they said she preferred to be anonymous, the only thing I know is that it was an elderly lady.¡±


    Huh. It must be a coincidence, right?


    ¡°But anyway, that¡¯s my story.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for telling me.¡± I give her a quick hug


    ¡°No problem, I wanted to tell you earlier, but I ran into Thomas so I kinda forgot.¡±


    ¡°You derp.¡± I use my advantageous hugging position to poke her side.


    ¡°Teehee.¡± Sam sticks out her tongue. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m getting a bit hungry, do you want to get some take-away and eat it at my place?¡±


    It is getting pretty late, while those bitterballen were yummy, I was already in the mood for some more food. ¡°Yesshh, if that¡¯s alright with your parents of course!¡±


    ¡°I will text them, but it should be fine.¡± She takes out her phone and sends them a message. It only takes a couple of seconds for her notification sound to alert us of a reply.


    ¡°Wow, that was fast.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my mom always keeps her phone on her. Just in case.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and what¡¯s the verdict?¡±


    ¡°She says it¡¯s okay, as long as we bring some for them as well.¡± she laughs.


    ¡°So what do you want to get?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of Chinese actually. I really have a craving for some sweet & sour chicken with fried rice.¡±


    ¡°Hmm... I ate Asian two days ago, but it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? We can always go somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°No, no, really, it¡¯s fine. For me it¡¯s actually longer ago than two days, even though it¡¯s only been two days ago¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sam has a really confused look on her face.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been playing Turn of Destiny again, and everytime we go in there, it feels like we spend three days in it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so for you it feels like it¡¯s eight days ago?¡±


    ¡°Five actually, but that¡¯s because we only played yesterday.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Wow, I have a really hard time trying to imagine how that would feel like.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it really messes with your brain a little. First time I woke up after playing the game, the first moments were in complete slow motion because of the difference in time-flow.¡±


    ¡°So, it works kind of similar to me looking at you making the whole world slow down because of your pure cuteness?¡± She winks.


    ¡°Maybe a bit.¡± I nuzzle her cheek and stand up.


    Sam does the same and offers me her hand which I gladly accept.


    She pulls me a bit closer and gives me a kiss on my cheek.


    Why is it always my cheek?


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad I met you, Amic¡­¡± Her eyes go open wide as I interrupt her sentence with a full on kiss on her lips. This is the first time I¡¯ve ever kissed someone, but with Sam it just feels so natural, so right. She pulls me even closer to her, making her body press against mine and embraces me with her toned arms. She makes me feel so safe, it¡¯s like she can make this kitten melt into a puddle in an instant.


    Sadly the kiss eventually comes to an end.


    ¡°Wow. That was amazing.¡± Sam gasps for air. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that at all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it.¡± I wink. ¡°Anyway, now, food. All this flirting made me even more hungry. And I can¡¯t eat you... W-wait that sounded wrong.¡±


    Sam bites her lip as her face turns red ¡°H-haha, sure thing, let¡¯s go.¡±


    We start walking hand in hand towards the closest Chinese restaurant while I quickly shoot a message to my sister that I will be home a bit later than expected.


    Hmmm. What should I order?

 Chapter 26: Cartwheel

    Our walk to the Chinese restaurant happens in almost complete silence. Sam and I are just enjoying each others company without any obligation to speak. Two girls walking hand in hand, through the amazing scenery of the university park. Occasionally Sam pulls me a little bit closer or slightly squeezes my hand; she¡¯s such a sweetheart. It only takes us ten minutes to reach the restaurant and as we enter the hostess greats us immediately.


    ¡°Welcome misses, oh Sam, Nice to see you again!¡±


    ¡°Hey Miss Zhou, nice to see you again as well!¡±


    Miss Zhou looks over to me and smiles. ¡°And is this your date?¡±


    ¡°H-how did you know?¡± Sam sputters.


    She laughs and points at her hand.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Sam rubs the back of her head. ¡°We are indeed on a date.¡±


    I shyly nod in confirmation.


    ¡°Would the lovely couple like to have a table for two?¡± Miss Zhou smiles.


    ¡°Not right now, we are just going to order some take-away; my parents also want some food and I better not keep them waiting that long.¡±


    She laughs ¡°That¡¯s true. But be sure to come in for a table next time though. We have some new all-you-can-eat offers that¡¯d be a perfect fit for a dinner date.¡± She winks at me, making me blush quite a bit and heads over towards the counter. ¡°So what would you like to order?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. For my parents the usual and for me the fried rice with the sweet and sour fried chicken, with a little pot of curry as well please.¡±


    ¡°And for your lovely lady?¡±


    I actually haven¡¯t really figured out what I want to eat yet but what Sam ordered does sound really good. ¡°I-I would like the same as Sam please.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hand over your order to the chef and bring you some complimentary snacks.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Miss Zhou!¡± Sam thanks her as she walks off.


    ¡°You seem to know each other quite well,¡± I say as we go to sit down at one of the tables near the front desk.


    ¡°Yeah, my family has been close friends with hers since they moved here a couple of years ago. I also help them with delivery service from time to time to earn some extra money.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty neat. She¡¯s definitely a bit pushy though.¡±


    Sam rubs her head awkwardly. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s a little bit too preoccupied with my love life, but she¡¯s a good person.¡±


    ¡°Did she know you were gay, you know, before we walked in?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s not like I try to hide it. This part of town is pretty diverse.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± I smile, but I can¡¯t help but think back about my life with my ¡®parents¡¯. A shiver runs through my spine.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Sam asks with a concerned look on her face. Clearly that shiver was pretty obvious.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Sam grabs my hand and gently squeezes it. ¡°You know you can always tell me, right?¡±


    ¡°I was just thinking about the past, everything is fine now though, really.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± She smiles.


    My hand massage gets interrupted by Miss Zhou placing a bowl of prawn crackers in between us. The smell of which is making my mouth water almost instantly.


    ¡°Your order will be ready in ten minutes.¡± Miss Zhou smiles and leaves us be again.


    The moment she left I immediately grab for the crackers.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s pretty hungry.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Leave me be, I just love seafood.¡± I stick out my tongue.


    ¡°Oh my god, could you be even more catlike?!¡± She continues laughing. But her comment does put me on guard.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, w-when we were kissing¡­¡± Sam lowers her voice. ¡°Weren¡¯t your canines a bit¡­ big?¡±


    I immediately cover my mouth and swallow the cracker I was nomming on.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s a¡­. Something genetic. It runs through the family.¡± I really should pay more attention to what I¡¯m doing, I just hope she didn¡¯t feel my ears when I was rubbing my head on her.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Sam tilts her head. Clearly not completely buying my excuse. She appears to be in deep thoughts for a minute before finally shrugging. ¡°Ockham¡¯s razor, I guess.¡±


    ¡°H-how far is your house from here?¡± I ask to distract her a little.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s just around the corner, so we won¡¯t have to carry the food that far!¡±


    While we¡¯re waiting I ask her a couple more questions about the neighborhood. Apparently this was one of the parts of the city where the less affluent people moved in during the Great Immigration. Because of the very diverse backgrounds and nationalities it quickly became the place to be for foodies. On top of that, it also became a safe haven for people who didn¡¯t fit in in the cis-heteronormative society. Luckily, the idea of tolerance has spread throughout most of the city over the years, even though it clearly hasn¡¯t reached the suburbs yet¡­


    ¡°Here is your order!¡± Miss Zhou hands us a cardboard box with our food and Sam takes out her wallet to pay.


    ¡°20 euros will do.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the food, Miss Zhou!¡± Sam smiles while she gives her a wink in return.


    We leave the Chinese restaurant and head towards Sam¡¯s home. I tried to carry the box with the food for a while but Sam noticed I was struggling so she took it from me instead. I really should work a bit on those muscles.


    ¡°I need to hand you the box back for a second Amicia.¡± Sam stops and hands it over.


    ¡°Why the sudden stop?¡±


    ¡°Because I need to grab my key, we are here, unless you want to keep walking for a bit of course..¡± She winks.


    ¡°Ooooh.¡± I quickly inspect the building, it looks similar in size to the apartment building my sister lives in but it¡¯s clearly built a bit earlier. Perhaps in the crazy ¡®20s? Architecture was never my best course, especially everything after 2000.


    My thought process gets interrupted by Sam taking the box back from me. ¡°Are you coming or are you going to admire the architecture a bit more.¡± She smirks.


    ¡°H-how did you...?¡±


    ¡°You told me you were an art student remember?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right! I did.¡± I stick out my tongue and quickly follow her inside.


    ¡°It¡¯s on the second floor, so we don¡¯t need to use the elevator. Could go ahead of me to open the door?¡± She clumsily sticks out the key from under the box.


    ¡°Sure thing!¡± We start heading up, me up front with Sam following close behind.


    ¡°It¡¯s the door on the left by the way.¡± Sam says, anticipating my next question.


    ¡°Good think you told me otherwise we¡¯d end up at your neighbours.¡±


    ¡°Yep, and they have a dog.¡±


    ¡°Eeeeeep.¡± I fake a yelp, making Sam chuckle.


    I arrive at the door and masterfully open the doo¡­it won¡¯t open.


    ¡°Oh, you need to like, push and turn the key at the same time.¡±


    I try to do so but the only thing I manage to do is make a dull thud.


    ¡°Saaaam. It¡¯s not openiiing.¡±


    ¡°Just try again, it just needs some practice.¡±


    When I¡¯m go for another push the door suddenly swings open, making me lose my balance.


    ¡°Oh sh¡­¡± I instinctively put my hands in front of me and push off with my legs to get more momentum, making me cartwheel into the hallway behind the door.


    When I¡¯m back on my feet I see Sam gasping at me with an open mouth.


    ¡°Woow, that was amazing!¡±


    Next to her is standing the lady who opened the door for us, who I presume is Sam¡¯s mother.


    ¡°Amicia, I presume?¡± She grins.


    My face starts blushing immediately ¡°Y-yes ma¡¯am. N-nice to meet you.¡±


    Well, that¡¯s one way to make a first impression, I guess.

 Chapter 27: Cloud

    ¡°Can I just put the box on the living room table, mom?¡±


    ¡°Sure, go ahead. Can you help your dad with the plates as well?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± Sam swiftly removes her shoes and heads towards the adjacent room.


    Following Sam¡¯s example I start taking off my heels.


    ¡°Oh, you really don¡¯t have to take of your shoes if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Sam¡¯s mom interrupts me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± I smile. ¡°I would feel pretty awkward being the only one with shoes on.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, I understand. My name is Lucy by the way, but ¡°Sam¡¯s Mom¡± is fine with me as well.¡± She gives me a wink.


    ¡°Nice to meet you! I¡¯m Amicia, but you already knew that.¡±


    ¡°Sam likes to talk about what¡¯s happening in her life, so when she met a cute girl we were the first to hear of it.¡±


    Her comment makes me blush a little. ¡°I-I noticed.¡±


    Lucy leads me towards the living room where Sam and her dad are setting the table.


    ¡°So you are the person who stole my baby girl¡¯s heart?¡± Her dad smiles at me when I enter the room.


    ¡°Dad, please.¡± Sam disapprovingly shakes her head.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I won¡¯t tease her that much.¡±


    My blush still hasn¡¯t gone away and these comments aren¡¯t helping at all. ¡°T-thank you for letting me join you for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, any friend of Sam is free to visit whenever they want, girlfriends included.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, mom! You too?¡±


    ¡°I mean, she is your girlfriend right?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Sam looks over to me and I give her an enthusiastic nod which makes her blush quite a bit. ¡°She is.¡±


    ¡°Welcome to the family then, Amicia.¡± Lucy surprises me with a hug. I can¡¯t help but cry a little about how happy I am right now. Just last week I barely had anything that could be called a family. And now I have two.


    ¡°Sorry, my wife is a bit of a hugger.¡± Sam¡¯s dad apologizes.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t worry.¡± My voice is a bit raspy because of my emotions. ¡°I am too.¡± I smile, while a couple of tears run of my cheeks.


    ¡°Oh, sweet girl, why are you crying?¡± Lucy says with concern in her voice.


    I look over to Sam and the same concern is visible on her face as well.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s just that¡­ I think you¡¯re amazing parents¡­ My parents¡­ Let¡¯s just... I don¡¯t see them anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my¡­¡± Sam¡¯s mom hugs me even closer.


    ¡°Some parents should not be allowed to have children, like really.¡± I hear Sam¡¯s dad getting pretty angry.


    ¡°Dad¡­¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon Sam, that poor girl is basically traumatized because her parents. If you can even call them that.¡±


    Somewhere along the line I apparently started sobbing uncontrollably. I thought I pushed away my feelings for long enough so I wouldn¡¯t care anymore. I guess I didn¡¯t. And now it¡¯s just all coming out at once.


    ¡°Honey, can you get her some tissues?¡± Lucy calls out to her husband and I hear Sam running towards her room.


    Lucy releases me from her hug and starts wiping away my tears.


    ¡°Shhh¡­ It¡¯s all fine now, you are safe here. Aww, would look at that.¡± Lucy gives a smile to whatever is behind me.


    ¡°Amicia.¡± I feel something soft touch my cheek. ¡°You can hug him if you want.¡± Sam is standing there with the biggest teddy bear I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. But instead of the bear I go for Sam herself.


    ¡°Looks like you are her teddy now sweetie.¡±


    Sam drops her teddy and answers my hug, rubbing my back with her hand, calming me down quite a bit.


    She stands there holding me for a couple of minutes before she continues ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    I nod, not yet being able to speak without breaking my voice.


    ¡°Want to eat a bit? You must be starving. Mister Teddy can sit next to you if you like. I nod again and wipe my tears away. ¡°T-thanks. I¡¯m sorry for c-crying.¡± my voice cracks.


    Sam tightens her hug. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be sorry. Sometimes you need to cry to let it all out. Bottling up your emotions isn¡¯t healthy.¡± She swipes a bit of hair away that had fallen in front of my eyes. Finally she gives me a quick kiss on my cheek before letting me go.


    ¡°I¡¯ll sit to the other side of you so you are squished between me and Teddy.¡±


    She takes her teddy bear from the floor and places it at the dinner table. Which is surprisingly big for a family of three.


    ¡°We often have guests over so we opted for a bigger table.¡± Sam¡¯s dad smiles, probably having seen my confusion. ¡°My name is Carlos by the way.¡±


    ¡°N-nice to meet you too, sir.¡±


    He waves his hand. ¡°No need for formalities with me either.¡±


    I nod shyly and sit down next to Mr. Teddy just when Sam places down the last piece of cutlery. She gently rubs my back and sits down next to me as well.


    ¡°Let¡¯s dig in.¡± Sam¡¯s mom smiles and starts opening the packaged food from the box.


    It doesn¡¯t take long for our food to find a way to our plates, and luckily it¡¯s still quite hot. These boxes are made for delivering and keeping hot food hot after all.


    ¡°I personally like to put the sweet and sour sauce on top of my chicken, and the curry on my rice. It gives it a nice taste combination.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try it as well then.¡± I mimic Sam¡¯s movements and start pouring the sauces on my food.


    This actually tastes pretty darn good.


    ¡°Woah. It¡¯s so good!¡± I call out, still munching on a bit of food.


    ¡°I told ya.¡± She grins.


    It¡¯s clear Sam¡¯s parents are also enjoying their food quite a lot.


    ¡°Miss Zhou has the best Chinese restaurant in the city, without a doubt!¡± Carlos states. And honestly, I have to agree with him on that one. The other ones I¡¯ve tried were definitely not bad at all, but this is on a whole different level. We continue to eat our food until all plates are empty, but there¡¯s still plenty of food left in the boxes as well.


    ¡°We will just eat those tomorrow for lunch or something. Chinese restaurant always give enough food to eat for two days.¡± Carlos laughs.


    ¡°Girls, you can go and relax a little, we will load the dishwasher.¡± Lucy starts clearing away the plates.


    ¡°Thanks mom.¡± Sam smiles


    ¡°Are you sure mi¡­ Lucy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, definitely! Just go rest a bit sweetie, you look exhausted.¡±


    I didn¡¯t notice it up until now but I am in fact pretty tired. The emotional meltdown totally drained my energy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my room for a bit.¡± Sam calls me over.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything I wouldn¡¯t do in there.¡± Sam¡¯s dad calls out.


    ¡°Dad!¡±


    I giggle at Sam¡¯s reaction and follow her to the hallway and into her bedroom, taking Mr. Teddy along with me.


    Sam¡¯s room is definitely not what I expected, although it does have some equipment to train her body, her room is hot pink and has a load of plushies all over her room and in her 2-person bed.


    ¡°Wooow. Pink. Plushies!¡±


    ¡°I know I¡¯m not exactly feminine, but I like cute stuff okay.¡± She pouts.


    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly okay! I like your room a lot!¡± I walk over to a pile of plushies, crouch and start feeling their fur. ¡°Sooo soft.¡±


    When it¡¯s clear I¡¯m not making fun of her, Sam comes to my side an crouches down with me.


    ¡°These are the softest ones.¡± She picks up a couple of seal plushies and hands one over to me.


    ¡°Waaaah. It¡¯s like I¡¯m touching a cloud.¡±


    ¡°I know right.¡± Sam smiles and quickly looks away before turning her gaze back to me.


    She touches the other plushie¡¯s nose against my lips and looks into my eyes with a blush on her face. She lowers the seal and leans in quietly as excitement fills my chest. I squeeze the seal in my hands a little in anticipation, close my eyes and softly come forward until our lips meet. Sam leans a bit more into the kiss and softly pushes my back in the pile of plushies, my heart is going absolutely crazy. Her lips feel so warm, and almost just as soft as the plushie I just touched. Melting me into this little puddle of catgirl. Even though the kiss isn¡¯t intense, it is still completely drawing my breath away. It almost seems like an eternity before Sam pulls back.


    ¡°S-sorry for that, I couldn¡¯t hold myself back.¡± She whispers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry. I liked it. A lot.¡± I whisper back at her and giggle.


    She smiles ¡°That¡¯s good. Want to cuddle a bit in my bed?¡±


    I nod. ¡°That sounds great.¡±


    We get up and quickly hop onto Sam¡¯s bed, from one pile of plushies to the other. She puts her arm around me as I rest my head next to her neck. She¡¯s gently brushing through my hair as I slowly drift more and more to sleep.


    Soooo comforrrtable.


    When I open my eyes a few hours later, Sam is still awake.


    ¡°Hey there kitten, you were definitely purring.¡± She smiles.


    Oh F~

 Chapter 28: Mochi

    What am I supposed to do now? Do I lie...or?


    ¡°Uhm...no I wasn¡¯t.¡± I try to lie as I sit myself upright on Sam¡¯s bed, my heart pounding heavily in my chest.


    ¡°So you are saying you weren¡¯t purring for almost two hours straight while I was scratching your head?¡± Sam follows suit and sits herself right next to me. She¡¯s clearly not buying it, well that was to be expected¡­


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± I turn my gaze away from her, towards the pile of plushies next to her wall. Thinking about what to do. I should probably tell her, but not here...


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± I interrupt her and I sigh. ¡°Can we talk about this at my place?¡±


    Sam appears to be in thought for a couple of seconds.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust your parents or anything¡­ It¡¯s just that I want my sister to be there, just in case¡­¡± Just in case it goes wrong and she dumps me¡­


    She smiles, seamingly assured by my decision. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll tell my mom I¡¯ll walk you home.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for understanding.¡±


    she nods and crawls of her bed to go and warn her mom.


    In the meantime I take my phone and shoot my sister a message.


    ¡°Hey sis, I¡¯m coming home in 20 minutes or so. Sam¡¯s coming over too¡±


    It doesn¡¯t take long for her to reply back. ¡°Alright! How did the date go? ;)¡±


    ¡°Pretty good, but I have a bit of a problem¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°I fell asleep with Sam and apparently I was purring.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting for you. I¡¯ll prepare you some hot coco as well.¡±


    ¡°Thanks sis, you are the best.¡±


    ¡°I know ;)¡±


    I put my phone away, right when I hear footsteps coming back to the room.


    ¡°Do you want to go now Amicia?¡± Sam peaks her head through the door.


    I nod. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡±


    We head towards the living room together where her parents are watching the television.


    ¡°Thanks for letting me join for dinner.¡±


    ¡°No problem, you can come in any time.¡± Sam¡¯s mom smiles.


    ¡°Especially if you bring us Chinese food.¡± Her dad adds.


    Sam rolls with her eyes, which makes me giggle a little. ¡°We¡¯ll be going now!¡±


    ¡°Allright, be safe, ok?¡±


    ¡°Always!¡± She blows a kiss to her parents and I wave them goodbye.


    I put my shoes back on and we leave the building.


    ¡°Did you have fun today?¡± Sam asks, breaking the awkward silence while we are walking towards the closest tram stop.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Sam smiles awkwardly after which the silence returns.


    I do want to engage her a little bit more. But right now I have other things I have to think about.


    What will I tell her when we get home?


    ¡°Uhm Amicia?¡± Sam brings me back to reality.


    ¡°Yes? What¡¯s wrong?¡± I see her looking back.


    ¡°This cat has been following us for a couple of blocks now.¡± I follow her stare and well enough, there¡¯s a tiger cat who is following us.


    We stop for a second and the cat keeps approaching and when it¡¯s close enough it starts meowing at me.


    ¡°You want to sniff my clothes?¡± I tilt my head curiously at the cat¡¯s request but start crouching so it can come and smell my dress. In the meantime Sam is making very weird faces at what¡¯s happening in front of her.


    The cat sniffs my dress and gives me a quick meow.


    ¡°Oh, I smell familiar to you do I? Huh.¡± That¡¯s when something in my head clicks.


    Pocky.


    ¡°Do you want to come with me kitty?¡± I ask our feline friend.


    She meows and gives me a quick nod.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± I smile. ¡°Sam, do you mind if we take the cat with us?¡±


    Sam¡¯s still standing there with her eyes open wide. ¡°I have no clue what is happening, but of course. I¡¯m not going to stop you. More cats equals more happiness.¡±


    That last comment makes me blush quite a bit.


    The cat follows us along to the closest tram stop where we patiently wait on the tram. A couple people do look quite weirdly at our fellowship, especially when the cat gets on the tram with us and occupies the seat next to us.


    It¡¯s still pretty silent between me and Sam but when we got on the tram Sam offered me her hand, which I gladly accepted. When we near the stop close to my home I give Sam a little squeeze. ¡°Next stop is for us.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± She smiles and gives me a squeeze back.


    The cat gets off her seat and puts herself in front of me. When we press the halt button all of us move to the door and get out, with the cat taking the lead.


    ¡°It¡¯s in that apartment block over there.¡± I point at the building in the distance. Dimly lit by the setting sun.


    We start walking hand in hand towards the apartment, with the cat a meter in front of us. Looking back occasionally to see if we¡¯ve stopped already. She meows.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, it¡¯s just in that building there.¡± I point towards it again.


    She runs ahead which makes Sam giggle a bit.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡± She smiles, making me pout a bit.


    When we arrive at the apartment we swiftly go inside towards the elevator. But when we want to enter, our cat friend stops.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I bend down towards her.


    She meows. ¡°You aren¡¯t scared of trams but you are scared of elevators?¡±


    Sam can¡¯t hold back her laughter.


    ¡°Ok, ok. I¡¯ll carry you then.¡± I pick her up and take her into the elevator.


    She tensen up a little when the doors close and the elevator starts moving, but overall I think she feels pretty safe in my arms.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t take that long.¡± Just when I say that, the elevator beeps to notify us of our arrival.


    ¡°See, that wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± I smile and walk over to unlock the door.


    ¡°We¡¯re home!¡±


    The moment the door opens the cat sprints inside, immediately after I can hear loud meowing.


    ¡°Welcome! But what in the¡­¡± I hear my sister call out.


    I beckon Sam to come in.


    When I get a clear view of the living room I can see Pocky being licked furiously by the tiger cat. I can hear them both purring from here.


    ¡°I think we found her mom.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± Nikki gets up from the sofa to look at what¡¯s happening behind her.


    ¡°I think you did indeed.¡± ¨¦lise comes to stand next to me and Sam. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m ¨¦lise, this little derp¡¯s sister.¡± she gently pats my head and extends a hand towards her.


    ¡°H-hello, my name is Samantha, uh, Sam¡¯s fine.¡± She shakes my sister¡¯s hand, clearly a bit intimidated by my sister, she is a head taller than Sam so I guess that¡¯s why.


    ¡°Normally we kiss other people on the cheek when we first meet, but I didn¡¯t want my sis to think I was stealing you from her.¡± She gives Sam a wink, making my face go bright red.


    ¡°So I guess we have a new cat now?¡± Nikki walks over to us as well. ¡°And I¡¯m the big derp¡¯s girlfriend. Nikki.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you too.¡± Sam blushes.


    ¡°I guess we do.¡± ¨¦lise continues the conversation. ¡°Should we give her a name?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± Nikki shrugs. ¡°Maybe let Amicia decide?¡±


    ¡°M-me?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, you¡¯re the only one who can ask her if she agrees.¡±


    I go closer to our cats and crouch down.


    ¡°Hmm. Pocky, Pocky, Pocky.¡±


    Pocky tilts her head towards me while still getting licked by her mom.


    ¡°If you are Pocky¡­ What do you think of¡­ Hmmm¡­ Mochi?¡±


    Pocky¡¯s mom looks over to me and gives me an agreeing meow. ¡°You like that? Good.¡± I smile.


    ¡°You know, you didn¡¯t have to name her after a Japanese snack right?¡± ¨¦lise is giggling a little.


    ¡°I think it sounds cute¡­¡±


    ¡°It definitely does.¡± Nikki smiles. Sam just nods along.


    ¡°Anyways, to the other point on the agenda¡­¡± ¨¦lise walks away towards the kitchen. ¡°I prepared your hot coco.¡±


    Oh right¡­ I almost forgot about that.


    I walk away a bit and look over to Sam, gently touching my choker while doing so.  My heart is pounding in my throat.


    ¡°Sam¡­¡± I sigh as I bring my hands to the back of my neck to unclasp my choker. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I kept this from you¡­¡± I take off my choker, revealing my feline features.


    Sam approaches without saying anything but gets stopped by Nikki.


    ¡°No, Nikki, let her, she¡¯s not going to hurt me.¡±


    Nikki nods and lets Sam pass. She halts half a meter in front of me.


    ¡°C-can I touch them?¡± She whispers.


    I nod. ¡°Y-you can.¡±


    She comes even closer and very softly runs her hand over one of my ears, making it twitch a little. Sam pulls back her hand slightly


    ¡°I-it just tickled a bit.¡± Making Sam pet my ear again.


    ¨¦lise rejoined Nikki, with the hot chocolate in her hands, silently watching our exchange.


    ¡°They are pretty soft.¡± She says silently with a smile.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think I¡¯m...weird?¡±


    Sam suddenly takes me in for a hug.


    ¡°You know, a girl I like once told me, ¡®what is normality, really¡¯... You are you, Amicia, a fluffy tail and some ears aren¡¯t going to change that. I do understand why you hid them though.¡±


    ¡°Th-thanks¡­ also¡­ Amicia wasn¡¯t always m-my name¡­¡± I can see ¨¦lise and Nikki react pretty surprised to this part of the confession. I actually can¡¯t believe I said it myself either. ¡°So?¡± Sam gives me a squeeze. ¡°You are Amicia now aren¡¯t you? I don¡¯t give a toss about who people thought you were in the past. The only thing I know is that I love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to squeeze.


    We stay there for a couple of minutes before my sis interrupts us.


    ¡°Amicia, your coco is getting cold.¡± ¨¦lise is still standing there with a couple of mugs in her hand


    ¡°You might want to drink that up then, we can continue cuddling later.¡±


    ¡°Miss Sam, there¡¯s some for you as well.¡± Nikki states.


    ¡°Oh! Thanks!¡± Sam slowly releases me and I do the same.


    ¡°A catgirl wouldn¡¯t have been my first guess though.¡± She casually says while taking over the mugs from my sister.


    ¡°Oh? What were you thinking then?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking more like... a witch or something? For some reason that sounded more plausible in my head. They can talk to cats too, right?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I casually say when Sam gives me one of the mugs. ¡°I might be both.¡±


    I take a sip from the lukewarm cup with Sam looking extremely confused at me.


    Hmm...This is still some pretty good coco.

 Chapter 29: Purrfection

    FieryKathy


    ¡°So you are a witch as well?¡± Sam asks, with a surprised tone.


    ¡°Well, maybe. I haven¡¯t tested it yet. But I might¡¯ve gotten the skills from the game in real life as well.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what game? The game you told me about back at uni?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± I explain the entire story about what happened when I got out of Turn of Destiny for the first time, and how I picked up a skill that would allow me to cast without a focus.


    ¡°So why haven¡¯t you tried yet?¡±


    ¡°I kinda forgot, with this date I had with a cute girl and everything¡­¡±


    Sam blushes. ¡°T-that¡¯s fair.¡±


    ¡°So are you going to try it now?¡± ¨¦lise asks with great interest.


    ¡°Hmm, I guess but I can¡¯t exactly cast a heal or my big blue ball of death, right?¡±


    ¡°I can cut myse¡­¡± ¨¦lise gets interrupted by Nikki.


    ¡°Are you mad? What if it doesn¡¯t work?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± She giggles awkwardly.


    ¡°Hmm, what about this¡­¡±


    I close my eyes concentrate on the image of a shining blue sword and try to focus energy into my hands.


    ¡°Holy mother of all Goddesses.¡± I hear ¨¦lise gasp.


    I open my eyes again and see a shiny blue longsword in the palm of my hand.


    ¡°Well, that answers that,¡± I say, with surprise in my voice.


    ¡°And can you dispel it?¡± Nikki asks.


    I concentrate on the sword disappearing and it vanishes almost instantly.


    ¡°Ok, so Amicia knows magic now¡­¡± ¨¦lise crosses her arms.


    ¡°And I think we can safely assume that she¡¯ll get more powerful in real life as she gets more powerful in-game.¡± Nikki adds.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I mumble.


    ¡°Also, I think it¡¯s clear this should be a secret between us four.¡± She continues.


    ¡°A-and Hilda as well!¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, of course, she¡¯s part of the family after all. It¡¯ll also be hard to keep it from her in-game.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Hilda?¡± Sam asks. ¡°S-sorry for asking.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that. She¡¯s a colleague and a very good friend of ours, she often comes to visit and we play Turn of Destiny together. Hilda also adores my little sister.¡± ¨¦lise gives me a quick hug.


    Sam nods, it¡¯s probably a bit overwhelming to be entrusted with such a big secret after a long day.


    ¡°Also, Amicia, I think it¡¯s obvious but please try refraining from using magic.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try; it shouldn¡¯t be that hard because I have to focus quite a bit to get energy to flow. Although¡­¡±


    ¡°Although what?¡±


    ¡°Earlier today just before Sam¡¯s game, I felt this immense rage flowing through me, with energy flowing through me entire body¡­¡±


    ¡°With those douchebags?¡± Sam asks.


    I nod. ¡°My vision went almost completely red and I felt like I was losing control, until Sam stopped me...¡±


    ¡°Well. That doesn¡¯t sound good.¡± ¨¦lise says with a surprisingly calm tone. ¡°Do you have any idea what that was?¡±


    ¡°I have no clue, I don¡¯t think I have any skills that should do that¡­ unless¡­¡±


    Oh shit.


    I facepalm. ¡°I added that one mystery skill to my skill list last time.¡±


    ¡°Can you remove it?¡± Sam comes standing next to me.


    ¡°You can¡¯t, that¡¯s how Turn of Destiny was designed¡­¡± Nikki sits herself down at the table. ¡°We can try next time but I highly doubt it¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡± ¨¦lise sits herself down next to Nikki.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think our safest bet would be to try and figure out what it does in-game. So Amicia can learn how to control it. It would be way too dangerous to try in the real world.¡±


    ¡°What do you think Amica?¡±


    I nod. ¡°T-that sounds reasonable.¡±


    I¡¯m not gonna lie that I¡¯m getting pretty scared now, if I remembered the game could have had repercussions in real life, at that moment in time. I probably wouldn¡¯t have picked it¡­ But my curiosity took over. What do they always say? Curiosity killed the cat¡­. I gulp.


    That¡¯s when Sam, the cutiepie that she is, embraces me. ¡°It¡¯ll all be fine. I¡¯m sure we will figure something out together.¡±


    My anxiety ebbs away ¡°Thanks, Sam.¡± I hug her back.


    ¡°Awhhh, how cute.¡± ¨¦lise teases.


    ¡°I know right.¡± Nikki joins in.


    Sam laughs and releases me from her hug. ¡°I should probably go home soon, it¡¯s starting to get pretty dark.¡± She motions towards the window.


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t mind if you stayed over though. And I think Amicia wouldn¡¯t mind either.¡±


    I start blushing and Sam looks over to me.


    ¡°A-are you okay with that Amicia?¡±


    I nod shyly. ¡°I would like that.¡±


    Sam doubts for a second before taking her phone. ¡°I¡¯ll tell my parents I¡¯m staying over then, I think it should be fine.¡± She walks away a bit and starts calling her parents.


    ¡°Did you meet them, sis?¡± ¨¦lise asks, while both her and Nikki move back to the sofa.


    ¡°Yeah, they are really nice. I started having somewhat of a panic attack but they immediately tried to calm me down.¡±


    ¡°Awh, that¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    ¡°A-and hugging Sam helped too.¡±


    My sister smirks but opts to not press the matter further.


    ¡°My parents say I can stay.¡± Sam comes back with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Yay!¡± I give her a quick hug to celebrate.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She hugs me back.


    ¡°Do you want to watch some television with my sis and Nikki?¡±


    ¡°Oh! We can watch Lady of the Bracelets!¡± ¨¦lise jumps up from the sofa towards one of the cabinets filled with Blu-ray discs.


    ¡°Sounds cool. I¡¯ve never seen it but I¡¯ve heard a lot of good things about it¡± Sam smiles.


    ¡°If you love fantasy you will love this, I promise!¡± ¨¦lise finally fishes the movie out of the cabinet.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve seen it.¡± it must¡¯ve been years, our parents weren¡¯t big fans of fantasy because they were apparently movies made by the devil. So me and my sis often watched those kinds of movies in secret.


    Me and Sam install ourselves in the other sofa and are soon joined by both Pocky and Mochi. Me being Sam¡¯s little spoon and the two cats my little spoons.


    I pet both Mochi and Pocky who give me an appreciative meow back.


    ¡°Sweetie, look at that cuddle puddle over there.¡± ¨¦lise points nods at us.


    ¡°I saw. They are hella cute.¡± Nikki smirks.


    I stick my tongue out to them just when the opening scene starts rolling.


    I manage to stay awake for the majority of the movie, although near the end my sleepiness finally catches up to me as I drift asleep. Gently purring with Sam pressed close to me.


    ¡°Relaxing isn¡¯t it? Hearing her purr?¡± Nikki asks quietly.


    I suddenly wake up again and pout. ¡°I heard that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true though.¡± Sam hugs me from behind and whispers into my ear. ¡°And feeling you purrr is even better.¡± My face immediately goes bright red.


    ¡°B-baka.¡± Making Sam giggle a little.


    ¡°You should probably go to bed if you¡¯re tired Amicia.¡± My sister shuts off the television. ¡°We were heading to bed anyway. ¡°M-might not be a bad idea.¡± I gently sit myself upright once Sam has released me from her hug. Trying not to disturb the two cats in front of me.


    ¡°Goodnight you two, and goodnight Pocky and Mochi.¡± Nikki and Lise wave us goodnight.


    ¡°Night night.¡± I wave back to them.


    ¡°Want me to carry you to your bed?¡± Sam teases me.


    ¡°Naw, I¡¯ll be alright.¡± I quickly kiss her on her cheek. ¡°Coming with me or are you sleeping on the sofa?¡± Hehe, payback!


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll come with you.¡± She stands up after me, also trying not to disturb mother and daughter and follows me to my room. ¡°Uhm, Amicia...  This might be a bit awkward to ask but do you mind if I take off my leg?¡±


    I sit down on the edge of my bed. ¡°Oh, not at all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit annoying to sleep with¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand. D-do you need some help with it?¡±


    She nods ¡°Maybe a little but I should undress first.¡±


    Oh right.


    We both start undressing at the same time, but with this dress it doesn¡¯t take that long. So I can see Sam undress in all her glory. Her toned abs now uncovered by the shirt she was wearing, her muscular thighs from running and jumping around in basketball training. Her strong arms, the result from hundreds, if not thousands of push-ups. And her boobs...


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°W-what?¡± Sam blushes furiously while looking for a place to put her clothes.


    I point to the cabinet nearby. ¡°W-was just admiring you, that¡¯s all... Compared to you I¡¯m just like squishy pudding.¡±


    Sam¡¯s blush somewhat disappears when she looks over to my body...oh, never mind, it¡¯s back again.


    ¡°Y-you look great though¡­¡± She puts her clothes on the cabinet. ¡°Not everyone has to be toned out. Playing basketball just would be impractical if I weren¡¯t¡­¡± Sam sits herself down next to me. Both of us still in our underwear. I don¡¯t think my heart can handle seeing her without yet. ¡°I prefer my cat girls squishy anyway.¡± Eeeeeep. She gives me a quick peck on my cheek.


    ¡°S-s-so how do I help you?¡± I quickly change the subject.


    ¡°You see those two interlocked rings near the border of my thigh?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°Well, one of them needs to be turned left and the other one to the right. I have tools for this at home so I can do it more easily alone. But if you can help me it should be pretty easy without them. You just have to turn the bottom ring to the left, then I can turn the other one to the right.¡±


    I do as explained and the rings slightly but surely start moving, it doesn¡¯t take long before the ring is turned to its maximum and the bionic leg slides off Sam¡¯s thigh.


    ¡°Do I just put it next to your clothes?¡±


    ¡°That should be fine.¡±


    I put the leg on her clothes and move back to the bed when Sam suddenly pulls me on top of her into her embrace. ¡°Thank you for trusting me.¡± She whispers into my ear.


    ¡°Mhmm. Thank you for today as well¡­ it was pretty emotional but I had a good time.¡± I bring my face close to hers and start giving her several short kisses on her lips.


    ¡°Me too.¡± She smiles in between one of the kisses as she pulls me closer for a long one. ¡°Goodnight, mi coraz¨®n.¡± Sam pulls the sheets over us both, me still laying on top of her.


    ¡°G¡¯night.¡± I give her a last kiss on her cheek and roll off her, almost immediately after my eyes fall closed, the last thing I feel before I fall asleep, is Sam gently rubbing me behind my ear.


    Purrrfect¡­.

 Chapter 30: Catacombs

    FieryKathy


    I wake up and find myself embraced and pulled against Sam¡¯s warm body. Apparently she¡¯d pulled me against her in her sleep, not that I mind that at all. It does look like I¡¯ll be stuck like this for a while though because I don¡¯t want to disturb her sleep. Pocky and Mochi have also made themselves comfortable, both of them cuddling up to Mr. Snuggles on the side of the bed next to the wall. I reach for my phone, but just before I can get it, I¡¯m pulled back again by a sleepy Sam.


    ¡°Noooo... Cute catgirl¡­ More snuggles¡­ More purring¡­¡± She says in her sleep making me blush horrendously.


    ¡°Making me blush even when she¡¯s sleeping¡­¡± I pout. Guess I can¡¯t help it and cuddle up closer to Sam and just enjoy her embrace for as long I can. It doesn¡¯t take long for the comfort to make me start purring again, but this is the first time I¡¯m doing it consciously and just letting it out. I close my eyes and rest for a bit longer while waiting for Sam to wake up by herself. After an hour or so I can finally feel Sam starting to move.


    I turn myself over to face Sam and see her lying there with her eyes half open.


    ¡°Morning sweetie¡­¡±


    ¡°G¡¯morning Amicia.¡± Sam gives me a squeeze.


    ¡°Want to get up?¡±


    ¡°Mye, but first let me cuddle you up for a little bit longer, ok?¡±


    I nod and give her a kiss. ¡°Ok.¡±


    She holds me even tighter and gently breathes down my neck. Her warm breath sending shivers down my spine all the way up to the tip of my tail.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it weird that just last week I didn¡¯t even know you?¡± Sam suddenly breaks the silence.


    ¡°Do you think we are going too fast?¡±


    Sam shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, even though it should feel like that, I doesn¡¯t for me, in any way. It honestly feels like a match made in heaven.¡±


    ¡°It could be.¡± I nuzzle my nose into her neck.


    ¡°A match made in heaven?¡±


    I nod. ¡°I was actually chasing the person who did this to me, when I ran into you at uni.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ So that person might have been setting us up.¡± She holds me close and starts softly brushing her hand through my hair, occasionally scratching behind my ear.


    ¡°I think so¡­ well¡­ After you told me about your leg I¡¯m even more suspicious.¡±


    ¡°Heh?¡±


    ¡°That old lady you told me about.¡±


    ¡°Are you insinuating it was her who did all this?¡±


    ¡°It could be a coincidence¡­ but¡­¡±


    Sam thinks for a bit. ¡°After realizing magic is a real thing yesterday, I guess it wouldn¡¯t be too far fetched¡­ Do you think she¡¯s a benevolent Goddess or something?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, something like that. I think her name might be Veanya.¡±


    ¡°It would be interesting to have a chat with her.¡±


    I nod again. ¡°Yeah, but she¡¯s been pretty illusive.¡±


    ¡°Gods be Gods I guess.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    Sam gives me one last squeeze before she sits herself upright.


    ¡°Hey Amy, I was thinking¡­¡±


    ¡°Mhmm? What¡¯s up? I think it¡¯s still a bit early for a marriage proposal, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Shut up you idiot.¡± She laughs. ¡°I was just thinking... if you could try healing my leg?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Well I could definitely try if you really want me to.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡±


    I sit on my knees next to Sam as she puts her leg in front of her.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    Sam nods again.


    ¡°Tell me if it starts hurting ok? I don¡¯t really know what it feels like to get healed¡­¡±


    Sam nods once more and smiles gently ¡°I will.¡±


    I start focusing my energy, a warm glow spreading from the center of my body to my hands, hovering above Sam¡¯s leg. A blue and green orb of light starts emanating from my hands and begins to flow into Sam¡¯s body but even after a while nothing else appears to be happening.


    I close my eyes to put more of my focus into it, taking even more energy from my core and channeling it into Sam. But still, nothing. I¡¯m starting to get dizzy but I don¡¯t want to give up yet, but Sam stops me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to work Amy, and I don¡¯t want you to hurt yourself for me.¡±


    An annoyed grunt leaves my mouth. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening. It¡¯s like something is missing.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s definitely working, but not the way we thought it would.¡±


    I tilt my head sideways, questioningly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt better, like ever. The soreness in my muscles from yesterday''s match, all gone, and the general exhaustion I¡¯ve been feeling lately, nowhere to be found.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever played games like Catacombs and Chimeras?¡±


    ¡°The tabletop games?¡±


    Sam nods.


    ¡°I know my sis plays them but I haven¡¯t really played them myself.¡±


    ¡°Well, in the game there are healing spells but they often can¡¯t restore lost body parts.¡±


    ¡°So you think it works like that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be my guess. But hey, I¡¯m no magician or a witch.¡± She sticks out her tongue.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I giggle. ¡°I¡¯ll try to experiment a bit with it when I¡¯m in the game.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, thanks for trying cutie.¡± She kisses my cheek.


    ¡°Anything for you.¡± I lick her cheek, leaving her a bit perplexed. ¡°I¡¯m a catgirl after all.¡± and give her a wink.


    I jump out of bed and head towards her clothes when the door swings a bit wider open. Sam quickly covers herself with my bed sheets as my sister peeks in.


    ¡°Amicia are you awa...Oh sorry!¡±


    ¡°Sis, please.¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to say breakfast is ready¡­ Is that a leg there?¡± ¨¦lise looks perplexed at the cabinet with Sam¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s mine.¡± Sam raises her hand from behind the sheets.


    ¡°Oh, is it bionic?¡±


    She nods.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty neat! Nikki interests herself quite a lot in animatronics and stuff like that. Would she be allowed to take a closer look at it?¡±


    Sam smiles ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve seen her work with the ears and tails you wore to the mall, I was pretty impressed.¡±


    ¡°Oh right! She¡¯ll be happy to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Indeed I am.¡± Nikki pokes in her head as well and smiles. ¡°I would hurry up though, the eggs are getting cold.¡± and she gives my sis a peck on her cheek.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be over in a minute.¡±


    My sister gives me a head pat and leaves the room together with Nikki so we can finally get dressed.


    ¡°Want to wear my lazy clothes to laze around in or do you just want to wear your clothes?¡±


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s a sunday anyway, so lazy clothes please.¡± Sam smiles.


    I quickly take some of my comfy clothes out of the closet, consisting out of a pair of shorts and a sweater and throw them at Sam. ¡°I think these should fit you.¡±


    Sam grabs them and starts putting them on. I take a pair of cute PJ¡¯s out of the closet for myself that my sister bought at the store without me knowing. It¡¯s a pink top with gray tigger cats printed on it and a gray pants with little pink catpaws.


    ¡°You had PJ¡¯s lying around?¡± Sam says with a blush once she¡¯s done getting dressed.


    ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t ask and you pulled me on top of you before I could even grab you some.¡±


    Sam¡¯s head becomes even more red.


    ¡°T-that¡¯s fair. The PJ¡¯s look really cute on you by the way.¡±


    ¡°T-thanks.¡± I bring Sam her leg.


    ¡°Okay. So this is basically the same as we did yesterday. Just line it up on my thigh and twist the bottom ring to the right now.¡± She leans on my shoulder to steady herself and to make shoving her leg on her thigh easier for me.


    It doesn¡¯t take as long as yesterday to find the right amount of tension to twist the ring into place.


    ¡°That¡¯s that. Thanks sweetie.¡± She says as she also locks her ring in place and gives me a quick kiss.


    ¡°No problem cutiepie.¡± I smile and help her stand upright.


    We head towards the living room after giving Pocky and Mochi a quick pet. They must still be super tired from yesterday. As we enter the room we see my sister and Nikki already sitting down and chomping down on some eggs. My sister eating them between bread with ketchup.


    ¡°Eggs with ketchup? Really?¡± Sam asks, waiting for me to pick a chair.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t knock it until you¡¯ve tried it, young padawan.¡± She replies with a grin while I take my seat in front of her.


    ¡°Ok, ok.¡± Sam takes some bread, puts eggs and ketchup on it and starts eating. My sister ogling her for a reaction. ¡°Not bad, not bad.¡±


    ¡°Told ya.¡± She smiles. ¡°Oh, Amicia, Hilda is coming over in a bit to start a new campaign of Catacombs and Chimeras, if you two would like to join, feel free to do so.¡±


    Sam almost chokes on her food and I start laughing as well.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, the egg wasn¡¯t bad was it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing, it¡¯s nothing. I think we¡¯d like that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that could be fun.¡± Sam says after catching her breath.

 Chapter 31: Chimeras

    FieryKathy


    After breakfast I¡¯m helping my sister clean up the dishes while Nikki takes a look at Sam¡¯s leg.


    ¡°Wow, I haven¡¯t seen some of these materials before!¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°It¡¯s the best they could offer in terms of prosthetics for the public.¡±


    ¡°I can only imagine what they put in the military grades ones then. Holy cow!¡±


    ¡°Well, if they ever want to weaponize catgirls I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll come to you, since you¡¯re the foremost expert in animatronics,¡± Sam giggles.


    ¡°Amiciaaa, can I borrow your girlfriend. She¡¯s cute and gives me compliments.¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s mine,¡± I laugh, looking over to my sister for a reaction.


    ¡°Am I not good enough for you anymore?¡± ¨¦lise does a fake sniff and pouts at Nikki.


    ¡°Awh, don¡¯t pout, I was just joking, Honeybun.¡±


    Sam starts laughing as well ¡°Hey Amicia, your family is pretty rad.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I smile as I put away the last plate back in the cabinet, after which my sis gives me a big hug. ¡°So when¡¯s Hilda coming?¡±


    ¡°Should be ¡®round about now.¡± just when she says that the doorbell rings. ¡°Speak of the devil.¡±


    ¡°Is your sister a witch as well?¡± Sam stands up from Nikki¡¯s inspection and heads over to me.


    ¡°Hmmm, maybe.¡± Both me and my sister simultaneously stick out our tongues at each other while she walks over to the door. Pocky and Mochi are already sitting near the door in anticipation for who will enter. Pocky being a lot more enthusiastic than her mom.


    ¨¦lise opens the door and immediately gets accosted by Pocky.


    ¡°Oh hey they little kitten.¡± Hilda picks up Pocky for a hug.


    Followed by Mochi who immediately gets a soft pet on the head. ¡°Oh, and who is this new kitty?¡±


    ¡°Amicia found Pocky¡¯s mom while on her way here with her girlfriend.¡± ¨¦lise nods over to me and Sam.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great!¡± Hilda looks over and sees me in my full catgirl glory. ¡°Ah, I see you told her your secret?¡±


    I nod while Hilda looks over to Sam. ¡°How did you find out?¡±


    ¡°She started purring while we were cuddling in my bed.¡±


    Hilda snorts. ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s one way to find out.¡±


    Sam laughs. ¡°Indeed, it was incredibly cute as well.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine that.¡±


    ¡°We also learned that Amicia can actually cast spells as well.¡± Nikki adds.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s pretty amazing, which ones have you tried out?¡±


    ¡°Divine swordsmanship and a heal?¡±


    ¡°Wait, did you try to heal?¡± ¨¦lise walks over to the table after having closed the door.


    ¡°Well, uhm, yeah. Sam asked if I could take a look at her leg, but it didn¡¯t quite end up working like we thought it would. It looks like I can only heal her current body, not uhm...¡±


    ¡°Reset to factory condition.¡± Sam winks.


    ¡°Ah so a bit like Cure wounds but not Regenerate.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Sam yells out.


    Hilda smiles. ¡°So, are you two joining the game as well?¡±


    We both nod. ¡°I have never played it before though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really an issue. It¡¯s pretty easy to learn. And you can use one of my dice sets because I carry multiple with me anyway.¡±


    ¡°Why do you do that?¡±


    ¡°One, collecting dice sets is an addiction, two, if one set is rolling badly I can just switch to another one. Here take this one.¡± She starts messing in her bag, taking out a dice set and hands it over to me. It¡¯s a set of pink dice with little purple catpaws on it, almost matching my PJ¡¯s.


    ¡°....¡±


    Hilda snorts and Sam turns away to laugh in her fist.


    ¡°Y¡¯all planned this didn¡¯t you?¡± I sigh.


    ¡°Maaaaybe.¡± ¨¦lise laughs out loud.


    ¡°Here, take this as well.¡± Hilda takes out a little black satin bag with a pink cat on it. ¡°You can keep your dice in this.¡± She looks over to Sam who has turned around again, still slightly giggling. ¡°What was your name again by the way?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Sam.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well met Sam. I¡¯m Hilda,  you can play with this dice set if you want.¡± She hands over a dice set in gold with white numbers.


    ¡°Allright! Thanks! Next time I¡¯ll bring my own.¡±


    Hilda nods approvingly ¡°You¡¯ve picked your girlfriend well, Amicia.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I quickly cuddle my Sam.


    She cuddles me back and gives me a kiss on my head. ¡°Cutie.¡±


    When Hilda has taken off her jacket we all get to the table which is now richly adorned with snacks.


    ¡°So how does this all work?¡± I ask Hilda who is setting up some kind of screen.


    ¡°Basically, I am the storyteller and you are the characters in your own story.¡± She points to one of the paper sheets in front of me. ¡°This is where you write up your character on. With either stats that you roll with your dice, or we can use point-buy, but personally I prefer rolling.¡±


    ¡°That way everyone¡¯s stats are bound to be different but some people get a bit unlucky and end up with subpar stats.¡± Sam ads to the explanation.


    ¡°Ooooh. So how do I roll for them?¡±


    ¡°You throw four d6¡¯s, your six-sided dice, and subtract the lowest dice from the total. You do this six times and then you can start deciding what stat to put them in.¡±


    With the help of Sam it doesn¡¯t take that long to get all my stats rolled.


    ¡°Hmm, you actually rolled pretty well.¡± Hilda says while taking her handbook. ¡°Do you know what class and race you want to play?¡±


    ¡°Not really, maybe something tanky?¡±


    ¡°Maybe you could try a paladin then, or a fighter.¡± Sam proposes, filling in her character sheet in the meantime.


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±


    ¡°Paladins have spells like heals and stuff while a fighter is more like: ¡®I hit stuff with my sword a lot of times.¡¯¡±


    ¡°What are you going as Sam?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about an Aasimar bard or something like that?¡±


    ¡°Aasi-what?¡±


    ¡°Basically a half-angel.¡±


    ¡°Oooh. And Lise and Nikki?¡±


    ¨¦lise poses with the peace sign. ¡°I¡¯m going as an elven druid.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll be going as a half-elf warlock.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°You could go human, that race is overall pretty good. Once you get more comfy with the game you can always make a new character.¡± Hilda shoves over her handbook to me.


    ¡°Allright, I¡¯ll go with that then.¡±


    --4 hours later--


    ¡°Wow, that was one heck of a first session.¡± ¨¦lise gets up and stretches.


    ¡°Yep, next time we¡¯ll level your characters up to level 2.¡± Hilda smiles satisfied. ¡°So what do you think Amicia? Had fun?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I enjoyed it a lot.¡±


    ¡°I think our bard and paladin will hit it off in the game as well.¡± ¨¦lise teases and gives Sam a poke in her side.


    ¡°M-maybe,¡± I blush as Sam laughs out loud.


    ¡°P-p-please don¡¯t - I¡¯m ticklish!! Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Thank you Hilda for being our game mistress.¡± Nikki gives Hilda a hand to gather all her stuff.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry. I like DM¡¯ing a lot, especially with cute girls like y¡¯all.¡± She winks. ¡°And teaching new players the game is always worthwhile.¡±


    I walk over to Hilda as well and give her a big hug. ¡°Thanks for being so patient with me.¡±


    ¡°No problem kitten, everyone has trouble with what dice to use at what time at first.¡± she gives me a pat on the head. ¡°Anyway, I should get going now because I still need to cook and make my lunch for tomorrow. It was nice meeting you Sam.¡±


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Sam says from behind me and gives Hilda a wave.


    ¡°And take good care of this kittycat for me.¡±


    ¡°I will, I will.¡± She smiles and hugs me from behind.


    She says goodbye to the rest of my family and leaves the apartment.


    ¡°I think I should leave soon as well.¡± Sam gives a kiss on the back of my head.


    ¡°Awhh. Whyyy.¡± I pout as I look up, leaning my head on her shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather stay as well sweetie but I need to get my sporting gear ready for tomorrow and I still have a bit of work to do for my classes.¡±


    ¡°Awh¡­¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ we can have lunch together at the windows again.¡±


    ¡°...Ok then¡­¡±


    ¡°Next time I can stay over for longer.¡± She looks over to my sister. ¡°If your family allows it obviously.¡±


    ¡°Of course! You¡¯re free to come any time.¡± My sister smiles.


    ¡°Just gives us a little heads up so we know how many people we have to cook for.¡± Nikki chimes in.


    ¡°Thanks. I will!¡±


    I turn myself around and give her a kiss on the lips. ¡°I miss you already.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡± She kisses me back.


    ¡°Okay I¡¯m gonna watch tv or I¡¯ll get diabetes from these two.¡± My sister hops over the sofa, and sits herself next to Pocky and Mochi who¡¯ve been sleeping there for the last couple of hours.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Nikki giggles and follows her girlfriend.


    I giggle while Sam keeps kissing me. ¡°I love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡±

 Chapter 32: Undeadland

    FieryKathy


    Sam gives me a final kiss and heads home.


    I plop myself down on the sofa next to my sister.


    ¡°So, what do you think of Sam?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a nice girl, definitely.¡± My sister pats me on the head.


    ¡°Yeah, that girl''s a gem.¡± Nikki sandwiches me from the other side.


    ¡°And she¡¯s incredibly cute.¡±


    ¡°So she makes a perfect match with you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy both of you like her.¡±


    Nikki looks over to ¨¦lise and they both nod. ¡°And we¡¯re happy you found someone who loves you the way you are.¡± they squish this little kitten in a group hug.


    ¡°Want to play some Turn of Destiny today?¡± ¨¦lise breaks the hug and pokes me in my sides.


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m not that sure¡­ I kind off just want to sleep.¡± I shrug.


    ¡°I understand. By the way, don¡¯t you have stuff to do for uni?¡±


    ¡°Not really, I guess I could¡¯ve started my storyboard for my manga already, but I¡¯m not really in the mood for that right now....¡±


    ¡°Do you already have an idea?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about a super gay vampire high school romance.¡±


    Nikki bursts out laughing. ¡°That sounds amazing!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! You should let us read it as well, I¡¯m very curious to how it¡¯s going to turn out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely show you once it''s done.¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡± ¨¦lise pretends to toast with a can of soft drink and pops it open.


    ¡°Would you like to watch some anime with us now? Maybe you¡¯ll get some inspiration?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯d be fun.¡±


    ¡°Maybe one day your manga will get adapted as well.¡± ¨¦lise drinks from her can of soda.


    ¡°That¡¯s a big maybe, but it¡¯d definitely be cool.¡±


    Hmmm Vintage Red: The anime¡­ That¡¯d be soo cooool.


    ¡°So, what anime are we watching?¡±


    ¡°Undeadland: Tohoku. It¡¯s an idol anime about a group of zombies that need to sing new life into the region of Tohoku without the people knowing they are undead.¡±


    ¡°That sounds¡­ different.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s the best thing ever since pizza. Even if you aren¡¯t that much into idols, this show is pure comedy gold. It even has the voice actor from Stone¡¯s Door.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the time travel one?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, okay then, let¡¯s give it a go.¡±


    ¡°Okido.¡± She ruffles my hair and starts searching for the show on our smart television.


    Pocky and Mochi jump on the sofa just as ¨¦lise finds the show and start cuddling up with me as well.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you buried in all the love?¡± Nikki giggles as she gives Pocky and Mochi a quick pet.


    ¡°Yes, many love, such amaze.¡± I cuddle up against my sister¡¯s shoulder. Mochi and Pocky already rolled up into a ball on my lap.


    The show is indeed very good, the opening scene taking me completely by surprise.


    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t see that one coming.¡± I say to my sister after the first episode is done.


    ¡°I know right?! I thought this was going to be your casual idol show until I saw that scene for the first time. And trust me, it¡¯s getting even better. Even though the CGI drops its quality in certain points.¡±


    ¡°Is it that noticeable?¡±


    ¨¦lise nods, ¡°It is, but in my opinion that doesn¡¯t take much away from the show in general. It¡¯s just obvious its a show with a way lower budget than ¡®Extraordinary Existence: Moonlight¡¯¡±


    ¡°Budgets are always a big oof.¡±


    ¨¦lise smiles. ¡°They are. So, want to go for episode two?¡±


    ¡°Definitely!¡±


    ¡°And you, Nikki?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I love this show just as much as you do.¡± She smiles. ¡°I guess we won¡¯t be needing dinner today?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still stuffed from all the snacks we ate.¡± I say, rubbing my hand over my belly.


    ¡°Same here.¡± ¨¦lise lets out a little burp.


    ¡°Maybe we should tone it down a little next time.¡± Nikki laughs.


    ¡°Nooo. Snacks good.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Amicia, you need to watch out or you¡¯ll become a chubby kitten.¡±


    ¡°I guess you are right¡­ Maybe I should look into some sports, or at least some exercise.¡±


    ¨¦lise leans closer and whispers into my ear. ¡°If you do so, I¡¯m going to sign up Nikki as well.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I heard that.¡± Nikki throws a pillow into her girlfriend¡¯s face.


    ¡°Watch it, or you¡¯ll scare my cats.¡± I protectively huddle over Mochi and Pocky.


    ¡°Alright, allright, I¡¯ll stop teasing her for now. That was a nice throw though.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ve been practicing.¡± Nikki sticks out her tongue.


    After the second episode I slowly lift up Pocky from my lap so I can stand up.


    ¡°Are you going already?¡±


    ¡°I think I should go to bed early, I have morning lessons so I shouldn¡¯t make it that late.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we can continue watching it another day then.¡± ¨¦lise switches the tv back to the overall menu.


    ¡°Can you quickly give our kittens some food before you head to your room?¡± Nikki looks over her shoulder at me once I¡¯m in the living room.


    ¡°Okie. What did they have last time?¡±


    ¡°Salmon I think, just give them some beef or lamb.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you two lucky.¡± I crouch to give Pocky some chin scratches and her mommy as well. I stand back up and take a baggy of beef with tomato sauce and start dividing it between the two bowls.


    ¡°There you go kitties.¡± I place the bowl on the floor next to their water fountain and head off to my room. ¡°Goodnight Nikki and Lise.¡± I send a blow kiss towards them.


    ¡°Goodnight to you too kitten.¡± They both reply in choir.


    When I enter my room I can immediately jump in bed. PJ¡¯s are awesome! Especially when they are so cute as these. I get under my blanket when I suddenly hear my phone start vibrating on my nightstand. I smile the moment I see who¡¯s calling me and pick up my phone.


    ¡°Hey there sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Hey kitten.¡±


    ¡°Did you arrive safely?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I actually only arrived a couple of minutes ago. The trams were having issues, some idiot parked his car on the tram tracks and it took them so long to get it towed.¡±


    ¡°Awh. Does that mean you still need to do all your work?¡±


    ¡°Yeah...¡± I hear her sigh.


    ¡°Remind me to give you a big hug and a kiss in the morning then.¡±


    ¡°Oh, even if I forget I¡¯d give those to you anyway.¡±


    I smile. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°So, are you in bed already?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm, I just got in.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to leave you alone so you can sleep a bit?¡±


    ¡°No no, I¡¯m fine. I love hearing your voice.¡±


    "That''s actually why I called you."


    "To hear my voice?"


    "Mhmm."


    "You absolute sugar muffin."


    "I know I know." she giggles softly into her mobile phone.


    ¡°Hey, Sam, how did it go at Amicia¡¯s house? You didn¡¯t do anything¡­¡± I can hear Sam¡¯s mom''s voice call out.


    ¡°Mom! Shhhh!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re on the phone?¡±


    ¡°Mhmmm¡­.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh¡­ I¡¯ll leave you alone then¡­¡±


    ¡°Thanks mom.¡±


    I start giggling.


    ¡°You heard that all didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Darn those cute and overly sensitive cat ears of you.¡±


    ¡°Teehee.¡±


    ¡°By the way. How do you hold your phone?¡±


    ¡°Huh? How so?¡±


    ¡°I mean your ears are on the top of your head right?¡±


    Huh, I actually never paid attention to that before either.


    ¡°Aaaah. Just like a normal human I guess. My ears are sensitive enough that I can perfectly hear you like this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting, I always imagined cat girls having to switch between their mouth and their ears all the time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d probably buy some kind of headset to call if that were the case.¡± I continue giggling.


    We keep talking for a while, while Sam puts her phone on speaker so she can do her school work until I slowly but surely start to drowse off after an hour.


    ¡°Sam, I¡¯m going to have to hang up now.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. I heard you yawning. Goodnight kitty cat. See you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight sweetie.¡±


    I put down my phone and snuggle up with Mister Snuggles. It doesn¡¯t take long before Pocky and Mochi join me as well. Mochi walks up a bit closer to my pillow and gives me a friendly meow.


    ¡°You want to thank me for bringing you back to Pocky?¡±


    She nods.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Mochi, every decent human being would have done the same.¡± I pet her with my free hand.


    She meows at me again.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter that your thank you came a bit late. You were just preoccupied with your little kitten here.¡± I smile. ¡°I completely understand.¡±


    She meows once more and rubs her head against my hand while she starts purring slightly.


    ¡°And I¡¯m also happy you both like Sam as well.¡±


    Pocky moves up to my chest and gives me a meow too.


    ¡°What do you mean with ¡®her pillows look comfier¡¯.¡± I blush. ¡°Well, you are not wrong but they are my pillows to play with okay?¡±


    Pocky meows for one last time.


    ¡°Goodnight to you too Pocky, and Mochi as well.¡±


    Mochi cuddles up to my side. I start purring slightly just before I can¡¯t hold my eyes open anymore and fall asleep.


    Hmmm pillooowss...

 Chapter 33: Captain

    FieryKathy


    When I wake up I don¡¯t immediately find anyone, ¨¦lise and Nikki are probably still sleeping since they have to go to work a bit later than usual. I take a quick shower before getting dressed.


    But what should I wear?


    Hmmm¡­. Maybe I¡¯ll pick this.


    I take out the faux leather light-brown jacket and take out a pair of light blue jeans as well together with a white shirt.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really that ¡®femme¡¯ but hey, I¡¯m in the mood for something else today.¡± I say to myself while getting dressed.


    I enter the living room and immediately get greeted by Mochi and Pocky who were looking through one of the big windows.


    ¡°Liking the view?¡±


    Mochi meows at me.


    ¡°Oh you¡¯ve never been this high up before? I guess that makes sense. Don¡¯t you miss going outside?¡±


    She meows again.


    ¡°Yeah the city is pretty dangerous for cats. I¡¯m glad you feel safe here.¡± I approach the two of them and give them a couple of pats. ¡°I¡¯ll give you some food before I go, what would you like?¡±


    Pocky mews and jumps from the windowsill.


    ¡°Tuna huh? Let¡¯s see what I can do.¡±


    I take a baggy of tuna out of the closet and start distributing it in the bowls.


    ¡°You¡¯re in luck, the chef still had some tuna left.¡± I laugh and put the bowls down.


    Pocky thanks me with a cute meow and the two of them start eating almost immediately afterwards.


    I quickly write a little note to my sister saying I already fed the cats and stick it on the fridge. I move to take my choker from its box on the cabinet and put it on.


    ¡°I need to go now, I¡¯ll be back in the evening, ok?¡±


    They meow me goodbye as I leave the building. As a sign of good luck, the tram arrives just as I enter the platform; I don¡¯t even have to run!


    As usual the tram doesn¡¯t take long to arrive at uni, as I get off I see someone waving at me in the corner of my eye.


    ¡°Hey there, kitten.¡± She grabs hold of my hand almost immediately.


    ¡°Hey, lovely.¡± I give Sam a kiss on her cheek.


    ¡°That¡¯s a nice outfit you got going on there, wanted to wear something cool today?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Yeah. Be more in-sync with my girlfriend, you know.¡± I softly bump against her.


    ¡°Oh, I see, I see.¡± She smiles. Sam¡¯s wearing jogging leggings with a slightly too big training jacket on top. Her hair tied back in a ponytail.


    ¡°Were you waiting for me?¡±


    ¡°Maaaayybee. You told me you had lessons in like 30 minutes so I figured you would arrive right about now. Aaaand maybe I wanted to see you before my first lesson starts.¡± She whispers that last part into my ear.


    ¡°Awh! I¡¯m happy you did.¡± I give her another kiss. ¡°Your lessons starts ten minutes after mine does right?¡±


    She nods. ¡°Yep. So I can stay with you until you need to go.¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    She gives me a big smile and leads me on by my hand. ¡°We can slowly move towards your class already. It¡¯s in building C right?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s just a literal walk in the park then.¡± She giggles to herself.


    ¡°You dork.¡± I laugh.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    We walk hand in hand through the park for five minutes before someone pokes my shoulder.


    Surprised by the sudden physical contact, I turn around and see Hailey and Carol standing behind me.


    ¡°Hey Ami, sorry if that surprised you.¡±


    ¡°We should¡¯ve called out to her Carol.¡± Hailey lectures her friend.


    ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t do it either.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t give me the opportunity to!¡±


    I start laughing again. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m fine.¡± I look to my side and see Sam looking around, clearly a bit confused, while she softly squeezes my hand.


    ¡°Ah. Sam, these are Hailey and Carol, they are my friends.¡±


    Sam awkwardly waves at them. ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that nice girl you met is the captain of the basketball team?¡± Hailey blurts out.


    ¡°Oh, who¡¯s too direct now, huh?¡± Carol scoffs.


    ¡°Huh?¡± now it¡¯s my turn to be a bit confused. ¡°Are you the captain, Sam?¡±


    She nods while giggling a bit. ¡°I am, yes.¡±


    I start blushing a little. ¡°Oh, I-I didn¡¯t realize.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°How do you know her?¡± I ask Hailey who¡¯s calmed down a bit.


    ¡°There¡¯s very little people who don¡¯t know Samantha Mart¨ªnez, let¡¯s just say it like that.¡±


    Carol nods. ¡°She¡¯s pretty popular.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but you were studying from home because of your illness, right!  That¡¯s probably why...¡±


    I awkwardly nod. ¡°Ah, ye, probably.¡± I can¡¯t tell them that I just didn¡¯t really care about gossip or sports right?


    Sam squeezes my hand and gives me a smile.


    ¡°So, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, are you two dating?¡± Carol steps in.


    Sam nods with a smile. ¡°Yep, we are.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty fast, you met last week right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but we just clicked really well.¡± I reply, and this time it¡¯s me squeezing Sam¡¯s hand.


    Carol nods in understanding and gives us a sincere smile. ¡°I¡¯m happy for the both of you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± We say together.


    ¡°Are you walking towards class Ami?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°Yeah, Sam was taking me there.¡±


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll leave you two alone then. And sorry for the, uhm, outburst. I think Carol is rubbing off on me.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Rude.¡± Carol pouts.


    ¡°Anyways, see you in a bit!¡±


    ¡°Bye bye!¡± I wave them goodbye for now.


    ¡°Your friends are pretty interesting.¡±


    ¡°They are. They¡¯re adorably big dorks as well.¡±


    Sam laughs. ¡°Perfect fit for you.¡±


    ¡°Grrrr.¡± I playfully growl at her. ¡°By the way, why didn¡¯t you tell me you were the captain?¡±


    She shrugs. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter, does it?¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­ and your popularity¡­?¡±


    ¡°The only person who matters for me, is you, sweetie.¡±


    Her comment makes me feel incredibly warm inside and outright speechless.


    ¡°Well, I have my friends too of course...¡±


    ¡°Just kiss me already.¡± I purr.


    ¡°Okay.¡± She softly smiles and gives me a long, affectionate kiss on the lips. ¡°Happy?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Maybe a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sam kisses me again, this time even longer than last time.


    ¡°I love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡± She takes me in for a big embrace. ¡°Let¡¯s get you to your class now, otherwise you might be late.¡±


    ¡°Awh. I want to stay with you a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna be a bad influence for you, kitten.¡± She winks. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± I giggle, ¡°That¡¯s to be expected from the team captain I guess.¡±


    ¡°Keep that up, and I¡¯ll have you doing push ups.¡±


    ¡°Noooooo!¡±


    We finish our walk through the park and enter building C, it¡¯s the building for the digital arts, mostly for movies and computer generated arts, it even has some props from well known movies sitting in the lobby.


    ¡°Wow, this is pretty awesome.¡± Sam goes to look at one of the display cases. ¡°I remember seeing this movie in the cinema!¡±


    ¡°Is it your first time coming here?¡±


    She nods. ¡°Yeah, I never really had to come in here so I really didn¡¯t know all this stuff was here in the first place.¡±


    ¡°But now you do.¡±


    ¡°Now I do indeed.¡± She kisses my hand. ¡°I got a beautiful girlfriend who studies here.¡±


    ¡°You charmer.¡± My face goes a bit red.


    ¡°Is it not working?¡±


    I giggle ¡°It is.¡±


    Sam smiles. ¡°Good. Would you like to go and watch a movie with me next time?¡± She starts looking back at the displays.


    ¡°Yes please! What kind of movie do you like to watch?¡±


    ¡°Sci-fi mostly, but that Lady of the Bracelets movie we watched at your place stoked my interest in fantasy a bit as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I heard there¡¯s a new fantasy one coming out soon, maybe that¡¯s something we could do then.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan to me.¡± She takes me with her to a couple other display cases and we discuss several props in depth a bit more.


    ¡°No way? This is really the suit she wore in Extraterrestrial?¡±


    ¡°As far as I know it is. The actress studied here so when the university was looking for some props to display she donated it.¡±


    ¡°Amazing!¡±


    Slowly but surely more students start showing up, once Carol and Hailey enter the lobby, Sam turns to me again. ¡°I¡¯m gonna leave you for now, see you at our spot for lunch?¡±


    ¡°Okido.¡± I give her a quick kiss. ¡°See you later teddy bear.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Love you.¡±


    ¡°Love you too.¡±


    She returns a kiss and waves me and my friends goodbye.


    ¡°You two look so adorable together.¡± Hailey says while we are walking up the stairs to our classroom.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°How did you meet again?¡±


    ¡°I ran into her at full speed and almost knocked her over.¡±


    ¡°Somehow that sounds very much like a you thing to do, Ami.¡± Carol comments while slurping from her smoothie.


    ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it.¡± Hailey adds, while also taking a sip from hers.


    ¡°Hey, where did you get those smoothies by the way?¡± The strawberry smell from Carol¡¯s smoothie is almost overwhelming.


    ¡°Ah, there was a stand just around the corner, they just opened this week.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks!¡±


    I definitely need to get one of those, maybe they have some milkshakes as well¡­

 Chapter 34: Wings

    FieryKathy


    Digital arts theory was actually pretty fun today, I always liked going to this lesson on a monday but due to recent events I somewhat forgot how much of a blast it was, especially now that I have two friends to share it with. The three-hour lesson flew by in the blink of an eye, leaving me outside of the classroom with Hailey and Carol.


    ¡°So, are you going back to your lovergirl?¡± Carol teases me with a poke in my side.


    ¡°Haha, I think I will.¡±


    ¡°I hope she doesn¡¯t dislike us.¡± Hailey adds.


    ¡°Why would she?¡±


    ¡°Because we were so forward with her earlier.¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry, I explained you were just some adorable dorks. She doesn¡¯t mind at all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Hey, but we aren¡¯t dorks.¡± Carol pouts.


    ¡°Really?¡± Hailey swings her arm around Carol¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Ok, maybe a little.¡± She sticks out her tongue.


    I smile. ¡°Anyway, my fellow dorks, I¡¯ll leave you for now. See you for afternoon lessons?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°Oh, and the smoothie stand was around the corner right?¡±


    ¡°Yep, just go to the right after you exit the building, you can¡¯t miss it.¡± Hailey and Carol both wave me goodbye as I head towards the stand.


    Hmmm, what kind of smoothie would Sam like?


    In the end I decide to get Sam a summer fruit smoothie and for myself a strawberry milkshake.


    I hope she¡¯ll like it.


    I make my way to our meeting spot, which luckily isn¡¯t that far away from building C. The uni campuses are pretty centered compared to what it is like in some other European cities. Which means that I don¡¯t have to cross the entire city to get to a different campus. I guess it''s helped by the fact that this uni isn¡¯t too terribly big either, plus it gives a nice sense of community. When I enter building A, I get almost overwhelmed by the smell of tomatoes and herbs. That means it¡¯s probably tomato soup on the menu today. I walk past a menu card hanging from one of the many notice boards, confirming my suspicion. Tomato soup indeed, and today''s special sandwich is the vegetarian deluxe.


    Maybe I should eat that for lunch¡­ meat every day is probably not that healthy for me¡­ But meat though, it¡¯s so good¡­. NO AMICIA, NO. Think healthy.


    After the short distraction I continue on my journey to the top floor of the building until I hear my name being called halfway up to the third floor.


    ¡°Hey sweetie.¡± Sam comes running up behind me.


    ¡°Hello my love.¡± I say with a smile while looking behind me.


    ¡°Whatcha got there?¡± She points at my hand.


    ¡°I got you a smoothie, thought you might like it.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, nice. Summer fruits?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my favourite!¡±


    I hand over her smoothie once she catches up to me.


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t, it was a guess really.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You know you could¡¯ve texted me if you weren¡¯t sure right?¡±


    ¡°I could¡¯ve I guess, but I wanted to surprise you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very sweet of you.¡± She stops me for a second and gives me a kiss on my cheek.


    ¡°No problem.¡± I smile.


    When we move up to the fourth floor the smell of tomato soup makes place for the disgusting smell of alcohol.


    ¡°What the heck.¡± I say out loud.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you smell that? It reeks of something that¡¯s been marinating in alcohol for weeks.¡±


    Sam inhales deeply. ¡°Hmm, I can¡¯t really smell anything, but my nose is always a bit blocked after training..¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it might be my over sensitive sense of smell too.¡±


    ¡°Could be.¡± Sam shrugs.


    ¡°Where the fuck is he!¡± A yell rings out from the floor above. The voice sounds strangely familiar.


    ¡°Now, that I heard.¡± Sam picks up the pace and opens the door of the fifth floor, probably to take a look at what¡¯s happening.


    The moment I catch up to her my entire body freezes and my milkshake falls from my hand, spreading its content on the floor. The source of the alcoholic stench¡­ the person I¡¯m staring at... is my dad.


    ¡°Amicia, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sam turns around with a concerned tone.


    ¡°I-I-I¡­.¡± Words get caught in my throat and my body erupts in cold sweat.


    ¡°You there!¡± The sound of my milkshake hitting the floor pulled his attention to us. He starts approaching us with an aggressive step ¡±Have you bitches seen my faggot of a son?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Sam steps more in front of me, trying to protect me from harm.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me, you bitch? I¡¯m looking for my son. The faggot ran away from home, we¡¯ve called his sister but she isn¡¯t answering her phone.¡±


    ¡°And why exactly do you think your son wants to see you?¡±


    ¡°S-Sam d-don¡¯t¡­¡± My voice is almost inaudible.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to explain anything to you.¡±


    ¡°Not to me, but to campus police.¡± She takes her phone from her pocket and starts dialing a number.


    ¡°No you won¡¯t.¡± He rushes forward towards us. ¡°He must have been corrupted by filthy gays like you two! I¡¯ve had enough of your kind.¡± He spits as he charges. That¡¯s when I notice a metallic glance, reflecting sunlight from the windows nearby.


    ¡°Watch out Sam, he has a knife!¡±


    Sam looks up in surprise and luckily manages to dodge the first strike. Responding with a left hook punch of her own. I hear her phone crack as she goes for another swing with her right hand. Landing a solid punch on my father¡¯s nose. He falls back but to my surprise no longer has the blade in his hand. He wipes off some blood from his face and laughs, that¡¯s when I hear Sam whimpers in pain. Just before Sam landed the last blow he must¡¯ve been able to stab her in her side. The knife still stuck in her up to its hilt.


    ¡°W-what...¡± I stagger back a meter, struggling to take in the situation.


    ¡°I¡¯ve stabbed your filthy girlfriend you whore.¡± He smirks, standing back upright and slowly moving towards me.


    ¡°What have you done?!¡± I yell out as my vision goes dark red.


    My father¡¯s filthy smirk quickly turns to fear as I feel something sprout from my back, armour manifesting all over my body. Energy accumulates my hand, materialising into a black devilish looking longsword.


    He cries out in fear as he struggles to run away, stumbling several times over.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going anywhere.¡± A sadistic laugh escapes my lips. The door on the opposite end of the hallway flings shut, the puny human crawling at the door like the piece of trash he is.


    ¡°L-let me go!¡±


    I slowly float towards him not saying a single word.


    ¡°Please¡­ I beg of you!¡±


    ¡°You shall pay for your sins, everything you¡¯ve done to me¡­ What you¡¯ve done to anyone¡­ What you¡¯ve done to Sam! I¡¯ll send your soul to hell! Now DIE!¡± I raise my sword for a two-handed swing and bring it down with all the force I have, but suddenly a bright white light blinds me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    ¡°Stop!¡± A voice echoes through the hallway.


    When I open my eyes the world around me is gray, my sword stuck in midair a centimeter apart from the skull of my target with the expression of fear stuck on his face. I try to pry the sword loose but nothing happens. Like everything else, it is stuck in time.


    A hand touches my shoulder and a voice whispers. ¡°Shhh. Amicia, it¡¯s ok now.¡± The voice sounds like it belongs to a young woman.


    I take my hand off the sword¡¯s hilt and turn around. What I see I can only describe as angelic. A young woman is standing there in a long white gown, with long silver hair draped over her shoulders. She¡¯s quite a bit taller than me but not inhumanly so.


    She just stands there with a smile on her face, waiting for me to say something.


    I can feel my focus coming back to me, the red haze that was going through my mind, fading second by second. I only notice now that the armour I¡¯m wearing, like my sword, is pitch black with certain red accents, just like my wings.


    Wait, I have wings?!


    Most of the feathers are black as the night, like someone threw an angel in a pot of vantablack dye¡­


    ¡°A-Ami¡­¡± I hear Sam wince, making my attention shoot back to her. She seems to also be unfrozen in time and is stumbling towards me. Blood dripping from the knife stuck in her side.


    ¡°Wait right there Sam!¡± I glance at the angelic being, she¡¯s still patiently smiling at me, and run over to Sam and sit her down on the floor.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t worry S-Sam, I can fix this.¡±


    ¡°I-I know you can¡­¡±


    I look at her wound, the knife still lodged in place.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to pull this out first.¡±


    She nods.


    I put my hand on the knife but can¡¯t stop shaking. Sam responds by laying her hand upon mine, trying to calm me down a bit. ¡°I-I trust you Amicia.¡±


    Her trust fills me with confidence.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna count to three.¡±


    ¡°Just yank it out!¡± She yells as to brace herself.


    I nod and immediately pull, the knife quickly comes out.


    Sam groans in pain as I immediately start healing the cut.


    The painful look on Sam¡¯s face dissipates. ¡°Keep doing what you are doing love, I almost can¡¯t feel it anymore.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to ask me twice.¡± I keep pouring mana into Sam as she takes the bloody knife from the ground.


    ¡°A fucking serrated combat knife? What a prick.¡± She throws it against the opposite wall, bouncing off harmlessly. ¡°By the way, like the aesthetic.¡± She laughs, still wincing a little.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Thanks¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m too terribly fond of it¡­¡±


    She nods. ¡°And who¡¯s your angel friend?¡±


    Now that Sam¡¯s wound is mostly healed I look back to the lady in white, who¡¯s creepily still smiling at me. ¡°Good question¡­¡±


    The lady walks up to us.


    ¡°We¡¯ve met already, Amicia. My name is Veanya, but you might know me better as Granny.¡±


    Me and Sam look at each other in disbelief.


    ¡°What?¡±

 Chapter 35: Memory

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Granny?¡± I tilt my head, squinting my eyes in disbelief.


    Veanya nods with a smile.


    ¡°You look pretty...different.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot easier to move around as an old lady, attract a lot less attention than, well, this.¡±


    Sam grunts and sits herself a bit more upright against the wall. ¡°She¡¯s got a point there.¡±


    ¡°Wh-wh-...¡±


    ¡°Calm down Amicia, I will answer all your questions.¡± She puts her hand on my shoulder. ¡°First of, I¡¯ll start with why I¡¯m here right now.¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°Well, first, I need you both to understand that on Earth, aether, mana, aura and whatever you want to call it is practically non-existent, apart from certain individuals which I¡¯ll talk about later. So to my surprise I felt an extraordinary huge aura emanating from this place, which prompted me to investigate. And lo and behold, I find Amicia here going full berserk on that individual over there. Now, that¡¯s pretty strange.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Sam takes my hand and forces me to sit next to her for a hug.


    ¡°She shouldn¡¯t be able to do that. Two days ago I also felt a surge of aether but that was over so soon that I couldn¡¯t pinpoint it. I guess that was you as well?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Two days ago we were at my game.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite possible then I guess. I felt incredibly enraged, just like I did now.¡±


    Veanya guiltily lifts her finger. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I figured out might have happened. And it¡¯s probably all my fault.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± My ears perking up.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t really meant to possess any form of magic to begin with. It looks like the magic I performed on you has had a strange side effect of linking you to the world of Haurchefaud.¡±


    ¡°So I wasn¡¯t supposed to be able to heal?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you find me when I performed healing then?¡±


    ¡°The aether you use to heal, is not anywhere close to what this form uses. It barely even registers above environmental fluctuation.¡±


    ¡°Even though it exhausts me?¡±


    ¡°My theory right now is that your current form enhances your capabilities exponentially. Although it does also appear to be enhancing your emotions in the same way.¡±


    ¡°A theory? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a Goddess or something?¡± Sam butts into her argument.


    ¡°Look, Gods and Goddesses don¡¯t know everything, alright? Just like human civilization has its science, we also develop more and more knowledge over time about systems and magic.¡± Veanya raises her hand to her chest, clearly a bit offended. ¡°What happened to Amicia is quite possibly a breakthrough.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s like a divine society?¡±


    ¡°You could call it that. Normally the Gods tends to their own worlds and we convene from time to time to put together our findings. It also serves the purpose of making sure no God goes out of bounds.¡±


    ¡°Normally?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Earth is indeed not my own world. Earth is a little bit of the black sheep in the community.¡±


    ¡°Welp, that¡¯s fun.¡± Sam sarcastically laughs.


    ¡°The God that oversaw Earth is¡­ well¡­ an irresponsible prick. Come on. Trans people? The Great Drought? Wars? Famine? Like really? That¡¯s just plain cruelty. Anyway, good news being, he has been taken care of. Bad news is we can¡¯t really fix the core issue. We can only work on the symptoms.¡±


    ¡°And why exactly can¡¯t you fix it?¡±


    ¡°You need to see it as a hierarchy. Each God is at the top of the hierarchy in their own system. When other Gods go to the system of one God, we can not overrule the fundamental rules written by the ruling God. Even if that God is disposed.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s a vacancy for Earth now?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Basically, yes. There¡¯s another world which has the same issue right now.¡±


    ¡°Haurchefaud?¡± I offer.


    Veanya nods. ¡°We are looking for a way to solve the problem, but as I said earlier, our knowledge about existence is limited and even we are still learning new things as they happen.¡±


    ¡°So, if Haurchefaud is real, then why are we able to visit it? Like, why is it a game?¡±


    ¡°The God that made it got reincarnated and used to be a big MMO fan before they died. And then stuff like this happens.¡± Veanya sighs. ¡°I hate it when that happens.¡±


    ¡°Not the first time?¡±


    ¡°Hell no. Luckily this is only the first time we couldn¡¯t stop the creation of said worlds, otherwise we¡¯d be unfucking worlds literally all the time¡­ Excuse me for my language.¡±


    I giggle.


    At least Veanya seems pretty down to Earth.


    ¡°We could¡¯ve stopped Earth players joining with Haurchefaud, but that entire world¡¯s concept revolves around ¡®player interaction¡¯. If no one would hop-in, so to speak, the entire world would collapse. We are filtering ¡®users¡¯ out as best as we can so we don¡¯t get any murderers running around but a few are bound to slip through the cracks. Please do tell me if you see them now.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to have regular contact then?¡±


    ¡°Well, I hope you understand that I need to keep an eye on you now. Gods get born with an unchanging amount of power. As far as I can tell by deduction, because your power is linked Haurchefaud, yours is not and has no limit for as far as I know. So you could potentially even become stronger than us.¡±


    I nod ¡°Potentially?¡±


    ¡°There was a limit in place to how strong ¡®players¡¯ could get in Haurchefaud, so no one could rival the Gods. But since you are also linked to Earth, with your own body, I¡¯m not sure how that affects it. This is pretty uncharted territory.¡±


    Sam finally find the strength to stand up. ¡°But won¡¯t the other Gods start to fear Amicia, if she could potentially outgrow them?¡±


    Veanya nods. ¡°Maybe, that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to keep it secret for now. I¡¯ll speak to a couple of my confidents to see if we could make some sort of pact to keep her safe. But Amicia looks like someone who isn¡¯t a power hungry asshole, so I don¡¯t think many Gods would mind that much.¡±


    ¡°Well, thanks for the vote of confidence.¡±


    ¡°Just try to not do things like¡­ well, this anytime soon. It¡¯d be a lot easier to keep quiet.¡± She motions back to my floaty sword and the man against the door.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll try.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to learn how to control it a bit better, maybe Haurchefaud wouldn¡¯t be that bad of a place to practice in.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we were planning.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Veanya pats my head. ¡°And what do you want to do about this situation?¡±


    ¡°With my father?¡±


    She nods.


    ¡°What can you do?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a couple of options. One of which is killing him, which I personally wouldn¡¯t do as it raises too many questions. We could let him live but erase his memory of today, but in the end that wouldn¡¯t change much.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°What I could do is erase the memory of both your parents about you and your sister, and change the administration.¡±


    ¡°I need to talk to my sister about this¡­¡±


    ¡°Understandably so. I can unfreeze her so you can call her.¡±


    I nod.


    -5 minutes later, after talking to a pretty confused ¨¦lise-


    ¡°So, what are you gonna do?¡± Sam walks over to me and puts her hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°We both think the ¡®removing the memories of us as their children¡¯ plan is the best idea¡­ but could I ask for a favor?¡± I look over to the Goddess.


    Veanya nods.


    ¡°Could you divorce our mother from our father? I mean¡­ she was pretty bad for us as well, but that was probably more my dad¡¯s fault than hers. She was just walking along with his bigotry. And we fear that if he only has her to work his anger out on¡­¡±


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be too much of an issue.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No problem at all.¡± She smiles again and gets out a piece of paper. ¡°Here¡¯s my phone number if you need to contact me.¡±


    ¡°You people use phones?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°These things are pretty useful.¡±


    ¡°Uh...I guess that true.¡± she laughs.


    I take the piece of paper as Veanya steps back a few metres.


    ¡°If you have any more questions, just call me ok?¡±


    ¡°Allright.¡±


    The bright light she entered with overwhelms the both of us again, once it subsides the entire hallway is clean. No more dad, no more floaty sword, no more armour, even the milkshake spill is cleaned up. The only thing that''s left is a blood stain on Sam''s track suit...


    It was real. Everything that just happened was real...


    The reality of what just happened now only really sinks in. Tears slowly begin to well up in my eyes


    ¡°Wow, that was something¡­¡± Sam sighs but gets interrupted by the sound of sobbing.


    My sobbing.


    I collapse to the ground as tears hit the floor, one after the other.


    ¡°Babe, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sam quickly puts her arms around me.


    ¡°You got hurt, Sam...because of me. And then¡­ I almost killed someone¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, it was me who chose to defend you Ami. And as Veanya said that other part was your skill¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°But what if it really was me¡­¡±


    Sam gets on her knees in front of me and lifts my face so she can look me straight in the eyes. ¡°Amicia. I know that wasn¡¯t you. Do you think I¡¯d have fallen in love with you if you truly were like that?¡±


    ¡°Y-you don¡¯t like girls who can kick your ass?¡±


    ¡°Okay you¡¯ve got me there.¡± She laughs and tickles my sides. ¡°In all seriousness though. I might not have known you for that long, but I do know you kitten. You¡¯re my cute, shy, little catgirl. Not some amazeballs angel of vengeance. We just need to learn how to control it together.¡± Sam kisses my neck.


    I start giggling through my sobs. ¡°I love you Sam. I love you so much.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡± She picks me up from the ground in a princess carry, making me blush furiously. ¡°Let¡¯s get you a milkshake and get you home.¡±


    ¡°B-but what about your lessons¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now.¡± She smiles at me, making me melt away instantly.


    Aaaaaaahhhh

 Chapter 36: Wrap

    FieryKathy


    Sam carries me up to the stairs before she puts me down on my feet.


    ¡°Awh, already?¡± I pout.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want your cute ass to fall from the stairs.¡± she laughs and gives me a kiss on my cheek.


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± we start making our way downstairs towards the smoothie stall.


    ¡°Oh, after we get you your smoothie, I need to go past my locker for a second, if you want to join me.¡±


    I nod. ¡°What do you need to get from it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve made a go bag with some spare clothes and stuff, just in case I wanted to stay at your place for a longer period.¡± She smiles at me.


    ¡°O-oh.¡± I stutter, my face glowing red. ¡°T-that¡¯s pretty smart.¡±


    ¡°I know I just stayed at your place, but with what happened today I don¡¯t really want you to feel lonely.¡±


    I quickly give her a hug. ¡°Thanks Sam. You¡¯re a great girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± she smirks.


    ¡°You are too smug for your own good.¡± I stick out my tongue.


    Sam laughs. ¡°Well, you always give me these adorable reactions when I tease you. So why would I stop?¡± she pats me on the head, and scratches behind one of my invisible ears.


    ¡°Waaaah. Not there, I¡¯ll start purriiiing¡­¡±


    ¡°See what I mean?¡± A big grin appears on her lips.


    ¡°Meanie!¡±


    She gives me a kiss and takes my hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go before I make you melt on the staircase.¡±


    I try to fake a pout but start laughing almost immediately after.


    ¡°You dork.¡± Sam starts laughing as well.


    We soon after arrive at the smoothie stall.


    ¡°Oh? Back already?¡± The lady behind the counter recognizes me.


    I nod.


    ¡°Something surprised her and it fell out of her hand when she was walking over to me.¡±


    ¡°Awh. Poor thing.¡± The lady turns around and starts working on a strawberry milkshake. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a discount.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s very nice of you! Thanks!¡± Sam enthusiastically replies.


    She quickly finished the milkshake and hands it over to me while Sam pays.


    ¡°You two are a lovely couple by the way.¡± I notice a pride pin on her uniform.


    ¡°T-thank you. A-are you also lesbian?¡± I ask with a bit of hesitation.


    ¡°Oh no, but my son and his partner just got married last week. I just love seeing that glow between two people who love each other, regardless of what type of relationship it is.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy your son has a mother like you.¡± I smile.


    The lady smiles and nods ¡°That¡¯s sweet of you, I just do my best to be there for them.¡±


    ¡°We should probably not let your other customers waiting.¡± Sam smiles and takes my free hand.


    ¡°Feel free to come again anytime! I¡¯m open from eight in the morning ¡®till four in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°I definitely will.¡± I wave the nice lady goodbye and Sam does the same.


    When we walk away Sam looks at me with a slightly concerned look.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing, it¡¯s just that talking about parents right now¡­¡±


    I shake my head and look up to the sky. ¡°Ah, I see¡­ I¡¯m not really sad about that, I¡¯m honestly glad that there¡¯s decent people out there who support their children like that lady¡­ Not everyone is as sick as my parents and I¡¯m happy for that. Like really happy.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Also, your parents are equally as awesome.¡±


    Sam gives me a hug being taking care not to push the milkshake out of my hands . ¡°You know they care about you too right?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I hug her back.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. She smiles and releases me from the hug, leading me by my hand.


    ¡°By the way, where is your locker at?¡±


    ¡°Ah, It¡¯s in the gymnasium, near the dressing rooms.¡±


    ¡°Am I allowed to go in?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. It¡¯s not like a laboratory with dangerous equipment and stuff. ¡°As long as there¡¯s no official tournament going it¡¯s fine and even then, partners can always visit backstage.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    We make our way through the parc towards the gymnasium, a couple of people sitting around on benches. Luckily the weather is still pretty nice, although I did hear someone talking about a thunderstorm that might be coming later this week.


    ¡°Are you enjoying your milkshake?¡± Sam takes a corner towards a side door of the gymnasium.


    I nod. ¡°It¡¯s really good!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear that.¡± She smiles and opens the door. ¡°My locker is basically just around the corner.¡±


    ¡°Oki.¡±


    When we turn the corner I see the lockers in the distance, another girl rummaging on her knees in one of them.


    The girl hears us and turn her head in our direction. ¡°Oh, hey cap!¡±


    Sam waves at the girl as we approach. ¡°Hey Max, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Just getting my stuff ready for afternoon practice¡­¡± She looks over to me, brushing a strand of her shoulder length brown hair out of her face. ¡°Oh hey, you are the girl who came to watch our game!¡±


    Now that she said it, she does look vaguely familiar.


    ¡°She¡¯s the one who was joking about me drooling over my girlfriend.¡± Sam explains to me.


    ¡°Oooh, right, I remember now.¡±


    ¡°Well was I wrong?¡± Max grins at Sam.


    ¡°N-not really¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha. I knew it!¡± She laughs out loud and quickly stands up. Now that she stands up, it¡¯s quite obvious she is taller than Sam, almost 10 centimeters if I had to take a guess. ¡°Nice to meet you, the name is Max.¡± she sticks out her hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m Amicia, nice to meet you too.¡± I shake her hand with a smile.


    She turns her attention back to Sam. ¡°Are you here as well for afternoon training?¡±


    Sam shakes her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m taking Amicia home, something happened with one of her family members.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± She looks back over to me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that¡­¡±


    ¡°Mhmmm. It¡¯s just really exhausting.¡±


    ¡°Family problems always are.¡± Max sighs but quickly perks up again. ¡°At least you have a great girlfriend to keep you company, right?¡±


    I smile. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    This conversation suddenly has Sam blushing furiously. Quite a difference from her smuggy attitude earlier.


    Max takes out a bag from her locker and closes its door. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the coach where you are then.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Max.¡±


    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s what friends are for, right.¡± She smiles and throws her bag over her shoulder. ¡°See you tomorrow then?¡±


    ¡°Yep! See ya.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Amicia, just rest a bit, I¡¯m sure everything will turn out fine. And before I forget, if you¡¯ve got any juicy stories about Sam, be sure to tell them to me one day.¡±


    ¡°Will do!¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Oh, traitor!¡±


    We all start laughing as Max waves goodbye.


    ¡°She looks like a nice girl.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she is, she¡¯s a huge tease and a prankster though. But her heart is made of pure gold.¡±


    ¡°I can tell.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, let me grab my stuff, it will only take a second.¡± Sam opens the locker a bit further down the hallway, quickly pulls out her bag and locks it again. ¡°By the way, have you messaged your friends yet? It might be best to let them know you aren¡¯t coming for afternoon classes otherwise they¡¯ll be concerned.¡±


    ¡°Oh right! That¡¯s not a bad idea.¡±


    ¡°And could I use your phone after that? Mine kinda broke when I punched your¡­ the dickhead.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see... Do you still have all the parts?¡±


    ¡°I think I do, unless something jumped out if it, why?¡± She takes out her phone from her pocket, it¡¯s cracked so it only works on a small part of the screen.


    I hover my hands over her phone and start channeling mana into it, and as I suspected the phone slowly but surely gets restored to its original condition.


    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know you could ¡®heal¡¯ objects.¡±


    ¡°Only when everything I need is present, I think.¡±


    Sam nods ¡°It¡¯s still cool though.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t make a habit of punching people with your phone though, fixing it is pretty exhausting.¡±


    She laughs and gives me a kiss. ¡°I will try but I won¡¯t promise anything.¡±


    We head out towards the train station, with my milkshake almost empty, while I send a message to Hailey and Carol to tell them I won¡¯t be joining them in the afternoon. After that¡¯s done I send one to my sister and Nikki as well to notify them that Sam will be staying with us for a while.


    ¡°We understand.¡± Nikki quickly sends back. ¡°After what you¡¯ve been through today it¡¯s probably best to have someone to hold you tight :) Can you ask Sam what she would like to eat so we can go and get it after we¡¯re done with work.¡±


    ¡°What would you like for dinner Sam?¡±


    ¡°A purrito.¡± She squeezes my sides.


    ¡°Oh no stop!¡± I start laughing out loud. ¡°I¡¯m serious, what do you want.¡±


    She stops for a second, letting me catch my breath. ¡°A real burrito would be nice, or a chicken wrap or so? It¡¯s pretty low effort to make so I don¡¯t inconvenience you all too much. Heck I could prepare it all if you get me the ingredients.¡±


    ¡°That sounds nice, I¡¯ll let them now.¡±


    I send Sam¡¯s reply and quickly get an answer back. ¡°Chicken wraps it is! We¡¯ll bring the chicken and the veggies, could you and Sam drop by the local market to get some paprika powder and garlic? We always forget to buy those things.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing!¡± I reply.


    ¡°Thank you! See you at home.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the verdict?¡± Sam asks while putting her own phone away as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s a go, we just need to stop at the store close to our apartment to get some garlic and paprika powder.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± My girlfriend takes my hand and walks with me towards the tram stop.


    Actually¡­ Paprika would also be a cute name for a kitten...

 Chapter 37: Wob

    FieryKathy


    When we get off the tram it¡¯s only a two-minute walk to the shop.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll buy some more intense spices as well.¡± Sam says with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Oh, are you into spicy food?¡±


    She nods. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m fine with mild stuff as well, but sometimes I do enjoy food that has a bit of a bite to it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± I smile at her.


    ¡°I bet those small canine teeth of yours can do some biting too.¡±


    ¡°Yesh.¡± I take her arm and softly nom on it.


    Sam starts laughing. ¡°Oh my god, that tickles so much.¡±


    ¡°Nomnomnomnom~¡±


    She takes me in for a hug ¡°You crazy cat lady.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    We both start giggling as we end up at the front door of the store.


    Only five minutes later and we¡¯re out again.


    ¡°Luckily the spices were easy to find. In some stores it takes so long to find the stuff you need.¡± Sam is carrying the little baggy with our paprika, garlic and a bottle of peri-peri.


    I nod. ¡°Sometimes they also put their products in such illogical places.¡±


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s actually a trick they use to make you buy more products. When you are looking for things but can¡¯t immediately find them, that makes you see other products, tempting you to buy them. They also put the most expensive products where you can most easily see them and the most bought products in the ¡®worst places¡¯.¡±


    ¡°So people who just need those products have to walk through the entire store. Consumerism is so weird.¡±


    ¡°It definitely is.¡± Sam laughs and continues. ¡°Hey Ami.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm?¡±


    ¡°I love you.¡±


    ¡°I love me too!¡±


    She giggles and kisses me. ¡°Silly kitten.¡±


    ¡°I nyow, I love you too, Sam.¡± I kiss her back.


    We continue our walk and finally arrive at the apartment.


    ¡°Just put the spices on the kitchen counter, Sam.¡±


    Sam nods and heads towards the kitchen while I take off shoes and my choker.


    ¡°I always love seeing you like this.¡±


    I get ambushed by a hug from behind.


    ¡°T-that was fast.¡±


    She kisses my neck. ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°D-do you prefer me like this?¡±


    ¡°I prefer you in all your forms sweetie, but it just feels like this is more you, you know?¡± She kisses my neck again.


    ¡°Hmm yeah, I think I know what you mean.¡±


    Sam moves her hand to the back of my ear. ¡°And it¡¯s way easier to rub behind your ears when I can actually see them, to make you purrrr.¡± I can actually hear her smirk when I indeed start purring slightly for her. ¡°You see?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°Want to go chill a bit on the sofa?¡± She slowly steps back from hugging me and looks me in the eyes


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s do that.¡± I smile and follow her lead.


    Once we¡¯re in the sofa Sam takes the tv¡¯s remote control but before she can turn it on, I stop her. ¡°L-let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s just rest a bit, ok?¡±


    Sam puts the remote back on the table. ¡°Allright.¡± She taps her lap twice with her hands. ¡°If you want to.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I softly lay my head down on her lap, with Sam quickly after starting to softly pet me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to eat something first?¡± She whispers at me. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten today at all, have you?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, I¡¯m not really hungry¡­¡±


    She nods and smiles, starting to twirl her fingers softly through my hair. Moving slowly over my neck and continuing to quietly dance over my arm.


    I start purring again, and close my eyes. Sam still petting me. ¡°Just try to sleep a bit, kitten. I¡¯ll be right here.¡±


    She doesn¡¯t have to say that twice, as I almost instantly start dozing off. Today¡¯s events were pretty darn crazy and the day is only half over. The last thing I feel before I fall asleep is Pocky and Mochi jumping on the sofa and Sam¡¯s soft, warm touch on my arm.


    ¡°Good morning there sleepyhead.¡± The first thing I see when I wake up and open my eyes is my sister grinning in my face.


    ¡°Hey sis.¡± I say when I realise I still feel Sam¡¯s hands laying on top of me.


    ¡°Looks like your girlfriend¡¯s feeling pretty comfy with two kittens next to her and one on her lap.¡±


    ¡°Do you blame me?¡± Sam giggles.


    ¡°Not really.¡± ¨¦lise laughs and gives me a quick pat on my head.


    I turn on my back to look straight up at Sam¡¯s face.


    ¡°Did you have a good nap?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Mhmm, I did. Did you get some rest too?¡±


    ¡°I was dozing off a little until Nikki and ¨¦lise came in.¡±


    ¡°When did they arrive.¡±


    ¡°Like fifteen minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡± Nikki says while bringing a glass of water over to Sam.


    ¡°Thanks, Nikki.¡±


    ¡°No problem sweetie. Do you want something to drink too, Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Ah, uhh, water is good too.¡± I try to sit upright, Sam helping me up a little with a small push in my back.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Nikki smiles and heads off back to the kitchen.


    ¨¦lise comes and sits right next to me. ¡°So, a Goddess, huh?¡±


    ¡°Apparently, and sounds like I can be one too?¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re gonna have a truly divine marriage then.¡± She winks at Sam, making her blush.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only known each other for a little while, don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself!¡± I reprimand my sister.


    ¡°I know, I know, I was just teasing. Out of curiosity though, are you interested in marriage in general?¡±


    My still tired head takes a while to compute what she asked me before I can reply. ¡°Hmmm, I guess? I find marriage pretty romantic but I definitely don¡¯t want to marry in a church, maybe like a small ceremony with my friends and with you and Nikki?¡±


    ¨¦lise nods. ¡°And what about you Sam?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± She takes her glass and sips from it. ¡°I¡¯m mostly on the same page as Ami, as long as the people who I care about most are there, it doesn¡¯t need to be a big event at all. And I know some people say marriage is overrated but there¡¯s just something special about binding yourself to the person, or multiple people you love. Not that not binding yourself through marriage is any less valid, of course.¡±


    ¨¦lise nods again and smiles. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty well-formulated opinion. But now for the most important question of all.¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± I sigh in anticipation. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s a good question.¡± ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°Would you rather wear a suit or a dress to your wedding.¡±


    ¡°Dress.¡± I say without hesitation.


    Sam¡¯s decision is apparently not so clear cut. Her doubt is readable on her face ¡°Hmm I¡¯m not sure. I mean, I do like wearing them both occasionally.¡±


    The image of Sam in a suit is making me drool a little, not going to lie. But on the other hand Sam in a dress is equally as tempting¡­


    ¡°Why not both?¡± ¨¦lise brings me down to earth.


    ¡°Huh? Can I do that?¡±


    ¡°Why not? It¡¯s your wedding.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point there¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this nice dress suit the main character wore in the Rose Foreverparc movie, which was outright amazing. So even a combination of the two would be pretty neat. Or you could just wear a dress to the ceremony and a suit to the reception, or the other way around!¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you have a picture of that dress suit?¡± Sam¡¯s interest just got piqued.


    ¡°Yes! Give me a second.¡± She takes out her phone and after a quick Moogle search she shows the image to Sam.


    ¡°Wow, that looks amazing.¡±


    ¡°I wanna see too!¡± I push my back against Sam so I¡¯m almost laying in her lap again.


    Sam and ¨¦lise both laugh as my sister tilts the screen so I can see too.


    ¡°Oh, that does look cool. The elegance of a dress combined with the bravado of a suit.¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± My sister puts away her phone. ¡°By the way, want us to start preparing the food?¡±


    ¡°Ah, we will do that for you.¡± Sam stands up before ¨¦lise does so. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to be here all the time and do nothing in return.¡±


    ¡°Awh, that¡¯s sweet of you, but we really don¡¯t think it¡¯s a big deal, really.¡± Nikki arrives back with a glass of water for me.


    ¡°I know, but I really want to do my part.¡± Sam insists.


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Nikki smiles and sits down next to her girlfriend.


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with cutting up the chicken then, can you start on the veggies, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Aye aye, captain!¡± I quickly stand up and salute Sam.


    ¡°I told you not to do that anymore, that¡¯s gonna be push-ups for you!¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, I meant like navy captain, Sam, nooooooo.¡±


    She starts laughing out loud while she heads towards the kitchen with me on her heels while pleading my innocence.


    ¡°Are those two really going to be okay in the kitchen?¡± I hear ¨¦lise whisper to Nikki.


    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be worse than you.¡± An audible smirk leaves Nikki¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Wow, rude.¡± ¨¦lise pouts.


    Mochi and Pocky still sleeping on the sofa, seemingly unfazed by the whirlwind of silliness all around them.


    This truly is home¡­

 Chapter 38: Garlic

    FieryKathy


    When Sam starts cooking the chicken both my sister and Nikki sit down at the dinner table.


    ¡°Can you put out plates, Amicia?¡± Sam asks, while adding salt and pepper to the meat.


    ¡°Yesh!¡± I take 4 plates and bring them to the table. ¡°No-one needs utensils right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe a small fork to eat the things that fall out of the wrap.¡± My sister answers.


    ¡°Ah, right!¡± I put down 4 small forks as well. ¡°And what sauces do you want?¡±


    ¡°Mayo.¡± ¨¦lise and Sam say at the same time.


    ¨¦lise nods at Sam. ¡°Mayo girl as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like garlic sauce or anything but I just prefer mayo.¡±


    ¡°Same here.¡±


    ¡°And Nikki?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Garlic sauce is good.¡± She smiles, looking up from her phone for a second.


    ¡°Anything interesting happening on the world stage?¡± ¨¦lise turns her attention back to her girlfriend.


    ¡°Nothing much, looks like the colonization of Mars will be a thing soon though!¡±


    ¡°Launching from the moon?¡±


    ¡°Yep - apparently they¡¯ve already set up some autonomous bases with drones, domes are sitting ready for the first human inhabitants.¡±


    ¡°A bit like Persevering Mars then?¡± Sam looks up from the frying pan.


    ¡°You¡¯ve played that game, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I love scif-fi citybuilders! Well, especially the sci-fi part.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right! We have a sci-fi nerd amongst us now.¡±


    Sam sticks out her tongue. ¡°Indeed, you do.¡± She turns over some of the chicken before looking back up. ¡°Hey, ¨¦lise, could I ask you a question?¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure, go ahead.¡± ¨¦lise tilts her head a bit.


    ¡°How do you feel about your entire parents situation?¡±


    ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s definitely a question.¡± My sister laughs.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. Well, I¡¯m definitely not feeling bad about it. The relationship with my parents was pretty shit really, and the only real reason I still visited them was to visit my cute little sister here.¡± She pats the seat next to her, signaling me to sit down, after which she starts softly petting me. ¡°Hearing those homophobic slurs all day long while being pretty darn gay myself wasn¡¯t very fun at all. And after Amicia explained over the phone what had happened today, made the decision to completely drop them even easier. Nothing of value was lost, most of the people who matter are here, and Hilda of course.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°That¡¯s valid, it¡¯s just stupid people like that exist, I can¡¯t even imagine my parents being like that.¡±


    ¡°Luckily parents like ours get rarer every day... The only thing I feel bad about is not getting Amicia out of there sooner...¡±


    ¡°You know I don¡¯t blame you, right?¡± I look up behind me.


    ¡°I know, I know, but it¡¯ll take a while to stop blaming myself for it.¡±


    I give my sister a big hug and she returns it immediately.


    ¡°Oh,¡± A question suddenly comes to my mind. ¡°How did you befriend Hilda, by the way?¡±


    It¡¯s Nikki¡¯s turn to answer. ¡°Your sister and I started working at our company at the same time and we got placed in the same team, led by Hilda. At first she looked pretty strict, and at some times even kinda scary.¡±


    ¡°Very scary.¡± ¨¦lise adds with a laugh.


    ¡°But quickly we found out that she¡¯s actually a major cutiepie and that she just has some issues expressing herself to people who she doesn¡¯t really know.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I haven¡¯t really noticed that, she was pretty open with both me and Sam from the start.¡±


    ¡°She definitely got a bit better over time, but I do think it helped that she already knew us.¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t be bad if they are the friends of your best friends, that kind of thing.¡± ¨¦lise clarifies.


    ¡°Anyway, we quickly bonded over our love for board games and games in general.¡±


    ¡°Must be a pretty fun working environment.¡± Sam puts down the heat on the stove.


    ¡°It definitely is, when you are at work for a big part of your day, it is pretty nice if it doesn¡¯t suck balls and your team leader is your friend you can fool around with.¡±


    ¡°Fooling around? With Hilda?¡± ¨¦lise smirks.


    Nikki laughs. ¡°You know what I mean, you idiot.¡±


    ¡°Teehee.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, they call us the nerd squad at work, if that is any indication.¡±


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s amazing.¡± Sam laughs while bringing over the pan to the table and placing it on top of the trivet. ¡°There you go, dinner is ready.¡±


    ¡°Hurray!¡± ¨¦lise pets me a final time and starts to preparing her wrap. ¡°Oh, and you got peri peri as well? Nice!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I love a bit of spice.¡±


    ¡°Totally valid.¡± ¨¦lise smiles and continues.


    We all follow ¨¦lise¡¯s lead and start getting our food ready. It doesn¡¯t take long before we are all eating.


    ¡°I love eating wraps, they are so good.¡± My sister almost moans out of pleasure.


    ¡°And because they are easy to make?¡± Nikki teases.


    ¡°That as well.¡±


    ¡°I like making them when I¡¯m home alone, most of the time I use chicken, although lamb is pretty good too.¡± Sam takes a bite out of her wrap.


    ¡°Are your parents out a lot?¡± I take a bite out of mine.


    Hmmm, maybe I should add a bit of that spice...


    ¡°Occasionally. They like going around the neighbourhood to hang out with other people their age, or get invited to dinner. I¡¯m often too tired from training to want to go along. So I just make something quick and easy so I can rest a bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a big mood.¡± Nikki laughs. ¡°When we¡¯ve had a busy day at work, a quick and easy meal is always super tasty.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¨¦lise takes another bite from her wrap before addressing Sam and me. ¡°By the way, would you both be interested in testing a new game today? It¡¯s not Turn of Destiny, but I thought it would be fun to do something like that together.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that could be fun. What kind of game is it?¡± Sam asks with great enthusiasm.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a futuristic, apocalyptic shooter. With some rpg elements as well, but completely different from ToD.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ I don¡¯t know how I feel about shooters, really.¡± I hesitantly reply.


    ¡°I do kinda want to give it a shot though.¡± Sam winks.


    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I just did.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but please no more puns.¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    ¡°We can message Hilda so she can join us too. She¡¯s been dying to test it but today is the first day we can.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯d be amazing!¡±


    ¡°Just try not to run into a Goddess this time, okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± I stick out my tongue and continue eating.


    After dinner we put our plates in the dishwasher and put away the rest in the fridge, we also take a bit of the leftover chicken and divide it over the two cat bowls for Pocky and Mochi.


    ¡°You can make a salad with this and take it with you to your uni tomorrow if you want.¡± Nikki addresses us.


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ll make it for us in the morning then.¡± Sam still looks pretty enthusiastic about the game.


    ¡°I''ll put two lunch boxes here for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Nikki.¡± I give her a big hug.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. If you two still need to wash up, me and Lise just need to brush our teeth before we head to the bedroom, we¡¯ll call you when we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Okido!¡±


    Nikki smiles and leaves for the bathroom as Elise crosses her halfway with another D3u5XMachina in her hands.


    ¡°Have you worked with this before, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Not really, no, only with computers.¡±


    ¡°Okay, as Amicia will tell you, it¡¯s very simple to use. Just press this button and you¡¯ll get to the game lobby, where you can select your different games. The game we are going to play today is ¡®The Echelon¡¯ so just go there. After that we will group up and go to character creation all together, this game apparently has a group character creator so you can see what the others are doing.¡±


    ¡°That sounds interesting.¡±


    ¡°It does, so that¡¯s one thing we definitely wanted to look into.¡±


    ¡°How will we find each other?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s mainly why I¡¯m here. Just think of a nickname you can use, so we can quickly find you. Nikki¡¯s is probably going to be NikkiHeat again, just as an example.¡±


    ¡°What about CaptainSam?¡±


    I snort.


    ¡°Yeah, that should do.¡± ¨¦lise laughs as well. ¡°What about you Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Amicat¡­?¡±


    ¡°Cute.¡± I hear Sam say under her breath.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll add you both once we¡¯re all in game.¡± ¨¦lise hands over the headset to Sam and waves us goodbye while walking to the bathroom.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking forward to it?¡± Sam asks me when my sister walks out of the room.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really my genre, but if it¡±s with you it¡¯ll probably be fun either way.¡±


    Sam smiles and quietly hugs me, tilts my head up and gives me a soft kiss on the lips.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be.¡±


    I smile as well and kiss her back. Staring into her beautiful eyes..


    I definitely wouldn¡¯t mind drowning in those¡­

 Chapter 39: Shower

    FieryKathy


    Five minutes later Nikki comes back into the living room. ¡°Bathroom¡¯s free now.¡± She smiles and leaves again.


    ¡°Thanks Nikki.¡± I call after her.


    ¡°So, who¡¯s gonna shower first?¡± Sam asks me with a poke in my side.


    ¡°Aaah. D-don¡¯t do that!¡± I yelp but quickly clear my throat and start blushing. ¡°I-I wouldn¡¯t mind showering to-together. T-the shower is big enough...¡±


    Sam starts blushing as well. ¡°W-well, let¡¯s go to the bathroom then.¡±


    I nod in return and start following Sam into the bathroom.


    When she closes the door behind me she stares shyly at me for a moment before finally starting to undress.


    ¡°H-hey Sam?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm? What¡¯s up?¡± She asks while pulling her shirt over her head, revealing her black and purple sports bra.


    ¡°Will your leg be okay in the shower?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah! It¡¯s completely okay, watertight and everything.¡± She smiles. ¡°I generally only take it off when I¡¯m taking a bath. I just make sure to clean my thigh in the morning.¡±


    ¡°And when you¡¯re swimming?¡±


    ¡°Stays on. You are keeping me talking so you don¡¯t need to undress, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    I start blushing ¡°M-maybe.¡±


    She laughs. ¡°Should I remind you it was your idea to begin with?¡± she smiles at me as she takes off her pants. ¡°Want me to help?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°Allright.¡± Her sweet smile makes me melt a bit as she slowly takes off my t-shirt. ¡°Arms up kitten.¡± She giggles.


    I lift up my arms as she pulls the shirt over my head revealing my lacy pink bra that has a little cat window.


    ¡°Bloody hells... I think this cuteness is gonna give me explosive nosebleeds.¡± She mutters under her breath and quickly turns her face away from me, her head almost tomato red.


    ¡°I-I trust you can unbuckle your pants yourself?¡± She stammers. ¡°I¡¯ll turn on the shower in the meantime.¡±


    I think I broke Sam.


    ¡°O-okay.¡± I continue undressing while Sam turns on the shower and continues staring at the streaming water for a bit. ¡°Are you okay Sam?¡±


    She turns her gaze towards me, followed by immediately turning away again.


    ¡°Y-yes, d-don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just that...  You¡¯re always awakening things inside me that I never knew existed.¡±


    I take off my bra and panties and approach Sam from behind. ¡°Things like what?¡±


    ¡°Well, for starters¡­¡± She turns around looking down upon me, her arm resting against the wall. ¡°W-w-w-well¡­¡±


    I shush her with a kiss and slowly push her back into the shower, against the wall. Luckily the water has already heated up.


    She embraces me and leans into the kiss while the warm water streams down over our bodies.


    ¡°I think you awaken some things in me as well.¡± I look up into her red eyes and giggle.


    ¡°Where did that confidence suddenly come from, hey?¡± she laughs, sounding a bit out of breath.


    ¡°Suddenly felt like it.¡± I kiss her again. ¡°Sorry for your underwear by the way.¡±


    ¡°Needed to get washed anyway.¡± Sam smiles and takes off her bra and panties as well after which she embraces me and kisses my head. ¡°We should probably not let your friends and family wait.¡±


    ¡°Our.¡± I correct her.


    She smiles. ¡°Our, indeed.¡±


    Sam grabs a washing cloth and starts soaping us both in. After we¡¯re done rinsing off and shampooing our hair she continues. ¡°Hey Ami, how do you feel about doing...it?¡±


    ¡°It? You mean... sex?¡±


    She nods.


    ¡°My sister has spoken about this with me before. I¡¯m not really that interested in it to be honest. It¡¯s not that you¡¯re not attractive or anything, because I definitely want to nibble some parts of you.¡±


    ¡°N-nibble?¡± Sam blushes.


    ¡°Y-yeah... I really really like you Sam. But I don¡¯t know if I could do that¡­ maybe later though, I¡¯m not sure, but I¡¯m still discovering things off myself.¡±


    Sam replies with her right eye closed, a couple of tears running from her cheek ¡°That¡¯s fine, don¡¯t push yourself! I completely understand.¡±


    I¡¯m a bit taken aback. ¡°Why are you crying then?¡±


    She laughs and points at her eye. ¡°Shampoo got in my eye, it stings.¡±


    ¡°Oh no!¡±


    We quickly rinse the shampoo out of our hair and after conditioning it we let the water run for a bit longer.


    ¡°Is your eye fine now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it stings a bit less now. But about the conversation earlier¡­do you know a lot about the asexuality spectrum? Like asexuality and things like that?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, not really?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it once we¡¯re out of the shower.¡± She hugs me and soon after I turn of the shower.


    When we¡¯re drying ourselves off Sam continues and tells me about the allosexuality, asexuality, aromantic and demisexual people.


    ¡°Oh so more people have feelings like this?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± She smiles. ¡°You¡¯re definitely not alone.¡±


    ¡°And what do you think? About sex?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m definitely not asexual.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± A sad tone catches Sam¡¯s ear.


    ¡°But, it¡¯s not like I think it¡¯s a necessity for a relationship. I¡¯m more than happy with our relationship as it is now.¡± She smiles and boops away a drop of water that was running down my forehead. ¡°So we can just slowly figure things out together, there¡¯s no rush at all. As long as I have a cute kitten to cuddle I¡¯m like a Goddess on earth.¡±


    ¡°You chose those words on purpose didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± She laughs and cuddles me.


    We dry our hair and get dressed into our night time outfits.


    ¡°You can put your wet underwear in the laundry bin.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the washing machine does the washing anyway.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡± She smiles and tosses her underwear in.


    ¡°100% sure right?¡±


    ¡°Sam, you caught a knife for me. They won¡¯t mind a single bit.¡± I give her a kiss on the cheek.


    ¡°So, to your bedroom?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Yep.¡±


    When we get there I help Sam with her leg again.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you had tools?¡±


    ¡°Yeah I brought them with me.¡±


    ¡°So, why don¡¯t you use them then?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡±


    I tilt my head in curiosity.


    She leans in and whispers in my ear. ¡°Because I like you helping me, you silly.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s fair.¡± I blush and take her leg on its spot on top of my wardrobe.


    ¡°I wonder if I¡¯ll be able to feel my leg when I¡¯m in game.¡± She mentions while I¡¯m on my way back to my bed.


    ¡°If it¡¯s anything like Turn of Destiny, you should be. I could feel my tail there before I had one in real life.¡± I sit down next to Sam.


    ¡°Oh cool. That must¡¯ve been a whacky feeling.¡±


    ¡°It was.¡± I put my hand on her thigh and go in for a kiss.


    Sam kisses me back and pushes my back into the mattress. ¡°Sneaking kisses at me like that all the time, you sly vixen.¡±


    ¡°Am a cat actually.¡± I smirk.


    Sam kisses me again. ¡°I know.¡± And again, and again.


    Five minutes later we are done kissing for now.


    ¡°So, I just had to put this on and press this thing?¡± Sam asks excitedly, I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s because of the kissing or because of the soon to be had gaming experience.


    If I look at my own state of mind, my guess would be both.


    ¡°Yep, we can do it together if you want.¡±


    She enthusiastically nods yes.


    ¡°Allright. Just lay down on your back.¡± She does so and I follow.


    ¡°One more kiss before we go?¡±


    ¡°Just because it¡¯s you.¡± I giggle and give her a long, sweet, passionate kiss before we put on our headsets.


    She takes my hand . ¡°See you on the other side.¡±


    ¡°Okay, in 3, 2, 1, ¡­¡± The world goes dark before I¡¯m soon faced with an all too familiar gray room.


    ¡°So, The Echelon was it, right?¡± I look around and quickly find it next to Turn of Destiny.


    I press the start button and I¡¯m greeted by a window with a welcoming text.


    ¡°Hmm, I liked the lady voice over more in ToD¡­¡±


    It reads: ¡°Welcome mercenary! Be aware that this game uses 1 to 4 time dilation! Some discomfort may be felt after exiting the game because of that! Sorry for the inconvenience!


    Please enter your nickname before continuing to find your fellow platoon mates. We hope you have a great experience!¡±


    ¡°1 to 4 hey? So it¡¯s a bit slower than ToD. Still plenty of time to play, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    I quickly enter my nickname in the prompt the game gives me and immediately after receive a platoon invitation from Nikki.


    I press accept and my vision gets warped, finding myself in the same room as the others, all looking like they do in real life.


    ¡°Wow, Sam was even faster than you Amicia.¡± My sister teases.


    ¡°I was just reading the welcome text.¡±


    ¡°Wait there was one?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t meant to skip those Lise.¡± Nikki reprimands.


    While those two are bickering Hilda comes over to me. ¡°Hey Amicia, heard you had a rough day? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Thanks for asking Hilda, I¡¯m somewhat fine now.¡±


    She gives me a big hug. ¡°Let¡¯s hope things will get normal soon.¡±


    ¡°As normal as they can get, possibly being a Goddess and stuff like that.¡±


    She smiles. ¡°That¡¯s true. Let¡¯s just enjoy ourselves now.¡±


    I nod and smile. ¡°Let¡¯s!¡±


    Sam comes standing next to me.


    ¡°So do you have¡­¡±


    ¡°A brand new leg?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°Yes, and it feels incredibly bizarre. My bionic one is incredible, but this¡­¡±


    ¡°It feels too real, right?¡±


    Now it¡¯s her turn to nod. ¡°Exactly! This VR stuff is crazy.¡±


    ¡°It surely is.¡± Hilda jumps into the conversation. ¡°Are you ladies ready to go to character creation?¡±


    Me and Sam look at each other and give a quick nod before we say in unison. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 40: Dragon

    FieryKathy


    Hilda presses a button on her HUD and suddenly the room changes, the white room turns into a pretty chic room in some kind of high rise duplex apartment. Having placed us all in a circle looking away from each other. A big holographic screen floating in front of us all. Hilda and Sam are the people closest to me.


    ¡°So, Hilda, how does this work?¡± I turn my head to the left, to look at what Hilda is doing.


    ¡°Overall this system is pretty similar to Turn of Destiny¡­¡± She says while scrolling through the options. ¡°The major difference being that you will feel the changes immediately to your body if you change anything. That way you can test out if something is comfortable before you spawn in.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. I actually never thought about that.¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°Some people really get weirded out suddenly feeling body parts like tails and stuff. And then get turned off from playing anymore because they can¡¯t really change it.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you notify the people from Turn of Destiny about this?¡±


    ¡°We did.¡± She sighs. ¡°Problem was that the system was already in place and changing that particular thing would take a long time to implement, and since time is money they decided to launch as is and patch it in someday.¡±


    ¡°And what about the races?¡± I say while flipping through the options myself, without selecting anything, and especially making sure I never ever touch the gender button.


    ¡°They are very samey compared to ToD as well, very customizable, and the names are less fantasy-like. For example, your nekote is just called cat-human here.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for explaining.¡±


    ¡°No problem, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± she says with a smile, which I gladly return. ¡°Hilda looks over to my right. ¡°And is everything okay there for you, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡± she enthusiastically calls out. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    I look over and see her energetically looking through all the options. I smile.


    She looks a bit to her left and catches me smiling at her, sending her in a blush. ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Oh nothing, I just really like seeing you this happy already.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°J-just you wait, by the end of this I¡¯ll have you blushing instead.¡±


    I already start blushing at the thought of what she might do.


    How does she always manage to do that?


    Sam laughs and continues going through the options, I might as well start too, just so I don¡¯t make everyone wait for hours for me to finish.


    As I¡¯m flipping through the different races, it does indeed look a lot like ToD with different naming conventions.


    Ugh, what race should I play...  maybe a human?


    I select the human from the list and press apply. My body immediately changes to fit my selection, removing my ears and tail.


    Holy mother, that felt weird. I don¡¯t think I like this¡­


    The lack of my ears and my tail is really distressing me so I quickly switch back. Softly squeezing my ears when they are back.


    Let¡¯s not press that button again...


    I¡¯m actually pretty happy with my body as it is now, so I don¡¯t really feel like changing it all too much. I could play around a bit with my hair colour and style though.


    I flip through all the different hair styles when Hilda makes another comment.


    ¡°Those are just presets, if you want to change it, it¡¯s as simple as brushing a brush through it or going to the hair salon, just like in real life.


    ¡°That makes sense, I guess.¡±


    ¡°I love games that are crazy customizable.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah.¡± I hear Elise call out from the other side of the circle. Making both me and Hilda giggle a bit.


    I decide not to change the hairstyle that much, although I do change the colour quite a bit. It might be a bit more comfortable in a shooter game not to stand out with bright pink hair. Changing the colour until I find the one that I think looks pretty cute, opting for a grayish colour, but keeping it a little bit more flashy in my bangs, with a couple of strands of blue and pink mixed in between the gray hair.


    And finally I decide to add a couple of centimeters to my height, making me 162cm tall.


    I look to my left and see Hilda has already exited the customization as well and is sitting at one of the sitting corners of the room. When she sees I¡¯m done she motions me over to her. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty nice look, didn¡¯t feel comfortable trying another race?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Thanks, I grew too attached to these ears and tail. What about you? I don¡¯t see a big difference either.¡±


    She swipes a bit of her hair away and points at her ears, ¡°I¡¯m a half elf now.¡± and starts laughing. ¡°In all seriousness, while I like customization a lot, I always tend to make very similar characters. And in full dive VR, I do this even more. Just feels like me, you know?¡±


    I nod again. ¡°Exactly! Even being only a couple of centimeters taller already feels a bit weird, but I think I can get used to it.¡±


    ¡°Definitely gonna be a bit harder to pet your head, needing to lift my arm so much more now.¡±


    ¡°Wow, so lazy.¡±


    We now both start laughing as Hilda walks over to the nearby kitchen.


    ¡°Want a drink while we wait?¡±


    ¡°A glass of lemonade please.¡±


    ¡°Orange or lemon?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Orange!¡±


    ¡°Coming right up!¡±


    When Hilda returns with my drink and a glass of whiskey for herself, we sit alone at the table for a while, just talking about life and how I feel about recent events.


    ¡°No one should have to go through what you¡¯ve gone through, Ami.¡± She pats my shoulder. ¡°But I¡¯m really happy that you are handling it so well.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I do have an amazing family and a brilliant girlfriend to support me though!¡± I give Hilda a big hug.


    ¡°Did I hear someone talking about me?¡± I hear Sam¡¯s voice from behind me as Hilda pats my back as I slowly release her from the hug.


    ¡°Yes you did.¡± I smile but as I look back, my mouth falls open in amazement.


    ¡°Wow, you clearly didn¡¯t go just as human.¡± Hilda says with admiration.


    ¡°Teehee.¡± Sam sticks out her tongue.


    While overall it is clearly still Sam standing there, she does look drastically different. Dark blue horns coming from the side of her head, going back over her ears. Scales in that same colour covering small parts of her face and neck, making beautifully intriguing shapes. A slightly spiky tail, showing behind her back and a shiny silver limbal ring around her eyes.


    ¡°Woah, dragon-lady!¡± I call out.


    ¡°Haha, yeah, I really loved the aesthetic and I kinda wanted to feel how having a tail was like.¡±


    ¡°And how does it feel?¡± I make space on the sofa so Sam can sit next to me and Hilda.


    ¡°Actually pretty funny. It¡¯s so weird that it feels like a part of yourself.¡±


    ¡°I know right! That¡¯s how it felt for me as well when I first logged into ToD.¡±


    Sam nods with a smile. ¡°I love your hair colour by the way.¡± As she slowly runs her hand over my cheek, smoothly continuing the brush that same hand through my hair. The back of her hand also having some of those same dark-blue scales.


    ¡°T-thanks.¡± I can feel my cheeks get incredibly hot.


    ¡°Told you I would get you back.¡± She gives me a quick kiss.


    ¡°Sorry to have kept you waiting.¡± ¨¦lise comes over together with Nikki.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we were having a good time.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°Maybe a bit too good.¡± she nods over to us and laughs.


    Nikki hasn¡¯t made any obvious changes to her body, while my sister looks, well¡­ like my sister. She¡¯s also opted to be a catgirl this time, just taller, more muscular than she is in real life..


    She laughs. ¡°We really do look even more like sisters now, don¡¯t we, sis.¡±


    ¡°Took the words right out of my mouth.¡± I smile.


    ¡°How come you took so long Nikki?¡± Sam looks a bit confused.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve been done for a while, I was just annoying Lise a bit.¡±


    ¡°A bit?¡± ¨¦lise looks at her with a stern look.


    ¡°Ok, maybe a teeny tiny bit more than a bit.¡± She laughs. ¡°Usually it''s you teasing me so I wanted to do my part this time.¡± She gives her girlfriend a kiss.


    ¡°So you are going to play human then?¡± I ask, seeing Sam is still a bit confused but clearly doesn¡¯t want to ask any further.


    ¡°Yes! I actually don¡¯t play humans a lot, I have a bit of a vampire obsession.¡±


    ¡°Well, vampires are cool.¡± Sam nods in agreement.


    ¡°Yesss!¡±


    ¡°On to class selection or do y¡¯all want a drink as well?¡± Hilda stands up from the sofa and heads towards the door which has a label hovering over it called ¡®class¡¯.


    Weird, I could swear that door wasn¡¯t there five minutes ago.


    ¡°We can get a drink once we are in the game propper right?¡± ¨¦lise asks.


    ¡°I think so.¡± she shrugs. ¡°Last time I checked the dev notes, the game spawns you in the hub city.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get the class selection out of the way first then.¡±


    ¡°Allright.¡± Hilda smiles and opens the door. ¡°You do need to come over here to physically walk through it though.¡±


    ¡°Awwh, but the sofa is so comfy.¡± I pout.


    Sam takes my hands and pulls my upright, only now it¡¯s obvious to me she¡¯s also made herself quite a bit taller. ¡°C¡¯mon you lazy bum.¡±


    ¡°Allright, allright. Can you carry me there?¡± I put on my begging cat-eyes and look up at her.


    She looks me in the eyes and starts blushing already, and with a sigh she lifts me off my feet. ¡°I¡¯m spoiling you too much, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± I stick out my tongue.


    ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t.¡± She laughs and carries me over in her strong arms.


    Ami feels vewwy vewwy safe uwu


    ¡°Oh my Goddess, really, Amicia?¡± My sister starts laughing once she sees us walking into the room. The room is filled to the brim with all kinds of different weaponry.


    Hilda turns around while fiddling with some of the sniper rifles and starts giggling when she sees us as well.


    That¡¯s when Sam slowly puts me back on my own feet. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s a lot of weaponry.¡± she calls out, immediately walking to the nearby weapon rack.


    ¡°So how does this work?¡± I walk over to Hilda.


    ¡°This game has a very fluid class system, you can practically switch at any time. The weapon you pick now just decides which class you will start with but you can always change it up later.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s completely different from ToD then.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°So, what class are you taking?¡±


    Hilda eyes a nearby looking rifle. ¡°I think I will pick this one.¡± She picks it up. ¡°The Springfield M1903. You also can get more weapons and equipment later on in stores, so this definitely isn¡¯t everything available.¡±


    ¡°And what about you?¡± I turn my head towards Nikki and ¨¦lise.


    ¡°Probably a machine gunner.¡± ¨¦lise picks up one of the machine guns laying on the table in front of her. A couple of seconds later, several cans of ammunition spawn on her utility belt.


    Nikki picks a shotgun from the wall next to it. ¡°I was thinking of blowing things up, so demolitionist for me!¡±


    ¡°And what about you, Sam?¡±


    She walks over next to me and takes a look around. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, a medic maybe?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d definitely be useful.¡± Hilda slings her Springfield over her shoulder.


    ¡°Unless you want to play the healer.¡± Sam looks back over to me.


    ¡°Hmm... I don¡¯t know, I kind of want to play something else than a healer this time, maybe something more... aggressive?¡±


    I see Hilda thinking as she walks over to one of the showcases and grabs a weapon out of it. ¡°What about close quarters combat?¡± She throws the weapon over to me which I luckily don¡¯t drop on the floor.


    ¡°Oh, I know this weapon from gangster movies.¡±


    ¡°Yep, good old Thompson submachine gun.¡± She smiles. ¡°You could go with an MP5 as well, but these old weapons just have something to them.¡±


    ¡°Allright, I think I¡¯ll try that then.¡± When I say that, a combat knife and a machete spawn on my belt. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Well, I did say it was a close quarters combat class, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± I smile at her and look back at Sam. She already has taken a weapon and has received a red cross armband around her arm, together with a hip bag with the same red cross on it. While in the background Nikki is playing with, what looks like, a grenade launcher.


    ¡°Please try to not blow us up, I think we¡¯ll face plenty of enemies who¡¯ll already try that for you.¡± ¨¦lise laughs while walking towards the next door, marked as the exit.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try babe, won¡¯t make any promises though.¡±


    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± ¨¦lise calls out.


    We all nod in agreement.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¨¦lise pushes open the door and we follow her through, once we¡¯re all through the door closes behind it disappears as we are left in what looks like a downtown alley, neon signs all around us lighting up the dark, rainy night.


    ¡°Ugh, did it really have to rain? Don¡¯t they know cats don¡¯t like water.¡± I complain.


    ¡°Hmm, is that so? Didn¡¯t look like you were disliking the shower from earlier though.¡± Sam whispers in my ear, making me go bright red.


    Gosh darn you, pretty dragon-lady.

 Chapter 41: Shield

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was post-apocalyptic?¡± Nikki asks, slinging her shotgun over her shoulder.


    ¡°I did, I assume the hub is either a rebuilt city or it didn¡¯t get hit as hard. I don¡¯t know everything about this game yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair, I guess we¡¯ll have to find out ourselves.¡± ¨¦lise smiles, and starts heading towards one end of the alleyway.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Looking for a bar.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Ah, right.¡±


    We start following her down the alleyway which apparently leads to an even more brightly lit up boulevard.


    ¡°Shady bar or not?¡± My sister looks back over her shoulder at us.


    ¡°Why would you want to go to a shady bar?¡± Sam walks up to her and looks around.


    ¡°Quests.¡± Hilda simply replies.


    ¨¦lise nods. ¡°I would assume that the people who have some work for us to do wouldn¡¯t want to pull too much attention in a busy establishment.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair. All of these bars look shady to me though.¡±


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re in luck then.¡± ¨¦lise laughs and steps into the nearest one.


    The rest of us enter and are greeted by your typical brown bar setup as we are setting ourselves up at one of the tables. We all order something to drink and it doesn¡¯t take long for a local to approach us.


    ¡°Y¡¯all seem like a pretty decent group of mercenaries, would you be interested in an opportunity?¡± The man slides a piece of paper on the table.


    ¡°A gang of outlaws have taken up shop in nearby ruins, huh?¡± ¨¦lise quickly reads it. ¡°And what¡¯s in it for us?¡±


    The man smiles. ¡°This gang has been raiding caravans of traders for months now, obviously all the spoils they leave behind are yours.¡±


    ¨¦lise looks over at Hilda, Hilda nods. ¡°Add 500 coins to that and we¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°250 up front, 250 after the job is done?¡± The man clearly expected us to barter.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± ¨¦lise holds out her hand and the man shakes it.


    A small screen saying ¡®contract accepted¡¯ pops up.


    ¡°First quest accepted, easy as that.¡± ¨¦lise looks back over to us and smiles.


    ¡°Do we get experience points as well?¡±


    ¡°Not really, most of the advancing happens with money, through buying new gear and stuff like that. While your classes do provide some bonuses. You are for example a bit faster than ¨¦lise, while she has a higher carrying capacity and gets way less recoil from heavy weapons.¡± Hilda explains.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    ¡°So, when are we leaving?¡± Sam asks while drinking her lemonade.


    ¡°Once we are done with our drinks I guess.¡± ¨¦lise sips from her drink as well.


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s still dark?¡±


    ¡°Yeah but by the time we¡¯ll get to our destination it¡¯ll probably be light, and I¡¯d rather fight during the daytime than the other way around.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough money yet for night vision goggles.¡± Hilda reaches into her bag, ¡°I did receive these because I¡¯m the party leader though.¡± She takes out several pieces of gear.


    ¡°Voice comms?¡± Nikki takes an earpiece and puts it in.


    ¡°Yes, these three are for me, you and Sam. These other two are specifically for our cat girls.¡± She hands me and ¨¦lise a headset which has a little extension so it can reach our ears.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cute.¡± ¨¦lise inspects the design.


    ¡°I know right.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Regretting not having picked a cat girl yourself Hilda?¡± I tease her.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯d look great as a kitty though.¡± Nikki piles on the teasing as well.


    ¡°I know right!¡± I rub my head against her arm.


    Hilda blushes and sips from her drink.


    After the drinks we head out back on the streets.


    ¡°Quest log says it''s about a three-hour walk to the north-east after leaving the city.¡± ¨¦lise closes her HUD.


    ¡°Allright, let¡¯s get moving then.¡±


    While walking towards the city perimeter we stop by a small stall to buy some MREs with the money we got upfront from the shady looking gentleman.


    ¡°This is gonna be so cool, I¡¯ve never eaten one of these before.¡± Sam starts gleaming.


    ¡°They are pretty much hit or miss, for me anyway.¡± Hilda shoves hers in her small backpack.


    ¡°Oh? Have you eaten them before?¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°I was curious how they tasted so I bought a couple in an army surplus store a while back. The pasta was horrendous, but the crackers with cheese spread were pretty nice.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I got the chili one. Hope that one is gonna be fine.¡± Sam looks at the packaging a bit more closely.


    ¡°Oh, I saw a video once from a reviewer and he put it between bread, looked pretty good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try that then.¡± Sam smiles and puts hers away as well.


    The closer we come to the city perimeter the more the buildings in the city start looking a bit derelict. Signs of shops rarely lit up, half of them not even hanging in the right angle anymore. Bullet impacts strewn over the walls. Some buildings outright destroyed.


    ¡°Wow. If this is within city bounds I don¡¯t really want to know how it looks outside.¡± Nikki comments, pointing at one of the destroyed buildings.


    ¡°Well, we are going to.¡± ¨¦lise ads. ¡°Because it looks like we are almost at the gate.¡±


    When we come close to the gate something interesting catches my eyes. The sky softly glimmers periodically.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s shielded.¡±


    ¡°You might be right, kitten.¡± Hilda comments, just when a small bird hits the wall from the outside, sending a sort of lightblue shockwave through the shield.


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°Admirin¡¯ our shield, aren¡¯t ya missy?¡± One of the soldiers stationed at the gates approaches us, putting his rifle nonchalantly on his shoulder.


    I nod at him shyly.


    ¡°Has it been up for long?¡± Hilda approaches the soldier and gives him a firm handshake.


    ¡°Aye, has been ¡®ere since shortly before the war. Still had its issues though. Shield gave out for a second when the bombs were droppin¡¯ that¡¯s why the buildings around the perimeter are so¡­¡±


    ¡°Trashed.¡± The other soldier helps his mate out.


    ¡°Aye, trashed indeed.¡±


    ¡°Atomic huh¡­¡± ¨¦lise sighs.


    ¡°I am become death¡­¡± Sam continues.


    ¡°Destroyer of worlds.¡± Nikki finishes Sam¡¯s sentence.


    ¡°How¡¯s the radiation outside?¡± Hilda asks the soldier.


    ¡°It¡¯s perfectly fine now. It dissipated soon after the bombs fell. We got lucky it weren¡¯t dirty bombs. Heard stories from other cities where they weren¡¯t so lucky. Had to leave for better places or starve.¡±


    ¡°Leaving your home is never easy.¡± Hilda looks over to me.


    ¡°It is if you can find a better one though!¡± I smile back at her, making her smile as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s the attitude lassie! This place needs more positivity.¡± The soldier sticks his thumb up in the air. ¡°So, where¡¯s ye group headin¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Just going to clean up a gang that¡¯s been harassing merchants a bit further on the road.¡± Hilda answers his question.


    ¡°Ah, I think I know who ye mean. We¡¯d go ourselves but the guard is very thinly stretched nowadays.¡±


    ¡°So you hire mercenaries in shady cafe¡¯s instead?¡± ¨¦lise asks with a bemused look on her face.


    ¡°Aye, fer some reason mercenaries always think that¡¯s where they get the best jobs, so we have our guys recruitin¡¯ there as well.¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡± My sister chuckles embarrassedly and rubs the back of her head.


    ¡°Do you have an idea how many outlaws there are at their camp?¡±


    ¡°Last time I heard, ¡®round 40.¡±


    ¡°40!?¡± Sam cries out.


    ¡°Aye, don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a big issue for y¡¯all though. You got some serious firepower. If you take them by surprise it won¡¯t be a long battle at all.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the vote of confidence.¡± Hilda smiles.


    ¡°Oh, one last thing before you go. The caravan those bastards attacked had the daughter of a guard in it. She is probably dead... but if you could find her necklace and bring it back, we¡¯d appreciate it a lot.


    ¡°We will keep an eye out for it.¡± ¨¦lise nods as we all walk towards the gate.


    ¡°Good luck and safe travels.¡± The soldier says, pressing a button which makes the heavy-duty gate slide open.


    We wave the soldiers goodbye and once we are 100 meters outside the gate, it closes again.


    ¡°Must be terrible to lose your daughter like that.¡± ¨¦lise says to Nikki.


    ¡°Mhmm. We will make them pay for it though.¡± She replies.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± I add on.


    ¡°Not feeling too angry, I hope?¡± Sam asks, poking my side.


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°With your revenge angel dealio.¡±


    ¡°Oh right¡­¡± I go silent and observe my own feelings for a couple of seconds. Paying close attention to my breathing cycle ¡°...Mhmm. I¡¯m definitely angry, but I wouldn¡¯t say I am ¡®I¡¯m-gonna-decapitate-literally everyone-with-my-sword¡¯-angry.¡±


    ¡°Maybe your skill is a bit suppressed in-game?¡± Hilda poses, taking a bite from a cracker in the meantime.


    ¡°Maybe, there¡¯s still a lot I don¡¯t know about it yet, maybe my last explosion of angryness was too recent? Also, can I has cracker?¡±


    Hilda chuckles and hands me one. ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s the case. Just tell us when you feel something coming up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try. Veanya told me that more tasty snacks repress it as well.¡±


    Everyone around me starts laughing.


    ¡°Yeah right, sis. At least we know nothing is wrong with your appetite.¡±


    ¡°No overfeeding the cat, please.¡± Sam gives me a quick hug.


    I give Sam a small kiss in return. ¡°Alright then, you can feed me kisses instead.¡±


    ¡°I like that compromise.¡± She smiles and takes me in for a longer kiss.

 Chapter 42: Machete

    FieryKathy


    After my strawberry union with Sam we continue on our way through the devastated landscape around us. Overgrown ruins of what once used to be houses, several craters, and destroyed highways, all making way for newly grown forests, as nature reclaimed what had humanity ruined.


    ¡°You would think this is a reference to the big climate crisis.¡± ¨¦lise pauses to look into the wreck of a car. Its eerie shadow stretched out because of the rising sun in our backs.


    ¡°It probably is.¡± Hilda says while grabbing her binoculars. ¡°Just give me a second, I¡¯m going to climb up that building over there to get a better view of the surroundings.¡±


    ¡°Allright.¡± Having had enough of the rotten innards of the car, ¨¦lise sets up her machine gun¡¯s bipod on the roof. ¡°Just in case.¡± She winks at Sam who¡¯s getting a bit restless.


    ¡°You okay Sam?¡± I walk over to her.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not that enthusiastic to get shot at now that I think about it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad, if I have other shooters to compare it too anyway.¡± ¨¦lise says, eyes focused on the road ahead. ¡°I mean, the pain is unpleasant, but really, nothing to be afraid of.¡±


    I give Sam a big hug. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, Sam.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Getting stabbed in the gut is a lot more painful.¡± Nikki comes up and sits herself against the wreck of the car.


    ¡°Ah yeah, thanks for reminding me about that.¡± Sam instinctively grabs the side of her stomach.


    ¡°No problem, but before our glorious leader returns from her scouting mission I¡¯d like to thank you again for keeping Amicia safe. I don¡¯t think we can say it enough.¡± Nikki smiles at Sam.


    ¨¦lise nods. ¡°Our kitten here might be a goddess of sorts but jumping in front of her to confront a lunatic is bloody brave.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s fine that you are a bit nervous, we all know you are the biggest badass here.¡±


    ¡°On top of that, you are irrevocably part of the family as well.¡± ¨¦lise looks back for a second to give Sam one of the most sincere smiles I¡¯ve ever seen her do.


    ¡°Awh, you all are going to make me cry.¡± Sam wipes a tear out of her eye.


    ¡°Noooo. If you cry I¡¯ll start crying too!¡± I squeeze Sam tighter.


    We get interupted by Hilda swiftly but silently running over to us.


    ¡°Sorry for interrupting but I think I¡¯ve seen a couple of guys a little bit away from us. I didn¡¯t want to alert them by shooting. Can you come with me Ami, to deal with them?¡±


    ¡°Why not me?¡± ¨¦lise pouts.


    Hilda points at her machine gun. ¡°Ah yes, very subtle.¡± She takes out her pistol and screws a silencer on it. ¡°If we don¡¯t want to alert everyone we have to do it like this. Your time will come in a bit.¡±


    ¡°Allright.¡± ¨¦lise nods.


    ¡°Just stay like 300 meters behind us, in case things go wrong.¡±


    Sam and Nikki nod as well.


    Hilda takes me along through the more overgrown areas towards our targets. It doesn¡¯t take long at all before we catch sight of them.


    ¡°How many are there?¡± I whisper to Hilda.¡±


    ¡°I counted ten but there might be more, so watch out.¡±


    We go closer and start stalking our prey. Just as Hilda said, they do appear to be with ten.


    After a couple of minutes the enemy splits up in two groups. Hilda signs at me to follow the left group, while she follows the right. While whispering ¡°Be careful. Remember to start with the tail of the pack.¡± Into my headset.


    I nod and continue following the left group.


    The group I¡¯m following carries mostly assault rifles, for as far as I can identify them, the guy at the back has a side-arm as well.


    When they space out a little bit more to get through a rougher part of the terrain, it¡¯s a clear sign for me to pounce. I take my combat knife and my machete from my belt and take them in my left and right hand respectively. I rush from cover, trying not to make any sound or at least make as little sound as possible and it doesn¡¯t take long to get to the last guy in line. He didn¡¯t get a chance to react before I grab him from behind and slit his throat with my machete. I softly put him down on the floor before going for my next target. I use my knife for the second one in line and just like the first one, drop him silently on the undergrowth. Luckily for me the other three guys don¡¯t appear to have noticed anything and continue on their merry way. This allows me to slip behind the third guy and repeat what I¡¯ve done to the two guys before, quietly dropping him. However this time, when I put him down, a glass bottle, of what I assume was some kind of alcohol slips from his pocket and drops on the floor, breaking it. This alerts the other remaining bandits. ¡°What the fuck! Rob, when are you going to learn not to bring glass on missions?¡±


    Oh shit.


    They look back and see me right after I dropped the third guy to the floor. ¡°Holy... ¡° Is the last thing I hear before I quickly rush the guy closest to me and manage to stab him in his chest with my machete, going clean through his body armour.


    I didn¡¯t know a machete could do that.


    The last guy foolishly approaches me with his weapon trained but before he manages to pull the trigger I quickly spin around and kick the assault rifle out of his hands with a tornado roundhouse kick. He backs off, a bit shaken by the kick and draws his knife.


    ¡°That was stupid of me, won¡¯t be happening again.¡± He smirks as he takes a defensive posture. We stand there, watching each other''s moves for a couple of seconds before I make a move and start closing the distance foot by foot.


    ¡°Not a big talker, are you?¡± He backs off a bit more.


    ¡°Hmm. Depends, just not to you.¡± I come even closer, making him fall back further and further.


    ¡°Just coming closer won¡¯t do you any good.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I was just waiting till your foot hit the tree trunk behind you.¡± I bluff.


    He quickly looks back, falling straight into my trap and rush towards him and take a swing with my right hand. Miraculously he manages to dodge my machete¡¯s blade and counters with a swing of his dagger. His dagger glancing off my off-hand weapon. Before he can make another swing I give a low kick on the back of his knee, bringing him out of balance. I follow it up with a slash of my machete during his fall. Unable to block my incoming attack he gets hit with the full force of my hit, severing his left arm.


    ¡°Urgh, you bitch!¡± he cries out before I slash his trachea with my combat knife.


    ¡°Well, that was that¡­¡± I sigh, wiping off the blood of my weapons before putting my machete back on my belt.


    ¡°Put your weapons on the floor right now!¡± I suddenly hear a man yell at me from behind me.


    I turn around and see a guy with Hilda in a choke-hold, her silenced pistol pressed firmly against her temple. Her face is pretty bloodied.


    ¡°Sorry Amicia, he caught me by surprise.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Now, put down your weapons.¡±


    He is definitely going to use us to kill our entire party or just kill us the moment I put down my weapons¡­


    I let my machete drop from my belt and slowly get to my knees to put my combat knife on the ground. When I do so he takes the gun away from Hilda¡¯s head and points it at me.


    ¡°Good girl.¡± He says with a smirk.


    With my hand still on my combat knife I nod at Hilda and she quickly nods back.


    That was the moment Hilda was waiting for as she elbows him hard in the stomach and gives me the window I need. I throw my knife underhandedly at the guy while performing a combat roll to the left to avoid a possible shot from the bandit. A shot indeed goes off but hits the tree behind me and once I¡¯m upright again I see that unlike the shot, my throw didn¡¯t miss its mark. My knife embedded in the skull of the last bandit, the body of said bandit slumped against the tree behind him. Hilda slightly shivering on her knees.


    ¡°That was an incredible throw.¡±


    I run up to her. ¡°Th-thanks. Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Just some cuts¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get Sam to look at it once she¡¯s here. So, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Apparently they had a guy coming after who I didn¡¯t notice. I managed to disarm him, but he subsequently disarmed me as well. And the rest you know¡­¡±


    I give her a quick hug before I can hear a group of people running at us.


    ¡°Damn, looks like we are too late.¡± ¨¦lise calls out.


    ¡°Are you all okay?¡± Sam comes over to me.


    ¡°Hilda needs a bit of your attention sweetie, I¡¯m just fine.¡± I smile, making place so she can look at Hilda¡¯s wounds.


    ¡°Did Ami do this all by herself?¡± Nikki goes around and looks at the slaughter.


    ¡°Yeah, I was amazed as well. You should¡¯ve seen how she took out the last guy. Ouch!¡± Hilda hisses a bit when Sam cleans her wounds with alcohol.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the pain was relatively okay in this shooter?¡± Sam looks back at my sister.


    ¡°It looks like they dialed up the pain a bit more.¡± ¨¦lise gulps.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, really. I¡¯m just a baby.¡± Hilda sticks out her tongue.


    ¡°Being in melee just felt really natural. I think it might be the class that¡¯s helping me.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Sam nods. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do wound treatment either but it feels like I¡¯ve done this a million times as well.¡±


    ¡°Scary what VR can do. One turns you into a goddess, the other turns you into trained killers.¡± I say.


    The rest agrees. ¡°Scary indeed.¡±

 Chapter 43: Shootout

    FieryKathy


    Sam dresses Hilda¡¯s wounds for a few more moments before she¡¯s completely patched up, after which we start moving again.


    ¡°Their base is not that far off anymore, so keep your eyes open.¡± Hilda once again leads the way.


    ¡°Does Turn of Destiny also keep you so on edge, like this?¡± Sam walks next to me.


    ¡°Not really, it¡¯s a lot more relaxed. But then again, maybe it¡¯s because this is a new game which we all don¡¯t really know.¡± I vault over a piece of rubble, helping my girlfriend get over it as well.


    ¡°Thanks babe.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°The nature of gun play also makes it feel a bit more stressy. Sword and shield is a lot more comfortable.¡± ¨¦lise manages to easily vault the rubble as well, despite her heavy weaponry.


    ¡°Combat is just a lot slower, although, that can really depend on the situation.¡± Nikki just goes wide around the rubble.


    Hilda nods. ¡°Bullets are a lot harder to stop or dodge than arrows and knives are, but melee can nonetheless get quite hectic.¡±


    ¡°Maybe this works a bit like a rhythm game¡­¡± I add hesitantly.


    ¡°How so?¡± ¨¦lise looks a bit confused.


    ¡°Well, you know how rhythm games feel ridiculously fast, even at very easy difficulty levels when you just started playing. But the more difficult songs you try and you get used to the speed, it appears to just slow down?¡±


    ¡°Oh! A bit like RR: Idol Bonanza!¡± Sam enthusiastically answers.


    ¡°I was thinking more something like USO, but that¡¯ll do.¡± I giggle. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you played that game.¡±


    ¡°I like cute girls who sing cute songs in cute outfits. And it¡¯s fun to have something to do during breaks at uni.¡± Sam pouts.


    ¡°Maybe I should cosplay as an idol then?¡± I tease her.


    Sam enthusiastically nods. ¡°Oh my Goddess, YES!!!¡±


    ¡°Super magical idol catgirl AmiAmi-chan.¡± ¨¦lise roars with laughter.


    ¡°I can make that happen.¡± Nikki¡¯s eyes light up demonically.


    Oh no, I think my tease backfired.


    ¡°Get her in a super frilly light blue dress, with a little ribbon on her tail and in her hair!¡± Sam quickly shuffles to Nikki.


    ¡°Damn girl, that sounds perfect. I¡¯ll get started on it when I get back home from work tomorrow.¡± Nikki shows her a thumbs up.


    ¡°Sounds like you will have to play some dress up.¡± Hilda slows her pace down a bit so she can walk next to me.


    ¡°I kind of brought it down on myself.¡± I smile, looking back at Sam and Nikki, still vigorously discussing the outfits I should wear. ¡°And I don¡¯t dislike it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°At least I¡¯ll be able to tease you a bit with it.¡±


    ¡°Would you come as well?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to miss it!¡±


    ¡°Even if I would sing as well?¡±


    ¡°Oh, ye, I might need to rethink it then.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Rude!¡± I laugh as well.


    ¡°Have you tried singing?¡± Hilda calms herself down a bit, eyes back on the road with great attention.


    ¡°Actually, I haven¡¯t. I haven¡¯t really thought about it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair, I do think you¡¯d sound great though. Your voice has a very nice ring to it. And with ears as big as yours, it¡¯ll be easy to adjust your own tone.¡± She pets my left ear with her free hand.


    ¡°Human singers can do that without those ears!¡±


    ¡°I know, I just wanted an excuse to pet them.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Buuu!¡± I pout. ¡°You could just have asked.¡± Purring slightly because of the ear rub.


    Without saying a word Hilda just smiles and takes back her hand before abruptly stopping and whispering: ¡°I think we are there.¡±


    In the distance we see a fortification taking shape, it very much looks like a makeshift but solid wall, manned by several bandits.


    ¡°Do you think they spotted us?¡± ¨¦lise asks through the headset while we all take cover.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Hilda replies. ¡°Otherwise they¡¯d have started shooting already.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Nikki asks, crouching against a tree.


    ¡°I¡¯ll climb a tree and take a look, ok?¡± Hilda looks out for the tallest tree in the area and stealthily heads towards it.


    ¡°Ok, just make sure you don¡¯t fall, I might have to start charging you for my services.¡± Sam jokes, Hilda turns around and quickly shows her a thumbs up.


    Sam¡¯s huddled closely next to me behind a piece of debris, her tail brushing my back.


    ¡°Sam, that tickles.¡± I whisper in her ear.


    ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m doing it.¡± She smirks.


    Hilda interrupts Sam¡¯s flirting, already having climbed high up and looking through her scope. ¡°Okay, it looks like the wall goes around the entire complex, I can¡¯t see an easy way in. It does look like they are only really manning the front gate though.¡±


    Nikki laughs sinisterly through the earpiece. ¡°How many can you see at the gate?¡±


    ¡°Like ten bandits¡­ Oh, I see where you are going with this.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, then how about we go in with a bang?¡±


    ¡°We do need to clear out the entire compound¡­¡± Hilda sighs.


    ¡°Is that a yes?¡±


    ¡°...Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Sis, I think Nikki is enjoying this a little bit too much.¡± I look at my sister.


    She shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s kinda funny to see her like this, as opposed to her controlled self.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I just need to blow off some steam.¡± Nikki replies. ¡°In this case, with explosives.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s valid.¡± I giggle. ¡°So Nikki blows up the gate and then what?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say you and Nikki take point, with Sam and ¨¦lise closely following you. Lise, try to take a vantage position once you are inside of the compound and lay down covering fire.¡±


    ¡°Roger that.¡±


    ¡°Sam, try to stay a few meters behind Nikki and your girlfriend, they have better close range weapons, just try to take out targets that are a bit further away.¡±


    ¡°Allright ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to take out people who try to outflank you or that are in a difficult position. Everyone okay with that?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± We all say in unison.


    ¡°Just try to get a bit closer and then let¡¯s go on my mark.¡±


    When Hilda says this we all start moving from cover to cover, inching closer to the gate and the approaching fight.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this, Sam.¡± I quickly take her hand in between the moves.


    She nods. ¡°Just try not to get hit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Nikki, now!¡± We hear Hilda call out over our headsets.


    Nikki takes her grenade launcher from her back and immediately fires a grenade at the gate.


    Direct hit! The gate gets blown open and the guards besides it die instantly from the blast.


    ¡°Okay girls, let¡¯s go.¡± Nikki quickly switches back to her shotgun as we make a run for the gaping hole in their defences.


    A bandit comes running out through the smoke, immediately getting answered by a blast of buckshot from Nikki¡¯s shotgun. Another one follows suit, that one getting mowed down by my tommy gun.


    We storm through the smoke, finding the rest of the bandit encampment in pure chaos, already a couple of bodies decorating the floor next to several of the compounds.


    ¡°No problem.¡± Hilda says over the radio.


    We immediately run towards the nearest cover and start laying down fire. Once my sister has set up and started spraying the area with suppressive fire I lay out a plan.


    ¡°Sam, can you stay here with ¨¦lise while me and Nikki clear the buildings one by one?¡±


    ¡°Allright.¡± She answers while gunning down a bandit who wanted to throw a molotov cocktail at us, causing the poor guy to set himself on fire instead.


    I give Nikki a nod as we run towards the closest building and start clearing it out. It doesn¡¯t offer much of a challenge as most bandits are still dazed by the sudden assault. The next buildings also follow the same pattern, only a couple of bandits offering barely any resistance. Only when we get closer to the main building their resistance starts mounting up considerably.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s like 15 people inside.¡± Hilda says while a shot rings out close to us. ¡°Make that 14.¡±


    Sam and ¨¦lise have also rejoined us as it appears that no one outside of the main building remains.


    When we try to push open the door a blast of gunfire rings through it.


    ¡°This is going to be tough.¡± I sigh, changing the magazine of my Tommy gun.


    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Nikki, again with a devilish laugh, showing two grenades.


    ¡°Flashbang and a regular one?¡± I whisper.


    She nods. ¡°They¡¯ll never see the first one coming, and then they literally can¡¯t see the second one.¡±


    ¡°Watch your fire when you are deeper inside of the building though, they might have some prisoners.¡± ¨¦lise comments.


    We all nod and Nikki goes ahead, throwing a flashbang through the broken window on her right, followed by the fragmentation grenade after the first one explodes.


    Me and Nikki storm in after the bigger explosion blasts out the windows and start clearing the first room. The grenades definitely had their effect, as noone is able to put any kind of response up against us entering. We clear the first floor and start clearing the others. Room by room, encountering less resistance the further we go.


    ¡°Do you think we got them all?¡± Sam says, following me while ¨¦lise and Nikki check other rooms.


    ¡°We might have.¡±


    The last room of the second floor corridor appears in sight, but before we enter we can clearly hear movement inside.


    I nod at Sam as we stack up on the door.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    I open the door and quickly scan the room, there¡¯s a girl, approximately 16 years old, tied up in the corner. She¡¯s whimpering in panic.


    When I enter to approach her I get jumped from behind, knocking me down on the floor. Luckily I manage to get my weapon between me and the guy who jumped me, only just stopping a knife from reaching my throat. A shot rings out as the guy on top of me goes limp. Sam quickly rolls him off me.


    ¡°Thanks sweetie.¡± I say while she helps me up.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡±


    I smile at her but immediately turn my attention back at the girl in the corner.


    ¡°You might want to check on her.¡± I point at the girl and Sam immediately rushes over.


    I take a bunch of keys from the dead bandit after which I join Sam and take off the duct tape that¡¯s covering the girl¡¯s mouth.


    While I go to work on her restraints Sam checks her health. As far as I can see a large part of her body is bruised, with even some burn marks here and there.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you are okay now, we are here to help.¡± Sam tries to calm the girl, who is avoiding Sam¡¯s touch. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Ch-Charlie.¡± She coughs a bit, relaxing somewhat to Sam.


    When I remove her hand restraints I see she¡¯s holding on to a necklace in her right hand, so hard that she had started bleeding.


    ¡°Is your dad a guardsman in a city?¡± I ask her, loosening the last of her shackles.


    She nods.


    I softly smile at her ¡°Do you know if there are any other prisoners?¡±


    ¡°They killed them all.¡± She starts crying.


    ¡°Oh no, poor thing.¡± I hear my sister from behind me with Nikki in tow.


    The girl panics, hearing these new voices.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry they are here to help as well.¡± I assure her. ¡°We¡¯re going to take you back to your dad, ok?¡±


    She lightens up a bit, but is still crying very heavily.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to know what she had to go through¡­¡± I can hear Nikki whisper to ¨¦lise.


    Me neither¡­


    I start helping Sam dress up some of the girl¡¯s wounds.


    At least it doesn¡¯t take that long for wounds to heal after getting treated, although psychologically that might not be so true...

 Chapter 44: Stretcher

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Can you walk?¡± Sam asks after addressing Charlie¡¯s wounds.


    ¡°I think so¡­¡± Charlie tries to stand up with Sam¡¯s help but almost immediately collapses.


    ¡°She¡¯s still too weak - we¡¯re going to have to put her on a stretcher.¡± Sam concludes and takes out a foldable stretcher from her bag.


    ¡°Do you want to help Sam, Amicia?¡± ¨¦lise asks me.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± I help put Charlie on the stretcher.


    ¡°So, how are we heading back?¡± Nikki walks over to Hilda who is keeping a vigilant watch over the hallway.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to take a different route than where we came from. Some bandits might still have been on patrol and it¡¯s best to not go back the way we came.¡± Hilda replies.


    ¡°Getting away being the priority before heading back, roger that.¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°We also need to find a place to spend the night, I doubt we will get back in time.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± ¨¦lise collects her machine gun and walks over to me and Sam. ¡°Are you girls ready?¡±


    Both me and Sam give her a nod.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be home now in no-time.¡± She smiles at Charlie.


    ¡°Th-thanks for saving me.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± ¨¦lise stays close to us while we start carrying Charlie towards the bottom floor, with Hilda leading the way.


    ¡°Let¡¯s exit through the back of the compound - with the keys from the guard we should be able to open up everything.¡±


    We don¡¯t encounter any resistance as we slowly make our way out of the camp into the overgrown ruins. I keep my ears on alert but apart from a couple of birds the environment is eerily quiet, making sure I don¡¯t stumble on a rock.


    ¡°How long have you two been together?¡± Charlie suddenly breaks the silence.


    ¡°Who, us?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°Not that long actually, but we really clicked well right from the beginning. Why are you asking?¡±


    ¡°The reason I was on that caravan wasn¡¯t only to go and see my dad¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, you have a partner there?¡±


    ¡°N-not yet. Hopefully soon. They are really nice and I wanted to ask them out when I arrived but now I get really nervous about it. After all, they probably think I am dead¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a difficult situation, but I think that it¡¯ll all turn out okay.¡±


    ¡°Is she always that optimistic?¡± Charlie looks up to me.


    ¡°Pretty much, but that¡¯s one of the things I like so much about her. She¡¯s like a safe harbour when it¡¯s storming outside. Always there to calm me down and keep me safe.¡± I answer.


    ¡°Wow, that was pretty poetic of you, sis.¡± My sister gasps.


    ¡°I know right.¡± Sam chimes in.


    Charlie laughs, making her wince with pain a little bit. ¡°You two seem like a nice couple.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, do you want to hear the story of when Sam first saw me?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Nononono, that¡¯s super embarrassing, please don¡¯t sweetie.¡± Sam is almost jumping in protest.


    ¡°Oh, I would love to hear it.¡± Charlie replies.


    ¡°Ah ye, that was super cute.¡± ¨¦lise giggles.


    ¡°So, me, my sister and Nikki went shopping¡­¡±


    ¡°Noooooo!¡± Sam tries to stop me with all her cuteness but to no avail.


    ¡°Oh my Goddess, that¡¯s so dorky.¡± Charlie laughs after hearing the story but coughs immediately after.


    ¡°Hey hey, take it easy, ok?¡± Sam dictates, but her voice betrays how flustered she is.


    ¡°It was definitely a bit dorky, but she is so cute when she acts like that, even back then I already thought she was a major cutie.¡± I giggle along with Charlie.


    ¡°That being said, Amicia is just as, even more dorky than Sam.¡± My sister chimes in.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Nikki agrees.


    ¡°It makes them such a good match for a couple.¡± Hilda adds in as well.


    ¡°Et tu, Hilda?¡± I pout.


    ¡°Good usage of the quote kitten. Good girl.¡±


    ¡°I know some history.¡± I pout again, my cheeks glowing a bit red because I love being called a good girl.


    Everyone does, right?


    ¡°Huh, I never heard that one.¡± Charlie remarks.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s just a local thing, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Hilda waves her remark away.


    Ah yeah, these people have a different history than ours.


    We all chat with each other for a bit longer before Hilda suddenly speeds up a little and moves away from our course..


    ¡°No way, it can¡¯t be right¡­¡± She stops at a building quite a bit further away, hidden behind a lot of overgrowth.


    ¡°I think we just hit the jackpot, girls.¡± She says over the headset.


    ¡°What did you find?¡± ¨¦lise asks, curiosity filling her voice.


    ¡°I think the game devs based this area on Japan, because this definitely is a ryokan.¡±


    ¡°Really!?¡± Sam cries out.


    ¡°A whatwhat?¡± I tilt my head and look confusedly at my girlfriend.


    ¡°A ryokan,¡± Sam repeats. ¡°It¡¯s a traditional Japanese inn, they often have some kind of hot spring as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what they are called.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Hilda hums through the headset. ¡°I¡¯ll go check the inside, wait here for a bit.¡± We see her disappear in the ryokan.


    ¡°So, how¡¯s it looking?¡± Nikki calls out to our leader.


    ¡°It looks really intact for having been abandoned for this long. Apart from some of the dust it doesn¡¯t feel like this has been empty at all.¡±


    ¡°And what about the onsen?¡± Sam is clearly pretty enthusiastic.


    ¡°Still looking.¡± We hear the sound of a door sliding open through Hilda¡¯s headset. ¡°Wait. I think I¡¯ve found it.¡±


    ¡°Aaaand!?¡± Sam is getting really really enthusiastic.


    ¡°Ladies, we¡¯ve got ourselves a hot spring.¡±


    ¡°Yeeeeeesss!¡± Sam yells out.


    ¡°This room even looks clean, maybe it was designed to look like this, but what do you say, do we camp here for the night?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good for me.¡± ¨¦lise comments.


    ¡°Yes! Onsen also are rumoured to have a healing ability so it might be good for Charlie¡¯s recovery as well!¡± Sam is almost jumping up and down.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s do it, otherwise Sam might be very very sad.¡± I sigh, secretly being pretty enthusiastic about it too.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Sam already starts marching towards the door.


    ¡°Hey, easy! Charlie is still on here.¡± I almost stumble with the stretcher in my hands.


    ¡°Oh, right, sorry Charlie.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for reminding her Amicia.¡± Charlie looks up to me and smiles. ¡°Is that where we are camping?¡±


    ¡°Yep, apparently it has a hot spring.¡±


    ¡°Wow! I heard those were popular before the catastrophe but I¡¯ve never seen one before!¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯ll be a first for the both of us.¡± I smile back at her.


    ¡°So the hot spring is this onsen thing Sam mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°And it has healing properties?¡±


    Sam looks over her shoulder and nods. ¡°They are rumoured to do so.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure I can enter the bath with my wounds?¡± just when she says that Charlie winces a bit in pain.


    ¡°I¡¯ll look at them in a bit, but they should¡¯ve healed up enough already. Where do you still feel pain?¡± We enter the ryokan, ¨¦lise holding the door open for us. And put the stretcher down near a bunch of old blankets.


    ¡°Mainly my shoulder, the rest of the pain has mostly disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Allright, let me take a look.¡±


    While Sam is busy with Charlie I walk around a bit through the building. Just like Hilda said it is in a remarkably good state. The ryokan feels like it was just left here and nothing touched it for a very long time.


    ¡°Amicia, come look at this.¡± Hilda pokes her head around the corner and motions me over.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Just come over.¡± she quickly disappears around the corner again.


    I decide to follow her and see what¡¯s up. Hilda has entered one of the side rooms of the ryokan and is looking at something in the center of the room.


    ¡°Look at this!¡± She points at a set of samurai armour.


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s pretty neat, is it real?¡± I walk over together with Hilda and inspect it a bit closer.


    ¡°Well technically it¡¯s digital.¡±


    ¡°I know that you nerd.¡± I laugh. ¡°You know what I mean.¡±


    She inspects a couple of the armour parts a bit more closely, together with the katana that is set up on the wall behind it.


    ¡°In our world I would definitely call this genuine.¡± She takes the katana of the wall and slides it out of its scabbard.


    ¡°Can I hold it?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± She goes ahead and hands me the katana.


    ¡°It feels really balanced.¡± I do a couple of practice swings. ¡°Such a nice blade as well.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a reason why they are so popular.¡± Hilda smiles as I hand the sword back over to her and she places it back on the wall.


    ¡°Do you think they made a copy of our world for this game?¡± I ask while sitting down on a nearby chair, looking at a couple of papers strewn around the place.


    ¡°They might have. Although there are definitely some incoherencies.¡± Hilda does the same and starts looking in a couple of drawers.


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes it just feels like it¡¯s a mix of countries thrown in together. Architecture that changes from building to building, no clear system to what is where and why. Like this place, it¡¯s just weird finding this outside of Japan. These are not merely hot baths, it¡¯s a hot spring, and Japan is one of the places that make that possible by its geography and tectonic situation.¡±


    ¡°Games be games I guess?¡±


    Hilda laughs. ¡°Yeah that is probably it, but immersion wise it does take me a little bit out of it. Well, at least we can take advantage of it, now that it¡¯s here anyway.¡±


    ¡°Immersion breaking hot spring for the win!¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Hilda smiles while closing the drawer and heads back towards the main room to Sam and Charlie.


    I closely follow in her wake, mentally preparing myself to get soaked in nice warm water.


    Kitty cat go mew

 Chapter 45: Dressing Room

    FieryKathy


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the doctor¡¯s verdict?¡± I walk up to Sam and Charlie.


    ¡°It should be fine, her shoulder is still a bit sprained but it¡¯s not like taking a bath will make it worse. I checked her legs as well and while walking will be a bit hard it¡¯s doable with a bit of help.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear that.¡± I smile at Charlie and she smiles back.


    ¡°What were you doing in the meantime?¡± Sam asks, putting away some of her medical tools.


    ¡°Hilda wanted to show me something in one of the rooms.¡±


    ¡°Something interesting?¡±


    ¡°Pretty interesting, yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± After she has put away her tools she gives me a quick kiss.


    ¡°Is someone going to guard the place while we bathe?¡± ¨¦lise walks back into the room after her own exploration of the building.


    ¡°Hmm. I can go and set some tripwires around the building, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be necessary.¡± Hilda already starts looking through her pack. ¡°Can I borrow a couple of grenades Nikki?¡±


    ¡°Sure things. Which ones do you need?¡±


    ¡°Flashbangs will be good. I don¡¯t want to hurt innocent people.¡±


    ¡°Good thinking.¡± Nikki tosses a couple of grenades over to Hilda.


    ¡°Okay, I will be right back.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°Why don¡¯t you all get in already?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t have to ask me that twice.¡± ¨¦lise grins and walks away to the dressing room. ¡°You all coming?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Nikki closes her pack and follows her girlfriend.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get going too. Ami can you support Charlie?¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± I crouch down and let Charlie swing her arm around my shoulder. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to lift you in one, two, three!¡± and get her on her legs.


    ¡°Undressing you might be a bit harder though.¡± I walk her over to where I assume the dressing room is.


    ¡°I think I can manage that myself, as long as I¡¯ve got something to sit on.¡± Charlie answers.


    ¡°Sam, I remember there¡¯s a chair in the room Hilda showed to me, can you go and grab it?¡±


    ¡°Alrighty.¡± She jogs away. ¡°Oh wait, where is it?¡± Sam suddenly comes to a halt again.


    ¡°Around the corner, second room on the left.¡±


    ¡°Thanks babe.¡± She laughs and jogs off again.


    When we enter the dressing room I can already hear Sam coming in behind us.


    ¡°There you go.¡± She puts down the chair in front of one of the bin racks.


    I gently put Charlie down on it and look around. ¡°Nikki and ¨¦lise, are you already done?¡± I call out to them.


    ¡°Yep!¡± I can hear my sister call out from the room next door.


    ¡°How in the name of the Goddess did you manage to get undressed so fast?¡±


    ¡°Many, many years of practice, sis.¡± I hear her laughing. ¡°Anyway, hurry up, the water is great!¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± I turn around and find that Sam is almost done undressing as well. ¡°What! How?¡± A blush covers my face.


    ¡°I play sports, remember?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m very skilled in getting undressed and dressed back up again, really fast.¡±


    ¡°Because you always need to hurry because you are often too late?¡± I tease her.


    ¡°I will neither confirm, nor deny this.¡± She sticks out her tongue.


    ¡°Oh does Sam play sports?¡± Charlie asks, having some issues getting off her shirt.


    ¡°Want some help with that? I know you said you could do it yourself, but¡­¡± I ask her.


    ¡°...S-sure¡­I might have underestimated how hard it was gonna be.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± I carefully help her with her t-shirt. ¡°And yes, Sam plays basketball, she¡¯s their team captain.¡±


    ¡°Oh! I heard of that game!¡± She enthusiastically replies once her shirt is over her head. ¡°I heard they stopped playing because of the apocalypse though?¡±


    ¡°Where we are from people still play.¡± Sam gives her a little pat on her non-painful shoulder. ¡°If I can find a ball when we are back in the city I¡¯ll show you how to play.¡±


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯d love to see it!¡±


    I continue helping to undress Charlie with a little bit of help from Sam once she¡¯s done when Hilda peeks her head in.


    ¡°Oh, you girls are still undressing.¡± She quickly hides behind the door again.


    ¡°Sam and Charlie are basically ready.¡± I give a nod to Sam. ¡°Can you take Charlie to the bath without me, Sam?¡±


    She nods and puts Charlie¡¯s arm around her neck. ¡°See you in a bit then?¡±


    ¡°Yep, see you in a bit.¡±


    Once Sam and Charlie have left the changing room Hilda enters.


    ¡°Still a bit shy with people you don¡¯t know?¡± I ask when she enters.


    Hilda nods. ¡°A bit yeah...  I¡¯m surprised you are so okay with this.¡± She finds herself an empty clothing bin and starts undressing, with me doing the same thing.


    ¡°My inner gay always yelps a bit when I see Sam undress though. And for some reason being around Charlie feels pretty comfortable.¡±


    ¡°Haha, I can believe that and Charlie does look like a cool kid, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°No such reservations when you are around me?¡±


    ¡°Nah, you feel very much like a little sister or some kind of daughter to me. Don¡¯t forget it was me who taught you how to put on a bra.¡±


    ¡°Oh right! How could I forget. But I¡¯m glad you see me that way.¡±


    ¡°Yay.¡± She pats my shoulder making me look around finding a completely undressed Hilda standing there.


    ¡°HOW ARE YOU ALL SO FAST!¡±


    Hilda waits a couple of moments for me to finish undressing as well, while she sorts a bit of her gear.


    ¡°I¡¯m finally done.¡± I sigh as I turn around to Hilda. ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± She puts her clothing basket in the rack and follows me towards the onsen. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to wash yourself first before entering the bath.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s not that, because I forgot was a ryokan was, I also forgot what the proper bathing ritual is.¡±


    ¡°Allrighty.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Ah, our glorious leader is back together with the kitten. Did you manage to set up the traps?¡± I see my sister poke in from the edge of the onsen, which by the way, looks bloody amazing.


    ¡°Yeah, no one should be able to get in here without us knowing.¡±


    ¡°Great! Also, sis, what are you gaping at?¡± ¨¦lise turns her gaze to me.


    ¡°This bath looks amazing.¡±


    There¡¯s even lush vegetation and the rocks that make up the sides of the bath look great, reflecting the lights of a couple of lanterns in the room.


    ¡°I know right! It¡¯s like a little paradise on earth.¡±


    I nod enthusiastically ¡°And where¡¯s Nikki?¡±


    Nikki comically pops up her head right next to my sister¡¯s. ¡°Am here, don¡¯t worry.¡± She starts laughing at her own antics, making me laugh a bit too.


    I look over to my right and see Sam helping Charlie wash herself.


    ¡°Need some more help?¡± I walk over to one of the washing tables.


    ¡°Not really, we¡¯re almost done.¡± Sam looks over to me and smiles.


    It¡¯s pretty interesting to see how her dragon-like scales flow over to her skin, as my eyes follow the several patterns on her face, her arms, her back, her thighs¡­


    ¡°If I wasn¡¯t already undressed I¡¯d say you were undressing me with your eyes.¡± She giggles.


    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± My face goes tomato red.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t mind it if it¡¯s you doing it.¡±


    ¡°Flirty flirt.¡± Charlie smirks, clearly visible in the mirror before it quickly disappears when Sam poors warm water over her head.


    ¡°Charlie sit with us for a bit.¡± My sister has gotten out of the bath to come and fetch Charlie.


    ¡°Okay?¡± She looks at her a bit confused.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk a bit while these two get to their antics.¡± My sister takes Charlie off her feet towards the bath. A move she clearly didn¡¯t expect.


    ¡°A-ah, right!¡±


    ¡°Be gentle with her, she¡¯s still a bit fragile.¡± Sam calls after my sister.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will.¡± She calls back, slowly lowering Charlie in the water.


    Sam turns her attention back to me. ¡°Want me to wash your back?¡± and tilts her head a little.


    ¡°I-if you¡¯d want to¡­¡±


    Meanwhile Hilda sits a bit further away from us, starting to wash herself. ¡°Don¡¯t pay any attention to me.¡± She gives me a wink.


    Sam starts with soaping me up and continues on scrubbing my back.


    ¡°Should I soap in your tail as well?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Just be a bit careful at the bottom of my tail it¡¯s a bit¡­¡±


    Just when I say that she scrubs that area.


    ¡°EEEEEPP! S-s-s-s-sensitive¡­¡± I pout, my blush from earlier returning instantly.


    ¡°That was a cute sound, maybe I should do it again?¡± She whispers in my ear.


    ¡°No please¡­ a-a-at least not in front of the others¡­¡± I whisper back.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for the next opportunity then.¡± Sam whispers again.


    This comment sent a shiver down my spine to the tip of my tail.


    ¡°Sam,¡± my sister comments from the bath. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that if you tease her even more you¡¯ll have to scrape her from the floor.¡±


    ¡°Y-y-ye!¡± I agree with her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to control myself then.¡± She laughs as she continues washing my back.


    Are you sure you are a dragon lady and not a temptress devil?

 Chapter 46: Onsen

    FieryKathy


    After a bit more flirting, well, quite a lot more flirting, we are both done with cleaning ourselves and head towards the hot, steamy water of the onsen.


    ¡°Oh my Goddess,¡± Sam moans after lowering herself in the water, making me blush quite a bit. ¡°Come in babe - this is just divine.¡± She smiles and offers her hand to me.


    I nod and gladly take it and she starts gently reeling me in.


    ¡°Oh, mother Veanya, you were right, this is just heavenly.¡± I almost immediately melt when I start floating around in this holy H2O.


    Sam guides me to a nearby sitting area at the edge of the bath, sitting down first, placing me on top of her lap and holds me close to her with her strong arms around my waist.


    ¡°I love you, Sam.¡± I nuzzle my face against hers.


    ¡°I love you too, Kitten.¡± She gives my cheek a quick kiss and hugs me tighter.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯ll be a beautiful night.¡± I look up at the sky, which is slowly getting darker.


    ¡°Every night is beautiful as long as you grace me with your presence, m¡¯lady.¡± She kisses my neck.


    ¡°Hahahaha, that tickles!¡± I rub my face against hers once more. ¡°But I¡¯m serious, Sam, just look.¡±


    She smiles and looks up together with me. ¡°Maybe we will get a star-lit heaven, unlike any we¡¯ve ever seen before.¡±


    ¡°Mhmmm.¡± I nod. ¡°Turn of Destiny has them as well, would you want to join us there too?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to miss an opportunity to stargaze every night with my beautiful girlfriend, would I?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± I look her straight in the eyes and give her a kiss, before returning to watching the heavens with my gorgeous captain.


    We sit there for a while longer, just cuddling up to each other before we hear Hilda¡¯s voice behind us.


    ¡°Girls, make sure you don¡¯t get a heat stroke by staying in the bath too long, okay?¡±


    ¡°Are you getting out already, Hilda?¡± I turn my head around, almost getting some of my hair in Sam¡¯s mouth. ¡°Oh, sorry Sam.¡±


    ¡°Itf ffine.¡± she blows a bit of my hair away.


    Hilda laughs.¡±Yeah, I¡¯m not good with heat for a long time. Think I¡¯m gonna start making preparations for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Oh! See you a bit later then!¡±


    ¡°See ya, Hilda.¡± Sam waves almost making me fall off her lap.


    ¡°Waaaah!¡±


    Hilda laughs again and waves us goodbye. ¡°See you later.¡±


    ¡°Hey Ami.¡± Sam whispers in my ear, her arms locking around my waist once more.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡± I blush slightly and look her into the eyes.


    ¡°I think I saw a big futon earlier, would you like to sleep in it together with me?¡±


    ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡±


    She starts smiling. ¡°I just wanted to make sure.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯d want to. Also if I¡¯m honest, I¡¯m a bit curious about how they feel to sleep in.¡±


    ¡°Me too, me too.¡± Sam giggles. ¡°If it¡¯s uncomfortable I can always rest my head on your chest.¡±


    ¡°Hey! And what about me then!¡±


    ¡°You are part cat, cats can sleep everywhere.¡±


    I pout, when I slept at my sister¡¯s house on the sofa it did feel a lot more comfortable than it probably should¡¯ve. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Just kidding, I will make sure you¡¯ll be nice and comfy as well.¡± She kisses my head. ¡°Pftftf.¡±


    ¡°Got my hair in your mouth again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯ll need to start brushing you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d very much like that.¡± I purr.


    A little while later my sister, Nikki and Charlie also leave the bath.


    ¡°Charlie, how are you feeling?¡± Sam looks over to the three women leaving the room.


    ¡°A lot better, the bath really worked some wonders.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear that. So you can manage your clothes on your own now?¡±


    ¡°Should be fine, and if I need help ¨¦lise and Nikki can help me.¡±


    My sister gives us a thumbs up.


    ¡°I hope they didn¡¯t tease you too much?¡± I also turn my attention to Charlie.


    ¡°Only a little.¡± Nikki gives us a wink.


    ¡°Yeah, they were fine, Hilda was there to stop them if they went too far.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I smile and give her a little wave.


    ¡°We should probably leave soon as well.¡± Sam squeezes me.


    ¡°Yeah, make sure we don¡¯t shrivel up in this hot water.¡±


    ¡°I hate it when my skin gets all wrinkly by sitting in water for too long.¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡±


    ¡°Although, I got to say that my skin in this body is really holding up pretty well.¡± She inspects her hands.


    ¡°Maybe you are a descendant from a water dragon?¡±


    ¡°Or there is something special about this water.¡±


    ¡°Could be, but I¡¯m already getting a little wrinkly.¡± I inspect my hands too.


    Sam stops embracing me and places her hands behind me back and under my knees, scooping me up from the water.


    ¡°Waaah!¡± I quickly wrap my arms around her neck. ¡°You could¡¯ve warned me!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, speed was of the essence.¡± She smiles and carries me towards the dressing room.


    ¡°You can put me down now, Sam.¡± I look at her face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± She smirks. ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten too accustomed to having you against my body.¡±


    I blush a little. ¡°I-I think I know what you mean.¡±


    Reluctantly and with a deep sigh Sam does gently put me down on the floor when we get to the dressing room, which, of course, is already empty because people are just too darn fast.


    ¡°We can cuddle up later, Sam. No need to despair.¡± I give her a last hug.


    ¡°Already looking forward to it.¡± She kisses me as we both start dressing ourselves.


    This time Sam doesn¡¯t have to wait terribly long for me to be ready and we head towards the main room of the ryokan together, where Hilda is already done with most of the dinner set-up and is chatting a bit with my sister.


    ¡°Where are we going to sleep?¡± I ask the group.


    ¡°There¡¯s plenty of rooms if you want to have privacy. Charlie can sleep in my room.¡± Hilda states.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she doesn¡¯t snore.¡± ¨¦lise nods at Charlie, who just smiles in response.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s for dinner?¡± Sam sits down next to the quickly set up mini cookers.


    Hilda ruffles through her bag and hands me and Sam two bags or MRE¡¯s and a whole pack of crackers.


    ¡°Oh wow.¡± Sam stares at the packaging. ¡°Look Ami, we can make mini pizzas!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I shuffle over and push myself against Sam.


    ¡°Amicia, heads up.¡± Hilda calls out to me and lobs me a small tin. ¡°You can have this as well.¡±


    I easily catch the tin and look at the packaging. A tin of sardines. ¡°Haha, very funny.¡± I fake a laugh.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it you can always give it back.¡± Hilda reaches out to me with her hand.


    I defensively take the tin next to my chest. ¡°Hmmm, on second thought I think I¡¯ll keep it.¡±


    Hilda smiles and sits herself down again, taking out her own MRE¡¯s and starts to heat them up.


    The mini-pizzas, mine adorned with some sardines, were definitely not the worst thing I¡¯ve ever eaten in my life. Even Sam was pretty content with hers, although she didn¡¯t have delicious fishies on them. The rest of the group also looked like they enjoyed their dinner, even though my sister was complaining a bit about the lack of spice in her pasta. Charlie even fell asleep on Hilda¡¯s lap after dinner, it was a pretty hectic day for her after all.


    ¡°So, Sam, you want to join us in Turn of Destiny?¡± My sister asks Sam once it¡¯s clear Charlie is probably not going to wake up any time soon.


    ¡°If I¡¯m welcome.¡± She pats the back of her head.


    ¡°Of course you are.¡± My sister smiles and looks over to Hilda. ¡°How hard would it be to rendezvous with her?¡±


    ¡°I can pinpoint where we are on the map with coordinates so she can spawn close to us, that won¡¯t be much of an issue. She will be a bit underleveled though. But she can probably catch up to Amicia pretty fast.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you can do that?¡± I interrupt Hilda.


    ¡°Enter coordinates? Yeah.¡±


    I angrily look over to my sister. ¡°So why didn¡¯t you give me coordinates back when I started?¡±


    My sister whistles softly and avoids my gaze. ¡°Because I forgot?¡±


    Nikki tries to calm me down a little. ¡°Well, look at it positively, if you didn¡¯t spawn where you did, you wouldn¡¯t have met your Goddess, or Hilda.¡±


    ¡°See, I all planned it in advance.¡± My sister giggles.


    ¡°Anyway.¡± Hilda continues. ¡°It should be easy for you to join us, Sam.¡±


    ¡°And what kind of class would be best to play?¡±


    ¡°Up to you. ¨¦lise is the tank, Amicia the healer, me and Nikki are a rogue and a mage respectively. Just pick what you like.¡±


    ¡°Allright, I¡¯ll see what my options are, then.¡± Sam smiles and leans back to give me a kiss.


    ¡°Should we go to bed?¡± I kiss her back.


    ¡°Hmm ye, I¡¯m getting pretty tired.¡± Sam gets up and heads towards the pile of futons. ¡°Can I grab this one?¡± She points at the biggest one.


    ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± Both Hilda and ¨¦lise nod.


    ¡°Good night.¡± I yawn and wave the group goodbye.


    ¡°See you in the morning, kitten.¡± Hilda replies with a wave.


    ¨¦lise and Nikki also say goodnight as me and Sam disappear into one of the siderooms.


    ¡°So, about the cuddles I was promised¡­¡± Sam closes the door behind her.


    ¡°Coming right up.¡± I jump onto her the moment she puts down the futon.


    Cuddle cuddle purr cuddle cuddle

 Chapter 47: Nipple

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Oh wow, such a surprise attack.¡± Sam giggles while rolling around on the futon with me.


    ¡°Kitty ninja.¡± I use the momentum to put Sam on her back again.


    ¡°Super cute.¡± She stops rolling and lifts her head to kiss me.


    ¡°No you.¡± I smile and kiss her back.


    ¡°Should we undress so we can hug beneath the sheets?¡± She slightly tugs the sleeve of my shirt.


    ¡°Great idea.¡± I start taking off my shirt while sitting on top of Sam.


    She laughs and easily pushes me down on the soft futon instead, ¡°Naughty.¡± and gets up to undress herself further.


    I do the same and it doesn¡¯t take long before we are both back to the futon.


    ¡°Hey Sam, can you turn around for me for a second?¡± I ask when we are both settled in our cozy snugglefort.


    ¡°Eh, sure?¡± She looks a bit funny at me before turning her back to me.


    ¡°I have been wondering how this feels out of the water.¡± I start tracing the scales on her back, paying the most attention to the place where her scales meet her skin.


    ¡°I-it feels p-pretty nice.¡± I can hear Sam¡¯s voice breaking up a little.


    ¡°Good.¡± I trace my finger even lower done her back, feeling Sam shiver a little when I do so.


    ¡°A-Ami¡­¡± She stutters.


    I continue, following her scales down her thighs.


    ¡°Ami!¡± She calls out semi-loudly, turning around and slamming my hand against the futon. ¡°Oh, now you¡¯ve done it.¡± The warmth of her heavy breathing caressing my face.


    I gulp. ¡°Did I wake the dragon?¡±


    ¡°You can bet your ass you did.¡± She takes her other hand to my butt and gently pulls my tail.


    ¡°Eeeep!¡±


    She completely pushes me down on the mattress. ¡°Touching my scales like that, how dare you.¡± and goes in for a very long and passionate kiss.


    I squirm with pleasure, still being held down by her beautiful figure.


    ¡°Like you didn¡¯t like it.¡± I gasp in between the kissing.


    She blushes but continues to kiss me into submission.


    I don¡¯t think I need to mention that during this entire ordeal I¡¯ve started to purr profusely, also signaling to Sam that I am definitely not disliking what is happening right now.


    After some making out Sam¡¯s kisses leave my lips and start going down my neck, past my collarbone and onto my chest. She diverts to the right where her soft lips land on my nipple. She halts for a second and sucks, making me yelp before moving to the other side and doing the same.


    She moves down even further but once she reaches my belly button I grab her hand.


    Sam looks up to me. ¡°Right, sorry babe, I got a bit excited.¡±


    ¡°D-don¡¯t be.¡±


    ¡°Boobs were okay, right?¡±


    I blush and give her a nod.


    ¡°Alright.¡± She gently smiles and snuggles back up to me, one of her hands softly massaging my breasts, her tail brushing my legs. ¡°Don¡¯t ever be afraid to tell me to stop, ok?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t. Thanks for understanding, Sam.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± She kisses my neck again. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to miss this tail after we leave the game.¡± Her tail wraps around my leg.


    ¡°You can make a similar character in Turn of Destiny, you know. Sexy, cute and cool dragon lady.¡±


    She giggles. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of adjectives.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t decide.¡± I giggle with her.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll definitely take this race then.¡±


    ¡°Sounds great.¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to kiss her neck. ¡°I think I¡¯d miss your tail too.¡±


    Without words her tail leaves my leg alone and searches for my tail, wrapping around each other when they both meet.


    A couple of minutes later Sam starts massaging my breasts and takes her hand to my chin, planting a soft kiss on my lips. ¡°All this cuddling made me very tired.¡±


    ¡°Mhmmm.¡± I nod. ¡°We should get some sleep in so we can get Charlie home safely tomorrow.¡±


    Sam gives me one final kiss. ¡°Wanna be my little spoon, kitten?¡± She whispers in my ear.


    ¡°Any time.¡± I giggle and turn my back towards her.


    She then pulls me towards her, feeling her boobs pressed against my back, her arms tightly wrapped around me.


    ¡°Ni ni, Ami.¡±


    ¡°Good night, Sam.¡±


    I purr us both to sleep and wake up still wrapped in Sam¡¯s arms in the morning.


    Just in time because just when I open my eyes I hear a soft knock on the door.


    ¡°Hey girls, are you awake?¡± Hilda¡¯s voice sounds from behind the door.


    ¡°Good morning Hilda.¡± Sam replies, apparently she was awake already too. ¡°Morning, love.¡± she whispers to me.


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°Your tail gave you away.¡± She softly giggles.


    ¡°Good morning, Sam, we are going to have breakfast in like ten minutes. So can you wake up the kitty cat?¡± Hilda replies.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Sam laughs.


    I close my eyes again and Sam pokes me.


    ¡°What are you doing Ami? Breakfast is ready.¡±


    ¡°Still sleeping.¡±


    ¡°Are you now?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    She starts tickling me while also kissing my neck.


    ¡°Hahahaha, Sam, no, please, stoooop!¡±


    ¡°Awake now or are you sleeptalking?¡± she continues tickling me.


    ¡°I¡¯m awake! I¡¯m awake!¡± I sit upright, still giggling from the tickles.


    ¡°Silly kitten.¡± she gives me a pat on my head.


    I stick out my tongue ¡°Love you, Sam.¡±


    ¡°Love you too.¡±


    We prepare ourselves and head out to breakfast five minutes later, Sam didn¡¯t even need to tickle me more to get me to hurry up.


    ¡°Good morning!¡± Nikki calls out to us when we enter the main room. She¡¯s energetically setting up the last parts of our breakfast.


    ¡°Good morning to you too, Nikki, you look well-rested.¡± I sit down next to my sister who swiftly pats my head as well.


    ¡°Mhm, I slept incredibly well.¡±


    I suspiciously look over to ¨¦lise.


    ¡°She fell asleep like a brick the moment I started purring.¡± ¨¦lise explains.


    ¡°It¡¯s so incredibly comfy, Amicia. Is this how you feel as well, Sam?¡± Nikki asks.


    Sam nods. ¡°I know what you mean. It¡¯s so calming.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you turn your sister into a catgirl in real life as well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d have to ask Veanya.¡± I laugh. ¡°Having to hide it is pretty annoying though.¡±


    ¨¦lise agrees. ¡°We can always come back to this game when you want to have a purrfect night¡¯s sleep, babe.¡±


    ¡°Ok then.¡± Nikki pouts. ¡°Sam, you are one lucky girl if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sam kisses my cheek.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Charlie?¡±


    ¡°She went outside with Hilda for a moment. To catch some fresh air.¡±


    ¡°Should we start eating already or should we wait?¡±


    ¡°Waiting won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Hilda walks in with Charlie close behind her. ¡°Morning air is the best.¡±


    ¡°How was your sleep, Charlie?¡± Sam asks, already opening one of the MRE bags.


    ¡°Pretty good. It was nice to be able to sleep in safety for once.¡±


    ¡°Hilda didn¡¯t snore?¡±


    ¡°Only a little.¡±


    ¡°Lies! Slander! Propaganda!¡± Hilda comically protests.


    Charlie laughs. ¡°Haha, no, she was perfectly quiet.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish our breakfast so we can take you home to your father.¡± I smile at her.


    ¡°That¡¯d be great.¡± She smiles back at me.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be such a long walk. I¡¯d guess like 4 hours.¡± Hilda also starts eating her breakfast.


    ¡°Cool beans.¡± I say.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m pretty sure this is egg.¡± Sam comments, with a devious smirk.


    I facepalm and the rest of the group starts laughing.


    When dinner is finished we say our small piece of paradise farewell, pack up our things and leave towards the city.


    ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll run into more bandits?¡± I walk up front together with Hilda.


    ¡°Possibly but we are already quite far away from the encampment so I doubt it. Still need to be cautious though.¡±


    ¡°Just in case?¡±


    ¡°Just in case indeed.¡± She smiles.


    Sam and Charlie are walking right behind us with Nikki and ¨¦lise closing off the back of our group.


    ¡°Hey, wait a second.¡± Sam calls out a couple of minutes later.


    ¡°What do you see, Sam?¡± Hilda stops the rest of the group.


    ¡°Just a thing I promised to keep an eye out for.¡± She runs over to a nearby car wreck and pulls out something from the back seat.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Charlie calls after her.


    ¡°I promised you I¡¯d teach you how to play ball if I found one right?¡± She walks back over to the group.


    ¡°Wow, did you find a basketball?¡± Charlie jumps up and down enthusiastically.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Sam shows it to us. The ball is almost completely deflated.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look very ball-like to me.¡± Charlie¡¯s enthusiasm drops a bit.


    ¡°Ah, it just deflated. I don¡¯t see any holes in it, I just need to fill it with air and it¡¯ll be ready to go.¡±


    ¡°Yay! I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡±


    Sam hands over the ball to Charlie who immediately embraces it like her biggest treasure as we continue towards the shielded city.


    Hmm, I wonder if they would have bitterballen?

 Chapter 48: Coffee

    FieryKathy


    Three hours later the skyscrapers of the shielded city come into view and it doesn¡¯t take long for us to rendezvous with the selfsame guards who waved us goodbye the day before.


    ¡°Bill, go get Marcus, those adventures have rescued his daughter!¡± We hear one of them call out to the other, at which the soldier, Bill I presume, quickly runs off.


    ¡°Hey there.¡± Hilda approaches the soldier.


    ¡°Darn bloody good job misses, Marcus is going to be so happy to see his girl again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad we could save her.¡±


    ¡°And what about the bandits?¡±


    ¨¦lise steps in. ¡°They should have all been taken care of, if there¡¯s any left they won¡¯t be a threat.¡±


    ¡°Great to hear. You can go and talk to the commander in the city¡¯s administrative office to collect your reward.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll head there once Charlie has seen her dad.¡±


    ¡°You can wait in the guardpost, it has a sofa and a coffee machine.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, we will.¡± Hilda nods at the soldier as we enter through the city gate and make our way inside of the small guard post.


    ¡°I hope the coffee isn¡¯t that bad.¡± I hear Nikki talking to my sister.


    ¡°It¡¯s government provided coffee babe, it¡¯s not going to be good.¡±


    ¡°My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined¡­¡±


    ¡°Drama queen.¡± ¨¦lise starts laughing.


    ¡°We¡¯ll get you some good coffee later, Nikki.¡± Hilda starts making a mug for herself and swiftly tastes it when it¡¯s done. ¡°Yeah, this is definitely not good.¡±


    After Elise gets her coffee as the last one of the group we can hear people running towards us.


    ¡°Charlie!?¡± We hear a man¡¯s voice coming from outside.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Charlie sprints outside and we slowly follow along. When we come outside we see Charlie already swung around the neck of her father.


    ¡°Charlie, I¡¯m so happy you are safe. Me and your mom were so devastated when we heard about the attack on the caravan.¡±


    ¡°It was so scary dad.¡± Charlie is crying as well. ¡°But luckily these ladies rescued me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you all so terribly much, I don¡¯t know how I can repay you.¡± The man is still crying.


    ¡°No need for that sir, this scene is payment enough for us.¡± Hilda takes the lead. ¡°Every decent human being would have done the same.¡±


    Our entire group nods along with the sentiment.


    ¡°You are all saints¡­¡±


    ¡°There is one thing, sir.¡± Sam steps forward a little.


    The man nods.


    ¡°I promised your daughter I would teach her how to play basketball today, if that¡¯s alright with you.¡±


    The man wipes away his tears. ¡°Of course, of course. If you don¡¯t mind me, my wife and another guest coming along.¡±


    ¡°Of course I don¡¯t mind.¡± Sam smiles.


    ¡°There¡¯s an abandoned basketball court in sector F9 of the city, not that far from our home. So you can use that.¡± The man has stopped embracing his daughter.


    ¡°Alright, we need to go past city administration first and you probably want some more time with your daughter. So let¡¯s agree to meet up there in 2 hours?¡± Hilda takes the initiative again.


    The man looks at Charlie and she gives him a nod. ¡°Hmm, that sounds good for us.¡±


    Charlie grabs her father¡¯s hand and waves us goodbye. ¡°See you a bit later then.¡±


    ¡°See ya later Charlie!¡±


    They walk off in the distance towards the city center.


    ¡°So where¡¯s sector F9?¡± I ask to Hilda.


    ¡°I have no clue.¡± She laughs. ¡°We can ask around when we get to the administrative office.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully Charlie will come prepared, she¡¯s going to get taught by a true professional after all.¡± ¨¦lise teases Sam.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m super jealous. I wanna get taught by Sam too.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Well, I can always show you the ropes as well, little kitten of mine. I bet Charlie isn¡¯t going to mind.¡± She grabs my hand, spins me around and plants a kiss on my lips. ¡°Might want to teach you how to tango too.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you know how to dance, Sam?¡± My sister looks at my girlfriend in awe.


    ¡°Only the tango.¡± She laughs. ¡°A friend of mine from basketball once forced me to follow a lesson with her.¡±


    ¡°Max?¡± I tilt my head.


    ¡°Yep, that was a good guess.¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s the only one I know!¡± I laugh.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Sam laughs as well.


    ¡°So, when are we going to the administration¡¯s office?¡±


    ¡°Just let us finish this¡­ coffee water first¡­¡± Hilda sips from her mug. ¡°Okay, maybe not¡­ it might make me sick if I drink this all.¡± She throws the rest away in the nearby foliage. ¡°Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t kill the local flora.¡±


    Nikki sips from hers and promptly spits it out. ¡°Yeah, throwing it away might not be the worst course of action.¡± and throws her coffee away right next to the spot where Hilda threw hers.


    My sister doesn¡¯t even sip from her mug, she just stares at the dark distasteful liquid and follows her comrades into throwing it away.


    One of the plants already starts withering away.


    ¡°Wow. Instead of sending us to kill the bandits they should just have sent them their coffee machine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s against the Geneva convention ¨¦lise.¡± Hilda starts laughing.


    ¡°Hilda, look around, I¡¯m pretty sure they didn¡¯t hold themselves to that even if it did exist in the past.¡± She points at the multiple destroyed buildings and the shield wall.


    ¡°Fair point.¡±


    ¡°So, city administration?¡± I gesture towards the center of the city.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go before that coffee spawns a radioactive human eating plant or something.¡± My sister hurries past me while tugging her girlfriend along.


    Hilda follows the pair and me and Sam walk closely behind her.


    It takes us fifteen minutes to get to the city administration and five more to find the authorized commander with our reward.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your reward ladies, thank you for your service to our beautiful city.¡± The fancily clad commander hands us a card. ¡°I hope this will suffice.¡±


    ¡°No problem sir, we are glad to have been of help.¡± Hilda scans the card into a codex device and heads back towards the door. ¡°Oh right,¡± she turns back around. ¡°I have two more questions.¡±


    The captain looks a bit surprised but nods. ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Where can we find sector F9 and where can we get the best coffee this town has to offer?¡±


    The captain starts laughing. ¡°You drank from the coffee in the guardpost, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Nikki and Hilda both nod yes.


    ¡°We¡¯ve told those guardsmen several times they could have a new coffee machine and beans if they wanted but they said they liked their coffee as it is now.¡±


    Hilda and Nikki both look like they¡¯ve seen a ghost. ¡°Really!?¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable, right?¡± The captain finally manages to stop laughing and takes a small map of the city from one of the drawers of his desk. He circles two spots on the map and hands it over to Hilda.


    ¡°Sector F9 is one of the western sectors of the city, right here.¡± He points at one of the circles. ¡°And the best coffee in the city you can find right here.¡± He points at the second circle. ¡°It¡¯s a little bit of a detour if you want to get to F9 but it¡¯s worth it. They have some great milkshakes too.¡±


    Did he say¡­ MILKSHAKES??


    ¡°Thanks sir.¡± Hilda salutes him.


    ¡°Oh, and if you tell the owner Jerry sent you, he will give you a discount.¡±


    Hilda smiles and thanks him again. ¡°Will do, sir. Thanks for the tip.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±


    We all leave his office and when we are outside I immediately cling to Hilda.


    ¡°So where is that bar?¡±


    ¡°Wohow, you are enthusiastic, kitten? Want some coffee too?¡±


    ¡°No, he said they have great milkshakes right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, ok, I get it now. Does the kitty want milkshakes?¡±


    My tail goes wild and I nod energetically. ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, we were going there anyway. Want to have the map?¡±


    ¡°No, you can lead the way.¡±


    Hilda smiles and whispers into my ear. ¡°If you stop clinging to me we can go there as soon as possible, besides, I think someone is getting a little bit jealous.¡± She nods her head towards my right where Sam is pouting a little.


    ¡°Oh no! I¡¯m sorry Sam.¡± I immediately switch my attention to her and cling myself to her arm. Rubbing my cheek against hers and purring slightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± She starts laughing, her mood having made a 180 degree turn. ¡°I just get a bit jealous, well envious, when I see you being so touchy with other girls.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it, Sam, it¡¯s the cat in me that takes control from time to time.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She pats my head, ¡°That¡¯s one of the things I love about you as well, sometimes I just want to monopolize you, have you all for myself.¡±


    ¡°Like yesterday evening?¡±


    Her hand brushes the base of my tail. ¡°Mhmm, like yesterday evening indeed.¡± she whispers into my ear but quickly backs off so I can see the devious smirk on her face.


    She sends electric charges through my entire body, from the tip of my ears, all the way down to my toes.


    Sam is dangerous, luckily this is the kind of danger I really really like.


    Also! Soon I''ll be launching a new story called Vintage Red! Chapter 1 and 2 will be uploaded in the week of 9 November!


    Chapter 1 is already up on my discord for those who are curious :)

 Chapter 49: Frilly

    FieryKathy


    Thanks to Sam¡¯s incessant flirting time flies by and soon we reach our destination, the caf¨¦ that commander Jerry told us about.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s pretty busy inside, want to wait here while I get our drinks?¡± Hilda says as she peeks in through the glass windows of the caf¨¦.


    ¡°Let me go with you, it will be easier to carry our order.¡± Nikki volunteers.


    ¡°Alright, so what do you all want?¡±


    ¡°Black coffee for me.¡± ¨¦lise raises her hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the same.¡± Sam raises hers as well.


    ¡°Banana milkshake for meeee!¡± It¡¯s my turn to raise my hand.


    Hilda smiles. ¡°Right away, miladies.¡± She makes a bow and enters the caf¨¦ together with Nikki.


    ¡°So it''s just me and the youngsters, huh.¡± ¨¦lise starts joking around. ¡°Want to do something while we are waiting?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a couple of shops there apparently.¡± Sam points at some glass windows down the street. ¡°We can do some window shopping.¡±


    ¡°Great plan!¡± My sister takes my hand and drags me along.


    ¡°W-wait, I didn¡¯t agree to it yet! It¡¯s a catnapping! Help!¡±


    We all start laughing and arrive at the first store.


    ¡°Looks like an antique¡¯s store.¡± Sam comments while browsing, behind the window all sorts of nicknacks are being displayed , one of which looks like a pretty old alcohol flask, and another item looks like a sword hidden in a cane.


    ¡°Hey! Hilda has a sword like this in Turn of Destiny!¡± I enthusiastically point at it.


    ¡°Yeah, but let¡¯s not tell her this is here, otherwise we will be hours too late to meet Charlie and her family.¡± My sisters laughs.


    Sam already has moved on and is staring at the second store. ¡°Oh, my, goddess.¡± she calls out to ¨¦lise. ¡°Bring Ami, quick.¡±


    My sister obeys my girlfriend¡¯s command and takes me over to the next window.


    ¡°We should totally get her in this outfit.¡±


    My sister immediately starts laughing even louder when she sees what Sam is pointing at. ¡°Oh my goddess, YES!¡±


    When I finally see what they are on about my face turns red in an instant. It¡¯s the most fluffy, cute, pink, maid¡¯s dress I¡¯ve ever seen. ¡°N-n-no. I¡¯m not going to wear that!¡±


    ¡°Really, Amicia? I think you¡¯d be incredibly cute in it.¡± My sister pokes my sides.


    My blush grows even stronger. ¡°N-n-no.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, I know you want to.¡±


    ¡°F-fine then, but only if you wear it too.¡± I look at my sister.


    ¡°Sure! Let¡¯s go!¡± She picks me up under her arm and carries me to the door.


    ¡°Wh-whaaat! I didn¡¯t expect you to say yes that easily!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s but a small price to pay to see my sister in an outfit like that, kitten.¡±


    ¡°Nuuuuu.¡±


    In the meantime Sam is completely losing it. ¡°The cat maid idol sisters - this is going to be soo good.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry little dragon, I¡¯m going to get you in one too!¡± My sister smirks and she opens the door.


    ¡°What? Please, no!¡±


    ¡°Stop complaining and come here already.¡±


    Sam pouts but it''s clear she has no choice in the matter and follows me and my sister inside.


    We get greeted by the store clerk. ¡°Good afternoon ladies, how can I be of assistance?¡±


    My sister immediately replies in her usual calm but charming manner. ¡°Hey, we would like to fit the outfit you have in your shop window.¡±


    ¡°So three times the pink frilly one?¡±


    My sister nods.


    The store clerk smiles. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get them for you.¡±


    Seeing that I won¡¯t be running away, ¨¦lise puts me down and starts looking around the store a bit more while the lady is gone.


    ¡°What kind of store do you think this is?¡± I ask my sister, following her around.


    ¡°I think it might be a glamour store.¡±


    ¡°Glamour?¡± Sam asks while looking through one of the clothing racks.


    ¡°Yeah, you know those stores in games where you can get outfits to roleplay or to wear over your normal armour?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah I think I know what you mean. Don¡¯t they usually cost real money though?¡±


    ¡°Not all of them. A lot of games stepped away from that business model quite some time ago.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s cool.¡± Sam pulls out a tuxedo from one of the racks. ¡°Oh, this one looks pretty neat.¡±


    ¡°It sure does, I can already hear Amicia purring about it.¡± My sister takes a good look at the outfit.


    ¡°I was not! N-not yet anyway....¡±


    Sam smiles and puts the tuxedo back. ¡°When we go to a fancy restaurant I''ll wear one, okay?¡±


    ¡°Let me log off so I can reserve right away!¡±


    ¡°Good try, kitty cat, but you aren¡¯t going to run away now.¡± My sister takes me by my shoulders and turns me around to face the storage clerk.


    ¡°Here are your outfits, feel free to try them on in our fitting rooms.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± My sister softly pushes me in the direction of one of the fitting rooms while Sam takes her outfit from the clerk. ¡°Let¡¯s fit these clothes quickly so we can get our drinks, okay girls?¡±


    ¡°Yes mom.¡± I answer.


    ¡°Not your mom, still related tho.¡± She sticks out her tongue and leaves me alone in front of an empty stall while she goes into one by herself. Sam takes the other one next to me.


    It would be so easy to make a run for it now¡­ but I do kinda want to wear it¡­ It looks sooo cute¡­


    I sigh and decide to get into my dressing stall as well, quickly getting out of my camouflaged clothes, and straight into the super duper cute pink frilly dress. I finally got the hang of undressing and dressing myself again so it didn¡¯t even take that long either! When I leave the other stalls are still closed.


    Yes! I managed to beat them this time!


    But my hybris doesn¡¯t take long to dissipate entirely when I see my sister waving to me from one of the alleys. ¡°Hey, what was taking you so long!¡± She immediately starts laughing.


    How?!?!


    ¡°Let me see my cute sister.¡± She walks over, Sam short in tow.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s even better than I dared to imagine.¡± Sam says the moment she sees me in my entirety.


    I try to hide a bit from the gazes of my companions but while doing so I¡¯m probably making myself look even cuter. Who doesn¡¯t like seeing shy catgirls in a frilly pink maid costume?


    My sister is just standing next to Sam, nodding appreciatively. ¡°This is indeed better than expected¡­ And what do you think of us, Ami?¡± My sister does a short spin, making the frills of the dress spread out a bit. Sam on the other hand is just uncomfortably standing there with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Well, it definitely suits you more than it does for Sam.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Hey, frills just aren¡¯t really my jam.¡± She pouts.


    ¡°Although a tsundere dragon girl maid does have its perks.


    Sam pouts even more but before I can tease her about it my sister approaches me from the back. ¡°I also found something in the aisle over there.¡± I try to react but it''s already too late, she has got me by the tail.


    ¡°W-what are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry sis, just attaching something to your tail.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I frantically try to look behind me but my sister is blocking my view.


    ¡°Aaaand done!¡± she backs off and claps her hands. ¡°Yes! This finishes the picture.¡±


    Sam has stopped pouting and is nodding quite enthusiastically.


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Look in the mirror and see for yourself.¡± My sis nods towards one of the many mirrors in the store.


    I quickly walk over and inspect my back. Looks like my sister attached a small pink ribbon to my tail.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    I nod. ¡°It does really complement the outfit.¡±


    ¡°See, your sister at least has some fashion sense.¡± She starts boasting about herself. ¡°Let¡¯s take a group picture and then buy the outfit for Amicia.¡±


    Sam agrees. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with so I can get my coffee.¡±


    We quickly take a group picture of us all, taken by the lovely store clerk and get undressed again.


    ¡°Even Sam looks pretty happy in this picture.¡± My sister shows it to me once I get back out of the stall.


    ¡°As much as I was complaining about it, it was a pretty fun thing to do.¡± She smiles as she walks up to me.¡±


    ¡°I am totally going to print this out and put it in a frame in the living room... My beautiful sister and her lovely wife goofing off with me.¡± ¨¦lise is gushing her heart out.


    Let¡¯s not ruin her mood by refusing, it is pretty cute after all.


    And it looks like Sam shares the same opinion as she smiles at me and gives a nod.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go outside and show it to Nikki and Hilda.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± My sister stops Sam. ¡°Let¡¯s keep it a surprise for when I printed it out.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t say a word.¡±


    We buy the outfit for me at the register, hiding it inside of my bag before going outside. Just when we leave the store we see Nikki and Hilda exiting the caf¨¦ as well.


    ¡°Hey girls, hope you didn¡¯t have to wait that long.¡± Hilda walks over with Nikki next to her.


    ¡°No, we managed to occupy ourselves pretty well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what did you do?¡± Nikki hands over my glorious milkshake.


    ¡°We just went for a walk around the block.¡±


    ¡°Saw anything interesting?¡±


    ¡°Not particularly, but talking with my two favourite younglings always makes time fly by.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully she wasn¡¯t too demanding.¡± Nikki turns herself to Sam.


    ¡°N-no, she was fine.¡±


    I can barely contain my laughter. ¡°Yeah, she behaved.¡±


    Hilda is clearly not buying it by the way she looks at me but decides to not pursue it further.


    Let¡¯s go play some basketball!

 Chapter 50: Mist

    FieryKathy


    Sector F9 was only half an hour away according to Hilda¡¯s calculations, a calculation that proved to be pretty on point, even while drinking or coffees and milkshakes.


    ¡°So, what do you think of the milkshake, Ami?¡± Hilda walks next to me, still sipping from her coffee.


    ¡°It¡¯s really good, not the best I¡¯ve had but definitely good. What about your coffee?¡±


    ¡°Well, the commander was right that it was the best coffee in town, but I¡¯m glad our city in the real world has caf¨¦s better than it. I¡¯m not complaining though.¡±


    ¡°At least it¡¯s better than the sewer water from earlier.¡± Nikki chimes in, she already finished her coffee.


    ¡°I think even Ami¡¯s milkshake is better coffee than that garbage.¡± And my sister too.


    ¡°Milkshakes are love, milkshakes are live.¡±


    ¡°Is that the basketball field over there?¡± Sam points towards an open area in between a couple of buildings.


    ¡°Hmm, could be, it¡¯s not on the map so I guess we¡¯ll have to go and take a look.¡± Hilda folds the map away, just a little clumsily because she could only use one hand.


    Sam starts leading in the direction of the open space with me right on her heels. Our doubts soon disappear however because we get greeted by some familiar faces, Charlie, her dad, a woman I assume is her mother and a fourth person.


    ¡°Ah! You¡¯ve found it!¡± Charlie calls out to us, a now inflated basketball under her arm.


    ¡°Yeah, we stopped to get some coffee first, sorry for the wait.¡± Sam walks over to Charlie.


    ¡°You are still too early, we just wanted to be here first.¡± Charlie smiled and tossed the ball over to Sam who easily managed to control it, even with a coffee cup in her hand.


    That¡¯s the captain of the basketball team for you.


    The rest of our group also approached the family and exchanged greetings.


    ¡°Oh, this is my mom Cadence.¡± Charlie


    ¡°Nice to meet you madam.¡± I said, making a small bow towards her.


    ¡°The honour is all mine, I should be thanking you for bringing our daughter back to us.¡± The lady¡¯s smile was so genuine it made my heart melt a little.


    ¡°And this is my partner, Mist.¡± She quickly swung her arms around them.


    ¡°Nice to meet you all.¡± You can clearly hear the emotion in their voice, and to be honest, who could blame them. Until an hour or two ago everyone in this city was still convinced their loved one was dead, and now she¡¯s here walking around, looking to play some basketball with her saviours.


    ¡°Are you joining as well, Mist?¡± Sam asks them with her comforting smile.


    ¡°C-can I?¡± They are a bit surprised by Sam¡¯s offer.


    ¡°Of course, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t be asking.¡± She gave Mist a wink.


    ¡°Yes Mist! Join too!¡± Their girlfriend is hanging from their sleeve.


    ¡°Ok, then I think I will.¡± They agree to Sam¡¯s offer.


    ¡°Great. I¡¯ll teach you the basics and then we can play a couple of games.¡±


    Charlie enthusiastically jumped in the air. ¡°Yay!¡±


    We played for a couple of hours before we were completely drained of energy, only Sam looked like she didn¡¯t even break a sweat.


    ¡°Tired already?¡± She asks me with a smirk.


    ¡°How are you even still walking...¡± I sit myself down on the floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s all about pacing and technique.¡± Sam pats my head.


    Mist and Charlie also look completely exhausted, they went to sit next to Charlie¡¯s parents who had been watching us for the entire game together with Hilda, my sister and Nikki.


    ¡°Had fun?¡± I hear Charlie¡¯s dad ask Charlie and her partner.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m so glad, today is the best day ever.¡± Charlie sounds battered but content.


    ¡°Thank you again for your kindness.¡± Charlie¡¯s dad turns to me and Sam.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°I¡¯m always happy to teach new players. Give someone a fish and they are fed for a day, teach someone how to fish and they¡¯ll be fed for a lifetime.¡±


    Charlie¡¯s dad nods with a smile.


    ¡°Oh, wise saying.¡± I whisper to Sam.


    ¡°Yeah, it was written on my online calendar yesterday.¡± She giggled back to me.


    ¡°Hey girls.¡± Hilda has come from the bench and is now standing next to me. ¡°It¡¯s almost time for us to log out.¡±


    ¡°Awh, already¡­¡± I let myself drop on my back, looking at the sky above.


    ¡°It definitely isn¡¯t my favourite game. But I think I¡¯ll come back from time to time to check on Charlie and her family.¡± Hilda comments, nodding to the reunited family behind her.


    ¡°Yeah, I think I will as well.¡± I look up at her. ¡°Just tell me when you are heading in, in advance.¡±


    ¡°Hey, and me too!¡± Sam chimes in.


    ¡°I will, I will. Don¡¯t worry little kittens.¡± Hilda starts laughing.


    ¡°Do you have to go already?¡± Suddenly Charlie is standing next to us as well.


    ¡°Yeah, sadly it¡¯s time, but we¡¯ll definitely come to visit.¡± Hilda assures her newest kouhai.


    ¡°You promise?¡±


    ¡°Of course we will. It might take some time but we will definitely return.¡± Sam joins in on the reassurance party.


    ¡°Yay.¡± She jumps in to hug Sam and Hilda and immediately after me as well.


    Shortly after it¡¯s time to say goodbye to everyone. Charlie¡¯s parents thank us again and again and promise that next time they will prepare a huge feast to honour us. While we are walking to a hotel to log off, ¨¦lise and Nikki chat a bit about their promise. ¡°It¡¯s pretty embarrassing to get this much praise, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Nikki nods. ¡°It is, but I completely understand them as well. Just imagine if someone saved Amicia.¡±


    ¡°Well, Sam already did.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, we should get her something as well.¡±


    Sam¡¯s face grows red. ¡°Please don¡¯t, I already got plenty.¡±


    ¡°See, Sam proved my point.¡± My sister giggles. ¡°But it would be rude to tell them not too, so I will just power through the embarrassment.¡±


    We arrive at the hotel when the sun has just set, the lights of the city are starting to pop on all around us.


    Hilda approaches the hotel¡¯s manager and starts talking with him about a room we could rent.


    ¡°Something about the style of this hotel feels oddly familiar.¡± Sam looks around while Hilda is busy.


    ¡°Now that you say so, it does ring a bell.¡± I follow Sam around.


    It¡¯s only when we enter our hotel room that we finally manage to place the feeling.


    ¡°Oh, this is the same room we created our characters in! Fridge and everything!¡± My sister calls out, looks like we weren¡¯t the only ones who were having a deja vu.


    ¡°Hey, Ami¡­¡± Sam whispers in my ear. ¡°Is it okay with you that we go to bed already, so we can cuddle a bit more?¡±


    I started blushing a little. ¡°Mhmm, I¡¯ll come with you.¡±


    Sam smiles and turns herself to the rest of the group. ¡°Hey, me and Ami are going to bed already if that¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Hilda smiles at us both.


    ¡°Oh? To cuddle a bit more?¡± ¨¦lise smirks.


    ¡°W-what¡­¡±


    She points to her cat-ears. ¡°Ami isn¡¯t the only one with exceptionally good hearing.¡± She winks. ¡°But go ahead, be your cute selves.¡±


    Nikki is giggling but waves us goodbye. ¡°See you in a bit.¡±


    Me and Sam walk into one of the rooms and lock the door behind us. Sam almost immediately starts undressing and I follow suit. Getting into our bed within five minutes.


    ¡°So, are you going to school tomorrow?¡± She cuddles up to me, her breasts pushed up against my back.


    ¡°I think I will.¡±


    she runs her hands through my hair. ¡°You know you can keep it calm right? It¡¯s only really been a day since what happened, even though it feels a lot longer.¡±


    ¡°I know, but honestly I¡¯m not that bothered by it anymore. I think seeing my friends will do me good as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± She puts her arms around me, pulling me even closer to her. ¡°I¡¯ll keep my phone on me during training, so you can call me anytime.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Sam¡­. just make sure you don¡¯t destroy it again.¡±


    She starts tickling me. ¡°Hey missy, let me tell you that before I punched the dickhead I never in my life broke my phone before.¡±


    ¡°W-wow, r-really?¡± I say in between my laughter.


    ¡°Yes, really.¡± She stops tickling and gets back to hugging me. ¡°Although breaking it was worth it though.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± I turn around in her embrace and give her a kiss. ¡°See you on the other side?¡±


    She gives me a kiss back. ¡°See ya laters.¡±


    ¡°You dork.¡±


    ¡°No u.¡± Sam opens the UI and logs out, I immediately do the same.


    I open my eyes in my own room and take off the headset, Sam already is embracing me.


    ¡°Now we can cuddle here as well!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but sadly not for that long¡­¡±


    ¡°What about we both skip class to cuddle?¡±


    ¡°But you said you were going to go training?¡±


    ¡°Changed my mind from all the cuteness.¡±


    ¡°As much as I like that idea, I think we probably shouldn¡¯t. I kiss her on the forehead and sit myself upright. ¡°How late is it anyway?¡±


    ¡°6:30.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I lie down again next to Sam. ¡°Still plenty of cuddle time left then.¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡±

 Chapter 51: Breakfast

    FieryKathy


    Ten minutes after we had left the post-apocalyptic world and were cuddling in bed together, Mochi and Pocky also came to my bed to cuddle up to us.


    ¡°They must¡¯ve heard we were awake.¡± Sam says while softly scratching my head.


    ¡°I think so too.¡±


    Pocky walks up to our faces and gives a little meow.


    ¡°Good morning to you too, little Pocky. Did you sleep well?¡±


    She meows back.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    ¡°What did she say?¡± Sam asks, her other hand now also petting Pocky.


    ¡°That they were sleeping on the sofa.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, I know another kitten who likes sleeping there, especially when her girlfriend is there too.¡± She kisses me on my neck.


    ¡°Hihi, I wonder who that is.¡±


    ¡°Let me show you.¡± She takes up pocky for a second and then rolls right on top of me, pinning me to my mattress with a long passionate kiss.


    ¡°Best girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She kisses me again after which she continues cuddling me.


    ¡°Sam, I really think I should get up now, it¡¯s 7:00¡­¡± I say twenty minutes later, Sam is still on top of me.


    ¡°Hmm, sadly for you I can¡¯t really get up now.¡±


    ¡°Saaaaaaam.¡± I give her a small kiss.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m serious, Pocky and Mochi started sleeping on my back like 10 minutes ago, I can¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see the predicament.¡±


    ¡°So we will have to stay here for the rest of our days.¡±


    I smile. ¡°Mochi, Pocky, do you want breakfast?¡±


    Immediately the two cats jump from Sam¡¯s back to the side of the bed, both starting to meow.


    ¡°Ah, well, they are cats after all.¡± Sam¡¯s eyes suddenly start glowing. ¡°Does this little kitten want some fishies too?!¡±


    ¡°Nyaa!¡± I enthusiastically wurm myself from underneath my girlfriend and look at her with wanting eyes, just before I realise what she has done to me. ¡°Darnit!¡±


    ¡°Well, you are a cat after all.¡± Sam starts giggling. ¡°Anyway, let me make some breakfast for you to pay you back.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, but it better have fishies in it!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± She smiles and sits upright on the bed.


    After I help Sam get ready with her leg we go to the living room where I start preparing the cats their food while Sam prepares our breakfast.


    ¡°Do you think your sis would mind if I use these sardines?¡± She takes a tin can from one of the closets and shows it to me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think so, Nikki and Lise aren¡¯t the biggest sardine fans, so you might want to check the date on it.¡± I distribute food between the two bowls for Mochi and Pocky who are patiently waiting next to me. ¡°Here you go kitties.¡±


    ¡°Oh, plenty of time to spare.¡± She smiles to herself after looking at the tin and opens it up, the odor is making me salivate almost instantly. Pocky and Mochi are also looking towards Sam.


    ¡°Sorry little friends, that¡¯s for me.¡± I pet them both and whisper. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a tin when I come home from uni, okay?¡±


    They meow.


    ¡°Good.¡± I smile and head over to Sam. ¡°Tell me if you need any help, okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also going to make some scrambled eggs for your sister and Nikki, maybe you could start with those?¡±


    ¡°Yesh!¡± I take some eggs from the fridge and start helping. In the end I only had to clean up one egg that somehow landed on the floor. It could have been two, but I handily caught the other one!


    ¡°Hmm, that smells great!¡± Nikki comes walking in just when I put the pan with the eggs on the dinner table.


    ¡°We made you some breakfast.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°Well, it was mostly Ami who made yours.¡±


    ¡°Thanks kitten.¡± Nikki gives me a head pat.


    ¡°It¡¯s not only eggs I smell though.¡± My sister walks in as well.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m making something with sardines for Amicia.¡±


    ¡°Did you check the date on those? They¡¯ve been in the closet for a while.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they were still fine.¡±


    ¡°And what are you going to eat, Sam?¡± Nikki grabs a couple of plates from the cupboard.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just eat a bit of bread with Jam.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do, you are a sporty lady, you need the energy! These eggs are too much for me and Nikki anyway, so make sure to eat some from it too, okay?¡± My sister insists.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Sam finally walks over to me with my fishies on a plate.


    ¡°There you go, my love.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Sam.¡± I quickly start munching down on them.


    ¡°Are they good?¡±


    ¡°Delicious!¡±


    Sam also takes her seat at the table and together we have a great family breakfast.


    ¡°So, are we playing Turn of Destiny today?¡± Sam asks while putting the last of the egg between some bread. ¡°Also, can I have the ketchup please?¡±


    ¡°There you go.¡± Nikki hands over the ketchup.


    ¡°We could if you want to. I¡¯ll just have to notify Hilda if we are going in.¡±


    ¡°What do you say Ami, want to play today?¡± Sam looks over to me, I was slurping on a sardine which makes her giggle a little.


    ¡°Hey, no judging the kitten.¡± I pout after I devoured the sardine. ¡°And yes, that would work for me.¡±


    ¡°Okay, great, I¡¯ll let Hilda know.¡± My sister takes her phone and starts texting.


    ¡°And are you staying over today again, Sam?¡±


    ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind. I still have fresh clothes and everything with me.¡±


    ¡°Of course we don¡¯t.¡± Nikki smiles. ¡°Just so we can get the food we need from the store.¡±


    ¡°We can just give Ami a baggy of cat food and give her share to Sam.¡± Lise jokes around.


    ¡°That won¡¯t do! I would need at least two!¡±


    My sister starts laughing. ¡°That¡¯s what you are complaining about?¡±


    Oh no, my cat instincts were at it again.


    ¡°T-that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± My face becomes bright red.


    ¡°I can barely think of a different way to interpret it.¡± My sister keeps laughing.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Ami. I like your catgirlness.¡± Sam scratches me behind my ear, starting the purring machine.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, what if she becomes more catlike every day?¡± Nikki falls in on a serious note. ¡°What if one day she forgets how to speak and only is able to meow, or walk on all fours.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t come that far.¡± ¨¦lise confidently replies. ¡°She¡¯s part Goddess and that''s not how the nekote in Turn of Destiny work anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well I heard a rumor that when they are in h¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Hilda to be sure. She¡¯s the lore-expert of us all anyway.¡± Lise cuts of Nikki before she can continue.


    To be honest, I barely heard anything of that conversation because I was too busy getting ear scratches from Sam.


    ¡°Sam, she¡¯s going to slide off that chair like a wet noodle if you don¡¯t stop soon.¡± My sister notices what¡¯s happening, and she¡¯s probably not wrong.


    ¡°I know, that¡¯s what I was trying to accomplish.¡± She smirks.


    ¡°Need¡­ to¡­ uni¡­¡± I manage to stammer out, trying to resist the urge of completely collapsing to the blissful feelings I¡¯m getting bombarded by.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stop.¡± Sam lifts up her hand but her devious smirk still rests on her face.


    ¡°Phew, that was close.¡± I sit myself back upright on my chair, letting out a sigh of relief but at the same time also a sigh of regret. ¡°How late is it now?¡±


    My sister looks at her wristwatch. ¡°8:45.¡±


    ¡°I should really get going now, lesson starts at 9:30¡­¡±


    ¡°I will go with you. Mine starts a bit later but I can walk you to your classroom like last time.¡± Sam gets up from her chair and lends me her hand to help me up from mine.


    ¡°Thanks, Sam.¡± I take her hand and her help does prove to be necessary as I almost go through my knees the moment I stand up. ¡°Oh no, the scratching noodleified my legs!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can carry you to uni... well, you don¡¯t weigh that much... I can try?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine¡­ I don¡¯t want the entire uni to see me like that.¡±


    ¡°Getting princess carried across campus?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly that.¡± I blush. ¡°in any case, I think my legs are fine now, so it¡¯s not necessary.¡± I let go of her hand and walk to my room to get my choker but almost immediately stumble to the floor.


    ¡°Are you sure you are fine?¡± My sister giggles.


    ¡°Yes! That was just practice.¡± I pout and head off, this time with a bit more grace.


    ¡°Please go with her Sam.¡± Nikki giggles as well.


    ¡°Mhmm, I will try to make sure she doesn¡¯t cartwheel into her room.¡±


    ¡°Cartwheel?¡± I can hear my sister spurt out in laughter.


    ¡°Oh, did I not tell you about how Ami met my mother?¡±


    ¡°Sam!¡± I cry out from my room, my face flushed red.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you another time.¡± I hear her whisper.


    ¡°I heard that!¡±


    Sam laughs and runs over to me, also preparing the last couple of things to go to uni herself.


    What lessons do I even have today?

 Chapter 52: Gamma

    FieryKathy


    I quickly check my lesson roster for today before grabbing my book.


    ¡°So, what lessons do you have today, babe?¡± Sam asks while going through the bag she brought with her.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s practical arts and drama class for today. That¡¯s good, so I can work on my manga for a bit.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s drama class?¡± She zips up her bag.


    ¡°Hmm, acting techniques, learning how to act, famous plays, things like that.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Do you know how to act then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d been pretending to be a guy for like two decades so I think I¡¯m pretty good.¡±


    Sam walks over and hugs me. ¡°Awh, Ami...¡±


    ¡°But in all seriousness, I never really liked the class that much, maybe it¡¯ll be better now that I feel freer to express myself.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think you¡¯ll do great. My lovely, beautiful, theatrical, drama kitten.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Sam.¡± I laugh and kiss her on her cheek. ¡°However since it¡¯s technically my first day today I¡¯ll probably have to show off what I can do in front of everyone.¡±


    ¡°Sounds scary.¡±


    ¡°Because it is.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°But I think, if you just show them your magical idol girl powers, you¡¯ll be fine. Maybe I¡¯ll sneak in to come and watch you.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t, I¡¯ll physically sink through the floor if you do.¡±


    ¡°Awh, that¡¯d be pretty cool to see though.¡±


    ¡°You derp.¡±


    Sam smiles and squeezes me. ¡°Should we get going?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I have everything, I think.¡±


    ¡°No you don¡¯t.¡± She grabs my tail. ¡°I can still see something.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± I quickly put on my choker and head over to the living room with Sam.


    ¡°See you later, Nikki and ¨¦lise.¡± Sam waves goodbye and steps out of the apartment.


    ¡°See you tonight!¡± My sister and Nikki wave back.


    Before I head out as well, I pet Mochi and Pocky. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, kitties.¡±


    They meow and head back to their sleeping spot on the sofa.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything I wouldn¡¯t do!¡± My sister yells after me.


    Nikki softly hits her on the head. ¡°That¡¯d literally be everything.¡±


    I just laugh and close the door behind me.


    Sam grabs my hand when I join her in front of the elevator.


    ¡°And what lessons do you have?¡±


    ¡°Just some training and chemistry, but Max was going to help me with the lessons I missed yesterday. Probably won¡¯t take that long either though.¡±


    ¡°I should buy her lunch to say thank you.¡±


    ¡°Nah, that won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Sam waves my suggestion away.


    ¡°But I insist!¡± I pout and squeeze her hand.


    ¡°Alright.¡± She smiles. ¡°When do you want to buy her lunch then?¡±


    ¡°Today?¡±


    Sam tilts her head and looks questioningly at me. ¡°Don¡¯t you prefer to have some alone time with me?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t put it like that.¡± I pout again. ¡°I like our lunches together a lot but I also want to get to know her a little.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let me invite your friends over too then.¡±


    ¡°Carol and Hailey?¡±


    She nods. ¡°It¡¯s only fair, right? That way we can all get to know each other better.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± I smile at my girlfriend. ¡°But I can¡¯t promise they won¡¯t pose any strange questions.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same for Max.¡± Sam starts laughing.


    The elevator is definitely taking its time to arrive.


    Sam presses the button to call the elevator again.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s broken?¡±


    I perk up my ears to listen if I can hear something move. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I can hear the machinery but don¡¯t really hear anything else¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you try to fix it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not in a public space like this, what if the neighbours show up.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°Yeah, you are right.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t know what exactly is broken, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t learn about elevators as an art major?¡± She teases me.


    ¡°Maybe in the second semester.¡± We both start laughing and head towards the staircase instead.


    Once we are outside we immediately head for the tram stop, and as usual the tram doesn¡¯t make us wait for too long before it arrives.


    ¡°Well, luckily the tram isn¡¯t broken.¡± Sam gets on in front of me.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t jinx it. I don¡¯t want to walk all the way to uni today.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry.¡± Right at the moment she says that we hear a loud bang from our left, making me jump back in panic.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry ladies.¡± A woman apologizes to us, the small kid accompanying her is holding a bag with a hole in it. ¡°I told him not to do that, but¡­¡±


    Sam takes my hand, and walks me further down to the back of the tram. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it ma¡¯am.¡±


    I nod at the lady and follow my girlfriend.


    When Sam sits down she breathes a sigh of relief. ¡°I almost thought the transformer of the tram blew or something like that.¡±


    I sit down next to her. ¡°That¡¯ll teach you for almost jinxing us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll never do it again, I promise.¡± She crosses her fingers over her heart. ¡°But are you okay? You almost jumped through the roof right there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, it was just very loud.¡±


    ¡°You like softer sounds, don¡¯t you~¡± She seductively whispers in my ear.


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± I immediately start blushing, making Sam giggle.


    ¡°But honestly though,¡± Sam puts on her serious tone again. ¡°Our society can get so loud at times, it¡¯s really annoying.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I grab her arm and rest my head on her shoulder.


    She smiles. ¡°Sometimes I just like to close myself off from the world by putting in some earphones. To listen to some calming music or something like that. But that must be nigh impossible for you with your kitty ears.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve not really thought about that yet. But now that you mention it, not being able to put in earphones is quite annoying.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and I doubt they have some catgirl earphones lying around in stores.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe we could ask Veanya if she could get one for you.¡±


    ¡°Why would she have something like that?¡±


    ¡°She gave you the choker didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s magic and not electronics though.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true, but maybe, somewhere there is also another catgirl goddess who could help you.¡± Sam starts laughing.


    ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t like it if people laugh about that.¡± A voice behind us makes the both of us look back in shock.


    A blue-haired catgirl is sitting on the next bench in a black hoodie with neon-pink letters, pouting profusely. Her hair is almost reaching her knees, with the tips of it turning pink.


    ¡°W-who¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, heya!¡± Her pouty face immediately makes room for a wide smile. ¡°V told me there was a cat girl potential Goddess on this planet so I desperately wanted to see you.¡±


    ¡°S-so you are one of Veanya¡¯s confidants?" Sam stutters.


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± She enthusiastically nods. ¡°You know she made one of those chokers for me as well like 20 years ago?¡± She runs her finger gently over my neck.


    ¡°Uhm..¡± Sam tries to protest but she¡¯s not sure how to.


    ¡°Ah, right, she¡¯s your girlfriend isn¡¯t she? Sorry for that.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s fine, but I think you broke Ami¡­¡±


    I¡¯m still sitting there, paralysed by this unexpected turn of events.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯ll probably fix itself.¡± She smiles at me and waits for me to answer.


    When my mind finally decided to work again I shyly greeted her. ¡°H-hi.¡±


    ¡°Heya!¡± Her big smile appears again. ¡°Anyway, where was I? Right! She made this choker for me since magic isn¡¯t really my cup of tea, so I provide her with tech help from time to time. You don¡¯t want to know how long it took for her to get used to a mobile phone.¡± She starts laughing. ¡°So, if you¡¯d want I could get you one of my headsets. Earphone designs are so inconsiderate of other species.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯d be cool.¡± I answered.


    ¡°Great! I¡¯ll drop one off soon then.¡± She pats my head and takes out an electronic device out of her hoodie. ¡°See you cuties later!¡±


    Before we could reply she was already gone.


    ¡°W-what just happened?¡± I look over at Sam.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ she didn¡¯t even tell us her name.¡±


    That¡¯s when I see a sticky note stuck to the back of Sam¡¯s tracksuit. I reach over to take it from her back.


    ¡°Want a hug?¡± Sam tries to reciprocate what she thinks is me hugging her.


    ¡°Always.¡± I smile. ¡°But she also left a note on your back.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± She starts blushing.


    After our hug I read Sam the note. ¡°She wrote: Ah, the name is Gamma by the way, smiley emoji, heart, heart, heart.¡±


    ¡°Gamma, the blue-haired chaotic good catgirl techno goddess¡­ Well if all the gods and goddesses are that quirky the meeting definitely won¡¯t be boring.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± I smile and cuddle back up to Sam just in time to see the university approaching in the distance. ¡°Awh.¡±


    ¡°I share your sentiment, Ami.¡± She kisses my head. ¡°We will continue this later.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡± I pout.


    We get up and head towards the tram doors when we hear the kid from earlier speak up to his mom. ¡°Mommy, mommy, I swear there was a girl with kitty ears there!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, Jason.¡± the mom pat his head, clearly not believing him.


    ¡°But it is trueeee!¡± He whines when the doors of the tram open up.


    Me and Sam get out and once the doors close again we start giggling a bit. ¡°Maybe we should tell Gamma to be a bit more cautious next time.¡±


    ¡°Do you think she will listen?¡±


    Sam laughs. ¡°Probably not. Anyway, let¡¯s get your cute butt to class.¡±


    ¡°Oki.¡± I give her a kiss and off we go.

 Chapter 53: Mexican

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Ami!¡± I hear Carol call out to me while we are walking to class. She and Hailey are walking towards us.


    ¡°Oh, hey you two.¡±


    ¡°Are you alright, Amicia?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty good, why are you asking?¡± Sam is standing silently next to me, looking at how the conversation unfolds.


    ¡°After we got your message we messaged you a couple of times but you never replied.¡± Hailey explains.


    ¡°Did you? Oh my Goddess, I didn¡¯t notice.¡± I take my phone out and start going towards the group chat.


    ¡°Maybe you didn¡¯t get a notification, it happens to my app all the time too.¡± Sam breaks her silence.


    Both Hailey and Carol are nodding. ¡°These chat apps still aren¡¯t perfect.¡±


    ¡°I am very sorry I missed it though¡­¡±


    Carol quickly hugs me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, we are just happy you are okay.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I hug her back.


    ¡°Me and Amicia have something to ask of you.¡± Sam comes immediately to the point.


    Hailey looks a bit taken aback by the sudden comment, but luckily Sam quickly notices it and reassures her. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing serious. We¡¯d just like to invite you to lunch with us and a friend of mine.¡±


    ¡°To get to know each other a little better.¡± I clarify.


    ¡°Oh, we would love that, right Hailey!¡± Carol stops hugging me and gets back to Hailey¡¯s side.


    ¡°Yes!¡± She enthusiastically proclaims. ¡°We¡¯d love to indeed!¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°Where do you want to eat?¡±


    ¡°Good question.¡± Hailey puts her hand on her chin.


    ¡°What about the Mexican restaurant next to the Gymnasium?¡± Carol proposes.


    Oh, I do want to try Mexican food!


    ¡°Yesss!¡± I enthusiastically nod.


    ¡°Well if Ami is okay with it, I¡¯m okay with it.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Sounds like a plan then.¡± Hailey approves of our choice as well.


    ¡°Oh, and what about Max?¡± I look to Sam who promptly waves away my concern.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, that girl is an omnivore. She can literally consume everything with a big smile on her face.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet in front of the Gymasium¡¯s entrance then, around 12:30?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good, I¡¯ll let my friend know.¡± Sam takes her phone and starts texting Max.


    ¡°We do kinda need to go now though.¡± Carol checks the time on her watch. ¡°Drama class is about to start.¡±


    ¡°Alright, see you later then, Sam.¡± I quickly give her a kiss.


    She embraces me, with her phone still in her hand and kisses me back, and whispers. ¡°See you later kitten.¡±


    I leave her embrace, a bit flustered by her whisper and follow Carol on our way to drama class. Hailey joins us after having said goodbye to Sam.


    ¡°Hey Amicia?¡± Carol looks like she¡¯s hesitant to ask something of me.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Carol blushes a bit. ¡°Nothing, really¡­ but did your girlfriend just call you kitten?¡±


    ¡°Carol!¡± Hailey cries out, now she¡¯s blushing as well.


    ¡°Oh.¡± And now we are the three profusely blushing idiots. ¡°Y-yes she did. I really like cats a lot so she uses that as a nickname for me...¡± I tell them a partial lie.


    ¡°It¡¯s really cute!¡± Hailey calls out. ¡°I wish my partners would give me cute names like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find someone who does eventually, Hails.¡± Carol assures her with a pat on the shoulder.


    ¡°Thanks, Carol¡­¡± Hailey stops lamenting her problems for a second and turns back to me. ¡°Amicia, are you ready for drama class? It¡¯s your first time, right?¡±


    ¡°N-not really to be honest. Big crowds aren¡¯t my fort¨¦.¡±


    ¡°Are they anyone¡¯s?¡± Hailey smiles.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really have an issue with them.¡± Carol shrugs.


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s because you are Carol, Carol.¡±


    ¡°And what exactly does that mean?¡± She pouts.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying you are¡­ unique.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a compliment.¡± Her pout turned into a smile. ¡°But Ami, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine. ¡°You¡¯ve got us to support you after all.¡± Carol gives me a thumbs up.


    ¡°Should I be reassured by that?¡± I joke.


    ¡°Oh, what a meanie.¡± She starts laughing.


    ¡°But thank you, I already feel a bit more confident now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we are here for.¡± Hailey smiles.


    ¡°That and a good education of course.¡±


    ¡°Carol, you are ruining the moment.¡±


    My friends both start laughing and I join them in doing so.


    ¡°So, miss Delafontaine, show us what you know about the arts.¡±


    Our drama professor immediately pulls me up to the stage the minute the lesson starts. She does look remarkably happy having another student in her course.


    ¡°Okay professor, but can I have Carol to play against?¡± at least I won¡¯t have to stand on the stage alone then.


    She smiles. ¡°Sounds interesting. I will allow it.¡±


    Carol quickly joins me on the stage and whispers to me. ¡°I meant support from the benches, not from up here.¡±


    ¡°But you said you didn¡¯t have issues with stuff like this right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I need to learn to shut my mouth.¡±


    I smile at her. In the meantime I can hear Hailey laughing, Carol must¡¯ve said something before coming up here but quickly gets shut up by the death stare of our professor, which in turn made Carol smirk.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan, Amicia?¡±


    ¡°How about this¡­¡± I whisper the plan into her ear, after I¡¯m done she starts smiling. ¡°That will be good. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Whenever you are ready ladies.¡± The professor sits herself down on the front row as we get set to start our little play.


    ¡°Brilliant work. Bri-lli-ant.¡± The professor is giving a standing ovation together with the rest of the class. ¡°The way you portrayed the class struggle between the lover and her girlfriend¡¯s parents was just phenomenal. Especially in such a short amount of time to prepare. Not to forget the great technique the both of you showed. Sure there is still a long road left but that¡¯s why we are here after all.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, professor.¡± Me and Carol bow before our audience. I¡¯m a tiny bit out of breath because of the adrenaline of acting. Who¡¯d have thought that being comfortable in your own body could lift so much of your shoulders.


    ¡°Good job Ami.¡± Carol pats me on the back. ¡°Are you sure this was your first time.¡±


    ¡°In a way it was, in another it wasn¡¯t.¡±


    Carol looks a bit confused at me but shrugs in the end. ¡°Great job either way. Let¡¯s get to our seats. I think we earned a rest.¡±


    ¡°Nicely done you two.¡± Hailey welcomes us back when we sit down next to her.


    ¡°Thanks Hailey.¡±


    She smiles at me. ¡°See, I told you you could do it.¡±


    ¡°All thanks to me of course.¡± Carol brags, but gets a small knock on the head from Hailey in return. ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Serves you right! Don¡¯t steal the credit from Ami, she clearly was the star of the show.¡±


    ¡°Aww.¡± Carol pouts. However, she doesn¡¯t have a lot of time to face her sadness because our professor is already getting on the stage to give the rest of her lesson.


    The lesson went pretty smoothly overall, with just a couple more drama techniques juxtaposed with our little performance from earlier. This did make the techniques pretty easy to digest. After the lesson our group of friends heads towards the gymnasium to meet up with Sam and Max. And to be fair, right in time, because I¡¯m already quite hungry.


    Maybe I should¡¯ve eaten even more this morning?


    ¡°Hey, Ami?¡± Carol pokes my shoulder.


    ¡°What¡¯s up Carol?¡± I tilt my head a little.


    ¡°Have you met this Max before?¡±


    I nod. ¡°I have. Well¡­ I talked to her once quite briefly and saw her once before, so it¡¯s not like I know her that well.¡±


    ¡°Would you know if she¡¯s into girls?¡± She shyly puts her index fingers against one another.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know Carol. You¡¯ll have to ask her yourself.¡± I laugh and when I look back over to Hailey I see that she is facepalming.


    ¡°Really, Carol?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I would like to have a girlfriend too, you know.¡± The two of them start having their usual friendly discussion again.


    ¡°We are there to get to know eachother better. Not to do some kind of blind-date event.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just gathering reconnaissance data.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, what am I ever going to do with you.¡± Hailey tries to put up a serious act but quickly starts giggling.


    ¡°Love you, Hails.¡±


    ¡°Love you too, Carol.¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you now?¡±


    ¡°Carol!¡±


    It doesn¡¯t take long at all before we see Max and Sam in the distance waiting for us.


    ¡°Hey there, girls.¡± Max greets us first and Sam does so too after giving me a welcome back kiss.


    ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Hailey and this ruffian over here is called Carol. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, who¡¯s the ruffian here! You keep hitting me!¡± Carol pouts again.


    Max starts laughing. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know whether or not you are one, but I can definitely tell you are cute as fuck.¡±


    At that moment something breaks in Carol because her mouth stops moving and her face is flashing red.


    Well, that probably answered her question.


    ¡°Is Max always this direct?¡± I ask my girlfriend.


    ¡°Occasionally. She does like flirting with the girls.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh, I see.¡± I reply, but it almost gets buried in the sound of my growling tummy.


    Sam laughs and I think even Max heard it because I could see her suppress a giggle.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to the restaurant now because my girlfriend is getting hungry. I don¡¯t want her tummy to start digesting itself.¡± Sam addresses the group. Leaving me completely flustered.


    Why tummy, why now. Couldn¡¯t you have waited a little longer.


    My tummy growled again, but even louder this time.


    ¡°I think we should hurry.¡± Now Hailey and Carol are giggling too.


    Whhyyyyyyyy!

 Chapter 54: Nacho

    FieryKathy


    Our group starts heading towards the Mexican restaurant, with Max, Hailey and Carol leading the way and me and Sam a bit behind them walking hand in hand.


    ¡°How was your lesson by the way, sweetie?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°I-it went pretty well.¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve seen her! She was amazing, even the professor was praising her!¡± Hailey looks back at us.


    ¡°She definitely is incredible at improv.¡± Carol gives me a wink.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sam smiles. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of my talented girlfriend.¡±


    Catgirl goes blushy.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Carol inquires. ¡°What do you study, Max and Sam?¡±


    ¡°We¡­¡± Both Max and Sam start talking at the same time but Sam decides to let Max answer in her stead.


    Max laughs and continues. ¡°We both study physiotherapy.¡±


    ¡°Sounds difficult.¡±


    ¡°Eh, not really. If you know your basics you can figure everything out from there on.¡±


    ¡°Oooh.¡±


    ¡°And you two study art like Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± This time it¡¯s Hailey who replies.


    ¡°Did Sam tell you what I study?¡± I turn myself to Max.


    ¡°Yeah, because Sam loves to talk about you.¡± Max smiles back at me. ¡°My girlfriend is so amazing, she¡¯s so cute, and omygosh, did you know she studies art?!¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s not how I sound at all!¡± Sam¡¯s face is completely red.


    ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you.¡± Max continues. ¡°That being said, it¡¯s really cute how she gushes so much about you.¡±


    ¡°I already knew she was a big softy on the inside.¡± I squeeze Sam¡¯s hand.


    ¡°She sure is.¡±


    Soon after we arrive at the Mexican restaurant, the smell coming from the front door smells outright delicious.


    ¡°Is Mexican food spicy?¡± I ask the group.


    ¡°Is it your first time, Ami?¡± Carol opens the door and walks in.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Oooh! Generally I¡¯d say so yes, but you can always ask to make it less spicy.¡±


    ¡°How come you never ate it before? It¡¯s pretty popular in this city as far as I know.¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°Ehh¡­ My parents¡­¡± Now it¡¯s time for Sam to squeeze my hand.


    ¡°Ah, say no more.¡± Carol pats me on the back. ¡°We¡¯ll just order some nachos first so you can have a bit more time to think about it.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± I follow Carol and Hailey as they pick out a table for us. The table they choose is right next to an impressionistic painting of what I assume is the Mexican countryside.


    Carol must¡¯ve seen me staring at the painting because she almost immediately engages me about it. ¡°This is a painting by one of my favourite artists - I can send you some of their other work later when I¡¯m on my laptop! They usually don¡¯t make landscapes though.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what do they work about then?¡±


    ¡°Mostly about internal struggle, things like that. They are trans so I assume it¡¯s mostly from their own experience.¡±


    ¡°Ah, cool!¡±


    ¡°I know right!¡± Carol enthusiastically hands over the menu to me as we sit down.


    ¡°Miss, could we have a big plate of nachos?¡± Carol is already ordering to one of the servers.


    Sam looks over my shoulder at the menu. ¡°How about these fish tacos?¡± She pushes the fish tacos and an image pops up.


    ¡°Oh, that looks pretty nice!¡±


    ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it.¡± She gently rubs my back.


    ¡°What are you going to eat, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I think I¡¯m going for chili con carne.¡±


    ¡°And what about the rest?¡±


    ¡°Chicken quesadilla.¡± Max quickly replies.


    It takes a little bit longer for Carol and Hailey to decide though.


    ¡°Fajita, probably.¡±


    ¡°And for me some chicken tacos.¡± Carol and Hailey respectively reply too.


    When the server comes back with our order of nachos we order our other food. The plate she brought is pretty impressive in size and has 4 pots of sauce.


    ¡°What are all these sauces, Carol?¡±


    ¡°These two are tomato salsa, one is mild, the other is spicy.¡± She points to the two tomato bowls. ¡°And these two are probably cheddar, same concept as the tomato salsa, one mild, one spicy.¡±


    ¡°And which one is hot and which is spicy?¡±


    Carol smirks. ¡°That¡¯s for you to discover.¡±


    Hailey knocks her friend on the head again. ¡°These ones are spicy, these are mild.¡± As she points at the little bowls.


    ¡°Thanks Hailey.¡± I smile and take a nacho chip, dip it in the mild tomato salsa and put it in my mouth.


    ¡°And, what do you think, Ami?¡± Sam asks, the rest of our friends are also looking at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡±


    The rest of the table smiles and starts eating nachos too.


    Sam takes a dip from the spicy sauce and after she bites from it turns back to me.


    ¡°You should try the spicy one too, it¡¯s not terribly spicy. It¡¯s around the same spice level as the wraps we made.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember putting any spice on mine though¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? Didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I was debating it but I don¡¯t think I did in the end.¡± I shuffle a bit closer to Sam and whisper in her ear. ¡°I also read that cats can¡¯t really handle spice that well.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡±


    Max chimes into our conversation as well. ¡°I do have to agree with Sam though, it is still a very mild sauce, just don¡¯t touch the cheesy one, that one is hot AF.¡±


    I look at the nachos, having a small internal debate.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Sam takes my hand.


    I shake my head. ¡°I do kinda want to try¡­¡±


    ¡°You would have a good excuse to drink milk if you tried.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± I quickly take a nacho chip and dip it in the other tomato sauce and start nibbling on it.


    Oh, this is indeed not that bad! Wait, did I just get convinced because of milk?


    Max laughs. ¡°Haha, do you like milk that much, Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah, kind of.¡± I shyly rub the back of my head.


    ¡°Hey, whatever floats your boat.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, Max.¡± I think it¡¯s my time now to tease Carol a little.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡± Max puts a nacho with the spicy cheese dip in her mouth.


    ¡°Carol asked me if you were gay right before we met you at the gymnasium.¡±


    Carol almost chokes on a nacho and Hailey starts laughing incredibly hard.


    Max chuckles and after she finishes her nacho, she replies. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m incredibly gay.¡± And winks at Carol who immediately breaks out in a blush.


    ¡°I-I-I was just curious.¡± She stutters.


    Max leans a bit over the table and snaps a piece of the tip of a nacho. ¡°Well, if you¡¯d like to go on a date with me I¡¯d definitely not say no.¡±


    Hailey can only barely catch her breath as Carol¡¯s face turns even redder.


    ¡°I-I-I-I would like that.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Max continues. ¡°I don¡¯t get the opportunity to go on a date with a cutie every day. What about grabbing a movie on Saturday?¡±


    Carol shyly nods. ¡°S-sounds good to me.¡±


    ¡°Hurray. See, that wasn¡¯t that hard Carol.¡± Hailey finally stops laughing and chomps down on some more nachos.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t expect Ami to push me under the bus like that though.¡±


    ¡°I pushed you with love.¡± I reply as the entire table starts laughing.


    Only a couple of seconds after we finish the nacho plate the rest of our food arrives as well.


    Luckily the fish tacos also weren¡¯t super spicy, their flavour however was immensely good.


    ¡°So, do you think you¡¯ll visit this restaurant more often, Ami?¡± Sam asks me.


    ¡°Yes! The fish tacos were so good!¡±


    The server who is clearing away our plates smiles. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll tell the chef for your kind words.¡±


    ¡°I think the entire table would like to thank him.¡± Max comments and both Hailey, Carol and Sam nod as well.


    ¡°I will definitely do that.¡± The server takes away our plates and heads back over to the kitchen.


    ¡°How are we splitting the bill?¡± Max asks.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for you and for Ami.¡± Sam replies.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll pay for myself and Hailey.¡± Carol does so too.


    Before Hailey has a chance to protest Carol jumps in again. ¡°You paid for me last time, it¡¯s only fair.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Hailey smiles. ¡°But next time I¡¯ll be paying then!¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡± Carol smiles.


    Max looks over to Sam. ¡°Are you sure you want to pay for me?¡±


    ¡°I asked you to come, so it¡¯s not only my duty as a team captain but also as your friend to do so.¡±


    ¡°Allright, I¡¯ll allow it this time then, miss captain.¡± She gives Sam a wink.


    After paying the bill we all leave the restaurant and head back to campus.


    ¡°We still have quite some time, would you want to hang out a bit in the park? The weather is quite nice.¡± Max looks at her phone.


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Hailey replies and the rest of us nod along.


    When we are in the park Sam pulls my attention. ¡°Ami, look at those birds! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen them before.¡±


    I look over and immediately spot the birds she means. ¡°Oh, I think those are some kind of parrots.¡±


    ¡°Huh, maybe they escaped from someone¡¯s home.¡±


    ¡°We should let the campus know, maybe they can hang up flyers or something.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, probably.¡±


    ¡°Ami, watch out!¡± Carol suddenly calls out to me.


    Before I can see what she was yelling about I trip over something on the ground. Luckily I do manage to not fall face first onto the ground and perform a handstand into a midair spin to land on both of my feet.


    ¡°Phew, that was close.¡± I let out a sigh of relief. When I turn back around I see Sam staring at me, her face completely pale.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong Sam?¡±


    She motions at her neck.


    I gulp and quickly bring my hand to mine. My choker, gone. I look around and see Carol standing there, mouth dropped, my choker in her right hand.


    Oh heck¡­.

 Chapter 55: Explanation

    FieryKathy


    After the initial shock Sam immediately runs over to me and creates a barrier between me and our friends.


    ¡°Is this¡­real?¡± Hailey is pinching her own cheek while her friend is still staring at me with her mouth open. In the meantime Max crosses her arms and looks pensively at the two of us.


    Anxiety is starting to get to me as my legs start trembling. ¡°S-Sam, I might faint¡­¡± I warn my girlfriend who luckily manages to catch me in time before I truly sink through my legs.


    ¡°Here, Ami. Sit on this bench for a while.¡± She helps me over to a nearby bench and sits me down, completely ignoring the others. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡± Sam reassures me before turning back around to face any potential threats.


    Max slowly approaches us but quickly gets matched by Sam.


    ¡°Relax Sam, I¡¯m not going to hurt her. You know me better than that don¡¯t you?¡± Max tries to defuse the situation.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s okay Sam¡­¡±


    Sam looks over to me and I give her a nod, letting Max pass.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± Sam tries to explain to her friends.


    ¡°People have tried to hurt me before. That¡¯s why she¡¯s being so protective¡­¡± I continue her sentence.


    Max nods. ¡°Makes sense, it¡¯s Sam we are talking about after all. Nobody ain¡¯t gonna be talking shit about people she cares for and get away with it. If only she would stand up for herself like that¡­¡± she sighs. ¡°I mean, you saw what happened at our last game.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm¡­¡±


    Max nonchalantly sits down next to me on the bench and starts watching Hailey and Carol.


    ¡°Is that why you left uni yesterday?¡± Hailey shyly approaches us too. ¡°Because someone tried to hurt you?¡±


    I silently nod.


    ¡°Poor thing¡­¡± Hailey starts tearing up and runs towards me. Even Sam saw there was no malicious intent in her and let her pass. She immediately gives me a hug.


    Last but not least there was Carol, who clearly has a bigger issue processing the entire situation.


    ¡°I-I-I¡¯m sorry¡­ This is Amis¡­¡± She stutters and offers my choker to Sam.


    Sam looks over Carol for a second before she also finally lets her pass. ¡°You can give it to her yourself, if you want.¡±


    Carol nods and also walks over to me, even though she was hard to see while being hugged by Hailey.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand what is happening right now¡­¡± She continues. ¡°Uhm¡­ yeah¡­¡±


    She hands over the choker back to me. ¡°But you might want to¡­  you might want to put this back on before anyone else sees you like this¡­¡±


    ¡°T-thanks.¡±


    Hailey stops hugging me for a second so I can put my choker back on. When I close the lock I hear her and Carol both gasping. Weirdly enough Max just kept silent.


    ¡°So are your, uh, catlike features completely gone now?¡± Max asks.


    I shake my head. ¡°No, they are still there¡­¡± I brush the tip of my tail against her face.


    Max starts blushing and quickly touches her cheek. ¡°That tickled¡­¡±


    I can see Sam is a little bit jealous because of that, her pouting is giving it away like a shiny beacon in the middle of the night.


    ¡°H-how are you like this?¡± It¡¯s Carol¡¯s time to ask a question. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking of course.¡±


    I rub the back of my head. ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a long story¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got plenty of time if you want to tell us.¡± Hailey walks over to the fence next to the bench and leans against it. Leaving open a place so Sam can sit next to me, which my jealous honeybun immediately does. Max even invites Carol to sit on her lap for the time being, an opportunity she didn¡¯t let escape her either.


    ¡°...so please keep this a secret for everyone else¡­¡± I finish my story.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Max nods, Carol is still sitting on her lap.


    ¡°Thank you for telling us.¡± Hailey says from my left.


    ¡°Letting it go without an explanation would¡¯ve been wrong¡­ I think.¡±


    Sam pats my head. ¡°You did well.¡±


    ¡°But to think magic and everything is real.¡± Max continues. ¡°That¡¯s some pretty amazing stuff if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°Can you use magic to do your homework?¡± Carol breaks her silence in a very Carol kind of way.


    I laugh when I can hear Hailey sighing. ¡°If I could I would, but sadly I can¡¯t. I still need to do it the old-fashioned way.¡±


    ¡°Awh. That¡¯s a shame.¡±


    ¡°How is your anxiety doing now, babe?¡± Sam rubs me behind my hidden ears.


    ¡°A lot better now.¡± I almost start purring. ¡°But you know what I think is pretty strange?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sam tilts her head.


    ¡°That everyone always stays so calm after I practically ruin their entire world view.


    ¡°Oh yeah! You¡¯ve got a point there!¡± Hailey replies.


    ¡°There¡¯s so many unexplainable things around us every day.¡± Max holds on to Carol like she¡¯s a big teddy bear. ¡°So an extra thingy or two, who gives a tosh right?¡±


    ¡°In a way magic can also explain a lot of those previously unexplainable things, just like science!¡± Carol remarks.


    ¡°Ho ho ho, Carol says something intelligent for once!¡± Hailey jokes.


    ¡°Shut up you. I do have my moments.¡±


    ¡°At least we now know the real reason why your girlfriend called you Kitten.¡± Hailey dismisses Carol¡¯s protests and giggles on.


    ¡°Oh no, did you hear that?¡± Sam blushes.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t quiet enough.¡± I clarify.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry sweety.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°But I got to say, Sam.¡± Max takes the word again.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± My girlfriend looks at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty jealous you¡¯ve got an actual catgirl as a girlfriend.¡± She looks over to me and then gives a smirk to Carol, who also promptly starts blushing.


    ¡°Wh-what?¡±


    ¡°I wonder how you¡¯d look with some cat-ears and a tail¡­ perhaps even a collar.¡± Max winks.


    Carol¡¯s face completely flushes red. ¡°I...I... N-not on the first date¡­¡±


    ¡°The second then?¡± Max insists.


    ¡°M-maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey. Too much information alright?¡± Hailey puts her hands over her ears. ¡°Ami, tell me when they finish their stuff ok?¡±


    ¡°Haha, will do.¡± The entire group starts laughing until Max straightens out her face again.


    ¡°I was serious though.¡± Giving her soon to be girlfriend a big hug.


    A minute or two later, when Hailey finally took her hands off her ears, she turns her attention to me. ¡°Hey, Amicia, you told us how Sam found out right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, what about it?¡±


    ¡°Do you really purr? Like a cat?¡±


    I nod with a small blush on my cheeks. ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°Can I see?¡±


    That¡¯s pretty forward from her, I would have expected such a question coming from the other side.


    ¡°Oh yeah! I want to see that too!¡± Carol adds.


    Ah, there you go.


    ¡°Hmmm. I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Pleeaaasseee.¡± Carol starts begging.


    ¡°Okay then.¡± I shyly mumble. Right on queue Sam starts scratching me behind my ear and cuddles up to me for warmth. It doesn¡¯t take long at all for the purring machine to start running, though it does feel a bit forced at first.


    ¡°This gives purring like a kitten a completely new meaning.¡± Max laughs while Carol and Hailey look on in awe.


    ¡°Want to give her scritches too?¡± Sam asks my two friends.


    ¡°Can we?¡± They ask back.


    ¡°If Ami doesn¡¯t mind. Her sister and her friends do it pretty often too.¡±


    I nod in agreement and almost immediately they start rubbing behind my ears. They must¡¯ve been paying close attention to where my girlfriend was scratching me before.


    ¡°Waaah, this is so cool!¡± Carol can barely hold her enthusiasm.


    Sam nods. ¡°It¡¯s so easy to tell when she¡¯s enjoying something, it¡¯s so cute.¡±


    ¡°I bet.¡± Hailey smiles.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to pet her, Max?¡± Sam looks over to her friend.


    She shakes her head. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m fine with this kitty cat.¡± Max smirks at Carol.


    ¡°Are you sure? It might take a while before you get another chance.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good, I¡¯m good.¡± Max smiles.


    ¡°More scratchies for us!¡± My best friends comment in choir.


    A couple of minutes later the scratchies come to an end and I¡¯m finally able to talk again.


    ¡°That was nice.¡±


    ¡°Are you always that quiet when you purr, Ami?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°Not always, but it¡¯s actually really hard to talk when I¡¯m purring.¡±


    ¡°Oh right! Cats use their vocal cords for that don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Ye, I think so too, although feline biology isn¡¯t my fort¨¦.¡± I laugh.


    ¡°Speaking of biology, isn¡¯t it almost time for your next lesson?¡± Sam pokes my side.


    ¡°Eeep!¡± I yelp. ¡°Saaaam. Don¡¯t do that so suddenly!¡±


    ¡°Sowwy.¡± She apologizes.


    ¡°And don¡¯t uwu-talk to me either -that¡¯s my thing!¡±


    ¡°Aw, alright.¡± She smirks.


    Carol quickly checks her phone. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s getting close-ish to the next class. So we should probably go now.¡±


    ¡°See you later then, babe.¡± Sam gives me a kiss which I gladly reciprocate.


    ¡°Max, take care of my girlfriend for me in the meantime.¡±


    She gives me a salute, while Carol gets off her lap. ¡°Will do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll text you later about the movie?¡± Carol asks Max.


    ¡°Yep. Sounds good.¡± And with that our two groups separate and go our own ways.


    ¡°That was a more eventful lunch date than I expected.¡± Hailey waves the other group goodbye one last time before turning herself back towards our destination.


    ¡°Yeah, you don¡¯t have to tell me that.¡±


    ¡°I guess you could say that the cat is really out of the bag now.¡± Carol jokes.


    ¡°Oh my Goddess, Carol please.¡± I facepalm.


    ¡°Carol is no longer allowed to make jokes.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± I shake hands with Hailey.


    ¡°Hey, I thought that joke was plenty good!¡±


    Carol, please never change.

 Chapter 56: Art

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Did you get any further with your storyboards, Amicia?¡± Hailey asks me as we walk up the stairs towards our classroom.


    ¡°Hmm, just a little.¡±


    ¡°Hey, maybe you should make your main character a catgirl too! Who doesn¡¯t like a catgirl yuri?¡± Carol is following us closely.


    ¡°Haha.¡± I laugh. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be a little bit too obvious though?¡±


    ¡°How so, obvious? Normal people wouldn¡¯t think that the author is a catgirl herself, right?¡± Carol laughs as well.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    When we get to the right floor we see our professor standing by the door. ¡°Good afternoon.¡± He greets us.


    ¡°Good afternoon, sir!¡± All three of us reply.


    ¡°Are you ready to practice some art today?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± My friends walk past him into the classroom but before I can follow the professor stops me.


    ¡°Would it be possible for you to sketch the first two pages for your manga project today?¡± He asks.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s a lot of work but I think you could definitely make it work.¡±


    I think to myself for a few seconds before replying. ¡°What about the cover page and the first page?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± He gives me a thumbs up and lets me pass. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    I quickly take my place next to Hailey and Carol who are already unpacking all their tools and get mine ready as well.


    ¡°So what are you two going to work on?¡± I ask them.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to do some super realistic painting.¡± Hailey replies without looking up from her bag.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°You know those paintings that look exactly like pictures?¡±


    ¡°Really? You are going to do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I know photo¡¯s kind of defeat the point of paintings, but I just find it so fascinating.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it like, super hard?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she can pull it off.¡± Carol adds as she puts a canvas on top of the easel.


    ¡°Want to see one I made?¡±


    I enthusiastically nod yes. ¡°Heck yes!¡±


    With the same enthusiasm Hailey takes her phone and shows me a picture of Carol.


    ¡°And where is the painting?¡±


    ¡°That is the painting.¡± She smirks.


    ¡°No way!¡±


    ¡°Yes way.¡± Hailey smiles.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to know I long I had to pose for her to complete it. When I think about it my butt starts hurting again.¡± Carol giggles.


    ¡°How long¡­?¡±


    ¡°6 hours.¡±


    My mouth drops. ¡°You sat still for 6 hours? Couldn¡¯t you just have taken a picture?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I did.¡± Hailey is finally done setting up as well.


    ¡°You did?¡± Carol looks at Hailey in disbelief.


    ¡°Oh yeah. I just thought it was funny to make you sit still for a while.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so evil, Hailey?¡± Carol pouts.


    ¡°Hey, I paid you back with plenty of food.¡±


    ¡°With this new revelation I think you didn¡¯t pay me back nearly enough!¡± She protests. ¡°I demand more food. I can¡¯t believe I paid for your food at the taco place¡­.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll pay the next two times we go out for dinner, ok?¡±


    ¡°And a smoothie?¡±


    ¡°And a smoothie.¡± Hailey agrees.


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then.¡± The two of them shake hands on their agreement.


    ¡°And what are you going to draw, Carol?¡± It wouldn¡¯t have been fair to only ask Hailey after all.


    ¡°Remember the painting from earlier? The one from my favourite artist?¡±


    ¡°Ah right! The Mexican countryside!¡±


    ¡°Yes, that one.¡± She smiles. ¡°I¡¯m going to try to do something similar in that style, but instead of the Mexican countryside I¡¯m gonna do it about the university park.¡±


    ¡°That sounds interesting!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how it¡¯ll turn out but we¡¯ll see.¡± Carol smiles again and gets to work on her canvas.


    I should probably do the same.


    It is pretty interesting to see an entire class at work, even though talking is allowed it is almost always constantly quiet, except for the sounds of paint brushes, pencils and the occasional crumpling of paper when someone decides to start over from scratch. It weirdly enough doesn¡¯t take very long for me to finish the first two sketches. The front page is a catgirl hanging with her arms around her girlfriend¡¯s neck, with her laughing while her girlfriend kisses her cheek. While the second page is just mainly introductory panels.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s sugary cute, Ami.¡± Hailey looks up from her painting from a moment and stares at my page.


    ¡°Thank you, that¡¯s what I was going for.¡± I smile and look over to her canvas. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of guidelines!¡±


    ¡°I find it really hard to do it without.¡±


    ¡°I can see it¡¯s some sort of city, but somehow it looks a bit strange to me.¡± I look at it closely.


    ¡°It¡¯s meant to be a bit steampunky.¡±


    ¡°Fantasy in super realistic painting?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The point is, I want to make it look like a picture, but a picture taken in a city like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s even harder!¡±


    Hailey nods. ¡°Mhmm, but I want to challenge myself even more. And on top of that the steampunk theme is something I really like too.¡±


    ¡°I can definitely see why, I¡¯ve always been intrigued by steampunk cosplay too.¡±


    ¡°Yes! You should totally come with me to a convention one day, we can dress you up as a steampunk catgirl machinist or something like that!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be cool.¡± I smile at her and take my work with me to the front of the class towards the professor. But when I pass Carol it¡¯s clear she¡¯s having a couple of difficulties with her work.


    ¡°Something wrong Carol?¡± I stop right next to her for a second.


    She sighs. ¡°I can¡¯t really put on the paper what I want, it¡¯s incredibly frustrating.¡±


    ¡°Like you know what you want to do but it¡¯s just not coming out?¡±


    ¡°A little bit like that, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Would it be helpful if I went outside to take a picture for you? I¡¯m pretty much done anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you want to, I won¡¯t say no to that. Can I see your work too?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I show her my sketches.


    She must¡¯ve been a little too frustrated to listen when me and Hailey were talking only moments ago.


    ¡°Amazing work, Ami.¡± She compliments me. ¡°Could I borrow a bit of your skill for a second?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you have plenty of skill yourself, Carol.¡± I reassure her. ¡°Maybe you just need to find your jam, or something like that.¡±


    ¡°My jam, huh?¡± She thinks to herself and looks around. ¡°That might just be the answer.¡± and she takes her phone out of her bag together with her earphones.


    Me and Hailey are looking a bit confused at her.


    ¡°Ah, you are one of those artists.¡± The professor is now standing next to us as well. He must¡¯ve seen me pause when I was on my way towards him.


    ¡°Could you explain, professor?¡± Hailey asks him.


    ¡°Well, while generally people need a quiet space to focus, for some people it¡¯s better when there¡¯s more life around. It¡¯s the same for writers too. A couple of my friends can¡¯t write at all when there¡¯s music playing in the background, but on the other hand there¡¯s some that need music or some kind of other noise, like a tv or something, so they can get in the zone. So to speak.¡± He explains. ¡°And your friend here might belong to the second group.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess that does make sense.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± He nods. ¡°To be honest, this space isn¡¯t the best to really stimulate each creative soul, I¡¯m fully aware of that. But on the other hand it is useful to give students my feedback as fast as possible. So if you ever want to, for example, take your easel outside to paint in nature or in one of the hallways or whatever place suits you better, you need only ask.¡±


    ¡°But what about uni rules?¡±


    ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll deal with it when it becomes a problem, don¡¯t worry about it. This is still the arts faculty.¡± He gives us a wink. ¡°Anyway, Miss Delafontaine, can you show me your sketches?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    While Hailey gets back to work and Carol puts in her earphones I walk to the front of the class with the professor and show him my work. He carefully inspects them for a minute or two before turning his attention back to me.


    ¡°If you can keep up this quality throughout the other pages I don¡¯t see any problem.¡± He smiles. ¡°Obviously these are only sketches but that¡¯s the groundwork of it all. Good job.¡±


    ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll definitely try.¡± I happily reply. ¡°Oh, and could I go outside for a moment to take some reference pictures for Carol, to help her out a bit more?¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± He nods towards one of the locked cabinets on the side of the classroom. ¡°If you need one of our cameras.¡±


    ¡°Yes please.¡± I nod and the professor walks over to the closet, opens it and hands me one of the cameras.


    ¡°Just try not to break it.¡± He winks.


    ¡°Okidoki!¡± I take the camera with me and head towards the park.


    Little did he know that even if clumsy catgirl AmiAmi would break the camera, she could easily fix it, muahahahaha.

 Chapter 57: Hurricane

    FieryKathy


    I make my way downstairs, being careful to not bump the camera into things. Although I can repair it if I need to, I¡¯d still prefer not to have to use my powers. Because the lessons have started back up again, the park is even emptier than usual. It does make it a lot easier to take some reference pictures for Carol though. I start walking around the park, taking occasional pictures of some nice sights, making sure to get as many angles on the park as I possibly can. It doesn¡¯t take terribly long to have collected quite a few pictures.


    I think this should be plenty.


    When I look at the camera¡¯s holographic preview screen I hear some kind of electronic sound from behind me.


    ¡°Heya! My fellow catgirl!¡± A voice which I immediately recognize, calls out to me.


    Gamma suddenly hugs me from behind.


    ¡°G-Gamma, watch out for the camera!¡± I yelp.


    ¡°Oh, I see you saw my note!¡± She quickly releases me.


    ¡°It was a bit hard to miss.¡± I check the camera to see if anything¡¯s broken. These cameras are pretty sturdy but I don¡¯t like taking chances.


    ¡°Hihi.¡± She laughs. ¡°Sorry it took so long but here you go.¡± Gamma hands over a headset, with its speakers mounted on the top, positioned just right where they would nestle into my feline ears.


    I swiftly look around to see if anyone could see us before taking it from her.


    ¡°Chill friendo, no one can see us.¡±


    ¡°The kid on the bus saw you.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She winks. ¡°I like to mess with younglings, it¡¯s pretty funny to watch them trying to explain it to their parents.¡±


    ¡°Chaotic neutral it is...definitely.¡± I inspect the headset even further in my hand.


    ¡°Not going to try it on?¡±


    I look around me again. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Gamma giggles. ¡°Yer a bit of a worrywart aintcha?¡± she puts a small round electronic device on my chest and presses it, while doing the same for herself. ¡°Here, now only us two can see each other.¡± swiftly she unclasps my choker and takes the headset from my hand.


    ¡°You just put it on like this.¡± She demonstrates on her own head. ¡°And if you want them to be noise-cancelling you press this button.¡± She turns her head so I can see the buttons on the side. The moment she presses it small caps plop out of the speakers to cover her ears.


    ¡°Wow! But aren¡¯t the ear caps a bit¡­ clunky?¡±


    She presses the button again to stop the noise-cancelling. ¡°What did you say, couldn¡¯t hear you.¡± She winks. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can lip read. I just thought the caps would look funny. They are completely unnecessary because the headset creates a forcefield. The added effect is that your friends can see if you are not interested in listening to them. The forcefield even keeps your hair nice and dry when it rains too.¡± Gamma smirks. ¡°Anyway, this button is to change the colour of the headset, and this one is to make the neon lights switch colour. Here, now you try.¡± She explains this stuff as hectic like a hurricane in a bottle.


    I take the headset back from her and perform all the actions she just demonstrated. Especially the noise cancelling mode is incredibly impressive, you can¡¯t hear a thing.


    ¡°You can allow some degree of sound to come through by turning this button.¡± She puts my hand on it.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing, thank you. Are you sure I can just have it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, kitten. When you¡¯ve lived as long as me and are somewhat of an inventor you do tend to amass quite a fortune. I have like a dozen of these laying around in my room anyway.¡± She bashfully pats me on the back.


    ¡°Oh, well thanks a lot then!¡±


    I wonder what exactly her room looks like though if she¡¯s got twelve of these. Are they just on the floor? Or does she have them neatly sorted?


    I look at her for a second or two.


    Never mind, they would definitely be laying on the floor.


    ¡°I should let you go back to your class before they are starting to miss you. See you later fellow kitty cat!¡± She takes the button from my chest, takes some sort of device from her pocket, waves at me, opens a portal and floops through it. And just like that she¡¯s gone. The only thing that¡¯s left is a post-it note, gently floating down from where the portal disappeared. I catch it midair and read the text in fluorescent pink marker. ¡°Go on now! Education is important! Love, Gamma.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± I smile to myself and head back to the classroom.


    Even though Gamma is so chaotic and I literally just met her today, I do really like her.


    Before I manage to get back, however, a new portal appears and Gamma sticks her head through it. ¡°And don¡¯t forget your choker!¡±


    ¡°Ah right!¡±


    She winks and disappears again.


    When I get back to the classroom I get greeted by the professor and go back to Carol and Hailey.


    ¡°Did you get some good pictures?¡± Carol asks when I rejoin them.


    ¡°I took quite a few, hopefully they are helpful.¡± I hand over the camera and she swiftly starts browsing the pictures with the holographic screen.


    ¡°Awesome, thanks a lot!¡±


    ¡°No problem Carol.¡±


    Hailey taps my shoulder. ¡°And what¡¯s that, Ami?¡± and points at my headset.


    Carol looks up from the pictures and stares at the headset too. ¡°Did you go shopping too?¡± she whispers.


    ¡°Ah, no¡­ Remember when I told you about the other Goddess we met this morning?¡±


    They both nod.


    ¡°Well. This is the headset she promised to give me. She just popped up to hand it over.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Never a boring moment with you around.¡± Carol laughs. ¡°But you should totally demonstrate how it works though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see that as well.¡± Hailey enthusiastically nods.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you after class when we can get somewhere private.¡±


    ¡°And then we can pet Ami again too!¡± Carol whispers into her friend¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Ooh, yes!¡±


    ¡°Hey I heard that!¡± I pout, but quickly after we all start giggling.


    I let Hailey and Carol resume their work after Carol copied the photos to her tablet and handed the camera back to the professor. After which I went back to my seat to work on the storyboards of my manga. When the lesson is over I look upon my work.


    ¡°Wow, you got a lot of work done, didn¡¯t you?¡± Hailey takes her canvas and puts it in a safe spot at the back of the class.


    ¡°Yeah, if I can work another hour or three on the storyboards I think I might be done with that. How about you Hailey?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll take a bit longer than that.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°And mine will take even longer.¡± Carol stretches and puts away her canvas too. ¡°But at least it¡¯s getting somewhere now. Thanks again for the pictures.¡±


    ¡°No problem at all! I¡¯m happy to help.¡±


    I put away my own work in my folder and put it in my bag so I can look over them when I¡¯m home.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re heading towards a quiet spot now?¡± Carol playfully prods my side when we leave the classroom.


    ¡°I know just the place, but first let me message my girlfriend, ok?¡± I take my phone out.


    ¡°Of course, please do contact your sweetheart.¡± Hailey smiles and hangs her arm around my neck.


    I stick out my tongue and tell Sam that we¡¯ll be going to the spot where we met in uni for the first time. She almost immediately sends back that she will come in half an hour, with a lot of heart emojis of course.


    ¡°Just follow me, ok?¡± I tell me friends who both nod in agreement.


    ¡°Lead the way, boss.¡± Carol replies in an accent.


    ¡°What are you, a mobster?¡±


    ¡°Smuggling cat girls around campus.¡±


    ¡°Hihi.¡±


    We walk up the familiar stairs to the top floor, it is then when I remember what happened here last time. I take a deep breath and walk in the corridor.


    What has happened has happened, he can¡¯t hurt me anymore. Now it¡¯s time to replace those memories once and for all.


    I unclasp my choker and put it in my pocket.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s okay Ami?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s rarely anyone here, and thanks to my hearing I can hear people coming up the stairs really easily anyway.¡± I wiggle my ears for a second.


    ¡°Alright then.¡± She smiles. ¡°Now give those cute ears here for a nice scratching!¡±


    Both Carol and Hailey jump me and start scratching me behind my ears. It doesn¡¯t take long before my legs give in to the bliss and I drop to the floor against the wall, a little purring mess. With Hailey to my left and Carol to my right.


    ¡°She¡¯s so cozy to cuddle up with.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. It reminds me of my cat back home too.¡± Hailey agrees with our friend.


    ¡°D-do you not want to see the headset first?¡± I purr.


    ¡°Nah, that can wait.¡± Both of my friends smirk.


    Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

 Chapter 58: Laundry

    FieryKathy


    My friends keep on petting me for a while, making me unable to do anything else for a good while. Except for being a purring mess of a catgirl. After 15 minutes of incessant petting I hear the distinct footsteps of my girlfriend coming from the stairwell.


    ¡°Ah, I see y¡¯all have been keeping my girlfriend good company.¡± Sam giggles as she crouches down in front of me.


    ¡°She¡¯s just so fun to play with, you know?¡± Carol answers, scritching the back of my neck.


    ¡°Trust me, I know.¡± Sam smirks.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Max come with you?¡±


    ¡°No, she had to run some errands and get home. She did give me a message to relay to you though.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°That you wear some, and I quote, ¡°easy to take off clothes¡±, when you go on a date with her. On Sunday wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Carol starts blushing profusely. ¡°O-on Saturday¡­ B-but thanks for the message,¡± she stutters.


    ¡°No problem.¡± Sam answers and looks over to Hailey. ¡°It looks like your other friend has fallen asleep while petting you, Ami.¡± she softly laughs.


    I look over and what Sam said is indeed true, Hailey is fast asleep on my shoulder.


    Now that Carol has temporarily stopped petting me I can feel the power in my voice returning.


    ¡°Should we wake her?¡± I peep.


    ¡°Might be for the best.¡±


    I gently nudge her shoulder. ¡°Hailey. Wakey wakey.¡±


    Hailey groans. ¡°Just five more minutes.¡±


    I laugh. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to see my headset?¡±


    ¡°Ami?¡± she mumbles before slowly opening her eyes. ¡°Oh! I can¡¯t believe I dozed off like that.¡±


    ¡°Amicia¡¯s purring can¡¯t be underestimated.¡± Sam states matter of factly.


    ¡°Apparently not¡­¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if her purring had some kind of magical effect either. She does specialize in healing magic, and we all know what research has said about the effects of a cat''s purring.¡±


    Hmm, I hadn¡¯t even thought about this myself, maybe when I purr I amplify my magic? Yet another thing to test out.


    ¡°Anyway, you told me Gamma gave you a present?¡± Sam continues.


    ¡°Mhmm. Here it is.¡± I hand it over to Sam who immediately starts inspecting it.


    ¡°Can I put it on you?¡± She asks after a minute.


    ¡°Sure!¡± By the time Sam puts it on my head, both Hailey and Carol are awake enough to observe. I demonstrate all the different functions of the headset, including the fluorescent light function.


    ¡°Well, that fluro light is definitely Gamma alright.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°It looks really cute on you Ami.¡± Carol pushes the colour button. ¡°I do think pink or purple suits you best though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.¡± Hailey agrees.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°Those colours definitely fit my aesthetic better.¡±


    ¡°Hey Ami.¡± Carol prods me and whispers. ¡°Do you think your Goddess could¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°If she could turn me into a catgirl too?¡±


    Her question surprised me. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Carol backed down a little but pushed on. ¡°I just get really envious to see you like this. And when I thought about what Max said earlier¡­¡±


    Sam and Hailey are watching our conversation closely. I don¡¯t think Carol was whispering silently enough for them to not hear what the conversation was about, but they are remaining silent out of respect.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if she can do that, honestly. From what I gather, what happened to me was kind of an accident. That being said, it does also come with its downsides. Having to hide who you truly are, et cetera. ¡°


    ¡°Yeah, you are right¡­¡± Carol sounds somewhat disappointed.


    ¡°But if you want to test it out, so to speak, nothing is stopping you from checking out some VR games. The feeling is as authentic as it gets. Maybe you can get Max to play something with you.¡±


    Carol perks up and hugs me. ¡°Thanks for the advice, and thanks for listening to my crazy brain twirly.¡±


    I hug her back. ¡°No problem, I know how you feel. To be honest, I wouldn¡¯t want to turn back to being human myself, and having been trans, I understand what it feels like to long for something seemingly out of reach. If you still want to be a cat girl I¡¯ll gladly have a talk with Veanya about it.¡±


    ¡°You are a good girl, Ami.¡± She hugs me tighter.


    ¡°Mow, you are going to make me start purring again if you call me that.¡±


    ¡°Would that be a bad thing?¡±


    We both start laughing. ¡°No, I guess it wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    We talk a bit more about the headset and life in general before saying goodbye to each other.


    ¡°Would you like to come and visit me at my sister¡¯s place one of these days?¡± I ask my friends before we part ways.


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Carol quickly replies.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that I like my sister knowing the people who know my secret¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s completely understandable.¡± Hailey puts her hand on my shoulder with a smile.


    ¡°When do you think it would work best?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask them when I get home, I¡¯ll message you about it later.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Hailey and Carol both give me a goodbye hug and go their own way. Leaving me and Sam by ourselves.


    ¡°Are you really going to ask Veanya about the cat girl thing?¡± Sam asks while we are going down the stairs.


    I nod. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. If she really wants to be a cat girl and I know someone who could make that happen it would be cruel not to ask. Want me to ask them about your leg too?¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± she rubs her leg. ¡°And I don¡¯t know about that, it was probably her who made me having this prosthetic possible¡­ and on top of that, it¡¯s kind of part of me now¡­ It¡¯s hard to explain.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod again.


    ¡°And, it does look pretty badass in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°It sure does.¡± I give her a quick kiss on her cheek. ¡°Although I think you look badass in general.¡±


    She smiles and kisses me back. ¡°Thanks babe. You always make me want to make you a purring mess, you know that?¡±


    I start blushing. ¡°I-I¡¯ve noticed.¡±


    Sam enthusiastically jumps two steps down and awaits me on the landing. When I¡¯m one step away she lifts me off my feet into a princess cary and passionately kisses me on the lips while spinning around.


    ¡°Hey sweetie.¡± She gently puts me down again.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I go back to my parent¡¯s place for an hour or two? Just so they see my face.¡±


    ¡°Your very handsome face.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that one.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Of course not.¡± I give her another kiss.


    ¡°Allright, I¡¯ll come back after that.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°I¡¯ll walk you to the tram stop however, milady.¡± She kneels down on one knee and offers me her hand.


    ¡°That¡¯d be much appreciated, my knight.¡± I gladly play along.


    I put my choker back on and we walk hand in hand to the tram station where we temporarily say our goodbyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m already feeling lonely and I haven¡¯t even left yet.¡± Sam rubs her thumb over the top of my hand.


    ¡°Me too.¡± I give her a final kiss before the tram arrives. ¡°See you soon, my love.¡±


    ¡°Ciao, kitten.¡±


    The tram leaves with Sam still waving me goodbye from the platform, giving absolutely zero shits about what the other people are thinking of our dramatic goodbye.


    Soon it arrives at the stop near the apartment and I make my way inside.


    ¡°Hey there, sis. How did your lessons go?¡± ¨¦lise is folding up some laundry on the dinner table.


    ¡°They went pretty well. Want to see my sketches?¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course!¡± She enthusiastically replies.


    I walk over to her and take my sketches out of my bag while she is leaning her hand on a pile of shirts.


    ¡°Oh, those look really good. And you did these all by yourself.¡± She rubs her hand through my hair.


    ¡°Yes! Ah, and I have something else to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Does it have something to do with a blue-haired catgirl?¡±


    My mouth drops. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°She visited here right after you left. Is she one of your God friends?¡±


    ¡°Euh, well I guess she is. She¡¯s called Gamma and basically sees me as her cat girl sibling. She gave me this headset too.¡± I also take the headset out of my bag.


    ¡°Oh, neato.¡± She takes it into her hand to examine it. ¡°When we were gaming last night I was thinking listening to music as a catgirl would be pretty...hard. I guess this solves it. Did you have to pay for it?¡±


    ¡°No, she gave it to me for free.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty generous.¡±


    ¡°She said she had plenty of money.¡± I shrug.


    My sister thinks for a second. ¡°Well, she is a Goddess and everything sooo¡­.¡±


    ¡°And there is some other news too.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Lise tilts her head.


    ¡°My friends kinda found out I¡¯m a catgirl by accident...¡±


    She sighs. ¡°Well, it was to be expected someone else would find out in time, but I didn¡¯t think it would be this soon. What happened?¡±


    I tell her the entire thing, from our dinner date at the Mexican restaurant to my question if they would like to visit our apartment.


    ¡°Meeting them is indeed not a bad plan, but Ami, you really need to be a bit more careful.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡± I look down at my feet.


    She grabs me in for a hug. ¡°I¡¯m not angry at you, it¡¯s just for your own safety.¡±


    ¡°Mye, I understand.¡±


    My sister hugs me even tighter before releasing me. ¡°By the way, is Sam not coming?¡±


    ¡°She is, she just wanted to go by her parents for an hour or two.¡±


    ¡°Allright.¡± My sister smiles. ¡°Let¡¯s decide on when your friends can come over when Nikki is home. Can you help me with the laundry in the meantime?¡±


    I nod and put my bag down next to the sofa.


    ¡°Good girl.¡± My sister winks as she starts folding the laundry again.


    Freshly washed clothes and blankets always smell soooooo nice.

 Chapter 59: Wacky

    FieryKathy


    With the laundry all folded up nicely me and my sister decide to chill a bit on the sofa and play a game until Nikki gets home.


    ¡°Oh, you are clearly getting better, sis.¡± My sister comments when I almost overtake her in the penultimate round. ¡°But not good enough!¡± She launches a coconut behind her, making my car spin out of control.


    ¡°Noooo!¡± I cry out as the rest of the cars overtake me.


    ¡°Haha!¡± My sister laughs, but because of her loss of concentration she accidentally takes her turn too wide and veers off the side of a cliff.


    ¡°Drat, drat and double drat!¡±


    I smirk when I drive past her that¡¯s still floating in midair. ¡°See you at the finish line, sis.¡±


    The race was over and I had won from my sister, but at what cost. We were 11th and 12th respectively out of 12 drivers.


    Well in my opinion it was definitely worth it.


    As I¡¯m still basking from my victory over my sister I start petting Mochi and Pocky who¡¯d both taken place next to us on the sofa while we were playing. The three of us all looked at the door when we heard a sound coming from the hallway.


    ¨¦lise giggles. ¡°I guess Nikki is back.¡± She moves to the front door to open it for her girlfriend.


    ¡°Hey there sweetie.¡± Nikki¡¯s voice calls out from the hall.


    ¡°Hey babe.¡± ¨¦lise gives her a welcome kiss as she walks past her.


    ¡°Ah, got out of school already, Amicia?¡± Nikki puts a bag of groceries on the kitchen island.


    ¡°Mhmm, we only had two lessons today.¡±


    ¡°You should see her sketches, they are really good!¡± ¨¦lise helps unpacking the groceries before carefully showing Nikki the sketches.


    ¡°They are really nice indeed!¡±


    ¡°And do you want to know which kind of oopsie Ami had today too?¡±


    Nikki looks over to me with a curious look on her face. ¡°Is this about the blue-haired catgirl?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no.¡± ¨¦lise continues to tell what happened to me today.


    ¡°Well, at least they responded well to it¡­¡± Nikki thinks for a second. ¡°So, for a date that¡¯ll fit best¡­ what about tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit soon?¡± My sister comments on Nikki¡¯s proposal.


    ¡°I would rather meet them as soon as possible to be honest. This is a pretty important matter after all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± My sister concedes. ¡°Can you tell them, Ami?¡±


    I nod and take out my phone. ¡°I¡¯ll text them right away.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡±


    After I text them my sis pokes my shoulder. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve got something to tell you when Sam gets here as well. I think it¡¯s important the two of you know this going forward.¡± My sister sounds quite serious.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I wouldn¡¯t say wrong, but it is important you know, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really making me curious now¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ Sorry sis.¡± She pats my shoulder.


    What could be so important that she wants the both of us to know? And why doesn¡¯t she want to say it to me now¡­?


    I decide to let it go and hang out with my family and our cats a bit more. This time Nikki also joins our game, wiping the floor with both me and my sister. Her winning streak didn¡¯t end even when Sam finally got home to us.


    ¡°Is she really that powerful?¡± My girlfriend asks as she takes a seat next to me.


    ¡°Mhmm. Why don¡¯t you try to beat her?¡± I offer her my controller.


    ¡°I can try.¡± She hesitantly takes it.


    The race starts and Sam manages to somewhat keep up with Nikki.


    ¡°So, how was it at your parents¡¯ place?¡± Nikki asks while brutally murdering one of the NPCs.


    ¡°Pretty okay, my parents were just asking if I wasn¡¯t being a burden for you people.¡±


    ¡°You never are.¡± My sister replies, almost getting hit by one of Nikki¡¯s traps as well. ¡°Phew, that was close.¡±


    ¡°I know, but you¡¯ll probably have to tell that to them yourself, they won¡¯t believe me.¡±


    ¡°We can go over one day, it¡¯s only natural for your in-laws to do so, right?¡± My sister winks at me but drives into the wall while doing so.


    ¡°Better keep your eyes on the road, sis.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± She sighs. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll be able to win from this road monster anyway.¡± My sister takes a last minute consumable from one of the trapezoids floating above the road¡¯s surface. ¡°But¡­ there is one thing I can do!¡± She smirks as she gets the green coconut, the consumable she gambled on getting. ¡°I¡¯ll probably have to sleep on the couch for doing this!¡± She launches it at her girlfriend who almost manages to dodge it, but not quite, making her car explode. ¡°Go Sam, go!¡±


    Sam races past Nikki¡¯s respawn smoke and enters the last straight.


    Nikki quickly manages to catch up, but the delay my sister caused for her proves to be too much. Sam passes the finish line and wins the race. I give her a congratulatory hug while Nikki is shooting a deadly glare at her girlfriend.


    ¡°Ami, please help. She scary.¡±


    ¡°Your sacrifice will be remembered.¡± I salute her while putting my head on Sam¡¯s shoulder.


    Nikki jumps my sister and starts mercilessly tickling her.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna dieeeee!¡± Lise can only barely catch her breath.


    ¡°You bloody deserve it!¡± Nikki smirks and kisses my sis on her cheek, finally leaving her alone.


    Once my sister has recovered she coughs a couple of times to address Sam and me.


    ¡°So, I have to tell you two something. We were discussing it this morning but I doubt the two of you heard it.¡± She looks really serious now. ¡°It has something to do with Ami¡¯s catgirlness.¡±


    ¡°What exactly?¡± Sam has a concerned look on her face.


    ¡°This is all just speculation but we talked to Hilda about it and¡­ well... according to her it is possible that at one point in time you might go into heat¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± My mouth drops open from this revelation. ¡°A-and what does that entail?¡± I gulp.


    ¡°This has never happened to a player but according to the lore, Nekote tend to lose their speech and have a drastic change in mannerism during it.¡±


    ¡°But because I¡¯m practically a real Nekote and not a player¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite possible this will happen to you¡­¡±


    ¡°If we knew this earlier we could¡¯ve asked Gamma¡­¡± Sam rubs the back of her head


    My sister looks down at her feet. ¡°Now you say so, that girl was such a whirlwind it didn¡¯t even dawn on me either.¡±


    ¡°She was here as well?¡±


    My sister and Nikki nod. ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    My breath starts picking up and I feel a panic attack incoming.


    Sam notices and immediately takes me in for a big squeeze.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay Ami.¡± Sam comforts me.


    ¡°It is definitely not set in stone.¡± My sister continues. ¡°But we thought it was best that you knew, so if it happens you can act accordingly. Especially when it happens at school.¡±


    ¡°In that sense it is quite good your friends found out about you already, so they can help you too.¡± Nikki follows up.


    ¡°So Sam, if something ever happens, just bring her home, okay?¡±


    Sam squeezes me yet again and gives an affirmative nod to my sister. ¡°Of course.¡±


    My sister smiles and comes a bit closer to the two of us, giving me a pat on my head.


    ¡°You okay, sis?¡±


    The panic that I felt coming up has receded a bit. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s just a bit scary.¡±


    ¡°I can understand that.¡± ¨¦lise takes my hand and squeezes it gently. ¡°We are all here for you, so don¡¯t you worry, okay?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°Let us prepare some food. Because you girls already had a warm meal, are sandwiches good for you?¡± Nikki moves over to the kitchen.


    ¡°Fine for me.¡± Sam agrees.


    ¡°T-tuna sandwich?¡± I hesitantly ask.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll make you one.¡± Nikki laughs. ¡°I¡¯ll also put on some tomato soup.¡±


    Me and Sam continue to cuddle on the sofa with Mochi and Pocky while my sis and Nikki work on the food. In the meantime Carol and Hailey have replied positively to the request to meet tomorrow and Sam got a message from Max saying it was also good for her.


    Nikki and ¨¦lise call us to the table five minutes later for lunch. The Tuna sandwhich was outright delicious and almost made me forget the conversation we just had.


    ¡°Ho ho, slow down sis. Don¡¯t want you choking on a piece of bread.¡± My sister comments on me shoving down my food.


    ¡°Ah, sorry. It¡¯s just so tasty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°Just don¡¯t forget to chew.¡±


    ¡°And, Sam, are you ready for Turn of Destiny?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll ever be.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°Already have a character build in mind?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± She looks over to me and gives me a wink. ¡°Can¡¯t wait to go on another adventure with my girlfriend to be honest.¡±


    ¡°I can definitely understand that.¡± My sister drinks some of her tomato soup. ¡°You gotta love FDVR for making this all possible.¡±


    The entire table hums in agreement.


    It definitely has turned my life upside down in a good way.

 Chapter 60: Ranger

    After dinner, Sam and I take a quick shower, which was quite a bit less heated than last time, and prepare for our next VR adventure.


    ¡°Hey Sam,¡± my sister peeks into the room.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that Hilda will private message you the coordinates before you spawn in. If you spawn in earlier we will have to come and fetch you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right! Thanks for the reminder.¡±


    ¡°No probs.¡± ¨¦lise winks.


    ¡°But I can make my character already, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, shouldn¡¯t be an issue, you can recieve PMs in the chara creation. Just don¡¯t press spawn.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± My girlfriend smiles.


    ¡°Anyway, see you later.¡± My sister closes the door behind her.


    ¡°So, are you ready for your next adventure?¡± I ask Sam while I help her with her leg.


    ¡°With you? Always.¡± She gives me a kiss on the cheek.


    ¡°Charmer.¡± I smile as I put her leg away.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    I get back on the bed with her and Sam almost immediately pushed me down against the mattress, giving me a multitude of smaller kisses, starting in my neck, moving back to my cheek and finally ending on my lips.


    ¡°Need to take some advantage of our private time now, before we dive in.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised how much private time we can get in the game too.¡± I kiss her back on her lips.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. And even so, I don¡¯t think the others mind a clingy and super gay Sam. You should¡¯ve seen my sister with Nikki last time.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Nikki is a vampire in-game and she does like her blood from time to time.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that dietary change is pretty rad I guess.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. And I think the both of them enjoy how it feels too.¡±


    ¡°So lewd.¡± Sam giggles as she rolls off me to my side.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I roll on my side while Sam does the same, so we can both stare in each other''s eyes.


    ¡°My pretty catgirl.¡± Sam boops my nose with her finger.


    I giggle. ¡°My badass girlfriend.¡±


    Before I put on my headset I quickly get out of bed and head towards the door.


    ¡°For Pocky and Mochi?¡±


    I nod. ¡°They like snuggling with us when we sleep, and it¡¯s fun to wake up with them.¡±


    The moment I open the door a curious Pocky walks in already.


    ¡°Hey there Pocky, we¡¯re going to sleep.¡±


    Pocky meows.


    ¡°What does she say?¡±


    ¡°She wishes us a good night.¡±


    ¡°Wish her a good night from me too!¡±


    I do as my girlfriend asks and Pocky replies with a happy mewl before I head back to bed.


    ¡°See you in-game, sweetie?¡± I hold her hand as I hover my finger over the switch.


    ¡°Will be right there.¡±


    The headset switches on and soon I find myself back in a familiar place.


    ¡°Hey there, kitten.¡±


    Hilda was already waiting for me, she¡¯s sitting upright looking at the map. ¡°Alright, these are the coordinates¡­. and sent.¡±


    ¡°Hey Hilda.¡±


    She walks over to me and gives me a hug. ¡°So, is there gonna be a day where you are not going to show people you are a catgirl?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± I hug her back.


    ¡°And I also heard about another cat girl from your sister?¡±


    ¡°Yeeeee. And there might be another one soon too.¡±


    ¡°Another one?¡±


    I explain the situation with Carol and Hilda starts laughing. ¡°Well, I guess I can see why she would like the idea. But as you said, trying it out in game is probably the first course of action.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, by the way, how are you feeling about the heat thing?¡±


    ¡°It came as a bit of a shock really, I never thought about it before.¡±


    ¡°I can understand that.¡± She pats my head. ¡°For all we know it might not affect you, but better be safe than sorry.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. My sister said something similar.¡±


    ¡°Want me to buy you a cat food bowl to be sure? Maybe a cat collar too?¡±


    ¡°Hilda, Imma bite you.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Just kidding, just kidding.¡± She laughs. ¡°If you ever change your mind though, just tell me.¡±


    I chomp her hand.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°I warned you.¡±


    ¡°Hilda, Ami, you awake already?¡± I hear my sister from outside the tent.


    ¡°Yeah, we are.¡± Hilda replies.


    ¡°Great, have you already sent a message to Sam?¡±


    ¡°I did, I did.¡± Hilda exits the tent, but before doing so she winks at me. ¡°Don¡¯t stay in bed for too long, we need to go and find your girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡± I¡¯m still a bit pouty because of her teasing but once she leaves the tent I quickly get dressed.


    Let¡¯s hope Sam didn¡¯t insert the wrong numbers.


    ¡°Feels good to be back in this game to be honest.¡± My sister comments when I get out of the tent. She¡¯s stretching her arms and legs too.


    ¡°Yeah, I missed this as well.¡± Nikki smiles, uncovering her vampiric canines.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Hilda starts packing up our tent after me. ¡°Sam said she was going to send a message right before she spawns in, so we can wait here for a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°How accurate is the spawn mechanic?¡± I sit myself down on one of the logs next to the extinguished campfire.


    ¡°Pretty accurate.¡±


    ¡°And what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Within a kilometer or so.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still quite a lot of area to cover...¡±


    My sister nods. ¡°That¡¯s what? The area of a circle is radius squared times pi, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm, just over three square kilometers.¡± Nikki puts the last of their tent away.


    ¡°Yikes, how are we going to do that?¡±


    ¡°I do have one of these.¡± Hilda takes some kind of pistol out of her backpack.


    ¡°A flare gun? Isn¡¯t that risky?¡± My sister sits down next to me.


    Hilda nods. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m not in the biggest rush to use it.¡± She puts the flare gun back. ¡°There still might be bandits in the area, so unless you want to get into a fight right away¡­¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°So what do we do?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s best we split up in two groups then, if Sam stays put it shouldn¡¯t take too terribly long before we find her.¡±


    ¡°Allright, and what are the groups? Me with Nikki and you with Ami?¡± My sister pokes her sword in the ashes.


    ¡°That¡¯s indeed what I was thinking.¡±


    ¡°Alrighty then.¡± My sis pats my head.


    ¡°Keep Hilda safe, ok?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    We stay put for ten more minutes, talking about the plan before Hilda gets up from her tree stump. ¡°Just got the message from Sam, ready to move out?¡±


    ¡°Yesh.¡± I jump upright and join my partner.


    ¡°Send a message once you find her, and then rendezvous back here.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± My sister salutes Hilda and heads out to the south together with Nikki.


    ¡°So we head north and work our way clockwise?¡± I follow Hilda down the woods.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± She nods. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope your sister knows the difference between clockwise and counterclockwise.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue. She has Nikki with her after all.¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡± Hilda laughs.


    We follow the stream up north for about 600 meters before turning east, trying to make sure we keep walking in a circle.


    ¡°How do we know if we aren¡¯t walking in a circle though?¡±


    ¡°Gut instinct?¡± She shrugs. ¡°Honestly this isn¡¯t a perfect plan and it might take a while, but in any case it¡¯s better than the flare option. I can somewhat guestimate our route based on the map.¡±


    ¡°Myeah.¡±


    Right at that moment my ears perk up as I hear a yelp in the distance, coming from the east.


    ¡°Did you hear something?¡±


    ¡°I heard someone yell from that direction.¡± I point my finger towards where the sound came from.


    ¡°Sam?¡±


    I shake my head. ¡°Sounded more like a man to me.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s check it out though.¡±


    I agree with Hilda as we pick up the pace towards the sound.


    Before we can get there, I can hear a second yelp, this voice was even deeper.


    I look over to Hilda who now has started running. ¡°I heard that too.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t take long to arrive at the source of the sounds. There were two men, one was pinned to a tree with an arrow in his shoulder, the other one was lying motionless on the floor, arrow in his back.


    ¡°H...help me¡­¡± The man who was nailed to the tree moans out in pain.


    I take my staff at the ready but before I can cast a spell Hilda stops me.


    ¡°Look at their getup, Ami. Don¡¯t you remember it?¡±


    I take a close look at their uniform and now Hilda has put my attention to it, they do look vaguely familiar.


    ¡°These were the same uniforms as the bandits who blocked the road.¡±


    ¡°Aaaah.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they saw me spawn in and thought I was easy pickings, and started to chase me.¡± With a thump a tall, tanned, blonde cat girl lands next to us on the forest ground, a longbow in her hand and a quiver on her back. The thump almost made Hilda fall on her bum.


    ¡°Sam?¡± I hesitantly ask.


    ¡°Yep.¡± She slings the bow over her shoulder and embraces me. My head at the perfect height to get squeezed against her ample bosom.


    ¡°Ah, oops, sorry kitten.¡±


    ¡°D-don¡¯t worry, it was n-nice¡­¡±


    Sam smirks and looks at Hilda. ¡°And sorry for surprising you Hilda. I climbed up the tree to lay an ambush for these two.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°So a ranger, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I wanted something that can do some supporting and can do some decent damage.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say you picked well then.¡±


    Hilda explains to me that a ranger can, apart from shooting arrows into things, buff the offensive, defensive and healing capabilities of their allies.


    ¡°So Sam picked the perfect party synergy for us?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    Sam looks incredibly proud of herself.


    ¡°Anyway, what do we do with that guy?¡± I nod to our temporary prisoner who is still hanging against the tree.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a terribly big fan of executions.¡± Hilda pats the back of her own head. ¡°If you heal him we can just tie him to the tree so he at least has a shot of survival, while also giving us plenty of time to get away. What do you say Sam? They were chasing you after all.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan to me.¡± Sam nods and kneels down in front of the guy. ¡°If you come after us again, this time I¡¯ll try to aim a bit more to the left.¡± She pokes her finger in the middle of his chest. ¡°Right about hereso, like your buddy over there. Capiche?¡±


    The bandit nods silently after which Hilda ties him up with some rope while Sam removes the arrow and I start to heal him.


    Although I vehemently agree with this course of action, I do hope letting him go doesn¡¯t come back to bite us in the ass.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 61: Transgression

    Hilda sends a message to my sister and Nikki while we leave the bandit behind, bound to the tree. It doesn¡¯t take long at all before we meet up again.


    ¡°Wow Sam, is that really you?¡± My sister starts smiling when she sees the tanned catgirl next to me holding my hand.


    ¡°Yep! It¡¯s a little bit of a change of pace. Plus, if my girlfriend is a catgirl I kinda want to know what it¡¯s like to be one myself.¡± She squeezes my hand.


    ¡°Well, you definitely look fantastic, although I¡¯m a bit miffed you are taller than me now.¡±


    Nikki talks behind the back of her hand. ¡°Her insecurities are going to start acting up again.¡±


    ¡°Haha, thanks.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°So, where are we heading?¡±


    Hilda takes out her map and shows it to Sam. ¡°The city of Skaok, the capital of Reykland, right now we are over here, at Sinmaa.¡± She points at our location.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s still quite the distance.¡±


    ¡°It definitely is.¡± Hilda puts away her map again. ¡°The new players will mostly be spawning in the Vinavian Empire so we wanted to get out there to avoid the rush.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯re going to explore a new continent!¡± I enthusiastically tell my girlfriend.


    ¡°Oh, that sounds cool.¡± Sam squeezes my hand.


    ¡°Yep, and in the meantime we might be able to figure more things about Ami¡¯s skills and let her try to learn how to control it. Speaking of which,¡± Hilda looks at me. ¡°Did you notice anything when you saw the bandit?¡±


    I think back about the little encounter from earlier. ¡°Uh, not really? Sam already solved it, so...¡±


    ¡°So it doesn¡¯t get triggered by just seeing a bad person¡­ maybe if he had hurt Sam¡­¡±


    The situation flashes before my mind yet again, this time with the bandit standing over my girlfriend, a gash in her arm. My mind gets clouded by a red mist, and I can feel my muscles tensing up as I ball my fists.


    ¡°Ami.¡± Sam places her hand on my shoulder, which almost immediately calms me down again.


    ¡°Whatever you were thinking about, it was working.¡± Hilda comments. ¡°The entire area around you was getting incredibly menacing.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about Sam getting hurt¡­¡±


    Sam gives me a quick hug.


    ¡°And the other times when it happened also involved Sam, right?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°So the skill also gets activated because of your will to protect your loved ones.¡±


    ¡°I think so too¡­¡±


    Hilda smiles and pats my head. ¡°So that¡¯s at least one thing we know. Let¡¯s carefully test out other possibilities when we get further away from this place.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t want to stay here for long, we don¡¯t want to take our chances with these bandits.¡± My sister rests her hand on the pommel of her sword.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then. We¡¯ve got a lot of walking to do today.¡± Hilda takes her hand off my head and starts walking back to the road. ¡°The next stop is at a village called Parma.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, maybe they have some special ham there.¡± My mouth starts watering.


    Hilda chuckles. ¡°I doubt it, but we can always ask.¡±


    Our group starts following the road on a fairly uneventful hike towards the village of Parma, until after a couple of hours Hilda veers of the road and stops next to a white stone.


    ¡°Hey Ami, look at this.¡±


    Sam looks over to me with a questioning look on her face, which I respond to with a shrug.


    The two of us walk over while Nikki and ¨¦lise sit down to take a small break.


    ¡°Is there something special about that rock?¡±


    ¡°Remember when I talked about the autonomous area that was created after the big war?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah!¡±


    ¡°Well, this is the border marker.¡±


    ¡°Aaah.¡±


    Sam still looks a bit confused so Hilda gives her a small overview of what happened here.


    Sam puts her hand on her chin. ¡°Hmm, interesting, but I would expect border guards in such an important area, no?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true but they might have pulled those back to avoid relighting the conflict.¡±


    ¡°Fair, I guess. So are we taking a break now?¡±


    Hilda looks over to Nikki and ¨¦lise. ¡°Well, it looks like it.¡±


    ¡°Hey, keeping your tank filled is very important for adventurers!¡± ¨¦lise is talking with her mouth full. ¡°Want some beef jerky, sis?¡± She sticks out her hand with a very nice looking piece.


    ¡°Yesh please!¡± I rush over and take it from her hand.


    Hilda and Sam are giggling behind my back. ¡°Alright, but let¡¯s head out again in 10 minutes ok? I would like to get to Parma before it gets dark.¡± Hilda sits herself down on the bordermarker and takes her water flask out while handing Sam some of her rations.


    Exactly ten minutes later we are back on the road again, although this time still nibbling on some super tasty beef jerky. According to our glorious leader Hilda we should be able to get to Parma in two to three hours.


    ¡°This party has a pretty high pace, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Sam asks me.


    ¡°Hmm, yeah, Hilda likes getting a move-on. Are you getting tired?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°This body has quite a lot of endurance luckily enough, and I like the extra agility you get too!¡±


    ¡°I know right!¡±


    ¡°So now I know why cartwheeling comes so easily to you.¡± Sam boops my nose to which I can hear Nikki and my sister starting to giggle.


    ¡°Buuu.¡± I pout. ¡°It¡¯s better than falling on my face.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, sweetie. Wouldn¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± She quickly kisses my cheek, making me blush.


    After approximately another two hours, something catches the attention of Sam and I: the distinct smell of fire.


    ¡°Do you smell that too, Sam?¡±


    She nods. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°So I wasn¡¯t the only one¡­¡± Nikki comments.


    Both me and Sam look over to Nikki.


    ¡°Sam and I are smelling fire, what about you?¡±


    ¡°For the last five minutes I¡¯ve been getting a distinct sense of blood coming from that direction.¡± She points towards a bit to the left of the road, through the trees.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± ¨¦lise puts her hand on her sword.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure what it meant, I¡¯ve not encountered it this strong before, but now that these two are smelling fire¡­¡±


    ¡°Parma is under attack¡­¡± Hilda finishes her sentence and starts jogging, the rest of us follow.


    We round the corner in the road, overlooking a valley in which Parma is situated. a dozen or so houses are on fire with almost just as many already burnt down to the ground. It¡¯s clear, even from here that people are still fighting in the streets.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¨¦lise takes the lead, our entire party running behind her towards the village.


    We arrive at the outer edge of the village and find a bloodied guard fighting a bandit who is wielding a two-handed axe. The bandit takes a swing and manages to knock the blade out of the hand of the guard, but before he can finish him off, Sam quickly takes him out with an arrow to the throat.


    The guard collapses to his knees. ¡°Thank the gods.¡±


    I look over to Hilda and she gives me a nod, I immediately start casting a couple of healing spells on him.


    ¡°The rest of the bandits just ran past me into the village, go help them, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°How many of them are there?¡± ¨¦lise asks while running past him.


    ¡°Too many to count.¡±


    After my healing the guard takes his sword again and starts following us, be it a bit slower.


    On the way to the village center we find a couple villagers who have been hurt in the attack, who I promptly cast a healing spell on, but others weren¡¯t quite that fortunate. People of all genders, races and ages have been hurt indiscriminately. For a second I stand still with an elderly couple who had been slain in the middle of the road, my fist clenching my staff in anger.


    ¡°If you start casting resurrection spells now you won¡¯t be able to help the others¡­¡± ¨¦lise comments with a sad tone in her voice.


    ¡°I know, that¡¯s what pisses me off.¡± I grit my teeth, a familiar red haze clouds my vision yet again, however this time I feel a lot more in control than last time.


    ¡°Ami?¡± When my sister calls out my name the rest of the group looks back at me.


    ¡°Go on, I¡¯ll be heading in first¡­¡± I feel my wings fold out of my back as I hear the clanging of the black armour plates on my body. Last but not least my staff gets surrounded by dark aether and takes the form of a dark longsword, after which I take off to the skies, where I can behold the destruction even better than before.


    I will put an end to this madness¡­


    A group of seven bandits is pushing around a little Nekote girl only 150 meters away from me, toying with her as if she were a doll. The little girl is crying and has blood on her dress.


    ¡°Who''s going to save you now, huh, your daddy?¡± They laugh and point at an adult male Nekote lying on the floor next to her.


    I dive down with meteoric speed and crash into the bandit right in front of the girl, sending him flying against the wall of the village temple with a satisfying thud.


    ¡°I am, and it is now time to pay for your sins.¡±


    The bandits appear to be frozen in fear, so I kneel next to the little girl and give her a comforting headpat. ¡°Close your eyes and cover your ears, will you, sweetie?¡±


    The girl nods and does as I asked.


    I stand back up again and raise my sword with a malevolent grin on my face.


    ¡°You will regret ever having set foot in this village.¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 62: Punishment

    Chapter 64 will be released on my Patreon in the near future thanks to circumstances!


    I always try to stay at least 3 chapters ahead of time on Patreon.


    Link to my discord: Link


    If people want to read my new story, you can find it here: Vintage Red


    CW: Violence, blood.


    The two bandits in front of me stand no chance whatsoever, as the first swing of my sword cleaves the both of them in half. They stare at me in anguish before I can see the light inside of them extinguish.


    The two bandits on my left stumble backwards, completely in shock as their comrades fall. Their friends on my right however hastily swing their swords at me, both  harmlessly bouncing off my armor.


    ¡°Foolish.¡± I exclaim as I pummel the one on the left with the hilt of my blade.


    His lifeless body collapses against the man on the right, who is thrown off-balance by the impact. Before he can readjust his footing, the backhand strike of my dark longsword swiftly ends his life as well.


    The remaining two bandits make a run for it, probably assuming I was still distracted by the others. I turn my gaze towards them and see a group of their reinforcements heading towards me.


    ¡°If you think your comrades will save you, you are wrong.¡±


    I take up a sword of one of the fallen bandits with my left hand and send it flying to one of the fleeing bandits, burying it up to the hilt in his back. The force of my throw was so strong the sword, with the bandit still stuck to it, flew on and managed to impale one of the bandits who came over to help. With my sword I start channeling the big blue ball of death, however this one was substantially larger than the last time I had cast it and felt much more powerful too. I pointed it towards the last fleeing bandit and let it loose. A wave of blue flames exploded from the ball on impact, as it incinerated the fleeing bandit and the rest of the reinforcements, melting their armour as I watched.


    Their cries of agony fill the market square for only a moment, before the entire square was quiet, except for the sound of fire. However this respite doesn¡¯t last long, as the clanging of armour and weapons rings out from behind me and from behind the church.


    Two big groups of bandits, presumably the last, start closing in on my position, alarmed by the shrieks of their friends. The group from the right is closest to me and starts rushing me on sight, however their charge gets interrupted by a couple of arrows and a fireball, their deaths heralding the arrival of the rest of my party.


    ¡°Amicia! We will hold them off, you take care of the other group.¡± My sister calls out to me.


    I just nod coldly in return and turn my attention towards the church¡¯s group.


    This group, unlike the others, has a combination of bandits with melee weapons and ranged weaponry. While I doubt any of their shots will penetrate my armour, I was still standing next to the little Nekote girl who¡¯s cowering in fear.


    I cast Shield of Fate, materialising a demonic-looking tower shield on my left arm that covered the entire height of my body. I rest it down on the ground, making sure the girl is completely behind it and call out to the bandits. ¡°The hearts of men are black with corruption and must needs be cleansed!¡±


    A first volley of arrows and crossbow bolts harmlessly ricochet off my shield, after which it is time for me to retaliate with the big blue ball of death. Because I can only use one arm and my shield is somewhat in the way, it is pretty clear the power of this one is quite diminished compared to the last one, though that doesn¡¯t stop it from taking out half of their formation. Realising that they can¡¯t win a ranged engagement against my position, the group of bandits decides to charge, with only a couple of crossbowmen staying behind to shoot at possible openings in my defence. The first bandits to arrive at my position try to get behind me, however I do not give them the chance to. I shield bash the people who tried to outflank me from the left, again with an immense power, sending them flying, while swiftly cutting down the couple of bandits on my right. However it does make clear that defending the little girl makes me too immobile to really act as I want to. I temporarily stick my longsword in the dirt so I can take hold of my shield with both hands. I raise my shield a couple of centimeters in the air and jam it into the ground with all my might. Satisfied with how my shield is stuck in the earth I grab hold of my longsword once more and now start advancing on towards the remaining bandits, spreading my wings wide open. Some of them had stopped halfway in their charge and were frozen in place or were stumbling backwards in fear...


    ¡°Your reckoning has come.¡± A sadistic smile makes it way back on my face.


    One of the bandits gets on his knees and starts praying to whatever God he worships.


    Not like any God could save him from me now.


    His life ends by my blade, swiftly followed by the other bandits still standing on my side.


    I behold the massacre for a moment until a final figure appears from behind the church, a man much larger than the other bandits, and considerably better armed.


    ¡°You killed all my men, and you will pay for it!¡± The giant yells out, gritting his teeth.


    ¡°I doubt that.¡± I lift my sword above my head with both hands and throw it as hard as I can at the man. The sword flies towards him at a tremendous speed and impales him as if his breastplate weren¡¯t even there. The intertia of my sword carries him backwards and pins him against one of the houses behind him. Blood spills from his mouth, although to my surprise he was still alive, at least for now.


    ¡°W-what are you.¡± He sputters out with the last piece of strength he has left while I approach him slowly.


    "Banisher of Evil. Protector of the innocent and all that''s good and holy in this world. In short, your worst bloody nightmare." I twist my sword and pull it out of the giant bandit, as he collapses to the ground, dead.


    ¡°Ami, are you there!?¡± I hear Sam call out from the market square.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here.¡± I coldly reply and walk back to my shield.


    ¡°A-are you okay?¡±


    I nod silently, letting my shield dematerialise and tapping the little girl on her shoulder.


    She looks up to me with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°You are safe now.¡±


    Tears roll down her cheek as she gives me a silent hug.


    ¡°Are you going to change back?¡± ¨¦lise asks me, slowly taking in the destruction I¡¯ve caused.


    ¡°I just want to try one more thing before I do.¡± I pet the girl on her head so she stops hugging me for a second.


    I see the party look at me in bewilderment.


    ¡°What exactly do you plan on doing?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to revive the entire village.¡±


    My entire party goes quiet.


    ¡°Ami, you can¡¯t do that, your mana¡­¡± Hilda tries to put her hand on my shoulder but I brush it off.


    ¡°I need to try.¡±


    Before the rest of the party can protest I stick my sword in the ground, right next to the dead Nekote man from earlier. I kneel in front of my sword, put both my hands on the hilt and start whispering the incantation for the resurrection spell while channeling all the mana I can muster in my sword. I feel the energy flowing into the ground, seeking out all the dead in the village, while actively avoiding the dead bandits.


    There are so many¡­


    Tears start running down my cheeks as I try to find even more mana inside of me to pour into my surroundings. I feel my wings spread out to their maximum wingspan, probably as an inistinctive reaction to how focussed I am right now.


    ¡°Wow.¡± I can hear my sister and Nikki gasp in astonishment.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s... beautiful¡­¡± I can hear my girlfriend sniffle.


    As the mana starts to peak, everything starts to go hazy as my body reaches its limit and I pass out.


    Some undetermined time later I can feel a gentle touch on my cheek and a hand softly brushing through my hair.


    ¡°Hnngh, Sam¡­?¡± I groan, my eyes only barely being able to open.


    ¡°Ah, you are awake.¡± She¡¯s kindly looking into my eyes. Apparently I had been sleeping on her lap.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± I look around and see we are in a nicely adorned bedroom.


    ¡°In the guestroom of the house of the Mayor of Parma. Do you remember what happened?¡±


    ¡°Vaguely¡­ I remember a bandit attack, and then my anger taking over¡­it felt like me but also not like me¡­and then¡­¡± My mind blanked.


    Sam nods. ¡°You tried to revive the entire village.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ right¡­ Did it work?¡± I look into her eyes for an answer.


    My girlfriend smiles. ¡°Want to go and see?¡±


    I silently nod and Sam picks me up. I¡¯m still a bit too weak to stand on my legs completely independently so she swings my arm around her shoulder and helps me walk towards the door.


    ¡°You might want to mentally prepare yourself though.¡±


    ¡°For the dead?¡±


    ¡°The opposite, actually..¡±


    We walk out of the room, through the empty living room and out of the front door.


    A load of villagers are waiting in front of the house.


    ¡°The Goddess! She has awoken!¡± The entire crowd starts cheering.


    Eeeeeeeeeehhh?!?!


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 63: Feast

    In the crowd I immediately recognize the elderly couple who I had seen laying dead in the street earlier and the Nekote girl with whom I presume to be her parents.


    ¡°All hail the Goddess!¡± The entire crowd goes wild once again, making me shyly hide behind Sam.


    ¡°You could say your resurrection was quite the success.¡± My girlfriend softly smiles towards me. ¡°So much so that they¡¯ve somewhat started seeing you as a Goddess. I guess rightfully so.¡±


    The Nekote girl I had protected runs over to me and gives me a big hug with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Big sis, thank you for bringing my parents back to me.¡± Her tail is swishing back and forth.


    I hesitantly pet her head. ¡°I only did what I thought was right¡­.¡±


    The crowd¡¯s cheers grow even louder until a heavy, authoritative voice rings out from behind them. ¡°People! Calm down! Give our saviour some space!¡±


    The crowd splits open and down the middle a man is walking with the rest of our party behind him.


    ¡°Hey sis, glad to see you¡¯re awake.¡± My sister walks over to me and gives me a big hug, squeezing me a bit too hard.


    ¡°We thought you¡¯d not wake up for quite a while.¡± Hilda walks over to us as well, together with Nikki.


    ¡°Was I out for that long?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much an entire day.¡± My sister explains.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°You really overexerted yourself, but I can¡¯t blame you for it. I don¡¯t think anyone can.¡± She looks around at the crowd pressing in around us.


    ¡°Young lady, we are eternally grateful to you and your companions.¡± The man with the loud voice bows towards me.


    I look at Hilda a bit confused.


    ¡°Ah, this man is the mayor of Parma.¡±


    The man bows again. ¡°It¡¯s an honour to finally talk to you. I hope you had a nice rest.¡±


    I shyly nod at him. ¡°I slept p-pretty well, t-thanks.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear that.¡± The mayor laughs.


    I look back at the rest of the party. ¡°S-so what¡¯s the plan now? Do we go on towards the port town.¡±


    ¡°About that¡­¡± Hilda starts but gets interrupted by Nikki.


    ¡°The villagers have decided to throw a feast for their newfound Goddess of war.¡±


    ¡°W-war!? Feast?¡±


    My girlfriend squeezes my hand, leans over to me and whispers into my ear. ¡°I heard they have really good fish and meat.¡±


    ¡°I-I guess we can stay for a b-bit¡­¡± I blush and pout at the same time. ¡°But I¡¯m still not sure about that war part¡­¡±


    ¡°The G¡­ I mean saviour has decided to stay for the feast!¡± The mayor loudly announces, ignoring the second part of my comment, and again, the crowd starts cheering.


    Everyone starts preparing for the feast as our party gets guided back into the mayor''s home.


    Because apparently they really don¡¯t want any of their saviours to help prepare for it.


    ¡°Goddess of war, huh¡­¡± I mumble to myself while sitting on the sofa in one of the guest rooms.


    I feel a hand on my shoulder and see my sister has sat herself down next to me.


    ¡°It was really impressive what you did, sis. I¡¯m not going to lie, I''m a bit envious though.¡±


    ¡°We all knew she was kind of a Goddess already, so¡­¡± My girlfriend is sitting on the other side of me.


    ¡°And there¡¯s something we learned about your skill as well.¡± Hilda sits down in a very comfy looking chair next to the fireplace.


    ¡°How so?¡± I ask her in return.


    ¡°Right, you probably didn¡¯t notice because you passed out almost immediately.¡±


    ¡°You know how your armour was black at first, right?¡± My sister looks at me.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Well, when you started pouring in all that mana and willpower to revive everyone it changed.¡±


    I tilt my head questioningly.


    ¡°You practically changed from a goth girl into a literal angel. White wings and the whole shabang.¡± Sam continues on.


    ¡°Really!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was really beautiful. Your armour turned pure white with a goldish trim and your wings were so white and fluffy I wanted to pet them immediately. Well¡­ I always want to pet you, but you know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°I-I think so¡­¡± I blush. ¡°But what does that mean about my skill?¡±


    ¡°You remember how Veanya told us about how your skill enhances your emotions?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t only work for your negative emotions, but also your positive emotions.¡±


    Hilda clarifies even further. ¡°That means that when you were fueled with rage and the will for revenge your armour turned pitch black. But when you were driven to undo their madness and bring everyone back to life¡­¡±


    ¡°My armour turned white?¡±


    My party nods.


    ¡°But what about my will to protect the little girl then?¡±


    ¡°Maybe your will for vengeance still took the lead, you only turned when there were no enemies left.¡± Hilda shrugged. ¡°We can¡¯t be one hundred percent sure of course, but at least it¡¯s a bit more information we can go off.¡±


    My sister pets my head. ¡°Mhmm. How did it feel while you were in your Goddess mode?¡±


    ¡°I definitely felt a bit more in control but it was still really scary.¡±


    ¡°Scary how?¡± My girlfriend put her hand on my leg.


    ¡°Although I knew somewhat what I was doing, I felt absolutely no empathy towards the bandits. And even when talking to you when you arrived, I felt nothing at all.¡±


    ¡°I can see how that¡¯s scary.¡± Nikki agrees. ¡°But it might be your skill protecting yourself for now.¡±


    ¡°To protect you against trauma. It would be bad if you had a breakdown in a dangerous situation.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true¡­¡± I think back about all the gruesome ways I had slain the bandits in, but I can feel something inside of me resisting the mountain of emotions.


    ¡°And because you were crying in your angel mode, that protection might be a lot less.¡± Hilda concludes.


    ¡°This is very heavy shit. You know you can talk to me or the rest of your family if you want to talk about it, right?¡± My girlfriend squeezes my thigh.


    ¡°I know.¡± I give her a big hug. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Our group rests in the room while we wait for the Mayor to come and get us for the feast.


    I learn that while I was out Nikki, Hilda and my sister helped the village people repair their most important parts of infrastructure while Sam was in the room with me.


    ¡°I wish we could be of more help to them but none of us really have carpentry skills. Well, we don¡¯t have them yet anyway.¡± Hilda and my sister found a chess board and are playing a game with each other.


    ¡°At least we managed to patch up their well and a bit of the perimeter fence.¡± My sister moves up with her bishop and takes Hilda¡¯s knight.


    ¡°You did manage to fix their alarm bell too, though.¡± Nikki comments while watching their game.


    ¡°At least something I can do with my blacksmithing.¡± Hilda moves her queen and starts smirking. ¡°Checkmate by the way.¡±


    ¡°What?! How?!¡± My sister frantically starts looking at the board, seeing at what she missed.


    Hilda starts explaining her move when someone knocks on the door.


    ¡°Big sis! The feast is ready!¡± The little Nekote girl storms in and tackle hugs me the moment Nikki opens the door.


    ¡°Haha, sorry for that. She really wanted to be the one to tell you.¡± The Mayor follows her into the room.


    ¡°No problem, it¡¯s cute.¡± My girlfriend starts petting the girl who¡¯s hanging on my waist.


    ¡°Very.¡± I join the petting of the catgirl.


    ¡°Come!¡± She takes mine and Sam¡¯s hand and leads the both of us outside. With the rest of our party close behind.


    When we come outside we see a lot of tables have been set up in the village center together with an enormous campfire. The little traces of combat that were still there a bit earlier, were completely gone.


    The entire village was gathered in a big circle around these tables. Clearly waiting for us to sit down first.


    ¡°The center table is yours.¡± The Mayor says with the little girl guiding us there.


    When we get seated the Mayor walks up to the big fire to do an announcement.


    ¡°Dear friends, today we are gathered here to honour the heroic deeds of our saviours. It¡¯s thanks to them that our village managed to survive the great onslaught of the evildoers. And especially, it was the actions of our Goddess that made it possible for all of us to be here, united. So, from this day on, the 5th day of the month will be known as Amicia day, our beloved Goddess of War! Without further ado, please enjoy the feast!¡± The entire village gets in motion and fills the tables around us, with cooks coming in with delicious looking foods.


    In the meantime I can hear my family giggling.


    ¡°Okay, I didn¡¯t expect them to literally name a day after you.¡± My sister clearly has it the hardest to hold in her laughter.


    ¡°They might have gone a little bit overboard.¡± Hilda is smirking quite badly.


    ¡°Whatever makes them happy.¡± Nikki comments while taking a swig from a mug of ale.


    I sigh while my girlfriend is petting my back. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope the news won¡¯t spread that much.¡±


    ¡°Especially the war part?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly that....¡±


    I can¡¯t shake the feeling that that hope is pretty futile¡­


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 64: Amiroll

    The little Nekote girl is greatly enjoying her meal between me and my girlfriend - she had squeezed herself in between the both of us, but both Sam and I don¡¯t really mind.


    ¡°Are you enjoying the meat?¡± Sam asks while taking a chicken leg for herself and putting it on her plate.


    ¡°Yesh!¡± The little girl smiles with her mouth full of some exquisite ham that I also was enjoying greatly.


    ¡°Good to hear.¡± My girlfriend pet her on the head.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to get jealous, sis?¡± My sister asks, looking at the three of us.


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Well, with her taking so much of Sam¡¯s attention away.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Nah, she has too much of a little sister vibe. Don¡¯t you?¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to scratch the little neko behind her ears.


    ¡°Yesh!¡± The little girl happily repeats herself while nomming on some more meat.


    My sister just smiles until Nikki pulls some of her attention away from me.


    ¡°Do you think Ami would¡¯ve been like that when she were younger as well?¡±


    ¡°You mean as a catgirl?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Nikki nods.


    My sister stares at me attentively, squinting her eyes so she could imagine me in a younger form.


    I¡¯m also curious for her answer so I stare back at her while I wait.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± My sister shakes her head after a while. ¡°It¡¯s really hard to imagine. Sis was always a quiet kid when she was younger, for obvious reasons.¡±


    Sam starts patting my back while my sis continues. ¡°But if she had been a catgirl growing up¡­ maybe she would¡¯ve been a sporty energetic kid?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s a chasing laser lights competition though.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we should try that!¡±


    ¡°I know right!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± I pout. ¡°Mean.¡±


    ¡°In all seriousness though.¡± My sister laughs. ¡°I do think having a tiny kitten sister would¡¯ve been really fun. But not less fun than having a cute kitten sister now.¡± She winks at me, making me blush.


    ¡°It¡¯s more fun to have a cute kitten girlfriend.¡± Sam suddenly whispers in my ear, making my face even redder.


    ¡°Sam! There¡¯s kids here.¡± I pant.


    ¡°She¡¯s too busy eating.¡± She whispers back and hugs me.


    ¡°Eeeh! You¡¯re squishing me!¡± The little Nekote complains.


    ¡°Sorry little one.¡± The both of us apologise with headpats.


    After the meal is finished the townspeople start dancing around the fire, which starts to look increasingly more beautiful in the upcoming evening. The little Nekote girl rejoins her parents as the mayor comes over to our table, seemingly to discuss something.


    ¡°I think it is without question that we want to provide your group with anything you need for the rest of your trip.¡± He addresses the entirety of the table.


    ¡°Food, drinks, tools, equipment, mounts, you name it.¡±


    ¡°Mounts would be useful¡­¡± I can hear Hilda debate with herself while the rest of the group is also thinking about his offer. ¡°I think we¡¯ll take you up on that.¡±


    ¡°What kind of mounts do you have?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Mostly horses. The more exotic mounts are for the richer settlements.¡± He immediately replies with a bow.


    ¡°Will four horses be good?¡± Hilda asks the mayor.


    ¡°Four? But doesn¡¯t your party consist of five people?¡± He looks around the table at our party.


    ¡°I know, but I saw your stables earlier and wouldn¡¯t want to take any more horses than we need.¡±


    ¡°It is true that we are currently in a bad spot but please don¡¯t let that dissuade you.¡±


    ¡°I can ride on the same horse as my girlfriend, it¡¯s really no problem at all.¡± I inject myself into the discussion. With Sam enthusiastically nodding along with my reply.


    The mayor starts smiling and bows his head towards us again. ¡°You people are really too good for this world. At least allow us to offer some extra of our best smoked and dried meat for the rest of your journey then.¡±


    ¡°We won''t say no to that.¡± Nikki agrees with the rest of the party humming in agreement.


    ¡°Alright, we will prepare everything for your departure tomorrow. That is, if you don¡¯t want to stay longer of course.¡±


    ¡°We should really get going as soon as possible. But thank you for your hospitality anyway.¡±


    The mayor bows to us one more time before heading off, presumably to start preparing our care package.


    Our party continues looking at the feast for some time before I finally start yawning.


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m tired already, even though I slept so long¡­¡± I whine which makes Sam squeeze me tightly to her chest.


    ¡°You might not have fully recovered yet. Want to go to bed?¡± She gently pats me on the back of my head.


    ¡°I think that might be best¡­¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t stay up for that much longer either.¡± Hilda replies. ¡°Good night you two.¡±


    ¡°Good night.¡± Me and Sam say goodnight to our party and also wave the little Nekote goodbye, who¡¯s still enthusiastically dancing with her parents. After which we retreat back into the mayor¡¯s guest rooms and start undressing.


    When I turn around after having undressed I look at Sam¡¯s body and I¡¯m completely awestruck. Even though she is very toned and muscular in real life, her Nekote body accentuates her muscles and curves even more than normal. On top of that I do feel a bit intimidated by how tall she is as well.


    ¡°Ami, your staring is making me feel things.¡± Sam blushes and shyly looks away.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just like ... wow.¡±


    I also like her sudden bouts of shyness, a lot.


    I decide to give her a bit of privacy and look away for a second while I sit on the bed.


    ¡°Do you like that body?¡± ¡°Myeah, it¡¯s pretty fun. I don¡¯t know if I would trade my own body for it, but I like it better than the dragon one in the last game we played. Learning to undress a new body is sometimes a bit hard though.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. I had a lot of issues at first too, want me to help you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I need to learn to do it myself. But thanks for the offer, sweetie.¡±


    Luckily for me it doesn¡¯t take her that long to undress as she comes to bed and cuddles up with me, with me being her little spoon and her hugging me tightly against her with her strong but soft arms.


    ¡°Are you comfy Ami?¡± She pulls the blanket over us both making sure my head still sticks out from underneath it.


    ¡°Mhmm. It¡¯s nice.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± She pulls me even closer to her and that¡¯s when I start hearing a purr, not that dissimilar to mine, but definitely a lot deeper sounding.


    It feels reaaaalllyyy nice against my back¡­


    ¡°Oh, well that¡¯s new.¡± My girlfriend giggles. ¡°I guess I can¡¯t hide anymore how much I love cuddling with my small, cute and super pretty girlfriend.¡± She energetically kisses my neck.


    ¡°It¡¯s really comfy¡­¡± I admit to Sam who immediately squeezes me, making me start purring too.


    ¡°Ok, maybe this is better than my own body.¡± Sam starts laughing and nuzzles her nose against my head.


    ¡°I love you Sam.¡± The purring has made me even sleepier as I feel I start drifting away.


    ¡°Love you too, Ami. Good night.¡±


    And with that I go off to dreamland where I dream of fishies, meat and cuddles and kisses with my lovely girlfriend.


    ¡°Hey Ami, wake up.¡± The voice of my girlfriend rouses me from my sleep.


    ¡°Already? I want to sleep a bit longer¡­ too comfy¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡± Sam giggles. ¡°But we really should get up now and grab some food before we leave. I heard they made some delicious tomato soup with rolls of their special ham around goat cheese.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± I immediately sit upright in bed. ¡°You could¡¯ve started with that.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. Here, your clothes, otherwise your tiddies will get cold.¡± She throws my undergarments over my head.


    ¡°Ohno.¡± We both start laughing now as I quickly get dressed and go out to the living room part of the guest rooms.


    ¡°Good morning Ami.¡± My sister is happily slurping some soup at the dinner table. ¡°You should really try these.¡± She offers me a plank of the ham rolls I was told about when I sit down next to her.


    I take one of the plank and put it in my mouth, the ham is so soft it literally melts in my mouth. Together with the taste of the well seasoned goat cheese, it¡¯s just great.


    ¡°Oh my¡­ this is so good.¡± I immediately take a few more from the plank and put them on my plate.


    ¡°Yeah, I heard they made this especially for you. They are calling these Amirolls.¡±


    ¡°Wow, first a day and now a foodstuff.¡±


    ¡°You are happier about the food aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am.¡± I stick out my tongue and drink some of the soup too.


    Not as delicious as the Amiroll, but still very nice though!


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 65: Horse

    After dinner our entire group cleans up behind us and leaves the house behind. Making our way to the stables where the mayor had said he would meet us.


    Hilda is looking at her map while we are walking.


    ¡°So, Hilda, where do you think we will end up today?¡± I start walking next to her, Sam following my lead.


    ¡°On horseback? Probably to Honnes I¡¯d say. I think we could even make it to Skaok but I don¡¯t want to push the horses that much. We should treat them well if they are going to be our new party members.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Sam nods in agreement.


    When we turn the corner towards the village stables we see a very big crowd has gathered near it.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll be getting a farewell parade as well.¡± My sister jokes. ¡°Well, mostly Amicia that is.¡±


    ¡°Good morning!¡± The mayor enthusiastically greets us when he sees us coming.


    The little Nekote girl running towards us as well.


    ¡°I hope you had a great night¡¯s rest?¡±


    ¡°Definitely. Thank you again for the accomodation.¡± Hilda replies.


    The mayor bows again. ¡°We have prepared your horses and rations like you requested.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The little Nekote girl gives both me and Sam a big hug.


    ¡°Big sisters be safe, ok?¡±


    ¡°Of course we will.¡± I pat her on the head. ¡°But only if you are a good girl and don¡¯t forget to brush your teeth.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± The girl promises with a big smile and runs back to her parents, who to our surprise were coming over to us as well.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t thanked you personally yet for saving our lives, and more importantly for saving little Calli.¡± The mother bows deeply towards me.


    So Calli is her name, huh? We never did ask for it, but it¡¯s definitely a cute name.


    I smile. ¡°Seeing you all being happy together is already enough reward for me.¡±


    Sam enthusiastically nods along.


    ¡°You look like a great family.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± The father of the family is trying his best not to start crying and bows as well.


    Oh gee, all this crying is making me super emotional too, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand where they¡¯re coming from though.


    Sam pokes my side and whispers into my ear. ¡°We should probably follow the rest.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right.¡± I look at the family still standing before me. ¡°We kinda do need to go now... ¡°


    The mom wipes her tears away and nods. ¡°We understand, if you ever come back to our village we will receive you with open arms.¡±


    I smile and wave them goodbye. ¡°I¡¯ll remember that. Please take care, and Calli, don¡¯t forget what your big sisters told you, allright?¡±


    Calli nods enthusiastically while waving us goodbye too.


    ¡°Hope everything will be fine for these people.¡± Sam mentions while we walk away.


    ¡°I hope so too¡­ maybe we can convince some noble to station more guards in the village¡­¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Sam pats my head. ¡°I have such a smart girlfriend. Thinking all practical like the little Goddess of War she is.¡±


    ¡°Buuu.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Ready to mount up?¡± Hilda asks when Sam and I arrive at the horses.


    ¡°Yep.¡± I reply and look at the horse we are going to ride. ¡°How do I mount it though?¡±


    ¡°Leave that to me.¡± My girlfriend smirks.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I look at her with distrust, but before I can act she grabs me at my waist, lifts me up and puts me on the horse.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s one way.¡± My sister, who is already on her horse, laughs at me.


    ¡°Shutup you¡­¡±


    Sam hops on right behind me and takes the reins, giving me a kiss on my head. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have let me if I asked.¡±


    ¡°Darn right I wouldn¡¯t¡­ grrrrr.¡±


    ¡°Awh, she¡¯s so cute when she¡¯s angry.¡± Hilda giggles.


    ¡°Angery kitten indeed.¡± Nikki can¡¯t contain her laughter either.


    I even hear a couple of people from the crowd laughing, which makes me start blushing furiously.


    ¡°Laughing at their Goddess, how dare they.¡± I pout even harder than before, with my cheeks still beat red.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Sam grins. ¡°Let¡¯s go before she decides to raze the village.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Hilda gets on top of her horse as well. ¡°Mayor, I wish you good health and good fortune.¡±


    The mayor hangs the last of the saddlebags on Hilda¡¯s horse and shakes her hand. ¡°Good fortune on your adventures as well.¡± He then proceeds to bow towards the horse me and Sam are seated on.


    ¡°Farewell, Amicia the Great and her party!¡± He loudly proclaims, making the rest of the crowd start cheering.


    ¡°Hope we see you again, oh mighty Goddess of War!¡±


    ¡°Blessings upon that horse!¡±


    ¡°The Goddess is so cute together with her girlfriend!¡±


    And many more different cheers.


    Sam makes the horse move, to walk out of the city as the first of our group, while I wave goodbye to the villagers. Although I am incredibly embarrassed by everything that is happening right now, the villagers did treat us really well.


    ¡°Bye bye! Stay safe! And Calli, be a good girl!¡±


    And with that our little caravan goes on it¡¯s way to Honnes.


    We can hear the crowd still when we get out of the village, with their cheers only dying out when we reach the edge of the forest.


    ¡°Hah, that was a lot.¡± My sister now takes a more relaxed pose on her horse, she¡¯d been trying to act all respectable as long as the villagers could see her.


    Hiding her true nature from everyone!


    ¡°I¡¯m actually pretty happy Ami was mostly the center of attention.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so? Weren¡¯t you complaining you wanted a bit more attention while we were helping them rebuild?¡± Nikki shut her lover down almost immediately.


    ¡°Shit, you weren¡¯t supposed to bring that up, Nikki!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t help it, babe.¡± Nikki smirks.


    ¡°By the way, Sam, where have you learned to ride horses? I don¡¯t think I can and I suppose the others learned by playing the game?¡± I look up at my girlfriend.


    ¡°It¡¯s a skill my class gets, or that I was allowed to pick anyway. I thought animal handling could come in handy. And I thought it fit my character roleplay wise too.¡±


    ¡°It sure does.¡± Hilda vehemently agrees ¡°I love ranger and beastmaster builds!¡±


    I smile but turn myself to the rest of the group again. ¡°I have a question though.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± My sister tilts her head questioningly.


    ¡°So, Nikki said you were complaining right? And I was thinking¡­ don¡¯t you think it¡¯s annoying that I have such an overpowered skill? Like, do you even have fun, because this is a game after all¡­¡±


    Hilda speeds up her horse and comes riding to the left of me and Sam. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Ami. Didn¡¯t you tell us this was more than a game to begin with?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°What matters most is us finding out more about this place, keeping people safe, et cetera.¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    ¡°On top of that.¡± Hilda continues. ¡°For you this is definitely more than just a game since your entire being is connected to this world, and we are here to figure things out about you as well.¡±


    My sister nods. ¡°And there¡¯s no way in hell that adventuring with you wouldn¡¯t be fun. Even though you might be just a tiny little bit overpowered, that doesn¡¯t take away that we just like adventuring in a group and just being together.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Nikki agrees as well.


    ¡°And we already knew you were practically a Goddess anyway, so it¡¯s not like it comes as a surprise.¡± Sam kisses the back of my head. ¡°If we would want to play a more balanced game, world, thingy, we would be playing other games, right?¡±


    At that point the horse neighs.


    ¡°See, even the horsies agree.¡± Sam squishes me tight between her arms.


    ¡°Mhmm. Sometimes I just feel a bit like I don¡¯t deserve this...  that it¡¯s not me and that I¡¯m just pretending.¡± I lean into Sam¡¯s hug.


    ¡°Imposter syndrome, huh? I think that¡¯s pretty normal, especially in your situation.¡± Hilda reassures me.


    ¡°Well, I think everyone goes through it at one point in time.¡± ¨¦lise comments.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I ask. ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard the term before, but I¡¯m not sure¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly the feeling you described babe.¡± Sam leans her chin on my head. ¡°Feeling unsure that you deserve something, thinking you are a fake, a fraud¡­¡±


    ¡°And everyone has that? Not just me?¡±


    ¡°Of course. For me I had that a lot when I started playing basketball with my new leg and a lot of people were making comments on it, saying that I was somehow cheating, even though it doesn¡¯t make me stronger at all.¡±


    ¡°Those people are just pricks.¡± I replied, making Sam giggle.


    ¡°Of course they are, but that didn¡¯t make me feel very sure about myself, luckily I had people like Max there to support me.¡±


    ¡°As for me,¡± My sister now takes the word. ¡°when me and Nikki just got into our relationship I had many, many occasions where I thought that she was just too beautiful for me, that I somehow had tricked her in being together with me, and stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°And it was the same for me.¡± Nikki nods along.


    ¡°Oh. And for Hilda?¡± I look over at her.


    ¡°Hmm, which of the many occasions should I mention.¡± She starts laughing. ¡°When I first started managing people at work is a good example I guess, I felt incredibly unsure, feeling like I just pretended to know what I was doing. That all my achievements up to that point were the results of pure luck opposed to actual skill.¡±


    ¡°So you see, you are definitely not alone.¡± My sister rides a bit closer to us so she can give me a head pat.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No problem, kitten.¡± My sister smiles after which she retakes her position a bit further away from us.


    Having finished the talk, the party goes quiet for a bit, and since I¡¯m still a little tired from two days ago I decide to lean backwards into Sam¡¯s arms and take a short nap.


    ¡°Good night, Ami.¡± I hear Sam whisper before I doze off completely.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 66: Survival

    A squeeze from my girlfriend wakes me up an undetermined time later.


    ¡°Ami?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm?¡± I groan and rub my eyes.


    ¡°We are going to set up camp now, so we are dismounting.¡±


    ¡°Already?¡± I open my eyes and look around. We were still in the middle of a forest but the flora had definitely changed quite a bit compared to the region around Parma.


    Sam giggles. ¡°Well you¡¯ve slept for quite a while. We didn¡¯t make it to Honnes however.¡±


    My girlfriend gets off the horse first and then helps me down.


    That¡¯s when Hilda appears from behind the trees, waving us on. ¡°I found a great place to camp.¡±


    ¡°If we aren¡¯t at Honnes, where are we then?¡± I ask while I groggily follow her, Sam walks behind me, taking all the horses by their leads.


    ¡°I somewhat overestimated how fast we would travel on horseback. We are close to the town but still far enough that we would have had to travel by night to reach it, which I¡¯d rather avoid.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. Makes sense.¡±


    After a two minute walk the dense forest suddenly makes way for a relatively open space. A small pond, surrounded by grassland with cherry blossom trees dotted across the landscape, adorning the ground with their pink fluffiness.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s beautiful!¡± Sam agrees, her mouth agape in awe.


    I can¡¯t help but agree. ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°How could I not pick this place to camp, right?¡± Hilda looks incredibly proud of herself, with her hands confidently resting on her hips.


    ¡°I would definitely pay some serious money to camp in a place like this in the real world, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Sam nods. ¡°Where shall I put the horses?¡±


    Hilda points towards the pond. ¡°You can put them somewhere over there. The water¡¯s clean, so they can drink from that.¡±


    ¡°Okidoki.¡± Sam leads the horses to the designated spot.


    ¡°And where¡¯s my sister and Nikki?¡±


    ¡°Went to collect some firewood and rocks to make a firepit. They didn¡¯t want to collect any from over here, for obvious reasons.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to help with?¡±


    Hilda thinks for a second. ¡°Hmm¡­ well, the villagers gave us some lettuce, tomatoes and vinegar to use, so why don¡¯t we start by making a salad and a vinaigrette for dinner?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± I smile.


    ¡°Good girl.¡± Hilda gives me a head pat.


    We head to our camping spot and find a comfy place to start preparing the meal. Sam rejoins us after having tied up the horses, and starts to marinate and place the meat on some steel skewers.


    ¡°Dang, that looks good, girls!¡± My sister¡¯s voice rings out from behind us as she throws quite a lot of wood down behind us. She¡¯d clearly been sweating quite a lot.


    Nikki was right behind her and did the same, although she was clearly a lot less sweaty.


    ¡°Did you make my ¨¦lise do all the chopping, Nikki?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m the mage after all.¡± She winks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, it was a good workout.¡± Lise walks past us and sits by the pond, stretching her arms and joints. ¡°Aaaaah, I think I¡¯ll sleep well tonight.¡±


    ¡°Too bad we have to log out already.¡± Her girlfriend sits down next to her and starts helping her remove her armour pieces.


    ¡°Thanks babe.¡± My sister gives Nikki a kiss on her cheek. ¡°And yeah, too bad indeed, but hey, we can play tomorrow too.¡±


    ¡°Want me to give you a massage?¡±


    ¡°Yes please!¡±


    While my sister and Nikki are goofing off Sam walks over to us with all the prepared skewers.


    ¡°Want me to start the campfire? I¡¯m done with the meat.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, Nikki can do it, so you don¡¯t need to.¡± Hilda looks up from the salad.


    ¡°I know, but I want to test out my survival skill¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right, you get that for your class too don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Sam smiles.


    ¡°Alright then. Hey Ami, why don¡¯t you join her? I¡¯ll do the rest of the salad.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, you can learn more about survival from her then from anyone else, might as well take the opportunity to learn, no?¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve become a teacher, Hilda.¡± My sister comments without even looking back from her massage.


    ¡°Eh, that was an option but I decided not too, kids are intimidating.¡± She winks at me. ¡°Anyway, off you go.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± I stick my tongue out and follow Sam who, in this very short amount of time, has already managed to have set up a stone fire pit.


    ¡°Want to try flint and steel, Ami?¡± She beckons me to sit right next to her.


    ¡°Uh, I can try.¡± I sit down next to Sam and she hands me a piece of flint and her knife. ¡°How do I use them?¡±


    ¡°First we need some tinder, something that easily catches sparks.¡± Sam walks over to the pile of wood ¨¦lise had collected. ¡°I think this will do.¡± She comes back with some inner bark.


    ¡°You need to make sure it¡¯s very dry, it¡¯s easier to get from dead trees and if it isn¡¯t raining.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then we process it.¡± Sam sits back down next to me and takes a rock. ¡°We want to have as many fibers as possible, and pounding is an easy way to get that.¡±


    She starts smashing the bark with the rock and soon we have some very nice looking fibrous bark.


    ¡°And now it¡¯s ready for sparking?¡±


    ¡°Yep! You just hold the knife and the flint like this.¡± She moves herself behind me so she can easily manipulate my hands. ¡°And slide down your knife quickly like this.¡± A spark flies off the flint.


    ¡°Woah!¡±


    ¡°Ok, now you try it alone.¡±


    I nod and get to work while Sam holds the tinder for me.


    After a few attempts a spark catches the tinder and smoke starts to rise from it.


    ¡°Now we make sure it doesn¡¯t go out, put it under our firewood and we got it.¡± She quickly moves around, softly blowing the tinder until it catches a flame and puts it under the firewood.


    ¡°Let there be fire.¡± She proudly stares at the fireplace. ¡°Good job, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Yay! Sam is the bestest teacher ever.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She smirks and sits back down, swinging her arm around my neck and giving me many kisses. ¡°And she¡¯s blessed with the best girlfriend ever too.¡±


    Having finished their massage session Nikki and ¨¦lise join us around the campfire, getting ready for dinner.


    ¡°Can we start cooking our meat?¡± My sister asks impatiently.


    ¡°Of course, they are all done.¡± Hilda hands over a skewer to the both of them. ¡°And for you two as well.¡± She hands a skewer to me and Sam too and finally takes one herself.


    We all sit around the fire and start roasting the meat while the sun starts to set beneath the horizon.


    ¡°That smells delicious.¡± My sister is almost drooling because of the great smell coming from the campfire and the meat together.


    And to be fair, so am I.


    ¡°Nothing beats an evening campfire with family.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Hilda agrees with a happy nod.


    ¡°The only thing that¡¯s missing are marshmallows.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t exist this day and age sadly enough.¡±


    ¡°We should definitely go camping in the real world one day. Maybe we can make some smores with them too.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, I would like that! I actually have never eaten marshmallows and smores before.¡± Sam is enthusiastically bouncing next to me.


    ¡°Really? We should definitely try to remedy that.¡± My sister smiles while taking the meat out of the fire. ¡°Hmm, not completely done yet.¡± And she puts it back.


    ¡°Maybe during the post-exam break?¡± Sam proposes.


    ¡°When was that again?¡±


    ¡°In February I think.¡±


    ¡°Oof, that¡¯s still quite far away.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we just leave on a friday and then come back on sunday? That should be fine or not?¡± I bring up my proposal.


    ¡°If Sam¡¯s not going to be too tired, you have lots of sports in uni, right?¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°Yeah, but I think that could work. Monday isn¡¯t really an intense day in our training schedule, maybe I could even get to sit it out because hiking is also pretty much training.¡±


    ¡°There you go.¡± ¨¦lise smiles. ¡°We can discuss a specific date later on.¡± And again she takes the meat out of the fire, now with an even wider smile on her face. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°And Hilda can join too, right?¡± I ask, while also taking my skewer out.


    ¡°Ofw couwse.¡± My sister nods with her mouth full of meat.


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    Hilda pats my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think that would¡¯ve been an issue, but thanks for asking anyway, kitten.¡±


    ¡°No pwobwem.¡±


    ¡°Is Ami also speaking with her mouth full?¡± Sam looks over to me and my skewer with a confused look on her face.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s just getting her ears scratched. Melty kitten, melty kitten.¡± My sister laughs.


    Ear scratches are gooooodd¡­


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 67: Catchy

    After dinner, setting up the tents and tons of ear scratchies from Hilda and my girlfriend the five of us sit around the campfire a bit longer before heading to bed. The water in the pond made a great mirror to reflect the lights of the hundreds of fireflies that had appeared when the sun set.


    ¡°Fireflies are pretty nice aren¡¯t they?¡± My sister looks behind her and watches over the pond.


    ¡°Yeah they are. It¡¯s sad they are so rare in our world.¡± Hilda pokes the fire with a stick, making one of the logs start crackling a bit louder.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± ¨¦lise nods. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen them once before and that was quite a while ago.¡±


    ¡°They always make me think of that one song.¡± Nikki comments while humming the melody of a song I¡¯ve never heard before.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t that song turn 50 this year?¡± Hilda turns to Nikki.


    ¡°Last year if I recall correctly. I like to make myself believe...¡±


    ¡°That planet Earth turns slowlyyyy.¡± ¨¦lise fills in the rest of the sentence.


    ¡°It''s hard to say that I''d rather stay awake when I''m asleep,¡± Hilda continues the chorus. For the first time hearing Hilda¡¯s singing voice, it¡¯s surprisingly nice.


    ¡°Cause everything is never as it seems!¡± They all sing the last line together before starting to laugh.


    ¡°It¡¯s an oldie but a goldie.¡± Nikki lets out a content sigh.


    ¡°Yep, but now the song is stuck inside my head.¡±


    ¡°In mine too.¡± Hilda grumbles.


    ¡°So at least there¡¯s an advantage to not knowing the song.¡± Sam whispers into my ear with a giggle.


    ¡°But now I want to know the rest of the song too! It sounds really nice.¡±


    ¡°Well you can always look it up when you wake up, sis. But beware, you are going to be singing it all day long at uni.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad can it?¡±


    ¡°It iiiiss.¡± Nikki laughs.


    ¡°And bonus points if you also make your girlfriend have it stuck in her head for the entire day.¡±


    I look at Sam, she stares at me for a second before her eyes go wide. ¡°Oh no, please don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to play it on the speaker.¡± I grin.


    ¡°Please not too loud though, Ami, just enough so we don¡¯t hear it too.¡±


    ¡°Okidoki.¡±


    ¡°Well, good luck to you, Sam.¡± Hilda gets up and pats Sam on the back. ¡°I¡¯ll be going to sleep now, I¡¯d like to get up a bit earlier today so I can make myself some soup.¡±


    ¡°What soup are you going to have?¡± I look up at her.


    ¡°Ah, just some powdered soup to which you just add hot water. I think I¡¯m in the mood for leek...¡±


    ¡°Oh, sounds nice! Good night then, Hilda!¡±


    ¡°Good night kitten.¡± she pats my head.


    ¡°I forgot we needed to eat after this, again.¡± Sam looks at the little remains of meat.


    ¡°We need to feed both bodies after all.¡± Hilda sets up the ward and opens her tent. ¡°See you tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan.¡± My sister replies.


    ¡°Alright, good night.¡±


    The rest of the party says Hilda good night too as she disappears inside of her tent.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should make it too late today either, Ami.¡± Sam pokes my side.


    ¡°Probably not, we need to get up quite early too.¡±


    ¡°What time will you have to get up?¡± Sam looks at my sister and her girlfriend.


    ¡°We need to be at work around eleven I think?¡± Lise looks at her partner.


    ¡°Yeah, eleven.¡±


    ¡°So we can get up at like nine.¡± She smiles at us.


    ¡°Urgh, I¡¯m so envious of that.¡±


    ¡°Our work times are pretty good, that¡¯s true, and the commute is also not bad at all.¡± Nikki takes over the role as burning log poker.


    ¡°We really hit a goldmine with our jobs didn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we did.¡±


    Sam is pouting now that my family is boasting just a little too much about their glorious jobs.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll go to bed now.¡±


    ¡°Awh, sorry for all the boasting, Sam.¡± ¨¦lise giggles.


    Sam waves it away. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we have to go to bed anyway.¡± she looks over to me. ¡°Are you coming too, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I get up and give a quick hug to Nikki and Lise. ¡°Good night!¡±


    ¡°Good night to you too cutie.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°Good night, and don¡¯t let the cat catch your tail.¡± She bobs her head towards Sam, who immediately started grinning.


    ¡°I think that might be somewhat hard to do.¡± I gulp and head over to our tent.


    Once inside me and Sam start undressing.


    ¡°I hope you had a fun time.¡± I say while pulling my robe over my head.


    ¡°Definitely, but let¡¯s just hope next time you¡¯ll be awake for longer, not that I dislike staring at your cute sleepy face.¡±


    ¡°Moh.¡± I pout.


    She giggles. ¡°But I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than the other game. I guess a catgirl badass archer fits me more than a dragon girl medic.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°I did like touching your scales though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s indeed the one thing I miss. But fluffy tail and ears aren¡¯t that bad either.¡± Her long tail reaches around and tickles my bare back.


    ¡°Eeeep! That tickles.¡± I jump a little.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Sam suddenly pounces, making us tumble on the soft bedrolls.


    ¡°S-Sam¡¯s wild¡­¡± I blush while she¡¯s rubbing her face against mine.


    ¡°Mhmm, I know.¡± She lays down on top of me, embracing me completely with her strong arms before rolling over so I¡¯m on top of her. Sam pulls me even closer towards her.


    It¡¯s sooo comfy¡­


    I can¡¯t help but start purring, almost at the same time her body starts doing the same.


    ¡°I can definitely understand Carol now.¡± Sam puts the blanket of the bedroll on top of us.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°About the ¡®wanting to be a cat girl¡¯ stuff. I think when she starts playing this game she¡¯ll definitely get hooked.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I think so too¡­ but at least she¡¯ll have a trial period first then.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to ask Veanya about it?¡±


    ¡°Probably, I did promise it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Sam nods and squeezes me tighter. ¡°Squishy catgirl.¡±


    ¡°I think your boobs are squishier though¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Tall, stronk and squishy catgirl.¡±


    She starts petting me, making me doze off slightly.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to fall asleep...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we should probably log off then.¡±


    ¡°See you on the other side?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    Soon after that my interface vision goes black. But rather than waking up immediately I find it very hard to regain consciousness. Until slowly but surely I feel my mind drifting back towards reality.


    I wake up to my girlfriend holding her hand against my cheek. She already has a shirt on and has reattached her prosthetic.


    ¡°Ami, are you okay? You are burning up.¡±


    I try to sit upright in bed but don¡¯t really manage to do it, flopping back down on my bed like a wet noodle. I can see my sister is standing in the doorway as well.


    My body feels incredibly hot and bothered.


    ¡°Is she alright?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, she feels very feverish. Can you speak, Ami?¡±


    ¡°S-Sam...¡± My voice is weak as I only barely manage to speak loud enough. ¡°I don¡¯t feel so well¡­nya.¡± That last part just flopped out without me having any control over it.


    Sam and my sister share a surprised look. ¡°Is this¡­?¡±


    ¡°I think so¡­ I didn¡¯t expect it so soon. I¡¯ll go and get something to cool her off.¡± My sister jogs towards the living room.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, Ami.¡± Sam tucks me back into bed. ¡°I think it¡¯s best you rest a bit, okay?¡± She runs her hand over my cheek.


    ¡°I-is this the heat¡­ nya?¡±


    ¡°It might be¡­But then again this is all new for us so we don¡¯t know...¡±


    My sister runs back into my room with an icepack covered with a soft looking towel.


    ¡°Here, this might help cool you down a little.¡± The moment she wants to hand the icepack over to Sam a familiar voice speaks out from behind her.


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡±


    My sister almost falls over from surprise and even Sam bounces back a little.


    It¡¯s Gamma.


    ¡°I thought I felt something wrong, looks like I was right.¡± She barges past my sister and almost pushes away Sam, just so she could take a device out of the pocket of her hoody and hold it at my ear. ¡°Mhmm, mhmm.¡± She nods.


    ¡°H-hey Gamma.¡± Sam stutters, Gamma had invaded her personal space just a little too much.


    ¡°Oh, hi!¡± She puts the device back inside her pocket.


    ¡°S-so?¡±


    ¡°So, what?¡± Gamma appears to have no clue what Sam is talking about, tilting her head questioningly.


    ¡°W-what d-does she have? Is it the heat?¡±


    Gamma looks over to me and then back at Sam, and at my sister too before laughing.


    ¡°Hahaha, did you think this is the heat? No no no, that¡¯s a completely different pair of sleeves.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny about that?¡± My sister asks, sounding slightly insulted.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when she gets it, you won¡¯t be able to pull her off you in that case.¡± Gamma laughs again, completely waving away my sister. ¡°She just has a nasty case of the catgirl flu. Normally catgirls develop immunity to this when they are young but because that never happened to her she got it quite bad now.¡±


    ¡°Is there something we can do to help her?¡± My girlfriend asks.


    ¡°Normally I¡¯d say yes but since she¡¯s an almost bottomless pool of mana I think medicine would actually be slower then her self-regeneration. She should be mostly fine by the evening.¡± Gamma looks at one of the watches that hang around her left arm. ¡°Just let her rest a bit and it will be okay. Oh and when V shows up, say hi from me okay?¡± She opens a portal next to her.


    ¡°V? You mean Veanya? Why would she show up?¡± My sister asks.


    Gamma already has already set one of her feet through the portal before she answers. ¡°Weren¡¯t you listening, Girly? She¡¯s self-regenerating, basically means she¡¯s leaking mana as fast as Plasmaforian sif, anyway, see you!¡± And with that, Gamma left the room.


    ¡°D-did she just call me, ¡®Girly¡¯? And what the heck is a plasmasomething sif?¡±


    Sam shrugs. ¡°Those are just Gamma things I guess.¡±


    Before my sister can reply a bright white light fills the room, ending with Veanya leaning over me.


    ¡°Goddess number two I presume...¡± My sister throws her hands up with a sigh.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Veanya looks confused at the reaction of my sister.


    These Goddesses apparently don¡¯t know how to knock¡­.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 68: Sick

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what happened.¡± Veanya is now sitting on my bed, softly petting me while listening to the explanation of my sister and Sam.


    ¡°Yeah, sorry that was a bit rude of me.¡± My sister rubs the back of her head.


    ¡°I understand, I probably should¡¯ve at least knocked on the door. As for Gamma, I¡¯m sorry about her, that girl is just like that.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve noticed.¡± Sam nods. ¡°But what she said is true? We can¡¯t help Ami at all?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±


    ¡°S-Sam.¡± I call Sam closer to me, my voice almost inaudible.


    ¡°What is it, Ami?¡± She immediately rushes over.


    ¡°Y-you don¡¯t need to stay here if you need to go to uni¡­¡±


    ¡°But I really don¡¯t want to leave you behind when you are like this¡­¡± She takes my hand.


    ¡°I can look over her if you wish.¡± Veanya proposes.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll be staying home too while Nikki goes to work.¡± ¨¦lise nods.


    ¡°Are you really sure, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. You go to school, babe¡­¡± I weakly smile. ¡°I think I¡¯ll be sleeping most of the day anyway¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± She looks back at my sister. ¡°Will you call me if something happens?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± My sister smiles.


    ¡°And Veanya¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do any crazy Goddess nonsense, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, I took a day off today.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°That was a joke. I¡¯ll keep calm, don¡¯t worry.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Aah. Alright then.¡±


    Sam packs her things quickly and comes to give me a kiss before she leaves.


    ¡°See you later, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Love you nya.¡±


    ¡°Love you too.¡± She leaves the room and I hear the door of the living room shut leaving Veanya and my sister alone with me in the room.


    ¡°If I may ask, did you get to know more about Amicia¡¯s abilities?¡±  Veanya looks at my sister.


    ¡°Yeah, a little bit. We can talk about it over a cup of coffee if you¡¯d like?¡±


    ¡°That sounds good.¡±


    ¡°Let us talk about it in the living room so we don¡¯t bother Ami too much.¡± My sister comes over to give me a kiss on my forehead. ¡°Just rest a bit ok?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°Can you leave the door open for Pocky and Mochi?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Who are Pocky and Mochi?¡± Veanya asks my sister, clearly curious.


    ¡°Ah, they are our two cats, didn¡¯t you know that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know everything, I guess it is pretty fun to have three cats around then.¡± She giggles.


    ¡°It definitely is.¡± My sister leaves the room with Veanya in tow.


    I doubt they¡¯ll talk about my abilities that much¡­


    My body still feels incredibly weak, so the only thing I can really do is stare at the ceiling or look around me. And now without the sounds of my girlfriend, sister and a random goddess I am starting to get bored pretty fast.


    Luckily for me, I soon after hear the tip tapping of paws on my floor. Pocky and Mochi jump on my bed as they start meowing at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t play kitties, I¡¯m a bit sick today nya¡­¡±


    They meow back as Pocky lays herself down on my stomach while her mom approaches me and starts licking my hand.


    ¡°Awh, are you trying to make me feel better?¡± Luckily I still had enough strength to at least pet my cat friends.


    Not soon after Mochi lays herself down in between my arm and my chest. Both of them softly purring.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll try to rest a bit too nya¡­¡±


    The gentle clinking of china wakes me up a little while later.


    ¡°Here, I brought you some hot coco.¡± My sister puts it down on my night stand. ¡°It¡¯s still quite hot so let it sit for a bit, ok?¡±


    I nod.


    Veanya had followed my sister back into the room too, now she¡¯s wearing a very cozy looking yoga pants and a big knitted sweater.


    She must¡¯ve seen me looking as she spun around. ¡°Do you like it? It¡¯s my casual wear.¡±


    ¡°It looks nice¡­¡± My voice feels a little bit stronger than earlier, but still very weak.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She smiles as she turns towards Pocky and Mochi who are still resting in their same positions.


    ¡°They are very nice cats aren¡¯t they?¡± She offers her hand to Mochi so she can sniff her before she pets.


    ¡°They are.¡± I softly smiled as I feel Mochi start purring again.


    ¡°And I heard you also inherited the Nekote ability to speak with them?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Must be really fun.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t all Goddesses do that?¡± My sister was happily staring at the two of us having our conversation.


    Veanya shakes her head. ¡°No, you have some like kitsune who can speak with foxes, and only Nekote like Gamma and your sister can talk to cats. It¡¯s more like a racial thing than a Goddess thing, really.¡±


    That¡¯s when something I was supposed to ask shot in my mind again.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Veanya¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°I was supposed to ask something for my friend¡­ you see¡­nya¡±


    ¡°Oh, and what is it that they asked of you?¡±


    I try to sit myself a little bit more upright, my sister immediately coming to my aid, propping a cushion behind my back for support. ¡°Just take it slow ok?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Well¡­ my friend Carol was kinda interested in becoming a catgirl as well¡­nya¡±


    Veanya just stares blankly at me for a couple of seconds before she starts laughing.


    ¡°So she asked you to see if I can make that happen?¡±


    ¡°Basically¡­¡± I take the cup of hot chocolate and blow a little. ¡°...I did tell her to test it out in Turn of Destiny first¡­. but I wanted to ask you too since I promised¡­¡±


    Veanya smiles. ¡°You are definitely a good girl for caring about your friends so much. And looks like they care about you a lot too.¡± She nods towards my phone, the screen is showing me I have 20 messages.


    ¡°Oh! I completely forgot about my p-phone...!¡± I start coughing after that.


    ¡°Easy, Ami. You can look at it in a bit.¡± My sister urges me to stay calm while gently patting my back.


    ¡°S-sorry.¡±


    ¡°But about the request¡­¡± Veanya puts her hand to her chin. ¡°I could do the same as I did to you, but for very obvious reasons that might not be the best of ideas.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­nya¡± I let myself sink into my cushions a bit more.


    ¡°There might be other things we can try though.¡±


    ¡°Dangerous things?¡± My sister asks critically.


    ¡°Not really. It would require both me, Amicia and Gamma though. Racial shifts are quite hard to do by oneself, and it requires goddesses of that race to be there if you can¡¯t link it to an existing body that is. That¡¯s why it worked in Turn of Destiny for you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and why do both Gamma... and I need to be there...?¡±


    ¡°Gamma knows very little about mana and actually doesn¡¯t hold that much.¡±


    ¡°...Ah right... she¡¯s like a tech Goddess.¡± I take a sip from my choco.


    ¡°Yes, and with a combination of her tech, my knowledge and your mana it should be doable. But it might take some time to set up. So if your friend, Carol was it? If she¡¯s sure she wants to do it, send me a message, ok?¡±


    ¡°Really...? Thanks Veanya¡­ I appreciate it a lot¡­nya!¡± The conversation really took the breath out of me which my companions noticed immediately.


    My sister pats me and takes the cup of hot chocolate away from me.


    ¡°Rest a bit more, Ami.¡± Again she tucks me in neatly.


    ¡°...Can I have my phone though¡­?¡±


    ¡°Only if you promise not to call and just text.¡± She takes the phone from my night stand.


    ¡°Mhmm¡­ I will¡­nya¡±


    ¡°You will nyot?¡± My sister teases me.


    ¡°I will... nya.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Ok, here you go kitten.¡± She hands it to me and pats me one last time before she leaves my room again with Veanya.


    According to the clock on my phone it apparently already was two o¡¯clock in the afternoon.


    Didn¡¯t they say I¡¯d feel better by the evening, because right now I just feel as bad as earlier this morning.


    I opened the message application on my phone and saw that it was indeed mostly from Hailey, Sam and Carol, although Max also sent me a message wishing me to get well soon.


    Ami: Hey everyone, I¡¯m still in bed, not feeling too great, but thank you for caring about me! <3


    Hailey: Of course we care about you, Ami! <3 Hope you feel better soon. Are your sister and Veanya taking good care of you?


    Sam: ^


    Carol: What does that mean?


    Sam: It means ¡®this¡¯


    Carol: Aaah, then I¡¯ll ^ too.


    I giggled. I expected Carol to be a little bit more up to date on chat lingo.


    Ami: Hey Carol, it¡¯s 2060, you know.


    Carol: Shush.


    Ami: They are taking good care of me. They just brought me something to drink, although I¡¯ve been sleeping most of the day.


    Hailey: Rest is good. I¡¯ll be keeping notes for you so don¡¯t worry about that either.


    Ami: Thanks!


    After some more idle chit-chat I get a private message from Sam as well.


    Sam: Hey kitten, I¡¯ll be coming home soon, looks like the last lesson for today got cancelled.


    Ami: Yay! My beautiful strong girlfriend to watch over me!


    Sam: You bet <3 See you in a bit my lovely <3


    Ami: <3<3<3<3<3<3<3


    I put my phone down next to my pillow, happy to have had some contact with my friends before I slowly start dozing off again, dreaming about getting cuddled by my girlfriend...

 Chapter 69: Plushie

    FieryKathy


    Some rustling in my room wakes me up some time later. It¡¯s Sam who had just changed into her loungewear.


    ¡°Oh, hey sweetie, did I wake you up?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I¡¯m happy you are home.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± She smiles and walks over to me. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    I try to sit upright and to my surprise I¡¯ve regained a lot of my strength already. ¡°Quite a bit better it seems.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear.¡± She embraces me. ¡°Hey, I got something for you.¡±


    Sam walks to one of her bags while in the meantime I can see Veanya and my sister peeking in through the door.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind us, we just want to see your reaction.¡± My sister comments.


    ¡°Yes, pretend like we are not here at all.¡± Veanya nods along.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit hard to do¡­¡±


    Sam is completely ignoring the two doofuses in the door and heads back to me with a wrapped up box, it¡¯s actually quite big.


    ¡°Here you go.¡± She hands it over to me.


    ¡°Can I just open it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s why I gave it to you.¡± She smiles.


    I untie the ribbon and lift up the top off the box. But before I can get to the main contents there is a big piece of paper in the way that reads ¡°For the best girlfriend, ever. So you feel less lonely when we can¡¯t be together.¡±


    ¡°Awh¡­ you are the best girlfriend too.¡±


    ¡°Look what¡¯s inside.¡± Sam appears to be really enthusiastic so I do as she asks and lift the paper. Inside the box there¡¯s two plushie cats, one pink and the other beige.


    ¡°It¡¯s us!¡± I exclaim.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sam¡¯s smile grows even wider. ¡°And now Mister Snuggles also has some playmates when we are out. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I love them so much.¡± I take them out of the box and hug them against me. ¡°They are super soft too. Thank you, Sam, I love you.¡±


    ¡°Love you too, babe.¡± She hugs me, squishing the plushies against me.


    My sister and our resident Goddess both let out a ¡®Awh, so cute¡¯ at the same time.


    ¡°What are you going to name them?¡± Sam asks, letting me go for a moment.


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know yet¡­ What about Pinky and Basket?¡±


    ¡°Definitely cute names if you ask me.¡± Sam hugs me again. ¡°Just as cute as you.¡±


    ¡°Saaaam, you¡¯re making me blushy.¡± I say while blushy blushing.


    ¡°I know, but it¡¯s the truth.¡±


    ¡°Buuu.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Are you feeling strong enough to get up, Ami?¡± My sister asks, while she and Veanya are still staring into my room.


    ¡°Should she not stay in bed longer?¡± Sam protests.


    ¡°She could but she might not be able to sleep tonight then.¡±


    ¡°Is that even a factor with the headset on?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you do have a point there. Sam is so smart.¡±


    ¡°You should be happy with such a smart sister in law.¡± Veanya adds.


    ¡°I know right.¡± ¨¦lise agrees.


    The unexpected compliments have started to make Sam blushy as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Sam, I feel a lot better now and I would feel a bit annoyed if I spent the entire day in bed anyway.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but if you feel like it¡¯s getting worse again, I¡¯m going to tuck you back in myself, ok?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. I¡¯d be crazy to protest against my very strong, super smart, extremely beautiful girlfriend tucking me in.¡±


    Sam blushes even more.


    Hehe, mission completed succesfully.


    ¡°A-alright then¡­¡±


    Veanya and ¨¦lise start giggling and walk back to the living room to give me some privacy.


    Sam walks over to the closet and hands me some comfy pants and a nice and snug oversized sweater. Which I promptly put on with a bit of help. While trying our best not to disturb Mochi and Pocky who are still sleeping on my bed, together with my plushies.


    ¡°Now I do need to buy Sam a plushie too.¡±


    ¡°Awh, but you really don¡¯t need to, Ami.¡±


    ¡°But I wannaaaa.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Sam smiles.


    ¡°What kind of animals do you like?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.... I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­ but I want to know your favourite animal so I can buy a plushie of it.¡±


    ¡°My favourite animal is definitely the Amicia kitten.¡± She nods with a smirk.


    ¡°Mow, that doesn¡¯t count.¡±


    ¡°I know. Why don¡¯t you surprise me?¡± She boops my nose.


    ¡°But what if you don¡¯t like it?¡±


    ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t a spider I will definitely like every single plushie my girlfriend gives me, no doubt about that.¡±


    ¡°Even snakes?¡±


    ¡°Danger noodles are super cute!¡±


    ¡°Danger noodles?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Don¡¯t you know it?¡± Sam immediately takes her phone and types something. ¡°Look at this.¡± She shows me a ton of cute snake pictures including some very funny ones where snakes wear little hats.


    ¡°See? They are super cute aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yeah, if you put it like that they really are.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should get a pet snake when we go live together.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Aren¡¯t they hard to keep?¡±


    ¡°Not if you know what you are doing.¡±


    ¡°But only one of those tiny cute ones, not the dangerous ones, ok?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°A small little spagurder is nice too.¡±


    I imagine myself and Sam living together with a couple of kitties and our small pet snake, a simple but beautiful ring around my ring finger. The entire scene is making me feel warm and fuzzy inside.


    ¡°Ami? Want to go to the living room?¡± Sam gently squeezes my shoulder.


    I blush. ¡°Oh, yeah, sorry, I was just daydreaming¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ it was very nice¡­¡±


    ¡°Did it include me?¡±


    ¡°Of course! All my nice dreams involve Sam!¡±


    Sam smiles brightly and hugs me tight. ¡°Likewise, cutiepie.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I lean into Sam¡¯s warmth and just it wash all over me until after a minute she lets me go.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go now before the nosy people come back to spy on us.¡±


    I nod. ¡°Let¡¯s.¡± I follow Sam and take the now cold hot chocolate with me towards the living room. Luckily chocolate milk tastes good cold too so it isn¡¯t that much of a loss.


    ¡°Oh, Ami, do you want me to warm that back up again for you?¡± My sister is sitting next to Veanya in the sofa, apparently they had been playing games together.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to¡­ It''s fine cold as well¡­¡± I take a sip from the mug.


    ¡°Alright, but if you need another cup, just tell me, okay?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod and head over to the sofa with Sam.


    When I sit down Sam immediately coils me up in one of the thicker blankets we have.


    ¡°Just to make sure you are nice and toasty.¡± Her gentle smile already makes me feel warmer inside.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    She then swings another blanket over herself and puts her arm around me to get even cozier. The warmth of the blankets together with Sam¡¯s body heat is really making me melt a little.


    ¡°Mhmm¡­ This feels nice...¡± I start softly purring and rest my head on her shoulder.


    Sam just smiles and starts running her hand through my hair and starts softly scritching behind my ear.


    ¡°Purrfect¡­.¡±


    My sister and Veanya can only barely suppress their ¡®aws¡¯ even though they were in the middle of a race together.


    ¡°So you two have just been playing games all day?¡± My girlfriend asks.


    ¡°Well¡­ not all day¡­.¡± My sister comments.


    ¡°We put Amicia to bed and talked a bit about what happened in Haurchefaud too. We didn¡¯t use this entertainment system constantly, you know.¡±


    ¡°And for what it¡¯s worth, this racing game is one I had to test for work anyway, so we¡¯re actually doing something productive too!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yep, we¡¯ve already found several bugs.¡±


    ¡°Weirdly enough most of them happened when I won though.¡± Veanya teases ¨¦lise.


    ¡°Those were jokes, you useless Goddess, jokes!¡± Lise sticks out her tongue.


    ¡°Hmm, well I can¡¯t help it that a certain puny human can¡¯t stand her loss.¡±


    ¡°They get strangely competitive.¡± Sam laughs softly into my ear.


    ¡°Mhmm. But it¡¯d rather have this than have them start fighting.¡±


    ¡°I wonder who¡¯d win.¡±


    ¡°I think it would be a pretty even fight, even though Veanya is literally a goddess.¡± I giggle into my blanket.


    ¡°Yeah, I think so too.¡±


    ¡°What are the two of you giggling about?¡± Both Veanya and my sister are staring at us with a pout on their faces.


    ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Yes, pretend like we are not here at all.¡±


    ¡°Touch¨¦ sis, touch¨¦.¡±


    The two of them continue their game and play a couple of games after. They did offer us the controller a couple of times but me and Sam were having plenty of fun just watching them play and make fun of eachother.


    Some time later the door unlocks and a happy looking Nikki walks in.


    ¡°Hey, Ami. Are you feeling better?¡± She walks over to the sofa and pats my head.


    ¡°Yes! Lot¡¯s.¡± I smile up at her. ¡°You look very happy too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She hangs her coat on the coat hanger and sits next to me as well. ¡°Hilda let us test a new game that¡¯s coming up that I was looking forward to test.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the life-sim one? What was it called again?¡± My sister pauses the game for a second so she can sip from her drink.


    ¡°The Simulators: Reborn.¡±


    ¡°Right, right! I wanted to test that one too!¡±


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped because you needed to watch over Ami, after all.¡± She pets me again.


    ¡°At least I¡¯ll get my hands on it tomorrow if Ami doesn¡¯t get a strange cat girl sickness again.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose!¡± I protest.


    ¡°I know, I know. I don¡¯t mind taking care of my little sister at all. I¡¯m happy I can be the responsible big sister for you.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ responsible¡­ that might be up for debate.¡± Sam jokes.


    ¡°¨¦lise is the best big sister!¡± I say.


    ¡°See, Ami agrees.¡±


    ¡°Mostly because I only have one, but still.¡±


    ¡°OH! Je suis bless¨¦e! Je ne peux pas bouger!¡± My sister dramatically grabs her arm and falls to her side, spreading herself out on the sofa.


    The entire group starts laughing.


    Even though I didn¡¯t get that reference.

 Chapter 70: Porridge

    FieryKathy


    After my sister¡¯s very obscure strategy game reference it¡¯s time for Veanya to leave.


    ¡°Looks like Amicia is feeling a lot better now so I¡¯m just going to leave now. Don¡¯t forget to message me if you know more about your friend, ok?¡±


    ¡°I will, I will!¡±


    She gives a nice long head pet and says goodbye to the others after that.


    ¡°So you talked to Veanya about Carol?¡± Sam asks after Veanya has walked out of the front door.


    ¡°Mhmm. She thinks she knows a way to do it, different than how it happened to me.¡±


    ¡°I guess she doesn¡¯t want to create another goddess by accident, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I giggle but that quickly turnes into coughing instead.


    ¡°Take it easy sweetie. Here, drink a bit more.¡± Sam pats me on the back and offers me a glass of water.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you can play today, Ami? Don¡¯t overexert yourself, ok?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± I smile. ¡°I just had to cough a little.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. Just to be sure I¡¯ll make some of my world famous rice porridge for you.¡± My sister stands up.


    ¡°World famous?¡±


    ¡°Famously bad.¡± Nikki clarifies.


    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not true!¡± ¨¦lise protests and walks to the kitchen.


    ¡°It is actually quite good, she makes it for me when I¡¯m sick too.¡±


    ¡°See? I can do stuff too.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. You can, but there¡¯s still a lot you need to learn, my student. The first time you made it you forgot to add the sugar, and last time you almost forgot the rice, remember?¡±


    ¡°Rice porridge without the rice?¡± Sam starts laughing.


    ¡°I thought I added it already!¡±


    ¡°Well, luckily she noticed it in time.¡±


    ¡°Ami. Defend your sister against all the bullying, please!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Her chocolate milk was really good too!¡±


    ¡°Hah.¡± Now we all start laughing while ¨¦lise makes the porridge for me and Nikki also starts preparing dinner for the others.


    ¡°Do you want me to make enough for you too?¡± Nikki looks over the counter at me.


    ¡°No, I think I¡¯ll have enough with the porridge.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Want to play something while we are waiting, Ami?¡± Sam grabs my hand and rubs it gently with her thumb.


    ¡°Mmm, not really. If you want to play I will gladly watch though.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but you pick the game for me then.¡± She kisses me on the cheek and hands me the controller so I can look through the game library.


    ¡°Do you have any recommendations?¡± I look over my shoulder at the kitchen.


    ¡°A game for Sam, right?¡± My sister puts a pot on the stove and then leans her shoulder on the counter. ¡°What about Eternal Darkness? It should be in the library somewhere?¡±


    ¡°That sounds waaaaaay too scary for me.¡± Sam chuckles nervously.


    ¡°Oh, it definitely is. But that¡¯s what makes it funny to watch.¡± My sister grins.


    ¡°Ami, please no.¡± Sam looks at me with puppy dog eyes, in a way that I can¡¯t deny her requests.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I could do that to Sam! Look at her, she¡¯s too precious!¡±


    Nikki giggles. ¡°What about a dating sim? There¡¯s a couple really good ones we have of those.¡±


    ¡°Eh? But isn¡¯t the gameplay boring for those?¡± I look back over to the screen.


    ¡°The ones we have generally aren¡¯t because we don¡¯t like the ¡®normal¡¯ gameplay of those either. But if you look up Hitting it Off, that would be a good example of what I mean.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± I start scrolling down the long list of games until we find it.


    ¡°Hitting it Off is a beat ¡®em up romantic comedy dating sim. You play as Sakura Lilly, a delinquent girl who suddenly finds herself in the crosshairs of several love interests. Will Sakura find the love she¡¯d always been yearning for in secret?¡± Sam narrates the game description.


    ¡°Wow, that does sound pretty good! Let¡¯s play that one Sam!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m all for it!¡±


    ¡°Have fun.¡± Nikki smiles and gets back to cooking.


    In the time before dinner Sam manages to get quite far into the relationship with one of the main character¡¯s classmates. The last mission she plays has her defending the girl from hordes of jock monsters who try to get to her.


    ¡°This game is so random.¡± Sam laughs while bashing two zombies against each other. ¡°I love it. You picked well, babe.¡± She kisses my forehead while I''m cuddled up next to her.


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you are enjoying it.¡± Nikki puts pots and plates on the living room table, signalling we should probably help a bit.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the cutlery.¡± I get up from the sofa as Sam pauses the game.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll do the glasses and the drinks.¡± Sam follows me over to the kitchen.


    ¡°Thanks for the help, sweeties.¡± Nikki smiles.


    My sister soon follows with my rice porridge as we all sit down to eat.


    ¡°Have a nice meal!¡± We all say before we start eating.


    My sister waiting to take her first bite until I tasted the porridge. The smell of the porridge definitely isn¡¯t bad at all, which makes me confident enough to quickly taste a first spoonful. ¨¦lise waits nervously on my verdict.


    ¡°Mhmm! This is really nice!¡± I quickly take another spoonful. The aroma is great, it¡¯s sweet, rich in flavour and that hint of vanilla just rounds off the taste of the porridge perfectly.


    Lise lets out a sigh of reliefs. ¡°Phew, I did taste it before serving it to you but I didn¡¯t know if it was going to be to your liking.¡±


    ¡°Nono! It¡¯s really good.¡±


    ¡°Awh, now I want to try the rice porridge too!¡± Sam laughs while taking a bite from some peas and carrots.


    ¡°There¡¯s still a bit left so if you want to you can have a bowl after you¡¯re done eating.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but don¡¯t you and Nikki want some too?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I will eat an ice cream for dessert I think.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll just eat the leftovers. I think there should be plenty for at least two and a half more bowls.¡± Lise smiles. ¡°And what we don¡¯t eat today we can always take to work tomorrow, or eat as breakfast. Thanks for thinking about us though.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. Just wanted to make sure I didn¡¯t inconvenience you.¡±


    ¡°Sam, you never inconvenience us, it¡¯s fine.¡± Nikki reassures my girlfriend.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sam smiles and continues eating.


    When we were done with dinner my sister and Sam both took some porridge as a dessert and together we started watching the first episode of a new scifi series on the tv.


    The episode was a bit soso, especially according to Sam who had read the books.


    ¡°Ugh, I can¡¯t help but feel annoyed how they changed it. The original concept was so good. And don¡¯t get my started on making that one character straight. Like what the heck? You would think that having gay characters wouldn¡¯t be controversial anymore in 2060, right?¡± She angrily put a spoon of porridge in her mouth.


    ¡°Amen.¡± Nikki takes the remote and turns off the tv


    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll go to bed already.¡± My sister sighs and gets up, taking her empty bowl with her.


    ¡°Already? Aren¡¯t you going to have a stomach ache if you lie down like that?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re just going to read a book until the time we have agreed to meet with Hilda.¡± Nikki pats my head.


    ¡°Ahhh.¡±


    ¡°You two can continue to watch the tv¡­ I should probably have asked that before turning it off, shouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Nikki, we will probably just cuddle up on the sofa a bit longer. We still haven¡¯t listened to that song after all.¡±


    ¡°Oh right! Have fun then, don¡¯t forget to turn off the lights before heading to bed.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ve already fed the cats so don¡¯t worry about that either.¡± My sister gives us a wink. ¡°See you later.¡±


    Nikki and Lise go to their room and leave me and Sam behind in the living room, with the quiet crunching of kitty food coming from the kitchen.


    ¡°So we¡¯re just going to cuddle then?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Sam grabs hold of my waist and squeezes me tight. ¡°Unless you had something else in mind.¡±


    ¡°No, cuddling is good.¡± I gently smile while I softly start purring. ¡°And maybe I should also warn Carol about the cat disease.¡±


    ¡°That might not be a bad plan, but she might have already figured it out.¡± Sam giggles as she pushes me over so I¡¯m flat on my back on the sofa, with Sam on top of me. She puts her chin on my shoulder and breathes in strongly, tightening her hug even more. ¡°You know, I was super worried about you all day? Max had to stop me or I¡¯d have sent messages constantly...¡±


    ¡°Awh¡­ Sam¡­¡± I hugged her back tightly against me too.


    ¡°Next time I¡¯ll just get sick too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but then I¡¯m going to be worried as well!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you have a point there.¡± She kisses my neck. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out.¡±


    Sam stops squeezing and lifts herself up so she can look me straight in the eyes.


    Her confident and loving smile makes me feel incredibly warm inside.


    ¡°I love you, Sam.¡± I purr at her, making her blush a little.


    ¡°Love you too, Ami.¡± She lowers herself back down on me, embracing me and while doing so robbing me of my breath with a long, passionate kiss. ¡°You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.¡±


    ¡°You too.¡± Now it was my turn to kiss her. And kiss we did.


    Smoooooch

 Chapter 71: Egg

    FieryKathy


    After kissing for quite some time longer me and Sam are spooning on the sofa, quietly listening to the song our party mentioned back in Haurchefaud.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s actually quite good.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. It is.¡± I put my head on her shoulder while she pulls me closer to her.


    ¡°Love you my little Ami.¡±


    ¡°Love you too.¡± I kiss her on her cheek, making Sam giggle a little. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m just so happy with you around me, you know? It¡¯s just my internal happiness escaping.¡±


    ¡°Oooh.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit like purring I guess. But less obvious.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah.¡±


    Sam smiles and moves her hand behind my ear, starting to softly play with it.


    My body immediately starts reacting, making my soft purring grow louder.


    ¡°Such a cutie.¡± With her other hand she starts scritching me below my chin.


    ¡°Mmmm. Saaammm¡­¡± I purr.


    ¡°Want me to stop?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± I start rubbing my face against her shoulder.


    ¡°Alright then. You¡¯re such a good girl.¡± She softly speaks into my ears, making shivers go down my spine, all the way up my tail.


    ¡°So unfair¡­¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She smirks and hugs me close.


    Close enough for me to be able to start rubbing my face against hers.


    ¡°Are you marking me with your scent, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Marking what is mine¡­¡±


    ¡°Such a good kitty.¡± She pats me on my head.


    I nod while I continue purring. ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    We stay on the sofa for at least twenty more minutes with me softly purring before Sam pokes me in my side.


    ¡°I think we should slowly get to washing ourselves and going to bed so we don¡¯t make our friends wait.¡± She kisses my neck. ¡°As much as I would like staying with you like this.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm¡­ you¡¯re probably right¡­¡± I roll off the sofa and together with my girlfriend we head towards the bathroom to wash ourselves before bed.


    It¡¯s definitely nice to take a shower after having been sick in bed almost the entire day so it came to no surprise that I was purring quite happily when we came back into my room all clean and washed up. My sister had even changed the bed sheets so everything was smelling of floral fabric softener.


    ¡°Do you mind if I send Carol a message before we go to bed?¡± I ask Sam while I help her with her leg.


    ¡°Of course not.¡± She smiles. ¡°You can do whatever you want sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. Does that include tickling Sam?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, if you ask nicely.¡± She winks.


    I put Sam¡¯s leg in it¡¯s usual spot and sit right next to her on the bed with my phone¡¯s messaging app open and send a private message to Carol.


    Ami: Hey Carol, I asked Veanya about the cat girl thing.


    Carol: Oh? O.O What did she say?


    Ami: It is definitely something she¡¯ll look into, we would do it differently than how it worked for me so there¡¯s quite a lot of preparation needed.


    Carol: Is it risky?


    Ami: Not particularly, we just need a heads up from you if you want to make it happen.


    Carol: Oh! Thanks! I¡¯m going to try it out this weekend together with Max.


    Ami: OwO


    Carol: Haha, OwO indeed.


    Ami: Anyway, me and Sam are going to hop into Turn of Destiny now. Goodnight!


    Carol: Have fun! And good night of course! :p


    Ami: We will <3


    ¡°Looks like she¡¯s going to test out being a catgirl together with Max this weekend.¡± I close my phone and put it on my bedside table.


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what Max was talking about earlier today. I see now.¡± Sam starts laughing. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re going to have two catgirls after the weekend.¡±


    ¡°I think so too.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°So, ready to jump into the game?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod and get underneath the blankets, getting immediately cuddled by Sam. Apparently Mochi and Pocky had been waiting for that to happen as they quickly jumped on top of my bed too once we were settled.


    ¡°Good night Pocky and Mochi.¡± Sam smiles at them before putting on the headset.


    ¡°Good night kitties.¡± I do the same.


    They both meow good night back to us.


    That being the last thing we hear before we wake up to the chirping of the birds in our tent in Haurchefaud.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get used to going to sleep and immediately waking up again.¡± Sam sits upright in our communal bedroll.


    ¡°Mhmm. Luckily we get sleep too while we are here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, otherwise I think I¡¯d go a bit crazy.¡±


    ¡°But Sam is already crazy.¡±


    ¡°Cheeky... but I can¡¯t argue with that.¡± Her ears twitch and her tail starts fwishing from one side to the other when she looks at me before she pounces me and starts tickling.


    After a while we finally manage to get dressed and leave our tent.


    Hilda is already there waiting for us with a big grin on her face.


    ¡°Ah, the love birds are finally up.¡±


    ¡°Shush¡­¡± Sam blushes and sits down next to her.


    ¡°Feeling better Ami?¡± Hilda turns her attention to me. ¡°I heard from Nikki you got the cat flu or something like that.¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah, it was pretty much over by the evening.¡±


    ¡°Damn, I wish my sickness would be over that fast.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. The goddesses said it was because of my magic that I healed so fast.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy to hear that.¡± She looks behind her and starts grabbing something. ¡°Would you two be interested in some egg sandwiches I made?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Definitely. Did the villagers give us some eggs too?¡± Sam gladly accepts one of the sandwiches, giving the other one to me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, better to eat them now than let them go bad. They don¡¯t keep as well as the dried meat.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Anyway, they taste delicious!¡± Sam takes another big bite from her sandwich.


    ¡°By the way, Ami, where¡¯s your sister?¡±


    ¡°They went to bed before us. Said they were going to read before logging in.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what happened. Probably lost track of time because they were reading something gay again.¡±


    ¡°Do they do that a lot?¡±


    ¡°Before you joined our group? Quite regularly actually.¡± Hilda laughs. ¡°Having you and your girlfriend join our group definitely was a nice change of pace.¡±


    ¡°And who¡¯s the biggest perpetrator? ¨¦lise or Nikki.¡± Sam asks while she finishes the last bite of her sandwich.


    ¡°Definitely Nikki.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s unexpected.¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡± Hilda giggles.


    ¡°We are up! Don¡¯t worry!¡± My sister¡¯s voice rings out from their tent.


    ¡°Ah, finally. We already thought you weren¡¯t coming today.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sorry, we were having the ¡®just another page¡¯ syndrome.¡±


    ¡°Well at least you are here now.¡±


    My sister stumbles out of the tent, her plate armour in hand. "Can someone help me with my armour while Nikki is getting dressed?¡±


    Hilda looks over to me and then nods. ¡°Want to learn how to do it Ami? Sam?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± I jump of from my seat, sandwich still in hand


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Sam follows Hilda as well.


    Ten minutes later we¡¯re done donning my sister in her armour.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it take way longer in real life?¡±


    ¡°A good squire could do it in like twenty minutes, but that¡¯s for a full suit of armour which I don¡¯t have yet.¡± My sister gives me a head pat.


    ¡°My gear is actually still quite basic. But then again, with the superhuman abilities we have it shouldn¡¯t take that much longer, especially for Nikki and Hilda who are like super dextrous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that dextrous, I¡¯m still a mage after all.¡± Nikki finally leaves her tent too. ¡°Sorry for the wait.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still a vampire though, babe.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± Nikki smiles. ¡°We are indeed a dextrous race.¡±


    ¡°As long as she isn¡¯t hungry.¡± My sister winks.


    ¡°Well, I got my blood bag right here, so that shouldn¡¯t be much of an issue.¡± Nikki kisses my sister.


    ¡°Bestest blood bag on in Haurchefaud I might hope?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Nikki smiles and gives her another kiss.


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    ¡°Anyway, you flirts, here¡¯s some breakfast.¡± Hilda gives ¨¦lise an egg sandwich.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    Having finished breakfast, ¨¦lise and Nikki start clearing up their tent. With Sam, me and Hilda deciding to do the same so we can continue our way to the port city of Skaok.


    ¡°I''m gonna miss this place.¡± My sister says while getting on her horse.


    ¡°Me too.¡± I say while Sam lifts me on top of ours.


    ¡°We are going to a new continent, who knows what we will find there.¡± Hilda is already on top of hers too.


    ¡°Oh, maybe we¡¯ll find a cliff overlooking a forest or a jungle or something like that!¡± Sam hops on behind me and hugs me.


    ¡°Eeeeh? A cliff? I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m up for that.¡±


    ¡°Ami scared of heights?¡±


    ¡°Maybe a little... the thought of camping near a cliff sounds dangerous¡­¡±


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t need to pee in the middle of the night.¡±


    ¡°¨¦lise, you are the only one in this party who has issues with that.¡± Hilda laughs.


    My sister looks around at the group. ¡°Ah, damn the goddess, y¡¯all have darkvision.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ isn¡¯t Hilda human too?¡± My girlfriend looks a bit confused.


    ¡°No sweetie.¡± She brushes her hair away from her ears, revealing that they are slightly pointy. ¡°Half-Langor you see, practically your typical half-elf.¡±


    It came as a surprise to me as well since I never really paid attention to her ears. It''s definitely cool to know!


    ¡°Oooh. The more you know. Poor ¨¦lise.¡± Sam fakes a sad face and stares at my sister.


    ¡°Hey! We humans are cool too!¡± My sister pouts.


    ¡°Yeah, they definitely taste the best.¡± Nikki giggles, making my sister pout even more.


    In between the laughing Hilda calls out to the group. ¡°Everyone ready to leave?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s go!¡± The party replies all together, except for pouty Lise. She just grumbles a faint yes.


    To Skaok!

 Chapter 72: Petrichor

    FieryKathy


    The cadence of the horse¡¯s trot is very relaxing as I snuggle into the comforting arms of my girlfriend. The weather had taken a slight turn for the worse since it started drizzling about half an hour after our departure, though thanks to Sam I was nice and cozy anyway.


    ¡°I¡¯m so jealous of Ami right now.¡± My sister complains. ¡°Nikki, I want to share in your warmth too!¡±


    ¡°I can give you a little accompanying flame.¡± She winks and snaps her finger, making a little spark of fire float next to my sister, sizzling when the small raindrops hit it.


    ¡°You know I didn¡¯t mean it like that!¡±


    ¡°I know but I don¡¯t think the poor horsey could carry the both of us babe, especially not when you are wearing your armour.¡±


    ¨¦lise sighs again. ¡°Guess you¡¯re right¡­ still want to hug you though.¡±


    ¡°Awh, likewise.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you feeling cold, Hilda?¡± I ask our fearless group leader who¡¯s riding her horse up front.


    ¡°Not really.¡± She shrugs. ¡°My jacket is pretty waterproof, and besides, I quite like the rain. Makes the forest smell amazing.¡±


    I take in a big breath of forest air. It does smell really nice. Not that a dryer forest doesn¡¯t smell nice, but it does make it feel more fresh and full of life.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a word for that, I think I read that in an article once.¡± Sam gently makes the horse go a bit faster to catch up with Hilda¡¯s.


    ¡°Hmmm, it¡¯s called petrichor I think? I¡¯m not one hundred percent sure though.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s it! It sounds familiar anyway.¡±


    Hilda smiles and nods towards the bend in the road in front of us. ¡°We should be pretty close to Honnes by the way. So we might see the city gates soon.¡±


    Just as she says that and our party  moves around the corner, we see the city walls of Honnes in the distance.  Compared to the city walls of Ribaquen these walls were a lot less imposing but still quite imposing from the distance where we were at.


    ¡°Is Honnes a big town Hilda?¡± I ask while we slowly but surely approach the gates.


    ¡°Compared to Ribaquen, not at all. But, it is Reykland¡¯s fourth biggest town, and the biggest inland city at that, since it connects a couple of major trading routes. Reykland is definitely more of a naval power than anything else.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the Vinavian Empire doesn¡¯t even have a port town.¡± My sister comments.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Although it does have a coastline, for some reason people just don¡¯t settle there.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Hmm, I wonder why.¡±


    ¡°Maybe all Vinavians just hate water.¡± ¨¦lise shrugs.


    ¡°Hmm, maybe.¡± Hilda laughs. ¡°But they do like to settle along rivers.¡±


    ¡°Well there goes that theory.¡±


    When we arrive at the city gates one of the guards stops us and talks to Hilda. ¡°State your business.¡±


    ¡°We are passing through to Skaok.¡±


    The guards looks us over and then looks back to Hilda. ¡°Alright then, there¡¯s a toll of 1 gold piece to enter the city.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Hilda looks at the other guard, who saw that she was looking at him and immediately fixed his eyes to the front. ¡°Last time I heard passage throughout Reykland was free to stimulate trade. What do you think, soldier?¡±


    The soldier who had fixed his gaze forward now began sweating bullets. ¡°Y-yes, well. N-no¡­ Maybe...¡±


    ¡°Hey, you were talking to me, not to him!¡± The original guard aggressively moves towards Hilda and starts yelling at her.


    ¡°Oh? Talking, is that what you were doing? Sounds to me like you were just trying to rip off some adventurers who are not from around here.¡±


    ¡°Hilda, can¡¯t we just give him the gold coin and be done with it?¡± My sister tries to end the argument.


    ¡°He will just pester the next adventurer that comes through, I don¡¯t like corrupt arsehats like this just getting away with everything.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?!¡± The guard pulls his sword but before he can do anything Hilda has already gotten off her horse and put a knife against the guard¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Excuse me, what?¡±


    ¡°N-n-nothing.¡±


    ¡°Not so brave anymore, aren¡¯t ya?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?!¡± A different voice comes from inside the town, a tall woman in decorated plate armour walks up to us with a couple of other guards by her side.


    ¡°Drop your weapon!¡± She commands Hilda.


    ¡°No, no I don¡¯t think I will.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ I think I saw that movie¡­¡± Sam whispers, just loud enough for me to hear it.


    I look up at her. ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± She whispers back and gives me a quick kiss on my forehead.


    ¡°Your guard here tried to rob us of some money and was going to pull a sword on me as well.¡±


    ¡°N-no, they attacked us first, isn¡¯t that right, Peter?¡± The man with the knife to his throat looks over to the nervous soldier from earlier.


    ¡°U-uhh¡­¡±


    ¡°Private Sornssen, is that true?¡± The captain of the guard looks over to him now as well.


    ¡°C-captain¡­¡± He looks over to us, back to his captain, back to us and back to his captain once more. ¡°The adventurers are telling the truth¡­¡±


    ¡°You fuck, you will pay for this!¡±


    The guard tries to move but Hilda keeps him still with her knife. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t, sunshine.¡±


    ¡°Guards, take the former corporal into custody.¡± The guards move over to Hilda and handcuff the troublemaker. ¡°Take him to the dungeon.¡± The guards follow her command and take him away.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­ He threatened to do something to my family if I ratted him out¡­¡± Private Sornssen apologizes to us and to the captain who stayed behind.


    ¡°I understand, I will post some guards near your residence to make sure he doesn¡¯t retaliate.¡± The captain lays a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder and then turns her eyes on us. ¡°Sorry for the mess, budget cuts have lowered military discipline and recruitment standards a lot, sadly this is more common than I¡¯d like. The naval faction is just eating up all the funds these days. Did you come from Parma perchance?¡±


    ¡°Yes, how did you know?¡± Hilda replies.


    ¡°I got word of an adventurer party defeating a band of deserters there, they matched your description. Especially yours was quite striking, Miss Goddess.¡± She winks at me.


    Whaaaaaa?! How do they know already?!


    The captain of the guard gestures to us to follow us through the city gate into the city itself.


    ¡°At any rate, I want to apologize again for the inconvenience you have suffered at the hands of our guard. Could I offer you a free night at the best inn in town?¡±


    Hilda looks at the rest of the party and then back at the captain. ¡°No thanks, we just got on the road and we¡¯d like to make it to Skaok before the evening if possible.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I understand. What are you going to do in Skaok if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re looking for a ship to bring us to the new continent.¡± My sister replies, getting a nasty look from Hilda almost immediately.


    ¡°Lise! How do we know if we can even trust her.¡±


    ¡°She looks okay to me.¡± She shrugs.


    The captain starts laughing. ¡°Haha, no offense taken, I can definitely understand where you¡¯re coming from with what just happened. However I can swear upon all the Gods that I am of noble intentions.¡±


    ¡°If only Ami had a lie detector skill¡­¡± Hilda sighs.


    ¡°What is not can yet come to be.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°Guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    The captain continues. ¡°Nevertheless I¡¯d like to at least show my gratitude towards you by writing you a letter of recommendation, so to speak, for a captain I happen to know in Skaok. She¡¯s not affiliated with the military whatsoever but she¡¯s one of the best captains around. She¡¯s rather picky with her clientele though. If you follow me to that building over there I can write one up for you real fast.¡± She points at what looks like a castle in the center of town.


    ¡°Sure, I guess that can¡¯t hurt.¡± Hilda agrees


    ¡°Good.¡± She smiles. ¡°Just give me a minute or five. You can wait in the stables next door so you are out of this drizzle.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Our party heads over to the stable, feeding and watering our horses while we wait. ¨¦lise has taken a seat on a fence, overlooking the market square while she noms on some dried meat. I take a seat next to her.


    ¡°Here, make sure you don¡¯t fall.¡± Lise offers me a hand to get me on top of the fence which I gladly accept.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Want a piece too?¡± After I¡¯m seated nice and securely on top of the fence she offers me a bit of the dried meat she was nomming on. ¡°It¡¯s beef jerky.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡± I take a piece out of her hand and start chewing on it. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s pretty tasty.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm, somehow it reminds me a bit of chewing gum¡­ meaty chewing gum¡­¡±


    ¡°I think I know what you mean.¡± I look at her, she¡¯s smiling at me with a big smile. ¡°I-is there something on my cheek?¡± I quickly rub my cheek with my hand.


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing.¡± She gives me a head pat. ¡°Was just thinking how glad I am that you¡¯re happy now and that we can have little moments like this.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Me too. Sam said something similar as well.¡±


    ¡°Well, you are our communal treasure after all.¡± she leans into me for a second so our arms are touching.


    I start blushing. ¡°Awh, don¡¯t make me blushy!¡±


    ¡°Sorry sis¡­ ah, oops, I think I might¡¯ve accidentally rubbed a bit of beef jerky in your hair earlier.¡±


    ¡°Eeeeeh!? Ewwww!! Lise!!¡± I softly start punching her arm.


    ¡°It was a joke, a joke!¡± ¨¦lise giggles.


    ¡°Such a baka!¡±


    Lise starts laughing even louder. ¡°Help, my sister is a tsundere!¡±


    I put on the biggest pout in the history of pouts. Which only resulted in me getting headpat even more.


    Grrrr¡­ gwwrrrrr¡­ prrrrr¡­ puurrrrrr¡­ Dang it!

 Chapter 73: Cult

    ¡°Sorry for the wait, ladies.¡± The captain walks over to us with a hurried pace, rolled up letter of commendation in hand. She hands it over to Hilda.


    ¡°Thank you very much. So who should we ask for in Skaok?¡± Hilda puts the letter in her pack.


    ¡°Just head for the docks and look around for Captain Taylor, her ship should be called Sam¡¯s Revenge.¡±


    Behind me I hear Sam starting to cough while I and my sister giggle a bit.


    ¡°Something funny?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that tall nekote over there is called Sam.¡± Hilda clarifies nodding towards Sam.


    ¡°Oh, right, I see.¡± The captain smiles. ¡°It¡¯s a good name.¡±


    Sam¡¯s still coughing but manages to reply nonetheless. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I wish I could give you an escort out of the city but I have something to do in the city dungeons. If you¡¯ run in any more problems with the guards at the gates¡­ well¡­ just try to not kill them too slowly.¡±


    Hilda laughs. ¡°We¡¯ll try.¡±


    The captain shakes Hilda¡¯s hand and waves the rest of us goodbye ¡°Safe travels!¡± after which she starts walking off to what I assume is the city¡¯s dungeon.


    ¡°You too!¡± We call after her.


    ¡°Everyone ready to leave again?¡± Hilda now turns herself back to the rest of the group.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we wait until it has stopped raining? My hair has only just dried.¡± ¨¦lise hops off the fence we were sitting on.


    ¡°I have no clue when it will stop raining.¡± Hilda looks to the sky in the distance. ¡°It might take hours, if not days before it¡¯ll stop. Unless someone has a weather app on their weapons?¡±


    ¡°Sadly enough this bow comes without an operating system so I¡¯ve not yet figured out how to install anything on it.¡± Sam jokes while she inspects her bow.


    ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s go then.¡± ¨¦lise gets on her horse. ¡°Skaok was not that far from here, right?¡±


    ¡°A couple of hours at most.¡± Hilda saddles up too as I walk over to Sam so she can lift me up our horse.


    ¡°Great.¡± ¨¦lise nods after which she looks over to me. ¡°By the way, sis, aren¡¯t you going to learn how to mount up yourself?¡±


    ¡°But I like it when Sam puts me on the horse.¡±


    ¡°Well, you heard her.¡± Sam lifts me on top of our horse with a very big grin on her face.


    ¡°Valid.¡± ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°If only Nikki would let me do that.¡±


    ¡°You wish.¡± Nikki replies almost immediately.


    ¡°See, she¡¯s so mean.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m evil, very evil. Just wait till I sink my teeth in ya.¡± She rides up to my sister and puts her hand on her girlfriend''s thigh, looking flirtatiously into her eyes.


    ¡°Halp. I think Imma die.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t help you with that one, sis.¡± Sam has jumped up behind me and rides up next to Hilda who¡¯d already started moving towards the northern city gate.


    ¡°Ayayay.¡± ¨¦lise wipes the imaginary sweat of her face.


    Unlike the first guards we encountered these let us through without any issue although they were occasionally taking a glance at me.


    ¡°Do you think they also know?¡±


    ¡°About the Goddess thing?¡± My girlfriend replies to my question.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°They might, but they might just think you are just a beautiful girl too.¡± She whispers that last part into my ear.


    I melt into her arms. ¡°Unfair.¡±


    ¡°Hmm hmm.¡± Sam chuckles smugly and squeezes me tight.


    ¡°Looks like it won¡¯t stop raining any time soon¡­¡± ¨¦lise comments as the light drizzle turns into full blown rain.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to wait. But we should arrive at Skaok soon so we can get dry a little.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy my base equipment gave me a leather chest piece that has a hood.¡± Sam comments, hanging over me to shelter me a bit from the rain.


    ¡°Lucky you, I spawned in just a cotton robe...¡±


    ¡°Wow, you really drew the short straw didn¡¯t you, sweetie?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I pout.


    ¡°It might be because Sam didn¡¯t spawn in a ¡®beginner¡¯ area.¡± Hilda speculates.


    ¡°I also got attacked by a wolf though¡­ but I did get a pretty good ¡®award¡¯ from it as well.¡±


    ¡°Advantages and disadvantages.¡± ¨¦lise shrugs.


    A loud crack suddenly interrupts the conversation, a lightning bolt striking a couple of hundred meters in the distance.


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s impressive.¡± Nikki stares in awe in the distance. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve never seen lightning strike that close before.


    ¡°Me neither.¡± Hilda shakes her head.


    We follow the road and approach the place where the lightning struck.


    ¡°Help! Someone, please help!¡± A man is running towards us in a hurry. ¡°The lightning¡­ it hit a cart in our convoy¡­¡± He¡¯s completely out of breath.


    ¡°Shit. Ami, Sam, quickly.¡± Hilda spurs on her horse, racing past the man, with our horse following. Nikki and ¨¦lise wait behind to help the man while we go on. Not even a minute later we arrive at the site. People are sitting dazed by the roadside, a couple of them wounded, with splinters in their bodies, a bit further near a burning cart we see people bent over two bodies, crying.


    I look over at Hilda and she gives me a nod. ¡°Go and save them, I¡¯ll find the most critical ones and bring them to you.¡±


    ¡°Hyaah.¡± Sam spurs on our horse to go even faster and races towards the burning cart. The people sitting beside the bodies scare away to the side.  ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we are here to help.¡± Sam jumps off and helps me off the horse immediately.


    ¡°What do you think Ami?¡± Sam and I take a look at the bodies. They are two male tiger beastkin from what I can tell. Both of them are severely burned but luckily still breathing.


    ¡°They are still alive, very badly wounded though.¡± I take out my staff and start channeling my healing spells on the both of them.


    ¡°Will they be alright?¡± Another couple of beastkin who were originally scared away by our horse approach us.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine.¡± Sam tries to comfort the couple. ¡°Just give our healer some space so she can concentrate on her work.¡±


    ¡°Is she¡­?¡±


    ¡°She looks like¡­¡± I hear the couple whisper.


    Slowly but surely more people who belonged to the caravan start flocking in our direction.


    ¡°They know, don¡¯t they¡­¡± I whispered to myself, trying really hard not to lose my concentration. A pat on my back from my girlfriend with her ever loving smile calms me and helps me refocus. ¡°Thanks Sam.¡±


    ¡°Just keep doing what you¡¯re doing. I¡¯ll keep them at bay.¡± She winks and then continues doing some crowd control so I work quietly.


    ¡°That should be it.¡± I wipe away some of the rain of my forehead as I take a couple of steps backwards. ¡°I can now take care of the others.¡±


    ¡°You sure, don¡¯t need to rest for a bit?¡± Sam comes up to my side.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, this was nothing, really.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡±


    Right at that moment Hilda appears next to us as well. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find any critically wounded. It¡¯s mostly some bruises and splinters. How did things go here?¡±


    ¡°Good, Ami just saved two people, she¡¯s going to want to get everyone back into shape though.¡±


    I nod with my girfriend¡¯s assessment.


    ¡°Alright. Nikki and ¨¦lise went after the horses that ran away after the lightning hit, they should be back shortly¡­¡± She stops explaining and looks behind me. ¡°By the way¡­ what¡¯s that about?¡±


    I look back too, following her gaze, seeing a couple of people bowing towards me, sitting on their knees in the mud. ¡°Oh¡­ I didn¡¯t even notice that¡­¡±


    ¡°I think some of them started to connect the dots and found out about Ami¡¯s ¡®Goddessness¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Can you try to get them to stand up? Or at least out of the mud¡­¡±


    ¡°I tried to but they wouldn¡¯t listen¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡± I sigh, this is even more embarrassing than I thought. ¡°Let¡¯s just start healing the others before we deal with this¡­¡±


    Sam and Hilda nod and follow me around to help the wounded.


    Ten minutes later, after most of the wounds have been healed, Nikki and my sister rejoin the party, followed by a couple of horses.


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t get them all, some ran away a lot faster than we expected.¡± Nikki hands over the leads of the horses to one of the people from the caravan.


    ¡°Looks like you have been quite busy too.¡± ¨¦lise nods in the direction of the constantly growing group of people who are bowing down to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to feel like a cult leader¡­¡± I hide behind my girlfriend.


    ¡°Yeah, this surely is a bit of a... situation¡­¡± ¨¦lise pats the back of her head.


    ¡°While Ami was healing the minorly wounded I heard from one of them that the caravan belongs to a really traditional community. Might be why their response is so different from the people at Parma.¡± Hilda explains.


    ¡°Hmm, maybe. Let¡¯s try to get them to move into Skaok first so at least we are out of this blasted rain.¡± ¨¦lise moves on to the front of the caravan.


    ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± Nikki asks her partner.


    ¡°I have just the plan in mind.¡± She winks at us.


    ¡°Oh no, I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this¡­¡±


    Hilda giggles at my comment. ¡°Me neither, Ami, me neither.¡±


    My sister crawls on top of the burnt out remains of the cart and addresses the entire group of people in front of her. ¡°Ahum, ahum. People! The Goddess Amicia doesn¡¯t want to see her followers getting drenched in this rain and being stuck in the mud¡­ um¡­ for you might become sick! Therefore she has asked of you to please make your way into the city walls of Skaok and find a dry and warm place to rest and to wash up¡­ yes!¡±


    ¡°That was¡­ definitely a speech¡­ of some kind... I guess?¡± Sam is quite flabbergasted. I would never have the guts to do that.¡°


    Hilda agrees. ¡°That¡¯s ¨¦lise for you.¡±


    Sis¡­ why do you do this¡­


    FieryKathy


    Also, Patreon!

 Chapter 74: Quay

    FieryKathy


    One mighty feat of persuasion later, we finally manage to get the entire caravan to the gates of Skaok. Its imposing walls greeted us, decorated way more lavishly than the walls of Ribaquen were.


    ¡°You can definitely tell this is a wealthy trading city, holy cow.¡± My sister looks up and whistles at the majestic purple banners with the city''s crest on it.


    But before anyone else can comment on it, one of the city guards runs up to our group. ¡°I¡¯d strongly advise you ladies to leave right now.¡± He nervously looks over his shoulder.


    ¡°Why, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Hilda asks the man.


    ¡°You are the people they are talking about right? The War Goddess of Parma?¡± He looks at me.


    ¡°What if she is?¡± Sam swings an arm around me with her other hand on her dagger.


    ¡°If it were up to us or the kingdom, nothing milady. But yesterday evening the Inquisition of Osvik arrived in town, looking for anyone who is following this ¡®heresy¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡± Hilda curses, quickly ruffling through her bag.


    ¡°Is it that bad Hilda?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Kinda, I was wondering if this would happen but I thought it would take them a lot longer than this. Sorry for not telling you but I didn¡¯t want to make you worry.¡±


    ¡°From what I know, Osvik is a bit like the pope for us, right?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s practically the Papal States. Small in size but their religious influence is enormous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you are talking about¡­.¡± The guard continues. ¡°But it would be best for all parties involved if you were to leave now so as to let things calm down a bit, or at least that¡¯s what the briefing told me...¡±


    ¡°But we really need to get to the port - do you think that¡¯ll be possible?¡± Hilda asks the guard.


    He thinks for a second, rubbing his stubbly beard while doing so. ¡°If you go through the residential district and avoid the center, it might be.¡±


    Hilda nods and looks back to me as she pushes something made of gray fabric into my hands. ¡°Here Ami, pull this over your outfit, and hide your tail too.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°A garb usually worn by the lower clergy, I got it from a quest back in the day.¡±


    I nod and pull it over my outfit, it¡¯s way too big for me but it does manage to hide pretty much everything. ¡°I look ridiculous in this.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think it looks kinda cute.¡± Sam giggles.


    ¡°Shush.¡±


    The guard gives an approving nod. ¡°I think your plan will work, as long as they don¡¯t get too close of a look.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thanks for the heads-up.¡± Hilda smiles and hands the guard a couple of gold coins.


    With that we move on into the city and immediately take a left away from the main street, into one of the multitude of residential alleyways. Luckily the caravan that was travelling with us didn¡¯t notice us slip away.


    Once we were deeper into the alleys Hilda starts speaking again. ¡°Okay, I thought we could relax for a bit and then go look for the captain, but it looks like that¡¯s not in the books. Sorry y¡¯all, especially for not telling you earlier.¡± Her mood has turned quite somber, the smile from a couple of moments earlier had completely vanished.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Hilda.¡± I say. ¡°It was to keep me from panicking, you couldn¡¯t have known they would be so fast.¡±


    Nikki supports my opinion. ¡°And it was to be expected some people wouldn¡¯t react well to our little goddess over here.¡±


    ¡°I just hope the people from the caravan and all the others will be okay.¡± I continue.


    ¡°I hope so too.¡± Sam squeezes me.


    ¡°Otherwise I¡¯ll turn that entire theocracy to ash.¡±


    ¡°Woah, woah, woah, there kitten. Although I do agree with the sentiment.¡± My sister takes my shoulder. ¡°But it looks like the people here are quite open about things, so if that Osvik is a bit too zealous I¡¯m sure they will put a stop to it.¡±


    ¡°The government will probably tell them to calm their tits or force a trade embargo on them or something, but it¡¯s best we keep out of it so we don¡¯t make it worse for Reykland.¡± Nikki reasons.


    ¡°Reykland completely surrounds Osvik, so yes, that¡¯d probably be their course of action.¡± Hilda agrees. ¡°But still, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be, otherwise I¡¯ll be angry.¡± I say with a smile.


    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll try.¡± She somberly smiles back at me.


    ¡°Just give brooding Hilda some time, she gets like this too when she orders the wrong sandvich for someone at work.¡± ¨¦lise whispers to me and Sam. ¡°That someone being me. Even though I told her a million times that the one she got me was perfectly fine too.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see.¡±


    ¡°Sam, could you ride a bit closer to Hilda?¡± I look up at my girlfriend who quickly gives me a nod, probably already knowing what I was planning to do.


    Sam rides up to Hilda and starts talking to her. ¡°Hey Hilda, could you hold my kitten for a while?¡±


    ¡°Uhh?¡± Hilda looks a bit surprised as Sam lifts up and puts me on the front of Hilda¡¯s saddle. Hilda instinctively swings her arm around me so I don¡¯t fall off. ¡°Is something wrong, Ami?¡±


    I shake my head and lean back against her. ¡°No, it¡¯s just that¡­ please don¡¯t be so hard on yourself, okay? Everyone makes mistakes, and we don¡¯t love you any less for them.¡± I look up at her and smile.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m just a bit of a perfectionist¡­ maybe a bit too much... '''' her grip around me got a bit tighter as she whispers to me. ¡°Thanks kitten, I really needed that.¡±


    I ride the rest of the way to the harbor on Hilda¡¯s horse. The rows of houses make place for the open area around the quay. Even though it¡¯s raining there¡¯s a lot of activity going on. Huge sailing ships getting loaded and unloaded. Fishmongers trying to sell their still incredibly deliciously looking fish and even some small street acts were attracting the attention of some of the townsfolk.


    ¡°Damn, where do we even start looking?¡± ¨¦lise looks around at all the ships, manually checking them would take quite a while.


    ¡°We could just ask.¡± Sam comments and stops one of the townspeople. ¡°Dear sir, would you know where we could find the ship called ¡®Sam¡¯s revenge¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I¡¯m bad with ship names, sorry.¡° The man shrugs.


    ¡°And what about its captain, Captain Taylor?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s a name I do know!¡±


    ¡°Any idea where she would be at?¡±


    ¡°My bet is she¡¯s in the ¡®Drowned Doormat¡¯. It¡¯s an inn, you can¡¯t miss it if you keep following the quay.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a weird name for an inn.¡± Nikki giggles.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try to come up with an original name for an inn then.¡± The man shoots back.


    ¡°Fair point.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the help, sir.¡± Hilda gives the man a coin for his troubles and off he goes.


    It didn¡¯t take us very long to find the inn. Its sign depicted a doormat under water, which ¨¦lise found absolutely hilarious. ¡°Haha, good memes.¡± She wipes away some tears from having been laughing too hard.


    ¡°Should we all go inside?¡± Nikki asks. ¡°Or should me and Lise keep watch here?¡±


    ¡°That might be best. Just in case the inquisition turns up.¡± Hilda gets off the horse and takes me off it as well. Sam also dismounts to come with us too. ¡°Just come in and call out¡­ uh¡­ pineapple if you see them.¡±


    My sister almost chokes as she starts laughing again.


    ¡°Alright, will do.¡± Nikki chuckles. ¡°Pineapple it is.¡±


    The three of us enter the inn and are greeted by the distinctive smell of alcohol. The inside of the inn is also relatively dark and wasn¡¯t particularly populated.


    ¡°This reminds me a bit of the place I met you, Hilda.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let Argus hear that or he will be angry.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± The bartender stares at the three of us. ¡°You are here to order right? If you want to get out of the rain you can do that somewhere else. This place is only for paying customers.¡±


    We look over at one table where there¡¯s a man sleeping, probably passed out drunk.


    ¡°Okay, formerly paying customers too.¡±


    ¡°Do you have something non-alcoholic?¡± Sam asks.


    The bartender looks at us with a bit of disdain. ¡°Of course I do, what kind of premise do you think this is?¡±


    We look over at another table with three passed out people.


    ¡°Point taken. So what will it be?¡±


    ¡°Is grape juice fine for you?¡± Hilda looks over to us, we both nod. ¡°Three grape juice please.¡± She addresses the bartender.


    ¡°Ok, coming right up.¡±


    ¡°And also, would you happen to know if Captain Taylor is around here?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is someone looking for me?¡± A voice comes from inside of one of the side rooms. ¡°Maybe a group of bounty hunters trying to claim something they aren¡¯t prepared for?¡± Even though the inn isn¡¯t particularly quiet, you could hear the distinct clicking of a flintlock pistol¡¯s mechanism. Sam immediately jumps in front of me.


    ¡°A certain captain of the guard in Honnes recommended you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, did she now? And who says you aren¡¯t lying?¡± Captain Taylor reveals herself. She¡¯s wearing a gray leather overcoat, which matches very well with a pair of dark brown leather thighboots she''s wearing. On her head she has a gray tricorn hat which covers a part of her medium length dirty brown hair. A scar adornes her left cheek, presumably from the slash of a sword. And although her pose is threatening, especially because of how tall she is, with cavalry saber in one hand and pistol in the other, and the look in her hazelnut brown eyes... the combined picture makes me feel quite fuzzy inside.


    ¡°Why is the chibi looking at me like that?¡± She stares back at me.


    ¡°I-I just thought you look really cool.¡± I mumble from my hidey spot behind Sam.


    Captain Taylor blushes while Sam almost starts laughing. ¡°Ami, this is maybe not the time.¡±


    ¡°F-flattery w-won¡¯t get you very far with me missy!¡± Captain Taylor slaps her own cheek twice with her pistol hand before aiming it back at us.


    ¡°She did give us a letter.¡± Hilda slowly reaches for her bag. ¡°I¡¯m going to take it out now, so please don¡¯t shoot.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, but no funny business.¡±


    Hilda takes out the letter and puts it on the table in front of us.


    Captain Taylor dexterously grabs the letter with her sword while still training her pistol on us and starts reading it. ¡°Hmm. I see.¡± She sheathes her sword and puts her pistol in it¡¯s holster. ¡°Looks like you were telling the truth. I guess you¡¯ve got yourself a captain.¡±


    FieryKathy


    Patreon link.

 Chapter 75: Frigate

    FieryKathy


    The noise of the door opening immediately put Captain Taylor back on guard, drawing her pistol and sword again.


    ¡°Hilda, Sam, Ami, we need to¡­ Holy, don¡¯t shoot!¡± My sister ducks behind the cover of her shield.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, Captain, they¡¯re with us.¡± Hilda urges Captain Taylor to calm down.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you people and startling me, honestly.¡± Captain Taylor holsters her pistol.


    ¡°Good, you found her, we really need to go. The inquisition is inspecting buildings down the quay.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s why those shitheads are here... because of you lot.¡± Taylor looks over our party before she starts smirking. ¡°Luckily for you I was about to set sail one of these days anyway so our supplies are already stocked. Let¡¯s go, you can finish introducing yourselves once we are safe aboard.¡±


    None of us object to Captain Taylor¡¯s invitation and we follow her outside but not before she yells at the barkeep. ¡°Put their drinks on my tab! I¡¯ll pay it when we come back.¡±


    ¡°Aye, aye.¡± The barkeep replies.


    ¡°My ship¡¯s right over there.¡± She points at a big three-master that¡¯s docked in the opposite direction of where the inquisitors are coming from. Captain Taylor hops on one of the horses that¡¯s tied up against one of the posts and starts leading us towards it. ¡°As for your horses, we should have plenty of provisions and space to accommodate them on our trip.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, but why are you so eager to help us? Just a minute ago you were still pointing a gun at us.¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± Captain Taylor laughs. ¡°An enemy of the church is a friend of mine. And apparently my sister owes you a big favour so there¡¯s that too.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s your sister?¡±


    ¡°We are quite different aren¡¯t we?¡± She laughs again. ¡°But anyhow, anyone who helps my baby sister is good in my books. Even flirtatious chibis.¡± She smirks over to me, making me blush a little.


    ¡°Flirtatious chibi?¡± My sister asks. ¡°Wait¡­ Ami, what exactly did you do in the two minutes you were inside?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep the stories for when everything is loaded.¡± We¡¯d already arrived at her ship. Her ship had one gun deck with 15 gunports from what I could tell in the short amount of time it took us to board.


    ¡°She¡¯s a beauty.¡± Hilda comments.


    ¡°Definitely is.¡± Captain Taylor then proceeds to call in a couple of her crew to help us load the horses.


    ¡°But I can¡¯t see her name anywhere. Or did I miss it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the nameplate got shot to pieces last time and we¡¯ve not yet hung another one. Happens all the time.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure we should be taking this boat?¡± My sister asks.


    ¡°Ship, it¡¯s a ship. And feel free to find another captain to take you?¡± The captain interjected,  in the direction of the inquisitors. ¡°I¡¯d hurry up if I were you though.¡±


    ¡°Good point.¡± ¨¦lise shuts up and helps the crew members with the horses while the rest of us get on board.


    Getting the horses on board luckily didn¡¯t take very long as the inquisitors were getting closer by the minute. I could even swear I saw one of them looking at us right as we sailed off.


    ¡°Yeah, those buggers definitely saw us.¡± Captain Taylor made me jump back a bit, I didn¡¯t even hear her coming. She was holding one of those long telescopes you¡¯d see in the pirate movies. ¡°They might come after us but this is a fast ship, so don¡¯t worry about it too much .¡± She put her hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°I hope so¡­¡±


    ¡°And if not we have plenty of firepower to scare them off.¡± She winks. ¡°Anyway, why don¡¯t you and my party come to my cabin so we can get to know each other a bit more.¡± She starts walking off to the center of the ship, her body language betraying that this was more of a command than a request.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Ami.¡± It was Sam¡¯s turn to put her hand on my shoulder now. As we rejoin the rest of the group and head into her cabin together.


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what happened.¡± Captain Taylor laughs after our party has recounted the events that happened to us the last couple of days. ¡°I heard something about a Goddess but I would never expect her to board my ship anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I chose for any of this to happen.¡± I pout.


    ¡°I can believe that. It sounds like a big pain in the ass.¡±


    ¡°Captain Taylor, I have one question about your vessel though.¡± Hilda remarks.


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see you flying any flags.¡±


    Taylor¡¯s smile turned into a smirk. ¡°That¡¯s because the one we fly usually is of the skulls and crossbones kind.¡±


    ¡°I assumed as much.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you are a pirate?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Well, yes. I assume I don¡¯t look like much of a naval officer to you, do I? And merchants generally don¡¯t sail around in frigates.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t be alarmed, Miss Sam. We are the good kind of pirates. Free the oppressed, steal money from the rich, that kind of stuff.¡±


    ¡°Ah, like Robin Hood.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Captain Taylor tilts her head. ¡°Never heard of that fellow, what¡¯s he about?¡±


    ¡°He does the same things as you do, just with a bow and arrows, less grapeshot and cannons.¡±


    ¡°Eh, I¡¯d prefer cannons, but he sounds like a decent guy nonetheless. Anyway, any more questions before I give you all a tour of the ship?¡±


    Everyone thinks for a second but it¡¯s ultimately Sam who replies. ¡°Why exactly is the ship called Sam¡¯s Revenge.¡±


    Now Captain Taylor grew a very big grin. ¡°You see, once I had two lovers, and they were both called Sam. Well, one of them was Samantha but she also prefered Sam so¡­¡±


    The rest of Captain Taylor¡¯s story was too lewd for me so my mind blocked it out completely.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why she¡¯s called Sam¡¯s revenge.¡± Captain Taylor ends her story, leaving Sam staring at the ground awkwardly, not knowing what to say, and others short of breath from laughing too much.


    ¡°Sailors do tell the best stories.¡± Hilda wipes away a couple of tears. ¡°How much of it was true?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say around 30%¡± Taylor winks. ¡°So, who¡¯s ready for a tour?¡±


    ¡°Come, Sam, let¡¯s follow them.¡±


    ¡°H-how are you so unfazed by her story? You are ace, right?¡± Sam stutters but takes my hand anyway.


    ¡°My mind just blanked, I have no memory of what happened the last ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°I wish I had done that too...¡±


    I give Sam a long head pat. ¡°There there, I¡¯ll cuddle you later to make up for it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that.¡± She squeezes my hand as we rejoin our party.


    After having us shown around the main deck and the main gundeck we arrive at a couple of crew cabins.


    ¡°These two cabins are for clients, since you are the only non-crew aboard, feel free to use these as you please.¡± Captain Taylor opens one of the doors. The rooms have two bunk beds each and have a small table and a desk.


    ¡°Not too big but it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll be spending months here.¡± ¨¦lise goes to one of the mattresses and puts her hands on it. ¡°Good mattress though.¡±


    ¡°How long do you think this journey will take?¡± Nikki asks Captain Taylor.


    ¡°Two days probably, could be faster if we have good wind.¡± Taylor was leaning against the door frame. ¡°I¡¯ve made this trip a couple of times already. Never took longer than that.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it like?¡± Hilda¡¯s curiousity was peaked. ¡°You¡¯re the first person I met who went there.¡±


    ¡°Humid, that¡¯s for sure. The one port town we visited was quite nice. That¡¯s where I¡¯ll be dropping you lot off and so I can do some trading.¡±


    ¡°A trading pirate?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite lucrative, you¡¯re looking at one of the only captains who dares to go there. I¡¯m actually not sure why, looked safe enough to me.¡±


    ¡°Captain, the first time we almost got eaten by a giant squid.¡± One of the crewmembers who was passing by the cabins comments on his Captain.


    ¡°Oh, right! I almost forgot about that. Was pretty tasty though. Hopefully we encounter another one of those.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully not.¡± ¨¦lise laughs nervously.


    ¡°Haha.¡± Taylor laughs. ¡°So feel free to leave your gear here. I guess you must be hungry since you had to leave Skaok that fast.¡±


    My tummy starts rumbling right when she says that. ¡°Maybe a little.¡±


    ¡°Alright, see you in the galley.¡± With that Taylor leaves us alone to sort out our things.


    ¡°So about the rooms¡­¡± Hilda looks between me and Sam and ¨¦lise and Nikki.


    ¡°You can sleep with us if you want to, Hilda.¡± I poke her, Sam is nodding in agreement.


    ¡°Me and Ami probably only need one bed anyway, they are wide enough.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, girls.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Alright, me and Nikki take this room, you three the other. See  you at the galley?¡±


    ¡°Yep! See ya!¡±


    We all put away our gear and prepare for our first meal aboard the ship.


    I wonder what kind of food they will serve us¡­.


    FieryKathy


    Patreon


    poi

 Chapter 76: Galley

    FieryKathy


    When the three of us arrive at the galley we see that my sister and Nikki are already there waiting on us together with Captain Taylor.


    ¡°Ah good, you¡¯re here. Auguste just began preparin¡¯ our food.¡±


    ¡°What is he making?¡± I sit down between Hilda and my girlfriend across the table from them.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see. But fear not, Auguste is the best cook employed on any ship sailing these seas. We freed him from some nasty people a couple of years ago and he has been an extremely valued member of the crew ever since.¡±


    ¡°People are a lot less rowdy if they have a nice meal to look forward to.¡± Hilda pets my head.


    ¡°Just so, just so.¡± Captain Taylor laughs.


    ¡°Captain Taylor¡­¡±


    ¡°You can just call me Taylor if you want. Don¡¯t wanna get stuck in formalities too much.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°A-alright then¡­ Taylor, where did you find the rest of your crew?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Most of ¡®em, like Auguste, are people that we freed or helped over the years and who decided to hang around and help us do the same for others.¡±


    ¡°So how did you start out then?¡± Hilda continues.


    ¡°That¡¯d be six years ago. Back then a group of us who were tired of the navy decided we wanted to make a difference for people in need. When we were still in the service we saw a lot of bad shit happen... but sadly we couldn¡¯t really do anything because we were bound to strict guidelines. So around ten of us quit, collected all our savin¡¯s and bought our first sloop. We used to have a rotation for the captain seat but ultimately we ended up in posts that fit us most, so I ended up as the captain. From the original ten there¡¯s only me, my lieutenant and the ship¡¯s surgeon left.¡±


    ¡°W-what happened to the rest?¡±


    ¡°You are wonderin¡¯ if they all died a gruesome death?¡±


    I gulp.


    Taylor laughs. ¡°Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout that. They just found someone they wanted to settle down with. We set them up with plenty of resources and part ways. Occasionally we still go visit them if they aren¡¯t living the nomad¡¯s life. As for me, this ship is practically my home so I¡¯d never think about leaving it, even though my little sister tries to convince me otherwise almost constantly. ¡®Come live in Honnes, it¡¯d be nice to see you more than twice a year.¡¯ Don¡¯t get me wrong, I understand ¡®er feelings¡­ but...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just not you.¡± ¨¦lise nods.


    ¡°¡®xactly. Maybe one day¡­ but right now? Not a chance.¡±


    ¡°Here you go.¡± a big tiger beastman interrupts us by putting some plates with a silver cloche over them on the table, his long fluffy tail was distracting me a little.


    ¡°Ah, thank you Auguste.¡±


    ¡°No problem, I hope it¡¯ll be to your liking.¡± He makes a little bow.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll.¡± Taylor lifts one of the cloches, revealing the biggest sushi platter I¡¯ve ever seen. The smell of fish immediately makes me start salivating. I could also hear Sam next to me gulp.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure at least two of ¡®em will like it a lot.¡± Taylor laughs.


    ¡°Want to sit with us Mister Auguste?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to finish something up in the kitchen and make my own plate, but sure.¡±


    And so it went. Mister Auguste joined us after preparing some more food for the rest of the crew and then sat himself down next to us to eat his own meal. We discussed life at sea and exchanged a couple more experiences before my sister finally asked him a question.


    ¡°Hey, Auguste, could you let my baby sister there fluff your tail? She¡¯s been staring at it almost non-stop for the past hour.¡±


    I almost spit out my drink. ¡°Wha!? Lise!¡±


    ¡°You thought no one saw?¡±


    ¡°Eeeeh!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Ami, you were quite obvious about it.¡± Sam starts laughing.


    ¡°Haha.¡± Auguste¡¯s deep laugh fills the room. ¡°I was waiting for her to say something herself!¡±


    ¡°Ami is a bit shy, she wouldn¡¯t ask it herself. But she¡¯s going to regret it if she doesn¡¯t.¡± Hilda agrees.


    ¡°Stop, you¡¯re embarrassing me!¡±


    ¡°Y¡¯know, Auguste loves to get his tail fluffed. Especially if we meet children, they always wanna do it.¡±


    ¡°Like the time on that island off the coast of Sharab. Those were some good times. Making kids happy is always fun. They ran away with the captain¡¯s hat. It was great to see her chase around after them.¡±


    ¡°I know one of y¡¯all gave it to them! One day I¡¯ll find out who did it.¡±


    ¡°So if you want to, you can definitely come and fluff it.¡± He deliberately swishes his tail from left to right as to tempt me.


    ¡°A-are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± He friendly nods.


    ¡°A-alright.¡± Sam lets me take her place next to Auguste as he puts his tail in my lap. Even though my own tail is already very fluffy, it just couldn¡¯t compare to his. Especially the little tuft of fur at the end is just heavenly soft.


    ¡°Whaaaah. How did you get it so soft?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a trade secret.¡± He pets me with his hand paw.


    ¡°Tell meee, I need mine to be so soft too.¡±


    Auguste laughs. ¡°Alright, apart from my entire family having pretty fluffy tails you also need to comb it and use this special substance. I found out about it in a little town called Halney which we helped supply during the winter. The locals were so happy this sweet old lady told me the secret to her pudding.¡±


    ¡°We found out it wasn¡¯t really edible but incidentally worked wonders on yer hair.¡± Captain Taylor fills in.


    ¡°One of the crew was so upset he had it as dessert that he threw the bowl at me in jest. The day after I noticed my fur was a lot softer than normal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a funny little story.¡± ¨¦lise had been listening attentively.


    ¡°If you want I can write down the recipe so you can try it out yourself!¡±


    ¡°Yay! I¡¯d love that.¡±


    The day rolled over into night as we spent even more time talking with each other.


    ¡°Somethin¡¯s been intriguing me.¡± Taylor puts down her sixth glass of ale although she didn¡¯t look or sound drunk at all. ¡°Why did you call Amicia ¡®ere yer sister?¡± She turns herself towards ¨¦lise.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± My sis rubs the back of her head. We have been so comfortable with each other that it had become a reflex even around others. ¡°I guess that does sound weird, huh?¡±


    ¡°Sorry if it''s none of my business.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a difficult and long story I guess...¡± ¨¦lise waves away Taylor¡¯s apology.


    ¡°You see, we are actually sisters, but something happened and that¡¯s how I turned out like this.¡±


    My sis looks over to me in shock at what I just revealed.


    ¡°There¡¯s no point in lying to her.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true¡­¡± Even though what I just told her wasn¡¯t exactly the truth either.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s definitely somethin¡¯.¡± Taylor says, and the reaction of Auguste isn¡¯t as shocked as I thought it would be either.


    ¡°You two don¡¯t seem too surprised?¡± Nikki points out what we were thinking.


    ¡°Ah no, it¡¯s definitely miraculous, but y¡¯see, once you¡¯ve been at sea as long as we¡¯ve been, you see some pretty weird shit. Like the giant squid from earlier.¡±


    ¡°And some place¡¯s magic is like none you¡¯ve ever seen before, I can tell you that.¡± Auguste ads.


    ¡°¡®xactly.¡±


    ¡°Anyhow,¡± With one last swig Taylor finishes her mug. ¡°I¡¯m going up deck to do some captainin¡¯¡±


    ¡°And I need to clean the galley.¡± Auguste also stands up.


    ¡°Alright, we should probably head to bed, it¡¯s been a pretty long day for us.¡±


    ¡°I can see that, yer other Nekote is already in dreamland it seems.¡±


    I look to my side and see that Sam has indeed dozed off, resting against one of the wooden support beams. ¡°Hey, Sam.¡± I nudge her softly.


    ¡°Oh, huh¡­¡± She rubs her eyes. ¡°Sorry, I think I ate too much and sapped my energy.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything? We could¡¯ve gone to bed already. Or at least you could¡¯ve leaned on me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry babe.¡± She gives me a kiss on my cheek.


    Taylor laughs. ¡°Y¡¯all know the way back to yer cabins?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, should be easy enough.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Alright then, see ya in the mornin¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight!¡±


    With that Auguste and Taylor leave us and we make our way to our cabins. Saying good night to my sister and Nikki in the process too.


    ¡°Which bunk will you take, Hilda?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°The top one on the right if that¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll take the bottom one on the left then.¡± We both get undressed and it doesn¡¯t take long before we are all nice and cozy in bed, with me nuzzled in between the strong arms of my girlfriend. The ship, gently rocking on the waves, it works incredibly soothing.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to fall asleep Sam¡­¡± I whisper.


    ¡°Me too, night night Ami.¡±


    ¡°Night night, love you¡­¡± I give her a kiss.  ¡°And good night to you too, Hilda.¡±


    ¡°Good night kittens.¡± She replies.


    And just as expected, only two minutes later, my lights go out.


    FieryKathy


    Patreon.

 Chapter 77: Gunpowder

    FieryKathy


    The next day just flew by, as our group decided to help around the ship. Sam and I had decided to help Auguste in the galley while the others helped with tasks such as rigging or even doing some cannon firing drills. Life on board a ship was very different from our previous experiences and it was definitely a nice change of pace. In the evening we played a couple of card games with the crew and as the day grew to a close we went to bed tired but at peace. However¡­


    ¡°All hands to battle stations!¡± A voice rings through the crew quarters, waking up all three of us instantly.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Sam immediately sits upright.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± Hilda jumps into her boots and hastily puts on her jacket.


    Me and Sam quickly do the same and follow her outside to the upper deck. ¨¦lise and Nikki follow us on the foot.


    ¡°Good, you are awake.¡± Taylor is standing on the aftcastle, looking through her spyglass. ¡°Sorry for the rude awakening.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°See for yourself.¡± She hands over the spyglass. ¡°Look at our 4 o¡¯clock.¡±


    The rest of us look in that direction and see a ship, but it¡¯s too small to make it out too well with the naked eye.


    ¡°Shit.¡± Hilda says and hands the spyglass to me next.


    I can see not one but two ships coming towards us, with on their sails a purple cross encased by a purple diamond.


    ¡°See the emblem?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°That¡¯s the sign of the Osvik inquisition.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°How did they catch us? Didn¡¯t you say this was one hell of a fast ship?¡± ¨¦lise asks Taylor.


    ¡°It is, but I didn¡¯t expect them to be so adamant to use bloody windcasters to catch up with us.


    I tilt my head a bit while I had over the spyglass back to Taylor as no one else wanted to look.


    ¡°Windcasters are an extremely rare kind of casters.¡± Hilda explains. ¡°I don¡¯t think the continent has more than 100 people who can cast that magic.¡±


    ¡°And to risk a couple to be able to chase you... that¡¯s quite some dedication.¡± Taylor looks back through her spyglass. ¡°Those are ships of the line as well¡­¡± She sighs.


    ¡°Meaning we can¡¯t outgun them¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Nikki rubs her chin. ¡°Taylor, do you know how those ships are laid out?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, why?¡±


    ¡°Heh.¡± Hilda chuckles, she probably already knows what Nikki has planned. ¡°You see, Nikki here is probably one of the most powerful fire casters in the world¡­. well¡­ apart from Ami when she gets angry I guess¡­ but still.¡±


    Taylor puts away her spyglass and looks over to Nikki for a second. ¡°I see¡­ let me grab some blueprints from my cabin.¡± It doesn¡¯t even take her a minute to come back. ¡°Don¡¯t tell the navy I have these.¡± She winks. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s this room you are looking for.¡± She points at something on the blueprint and Nikki happily nods.


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    After looking at the plan for a couple of minutes Nikki replies again. ¡°I will need them to get pretty close to get the hit though.¡±


    Taylor nods. ¡°Let¡¯s just see how aggressive they are, otherwise we can bait them in by bluffing that I want to hand you people over. Luckily us pirates don¡¯t have much of an honorable reputation abroad. Not these pirates though.¡± Taylor winks. ¡°Anyway, I think they¡¯ll be in cannon range in about an hour.¡±


    ¡°Are we planning to blow up their ship?¡± I ask the group.


    Nikki nods. ¡°That¡¯s what we were looking into, yes.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just burn their sails or something like that?¡± I protest.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be keepin¡¯ their sails wet to prevent exactly that, Amicia.¡± Taylor put her hand on my shoulder. ¡°And together with using wind casters¡­ I don¡¯t think that will work. However, goin¡¯ for their powder room directly may be something they don¡¯t expect.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Attention, pirates!¡± A loud disembodied voice shakes the ship. ¡°You are harboring heretics, hand them over and be spared! If you don¡¯t follow our demands everyone on board will face swift judgement by our cannons. Lower your sails and wait for us to arrive if you comply.¡±


    ¡°Usin¡¯ their windcasters to enhance their voices, huh? Smart.¡± Taylor looks back over to the approaching ships. ¡°It does not look like a peaceful exchange is in the books anyway. But at least we know we can definitely bait them in though...¡± Taylor follows her comment by ordering the crew to lower the sails. ¡°Okay, the one thing we need now is five volunteers to stand in as our prisoners while Nikki here finds an advantageous spot to unleash hell.¡± She then looks back at me. ¡°Sorry it has to go like this but I personally don¡¯t see another option.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­¡± I reluctantly agree even though it was clear from their tone that they carried severe ill intent.


    In the end we decide that our party, except for Nikki, should be the one to play us, as it will be the most convincing. For Nikki¡¯s substitute one of the crewmembers volunteers. In the meantime, Nikki hides behind the solid railing on the main deck, waiting for her chance to strike. Taylor is standing besides us with her spyglass in hand while giving orders to the crew. ¡°Only open the gunports on my command. We just need them to get a bit closer for Miss Nikki.¡±


    ¡°We see the heretics, be prepared to hand them over the moment we dock.¡± The disembodied voice rings through the ship again.


    ¡°I see, so that¡¯s the one givin¡¯ the orders huh¡­¡± Taylor smirks. ¡°Any hesitation I had about our plan has just disappeared.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I look over to her.


    ¡°The bishop givin¡¯ those commands is a nasty one, I recognize his face from posters in oppressed cities. Notorious for torture techniques and robbing people of their liberty for his personal gains. He¡¯s smiling so hard right now, thinking he won another easy battle. Let us rob him of his smirk shall we?¡± Both of the ship of the line start turning parallel to our ship and right at that moment Taylor gives Nikki the command.


    ¡°Light ¡®em up.¡±


    Nikki doesn¡¯t say a word as she pops up from behind the railing, casting an enormous spear of fire and unleashing it on the ship that is closest to ours. The flaming spear shoots across and penetrates the wooden hull of the ship. And then, nothing.


    ¡°Did she mi¡­¡± I hear one of the crew ask but she gets interrupted by the loudest bang ever. Everyone takes cover behind the railings as small pieces of wood launch themselves in all directions. When the shrapnel has stopped and everyone can look back at the ocean, the spot where the first ship of the line was is now just filled with burning wreckage.


    ¡°Holy, flying, shit.¡± Taylor says, putting her captain¡¯s hat back on her head. ¡°Full sail and fire at will!¡± Her order immediately gets relayed by the other officers as our ship starts firing on the remaining ship of the line.


    ¡°Want me to fire again?¡± A little flame is already burning in Nikki¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Nah, they won¡¯t be able to follow us.¡± Taylor looks through her spyglass. ¡°Those wooden splinters completely ripped up the sails of the other one, and I can see a couple of fires aboard too¡­ hell, if our sails were raised we wouldn¡¯t be much better off...¡±


    The mayhem we leave behind has me completely shocked. Not to mention the sound of our cannons firing.


    ¡°Ami¡­ are you okay?¡± Sam asks while embracing me.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± I hug her back and squeeze her tightly against me.It wasn¡¯t so long ago where I myself had committed similar acts¡­ however this hit me completely differently.


    Just like that¡­ gone in an instant.


    ¡°We should be out of their range in a couple of minutes.¡± Taylor comments, putting her spyglass away.


    ¡°Captain!¡± One of the crew runs towards her. ¡°We have a couple of wounded.¡±


    ¡°Anythin¡¯ bad?¡±


    ¡°A couple¡­¡±


    ¡°Want to go and help them, Ami?¡± Sam pets me.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± Sam smiles and then looks at Taylor. ¡°Me and Ami will go and help the wounded.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Taylor nods as we follow the crewmember towards the wounded.


    All by all the wounds weren¡¯t that bad and soon everyone was back into shape. However, what just happened was still weighing heavily on me.


    ¡°Want to go get breakfast, sweetie?¡± Sam asks while putting away the left-over bandages in the infirmary.


    ¡°Not really¡­ I just want to lay down for a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Sam gives me another hug. ¡°You know what? Why don¡¯t you go to our cabin for a bit, I¡¯ll join you in five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± We split up for a moment as I went to our cabin and plop myself down in bed, but it doesn¡¯t take long before Sam peeks her head in.


    ¡°Hey there kitten.¡± She sits down on the edge of the bed and puts a plate down in front of me. ¡°I got you a bit of dried meat and some sushi.¡± She continues her sentence while petting me. ¡°Just in case you got hungry.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Sam¡­ I love you¡­¡± I put my face into the pillow while Sam continues petting me.


    ¡°I know. I love you too.¡± She momentarily stops her petting and crawls over me, getting in between myself and the wall, pulling me close to her into a warm embrace, wrapping her legs around my legs and using her tail to curl around my tail too. ¡°Just try to rest for a bit. I¡¯ll be right here if you need me.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I let her warmth overtake me and before I even notice, I fall asleep.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 78: Lift

    FieryKathy


    I wake up to the smell of some milk. ¡°Is this for me?¡±


    Sam is still cuddling me. ¡°Good evening.¡± Her voice sounds as loving as ever. ¡°Hilda got it for you while you were sleeping.¡± She helps me sit upright. ¡°Want to eat something now? I heard we should be getting to land pretty soon.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Thanks Sam.¡± I give her a big hug which she swiftly returns with a kiss.


    ¡°I put the plate on the ground because I thought you were going to roll on top of it.¡± She leans over and gives the plate to me. Some of the food has already disappeared but there was still plenty of meat on it.


    I put a couple of slices of meat in my mouth. ¡°Awd do ywou know whewe the othews awe?¡±


    ¡°Ami, don¡¯t talk with your mouth full.¡±


    ¡°Sowwy, I was hungwiew than I thoughwt.¡±


    Sam laughs and wipes my cheek with a paper towel. ¡°Hilda was going to play some chess with Taylor while your sis and Nikki apparently were playing some different games with the crew. Want to go and look when you¡¯re done with your plate?¡±


    ¡°Yesh!¡±


    And so it happened, after I finish eating the rest of the food and finish of a delicious glass of milk, Sam and I head over to the galley.


    ¡°Did you get some good rest, Ami?¡± Hilda immediately saw me when I entered the room.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod, ¡°Thank you for the milk.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°So, who¡¯s winning?¡± Sam walks over to the board.


    ¡°This gal has won every single one of ¡®em.¡± Taylor replies frustratedly. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone play this good.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for that, I play to win.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alrigh¡¯, would get angry if you went easy on me.¡± Taylor moves a piece on the board to which Hilda starts smirking.


    ¡°Checkmate.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    ¡°Want to play another round?¡±


    ¡°Nah, should be headin¡¯ to the bridge, should be arrivin¡¯ soon.¡± Captain Taylor gets up from her chair and puts her tricorn hat on. ¡°Thanks for the games.


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°But you gotta teach me some of them moves next time.¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°I will.¡±


    Taylor leaves the room, leaving me and Sam alone with Hilda in the galley.


    ¡°You pulled some pro-gamer moves didn¡¯t you?¡± Sam asks her.


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s not a bad player, but if you play chess as much as I do it¡¯s really not that much of a challenge.¡±


    ¡°Are there games you don¡¯t play, Hilda?¡± It¡¯s my turn to ask a question.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± She thinks for a second. ¡°Riichi Mahjong, but that¡¯s mostly because I can never find other people to play with me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I do know my Pons from my Rons!¡± Sam replies with a sentence that makes absolutely no sense to me.


    ¡°I see, I see. A challenger has arrived at the table.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°Now we just need two more players and we can have a game.¡±


    ¡°My parents like to play as well!¡±


    ¡°Nice! I¡¯d love to meet them then!¡±


    I laugh at the enthusiasm these two are showing. ¡°Yeah, Sam¡¯s parents are great! It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen them, maybe next time you can come too!¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°I think they¡¯d like that, especially since you¡¯re like a mother figure for Ami as well.¡±


    Hilda gives me a head pat. ¡°Maybe a little.¡± She stretches and gets up from her seat. ¡°Let¡¯s go see what your sister and Nikki are doing.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    We look around the ship and finally find where my sister and Nikki are by following the commotion in the lower crew quarters.


    ¡°Gods, that girl is strong.¡± One of the crew is swinging their arm around, trying to loosen their shoulder.


    We peek through the crowd and see that both ¨¦lise is preparing to arm wrestle an incredibly buff looking sailor with Nikki standing next to the both of them.


    ¡°Alright. Three, two, one, go!¡± Nikki calls out as the match begins. At the start it doesn¡¯t look like either of them is gaining the upper hand, however my sister¡¯s face did look incredibly relaxed compared to her opponent until a smirk appeared on her lips.


    ¡°It¡¯s my turn now.¡± In the matter of second ¨¦lise slams the arm of the sailor into the table, leaving him in complete awe. ¡°Any other contenders?¡± She gloats, looking around the room but apparently no one else wanted to take part. ¡°Ah, Ami! Are you feeling better?¡±


    Our little group of three finally manages to get through the crowd. ¡°Yeah¡­ I just needed a rest after what happened.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± She motions me to come and sit on her lap, which I gladly do.


    ¡°So, what were you two doing?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Nikki starts. ¡°First we were playing some dice games until one of the sailors challenged my girlfriend to some arm wrestling.¡±


    ¡°Then people started betting, and from one thing came another.¡± My sister nods at the pile of bronze and silver coins. ¡°But we¡¯ll just give it back when we disembark because we don¡¯t need the money.¡±


    ¡°Did you beat everyone?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m a pretty high level tank, strength is like the only thing I¡¯m good at.¡± Lise laughs. ¡°I mean, I can heal myself a bit but nothing compared to what Ami can do and I can only use it for myself.¡±


    ¡°I honestly doubt most of these sailors could wear her armour for any prolonged period of time and she just wears it almost constantly.¡± Hilda stacks a couple of the coins into a little tower while she¡¯s talking.


    ¡°Ah, there you are.¡± Taylor¡¯s lieutenant walks over to us. ¡°Taylor asked if you wanted to come up on deck to see the new continent for yourself. She said, and I quote: ¡®It looks quite amazin¡¯ at sunset.¡¯'' The lieutenant mimics her voice and accent almost perfectly which makes a couple of us laugh.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll come with you then.¡± My sister stands up, picking me up as well while she does so.


    ¡°Waaaah! Lise!¡±


    ¡°Awh, don¡¯t you like it if I pick you up? But I enjoy picking up my little sister.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not that, j-just warn me next time.¡± I pout.


    ¡°I won¡¯t promise a thing.¡± She puts me down and pats my head.


    Our group heads upstairs and is greeted immediately by Taylor who¡¯s standing at the wheel above us.


    ¡°Ready for the most beautiful sight after a couple of days at sea?¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± My sister leads the way to the aftcastle and once the rest of us get there our mouths drop wide open. The setting sun has turned slightly red and beautifully contours the land that¡¯s visible in the distance.


    ¡°Those are some amazing mountain ranges.¡± Hilda whistles.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Taylor hands her the spyglass. ¡°The people who inhabit those lands have tunneled through a part of them too so they have easier access to the inland.¡±


    ¡°Tunnels through those massive things?¡±


    ¡°Amazin¡¯ isn¡¯t it? If they theocracy of Osvik saw those they¡¯d probably call it an act of the Gods or what not. But the Dwarger who live there are just that ingenious.¡±


    ¡°Dwarger, so, dwarfs?¡± Sam asks Hilda who just shrugs in return.


    ¡°I think so? This continent is new for me as well.¡±


    ¡°They even built these huge machines that work on steam, it¡¯s pretty bloody impressive.¡±


    ¡°Yep, dwarfs.¡± Sam talks to herself.


    ¡°Damn, the person who created this world definitely was a fantasy fan¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you say anythin¡¯?¡± Taylor turns to Hilda.


    ¡°Uh, not really. But if they are so advanced, why didn¡¯t they explore our continent?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s because they can¡¯t.¡± Taylor explains. ¡°I think it¡¯s because they don¡¯t want to. Y¡¯see, what struck me as curious last time we got into harbour was that practically all their ships are not really seaworthy. Coastal fishing vessels at best.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s interesting.¡±


    Taylor nods. ¡°Anyway, we will be laying anchor in about¡­ hmm¡­ twenty minutes. Feel free to pack your things, or stay on deck, it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡±


    ¡°Not going to leave anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°We are probably going to hang around the area for a week or two. Just killed a high ranking cleric so we might lay low here for a while. Waitin¡¯ for things to cool down.¡± Taylor glances over at me. ¡°Oh¡­ right¡­ sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­¡±


    ¡°And while we are at it we can get some lucrative trade deals here. Since they don¡¯t really have any fast ships to trade with other settlements it¡¯s a good windfall for our pockets.¡±


    ¡°Truely a mind for business, hey?¡± ¨¦lise laughs.


    ¡°Got to keep me crew fed somehow, don¡¯t I?¡± Taylor winks.


    After our little talk we all decide it might be better for us to grab our gear together so we don¡¯t have to make Taylor wait too long. By the time we are ready the ship is already docked. The houses that were too small from a distance to discern were now very clear. Their architecture is unlike anything we¡¯d ever seen. Obviously we¡¯ve seen houses made out of stone, but these were just something else completely. The stones the walls were made off were massive and were richly decorated with what appeared to be runes, although slightly different from those I¡¯d seen in the few history books I¡¯d read. And while I expected the Dwarger not to be completely the same as my expectations, I was still surprised to see that most of them still were around the same size as me.


    ¡°So, how much do we owe you, Taylor?¡± Hilda takes out her coin pouch.


    ¡°Eh, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Really? Even though we got you into danger?¡±


    ¡°Danger is part of my job description.¡± She winks. ¡°Nah, see it as me repaying the debt for helping my sister.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well, thanks for the hospitality.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    Before we walk off the ship Taylor stops us one last time.


    ¡°If you ever need some help from your friendly neighbourhood pirate. Just shoot up a blue signal. Alright?¡±


    ¡°A blue signal, how?¡± Sam tilts her head.


    ¡°You have one of the most powerful fire mages around, you¡¯ll figure somethin¡¯ out. Anyway, take care!¡±


    ¡°You too!¡±


    Auguste also came to wave us goodbye as we entered the strange new city. Our first order of business, finding a place to sleep.


    I shouldn¡¯t have taken a nap earlier, I¡¯m not even tireeeeed!


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 79: Scales

    FieryKathy


    We walk through the town, trying to find some sleeping accommodation. But to most of the party¡¯s dismay we get turned away at almost every inn we find. Not because they don¡¯t want our patronage, but because the beds provided are way too small for all of us except me.


    ¡°Ugh, I think it might be better to try our luck outside of the city, find a place to camp or something like that.¡± Hilda sighs.


    That¡¯s probably the way to go.¡± Nikki agrees.


    ¡°If the console didn¡¯t force us to log off today I¡¯d just keep on going¡­¡± I say while looking at the rest of the group.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s because you went for a pretty long nap earlier, sis.¡± ¨¦lise laughs and ruffles my hair.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod before my nose picks up something in the air. ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°You smelt it too, Ami?¡± Sam perks up and looks around.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What did you smell?¡± Hilda looks a bit funny at our reaction.


    ¡°Greatness.¡± I comment. ¡°It¡¯s coming from around that corner.¡± Me and Sam take the lead with the rest on our heels.


    When Sam rounds the corner her mouth immediately starts watering, and so does mine. ¡°Oh my Goddess, this is heaven.¡±


    We arrive in a little street with tons of stalls lined on the side. The smell of fried food filling the air.


    ¡°Damn.¡± Hilda says while we walk along all the stalls. ¡°This all looks so great.¡±


    ¡°Can we make a stop at a couple of them? We can go out of the city later.¡± ¨¦lise is staring intently at one of the stalls that is selling fried chicken, slightly intimidating the shop owner with her size and equipment.


    ¡°C-c-can I help you?¡± The Dwarger lady asks with a stutter.


    ¨¦lise smiles. ¡°Yes, two of those drumsticks please.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s three dwomon.¡±


    ¡°Dwomon?¡± ¨¦lise takes her personal coin purse and looks at the rest of the party.


    ¡°No clue.¡± Hilda shrugs, and so do the rest of us.


    The Dwarger woman thinks for a second before taking a small scale from under her table, placing what looks like 3 small silver coins on one side.


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Lise picks out a silver coin of her own and puts it on the scale, making it almost perfectly balanced.


    The Dwarger woman accepts the trade and hands her her fried chicken in return for her coin.


    ¡°Yesh, I got me muh chicken.¡± ¨¦lise happily takes a bite from one of her drumsticks.


    Hilda laughs. ¡°And that¡¯s the basics of exchange rates. Luckily this world still works with coins made out of precious metals, otherwise it would be pretty darn hard to figure things out.¡±


    We walk around the small food market for a little while longer while everyone gets the food they want. Me and my lovely girlfriend both get a skewer of fried shrimp and fish while Nikki goes for some kind of fried noodles and Hilda comes back with something that I had not yet seen in real life.


    ¡°Oh! Is that takoyaki!?¡±


    ¡°Mhm mhm mhm.¡± Hilda gloats. ¡°Something very similar at least.¡± She pops one of the dough balls in her mouth. ¡°It tastes so good.¡±


    ¡°Why does fried food always taste so delicious¡­ If only it wasn¡¯t so unhealthy.¡± Sam laments. ¡°I always get cramps during training if I eat fatty stuff.¡±


    ¡°Awh.¡± I give my girlfriend the biggest hug ever while trying to not let my food fall on the ground.


    ¡°Speaking of which, when is your next game, Sam?¡± Lise asks.


    ¡°We should have a friendly game on Sunday against the Uni of the neighbouring city.¡±


    ¡°Can we come and watch?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°Sure, our games are always free for the public.¡±


    ¡°Oh and maybe we can meet your parents afterwards!¡± ¨¦lise proposes.


    ¡°I could also just invite them to the game too...¡±


    ¡°Can I join too?¡± Hilda asks as well.


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    And in the space of a minute we all had planned a small family outing on Sunday.


    We eat our food while we walk towards the edge of the city. While it was encased by mountains there was still a fairly big stretch of forest in between where we were and where the mountains began.


    ¡°We should be able to find a suitable spot to set up camp.¡± Hilda starts diverting from the road into the forest. And as expected of her, it doesn¡¯t take long before we reach a nice and semi-open spot near a small creek to set up our tents.


    It took even less time for me and Sam to be cuddled up in the tent together after having said good night to the rest of the party.


    ¡°Cuddling up with you will never get old.¡± Sam giggles as she pulls me close to her.


    ¡°Likewise.¡± I purr.


    ¡°Mhm mhm.¡± She rubs her cheeks against the back of my head.


    ¡°Saaaam. Don¡¯t scent-mark meeeee.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t help doing it. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°No you¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Hehe.¡± She squeezes me even tighter. ¡°Good night Ami.¡±


    ¡°Good night, Sam.¡± I look behind me and see that she¡¯s closed her eyes already.


    She must¡¯ve logged off already.


    I smirk and give her a cheeky kiss on the lips to which she immediately opens her eyes. Scaring the frick out of me.


    ¡°I knew you were up to something.¡± She laughs with an evil smirk on her face. ¡°That kind of behaviour needs to be punished, don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    ¡°Ohno.¡±


    ¡°Ohyes.¡± She starts mercilessly tickling me before I finally surrender.


    ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯ll log off too!¡±


    ¡°Good girl.¡± She gives me another kiss. ¡°Although, to make sure I¡¯ll wait until you¡¯ve logged off first.¡±


    ¡°Buuu.¡± I pout. But given the situation, she was in complete control. I¡¯m not strong enough to resist her tickly onslaught. So I decide it¡¯s in my best interest to do as she asked and log off. Maybe I could get a bit of revenge before she wakes up in our world.


    I wake up to find Sam still unresponsive. ¡°Hihi, now is my chance.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Your chance to do what?¡±


    ¡°Ohno.¡±


    ¡°I get a distinct feeling of deja vu.¡± Sam smirks, taking off the headset and giving it to me so I can put it on the night cabinet after which she immediately pounces on me and starts kissing. ¡°Now that I can¡¯t purr anymore I guess you¡¯ll have to purr enough for the two of us.¡±


    ¡°Nuuuu.¡± I giggle while getting kissed constantly and under Sam¡¯s influence it doesn¡¯t take long before the purring machine starts.


    Ten minutes later the two of us are already tired again and decide to cuddle a bit longer in bed. Sam¡¯s got her arms around me and pulls me close so I can rest my head on her shoulder.


    ¡°Those were a couple of interesting days.¡± Sam idly comments while brushing her hand through my hair.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°I still find it hard to grasp just how long we can be in-game while only being asleep for only eight hours each session.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But at least it is extra time we can spend together.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Sam smiles and gives me a kiss on my head. ¡°Although taking a break might not be the worst idea.¡±


    ¡°From seeing each other?!¡±


    ¡°Nono, from the game, silly.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Phew.¡±


    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you come and sleep over at my place today? That way we can take a break and my parents get to see you again.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯d love to see you again though, so staying over shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    I twitch my ears to make my point. ¡°What if they found out?¡±


    ¡°Oh, crap. I totally forgot about that.¡±


    ¡°You forgot your girlfriend is a catgirl?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten so used to it I just wasn¡¯t thinking about it anymore.¡± Sam laughs. ¡°But yeah, I get where you are coming from.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that I really don¡¯t like hiding it much outside of school, you know?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. I can understand that.¡± Sam squeezes me. ¡°And it¡¯s not like I can go to my parents and ask them, ¡®hey mom, dad, what¡¯s your opinion on cat girls?¡¯¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Although, in their defence, I don¡¯t think they would have any issues with it. But yeah, coming out is always a pain so we definitely shouldn¡¯t rush it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Sam.¡± I rub my head against her cheek.


    We stay cuddled in silence for a couple more minutes before I continue the conversation. ¡°Talking about coming out¡­ When did your parents find out you were into girls?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ let me think¡­ I came out to them when I was fourteen, if I remember correctly. But when I did my parents said they¡¯d always known.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was pretty funny actually, when I think back on it. They said it was pretty obvious by the way I interacted with girls at basketball training. I¡¯d sometimes just stare in awe at the girls I liked and blush quite heavily if they spoke with me.¡±


    ¡°So not much has changed since then?¡± I tease her a little.


    ¡°You could say that.¡± Sam laughs. ¡°Although, with you it affected me at least twenty times harder. I¡¯d never seen a cuter girl in my entire life, you know?¡±


    ¡°You flirt.¡± I blush.


    ¡°It¡¯s just who I am.¡± She sits herself upright and gives me a long kiss which I gladly answer.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 80: Forgetful

    FieryKathy


    ¡°It¡¯s been a couple of days since I had an eventful day at school.¡± I roll around in my bed while Sam is getting ready.


    ¡°Somehow you just attract weirdness, sweetie.¡± Sam gives me a head pat and reattaches her leg.


    ¡°I guess you could say that.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what about us two having lunch at our spot? Just you and me.¡±


    ¡°I would like that.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll even buy you another milkshake.¡±


    ¡°Yess.¡±


    ¡°But, I¡¯ll only do that if you get out of bed now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wannaaaa.¡± I pout.


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t want a milkshake?¡±


    ¡°I doooooo.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon then.¡± She reaches into my bed and gives me a kiss. ¡°I thought you said you weren¡¯t even tired.¡±


    ¡°Bed comfy. Tiredness is of no consequence.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± Sam laughs. ¡°But quickly now, or you won¡¯t have time to get breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Alriiiight.¡±


    With enough convincing Sam finally manages to pull me out of bed so I can get ready for another day of uni, hopefully a lot less eventful than usual. When we arrive in the living room Pocky and Mochi are already waiting, both of them sitting on the dinner table.


    ¡°Hey, Ami, can I feed them this time?¡± Sam asks, looking at their bowls.


    ¡°Sure, why not.¡±


    Both Pocky and Mochi tilt their head at Sam when she walks towards the cupboard that holds their food.


    ¡°Sam¡¯s going to feed you.¡± I tell them with a smile, to which they immediately run over to her and start rubbing their heads against Sam¡¯s legs.


    ¡°I still wish I could talk to cats too.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°At least you can use me as an interpreter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Could you ask them what they want to eat?¡±


    I relay Sam¡¯s question and immediately get a response from our two kitty cats. ¡°Mochi wants to eat beef and Pocky says it doesn¡¯t really matter to her as long as it¡¯s tasty.¡±


    ¡°Alright, beef it is then.¡± Sam laughs again and grabs a baggy, filling up the food bowls of the cats. ¡°There you go.¡± She puts the bowls on the ground and Pocky and Mochi immediately start eating.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat too fast okay, otherwise you¡¯ll upset your bellies.¡±


    Pocky and Mochi meow affirmatively and noticeably slow down their eating.


    ¡°Alright, now we just have one more kitty to feed.¡± Sam softly pokes my belly. ¡°Cornflakes with milk?¡±


    I nod enthusiastically. ¡°With extra milk please.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sam sets out two bowls and starts making us breakfast while I patiently wait for her at the table. It doesn¡¯t take long before the two of us are both eating as well.


    ¡°What¡¯s your favourite kind of cereal?¡± I ask after eating a couple of scoops of my food.


    ¡°Hmm, I generally don¡¯t eat cereal actually. But when I went to my friend¡¯s houses I liked the chocolate ones the most. At home we usually eat bread or fruit.¡±


    ¡°Oh, healthy.¡±


    ¡°You should eat more fruit too, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°I know I should but for some reason it¡¯s hard.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°It¡¯s hard to break habits like that. But you know what? Next time I¡¯ll make an Ami fruit special, just for you. Would you eat that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d eat anything Sam makes for me! ...Maybe not sprouts though... ¡±


    Sam laughs. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    Right when we finish our breakfast and start cleaning up, my sister walks into the living room with Nikki.


    ¡°Ah, heading out for school?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we were just about to leave.¡± Sam replies.


    ¡°Have a nice day at school.¡± ¨¦lise joins us in the kitchen and grabs a couple of plates. ¡°Oh, by the way. We won¡¯t be playing today - we just got an email that there¡¯s a reception at work in the evening.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit late?¡± I look at them in confusion.


    ¡°Your sister wants to say that she only just noticed.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°Hey, you got that mail too you know?¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± Sam laughs as the two of them start bickering while I just let out a huge sigh.


    ¡°C¡¯mon Sam, let¡¯s go. Oh, we fed the cats already by the way.¡±


    They stopped fighting for a second to say goodbye to us. ¡°Have fun!¡±


    ¡°Go and receive knowledge, young ones.¡±


    We say goodbye to Pocky and Mochi too and then leave the building.


    As usual our tram ride didn¡¯t take very long either, and this time there was no blue-haired catgirl tech goddess to talk to us either, which was actually quite refreshing.


    ¡°Looks like today is going to be a normal day¡­¡± I idly comment when our university comes into view.


    ¡°I was thinking the same but I didn¡¯t want to say anything so I wouldn¡¯t jinx it.¡± Sam laughs and pats my head.


    I quickly put my hand over my mouth. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said that¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s superstition anyway. Don¡¯t fuss about it too much.¡±


    ¡°But Sam¡­ I¡¯m literally a goddess.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fiiiiine.¡± She softly massages my shoulder as we start getting off the tram. ¡°I should probably be going now.¡± Sam halts me just in front of the uni¡¯s park. ¡°My lesson starts a bit earlier today.


    ¡°Awh, see you for lunch then?¡±


    ¡°Yep, call me if something happens okay?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. I will.¡±


    She gives me a long kiss and after that starts quickly walking towards the gymnasium. Almost walking into the fence because she was still staring at me.


    ¡°Hehe, she¡¯s so in love with you it¡¯s almost funny.¡± Carol¡¯s voice came from behind me, making me turn around. Hailey was there as well, both of them walking towards me.


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Good morning to you too, Amicia.¡± Hailey smiles. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling better, now I¡¯m no longer stuck being alone with Carol.


    ¡°Mean.¡± Carol pouts. ¡°But I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay too, Ami.¡± Carol gives me a quick hug.


    I hug her back. ¡°Nice seeing you two again as well. But Hailey, I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯ll need to leave you alone with Carol for lunch. I got a private lunch date with Sam.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll live, I think.¡±


    ¡°Wow, why are you both so rude today?¡± Carol laughs.


    ¡°Because we love you.¡± I squeeze her tighter.


    ¡°Awwhhh.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least Amicia does.¡± Hailey laughs.


    ¡°Wooow.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go to class.¡±


    I stop hugging Carol and together we follow Hailey towards the first lesson of the day. During our walk Carol pokes my shoulder.


    ¡°Hey, Ami. Do you think that if I become a cat girl that I¡¯ll get that sickness you had too?¡±


    ¡°Probably. But we¡¯ll have some medicine ready for that so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°How did the medicine taste? It doesn¡¯t taste like those effervescent tablets, does it? Those are really yucky.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, I didn¡¯t need any. My body got better by itself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s handy.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but sadly you won¡¯t have it that easily.¡±


    ¡°I expected that having another magic user probably wouldn¡¯t be in the cards. It would be cool to be able to fire fire out of my hands though!¡± Carol takes a weird pose.


    ¡°Why¡¯s Carol doing Karate?¡± Hailey has turned around and is watching her friend.


    ¡°She¡¯s mimicking how she thinks it looks like to shoot fire out of her hands. But I think I¡¯ve seen that pose somewhere before.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s from this old cartoon!¡± Carol puts on a big smile.


    ¡°Oh, I think I know which one!¡± I enthusiastically nod.


    ¡°I rewatched it recently, when I was a kid I often would do the poses when I was playing make-believe.¡±


    ¡°Dork.¡± Hailey laughs.


    ¡°Hey! I can¡¯t be the only one who did it. What about you, Amicia?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm¡­ My parents really didn¡¯t let me do a lot when I was young and they¡¯d often punish me and my sister for doing stuff like that¡­ So I probably didn¡¯t...¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s fine now, me and my sis are in a better place now.¡±


    ¡°Talking about your sister¡­¡± Hailey continues. ¡°We were supposed to meet her yesterday but you got sick, is there any news on a new date?¡±


    ¡°Wow, I completely forgot about that!¡± I put my hand against my forehead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you got sick, it¡¯s not your fault. We thought it would be best to let you rest anyway. But a new date would be useful.¡±


    ¡°We still have some time before class, right?¡±


    Carol looks at her phone. ¡°About ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call her real fast then.¡±


    ¡°Damn, I completely forgot about that!¡± My sister makes exactly the same comment I did. ¡°Uhm, let¡¯s see... I think we have to leave around 8 in the evening, right?¡± She¡¯s probably asking Nikki. ¡°Okay, right. What time does your class finish, sis?¡±


    ¡°We have class ¡®till 4, right?¡± I ask my friends, they both affirm my statement. ¡°Yeah, ¡®till 4.¡±


    ¡°Good, is it good for your friends to do this today then? Otherwise we might forget again.¡±


    I relay her proposal to Hailey and Carol and they both immediately agree.


    ¡°Great. You girls can order some food then after we leave, we¡¯ll pay, so you can have a girl¡¯s night without us. Sounds good?¡±


    Yet again, I relay the information to which Carol replies with a ¡®Hell yes.¡¯


    ¡°Sounds good to them.¡± I smile.


    ¡°¡®Kay. See you later, sis.¡±


    ¡°Byebye, Lise.¡±


    ¡°Yay, now I don¡¯t need to eat leftovers!¡± Carol is practically singing while Hailey tries to tone her down a bit.


    ¡°You can eat ours if you really want to.¡±


    ¡°Nooooo!¡±


    We laugh as we continue our way to class.


    Good thing we have Hailey to remind us of things we forgot...


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 81: Martino

    FieryKathy


    The morning classes mostly consist of theoretical theatrics and art theory, which is definitely not the most interesting part of the day. Luckily there was Carol and Hailey to keep me awake. Even though not that long ago I was complaining about already having to go to bed, those energy levels apparently didn¡¯t really transfer that well over to this world or maybe my breakfast milk was making me drowsy. That''s also a possibility. Cats do sleep most of the day as well.


    After class we still had an hour to kill before Sam was free for lunch so we decided to go to one of the multiple reading rooms on our campus to study up. But apparently Carol had other plans, taking a newspaper to our table.


    ¡°Are you not going to study, Carol?¡± I ask her while opening my own textbook.


    ¡°I don¡¯t study that well during the daytime. I¡¯m used to studying when it¡¯s dark; it¡¯s easier to concentrate.¡±


    I look over to Hailey who is also getting her textbooks out.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite the opposite.¡± she smiles at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s annoying at times when me and Hails want to meet up. In the evening I¡¯m generally studying and during the day it¡¯s her time.¡±


    ¡°But we make it work nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°Mostly by both studying a bit less than we probably should.¡± Carol rubs the back of her head.


    ¡°We study plenty though.¡±


    ¡°Easy for you to say. Your memory isn¡¯t leaking like a sieve.¡±


    ¡°You should just try to eat more fish, it¡¯s good for your memory.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have to say that twice to her in a couple of weeks.¡±


    Carol and Hailey both look at me, unsure of what I meant, so I used my hands to grab my invisible ears.


    ¡°Oooooh.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± Hailey starts laughing. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­! I haven¡¯t actually decided yet, you know!¡±


    Me and Hailey continue giggling for a while which makes Carol pout quite furiously.


    ¡°So, did anything interesting happen?¡± Hailey asks while Carol puts away the first newspaper and gets busy on the second.


    ¡°Same old, same old.¡± Carol turns the first page of the second newspaper. ¡°Countries complaining about the climate accords. I don¡¯t see how they can even do so after the Great Immigration¡­ Are they blind? Half of France is a bloody desert for fucks sake.¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Carol, we know.¡± Hailey reassures her friend.


    ¡°I know¡­ this just makes me angry¡­¡±


    ¡°Understandably so.¡±


    ¡°Hey Hailey?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ami?¡± Hailey turns her attention back to me.


    ¡°Could you explain this to me? I don¡¯t really understand this part.¡± I point at a passage in my textbook and hand it over to her.


    ¡°Hmmm. I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know that part!¡± Carol swiftly explains it to the both of us.


    ¡°Aaaah. So that¡¯s what it means!¡±


    ¡°Yes, the book explains it in a really roundabout way. I had to look it up on the internet - I found a video that explains it a lot better.¡±


    ¡°Can you send it to me later? Just in case I need to get it explained again and there¡¯s no Carol around to do so?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Definitely, I¡¯ll put a link in the group chat.¡±


    ¡°Yay.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s really videos of everything nowadays, aren¡¯t there?¡± Hailey giggles.


    Our little hour of self-study flew by in an instant. And in no time whatsoever Sam was here to come and pick me up.


    ¡°See you in the afternoon?¡±


    Both Hailey and Carol nod. ¡°See ya later Amicia.¡±


    Sam waves my friends goodbye and together we walk towards our lunch spot.


    ¡°Your faculty sure has nice reading areas. Were those beanbags in there too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! But I never use them because I always fall off.¡±


    ¡°They are surprisingly tiring to sit in, aren¡¯t they?¡± Sam laughs. ¡°But at least these rooms are decorated and cozy. You should see the reading rooms for the classic sciences, they are so gray sometimes you¡¯d almost forget that colours exist.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen one of those when I first came to campus¡­¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Probably, they are notoriously bad. But then again, those classic sciences students always think they are superior to everyone in university, so they kinda deserve it.¡±


    ¡°Did something happen Sam?¡± I ask because Sam looks quite annoyed.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve lost several ¡®friends¡¯ who turned into ¡®science supremacists¡¯ once they started uni. Constantly bashing other courses for not being ¡®serious or necessary¡¯. It was toxic as hell. Don¡¯t get me wrong, science is important, but not any more important than an art student for example¡­¡±


    I give her a big hug to calm her down. ¡°I understand. But luckily you have us now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± She smiles and returns my hug, while rubbing my back. ¡°By the way, I got you this.¡± She suddenly makes a milkshake appear from behind her back.


    ¡°Where were you hiding that!¡±


    ¡°A good magician never tells her secrets.¡± She smirks.


    ¡°Tell me!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, okay, but in return I want the milkshake.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s mean! You know I¡¯ll never abandon the milkshake!¡± I hold the milkshake close to me.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    We arrive at our spot, and sit down with our backs against the wall, facing the windows. The sky was blue and dotted with clouds - a wonderful day to be skygazing with the person you hold dearest.


    ¡°These days are always the best.¡± Sam smiles as she takes a big bite out of her sandwich. ¡°You know those days when the sky is completely blue? I kinda dislike those.¡± She takes another bite.


    ¡°At least we now have something to look at.¡± I nod along and take a bit from my salmon sandwich too. ¡°What sandwich did you get?¡±


    ¡°A martino sandwich.¡± She shows it to me, opening the sandwich a little so I can look inside. ¡°It has onions, pickles, hot ketchup, a bit of hot sauce, salt, pepper, eggs, tomatoes and americain pr¨¦par¨¦. Want a bite?¡± With the ingredients all right in front me the smell hit me almost immediately. I could smell the spice.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll sit this one out.¡±


    ¡°More for me.¡± She winks and continues eating her sandwich.


    ¡°Ah, that was so good.¡± Sam stretches after she puts the wrapper of her sandwich into a plastic bag, putting mine in it as well. ¡°When¡¯s your next lesson, sweetie?¡±


    ¡°In an hour and a half.¡± I rest my head on her shoulder.


    ¡°You got a pretty long break, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but now I can spend more time with you.¡±


    ¡°Cutie.¡±


    ¡°No u.¡±


    Sam laughs and rests her head on mine. ¡°Mine starts 15 minutes later, so we can stay here until you need to leave.¡±


    ¡°Yay.¡± I look up and kiss her on her cheek.


    We stay cuddled up for a while, basking in the warm but soft autumn sun, looking out over the city and the cloudy yet blue open sky. Sam gently scratching scratching me between my ears, making me softly purr against her.


    ¡°So after school we got the meeting with your sister and our friends?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Cool.¡±


    Silence fell in the halway once more, which did make me giggle a bit.


    ¡°Something funny?¡± Sam smiles softly.


    ¡°It was just the briefness of the interaction that was funny to me. Being together like this, without the need to say anything. It¡¯s funny but also very calming at the same time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Although, if someone were to write this into a scene for some kind of webnovel, it would probably be hard to write. Periods of silence aren¡¯t always that easy to make interesting.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty specific.¡± I laugh. ¡°But I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    And then, yet again, silence. Because of the silence and by being this cozy with my girlfriend, slowly but surely I started to doze off.


    ¡°Ami, don¡¯t fall asleep, otherwise I won¡¯t be able to wake you up in time.¡±


    ¡°Just five minutes.¡± I jawn.


    ¡°No, Ami, no. Don¡¯t make me use my secret weapon.¡±


    ¡°What secret weapon is that?¡± I slip off her shoulder and put my head on her lap, with an accompanying cheeky smile.


    ¡°This!¡± She suddenly starts tickling me at my waist, making me laugh uncontrollably.


    ¡°No! S-S-Sam! Noooo. Mercy!¡± I roll off her lap, trying to dodge her tickles, but to no avail, she just follows me along. ¡°Saaaaaam.¡±


    ¡°Do you promise to not fall asleep?¡± She gives me a couple of seconds of respite.


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, wrong answer.¡±


    ¡°Nooooo!¡±


    Sam continues her relentless assault on my tickly spots, leaving me almost exhausted.


    ¡°I surrender! I surrender!¡±


    Sam smirks and stops tickling me, helping me to put my back against the wall. the opposite wall of where we started my ordeal. ¡°Awake now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I sigh. ¡°That was pretty intense.¡±


    ¡°Ami¡­¡± Sam takes my chin with her right hand and lifts it slightly so I look her straight in the eyes. ¡°I love you.¡±


    I blush. ¡°I love you too.¡±


    At my reply she plants her lips on mine and starts kissing me. Leaving me even more out of breath than I already was.


    Maybe I should order a martino sandwich too next time, because I really like her taste¡­.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 82: Lapcat

    FieryKathy


    Having kissed the rest of the lunch break away, Sam¡¯s lips finally part mine.


    ¡°I think we should head back to class, I have basketball training soon. When does your class end?¡±


    ¡°At 4 I think.¡± I sigh, still a bit out of breath. ¡°We just have drawing class in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Oh, should be around the same time then. Should I come and pick you up?¡±


    ¡°If you want to.¡± I give her a kiss on her cheek.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± She smiles and kisses me on the lips one more time. ¡°But we really should go now. I kissed you for too long.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. Maybe. But I liked it though.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    I hug my girlfriend goodbye and we both make our way towards our respective classrooms. I encounter Hailey and Carol on the staircase. Both of them immediately start smirking when they see me.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong?¡± I stutter.


    ¡°Oh nothing, it just appears you were having a bit of fun with your girlfriend.¡± Carol giggles.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I can feel my face start to turn red.


    ¡°You just got a bit of Americain prepar¨¦ on your cheek, that¡¯s all.¡± Hailey smiles.


    ¡°Wha- Really?¡±


    Hailey takes out a paper towel and gently wipes it off my cheek. ¡°There you go.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Hailey.¡± I continue walking on but I notice Hailey and Carol don¡¯t follow me. ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming to class?¡±


    ¡°We are but the prof told us to wait here, we ran into her and she said to not bother to come to the classroom. Apparently we are doing some kind of art excursion.¡±


    ¡°Did she say where we are going?¡±


    ¡°No, she said it was a secret.¡±


    ¡°Oh, interesting.¡±


    ¡°I know right.¡± Carol excitedly agrees.


    ¡°Alright class, follow me.¡± After a couple of minutes of waiting the art professor finally passes us again so we can start following her too. ¡°Today we are going to do some action drawing.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m so bad at that.¡± Hailey whispers.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, Hails.¡± Carol pats her friend on the back. ¡°I¡¯m intrigued about where we are going to do that though. Maybe the robotics labs?¡±


    ¡°That would be cool! I¡¯ve never been there before!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only seen it once when I was here on orientation day.¡± Hailey comments. ¡°I was deciding between doing art or robotics.¡±


    ¡°What made you choose art in the end?¡±


    ¡°Good question. I can¡¯t really put it into words. Just a gut feeling maybe?¡± Hailey shrugs.


    ¡°It was fate, Amicia, fate! Otherwise she would¡¯ve never met me!¡±


    ¡°You are the only reason I regret my decision.¡± Hailey sighs, but it was clearly in jest.


    ¡°Just admit it, you can¡¯t live without me anymore.¡±


    ¡°Amicia, please tell me she is going to calm down when she becomes a cat girl.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say that, sorry. All cat girls are different, you see.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t. Decided. Yeeeet!¡± Carol protests.


    The entire group, including Carol, starts laughing, which did pull the attention of some other students.


    ¡°Maybe we should keep quiet.¡± Hailey says with a hushed voice, trying to contain her laughter.


    ¡°This is not the way to the robotics lab.¡± Carol remarks while we are getting suspiciously close to the gymnasium. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°Today we are observing our basketball team in action.¡± The professor proudly proclaims in front of the class, us seated on the spectator benches next to the court. The basketball team is lined up on the court as they get a similar talk from their coach. There were 4 people in this room paying a bit less attention to the teacher as they should, Me, Sam, Max and Carol.


    ¡°Why¡­ I¡¯m not going to be able to concentrate.¡± Carol puts her head in her hands.


    Meanwhile Hailey is trying her very best not to start laughing at Carol and the blushy mess that I was being.


    When I looked at Sam I could see she wasn¡¯t doing much better, the only one being somewhat confident with the situation was Max.


    But luckily, after a couple of minutes of trying to calm ourselves, we manage to regain our composure. The basketball team starts their practice game, leaving us with the task of making some action sketches. And sketch we did, by the halfway mark of the lesson, I¡¯d already accrued almost ten sketches, which impressed the professor.


    ¡°Wow, good work there Amicia.¡± She picks up the sketches and starts looking through them. ¡°Very good technique. Marvelously done.¡±


    ¡°Th-thanks.¡± Luckily she didn¡¯t comment on why I¡¯d almost only drawn Sam.


    The focus of Carol¡¯s drawings was also pretty clear, with Max being portrayed on the forefront. Haileys sketches had a completely different approach to them. In the couple of drawings she managed to make she viewed the game as a whole, often portraying game situations with multiple players in different poses and positions.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t bad at all, Hailey.¡± I pick up one of her sketches and study it closer.


    ¡°You think so?¡± She smiles. ¡°I¡¯m just not really convinced of that. Here, look at this one for example.¡± She picks up another paper and shows it to me. ¡°What I wanted to draw is completely different from what it ended up as. And that annoys me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I still think it¡¯s really good.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just too much of a perfectionist at times.¡± Carol says without looking up from her latest sketch.


    ¡°That might be true.¡± Hailey smiles and gets back to work so I decide to do the same.


    The coach of the basketball team blows her whistle, signalling the end of the class.


    ¡°Alright class, that¡¯s it for today. I saw a lot of you make a lot of progress which I¡¯m very happy with.¡± Our professor addresses us while the basketball team starts cleaning up their equipment. ¡°Next lesson we¡¯ll try to incorporate what we learned today in some other art styles.¡± And with that the professor leaves together with most of the class. Leaving me, Hailey and Carol behind. Having finished their cleanup, Max and Sam walk over to us.


    ¡°So, that was quite the surprise, hey.¡± Max laughs.


    ¡°Yeah, it really was.¡± Sam nods and then looks over to the sketches next to me. ¡°Can I see them, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I give a blushy nod.


    ¡°Oh wow, nice!¡± Max looks over Sam¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I see the extra effort Sam was putting in really paid off.¡±


    ¡°W-wha¡­¡± Sam¡¯s face shot red.


    ¡°She generally isn¡¯t that zealous during training, you know.¡± Max gives me a wink.


    ¡°L-like you weren¡¯t trying to show off! What was up with that crazy spin?¡±


    ¡°This one?¡± Carol shows one of her drawings.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Sam calls out. ¡°Oh, nice drawing by the way.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Cool!¡± Max takes a closer look at Carol¡¯s drawings as well. Making her blush too. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, of course I was showing off as well. Needed to give them something to look at, you know.¡±


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t do it in an actual game.¡± Sam gives Max a flick of her finger.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°And how did your drawing go, Hailey?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Oh, the fifth wheel also gets attention?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Hailey¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I was joking.¡± She pets my head. ¡°The drawing went okayish I guess.¡± She hands her stack of drawings over to Sam too.


    ¡°These are very different to those of Ami and Carol¡­¡± Sam attentively looks them over. ¡°But I do think they are really nice. Could I take some pictures to show this to the others?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, these are very good team drawings.¡± Max vehemently agrees.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Sure¡­ I don¡¯t think they are that good but go ahead¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, these are fantastic.¡± Sam takes a couple of pictures with her phone. ¡°You should¡¯ve more confidence in yourself.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you aren¡¯t the only one who says that.¡± She looks at me and Carol. ¡°But I definitely appreciate the compliments.¡±


    ¡°Could I send the reactions of the rest of the team to you too?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sam puts her phone away and taps Max on the shoulder. ¡°We should probably take a shower first and get dressed. Will you all wait here for us?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s sunny outside right now so¡­¡± Carol proposes. ¡°If that¡¯s good with Ami and Hailey of course.¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡± I reply. ¡°I love the sun as long as it¡¯s not too hot.¡±


    Hailey agrees as well. ¡°Yeah, let''s wait outside then.¡±


    ¡°¡®Kay, see you in a bit.¡± Sam gives me a quick kiss and then leaves together with Max so we can make our way outside.


    We find a nice place to sit outside and wait there for Sam and Max to rejoin us. The birds are chirping around us. The warm glow of the sun makes me want to stretch and lay down somewhere.


    Without saying anything Hailey gently pulls me down on her lap.


    ¡°No! I wanted to do that.¡± Carol calls out.


    ¡°Was it that obvious?¡±


    ¡°I just know how to read a cat¡¯s body language.¡± Hailey smiles, letting Carol finish her little tantrum.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    ¡°Next time it¡¯s my turn!¡±


    ¡°To be the lapcat?¡± I tease Carol.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± Her pouting makes me and Hailey giggle and after a while even Carol started to giggle as well.


    Being a lapcat is pretty nice.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 83: Meeting

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Oh, I see my girlfriend is having fun.¡± Sam¡¯s voice makes me look up, her and Max are walking up to the bench we are sitting on. I could smell Sam¡¯s shampoo and conditioner from where I was laying. It smelt so good.


    ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± Hailey smiles.


    ¡°Not at all, as long as she¡¯s happy I¡¯m happy.¡± Sam returns her smile.


    I slowly sit upright and stretch my arms and legs. ¡°Mhmm. Is everyone ready to go to my house?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± Carol nods and gets off the bench, so does Hailey.


    ¡°Max too?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡± She swings her sports bag over her shoulder. ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    Sam comes and takes my hand and together we lead the group towards the tram station. ¡°It¡¯s not that long of a ride, so don¡¯t take a nap.¡±


    ¡°Awh, not even a little? Napping on public transport is my favourite pastime.¡± Carol jokes.


    ¡°Better stop joking and check if you got your PT-pass ready for when we get in.¡± Hailey taps Carol on the head.


    ¡°Yass ma¡¯am!¡± She fakely saluted her friend and got her pass out of her bag.


    A short wait for the tram later we were all seated at the back of the tram, luckily this line never was that busy so there was plenty of space for us to sit together.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know this line still used the old tram models.¡± Max comments, looking around the tram.


    ¡°Are there new ones?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yes, those are the ones I generally take when I come to uni. These ones are still really nice though.¡±


    ¡°Max got something for trams.¡± Sam explains. ¡°You should¡¯ve heard her when she went on holiday overseas and the big rant about the underuse of trams there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because trams together with monorail are the best modes of transport, why use anything else?¡±


    ¡°Monorail¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been on a monorail before.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, Ami, please don¡¯t get her started.¡±


    But it was too late, Max began her rant about the misuse of monorail and why they are, according to her, the best thing ever since sliced bread. Her rant continued right until we reached our destination.


    ¡°... and that¡¯s why I think nations should invest more into monorails.¡±


    ¡°Oooh.¡± Is the only thing I could say in reply but I saw Carol nodding along enthusiastically.


    ¡°I think you are one-hundred percent correct!¡±


    ¡°Anyhow.¡± I giggle. ¡°Let¡¯s get off the tram before we miss our stop.


    The group follows me and Sam in the apartment building and up the staircase as the elevator is too small for a group this size with two sports bags as well. Once I open the door we immediately get greeted by Nikki and ¨¦lise who¡¯d already prepared some snacks for us on the living room table.


    ¡°Welcome home Ami. And hey everyone!¡± My sister waves at the group with a friendly and inviting wave.


    ¡°Hey sis.¡± I let the others walk inside behind me and then introduce them one by one.


    ¡°Nice meeting you all, my name is ¨¦lise, I¡¯m Amicia¡¯s beautifully handsome sister and that there is my partner Nikki.¡±


    ¡°Hello. Don¡¯t mind Lise too much, she¡¯s always like that¡± Nikki smiles friendly at my friends while I take the time to undo my choker and put it in its place.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get this meeting started.¡± My sister calls everyone around the table as she starts talking about future challenges that might arise.


    ¡°So, since you might soon have two people with this ¡®problem¡¯ we thought it would be in everyone¡¯s best interest to hold this meeting.¡±


    ¡°In short, just keep an eye on these two in the future and if something is wrong take them to a safe place.¡± Max summarises what has been talked about the last half hour.


    ¡°Basically.¡± My sister nods.


    ¡°That should be okay, thank you for trusting us.¡± Hailey replies.


    ¡°Of course, if Ami felt comfy enough to confide in you, even though it was mostly because she¡¯s a clumsy cat, it does mean you probably are good people.¡± Lise smiles.


    Carol raises her hand to say something. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet though¡­ Why does everyone think I have.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see, let¡¯s write it down as a hypothetical for now then.¡± Nikki smiles. ¡°But does anyone have any more questions? Because me and ¨¦lise should probably get ready to leave soon.¡±


    The rest of the table looks at each other and then in group they all shake their heads. ¡°I think everything is pretty clear.¡± Max comments. ¡°The only thing I kind of still want to know is what food we are ordering today.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s an important discussion that we¡¯ll leave up to you.¡± My sis laughs. ¡°Me and Nikki will go and get ready, just make sure you don¡¯t start fighting.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll try.¡± Sam pats Max on the back.


    With Nikki and ¨¦lise out of the room the food discussion starts with the first couple of suggestions immediately getting shot down.


    ¡°Hmm, what about the Vietnamese restaurant that just opened up? I heard it was pretty good, my parents already ordered from it.¡± Sam looks at the group¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever eaten Vietnamese before¡­¡± Max brings her hand to her chin. ¡°But I am open to trying it though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s new for me as well, but I want to try it too.¡± Carol replies.


    ¡°Me too!¡± Hailey confirms the group¡¯s decisions.


    ¡°What about you, Ami?¡± Sam looks at me next.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about it, but if you¡¯ll help me pick I¡¯m fine with it.¡±


    Sam smiles and pats my head. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll help you. So it¡¯s decided then.¡±


    ¡°Finally managed to get a consensus?¡± My sister walks into the room wearing a tuxedo, followed by Nikki who¡¯s wearing a beautiful red dress.


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°Impressed sis?¡±


    I nod enthusiastically.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a power couple if I¡¯ve ever seen one.¡± Max smiles happily. ¡°Although Sam and Amicia aren¡¯t far behind. When are you going to go out with her like that, Sam?¡±


    Sam starts to blush. ¡°When we¡¯re ready.¡±


    The thought of the two of us going on a fancy date like that makes me blush too, I¡¯ve not worn many dresses yet and seeing Nikki like that does make me want to try¡­


    ¡°So, what are you ordering?¡± My sister asks.


    ¡°Vietnamese.¡± Sam quickly replies.


    ¡°Oh cool, from the new place?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Do you know it too?¡±


    ¡°I heard some good things about it. Here¡¯s some money for the food.¡± She puts down a couple of bills which should cover the costs easily enough.


    ¡°Are you sure? We can pay for it ourselves.¡± Hailey protests.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, see it as a little thank you for keeping an eye out for Ami.¡± Lise winks and then proceeds to head over to me, petting me on the head. ¡°You can give Pocky and Mochi a baggy of chicken, I¡¯ve already put it on the kitchen counter.¡±


    ¡°Oki!¡±


    She smiles and leads Nikki to the door ¡°Girls, have a nice evening. I know I will.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Our group waves them goodbye as they leave the apartment.


    Deciding what we were actually going to order from the Vietnamese restaurant was also quite a challenge as no one really has any experience with the Vientamese cuisine. So we resort to looking up all the dishes on the internet¡¯s image search.


    ¡°This Pho looks pretty tasty, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Carol shows a picture to Hailey who nods in agreement.


    ¡°It does, I think I will go for that and Cha Gio.¡±


    ¡°Those are basically spring rolls, right?¡±


    Hailey nods. ¡°Yeah, I think so.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that too then.¡±


    ¡°Cao L?u for me please.¡± Max decides and helps Sam fill in the order.


    ¡°I can¡¯t decide Saaaaam.¡± I whine.


    ¡°Hmm, what about we both order Com Chien, it¡¯s like Vietnamese fried rice. And then some G?i cu?n.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Similar to spring rolls but not fried and it has shrimps and other meats.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Yes! Let¡¯s order that!¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± My girlfriend smiles and fills in our order on her phone after which she repeats the entire order list so everyone knows their order is on it. ¡°Ok, we should still have plenty of cash left so we can give that back to your sister afterwards.¡±


    ¡°When are they bringing the food?¡± Carol asks.


    ¡°They are still confirming the order - ah, there it is. Should take 50 minutes.¡±


    ¡°That long?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Friday evening, so yeah. People don¡¯t like to cook on fridays.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah. I totally didn¡¯t forget it was the end of the week.¡± Carol whistles as the group starts laughing.


    ¡°We can play a couple of games while we are waiting...¡± I propose.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Sam nods. ¡°But first let¡¯s get the plates ready so we can start eating immediately when it arrives.¡±


    ¡°I like my food best when it¡¯s hot.¡± Max nods in agreement.


    ¡°And your girls too.¡±


    ¡°Heck yeah.¡± She gives a flirtatious wink to Carol who immediately melts in her seat because of it.


    ¡°Poor Carol.¡± I giggle and start helping Sam and Max with setting the table.


    And with that done,


    Let¡¯s go play some games!


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 84: Cunning

    FieryKathy


    While waiting for the food, the five of us decide to do a little tournament in that wacky racing game my sister and I are so fond of. As we didn¡¯t have enough controllers for all of us, we had to use a rotation system so that we could all play an equal amount. In the end, the finale was between me and Max, who¡¯d beaten Sam the round before due to a slight error in Sam¡¯s steering.


    ¡°Sorry, Ami, I wanted the final game to be between the two of us.¡± Sam leaned into me and put up her pouty face.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Sam, you did your best.¡± I give her a kiss. ¡°Now I just need to avenge you.¡±


    ¡°My heroine.¡± She kisses me back.


    Meanwhile Max is laughing like an evil villain. ¡°Bold of you to assume you¡¯ll win this match, Amicia. But I have my own honour to defend.¡± She winks at Carol. ¡°Can¡¯t lose in front of my ladyfriend now, can I?¡±


    ¡°That makes two of us.¡± I grin and set up the last race. The course the randomizer picks turns out to be one of the most challenging ones in the game.


    ¡°Ah, a worthy battlefield.¡±


    I nod. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡±


    The two of us stay neck to neck for the first couple of rounds, with both of us almost flying off the track a couple of times, but we always managed to recover just in time.


    ¡°This is surprisingly tense.¡± Hailey comments on our race.


    ¡°Completely different from our race.¡± Carol agrees.


    ¡°That¡¯s because we both suck.¡± Hailey laughs.


    Sam says nothing and is just silently watching our race but I could tell she was rooting for me as she almost ducked out of the sofa when I nearly crashed.


    Max was trying her very best but I had one thing going for me, she wasn¡¯t as cunning and savage as my sister was, so when she made her move in the second to last round, I¡¯d seen it coming from miles away.


    The course we were on had a very narrow section, barely enough for two cars to drive side by side. One slight inaccuracy in your steering would send you off the course to be reset on it by a floating monster a couple of seconds later. In a race at this level, that surely meant having to give up first place.


    So Max¡¯s plan was obvious, she was going to give my car a shunt, right when we entered this section of the track, however she didn¡¯t count on me slamming the breaks, hitting the back side of her car and performing the classic pit-stop manoeuvre you¡¯d see in those action movies. With her car spinning wildly out of control, she couldn¡¯t hope to recover in time and was set flying off track.


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± Max cried out.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been weighed and have been found wanting.¡± I shot out a one-liner which made Sam, Hailey and Carol burst out in laughter.


    ¡°Wow, that was just brutal.¡± Hailey whistles.


    While Max did manage to regain a couple of seconds on my lead, mostly because of one of those dastardly blue pineapples, the rest of the race was trivial - nothing she could do would give her the win.


    I cross the finish line triumphantly and once Max crosses it ten seconds behind me she puts her hand on my shoulder and congratulates me. ¡°Good job Amicia. Grats on the win.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I smile. ¡°Better luck next time.¡±


    ¡°You bet.¡±


    We don¡¯t have time to settle back down into the sofa as the delivery person rings our doorbell just when I shut off the game.


    Sam answers the door and pays for the food plus a nice tip and puts the box of food on the dinner table. ¡°Is it me or does this look like more food than we ordered?¡±


    ¡°Asian take-away always is more than you can really eat in one go.¡± Max rubs her hands in anticipation. ¡°Let¡¯s see if this is any good shall we.¡±


    Everyone moves over to the table and helps unpacking the food.


    ¡°Uhm, I think this is your order, Ami and Sam.¡± Hailey gives us two big boxes.


    ¡°Looks about right.¡± Sam nods and hands over one of the boxes to me so I can divide the food over our plates.


    ¡°It smells really good.¡± I comment, as the smell of spices tickled my nose and my tastebuds. ¡°Especially this Goi Kun.¡±


    Sam laughs. ¡°G?i cu?n, but yeah, I expected you to like that a lot.¡±


    By the time Sam finishes her sentence I already was chomping down on one of the shrimp rolls. ¡°It tawstes gweat too!¡±


    ¡°Ami¡­¡±


    ¡°You shouwld twy one too Sam.¡± I take a shrimp roll and put it in her mouth. ¡®See, tawsty.¡±


    Sam chews on it for a couple of seconds before swallowing. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty good.¡± She smiles.


    When we are all seated, with most of the packing paper stashed inside the box the delivery came from, we all start eating and silence fills the room. Always a good sign.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want some music while we eat?¡± I ask the group.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind the silence, we never put on music at my house.¡± Hailey comments while taking a bite from her food.


    ¡°mje awwaws wisten two wuusic.¡± Carol says.


    ¡°Sorry?¡± Hailey looks over at her friend. ¡°I didn¡¯t understand a word of what you just said.¡±


    Carol swallows her spring roll. ¡°We always listen to music at our place when we eat. Silence feels awkward.¡±


    ¡°Now that you say that, it makes sense.¡±


    ¡°What does?¡±


    ¡°Well you talk way too much so that¡¯s probably why, isn¡¯t it?¡± Hailey teases.


    ¡°Hey! Rude!¡±


    Max laughs and replies to my question. ¡°For me it depends. When I¡¯m home alone I turn on the music so it doesn¡¯t feel so lonely. My parents only put on the radio for dinner when it¡¯s their favourite radio show on Saturday.¡±


    ¡°And you know how we do it at my house.¡± Sam winks.


    ¡°Okay, I just wanted to make sure everyone was fine with it.¡± I smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s already cozy enough with the five of us, we don¡¯t need music to fill our existential emptiness now.¡±


    Everyone looks at Max. ¡°Wow, that was terribly gloomy coming from you, Max.¡± Sam comments.


    ¡°Eh, I felt like a deep comment was needed.¡± She shrugs and continues her food.


    ¡°Okay, Ami, I changed my mind, we do need some music now.¡± Hailey states before putting another scoop of food in her mouth. Carol aggressively nods along with this statement.


    Me, Sam and Max start laughing.


    When dinner was almost over I got a message from my sister asking me how the evening was going and afterwards immediately decided to call me.


    ¡°You know you could just have waited for a text, right?¡± I laugh at my sister.


    ¡°Eh, I decided that this would be faster. So, how¡¯s it going? Got your food already?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we are almost done eating. We had some fun doing a tournament in that racing game beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Oh, who won?¡±


    ¡°Me, of course.¡±


    ¡°Good job sis! I wouldn¡¯t expect anything else! So how¡¯s the food?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really nice.¡± The rest of the table nods along with my evaluation. ¡°The rest enjoys their food too.¡±


    ¡°Great, now me and Nikki still need to order from there so we can judge too.¡±


    ¡°Speaking about Nikki, where is she?¡±


    ¡°She went to the bathroom, had to redo her make-up.¡±


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yeah, but probably not what you¡¯re thinking.¡± My sis giggles. ¡°You see, there was this stuck up person from work who was being a bit of a bully to one of the others and as karma would have it, five minutes later her heel snapped off her shoe and she fell face first into one of the cakes of the buffet. We kinda lost it and started crying while laughing. But I don¡¯t wear make-up.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s something.¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°And is Hilda there too?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m right here.¡± I hear Hilda¡¯s voice over the telephone.


    ¡°She was the talk of the party, the only one not dressed up for the occasion at all, just wearing her faux leather jacket as usual.¡±


    ¡°I mean, there wasn¡¯t really a dress code¡­ anyway, I hope you are having a fun night over there.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Hilda.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to hang up now, the company president is going to give a speech now, and even though I¡¯m not really interested in what he¡¯s going to say I should probably at least fake interest. Bye bye!¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡±


    And with that my sister hangs up.


    ¡°Your sister really doesn¡¯t give a lot of fucks, does she?¡± Max starts laughing.


    ¡°That¡¯s just who she is.¡± I shrug.


    ¡°And that Hilda person sounds like the kind of person I like too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s nice.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do for the rest of the evening?¡± Carol asks. ¡°After having cleaned up everything.¡±


    ¡°We can play some board games if you want to.¡± I nod towards the closet where all our games are situated.


    ¡°Oh, that sounds fun.¡±


    Although I wouldn¡¯t mind taking a nap on Sam¡¯s lap, either¡­


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 85: Undergrowth

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Are you sure you want to team up with Sam instead of playing alone, Amicia? I can play with Hailey if you want to.¡± Carol speaks to me.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± I smile. We are sitting around the coffee table after having shoved a couple of the sofas a bit closer. The board game is already set and ready to play.


    ¡°I think she just wants to be a bit of a lap cat for now.¡± Sam guides me down to her lap and starts petting me, stroking me with her hand from my ears all the way down to the tip of my tail. I instinctively start purring.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°I can still play by telling Sam what to do.¡±


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t distract her too much.¡± Max laughs.


    ¡°Mochi and Pocky will level the playing field.¡± Our two cats had joined us while we were setting up the board game and were walking around the table asking for pets and cuddles.


    ¡°It¡¯s an extra difficulty level.¡± Hailey gently picks up Pocky and hugs her close. ¡°Cuteness difficulty.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Max laughs again and rolls the first dice to see who can start the game. In the end it was Sam who manages to roll the highest.


    The game we are playing, or better said, the game my girlfriend is playing for me is a game called ¡°Undergrowth¡±. It¡¯s a game where the players each choose a faction of woodland animals which each have their own unique play styles and win conditions. Sam took the cats, because, well, me. Her goal is to occupy big portions of the map which she did pretty well until Carol and Hailey started to play together to counter the biggest threat. While they are all distracted with trying to maintain the upper hand, and the attention of three kitties, Max puts a unit on the board and throws down her cards.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that would be my win condition.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Sam calls out and quickly checks the cards Max threw down. ¡°Oh my Goddess.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± I look up to Sam from her lap with a smirk. ¡°Is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°Shush Ami.¡± She laughs and gives me a kiss on my forehead.


    ¡°Can we see the card too, Sam?¡± Hailey extends her arm so Sam can give the card to her. She inspects it closely with Carol looking over her shoulder.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been playing into your hand this whole time?¡±


    Max grins. ¡°Stoking the fires of conflict from a position shrouded in darkness.¡±


    ¡°Damn raccoons!¡± Carol starts recuperating her rabbit pieces from the board.


    ¡°That was fun though, want to play another round?¡± Sam proposes while resuming her petting of me.


    Hailey and Carol look at each other and then they both stare at Max and then back to one another. With a nod they agree. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I feel people are going to focus on me now.¡± Max laughs.


    ¡°What makes you think that?¡± Carol grins.


    ¡°Just a hunch, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Max¡¯s hunch was right as the entire group decided it was time for some good old payback. She did try to resist and managed to beat back the combined attacks from the three other players for quite a while, but in the end, three against one was too insurmountable for her to get a victory. It was Sam who walked away with the victory when everything was said and done.


    ¡°Good job, babe.¡± I give her a victory kiss which I could tell she was thoroughly enjoying.


    ¡°Thanks cutie.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m envious of victory kisses.¡± Carol pouts but that doesn¡¯t last long because Max slid closer to her in an instant.


    ¡°I can give you a consolation prize if you want it?¡± She traces her finger over Carol¡¯s cheek who immediately breaks out in a tomato red blush.


    ¡°I-I-I would l-like that.¡±


    Max smiles and presses her lips on Carol¡¯s.


    ¡°Well, at least I have the cats.¡± Hailey shrugs while Pocky and Mochi rub up to her arms and legs. ¡°Anyhow, I should probably go soon. The last tram will be heading out in 10 minutes?¡±


    I can see Carol¡¯s eyes go wide and she stops kissing Max, much to her regret. ¡°Wait, really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this board game took longer than expected.¡±


    ¡°I think you could stay over if you wanted to, I don¡¯t think my sister would mind.¡±


    Hailey shakes her head and smiles. ¡°Thanks for the offer Ami but I need to go home so I can get some other clothes on and stuff like that. We will see eachother again tomorrow anyway, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true. What about you Carol?¡±


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to stay, I also need to get some things ready¡­¡± She pouts.


    ¡°And Max?¡± Sam asks her friend.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind I¡¯d like to take you up on the offer, I¡¯m pretty sure my last tram has already left.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll text my sister when Hailey and Carol have left.¡±  My two friends had already gotten up when I said this and were grabbing their things together.


    ¡°Thank you for the fun evening, Ami.¡± Hailey gives me a hug, followed by Carol.


    ¡°Yeah, it was really fun. Let¡¯s do it again sometime.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to get some more cat toys by then though.¡± Max jokes making Carol pout a bit.


    ¡°Idiot.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She sticks out her tongue.


    When I open the door to let my friends leave I get greeted by the surprised face of my sister.


    She checks the room real fast. ¡°Ah, are you two leaving? You can stay over if you want.¡±


    ¡°No, ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Just call me ¨¦lise.¡± My sister gives her a pat on the head.


    ¡°Ah yeah, sorry, ¨¦lise, we just need to get home so we can get ready for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Need a lift?¡± Nikki proposes.


    ¡°No, our tram will be here soon, but thank you for the offer.¡± Hailey replies.


    ¡°Ah, alright, let us not keep you then. Have a safe trip back home.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. And thank you for the dinner as well!¡±


    ¡°No problem kiddos.¡± My sister smiles as Hailey and Carol start walking down the stairs.


    ¡°Good timing sis.¡±


    ¡°I know, right.¡± She laughs smugly. ¡°So, you are staying over then?¡± My sis looks at Max.


    ¡°Yes, if you don¡¯t mind of course.¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± When my sister walks past Max she puts her hand on her shoulder. ¡°Did you girls have a fun evening?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± I reply. ¡°What about you two, aren¡¯t you home a bit early?¡±


    ¡°The power of the venue somehow turned off and they couldn¡¯t fix it.¡± Nikki takes of her heels while leaning on my sisters shoulder.


    ¡°Wait, really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, when it shut off there was so much chaos, it was quite funny. Luckily Hilda had a flashlight with her.¡±


    ¡°Ah co¡­ wait, why did she have that?¡± Sam sounds confused at the offhand remark of my sister.


    My sister shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe she¡¯s a bit psychic.¡±


    After my sister and Nikki have unwinded a bit from the trip back home they start walking around, gathering the bedding for Max to sleep on.


    ¡°Where would you prefer to sleep?¡± My sister asks Max.


    ¡°Wherever is most convenient for you all. I wouldn¡¯t want to be a nuisance.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t my bedroom be the easiest?¡± I propose. Sam nods along with me.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t too awkward.¡± Max rubs the back of her head.


    ¡°Eh, we don¡¯t do much besides cuddling in bed anyway.¡± Sam shrugs. ¡°So if you are fine with that it¡¯s fine with us too.¡±


    ¡°I think I can handle that much at least.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± My sister smiles and together with Nikki they move everything into my room.


    ¡°We should probably not stay up too long if we want to have enough energy for tomorrow¡¯s game.¡± Sam looks at the clock. ¡°It¡¯s almost midnight already.¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Max nods.


    At that moment Nikki and ¨¦lise walk back into the living room. ¡°I hope the mattress won¡¯t be too hard for you.¡± Nikki moves to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water.


    ¡°Max can sleep pretty much everywhere as long as it¡¯s quiet.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± My sister heads to the kitchen too.


    ¡°Yeah! I have fallen asleep on the bench in the locker room once. Was completely dead from staying up the night before.¡±


    ¡°Sounds a lot like my college time.¡± My sister laughs. ¡°Just quite a bit less athletic.¡±


    ¡°She fell asleep in the classroom once before we were going out together. Noone noticed so we accidentally left her there.¡±


    ¡°I then woke up in the middle of some advanced theoretical physics class. It would¡¯ve been quite awkward to leave the room in the middle of an explanation. So I pretended to follow the lesson until that class was over.¡±


    ¡°Pretended? You even took notes.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to be able to reply if the professor asked me for an answer.¡± My sister pouts. ¡°I think I still have that notebook somewhere by the way.¡±


    ¡°Somewhere in one of the boxes we still haven¡¯t unpacked since moving.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, pretty much.¡±


    We all start laughing and after we are done, decide to head to our respective bedrooms.


    It took Max only approximately zero point one second to be completely gone after she had put her head down on her pillow.


    ¡°Wow, that was fast.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Max for you.¡± My girlfriend snuggles up to me and squeezes me tight.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to start purring, Sam.¡± I whisper.


    ¡°I know, but it¡¯ll be fine, I promise. She won¡¯t wake up from that.¡± She gives me a kiss and as I predicted, the purring train left the station.


    Best girlfriend everrrr.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 86: Soothing

    FieryKathy


    I feel someone boop my nose as I wake up from my slumber.


    ¡°Hey there kitten.¡± I was Sam, she¡¯s already dressed in her trainer jacket. I look over to the right where Max had been sleeping and she also had already gotten out of bed. ¡°Do you want to get ready as well?¡±


    ¡°H-how late is it?¡± I rub my eyes and sit upright in bed.


    ¡°We still have some time but if you want to have some breakfast first you should not sleep much longer.¡± Sam gives me a kiss.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod, still a bit dazed.


    Sam helps me get dressed, with her help I end up in a summer dress. She carries my heels with her to the living room where my sister, Nikki and Max are getting ready for breakfast.


    ¡°Damn, my sis sure as heck rocks fluttery dresses like that.¡±


    ¡°She sure does.¡± Max agrees as she puts plates on the table.


    ¡°Weather report said it was going to be pretty hot today, maybe I should wear something lighter too.¡± ¨¦lise rubs her chin.


    ¡°Oh? My partner in a dress? How long has that been? A year? Maybe two?¡±


    ¡°Are you jealous of Amicia, ¨¦lise?¡± Sam puts down my heels near the front door.


    ¡°Maybe a little.¡± She sticks out her tongue.


    Nikki puts the breakfast on the table as well and sits down on one of the chairs, it¡¯s a couple of eggs, bread and your other general breakfast stuff. I elect to go for an egg and a sandwich with strawberry jam. ¡°Are you two feeling ready for the game?¡±


    ¡°More than ready!¡± Max also takes an egg and some bread. ¡°I feel like I got loads of energy.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± My girlfriend replies, taking her seat on my left, and grabbing some pieces of toast.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because of my sister''s healing influence.¡± My sis pets me on the head and sits down on the other side of me.


    ¡°I wonder if that would qualify as cheating.¡± Max wonders after taking a big bite out of her bread.


    ¡°She just heals us. It¡¯s not like she gives us performance enhancing buffs. Just makes our bodies be in the best shape they could naturally be in.¡±


    ¡°As long as she doesn¡¯t add any stat buffs to that healing.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve not been healing anyone though¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh. Maybe it was because you were purring. You know those articles saying cat purrs have healing effects?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I chomp on my own jam sandwich.


    ¡°Or¡­¡± My sister takes a bite from her egg and then continues. ¡°Ami has developed some new skills without her even knowing about it, we did level quite a bit during last session. So maybe she has an aura heal or something like that.¡±


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t hear Hailey and Carol comment about anything like that.¡±


    ¡°But they didn¡¯t sleep practically next to you for 8 hours sweatie.¡±


    ¡°Oooh. I¡¯ll check my status when I¡¯m back in the game then.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be useful if you could check those in this word too?¡± My sister takes yet another bite from her egg.


    ¡°Like in those litrpg light novels?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Exactly!¡±


    ¡°Maybe I could ask Gamma about that.¡±


    ¡°Ask me about what?¡± Gamma appeared out of nowhere and sat down next to us, putting one of our eggs on a plate which phased in out of thin air.


    ¡°Gamma!?¡± I call out to her, surprised by her sudden appearance. In the meantime I can see Max staring at her with open eyes too.


    ¡°Uhu?¡± She takes a bit from her egg. ¡°This is pretty tasty!¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± My sis stares at her blankly as well.


    ¡°I heard my name in the aether so I decided to come and pay a visit.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°So, what did you need me for?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    ¡°We were wondering if Ami could look at her skills etc. outside of Turn of Destiny.¡± Sam helps me get my point across.


    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s not too hard.¡± Gamma opens a portal and grabs a table out of it with her free hand. She hands it over to me. ¡°This should do perfectly fine. Do note you can not edit any of this from this world though. You can only inspect. Did something go awry?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just that Sam and Max noticed they were feeling really well even though I haven¡¯t healed them¡­¡±


    Gamma nods and takes the tablet back from me. Quickly tapping on it and reading what appears on the screen. ¡°It appears you have gotten some kind of healing aura around you now, says here you only developed it recently.¡± She hands the tablet back yet again. ¡°Anyhow, thanks for the egg, it was very tasty. See ya.¡± And just like that, Gamma disappears again.


    ¡°What. The. Fuck.¡± Max stares at the empty space where Gamma was just seated.


    ¡°Welcome to Ami¡¯s Goddess friend circle.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    Just as things calm down a little and I look down at my tablet, the doorbell rings.


    ¡°Ah, they are a bit early.¡± My sister quickly runs to the door and opens it, being very careful not to show me in the line of sight. Only thirty seconds later she closes the door again and puts a cardboard box on one of our cupboards.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Nikki asks. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you ordered something.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¨¦lise winks. ¡°You might be able to see it later today.¡±


    Sam starts giggling. ¡°Okay, I think I know what¡¯s in it.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I look at my girlfriend. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to share your suspicion?¡±


    ¡°Nope, it¡¯ll be funnier if I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s meaaaaan!¡±


    Sam smirks and nods towards the tablet. ¡°So, what kind of new overpowered skills did you learn?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t want to tell you now.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll need to bribe you with kisses.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    Sam starts giving me kisses on my cheek before finally planting one on my lips and giving me a big hug afterwards. ¡°Bribe successful?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod and rub my head against her cheek. ¡°It¡¯s sufficient for now.¡± and then open up the tablet to look at what exactly has changed about me.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the verdict?¡± My sister gets off her chair and peeks at the screen over my shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± I scroll through the multiple stat sheets. ¡°I think all my stats did go up by quite a lot.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit of an understatement, sis.¡± She starts controlling the tablet instead. ¡°My stats aren¡¯t nearly as high as this. Heck, the only stat I beat you in is strength and that¡¯s because it¡¯s my main one. It¡¯s probably because of your skills that your stats are growing that fast.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡± Sam reaches over from the other side and presses some flashing notification in the top right of the screen which opens a new window. It reads ¡®Recently Obtained Skills¡¯.


    ¡°Nice job, Sam.¡± My sis gives Sam a high five before she continues to read of the screen. ¡°Let¡¯s see. Upstart Deity, Refreshing Aura and Soothing Girlfriend¡­.¡±


    ¡°What, really?¡± Sam stares at the screen. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s really there.¡±


    ¡°Does it give a description too?¡± My sister asks.


    I tap the upstart deity skill and a dialogue window shows up next to it. I read it out loud. ¡°Your followers may not yet be numerous but it is definitely a start. This skill gives you a stat and experience modifier depending on your followers¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow, does it say your current amount of followers too?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s this number.¡± Sam points to a number on the side of the screen that has been slowly ticking upwards every couple of seconds.


    ¡°53 209¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a small city of followers. Good work.¡± Max smiles.


    ¡°How the heck did that theocracy take notice with only so little people¡­¡± ¨¦lise rubs her chin.


    ¡°She did gain those in a very short time. Maybe that¡¯s why?¡± Nikki speculates.


    ¡°Hmm, maybe. They probably also have spies everywhere...¡±


    ¡°Hilda would probably start ranting about the entire intelligence network of the catholic church if she were here.¡±


    ¡°Haha, probably.¡± My sis laughs and then watches the tablet again. ¡°What about the other skills?¡±


    I press the next one, while still looking at the number tick up in the corner, it¡¯s almost at 53 250 now¡­ ¡°Refreshing Aura, this skill gives you a passive regenerative aura in a radius of 6 meters around you. This passively heals minor injuries and rejuvenates friendly creatures around you over time. This effect increases with your stats and level.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it sounds a lot like your own passive regeneration, doesn¡¯t it? But a weaker version of it.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, it does, doesn¡¯t it.¡± I quickly look through the other pages on the tablet and I find my self-regenerative skill, logically called ¡®medium self-regeneration¡¯ the description is incredibly similar apart from the ¡®medium¡¯ tag that it has.


    ¡°And last but not least?¡±


    ¡°Soothing girlfriend, the presence of your one true love works as a soothing presence on your body and soul, increasing your passive regeneration, skill effectiveness and stats. When your partner is threatened with harm, exponentially increases ¡®Angel of Vengeance¡¯ stats and skill set....¡±


    ¡°Awh, that¡¯s pretty cute.¡± My sister awhs over my explanations.


    ¡°So, Amicia is a bit like an overprotective girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°I think you could say that.¡± Nikki giggles.


    Sam says nothing and just gives me a hug and kisses instead. Aggressively soothing both my body and mind.


    ¡°Love you, Sam.¡± I whisper.


    ¡°Love you too, Ami.¡± She whispers back.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 87: Directions

    FieryKathy


    After everything is said and done, I put the tablet away and get my choker ready so we can move out. In the meantime the others clean up our breakfast.


    ¡°Should we go by car or take the tram to your university?¡± My sister asks while playing around with her keys.


    ¡°Tram should be fine, my parents will be taking the tram too anyway.¡± Sam picks up her bag and swings it around her shoulder.


    ¡°Ah, got any plans for the evening?¡± Max does the same.


    ¡°We were all going to visit Sam¡¯s parents after the game.¡± My sister clarifies.


    ¡°Yes, we haven¡¯t met them yet and we thought this might be a good opportunity to do so.¡± Nikki fills in.


    ¡°And Hilda was joining as well.¡± I add to that.


    ¡°That sounds like a fun evening.¡±


    ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¨¦lise opens the door as we all follow her outside and head towards the tram station.


    The trip towards uni was calm and uneventful, a slight warm breeze, quite uncommon for October, made my dress wave as we exited the tram and entered our campus.


    ¡°We will go ahead to get dressed and start our warm-up.¡± Sam grabs my hand and gives me a kiss. ¡°You remember where you can get your snacks, right?¡±


    I nod. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sam smiles and gives me another kiss. ¡°The game starts in 45 minutes. Don¡¯t be late!¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°See you later babe!¡±


    ¡°See you.¡± I blow her a hand kiss as they walk off in the distance.


    In the meantime Nikki and my sister were looking around at our environment, my sis had already put on her aviator sunglasses.


    ¡°Wow, the campus park sure changed a lot since we were last here.¡± Lise whistles.


    ¡°Did it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a lot greener than I remember.¡±


    ¡°They had only recently planted it when we were studying.¡± Nikki explains.


    ¡°Ah yeah, that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°The gymnasium was somewhere to the left, right Amicia?¡± My sister points in the general direction.


    I nod. ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Alrighty.¡± She grabs her girlfriend''s hand and starts leading the way, with me following a couple of meters behind them. It kind of feels like seeing them on a date, it¡¯s pretty darn cute.


    To my surprise my sister and Nikki even manage to find the snack store without much of my own help. That¡¯s when I hear a familiar voice coming from behind me.


    ¡°Hey Amicia.¡±


    ¡°Hilda!¡± I run up to her and give her a big hug.


    ¡°What¡¯s up kiddo.¡± She smiles and gives me a head pet, holding a motorcycle helmet in her other hand.


    ¡°Ah, hey there, Hilda.¡± My sister and Nikki have turned around as well to greet their friend. ¡°Was it easy to find?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I just followed you guys. Saw you in the distance but didn¡¯t bother running, it¡¯s a bit too warm for that.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t be wearing a leather jacket and motorcycle pants then?¡±


    She shrugs. ¡°You need to be safe on a motorbike, you know?¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    ¡°By the way, have you seen Sam¡¯s parents yet?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shake my head. ¡°Maybe they are inside already.¡± At that moment my phone buzzes, it¡¯s a message from Sam. ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up kitten?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Sam, she says her parents can¡¯t find the way to the gymnasium, they are waiting near the faculty of science. I¡¯ll go and get them then.¡±


    My sister nods. ¡°Okay, want us to get you some snacks?¡±


    I look at the counter for a second. ¡°Yes! A portie bitterballen and a frikandel please!¡±


    ¡°Oh, that does sound nice.¡± Hilda rubs her chin.


    ¡°Alright. You can go ahead, we will keep a couple of seats.¡±


    I leave my friends and family behind to look for Sam¡¯s parents, luckily it doesn¡¯t take that long for me to find time.


    ¡°Oh, hey Amici.¡± Sam¡¯s mom greets me with a kiss. ¡°You look lovely today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lucy.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you remember my name?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°See honey, she¡¯s such a sweetheart.¡±


    ¡°Otherwise our Sam wouldn¡¯t have fallen in love with her.¡± Carlos rubs his wife on her back.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± She smiles. ¡°But Amicia, be honest with us, how far are we from where we were supposed to be?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh¡­ You are at the right university.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s something.¡± Sam¡¯s dad shrugs.


    ¡°Oh dear, well, if you¡¯d be so kind to show us the way then.¡±


    ¡°Definitely, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± I smile and start guiding them through campus. ¡°Is this the first time you come to watch Sam?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Her mom giggles embarrassedly. ¡°We are just completely hopeless when it comes to directions, isn¡¯t that true, dear?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ maybe a little.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve gotten lost in a supermarket once. It was quite the ordeal.¡± Sam¡¯s mom laughs again. ¡°They did have some very nice meatballs, though.¡±


    I can see Carlos agreeing vehemently with that statement. ¡°Those were indeed incredible.¡±


    Having guided Carlos and Lucy to the gymnasium and having them pick out snacks, we finally enter the room where the game is going down. The clock on my phone tells me we still have 15 minutes left. Apparently, while I was gone, Hailey and Carol had arrived as well and were sitting next to my sister and Nikki, talking to Hilda.


    ¡°Oh, so you are Sam¡¯s parents?¡± My sister stands up once she notices us approaching.


    ¡°Yes, we are.¡± Carlos smiles and gives my sister a hand. ¡°And you are¡­¡±


    ¡°Amicia¡¯s sister, this here is my partner Nikki and our friend Hilda.¡±


    Nikki and Hilda wave at Sam¡¯s parents, respectively.


    ¡°And we are Sam and Amicia¡¯s friends.¡± Carol and Hailey also introduce themselves.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you all.¡± Lucy waves and sits down next to ¨¦lise while I make my way over to the other side to sit next to my friends.


    ¡°Ah, here Ami, here are your snacks.¡± Hilda hands over the bitterballen en the frikandel to me.


    ¡°Thank you! Are you not going to eat anything?¡± I try to look around but I can¡¯t see any snacks on her.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get some during the break, I¡¯m really that hungry yet.¡±


    ¡°And what about you two?¡±


    On cue Carol and Hailey both take their snacks from the floor. Carol had picked some nachos with cheese dip and Hailey had a bag of spicy looking chips.


    ¡°It feels a bit like going to the cinema, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Hailey noms on a chip.


    ¡°It does indeed.¡± Carol does the same.


    ¡°Want to try a chippy, Ami?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t say no to that. Unless they are too spicy.¡±


    ¡°They are fine. Here.¡± Hailey feeds me a chippy.


    ¡°Wah, delicious.¡±


    ¡°Try mine too!¡± Carol dangles a nacho with cheese dip on it in front of me, of course I couldn¡¯t do anything but to give it a good nomming.


    ¡°Oh, I see you all are feeding my girlfriend.¡± Sam¡¯s team had taken the field and she and Max had walked over to come say hi.


    ¡°Yesh, they are treating me well!¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°I see you found my parents too.¡± she nods to them, they were talking to Max at the moment.


    ¡°Yeah, they weren¡¯t that hard to find.¡±


    ¡°Do your parents know Max, Sam?¡± Carol asks.


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s come over to my house a couple of times before.¡±


    ¡°Does that make you jealous, Carol?¡± Hailey pokes her shoulder in Carol¡¯s side.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± She pouts. ¡°I was just curious!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. Me and Max wouldn¡¯t be a good couple, while we are really good friends our personalities don¡¯t fit romantically. And I have Ami, obviously.¡± Sam reassures her.


    Sam¡¯s parents apparently heard her comment because they join the conversation as well. ¡°We could tell they fit really well together but there definitely never was this ¡®daughter-in-law¡¯ click we had with Amicia.¡±


    ¡°No offense, Max.¡±


    ¡°None taken.¡± She smiles. ¡°Sam¡¯s too sportsy for me, I like my girls more like a folk song or a popular folk song. Quite christmassy.¡±


    ¡°What does that mea¡­ ah.¡± Sam¡¯s coin dropped. ¡°I see.¡± She looks at Carol and smiles.


    Carol had also deciphered the message and is blushing quite profusely.


    ¡°Anyhow, we should go back and go over the strategy for today¡¯s game. See you later.¡± Max winks at Carol and then moves on.


    ¡°Ami, before I go, can I get a good luck kiss?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I quickly stand up and head towards the sideline, giving my girlfriend a long kiss on the lips. ¡°Go get them, captain.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye.¡± She grins and swiftly runs off.


    ¡°Well, now they definitely can¡¯t lose anymore.¡± Hilda laughs.


    As the game starts 5 minutes later and it slowly progresses ¡®till half time, Hilda¡¯s prediction appears to hold true. With the university''s team leading by twenty points. Both Max and Sam appear to be in absolute top form and are running across the field almost effortlessly. Even their own team seems to be having issues at times to keep up with them.


    When the buzzer finally sounds for the break, the two teams are 23 points apart.


    A part of me can¡¯t be prouder of my girlfriend, although a different part somehow feels guilty, especially after seeing the faces of the players of the other team¡­.


    My thoughts get interrupted by a hand that slinks into view from the left and steals the last bitterbal from my snack box. It was Hilda¡¯s. But before I could stop her, the bitterball had already disappeared in her mouth.


    ¡°My bitterbal!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t help myself, it looked too delicious to be left alone for that long.¡±


    ¡°Hilda!!!¡± I whine to which she starts laughing again.


    She pets my head. ¡°Come kitten, let¡¯s go and get you some more snacks.¡± and she offers me her hand.


    I think for a second and then take her hand. ¡°Okay. Might as well.¡±


    It¡¯s clear what she¡¯s trying to do, and honestly, I could use a bit of a distraction at the moment...


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 88: Fair

    FieryKathy


    When we enter the shop Hilda doesn¡¯t say anything and just orders a strawberry ice cream for me and herself before she heads outside.


    ¡°Hilda, this is not really what I wanted though¡­¡±


    She turns around and smiles softly at me. ¡°I know but I just wanted to talk to you a bit. When we go back in we can get you something else.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Hilda sits down on one of the benches in the park and motions me to come sit next to her.


    I oblige and lick my ice cream. It¡¯s actually really good.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s wrong, kitten?¡± She licks her ice cream as well. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be happy that Sam¡¯s team is winning?¡±


    ¡°... well yes¡­ but¡­¡±


    ¡°Does it have something to do with your powers?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Ah. Figured out a new skill?¡±


    I explain the entire situation to her including the visit of Gamma this morning.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± She stares ahead of her and licks her ice cream again. ¡°So you think they are performing that well because of you?¡±


    I nod again.


    ¡°Well, apart from their energy levels. When it comes to sport, talent is incredibly important too. At least that¡¯s what I think with my limited knowledge of the subject. Even without having a bit of an energy boost, you can¡¯t say Max and Sam aren¡¯t talented, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true¡­ it just¡­ I don¡¯t know...¡±


    ¡°I can definitely see what is bugging you. But if you let this lady give you some advice, I¡¯d say to not let it get to you this much. It¡¯s not like you gave them performance enhancing drugs, you just made them healthier and that can never be a bad thing.¡±


    ¡°Mmmm.¡±


    ¡°And if you still feel like it¡¯s a bit unfair, why don¡¯t you try to level the playing field?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Hilda looks around for a second and then licks her ice cream one last time. ¡°How well can you hide casting your healing spells?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Try to cast a spell on me but try to keep it hidden. It doesn¡¯t matter if you mess up a little, there¡¯s no one here anyway.¡±


    I nod and start concentrating on healing Hilda. After a couple of attempts I manage to hide the glow enough to where it is practically not visible anymore.


    ¡°Good job!¡± Hilda enthusiastically pets my head. ¡°So if you want to you can now heal everyone in the room without anyone noticing. And then see if that makes a big difference or not.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Hilda.¡± I give her a big hug.


    ¡°No problem kitty cat, now, let¡¯s go and get you some real snacks for the second half of the game, shall we?¡±


    ¡°Yes! But one final thing before we go.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± She smiles at me.


    ¡°You said you came with your bike, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, you want me to take you on a ride?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°That can be arranged, I have a sidecar for it at home. So when you come and visit we can definitely make that happen.¡± Hilda winks.


    Hilda¡¯s house! Ooooooooooh!


    When we pass back through the shop, me and Hilda buy another portion of bitterballen before we head back to watch the second half of the game. Just as we had practiced a bit earlier I stealthily start casting healing spells on every single participant of the game. Right when the game is about to start I just finish off with the last person.


    ¡°Did you go through all of them?¡± Hilda asks silently after having popped a bitterbal in her mouth.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see how this goes then.¡±


    ¡°What are you two conspiring about?¡± My sister looks at the both of us with a sly look on her face.


    ¡°Shhh.¡± Hilda holds her finger in front of her lips to shush my sister. ¡°We¡¯ll tell you after the game.¡± she ends her sentence with a wink.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll wait but you¡¯ve definitely piqued my curiosity.¡±


    Me and Hilda quietly giggle amongst ourselves.


    As the second half of the game progresses, it becomes quite clear that, however everyone is definitely playing more energetically than in the first half, Sam and Max are still pretty much dominating the field. They just appear to have to work a bit harder for it.


    Hilda pokes my side when the game enters the last quarter. ¡°See, your girlfriend and Max are just talented. You didn¡¯t have to worry at all. Maybe you were just having a classical case of confirmation bias.¡± She pets my head and afterwards eats another bitterbal.


    ¡°Hilda is so smart.¡±


    ¡°I know I know.¡± She giggles.


    The last quarter pretty much follows the same pattern with the exception that the opposing team manages to crawl back a couple of points in the last three minutes of the game. Mainly because the home team was already pretty much in a celebratory state as the point gap was already insurmountable.


    Once the final whistle blows both teams shake hands with each other and exit the field, apart from Sam and Max who come to us for a little bit before heading out.


    ¡°Psst, Ami.¡± Max calls me closer to them.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡±


    ¡°Did you do something to all the players? Suddenly a lot of people mentioned that they felt incredibly refreshed.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to level the playing field a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°See, I told you.¡± Sam laughs softly so she doesn¡¯t attract the attention of the others. ¡°My girlfriend''s heart is just too good for this world.


    ¡°Definitely looks like it.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations on the victory.¡± The others now start congratulating our victorious pair. So I take a couple of steps back to give them some space.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Max basks in the compliments while Sam just smiles.


    ¡°Thank you all for coming to watch us, hope you all had fun.¡±


    ¡°Definitely, and the snacks are very good too.¡± My sis raises a smoothie to my girlfriend and does a symbolic toast.


    Max then continues to flirt with Carol a bit while Sam catches up with her parents before they head off to shower. Our entire group exits the gymnasium as I sit down next to Hilda on the bench since we still had some bitterballen to finish.


    My sister and Nikki are talking to Sam¡¯s parents while Hailey and Carol come standing next to us, giving me the opportunity to talk to them about what I did.


    ¡°Oh my Goddess, Ami.¡± Carol starts laughing. ¡°You are so pure.¡±


    ¡°She is, isn¡¯t she.¡± Hilda smiles and rubs me behind my invisible ear. ¡°Oh, sorry, force of habit.¡±


    ¡°Haha, it looks pretty funky to see someone touch your invisible ears and seeing you react to it.¡± Hailey giggles.


    ¡°Oh, about that!¡± I turn myself to Carol. ¡°How are you going to explain it to your parents if you become¡­ you know.¡±


    ¡°Ah. I actually didn¡¯t think about that.¡±


    ¡°Really? Isn¡¯t it pretty important to think about that beforehand.¡± Hailey gives her friend a soft slap on the arm.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I see my parents that much. I pretty much live by myself.¡± Carol shrugs. ¡°So I might just hide it from them and only show it to my friends and partners.¡±


    ¡°If you choose it.¡±


    ¡°If I choose it, yes.¡± She blushes.


    ¡°Already excited for your date?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Definitely. We are already going to start playing the game today and then continue tomorrow after we go to the movies.¡±


    ¡°I hope you have fun.¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s already too late to catch up to you people?¡±


    ¡°We are somewhat already on a different continent.¡± Hilda chimes in.


    ¡°Was to be expected.¡±


    ¡°Hey at least you can get some more alone time with Max that way.¡± Hailey smirks.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let her get bored.¡± Max joined our group, her sudden appearance makes Carol jump a little before she starts blushing even more.


    ¡°You guys sure do shower pretty quickly.¡± Hilda eats her last bitterbal.


    ¡°We hear that quite often.¡± Sam smiles and then sits next to me on the opposite side of Hilda. Her conditioner smells really nice so I can¡¯t help but to rub my head against her shoulder.


    ¡°Watch out Ami, don¡¯t start sniffing me in public.¡± Sam pokes my side.


    ¡°Awh¡­ sad.¡±


    ¡°Sad cat Ami. How cute.¡± Carol aws. ¡°But we should probably go now, you were all having dinner at Sam¡¯s place, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I heard my parents were going to make some seafood paella.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± My mouth already starts watering at the sound of such deliciousness.


    ¡°Wow, you are really trying to make us jealous aren¡¯t you?¡± Max laughs. ¡°Why don¡¯t us three go look for a nice restaurant instead then?¡± She looks at Hailey and Carol.


    ¡°Sounds like a plan, maybe a Spanish restaurant because paella does sound really good right about now?¡± Hailey proposes.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that!¡± Carol agrees and takes Max¡¯ hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Sounds like someone is really hungry.¡± Max laughs and follows Carol while Hailey takes the lead. ¡°See you all next time.¡±


    We wave our friends goodbye leaving the three of us sat down on the bench.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I ate some good paella too.¡± Hilda leans back into the bench, staring at the tree cover above us.


    ¡°My parents make the best paella, I can guarantee that.¡±


    ¡°Looking forward to it.¡± She smiles.


    Even though I only just finished my bitterballen, my stomach couldn¡¯t agree more. More nom noms equals better.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 89: Skribbler

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Is everyone ready to go to our place?¡± Sam¡¯s father asks the group.


    ¡°I just need your address, I¡¯ll come with my motorbike. Is there a place to park nearby?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°We have a subterranean parking spot, I¡¯ll show you where it is once we arrive as well because the tram might take a bit longer.¡± Carlos then proceeds to tell Hilda their address.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Hilda smiles and takes out her phone, filling in the address on her GPS and putting in some headphones so she can follow the directions while driving. ¡°I¡¯ll see you guys there then?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I give Hilda a big hug before she takes her helmet and walks off to her bike.


    ¡°Say, Amicia really does like your friend a lot, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Sam¡¯s mom asks my sister.


    ¡°Hilda? Yeah, she¡¯s pretty much a mother figure to her.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t really thought about that but it¡¯s not an untrue statement.


    ¡°I clicked with her the moment I met her.¡± I smile and hang myself of my girlfriend¡¯s arm. ¡°Just like I did with Sam.¡±


    ¡°Awwwhhh.¡± Both my sister, Nikki and Sam¡¯s mom awhed at my last comment.


    ¡°Hehe, I loved you from the first moment as well sweetie.¡± Sam gives me a kiss. ¡°We probably shouldn¡¯t linger too long so we don¡¯t make Hilda wait in front of our house.¡±


    ¡°Not a bad idea.¡± Carlos agrees. ¡°Let¡¯s go then, we also still have some world renowned paella to make!¡± He starts walking before Sam calls him back.


    ¡°Dad, that¡¯s the wrong way.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right.¡± He rubs the back of his head and then wisely decides to follow Sam instead.


    ¡°I told you we were bad with directions.¡± Sam¡¯s mom laughs and the group follows her example in doing so.


    Once we are on the tram and seated for the trip to Sam¡¯s place my sister brings me aside for a moment while Sam has a talk with her parents and Nikki.


    ¡°So, what did you do little sis?¡± She smiles as she sits down next to me in the back of the tram.


    ¡°What did I do when?¡±


    ¡°Y¡¯know. What you and Hilda were so giggly about earlier.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Nothing much.¡± I smirk.


    ¡°Heyhey, don¡¯t play me like that.¡± She pokes me in the side with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Eheh, I just used a bit of healing to make the game a bit fairer, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°You managed to cast heals without the spell effects?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, me and Hilda practiced a bit during the break. I got the hang of it pretty fast.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, well of course Hilda would know about that as one of the game¡¯s experts. You might want to check your new tablet later on to see if you¡¯ve gotten a new skill for that.¡± She pets me.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a new skill?¡±


    ¡°Not entirely but it doesn¡¯t hurt to check, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I lean in and rest against my sister''s arm. Resting my head on her shoulder.


    She starts giggling. ¡°Sis, your invisible ear is tickling my cheek.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    Sadly I couldn¡¯t rest against my sister¡¯s shoulder for too long as the tram reached our stop just a couple of minutes later. I already recognized the neighbourhood when we got off.


    ¡°Hmm, we might as well could¡¯ve walked.¡± ¨¦lise looks around and takes in the neighbourhood''s architecture for a while.


    ¡°That¡¯s how me and Sam went to her apartment the first time, but we were carrying a box of Chinese food.¡±


    ¡°You still remember that?¡± Sam takes me hand in hers for the rest of the walk to her place.


    ¡°Of course, that was like last week.¡±


    ¡°Wow, has it only been a week? I feel like we¡¯ve been together for months already.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s love at first sight for you.¡± Nikki smiles and takes her girlfriend¡¯s hand as well.


    ¡°And the time dilation of Turn of Destiny helps quite a bit too.¡± Lise adds.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind, gives me even more time to be together with the cutest girlfriend the world has ever seen and will ever see.¡±


    ¡°You romantic.¡± I pull Sam in for a kiss.


    ¡°I know.¡± She kisses me back.


    This time Sam¡¯s parents do lead the way, I guess they were confident enough not to get lost in their own neighbourhood. When we turn the last corner we can already see Hilda standing a bit further away with her motorbike. Although I don¡¯t know anything about bikes I could tell it was a pretty vintage model.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a nice bike, Hilda!¡± Sam runs over, dragging me along with her and she crouches down beside it to inspect the closer details.


    ¡°Thank you. I didn¡¯t know you were interested in bikes, Sam.¡±


    Sam looks up at Hilda. ¡°I¡¯d never ride one but they do look very cool.¡±


    ¡°I can understand that, it¡¯s not the safest mode of transportation, although it got a lot better in the last couple of decades.¡±


    ¡°And where can you hang the sidecar?¡± I ask so I don¡¯t stand there just gazing at her bike.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty easy, you just need to spend some time attaching it with wrenches and stuff. I¡¯ll show you when you come over.¡±


    ¡°So Ami already got promised a side-car ride I see?¡± My sister joins in the conversation.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Hilda pets me on the head. ¡°Can¡¯t say no to her, it¡¯s practically impossible.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely true.¡± My sis nods.


    ¡°Hilda, do you want me to show you our parking spot?¡± Carlos proposes.


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    Sam steps aside so Hilda can take her bike in her hands and walk it down to the garage.


    ¡°See you in a bit.¡±


    ¡°And you can follow me upstairs to our apartment.¡± Lucy then proceeds to guide us upstairs.


    ¡°Hey Ami.¡± My girlfriend gives me a little poke in my side.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡±


    ¡°Try not to do a cartwheel this time, okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I did it intentionally!¡± I pout.


    Lucy brings us into their apartment and then leads us to the living room. ¡°Please make yourself comfortable, I¡¯ll start preparing the rest of the paella now. Sam, can you offer them some drinks?¡±


    ¡°Of course. What do you want to drink?¡±


    ¡°What do you have?¡± My sister and Nikki sit down in one of the sofas.


    ¡°Uh... Good question, give me a second.¡± My girlfriend runs over to their fridge and opens it. ¡°We have lemonade, both orange and lemon flavour, cola, water¡­ uhm, I think this is some kind of Spanish beer and wine.¡±


    ¡°Cola is fine.¡± Nikki smiles.


    ¡°For me too.¡± ¨¦lise nods.


    ¡°And for you, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Lemon lemonade!¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sam takes out a couple of bottles and starts filling glasses for us and then hands them over, taking a glass of lemonade for herself too.


    Just when Sam sits down Hilda and Carlos enter the apartment as well and they join us in the living room. Sam offers to give Hilda a drink too, but her dad insists on getting her a drink instead, she opts for a glass of water.


    ¡°Nothing goes above water when you¡¯re thirsty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very true.¡± Carlos hands the glass of water over and then takes a sip from his own glass.


    ¡°I got to say Carlos, this apartment is really nice.¡± My sister looks around.


    ¡°Thank you, we renovated it ourselves a couple of years back.¡±


    ¡°Including those details near the ceiling?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that was mostly my wife¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow, great job.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Lucy calls out from the kitchen. ¡°It was a lot of work but it was definitely worth it.¡±


    ¡°And now that you are all here, I would like to thank you for taking care of our daughter.¡± Carlos continues.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. She¡¯s practically part of the family already.¡±


    Carlos smiles and then puts his attention on me. ¡°And thank you as well, Amicia. Sam¡¯s been so happy since she met you, I¡¯ve not even seen her sad once, she¡¯s basically beaming all the time.¡±


    ¡°Dad¡­¡±


    ¡°It is true though. You were almost skipping through the hallway last time you were here.¡±


    Carlos¡¯ comment made Sam blush quite a bit.


    ¡°But Sam has been very good to me too, I couldn¡¯t wish for a better girlfriend than her.¡±


    ¡°I am very happy to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Sweetie, could you come and give me a hand?¡± Lucy calls out from the kitchen to her husband.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± He then looks back at us. ¡°I¡¯m going to help my wife with the rest of the paella. Feel free to ask Sam if you need anything.¡± With that Carlos leaves the living room to help with dinner.


    ¡°Hmm, since you all like to play games, would you want to play some Skribbler?¡± Sam walks over to the tv closet and takes out a tablet.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a bit like pictionary.¡± Sam replies and sits back down on the sofa, turning on the tv and the tablet. ¡°One person has the tablet and gets three words to choose from, you have to select the word you want to draw and the rest need to try to guess what the word is.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s that game.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about it from some friends, it¡¯s a pretty great party game.¡±


    ¡°So is everyone okay with that?¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t Amicia going to be the only one who can actually draw something?¡±


    Sam shakes her head. ¡°It¡¯s actually way funnier if it¡¯s people drawing who don¡¯t know how to draw and even if you do it¡¯s sometimes still quite hard.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, sounds good to me.¡± My sister smiles and gets ready for round one and so does Nikki.


    Time to show off some drawing skills!


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 90: Paella

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Lise, how the hell is that a monkey?¡± Hilda looks at my sister¡¯s drawing after the guessing time ran out.


    ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s the best monkey I¡¯ve ever drawn in my entire life.¡±


    ¡°It better be the only monkey you¡¯ve drawn in your entire life then.¡±


    ¡°That is¡­ that¡¯s true¡­¡±


    ¡°I mean, I can kind of see it.¡± Sam tilts her head.


    ¡°Thanks, Sam. See, my artistry isn¡¯t that bad after all.¡±


    ¡°I do need to squint really badly though.¡±


    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s bad.¡± My sis starts laughing.


    ¡°We can¡¯t all be as good as Ami.¡± Sam gives me a kiss.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that my drawings have been that good. It¡¯s hard to draw things in 80 seconds.¡±


    ¡°And it doesn¡¯t help that you were drawing the wrong thing.¡± Nikki laughs too.


    ¡°I thought I selected ¡®cliff¡¯, okay? I only realised in the last couple of seconds that I accidentally selected ¡®rabbit¡¯ instead and even then Hilda and Sam still got it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, your little 5 second improv bunny was very cute.¡± Hilda rubs her hand through my hair.


    ¡°It was the cutest bunny indeed. But not as cute as you.¡± Sam gives me yet another kiss.


    ¡°And for what it was worth, if I didn¡¯t mistype it as ¡®bunfy¡¯ I¡¯d have guessed it too.¡± My sis is still laughing.


    ¡°Spelling is just stupid.¡± Nikki puts down the tablet and stretches.


    ¡°You¡¯re just angry no one knows how to spell archaeologist except for our resident historian.¡± Now it was my sister¡¯s turn to kiss her girlfriend.


    ¡°The other word was way too easy, I wanted to give you somewhat of a challenge.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Sam, could you help us set the table?¡± Sam¡¯s mom walks out of the kitchen.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help too!¡± I stand up with my girlfriend.


    ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t you go with my mom first then and I¡¯ll give the others something more to drink before I join you.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes!¡± I follow Lucy into the kitchen. The paella smells incredible, together with all the seafood and spices. ¡°Wow! It smells really good!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s almost ready.¡± Carlos tastes from their creation with a spoon. ¡°Just needs a little bit longer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to tasting it!¡±


    ¡°You can already have a little test if you want to.¡± Carlos takes another spoon from the drawer.


    ¡°Oh! Yes!¡± I take the spoon and carefully scoop some of the paella on it. The moment I put it in my mouth, the flavour just explodes. ¡°Holy Goddess. I¡¯ve never tasted any paella this good.¡±


    Carlos smirks. ¡°It¡¯s a family recipe, I learned it from my grandmama back in Spain.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°On our first date Carlos made this for me and I knew from that moment I would marry this man.¡± Lucy takes the spoon from her husband and also has a bit. ¡°It tastes exactly the same as back then.


    ¡°Not for my good looks and my overflowing charisma?¡±


    ¡°No, mainly for the paella.¡±


    Carlos shrugs. ¡°Haha, fair enough.¡±


    By that time Sam enters the kitchen as well after having taken the drinks back to the living room. ¡°Ami, will you grab the utensils? Then I¡¯ll do the plates.¡±


    ¡°Fine by me!¡±


    The table got set in record time, when we were finished the paella just got to the table too.


    ¡°Dinner is served.¡± Carlos proudly exclaims, making the entire group head to the dinner table to see his exquisite creation. ¡°Amicia can confirm it is just delicious.¡±


    ¡°I can darn well believe that.¡± My sister wipes away a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth. ¡°The colour and smell is just perfect.¡± Then she takes out her phone to take a couple of pictures. ¡°I think I might frame these and hang them next to our bed.¡±


    ¡°I have no objections at all.¡± Nikki agrees.


    ¡°Do you have a specific seating arrangement or can we sit where we please?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Please, go ahead. We don¡¯t really have set places when we have people around for dinner.¡± Lucy gestures to Hilda to go ahead.


    ¡°Alright, just wanted to make sure.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Ami?¡± Sam pokes me and whispers.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡±


    ¡°Do you want the big teddy to sit next to you again?¡±


    I start blushing. ¡°No, I think I¡¯ll be fine with just you.¡± I whisper back to her.


    She replies by hugging me and giving me a kiss.


    In the end I decide to sit across from my sister, in between Sam and Hilda.


    We were lucky that Sam¡¯s parents'' dinner table was as big as it was because not everyone has a table this big at home. Having seven people in total for dinner at your own apartment is not something that happens a lot in small families.


    Lucy starts scooping up paella on our plates and it doesn¡¯t take long before everyone has quite a bit ready to be eaten.


    ¡°Have a nice meal everyone!¡± Carlos calls out before taking his first bite.


    ¡°Have a nice meal!¡± The rest follows and also starts to eat.


    The room goes quiet for a while as everyone basks in the overload of flavours.


    ¡°This¡­ this is just outright fantastic.¡± Hilda is the first to break the silence. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can ever eat any other paella dish from anywhere else after this¡­¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment. I¡¯m glad you like it. What about the rest?¡±


    We all just happily nod along with Hilda¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°It¡¯s great, I can¡¯t say anything else about it.¡± Nikki comments. ¡°Are you willing to share this recipe?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Carlos crosses his arms and thinks for a moment and looks over to me and Sam. ¡°Technically I would keep it in the family like that. But you do need to promise me you two will stay together. Can¡¯t have my family secret getting out in the wild.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, dad. We are each other''s one true love, quite literally so.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± He nods happily. ¡°In that case I¡¯m willing to teach you.¡±


    We continue with dinner and with a heavy heart I finish my meal.


    ¡°If I wasn¡¯t this full I¡¯d have loved to eat even more.¡± I lean back in my chair.


    ¡°That¡¯s a big mood, sis.¡± My sister cleans the last off her plate too.


    ¡°We can do this again, once a month or so, as a new kind of family gathering.¡± Carlos proposes.


    His proposal immediately gets met with cheers from my sis, Nikki and Hilda. Lucy also appears to be happy with it.


    ¡°We could definitely do that.¡± Lucy smiles.


    Sam puts her hand on my thigh and smiles at me to which I lean in closer to her. ¡°What¡¯s up, Ami?¡±


    ¡°I think I might want to tell your parents now¡­¡± I whisper.


    ¡°Do you mean¡­ about the cat thing?¡±


    ¡°I nod.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? You were really hesitant when I asked you last time.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ but¡­ it somehow feels right.¡± I look back at the rest of the table and Sam follows my gaze. We see our two families laughing together and planning for the next paella feast already.


    ¡°Mhmm. I understand.¡± Sam nods. ¡°Do you want me to get the support teddy?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be fine¡­¡± I put my right hand on my choker. ¡°Uh¡­ I have something to tell you¡­¡±


    They don¡¯t immediately notice what I just said but luckily instead of having to repeat myself Sam takes the word for me and raises her voice a bit louder.


    ¡°Mom, dad, Amicia has something to tell you¡­ well, we have something to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Is it about marriage already?¡±


    ¡°Carlos, shush.¡± His wife gives him a tap on the shoulder. ¡°Can¡¯t you see they are being serious? Unless it¡¯s really about marriage of course.¡±


    ¡°Not quite.¡± Sam shakes her head.


    I look over at my sister and Nikki who both had gone quiet and clearly already knew what I was going to say. My sister mouths to me to ask if I¡¯m sure. I respond to her with a nod.


    Hilda just bumps her arm against mine to show that she is there for me as well.


    ¡°So¡­ uhm¡­ yeah¡­ I think it¡¯s best if I just show you¡­¡± I look at Sam and she nods, helping me with my choker. Within a couple of seconds it¡¯s off. The entire table then turns their attention to Lucy and Carlos to see what their reactions are. Lucy appears to want to say something but then stops herself and brings her fingers to her mouth. Carlos just looks pensively.


    After a moment of awkward silence it is Lucy who breaks the silence. ¡°That is¡­ not what I expected.¡±


    ¡°Right there with you my love.¡± Carlos agrees and then looks back at me. ¡°Is there a reason why you didn¡¯t tell us earlier?¡±


    ¡°Honey, it¡¯s probably not something that¡¯s easy for her to tell us, you know? She doesn¡¯t really know us that well and this is not the same as telling someone what kind of food you prefer.¡±


    ¡°That is true¡­ Hmmm.¡±


    ¡°I take it you all knew about this already?¡± Lucy turns herself to the rest of my family.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s somewhat of a long story.¡± Lise nods.


    ¡°I can imagine that.¡± Lucy turns back to me and smiles. ¡°I¡¯m happy that you told us sweetie. In the end we don¡¯t really care if our Sam¡¯s girlfriend has a couple of extra parts or not.¡±


    Carlos nods along.


    ¡°But would you mind explaining a bit more about how this all happened?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will help.¡± Hilda bumps against me again, giving me the sign to start telling my story.


    Hilda and Sam take turns also explaining a couple of things so I can take a bit of a breather in between explanations. A bit later Carlos and Lucy are completely caught up.


    ¡°I think I need a drink to process all that.¡± Sam¡¯s dad says after the story is done. ¡°But¡­¡± He continues. ¡°I always had the feeling there was more to this world than it seems, especially after that miracle that happened with Sammy¡¯s leg.¡±


    ¡°The only thing I can really say is that I¡¯m very happy you have found each other and that you can support one another on this special journey.¡± Lucy agrees. ¡°But having that drink would probably not hurt. Thanks again for telling us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy it went so well.¡±


    ¡°I told you they would be fine with it.¡± Sam gives me a kiss.


    ¡°You did.¡± I kiss her back. ¡°But let''s hope I won''t have to do many more coming outs because it is pretty tiring.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± She smiles.


    I could use that teddy to fall asleep on right now, but there¡¯s always a Sammy bear too¡­


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 91: Overeating

    FieryKathy


    And when the world it starts to burn


    At the point of no return


    Keep a hold of Your conviction


    Tear out the affliction


    Before the world turns black


    Stand up and take it back


    ¡°Ami, there¡¯s dessert.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I rub my eyes and open them. ¡°Where am I?¡±


    ¡°You fell asleep almost immediately after dinner because you ate too much.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Did I¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you also came out to my parents.¡± I look around and see that Sam had moved me to the sofa in the meantime.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being so rude.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my parents don¡¯t mind. But they will if you miss the dessert though.¡± Sam smiles and brushes her hand through my hair.


    ¡°What is it for dessert?¡± I sit upright with Sam helping me a little.


    ¡°We got some chocolate fondue with fruit and some cr¨ºpes.¡±


    ¡°I like cr¨ºpes!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the table then.¡± She smiles again and helps me up from the sofa.


    ¡°Did you have a nice nap, Amicia?¡± Sam¡¯s mom asks once we get back to the dinner table.


    ¡°Uh, yeah, sorry I fell asleep.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, dear. It happens all the time when I overeat myself on Carlos¡¯ food, and I am not even a cat person.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called a catnap for a reason, isn¡¯t it?¡± My sister jokes.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Lucy laughs.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Hilda?¡± I look around the table and see her nowhere.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s helping my husband with the chocolate fondue. They should be here shortly.¡±


    ¡°Ah, alright. Thanks again for taking it so well by the way.¡±


    ¡°It really doesn¡¯t matter to us, Amicia. We are just happy you told us. There¡¯s no need to thank us for not being mean to you. That should be the baseline response. Come here so I can give you a hug.¡±


    I silently nod and give Sam¡¯s mom a hug.


    ¡°But I do have a couple of questions I was wondering about, if you don¡¯t mind answering.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    Most of the questions Sam¡¯s mom had pertained to my extra body parts. How they feel, if I can control them, if I don¡¯t find them annoying, and things like that. When Carlos and Hilda enter the room with the chocolate fondue we were just talking about the logistics that come with having a tail.


    ¡°Ah, good to see you awake, kitten.¡± Hilda puts the plate of fruit on the table while Carlos keeps himself busy finding a plug for the chocolate fondue pot.


    ¡°Yeah! I heard there was dessert!¡±


    ¡°Of course that¡¯d wake you up.¡± She laughs and ruffles her hand through my hair.


    ¡°Food is good.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for answering my questions, Amicia. I¡¯ll now get to work on the cr¨ºpes, it won¡¯t take very long.¡±


    ¡°No problem!!¡±


    Lucy didn¡¯t lie as by the time the fondue had warmed up enough the cr¨ºpes were ready too and we began our last meal of the day with glorious, glorious chocolate. Although this time I¡¯ll try not to eat so much that I will fall asleep against my girlfriend afterwards.


    Though I do try, seeing all this food before me, makes it incredibly hard to do so. But in the end I do succeed not to overeat myself for the second time today. This time however, it was Sam who got a little bit overzealous and I saw her head bobbing from side to side after we¡¯d finished dessert.


    ¡°Do you want to go to your bedroom, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know, what about the guests?¡± She tries to concentrate but she¡¯s clearly struggling.


    ¡°You can go ahead, Sam, we don¡¯t mind.¡± My sister reassures her.


    ¡°See, you should go before you bonk your head against the table.¡± I stand up and try to pull my girlfriend along to her bedroom. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind if I keep her company either?¡±


    ¡°Of course not sweetie, go ahead.¡± Lucy smiles and stacks my and Sam¡¯s plate together with the other dishes.


    ¡°We¡¯ll come and get you when we leave.¡± Nikki says before Sam and I walk into the hallway.


    When we get to her bedroom door I suddenly feel Sam¡¯s body language change as her movements become more active.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Nothing actually.¡± She opens the door. Her drowsiness appears to have left her for the most part. ¡°I just wanted some alone time with you.¡±


    ¡°You were faking being tired?¡±


    ¡°Maybe a little.¡± She smirks.


    ¡°Couldn''t you have just asked?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s less rude to give them a white lie then to straight up tell them.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone would have minded though.¡±


    ¡°But we did avoid some teasing in the process.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ that¡¯s true I suppose.¡±


    Sam closes her bedroom door behind me and walks over to her bed. Her big teddy is sitting against the foot end.


    ¡°Want to have the teddy in bed too?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll have my Sammy to cuddle with so I¡¯m fine.¡± I sit next to her on the bed.


    She almost immediately hugs me and presses my back down against the mattress. I could feel her breath in my neck. It was slow and steady. ¡°Today was so tiring. First the game and then eating this much. And with all the company too.¡±


    ¡°Talking is exhausting, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± She nods into my neck. ¡°And I¡¯m even an outgoing person. Or at least relatively so.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Maybe we should stop talking for a while and do something else instead?¡±


    ¡°Something else?¡± Sam lifted her head and looked at me. ¡°Something like this?¡± She plants a soft kiss on my lips.


    I nod. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I meant.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s less exhausting, but I won¡¯t say no to that.¡± She grins and starts kissing me again, this time for quite a bit longer. The weight of her body against mine worked incredibly relaxing. And the taste of Sam was intoxicating, she tasted even better than all the great foods we had before.


    ¡°I love it when you purr this loudly.¡± Sam giggles and runs her hand along my cheek. I hadn¡¯t even noticed when I started purring. She stares into my eyes and whispers. ¡°My beautiful girlfriend.¡± and then she continues making out with me.


    ¡°Hehe, no u.¡±


    -Some time later.-


    ¡°Amicia, Sam, are you coming? We are going to leave in ten minutes.¡± My sister knocks on the door.


    ¡°Is it that late already?¡± Sam looks up, I¡¯m curled up against her. ¡°Oh damn, we apparently skipped three hours.¡±


    ¡°Time flies by if you¡¯re having fun, doesn¡¯t it?¡± My sister laughs.


    She knooooows...


    Sam says nothing and just softly laughs with her. ¡°So, want to get up, Ami?¡±


    ¡°If I really have to.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon you potato catgirl.¡± She lifts me up from the bed and carries me to the door. ¡°I have one catgirl special delivery here for you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, thank you very much.¡± Sam hands me over to my sister. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go home, I still want to show something to Hilda before she heads home herself to play Turn of Destiny.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to show her?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Lise smirks which gives me the impression it has something to do with me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll grab some clothes and then I¡¯ll join you in the living room.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± My sister starts walking with me still in her arms.


    ¡°Sis¡­ Could you, like, put me down, please?¡±


    ¡°Euhm, lemme think about that for a second. Nah I don¡¯t think I will.¡±


    ¡°Whyyyyy.¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to.¡± She smiles and walks us into the living room. ¡°Look, I found a cat. Isn¡¯t she super cute.¡±


    ¡°She definitely is.¡± Hilda already has her jacket on and is playing around with her helmet.


    Nikki hands her something. ¡°Here are the keys if you get there before us, which is more than likely. So you don¡¯t have to wait outside.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll be leaving then.¡± She walks over to me and rubs her hand through my hair. ¡°Thank you for the great dinner, see you next time to play some mahjong?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll be ready for you.¡± Carlos shakes Hilda¡¯s hand after she¡¯s done petting me, Lucy just waves her goodbye. Just like the rest of the group as we will be seeing her soon anyway.


    It¡¯s when Hilda leaves the apartment that my sister finally puts me down with a bit of a puff. ¡°Damn, sometimes I wish I had the strength of my character in-game.¡±


    ¡°Did you just call me heavy?¡± I pout.


    ¡°Nono, it¡¯s just been a while since I¡¯ve been to the gym, that¡¯s all.¡± She smiles. ¡°Although eating a bit less probably wouldn¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± I softly punch her shoulder.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m ready.¡± Sam enters the living room as well. ¡°See you later mom and dad.¡± She gives her parents a big hug.


    ¡°Have fun and keep your girlfriend safe for us, will you? We like her a lot too.¡± Lucy and Carlos smile at me.


    ¡°Definitely, although Ami can stand her ground just fine. Maybe even better than I can.¡±


    Ah right, they¡¯ve never seen me in action...


    The rest of us thank Sam¡¯s parents for the amazing food too and their hospitality. After I put my choker back on, the four of us leave the apartment to follow Hilda home.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s this present you were talking about?¡± Nikki asks my sis as we exit into the cool night¡¯s air.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient. You¡¯ll have to see for yourself as well.¡±


    Sam is giggling next to me. This doesn¡¯t bode well.


    What exactly am I missing here?


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 92: Pink

    My sister rushes up the stairs the moment we get to our apartment building, looking incredibly excited. When we catch up to her she¡¯s already opened the door for us.


    ¡°Come quickly, Hilda is already inside and I don¡¯t want to keep her for that long.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, don¡¯t push us.¡± I look at her with distrust.


    ¡°This is going to be so fun.¡± Sam whispers under her breath.


    I look at Sam as well. ¡°What the heck are you two up to.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see very shortly I guess.¡± She winks as we walk into the living room.


    ¡°Get your shoes off and stuff, I¡¯ll go get it.¡± ¨¦lise closes the door behind us and then rushes off.


    ¡°Is this about the box that was delivered earlier?¡±


    ¡°I think it is.¡± Nikki nods. ¡°No clue what¡¯s in it though.¡±


    Hilda shrugs. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t know either but the way Lise is reacting it¡¯s probably great.¡±


    We get our shoes off and I get rid of my choker as well, putting it in it¡¯s box.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here!¡± ¨¦lise skids through the living room with a box in hand and puts it on the living room table in front of us all. ¡°I can already tell this was totally worth the money.¡±


    Lise was planning to run to the kitchen to get a knife but Hilda just reaches for her pocket and hands her her pocket knife.


    ¡°Why are you running around with a knife, Hilda?¡± I ask while my sister gets to work on the box.


    ¡°It has a couple of small tools too. You never know when you need a screwdriver or a small pair of scissors.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Oh my Goddess, I knew it.¡± Sam starts laughing. My sister had just opened the box and the content was for all to see. I could only see pink frilly things inside.


    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Your memory that bad, sis?¡± She asks in return and gets a hold of the box¡¯s contents, lifting it out.


    Oh no¡­


    ¡°W-when did you buy this!!?¡±


    In front of me was the pink frilly maid outfit that we¡¯d worn inside of The Echelon. And the worst part is, it¡¯s quite clearly in my size.


    ¡°The game has an app in which you can buy outfits you can own in the game, all the stuff is super high quality according to the reviews and I can¡¯t say they¡¯re wrong. This looks exactly like the one in the game.¡±


    ¡°Sorry but, what is this?¡± Hilda asks, still as confused as Nikki.


    ¡°Remember when you and Nikki went for coffee in The Echelon? This is what we were doing in the meantime.¡± Lise took something else out of the box, it was the picture we took of me, Sam and my sister back in the store.


    ¡°Oh my, that¡¯s just fantastic.¡± Hilda laughs.


    ¡°So, dear sister, would you want to show the ladies how it looks in the flesh?¡±


    I pout and look at Hilda¡¯s and Nikki¡¯s faces, they all look very expectantly at me, and my girlfriend too for that matter.


    ¡°Fine.¡± I pout even harder.


    ¡°Ah, and don¡¯t forget this.¡± She takes out the ribbon she¡¯d tied to my tail the last time.


    One day I¡¯ll have my revenge, sis. One day. Mark Amicat¡¯s words!


    ¡°Sam, could you come with me while I get dressed?¡± I ask my girlfriend who looks a bit surprised by my question.


    ¡°Sure, anything special you need me for?¡± She blushes.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that I can¡¯t tie the ribbon around my tail myself¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. Yeah I¡¯ll join you.¡±


    ¡°See you in a bit, kitten, we¡¯re looking forward to it.¡± Hilda smiles.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± I pout and walk into the hallway and then into my room. Taking off my clothes didn¡¯t take very long and luckily enough the maid outfit also didn¡¯t take that long to put on either, especially not since I had a Sam to help for the harder parts.


    ¡°It looks super cute on you, Ami.¡± She smiles as she attaches the ribbon on my tail. ¡°This is the first time seeing the real you in the outfit and it¡¯s just as cute as I imagined.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right, I almost forgot I used a different avatar in that game.¡±


    ¡°I like the real you a lot more.¡± Sam turns me around and gives me a quick kiss. ¡°Pink suits you better.¡±


    ¡°I kinda liked your scales though.¡± I kiss her back.


    ¡°Understandable, they were pretty neat.¡± She laughs. ¡°Are you ready to get coddled by Hilda and Nikki?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I ever will be, to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± She takes my hand. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go kill them with cuteness.¡±


    I nod and we walk back into the living room.


    ¡°Dear Goddess, I think I¡¯m going to get a nosebleed.¡± My sis puts a handkerchief in front of her mouth the moment she sees us coming back.


    ¡°She looks so precious.¡± Nikki aws.


    Hilda stands up and walks over to me. ¡°Uhm, do you mind if I take her home so I can cuddle up with her?¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s my plushie. Sorry Hilda.¡± Sam apologizes.


    ¡°And you don¡¯t have your bike¡¯s sidecar with you today after all.¡±


    ¡°Blast it.¡± She laughs. ¡°Jokes aside, you look really cute in this, Amicia. If you worked in a maid caf¨¦, I would visit every single day.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we all?¡± My sister puts her handkerchief away.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Sam replies. Nikki just nods along.¡±


    ¡°By the way, are we all going to play a bit of Turn of Destiny today?¡± Hilda pats me on the head. ¡°Not that I would mind looking at Amicia¡¯s maid cosplay all night.¡°


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± My sister nods.


    ¡°To me as well.¡± Nikki does too.


    ¡°What about you and Sam?¡± Hilda looks back to me.


    ¡°Yeah, I think some more adventure would be cool.¡± Sam agrees.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I nod as well.


    ¡°Great.¡± Hilda smiles and scratches me behind my ear.


    ¡°I should probably leave now before it gets too late.¡± She looks at her watch.


    ¡°Just send us a message when you get home so we will start up our games.¡± Nikki gives Hilda her jacket back that she¡¯d taken off.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Hilda!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up, kitten?¡± She says as she puts her jacket on.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to see the tablet Gamma gave to me?¡± I grab it from the spot I left it on before leaving earlier today.


    ¡°Aah.¡± She looks at it for a second. ¡°You know what, let me look at it next time, so we don¡¯t have to rush ourselves. Maybe take it along to my house.¡±


    ¡°Oki!¡± I give her a goodbye hug.


    ¡°See you in a bit.¡± She smiles and hugs me back.


    ¡°See ya!¡± The rest of my family also says their goodbyes.


    Once Hilda closes the door behind her we all decide to get ready for bed but not after I check the tablet one more time.


    When I open it up I see my follower count has gone up quite a bit since last time I checked but that¡¯s not the only thing that had changed. There was a brand new skill waiting for me at the bottom of the list called ¡®stealth casting¡¯.


    I let Sam check the tablet too. ¡°Ah so this is the thing you probably used at the game, right?¡±


    ¡°I suppose so.¡±


    She clicks on the skill which opens a tooltip and then reads it out loud. ¡°Your superior focus allows you to cast some spells in a nearly undetectable fashion. While this is useful in certain situations where hiding your intentions is important it does increase both cast time, cast potency and mana cost.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s cool.¡± My sister replies, she¡¯d been listening to our conversation from the kitchen. ¡°Although I think mana and potency are probably not much of an issue considering your other abilities.¡± She takes a sip of her tap water.


    ¡°Ami gets all the cheat skills.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Well she buffs us too so it¡¯s more like we have an entire cheat party.¡±


    ¡°True enough.¡±


    ¡°Anyhow, I¡¯m heading off to brush my teeth, I¡¯ll call out when Hilda has sent she¡¯s ready.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    My sister leaves the room, leaving only me and Sam behind as I shut off the tablet and put it in one of the cabinets.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel weird just before you head into the game?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t know, why?¡±


    ¡°Usually we would say good night when we head to bed, right?¡±


    ¡°Aah! I know what you mean. You don¡¯t know what to say now because we¡¯ll see eachother soon anyway.¡±


    My girlfriend nods. ¡°When Hilda left too. I didn¡¯t really see the point of saying goodbye either. Maybe we should say ¡®be right back¡¯ instead.¡±


    ¡°But that feels weird when you aren¡¯t using a computer, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± Sam rubs her chin. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I embrace my girlfriend and kiss her on the cheek. ¡°We should probably get ready too. Maybe we can cuddle a bit in bed before we log in.¡±


    ¡°Good plan, babe.¡± She kisses me back.


    Cuddle cuddle, kiss kiss, and even more cuddle cuddle kiss.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 93: Machine

    FieryKathy


    We are in the middle of cuddling when my sis talks to us from the hallway. ¡°Ami, Sam, Hilda says she¡¯s going to log in in a couple of minutes.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thanks for the info.¡± I call back to her, taking a small break from cuddling up to my girlfriend.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be logging in shortly as well.¡±


    ¡°Should we log in so you have even more Sam to cuddle?¡±


    ¡°I kinda do like that idea. And I can get to play with your tail.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Looking forward to that already.¡± She brushes her hand down my back and circles her finger around the bottom of my tail before she starts giggling. ¡°We should go now before I get distracted.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± I blush and roll off her. Just when I do so Mochi and Pocky jump on my bed to meow us goodnight.


    ¡°Good night to you too kitties.¡± I give both of them a pat on the head, while Sam does the same, before we put on our headsets and log into the game.


    I wake up in Haurchefaud already embraced by my now-quite-a-bit-bigger girlfriend. I could hear some birdies chirping from outside of our tent.


    ¡°I do love this body a lot.¡± Sam stretches and starts purring slightly. As promised I also start playing with her tail a little which results in her purring even more. ¡°But of course I love you most of all.¡± Sam gives me a kiss on the top of my head, in between my ears.


    ¡°Hey cuties.¡± I can hear my sister''s voice from outside. ¡°Don¡¯t forget we can quite clearly hear you, okay? Just a heads up.¡±


    I start blushing but Sam giggles instead. ¡°I don¡¯t really mind if they hear me profess my love to you.¡± she hugs me tighter.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t think she was talking about that, Sam.¡±


    ¡°I know, but you still don¡¯t like stuff like that, right?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°See, then I wont do anything. Just our lovey dovey cuddling and purring routine.¡±


    I think I could hear some muffled ¡®aw¡¯ing from the tent next to us when she said that.


    ¡°Thanks, Sam.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s but my duty as your girlfriend, Ami.¡± She gives me another kiss and then slowly starts releasing me. ¡°But let¡¯s get dressed so we can start adventuring again.¡±


    ¡°Heck yes!¡± My sister calls out. ¡°Let¡¯s spread the legend of our little cat girl Goddess through this continent too!¡±


    Oh no¡­


    When Sam and I are finally dressed we pack our things and leave our tent. My sister and Nikki are already sitting outside.


    ¡°Hilda not here yet?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here.¡± Hilda walks out of her own tent with a big yawn. Once she¡¯s fully outside she stretches and takes a deep breath. ¡°Nature smells so good, especially in the morning.¡± then she walks on towards the little creek our tent was next to. ¡°I¡¯m going to wash my face for a second.¡±


    We nod and go sit down next to my sis and Nikki to get some breakfast too. But before we are seated Hilda runs back over to us.


    ¡°Uhm, girls, you should come and see this.¡± Her voice appears to be slightly panicked.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± My sister immediately gets up from her spot and follows her. The rest of us decide to follow as well.


    ¡°Look at this.¡± Hilda crouches down next to the creek, but instead of clear spring water, the water of the creek is stained red.


    ¡°Blood?¡± Sam crouches down too.


    ¡°Most definitely.¡± Nikki comments. ¡°I thought I could smell it earlier but I assumed it was from a nearby dead animal or something... but it¡¯s definitely coming from over here.¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°Let¡¯s grab our gear and investigate.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a good idea to move towards the blood?¡± My sister asks as she takes her shield ready and starts fastening her armour with the help of Nikki.


    ¡°What if someone needs help?¡± I grab my staff close to my chest.


    Lise smiles. ¡°That¡¯s my sis for ya. Always ready to help people.¡±


    ¡°Performing her job as an upstart Goddess perfectly.¡± Hilda agrees.


    ¡°Aid and succor for those in need¡­¡± Nikki starts.


    ¡°And it¡¯s never too early for milkshakes.¡± My sis continues.


    ¡°Those are the tenets of the church of Amicia.¡± Sam finishes.


    ¡°We should probably not make fun of this but it¡¯s best to crack a joke once in a while even in dire circumstances.¡± Hilda joins me at my side and gives me a pat on the back. ¡°Are you ready, Ami?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    We quickly gather our tents and then start walking up-stream from our camping spot. I got a strange feeling in my belly as the entire scene just seemed wrong. We are walking through a peaceful forest, no violence in sight. The birdies are happily chirping and the woodland critters are also just casually going on with their life¡­ while on the other hand we are following this creek of blood.


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s just some animal, you know, the cycle of life¡­¡± Sam mumbles.


    ¡°Mhmm¡­¡±


    The cracking of wood suddenly pulls our attention, it was loud enough for the entire group to hear.


    Hilda crouches down and whispers. ¡°That came from up ahead, right?¡±


    We crouch as well while Sam and I nod.


    Our group sneaks forward until we reach the end of the forest. A small battlefield layn out in front of us, bodies strewn around together with a bunch of broken machinery. In the middle of it all three men are talking to each other.


    ¡°Those uniforms¡­¡± Sam points out.


    ¡°Yeah, those are inquisitors.¡±


    ¡°We have to get the prisoners to our beachhead for interrogation immediately!¡± The man on the right calls out to the other two.


    ¡°But sir, just the four of us?¡±


    ¡°It will have to happen, soldier. The prisoners are disarmed, are they not?¡±


    ¡°...¡± The two soldiers look at one another and then move towards the other side of the field where we see the fourth soldier guarding a couple of Dwarger people.  They were forced to sit down and were clearly shackled.


    ¡°Nikki, can you take out those two? I¡¯ll go for their leader. Sam, try to hit the guard in the distance.¡± Hilda lays out a plan.


    Nikki and Sam nod and after a short countdown they leave me alone with my sister.


    ¡°Such is the fate of the support and the tank.¡± She crouches closer to me as the action unfolds before us.


    Before the two soldiers could even react they were quickly engulfed by a ball of flame. This alerted both the officer and the fourth guard but neither of them stood a chance. Hilda had already closed the distance to the officer and chopped off his hand with her sword-cane. Quickly followed by her kicking him behind the knee to force him on the ground. The fourth guard drew his sword but quickly collapsed as three arrows pierced his chest in quick succession.


    ¡°Ami, can you come and stop this guy¡¯s bleeding?¡± Hilda asks while she¡¯s cuffing the officer behind his back with a pair of manacles.


    ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± I run over to her with my sister close by my side.


    ¡°Ok, these really were the only guys.¡± Lise comments.


    In the meantime Sam is uncuffing the prisoners.


    I heal the guy¡¯s wound. ¡°Can I go and resurrect the other Dwarger?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to ask me that, kitten.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°You can go and help her if she needs anything ¨¦lise.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye, boss.¡±


    When I walk away the officer who¡¯s laying on the floor yells at me. ¡°It¡¯s you! You are the heretic¡¯s goddess aren¡¯t you!?¡±


    Hilda quickly stops his yelling by planting her knee in the guy¡¯s back and menacingly sticking her sword cane in the dirt before his face. ¡°Do you want me to reopen the wound that she just healed for you?¡±


    The guy immediately shut up


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I was thinking too.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to him, just focus on the task at hand.¡± My sister softly bumps into me with her shoulder.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod as we walk around the battlefield looking for Dwarger to heal. Though most of the bodies we passed had similar uniforms as the other heretics we encountered.


    ¡°Looks like these folks put up quite a fight...¡± Lise halts near one of the broken machines for a second. It was surrounded by at least a dozen dead inquisitors. And then she continues walking next to me.


    In the end we only manage to find four Dwarger soldiers among the dead. When I start casting my resurrection spell, ¨¦lise gathers up the other three bodies next to me so I have to spend less effort walking around and treating everyone separately. But to my suprise the casting goes even smoother than I had imagined, which didn¡¯t go unnoticed by my sister either. The wounds of the four Dwarger we found swiftly start to heal as I can start feeling their aura come back to life.


    ¡°Where is it, it should still be early enough in the morning to see it.¡± She stares up into the sky. ¡°Ah, there it is.¡±


    I follow the direction she is staring in, it¡¯s the moon, just barely peeking out over the treeline. It¡¯s almost completely full.


    ¡°Ah, right, I was a lunar mage.¡± I say while I pump even more healing into the four soldiers in front of me.


    ¡°Almost forgot you didn¡¯t pick a Goddess class?¡±


    ¡°Maybe a little.¡±


    She pats my head and giggles. ¡°You overpowered little cat girl.¡± She then starts looking around again. ¡°Are you going to resurrect the inquisitors too?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t, those bastards attacked us without any reason.¡± It was the voice of a soldier from the group of Dwarger Sam had released. She was walking next to them.


    ¡°They were on about some pink haired heretic Goddess looking for divine artifacts.¡±


    ¡°An¡¯ also about a bishop or sumthin¡¯.¡± Another soldier comments.


    ¡°Yes. When we said we didn¡¯t know anything they yelled we were lying and just attacked us. They didn¡¯t count on our Duck here to be as powerful as it was.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you are talking about your machine?¡± ¨¦lise asks.


    The Dwarger soldier nods. ¡°We are not a very martial race, but we do know how to build our trinkets.¡±


    ¡°When their mage finally found a weak spot we were screwed though.¡± Yet another soldier comments, this one was wearing some kind of goggles so I assume he¡¯s the driver.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see a mage around here.¡± Sam looks around for a sec.


    ¡°The Duck fell on top of him when it collapsed.¡± The goggly guy replies.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    ¡°But how are our friends faring, Miss?¡± The lead soldier puts his attention back on me.


    ¡°They should make a full recovery. They are just unconscious now.¡±


    ¡°You have our gratitude.¡± The dwarger bows, immediately followed by the rest of his group. ¡°We shall not forget this.¡±


    I have the feeling this is going places I don¡¯t like¡­


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 94: Beachhead

    FieryKathy


    At least I have writing to distract me a bit.


    ¡°Should we go and check on our prisoner?¡± ¨¦lise asks.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay here for a while longer, I can give you people a check-up while we are at it too.¡± I smile at our new Dwarger friends.¡±


    ¡°Alright, and you Sam?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stick with my girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°Ok. See you in a bit then.¡± My sis walks off towards Nikki, Hilda and the officer of the inquisition while me and Sam stay to check up on the Dwarger people.


    The others didn¡¯t really have a lot of wounds. Some of them had bruises and a couple of scratches but nothing too bad. A short heal was more than plenty to get rid of those.


    It doesn¡¯t take long for the people I revived to start gaining consciousness either. They were clearly distressed and didn¡¯t know what happened, but when they saw their friends they quickly calmed down too and were also super grateful to us. The Dwarger tell us that healing magic and especially revivification magic is incredibly rare on the continent.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t have ways to heal our wounded. But we need the machinery present for that and scouting parties like us simply don¡¯t have those. By the time a larger party would have found us it would already have been too late for revival.¡±


    ¡°Did you get a message out to your people that you were under attack?¡± Sam asks the Dwarger who was talking and looks like the leader of the group.


    He shakes his head. ¡°We communicate through flares but their mages stopped them from reaching altitude.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bad¡­¡± Sam helps some of the just revived soldiers to stand up.


    The leader nods. ¡°We should try to get to the city as fast as possible to alert everyone of our new enemy. Our cities also have long range communication systems.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go ask our friends if they have any more information you could take with you.¡± Sam takes the lead.


    ¡°If you all can walk of course.¡± I smile and check everyone over once more but they all appear to be in great shape now.


    The Dwarger all diligently follow us to wear Hilda, Nikki and my sis are standing.


    ¡°Good, we just wanted to come and get you. Are all the Dwarger okay?¡± Hilda asks and looks at our little group.


    ¡°Yes, we are fine Milady, thanks to these two.¡±


    ¡°Nice to hear that.¡±


    I peak around Hilda and see the inquisitorial officer, now a lot more bruised than earlier when I left him.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit hard handed, isn¡¯t it?¡± I ask.


    ¡°He was calling you names, sis. I wasn¡¯t going to have that and neither was Hilda.¡±


    ¡°Plus it made him reveal the plans of the inquisition and the position of their beachhead.¡± Nikki crosses her arms and looks at the inquisitor with disgust. ¡°But what do we do with him now?¡±


    ¡°We can take him, our leadership would also like some first hand evidence.¡± The Dwarger leader steps in. ¡°Will these cuffs hold?¡±


    ¡°Yes, these are magical and can only be opened by the holder of the key.¡± Hilda hands the key over to the leader. ¡°Do you have any weapons just in case he tries to run?¡±


    ¡°We will manage, there¡¯s plenty of weapons on the battlefield still.¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°While you bring him back our party will go and take a look at their beachhead and see what they are planning. This guy was some low ranking officer who didn¡¯t know the details.¡±


    The leader also nods and replies. ¡°If you discover what they are up to, please come back to the city and ask for commander Thrognoum Mountainforge.¡± He also hands over something that looks very similar to a pair of binoculars over to Hilda. ¡°This might come in useful for you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks and we will do.¡±


    And just like that the Dwarger left with their captive, leaving us to plan our approach on the enemy camp.


    ¡°Where is this camp exactly?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°The inquisitor said it was in that direction.¡± Hilda points into the woods.


    ¡°And what if he lied to us?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t, I could tell by the way he said it.¡± Nikki assures the group. ¡°It¡¯s easier to read people when you are a vampire.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°Alright, I guess we should go and take a look?¡±


    ¡°Yep, let¡¯s get going.¡± My sister takes the lead through the woods while Sam goes wide to make sure we don¡¯t get sneaked up on by another scouting party.


    After a good hour of walking we finally get to the edge of the forest overlooking a lagoon in the distance. In it we could see six big ships, around the size of those we sank on our trip here. Rowing boats were constantly going back and forward, probably to unload supplies.


    ¡°Holy shit. I didn¡¯t know the theocracy had that many people.¡± My sis puts her sword in the sand and kneels down next to it.


    ¡°They recruit zealots from the entire continent so I¡¯m not that surprised.¡± Hilda takes out the binoculars she got from the Dwarger leader and starts looking around.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Sam asks while she sits down next to me.


    ¡°A direct assault would be suicide, even with our overpowered goddess kitten¡­ I¡¯m looking to see if I can spot one of their leaders¡­ Aha.¡± Hilda smiles but that smile disappears just as quickly as it appeared.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± My sis looks at Hilda, she must¡¯ve noticed her sudden change of expression as well.


    ¡°Well¡­ the good thing is, one of their leaders appears to be heading out with a group of soldiers¡­ but the bad thing is¡­¡± She hands the binos over.


    Lise takes them and looks at the spot Hilda is pointing at. ¡°Give me a sec¡­ Ah, I see.¡± She then hands the binoculars to her partner.


    I poke my sister in the side ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°Here, you can see for yourself, Ami.¡± Nikki hands the binos to me next.


    My sister guides my focus. ¡°See those people next to the guy in purple robes?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I think so.¡± The group of people she means are wearing all sorts of armour and weaponry very different from the other soldiers on the beach.


    ¡°Those are quite possibly other players.¡±


    ¡°Wait, already? Didn¡¯t the game only come out recently?¡±


    ¡°Never underestimate the power of power levelers, sis.¡±


    ¡°What are they doing with these fucks.¡± Sam says after she gets the binos from me too.


    ¡°Some people just really like to roleplay as inquisitors going by my experience with Catacombs and Chimeras.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t they see that what they are doing is morally wrong?¡±


    ¡°You need to remember that for most of these players this world is merely a game, roleplaying game¡­ We might not agree with them but that doesn¡¯t change that fact.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Sam looks down and scribbles into the dirt with one of her arrows.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± I ask our de facto leader.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not do any player killing if I could help it, but if those people are the bodyguards of that inquisitor I don¡¯t see many opportunities not too.¡±


    ¡°But won¡¯t they be a lot stronger than most people we¡¯ve fought already?¡±


    Hilda gazes through the binoculars one more time. ¡°Their gear is pretty standard and I don¡¯t recognize any of them, which means they are not veterans of the game. Experience wise we probably outmatch them by quite a bit. That being said, they are still players so we must be cautious for some weird skills. Let¡¯s just hope they don¡¯t have an upstart Goddess too.¡± she puts down the binos and winks at me.


    ¡°I-I think that¡¯s unlikely.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it looks like they are on the move.¡± Nikki comments.


    Hilda gets up and wipes the dirt from her knees. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s follow them.¡±


    Our group sticks to the treeline and heads in the direction we saw the enemy party disappear into. We are making double the pace to close the gap while still being mindful of our surroundings.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we have caught up to them by now?¡± ¨¦lise looks around but because we had reached a denser part of the forest our line of sight wasn¡¯t that great.


    ¡°I think so.¡± Sam replies and then incredibly quickly raises her bow and without warning shoots an arrow into the tree canopy. ¡°I think we already have in fact.¡±


    ¡°Well spotted!¡± A grinning spear wielding man walks out from behind a tree 20 meters ahead of us. His long ears betrayed that he was a Langor. ¡°Looks like our little ambush failed.¡± A couple of others then joined him, including the ranger who was presumably hiding in the tree up ahead and the inquisitor.


    ¡°That¡¯s her! That¡¯s the heretic, seize her!¡±


    ¡°Hold it gramps.¡± The spearman raised his hand.


    ¡°G-gramps?¡± The inquisitor recoils a bit after hearing that.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try to do this peacefully first, shall we. Why don¡¯t you hand over the pink-haired cat girl so we can all be on our way?¡±


    Sam immediately gets in front of me. ¡°Nope, not gonna happen.¡±


    ¡°Why are you even in with that lot, do you not know what they do to people?¡± My sister raises her shield up to her chest and slides diagonally in front of me too.


    The spearman shrugs. ¡°Earns good money to work for them.¡±


    ¡°Seize her in the name of the one true God!¡± The inquisitor goes back to his finistrations.


    ¡°Well, looks like a fight it will be.¡± The man raises his spear up to his waist as the rest of his party also gets into a battle stance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sis. We will protect you.¡±


    With that proclamation of protection from my sister, Nikki turns the entire area ahead of us into a wall of flame and the combat starts.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 95: Steamroll

    FieryKathy


    Nikki¡¯s fire spell had sadly missed most of its intended effect as the only thing it managed to do was to scorch away one of the eyebrows from the spearman who managed to dodge out of the way just in time. Their ranger starts peppering us with arrows but to little to no effect either as Sam is returning fire almost constantly, keeping their ranger on the move, never giving them the possibility to aim their shots. Wounds that occasionally pop up are healed by both me and their healer, practically putting us at an impasse with not a single party gaining the upper hand. Until their mage decided to try break that impasse that is. I see him channeling some sort of lightning spell above his head but right before the cast is ready. All of the sudden the lightning dies out and the mage collapses to his knees. A blade sticking through his chest. Behind him stands our trustworthy leader, who¡¯d managed to sneak away in the commotion and ended up behind the other party.


    ¡°We can still win if we kill their healer!¡± The spearman shouts with a grin on his face. He looks at me menacingly and in the blink of an eye he disappears, only to reappear next to me. ¡°Sorry bossman, not taking her prisoner.¡± The spearman trusts his spear at me and because it all happened so fast, I had no time to dodge.


    ¡°Not. Gonna. Happen.¡± My sister, somehow having anticipated that move, shield bashed the spearman against the tree, knocking him out cold.


    ¡°Thanks, sis.¡±


    ¡°Told ya we were going to protect you.¡± She pets my head but that¡¯s also when an arrow dinged off her armour ¡°Just give me a second, we still have some cleanup to do.¡±


    From that point on it was, like ¨¦lise said, just some cleanup. One of Sam¡¯s arrows finally manages to catch the ranger, slowing them down just enough to immediately land a couple more. As for their healer, Nikki had been preparing a fireball that just instantly obliterated the part of the forest she was standing in, leaving nothing but ash. The inquisitor tried to run but got bonked in the head by Hilda¡¯s cane so we could take him prisoner.


    ¡°What do we do with the spear guy?¡± Sam asks while probing the unconscious man with one of her arrows.


    ¡°Leaving him here will definitely bite us in the ass.¡± ¨¦lise comments while inspecting the little dent in her armour. ¡°If we kill him he¡¯ll just respawn in the nearest town they are attuned to which is probably on the old continent.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d want to kill a man that¡¯s unconscious¡­¡± I say, looking down at him.


    ¡°But, that way he can continue adventuring with his friends again. So it is probably the right move to just finish him.¡± Hilda replies. ¡°There is a possibility they¡¯ll come after us again because humans like to hold grudges.¡±


    ¡°By the time they get their gear back together and get back over here, we will be long gone.¡± Nikki continues.


    Hilda nods. ¡°Yep, pretty much.¡±


    ¡°If you put it like that¡­ But at least make sure he doesn¡¯t suffer...¡±


    ¡°That ranger had a flask of poison, that¡¯ll be pretty fast and painless. And if that doesn¡¯t work I think I saw some herbs and toxic mushrooms too.¡± Sam gets up and runs over to the ranger¡¯s body.


    Sam swiftly returns with the flask of poison. ¡°I double checked it, this poison should work almost instantly.¡±


    ¡°Always useful to have a ranger who knows herbalism.¡± Hilda pats my girlfriend on the back.


    In the meantime my sister joins me. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to watch we can already start walking towards the Dwarger city. The rest will catch up to us.


    ¡°Hmm, I think I¡¯d prefer that, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lise smiles and tells our plan to the rest of the party.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t start running and we¡¯ll be with you in five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Aight.¡± My sister picks up the inquisitor and then joins me at my side once more.


    Sam takes a moment to kiss me goodbye and after that me and my sis start marching through the forest.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he too heavy for you?¡±


    ¡°Nah. This guy doesn¡¯t weigh that much. I just need to watch out for tree roots that are sticking out. So if you see any just call them out for me, will you?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod and start guiding my sister through the more dense parts of the forest. ¡°I do have a question though.¡± I say after a minute of silence.


    ¡°Sure, shoot.¡±


    ¡°What happens to player bodies after they die?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s actually a pretty interesting question.¡±


    ¡°Watch out for that root though.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Lise hops over the root and then continues her answer. ¡°There¡¯s an eight hour delay between people losing their last hp and resurrecting in the nearest town. When those eight hours have passed, the bodies they left behind disintegrate and get reassembled at their previous attunement spot.¡±


    ¡°And those eight hours are there as a timeframe for being resurrected by magic?¡±


    ¡°I think so, yes. It¡¯s weird that the God who made this place thought about that all.¡±


    ¡°Another root.¡±


    ¡°Hup.¡± She jumps over the next one.


    ¡°But it¡¯s true that it¡¯s weird that God made this world like that¡­ I wonder if they are still around.¡±


    ¡°The God, you mean?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but I got the feeling that if you get stronger and stronger we might run into them sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not looking forward to that¡­ what if they are aggressive?¡±


    ¡°Aint noone, even some God, messing with my sister and getting away with it in one piece.¡± Lise pumps up the muscles of her free arm, not that you could see them behind her armour. ¡°Oh!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I just got a notification.¡±


    ¡°Want to wait a bit to read it?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I can read while I¡¯m walking.¡±


    ¡°With all the tree roots.¡±


    ¡°I will put my faith in you little sis.¡± She laughs as she opens up her stat window. ¡°Wow, nice!¡±


    I guide my sister through a couple more roots. ¡°What did you get?¡±


    ¡°Got a new skill called ¡®Protector of the Goddess.¡¯ ¡®Your words and actions have proven your devotion to the Goddess and as such she¡¯s granted you the title of her protector.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯t do that, I think¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a subconscious thing?¡± My sis shrugs. ¡°Anyhow, it continues. ¡®Your defensive and offensive capabilities are buffed considerably when you act in the defense of your Goddess, your strength has been increased and furthermore, this skill has granted you a set of divine heavy armour in your inventory.¡¯ Wait, really? That¡¯s wicked!¡± Lise puts down the inquisitor next to a tree. ¡°Sorry to stop for a sec, but I really want to check it out.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m quite curious too!¡± I make sure the inquisitor is still securely tied up and then patiently look at what my sister is doing.


    She presses her HUD a couple of times before a set of armour appears in front of us on the ground. And apparently it comes with a sword and shield as well. ¡°Amazing.¡± My sis picks up the chest piece and investigates it. ¡°This metal is super rare and the gold trimming on it is just super sexy¡­¡± I could hear her almost start drooling. ¡°Oh, and Ami, look at this.¡± She points her finger at a heraldic shield that was attached to her left pauldron. The heraldic symbol was engraved with rose gold and had a winged lioness holding a burning longsword.


    ¡°Is that supposed to be¡­¡±


    ¡°You? Yeah I think so! It¡¯s so badass!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing!¡± I hide my face in the palms of my hands.


    ¡°Nah.¡± My sister waves away my embarrassment like it¡¯s nothing before she starts putting her armour, shield and sword away into her inventory.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wear it?¡± I peek through my fingers.


    ¡°I want to inspect it a bit more closely, it has some stat buffs associated with it as well and I want to have the real experience of donning my armour for the first time. We will waste too much time if i do it now.¡±


    Some rustling in the woods puts us on alert but we soon realize it¡¯s the sound of the rest of the party catching up to us.


    ¡°Ah, you didn¡¯t make it as far as I thought you would.¡± Hilda comments as she marches up to us. ¡°Got tired, Lise?¡± She looks at the unconscious inquisitor next to us.


    ¡°No, she got a new skill and some armour to go with it so she wanted to check it out.¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡± ¨¦lise enthusiastically replies as she picks up the inquisitor again.


    ¡°Amicia¡¯s Goddess shenanigans at work again?¡± Nikki helps her partner with dead weight so my sis can get the inquisitor on her shoulder a bit easier.


    ¡°Pretty much, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Awh, when am I going to get some cool stuff?¡±


    ¡°And me too!¡± Sam fakes a pout.


    ¡°Eh, you just gotta realize I¡¯m way cooler and that¡¯s why I get cool stuff, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°Do you think she can follow us with that body on her shoulder if we double our pace?¡±


    ¡°Probably not, she already needs help not to stumble over roots.¡±


    ¡°Nooo! Don¡¯t go! I don¡¯t want to walk alone.¡±


    ¡°Should have thought about that before acting so ¡®cool¡¯.¡± Nikki says as she just walks off.


    ¡°Nooooo! Come back!¡± My sister runs after her, almost stumbling over the first tree root she encounters but she manages to balance herself just in time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not let our derps out of sight.¡± Hilda pats my shoulder and starts following Nikki and my sister.


    Sam takes the opportunity of us being alone to pull me close to her, and give me a longish kiss. She whispers in my ear. ¡°We should probably follow them, kitty.¡±


    I blush. ¡°I-I wasn¡¯t the one who got us distracted¡­!¡±


    My girlfriend takes my hand. ¡°I know, but I couldn¡¯t resist. I might need to distract us a bit more when we are in private later, though.¡±


    My face got even redder. ¡°Saaam, you are making me weak in the knees and we still have so long to waaaalk.¡±


    ¡°I can carry you so don¡¯t worry about that.¡±


    She did end up having to carry me for a bit until I was able to walk again.


    Darn flirty forest cats¡­.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 96: Walker

    FieryKathy


    A hefty trek later we finally arrive back at the Dwarger city, there¡¯s a lot more movement going on than last time we were here. Especially when it comes to soldiers, who are walking around with steam powered machinery.


    ¡°Halt!¡± One of the Dwarger soldiers spots us and runs up to us. ¡°State your business!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ We are looking for a captain¡­. uhm Trogsomewhat¡­¡± My sister tries, shifting the weight of the inquisitor on her shoulder.


    ¡°Thrognoum Mountainforge, captain Thrognoum Mountainforge.¡± Hilda jumps in to help my sister.


    ¡°Right, yeah, that guy.¡±


    ¡°What business do you have with our captain?¡± The Dwarger soldier didn¡¯t lower his guard at all and if anything was getting more on edge.


    ¡°Burgbar, stop it! These are the people I told you about!¡± A familiar Dwarger soldier comes running out of a building a bit further down the road. It was the leader of the group we¡¯d saved earlier today.


    ¡°Ah. I¡¯m sorry.¡± The Dwarger soldier takes his hand of his weapon. ¡°Can¡¯t be too sure with these strangers.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for Burgbar.¡± The leader apologizes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we understand.¡± Hilda reassures him. ¡°But we do have some more information for your captain.¡± she nods towards the inquisitor who¡¯s still KO on Lise¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, you caught a high ranking one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, where would you like him?¡± ¨¦lise shifts the guy¡¯s weight again. ¡°Not that I¡¯m complaining but I have been carrying him for a while now.¡±


    ¡°Right, follow me.¡± The leader leads us through the city¡¯s streets while the other Dwarger soldier gives us an escort as well. The more we walk through the streets the more soldiers we see tugging along with war machinery.


    ¡°Is this all because of your report?¡± Nikki asks the leader.


    The leader shook his head while looking around the corner to make sure we weren¡¯t going to get walked over by one of the bigger machines. ¡°There were enemy ships spotted near the harbour but our defenses managed to hold them off together with the aid of another foreign vessel. I think they called themself pirates?¡±


    ¡°Ah, is Captain Taylor still here?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°You can go and take a look later. They were repairing their ship in the harbour. I heard the city council also assigned some mechanics to give them some upgrades.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely have to go and take a look then when we are finished.¡± Hilda states as we round the corner and enter the city center. Three steam machines have positioned themselves around the main building. They look a lot bigger than everything we¡¯ve seen up to this point.


    ¡°What are those?¡± I ask, pointing at one of them.


    ¡°Those are the most recent models of steam land walkers.¡± Our Dwarger friend explains.


    ¡°Walkers?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, how else would they move? Wheels are so primitive.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they don¡¯t know what tracks are.¡± Hilda whispers in my ear.


    ¡°And do they have weapons too?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yes but they are currently stowed away inside of the walkers themselves.¡±


    ¡°With that kind of engineering I can see why they had issues with your small squad. I wouldn¡¯t want to fight it head-on.¡± Sam says.


    ¡°Yeah, me neither.¡± My sister agrees as the Dwarger leader opens the door of the central building.


    ¡°Bring the man downstairs through that door, I¡¯ll bring the captain to you.¡± Our friend says while pointing at one of the many doors attached to this room.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Hilda runs ahead to open the door for ¨¦lise. We all follow behind her. A spiraling staircase twists down for quite a while, being lit by gas fed lanterns on the side of the wall. After descending what appears to be several floors we finally end up in some kind of prison room. Currently there¡¯s a Dwarger guard sitting at a desk, watching over the only other prisoner, the inquisitor we¡¯d fought earlier today.


    ¡°Ah, another prisoner for interrogation?¡± The Dwarger guard looks up and pushes his glasses up his nose.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± My sister answers. ¡°The other guy was getting the captain, they¡¯ll be here soon I think.¡±


    The guard nods and gets up, taking a ring of keys out of the drawer of his desk. ¡°The interrogation room is through that door.¡± He tosses the keys over to Sam who quite easily catches them. ¡°It¡¯s the 24th key.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bit too trusting, just giving us the keys like that?¡± My sis walks over to the door while Sam looks for the key.


    ¡°I overheard the interrogation of the other one. You look precisely like the people that beat him. He was swearing and cursing a lot about you lot. And as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.¡±


    I hear Hilda speak under her breath. ¡°Huh, so that¡¯s a proverb here too.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    When Sam finally finds the key, we enter the interrogation room, which is actually surprisingly big. My sister put down the inquisitor on the chair which was clearly built for the prisoner as it had steel shackles and chains attached to it. The Dwarger guard helps her with the several clamps before he walks out again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and get you some chairs if you want to follow along with the interrogation.


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± ¨¦lise replies, Nikki and Hilda nod along.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to sit that out if that¡¯s possible, though¡­.¡± I raise my hand.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Sam raises hers too.


    The guard nods and walks away.


    ¡°Is it okay if we wait upstairs?¡± I look at the rest of the group.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Another voice comes from behind us. I turn around and see our Dwarger friend and presumably the captain, standing behind us.


    ¡°There¡¯s a little relaxation room for the guards on the left side of the entrance, should be easy enough to find. But before you go I¡¯d like to offer my deepest gratitude for saving my men and putting your life on the line for our city and our nation.¡± The captain bows to me.


    ¡°Ah¡­ uh¡­ yeah, no problem at all¡­¡±


    The captain looks at me a bit weirdly after my reply but luckily my sister jumps in to help.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t handle praise that well.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± The captain nods and walks past us.


    ¡°We¡¯ll come and look for you when we are done.¡± Hilda helps the returning guard with the chairs.


    ¡°Alrighty.¡± Sam nods and takes out of the room and up the stairs.


    ¡°So where did that captain say the relaxation room was?¡± Sam looks around in the lobby at the identical doors.


    ¡°To the left of the entrance.¡± I say to my girlfriend and head towards the door on the left.


    ¡°But¡­ does he mean the left side when you come in, or the left side when you go out¡­¡±


    My hand hovers over the doorknob for a second before I quickly retract it. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ what if we enter a room we aren¡¯t supposed to go in and we get arrested?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll happen¡­ maybe¡­¡± We both stare at the closed door when we hear the main door opening.


    ¡°Hey, is anyone here?¡± A familiar voice calls out.


    ¡°Captain Taylor!¡± I run up to her to moment I see her face.


    ¡°Oh! Fancy meetin¡¯ you lot here!¡± She gives me a pat on the back. ¡°But do you perhaps know where the captain of the guard is?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s downstairs interrogating an inquisitor we brought in.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I guess I¡¯ll wait ¡®till that¡¯s done then. It¡¯s not that urgent anyway.¡±


    ¡°What were you here for?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Just a couple of questions I had concerin¡¯ me ship. The engineers said to take it up with the captain.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Is the rest of your group downstairs too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Ami doesn¡¯t like sitting in on interrogations so we were looking for the relaxation room.¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°The bar is this way.¡± Taylor walks over to the opposite door and pushes it open for us. ¡°That other room is the bathroom.¡±


    Me and Sam look at each other and start giggling.


    Taylor joins us at the bar, since there was no one else there at the present she slides over  the counter and starts looking through the drinks. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a self-service bar.¡± She sniffs one of the bottles, shivers and quickly puts it back. ¡°Let¡¯s not drink that one.¡± And she continues looking. ¡°Got any preferences?¡±


    ¡°Not really, just not alcoholic.¡± Sam replies as she sits down on one of the barstools.


    I sit down next to my girlfriend. ¡°If there¡¯s no milk, anything else non-alcoholic will do.¡±


    ¡°Non-alcoholic, huh.¡± We hear her rummaging on the bottom planks behind the counter. ¡°I think most of these do have alcohol in them. I think these Dwarger kinda enjoy getting intoxicated.¡± She sniffs another bottle. ¡°Nope, not this one either.¡± She sniffs a couple more bottles before she finally gets up and places it down on the counter. ¡°I think this is some kind of apple cider.¡± And takes three glasses from the cabinet behind her.


    ¡°Can I smell it for a second?¡± Sam asks, a bit of a weird question if you take it out of context.


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± She hands over the bottle.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Sam puts the bottle down again. ¡°It definitely looks and smells like apple cider. I¡¯m not detecting alcohol so that¡¯s something.¡±


    ¡°So, everyone wants a glass?¡±


    I nod and Sam nods too.


    Taylor quickly fills up our glasses. ¡°Bottoms up.¡± She takes a big swig from her glass. ¡°It¡¯s definitely good stuff, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to drink alcohol?¡± I ask our favourite pirate captain.


    ¡°Not this early in the morning.¡± She smiles and shakes her head. ¡°And I¡¯m sure this Dwarger stuff is a bit stronger than I¡¯m used to as well. But anyhow, what have you done since we last saw each other?¡±


    ¡°Not that much to be honest, we just ran into these inquisitors and now we¡¯re here.¡± Sam replies. ¡°But what about you? We heard your ship got a bit shot up?¡±


    ¡°Ah right, you adventuring folks do sleep very long¡­ and about my ship, that¡¯s a bit of a longer story.¡±


    Story time!


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 97: Story

    FieryKathy


    Taylor drinks from her glass and puts it down on the counter. ¡°So here¡¯s the tale. After ye left our ship we spent a couple o¡¯ days just transferring goods in between coastal settlements. Until one day when we were loading up another bunch of cargo we spotted some sails in the distance.¡±


    ¡°The inquisitors?¡±


    ¡°Aye.¡± Taylor nods. ¡°We were barely off shore when they started shooting at us. The Dwarger saw them attack their friendly neighbourhood traders gettin¡¯ shot at and didn¡¯t take very kindly to that so they started opening up with their shore batteries. We managed to hold them off from getting within fire range of the city. That¡¯s what we¡¯ve been doing for the last couple of days but they¡¯ve been pretty unrelenting. It¡¯s been taking some toll on our vessel. Luckily enough we only got some minor wounded and zero casualties.¡±


    ¡°How does the theocracy even have the naval capacity for all this?¡± Sam asks. ¡°I thought Hilda said it was only a small nation.¡±


    Taylor nods again. ¡°Looks like they¡¯ve pulled some strings in the kingdom of Sharab. It¡¯s been mostly their ships we¡¯ve been fighting after the initial wave.¡±


    ¡°Did I hear Sharab?¡± I hear Hilda¡¯s voice coming from behind us.


    ¡°Ah, Hilda, good seeing ya again.¡± Taylor lifts her glass and afterwards takes some more glasses from the cabinet. ¡°I was just tellin¡¯ a tale of our heroic deeds to the youngsters here.¡±


    My sister, Nikki, the Dwarger captain and our other Dwarger friend also join us.


    ¡°Yes, good seeing you again.¡± Hilda takes the barstool next to me. ¡°So, Sharab?¡±


    ¡°Aye, Sharab. Never really liked that kingdom in the first place, this only affirms my beliefs.¡±


    ¡°Sharab has always been overly zealous when it comes to listening to Osvik so it¡¯s not that out of the blue, it¡¯s still bad news though.¡±


    Taylor nods once more. ¡°Anyhow, that¡¯s why we¡¯re at anchor. Our Dwarger friends ¡®ere offered us some of their tech to upgrade our mighty ship. Cannons and armour platin¡¯ and such.¡±


    ¡°Are they working fast enough for you?¡± Captain Mountainforge asks.


    ¡°Yes, was just here to ask if we could get some deck guns too. The engineers said it was classified and that I had to take it up with you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll clear you for that.¡±  The captain nods.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Taylor raises her glass and then takes another drink.


    ¡°What did we learn from the inquisitor?¡± I ask the group.


    ¡°They are preparing an assault on the city but I think that was already quite clear. We are preparing our defenses.¡± The captain replies.


    ¡°But why are they here and so many of them? Does it have something to do with Ami?¡±


    Hilda and ¨¦lise look at each other before they give us an affirmative nod.


    ¡°Both yes and no. It¡¯s a bit complicated.¡± Hilda says. ¡°Apparently us going to this continent had more meaning than we initially thought. According to what the inquisitor told us, there¡¯s legends that this continent used to be the ancient home of the god who created this world. That there supposedly are relics here that could change the balance of power drastically in the hands of a ¡®heritic Goddess¡¯ as they call you...¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°But why now?¡± Sam scratches her cheek. ¡°Didn¡¯t they know of this continent¡¯s existence before?¡±


    ¡°There was some kind of forcefield that shielded off the entire continent. They¡¯d planned to set sail towards this place once it went down, but the appearance of the ¡®heretic Goddess¡¯ made their plans accelerate a lot.¡±


    Right¡­ the shielding is probably because of that weird MMO logic the God of this world used?


    ¡°Aye, it definitely was a lot harder to get here in the past. Only skilled captains like meself could slip through without having their ships sunk.¡±


    ¡°Did you ever see this forcefield?¡± Hilda asks our glorious captain.


    ¡°Less of a forcefield, more like incredibly unfavourable winds.¡±


    ¡°I see. So maybe they interpreted that as a forcefield then.¡± Hilda rubs her chin.


    ¡°Quite possible.¡±


    ¡°What kind of relics were they talking about?¡± I then ask the group.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t say.¡± Our Dwarger friend answers.


    ¡°But do you not perhaps know what he is talking about? Ruins or stuff like that.¡± ¨¦lise asks.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Captain Mountainforge thinks for a second. ¡°Not immediately but then again we are only a coastal settlement. Not many scientists here. You¡¯ll probably have more luck asking about that in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Is that a long way from here?¡± Hilda takes out a piece of paper and a pencil.


    ¡°A couple of days of travel on foot, but we might be able to give you some transportation.¡±


    ¡°Can we get the directions too?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Captain Mountainforge takes a moment to help Hilda draw a crude map.


    ¡°Okay, thanks, that should be easy enough.¡± She puts the paper on the inside of her jacket.


    ¡°So, are we going to go to the capital then?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I think that would be our best option right now, sis. If that relic does exist and in fact does have a lot of power, I¡¯d rather not have some theocratic fools get their hands on that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ but will the people here be okay? With the inquisitors so closeby.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us.¡± Captain Mountainforge proudly sticks his chest forward. ¡°They will not be able to break through our walls.¡±


    ¡°And while we can¡¯t attack them directly, we will be here to disrupt their supply lines and do some raidin¡¯.¡± Taylor winks.


    ¡°As long as you stay safe. We wouldn¡¯t want to lose a friend.¡± Sam says.


    ¡°Awh, that¡¯s cute.¡± Taylor pats my girlfriend on the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. Had some way tougher challenges in the past.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and get you some transportation after I write a letter to my engineers regarding the captain¡¯s deck guns.¡± Mountainforge quickly walks out of the room, presumably to his office.


    ¡°Does anyone want to have another drink?¡± Taylor offers to which everyone raises their hand.


    ¡°For me something a bit stronger please.¡± Our Dwarger friend laughs.


    ¡°Comin¡¯ right up.¡±


    When the captain returns some time later we are all ready to go. He hands a letter over to Taylor and to Hilda. ¡°Give this to the capital¡¯s city council. They¡¯ll point you towards our scientists.¡± He says after handing the letter over to our leader.


    ¡°Thank you, we will.¡±


    ¡°As for your transport, it should be ready outside.¡± The captain walks out ahead of us, expecting us to follow him which we gladly do. Outside of the building, in between the walkers stands a vehicle. It¡¯s approximately the size of a van, supported by 6 metal legs. It¡¯s roof looks more like a tent than anything else. It¡¯s made out of sloped thin metal plates, connected in tree parts with rubber. The sides are completely open, apart from the railings of the sitting compartment.


    ¡°This nation really doesn¡¯t like wheels doesn¡¯t it?¡± My sister says as we all look closer to inspect our transport.


    ¡°Wheels are so primitive.¡± The two Dwarger say at the same time.


    Taylor looks at our ride for a second and then grins. ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy I have me ship. Speaking of which, I should probably head back now.¡±


    ¡°Hope we will see you again soon, Taylor!¡± I give her a hug. ¡°Please stay safe.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye.¡± She smiles. ¡°If you find yourself near the coast, don¡¯t forget you can use our flare.¡± Taylor pats my head.


    ¡°Will do.¡± Hilda replies.


    I let Taylor go and she waves us goodbye as she heads towards the harbour.


    In the meantime Nikki looks inside of the vehicle. ¡°Does anyone know how to drive this thing?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡± Hilda walks over to the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Looks pretty straightforward to me.¡± She then looks over to the two Dwarger men. ¡°Both sticks forward makes the thing go forward, left one back, right one forward to turn it left?¡±


    Captain Mountainforge nods. ¡°Just so.¡±


    ¡°Are you familiar with our technology?¡± the other Dwarger asks.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen something like this before.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything that Hilda can¡¯t do?¡± I whisper to my sister.


    ¡°If there is it hasn¡¯t been invented yet.¡± She softly giggles back.


    ¡°Alright, we should probably get back to work.¡± The captain continues. ¡°Please don¡¯t try to run into our houses on your way out.¡±


    ¡°We will definitely try.¡± Nikki smiles and with that we say goodbye to our Dwarger friends and step into the vehicle.


    Hilda gets into the driver position and turns something that looks like a key. Making the engine start to puf-puf out some smoke. The thumping of the engine was a lot more silent than I had expected.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this thing moving.¡± Hilda says as she pushes the two levers in front of her forward, making the machine move.


    It doesn¡¯t take long for our machine to drive out of the city.


    ¡°I had expected this to be a lot more bumpy, with the legs and all.¡± My sister stares over the edge at the legs moving below us.


    ¡°They got some pretty good stabilisers it would seem.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°I think this thing can also climb rocks.¡± She looks down at the panel in front of her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not test it unless it¡¯s necessary, wouldn¡¯t want to take the rest of the trip on foot.¡± Lise stops looking down and leans back in the relatively comfortable seat. Nikki immediately rests her head on my sister¡¯s shoulder.


    I decide to do the same with my girlfriend.


    Sam smiles at me and then turns herself towards Hilda. ¡°By the way, Hilda, where did you see such a system before?¡±


    ¡°The driving system?¡± Hilda looks back for a second before looking at the road again.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I play a tank simulator on this console too. Some World War 2 tanks have the same kind of steering system. It¡¯s called clutch braking. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen that used with legs though.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Huh, that sounds like an interesting game.¡± Sam smiles and then leans her head against mine.


    ¡°I¡¯ll play it with you one day if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be cool.¡±


    Tank commander Sam¡­ She¡¯d definitely look great in a uniform¡­.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 98: Herbivore

    FieryKathy


    Our walking car chugs along the road quite pleasantly for the next couple of hours. The rythmic thumping of its legs almost helping me to fall asleep on multiple occasions. However I decide to keep awake and look at the different landscapes that flow by. When we left the first forest we ended up on a plateau with far stretching grasslands and only a couple of trees dotted on it. After that we entered another forest but this one was mostly made out of trees I¡¯d not seen before on our travels. The bark had a grayish hue and the leaves were bright purple.


    ¡°Do you know what these trees are, Sam?¡± I ask my girlfriend who¡¯s looking around with me.


    ¡°Not sure. It looks similar to a birch, except for the size and colour. I will call this the Amitree for now.¡±


    ¡°Wha-? Why?¡±


    ¡°Because of your hair.¡± She smiles and runs her hand in between my ears.


    ¡°My hair is piiiink.¡±


    ¡°Eh, purple, pink, same difference.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Buuu.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it weird that we haven¡¯t seen any animals yet?¡± Nikki comments as she¡¯s looking the other way with my sister.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, the grass is pretty tall and this machine isn¡¯t exactly silent or hard to spot.¡± Sam replies. ¡°I¡¯ve already seen a couple of birds so it¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t animals at all.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t exactly counting birds though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s rude. What have our dinosaurs friends ever done to you?¡± ¨¦lise jokes.


    ¡°Oh! Now that¡¯s a good point.¡± Hilda looks behind her for a second before turning her eyes back to the road.


    ¡°What is?¡± I ask.


    ¡°On our world birds are closely related to dinosaurs, right?¡± She starts. ¡°Do you think this world also has dinosaurs or not?¡±


    ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t know. But this world got created by a God, right? So evolution shouldn¡¯t really have mattered.¡± Sam rubs her chin.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t Veanya say that our world also had a God? And we have proof that dinos existed.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ good point...¡±


    ¡°Just when you thought the entire discussion between creationists and evolutionists was over we¡¯ve accidentally opened the debate again.¡± My sis laughs.


    Then suddenly the car comes to a halt.


    ¡°Hilda?¡± I look over to the driver seat where I see Hilda staring with her mouth open at something in front of us. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I think we just answered the dinosaur question.¡± She points ahead of us and everyone stands up in the passenger car to be able to see.


    In the distance we can quite clearly see a dinosaur standing in the middle of the road.


    ¡°Oh! It¡¯s a pricklysaur!¡±


    Sam snorts. ¡°Ami, that¡¯s called a Stegosaurus.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I meant.¡± I pout again.


    ¡°Wow, who¡¯d ever thought we¡¯d see dinosaurs in real life.¡± My sis comments. I can see a sparkle in her eye.


    ¡°It really is amazing isn¡¯t it.¡± Hilda says, her mouth almost wide open.


    ¡°It is, but it also is kindoff blocks our road.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m pretty sure Stegosaurus are herbivores but I¡¯d rather not take any chances with something that¡¯s built like a tank. Let¡¯s just sit here for a while until it has moved.¡± Hilda turns the key of the vehicle and the engine goes quiet.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably not a bad decision.¡± Sam sits down again.


    ¡°Hey, but if there¡¯s a pricklysaurus here, doesn¡¯t that mean there¡¯s also things like the T-Rex?¡± I ask the group.


    ¡°T-Rexes lived way later than your pricklysaurus, Ami. Wait...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the time-line is a bit out of whack, isn¡¯t it?¡± Hilda chuckles. ¡°Let¡¯s hope they just didn¡¯t evolve like that, somehow, otherwise we might have a bad time.¡± She takes out her binoculars and starts looking around the area.


    My sis gulps ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s hope to not encounter an apex predator dinosaur, I¡¯d very much prefer that even if my sis can probably turn it into a T-bone steak.¡±


    Sam just smiles at me and gives me a head pat.


    Luckily, after a couple of minutes not a single T-Rex came to munch us and the pricklysaurus moved off the road.


    ¡°Ah, looks like it¡¯s time to go.¡± Hilda turns the key again and the engine roars back to life.


    We slowly move past where the dinosaur had been standing, but sadly, due to the denseness of the forest we can¡¯t see it anymore.


    The road through this forest goes on for a lot longer than through the other biomes which we drove through.


    ¡°Must be a big forest.¡± My sister says as she lays down on the seats next to her.


    Nikki lays down next to her girlfriend. ¡°Let¡¯s get some rest then. I¡¯m getting a bit bored by the trees.¡±


    I just cuddle up to Sam but decide to keep my eyes open.


    Some time later Hilda slows down the vehicle. Me and Sam look to the front and see the reason why. One of the trees near the road had snapped and blocked our way through.


    ¡°Ambush?¡± I ask.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± Hilda shakes her head. ¡°I think this tree got hit by lightning. See how the scorch marks go through the bark?¡±


    ¡°Must be a strong tree not to have exploded then.¡± Sam comments.


    ¡°Probably.¡± Hilda drives the walker a bit closer.


    ¡°So, how are we going to go over? Need us to cut you a way through?¡± My sister and Nikki had gotten up and they were unstrapping an axe from my sister¡¯s backpack.


    ¡°Remember that feature I mentioned earlier?¡± Hilda looks down at the dashboard. ¡°I kinda want to try it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, the rock climbing one?¡± ¨¦lise looks up.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Hilda presses the button.


    ¡°Are you sure? Cutting it will be safer I think.¡±


    Hilda shrugs and chuckles ¡°Eh, it¡¯ll be fiiiine. Just¡­ grab hold of something back there.¡±


    Before I can brace myself I¡¯m already solidly held in place by my strong girlfriend while my sis and Nikki quickly grab hold of the iron handlebars on the sides of the walker.


    ¡°Here we go.¡± The machine crawls up to the tree and suddenly the first section tils up. Swiftly followed by the second and then the third section. The rubber connectors giving plenty of flexibility. It didn¡¯t even take 30 seconds before our vehicle had catterpillared it¡¯s way over the tree.


    ¡°See, it totally went fine and in the fraction of time too.¡±


    ¡°I never doubted you Hilda.¡± Sam replies with a smile.


    ¡°Can we go again?¡± I laugh.


    ¡°We will take it on a joyride over some rocky terrain if we have some time after getting the relic.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± Lise laughs. ¡°Or at least not with me in it.¡±


    The rest of the way to the Dwarger capital is quite peaceful with no more surprises waiting for us. The sun just starts to set as we reach the enormous gates of the walled city. The guards are clearly on high alert but don¡¯t react hostile to our presence.


    ¡°Halt there travelers.¡± One of the heavily armoured Dwarger guards raises his hand. He approaches us and stares at us for a moment. ¡°I assume you are the ones Captain Mountainforge spoke about.¡±


    ¡°We are.¡± Hilda replies. ¡°We are supposed to give this to the city council.¡± She hands over the letter we received.


    The guard reads the front of the letter and then quickly hands it back. ¡°The city council should still be open. Just follow the main street ¡®till the square. It¡¯s the big building. Please do keep to the right side of the road to avoid collisions.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Hilda puts the letter back in her jacket.


    The guard steps back and signals to the top of the gatehouse. The gates almost immediately start to open. The guard then tells us to pass through which we swiftly do.


    Once inside we don¡¯t immediately see lot¡¯s of activity but the further we get the more people we start seeing around. Other machines move about as well, mainly transports but also the occasional military vehicle. To my surprise the people we see are a lot more diverse than when we were at the port town, people of taller races including some neko¡¯te, ulusu and drakone.


    ¡°Nice.¡± My sister balls her fist. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll be able to get some accomodation in this city.¡±


    Sam sees me staring around and pokes my side. ¡°Are you surprised to find other races here?¡±


    ¡°A bit. Especially because we didn¡¯t see any at the port town¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probable that they are only a minority so they stick to the bigger cities to find people like themselves a bit more easily.¡± Hilda slows down to give way to a walker coming from a street on the right.


    ¡°And they got here during an ice age?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°Maybe, but dinos exist so I should put that theory on hold.¡± She laughs as we pull into the large city square.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go hand over this letter and then find a place to sleep because I¡¯m completely exhausted.¡± Once Hilda has turned off the engine my sister jumps out of the back and stretches. ¡°I¡¯d definitely love to have a soft mattress to sleep on today.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Nikki takes her partner¡¯s arm and waits for the rest of us to join them.


    Sam helps me off the back and once Hilda¡¯s ready we all walk towards the biggest, and arguably the fanciest building on the square.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 99: Inn

    FieryKathy


    We walk into the main hall of the building. The floor and walls are richly decorated with gold and other decorations. In front of us is a desk with a Dwarger woman sitting behind it. She has glasses and is looking down at the moment. The room is flanked by two Dwarger guards that each guard a door.


    ¡°Can I help you with something?¡± The lady looks up at us and pushes her glasses further up her nose.


    ¡°Yes, we have this letter from Captain Mountainforge.¡± Hilda walks over to the desk and hands it over.


    The Dwarger lady swiftly opens the envelope with a knife and starts reading it. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I suppose we will have to wait ¡®till tomorrow?¡± ¨¦lise asks.


    ¡°You suppose correctly. The universities have already closed for the day, it¡¯d be best to come here tomorrow. I¡¯ll have someone waiting here to guide you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Hilda takes the letter back from the lady and puts it safely away.


    ¡°Is there something else you¡¯d like to know?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Hilda says as she prepares to walk back through the door.


    My sister raises her finger. ¡°I have one.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Do you know the best lodging in town? Money doesn¡¯t really matter.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The Dwarger lady looks sternly at my sister before she grabs something from below her desk. She puts a map of the city on the counter. ¡°You are now here.¡± She points with a pencil at the square on the map. ¡°If you go over here you¡¯ll find ¡®the Hilltop Inn¡¯. It¡¯s the one we send the foreign diplomats to mostly.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Lise bows slightly and walks away. The rest of the group does the same.


    ¡°That lady was pretty nice, wasn¡¯t she?¡± Sam says as we walk back to our vehicle. Swinging her arm over my shoulder while she does so.


    ¡°She was.¡± I nod.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Nikki shivers. ¡°She reminds me of a very strict teacher I had back in high school.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s just because of the glasses.¡± Lise helps Nikki on the back of the walker.


    ¡°Maybe, but still¡­. brrrrr.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Lise chuckles. ¡°Hilda, did you get the address?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Hilltop Inn it is.¡± She turns the contact and the machine roars back to life.


    It doesn¡¯t take that long at all before we reach the Inn the Dwarger lady pointed us too. Outside was an Ulusu man standing, smoking a pipe. ¡°Ah, visitors to my Inn?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, is there a place we can park this thing?¡± Hilda smiles at him.


    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a gate around the corner, I¡¯ll open it up for you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    The man walks ahead of us as we slowly follow him along. He opens a steel gate so we can drive into the Inn¡¯s courtyard, closing it again once we are inside.


    We all get off as the man walks up to us. ¡°That¡¯s a military walker is it not?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Hilda says. ¡°They loaned it to us for our travels.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then you must definitely have done something to prove yourself. The Dwarger aren¡¯t quick to trust others, especially not people like themselves.¡±


    ¡°We saved one of their squads from some zealots.¡±


    ¡°Ah, war heroes. That¡¯s good for business.¡± He laughs.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go as far as saying that.¡±


    ¡°Tell you what. If you tell me some stories, the food and lodging is for free.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Hilda, maybe we should take him up on that offer.¡± My sister whispers into Hilda¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who said that money didn¡¯t matter?¡±


    ¡°I did but discounts are never bad, right.¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Hilda sighs. ¡°You got yourself a deal.¡± Hilda reaches out her hand to the innkeeper.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Harold. And glad to hear. Please come in.¡± He shakes Hilda¡¯s hand and then opens the back door for us.


    ¡°Could you not tell him much about me?¡± I ask my sister while the others go in already.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning too.¡± She pats me on the head. ¡°We have plenty of stories from before you joined our party so that should keep him happy. Maybe you¡¯ll even start thinking I¡¯m a bigger heroine than I already am.¡±


    ¡°Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°Awh. Cutie.¡± She gives me a big hug and then escorts me inside.


    The inside of the inn looks very much like your standard inn back on the other continent with a couple of small differences. Mainly being that there are both big and small tables to accommodate the smaller size of the Dwarger people. Although most of the clientele is still non-Dwarger. A middle-aged woman is standing behind the bar who I presume is Harold¡¯s wife.


    ¡°Do you want to have dinner first or do you want to see your rooms?¡± Harold waits in front of the bar.


    ¡°Hmm, I could honestly go for some food first.¡± Lise rubs her armoured belly.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Nikki agrees.


    ¡°Is that good for you and Sam, Ami?¡± Hilda asks.


    We both nod.


    ¡°Okay, then we will get the food first.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Harold rubs his hands. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sit down at the round table in the corner and I¡¯ll bring you a menu.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to hear our stories first, Harold?¡± Lise asks as we all sit down.


    ¡°You can tell me after you¡¯ve seen your rooms. You look like trustworthy people to me so I doubt you¡¯ll swindle me. And I have your car locked behind my gate so it¡¯s not like you can run.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± My sister laughs.


    A little while later Harold returns with the menu cards which are surprisingly legible.


    ¡°If you want the freshest ingredients it¡¯s probably best to stay away from the fish.¡± Harold admits as he waits next to us for our order. ¡°It¡¯s not that they are bad, but they do arrive here on ice so it still tastes a bit less fresh.¡±


    ¡°To be expected, the capital is quite a bit inland¡­¡± Hilda reads her menu. ¡°What would you recommend?¡±


    ¡°We have very good steak from one of the nearby farmers. We serve that with potatoes cut in some sort of small wedges, fried. Together with a sauce my wife invented. It¡¯s base is pepper.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just steak with fries and pepper sauce?¡± I whisper in my girlfriend¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Sounds like it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that.¡± Lise and Nikki say in chorus.


    ¡°For me as well.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°I think we will both take that too.¡± Sam looks at me to confirm, once I nod she nods towards Harold.


    ¡°Good, that¡¯s pretty easy to remember.¡± Harold smiles and walks back behind the counter.


    After our order it doesn¡¯t take very long to get our food which immediately piqued my interest once it left the kitchen. The amazing aroma of the food was just too great. It was obvious from the twinkle in Sam¡¯s eyes that she¡¯s also looking forward to getting started on the food.


    Once the plates are placed in front of us, me and Sam don¡¯t waste any time and start eating immediately.


    ¡°Looks like we were not the only ones who were a bit hungry, Nikki.¡± My sister laughs.


    ¡°If I weren¡¯t hungry I¡¯d get hungry by the sight of this plate of food alone.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment. I¡¯ll definitely forward it to my wife.¡± Harold laughs. ¡°Please enjoy your food.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Hilda says as she starts eating too.


    In no time whatsoever the food on our plates had disappeared into our bellies.


    ¡°That was so good.¡± Sam slides back on her seat. ¡°I would eat another plate if I could.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I let myself slide backwards as well and leaned on her shoulder.


    ¡°It was a great meal.¡± Hilda agrees.


    ¡°Would you like to see your rooms now?¡± Harold¡¯s wife walks over to our table. ¡°My husband will clear off the table while you are gone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be very nice, yes.¡± Lise happily nods.


    ¡°Good, please follow me. My name is Amanda by the way.¡±


    ¡°Nice meeting you, Amanda.¡± I say as me and Sam just have a little bit of an issue getting up. ¡°And thank you for the food, it was really nice.¡±


    ¡°Best steak I¡¯ve eaten in a while.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°Awh, that¡¯s very sweet.¡± Amanda smiles and waves away our compliment with a little blush.


    We then follow her through one of the doors and up the stairs.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind but we only had two free rooms.¡±


    ¡°Two is plenty.¡± Hilda reassures her.


    ¡°Hilda can sleep in our room again.¡± I say after which Sam gives me an affirmative nod.


    ¡°Okay, then this room¡¯s yours.¡± Amanda opens the door on the right. It reveals a fairly big, luxurious room which even has its own desk area. In the room there¡¯s one big double bed set against one of the windows and a single bed on the opposite wall. ¡°Is this up to your standards?¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Hilda walks over to the one-person bed and and pushes the mattress. ¡°It¡¯s maybe a bit too luxurious for my standards.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Amanda bows slightly. ¡°The next room is on the floor above, if you want to follow me.¡± She motions to Nikki and my sister.


    The three of us stay behind in our room and put down our bags.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to sleep well today.¡± I say with a big yawn.


    ¡°You can stay behind and rest a bit if you want to while we go and tell some stories to Harold.¡± Hilda puts her bag behind the bed and most of her weapons too. Although she does hide a couple of daggers in her jacket, just to be prepared.


    ¡°I think we will.¡± Sam pulls me on top of her lap as she sits on our bed, embracing me around my waist. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a bit tired too.¡±


    ¡°Too low on cuddle energy?¡± Hilda laughs.


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t stay up for me, I¡¯ll try to be very silent when I come back in.¡±


    ¡°Good night, Hilda.¡± I say from within my girlfriend¡¯s embrace.¡±


    ¡°Good night kittens.¡± She smiles and walks out of the door, closing it behind her.


    Sam then pulls me back so we both end up with our backs on the mattress. ¡°Kiss and cuddle time?¡±


    I smile and give her a quick kiss on her lips. ¡°Of course.¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 100: Shield

    FieryKathy


    We take off our clothes and get cozy underneath the covers. I nestle myself against my girlfriend¡¯s body. Her arms enclosing me slowly. I can¡¯t help but to start purring at this ultimate feeling of coziness.


    ¡°Love you, Ami.¡± My girlfriend whispers into my ear, sending chills down my body all the way to the tip of my tail.


    ¡°Love you too, Sam.¡±


    She kisses me on the back of my head before she starts nuzzling her nose behind my ear. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get tired of you purring against me.¡± She softly speaks as her body starts purring as well. ¡°My little kitty girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°I like it when you purr too.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Mhmm. It¡¯s a really nice feeling. I wouldn¡¯t mind your tail not tickling my boobs as much though.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Eeeh!? I can¡¯t help that!¡± I look back to see my girlfriend smiling at me.


    ¡°I know, I was mainly joking anyway.¡± She takes the opportunity to kiss me on my cheek and then on my lips. ¡°Such a cutie.¡± She then boops me on my nose with her own tail.


    ¡°No you.¡± I kiss her back.


    ¡°Did you really just do that to me?¡± She giggles and squeezes me against her.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I kiss her again.


    ¡°I see how it is.¡± She squeezes me again and goes in for a long and passionate kiss which takes away my breath. Sam looks incredibly smug with herself.


    I smile and just relax against her, listening to her breathing and heartbeat.


    ¡°It¡¯s really calm here, isn¡¯t it?¡± Sam starts running her hand through my hair.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod.


    ¡°It¡¯s surprising since we are just next to the inn itself.¡±


    ¡°They did say it was a fancy inn though. So maybe it has insulation or something.¡±


    ¡°I guess it also helps that it wasn''t that noisy downstairs either.¡± Sam gives me another kiss on the head.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you tired?¡± She wipes away a couple of strands of hair from in front of my face.


    ¡°A little bit. It was a pretty long day.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Why don¡¯t you get some sleep already? Tomorrow is going to be pretty busy too.¡±


    ¡°But I want to stay awake with you a little bit longer¡­¡± A yawn escapes me.


    ¡°Hmmm, what should we do about that?¡± She laughs softly.


    ¡°I dunno¡­¡±


    ¡°How about a lullaby?¡±


    I look up at her. ¡°Are you going to sing for me?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. If you want to. I found out this body is actually quite adept at singing and playing instruments.¡± She gives me a kiss on my forehead.


    ¡°I¡¯d love to hear you sing.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± She smiles. ¡°Let me think for a second.¡±


    I patiently wait for her to start singing.


    ¡°A kitty played all day long¡­¡± The tone of her voice works incredibly calming on my mind as my consciousness starts drifting along the beautiful melody. Before she can even start her second verse my eyes close and I start drifting away. The last thing I hear in this wave of coziness is a ¡®goodnight sweetie.¡¯


    I wake up naturally as the sun falls on my face, making me stretch out my limbs. My incredibly hot girlfriend is still asleep behind me and luckily I didn¡¯t disturb her with my stretching. I look at the other bed and see Hilda is also still snoozing.


    A little knock on the door pulls my attention after which my sister peeks in. ¡°Ah, Ami.¡± She sees I am already awake. ¡°Want to come with me to get some breakfast?¡±


    I nod and slowly get out of my girlfriend¡¯s embrace, after giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. And then I quickly but silently put on my clothes.


    Within a couple of minutes I¡¯m standing next to my sister in the hallway. She¡¯s just in her gambeson although she does have her new sword strapped to her side.


    ¡°Good morning, sis.¡± She gives me a hug.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± I hug her back.


    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm!¡± I nod. ¡°Sam, sang a beautiful song for me so I fell asleep very easily.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know she could sing?¡±


    ¡°Apparently it¡¯s related to her character or something.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I guess that makes sense.¡±


    We start walking towards the inn. ¡°Did you stay up late yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I went to bed a little bit earlier than Nikki and Hilda but it was still quite late. Got a bit too enthusiastic talking about our wild adventures. But Harold and Amanda looked like they were very entertained. Now they got some stories to tell too.¡±


    ¡°They are going to tell those stories to others?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, that¡¯s a way for inns to pull customers, if the inkeep has interesting stories to tell, it creates a pull factor.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh.¡±


    My sis pats my head. ¡°Our stories were the price to stay over for the night after all.¡±


    When we enter the inn room we are practically alone. Amanda is just making sure everything in the room looks as tidy as it can be. She smiles at us when she sees us enter.


    ¡°Good morning, I hope you had a good sleep.¡±


    ¡°We slept wonderfully, thanks. Your mattresses are really great.¡±


    Amanda smiles and gives a nod. ¡°Would you like something to eat and drink?¡± She points us at a table which is close to the fire. We gladly follow her lead.


    ¡°Some water and beans, eggs and sausages please.¡± Lise sits down and I sit down next to her.


    ¡°For me it''s the same but with milk instead of water please.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to try our vanilla milk? It¡¯s something new we have on the menu.¡±


    ¡°That sounds nice, yes please.¡± I smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be bringing it to you shortly.¡± She bows slightly and heads to the kitchen.


    ¡°Ohoh, vanilla milk, ain¡¯t you a fancy kitten.¡± My sister smirks once Amanda is gone.


    ¡°She offered it and I simply couldn¡¯t refuse.¡± I pout.


    ¡°I understand that.¡± She laughs. ¡°Want to know about the sword and shield I got?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! And you said your armour had special things too, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Lise smiles and rubs her hands. It was fun seeing her so giddy about something like armour and swords. ¡°So, my armour is loaded with stat enhancements when I¡¯m close to you. So extra defence, hp and strength bonuses as long as you are within 100 meters of me.¡± She then hands her sword to me in it¡¯s scabbard. ¡°My sword and shield, however, have a couple more tricks. Apart from damage and stat boosts, when we are in combat together, those stat boosts go up and, on top of that, it apparently starts burning like on that heraldic crest I showed you.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what it says in the description at least. I really want to test it out.¡±


    I look at the sword in my hands. ¡°Can I take it out?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I slowly slide the sword out of its scabbard and inspect the blade closely. It has the same rose gold accents as her armour set had. The accents look like roses and other kinds of flowers which wind themselves around to the tip of the sword. The hilt of the sword looks like a lioness. ¡°It looks really great.¡±


    ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    I hand the sword back over to my sister who swiftly hangs it by her side again.


    ¡°And your shield?¡±


    My sister smirks, gets up from her seat and raises her left arm as she starts chanting: ¡°For my Sister, My Goddess, I¡¯ll come to Her defense.¡±


    ¡°Wha~!?¡±


    As soon as she is done a long kite shield materializes on her arm. Again with the same rose gold theme and with the big heraldic crest prominently in the middle.


    ¡°I can summon the shield from wherever I am, it¡¯s pretty useful actually. The only thing is that I need to chant that line for it to appear.¡±


    ¡°Did it really need to be so awkward?¡± I blush.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty cute.¡± She smiles and undons her shield so I can inspect it more closely as well. ¡°It actually looks heavier than it is. It¡¯s about the same weight as my last shield, probably because the metals used in it are way rarer.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I take the shield in my hands. And just like she said I didn¡¯t really expect it to be this light.


    ¡°Makes it easy to shield bash people against trees if I want to. And if I recall correctly it actually has a bonus for shield bashing as well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to make everyone jealous with all the things you got.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Nikki was very jealous, but that actually was pretty hot.¡± Lise smirks.


    ¡°Sis! No! Why?¡±


    She laughs and pats my head, taking back her shield afterwards and hanging it on the back of her chair. ¡°In all seriousness, I think the others might get some more stuff in time too. We¡¯re the Goddess¡¯ vanguard after all.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­ I still can¡¯t get used to that¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly fine.¡± She pats my head again, just in time for Amanda to arrive with our food and drinks.


    ¡°Have a nice meal.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± My sister and I reply.


    Amanda nods and walks away.


    The smell of the food was once more incredible.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start eating before you stare a hole through your plate.¡±  My sister laughs and starts digging in.


    I just nod in agreement and start eating as well. The first bite almost makes me start crying.


    ¡°So dewiciouws.¡±


    ¡°Amen, sis. Amen.¡± Lise laughs.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 101: Guide

    FieryKathy


    My plate is half-empty and the glorious cup of vanilla milk is too when I suddenly get hugged from behind.


    ¡°Good morning sweetie.¡± Sam kisses me on the cheek.


    ¡°Hey Sam. Did you sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± She sits down at the head of the table next to me. ¡°I felt like an angel kissed me on the cheek this morning.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I blush. ¡°I may or may not have done so when you were still sleeping.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She winks.


    ¡°Is Hilda coming too, Sam?¡± Lise asks after having swallowed down a piece of egg.


    ¡°Yeah, she was chatting with Nikki in the hallway when I left the room. They said they were coming soon.¡±


    ¡°Great, that way we can be ready to leave soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Are we in a hurry?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Uh, no, but I remember the lady behind the counter didn¡¯t actually tell us a time to come by so I don¡¯t want to keep that guide waiting all day.¡±


    ¡°Wait, really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we have an appointment at a time we do not know, so I¡¯d rather not be too late.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Ah, you also realised the little mistake?¡± Hilda walks into the room with Nikki next to her.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Lise nods.


    ¡°We should probably get breakfast then.¡± Nikki moves towards the other side of the table while Hilda keeps standing next to us.


    ¡°Is that your new shield?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Lise glows. ¡°Look what it can do!¡±


    Just as she did with me, she gives Hilda the demonstration and an explanation of what it can do.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite cool indeed.¡± Hilda nods, impressed by the little demo. ¡°Can¡¯t wait for the rest of us to get some cool Ami merch.¡±


    ¡°Everything in it¡¯s time.¡± My sis puts her shield down again with a smile.


    ¡°Easy enough for you to say, you got your stuff already.¡± Nikki waves over Amanda who¡¯s standing behind the bar. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m jealous or anything.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what a tsundere would say.¡± Sam comments to which the rest of us start laughing.


    After that the rest of the group orders and receives their breakfast as well. It doesn¡¯t take very long before we are finished and ready to get our gear together and head out towards the city¡¯s city council building.


    Me, Sam and Hilda are ready the fastest and await Nikki and my sister downstairs.


    The clanking of armour betrays my sister¡¯s arrival.


    ¡°Sorry it took so long, putting on a new armour set always takes a bit of getting used to.¡± My sister looks incredibly cool in her new armour. It really fits her perfectly.


    Sam tilts her head and rubs her chin. ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sam? Don¡¯t like my new armour?¡±


    ¡°I do, I do.¡± She nods. ¡°But I feel like it would look better with a cloak or with a cape.¡±


    Lise enthusiastically nods. ¡°See, Nikki! I told you a cloak would complete the look.¡±


    Nikki shakes her head. ¡°It looks perfectly fine like this. Cloaks just get in the way and it¡¯s another thing to keep clean.¡±


    ¡°I disagree wholeheartedly.¡±


    ¡°We can get a spell to keep her cloak clean, can¡¯t we?¡± Sam proposes.


    ¡°Ah! Like pres¡­ presti¡­ that one C&C spell.¡±


    ¡°Prestidigitation.¡± Hilda laughs and pets my head.


    ¡°Yes! That one!¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be a bit of a waste? Learning one spell specifically for that?¡±


    ¡°Aesthetics are important babe.¡± My sis kisses her partner.


    ¡°Are you leaving?¡± Harold comes walking out of the kitchen together with his wife.


    ¡°Yes, we have an appointment at the city council.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll open the gate for you.¡± Harold nods and starts walking towards the door.


    We follow him along and wave Amanda goodbye.


    ¡°Thank you for the patronage and be sure to spread the word of our fine establishment.¡± He smiles as he starts opening the gate.


    ¡°No problem. Thank you for the generosity.¡± ¨¦lise helps him with the gate while the rest of us get on board our walker.


    The machine roars to life and walks towards the now opened gate, waiting for a second for my sister to get in.


    ¡°By Harold!¡± Me and Sam wave him goodbye as Hilda makes the machine turn the corner.


    ¡°Goodbye!¡± He waves us along, closing the gate behind us.


    We arrive at the council building in no-time.


    ¡°We probably could¡¯ve gone on foot.¡± ¨¦lise helps us out of the back of the walker.


    ¡°It would be a bit weird to leave our walker behind, especially if the university is further away.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    Hilda graciously jumps off and starts leading us per usual.


    When we enter the building the lady yesterday is already at her desk, conversing with another Dwarger woman standing in front of her. She''s wearing some kind of lab coat and has a set of goggles on her head. Her red hair is tied up in a knot.


    ¡°Ah, there they are.¡± The lady points at us, making the other one turn around.


    ¡°A punctual bunch, that¡¯s good.¡± The dwarger woman smiles.


    We approach the desk.


    ¡°This here is Ruva, she will bring you to the archaeology division of the university.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Ruva smiles.


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Hilda extends her hand which Ruva gladly accepts.


    ¡°Do you have your own transportation?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we are parked right outside.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°Okay, good.¡± Ruva casually walks out, leaving us behind.


    ¡°You should follow her, Lady Ruva doesn¡¯t like waiting too long.¡± The lady behind the desk says as she starts reading the first letter of a pile of many on her desk.


    ¡°Oh, alright. Thanks for the guide!¡± ¨¦lise quickly follows Ruva outside and the rest of us decide to follow.


    When we get outside Ruva has already jumped in the back. ¡°What are you waiting for, we don¡¯t have all day.¡± She waves us over.


    We move at double pace so as not to annoy our guide.


    While Hilda starts the walker yet again she turns around towards Ruva. ¡°So, what direction are we going in?¡±


    ¡°Take the main street at that exit.¡± She points past Hilda¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The machine starts moving in that direction.


    ¡°The university is a bit outside of the city walls.¡± Then Ruva sits back down again.


    ¡°Excuse me, but isn¡¯t that a bit dangerous? Keeping your university outside of the city walls?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Ruva shakes her head. ¡°Where do you think our weaponry gets developed and tested? There¡¯s an entire military training facility next to it.¡±


    ¡°Testing experimental weaponry is probably best tested outside of the city.¡±


    Ruva laughs. ¡°Exactly! They had to rebuild the testing hall twice this year already.¡±


    ¡°I hope no one got hurt.¡±


    ¡°Just some minor injuries, nothing Dwarger engineers can¡¯t handle.¡± She proudly taps herself on the chest.


    We quite easily pass through the gates, the guards didn¡¯t even stop us as they say Ruva was sitting with us.


    ¡°At this pace we should arrive in ten minutes or so. Just keep heading straight.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Hey, Ruva. You are not an archaeologist, are you?¡± Sam asks, leaning on her knees to look past me at our Dwarger companion.


    ¡°Actually I am.¡± She smirks. ¡°I am both in the engineering department as in the archaeology department.¡±


    ¡°Wow, aren¡¯t those very different fields?¡± Sam asks on.


    ¡°They are but I wanted to study both so I did. I got my degree in engineering first and then applied that to also get my degree in archaeology later.¡±


    ¡°How does that work, exactly?¡± Hilda turns around to look at Ruva, just for a second as she still needs to watch the road.


    ¡°Engineering devices to make life easier for archaeology for example. Transport methods that can more easily and safely transport items. Why are you asking?¡±


    ¡°Our Hilda is a bit of a history buff, you see.¡± Lise smiles.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°Although none of that historical knowledge can help us here sadly enough.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame, I¡¯d like to hear some more of that when we don¡¯t have work to do.¡± Ruva nods.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±


    As we break the tree line we see a big complex showing up in front of us.


    ¡°Here we are. Just park up in front of that building in the center. That¡¯s the archaeology department.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± It doesn¡¯t take long before we are at the designated spot and dismount our walker.


    ¡°Please follow me, it¡¯s a bit of a maze inside.¡± Ruva starts walking at a pretty decent pace so we are hard-pressed not to lose sight of her.


    The inside of the building reminds me a little of my university¡¯s arts department with a couple of showcases that show important and very old-looking items. Sadly there was not a lot of time to look at the things as our route kept winding through the building. This goes on and on for a couple of minutes until Ruva finally halts in front of a door.


    She knocks twice before entering. ¡°Professor, these people are interested in one of the new dig sites. When we enter the room as well we see a very old looking Dwarger man bent over some kind of placard, reading it intently.


    ¡°Is that so.¡± He straightens his back and turns toward us. He pushes his small glasses up his nose. ¡°Ah, welcome. My name is Theodore Rufflington.¡± He then scratches his long white beard.


    Sam pokes me and whispers in my ear. ¡°Doesn¡¯t he kinda look like Santa?¡±


    I had to do my very best not to start laughing. The resemblance was uncanny.


    God damn it Sam, this is not the time!


    My girlfriend smirks at my attempt to keep quiet.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 102: Research

    FieryKathy


    Hilda ignores our attempt at staying quiet and addresses the professor.


    ¡°Hello professor, me and my companions are trying to gather some knowledge on some sort of relic that apparently should be hidden somewhere on this continent.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. A relic you say?¡± The professor scratches his chin. ¡°Would this have something to do with the foreigners that landed on our shores recently?¡±


    My sister nods. ¡°Yes, we are trying to get to it before they do.¡±


    ¡°And why would we help you with that?¡±


    Ruva hands over the letter to the professor. ¡°They helped our troops against the foreigners.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡±


    Hilda takes up the conversation again. ¡°It would be really bad for anyone involved if the theocracy got to it first, if it truly holds the power they think it has.¡±


    The professor puts down the letter on the table and then takes us in for a bit before he speaks. ¡°I have the feeling you aren¡¯t telling me everything. Why did you get involved in the first place, are you some sort of treasure hunters?¡±


    I slowly raise my hand.


    ¡°Yes, girl?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of me¡­¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain it Ami.¡± Hilda smiles at me. ¡°You see, we are from a different continent and there we saved a village from disaster¡­¡± She tells the rest of the story while the professor listens with his full attention.


    ¡°So this theocracy is here because they think you are looking for this relic as well.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, they would¡¯ve come here eventually, they just had to expedite their plans.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°I see, I see.¡± He starts walking to a different table that¡¯s full with notebooks, searching through them. ¡°Religious fanaticism never ends well.¡± He finally fishes out a book bound with blue leather and flips it open. ¡°I will try to help you the best I can but I can¡¯t promise much. Our research focus wasn¡¯t set on the ancient ruins and it had been shelved in favor of studying old defensive structures.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, professor.¡± Hilda says with a light bow.


    ¡°You might want to make yourself comfortable.¡± The professor points at a small lounge in the corner of the room. But please try to be somewhat quiet.¡±


    While our group tries not to disturb the professor by doing what he asked, Ruva helps him to read through several manuscripts. Until approximately two hours later the professor calls us over.


    ¡°We went through logs of old digs and ruins and found some clue to the possible whereabouts of this relic you are looking for. Several ruined temples had glyphs that all indicated the use of a powerful looking item to develop their nation.


    ¡°And how does this tell us where to look?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Ruva came up with this idea.¡± The professor smiles and pushes up his glasses, giving the word to Ruva.


    ¡°The temple orientation is what gave me the idea.¡± Ruva explains. ¡°These logs mention that the temples are all oriented differently and that they make no sense when it comes to the position of the sun or the stars. However, they did not look at the big picture.¡± Ruva waves us over to a map she¡¯d spread out over another table. ¡°When you put the temples on this map with their orientation. The sides with the glyphs all point in the same general direction.¡± She points at the neatly drawn pencil marks.


    ¡°So there¡¯s supposed to be something in this eastern mountain region?¡±


    ¡°Presumably, the lines don¡¯t match up perfectly but I think it should definitely be there somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Have there been any discovered ruins there?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°No.¡± The professor shakes his head. ¡°However, we also haven¡¯t sent many expeditions there. While we Dwarger do like the mountains, the eastern mountains are remarkably difficult to pass through.¡±


    ¡°But with this estimation.¡± Ruva taps her finger on the map. ¡°It should not be the hardest to find.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, we should probably get moving soon.¡± Hilda rubs her chin.


    ¡°Because of the theocracy?¡± Ruva asks.


    She nods. ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t know how much the theocracy knows about those relics and they did land closer to the ruins than where we are at now.¡±


    ¡°So if we want to make sure we get there first we should probably head out now.¡± ¨¦lise nods as well.


    ¡°If my bones weren¡¯t too frail I¡¯d join you.¡± The professor rolls up the map and hands it over to Hilda. ¡°Here, we have a lot of copies so don¡¯t worry about paying us back.¡±


    ¡°I can join if you want to, I also have mountaineering experience.¡± Ruva enthusiastically raises her hand.


    ¡°A guide with experience would be useful¡­¡± Lise looks at Hilda.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ It could be pretty dangerous if we encounter the Osvik forces¡­¡±


    ¡°I can hold me own.¡± Ruva proudly taps her chest. ¡°Besides, I can get you a discount for mountaineering equipment.¡±


    ¡°This sounds a bit like a bribe, but sure.¡± Hilda laughs. ¡°Just promise to stay close to the backline.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where I do my fightin¡¯ from anyway.¡± Ruva grins.


    ¡°Okay then.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°So, where can we buy mountaineering equipment?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± The professor pushes his glasses up. ¡°The university¡¯s store of course.¡±


    ¡°Wait, really?¡± Sam tilts her head in confusion.


    ¡°You could buy them at the market too, but our prices will be better. Who do you think develops all this equipment in the first place?¡± Professor Rufflington smirks.


    ¡°These Dwarger sure are scary businesspeople.¡± I whisper into my girlfriend¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Sam laughs.


    Our two Dwarger universitarians show us their store which is only a couple of maze-like hallways back to where we came from. We buy the equipment Ruva shows us we¡¯ll need. In the end we don¡¯t lose too much money buying everything we need, although I¡¯m pretty happy we can use our vehicle for a while longer because the equipment was getting a bit heavier to wear than what I usually carry around. Although my sister, Hilda and Sam don¡¯t really look like they have a lot of issues carrying it.


    ¡°Hey Ami.¡± Nikki talks to me, as we are the only two who look a bit burdened by our new stuff. ¡°Can¡¯t you turn into your angel-knight version to carry our stuff when we get to the mountains?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± I giggle.


    We then all mount our walker and get ready to drive east. The professor comes outside to the vehicle to wave us off.


    ¡°Here, before I forget.¡± He hands a book to me as I¡¯m sitting closest to the back. ¡°This is a copy of a notebook about the ruins, it might contain useful hints, or it might not. I hope it¡¯ll be useful.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Professor! Thank you for all your help!¡±


    ¡°No problem! Be safe everyone!¡±


    While the Professor was waving us goodbye, Hilda started the engine and started driving east again, back towards the capital.


    ¡°If you take that road to the right, we will bypass the capital¡¯s gates, it¡¯ll be faster like that.¡± Ruva points towards a junction in the road ahead.


    Hilda follows Ruva¡¯s instructions without a question asked.


    ¡°With this vehicle we should arrive at the mountain range by the evening.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a long drive then.¡± My sister leans back against the side of the walker.


    ¡°We can stop for lunch, right?¡± Sam asks Ruva.


    ¡°Yes, I already incorporated that in my calculations.¡±


    ¡°Good, or Ami will starve to death.¡± My girlfriend bumps against me and then gives me a cheeky kiss on the cheek.


    ¡°Hmpf.¡± I pout. ¡°Hilda needs to eat too!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, please do keep your driver in mind.¡± Hilda looks back and smiles.


    We drive on for a couple of hours before we finally stop for some food. The area we are in is only lightly forested. But it does give us a good line of sight, so we can see danger well ahead of time.


    While Ruva checks on the walker, Lise starts talking to Hilda. ¡°Say, what are we going to do with our logging out problem?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about that too.¡± Hilda nods, her face looks very serious.


    ¡°Logging out problem?¡± I ask.


    ¡°This is the second day, right? We only have another day after this before we need to log off. If we don¡¯t have the relic by then¡­¡± My sister explains.


    Hilda continues ¡°The chances that the empire will get to it first go up drastically.¡±


    ¡°Oh fuck. I didn¡¯t even think about that...¡± Sam comments.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do about it?¡± Nikki asks as she distributes some rations to us.


    ¡°If we go to bed as early as we get to the mountain range, and leave as soon as we have light we could save a lot of time. And if need-be, we can also ¡®work through the night¡¯ and stay here until we get a warning that we need to log off.¡±


    ¡°What if we don¡¯t find a safe spot to fall asleep in?¡±


    ¡°We still have the wards to keep us safe.¡±


    ¡°But what about Ruva?¡±


    Hilda looks over to our Dwarger companion who¡¯s still checking on the walker. ¡°Yeah¡­ That¡¯s why we should probably only do that as a last-ditch effort¡­¡±


    ¡°Does everyone agree with that plan?¡± Lise looks around the group. Hilda nods of course since she proposed it. Nikki and Sam do so too and I join them in their agreement. ¡°Alright, good. Let¡¯s hope we won¡¯t need it.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope Murphy¡¯s law doesn¡¯t get involved...¡± I mumble.


    Sam takes me close for a hug and then kisses me. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, babe. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I let myself get carried away in her softness. ¡°I believe you.¡± And I hug her back.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 103: Chirpy

    FieryKathy


    After our lunch break we get back on the road towards the foot of the mountain range. The mountains in front of us were indeed quite a bit more impressive than the mountain ranges we¡¯d seen in the distance up until then. The sun is already setting once we finally arrive. A bit later than planned but we still continue on with our plan and immediately set up camp.


    ¡°What¡¯s all the hurry about?¡± Ruva asks.


    ¡°We would like to start at first light.¡± Hilda explains as she sets up one of the tents.


    ¡°I know we have a bit of time pressure but we should still be fine, right? Climbing a mountain while hurrying is not a good idea.¡±


    ¡°We have¡­ our reasons.¡± Lise pats Ruva on the shoulder. ¡°We will be fine.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Ruva nods but her face betrays that she¡¯s a bit suspicious of our explanation. ¡°I suppose I should go to bed as well then.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯d be best.¡± Hilda nods, tightening the last line of the tent cover.


    We all quickly get a bit of food into our systems before we all get cozy into our temporary abodes. I snuggle up to my girlfriend who¡¯s thoughtfully gazing up while she¡¯s idly running her hand through my hair


    ¡°Are you stressed, Sam?¡± I look up at her face.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± She looks at me. ¡°Ah, yeah, maybe a little. I¡¯ve never done mountaineering before. My body feels like I know how to but my mind is still noping out of it a little bit.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a fear of heights, right?¡±


    ¡°Not really, but these mountains are also a bit taller than most things I¡¯ve been on top of.¡±


    ¡°I could make a dirty joke about that sentence.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Heh?¡± Sam blushes a bit before her blush makes place for a smirk. In an instant she rolls on top of me and squishes me down with her body weight.


    I giggle even more as my body instinctively begins to purr. Our bodies feel so perfect against each other.


    Sam starts kissing me and I start purring even louder as I kiss her back. Sam¡¯s purrs sound lower in tone but are quite a bit louder then mine. Their vibrations calm me down a lot.


    After a couple of more minutes of me getting squished and us kissing each other Sam rolls back off me. ¡°While I¡¯d very much like to continue, we should probably not tire ourselves out for tomorrow.¡±


    I smile and give her a nod. ¡°Tomorrow will be a long day.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± She nods and puts her arms under me, so she can pull me close to her. ¡°Night night, Ami.¡± Sam then gives me a kiss.


    ¡°Goodnight, Sam.¡± I kiss her back, snuggle up to her and close my eyes. It does not take long for me to fall asleep.


    The chirping of birds wakes me up to the sight of my girlfriend. Apparently I¡¯d drooled a bit on her boob while I was sleeping. I quickly try to wipe it off but that only causes Sam to giggle.


    ¡°Ami, that tickles.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I drooled a bit.¡±


    ¡°I see you know what you like.¡± She smiles at me and softly caresses the side of my face. Her hand is nice and warm. ¡°Although I¡¯m sorry to tell you that there won¡¯t be any milk coming out.¡±


    The way she calmly said that makes my entire face light up red ¡°W-w-w-what are you saying, Sam! Y-y-you idiot!¡± I hide myself in my bedroll to the amusement of my girlfriend.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± She pats my bedroll. ¡°We should probably get up now. We will have to leave soon.¡±


    I stick my head out above my bedroll again with the biggest pout I could possibly make. ¡°No, I don¡¯t wanna anymore.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon kitty cat.¡± She gives me a kiss on my forehead and starts dressing herself.


    ¡°Fine then.¡± I keep pouting and get ready as well.


    It¡¯s still quite dark when we get out of our tent but the others are already up. They help us put our tent away while Ruva is messing with her backpack.


    Hilda walks over to her and looks over Ruva¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s that you are holding?¡±


    ¡°Ah, this?¡± She shows her some kind of mechanical bird. ¡°It¡¯s a prototype I was working on, it might come in handy for finding the temple a bit faster.¡±


    ¡°What does it do?¡± In the meantime Hilda hands Ruva a ration of dried meat.


    ¡°It¡¯s a small reconnaissance device. You give it simple instructions, then it will fly out and search in a radius around you for what you asked. It will then fly back and depending on the colour of its eyes it will tell you if it found something or not. You can try it out if you want.¡± She hands over the birdbot to Hilda while Ruva herself takes a bite from the meat.


    ¡°So¡­ for example¡­ Find a pink-haired catgirl.¡± The little birdy starts flapping its wings and begins zooming around. It almost immediately comes to me, circles me three times and then flies towards Hilda with green eyes.


    ¡°The beak will then point in the direction of where it found what you asked for.¡± Ruva nods as the bird looks at me.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s definitely going to be useful.¡±


    Ruva nods once more. ¡°I hope it will be, it¡¯ll be its first real trial.¡±


    A couple of minutes later we are all packed and we have all donned our mountaineering equipment. We camouflage our vehicle a bit and then we leave with Ruva in front, holding a rough map of the area.


    ¡°We have to concentrate on the uncharted bits, because¡­ well¡­ we are looking for an uncharted temple.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense.¡± My sister laughs as she climbs a boulder.


    ¡°The annoying part being we will need to go over there.¡± She points ahead of us at a part of the mountain that looks particularly steep.¡±


    ¡°Pfff.¡± Nikki sighs. ¡°If only we could have an airship¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ruva turns around and looks at Nikki.


    ¡°A ship that uses hot air to fly.¡± Hilda clarifies.


    ¡°Surely, you must be joking?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, not really.¡±


    I walk up to Hilda and whisper into her ear. ¡°Is it okay for us to tell these people about random technology they haven¡¯t discovered yet?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine.¡± Hilda replies. ¡°I was actually somewhat surprised that a continent with this amount of steampunky technology didn¡¯t have airships yet.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡±


    Ruva opens a notebook and scribbles down a couple of things. ¡°Once we are done with this mission I want to hear more about these airships of yours!¡± She enthusiastically states.


    ¡°We will see.¡± Hilda winks as we keep on climbing.


    We slowly but surely make our way to the top of the first mountain ridge. Thanks to our guide we manage to avoid a lot of loose rocks and the route we take also doesn¡¯t look as dangerous as what it could have been. However, when my sister slipped a bit, it was clear that what we were doing still held a lot of peril.


    ¡°Phew, that was close.¡± My sister wipes her brow.


    ¡°We are almost at the top of the ridge.¡± Ruva looks behind us to see if we are still following.


    Fifteen minutes later we can finally take a bit of a breather as the ridge we are standing on is relatively wide. Luckily for us it¡¯s still relatively warm thanks to the absence of wind.


    ¡°We took a good day to go climbing.¡± Ruva nods with a smile while Hilda takes out her binoculars and looks around.


    ¡°See anything, Hilda?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°No, just more mountains¡­ Can you send your little device out, Ruva?¡±


    ¡°Already ahead of ya.¡± Ruva grabs the little bird machine she¡¯d hung on her belt and starts speaking to it. ¡°Look for ruins and temples.¡±


    The little bird starts zooming and flies off with incredible speed.


    ¡°We can continue following the ridgeline to the east. Until we reach that mountain over there. The recon device will home back to us.¡±


    Our group follows Ruva as she marches on. Sadly enough the ridge gets a lot narrower a bit further on so we can¡¯t really pay much attention to the beautiful surroundings. When we reach another somewhat wider part of the ridgeline the little bird drone flies back to Ruva, it¡¯s eyes lit up green.


    ¡°Wait, did it find something?¡±


    ¡°Apparently.¡± Ruva crouches down while the bird points its beak to the north-east. She compares it with the crude map of the area while making some notes. ¡°Surprising.¡±


    ¡°What is?¡± Hilda walks closer to Ruva.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s one of the tallest mountains of the mountain range, I¡¯d assume someone would¡¯ve already prospected it before us.¡± Ruva puts her notes away again.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s too well hidden?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Ruva then continues to lead us on. ¡°We can get there if we climb the side of the mountain in front of us. It looks doable from over here, but as always, be careful where you put your feet.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± We all get our picks ready for our next climb.


    I¡¯m really happy I don¡¯t have a fear of heights.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 104: Puzzle

    FieryKathy


    It takes us well over three hours to get to the other side of the mountain. Mostly because we were being extra careful. Noone wanted to take a plunge from the side of the mountain.


    When we finally get to a ledge on the other side, our group looks around to see if we can spot the ruins.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± Hilda says as she uses her binoculars.


    ¡°Hmm. Let me launch the bird again.¡± Ruva gives the same directions to the little birdbot as she did last time. It immediately flies off but weirdly enough also returns ridiculously fast.


    It points behind us, back to the mountain.


    ¡°What?¡± Lise looks around. ¡°Are you sure the thing isn¡¯t broken.¡±


    ¡°Find the shiny looking knight.¡± Ruva commands the little bird, it immediately points at my sister. ¡°No, it works just fine.¡±


    Sam takes a look at the mountain behind us, putting her hands against the dark gray stone. She keeps touching it as she moves along the wall and then suddenly she disappears from sight.


    ¡°S-Sam!?¡± I call out to her immediately as panic strikes my heart.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here.¡± she replies as she shuffles back into my sight and she motions me over.


    I immediately fly in to give her a big hug.


    ¡°What the fuck.¡± Nikki joins us and touches the wall, doing the same thing Sam did. She also disappears. ¡°This is just crazy, I was standing right next to it.¡±


    ¡°Is this some kind of optical illusion?¡± Hilda, my sister and Ruva also join in and follow Nikki. ¡°Ami, can you check the wall for magic for me?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Uh, I can try.¡± I open up my senses and indeed I do sense a faint trace of magic against the side of the mountain. ¡°It¡¯s definitely magical.¡±


    ¡°So, does that mean your little bot can see through magical illusions?¡± Lise asks Ruva.


    It¡¯s a bit weird to hear them hold a conversation right next to me without seeing them.


    ¡°I used magical stones to make its eyes, so maybe? As I said, it¡¯s a bit of a prototype.¡±


    Sam takes me by the hand and tilts her head. ¡°Want to follow them in?¡±


    I nod.


    She then continues to drag me into the mountain wall. We enter into some kind of carved out entrance, just as we do so, Hilda lights up a torch so my sister can see as well.  The light does help us to see the room in more detail.


    ¡°A lot of these markings are very similar to what was written about in the notebooks.¡± Ruva says as she inspects the carvings.


    From what I can tell a lot of these markings show people worshipping a distinctly male figure who holds some kind of box above his head.


    In the meantime, Hilda and Sam move on further into the mountain, so I decide to follow them. The next room is a lot bigger and holds four statues in different orientations. A mage, a ranger, a spearman and a horseman. But there does not appear to be a door anywhere. Just a lot more markings and drawings carved beautifully into the wall.


    ¡°This is a puzzle room, isn¡¯t it?¡± Sam looks around.


    ¡°Probably.¡± Hilda nods.


    My sister suddenly peaks her head into the room. ¡°Did I hear puzzles?¡± and then she walks in together with Ruva and Nikki. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s one of those directional puzzles! I saw that in a g-¡± My sister suddenly stops talking and looks at Ruva who¡¯s looking at her with much interest.


    ¡°G-?¡± Ruva tilts her head.


    ¡°Ah, uh¡­¡±


    ¡°A grand encyclopedia of dungeoneering and treasure hunting.¡± Nikki says with a ton of confidence.


    ¡°Ooh, is this something readily available on the other continent?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a book a friend of hers wrote but it only has one copy sadly enough.¡± Nikki continues her bluff but it definitely seemed like it was working.


    ¡°Awh, that¡¯s sad, I¡¯d have loved to read it.¡± Ruva shrugs and starts looking around the room.


    ¡°So we practically just need to point these four statues in the right direction?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yes, I think so.¡± Lise replies. ¡°But what direction?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a bit like a class counter thing.¡± Hilda replies.


    ¡°Can you explain?¡± Nikki heads to the statue of the mage.


    ¡°It¡¯s practically a balance theory, right. Spearman beats horseman, horseman beats ranger, ranger beats mage and mage beats spearman.¡±


    ¡°We can try that.¡± My sister, Sam and Nikki get to work turning all the statues around so they all face the role they are supposed to counter. When they finally complete it¡­ nothing happens.


    ¡°Hmm, noone heard a click or something, right?¡±


    I shake my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡±


    ¡°And me neither.¡± My girlfriend shakes hers too.


    ¡°The horseman can counter the mage too, the mage can counter the ranger and the ranger the spearman.¡± Hilda rubs her chin. ¡°It¡¯s a bit less logical I guess but it can still work.¡±


    Again, we start to arrange the statues but in the end, still nothing happens.


    After our second failure we decide it might be for the best to just try out different combinations and see if any of those work. After more than an hour of trying different things and constantly arranging statues, most of us are quite frustrated with the lack of progress.


    The only one in our party who apparently isn¡¯t, is Ruva.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Ruva closes the notebook she¡¯d been reading while we were trying to solve the puzzle. ¡°What if the statues don¡¯t matter?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lise says, frustration clear in her voice as she¡¯s turning one of the statues one again.


    ¡°None of these figures ever came up in the other temples. It¡¯s almost as if they don¡¯t belong here. The pictograms on the wall however¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, are you saying the statues are a red herring?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°A red herring?¡±


    ¡°Right, it¡¯s basically something that is placed to mislead and divert attention from what is actually important.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Yes, in that case I do think it is.¡± Ruva then moves towards the wall. ¡°From what I can tell from the notes is that reverence was the most important.¡± She presses the priest pictogram on the wall. ¡°After that comes loyalty.¡± She presses the kneeling person. ¡°And after that, most importantly, the will of God.¡± Ruva presses the man holding the relic, after which a big clicking sound rings through the room. I can hear the sound of cogs and wheels turning as a portion of the wall Ruva is standing before pops in and starts moving to the side, revealing another passage.


    ¡°You gotta be kidding me.¡± ¨¦lise sighs and lets herself drop to the floor against one of the statues, looking completely defeated.


    ¡°Come sis, maybe there¡¯s another puzzle inside.¡± I walk over to her and try to help her up. Sam comes with me because plate armour is heavy.


    ¡°There better be.¡± My sis takes both mine and Sam¡¯s hands and gets herself up. Seemingly with renewed confidence.


    When the three of us enter the new room, Ruva, Hilda and Nikki are already looking around. There are dozens of artifacts in the rooms together with piles of gold.


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s a lot of gold.¡± Lise immediately runs over to a pile of coins and literally faceplants herself in it. ¡°Oof, I think I just fell on a sword¡­¡± She gets up again and pulls a decorative sword out of the pile. It was clearly not meant to do combat with, as it was made almost completely out of gold. ¡°Luckily this is pretty good armour.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s the relic?¡±


    ¡°No, it doesn''t appear to be magical at all¡­ doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t take it with me though.¡±


    ¡°And what if it¡¯s cursed?¡± Sam poses to which Lise¡¯s laugh suddenly disappears as she looks at her partner.


    ¡°I don¡¯t sense any curses in this room.¡± Nikki shrugs.


    ¡°Phew¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should ask that before picking up random stuff, Lise.¡± Hilda laughs.


    Our entire group looks around for half an hour.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything that looks like the relic here.¡± Ruva stands up after filling up a leather bag¡¯s worth of objects.


    I decide to walk around the perimeter of the room to see if maybe we¡¯ve missed something. That¡¯s when I sense a strong presence when I walk next to the wall on the right of the door.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s something behind this wall¡­¡± I put my hand against it. The presence I feel isn¡¯t really magical but it just feels¡­ divine.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even see a puzzle nearby.¡± My sis walks up to me and looks at the wall, before giving it a knock or two. ¡°It sounds hollow.¡± I see her open her inventory window before a full-sized sledgehammer drops down in front of her.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s a good idea?¡± I ask her with quite a bit of scepticism.


    ¡°It¡¯s already getting pretty late so I kinda don¡¯t want to waste any more time.¡± She picks the sledgehammer up and looks at the others.


    Ruva gives her an affirmative nod. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work we can always try something else.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hammer time.¡± My sister smirks and with a big swing she starts bashing down the wall.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 105: Relic

    FieryKathy


    It takes my sister a couple of swings with her entire strength to finally break open the wall. And apparently it couldn¡¯t have happened any later than that because with her last swing she completely splinters the handle of the sledgehammer, sending its head flying across the room. Luckily no one was standing right there or they would¡¯ve gotten quite a serious concussion.


    ¡°Wew.¡± My sister wipes the sweat from her forehead while the rest of us start clearing away the rubble.


    ¡°Mountain didn¡¯t fall on our faces so I would call that a win.¡± Ruva laughs. ¡°Brute forcing things might have ended up a lot worse than they did.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Hilda nods as she leans into the gap behind the wall.


    ¡°Do you see anything, Hilda?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Uh, yeah, give me a second, I¡¯m looking for pressure plates.¡± She takes a minute before she finally gets out of the hole, holding a golden box, the same one that we¡¯d seen depicted on the murals.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Ruva gasps as she sees it. ¡°So it is real.¡±


    ¡°Are you that surprised? With the temple and all?¡± Lise looks at Ruva.


    ¡°It is still a holy relic, babe.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°I guess.¡± My sis then looks back at Hilda. ¡°Can you get it open?¡±


    Hilda starts prying on the lid but she can¡¯t get any movement in it. ¡°I don¡¯t see a lock either.¡±


    ¡°Can you give the box to Ami?¡± Sam proposes. ¡°Maybe she can get it to open.¡±


    Hilda nods and offers the box to me.


    I doubt for a second how to accept it but in the end I decide to just let it rest on my forearms. The second I touch the box however, it starts to emit a white light while I myself start glowing pink. Pain starts to seep into my arms as the box starts to feel glowing hot. When I try to let the box fall on the ground I notice I can¡¯t seem to let it go. I wince to which Sam almost immediately tries to grab the box from my arm but the moment she touches me a force sends her flying against the wall behind her.


    ¡°Ami!¡± My sister cries out as she runs towards me but Hilda stops her in her tracks.


    ¡°No, look.¡± She points at my arms.


    The pain is almost unbearable but through my tears I can see that my pink light is slowly but surely pushing the white light away from my arms. It keeps gaining ground until it has covered the entire box. That¡¯s when finally the burning stops and I fall to my knees, but still with the box in hand.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± Ruva rushes over together with all my friends.


    Sam stumbles over as well, it seems like the smack only disoriented her a little. ¡°Are you okay, sweetie?¡± Sam grabs me into a hug.


    ¡°It hurt a lot¡­ but I feel fine now. How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Just a bit shook up.¡± She releases me from her hug and smiles. ¡°I actually feel a bit stronger now too.¡±


    ¡°Did you get a notification too, Sam?¡± Lise asks.


    Sam nods.


    ¡°Notification?¡± Ruva tilts her head.


    ¡°Uh, never mind that, just has to do with physical feedback.¡±


    -Sis, you really need to work on your excuses.-


    Lise carefully takes the box from me. ¡°But really now, what actually happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Hilda brings her hand to the side of her head and scratches her temple. ¡°I have a theory¡­ but it¡¯s a bit absurd.¡±


    ¡°Any theory is better than no theory.¡± Nikki says as she pats me on the back.


    ¡°Well¡­ I think the divine power that was inside of that box saw Ami¡¯s divine power as a rivalling force and they started fighting with each other.¡± Hilda starts explaining. ¡°In the end, Ami won and took over the relic.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you are saying Amicia is some kind of divine being?¡± Ruva interjects.


    ¡°Yeah, we kind of hid that from you. Sorry for that.¡± My sis helps me up with the box now under her arm.


    Hilda explains the situation while we walk back towards the temple¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°Ah. I think I can understand why you wanted to keep that quiet.¡±


    ¡°The Dwarger at the port kinda knew but for everyone¡¯s safety it¡¯s better to not talk about it too much.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Ruva nods.


    ¡°Before we leave the temple. Can we look at what¡¯s in the box?¡± My sister halts the group. ¡°It¡¯s just that that¡¯s the reason why we gave the box to Ami in the first place, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s see. I almost forgot because of the lightshow.¡± Nikki heads over to her partner and together they hold the box level.


    ¡°As long as I don¡¯t have to open the lid myself.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see if I can get it open now, now that you are in control of it.¡± Hilda walks over, while Sam and Ruva complete the circle. ¡°Here goes nothing.¡± She places her hands on the lid and slowly lifts it off. It comes off with a little pop.


    The entire group looks at the contents with great interest. Inside the box there¡¯s a golden armband placed in a soft red velvet interior. However, it doesn¡¯t take long for my sister to blurt out her disappointment. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Ruva says. ¡°There¡¯s a text engraved in it.¡± She carefully takes the armband out.


    ¡°Can you read it?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°It¡¯s some ancient Dwarger script but luckily I also wrote a dissertation about that subject.¡±


    ¡°What have you not studied?¡±


    Ruva shrugs. ¡°It reads: ¡®The will of Go-¡¯ oh! It¡¯s changing!¡±


    I can see the last part of the symbols change a little.


    ¡°The will of the Goddess¡­¡± Ruva then continues.


    ¡°Wow, Ami has bracelet changing powers. That¡¯s neat.¡± My sis winks at me. ¡°But what does it do? Or is it just some fancy bracelet?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll only find out by wearing it. I¡¯d say to let our resident Goddess try it out.¡± Hilda takes the bracelet from my sister and offers it to me. ¡°If you want to, of course.¡±


    I hesitantly touch it and then take it in the palm of my hand. It¡¯s a pretty thin bracelet, even if I¡¯d put it around my wrist.


    ¡°Want to put it on?¡± Sam asks while she takes it from my hand. ¡°I can try it on for you first.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll wear it.¡± I shake my head.


    Sam smiles and gives me a nod. She gently takes my wrist with one hand and closes the bracelet around it with her other. ¡°Does it feel weird?¡± She lets go of my hand.


    I turn my hand around while I look at it. The rest of the party is also looking at me for any kind of information. ¡°It feels¡­ like a bracelet?¡±


    Hilda comes closer to me and whispers in my ear. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it feel weird? No attribute points or something like that?¡±


    I shrug. ¡°No, it just feels like a bracelet.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it needs time to charge or something?¡± My sister proposes.


    ¡°Ah, like attunement, that could be it.¡± Hilda rubs her chin.


    ¡°Anyhow, shouldn¡¯t we head down before it gets too late? Or are we going to wait until something happens?¡± Nikki peeks around the corner again. ¡°We¡¯ve got what we came for so we might as well leave, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°I¡¯d very much like to study this temple a bit more, but I can always lead a team here on a later date.¡± Ruva nods as well. ¡°And it¡¯s a shame to leave so much treasure here too.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got all we can carry, but it¡¯s best to come back when there isn¡¯t some crazy theocracy looking for it.¡± Hilda winks.


    ¡°If I had more bags I could probably carry another 10 kilograms of loot.¡± My sis boasts.


    ¡°Maybe in your dreams, when you don¡¯t have to get down a mountain.¡± Nikki flicks her finger against Lise¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Fair.¡±


    We all start climbing down the mountain which goes a lot smoother than going up, even though we still have to be extremely careful not to go too fast. The sun just starts to set the moment we get back to our vehicle.


    ¡°How many hours do we have left, Hilda?¡± My sister looks over to our leader.


    ¡°Six to eight.¡±


    ¡°That means we can¡¯t get back to the capital...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, pretty much.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡±


    Hilda then puts her attention on Ruva who¡¯s putting her gear in the car. ¡°Ruva, would you mind dropping us off in three hours or so?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Drop you off in the middle of nowhere?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°I could, but why?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s best to not take the relic back to the capital. Just in case the theocracy has a way to track it. We¡¯ll be out of commission for a while and it would be really bad to put unwanted attention on all of you.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Ruva thinks while she puts away another bag. ¡°I guess you can¡¯t really tell me the entire story?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry for that¡­¡±


    Ruva sighs. ¡°Well¡­ I haven¡¯t known you people for that long¡­ but, you look trustworthy enough to me. Just promise me to come and find me later, okay?¡±


    ¡°We will.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Can we keep the treasure?¡± Lise joins the conversation.


    ¡°Dwarger law dictates that finders are keepers when it comes to long lost artifacts.¡±


    ¡°Hell yes!¡± My sister balls her fist with joy.


    ¡°Sis, please¡­¡± I facepalm and shake my head.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 106: Aetherific

    FieryKathy


    As agreed upon earlier, Ruva drops us off after a couple of hours. Night already has set but luckily, for most of the party, that¡¯s not really an issue.


    ¡°See you around, Ruva.¡± Hilda taps her hand on the vehicle.


    ¡°You too. Be safe everyone.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± Nikki nods while she helps my sister not run into any trees.


    After we all say our goodbyes, the walker starts walking off in the distance.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get off the road and make our camp.¡± Hilda leads the way.


    ¡°Can I have a light please, babe?¡± Lise clamps on to Nikki¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Awh, but I like you being so helpless around me.¡±


    Me and Sam look at each other and giggle while Nikki finally produces a bit of flame from her hand so ¨¦lise can also see what''s going on.


    We find a good and well-hidden location for a campsite after a fifteen minute walk and setting up everything. Hilda makes sure everything is warded off so nothing can disturb us while sleeping.


    ¡°We should be pretty safe now.¡± She rubs her hands. ¡°Does anyone want some food before bed?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m fine.¡± My sister shakes her head. ¡°I ate on the walker already.¡±


    ¡°Me too, I was giving her the snacks.¡± Nikki laughs. ¡°We will be going to bed already.


    Hilda nods. ¡°Ami and Sam?¡±


    ¡°Maybe a little.¡± I smile. Sam nods as well.


    ¡°Good.¡± Hilda smiles and starts preparing us a bit of food.


    During our late-night meal we don¡¯t really talk much. We have been pretty busy today and everyone is really tired. That and the food Hilda had made for us tasted incredibly well.


    ¡°When everything is silent that means there¡¯s no complaints?¡± Hilda smirks as she watches us finish our plate.


    ¡°None at all, chef.¡± Sam laughs. ¡°Your salad is really good.¡±


    I nod enthusiastically in agreement. With my mouth still full.


    ¡°Thank you. If the two cat girls tell me it¡¯s delicious even without any meat, it probably is.¡±


    After our food we say good night and get into our tents. The night is a bit more chilly than we are used to so it doesn¡¯t take long for the both of us to get into our bedroll.


    I cuddle up closely to my girlfriend, who in her turn takes me close to her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to check out the new things you got?¡± I ask, looking up at her.


    ¡°Nah, it can wait until next time. I just want to hug my beautiful girl right now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re beautiful too.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She gives me a kiss.


    ¡°I love you Sam.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡±


    ¡°I love you even more.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.¡± She boops my nose with hers.


    ¡°It definitely is.¡±


    ¡°Nah ah. Mathematically impossible. If my love for you would grow even more I think the universe would explode.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmmm. Wanna try that out?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± She smirks as she starts kissing me. The kisses slowly increase in length and become more passionate as time goes on. Sam ends up rolling on top of me, softly squishing me with her body. Even though it was a cold night, it was getting really toasty here.


    Her final kiss almost leaves me breathless.


    ¡°Universe didn¡¯t explode, I guess we¡¯ll have to try harder next time.¡± She winks at me with a little bit of a lewd smirk.


    ¡°We¡­ we can maybe try¡­¡±


    ¡°Just fondling and ear scritches, right?¡± She winks.


    I shyly nod.


    She smiles and gives me another kiss after which she lays down next to me again and gently pulls me so I can sleep on top of her. ¡°Night night cutiepie. See you on the other side.¡±


    ¡°Nini Sam.¡± I settle in on her chest and start dozing off.


    It doesn¡¯t take very long before I open my eyes back in my own room. My Sam is already smiling at me as I wake up. She¡¯s casually tracing circles around my right ear with her fingers. It tickles a little.


    I hug her close and snuggle into her breasts.


    ¡°Eeep!¡± Sam yelps.


    ¡°Is something wrong? Did I tickle your boobs?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ not really. I just felt something cold touch my back.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I pull my hands out from underneath her. To my surprise I see the bracelet we got from the temple on my wrist. ¡°Heh?¡±


    Sam carefully takes my wrist and holds it in front of her. ¡°This is¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the bracelet¡­¡±


    Sam scoots up and straightens the pillow so she can sit upright against the wall. ¡°Can you take it off?¡±


    I follow Sam¡¯s lead and sit upright next to her. I then grab hold of the bracelet and start sliding it upwards. It comes off without any issue.


    ¡°Phew. At least you aren¡¯t stuck with it.¡±


    ¡°What do I do with it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. You had Veanya¡¯s telephone number didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right!¡± I grab my cell phone from my night stand and start typing a message to Veanya. She almost immediately calls me back the moment I send the message. I put it on speaker so Sam can hear too.


    ¡°Amicia, what bracelet do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bracelet we found in a temple back on Haurchefaud. According to legends it¡¯s some sort of divine relic.¡± Sam replies in my stead.


    ¡°I see¡­ don¡¯t do anything with it, just put it somewhere and don¡¯t touch it until I¡¯m there, okay?¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± I reply and quickly put the bracelet down on the night stand.


    ¡°I will be there in a second.¡±


    Before I can even reply to that a bright light fills the room and a moment afterwards Veanya appears. Making me and Sam cover ourselves up.


    ¡°Could you not?!¡± Sam throws a pillow at her.


    ¡°Oh! Sorry!¡± Veanya blushes and quickly turns around. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were still in bed.¡±


    ¡°You could give us more than a second to reply.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s all the ruckus about?¡± My sister looks inside of our room and bounces back the moment she sees Veanya standing there. ¡°What are you doing here!?¡±


    Me and Sam are still hiding under the blankets while Lise is analysing the situation.


    She shakes her head and sighs. Walking over to Veanya and taking her by the ear. ¡°Come on Voyeuranya, let them get dressed first.¡± She then starts walking out.


    ¡°Ow! Ouchie!¡± Veanya is forced to follow her.


    My sister¡¯s voice then sounds from the hallway. ¡°Just call us when Veanya is allowed back in again.¡±


    I look at Sam and we both start giggling. ¡°Will do!¡±


    We get dressed in a couple of minutes after having helped my girlfriend with her leg. Afterwards we call Veanya and my sister back into the room. In the meantime Nikki has joined them as well.


    ¡°So you really did get the relic with you, huh?¡± My sister crouches down next to my night stand, making sure to keep enough distance from the armband.


    Almost without hesitation Veanya takes up the armband. We all react a bit shocked to that.


    ¡°Why are you looking so surprised?¡± Veanya tilts her head towards us.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that Ami was in quite some pain when she first touched the relic.¡± Sam explains.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± She closes her eyes for a second, probably to concentrate. ¡°I do sense a residue of some chaotic divine energy. Although most of it seems to be replaced by Amicia¡¯s now.¡±


    ¡°You can sense the difference?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°Yeah, the aether feels completely different but it takes quite a while to develop senses for that.¡±


    ¡°A bit like a sommelier?¡± My sister continues.


    ¡°I guess you could compare it to that, yes.¡± Veanya nods.


    ¡°And your aether doesn¡¯t fight with Amicia¡¯s?¡±


    Veanya shakes her head. ¡°No, her energy feels really friendly and calming.¡±


    ¡°Just like she is in real life.¡± Sam gives me a hug and a kiss on my cheek.


    Nikki and my sister awh at our cuteness.


    ¡°Can you tell what it does as well?¡± I ask while being smooched.


    ¡°Sadly I can¡¯t yet. Your energy hasn¡¯t yet taken over completely. While it is definitely dominant and the chaotic energy can¡¯t overpower it. It still needs some time to get used to you before I can sense what purpose it serves.¡± She places the armband into my hand.


    My sister chuckles. ¡°So Hilda was right, it does in fact need some attunement.¡±


    ¡°And is it safe for her to do so?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°To attune to it you mean?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what if it has some apocalyptic property to it.¡±


    Veanya shakes her head once more. ¡°Once Amicia attunes to it completely, she will be able to tell what kind of effects it will have. Nothing will happen without her consent.¡± She then raises a finger towards me. ¡°Although. It probably would be best to not be wearing it when you go into your other state of being.¡±


    I tilt my head in confusion.


    ¡°She means your Valkyrie of Vengeance form, sis.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh.¡±


    ¡°Because in that case you might do some things you don¡¯t actually want to do.¡± Veanya pats my head. ¡°Just be careful with that.¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°Do you have any more questions?¡± Veanya looks at us all. ¡°I still need to do some work so I need to go soon.¡±


    ¡°In and out in a second, like always.¡± My sister scoffs.


    ¡°Goddesses have busy lives, you know?¡± Veanya pouts back.


    ¡°Just one thing.¡± I raise my hand. ¡°How long will this attuning last?¡±


    Veanya shrugs. ¡°Could be hours, days, weeks, months¡­ It¡¯s always a bit of a guess with these kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­. thanks for the help anyway!¡±


    ¡°No problem. Again, if you ever need something, just call me.¡± She smiles, gives me a wink and then with the snap of her finger the white light returns and she¡¯s gone.


    ¡°You should ask that other goddess you know if there¡¯s a device to keep out unwanted divine teleportation stuff, Ami.¡± My sister shakes her head as she walks back out of my room. ¡°I¡¯ll start making some breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we will come too!¡± I take Sam by her hand and together with Nikki we follow my sis to the living room.

 Chapter 107: Suburbanite

    FieryKathy


    While we sit down and wait for breakfast I open up the tablet Gamma had given to me yesterday. Sam peeks over my shoulder so she can read along.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s at 352 081 already.¡± Sam calls out.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I look at the number in the top right, it¡¯s still ticking up albeit a bit slower than last time we watched it together.


    ¡°Hmm, I wonder what the total population of Haurchefaud is.¡± My sister wonders after flipping a pancake.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question actually.¡± Sam agrees. ¡°Maybe a billion or two?¡±


    ¡°That sounds like way too much.¡± Nikki shakes her head.


    Sam shrugs. ¡°Hilda would probably know.¡±


    Nikki¡¯s phone starts vibrating. ¡°Ah, speak of the Devil. It¡¯s a message from Hilda.¡±


    ¡°What does our glorious leader want?¡± Lise asks while putting a plate of pancakes on the dinner table.


    ¡°She asks if we want to come over to her house today.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I immediately reply. ¡°I wanna goooo! I can go and ride with Hilda on her motorcycle!!¡±


    Nikki chuckles. ¡°I¡¯ll tell her we¡¯ll be coming after breakfast then.¡± As she starts typing. ¡°If that¡¯s okay for you as well, Sam.¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡±


    My sis walks back to the kitchen with a pancake stuffed in her mouth. ¡°Doesh anywan want som eggws?¡±


    Everyone raises their hand.


    ¡°Comingw wright up!¡±


    After a nice and filling breakfast we get ready to head over to Hilda¡¯s place. I decide to go with a pink hoodie with gray pants and pink low sneakers as it¡¯s pretty cold outside so a dress would probably not have been a good idea. I find Sam staring at my butt when I turn around. She¡¯d just finished getting dressed herself and was leaning against my closet.


    ¡°Sam?¡± I blush at her.


    ¡°Ah! Sorry!¡± She looks away and starts blushing as well. ¡°It¡¯s just that your pants fits you really well¡­ that¡¯s all¡­¡±


    I see an opportunity as my blush fades a bit and head closer to Sam, pressing myself up to her, tilting my head.


    ¡°It just fills out¡­ you know¡­¡± Sam blushes even more. ¡°A-and your tail¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmmm?¡± I smirk and tease her a bit more, softly pulling on her jeans jacket.


    Sam bites her lip and keeps avoiding my gaze. ¡°Ami¡­¡± She whispers.


    ¡°Hmmmmmm?¡± I tease her again.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pounce you if you keep it up. I can barely hold myself back.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I use my right ear to tickle her cheek.


    Sam gasps and quickly reaches for her cheek. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve done it now.¡± She then takes me by my waist and gently guides me back to the bed and throws me softly down on top of my mattress. ¡°Kissing or tickling? What would you prefer as punishment, kitty cat?¡± She locks me in by placing her arms around me.


    ¡°Mhmm. Lemme think for a second.¡±


    ¡°Times up.¡± She lowers herself and starts kissing me. I obviously don¡¯t resist at all and start kissing her back.


    However, the cough from my sister in the hallway interrupts our little kissing session. ¡°Should we leave you two here after all?¡± My sister chuckles.


    ¡°N-no!¡± I say as Sam pulls me upright again. The both of us are blushing because we got caught in the act. ¡°W-we are ready!¡±


    We then leave the apartment and head towards the elevator. Once inside my sister presses the button to go to the garage.


    ¡°Ah, are we going by car?¡± I look up to my sis.


    ¡°Yeah, Hilda lives in the suburbs, it¡¯s a bit annoying to get there with public transport.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely doable.¡± Nikki continues. ¡°But it will take a while longer.¡±


    ¡°And you also need to change busses twice which is even more annoying.¡±


    ¡°I get that.¡± Sam nods. ¡°I sometimes take trains that are slower but have a direct route, rather than the faster route but with a change halfway through.¡±


    ¡°What do you need to take the train for, Sam?¡± I poke my girlfriend.


    ¡°When I visit friends from other cities or when I go on a city trip with my parents.¡± She smiles and pets my head. ¡°No need to get jelly.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t jelly!¡± I pout. ¡°I was just curious.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± She hums and gives me a kiss.


    The car ride over to Hilda¡¯s place only takes twenty-five minutes. Which was probably helped by the fact that it was a Sunday today and traffic was incredibly light.


    Hilda¡¯s house is quite impressive. A double garage, slightly sunken into the terrain around it. White and black walls that give it a very modern outlook. And lots of windows, particularly on the top floor. It¡¯s very different from the suburbian house me and Lise used to live in.


    Nikki rings the doorbell and it doesn¡¯t take long for Hilda to open the door. Apparently she¡¯d also chosen to go for the casual hoodie look. She always was so well dressed when we met, that it was a bit weird to see her around in her home wear.


    ¡°Welcome.¡± She smiles and opens the door wide for us so we can enter.


    ¡°Your house looks amazing, Hilda.¡± Sam says as she sees her.


    ¡°Thanks. I don¡¯t really like the suburbs that much but it¡¯s quiet and the prices here are a lot cheaper than in the city.¡± She leads us indoors.


    ¡°Do we need to take off our shoes?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine.¡± Hilda shakes her head.


    ¡°Is it really that much cheaper?¡± Sam continues.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think our apartment is much cheaper than Hilda¡¯s house.¡± My sister replies instead. ¡°She wasn¡¯t joking when she said there was a big price difference.¡±


    ¡°The convenience of the city adds a lot of value.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°But I¡¯m happy with my house so it¡¯s fine.¡± She leads us into her living room which was incredibly fancy too. Her lounge was also a bit sunken into her floor, giving it a cozy feeling, especially with the gas fireplace that was burning away with its calming orange glow. ¡°Want something to drink?¡±


    ¡°Just some water.¡± I reply.


    ¡°You sure? I can make some hot vanilla milk for you.¡±


    I started drooling almost immediately.


    ¡°I think she¡¯ll stay with water, Hilda.¡± My sister winks.


    ¡°Nooooooo! Gimme the milk please!¡±


    ¡°Coming right up.¡± Hilda winks as well while the rest of us also tells her what they want to drink.


    Sam and I take up a spot next to the fireplace where I start cuddling up in her lap until Hilda comes back with a dish full of drinks.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your milk, kitten. I didn¡¯t know if you wanted whipped cream with it so here¡¯s the bottle if you want to add some.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I smile at her.


    ¡°Want me to add some for you, Ami?¡± Sam asks, as she was in a much better position to add it if I pleased.


    ¡°Maybe a little.¡± I nod.


    Sam smiles and sprays some whipped cream on top of my hot vanilla milk. It looks incredibly delicious.


    Hilda then sits down on the sofa next to my sister and Nikki. ¡°So, are you ready to take a ride with my motorbike later?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I call out.


    ¡°We¡¯ll just tour a bit of the suburbs so no need to worry about safety.¡± Hilda looks over to my sister with an assuring smile. ¡°I¡¯m not going to take any risks with our sweet cat girl along.¡±


    ¡°Even though she¡¯s probably the best person to have along when doing risky stuff.¡± Lise laughs.


    ¡°She already has over 300 000 followers!¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you now?¡±


    I blush. ¡°Yeah¡­ apparently¡­¡±


    ¡°And her holiness also got the relic with her to this world.¡± Nikki says as she raises her glass.


    ¡°What? Is that true?¡± Hilda looks surprised.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Lise nods. ¡°Veanya came along and she told us it was perfectly safe, you were right as well in saying that she¡¯d need attunement to it as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    My sister and Nikki explain a bit more about the bracelet while I take a first sip of my glorious drink.


    ¡°Is it good?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Incredibly so.¡± I rub my head against her cheek.


    ¡°Bracelet and motorcycle stuff aside.¡± I hear my sister continue. ¡°What else do you have planned for us today?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday I got a delivery of some board games I¡¯d ordered. I thought maybe you¡¯d want to try them out with me.¡± Hilda says as she nods towards the closet behind her. There are in fact a couple of boxes stacked upon it.


    ¡°Definitely. What kind of games are they?¡±


    ¡°Some very thematic civilization builders, management games and a sci fi-board game as well where you need to control a spaceship together.¡±


    ¡°Nice, we¡¯ll take a look at it later then.¡±


    ¡°You can play them all with 5 players?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yep. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have mentioned them.¡± Hilda takes a sip from her glass and then continues. ¡°We can also play a bit of pool if you want, I got a table upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s been ages since I played that.¡± Sam is clearly impressed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never played it before.¡± I admit.


    ¡°Then we have to teach you. It¡¯s really fun.¡± Sam gives me a hug.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have a fun day today.¡± Lise leans back into the sofa with a big smile on her face. ¡°Thanks for inviting us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re always welcome.¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 108: Tiger

    FieryKathy


    After Hilda gets us situated and we all finish our drinks she leans over to me. ¡°Amicia, want to go and take a ride?¡±


    ¡°Yes please!¡± I nod.


    She then looks over to my girlfriend. ¡°I can take you with me after I come back with Ami, Sam. If you want.¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, I¡¯m fine.¡± Sam waves her hands in denial. ¡°But I would like to see your garage if that is okay by you?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Hilda smiles.


    ¡°Me and Nikki are going to stay here and chat a bit longer.¡± Lise nods as the three of us stand up.


    ¡°Well, you know where the fridge is if you want something else to drink.


    ¡°Of course.¡± My sister winks.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t empty it completely.¡±


    ¡°No promises.¡± Nikki laughs.


    Hilda leads me and Sam down the stairs towards the sunken garage. Inside of it are 2 motorbikes, one modern electric one and the vintage one she took with her to the basketball game, now equipped with a sidecar. Other than her motorbikes there was also a small electric car parked in the other slot and a couple of bicycles.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Sam looks around the garage in amazement. Her eyes linger on the big red workbench with multiple tool cabinets. ¡°You work on your bikes yourself?¡±


    Hilda nods with a smile. ¡°I do tinker a bit, yes. But if there¡¯s something serious going on I still take them to the garage.¡±


    ¡°Still though, that¡¯s so cool¡­¡± Sam walks over to the workbench and wants to open a drawer, but before doing so she looks back at Hilda for approval.


    ¡°Check it out as much as you want.¡± Hilda smiles once more.


    Sam doesn¡¯t need a second approval and immediately starts looking through the tools.


    ¡°While she is busy, let¡¯s get you some safety gear.¡± She pets my head and walks over to the built in wall cabinet at the back of her garage. She takes out a leather vest that¡¯s padded on the shoulders. ¡°Here put this on. It also helps against the wind.


    I immediately do as she asks. The vest is a little bit too big for me but not immensely so.


    ¡°And for the helmet¡­¡± Hilda takes out a white helmet and looks at it and then at me. ¡°I think this¡¯ll work with your ears.¡± She then hands it over to me.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I say, but just before I can put it on Hilda continues.


    ¡°I was thinking about buying you a helmet with kitten ears on it, but I thought that might have been a bit overkill.¡±


    I hear Sam snicker from the toolbench. ¡°That¡¯d have been outright amazing.¡±


    I start pouting. ¡°Do they really have those in stores?¡±


    ¡°They do. I know of some motorcycle groups that are even completely styled around felines. They are pretty badass, y¡¯know?¡±


    I stare at her cynically. ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe me?¡±


    ¡°Not really, no.¡± I shake my head.


    Hilda takes out her phone and walks over to me. After typing in something in her search engine she shows me some pictures. ¡°These are the Riding Tigers. They are styled around the Flying Tigers who helped oppose the Japanese invasion of China.¡± She points at the shark teeth on the side of the motorcycles. ¡°These are a reference to the shark teeth they used to paint on their P-40¡¯s. And the helmets are tigers because¡­¡±


    ¡°They are called the flying tigers?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Hilda laughs.


    ¡°Oh, I see, I see.¡± I inspect the picture for a bit longer until Hilda turns it away from me.


    ¡°There¡¯s other ones like the pink panthers too, those actually do have ears on their helmets too but I can¡¯t seem to find a picture of them right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± I smile at her. ¡°I believe you.¡±


    ¡°So if you would want to, I could still draw a couple of ears on your helmet if you¡¯d want so.¡± She smirks.


    ¡°That¡­ that won¡¯t be necessary.¡±


    Hilda smiles and pets my head. ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t you put on your helmet and get in then, then we can go for a drive.¡±


    I do as she asks and put the helmet on and get in the sidecar.


    ¡°Take these too.¡± She hands me a pair of motorcycle goggles.


    ¡°Do I really need these?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, not really but we are going to drive through the forest so if you don¡¯t want flies or mosquitoes in your face I¡¯d recommend it.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± I quickly put on the goggles.


    In the meantime Sam has stopped looking over the tools and has joined me next to the motorcycle. Crouching down so she can be on eye-level with me. ¡°You look great, babe. Although I do think a helmet with ears would definitely have looked even better.¡± Sam smirks.


    I stick out my tongue.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    Hilda then gets on her motorcycle, with her helmet and jacket on and opens the garage door with the small controller she took from the wall. ¡°Feel free to hang around in my garage a bit more, Sam.¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve seen all your fancy tools already. I¡¯ll go join ¨¦lise and Nikki upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Still know the way?¡±


    Sam looks at the staircase. ¡°Easy enough. Though my parents would probably already get lost.¡±


    Hilda laughs. ¡°I guess it¡¯s good you didn¡¯t inherit their sense of direction then.¡±


    ¡°Thank the Goddess I didn¡¯t.¡±


    Hilda pulls down her glasses and starts the engine of the motorcycle. The vibrations feel completely different than those from a car but I do kinda like it.


    ¡°Have a nice trip!¡± Sam calls out to us.


    ¡°Thanks, we won¡¯t be out for that long.¡± Hilda then motors her motorcycle out of the garage. I wave my girlfriend goodbye as we go onto the driveway and the garage closes behind us. ¡°Seat belt is on, Kitten?¡±


    ¡°Put it on when I got in.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Hilda turns the motorcycle into the street and starts opening the throttle.


    The motorcycle rolls smoothly over the asphalt as we make our way out of the suburban neighbourhood Hilda lives in. Thanks to it being a Sunday the roads are all but abandoned, only encountering a handful of cars within the city limits. When we get outside of that, even less cars pass us by.


    ¡°How are you holding on?!¡± Hilda calls out to me, raising her voice so she can be heard over the engine.


    ¡°It¡¯s fun.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fun!!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± She laughs as we go into the flow of the next corner. The forest Hilda mentioned earlier is already within view on the hills in front of us, but it¡¯s still quite some distance away. First we need to make our way through a small patch of countryside with farmlands and their adjacent farms. An automated tractor in the distance is plowing the fields, getting them ready for sowing.


    You definitely do feel yourself connected with the world around you a lot more than if  you were driving in a car. The wind, the smells, the sounds, everything just feels so much more intense. Though I definitely still prefer just adventuring through the forests and hills on foot.


    It doesn¡¯t take very long for us to get into the forest.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make a loop over A-79 and head back that way!¡± Hilda turns towards me and calls out.


    I just nod. I don¡¯t really know the route names around here, especially not that far away from the city center. If I were on my own out here I¡¯d definitely not know how to get back.


    ¡°But first I want to show you something!¡± Hilda says as she slows down her motorcycle and turns it down a small dirt road. The dust of it luckily floats behind us and doesn¡¯t end up in my face.


    Two minutes later we stop near a shack in the middle of the forest, with a sign in front of it, saying ¡®Mad Scottish Tacos¡¯. A man is standing behind the counter, busy working on something that smells outright delicious.


    ¡°There¡¯s a taco shop out here?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Hilda turns off her motorcycle as she takes off her helmet. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°They sell tacos here?¡±


    Hilda smiles. ¡°I was surprised too when I found it.¡±


    ¡°Does anyone even come here? Isn¡¯t that bad for business?¡±


    ¡°Only the people who want to be here. Scott says he likes it that way. He wants to be a destination.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ wait¡­ his name is Scott?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Hilda laughs. ¡°Scott the Scot who sells tacos.¡±


    I look at her, semi confused, and also a bit impressed and then give her a shrug. ¡°So are we getting a taco then?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here.¡± She gets off her motorcycle and offers her hand to me. ¡°You have your choker with you, right?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I quickly put it on and grab Hilda''s hand. She then helps me with my helmet, putting hers and mine on my seat before we head over to the shack.


    ¡°Hey Scott! Give us four of y¡¯r finest steak street tacos, will ya?¡±


    ¡°C¡¯min right up, ¡®ilda!¡± The man waves at us with a big smile.


    He kinda reminds me of Argus¡­


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 109: Negotiations

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Four street beef tacos for the lovely lasses.¡± We are barely at the shack as Scott hands over four tacos over the counter into Hilda¡¯s hands. Hilda hands me two and keeps two for herself.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Hilda takes her bank card out of her pocket and beeps it against a sensor in front of her.


    ¡°And thank you for the patronage.¡±


    I inspect the tacos more closely, giving them a good whiff, because everyone knows that part of the eating experience includes smelling your food. The steak smells juicy and the onion gives it that extra little bit of spicy in the nose, together with the chipotle and chili powder that¡¯s sprinkled on top of it.


    Scott looks at me with anticipation. ¡°Go on, lass, take a bite.¡±


    Hilda, who¡¯s already eating her first taco, starts talking to Scott. ¡°Don¡¯t push her. She must¡¯ve the complete experience.¡±


    ¡°Right, right¡­¡± He leans back and stands straight behind his counter. The experience matters most. But I¡¯m always so¡­ burnin¡¯ up with excitement when I get new customers!¡± He pumps his fists excitedly a couple of times. You can tell he¡¯s really passionate about what he does.


    I decide not to let him wait for much longer and take my bite from the taco. I don¡¯t know what I was expecting but this taste¡­ It doesn¡¯t even come close to any other taco I¡¯ve ever eaten. So much so that I need to cover my mouth before I accidentally start making inappropriate noises. ¡°Ohmagawdess¡­ Itsh sho good!¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± Scott cries out in victory, waving his arms above his head. ¡°Another satisfied customer.¡±


    After I finish my first taco I look around the stall and notice that there¡¯s not a single mention of a pricelist anywhere. ¡°Hey, Mister Scott, can I ask you something?¡± I look up at him.


    ¡°Just Scott is fine, lass.¡±


    ¡°What does one taco cost?¡±


    ¡°Should¡¯ve seen that one coming.¡± Hilda laughs.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Scott laughs as well before he leans on his counter. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I practically don¡¯t make much money on them, if any.¡±


    ¡°He uses only the best of the best for his ingredients, and those don¡¯t come cheap.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°And I don¡¯t have any price lists because I don¡¯t want people to come here because my food¡¯s cheap. I want them to come because my food is the best around!¡± He balls his fist again and raises it in the air.


    ¡°But¡­ how do you manage to stay in business then?¡±


    ¡°We have an entire network of like minded people who pool all our money so we can all keep being in business. Couple that with a couple of generous and incredibly wealthy patrons¡­ If we keep breaking even, more or less, then money really isn¡¯t an issue.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a bit of a secret organization of taco people?¡±


    Scott laughs once more. ¡°In the network we have many people who sell many different food items, it¡¯s not like we all do tacos. That¡¯s ma thing, y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°No taco conspiracy. The free taco masons, if you will.¡± Hilda winks.


    ¡°Shush, Hilda, that name still needs to be voted.¡± Scott puts his finger in front of his mouth before the two of them start laughing together.


    Hilda and I finish our other tacos and prepare to get going again.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we take some with us for Sam, Nikki and my sis?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Well, I would want to, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Are ya talking about taking my tacos on some kind of takeaway?¡±


    I nod at Scotts question.


    ¡°No way in ¡®ell!¡± He calls out.


    ¡°Why not?¡± I ask, a bit taken aback by the sudden denial.


    ¡°They need to be eaten at the OPTIMAL temperature!¡± He pinches his fingers to accentuate.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no way I can do that.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry lass¡­¡±


    ¡°Ami, let¡¯s go.¡± Hilda puts her hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°Wait a second.¡± I walk up to the counter and put on my biggest kitten eyes. ¡°M-my girlfriend would really love these, and all her friends would love to come and eat here¡­¡±


    ¡°Argh.¡± Scott bounces back in fear.


    ¡°She¡¯s the captain of the basketball team and is very popular¡­ j-just think about all the word of mouth advertisements she could give¡­ All these people who are now missing out on lesser tacos¡­¡±


    Scott gulps. ¡°A-a-alright. How many do you need?¡±


    ¡°I think six will do.¡± I pull away from the counter and smile at him, while Hilda stares at me, her mouth wide open.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you just got him to do that¡­ That was pretty scary, Ami. You are one dangerous kitten.¡± She whispers at me.


    ¡°Teehee.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t take long for our bag of tacos to arrive in my arms. Hilda pays for them swiftly.


    ¡°J-just don¡¯t let them get too cold, okay?¡±


    I nod.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go straight home from here.¡± Hilda smiles and puts on her helmet. I do so too and make my way to the sidecar.


    ¡°And don¡¯t put them in the microwave! For the love of all gods in the heavens above!¡±


    Hilda and I laugh as she starts the engine of her bike. And just like that we are on the road again. I keep the taco bag close to me before I realise something.


    ¡°I think I can actually keep these warm with my magic!¡±


    ¡°Oh?!¡±


    ¡°If I just cast my blue ball of death at a lesser intensity, I could just keep it nice and hot.¡±


    ¡°Ami, please don¡¯t burn down my bike.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can repair it if I did.¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s fair but I¡¯d still prefer it if you tried not to, to save me the heart attack, y¡¯know?¡±


    I giggle and concentrate on my cast. As I had theorized, I manage to cast it in such a diminished form that it forms a bubble of warm air around the bag. The spell doesn¡¯t even glow so oncoming cars won¡¯t get spooked because of my magic.


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely some impressive control.¡± Hilda says, after she glances at me for a second.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same principle as the heal I used during the basketball game. So it¡¯s kind of your idea as well.¡±


    ¡°Eh, you give me too much credit, kitten.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll call it the Hilda technique.¡±


    I can hear Hilda chuckle at my reply and shake her head. She does not go into it more than that though, to keep her eyes on the road like a responsible adult.


    We arrive back at Hilda¡¯s house not that long after, I can feel the tacos are still quite toasty. Hilda parks her motorcycle in the garage and after having undressed our motorcycle gear we make our way up the stairs. To find my sister, Nikki and Sam huddled next to each other on the sofa. With some music playing from in between them.


    ¡°What are y¡¯all doing?¡± Hilda asks as she puts the bag of tacos on her living room table.


    ¡°Ah, Sam was just showing us this band she likes.¡± Nikki looks back at us.


    ¡°It¡¯s called Coheed or something.¡± My sister turns around as well.


    ¡°Coheed and Cambria. It¡¯s an old progressive rock band.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°Oh! I think I know of them.¡± Hilda says while getting a couple of plates from the kitchen.


    ¡°I love them, they are really great.¡± Sam holds her phone close to her chest.


    ¡°How come you¡¯ve never told me of them?¡± I tilt my head at my girlfriend.


    ¡°My mind just gets too hazy with cuteness and fluff when I¡¯m near you, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Awww.¡± I blush.


    ¡°Nice safe, Sam.¡± My sister chuckles and rubs Sam through her hair. ¡°So, what¡¯s in the bag, Hilda?¡±


    ¡°Some crazy good tacos.¡± Hilda hasn¡¯t turned around yet as my sister gets to the bag in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°Tacos you say?¡± She takes a whiff. ¡°Oh, damn, they smell really good.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get them?¡± Nikki casually follows her partner to the table, while Sam heads over to me instead to give me a kiss.


    ¡°At a shack in the forest.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that place.¡± Nikki nods. ¡°I¡¯ve heard other people talk about that.¡±


    ¡°Sounds shady, but I don¡¯t care, it smells too good.¡± Lise says as Hilda arrives with the plates.


    Hilda starts dividing the tacos on the different plates.


    ¡°How did you keep them warm?¡± Lise asks as she sits down with pure anticipation.


    ¡°Ami used her magic.¡± Hilda replies almost immediately.


    ¡°Wow, nice. So you learned a new skill then?¡± My sis looks at me, which forces me and Sam to stop kissing and cuddling for a second.


    ¡°Uh, not exactly¡­¡± Sam keeps her hold on me tight, she clearly doesn¡¯t want to stop hugging me. My body doesn¡¯t mind, which was obvious because I was purring quite profusely.


    ¡°... I¡¯ll let you explain when Sam¡¯s done.¡± Lise chuckles as she unwraps her first taco.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ever be done though.¡± Sam giggles and whispers into my ear. ¡°I just want to hold you forever. I¡¯ll survive on my little purrito.¡±


    ¡°What if I promise you tons of kisses later?¡± I whisper back.


    ¡°Hmm, what about some cuddling and pouncing on top, to sweeten the deal?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I giggle and give her a little nom on her neck.


    She shivers for a second. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t mind a couple of those either¡­¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 110: Tournament

    FieryKathy


    While my family is eating I explain what I did to keep the food warm, all the while hearing agreeable noises from the taste of the tacos. In the blink of an eye all the tacos are gone. With my family members sitting back in their seats like they had just had an epiphany of some sort.


    ¡°Looks like you all enjoyed it.¡± Hilda laughs, she¡¯s leaning against one of her cabinets watching the others.


    ¡°It was glorious.¡± My sister immediately agrees.


    ¡°Well you can thank Ami for convincing the guy to even hand them over. I don¡¯t think I could¡¯ve done it.¡± She smirks at me.


    ¡°Thanks Ami. I will devote even more of my life to you from now on.¡± My sis folds her hands as if she¡¯d start praying to me.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t¡­¡±


    Lise laughs and takes her drink.


    In the meantime Sam gathers all the plates and brings them to the kitchen before joining me at my side. ¡°They were marvelous. Thanks for thinking about us.¡± She gives me a kiss on the top of my head.


    ¡°I always think about you.¡±


    Hilda and Nikki giggle as they see us flirt.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do now? Maybe a little bit of a family pool tournament?¡± My sister proposes.


    ¡°Sounds fun.¡± Nikki nods.


    ¡°Have you played pool before, Ami?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Uh, no¡­¡± I shake my head.


    ¡°You, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± She nods. ¡°I¡¯m pretty decent.¡±


    ¡°Can you two team up then?¡±


    I look up at my girlfriend with my kitten eyes.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Sam gives me another kiss. ¡°Otherwise Ami would be sad and no one wants that. Especially not me.¡± And then she gives me yet another kiss. Not that I mind of course.


    Hilda chuckles. ¡°Let¡¯s get you all upstairs then, and don¡¯t forget your drinks, there¡¯s plenty of space to put them down. I¡¯ll take care of the snacks.¡± Hilda gets back into her kitchen and opens one of the corner cabinets. ¡°Nikki and Lise, can you show Ami and Sam the way?¡±


    Nikki nods, grabs her glass and heads towards a door on the other side of the living room. ¡°This way to Hilda¡¯s womancave.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I thought that was her garage?¡±


    ¡°Noone told me I couldn¡¯t have more than one.¡± Hilda laughs.


    ¡°Fair point.¡± Sam chuckles as she guides me onward towards Nikki. My hand firmly clenched in hers.


    We enter the next floor and get greeted by a new, even more fancy room with lots of knick knacks everywhere. On the far side of the room is a sunken-in, extremely cozy-looking, sofa. Neatly arranged in front of a home cinema with a projector. Closer to where we are standing is a pool table with several cozy looking armchairs and small round tables in between two pairs of them. There are plenty of art pieces against the wall which are meant to look like historical paintings. And a big map of the world, approximately from the 18th century. In the glass cabinets are multiple games from a wide range of video-game eras together with their consoles, which all look, at first glance, to be in working order.


    ¡°Wow. This is even more impressive than her garage¡­¡± Sam was standing next to me, mouth open and in awe of what we were seeing.


    ¡°It¡¯s cool, isn¡¯t it?¡± Kinda makes me want to buy a house in the suburbs too.¡± My sis admits. ¡°But I love our apartment¡­¡±


    ¡°Ami, maybe we should get a cabin in the woods somewhere and then expand it!¡± Sam excitedly pulls my arm.


    ¡°What about the restaurants and our friends then?¡±


    ¡°... Fair point.¡± She quickly stopped.


    Nikki walks over to a rack on the wall where the pool cues have been hung. ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s see.¡± She takes two in her hands and then looks at me, then back at the cues, then back at me for one last time. ¡°I think this one is good for Ami.¡± She places the other cue back in the rack and walks over to me. ¡°Can you try holding this one?¡±


    I take the cue from Nikki.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t feel too heavy?¡±


    I shake my head. ¡°No, it feels pretty okay.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Nikki pats my head. ¡°We¡¯ll explain how the game works already so Hilda doesn¡¯t need to do so when she gets here.¡±


    Sam hugs me from behind and guides me towards the pool table. ¡°8 ball pool rules are actually pretty easy so don¡¯t worry too much.¡± She then kisses me behind my ear. It tickles.


    Nikki explains the basic rules, like how one team has to play the half coloured balls and the other team the full coloured balls, and what the specific rules are considering the black ball, et cetera. She is just explaining the last part of the game when Hilda comes up with an entire plate, laiden with snacks.


    ¡°What have I missed?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Nikki was just explaining the rules to Ami.¡± My sis explains, immediately going to the plate to steal a bugle chip from it and dipping it in some cheese.


    ¡°Do you understand everything?¡± Hilda turns to me.


    ¡°Uh, yeah, pretty much.¡± I nod.


    ¡°She can learn the rest while we¡¯re playing. It¡¯s best to see it in action anyway.¡± Sam rubs her chin on top of my head.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Hilda laughs. ¡°Why don¡¯t we play a mock round so Ami can see it in practice?¡±


    Everyone agrees. The mock round is between Sam and I versus Hilda.


    ¡°Ah, and one last thing, Ami.¡± My sis says while snacking on a different snack.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Try not to aim your cue too low so you destroy the table cloth¡­ I know you can repair it but it¡¯s best not to give Hilda any heart attacks.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that clumsy.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s fine.¡± Hilda shrugs. ¡°And as you said, Ami can fix it anyway if anyone messes up so I¡¯m not that stressed out by it. Plus I know how to refabric it myself if need be anyway.¡±


    ¡°A woman of many talents.¡± Sam smirks.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Hilda smiles.


    The mock game against Hilda teaches me practically everything I need to know for the little tournament we are having. It was indeed quite useful to see the rules be played in practice.


    A couple of dice throws later the tournament ladder is decided. First my sister and Nikki play against each other. As far as I can tell they are quite evenly matched. In the end it is a trick shot by my sister that decides the game. Nikki had tried to make the shot as difficult as possible for my sister as she was only a ball behind. But my sister managed to pot the ball with a band shot.


    ¡°Sorry my love, I wish it was the finals but alas.¡± My sister winks.


    ¡°Oh please.¡± Nikki rolls her eyes. ¡°At least I can snack at will now.¡±


    ¡°I have a break now so I can too.¡± Lise smiles smugly.


    ¡°Drat.¡±


    Nikki and Lise make way for the game between Sam and me versus Hilda.


    ¡°I won¡¯t go easy on you now.¡± Hilda says while she¡¯s chalking up her cue.


    ¡°Neither will we.¡± My girlfriend says, burning with a fighting spirit.


    And so our game begins. Sam and I each take turns for our shots. With Sam mostly directing my shots while she shoots her own. I do not mind though as she clearly knows a lot more about the game than I do.


    Over the course of the game, I do start to notice something strange about Sam. Or about the way she¡¯s playing. It feels like she¡¯s sometimes deliberately missing her shots. And I can¡¯t really tell how I know.


    ¡°Sam?¡± Hilda turns herself to her. She crosses her arms and tilts her head, just when Sam is about to shoot. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you weren¡¯t going to hold back?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Sam¡¯s face starts to become slightly red.


    -Oh, babe, you are such a bad liar.-


    ¡°You are masking it by missing difficult shots but I can tell you are deliberately aiming a degree or so off right before you hit the cue ball.¡±


    ¡°So she¡¯s setting herself up correctly first and then she deliberately overcorrects?¡± My sister comments while snacking on some paprika covered peanuts.


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± Hilda nods.


    Sam gets upright and cancels her shot. ¡°I guess you¡¯ve got me.¡± She rubs the back of her head.


    ¡°Why?¡± I ask.


    Sam shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t really know how or why but I can imagine the trajectory of the pool balls way better than I used to in the past.¡±


    ¡°Like you would do with your arrows in Turn of Destiny?¡± Hilda continues the interrogation.


    ¡°Yeah, I was thinking about that too. But that wouldn¡¯t make sense, would it?¡±


    Hilda shrugs. ¡°Do you still know about your survival skills?¡±


    ¡°Like which plant is which?¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°I guess I do, yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Then it shouldn¡¯t be weird that you know how to estimate trajectories, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ If you say so.¡± Sam bows back down over the table and readies for her shot. When she releases, everyone just stands there, looking in awe at what is happening. As three of our half-coloured balls disappear in the pockets.


    ¡°Owkaaaay¡­ Maybe we should look into that a bit more than I thought¡­¡± Hilda whistles.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 111: Mystery

    FieryKathy


    We put our little tournament on hold for the time being while everyone stays silent and thinks to themselves for a while.


    My sister is looking at her hands, opening and closing them every couple of seconds.


    Nikki looks at her and tilts her hand. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I mean, if Sam got her abilities from the game¡­ I could have too, theoretically, right?¡± Lise replies. ¡°I don¡¯t have magic, neither do I have super fast reflexes or the ability to see trajectories easily. The only thing I¡¯m good at is taking hits and being strong.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Hilda rubs her chin and walks over to one of the wall cabinets. She takes out something and walks over to my sis. ¡°Here, can you start attaching these?¡±


    I can now see what she brought, they were weights she uses for personal training.


    ¡°I will get some more.¡±


    My sister nods and starts attaching weights to the dumbbell.


    ¡°Do you know what you can usually lift?¡±


    ¡°I can do a set of 15 easily with 3 kilograms.¡±


    ¡°Nice, that¡¯s quite good already.¡± Hilda nods, clearly somewhat impressed.


    ¡°Hey, I need to keep my muscles toned for my girlfriend, y¡¯know.¡± My sister winks at Nikki.


    Nikki smirks. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s quite hot.¡±


    ¡°Sam¡¯s muscles are nice too!¡± I exclaim, not wanting to be underdone by my sister.


    ¡°A-Ami¡­¡± Sam stutters, her face slightly red.


    ¡°Haha.¡± My sister laughs. ¡°At least my little sis knows what she likes.¡±


    Hilda quickly returns with another set of weights. ¡°Here, try these. This should be 5kg.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with 3 and work my way up then.¡± Hilda nods and weights for my sister to start.


    ¡°1, 2, 3, ¡­., 14, 15.¡± Lise finishes a set.


    ¡°How did that feel?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Felt like it usually does to be honest.¡± She then adds another kilogram which does slow her down quite a bit. After one more set she puts it down. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure this is just my normal physique¡­¡± She actually looks somewhat disappointed about that.


    ¡°What about you, Nikki?¡± Hilda moves onto our next party member.


    ¡°I¡¯m a mage¡­ I don¡¯t really feel magical, though I do think I grasp how to cast something theoretically.¡±


    ¡°You can see magical auras right, in-game? Can you try to do that now?¡±


    Nikki closes her eyes and concentrates. ¡°I think I can sense a faint aura there.¡± She points at me.


    ¡°Well, you did see Ami before. Give us a sec. Don¡¯t open your eyes.¡± Hilda grabs me by my shoulder. ¡°Ah, Lise, could you cover her ears too?¡±


    My sister does what is asked of her and then Hilda starts moving me around the room.


    Hilda walks away from me to another place in the room. ¡°¡®Kay, Lise, you can let her go now.¡±


    ¡°Want me to point at the aura again?¡± Nikki speaks.


    ¡°Yeah, go ahead.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t even take a second before she raises her arm and points directly at me.


    ¡°Okay¡­ that¡¯s really interesting¡­¡± Hilda rubs her chin once more.


    ¡°Was I right?¡± Nikki peaks and stares directly at me. ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°Good job, babe.¡± My sis gives her partner a headpat.


    Nikki quickly takes my sister¡¯s hand from her head.


    ¡°What about you, Hilda?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She looks around her for a second. ¡°I believe there is something I could do, but I probably shouldn¡¯t do it out of self-preservation. I am not nearly flexible enough for that.¡±


    My sister pouts again. ¡°So everyone got something cool and I¡¯m the only one who didn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Are you really mad about that?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t say mad perse¡­ Just¡­ disappointed.¡±


    ¡°Hey Ami.¡± Hilda turns herself to me. ¡°Could you materialize your sword for me?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I can, but why?¡±


    ¡°Just want to test something.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I shrug and start focusing my mana into my hand. A second or so later I¡¯m already holding my sword which I promptly turn over to Hilda.


    ¡°Thanks kitten.¡± She gives me a wink.


    ¡°No problem.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Hey, Lise, catch.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Hilda lobs the sword to my sister who is halfly caught off-guard. In a second she stands up and handily catches the sword by its hilt. ¡°Are you crazy? You could¡¯ve hurt me!¡±


    ¡°Just wanted to prove my hypothesis. Plus, we have an Ami here.¡± Hilda pats my head.


    ¡°What hypo¡­ ah¡­¡± She stares at the sword in her hand and starts giving it a couple of swings. Her movements are pretty much the same as her character in-game. ¡°Well, that is pretty cool.¡±


    I then make my sword disappear, with a little awh from my sister. ¡°Do you think this is all because of me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Hilda scratches her cheek. ¡°If it were only for me and your sister, I would think that muscle memory would explain most of it. But Nikki¡¯s and Sam¡¯s skills are a bit more out there. Especially being able to see aether, which shouldn¡¯t exist on Earth¡­ That makes me believe it does have something to do with you.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. So what do we do?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Probably just keep an eye on it and see if more things change. Right now, none of the things we have really affect us that much. Although you might have some effect with your basketball, Sam.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just try to make shots that I¡¯d normally make so it doesn¡¯t pull attention to me.¡± She nods and taps her lap to signal me over.


    I gladly accept and go sit in my girlfriend¡¯s warm embrace.


    ¡°So I take it we won¡¯t be continuing the little tournament?¡± Lise takes her cue and puts it away in the rack.


    ¡°We can do something else, we have plenty of other things we can do. I have this one board game where you all play spiritual mediums and you need to solve a murder together. It¡¯s pretty fun.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Mysticium!¡± Nikki calls out.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s the one.¡± Hilda smiles.


    ¡°As long as Ami doesn¡¯t need to move out of my lap that¡¯s fine for me.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t.¡± Hilda winks. ¡°Lise, could you help me put a slab on top of the pool table so we can play on top of it?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± My sister helps Hilda for a second.


    Sam shuffles our chair closer to the table, trying not to throw me off in the meantime while Nikki sets up the game.


    We play at least five rounds, with each of us playing ¡®the ghost¡¯ once. The ghost¡¯s job was in practice to give out cryptic hints in the form of images to who the murderer is, where it happened and what the story behind it was. With the images being sometimes incredibly vague and the ghost not being able to give any hints apart from those. It was actually kinda fun. Even failing was incredibly amusing. My sister gave us hints that made absolutely no sense.


    ¡°No no no, I gave you images that all had indoor activities on them!¡± My sister defends herself against Hilda.


    ¡°What? Three of these images are clearly outdoors! How was I supposed to know you referred to chess in this one?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a tower in the image!¡±


    ¡°And castles have towers too!¡±


    Sam, Nikki and I are just listening to the argument between them while laughing our asses off. It takes them five more minutes before they are finally done ranting at one another.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Nikki wipes a tear away. ¡°That was funny but let¡¯s try a different game now.¡±


    And so we started another game, and another one after that, and one more¡­ right until my stomach starts rumbling really loudly. So loud that the entire room falls quiet.


    ¡°Uh, Hilda, I think my girlfriend wants some food.¡± Sam squeezes me tight and puts her ear against my back. ¡°Yeah, she sounds completely hollow.¡±


    ¡°Hmpf.¡± I pout. ¡°I¡¯m just slightly peckish.¡±


    Hilda chuckles and takes a look at her watch. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s prepare some food. Barbeque is fine for everyone, right?¡±


    ¡°Ooooh! That¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had that.¡± My sister smiles and pats her tummy.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t roasting meat over a fire in Turn of Destiny count?¡± Nikki asks her partner.


    ¡°Well¡­ they don¡¯t have one of Hilda¡¯s great marinades, so no.¡± My sis violently shakes her head.


    ¡°I can make you some ebi sushi while we wait for the coals to heat up, Ami.¡± Hilda walks over to me. ¡°And for you as well, if you want, Sam.¡±


    ¡°Sounds yummy!¡± I hop off my girlfriend¡¯s lap.


    ¡°Yeah, sounds good.¡± Sam laughs and gets off her chair too.


    Hilda then continues to lead the group back downstairs, turning on a couple of lights in the meantime as it¡¯s getting a bit darker outside already. Including a couple of lights in her garden.


    ¡°Lise, can you take a bag of coal from the garage?¡± Hilda asks while she leads us outside.


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± My sister runs off on a jog.


    We arrive on the deck in Hilda¡¯s garden, where we can see the pretty big barbeque grill, standing next to the wall. Hilda rolls it away a couple of meters so it¡¯s more in the open and locks the brakes. At that moment, my sister joins us outside with a big bag of coal in her hands.


    ¡°Is everyone ready to start some fire?¡±


    -Yes, give me my nomnoms!-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 112: Canonization

    FieryKathy


    Hilda turns on the heat lamp behind me so I keep staying cozy while we are outside under the big parasol on her deck. Although, with a toasty Sam stuck at my side that really wasn¡¯t much of an issue but it¡¯s still really appreciated.


    ¡°Thanks Hilda.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Tell me if you want a blanket or something like that. I¡¯ve got plenty inside.¡±


    I nod and Hilda moves back inside to finish the ebi sushi she was making for me. Meanwhile my sister is occupying herself with the barbecue. Trying to light the fire.


    ¡°Babe, you should just let Ami do it.¡± Nikki says to ¨¦lise while she¡¯s leaning against the wall next to her.


    ¡°No. Not a hair on my head that¡¯s thinking about that! I still have my pride as a big sis to uphold, y¡¯know?¡± A spark finally manages to hold. ¡°See, I did it, no need for any magic here.¡± Just when she celebrates, a breeze of wind blows the cinders out again. ¡°Goddess fucking¡­ give me a sec.¡± She gets back to work.


    Sam chuckles at my sister¡¯s attempts to light a fire and pulls me close to her by my shoulder. ¡°This might take a while.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Cozy togetherness is fine.¡± I rest my head on her shoulder.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt your cuddling.¡± Hilda says as she comes out of the house once more together with an entire plate of ebi sushi with an assortment of sauces.


    ¡°Oh! I didn¡¯t know you were that close to being done.¡± I almost immediately shoot upright and take one sushi the moment the plate is on the table.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t take very long to make. Watch out for this sauce though, it¡¯s a little bit spicy. And, well¡­ you know what wasabi looks like too.¡±


    I nod as I put my sushi into some soy sauce and then nom it whole. ¡°Hmmmm, tawsty!¡±


    Hilda laughs and walks over to the barbecue where my sister is still struggling.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t help me! Let me struggle!¡± And just as the flame of hope was dying out, a new spark catches, and this time it looks like the pure resolve of my sister¡¯s trial keeps the flame burning.


    ¡°Good job.¡± Hilda gives my sister a small applause. Sam and I join us. While Lise just basks in the glory.


    ¡°Never give up, kids! Never! For the struggle makes eventual success so much sweeter!¡±


    ¡°Are you going to try to become a paladin?¡± Hilda jokes, giving my sister a pat on the back.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I already? A fighter devoted to her Goddess is practically a paladin already, no?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I guess so? But can you heal?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­. Ami?¡±


    ¡°Yewsh?¡± Another ebi sushi disappears in my belly.


    ¡°Can you give me a healing spell? So I can become a paladin of the Goddess of war?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I¡¯ll thiwnk abwout iwt.¡±


    ¡°Talking about being a Goddess.¡± Sam talks to me. ¡°Today¡¯s Carol¡¯s date, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I swallow my sushi. ¡°It is! I¡¯m really curious about what she¡¯ll tell us tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Sam smiles.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± My sis comes to sit down on the other side of the table.


    ¡°Ah, just about Carol''s date.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Riiiight. She had one with¡­. Max?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°And afterwards there was something about you turning her into a catgirl or something?¡±


    ¡°That remains to be seen.¡± I nod. ¡°She¡¯ll need to contemplate it before I¡¯ll do anything. It¡¯s not something you should decide in an instant.¡±


    ¡°Although you didn¡¯t really get a choice.¡±


    ¡°I was lucky.¡±


    My sis smiles. ¡°I guess we are too. With such a cute cat girl in our midst.¡±


    ¡°Amen to that.¡± Hilda says just before she adds the coals to the barbecue.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want to have it any other way.¡± Sam gives me a kiss on my head.


    ¡°Awh.¡± I hug up to her.


    When the coals are glowing hot, Hilda goes inside to grab the platter of meat. She returns with that and a can of what looks to be like barbecue herbs.


    ¡°This is always my favourite part of barbecuing. Hilda puts the meat platter on the countertop space provided by her grill and opens the can of herbs. She takes a handful of contents and drizzles them on top of the coals. Making them bring out their amazing aromas. ¡°I¡¯ve always liked this as a kid and I still very much do.¡± Hilda takes a deep breath.


    ¡°Smells marvelous, Hilda.¡± My sister stretches on her chair. ¡°Should I go and get the greens already?¡±


    ¡°Sure, there¡¯s two salad bowls in the fridge.¡±


    ¡°I know, I¡¯ve already seen them.¡± My sis gets up and goes inside.


    ¡°In the meantime I¡¯ll go get us some more drinks.¡± Sam says.


    ¡°Noooo. Stay with meeeee!¡± I grab onto her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back sweetie.¡± She kisses me on the lips. The kiss was short and didn¡¯t really satisfy me. But I guess I can wait till she gets back to get my full satisfaction.


    ¡°You can take the bottles with you, Sam.¡± Hilda says while putting a piece of divinely marinated steak on the grill. ¡°It¡¯ll stay cool when it¡¯s outside anyway.¡±


    ¡°Kay kay.¡± Sam nods and quickly runs in.


    This leaves me alone with Hilda and Nikki. Nikki is checking the news on her phone and looks a bit too interested in what she¡¯s reading so I decide to talk with Hilda instead. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any pets, Hilda?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not home often enough to give it the love I¡¯d want to give it. So I decided against getting a cat or a dog.¡±


    ¡°What about fish?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Once all the steaks are on the grill, Hilda closes the lid for a bit so they get a bit smokey. ¡°Aquariums are cool to look at. But I feel like I don¡¯t know enough about fish to really give them the care they need. And I probably would want the biggest aquarium possible so the maintenance of keeping that clean¡­ yeah¡­ maybe a bit too much work. I already have a couple of issues keeping this house clean by myself.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should get one of those autonomous vacuum robots.¡± Nikki looks up from her phone. ¡°Put some googly eyes on them and give them names. That means you both can have them as pets and you need less time to keep your house clean because they do it for you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually a pretty good idea.¡± Hilda laughs. ¡°I¡¯ll look into that. It¡¯s pretty old tech so it shouldn¡¯t be that expensive.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Vroombas!¡± I call out.


    Nikki nods.


    ¡°I always wanted to see one of those!¡±


    ¡°I heard some cities have big versions of those to clean the streets. But I¡¯ve never seen one myself.¡± Nikki continues. ¡°Maybe we should plan a trip to the capital to go and see them.¡±


    ¡°Cleanliness tourism.¡± Hilda continues laughing.


    Sam and my sister reappear at about the same time. Now with salad bowls and bottles of drinks we are set for the pi¨¨ce de r¨¦sistance, Hilda¡¯s marinated meats.


    Which, luckily for us and our hungry bodies, doesn¡¯t take very long to be finished.


    ¡°Bon app¨¦tit." Hilda says, putting a slab of heavenly steak on my plate. Little leafs of rosemary and pieces of garlic grant the steak an almost overwhelming aroma. My mouth waters the second I smell it.


    Sam puts some veggies on my plate as well. Probably to make sure I don¡¯t only eat the steaks.


    After that, the taste of the food in front of me, completely makes me forget the time. The holy tastes that swirl around in my mouth start melding time and space into a puddle of delight. Those tacos from earlier were good, but this¡­ If Hilda would open a restaurant I¡¯d go there every day.


    ¡°Ami, you okay?¡± Sam taps my shoulder, I snap out of my blissfulness.


    ¡°Sorry, I was too obsessed with the steak¡­.¡±


    ¡°I can understand, it¡¯s really good. But Hilda asked you something.¡±


    I look up at Hilda who¡¯s sitting in front of me.


    ¡°I wanted to ask if you liked it, but I guess I got my answer.¡± She chuckles.


    ¡°Did you add some catnip to the dish by any chance?¡± My sister asks, a smirk painted on her face.


    ¡°No, not that I know.¡± Hilda shrugs. ¡°Do you really like it that much.¡±


    ¡°If I had the power to canonize this in the holy book of Amicia, I would.¡± I nod extensively.


    ¡°Maybe she can taste all the love you put into it.¡± Nikki gives Hilda a wink.


    ¡°Ah, love, the secret ingredient.¡± Lise laughs.


    ¡°Or her taste buds just really enjoy the combination of rosemary and garlic.¡± Sam theorizes.


    ¡°Eh, I like the love theory more.¡± Now my sister shrugs as well.


    ¡°Oh, by the way.¡± Hilda continues. ¡°We are going to go back to Turn of Destiny today, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course. We still have to make sure our Dwarger friends are doing fine.¡± Nikki nods.


    ¡°Not to forget that we need to do some experimentation with the bracelet too.¡± My sister agrees.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine for me.¡± I reply. ¡°However¡­ before we get to that. Can I get another steak please?¡± My previous steak had already taken up residence in my stomach.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Hilda laughs and hands me another holy relic.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I sink my teeth into the steak and my mind wanders off again.


    -Hmmmmm¡­. steaaaaaaaaaaaaaak¡­.-


    FieryKathy


    Oh! And two days ago I rolled a crit hit with my lv10 devotion paladin (she''s an Aasimar who is also called Amicia because, well....


    Anyway, I got to roll 12d8+13 damage, of which 10d8+10 was radiant! That was so satisfying I still get happy thinking about it xD


    Back to the Abyss you fiend!!

 Chapter 113: Bedtime

    FieryKathy


    After our lovely and very delicious meal we sit around in Hilda¡¯s garden for quite a bit longer. Talking about random things like the weather and a couple of history lectures from Hilda herself. However, the time to head home has come. Hilda walks us back to the front door.


    ¡°See you all in a bit?¡±


    ¡°Yep, we¡¯ll shower and get there as soon as possible.¡± My sister smiles as she juggles her car keys around her index finger.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll send you a message when I log in so I can do some scouting already.¡± Hilda says, waving us goodbye as we walk down the driveway.


    Sam and I wave back until Hilda closes the door.


    The drive home is uneventful. A Sunday evening was never that busy and today¡¯s no exception. The only things we drove by were trams and from the look of it they were quite empty too.


    When we enter our apartment Mochi and Pocky are there immediately to greet us. They had to miss us almost all day so they had a lot of stories to tell.


    ¡°What are they saying, Ami?¡± My sister asks while Pocky is brushing her head against my face, meowing all the time.


    ¡°How much they¡¯ve missed us and how they¡¯ve slept while we were gone.¡±


    ¡°So usual cat stuff?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± I smile. ¡°Oh, and Pocky says she¡¯s thrown up on your bed.


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Just kidding.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Phew.¡± My sister wipes the sweat off her forehead. Changing bedsheets right before going to bed is nobody¡¯s favourite activity. ¡°Now that you mention throwing up. They¡¯ve not done that nearly as often as cats normally do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just happy Ami doesn¡¯t.¡± Nikki chuckles.


    ¡°Just think about the size of those hairballs.¡± My sister continues.


    ¡°I would never do such a thing.¡± I pout. ¡°I don¡¯t lick my hair. I shower like every good girl does.¡±


    ¡°You probably don¡¯t even need to do that if you¡¯d use your magic for it.¡± Nikki fills up a glass of water and starts drinking from it.


    ¡°But that wouldn¡¯t be nearly as fun for Sam, would it?¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t lying.¡± Sam giggles which makes me blush quite profusely.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with this anti-Ami coalition all of the sudden?¡± My blushy pout grows even further but luckily my girlfriend is quick to be at my side to give me a big hug.


    ¡°It¡¯s just because I like teasing you sweetie.¡± She gives me a kiss on my cheek, then she moves her mouth to my ear and whispers. ¡°Although she was in fact telling the truth that I do like showering together with you.¡±


    My pout is now completely gone, yet my blush stays and turns my face even redder.


    ¡°Want to go and shower now?¡± Sam stays on the offensive.


    ¡°Le-let¡¯s wait until Nikki and my sister have gone¡­ so they can¡¯t tease me about it¡­¡± I whisper back.


    ¡°Is it okay that we¡¯ll take the bathroom first?¡± Nikki asks, saving me the hassle of trying to convince them.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine.¡± Sam nods. ¡°Do we still need to feed the cats?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯d be so kind.¡± My sister smiles and heads over to the bathroom.


    Of course we can¡¯t let our soft and cute kitties go without their food so Sam and I prepare them a bit of lunch. However, Mochi and Pocky can¡¯t agree on what they want to eat.


    ¡°What are they saying?¡± Sam asks as Mochi is meowing next to her leg.


    ¡°Well¡­ Mochi wants to eat chicken with carrot while Pocky wants to eat beef with gravy.¡± I explain while Pocky is meowing next to me.


    ¡°We can just give them a bit of both, can¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°A baggy for each is too much.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Mochi climbs up Sam¡¯s trouser leg, pawing at the bag she¡¯s holding. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bit too enthusiastic.¡± Sam laughs at the cat.


    ¡°Pocky, Mochi, come.¡± I crouch down and let both of our cats walk over to me. ¡°If we give you chicken today I¡¯ll give Pocky a bit of the kibble she likes and then tomorrow morning we¡¯ll give you the baggy of beef with the kibble Mochi likes. How about that?¡±


    Both of the cats agree with a meow.


    ¡°Alrighty, it¡¯s settled then.¡± I give them both a pet on the head.


    Sam opens the baggy of chicken while she¡¯s chuckling about. ¡°Are you running for cat president, Ami? The art of compromise.¡±


    ¡°I can talk to cats so I might as well use that skill set, right?¡± I get back up and walk over to my girlfriend, giving her a kiss on the cheek. After which I walk over to the cat food cabinet to get a tiny bag of kitty kibble for Pocky.


    When the food gets placed in front of them both Mochi and Pocky immediately start eating. It looks like that even with Pocky¡¯s reservations about what she wanted to eat, she¡¯s still eating up the chicken as well as any other day.


    ¡°Sam, Ami, the bathroom is free!¡± My sister calls from the hallway.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± I call back.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± Sam reaches out her hand to me.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ let¡¯s go¡­¡±


    We get ready for our shower and it doesn¡¯t take long before the two of us are getting cleansed by the nice, hot, water.


    ¡°Sometimes I wish that we could shower forever.¡± Sam says after she tenderly kisses me on the lips.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ me too¡­ but my sister probably wouldn¡¯t like the water bill.¡± I kiss her back.


    ¡°If we ever travel to Japan for a holiday, I wouldn¡¯t mind hiring one of those expensive nature hot springs and make out with you all day long with a great natural view for the both of us to enjoy.¡±


    ¡°Am I not beautiful enough for you?¡± I tease her.


    ¡°Of course you are!¡± Sam gives me another set of kisses. ¡°But don¡¯t you think it would be nice?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I would definitely like that.¡±


    ¡°And if you learn how to teleport we don¡¯t even need a plane to get us there.¡±


    ¡°Can I learn teleport spells?¡± I push her off me, just a little bit so I can look up into her eyes.


    ¡°Uh¡­ I actually don¡¯t know. You can teleport to towns, right?¡±


    ¡°But that requires attunement.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± Sam puts her thinking face on.


    ¡°Well¡­let¡¯s think about that later and kiss a bit more for now.¡±


    ¡°I do agree with that, my lady.¡± She chuckles and kisses me again.


    To save my sister a huge water bill, Sam and I stop showering shortly after and get ready for bed. Doing our usual bedtime routine of first disconnecting Sam¡¯s leg and then cuddling a bit before saying goodnight to our lovely cats.


    Mochi climbs up on the bed and sleeps next to my stomach while Pocky goes over to Sam to sleep on her thighs.


    ¡°Goodnight, kittens.¡± Sam says as she pets Pocky.


    ¡°Nini.¡± I say good night to them too, giving Mochi a scritch on her back as my arms are too short to reach Pocky.


    ¡°Ready to go adventurin¡¯, sweetie?¡± Sam hands me my D3u5XMachina.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod, taking it off her so she can take hers as well.


    ¡°See you on the other side.¡± She gives me one more kiss before she puts on the console and clicks the startup button. I decide to do the same as it¡¯s way more fun to cuddle up with a conscious Sam.


    And just like that I found myself being cuddled by my catgirl girlfriend.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± She chuckles, her deep purring making me feel even more comfortable in her arms.


    ¡°Hey there.¡± I giggle pulling myself a bit closer. While it is relatively cold in our tent, the heat Sam is giving off makes me completely ignorant of it. That is, right until the moment my sister¡¯s voice calls out to us from outside of our tent.


    ¡°Are you guys awake?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat¡­¡± I reply. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve been here for an hour already and Hilda still isn¡¯t back yet. Nikki and I would like to go and look for her.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I look up to Sam, just like me I can see she has a concerned look on her face. ¡°We will get up immediately.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± My sister replies and walks off.


    We quickly get dressed and get out of our tents. When we leave we see that both Nikki and my sister are already fully armored up and kitted out. Their tents, however, are still in place.


    ¡°Sorry for the rough wake-up call.¡± My sister apologizes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± I shake my head. ¡°Have you tried sending her a message?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Nikki nods. ¡°We¡¯ve not gotten an answer yet.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to leave the tents here?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yep. Just in case she comes back she knows that we will return here as well.¡± Lise nods.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s smart¡­ So, what direction are we going off in?¡±


    ¡°Direction of the road, probably.¡± My sis points her sword to the north.


    When she does so a crack of a piece of wood alerts us, coming from the exact direction my sis pointed at. Nikki immediately starts preparing a spell while Sam draws her bow in a split second.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, don¡¯t shoot.¡± Hilda suddenly comes rushing out of the wood carrying someone wrapped in a blanket. ¡°Ami, can you please heal her. She¡¯s badly injured.¡± She puts the small figure down in front of me. I quickly realize it¡¯s Ruva who she put down in front of me, from the look of her clothes it¡¯s clear she¡¯s lost a lot of blood.


    I immediately get to work, casting my healing magic on her.


    ¡°What the hell happened?¡± My sister gets on her knees, looking at my healing at work.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Hilda sits down on a tree trunk, quite clearly out of breath. ¡°Let me tell you what I know¡­¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 114: Obelisk

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Here you go.¡± My sister hands Hilda her water skin so she can drink a bit.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She takes a swig. ¡°First of all, sorry for not replying. I saw the message and I was carrying Ruva so I couldn¡¯t really reply¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no problem.¡± Niki shakes her head. ¡°It¡¯s probably best you got her here as fast as possible.¡±


    ¡°So, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Well, I told you I was going to scout around for a bit, right?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°I got to the road and walked down it for fifteen minutes in the direction of the capital¡­¡± Hilda takes another sip from the water skin. ¡°That¡¯s when I heard something crash in the distance and I decided to go and see what it was. The sound I¡¯d heard ended up being from our vehicle crashing against a tree. Ruva was struggling to get out. That¡¯s also when I saw she was seriously wounded.¡±


    ¡°She was still conscious?¡± I ask, my healing was already done but it would take a bit longer for Ruva to wake up again.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°She thanked their gods that she had found us as there apparently had been an attack on the capital. However she couldn¡¯t really give me any more details before she fainted. I then decided to run back with her in my arms but sadly I¡¯m not as strong as you are so it took quite a while.¡± Hilda hands back the water skin to my sister.


    Ruva groans. ¡°Am¡­ am I alive?¡±


    ¡°Are you alright, Ruva?¡± I ask, surprised she managed to get up so fast. . ¡°I healed your wounds.¡±


    ¡°It still hurts.¡±


    ¡°Take it easy.¡± Sam helps her to sit up.


    ¡°So Hilda got me to you in time, I¡¯m glad.¡±


    -Well¡­ I technically could¡¯ve revived her if it was too late but I decided not to say that as that sounds just a tiny bit too morbid.-


    My sister glances over to me, she probably knows what I¡¯m thinking but decides to say nothing as well.


    ¡°Do you have some more information, Ruva? About the attack?¡±


    Ruva nods, from the expression on her face I can tell the pain is gradually lessening but still pretty much present. ¡°A couple of days after we parted ways an enormous army suddenly showed up at the gates of the capital. They had us surrounded incredibly fast.¡±


    ¡°Enormous? How big are we speaking?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°In the tens of thousands.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible, not with the navy the theocracy has.¡±


    Ruva nods. ¡°Our scouts reported that only a couple more ships had landed so that took us by surprise as well¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you have any idea how they managed to accomplish that?¡± Sam tilts her head towards Ruva.¡±


    ¡°On the third day of the siege a scouting party came back and they reported they¡¯d seen a big obelisk at the rear of the enemy camp.¡±


    ¡°A teleportation stone¡­¡± Hilda¡¯s eyes go wide. ¡°Of course.¡± She balls her fist.


    ¡°Wait, you are saying they managed to move one of those?¡± My sister looks at Hilda.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how, maybe they somehow managed to make a new one and find a way to attune their soldiers to it? I¡¯m not 100% sure¡­¡±


    ¡°What are these stones you are talking about?¡±


    ¡°Right, this continent doesn¡¯t have those¡­¡± Nikki nods. ¡°I¡¯ll explain it to you.¡±


    Nikki¡¯s explanation is short but clearly gets the point across.


    ¡°So everyone who is attuned to it can teleport to it, at will?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much so. As far as we knew those stones were ancient artifacts though. Not something that could be replicated.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t even know they were artifacts though.¡± Sam and I raise our right hand.


    ¡°They are not that well-read.¡± Niki waves away our additions.


    ¡°So they could even have a bigger army waiting for us on the other continent?¡±


    ¡°Yep¡­¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just destroy it?¡± I propose.


    The entire group falls silent for a moment until Nikki looks at Hilda.


    ¡°Can we?¡±


    ¡°I guess there¡¯s a possibility¡­ I have no clue how that magic works though. But I guess it¡¯s something we could explore further.¡±


    ¡°Ah, and there is one more thing.¡± Ruva says, her pain appears to be completely gone by now.


    We stay silent and wait for Ruva to continue.


    ¡°Our scouts have reported killing some soldiers who then show up some time later at the frontlines again. Would you know something about that?¡±


    The five of us look at eachother and Hilda then gives Ruva a nod. ¡°We do¡­we should probably explain that to you.¡±


    ¡°If I understand correctly, on your continent a special type of adventurer comes back alive after a while?¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°They do, and they come back at the last point they attune to.¡±


    ¡°And you are also that kind of adventurer?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± It¡¯s my sister¡¯s turn to nod. ¡°We are.¡±


    ¡°And you are also saying you need to sleep for days?¡±


    ¡°After a three day period, yes.¡±


    Ruva goes silent and stays that way for a couple of minutes before she nods to herself. ¡°Okay, that doesn¡¯t make much sense to me but it does fit what is happening right now¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s the way this world works¡­¡± Hilda apologizes.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡±


    ¡°Anyhow, is that why you came to find us?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯d figured your group probably had a rudimentary understanding of what was going on so I took the chance to come and find you. I figured I¡¯d start where I dropped you off and luckily that was a good decision. Sadly, while I was making my mad dash out of the city, I did get hit in the side by one of their mages.¡±


    ¡°Well. You¡¯re in good health now, and that¡¯s what matters.¡± Lise smiles happily. ¡°And luckily we also have a plan to deal with those reincarnating adventurers.¡±


    ¡°The same plan as dealing with the teleporters, AKA, blowing up the obelisk. Somehow.¡± Nikki fills her partner¡¯s sentence.


    ¡°We should probably get moving. I think I can repair the damage to the walker with some help of Ruva.¡± Hilda says as she starts pulling down her tent.


    Ruva nods.


    ¡°Just give me a second. If we are going into battle I¡¯d like to equip my new gear.¡± Sam says as she hurries into our tent.


    ¡°Ah right, I almost forgot about that.¡± My sister looks expectantly at our tent.


    When Sam exits the tent not that long after she initially went in, she appears in front of us in this dark-brown leather armor with rose-golden detailing all over. She also has a brand new bow slung over her shoulder. It¡¯s a tiny bit longer and made of lighter wood than her previous one, again with rose golden accents curling from tip to tip.


    ¡°Fancy.¡± My sister whistles at my girlfriend. ¡°What¡¯s the set called?¡±


    ¡°Uh, Goddess¡¯ Arrow I think.¡±


    ¡°Ah cool, mine¡¯s called Goddess¡¯ Shield.¡±


    ¡°Why is it called that.¡± I pout.


    ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s obvious isn¡¯t it?¡± My sister grabs me close for a hug.


    ¡°Why does it need to be so embarrassing though.¡±


    ¡°Eh, you¡¯ll get used to it, kitten.¡±


    Hilda is standing at the side, smiling at us. ¡°Alright now, let¡¯s get packed so we can go and relieve the city.¡±


    ¡°Right, we got a job to do.¡± Lise releases me from her hug and pats my shoulder with both of her hands.


    I start packing up the tent together with my girlfriend.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you like my new armour, Ami?¡± She asks as we are rolling up the fabric.


    ¡°Oh, I do. I just don¡¯t like the name.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you rename it? It¡¯s technically your set isn¡¯t it?¡±


    -That does make sense¡­-  ¡°Hmmm, now that you mention it¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe now is not the best moment to try but I think we can work on your naming conventions later.¡± She gives me a quick kiss on my cheek. ¡°By the way. The bow¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with it?¡±


    ¡°Apparently, besides the stat increase, it gave me a couple of cool new skills as well.¡±


    ¡°Did I hear something about cool skills?¡± My sister crouches down next to us to help us with our packing.


    ¡°You have, indeed.¡± Sam smirks.


    ¡°Why are you smirking, kiddo. Don¡¯t think I got new skills too?¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡± I tilt my head. ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything about that before.¡±


    ¡°Because I didn''t read my tooltips well enough.¡± My sister chuckles.


    I sigh. ¡°Sis, please.¡±


    With the three of us we manage to clear up our gear pretty quickly.


    ¡°Everyone ready to depart?¡± Hilda looks around at the group. ¡°Ruva, you can walk?¡±


    ¡°Yes, thanks to Amicia¡¯s healing I feel pretty good now, actually.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear that.¡± I smile at her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and repair the walker.¡± Hilda starts walking off into the forrest while the rest of us follows her.


    ¡°Now that we are moving. How exactly are you planning to destroy the obelisk?¡± Ruva asks.


    ¡°We¡¯ll think about that when we are seated. It¡¯s still quite a drive anyway.¡± My sister replies.


    ¡°That means you don¡¯t really have a plan yet?¡±


    ¡°Nope. But I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll figure something out.¡± My sister¡¯s optimism seems misplaced but somehow it does manage to lift the spirits.


    -I just hope we will get there in time.-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 115: Planning

    FieryKathy


    After thirty minutes we arrive at the walker. It has clearly seen better days. The engine is still smoking and parts are strewn across the road.


    ¡°Must¡¯ve been quite the impact.¡± My sister whistles.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even remember it that much.¡± Ruva admits.


    Nikki looks over to Hilda and Ruva. ¡°Are you sure you can fix this?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I thought so but now that I look at it again¡­¡± Hilda rubs the back of her head.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we all forgetting that Ami can repair things?¡± Sam interjects.


    ¡°Oh!¡± I call out. ¡°I definitely did.¡± I get my staff ready. ¡°Mind it if I try.¡±


    ¡°No, please, go ahead.¡± Hilda signs at the walker.


    ¡°Wait, she can?¡± Ruva asks.


    ¡°The heal she casted on you also can work as some sort of time reversal spell.¡± My sister explains. ¡°As long as all the parts are present.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t use it that much so we kinda forgot about it.¡± Nikki nods.


    ¡°I¡¯m interested to see it at work.¡± Ruva takes a notepad out of her bag as I ready my spell.


    Blue light starts to envelop the walker and not that long afterwards the metal parts that were bent are being bent back in shape. The debris around the walker also slowly starts flying back in place. It takes a minute or so before nothing else is changing anymore.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Ruva calls out and walks over to inspect the walker. ¡°That was really impressive.¡±


    ¡°Did I fix it?¡±


    ¡°Give me a moment.¡± Ruva walks around the walker. ¡°There¡¯s a couple of critical parts missing.¡±


    ¡°Ah, shit.¡± My sister swings her fist.


    ¡°But.¡± Ruva suddenly crawls underneath the walker. ¡°Luckily for us these military things come with spare parts bolted underneath. Hilda, could you slide my wrench over to me? It¡¯s in my backpack.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Hilda searches through Ruva¡¯s pack and quickly finds what she was tasked to look for. ¡°Here you go.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± A couple of seconds later, spare parts start being slid from underneath the walker. ¡°I think these should do.¡±


    ¡°I have two questions.¡± My sister raises her hand once Ruva crawls from underneath the vehicle.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°First of all. If you are missing critical parts, how did you drive all the way here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easier to keep the thing moving I guess.¡± Ruva shrugs. ¡°The inertia probably kept it going.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    ¡°And your second question?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it have been easier to put the spare parts on the side or in the back of the walker? You know, in a place that¡¯s more accessible.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good point.¡± Ruva says, while she and Hilda are already mounting the parts in place. ¡°But it¡¯s a lot harder to get shot off if it¡¯s below the walker, you see.¡±


    ¡°True¡­¡± My sister nods, satisfied with Ruva¡¯s answers.


    ¡°What about land mines?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Ruva stops in the middle of bolting down a strut. ¡°I hadn¡¯t even thought of that. I¡¯ll discuss it with the engineering department once we come back¡­ if there¡¯s an engineering department to go back to once we arrive¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± Hilda gives Ruva a pat on the shoulder once she gets her part in place. ¡°We¡¯ll go save your city.¡±


    ¡°At least you¡¯ve got the spirit.¡± Ruva¡¯s smile crawls back on her face as she tightens the last bolt. ¡°There, that should do it.¡±


    We all get on the vehicle with Hilda as the driver. Ruva takes the opportunity to rest a little. Meanwhile the rest of us try to formulate a plan to destroy the teleportation obelisk.


    ¡°I¡¯ll not be very useful here, since the only thing I have are my sword and shield. The new skills I got do allow me to pull the attention of and defend against a lot of people.¡± My sister says.


    ¡°I think one of my new skills might come in handy.¡± Sam raises her hand. ¡°Apart from some crazy AoE abilities I also got one that does a crazy amount of single target damage.¡±


    ¡°And I can probably help with that.¡± Nikki nods. ¡°I can buff her with my fire element and do some damage to it as well.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Hilda?¡± My sister asks.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ large scale combat and destruction aren¡¯t really my thing, however¡­ I might think of something to throw at the stone as well. But my question is, what will our angel be doing?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± I point at myself.


    ¡°Who else, kitten.¡± Hilda looks back and gives me a smile.


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t really thought about it¡­ can¡¯t I just heal everyone.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯ll cut it. If we have to believe in what Ruva said, there are a lot of people. We could definitely use some divine help.¡± Lise looks at me. ¡°If only we knew how to control it.¡±


    I sigh. What she says is true, it would definitely help a lot.


    ¡°If it amplifies her feelings then I might have an idea but I¡¯ll only do it if Ami agrees with it.¡± Hilda says, staring at the road in front.


    ¡°What idea?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Well¡­ we could try to lure your other form out by means of meditation or just an intense form of focus.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s not how I transformed before.¡±


    ¡°I know, but those transformations were caused because of the emotional state you were in, right?¡±


    ¡°I think so¡­¡±


    ¡°And both of those transformations were out of your control because of the sudden onslaught of emotions you got.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I think I see where you are going with this.¡± Nikki nods.


    ¡°But nothing really tells us that we can¡¯t imbue those emotions in a controlled manner, aka, by means of meditation.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I look down at my lap. ¡°Do you think I could then control myself better while I¡¯m being transformed as well?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s purely theoretical, but I think so. It¡¯s a bit annoying that we haven¡¯t tested this out yet in a non-serious context though¡­¡±


    Sam starts rubbing my back to comfort me. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do anything if you don¡¯t feel comfy. We will find a way anyway.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shake my head. ¡°I think this might be our best option¡­¡± -It would put my family in the least amount of danger possible¡­ so I have to try¡­-


    By the evening I can tell we are getting closer and closer to the capital city. However, a strange feeling starts to develop in my stomach, something I can¡¯t really place. When I put my hand on my belly to try to calm it down, my sister looks at me.


    ¡°Are you feeling okay, Ami?¡± She asks.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯m feeling weird.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s because of stress?¡± My girlfriend asks, laying her hand on my lap.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­ stress feels different.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lise looks around into the forest. ¡°I got this nagging feeling as well that I can¡¯t really put my hands on.


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling it too.¡± Nikki nods.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Hilda looks back and stops the vehicle.


    ¡°I¡¯m really not sure, Hilda.¡± My sister gets up and dismounts the walker from the back, stretching a little since we¡¯d been driving for a while. ¡°The air just feels¡­ foul.¡±


    ¡°Can you sense anything, Sam?¡± Hilda turns towards my girlfriend.


    Sam shakes her head.


    ¡°And you, Ruva?¡±


    Ruva does the same.


    ¡°It¡¯s like there¡¯s something wrong¡­¡± I say, also getting up from the walker.


    Sam follows me and grabs my hand, her skin only shortly touches my wrist but immediately she pulls her hand back. ¡°Holy shit, Ami. Your bracelet is bloody warm.¡±


    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t really feel it.¡± The bracelet is hanging around my wrist like normal, it doesn¡¯t really feel any different. When I bring my other hand in to touch it, it feels slightly warmer than normal.


    ¡°If a holy relic reacts like that¡­¡± Hilda swiftly jumps from the driver¡¯s seat and walks over to me. ¡°Can you concentrate on divine energy, Ami? Nikki, you could do so as well, right?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±  Nikki closes her eyes.


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± I do the same and start concentrating. Within a couple of seconds I almost get smothered by this dark aura that¡¯s around us. And I can tell that down the road it only gets worse. After a couple of seconds I can¡¯t hold out any longer and drop out of my concentration. Breathing heavily as if I¡¯d been without breath for a while. I can tell from Nikki¡¯s face that she had a similar experience.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt this before.¡± Nikki crouches down for a bit. ¡°It¡¯s like the complete opposite of how it feels when I¡¯m around Ami.¡±


    ¡°Could it be unholy energy?¡± Sam proposes.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know such a thing existed. But I suppose it could be possible.¡± Hilda scratches her cheek.


    ¡°I guess I can also sense it because I¡¯m somewhat of a paladin now.¡± Lise walks over to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. ¡°But why, in the name of the Goddess, would it be present here, in that quantity¡­¡± She stares down the road with a concerned look on her face.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find out soon.¡± Hilda grabs her gear from the walker and takes out pieces of beef jerky to hand out to the rest of us. ¡°Let¡¯s continue on foot from here.¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 116: Summon

    FieryKathy


    After Hilda hides the walker we start walking through the forest, parallel to the road we¡¯d been traveling on before. The further we went on the more uncomfortable I started feeling. I didn¡¯t even need to concentrate to be able to tell that the unholy miasma was getting thicker and thicker.


    ¡°Just what in the bloody hells did they do?¡± Nikki shivers. My sister quickly puts her arm around her but I can tell from her face that it¡¯s affecting her a bit as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that much further.¡± Ruva says, she¡¯s walking next to Hilda at the head of the party.


    ¡°There was no terrain we could use to get a higher vantage point around the capital, right?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°No, the capital is built on a slight hill but that¡¯s about it.¡± Ruva shakes her head.


    Suddenly Hilda stops and gets down, she quickly signals us to get down too. ¡°Patrol ahead.¡± She whispers.


    Not soon after we see a couple of torches dancing fifty meters in front of us they are heading from left to right.


    ¡°There¡¯s ten of them.¡±


    Next to me Sam takes her longbow off her back and knocks and arrows. ¡°Are we going to take them out?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s let them pass.¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°I don¡¯t know when the next group will come by, let¡¯s wait here for a bit.¡±


    Me, my sister and Nikki give her a nod in return although my sister does speak up.


    ¡°If we wait any longer to attack I won¡¯t be able to see jack shit though.¡±


    ¡°I can help with that.¡± Nikki puts three of her fingers in a triangle shape on my sister¡¯s temple. A bit of dark purple light surrounds them which then somehow shines from my sister¡¯s eyes for a fraction of a second.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Lise rubs her eyes for a second. ¡°New spell?¡±


    Nikki nods. ¡°It¡¯s more of a racial ability I learned. I thought it could come in handy.¡±


    ¡°Thanks bae.¡± My sister gives Nikki a quick kiss.


    ¡°If you want to eat another quick snack and get some water in your body, now¡¯s the time.¡± Hilda states as she keeps looking into the forest ahead of us.


    We all decide to follow her advice and nibble on some of our rations so we don¡¯t go into battle while hungry.


    Almost an hour later Hilda signals us again. ¡°Another patrol.¡±


    Just as the last one, this one passes us rather quickly.


    ¡°Again, ten people.¡± Hilda follows them until none of us can see their torches anymore. ¡°That¡¯s good, we have plenty of time. Let¡¯s go closer.¡±


    We follow our leader closer and soon we get to the edge of the forest, well, the new edge of the forest as all the trees in front of us had all been cut down. Apart from that, what we saw was the most impressive yet frightening scene I¡¯ve ever seen. An enormous siege camp was set up a hundred meters or so in front of the tree line. Hundreds of purple tents were spread out. Wooden siege engines had been set up and thousands of soldiers were walking about. In the far distance we can see the walls of the capital, they are still standing but clearly had been severely damaged by bombardments already. A bit to our right, but relatively close to the edge of the forest, there it was, the teleportation obelisk. And from the moment I see it, I realize, that¡¯s the source of the vile aura we¡¯d been feeling up to now. It¡¯s just oozing out like fog from a swamp.


    ¡°What the fuck.¡± My sister comments. ¡°Are you all seeing this?¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°Even I can tell there¡¯s something gloriously wrong with that obelisk.¡±


    We quickly retreat a bit further back into the forest so we don¡¯t get spotted by a random guard.


    ¡°Our number one priority is to take that thing out.¡± Hilda says while we are huddled together. ¡°The people who will have to make that happen are Ami, Nikki and Sam. While the rest of us keep them busy.¡±


    ¡°Ruva, do you know how to fight?¡± My sister asks our Dwarger companion.


    ¡°I can pick off a couple with my hand crossbow but I¡¯m not the best shot.¡±


    ¡°Just try to stay out of sight then.¡± Hilda replies.


    ¡°I can quickly set up a couple of traps though.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Hilda then turns her attention back to me. ¡°Ami¡­ are you ready to try to do the thing we discussed?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Mhmm, but shouldn¡¯t I take my bracelet off first? Veanya advised against taking it with me when I change forms.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Sam nods. ¡°She did say that. Want me to hold on to it for you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I offer my wrist to Sam but the moment she touches my bracelet she winces and pulls back her hands. I can see burns on her hands. ¡°Sam, are you okay!?¡± I quickly begin casting a healing spell on her hands.


    ¡°Holy fucking shit.¡± She curses behind her teeth. Luckily the painful expression on her face faints as I cast my spell.


    ¡°Is it really that hot?¡± My sister asks, while she crawls closer to us.


    ¡°It¡¯s like touching molten metal.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± She looks at the bracelet on my arm and hovers her hand over it. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t say that, it¡¯s not radiating any heat.¡±


    ¡°I only felt it when I actually touched the metal.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to risk taking it off you, sis.¡± My sister shakes her head.


    ¡°If no one can carry it then you¡¯ll have to take it with you, even if that means going against what Veanya said¡­¡± Hilda states. ¡°We¡¯ll have to take the risk¡­ if you are willing to, Ami.¡±


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯ll have to be that way.¡± I look at Sam, it looks like all the pain has subsided. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sam.¡± I feel incredibly guilty about what just happened.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Ami.¡± She quickly gives me a kiss. ¡°I should¡¯ve been more careful.¡±


    I give her a hug, making sure to keep my bracelet covered with my other hand. After I¡¯m done I look at Hilda and give her a nod. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work so we can defend Ruva¡¯s city.¡±


    Hilda nods back. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get started.¡±


    Hilda takes me aside and sits me down against a tree a bit further in the forest. Sam follows along to provide emotional support.


    ¡°Okay, Ami, I want you to close your eyes and empty your mind.


    I look over to Sam, she gives me a nod to proceed.


    ¡°Do you remember what you felt the last times you transformed?¡±


    I dig into my memories. ¡°I felt angry and scared. I wanted to protect my family and the people around me, but I also wanted to take vengeance on those who harmed¡­¡± The blackness I saw begins to become slightly red at the edges when I recall those events.


    ¡°Okay, instead of focussing on that anger, the urge to take revenge, I want you to focus purely on the people you love and how you want to protect them and people around us.¡±


    I take a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± But this is easier said than done because those memories are extremely reluctant to stay in the background of my mind.


    ¡°Think about the time we are together, as a family.¡± Sam¡¯s voice ads.


    ¡°Try thinking about how you want to protect those moments and share those with others.¡±


    I don¡¯t reply, I just steady my breathing. After a while it becomes easier and easier to push those dark events back and pull my loving memories forward. The red haze at the edge of my vision slowly makes place for a white light.


    ¡°Focus on those you saved. Focus on their smiles, their laughs, their lives.¡± I can¡¯t even place who is saying those words to me as they start to sound incorporeal. The bright white light starts enveloping more and more of the darkness.


    ¡°Protect¡­ let no evil come to them.¡±


    The darkness gets pushed out completely leaving nothing but white light in front of me.


    ¡°Wow.¡± I can hear Sam¡¯s voice again, it was loud and clear.


    ¡°Ami, you in control?¡± Hilda asks so I open my eyes.


    I look at my body and see that my outfit has turned into pure white plate armor, furthermore I can feel the wings on my back stretching out. ¡°I-I think so¡­¡±


    Hilda offers her hand so I can pull myself up on her, my girlfriend grabs my arm so she can help as well.


    ¡°This looks exactly like the time when you resurrected that village.¡± Sam says. ¡°How does it feel?¡±


    I close my eyes for a second and breathe in the air around me. While it still feels vile, I find myself in an oasis of calmness. I open my eyes again. ¡°I feel pretty good actually.¡±


    ¡°And it looks like your bracelet got incorporated into your armor as well.¡± Hilda comments and points at my arm. When I look down I see the golden bracelet woven into my pure white vambrace as if it always were a part of it.


    Suddenly my sister comes from behind us. ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°The plan worked.¡± Hilda states the obvious.


    ¡°Yeah, I see that¡­¡± Lise got her shield and swords at the ready. ¡°Uhm, but we have a situation. I think they are going to launch an assault on the city. They are loading their siege weapons and are manning their siege towers.¡±


    ¡°Are you ready to go, Ami?¡± Sam asks.


    I immediately summon my longsword and shield who are shining as white as my armor. ¡°Let¡¯s go save a city.¡± Some kind of holy confidence is streaming through my chest. I just know that we won¡¯t fail now.


    -I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t like the feeling¡­-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 117: Battle

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Quick rundown of the plan.¡± My sister signals us to huddle together. ¡°Ruva will stay hidden in the forest so she doesn¡¯t get caught up in all the action. The four of us will try to get closer to the obelisk so we get a better shot at it. Once we are close enough Sam and Nikki will start blasting the living shit out of it. In the meantime I will try to keep the enemy of our ranged elements while Hilda picks off people on the side. While all this is happening our Ami will provide air support when necessary and otherwise she¡¯ll be the ultimate badass she is.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°Sam and I will also try to keep the enemy down when we can so you don¡¯t get swarmed.¡± Nikki states.


    ¡°That¡¯d be much appreciated.¡± Lise smiles.


    ¡°Are you ready, Ami?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Yeah, I can go when you are ready.¡±


    ¡°We should get moving then.¡± She nods and the rest of the group backs away from me to leave me enough space to stretch my wings.


    ¡°Good luck, sis.¡±


    ¡°Stay safe.¡± Sam gives me a last kiss before also backing away from me.


    ¡°Same goes for you all.¡± I bring my sword close to my chest and a white light spreads across the entire party before I spread my wings. With one powerful beat of my wings I¡¯m already above the treetops. It feels completely different when I¡¯m in full control. Everything around me looks so clear to me now, compared to how it felt when I was under control of the red haze¡­ the difference is night and day.


    With a couple more beats of my wings I gain some more altitude. I can now clearly see the full extent of the siege camp in front of the capital. What we saw from the edge of the forest was just a fraction of what there was in actuality. They had the entire capital encircled, although the bulk of the army did look like it was situated on the side where we were coming from. Logical as the teleportation obelisk was over there. From the sky above I can see how my party makes it¡¯s way closer to the obelisk. With Hilda occasionally taking out a couple of people that stay a bit too close to them. For now they are closing in on the target, undetected. Speaking of which¡­ I¡¯ve not been spotted myself yet¡­


    A whooshing sound from the front of the siege camp pulls my attention. It quickly becomes clear that the sound is coming from the siege weapons of the theocracy that have started firing. Most of the weapons look like alternate versions of trebuchets and catapults. One of the projectiles they just fired hit the top of the dwarger walls, resulting in a fiery explosion going over the top into the defenders. Screams of agony and pain¡­ A sound I just can not ignore. I quickly swoop down onto the wall and cast an area heal around me, healing the wounds and soothing the pain of those around me. One of the Dwarger defenders, the one closest to me as I landed, raises his crossbow at me, while crawling back against the stone wall. Fear in his eyes, the burns on his face were slowly fading. When he sees me looking at him he pulls the trigger on his crossbow, the bolt just harmlessly bounces off my shield.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here to help.¡± I crouch down next to one of the dead Dwarger a bit further away, he took the brunt of the explosion, and cast a quick resurrection spell on him. On this portion of the wall he looked to be the only one. When the pulse returns to his body and he starts breathing again I turn my attention back on the Dwarger who shot me. He¡¯s still trembling but does not appear to be making any hostile actions towards me.


    ¡°W-w-who are you?¡± He asks while he slowly gets up from his seated position against the wall.


    ¡°Just a friend.¡± I smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will make this all end.¡±


    I launch myself back into the air just in time to see that the theocracy is preparing to launch yet another barrage. But I will not let it come to that. I concentrate on my blade, making it glow bright red before I point it at the first siege engine right in front of me. When I let loose my concentration a ray of fire quickly finds its way to my target, igniting it instantly and rendering it immediately unuseable. I do the same for the other siege engines I can see, and before any of them manage to throw their payload, none of them are operational anymore.


    This does reveal my presence to the besieging force, but that couldn¡¯t be hidden for that much longer anyway.


    A silence falls over the entire army before a couple of voices start to cry out.


    ¡°It¡¯s the witch of Parma!¡±


    ¡°The heretic is here!¡±


    ¡°Someone, get her!¡±


    The cries of thousands start getting hurled at me but somehow that doesn¡¯t even make a dent in my confidence.


    ¡°Silence!¡± I yell, the golden inlaid bracelet glows when my voice rings out, amplifying it so everyone can hear it loud and clear. The battlefield falls silent once more. ¡°This city and its people are under my protection. Leave now and don¡¯t come back. Spare yourself the retribution.¡±


    An arrow zooms by. ¡°And who are you to tell us to leave? You are merely one against thousands.¡± The person who calls out to me is a Langor ranger, wearing a set of studded leather armour. From the lack of a uniform I assume this is a player, together with the group of people standing around him.


    ¡°You just look like a player to me. Just because you¡¯ve got some fancy items doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t get beaten!¡± The Drakone girl next to him yells at me as well.


    The group of soldiers around them looks incredibly scared and take their distance away from the group. They clearly are quite a bit more intimidated by my presence.


    ¡°Why are you helping them? They are clearly just out for blood.¡± I ask the party.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a quest isn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t come at us with your fucking ¡®holier than thou attitude¡¯.¡±


    I sigh. -Of course, I suppose I can¡¯t even blame them, as for them this is just a game¡­- ¡°So you will not leave?¡±


    ¡°Nah, we are here to stay and fight this battle. Maybe do some pillaging as well once we conquer the city.¡± The Langor player smirks at me.


    ¡°...So be it¡­¡± I then raise my sword to heavens above. This time a brighter white light starts forming around the blade. In the second this takes, the Drakone girl tries to cast a spell at me while the Langor ranger fires a couple more arrows, all but the last of the arrows misses, and the last one just bounces off my breastplate.


    The Langor ranger knocks one last arrow before the entire area of the player party gets desintagrated by a pillar of divine light that crashes down on their position. When the light subsides, nothing is left but a patch of scorched earth.


    ¡°Please! Spare us!¡± The soldiers who backed off look even more terrified than before thanks to my display of power, they get to their knees and start channeling a teleportation spell. Two seconds later, they are gone. This sends a wave through the rest of the army as more and more soldiers start to teleport away. But in the end the vast majority of the enemy army still remains.


    ¡°Those deserters will be dealt with later!¡± One of the priests calls out. By his fancy purple robes he¡¯s probably one of the more higher ranking priests in the army. ¡°Kill her!¡±


    ¡°You have made your choice.¡± Another burst of light strikes down from the heavens, this time covering an even wider area. At least twenty meters around where the priest stood has been completely cleared out. Yet his command did ring out and all kinds of spells and projectiles started flying in my direction. I use my shield to block the more dangerous looking spells that fly towards me. And every time I get hit I return the favor with yet another pillar of light. This goes on for a minute or so before the teleportation obelisk in the distance is hit by an enormous fireball. I recognize it immediately as Nikki¡¯s handiwork. It is soon followed up by a light blue blast of light, striking it in dead-center. Presumably the work of my girlfriend.


    The explosion pulls the attention of quite a sizable amount of the army.


    ¡°Protect the obelisk!¡± Multiple officers call out to their units. Masses of soldiers soon begin to flow in the direction of my party. I strike the center force of the enemy with another pillar of light but that doesn¡¯t stop the army from closing the distance.


    However, when the first army units get threateningly close to Nikki and Sam, a blast of sounds completely flattens the first wave of soldiers. They all get blown to the ground, grasping for their ears. At the source of the sound is my sister, her sword still on her shield after she had given it a good whack.


    ¡°Attention on me dickheads!¡± She calls out. I¡¯m surprised I can even hear that to where I¡¯m flying, but she¡¯s probably enhancing her voice as well to draw the enemy¡¯s aggression to her.


    Nikki and Sam launch another combo attack on the obelisk as the second wave of enemies is getting closer, yet a lot slower since they have to run around their injured, and quite probably deafened, allies.


    While being confused and rattled by my sister they don¡¯t even notice the rogue slipping through their ranks, who¡¯s taking out soldiers at an extremely fast pace with precise and swift cuts, by the time others notice, Hilda is already out of their sight.


    In the meantime I keep blasting pillars of light into the army, severely diminishing the number of soldiers on the battlefield.  The couple of soldiers that can actually reach my sister swiftly get cut down by her blade.


    Most of the of player parties that are left after my barrage of light and occasionally Hilda¡¯s en my sister¡¯s blade, have finally decided to find their luck elsewhere and teleport out. Everything is going to plan. The continuous stream spells start to take their effect on the obelisk as big cracks start to form.


    One last combination of attacks from Nikki and Sam completely shatters the top of the obelisk. The crashing down of the debris silences the battlefield once more.


    But this silence is incredibly short-lived as an unholy scream makes even me cover my ears. A column of darkness shoots up from the broken obelisk, around which shadows start twirl out of the broken pillar. They all gather up twenty meters above the ground into a huge ball of pitch black.


    I fly closer to my party as the enemy army is mostly completely perplexed at what is happening in front of their eyes.


    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± My sister calls out. ¡°Ami, what the hell is that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± A shiver runs down my spine as I look into it.


    The dark ball begins to take a shape¡­ a human shape, but completely distorted and disfigured.


    ¡°Re¡­venge¡­  Dea¡­th¡­¡± The huge ghostly figure speaks, yet it sounds like hundreds of people saying those words at exactly the same time. Before I can react the figure swoops its left arm at me which sends me flying into the city wall.


    The outer layer of the wall cracks and I fall down to the floor, all the air is knocked out of me¡­ blood seeps down the side of my face. My wing is broken¡­ I¡¯m hurt.


    The figure continues in the distance, sweeping in front of it with it¡¯s other arm, sending hundreds of soldiers flying¡­ ¡°Pain¡­ Suff¡­ ering¡­¡± it starts moving towards the city, sowing death and destruction in its wake.


    -I need to stop that thing before it reaches the walls¡­-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 118: Medium

    FieryKathy


    I heal my wounds as quickly as I possibly can, at least until my wing is able to support my body again. The rush of mana gets me on my feet fast, the pain I felt by getting smacked against the wall, melting like ice in the sun. When I launch myself back into the air and get a better view of the field of battle, the situation is outright chaotic. The entire theocratic army is in disarray and is fleeing for what came out of the obelisk. They don¡¯t even think about teleporting out as panic has set in completely within the ranks. The defenders on the walls are staring in disbelief at the ghostly monster.


    A blast rocks the monster but it continues towards the city, undisturbed. It was a cast by Nikki. The fiery explosion is followed up by a blue streak of light that hits the monster in it¡¯s arm, a shot from my girlfriend¡¯s bow.


    I can also see my sister and Hilda chasing the big monster down, trying to get a couple of hits in on the legs before the shadow figure moves away from them again.


    ¡°Ami, what the fuck do we do!?¡± My sister uses her skill to yell to me, knocking down a couple of fleeing soldiers in the blast. ¡°Oops! Sorry!¡±


    ¡°I have absolutely no clue.¡± I reply back and aim my sword at the figure. A ray of light hits it in the chest. The creature recoils and stops for a second but continues moving again not that soon after.


    Suddenly another blast, this time from some kind of ice magic hits the creature from the other side, followed up by lightning and a blast of air. I follow the trail of magic and find another player party of a couple of wizards and some other melee adventurers. They must¡¯ve been fighting on the side of the theocracy as mercenaries. I fly closer to them while launching blast after blast into the shadow.


    ¡°Hey angel lady!¡± An Ulusu spearman calls out to me. ¡°Guess you could use some help!¡± A couple of their party members look quite wounded so I decide to cast a fast AoE heal on them.


    ¡°Thank you. Just keep hitting it, we must stop it before it reaches the city.¡±


    The Ulusu spearman nods and throws a glowing spear into the shadow which swiftly respawns in his hand. The rest of his party also continues throwing everything they got at the creature.


    Having seen this, the few player parties that are left on the battlefield also decide to join in in trying to stop the shadow monster. Even some casters and bowmen that were part of the theocratic army itself join in. All this combined fire power considerably slows down the advance of the shadow creature. This gives me the opportunity to go down to my own party and quickly discuss our plan.


    I swoop down next to Hilda who apparently expected me to come down. ¡°Our new allies are definitely a welcome surprise.¡± She says as she takes a break from throwing daggers for a moment.


    ¡°If only they decided to do that a bit sooner. It would have avoided a lot of bloodshed.¡± I nod. ¡°Do you have any plan for this thing?¡±


    As soon as I say that the creature slashes it¡¯s left arm towards another player party but luckily all of them manage to dodge the attack.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ it looks like it¡¯s made up of the souls of people¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s what I was thinking too. Maybe they were sacrificed to infuse the obelisk with magic?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s possible.¡± Hilda stops to think for a second. ¡°Could you try to grant the souls peace? I mean ,you are practically a Goddess¡­ so you should be able too, right?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Maybe¡­ but how do I do that?¡±


    ¡°Well, you are the Goddess here, not me.¡± Hilda pats me on the shoulder.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not super useful¡­¡±


    Hilda continues throwing her daggers while I stand still and look at the giant shadow thing for a bit longer.


    ¡°Alright, Ami, you can do this.¡± I talk to myself and with a beat of my wings I¡¯m soaring through the air once more. I give the fiend a quick circle around to see if any of our new allies need some healing but it looks like most of them are in pretty good health. Then I take up a position right in front of the shadow creature. It¡¯s still slowly but surely advancing on the city while ghastly words emanate from its entire body.


    I put my sword away and dispel my shield as attacking the thing will only help to slow it down. The shadow takes another sweep at me which I barely manage to dodge.


    ¡°Okay¡­ how do I make you listen to me¡­¡± I try to get its attention. ¡°Please, calm down. Please don¡¯t harm these people. They¡¯ve done nothing to you.¡±


    But the ghastly monster continues on it¡¯s path. It¡¯s like my words don¡¯t even reach it.


    After I dodge another slash I decide to take a different approach.


    ¡°If talking with it doesn¡¯t help¡­ then maybe listening will¡­¡±


    I fold my hands and hover in front of it, and I close my eyes. I know full well this makes me the easiest target to hit but I can¡¯t think of something else.


    The unholy aura hits me in full force. It feels like I¡¯m being pulled into a void. But instead of resisting it. I give it full access to my senses. ¡°Speak to me¡­¡± I whisper softly.


    ¡°Ami, watch ou-¡± My sister¡¯s voice gets cut off and silence surrounds me.


    When I open my eyes I¡¯m in pure darkness. I look around and after a second the dark place I¡¯m in starts changing. It slowly morphs as torches appear on a wall in a dark and damp room. Hundreds of cells line the outer edges. All of them, empty. In the center of the room, priests stand around a table with some kind of long dark crystal standing next to it. A person is screaming, bound on the table. But the priests do not care. They are working with some kind of ritual knife.


    ¡°Stop that!¡± I cry out, but no one reacts. When I reach out to pull one of the priests back my hand just goes through him. They stab their knife into the prisoner¡¯s chest, not a scream this time. Just silence. A haze leaves the hilt of the knife and flows into the dark crystal.


    ¡°Throw it with the others.¡± One priest says as the others take the body from the table and drag it off into the darkness.


    ¡°By the Goddess¡­ that¡¯s how those souls ended up in the obelisk¡­¡±


    In a split second the room changes again and I end in the middle of a completely dark space once again, but even though there is no light whatsoever, I can see my own body perfectly fine. Out of the darkness two middle aged people walk towards me. A man and a woman, both Ulusu.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I face them.


    ¡°Hello.¡± They both solemnly greet me. Then a lot more people walk through the veil of darkness towards me. They are of all races and all ages. They form a circle around me.


    ¡°What¡­ what is this place?¡±


    ¡°You are inside our consciousness¡­¡± The woman replies. ¡°What you just saw was a memory we all share¡­¡±


    ¡°Y-you are saying¡­ that you were all sacrificed to build the teleportation obelisk?¡±


    The entire group of people nods at the same time.


    The Ulusu man continues. ¡°We all got arrested for several things¡­ speaking badly about the gods¡­¡±


    Another man continues. ¡°Small crimes like stealing bread for our hungry family...¡±


    A Drakone girl. ¡°Being at the wrong place at the wrong time¡­¡±


    A Langor elder. ¡°Or being accused of something we didn¡¯t comit¡­¡±


    The woman who spoke to me first now gets the word back. ¡°Then we were all brought to that dungeon¡­ you saw the rest of what happened¡­¡±


    I can not believe what I¡¯m hearing. My mind just can¡¯t process the horrible nature of what the theocracy of Osvik had done. Tears start running down my cheek. ¡°Thats¡­ I don¡¯t even¡­ I don¡¯t even know what to say¡­¡± Hatred starts boiling in my chest.


    ¡°We know that feeling¡­¡± The Ulusu man speaks. ¡°It¡¯s that hatred¡­ the urge for revenge that is driving our spectral image forward¡­¡±


    ¡°We can not control it¡­¡± The Ulusu woman continues. She must know that the spirit¡¯s current target houses nothing but innocents.


    Suddenly an idea springs into my mind. It¡¯s risky but if it works¡­


    ¡°Do you know where this dungeon is?¡± I ask.


    ¡°It¡¯s deep down below the main cathedral in Bolasf, the capital of Osvik.¡± A younger Ulusu man from the crowd speaks out and steps forward together with a couple more people, some of them wearing the Osvik military uniform. ¡°We helped build the place, but were disposed off to keep the secret. We didn¡¯t know what it¡¯s purpose was going to be until it was too late.¡±


    -So the general populace doesn¡¯t know¡­-


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Serenity flows over my body once more. I know what to do. ¡°I want your attention.¡± The group of people put their full attention on me. ¡°I¡¯ll try to go and set things right but for this I need your trust.¡±


    ¡°We can sense your goal is pure and just, young one.¡± The elderly Langor man speaks. ¡°What do you need?¡±


    ¡°I need you to entrust your souls to me.¡±


    ¡°All of us?¡± The middle age Ulusu man asks. ¡°But you are just one person...¡±


    ¡°You will just get harmed.¡± The Ulusu woman replies.


    ¡°It¡¯s the only way to avoid any further innocent casualties.¡±


    The group stays silent and watches me for a couple of seconds before the younger Ulusu man nods. ¡°We will do as you ask.¡±


    Another split second later and I¡¯m back, hovering above the battlefield with the spirit in front of me. It¡¯s arm is practically touching my body.


    ¡°Ami! Are you okay!?¡± I can hear Sam yell at me.


    Before I can reply, the ghastly shape¡¯s surface stirs and it starts breaking up. All the dark miasma then rolls onto me and gets absorbed into my body. I start to hear voices in my head, voices from the people I¡¯d just spoken to, but also from the others who¡¯d stood by silently. I can also feel what they are feeling: hatred, sadness, despair¡­ But luckily I can keep it in control, at least for the time being. It only takes a couple of seconds before the entire being has disappeared inside of me.


    ¡°Holy mother of the Goddess.¡± People cry out and start to kneel to me, Osvik and Dwarger soldiers alike, even some players are doing so too, their hands all clasped in prayer.


    ¡°Ami!?¡± My sister calls out to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back! I have something to do first!¡± I call back to my party.


    ¡°Where are you going!?¡±


    ¡°Osvik!¡±


    ¡°Wait, what!? For real!?¡±


    ¡°No time to explain, got to go.¡±


    I concentrate on the images of Osvik''s capital''s market square that flash in front of me, belonging to the young Ulusu man¡¯s team.


    A bright blue light surrounds me and a second later, I¡¯m gone.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 119: Regicide

    FieryKathy


    In the blink of an eye I appear ten meters above the market squire I envisioned. The sun has already come up in the city of Bolasf. People start shouting and cry out in fear the second they see me. When I look around, most of those reactions appear to come from the soldiers who¡¯d teleported away from the battlefield. They must think I¡¯ve followed them to take revenge.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the cathedral?¡± I think to myself.


    ¡°Behind you.¡± The voices tell me.


    I turn around and stare down the giant avenue that leads directly to an enormous building. On the top of the giant tower shines Osvik¡¯s holy symbol, completely covered in gold.


    I direct myself to the people around me. ¡°If you want to see the horrors your leaders have committed, follow me to the cathedral.¡± My voice rings out throughout the entire market square and far beyond. The soldiers, realizing I¡¯m not out for their lives, become quiet and stare at each other in bewilderment.


    Then I start flying down the avenue, quite a lot of people from the market square slowly flock behind me. From the main avenue¡¯s side streets, curious citizens start following us as well.


    When we arrive in front of the cathedral our crowd has grown to almost a thousand people. A small group of what looks like papal guard has decided to block the passage for the people.


    ¡°Lay down your arms!¡± I command and fire a blast of radiant light behind them. ¡°Do not waste your lifes.¡± A couple of soldiers who were at the battle walk up to their compatriots and convince them to put down their halberds to let the people through. The crowd looks expectantly at me.


    ¡°And what now?¡± I ask the Ulusu man and his team as I land in front of the crowd.


    ¡°We will lend you our strength if you give us control for a second.¡±


    ¡°Just relax.¡± I recognize the elder Langor man¡¯s voice.


    I breathe out calmly and relax my muscles. To my surprise I can feel my mana start flowing like crazy and my limbs start moving on their own. Although I do feel I can retake control at any second, I decide to just let it happen. My body points my sword at the ground which promptly starts rumbling. When my sword raises the ground beneath the cathedral does so as well, lifting it in the air, meter by meter. Gasps echo all around me. Until the foundation of the cathedral is fifteen meters into the air. It reveals the walls of the dungeons.


    ¡°Thank you for trusting us¡­¡± The voice of the man rings in my head once more and I regain control of my body.


    ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± I raise my sword again and blast a wide gap in the wall so that everyone around can see what¡¯s happening. The smell coming out of the breach makes the people closest to it immediately sick. The smell of rotting flesh and dried blood.


    Other people in the crowd start screaming, shouting and crying, even more so when they see the source of the foul smell. The heap of bodies from the souls of the people who now inhabit my own. Even the guardsmen who had been barring our entry to the front of the cathedral have fallen to their knees in anguish.


    After a couple of seconds I walk in and carefully start lifting up the body of one of the dead prisoners, carrying them out and placing them, with their back down, in front of the mass of people. Having seen this, multiple soldiers and civilians start helping me do the same thing. With all of us together, it doesn¡¯t take that long for all the bodies to have been taken out of the dark dungeon.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s my time to get to work¡­.¡± I think to myself. ¡°Step back everyone.¡± I command and the group of people around me backs off. I walk to the middle of the gathered bodies.


    I stick my sword into the ground and kneel while keeping hold of its hilt. I concentrate deeply and pour most of my remaining mana into my sword to cast a mass heal and resurrection on the bodies around me. When enough mana has gathered a transparent blue dome forms around me and I notice that the bodies of the prisoners start healing. It takes at least a couple of minutes before the gravest of decay has been rectified. That¡¯s when the second stage of my spell kicks in. As I exhale dense white fog leaves me, splits up, and starts finding its way to one of the many bodies around me. The voices in my head start to diminish and five minutes later I find myself completely alone in my own body again as everyone has found their rightful place back in their own bodies. However, their negative emotions remain¡­


    My blue dome dissipates, I feel completely exhausted. But luckily, I manage to hold back the anger inside of me with the strength left inside of me. It doesn¡¯t take long after my dome¡¯s dissipation for the first people to start moving around again. It¡¯s the Ulusu couple who I had spoken to first in my spiritual dream.


    ¡°It¡¯s a miracle¡­¡± A couple of civilians speak out from behind me and rush towards the couple, they hand them pieces of their clothing as the couple¡¯s clothes are completely tattered. As more people start to wake up, more civilians and even the soldiers start to offer their help.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you so much.¡± After having been helped, the Ulusu couple walks over to me. I¡¯m still kneeled on the ground, my hands still on my sword, but that doesn¡¯t hold the woman back from embracing me. Both her and her husband are crying with joy. ¡°You saved us.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I just did¡­ what¡¯s right¡­¡± It¡¯s hard to talk with practically all my strength sapped away from me.


    Even more people come over to me to thank me. The young Ulusu man and his team, the Drakone girl, the Langor elder¡­ all of them come to profess their eternal gratitude. It¡¯s overwhelming to say the least.


    People are overjoyed by what they''ve just witnessed but I can also sense the hate and the disgust of the things that they have discovered.


    A group of soldiers walk over to me and kneel before me. ¡°We swear we didn¡¯t know.¡± Their faces are all looking down at the floor.


    ¡°I believe you.¡± I give them a nod.


    ¡°What is this!?! Who is responsible for doing this to MY cathedral!?¡± The clanging of armor and the stomping of running feet silences the crowd.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s the pope¡­¡± Someone close to me whispers.


    ¡°And all the high ranking cardinals are with him¡­¡± Another replies.


    The crowd disperses and backs off, leaving me and the newly revived people in the center of attention of the pope and his cardinals. The pope is an old Ulusu man with a stubbly white beard. All his cardinals are only slightly younger than him, and just slightly better shaven. With them they have ten guards, from their armor they look to be some kind of elite unit from the papal guard I faced earlier.


    I use my sword to push myself back on my feet.


    ¡°You¡­¡± The pope backs away a little when he sees me. But when he sees me on my knees he quickly regains his composure. ¡°You¡¯re the so-called heretic Goddess.¡± He then looks at the group of angry people staring at him. He looks back at them in disgust. ¡°And the prisoners¡­¡±


    ¡°You knew about this?¡± One of the more wealthy citizens calls out to him from the crowd behind me. Other citizens and soldiers yeah along with her.


    ¡°Silence, you fools!¡± He sneers back. ¡°Their lives were worth less than nothing. Especially compared to the greater good and prosperity of Osvik.¡±


    The crowd grows even angrier. ¡°We never asked for this!¡±


    ¡°Yet you profited gleefully from the vast wealth we have created. Were you really that na?ve to think we gained all this wealth without any victims?¡±


    I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s not even trying to hide or sugarcoat any of it.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any respect for life, do you?¡± I scoff, I¡¯m now standing up and leaning on the pommel of my sword.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one to talk, heretic. We¡¯ll have to redo our entire invasion now, thanks to you.¡± He looks at the crowd around. ¡°But don¡¯t fret, it looks like we¡¯ll have plenty more subjects to use in our obelisks.¡±


    Suddenly from the side alleys more of those elite guards close our entire group in. A couple of the soldiers that had joined us draw their swords and try to defend their fellow people. But it is more than clear that if a fight breaks out it will be a one-sided massacre.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame you used all your power to save these people, just for their lives to be snuffed out again. But be happy, now you can join them in their fate.¡±


    I chuckle, which quickly turns into an almost maniacal laugh.


    ¡°What are you laughing about, heretic? You are completely done for.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m laughing because the strength that I had left was the only reason why you are still breathing¡­ but not anymore.¡± I willingly let go of the shackles that bind my rage, and instantly I feel completely reinvigorated. The red haze pulls over my vision again and a black fog turns my white armor and white wings into the darkest black.


    I turn my sword which is still embedded in the stone of the road. Black bursts of energy erupt beneath the feet of the elite guardsmen that had surrounded us. They scream in agony as dark flames reduce them to ash. The pope and his cardinals¡¯ eyes grow wide. Some of them try to run back from the way they came but another twist of my sword encircles the group with a wall of dark flames as well. They are trapped.


    I pull my sword out of the ground and walk through the wall of flames I had created. ¡°Looks like a change of government is in order.¡± I cut down the first two cardinals with one fell swoop of my sword.  Their remains burn up in dark flames. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so?¡± I cut down another pair. Three of the four remaining cardinals try their luck with my wall of flames¡­ it doesn¡¯t work out well for them. As I stick my sword through the last cardinal¡¯s chest the pope looks at me with the purest look of fear and anguish I¡¯ve ever witnessed.


    ¡°Please. Please forgive me! I¡¯ll change my ways!! I promise!!¡± He clings to my armor.


    ¡°Why is it that people like you always say that when they are about to pay for their crimes?¡±


    The pope doesn¡¯t reply.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go for a little bit of a fly, shall we?¡± I grab him tightly by his collar and take off into the air with a powerful stroke of my wings.


    ¡°Mercy! P-please!!¡± The pope kicks his legs and starts crying. We are now flying a little bit above the top of the cathedral.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve asked the other side of me for that¡­ it¡¯s a little bit too late for that now.¡± I look at the giant cathedral below. ¡°I think I¡¯ll completely destroy your little monument¡­ But be happy, you can join it in it¡¯s fate.¡± With that line I skewer the pope on my sword and aim it at his precious cathedral. He gets launched into it with a stream of dark energy. The cathedral¡¯s tower crumbles as I keep firing my lance of energy over the entire structure. With some pillars of darkness for good measures, it doesn¡¯t take that long before the entire building is reduced to a huge pile of rubble. But I still keep blasting the rubble to work out my anger. It actually works incredibly therapeutic.


    After I¡¯m done I land back into the crowd. While some of them look afraid, most of them look at me with relief. ¡°Keep these people safe.¡± I look at the group of people I revived earlier. ¡°And try not to make the same mistake your former leaders made¡­ or¡­¡±


    All the citizens and soldiers get on their knees. ¡°We won¡¯t. We promise you that m¡¯lady. We will try to right the wrongs they¡¯ve committed.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± I give them a solemn nod and look back at the others. ¡°Be safe.¡±


    ¡°Again, thank you for saving us¡­¡± The group bows before me.


    I then close my eyes again and think of the battlefield in front of the Dwarger capital. I can feel myself get teleported away before everything goes black¡­


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 120: Afterbath

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Ami!?¡± I can hear my sister as someone is shaking my shoulder. I manage to open my eyes with great difficulty. I¡¯m so tired.


    ¡°H-hey sis.¡±


    ¡°Are you alright? You fell from pretty high.¡±


    I try to look around me but apparently I¡¯m half stuck in the mud in a small crater. I¡¯m no longer wearing my armor and my wings are gone too.


    ¡°I-I just feel exhausted¡­ and my muscles hurt too.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll get you out.¡±


    ¡°Ami!¡± Sam runs up to us.


    ¡°I got her, don¡¯t worry Sam, she looks okay.¡± It requires a bit of prying but ¨¦lise manages to pull me out of the mud relatively easily and it doesn¡¯t take long before she is princess carrying me.


    From there I can see more clearly how the battlefield looks like now. A lot of Dwarger soldiers are walking around, mainly taking prisoners. Most of the player parties are being left alone.


    But soon my vision gets cut off by a concerned Sam who gives me a kiss. ¡°Ami, please, don¡¯t do that again.¡±


    ¡°What did you do, anyway?¡± My sister asks as she carries me towards the gate of the city.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll tell you later¡­¡± It¡¯s hard to keep my eyes open. ¡°But¡­ what happened here in the meantime?¡±


    ¡°After you disappeared there was a bit of confusion as to what we should do next as our common enemy had disappeared.¡± Lise starts explaining. ¡°Most of the soldiers laid down their arms and it didn¡¯t take long for the Dwarger to sally out of the city to see what was going on.¡±


    ¡°Hilda has talked to them, together with Ruva and Nikki. The Dwarger promised to take good care of the prisoners since they helped to fight the big blob of evilness.¡± Sam then continues.


    ¡°And the players?¡±


    ¡°Some left after you disappeared. The ones that remain have promised to work with the city to help fix the damage the siege caused.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s good.¡± I nod. ¡°But I¡¯m just wondering why the soldiers are not teleporting back, instead of getting taken prisoner.¡±


    ¡°You should ask them but I think it¡¯s because they don¡¯t want anything to do with that ghost and whatever created it.¡± My sister nods.


    ¡°Well¡­ I have somewhat taken care of that¡­¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Lise laughs. ¡°Well, you can explain what happened after you¡¯ve rested a bit. I think we can all use a bit of shut-eye.¡±


    The three of us reach the gate where Hilda, Nikki and Ruva are talking to some Dwarger soldiers. Once the Dwarger soldiers see me, they get to their knees and bow their heads.


    ¡°Our lost Goddess returns.¡± Hilda smiles.


    ¡°She¡¯s exhausted.¡± My sis does the talking. ¡°Do we have a place to rest?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what these men were talking to us about.¡± Nikki replies.


    The Dwarger soldiers get back up and continue their conversation which I¡¯d presumably cut off. ¡°We have a mansion ready near the center of the city. The council has put it at your disposal indefinitely as a small gift for saving the city.¡±


    ¡°An¡­ entire mansion?¡± I ask.


    The Dwarger soldiers are a bit surprised that I talked directly to them, but the one who was speaking first, continues. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a mansion that was seized from some fraudulent merchant family a couple of months ago. It¡¯s a bit dusty but a team of cleaners was sent there an hour ago.¡±


    ¡°Could we go there already?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°If you wish.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going home.¡± Ruva says.


    ¡°You¡¯ll of course be rewarded as well, Miss Ruva.¡± The soldier says.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t doubt that for one second.¡± She smiles and then walks off into the city.


    ¡°We can take you to your mansion with our walker.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. That¡¯s much appreciated.¡±


    The soldiers bring us to the center of the city. Since its early in the morning not a lot of citizens are out and about, although there are quite a few people near the walls trying to repair the damage caused to buildings with siege artillery.


    Our trip downtown takes approximately five minutes. The mansion is situated in one of the side roads of the main street. It¡¯s quite apparent from the architecture that a lot of the families who live here have a lot of wealth. The walker stops in front of a large two-story building with marble pillars surrounding the entrance. There¡¯s another walker parked outside as well, presumably from the cleaners who were mentioned earlier. We dismount and while we are doing so, one of the soldiers runs inside.


    It doesn¡¯t take long before he returns. ¡°The cleaners are about done.¡± He reports. ¡°They will be out in a minute or two.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fast if they had to clean the entire building.¡± My sister gives an appreciative nod.


    And just like our guard said, two minutes later an entire team of Dwarger people jog out of the house, all their cleaning equipment in hand.


    ¡°The mansion is clean and all yours.¡± The Dwarger man who looks to be the leader of the group gives us a bow, after which the rest of his team does so too.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Hilda smiles. The rest of us thank them as well.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave you to it.¡± The two soldiers get back on their walker. ¡°Thank you again for saving our city.¡± The party waves them off as they return to the main street. After which we enter our new abode. The entrance hall is impressive with a big marble staircase in the back center that leads up to the second floor.


    ¡°Hey, Sam, could you try to find the bathroom and take Ami with you.¡± My sister, who has been princess carrying me again after we exited the car, hands me over to my girlfriend. ¡°I think she deserves to have a nice long bath.¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Sam gives her a nod.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come along to open some doors for you.¡± Hilda says as Sam starts walking. It¡¯s a big house so it takes quite a while for us to find what we are looking for.


    We find the bathroom attached to what looks to be a lounge with a big fireplace heating up the room. The cleaners must¡¯ve lit it up for us.


    The bathroom has a small heater too so when we enter it¡¯s nice and toasty as well. As for the lighting, most of the room is lit up with candles. It gives it a very romantic feeling.


    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s a big bath.¡± Sam calls out when she sees the big, sunken in marble bathtub.


    ¡°Yeah, definitely.¡± Hilda chuckles. ¡°I doubt the previous owners of this house were Dwarger.¡± Hilda walks over to the side of the bathtub and turns the valves attached to the wall. ¡°There you go. If you need me, give me a call, I¡¯ll be lounging on the sofa over there.¡±


    Sam puts me down for a second and opens one of the multiple closets in the bathroom. There¡¯s an assortment of big looking towels inside.


    ¡°Uh yeah, could you look for a change of clothes for us? Especially for Ami.¡±


    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll go and take a look.¡± Hilda closes the door behind her.


    Sam then turns her full attention back on me. ¡°Let¡¯s get you out of those clothes and into the bathtub.¡± She helps me undress. My muscles had been starting to ache a little bit more because of my exhaustion so the help was more than appreciated. After undressing me Sam checks the water to see if it¡¯s not too hot for me and once has done that she takes me back up and slowly lowers me down into the warm water. The warm water feels so comfortable I let out a soft moan the second most of my body is submerged.


    Sam blushes slightly. ¡°I¡¯ll be joining you in a second.¡± Then she quickly starts getting out of her clothes. She joins me soon afterwards, taking a bit of soap and a washing cloth with her.


    ¡°Oh darn, the water does feel good.¡±


    ¡°I knoooow.¡± I smile at my beautiful girlfriend.


    ¡°Turn around so I can start scrubbing your back.¡±


    ¡°Okaaaay¡­¡± I do as she asks and turn my back towards her. She starts soaping me in and I can only describe that feeling as heavenly. The washing cloth is just the right texture to give me a good rub and Sam is applying the exact amount of pressure to also massage my back muscles. My body reacts by starting to purr.


    ¡°I¡¯ve not even started to soap in the front yet.¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°It just feels too good, Sam.¡±


    Sam takes a little bucket that is by the side of the bath and uses it to rinse off my back. She then pulls me close against her by pulling me back by my waist. After that she softly starts soaping in the front of my body while she whispers in my ear. ¡°Hey Ami, you need to promise me something¡­¡±


    ¡°W-what?¡±


    ¡°Never leave me behind again¡­ ok? I don¡¯t care what it is or how dangerous it is, I just don¡¯t want you to face the unknown alone¡­¡± Sam gives me a kiss on my neck.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I promise.¡±  I look back at my girlfriend and look her in the eyes before I plant a kiss on her lips myself.


    ¡°Good girl¡­¡± She smiles and kisses me back. ¡°Now let¡¯s get the rest of you cleaned up as well.¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 121: Explanation

    FieryKathy


    After some more comfy cozy cuddly bath time we get out of the bath, or more accurately, Sam lifts me out of the bath and starts drying me off.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sore, Sam.¡± I complain. Getting out of the warm water hadn¡¯t really helped as all my muscles started to ache again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you some more massages in bed, I promise.¡± She smiles and towels me completely dry after which she dries herself.


    ¡°Ami, Sam! I have put your clothes on a towel in front of the door!¡± Hilda calls from the other side of the door. She must¡¯ve heard my groaning.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Sam calls back and walks over to the door. She just opens it slightly so she can take the fresh clothes  from outside and then closes the door quickly behind her again. ¡°Oh darn, silk pj¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Silk?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, feel this.¡± Sam offers the pile of clothes to me. There¡¯s a pink and blue set of clothes stacked on top of each other. I slide my hand over the fabric and it feels incredibly soft.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°I know right.¡± Sam smiles and starts to look at the two sets of clothes. ¡°I think the pink one is for you, it¡¯s the smallest. She hands me the pink pj¡¯s and I quickly put them on while she puts on her blue set. Weirdly enough it''s almost a perfect fit for both of us.


    ¡°Nice. It almost feels like I¡¯m not wearing anything, yet it¡¯s keeping me pretty warm. What about yours, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. It¡¯s perfect.¡± I nod.


    We take our other clothes with us out of the bathroom. When we leave we see that our entire group has gathered in the lounging area. My sister is grilling something on a stick in the fireplace.


    ¡°Had a nice bath?¡± Lise asks while she¡¯s chewing on something.


    ¡°Your sister has found a bit of bacon and she wanted to grill it over a fire.¡± Nikki shakes her head with a deep sigh.


    ¡°Hey, I was hungry.¡±


    ¡°I am too, but this house has a kitchen, you know?¡±


    ¡°Can I have some too?¡± I ask, my tummy is grumbling at the smell of the cooking bacon.


    ¡°Hilda has put on some stewed meat for us.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s stewing along in the kitchen.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°I mean, she can have some as a snack, right? She did save our bacon.¡± My sister smirks at her own bad joke.


    Even Sam sighs at that one. ¡°Really ¨¦lise? Really?¡±


    My sister starts to laugh at our reactions while she gets up from her kneeled position in front of the fireplace. ¡°Here, give those clothes to me, you can have this skewer. I¡¯ll go put them in the washing room or whatever that room is called.¡±


    We trade what we have in our hands and Sam piles her clothes on top as well.


    ¡°Then we will already go to the dining room.¡± Hilda gives us a smile and accompanies us at our side. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nice and warm there as well and the seats are comfortable too.¡±


    Hilda didn¡¯t lie. The seats in the dining room were in fact really cozy and with another fireplace burning next to the table it is pretty toasty in here.


    Once my sister returns Hilda goes to the kitchen to take the stew off the fire and brings some bread with it to complete the meal.


    Since the bacon on a stick didn¡¯t really see much sunlight once it reached my hands I almost immediately started eating.


    It doesn¡¯t take long for all the food to be completely gone.


    ¡°So, Ami, if you don¡¯t mind us asking, what exactly happened to you? Or do you want to tell us tomorrow after you¡¯ve slept for a bit?¡±


    ¡°No, I can tell you now¡­ I think it would be better to try to delay our sleep until the evening anyway¡­¡± I shake my head. I think it¡¯s almost mid day outside, if we decided to sleep now we would just wake up in the middle of the night.


    ¡°That¡¯s fair. I wasn¡¯t planning on sleeping either.¡± My sister gives me a smile.


    My girlfriend just looks at me and gives me a smiling nod too. Waiting for me to do my story.


    ¡°So¡­ when we were fighting that spectral being¡­¡± I explain everything from the moment where I go into communion with the souls of the people to the point where I blast the pope into his beloved cathedral. My family stays quiet the entire time, listening to what I have to say. ¡°...and that¡¯s basically that.¡±


    ¡°Basically she says.¡± Hilda chuckles and scratches the back of her head. ¡°So that being was a combination of the negative emotions and the souls of the people who got sacrificed. You then purified them in your body while going to the capital of Osvik. Led a mob to where the dungeon was. Raised a giant cathedral into the air. Revived the people. And then you killed the pope by releasing the negative emotions you gathered and then you blasted him into his beloved building.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes. I think that¡¯s pretty much it.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Holy. Shit.¡± My sister then took a drink from her glass of wine. ¡°So Ami has basically overthrown an entire system of government in an hour or so?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I think she did¡­¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°No wonder you are that tired.¡± Nikki blows out a bit of breath.


    ¡°And all the voices are out of your head now?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°They are. I revived them all.¡±


    ¡°That must have felt super weird, didn¡¯t it? When they were still part of you.¡±


    ¡°Yes. But I¡¯m happy I did it for them¡­¡±


    ¡°You are such a good bean, Ami.¡± Sam took me in for a big hug. ¡°But like I said before, next time you do something crazy like that, please take me along.¡±


    ¡°And us too!¡± My sister jumps in. ¡°I would¡¯ve loved to see that cathedral blow up. Very much so actually.¡±


    ¡°And I would¡¯ve liked to add some flames to it as well.¡± Nikki adds.


    ¡°At least everything turned out fine.¡± Hilda replies. ¡°But yes, take us with you next time. And about that¡­ Do you know how to teleport now? Or how does that work?¡±


    I tilt my head. ¡°I am not sure¡­. I think so? I did it completely instinctively but I do think I need to have been to a place before I can teleport to it. Or at least have memories from that place.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you used the memories of the souls you carried along to teleport to the capital of Osvik?¡±


    I nod. ¡°I think so, yes.¡±


    ¡°And I guess you don¡¯t know if you can take people with you?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± This time I shake my head.


    Hilda smiles and rubs her chin. ¡°Well, there¡¯s lots of things to test out tomorrow. And I also want to test if we can do the same thing ¡®in real life¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Woah, imagine being able to visit Hilda without even having to move. That¡¯d be awesome.¡± My sis shakes her fist in excitement.


    ¡°Or teleporting like other countries like I talked to Ami about.¡± Sam smiles.


    ¡°Although you¡¯d probably still need a visa in a lot of countries.¡± Hilda says.


    ¡°Well, does that really matter if you don¡¯t need to cross the border?¡± My sis starts to discuss.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Don¡¯t you need to show your visa in hotels and stuff like that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You are the adventurous one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve actually not gone outside of Europe, you know?¡±


    ¡°Wait, you haven¡¯t?¡± I ask Hilda.


    ¡°Is it that surprising?¡± She chuckles at my question.


    I nod. ¡°Kinda, yes.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s plenty of places to see in Europe itself and I¡¯ve not even discovered it all. Plus, I¡¯d feel somewhat lost by myself on another continent.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surprisingly cute, Hilda.¡± My girlfriend comments.


    ¡°Oh, shut up, you.¡± She gives her a wink.


    ¡°You can always join Ami and I when we go to Japan.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯d be fun!¡±


    ¡°Really? Thanks for the invite.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°But won¡¯t that make those two a bit jealous?¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about us.¡± Nikki waves Hilda¡¯s concern away.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have fun either way.¡± Lise winks.


    ¡°Mhmm, lots of fun.¡± Nikki gives her partner a kiss.


    ¡°Right, want a tour through the rest of the house so we can leave this two lovebirds alone?¡± Hilda proposes.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°As long as you go slowly.¡± I groan and get off my chair. Having been seated has soured my legs even more.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, babe, I¡¯ll just keep carrying you.¡± Sam takes me in her arms.


    ¡°Won¡¯t you get tired too? You¡¯ve shot your bow a lot today.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fiiine.¡± Sam tries to lift me but fails miserably. ¡°Nevermind¡­ apparently my arms have decided to give up as well.


    Hilda laughs. ¡°Just let me lift her, I barely had anything to do today.¡± Hilda walks over and takes over from Sam. And just like that I was being princess carried by our half-elven leader.


    ¡°Let¡¯s show you the rest of the downstairs rooms first.¡± She smiles and with me in her arms, she starts guiding us through the mansion. Leaving my sister and Nikki behind at the dinner table. Just before we leave I peek over Hilda¡¯s shoulder, just in time to see Nikki bring her mouth to my sister¡¯s neck.


    -L-lewd¡­-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 122: Tour

    FieryKathy


    ¡°That door leads to the basement, down there we have a small vault for valuables and a filled wine cellar.¡± Hilda points towards one of the doors in the main entry hall. ¡°I won¡¯t take you there because it is quite chilly.¡±


    ¡°Is that where ¨¦lise got the wine from?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yep, looked like an expensive bottle too, but there¡¯s still plenty of that left.¡±


    I look at my girlfriend over Hilda¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever asked, but do you like wine, Sam? I¡¯ve never seen you drink any?¡±


    ¡°Liking is a big word and I try not to drink any alcohol. If there¡¯s nothing else to drink I wouldn¡¯t mind a glass, but even then I¡¯d still just prefer water.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, I see I see.¡±


    Hilda smiles and continues carrying me around. ¡°You¡¯ve already seen the bathroom and one of the lounges. And earlier on we¡¯ve also passed the storage room, but that¡¯s pretty much it for the ground floor. Well that door in the corner over there, that¡¯s the washing room, to wash your clothes in and stuff like that. It¡¯s pretty advanced actually. They have hot water there too.¡± She then leads us up the big staircase.¡±First door on the left is yet another lounge with a sizable library attached to it. There¡¯s also the second bathroom next to it.¡± Hilda continues walking. ¡°The next two doors are conference rooms, which we¡¯ll never use so we might as well make it into something else. Maybe an armory for your sister or something like that. We should discuss it later.¡± Hilda then stops before the last door on this side. ¡°And this last room is just a small office.¡±


    Sam points to the other side of the landing. ¡°And I suppose those are all the bedrooms then?¡±


    ¡°Yes, three of them actually. So a perfect fit for us and our party.¡± Hilda takes us to the other side. ¡°The three bedrooms are practically identical to one another so I hope you don¡¯t mind us having given you the middle one?¡±


    ¡°No, that should be fine.¡± Sam jogs a little to get out ahead of us. and pushes open the middle door to our bedroom. When we join her and I get a look into the bedroom, I¡¯m surprised by how big it is. Even with the big wooden closet, the room is bigger than most modern bedrooms I¡¯ve seen. And the bed itself looks like it comes out of a fairytale, with the typical sets of drapery tied up to the four bedposts.


    ¡°Want me to drop you off in your bed or do you want me to take you to the lounge?¡± Hilda asks and looks down at me.


    ¡°Well, we did say we were going to try to wait a bit so we don¡¯t wake up in the middle of the night.¡± Sam replies in my stead. I give her a nod in agreement.


    ¡°Alright. Do you want to see the new lounge so you can read a book? Or cuddle up, I don¡¯t judge.¡± She gives us a wink.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that.¡± Sam chuckles. I just blush instead.


    We go back to where we came from and enter the upstairs lounge. The fireplace is crackling along nicely when we enter, giving a pleasant glow on the lounging sofas next to it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go look for a book to read to Ami, could you put her on the sofa for me, Hilda?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Hilda nods at my girlfriend and carries me over to one of the sofas. She softly lowers me down into one of them. ¡°There you go.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Hilda.¡± I give her a big hug before I let go of her completely.


    ¡°No problem.¡± She leans into the hug and after I¡¯m done heads over to one of the several big bookcases as well.


    Sam comes back, five minutes later, with a relatively small book and proceeds to sit down next to me. Putting her book aside for a second so she can maneuver me so I can use her lap as a lap pillow. She reaches down to give me a kiss before she takes back her book.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind kissing a bit longer.¡± I tease her a little.


    ¡°I know, but I guess you¡¯ll have to wait until we are actually going to go to bed.¡± She winks back at me after handily turning that situation around.


    ¡°Buuu.¡± I pout but then quickly smile again as my lovely girlfriend flips open the book. ¡°What¡¯s the book about?¡± Her hand is in front of the title so I can¡¯t even read that.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I looked through a couple of the pages and it looks to be a fictional story. Most of that library is full with informational books but I want you to stay awake and not fall asleep instead.¡±


    ¡°Good point¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, informational books can be exciting too!¡± Hilda calls out from behind us, she¡¯s still looking through the bookcases.


    ¡°As much as early morning lessons at uni can be interesting, the chance you fall asleep is still pretty darn high.¡± Sam replies back.


    ¡°How would that be different for early morning movies?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Sam scratches her cheek for a second. ¡°Uh¡­ I guess you¡¯ve got a point there¡­¡±


    Hilda chuckles. ¡°Well, but I definitely would rather have someone read a fictional book to me than a scientific one, so I do know what you mean. I was just being a bit pedantic. Unless it¡¯s that one famous historian from tv, because that guy is just incredibly fascinating to listen to¡­ this one time he-¡± Hilda starts explaining this one historical theory about a certain war during the Medieval Era. Sam and I look at each other and start giggling at her enthusiasm.


    Hilda finishes her talk about the tv-historian just when my sister and Nikki enter the room too. My sister seems a lot more exhausted than earlier and comes in while rubbing her neck. Nikki on the other hand seems like she¡¯s incredibly happy.


    ¡°Oh Goddess.¡± Lise slumps down in one of the armchairs.


    ¡°Nikki went a bit overboard?¡± Hilda chuckles.


    ¡°You can definitely say that¡­¡± My sister blows out.


    ¡°Sorry, it has been a while.¡± Nikki absolutely didn¡¯t look any kind of sorry about what she¡¯d done to my sister.


    ¡°I might actually just fall asleep in this chair¡­¡± Lise stretches and then looks at Sam and I on the sofa. ¡°I see you two are in a dangerous position as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep her awake, don¡¯t you worry about that.¡± Sam smirks.


    ¡°Hmm. I guess I¡¯ll take a book as well¡­¡± My sister tries to get out of the armchair again but she plomps down the second she tries. ¡°Uh, well, Hilda, could you toss me a book I might like?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Hilda replies with a smile and heads back over to the bookcase. Nikki happily joins her.


    Sam finally finds the opportunity to start reading the book to me although both of us soon realize that it¡¯s not for us. It¡¯s some kind of absurdly written piece of text that reminded me a bit of a lesson I once had about a writing style where you just put everything that comes to mind down on paper. So in the end we just end up cuddling on the sofa while trying to keep each other awake. The fact that we are both purring is definitely not helping.


    My sister, however, apparently has had more success in trying to find something that interests her as she¡¯s looking quite attentively at the pages in her book. That is until she looks up at the both of us with a questioning look on her face.


    ¡°Uh, what¡¯s wrong, sis?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Hmm. I was just wondering.¡± She closes her book but keeps her index in between the pages so she doesn¡¯t lose where she¡¯s at. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you heal people to make them lose their exhaustion? You had a passive ability like that too, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true, I do.¡± I give her a nod.


    ¡°But it probably doesn¡¯t work when she¡¯s exhausted.¡± Hilda quickly replies. ¡°I don¡¯t want to know how much mana she spent in that battle but I¡¯m pretty sure that if she¡¯d spent much more that her body would definitely not have liked that. She¡¯s already not that mobile anymore.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t overexert yourself, Ami.¡± Sam smiles and runs her hand through my hair.


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± I smile back.


    ¡°In any case, Ami will probably be back to normal after resting a bit.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Hey, what would happen if we get attacked if Ami runs out of mana?¡± Nikki poses a question.


    ¡°She told us about her foray into Osvik, didn¡¯t she?¡± Hilda replies. ¡°She says she suddenly got a burst of energy after she changed into her angel of vengeance form.¡±


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t that just mean that her body had kept that in reserve, just in case?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s possible¡­ but with Ami it¡¯s hard to tell. She kind of falls out of the realm of normal, even in this absurd world. No offense of course.¡±


    ¡°None taken.¡± I smile.


    ¡°So, in short¡­ the answer is, Ami is Ami and Ami is unfathomable?¡± My sister states.


    ¡°Yeah, I think you could say that.¡±


    Sam chuckles. ¡°Well, at least the unfathomable Ami is mine.¡±


    ¡°Hey, leave a bit for us as well.¡± My sister protests with a laugh.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to think about that.¡± Sam replies with another laugh.


    I just look on happily as my family jokes with each other.


    -These are good times.-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 123: Evening

    FieryKathy


    When evening starts to come around, our family decides to get another meal. This time however we chose just to go with some soup accompanied by a bit of bread as we¡¯d eaten a heavy meal earlier today. We eat our soup in the lounge as none of us really wanted to move downstairs for dinner.


    ¡°What soup is this even?¡± My sister takes another sip with her spoon. ¡°It tastes a bit like tomato but not exactly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also not sure.¡± Hilda replies, she made the soup for us. ¡°It was in the pantry and it tasted a bit like a combination of a tomato and a paprika so I thought it would fit well.¡±


    ¡°It is quite tasty.¡± Nikki says.


    Sam and I nod, it¡¯s indeed some pretty good soup.


    ¡°I just hope we won¡¯t start hallucinating because of it but I suppose it should be fine.¡± Hilda chuckles.


    ¡°We should go by the market to buy some kind of pepper though. I prefer my soups a little bit more spicy.¡± My sis smiles.


    ¡°We can do that tomorrow.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°I don¡¯t think most of us would be able to walk that long before collapsing out of exhaustion.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± My sister nods and takes the plate of soup in her hands. She tilts it slowly and drinks up the rest of the soup in one go. ¡°Noone minds Nikki and I taking a bath?¡±


    ¡°No, go ahead. Ami and I already had ours.¡± Sam replies.


    ¡°Which bathroom will you take?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°We have two?¡± Lise tilts her head.


    ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t you find the one upstairs?¡±


    ¡°Must¡¯ve walked past it.¡± She shrugs. ¡°But we will take the one downstairs.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll take the other.¡± Hilda smiles.


    ¡°Sam and I will probably head to bed after we are done eating.¡± I say.


    ¡°We won¡¯t stay up for that much longer either.¡± Nikki shakes her head. ¡°Good night you two.¡± Nikki then stands up and takes both her and my sister¡¯s plate with her and out of the door.


    My sister also wishes us good night and follows her partner along.


    Hilda waits a bit longer for us to finish our plates as well. ¡°I¡¯ll take those, you two can go ahead and head to bed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Hilda.¡± I stand up from my seat and wobble over to her to give her a big hug. ¡°Good night.¡±


    ¡°Good night.¡± She smiles and pets me on the head. ¡°Good night to you too, Sam.¡±


    ¡°Night night.¡± My girlfriend waves at Hilda before putting her arm around me and guiding me out of the room.


    When we enter our bedroom I immediately walk over to bed and just drop myself on top of the mattress. ¡°Awh¡­ it¡¯s so soft¡­¡± I talk into the blanket.


    Sam giggles and follows my lead, dropping herself in the mattress right next to me. ¡°Oh my Goddess, that does feel heavenly¡­ I think I might sleep for 48 hours.¡±


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t! Otherwise we¡¯ll have to fix our schedule again!¡± I poked her cheek.


    ¡°Will you wake me up then?¡± She rolls over so she is laying on her side and she can look directly at me.


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°With a kiss?¡± She shuffles a little bit closer to me.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I nod.


    She shuffles even closer to get into kissing range and then leans in for my lips. She kisses me.


    ¡°Or many kisses.¡± I kiss her again¡­ and again¡­


    ¡°I think I like that.¡± She smiles and then slowly sits upright on the mattress. She then crawls up to the pillows and slowly manages to slip under the bedsheets. ¡°Are you coming, little kitty cat?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod and follow her along. It¡¯s incredibly cozy and warm underneath the blankets. It almost makes me doze off the second that I get underneath them. My girlfriend cuddling up to me and forming this barrier of warmth at my back, doesn¡¯t really help that.


    I start purring, which pretty much immediately gets reciprocated by Sam. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can go to sleep.¡± She whispers into my ear and then kisses me behind it.


    ¡°...But I want to cuddle¡­ more¡­¡±


    ¡°We can do that tomorrow.¡± She repeats her whispering and kissing.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± My eyelids slowly drop lower and lower.


    ¡°Night night, kitten.¡± She whispers again, and then I fall asleep.


    It¡¯s Sam¡¯s soft caressing that wakes, just when she runs her index finger from my cheek down the side of my neck and onto my arm.


    ¡°Mhmmm¡­ Saaaaam¡­¡±


    ¡°Good morning sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I sleep for a bit longer?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already almost ten, Ami.¡± She speaks softly.


    ¡°Really?¡± I turn around to face my girlfriend.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise to wake me up instead of the other way around.¡± Sam chuckles and greets me with a kiss before she backs off a little and stares at me with her big, beautiful and loving eyes.


    ¡°I was a little bit more tired than I thought.¡± I reply and shuffle a little bit closer to her. That¡¯s when I notice that Sam had tossed the top of her pj¡¯s aside. I start blushing when I¡¯m suddenly staring directly into her cleavage.


    ¡°Sorry, I got a bit too hot.¡± She chuckles again. and then pulls me closer after putting her arms around me. She¡¯s so soft.


    ¡°N-now I¡¯m going to get hot too¡­¡±


    She unbuttons the top button of my pj¡¯s. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind that. I love looking at my girlfriend, it doesn''t matter what state of undress she¡¯s in.¡± She gives me a wink which only makes me blush even more. Sam then gives me a kiss on the top of my head.


    Her warmth almost makes me want to fall asleep again.


    ¡°But how are you feeling today, Ami? I hope you are not hurting¡­¡± While still full of love, her gaze also betrays a hint of concern.


    ¡°No, my muscles don¡¯t hurt at all anymore.¡± I shake my head.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Mine don¡¯t either for that matter. So I think your aura might be working again.¡± She gives me yet another kiss. ¡°But does that mean you don¡¯t want a massage from me anymore?¡±


    ¡°No! I still want that!¡±


    ¡°Thought so.¡± And you¡¯ve guessed it, she kisses me yet again. ¡°But first I want to get some more Ami cuddles to fill up my battery.


    Some fifteen minutes of Ami cuddles later, Sam lets out a relieved sigh. As she backs off just enough so I can roll over to my back. ¡°It¡¯s time for your massage now, my Goddess.¡± She boops me on the nose.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I smile and roll over onto my belly.


    Sam wastes no time whatsoever to then get behind me. It¡¯s a little bit clumsy with the blanket still covering the both of us but she makes it work.


    ¡°Ready?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Mhmm, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Alrighty, tell me if it hurts, okay? I¡¯m not an expert.¡±


    I nod. ¡°I will but I trust my girlfriend¡¯s competent hands.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear that.¡± She chuckles and scratches me behind my ear. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Her strong hands first get to work on my neck. I can feel she¡¯s being careful but at the same time it just feels so good.


    ¡°Have you done this before¡­ Sam?¡± I ask in between her putting pressure on my muscles.


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten a lesson or four at uni. It was an optional thing our course could sign up for and I thought ¡®Why not?¡¯ But now it¡¯s definitely coming in handy.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm¡­ it feels really good.¡± Just when I say that she hits a spot that really makes me softly moan because of the comfort it gives me.


    ¡°I¡­ can tell.¡± I can¡¯t really look behind me but that pause probably means she¡¯s blushing right now.


    Sam then goes down and starts massaging my upper back. I thought her neck massage was good but it¡¯s clear that she¡¯s a lot more confident in massaging my back¡­ -Holy Mother Veanya¡­ that feels so good.-


    It goes without saying that I start purring uncontrollably to the joy of my girlfriend who starts purring as well, our purrs almost resonating with each other.


    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re noticing the back is my best area?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I slowly nod. I¡¯m enjoying it so much I can barely speak. I even had started drooling a little.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± She giggles and then continues on my back. I almost feel completely reborn and she hasn¡¯t even started on my lower back yet.


    When she finally does¡­ well¡­ I hope these walls are soundproof because I start making some noises that I¡¯ve not heard before.


    After those last ten minutes, sadly, the massage is over and Sam rolls back to her spot next to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do your legs some other time.¡± She rolls on her side so she can look at my face. My face which is just filled with the look of pure bliss.


    Before I can reply a knock on the door pulls our attention.


    ¡°Ami, Sam, are you up? Hilda¡¯s gonna make some breakfast, want some too?¡± It¡¯s my sister.


    My stomach growls at the sound of food.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll come down.¡± Sam replies and chuckles a bit afterwards.


    ¡°Alright. Hilda also gave me some clothes for you two, I put them next to your door.¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Sam replies again as my sister presumably leaves from in front of the door. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t stay here for too much longer, before your stomach decides to eat itself.¡± She gives me a kiss on my forehead.


    -She¡¯s right¡­ Although I kinda really want to stay here¡­ the comfy bed is just sooo comfyyy¡­-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 124: Thanks

    FieryKathy


    In the end Sam has to pretty much physically pull me out of bed as the blankets somehow just don¡¯t let me go.


    Putting me into my clothes is quite a bit easier.


    For Sam, Hilda had chosen a white shirt with light brown pants and some comfortable looking leather boots. And for me she had chosen something similar but with white pants as well. It¡¯s a bit sad that these aren¡¯t really adventuring clothes because they are really comfy.


    Now clothed, Sam and I head downstairs towards breakfast. When we enter the dining room my sister and Nikki are already there, discussing something with each other.


    ¡°Hey there you two, did you sleep well?¡± My sister stops the conversation and turns to us.


    ¡°Yeah, I was just exhausted, slept like a brick.¡± Sam smiles and sits down next to Lise.


    ¡°What about you, Ami?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°I slept really well.¡± I nod. ¡°I feel like I am in tiptop shape again. What about you two?¡± I then ask back.


    ¡°Pretty good.¡± My sister replies. ¡°The bed is really comfortable but it might be a bit too soft for my personal preferences.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Nikki nods. ¡°It¡¯s a good bed but I wouldn¡¯t mind a different mattress.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you were discussing when we entered?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yeah, kinda.¡± Lise nods. ¡°We were talking about what to do first. I think everyone agrees that we should still keep it calm and quiet for today?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Both Sam and I agree.


    ¡°Alright. We were just trying to figure out whether we should go to the market first or head to speciality stores. We have plenty of money so we could pimp out our new base of operations a bit more.¡±


    ¡°And get a new mattress.¡± Nikki adds.


    ¡°of course.¡± My sister smiles.


    ¡°What does Hilda think we should do?¡± I ask.


    ¡°What I think, huh?¡± Hilda enters the room with a smile on her face and a pot in her hands. ¡°I think we should wait until some people have visited us.¡±


    ¡°Visited?¡± My sister tilts her head. ¡°That¡¯s the first thing I hear about it.¡±


    ¡°We got a letter this morning before you all got up. I wanted to bring it up during breakfast.¡± She smiles and opens the pot which releases this sweet aroma into the room. ¡°Rice porridge by the way for anyone who wants.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡± I immediately shoot up straight off my chair and head over to the pot. There¡¯s already some plates at that end of the table so I don¡¯t need to go and get one.


    ¡°Hungry Ami be hungry.¡± Sam laughs and gets up as well, slowly following to the front of the table behind me.


    ¡°So, what does this letter say?¡± ¨¦lise continues.


    ¡°It¡¯s just people from the city council who are going to pay us a short visit, presumably to thank us for our deeds and things like that. We¡¯ve not really seen any notables yet so it was to be expected.¡±


    ¡°And when are these people going to come? I¡¯d like to not completely waste today.¡± Nikki says. She¡¯s right because we really didn¡¯t do much yesterday and time is pretty precious in this world.


    ¡°In about an hour or so.¡± Hilda looks at the big grandfather clock behind her.


    ¡°Ah, okay so we can still go around shopping then.¡± My sister nods happily and then finally decides to get up to get some rice porridge too. I already have an entire plate full and I am making my way back to my seat.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯d like to go and do some shopping as well.¡± Hilda nods and afterwards she gets herself a plate too.


    The rice porridge was great. Just sweet enough and with that hint of vanilla flavor, it was just amazing. So tasty that I had to lick out my plate to the amusement of the others at the table.


    Afterwards we stay in the downstairs lounge so we are ready to receive our guests. They arrive a little bit over an hour after Hilda had first mentioned them. We meet them in the main hall and when Hilda opens the door we are immediately greeted by Ruva.


    ¡°Ah, Ruva, how are you?¡± My sister is clearly happy to see our former companion.


    ¡°Great thanks to you people.¡± Ruva walks in with a smile on her face. ¡°Anyhow, I¡¯m here to accompany the council and to provide a friendly face.¡± She gives us a wink.


    Behind her some six Dwarger people walk in, the youngest of which looks quite a bit older than Ruva herself. ¡°Looks like politics in this world are also dominated by old folks.¡± Sam whispers into my ear. I have to count to ten in my head so I don¡¯t start laughing.


    An older Dwarger woman with gray-whitish hair, and also the one who first entered behind Ruva, takes the word for their entire group.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to thank you for allowing us into your home.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for providing us with the home.¡± Hilda quickly replies and bows slightly.


    ¡°I hope it is to your liking?¡± She continues.


    ¡°Very much so. We will have to do a little bit of shopping to completely adapt it to our tastes but that¡¯s to be expected.¡± My sister also makes a light bow.


    The old Dwarger woman smiles. ¡°We will not try to keep you for very long then so you can visit our markets.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± My sister smiles back.


    ¡°Please follow me towards our big lounge.¡± Hilda bows yet again and then turns around to lead the way for the entire group.


    Once there and everyone is seated, the Dwarger lady speaks again. ¡°We are here today to formally thank you for saving our beautiful capital city. Without your party¡¯s help it would surely have been lost.¡±


    ¡°It is very rare for the council to personally express their thanks.¡± Ruva explains.


    The woman nods. ¡°The last time this has happened was before many of us can remember.¡± She coughs and then continues. ¡°As a further show of gratitude we¡¯d like to offer you a considerable monetary prize.¡± As if it were practiced and finely orchestrated behind the scenes, on queue two Dwarger soldiers marched in with a pretty sizable coffer. It looked quite similar to how I¡¯d imagined pirate treasure chests to look like.


    ¡°Taylor would probably like a bit of that too.¡± My sister whispers to Nikki, but now silent enough for me not to hear it.


    ¡°If you mean Captain Taylor who has helped our coastal settlements, she will get plenty of recompensation.¡± The Dwarger woman says.


    My sister starts coughing and blushing at the same time, she clearly didn¡¯t expect to be heard.


    The lady continues without interruption. ¡°In this coffer you will find a monetary reward of forty-thousand Golden Dwargi.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of money.¡± Ruva says.


    ¡°I bet¡­ are you really in the position to pay this? Surely the repairs cost a lot of money as well?¡± Hilda asks. ¡°It¡¯s one thing to give us this mansion but this looks like a sizable portion of your yearly tax money.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a big amount of money, this is true, but not something we as a people can not pay for our saviors.¡±


    ¡°Just let them hand the money over, Hilda, if we refuse it they will be very displeased.¡± My sister reasons with our leader, it¡¯s quite clear that she has no issue receiving that money.


    ¡°We¡¯d be incredibly displeased.¡± The Dwarger lady says with a wide smile, playing along with my sister¡¯s act.


    ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ll graciously accept it.¡± Hilda nods.


    The Dwarger lady then turns her attention to me. ¡°We understand that it was you who proved to be the golden cog to solve our issue?¡±


    The sudden attention makes me blush.


    ¡°She is.¡± Sam shields my shy ass.


    The counselor nods. ¡°We¡¯d like to offer you a special reward for what you have done.¡±


    One of the other counselors hands her something that¡¯s folded in a purple cloth. The lady counselor then offers it to me.


    I take it with both hands. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead and take a look.¡±


    I look at Sam and she starts unfolding the cloth so I can keep my two hands underneath to support it. When Sam removes the cloth a big pink jewel, superbly polished and worked into a beautiful silver necklace, stares at us.


    ¡°It belonged to one of the four great guardians of our city. When we heard what happened and what you looked like, it was as if prophecy had brought you to us. So we would like to offer her most prized possession to you, as her spiritual successor.¡±


    ¡°Sorry? Great Guardians?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Ah, let me.¡± Ruva quickly explains the history of the city and how in the history of the Dwarger capital there were four leaders who defended it against hordes of evil. One of them was a Ulusu woman with pink hair who ruled over justice.


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s actually pretty accurate if you think about it.¡± Nikki nods.


    -Oh no¡­ I already see where this is going.-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 125: Vault

    FieryKathy


    After telling us the story and handing over the jewelry, it doesn¡¯t take long for the council members to take their leave.


    ¡°Are you going to go too, Ruva?¡± Hilda asks our Dwarger friend.


    ¡°I fear I have to, yes.¡± She nods. ¡°Part of my reward for helping to save the city was a pretty big promotion.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound too happy about it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, pay is a lot better and I get to decide my own agenda for the most time. But today is terribly busy. Visiting heroes and thanking the people who are rebuilding.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± My sister scratches her chin. ¡°Well, stay strong, friend. If you want to come visit us. We should be free¡­ not this week¡­ but¡­¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve figured out your schedule.¡± Ruva winks. ¡°I¡¯ll come by next time.¡±


    ¡°See you, Ruva!¡± Sam and I wave her off as she leaves. The Councilors were already starting to look somewhat agitated that she took too long but a glare from my sister quickly made their moods change.


    When Hilda closes the door she turns back around to the group. ¡°Let¡¯s go and put our new treasure inside of our treasury. That¡¯s what it¡¯s for, right?¡± She gives us a wink.


    ¡°Does this include the jewel that belonged to Ami 0.5?¡± My sister teases me.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ what do you want to do with it, Ami?¡± Hilda asks me, she¡¯s stopped to let me reply first.


    ¡°Uh¡­ I probably shouldn¡¯t prance around the city with it¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t want my girlfriend to be mugged for one of the city¡¯s biggest treasures.¡± Sam protectively puts her arm around me.


    ¡°So, vault it is?¡±


    I give a nod back. ¡°Probably for the best, yes.¡±


    Nikki and my sister go and take the big hunking chest out of the lounge and carry it over to where the door towards the basement is.


    ¡°This thing is heavier than it looks.¡± My sister breathes out a puff of air as she and her partner put down the chest for a bit in the main entrance hall.


    ¡°At least you have the strength stats for this, babe.¡± Nikki rolls her eyes.


    ¡°I do. Still heavy though.¡± My sis sticks out her tongue in return.


    ¡°Alright kids, behave, let¡¯s not start a fight now.¡± Hilda shakes her head like a disappointed mom and opens the door.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just throw it down the stairs?¡± My sister proposes as she puts her hand on the carrying handle of the chest once more.


    ¡°Do you want to pick up all the coins if the lid opens? Or worse, if the chest breaks?¡± Hilda retorts.


    ¡°.... You¡¯ve got a point my dear Hilda, I will now shut up.¡±


    ¡°Very wise.¡±


    Going down the stairs, Nikki, Hilda and my sister decide to work together to make sure the chest doesn''t tumble down the stairs anyway. With Hilda and Nikki at the bottom to share the weight.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t gravity fun?¡± Sam says as both she and I walk down the stairs after the group.


    ¡°Hush, Sam. Or I will make you carry me in full plate armor.¡± My sister jabs back.


    Sam looks at me and chuckles silently.


    ¡°Just put it down here.¡± Hilda guides Lise and Nikki towards the small vault door. The treasure chest only barely fits through it. Although that¡¯s probably more a treasure chest issue than a door issue.


    With some tight maneuvering ¨¦lise and Nikki manage to get it inside.


    ¡°That¡¯s that.¡± My sister puts her end of the treasure chest on the floor. Nikki had already dropped hers. ¡°Huh?¡± My sister looks up, quite surprised.


    I am confused as to what my sister is surprised about until I myself get a popup. ¡®New skill unlocked: Vault¡¯


    ¡°I suppose everyone just got that?¡± Hilda asks around.


    ¡°If you mean the skill pop-up, then yes.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°I got it too.¡± Nikki nods too.


    Both me and my sister also say we did.


    ¡°Vault: This skill allows you to instantly teleport your valuables into your mansion¡¯s vault. Distance, nor size, is a factor.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ size is no factor?¡± My sister scratches the back of her head. ¡°So, if we, let¡¯s say. Stole a bote. Just purely hypothetically. And we consider that boat as ¡®valuables¡¯, wouldn¡¯t we then just outright destroy our basement if we teleported it back here.¡±


    ¡°I take it it has some limitations¡­ I hope it does.¡± Hilda chuckles awkwardly. ¡°Let¡¯s not try that, shall we. I somewhat like this mansion we got here.¡±


    ¡°I like it too, so I agree on the ¡®not trying part¡¯.¡± My sister agrees. ¡°Ami, you heard, right?¡±


    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± I pout. ¡°I¡¯m not nearly that destructi-... well¡­ I don¡¯t do things like that!¡±


    ¡°Just teasin¡¯ ya little sis.¡± She winks.


    ¡°We can try with Ami¡¯s necklace if she wants.¡± Nikki proposes.


    ¡°Hmm, or we could just try a coin.¡± Sam quickly opens the treasure coffer, takes out a couple of coins and hands one each to everyone in our party. ¡°That way we only lose one gold piece if it fucks up.¡±


    ¡°Smart.¡± Lise gives Sam a pat on the shoulder.


    In the meantime I quickly put down the necklace on a little table at the corner of the vault.


    After that, all of us walk out and go upstairs to test our new skill.


    ¡°So, how does this work?¡± My sister takes her coin between her index finger and her thumb. ¡°Do I just stare at it and think it away?¡± She looks at the coin for just a second before it disappears from in between her fingers. ¡°Oh¡­ that was easier than expected.¡±


    Nikki tilts her head at my sister and then does the same thing. Her coin disappears as well.


    Sam and Hilda follow, and just like that, their coins are gone too.


    The four of them are now all looking at me which somehow gives me quite a lot of performance pressure. It makes me go all blushy and shy.


    ¡°Girls, we should probably turn around.¡± Hilda chuckles and immediately does as she herself proposed, turning her back to me.


    The rest of them follow, including my girlfriend. But somehow, that made the performance pressure even worse. -Why could I go into combat so much easier compared to just making a coin disappear in front of my family?-


    I shake off the silly feeling I¡¯m having and concentrate on the coin in my hand. The moment I think of the word ¡®vault¡¯. The coin also vanishes.


    ¡°Yay!¡± I call out, genuinely happy that I did it.


    ¡°Did you do it?¡± Sam turns around first.


    ¡°I think I did.¡± I give a nod.


    Then the others turn around as well.


    ¡°Good.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°Let¡¯s go and see if it worked.¡±


    We once again go down into the basement and right there we find our five coins sitting neatly, stacked on top of eachother, next to the treasure coffer.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Lise crouches down and looks at the coins.


    ¡°I was wondering one thing.¡± Sam speaks up. ¡°It¡¯s all good and well that we can get our money and treasures over here. But can we get them back out?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s a good point.¡± Hilda scratches her cheek. ¡°It would be a bit awkward to travel all the way back here to get some spending money¡­ although Amica can practically teleport it would still be¡­ inconvenient.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± My sister holds out her hand and closes her eyes. ¡°Purse.¡± She calls out and a leather pouch appears in her hand, filled, presumably, with coins from the coffer.


    ¡°Nice, a hidden skill, good job, babe.¡± Nikki calls out to her partner.


    ¡°Thanks, I try.¡± Lise opens her eyes again and gives her a wink. ¡°It even tells you the amount of money we have in our treasury. You just need to think about what currency you want the amount to be in.¡±


    ¡°Okay, now that problem¡¯s definitely solved.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°I guess with that we can finally go on our little shopping spree.¡±


    ¡°Hurray!¡± The group calls out all together.


    We decide to split up into two groups. Nikki and my sister go to look for some furniture and clothes, while Sam, Hilda and I first head to the market to get some spices and foodstuff before going to buy some furniture and decorations for ourselves.


    ¡°Won¡¯t we get into carrying issues if we want to buy big pieces of furniture?¡± Sam asks while we are walking towards the main market square.


    ¡°I assume we can pay people to come and deliver it at our mansion.¡± Hilda replies. ¡°Especially with machines like they have here, I don¡¯t doubt that they have delivery vehicles as well.¡±


    ¡°Speaking about which¡­ where is our walker?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Good question¡­¡± Hilda tilts her head. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s still parked where we left it? We should probably get someone to go and get it¡­. Before the poor thing gets rusty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be pretty sad.¡± Sam nods. ¡°It served us pretty well for the time we had it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± I agree. ¡°Let¡¯s give her a good wash when we get her back!¡±


    ¡°Wholesome as fuck, and I agree.¡± Sam laughs and gives me a quick kiss on my cheek.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll give her a good car wash when we get her back.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°But first, let¡¯s get some nice spices!¡±


    ¡°Spicy.¡± Sam winks.


    Both Hilda and I start laughing, soon followed by Sam herself.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 126: Ronald

    FieryKathy


    It doesn¡¯t take us terribly long to start encountering the first couple of shops and stalls that belong to the Dwarger capital¡¯s main square. There¡¯s still quite a lot of buzz going around. People buying all kinds of things here and there. Market sales people crying out their prices to gain people¡¯s attention. From the look of it, it was back to business as usual. Not a hint or a sign that the city had been besieged recently.


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s a spice stall.¡± Hilda lazily points towards a stall in front of us. The market vendor must¡¯ve seen that, because as we come closer she smiles at us.


    ¡°Interested in my spices, ladies?¡± The vendor signs to her entire stall. It¡¯s actually a pretty darn big stall with lots of different spices. Some that I recognize like garlic, ginger and chili but plenty others that I swear I¡¯ve not even seen pictures of.


    ¡°In the matter of fact we are, but it depends on the prices of course.¡± Hilda smiles as she joins the game called haggling.


    ¡°My prices are the fairest of them all.¡± The vendor shakes her finger around. ¡°Won¡¯t find any lower than these.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a coincidence, that¡¯s just what all the other vendors on this market are calling out.¡± Hilda gives the vendor a wink.


    ¡°A coincidence indeed.¡± The tricksy salesperson smirks. ¡°But not all of them know that they have the saviors of the city in front of them.¡±


    ¡°Oh ho? You seem to know something we don¡¯t?¡± Hilda¡¯s acting is great but by the smile on the vendor¡¯s face I can tell that she¡¯s not buying it.


    ¡°My brother fought on the wall that day and he told me a pink-haired cat-lady saved him and his friends. You might not realize that this city doesn¡¯t have many pink-haired catgirls.¡± She smiles at me.


    ¡°Well, I guess our cover is blown.¡± Hilda smiles back.


    ¡°Tell you what. I also heard from my other brother that you have received a mansion from the city as a thank-you from the council. If you make us your supplier for all things spice related, I¡¯d be offering you a seventy percent discount.¡±


    ¡°Seventy?¡± Sam scratches the top of her head. ¡°But how do you even make money off that?¡±


    ¡°I take it the ¡®but¡¯ is still to come.¡± Hilda halfly replies to Sam¡¯s question.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± The vendor smiles yet again. ¡°Obviously I¡¯m cutting off even more as a thank you for saving the city, but I also want to get a bit of publicity out of this all. And I¡¯d also like to ask you to buy your other food-related products from the guild I am associated with.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Hilda thinks for a second. ¡°Can we get similar deals with them?¡±


    ¡°Most probably. I can¡¯t guarantee seventy percent, but they¡¯ll most probably offer a pretty sizeable discount as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± Hilda looks the vendor up and down. ¡°Hmm, in other cases I¡¯d go around and look for better deals. But I like the variety your stall offers and the deal is pretty good indeed.¡±


    ¡°So, do we have a deal?¡± The vendor reaches out her hand.


    ¡°You do if you give us a list and the location of your guild partners.¡± Hilda waits a second to reach her hand out as well.


    ¡°I have something even better.¡± The vendor grins and suddenly ducks under her counter before popping up a couple of seconds later and she then pops a piece of paper in Sam¡¯s hand. ¡°We have flyers.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡± Hilda shakes her hand.


    After the deal, our small party buys a small bag of different spices. Most of them are the spices we all know, although Hilda also selected a couple that the vendor lady recommended. The food stalls that are connected to the same guild are also not that far away from each other so in a short amount of time we manage to buy pretty much all kinds of food we need and even some supply contracts on top of that.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the next stop?¡± Sam asks, munching on a piece of dried jerky before offering some to me. Which I gladly accept of course.


    ¡°Furniture and things like that.¡± Hilda quickly replies as Sam also gives her a piece. ¡°But definitely do call out if you see anything in one of the stalls you like. We have plenty of money.¡±


    Sadly for us and for the vendors, nothing really pulls our interest until Hilda stops at a showroom of a shop. ¡°Wow!¡±


    ¡°What do you see, Hilda?¡± I stop as Sam and I had started walking a little bit ahead of our fearless leader.


    ¡°Look, this store is full of clocks.¡±


    ¡°Clocks? What¡¯s so interesting about clocks.¡± Sam asks.


    Hilda just waves us over. ¡°Look at this and you¡¯ll see what I mean.¡±


    Sam and I come closer and look into the shop as well. In the showroom are multiple clocks displayed, some of them having glass panes in the front so you can very clearly see the engraved mechanisms inside of them.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Sam and I say at the same time.


    ¡°See, amazing isn¡¯t it?¡±


    We then hear the doorbell ringing as a very old Dwarger man steps out with his walking stick. He adjusts his monocle, which looks like some kind of telescope. ¡°Young ones, would you be interested in taking a closer look inside my shop?¡±


    Hilda looks at Sam and I, we give her a nod. ¡°Yes, Sir. We definitely would.¡±


    The very old man nods slowly and waits for us to meet him at the door. He then leads us inside.


    Inside the shop there are many more mechanisms of all sorts.


    ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t only sell clocks?¡± Hilda asks the man.


    ¡°Clocks sell very well¡­¡± The old man replies slowly. ¡°Some of my mechanisms don¡¯t pull in the people, because people do not know what it does. But everyone knows what a clock is, don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very true.¡± Sam replies as she kneels down next to a table. There¡¯s a little birdy sitting on top of it, with yellow and green feathers. ¡°Is this a mechanism too?¡±


    ¡°No, sweet girl, that¡¯s my pet, Ronald.¡± As soon as the man says this, the little birdy flies up, spooking Sam for just a sec, and then he lands on top of the old man¡¯s head. ¡°Ronald¡¯s a good boy.¡±


    ¡°I can see that.¡± Hilda chuckles, probably more at Sam¡¯s reaction than at the bird.


    ¡°You sell a bit of everything then?¡± I ask.


    ¡°That depends on what you mean with everything, dear girl.¡± The man chuckles in his fist. Ronald the birb just happily bobs along. ¡°Sorry, I am a bit pedantic at times. But I definitely do sell a lot.¡± The old Dwarger man leads us by another display, this one is entirely filled with Ronald look-alikes. This utterly confused Sam.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me these are all actual birds.¡±


    ¡°No, these are, in fact, mechanisms I have made. Back when I wanted to make Ronald the mascot of the shop, but sadly it never really caught on.¡±


    ¡°Because they don¡¯t fly?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°No, they do fly.¡± The old man stops next to the display case for a second. ¡°They just had a tendency to explode.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Sam backs away slightly from the display case.


    ¡°It was a minor thing and I¡¯ve fixed it since then¡­ but people still don¡¯t really trust it.¡±


    ¡°What do they cost?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Just one gold Dwargon.¡±


    I look at Hilda.


    ¡°If you want to buy it, buy it.¡± She smiles back.


    ¡°Are you sure Ami?¡± Sam asks, clearly more hesitant than I am.


    ¡°He said it¡¯s fine¡­¡± I look back at the Dwarger man.


    ¡°I have a 100% money-back guarantee when it explodes. I¡¯ll even go as far to say that I¡¯ll give you double the amount of money back.¡±


    Hilda gives me a nod. ¡°So, want to buy it, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Yes please.¡± I happily nod in return.


    Hilda hands the man a golden Dwargon from her pouch which the man gladly accepts and he then opens the display case.


    ¡°If you would, little lady.¡± He invites me to stand in front of the bird he takes out of the display case. When I do so he taps the head of the little birdy and its wings slowly start to clap. They speed up and speed up until suddenly all movements stop. A couple of seconds later the bird starts moving like any other bird would, looking around and then at me.


    ¡°What did it do?¡± Sam asks, her hand is on the hilt of her dagger that¡¯s strapped to her hip.


    ¡°It had to be calibrated to its new owner.¡± The Dwarger man calmly explains. The little bird flies up, and lands on my head. Just as Ronald had done before. It¡¯s surprisingly light for a bird whose insides are presumably made out of metal. It¡¯s little paws actually tickle me a little so I start to giggle.


    ¡°If you want to let it rest, just tap its head twice. To unpause it again, tap it twice once more. As for the other features, I¡¯ll let you explore them on your own time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit vague for a salesman, isn¡¯t it?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°It¡¯s part of the fun.¡± The old man laughs.


    ¡°Surprise mechanics, ey?¡± Hilda chuckles as well.


    -As long as my birdy doesn¡¯t explode I¡¯m more than happy with it.-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 127: Birdy

    FieryKathy


    We leave the store about an hour later, some more gold lighter but definitely not to write home about. My birdy friend is happily flying around my head while Sam still keeps a little bit of a distance from it.


    ¡°Uh¡­ are you happy with what you bought, Hilda?¡± Sam asks after dodging the bird while scooching over to the other side of me.


    ¡°Happy? Ecstatic would describe my feelings a lot better. One of those clocks will look splendid in my room.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you are going to put it in your room?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Where else?¡± Hilda smiles at me. ¡°We already have clocks in the lounges. There¡¯s a reason why I asked for a silent running clock.¡±


    ¡°So you are going for a steampunk vibe in your room then?¡± Sam continues.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I wouldn¡¯t say that necessarily but I guess that would fit as well.¡± Hilda scratches her chin. ¡°But I just want to make it comfy and a nice place to read up if I want to be by myself, or if y¡¯all want to skip a play session and I¡¯m left alone.¡±


    ¡°So you want to play the game¡­ to laze around?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Hilda chuckles. ¡°Why not right? If we are in-game we have a lot more time to laze around in. So if I¡¯m feeling down from work I can take an extended lazy stay here. No obligations to do anything.¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t really thought about that.¡± I scratch my cheek.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve not had much time to laze around yet. It¡¯s been almost constant traveling and adventuring. I¡¯m not counting the days of recuperation of course.¡±


    ¡°I guess what we could do¡­¡± Sam dodges my birdy friend once again. ¡°W-what we could do is travel to some kind of remote tropical beach with Ami, so Ami has the spot in her mind. And then when we want to go on a holiday, just let her teleport us there. If my very beautiful girlfriend agrees.¡±


    I giggle.


    ¡°That¡¯s genuinely a brilliant idea, Sam.¡± Hilda gives her a nod. ¡°We could even build us some get-away resort. I mean¡­ I already know the basics of woodworking.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be great!¡± I add to the conversation as well. ¡°But before we continue dreaming, shouldn¡¯t we go buy some furniture for the house we already have?¡±


    ¡°Good point, Ami, good point.¡± Hilda laughs just as the birdy flies past her as well. ¡°By the way, if I might ask, what are you going to name your new pet?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­. Birdy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a unique name.¡± Hilda chuckles once again.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a cute name though.¡± I pout.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to argue with that.¡± Sam says. ¡°Although everything my girlfriend names is cute so I am not the most unbiased person here.¡±


    ¡°Birdy it is then.¡± Hilda gives me a head pat. ¡°Let¡¯s hope your stay in our party will be long and prosperous for the mechanical-bird kind.¡±


    Birdy chirps when it notices Hilda is talking to it and it lands on her head for a moment before lifting back up again and flying back over to me.


    We spend the rest of the afternoon walking around the merchant district to buy all kinds of furniture, from beds to closets and bookcases. From what I can tell Hilda is going for a collection of all kinds of different styles for her room, just anything she finds aesthetically pleasing. While Sam and I try to stay around approximately the same style which kinda means just a particular kind of wood Sam and I both found appealing. We¡¯d set our delivery date for in about a week as we¡¯d have to go back to our world after this evening.


    ¡°Are both of you happy with your purchases?¡±


    I look at Sam and she gives me a nod after which I give a nod to Hilda as well. ¡°Yep. Happy as can be.¡±


    ¡°Good, ready to go back home then?¡± The sun is getting pretty low already but we still have quite some time left before sunset.


    ¡°Yep, let¡¯s go.¡± Suddenly Sam picks me off my feet and starts to princess cary me.


    ¡°Waaaaaah! Saaaam! What are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, just felt like carrying my cherished treasure back home.¡± She gives me a confident smile and winks.


    I blush. ¡°O-okay then.¡±


    Hilda just laughs at our little act of cute wholesomeness while Birdy just keeps flying around me. It even manages to land on Sam¡¯s head a couple of times since she¡¯d gotten used to be around it.


    Once we get back to the mansion the three of us decide to go to the kitchen to get a couple of snacks. Hilda cuts up some potatoes in very thin slices to make some home-made potato chips with the spices we¡¯d acquired earlier today.


    ¡°¡®Kay, girls, don¡¯t blame me if this turns out like garbage, it¡¯s the first time I do this.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll turn out just fine!¡± I look at Hilda while she prepares the spices.


    ¡°Hmmm. Do I smell frying oil?¡± My sister¡¯s voice comes from the room next-door. ¡°Ah, I was right.¡± She walks in with a big smile on her face. ¡°Nikki and I got some meat if you¡¯d all want to eat some vol-au-vent today.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°How did the furniture hunting go?¡±


    In the meantime Nikki also joins us in the kitchen and puts some more potatoes on the counter, presumably to make them into fries. ¡°It went¡­ okay¡­¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very convincing?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Well, one of us, who will not be named, was being really difficult about certain furniture items.¡± Nikki replies, clearly rolling her eyes at my sister. ¡°But luckily in the end we managed to reach a consensus.¡±


    ¡°What piece of furniture were you not agreeing upon?¡± Hilda takes her eyes off the oil for a second to look at the other two lovebirds.


    ¡°A flower pot.¡± ¨¦lise quickly replies, clearly not interested in starting up the discussion again.


    ¡°A flower pot¡­?¡±


    ¡°The color of the flowers that were drawn on the flower pot to be exact.¡± Nikki states.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    ¡°It was a stupid discussion, let¡¯s just go on with our lives and enjoy some good food instead.¡± Lise tries to blow away the discussion and luckily for her Nikki decides to do the same. ¡°That being said¡­ What''s up with the bird?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Birdy, Ami¡¯s new mechanical pet.¡±


    ¡°Wow, really? Mechanical? That¡¯s pretty radical.¡±


    Hilda snorts. ¡°Radical? Now that¡¯s a word that belongs in the history books.¡±


    ¡°I needed something that rhymed, okay?¡± My sister starts laughing as well. And with that, the comedic tune for the evening was set.


    The chips Hilda ends up making are actually pretty good. They don¡¯t compare at all to what you would buy in a supermarket or in a nightstore but I also wouldn¡¯t say the comparison is bad. They are just so different.


    With our snack done and safely stored in our bellies, my sister and Nikki start working on the fries and the vol-au-vent. Sam, Hilda and I keep ourselves occupied by first making a fresh salad and dressing the table, and after that¡¯s done, chilling in the dining room to wait for the food.


    ¡°What are you going to do tomorrow at work, Hilda?¡± Sam asks to kill the time a little.


    ¡°Good question.¡± Hilda leans back in her chair and looks up at the ceiling. ¡°If I recall correctly we were going to test this game where you get a little village and you can grow it and stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°Uhm, that sounds like a lot of games, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, definitely, a unique game idea it definitely isn¡¯t, but it kinda does depend on the execution whether it¡¯ll be good or not.¡±


    ¡°I guess it does.¡± Sam mimics Hilda and leans back in her chair too, staring at the ceiling as well. ¡°But if you are going to test a game called ¡®cuddle Ami simulator¡¯, hire me as a temp, okay,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely propose it to my boss.¡± Hilda chuckles.


    In the meantime I¡¯m poutin¡¯. ¡°Why would you want a game when you can have the real thing right now?¡±


    ¡°But what if I need to go and play an international basketball game, Ami? How am I supposed to survive without my cuddles?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just go along with you! We can cuddle all the time!¡±


    ¡°But what about your own job?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just become a traveling goddess slash mangaka who follows my amazing girlfriend around on world trips.¡±


    ¡°That does actually sound pretty good.¡± Sam looks back down and smiles at me.


    ¡°So you are going to go for sports completely, Sam?¡± Hilda then asks in return.


    ¡°Nah, not really.¡± Sam turns her attention back to Hilda. ¡°I obviously want to continue playing basketball but for my main thing I¡¯d probably want to do kinesiotherapy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I have a friend who does that, she earns a lot of money, definitely enough for several overseas holidays per year.¡±


    ¡°So I can still see my gorgeous girlfriend in a bikini by some tropical pool. Gotcha.¡±


    ¡°That makes two of us.¡± I stick out my tongue at my girlfriend while Hilda just starts chuckling.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 128: Vol-Au-Vent

    FieryKathy


    Our dinner, prepared by my lovely sister and her great partner Nikki, was probably the highlight of the evening. Everything was just perfect, from the temperature to the amount of newly acquired salt on the fries, it was just splendid.


    ¡°How did you prepare this?¡± Hilda asks, taking a bite from one of the crunchy fries.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trade secret, Hilda, my friend.¡± Lise laughs with a smug look on her face.


    Nikki shakes her head in disapproval. ¡°She didn¡¯t really do much. I had some points left from leveling and I decided to put them into cooking. That combined with the tons of Ami synergies we apparently collected so now I¡¯m supposedly a ¡®cook of the divine¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Are you serious?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yep, dead serious.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it transfers to real life as well, like those special abilities we got?¡± Hilda asks as well.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Nikki taps the table with her index finger while she¡¯s thinking. ¡°This skill mainly involves me suddenly knowing a lot about cooking¡­ so I suppose it could transfer to real life as well.¡±


    ¡°That means take-out will no-longer be necessary.¡± My sister smiles but that smile quickly disappears when she sees Nikki glaring at her.


    ¡°If you think I¡¯ll be cooking all the time, you are sorely mistaken, babe.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I was just joking.¡± ¨¦lise quickly backs down as not to unleash the wrath of Nikki Heat.


    The rest of us just chuckle at their little fight and continue eating the delicious food that was served to us.


    After dinner we all go to our own rooms as it¡¯s already quite late and it¡¯s getting time to log out of the ¡®game¡¯ and return to ¡®real life¡¯. Back in our bed Sam almost immediately turns me into the little spoon as she embraces me with her strong arms.


    ¡°Is it okay if I stay on the other side for a bit longer than just one day?¡± Sam asks as I start purring against her.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask, turning my head to look over my shoulder.


    ¡°Well¡­ I kinda want to spend a bit more time in our own world. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I like this place a lot and the adventure is fun. But I do miss my own body.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± I look back in front of me and give her a nod.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do so as well.¡± Sam clarifies. ¡°We¡¯d both wake up at the same time anyway¡­ Damn, that¡¯s still weird to think about¡­ but you know what I mean, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I do.¡± I nod once more. Apparently my ears tickled Sam a bit as she twitched a little as my ear touched her neck. ¡°But I think I¡¯ll take a bit of a break too. This will give Hilda some alone time like she was talking about as well. It might also be better to get away from this for some time too. Plus, I would miss you a lot if I were here without you.¡±


    ¡°Awwhhh.¡± Sam awhs and squishes me into a big hug. ¡°Come here you ginormous cutiepie.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    Sam then proceeds to kiss me on the top of my head. It¡¯s at that point that she starts heavily purring herself.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to have that body for a couple of days? I kinda like it.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s already easy enough to know when I like you even without purring.¡± She gives me yet another kiss.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I quickly turn around to give my beautiful girlfriend a smooch of my own.


    We then continue smooching each other for quite a while, so long that we both get a message that our D3u5XMachina is about to run out of battery power.


    ¡°Well, I guess that means our time is up. See you on the other side sweetie.¡± Sam gives me one final kiss.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right behind you.¡± I give her a final kiss back as well and then close my eyes. And in a flash I feel the world shift around me. Since I can feel Sam moving already together with a ball of warm fluff on my chest it only confirms that I¡¯m back in my own world.


    ¡°Pocky has really made herself at home on your boobs, Ami.¡± I can hear Sam chuckle as i try to take the D3u5XMachina off my head. ¡°Wait, let me help you with that.¡± She then helps me take it off and puts it on my bedside table. It¡¯s then that I can see that Mochi has taken up a spot next to Sam, seemingly undisturbed by Sam¡¯s moving around.


    ¡°Good morning you two.¡± I smile and start petting Pocky and Mochi. They both say hi back with a short mewl.


    ¡°And a good morning from me too.¡± Sam smiles and does the same thing. Pocky gets up from my chest and walks over, closer to Sam, so she can pet her more easily. ¡°Oh, you little enjoyer, aren¡¯t ya?¡±


    I laugh and watch how Mochi comes closer to Sam as well. She¡¯s currently being flooded by cats and it¡¯s incredibly amusing. This lasts until my phone, which is also on my bedside table, starts vibrating, sending Mochi and Pocky off the bed and into play-mode as they start wrestling with each other.


    ¡°Who could it be?¡± Sam asks, curious about who¡¯s calling me.


    ¡°Let me look.¡± I take my phone and with a quick glance I can tell it¡¯s Carol who¡¯s calling me. I don¡¯t waste anymore time and pick up my phone. ¡°Carol?¡±


    ¡°Hey Ami.¡± Carol¡¯s voice chirps over the line. She sounds very happy.


    ¡°You sound happy.¡± I giggle. ¡°Oh, right, you had that date with Max didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Can you put her on speaker? I want to hear this too.¡± Sam prods my side, which almost makes me drop my phone.


    I glare at her for a second before replying. ¡°I¡¯ll ask¡­¡± I then put my attention back to my friend on the other side of the line. ¡°Hey Carol, is it fine if I put my phone on speaker so Sam can hear this too?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Carol replies. ¡°I¡¯ve been having my phone on speaker as well so Max can listen in too.¡±


    I put my phone on speaker while I look slightly confused. ¡°Max is there?¡±


    ¡°Max?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yo, Sam, Ami.¡± I can hear Max¡¯s voice now as well.


    ¡°Max ended up asking if I wanted to stay over and play together at her place¡­ so I did.¡± Carol sounds slightly shy.


    ¡°Ho ho ho.¡± Sam teases her a bit but my prod into her thigh stops that short in its tracks.


    ¡°Oh.¡± I vocalize. ¡°So, how did everything go?¡±


    ¡°The world is amazing.¡± Max quickly replies. ¡°It was quite breathtaking to be honest. The forests are so huge and full of life.¡± That sure does sound like the first impression I had, minus the sudden body difference.


    ¡°It was very fun.¡± I can imagine Carol nodding. ¡°We¡¯ve done a lot. But Ami¡­ I also caught some rumours about some pink-haired Goddess and how she¡¯d recently defeated an entire army and some kind of ghost monster. Would you happen to know something about that?¡±


    ¡°You probably know the answer to that¡­¡±


    Carol chuckles. ¡°I want to hear the entire story during break at uni, okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try¡­¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t leave any details out!¡±


    ¡°Mhmmm¡­..¡±


    ¡°Speaking about details¡­¡± Sam saves me from further embarrassment. ¡°Didn¡¯t you play the game to find out something about yourself?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ yeah¡­ that¡¯s why I¡¯m calling.¡±


    ¡°Now she¡¯s getting all shy because she doesn¡¯t want to say what she feels.¡± Max clarifies.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ embarrassing¡­ okay?¡± Carol replies.


    ¡°And you were so full of confidence five minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Max.¡± I can hear the pomf of a pillow through the phone. I assume Max just got pelted by one.


    ¡°What do you want to say?¡± I ask Carol in an even friendlier tone than I normally do.


    She doesn¡¯t immediately reply but I just give her some time so she can formulate what she wants to say. It takes two minutes for her to reply, her voice¡¯s volume quite a bit lower than we are used to. ¡°I think I want to take your offer¡­¡±


    ¡°That being¡­?¡± I need to make sure that I don¡¯t misunderstand my friend.


    ¡°I want to be a catgirl as well¡­¡± Her volume drops even lower.


    Sam just stays silent while I do the talking. ¡°Are you sure about this? It¡¯s a big change.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m 150% sure, Ami.¡± Her voice gains a bit of volume again, now also with conviction. ¡°When I got into the world in my new body, everything just felt so much better. It¡¯s a bit hard to describe.¡±


    ¡°No, I think I¡¯m pretty sure I know what you are talking about.¡± I smile and gently reply.


    ¡°And when Max¡­ well¡­ let¡¯s just say that it feels like fate that I¡¯ve gotten this opportunity thanks to you.¡±


    ¡°I just want to make sure of something before we continue. You want to continue looking like yourself, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but just with the¡­ you know¡­ cat parts¡­¡± Yeah, Carol¡¯s definitely blushing.


    ¡°She just copied herself in the game as she looks in real life, just to make sure about that.¡± Max comments again after her long period of silence. It sounds like Max is completely behind Carol¡¯s decision.


    ¡°Alright. In that case I¡¯ll contact Veanya about it and tell her what you decided.¡± I give a nod, even though they can¡¯t really see that.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Carol says.


    ¡°Oh, one more thing.¡± Max stops us from ending the conversation. ¡°Carol and I are now officially girlfriends by the way. Just wanted to let you guys know.¡±


    ¡°That was pretty apparent already, Max.¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°Well, but now it¡¯s officially official!¡± Max laughs back.


    -Thinking about it, we are probably the first people who they¡¯ve mentioned this too¡­ Apart from Hailey maybe¡­-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 129: Phonecall

    FieryKathy


    Carol and Max hang up the phone a little bit later as they still have to prepare their stuff before uni which is actually something Sam and I should start to do as well.


    ¡°I am totally not surprised that¡¯s going to happen.¡± Sam laughs as I help her put her leg on.


    ¡°Is anyone truly going to be surprised about that?¡± I reply back.


    ¡°Probably not, no.¡± With a click Sam¡¯s leg locks in place. ¡°Are you going to call Veanya?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do so when we are ready for uni. She¡¯s a Goddess, she¡¯s got plenty of time, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ you are a Goddess and you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that because I¡¯m more like an¡­ intern of some kind?¡±


    ¡°Ami the Intern Goddess? Sounds like some kind of manga doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me new ideas.¡± I pout. ¡°I still need to finish the one I was working on for uni first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you a piece of paper so you can write it down.¡± Sam gives me a wink as she pulls her shirt off. ¡°But first, can you give me a sports bra from my bag?¡±


    Her boobs are in full sight and my brain malfunctions a little bit. It¡¯s definitely not the first time I¡¯m seeing them but every time I do¡­ I still get the blushies¡­


    Sam laughs. She must¡¯ve planned this all along. ¡°Amiii, stop staring at my tits.¡±


    ¡°Whose fault is that!?¡± I fake some anger and quickly turn around to look through her bag.


    Sam chuckles once more.


    ¡°Here¡¯s yer stupid bra, ya idiot.¡± I throw her sports bra in her face.


    My girlfriend just continues laughing. She definitely has the giggles now. ¡°Haha. And where did that accent suddenly come from?¡±


    ¡°Grrrr.¡± I pout some more and stare at the opposite wall for a bit.


    ¡°Awh, don¡¯t be angy, little kitten, or I¡¯ll get very, very sad.¡± Sam, now clothed in her sports bra, hugs me from behind.


    ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive you.¡± I hmph.


    ¡°Oh? And after I¡¯ve given you some kissies?¡± She kisses my cheek a couple of times.


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She turns my shoulders a little bit and bends slightly over so she can look at my face. ¡°After another kiss?¡± She then kisses me on the lips. Of course I let her.


    ¡°Okay, but next time will not go over that easily!¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± She chuckles.


    We both get dressed and move towards the living room with bags in hand. Nikki and my sister haven¡¯t arrived yet so Sam and I decide to give the cats their food already. This time they chose duck for breakfast. Such a luxury.


    ¡°I¡¯ll cook up some eggs with bacon, you can call Veanya in the meantime.¡± Sam gives me yet another kiss on my forehead. ¡°I¡¯ll make some for Nikki and ¨¦lise too.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I smile and sit down at the dinner table with my phone in hand. With Veanya behind a speed dial it doesn¡¯t take long for me to get a hold of her.


    ¡°Hey, Amicia. How are you doing?¡± She greets me casually.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty good, thanks. How are you?¡±


    ¡°Just saved a couple of guys from getting hit by a truck and sent to another world. So I guess you could say I¡¯m doing pretty well. Any specific reason why you¡¯re calling?¡±


    ¡°Well, you asked me to call you after I got an answer from my friend, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, please do tell.¡±


    I explain the situation to Veanya while Sam is struggling a bit with one of the eggshells, almost dropping it on the floor by accident.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go make some final preparations with Gamma then.¡± Veanya replies after the entire explanation.


    ¡°How long will that take?¡±


    ¡°Not too long I assume. A couple of days at most.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll relay the message.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll contact you once we are done. But now I need to go and do something else.¡±


    ¡°Need to save some more people?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just hungry, I haven¡¯t eaten since yesterday evening. See you later, Amicia.¡±


    ¡°Uh, what, why?¡± Before she can explain she just hangs up on me. She must be really hungry.


    ¡°Speaking about hungry¡­ Sam, how¡¯s the food going?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s almost done.¡± She smiles back at me with a big grin. ¡°There might be a bit of egg shell in there somewhere though¡­ for some extra crunch.¡±


    I giggle. ¡°I thought you were good at cooking?¡±


    ¡°That was just one particularly annoying egg, okay?¡± She laughs as she turns the heat off from the stove.


    ¡°Ah, that smells delicious.¡± My sister walks in right on time. Nikki walking in while yawning, right behind her.


    We all can have our breakfast together with some good milk for me and orange juice for the others. While we are eating Sam and I explain what had just transpired and even they weren¡¯t terribly surprised at the outcome.


    ¡°Would you want to be a vampire if you could, Nikki?¡± Sam asks. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Ami could make that happen as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think I would.¡± She replies and then eats a small piece of bacon. ¡°I like me as I am now. And if I need a bit of a switch up I can just go into Turn of Destiny.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± Sam nods and eats some egg.


    ¡°I assume she¡¯ll get a choker like yours as well, Ami.¡± Lise asks, drinking from her orange juice.


    ¡°I think so. I actually didn¡¯t ask. You¡¯d think they¡¯d have thought about that, right?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? This is Veanya and Gamma we are talking about.¡± My sister looks at me sceptically.


    ¡°Veanya gave me my choker, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s this old saying that a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like Veanya that much, ¨¦lise?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like her, she¡¯s helped my sister a lot after all¡­ It¡¯s just that whenever I¡¯ve met her, she hasn¡¯t really given me the impression of being very competent, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ fair.¡± I chuckle. Veanya does not always come across like an omnipotent Goddess. But at least she still has more ¡®class¡¯ than Gamma does.


    ¡°The only thing I¡¯m saying is that you should probably mention it once or twice to them, just to make sure.¡± My sister clarifies herself.


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely do so.¡±


    Sam and I quickly finish our meals as our deadline to leave the apartment for uni approaches. Before we get up from the dinner table we do also mention that the both of us are going to take a small break from ToD, at least for the day.


    ¡°Alright, I think Nikki and I will still log in to decorate our house a bit and just hang around.¡±


    Nikki gives my sister a nod. ¡°Yes, and that way you won¡¯t hear us arguing about it either.¡±


    ¡°Unless we don¡¯t manage to figure it out.¡±


    ¡°We have three days for that, that should be enough, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Eeeeeeh.¡± Lise shrugs.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡± Sam laughs as she puts on her shoes.


    ¡°By the way, before you two leave. What would you like to eat today?¡± My sister asks just as I want to open the door, choker already around my neck.


    ¡°Uhhh¡­. good question.¡± Sam scratches the back of her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± I quickly shake my head as well. ¡°There¡¯s so much good food out there, it¡¯s hard to decide.¡±


    ¡°How about I get us some quality shrimp croquettes from the fish store nearby?¡± Nikki proposes. ¡°I heard from some neighbors that they are really really good. We can do that with some fries, potentially a couple of fried snacks beforehand and some accompanying salad.¡±


    ¡°That sounds very good.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°I agree.¡± I do so as well.


    ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll go buy some salad after work together with a couple of snacks while you go to the fish store?¡± Lise turns herself towards her partner.


    ¡°Yep, let¡¯s do that. Maybe I¡¯ll get our cats some good fish as well.¡± Nikki¡¯s clearly looking at me when she says that. But you don¡¯t hear me complaining when there¡¯s fish to be had.


    Sam just giggles and puts her hand on mine to open the door. ¡°We¡¯ll be off then. See you this evening.¡±


    ¡°See ya.¡± Nikki and my sister wave us off as we leave.


    ¡°Do you have a lot of courses today, Ami?¡± Sam asks when we arrive at the tram station. The info board says the next tram will arrive in five minutes.


    ¡°No, not really. We have one from nine to twelve and from two-thirty to four.¡±


    ¡°Pretty big gap there.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°But we¡¯ll spend it by teasing Carol so it¡¯ll probably go by fast. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Sports from nine to twelve and anatomy from one to four.¡± She replies. ¡°I¡¯m happy I don¡¯t have any lessons after four this year.¡±


    ¡°Did you used to get those?¡±


    ¡°Last year was packed with those. It¡¯s annoying to finish uni at seven.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine.¡±


    ¡°And now that I have a cute catgirl girlfriend it would even be more annoying.¡± She gives me a kiss. ¡°I want to spend my entire evenings with you rather than in class.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± I kiss her back.


    We are so enthralled by one another that we almost miss our tram¡­


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 130: Bet

    FieryKathy


    We hop on the tram just in time and make our way to uni where we find Hailey, Carol and Max already chatting near the tram stop. Max and Carol looking incredibly lovey-dovey with Max¡¯s arm draped over Carol¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m being promoted from a third wheel to a fifth wheel?¡± Hailey comments with a smile as she¡¯s the first one who sees us arriving.


    ¡°Good morning, Hailey.¡± I walk over to my friend and give her a hug.


    ¡°In a huggy mood today?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Ami is always in a huggy mood.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    I give Carol and Max a hug too while Sam just waves and fist-bumps Max.


    ¡°I suppose you already know about Carol?¡± Sam asks Hailey.


    ¡°Yes, she called me as well.¡± Hailey returns a nod. ¡°That means the only thing that¡¯s left is to practically arrange this?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod as well after I rejoin Sam at her side. ¡°I already called Veanya about it. She is going to make the last arrangements. It¡¯ll take a couple of days at most.¡±


    Carol sighs after I say this.


    ¡°Something wrong? If you are having second thoughts, you should definitely say something.¡± Max prods her girlfriend¡¯s arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s¡­ fast¡­ you know?¡±


    ¡°Want some more time?¡± I ask. ¡°That won¡¯t be an issue at all.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m fine with it, really. There¡¯s not been many things I¡¯ve been more sure about in my entire life.¡± Carol does show quite a lot of confidence when she says that, which makes her easy to believe.


    ¡°So sure, huh? I wonder how good that date went if you are that sure.¡± Hailey giggles which makes Carol blush.


    ¡°If you want to, I can tell you everything about it.¡± Max gives us a wink.


    ¡°P-please, not yet.¡± Carol puts her hand over Max¡¯s mouth. ¡°It¡¯s still a bit too embarrassing right now¡­.¡±


    Max slowly takes Carol¡¯s hand away and smiles. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll tell the tale when you are ready then.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Carol gives Max a quick kiss on her cheek, which makes Max blush this time. It looks like she¡¯s not completely used to public displays of affection yet either. Or at least, not the kissy kind.


    Sam then throws her sports bag into Max¡¯s arms with quite a thud.


    ¡°Hmpf. What¡¯s that for?¡± Max looks a bit shocked.


    ¡°We kinda need to go now and you said you¡¯d carry my bag today if you lost that bet.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, I did that, didn¡¯t I? Do I really have to carry it the entire day?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what the bet said.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ What bet are we talking about?¡± I look inquisitively at my girlfriend.


    ¡°It was about something we did in the locker room after the game on Saturday, nothing important, sweetie.¡± She smiles back.


    ¡°Sam, that sounds even more suspicious¡­¡± I frown.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Amicia, really.¡± Max pats me on the shoulder after which she takes up her own sports bag as well. ¡°We just did a sit-up and push-up competition in the locker room after our game as some girls from our team challenged us to it.¡±


    ¡°One thing led to another, it was only Max and I left, and you know how competitive we are.¡± Sam rubs the back of her head.


    ¡°The person who fails first was going to carry the bags of the victor for a day, and here we are.¡± Max explains.


    ¡°Ahhh.¡± I give an understanding nod.


    ¡°Wait, wait.¡± Hailey stops the conversation. ¡°But you didn¡¯t know you two were going to be left in the end, right?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Sam shakes her head.


    ¡°And you didn¡¯t stop the competition mid-way to bet?¡±


    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t.¡± Max shakes her head as well.


    ¡°So that means, both of you made the bet whilst doing the sit-ups and push-ups?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Sam nods.


    Hailey looks at our two athletic works of wonder with open eyes and a half-open mouth. ¡°That¡¯s incredibly impressive.¡±


    ¡°Sadly, they are both already occupied.¡± Carol giggles.


    Hailey sticks out her tongue to her friend who just continues giggling.


    ¡°Anyhow, we should be off now, still need to get changed and all that. See you at noon?¡± Sam leans over to kiss me. Obviously I oblige.


    ¡°Yes, see you. I¡¯ll text you to say where we are at.¡± I smile and give her another kiss after that.


    ¡°¡®Kay.¡±


    Max gives Carol a kiss too before the two sportsy friends make their way over to the gymnasium.


    ¡°We should go too so I can sit down for a bit.¡± Hailey says.


    ¡°How so?¡± Carol asks.


    ¡°I got tired just by hearing them speak about their athletic overperformance.¡± Hailey laughs.


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± Carol chuckles while I just giggle along.


    When we get to the classroom, we just do some casual chit chat until the lesson starts.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep at all with this weather.¡± Hailey laments as she slumps on top of the table. ¡°Why is it suddenly this hot, it¡¯s November already. Climate, please.¡±


    ¡°Are you bad with heat, Hailey?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Bad is an understatement. I start melting when it¡¯s above 22¡ãC and I prefer the nights quite a bit colder.¡±


    ¡°You should get yourself one of those FDVR consoles as well. That way you don¡¯t need to worry about any of that.¡± Carol replies while sipping on a juice box she brought along.


    Hailey turns her head to the side to look at Carol. She looks pretty surprised at that suggestion. ¡°I actually hadn¡¯t thought about it that way.¡± She then turns to me. ¡°Do you know if there are any arctic exploration games on that console?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­. Now you are asking me something¡­¡± I scratched my cheek. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, but I can ask Hilda to see if she knows.¡± I take out my phone and quickly start typing up a message to our addon family member.


    ¡°If there is one, are you going to play a catgirl in it?¡± Carol asks.


    ¡°Why would I play a catgirl?¡± Hailey turns her head once more.


    ¡°I mean¡­ it¡¯s fun¡­¡± Carol shyly scratches the back of her head. ¡°Your tail might keep you a bit warmer?¡±


    ¡°But cats very much prefer heat, don¡¯t they? Wouldn¡¯t that just make you feel like it¡¯s way too cold?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± This time Carol doesn¡¯t know how to reply to Hailey¡¯s question. ¡°Ami, willing to back me up on this one?¡±


    ¡°Just a second.¡± I finish typing the message to Hilda, with an extra question tagged onto it, asking if you are or are not able to play catgirls if such a game actually exists. ¡°And¡­ sent. You were asking?¡±


    Hailey asks her question again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve not really felt colder since becoming a catgirl.¡± I shake my head. ¡°But I do love snuggling a lot more than I did. Especially in bed with Sam. She¡¯s really warm.¡±


    Hailey snorts. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s your cat-part speaking or the ¡®I-love-Sam¡¯-part. But it¡¯s adorable nonetheless.¡°


    My phone then starts vibrating. It¡¯s a message from Hilda. ¡°Oh, that was fast.¡±


    ¡°What does she say?¡± Hailey leans over to read the message along with me.


    ¡°She says there are a couple but most of them aren¡¯t really good. Apart from Turn of Destiny there¡¯s only one other game that focuses on exploration that does it decently well. So if you don¡¯t want the RPG elements you should go for that.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡±


    ¡°Exploar.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Now I just need to find one of those consoles to try it out then.¡±


    My phone then vibrates again, the message makes me chuckle.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Carol tilts her head at me.


    ¡°And the answer is yes, there are in fact cat girls too.¡±


    Hailey sighs while Carol and I giggle a bit.


    As the classroom fills up a bit more we decide to speak about non-catgirl related things, just so we don¡¯t draw some weird gazes to the three of us. When the professor then finally arrives a couple of minutes later, the lesson quickly starts.


    Most of the class is about fiscality, especially the fiscality that pertains to artists. Not a terribly interesting subject, as a couple of classmates prove as they clearly are dozing off halfway, but incredibly important if you want to pursue a career in art. The Professor also explains that she understands it¡¯s not one of the most interesting classes ever but that former students have always complained that they really didn¡¯t know how to do their taxes after leaving uni, and now we don¡¯t have that excuse anymore.


    Luckily the last part of the class is reserved for some more energetic matter, mostly on the professor''s own initiative. To wake us up again she¡¯s made a small quiz about art and pop culture of fifteen questions. The winning group of three students get a CD from the professor¡¯s own band.


    Hailey, Carol and I sadly grab second place as we all flub an incredibly easy question about Machinerello.


    ¡°Ah shit, why did we answer that? I KNEW it was 1512 and not 1521.¡± Carol pinches the bridge of her nose.


    ¡°We just turned the numbers around. It¡¯s not that big of a mistake.¡± Hailey replies, but her face betrays that she¡¯s also pretty disappointed in herself.


    ¡°Urgh.¡± Carol puts her head on the table. ¡°I¡¯ll never make this mistake again. Bloody numbers.¡±


    -Although losing is never fun, since it is now lunchtime, my mind is more set on a smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese sandwich than on the loss of a CD.-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 131: Paste

    FieryKathy


    Since the lesson had stopped a little bit earlier today, it¡¯s only 11:40 when we leave the lecture room behind.


    ¡°Where do you want to go eat lunch, Ami?¡± Carol asks as we are walking to the cafetaria to get us our sandwiches.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t really have a preference. We can always go back to the top floor to stare out of the windows again.¡±


    ¡°What about a change of scenery?¡± Hailey proposes.


    ¡°Oh? Please enlighten us.¡± Carol smiles.


    ¡°We can go and sit by the fountain on the opposite side of the campus. We¡¯ve not been there before, have we?¡±


    ¡°That sounds good.¡± Carol nods. ¡°What do you think, Ami?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go. It¡¯s pretty warm so sitting outside will be pretty fun.¡± I already take out my phone to send a message to Sam where we are going to go.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Hailey smiles.


    We get our sandwiches and because most breaks hadn¡¯t started yet we were among the first ones there, which meant we didn¡¯t have to wait in line at all. After which we head to the spot designated by Hailey. When we get there, to our surprise, Sam and Max are already waiting for us. Sam¡¯s holding a see-through box of salad while Max holds a cardboard box out of which she¡¯s already munching on some noodles.


    ¡°How did you get here that fast?¡± Carol asks as she walks up to Max.


    ¡°Our lesson was already finished when Sam got Ami¡¯s message. We were actually in the area already so it didn¡¯t take us long to get here.¡± Max replies.


    ¡°Where did you get the box o¡¯ noodles?¡± Carol continues her interrogation.


    ¡°In that kiosk over there.¡± Max points through the park towards a small wooden building in the distance.


    ¡°Is that where you got your salad too, Sam?¡± I ask my girlfriend once I get close to her as well. She immediately gives me a big hug and a kiss.


    ¡°Yeah. Their salads are better than the ones at the cafeteria.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I look at the box of salad.


    ¡°You can have a taste if you want to.¡±


    ¡°But you won¡¯t have enough then. It¡¯s so little already.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Amicia.¡± Max replies. ¡°Sam has already eaten some nutritional paste earlier just after our lesson.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± My girlfriend smiles and opens the box for me, handing me a bamboo fork.


    ¡°Nutritional paste?¡± Hailey tilts her head. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound tasty at all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not good but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that bad either. The fruity ones taste a lot better than the ¡®savory¡¯ ones at least.¡± Max laughs.


    ¡°Is it that bad?¡± I look my girlfriend in the eyes.


    ¡°You would definitely not like it.¡± She smiles and gives me a kiss on my forehead. ¡°I got a baggy left if you want to taste it though.¡± She hands over the box of salad to me so she can grab something out of her bag. She fishes out a squeezable tube, about one centimeter wide and ten centimeters long. The packaging is incredibly bland, just adorned with some small lettered text and a couple of drawings of purple grapes. The hair on my back already starts to stand up straight as if my body is warning me of imminent danger.


    ¡°I¡¯ve not even opened it yet and you are already making a face as if someone died. You¡¯re not going to start hissing at it, right?¡± Sam chuckles and quickly puts away the tube again.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t show that in my neighborhood again.¡± I frown at the tube containing pure evilness.


    ¡°You do know you slept pretty much next to the bag, don¡¯t you?¡± Sam laughs and scratches me behind my invisible ears.


    ¡°As long as I can¡¯t see it I can pretend it¡¯s not there! It¡¯s fine!¡±


    ¡°Sam, you should probably put those things in a safe, just to be safe.¡± Max jokes as well. ¡°Otherwise your girlfriend won¡¯t be at ease anymore.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± She laughs and then urges me to take a bite from her salad.


    As I want to forget the tube experience as fast as humanly possible, I prick some of the salad on the fork and put it in my mouth. The taste of which does make me forget the tube predicament pretty fast.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Sam asks, curious to what my response will be.


    ¡°It¡¯s seasoned really well!¡± I happily nod and then prick some more salad on the fork before I remember that this isn¡¯t really my salad. Instead of bringing it to my own mouth I bring it to my girlfriend¡¯s instead. She happily accepts.


    In the meantime Hailey has taken a seat on a bench nearby, facing the fountain. When we are all done being lovey-dovey we join her at the bench. Sam and Max use their sports bags as a place to sit while they leave the bench to us three.


    In front of us the fountain just switches its program to start a little water show.


    ¡°I actually didn¡¯t know we had a fountain this big on campus.¡± I say as I unwrap my own sandwich.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice, isn¡¯t it?¡± Haileys says just as the water is starting to arch in interrupted streams.


    ¡°You really didn¡¯t explore campus that much before we met you, did you, Ami?¡± Carol asks after taking a big bite.


    ¡°No, not really. I just went to class and then back home as fast as I could before¡­ my parents would get angry¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Sorry about that¡­¡± Carol nervously scratches her arm.


    ¡°But that¡¯s all behind us now.¡± Sam looks at me with confidence and love in her eyes which calms me down very fast.


    ¡°It is.¡± I give Carol a nod. ¡°I know you guys now and have a super amazing girlfriend and the same goes for my family. What else would I wish for?¡±


    ¡°Now you can have new experiences with people you care about.¡± Max smiles as well.


    ¡°Mhmm. And I¡¯m incredibly grateful for that. So thank you all for being here for me. Even though we¡¯ve not known each other for that long.¡±


    ¡°Awh.¡± Carol puts down her sandwich for a second and gives me a big hug. ¡°That¡¯s no problem at all, Ami. Thank you for being our friend as well.¡±


    Hailey put aside her lunch as well to join the small cuddle puddle.


    It takes a couple of minutes before I¡¯m released from my friends¡¯ strangle holds so I can finally start munching on my delicious salmon and herbed cream cheese sandwich. It¡¯s just a marvel of human engineering. The combination of those flavors would make everyone melt the second they bite from it. Even though the others clearly are more interested in their own food, I can just tell that, if I turn my back from my sandwich for just a moment, someone would run off with it. Paranoid murderkitten thoughts aside, the lunch is really good and it probably tastes even better because of the good company.


    The sandwich sadly doesn¡¯t last forever and with a pain in my heart I say goodbye to the last piece as it disappears in my mouth. I say a short prayer to the delicious fishy that gave its life to feed me and I then turn back towards the group. Sam is already done eating her salad and Max is just on her last couple of noodles. Hailey and Carol still have quite a bit of sandwich left to go.


    ¡°So, what else did you do yesterday, Ami?¡± Hailey asks after taking another bite from her lunch.


    ¡°You mean outside of ToD?¡±


    ¡°Yes. In the, quote unquote, real world.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Let me think, it¡¯s already quite some time ago.¡±


    ¡°That game does give you a time mindfuck, that¡¯s true.¡± Max nods to not let the conversation fall quiet.


    ¡°We went to Hilda¡¯s house.¡± I reply. ¡°We did some barbecue and ate some sushi¡­ OH! And she took me on her motorbike to this super shady taco shop in a forest, but the tacos were so goooood!¡±


    ¡°You are going to have to explain that last part to me again.¡± Carol chuckles. ¡°A super shady taco shop?¡±


    I explain the entire situation in more detail to my friends until they all understand.


    ¡°Ah. It¡¯s one of those places.¡± Hailey nods. ¡°Off the beaten path, kind of a destination for foodies and the like.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± I give her an enthusiastic nod.


    ¡°The tacos were in fact really good.¡± Sam agrees.


    ¡°If you can remember the location, please send a message to us. Even if it¡¯s just the coordinates.¡± Max laughs.


    ¡°I will ask Hilda but I already sent her a message earlier so I¡¯m going to wait for a while to send another one.¡± I nod once more.


    ¡°Hilda won¡¯t mind if you send her a message right now, you know that, right?¡± Sam asks. ¡°You are like her adoptive daughter of sorts.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ but I really don¡¯t want to bother her, what if she¡¯s busy¡­¡±


    ¡°You are being a little bit of an anxiety kitten right now.¡± Sam shakes her head with a smile and walks over to me to give me a couple of kisses. ¡°C¡¯mon, just send her a message. She¡¯ll be more than happy.¡±


    ¡°Alright then¡­ your kisses have convinced me.¡±


    ¡°Darn, I was hoping it didn¡¯t work so I could give you some more.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I feel a bit of doubt coming up again.¡±


    Sam just smirks and takes me in for a very long kiss. So long that Max had to take us apart with a cough. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to interrupt, but we still have classes today.¡±


    ¡°Awh.¡± I giggle and Sam chuckles as well.


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 132: Plop

    FieryKathy


    Sam and Max leave the three of us behind as they are headed for their anatomy class. As for us, we just keep sitting next to the marvelous fountain of awesomeness.


    ¡°Still an hour and a half left.¡± Hailey sighs. ¡°I¡¯d rather we had our lesson now so we can go home a bit earlier. Because this really feels like a waste of time.¡±


    ¡°We can always spend this time studying.¡± Carol replies, smiling at her friend.


    ¡°No, let¡¯s not.¡± Hailey sighs again.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be the responsible student out of the two of us?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but not today.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I chuckle as I start typing up a message to Hilda to ask the address or coordinates of our taco shop.


    ¡°What about you, Ami? What¡¯s your opinion on such a long break?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°Give me a second.¡± I finish up my message and press send. ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t really talk and type at the same time.¡± I put my phone away and start thinking of an answer. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s fun to go home earlier, but I also don¡¯t like rushing my lunch. And when it¡¯s such a nice day, I don¡¯t really mind relaxing for a bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± Hailey replies. ¡°But good weather isn¡¯t guaranteed.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, when it rains I¡¯d definitely prefer going home.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Back in my home city we had this river running through the center of town with these historic buildings flanking it. It isn¡¯t that far from the university. That place must have been awesome to chill at. I still remember going there when I was little.¡± Carol stares into the fountain.


    ¡°Why have you moved here, Carol? If I might ask?¡± I ask my friend.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that my family found a job here¡­ and probably because of the climate as well. They don¡¯t really talk about it that much.¡±


    ¡°Crossing the ocean must¡¯ve been a big step to take though.¡± Hailey replies. ¡°It was a big change for me and I don¡¯t really live that far from here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It helped that I was younger. And it¡¯s fun that there¡¯s a lot of diversity here. We got people from all over the place in our classes. Gives everything a nice mix if you know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I nod. ¡°It¡¯s not always that easy to understand each other though.¡±


    ¡°As long as you can get the general point across it¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it?¡± Carol smiles. ¡°And if you don¡¯t manage by yourself just use a translation app.¡±


    ¡°I always feel like it¡¯s more effective to try yourself. Those translation apps are still quite rubbish.¡± Hailey shakes her head. ¡°I really don¡¯t know why that¡¯s still so hard for the AI to do when we have things like FDVRMMO¡¯s already.¡±


    ¡°Human language just isn¡¯t very AI friendly I suppose.¡± I give her a shrug.


    My phone buzzes, telling me Hilda has sent a message back, but before I can check my phone, I hear a ¡®plop¡¯ sound behind me.


    ¡°Ah! Amicia!¡± I suddenly get hugged from behind. But I immediately recognize Gamma¡¯s voice.


    ¡°G-Gamma? What are you doing here?¡± I look behind me and see Gamma¡¯s smiling face, her usual blue hair is now purple with a couple of strokes of green. ¡°Oh, got a new hair colour?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Do you like it?¡± She quickly brushes her hand through her bangs a couple of times.


    ¡°It looks nice.¡± I nod.


    ¡°And what do you two think?¡± Gamma turns herself to my very confused friends. It probably doesn¡¯t help that Gamma is talking even faster than she normally would.


    ¡°It¡­ looks good.¡± Carol gives her a nod too.


    Gamma smiles and then walks over to Carol. ¡°As for why I¡¯m here. It¡¯s you actually. You were Carol, right?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah, I am.¡± She shyly replies.


    ¡°Veanya has asked me to make this for you as she might forget otherwise, what a klutz.¡± Tornado Gamma swiftly takes something out of her hoodie¡¯s pocket. ¡°Do you like this design?¡± In her hand she¡¯s holding a choker, this one looks futuristic, black with neon green accents.


    Carol looks confused.


    I point at my own choker to which she quickly realizes what it is that Gamma is holding.


    ¡°Ah! Uh¡­ it might be a bit much with the colors, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No no no no, not the colors, you can change those anyway.¡± Gamma seemingly doesn¡¯t move but the choker in her hands changes colors and shows different patterns as well. ¡°I¡¯m purely talking about design here.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­.¡± Carol inspects it more closely. For the rest it doesn¡¯t really look that different from a normal choker. The only difference with mine is that Carol¡¯s choker looks to be made out of metal. ¡°Uh, it looks cool, but won¡¯t the metal be uncomfortable to wear?¡±


    Gamma quickly shakes her head. ¡°No, here, you can feel it.¡± And before Carol can move Gamma snaps the choker around her neck. Obviously nothing really happens as she isn¡¯t a catgirl yet¡­ but then again¡­ since it¡¯s Gamma we are talking about, maybe it does some other weird stuff instead. ¡°So, whatcha think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty comfy, it really doesn¡¯t feel like metal at all.¡±


    ¡°User experience is incredibly important so I pride myself that my work is always wearable for prolonged times.¡± Gamma smiles and as swiftly as she put it around Carol¡¯s neck, she removes it just as fast. ¡°Got any more pointers?¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should add a small hole in the front.¡± Hailey answers.


    ¡°Why?¡± Gamma quickly tilts her head.


    ¡°For if she wants to attach a little cat bell.¡± Hailey smirks to which Carol almost immediately turns bright red.


    ¡°Haha, good one.¡± Gamma laughs. ¡°I can make it happen if you want to.¡±


    ¡°N-n-no. I-it¡¯s fine.¡± Carol denies the offer.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go back to work then? See ya.¡± And just like that, with another plop, Gamma is gone again.


    Silence descends over our group for a couple of seconds.


    ¡°I feel tired just having spoken to her for a minute, blimey, that girl speaks fast.¡± Hailey wipes her forehead clean of non-existent sweat.


    ¡°She does, but I¡¯m a bit miffed.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Carol asks, still looking around to see if Gamma won¡¯t pop up again behind her.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit sad that your choker can change colors. Mine can¡¯t at all.¡± I pout. ¡°You got the fancy one.¡±


    ¡°Are you really sad about that? Your choker is plenty cute too, Ami.¡± Carol chuckles.


    ¡°But what if I want to have a purple choker for a day?¡± I keep pouting.


    ¡°If you ask, won¡¯t Gamma be able to make a choker for you too?¡± Hailey asks. ¡°Surely, for a fellow Goddess, that shouldn¡¯t be an issue. If you can¡¯t find a way to make one yourself one day.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true¡­ But I want one now.¡± I playfully stick out my tongue.


    ¡°Acting a bit spoiled now, aren¡¯t we?¡± Hailey laughs. ¡°Maybe we should call Sam back so she can deal with you.¡±


    ¡°Was that supposed to be a threat? Sounds more like a treat to me.¡± I stick my tongue out once more. Resulting in the three of us laughing together.


    After we calm down a bit I finally look at the message Hilda has sent me about the taco place¡¯s location. But her message is incredibly cryptic. That¡¯s when I receive another question from her. ¡°Hey Ami, sorry for being so vague. Scott tells everyone that if they want to give out the location of his shop that they should send this riddle. He really wants to have people take the effort to find his place.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Thank you for explaining.¡± I message back.


    ¡°What are you sending, Ami?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°It¡¯s about the taco shop.¡± I reply. ¡°Hilda has somewhat sent me the location of the taco place.¡±


    ¡°Somewhat?¡± Carol tilts her head, confused at what I¡¯d just said.


    ¡°Yeah, here.¡± I hand her my phone and show her the messages.


    ¡°Oh great, I¡¯m terrible at riddles.¡±


    ¡°Can I see as well?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± I show her as well.


    ¡°Ah, I see¡­¡± She thinks for a couple of seconds. ¡°It¡¯s not that hard, is it? It¡¯s just a basic math riddle.¡±


    ¡°Do you call this basic?¡± Carol looks even more confused now.


    ¡°Okay, not basic basic, but it¡¯s definitely not hard.¡±


    I take a look at the riddle in more detail as well. While it¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve had mathematics, I think I can see the solution pretty easily as well, if I had a bit of time to calculate it.


    ¡°So I¡¯ll never be able to discover the taco secrets.¡± Carol pouts.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Carol, I¡¯ll help you.¡± I smile and dive into my bag to get a pen and some paper. ¡°Let¡¯s solve this riddle together.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll give you two the solution once you two are done.¡± Hailey smiles. ¡°I don¡¯t want to ruin the fun by telling you the answer already.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Hailey.¡± I smile back. We still have quite a lot of time to spend anyway, so putting our brains to work will definitely help against boredom!


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 133: Coin

    FieryKathy


    I spend the rest of the midday break snoozing on Hailey¡¯s shoulder as she offered it up to me. Which self-respecting cat girl would decline such an offer, right?


    Anyhow, after my little snooze the three of us head to class only to find out that the lesson had been canceled.


    ¡°What, why didn¡¯t they tell us?¡± Carol looks a bit miffed at the notice on the locked door.


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± I open up my cell phone and I browse to my uni¡¯s mailbox. ¡°Apparently they did, Carol.¡± I show her the mail I had received this morning.


    ¡°Really? Do they think I check my mails in the morning? Ugh.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t be the only ones, right?¡± Hailey looks around and just when she does a couple of other students from our class walk around the corner. ¡°Hey, guys, the lesson''s canceled apparently.¡±


    ¡°You gotta be kidding me.¡± One of the students replies as he walks towards the door. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake. I could have been at home by now.¡±


    ¡°Ain¡¯t that a mood.¡± Carol replies, just silently enough so that only I can hear.


    Our classmates leave almost right away while we stay back for a bit.


    ¡°At least we didn¡¯t specifically come to class for this lesson, otherwise I¡¯d be even more pissed.¡± Carol says.


    ¡°I can guarantee you that some people skipped the first lesson and did only come here for this class.¡± Hailey replies to our friend. ¡°But hey, at least we didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Carol sits down on one of the nearby chairs.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Hailey shrugs. ¡°Do you have any ideas, Ami?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll message Sam first.¡± I quickly type up a message to my girlfriend. Her lesson must not be very interesting as she replies almost immediately.


    ¡°Oh. We just got the message that we¡¯ll need to stay around for another hour and a half after our lesson for some team meeting.¡± She texts back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to that new retro arcade with Hailey and Carol? So you don¡¯t bore yourself to death <3¡±


    ¡°Do we have a retro arcade nearby?¡± I say out loud once I have read the message.


    ¡°Not that I know off.¡± Hailey shakes her head.


    ¡°Me neither.¡± Carol does so too.


    ¡°What retro arcade?¡± I text back.


    ¡°There¡¯s flyers of it at the kiosk where Max and I bought our food.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Thanks for the tip, babe! <3¡±


    ¡°No problem sweetie <3<3<3¡±


    I explain where to find the flyers to both of my friends.


    ¡°Now we need to go back to where we came from¡­ but sure. I don¡¯t have anything better to do right now.¡± Carol gets back up from her recently acquired seat. ¡°It might be fun to take a look at some old games.


    ¡°If it¡¯s an arcade, wouldn¡¯t that classify as ancient already?¡± Hailey comments as we start walking.


    ¡°I think retro will never go out of fashion, will it?¡± I reply. ¡°Isn¡¯t it one of those timeless words?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Carol shrugs. ¡°Then again¡­ clothes from ten years ago are already retro too so I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Not to forget ¡®vintage¡¯.¡± Hailey ads.


    ¡°Ah, right. Would you like a vintage red, mademoiselle?¡± Carol offers an imaginary glass off wine to Hailey.


    ¡°Oh, I definitely wouldn¡¯t mind dearie.¡± Hailey brings one hand to her chest while she accepts the glass of wine with her other. ¡°How sublime.¡±


    The three of us start laughing at their little act. What a happy bunch we are.


    We find the flyers Sam talked about at the kiosk.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not that far from here, we don¡¯t even need to take the tram.¡± Carol orients herself. ¡°It¡¯s just a bit up that street over there.¡± She points into the surrounding park.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡± I say as we are quickly back on the road again for a short walk. We quickly see the neon signs appear as we walk into the street where we are supposed to be. The signs are clearly very old but have been cleaned up really well. From outside we can hear the sound of coin-operated machines.


    ¡°I do hope there¡¯s some kind of exchange station around her, otherwise we won¡¯t be doing much playing.¡± Carol laughs. ¡°Who even has coins nowadays.¡±


    ¡°I might be able to summon some from our vault from inside of Turn of Destiny. But I suppose paying in actual silver and gold coins wouldn¡¯t be a good idea.¡±


    ¡°You can do what now?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°Ah! And about Turn of Destiny, you didn¡¯t tell me about that rumor I heard!¡± Carol ads.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot.¡± I laugh and scratch the back of my head. ¡°Uh¡­ but first things first¡­ I actually don¡¯t know if I can summon those coins or not. I haven¡¯t tried yet.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s stopping you from doing it now?¡± Hailey asks. ¡°There¡¯s no camera¡¯s nearby. And if there are it would look like one of those easy magic tricks.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you got a point there.¡± I concentrate and recall how my sister did it back in Turn of Destiny. ¡°Purse.¡± But instead of concentrating on an actual purse, I just thought about a couple of golden Dwargon.


    ¡°Wow!¡± Hailey calls out, presumably the skill had worked. When I look down I see five golden Dwargon in my hand. Hailey proceeds to take one out of my hand. ¡°It weighs a lot too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an actual gold coin, so yeah.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Real gold¡­ in my hands¡­ who¡¯d have ever thought.¡± Hailey looks at the coin in all of its detail.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty weird to see it out of a game, that¡¯s true.¡± Carol takes one out of my hand as well. ¡°So this is from the nation your party went to?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°It looks pretty cool.¡± She then puts the coin back. ¡°I¡¯ve only been able to get my hands on a couple of silver Vinavian coins so far.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to get some more money soon. It¡¯s not that hard to get money.¡±


    ¡°Says the person who has been playing together with the professionals.¡± Carol gives me a wink.


    I pout. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can get it as a normal adventurer too¡­¡±


    In the meantime Hailey is still staring at the coin.


    ¡°Do you want to keep it, Hailey?¡± I ask. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t miss a coin or two.¡±


    ¡°Can I? This is incredibly valuable, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I shake my head. ¡°As I said, we really have plenty. We¡¯ve got quite a lot of money after saving a city.¡±


    ¡°Oh, wow. Yeah¡­¡±


    Hailey looks incredibly excited in the meantime. ¡°C¡¯mon, Ami, you really got to tell the story after we are done with the arcade.¡±


    ¡°If you help me remember otherwise I might forget again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make a mental note.¡± She gives me a wink.


    ¡°So I can really keep this coin?¡±


    ¡°Yep, but I¡¯d prefer if you didn¡¯t sell it or anything.¡±


    ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t! This is practically a coin from another world, right? It¡¯s one of a kind. I¡¯ll treasure it forever.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Hails.¡± I smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be thanking you.¡± She gives me a quick hug and then carefully puts away the coin in a little cloth bag which she presumably uses to put away her earrings or something like that. ¡°Are you both ready to enter the arcade now?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I concentrate away the other coins into our vault and head towards the other side of the road with my friends following behind me.


    The inside of the store is a bit darker than I¡¯d first thought it would be, but that¡¯s probably to make the different lights of all the machines pop out better. I guess those screens aren¡¯t adapted for full light conditions.


    A gentleman in his late forties is standing behind the counter of the arcade and welcomes us as we walk in. ¡°Welcome, ladies.¡± His completely gray hair fits pretty well with his t-shirt which portrays some old sci-fi game I¡¯ve never heard of before.


    ¡°Hello.¡± Carol gives him a polite wave and approaches the counter. ¡°We¡¯d like to try out the arcade.¡±


    ¡°Of course that¡¯s why this arcade exists after all.¡± The man smiles. ¡°Do you want a short explanation?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be nice.¡± Hailey gives him a nod.


    ¡°Alright, the basic principle of this shop is as such. These used to be coin operated machines but we¡¯ve all adapted them so that you can play without coins. As no-one has coins anymore, it just wouldn¡¯t be practical although there are also ways around that but I¡¯m digressing.¡± Well, that¡¯s one of our questions answered already. ¡°Basically, you pay us up front for a certain amount of time. We will give you one of these very cool bracelets;¡± he shows us a couple of neon-pink bracelets. ¡°We do have different colors as well.¡± He adds. ¡°But I thought it went well with your friend¡¯s hair.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°These bracelets will be charged with the amount of time you pay for. As long as you still have time left, which you can see here;¡± He points at a little display on the bracelet which says ¡®00:00¡¯ at this time. ¡°You can use this to activate the different games around the store.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty neat way of doing it.¡± Carol nods at his explanation.


    ¡°Thank you, we thought it was pretty elegant as well.¡± The man smiles again. ¡°How long would you girls want to charge for?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ what do you think, girls?¡± Carol asks. ¡°An hour or so?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s make it two or three.¡± I reply. ¡°Might as well since I have to wait for Sam.¡±


    ¡°Right, is that good for you too, Hails?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that sounds good.¡±


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll have three hours each, mister¡­ oh! And can we buy some food here?¡±


    The man nods while he¡¯s dialing in something in his cash register. There are some food vending machines in the back with small dishes. We¡¯d like it if you eat them in the designated area though. Just to keep things sanitary. And of course, don¡¯t forget to wash your hands afterwards.¡±


    -Ami, try not to look too interested in the food vending machines, okay? We are here to play, not for food¡­ food is always nice though¡­-


    FieryKathy


    Want to chat with others about my stories? Discord is where it''s at :D -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ

 Chapter 134: Arcade

    FieryKathy


    With our new fashionable armbands around our wrists counting down the time we¡¯d ordered, we walk into the main arcade hall.


    ¡°That¡¯s rather cheap for three hours, don¡¯t you think?¡± Carol asks, looking at the first machine, it¡¯s some kind of fighting game called ¡®Avenue Brawler¡¯.


    ¡°Yep, I expected quite a bit more.¡± I give her a nod. ¡°Do you want to try out this game?¡± I then tap the arcade machine she is next to.


    ¡°Hmm, fighting games are not really my thing but we can try. We¡¯ve got plenty of time.¡±


    I tap the side of the arcade game with my bracelet to which the screen on my side goes into the character selection. ¡°I think you need to tap your bracelet to the other side, Carol.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± She does as I say and then her side of the screen also gives a character selection. ¡°I wonder if this means that you needed to have two paying players if you wanted to play against each other in the past.¡±


    ¡°I think it does.¡± Hailey says, she¡¯s standing behind us looking at which character we are going to select. ¡°Sounds like a bit of a waste of money doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Depends on how much it costed because we can¡¯t really tell now.¡± I look down but there¡¯s no indicator to be found about what money was used.


    ¡°And is it really wasted money if they were enjoying it?¡± Carol continues and makes a pretty valid point.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Hailey nods.


    I select a woman who looks like she can do some kind of eastern martial arts, while Carol decides to play some very muscular dude¡­ -Now that I¡¯ve said that, that doesn¡¯t narrow it down at all, does it?- I just know that the models for both the men and women are quite ridiculous. My character has thighs that could probably bounce a cannonball or something like that.


    Anyway, shortly after we were engaged in an intense match of button mashing. Because neither me, nor Carol had ever played with these kinds of controls before, our characters spend more times jumping up and down near the edge of the screen rather than actually fighting each other. With sometimes, occasionally a fireball shooting out of my character towards Carol¡¯s.


    ¡°How did you do that?!¡± Carol says while continuing to mash all the buttons.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know and I wouldn¡¯t tell you if I did!¡± I call back and continue doing very much the same.


    ¡°I see how it is! Aaah!¡±


    Then the timer ran out for the first round of the fight and since I was the only one who managed to land one hit, I won this round.


    ¡°That was just a warm-up, Ami! I¡¯ll be coming for you this round.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ready, come and bring it!¡±


    The next round our characters actually make contact and we both take some damage, but again, at the end of the second round, no one manages to down the other opponent. But this time Carol does end up on top.


    ¡°One final round. I¡¯ll take home the win for pink-haired-catgirl-kind.¡±


    ¡°Brown-haired-catgirl-kind for the win.¡±


    This round was very close as our button mashing skills had both increased considerably in this five-minute timespan. With one final hit, my character manages to take down Carol¡¯s.


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± Carol calls out. ¡°Oh, well, let¡¯s move on to a different game.¡±


    I giggle as the instant tone switch was pretty comedic.


    ¡°Just wait a second.¡± Hailey stops us both. ¡°I want to get a go at this too. Ami, I choose you as my opponent.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I smile. But I need to warn you, I am the undefeated champion of¡­¡± I look at the screen again to double check the name. ¡°Avenue Brawler.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± Hailey grins. -This doesn¡¯t doesn¡¯t bode well for me¡­-


    ¡°K.O.!¡± The arcade machine calls out, merely thirty seconds after our first round. Hailey had picked the same character I use. But the way she controls it is so much more¡­ controlled.


    ¡°How did you grab my character¡¯s head and kick her in the head?¡± I ask, bewildered of Hailey¡¯s move-set.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s actually pretty simple. You need to be close to your character and then move left while pressing these two buttons simultaneously.¡±


    ¡°What? You call that simple?¡±


    ¡°It is, just try as I said.¡±


    I move my character close to Hailey¡¯s and perform the combination that Hailey dictated to me. As by miracle, the character does exactly the same thing. ¡°Wow!¡±


    ¡°Good job.¡± Hailey smiles. ¡°But now, let me just finish this.¡±


    ¡°Oh no!¡± I try to move away from Hailey¡¯s character but my fate is already sealed. A couple of smashing combinations later and the game screen shows my defeat.


    ¡°K.O.! Player two wins!¡±


    ¡°How did you get this good at the game? Didn¡¯t you say it was your first time as well.¡± Carol is looking at her friend in complete confusion.


    ¡°Oh, ye, it was.¡± Hailey smiles. ¡°But there¡¯s a little touch-screen here that says how the basic controls work for every character. I was reading the move-set of Ami¡¯s character while the two of you were derping around.¡± She points at a little stand behind us that has a touch screen on top of it. Somehow both Carol and I had walked past it without noticing.


    ¡°Hailey, couldn¡¯t you have let us know beforehand?¡± Carol pouts.


    ¡°Oh, but the two of you looked like you were having fun so I left you to it. And it was also pretty funny to watch.¡±


    ¡°Ami, your Goddess powers can detect stuff made of pure evil, right? Can you try it out on Hailey?¡±


    I hold out my hands as a joke. ¡°Oh yeah, she¡¯s completely full of evilness.¡±


    ¡°Muahaha.¡± Hailey launches into a fake evil laugh. ¡°Anyway, should we go on to a different game now? I think I saw a pair of motorcycles over there?¡±


    ¡°Motorcycles, really?¡± I look in the direction Hailey is looking, and indeed, in the distance I can see the side of a motorcycle. ¡°Oooooh. Let¡¯s go there!¡± I decide to march on.


    Carol chuckles. ¡°Well, I suppose I¡¯ll have to follow then.¡±


    When we turn the corner of the row of fighting-style arcade games we come into a row with six motorcycle arcade machines.. Their screens are all synchronized.


    ¡°Oh wow, does this mean we can all race against each-other?¡± I run up to one of the machines.


    ¡°It looks like it.¡± Hailey says as she joins me at my side.


    ¡°Nice! Let¡¯s do some racing!¡± Carol hops onto the second bike to my left and holds her bracelet against the machine.


    ¡°Player one ready!¡± The machine excitedly calls out.


    ¡°C¡¯mon girls, what are you waiting on.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, just give us a sec.¡± Hailey shakes her head while smiling.


    ¡°But time is money!¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± I smile and get on my bike as well. I¡¯ve never rode a bike before so it does feel somewhat strange to be in this position. ¡°I hope this thing has a tutorial.¡±


    ¡°Who needs a tutorial when you can just roll with it.¡± Carol smiles.


    ¡°You know, there¡¯s again one of those screens here¡­¡± Hailey points at the touchscreen behind her.


    ¡°Eh, how hard can it be. It¡¯s just riding a motorcycle, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The answer is: it¡¯s pretty hard for three girls who¡¯ve never, in their entire life, ridden motorcycles (at least not in a sidecar). That being said, the racing was really fun though.


    While it was not easy to begin with, after a while I did get the hang of driving the bike through the pixelated environments.


    ¡°Go, Ami, you are almost there!¡± Hailey is cheering me on. I had taken the lead away from Carol not that long ago and since then Hailey had been rooting for me.


    ¡°C¡¯mon bike, go faster, you can do it!¡± Carol talks to her arcade bike but alas, the bike can only go as fast as the program was programmed to. And since I am not making any mistakes anymore, the win is in the bag.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± I pump my fist in the air shortly after I cross the finish line, after which I slowly lower it down again out of embarrassment.


    ¡°Congrats, Ami.¡± Hailey claps for me, letting go of her handles.


    ¡°Are you not going to try to finish anymore?¡± I ask, just as I do so, Carol crosses the finish line.


    ¡°Uhm, I would want to, but¡­¡± she points at her screen. ¡°I somehow got stuck in this tree and I don¡¯t know how to unstuck myself.¡±


    ¡°Have you tried reversing?¡± Carol hops off her bike and joins us.


    ¡°I did. I¡¯m not stuck behind it¡­ I¡¯m literally in it. See?¡± She points at how the front of her bike is clipping through the model of the tree.


    ¡°How the heck did you manage to do that?¡± Carol asks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Hailey shrugs.


    ¡°Game bugs are of all ages apparently.¡± I giggle. ¡°At least you will get unstuck after the timer runs out.¡± These kinds of games have pretty fast ¡®did-not-finish¡¯-timers so people didn¡¯t have to wait minutes on end before starting the next race. And Hailey¡¯s timer is just about to run out. Launching us back into the start screen.


    ¡°Do you want to do another race?¡± I ask.


    ¡°We can go around and try the other games first. This one is fun so we can get back to it later but it would be a waste not to check the others out, right?¡± Hailey smiles as she finally gets off the bike herself.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I look around and spot a couple of other interesting looking machines in the neighborhood. ¡°Let¡¯s try those now.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye, captain Ami.¡± Carol salutes me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the captain.¡± I pout. ¡°My girlfriend is.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye, captain¡¯s wife, Ami.¡± Carol salutes me again.


    That makes me blushy blush quite a lot. -Carol¡­ why¡­-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 135: High-Score

    FieryKathy


    Time flies when you have fun with your friends. We had tried shooter games, pinball machines, car driving games, more fighter games, Air hockey, rythm games and even this one kind of dancing game where you needed to place your feet on different areas on the mat to complete the dance steps. I was surprisingly good at that.


    ¡°Damn you and your darn cat balance, Ami. That song was just impossible.¡± Hailey¡¯s laying on the floor, completely and utterly defeated by my amazing dance moves.


    ¡°This game is so fun!¡± I jump a couple of happy jumps.


    ¡°Can¡¯t deny that.¡± Hailey smiles up to me.


    ¡°Hey, Ami, you can even fill in your name on the high score list!¡±


    Hailey gets up from the floor and looks at the screen as well. ¡°What? You got first place?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I look at the scoreboard as well. And indeed, when I look at the board, my score is blinking at the top with three empty horizontal white bars next to it.


    ¡°And luckily your name is short enough as well.¡± Carol smiles as she starts typing in ¡®AMI¡¯.


    ¡°Did someone get a top score?¡± The man who runs the store comes walking up to us. He¡¯s walking around with a dust cloth, occasionally wiping one of the machine¡¯s panels.


    ¡°Yes, this girl here did.¡± Carol smiles and pats me on the back.


    ¡°Congratulations, that¡¯s quite the feat on a machine this old.¡±


    ¡°I managed to do this because it¡¯s only been up for a short time, right?¡± I ask the manager.


    ¡°No, when we let the machines get restored we tried to maintain the old scoreboards as a memory to the people who¡¯d used them before. That didn¡¯t work out for all of the machines but it did for most of them.¡± He points at the dancing arcade machine. ¡°But this one is definitely a machine where the memory was kept.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± Carol looks at the scores. ¡°So this ¡®JOE¡¯ person is someone from 60 years ago?¡±


    ¡°That could definitely be the case.¡± The man nods.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Carol repeats herself.


    ¡°Have you girls had fun?¡± The man continues.


    ¡°Definitely!¡± I reply. ¡°It¡¯s so fun to play all these old games.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve had plenty of laughs too.¡± Hailey nods.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡± The man smiles. ¡°He then picks something out of the wallet he has hanging from his belt. ¡°Here¡¯s six coupons to get yourself something from the drinks and meals vending machines.¡±


    ¡°What do we need to pay for them?¡± Carol asks.


    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s on the house. See it as a reward for breaking a 60-year old record.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Carol gladly accepts the coupons. ¡°But let¡¯s go and play some more games first.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be a bit hard without any more time.¡± The store manager laughs. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve had so much fun that you forgot to keep track of time.¡±


    ¡°Wait, those three hours are already over?¡± I look at the bracelet. It says 0:00. ¡°Wow, we must¡¯ve started this game at the last second.¡± I check my phone to be sure, but indeed, we have already spent three hours inside of the arcade.


    ¡°You can always get a refill.¡± The store manager replies and waits for our answer.


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t think we will at the moment, but we will definitely come back next time and maybe bring some more friends.¡± Carol replies.


    ¡°That¡¯d be very much appreciated.¡± The store manager smiles once again. ¡°If you need me, I¡¯ll be back at the counter. Don¡¯t forget to wash your hands after you¡¯ve had your food.¡±


    ¡°We will!¡± I reply as the manager heads back to the front of the arcade.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put these coupons to some good use.¡± Carol smiles and hands two coupons to both Hailey and I. ¡°The vending machines were over there, right?¡± She points to the right.


    ¡°I thought so, yes.¡± Hailey nods and starts moving.


    I follow my friends along as I send a message to Sam. ¡°How are things going there, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Meeting¡¯s almost done <3¡± She replies back almost immediately. ¡°Do you want us to come over there?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just going to get a snack from some vending machines. I think it¡¯s best that we come and get you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll wait at the kiosk then. Did you have fun?¡±


    ¡°Yes! :D Thanks a lot for the suggestion. Next time we should come together!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love that. <3 I need to go now, the other girls are getting jealous that I¡¯m texting my beautiful girlfriend. See you in a bit!¡±


    ¡°Love you <3¡±


    ¡°Love you too <3<3¡±


    ¡°What are you smiling at, Ami?¡± Carol asks, we¡¯d just arrived at the vending machine area.


    ¡°She¡¯s texting her lover, isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Hailey prods her friend in the side. ¡°Just look at her face. She¡¯s beaming.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ I should have known.¡± Carol smiles. ¡°But Ami, look at these.¡± She then turns around and points at all the different kinds of vending machines. There¡¯s a couple that sell hot drinks, hot meals, smaller snacks, both cold and warm, there¡¯s even a pizza machine.


    ¡°This one even sells ramen.¡± Hailey walks up to one of the machines and looks at all the options. ¡°I think I might go for this one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to decide.¡± Carol just keeps her distance from all the machines and just keeps looking at them.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll pick the pizza.¡± I reply.


    ¡°You make a convincing argument, friend.¡± Carol gives me a nod and together we approach the pizza vending machine. It has all kinds of options. What type of crust you want, the different kinds of toppings, even if you want extra oregano, garlic or some kind of spicy oil.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the pizza ai frutti di mare.¡± I press the button for one of the basic pizza types. I don¡¯t really need extra herbs. I just want some more fish.


    Next, the screen of the machine tells me to ¡°insert payment or coupon¡± as a light lights up on the machine, indicating where I need to insert the coupon. I bring the coupon close to the insert and with a buzz, the coupon gets sucked into the vending machine.


    ¡°Waiting time -> 3 minutes. Please insert the next order.¡± This tells Carol that it¡¯s time for her to order.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll just take a quattro formaggi.¡± Carol enters her order as well together with a coupon, after which a second three minute timer appears.


    Hailey is already eating her ramen and comes to stand next to us to watch the clock count down. ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll be good?¡± She asks.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see. But it¡¯s hard to fuck up a pizza.¡± Carol shrugs. ¡°Unless you add chocolate or whatever.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. At least the smell that¡¯s coming out of the machine is already making my mouth water. ¡°How¡¯s your food, Hails?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She nods and then eats another bite. ¡°Is it restaurant quality? No, but I wouldn¡¯t have guessed it came out of a machine either.¡±


    ¡°It smells pretty good.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Want to have a bite?¡±


    The vending machine beeps, notifying me my pizza is ready. ¡°I think I¡¯ll stick to my pizza.¡± A cardboard box slides out of the machine as I approach. It¡¯s supported by a couple of metallic brackets.


    ¡°Please take your order off the tray.¡± The machine orders with a robotic voice.


    I do as it says to avoid a vending machine revolution. Not that long afterwards, Carol¡¯s pizza slides out on brackets next to where mine was. She was already prepared so she took her box in her hands as soon as it plopped out of the machine.


    ¡°The moment of truth.¡± I sit down at one of the two tables nearby and open my box. It does smell incredibly good, and it doesn¡¯t look much worse, albeit a bit small. But I guess these are meant to be a snack rather than actual dinner.


    ¡°Do you want me to get your drinks?¡± Hailey asks, her ramen is already pretty much gone.


    ¡°A lemonade for me.¡± Carol takes her up on her offer and hands over her coupon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have the same if you don¡¯t mind.¡± I hand mine over as well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Hailey smiles and walks off to one of the nearby machines. ¡°Oh! It looks like lemonade is out of stock, want anything else?¡± She calls out.


    ¡°Uh¡­ apple juice, do they have that?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yep! They even have carbonated apple juice, whatever that may be.¡±


    ¡°Just the regular, please.¡±


    ¡°For me too, Hails.¡± Carol says.


    Hailey nods and soon after returns with three bottles of apple juice. ¡°There you go.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I accept a bottle and twist the cap off the top.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan after this? Back to uni to meet up with the rest?¡± Carol asks.


    ¡°Yep, at least that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do. Then I¡¯ll head home with Sam.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll just go straight home after we leave the arcade.¡± Hailey says. ¡°I still want to do a bit of cleaning today.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me¡­ I need to do that as well¡­¡± Carol sighs. ¡°Ami, don¡¯t you have any magic for that?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± I chuckle. ¡°I¡¯ll look around for a skill like that.¡± -I¡¯d actually be somewhat surprised if it didn¡¯t exist¡­ but then again, magic twists and turns in mysterious ways.-


    FieryKathy


    Le discord linku for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 136: Store

    FieryKathy


    We give Hailey a big hug after which Carol and I head back to our girlfriends. When we enter the uni¡¯s extensive park we can already see them in the distance, standing by the kiosk. Max looks completely exhausted.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± I ask when I come closer.


    ¡°Hmm? Okay with what?¡± Sam slightly tilts her head.


    I point at Max.


    ¡°Ah, with that.¡± She pats her friend on the back with a smile. ¡°Meetings are not Max¡¯s native habitat.¡±


    ¡°It was so boring. You just can¡¯t believe how pointless that meeting was.¡± Max quickly gives Carol a hug to recharge some of her energy.


    ¡°Was it that bad?¡± Carol smiles, clearly not disliking the attention.


    ¡°The coach had hired some people to come and discuss some kind of new age training method with charts and weird stuff.¡± Sam explains.


    ¡°Charts and weird stuff?¡± It¡¯s my turn to tilt my head.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t know either, Amicia. Sam fell asleep while they were talking. At least I managed to stay awake.¡±


    ¡°Sam!¡±


    Sam sticks out her tongue at me. ¡°Look, it really wasn¡¯t interesting. Even the coach said she¡¯d made a mistake afterwards. It will earn us some free hotdogs after next game, so at least something positive came out of it.¡±


    ¡°I take it girlfriends are not included in that deal?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Sam smiles and rubs her hand through my hair. ¡°Anyway, enough about boring meetings, how was your time at the arcade?¡±


    ¡°Where do I start?¡± I smile as Carol and I start talking about our little adventure.


    ¡°As expected from my amazing amazingly cute girlfriend.¡± Sam gives me a hug. ¡°Immediately getting the high score on something. Next time we should go together.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Max nods. ¡°It sounds like a fun place.¡±


    Carol yawns. ¡°Anyhow, I think I should get going now, I¡¯m actually pretty tired from staring at those old screens.¡±


    ¡°Let me get this future catgirl home.¡± Max laughs.


    ¡°Oh!¡± I interrupt them before they leave us. ¡°Talking about future catgirls, Gamma came to pay us a visit too. I think I forgot to message you about that.¡±


    ¡°Gamma? Why?¡± Sam asks.


    I explain the choker situation to Max and Sam.


    ¡°Ah, so your sis didn¡¯t have to worry about the choker at all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I nod. ¡°Though I¡¯m still a bit sad that I don¡¯t have one of those.¡±


    ¡°I can still buy you some chokers if you want, they won¡¯t be magical though. Maybe I¡¯ll get a couple with a little cute cat bell.¡±


    ¡°Sam!¡± I start blushing profusely.


    ¡°Oh, Carol, let¡¯s go before they start discussing even more adult things.¡± Max gives us a wink.


    ¡°Hey, it was just getting interesting!¡± Carol chuckles.


    ¡°Shush, you, or I¡¯ll call Gamma to add a permanent little cat bell to yours.¡± I pout, my cheeks still a certain shade of red.


    Now Carol starts to blush too. My threat must¡¯ve been realistic enough for Carol to reconsider her next course of action.


    ¡°Yeah, I thought so.¡± I continue with pouting.


    ¡°Now, now, Ami, don¡¯t be so vindictive.¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°I¡¯m apparently the Goddess of Vengeance after all. Might as well act like it.¡± I cross my arms and stick out my tongue.


    ¡°Well, at least it¡¯s cute. So I¡¯ll take it.¡± She gives me a kiss on the cheek.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave you to your own devices for now.¡± Max laughs. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to go.¡± She then lowers her voice. ¡°But I definitely wouldn¡¯t mind you calling in that cat bell favor.¡±


    Carol prods Max in her side to which Max starts laughing even louder.


    ¡°See ya tomorrow?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yep, as long as a certain catgirl to be doesn¡¯t murder me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try not to.¡± Carol nods. ¡°But before we go. Are you girls going to play Turn of Destiny today?¡±


    ¡°No, probably not.¡± I shake my head. ¡°I kind of wanted to take a break since we¡¯ve been at it for a while.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Carol smiles. ¡°But I want to meet you in that world one day as well.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll meet up soon enough.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°We¡¯ll hold you to that.¡± Max smiles and waves us goodbye. Carol does the same.


    ¡°See you!¡¯ I wave them off as they head in the opposite direction of where we have to go.¡±


    ¡°And now it¡¯s only the two of us left.¡± Sam states as we see Carol and Max disappear in the distance. ¡°Want to go home now?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I¡¯m starting to get hungry again.¡±


    ¡°Already? Didn¡¯t you say you just ate a pizza?¡±


    ¡°It was a small pizza.¡± I pout yet again. ¡°That was more like a snack.¡±


    Sam chuckles. ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s get you home before you start digesting your own stomach.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Sam smiles and takes my hand into hers, after which she gives me a kiss. ¡°C¡¯mon. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    We start walking through the uni grounds as we need to be on the other side to take the tram. Just when we are about to get halfway to our destination, my phone starts buzzing yet again.


    ¡°Wait a sec, Sam. I think someone¡¯s calling me.¡±


    Sam nods and stops holding my hand so I can get my phone.


    Apparently it¡¯s my sister who¡¯s calling me.


    ¡°Hey sis.¡± I say as I pick up the phone.


    ¡°Hey Ami, are Sam and you home right now?¡±


    ¡°No, Sam had a meeting so we are just about to take the tram home now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s actually pretty good news. Would you two mind passing by the grocery shop to get some food? Nikki, Hilda and I got held up at work so we haven¡¯t had any time yet to go by a store.¡±


    I look at Sam. ¡°Do you want to go past the store real fast? My sister and Nikki haven¡¯t been able to go to one yet.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure, what do they need?¡±


    ¡°What food do we need to bring?¡± I parrot Sam¡¯s question.


    ¡°Nikki and I were thinking about spinach fish sticks with mashed potatoes. Are you two okay with that?¡±


    I parrot the question back at Sam, she confirms with a smile and a nod.


    ¡°Yep, sounds okay for us.¡±


    ¡°Cool, could you take enough for five people? Hilda is coming over for food too.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing!¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be home in an hour or so. See ya later, Sis.¡±


    ¡°See you.¡± I hang up the phone. ¡°To the store we go.¡± I put my phone away and take my girlfriend¡¯s hand again.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s make sure we don¡¯t miss the next tram then.¡±


    We get to the tram stop just in time and it takes us all the way back home. We get off a stop early so we can pass the store on our way to the apartment. Slowly but surely the sun is already setting as we walk through the automatic sliding doors. The store¡¯s rush hour had already come and gone so there weren¡¯t many people present which makes shopping for food a lot more comfortable.


    In no-time we beep our way past the self-checkout cash registers with our newly acquired spinach filled fish-sticks and a small sack of potatoes.  We also decide to get some bread sticks with some tomato-based dip sauces. Just a little treat for when we want to eat a snack.


    With our groceries now in hand we walk the rest of the way towards the apartment being met by a couple of hungry kitties when we open the door. None of the lights are lit inside so Sam starts turning on a couple while I pay attention to my feline siblings.


    ¡°There you go, a couple good skin scratches for Pocky and Mocchi. Yes, you like that don¡¯t you?¡± I smile as both of the kitties meow happily at me. ¡°Sorry that we stayed out for so long.¡±


    Pocky meows, telling me that it doesn¡¯t really matter, that they had been sleeping around and playing a bit by themselves.


    ¡°Mhmm. Cuties.¡± I pat both of the cats.


    ¡°Hey, Ami, should we already start cooking? Or should we wait until they get home?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get started already.¡± I stand up from my cat-petting position and head towards one of the cabinets to get a baggy of catfood. ¡°But first, let¡¯s get our kitties some food.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were pretty much starving yourself?¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°I can wait.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let me catch you eating out of that baggy then.¡±


    ¡°I would never¡­ okay, maybe if I was really hungry.¡±


    Sam bursts out laughing again. ¡°Ami, please, my sides.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Hearing my girlfriend laughs is the best, especially if it¡¯s because of me.


    Sam and I are halfway peeling the potatoes when the rest of the family comes stumbling in through the front door.


    ¡°Finally, home.¡± My sister sighs a sigh of relief. Nikki says nothing but just drops into the sofa, with Hilda close behind her.


    ¡°Hey there.¡± Hilda greets us.


    ¡°Was work really that bad?¡± I ask.


    Hilda sighs as well. ¡°It¡¯s just that we encountered a lot of bugs in this one game we are testing. We mentioned it to the people who¡¯s game it was and they started blaming us for the issues.¡±


    ¡°Blaming the testers for finding bugs? That sounds crazy, that''s your job, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was a bit of a shitshow.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°So we broke the contract with those people. If you don¡¯t respect my people, I¡¯m just simply not going to tolerate that crap.¡±


    ¡°We then got called into a meeting with the higher ups because of that. But luckily the big boss is on our side. At least the drama is over now.¡± Lise ads. ¡°And for now, let¡¯s just relax a bit and eat some good old fish-sticks.¡±


    -Amen to that, sis. Feeling bad and in a ditch? Just eat some good old fine tasting fish! In a crunchy jacket nonetheless!-


    FieryKathy


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 137: Plateau

    FieryKathy


    Sam puts two of the big spinach-filled fish sticks on Hilda¡¯s plate. They smell delicious.


    ¡°Thanks, Sam.¡± Hilda smiles.


    I then follow up and put the pot of mashed potatoes in the center of the table.


    ¡°Some good old soul food.¡± My sister laughs as she puts some mashed potatoes on her plate. ¡°Just what I needed.¡±


    Nikki waits for my sister to have filled her plate and looks at Sam and I in the meantime. ¡°How uni by the way?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I tell her about Gamma and the canceled lesson, and our trip to the arcade. Both Hilda and my sister are paying attention to our conversation as well.


    ¡°I know that arcade.¡± Hilda nods knowingly. ¡°The owner called in for some advice for his arcade machines some time ago.¡±


    ¡°But we don¡¯t do things like arcades though.¡± Nikki comments.


    ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s what I told him as well. I did send him to a company which restores old gaming consoles and things like that. I know them because I have called them before for some of my own consoles.¡±


    ¡°Wow, they should¡¯ve given you a commission then.¡± My sister jokes.


    ¡°Nah, they do good work. They deserve every cent they can get. It¡¯s already hard enough to earn a living by doing that kind of job.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine the clientele not being that big.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°That and getting replacement parts is not easy either.¡± Hilda nods in return.


    ¡°The nice story aside, don¡¯t forget to not let your food get cold.¡± My sister points at Hilda¡¯s fish sticks.


    ¡°Right. I really wouldn¡¯t want these to go to waste.¡±


    Sam and I sit down and get our plates filled as well. What I like doing with these kinds of fish sticks is push out a bit of the spinach to cover the mashed potatoes with and then scoop everything up on my fork. I don¡¯t know why it tastes better like that, but it just does.


    My sister swallows a big bite after which she starts talking again. ¡°I got to admit though, I am a bit surprised that Veanya didn¡¯t forget about the choker part. I guess I was a bit too harsh this morning.¡±


    ¡°Were you talking shit about her?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Just a tiny bit.¡± I chuckle. ¡°But it was more out of concern than anything else.¡±


    ¡°You should still be carefull with Gods and Goddesses, Lise.¡± Hilda grins. ¡°They are not particularly known to look upon those kinds of things kindly.¡±


    ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t think Veanya would do such a thing.¡± I shrug.


    ¡°I mean, now that we know divine entities are a thing. Wouldn¡¯t that also mean that myths as we know them, could also be real?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Sam puts her fork against her lips. ¡°That¡¯s a good point.¡±


    ¡°So Zeus and all that crap could be real?¡± Lise puts her utensils down for a second and scratches her chin. ¡°I had honestly not thought about that before. Would Veanya know an answer to that?¡±


    I shrug. ¡°I could ask the next time I see her.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you message her now? Otherwise we are going to be on the edge of our seats for days.¡± Nikki spurs me on with a big smile on her lips.


    ¡°Yeah, Ami, let¡¯s just send her a message.¡± My girlfriend does exactly the same thing Nikki is doing. Which does work it¡¯s magic on me.


    ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll ask.¡± I take out my phone and start typing out a message while I say what I write out loud. ¡°Hey, Veanya, do you know if Zeus and all those other gods and stuff are real or not?¡± I silently look at my phone for a couple of seconds before I look up from my screen. ¡°That sounds a lot like a message someone would send while they are drunk, right? Or am I the only one who thinks that?¡±


    Hilda chuckles. ¡°What are you on about? That¡¯s a compleeetelyyy normal question.¡±


    I roll my eyes and press send. I actually got a bit curious as to what the answer would be as well.


    We continue eating our dinner while we wait for a reply.


    When our plates are all but finished we still haven¡¯t gotten a reply back.


    ¡°Huh, she must be busy.¡± Sam shrugs.


    ¡°Probably.¡± I give her a nod back.


    Then all of the sudden we hear something crash on the floor behind us in the kitchen. Scaring the bejeezus out of our cats, who immediately run towards our bedrooms.


    Gamma is standing there, looking disappointed at the space behind the counter. ¡°I told you to prepare, V.¡±


    ¡°That was way too wild, Gamma.¡± I can hear Veanya¡¯s groaning voice. After which she slowly stands up. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you give me a bit more time to prepare?¡±


    ¡°I already gave you ten seconds. How much longer do you want me to give you? Twenty? I don¡¯t have that time.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯ve already been talking about this longer than that? Is that not wasted time?¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s because you weren¡¯t ready!¡±


    ¡°Ahum.¡± My sister coughs. ¡°Why did you two teleport into our kitchen?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry.¡± Veany apologizes with a slight bow.


    ¡°It is faster like this.¡± Gamma shrugs.


    Veanya quickly gives Gamma a head chop.


    ¡°Ouch! What was that for?¡±


    ¡°Again, WE both apologize. I asked Gamma to teleport us here so I could reply to Amicia¡¯s message.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just have texted? Or called?¡± Nikki looks perplexed at the situation, while being relieved that nothing in the kitchen broke.


    ¡°She broke her phone.¡± Gamma ads, quickly as usual.


    ¡°When you messaged me, I took my phone out of my pocket, but as I read your name, the phone slipped out of my hand and fell.


    ¡°Oh¡­ do you want me to fix it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be hard.¡± Gamma replies.


    ¡°How so? You just need the parts so Ami can use her magic on it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the issue.¡± Gamma nods.


    ¡°We were standing on the edge of a mountaintop.¡± Veanya looks incredibly guilty. ¡°We were just having a nice chat while eating a snack. Took out my phone, phone fell, phone fell very far. Can¡¯t find the phone anymore, and even if we did, it probably exploded into a lot of tiny pieces.¡±


    My sister is facepalming pretty badly right now.


    ¡°Before you ask why we were on the side of a mountain. It¡¯s to prepare the ritual site for your friend Carol.¡±


    ¡°On top of a mountain?!¡± I call out. ¡°Why is it on the top of a mountain!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the side, Amicia.¡± Gamma says.


    ¡°Same difference.¡± Sam shakes her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s a small plateau, it¡¯s desolate so we won¡¯t be seen. And has a good connection to the elements so we have the perfect environment to do the ritual.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t need all that, I just needed one candy!¡±


    ¡°But you also turned into a divine being, we do want to avoid that.¡± Gamma clarifies.


    ¡°Oh my Goddess¡­¡± I mimic my sister by facepalming as well right now. Whatever I say it¡¯s probably not going to change anything anyway.


    ¡°I officially retract the compliment I gave both of them earlier.¡± My sister then says. ¡°I think everyone agrees.¡±


    Hilda nods. ¡°I can see where this is coming from, yes¡­¡± She looks at the two other deities in the room who are looking at us with a confused expression.


    ¡°Compliment?¡± Gamma tilts her head.


    After a couple of minutes the situation settles a bit as things return to their usual state. Except for the fact that we still have two Goddesses in our midst.


    Gamma has taken up a seat and is right now munching on one of the leftover fish sticks I gave her. Veanya is standing next to the kitchen counter, casually leaning on it.


    ¡°Thank you, I was famished.¡± Gamma says, half the fish stick is almost gone.


    ¡°Do you not do anything slowly?¡± Sam asks, surprised to how fast she¡¯s eating.


    ¡°No, not really.¡±


    My sister coughs. ¡°Anyway, Veanya¡­ you wanted to answer the question Ami had sent?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did.¡± Veanya nods. ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty interesting.¡±


    ¡°Please, do explain.¡± Nikki says, while she already starts cleaning up most of the plates.


    ¡°Do you remember I told you about that one God that oversaw Earth?¡± She directs herself to me.


    ¡°I think I do.¡± I nod.


    ¡°Yeah, you called him an irresponsible prick if I recall correctly.¡± Sam ads.


    ¡°Yes, that one.¡± Veanya nods back. ¡°As far as any of us know, that¡¯s the only God that has ever ruled over this planet. That means that all those different Gods from the hellenic pantheon for example, either must be made up, or all depict the same God in different shapes.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Right, some of you can shapeshift.¡± I reply, remembering Veanya¡¯s granny days.


    ¡°Some, like me, do indeed have that power. I¡¯m not too terribly familiar with the God who ruled over Earth, except for that he was a complete douche, but it is possible he also could do that.¡±


    ¡°Huh, that is indeed pretty interesting.¡± Hilda agrees.


    ¡°What do you personally lean towards, Veanya?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Hmmm, personally I¡¯d say those Gods in particular are just an explanation for natural phenomena and other mysterious yet explainable events.¡±


    ¡°It still makes you wonder though.¡± Sam continues.


    ¡°It does. I¡¯ll ask around if someone knows a bit more but don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± Veanya smiles. ¡°It¡¯s a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d appreciate that.¡± Hilda thanks our clumsy Goddess.


    -I think I personally would like to meet Artemis if she really existed¡­ She sounds cool¡­-


    FieryKathy


    Artemis is like one of my number 1 Goddess to meet. That''d be cool :3


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 138: Wind-Force 10

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Well, off we go again. Goodbye everyone, thank you for the chat!¡± Veanya waves at us. ¡°Oh, and I¡¯ll get a new phone with the same number, don¡¯t worry about that. It¡¯s not the first time this happens.¡±


    ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± My sister rolls her eyes.


    ¡°Bye bye.¡± Gamma takes Veanya¡¯s hand and with a pop both of them disappear, probably heading back towards the mountain to continue preparing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope Veanya¡¯s landing will be better now.¡± Sam laughs and shakes her head. ¡°Otherwise they¡¯ll take a slight tumble down a rocky mountainside.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine¡­ I hope¡­¡± I reply.


    ¡°That was some rather amusing after-dinner entertainment.¡± Hilda chuckles.


    ¡°Indeed quite amusing and informative.¡± Nikki agrees.


    ¡°Anyhow, I should probably head home.¡± Hilda looks at her watch. ¡°You were not going to join us in Turn of Destiny, right? Ami and Sam?¡±


    ¡°No, we were going to take a little break.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod with.


    ¡°Okay, so it¡¯s only me, Nikki and Lise.¡± She looks at my other family members.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be there but we are mainly going to do our own thing.¡± Lise replies.


    ¡°So am I but at least we can chat with one another.¡±


    ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t about work.¡± Nikki sighs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t want that myself.¡± Hilda chuckles and then stands up from her seat. ¡°Thank you for the nice meal, Sam and Ami, see you next time?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow for us and a bit longer for you.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Stay safe. Don¡¯t make us come and log in to save you all.¡± Sam jokes.


    ¡°We¡¯ll try to stay out of trouble but I won¡¯t promise a thing.¡± Lise jokes back and walks Hilda to the door. ¡°See you in a bit, Hilda.¡±


    ¡°See ya.¡± Hilda waves at us all before she walks through the door and disappears into the evening.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m already going to bed if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Nikki walks over to the kitchen and fills a glass with tap water. ¡°Have a good evening, girls.¡±


    ¡°Good night, Nikki.¡± I give her a hug when she walks by again.


    ¡°Good night.¡± She gives me a smile in return.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll be joining her to fool around.¡± Lise chuckles.


    ¡°If you do that I¡¯ll kick you out of the bed.¡±


    ¡°Awh¡­¡± Lise walks after Nikki into the hallway. ¡°Good night.¡±


    ¡°Nini.¡± I reply and so does Sam.


    It is strangely quiet in the living room without anyone else except for Sam and I. It doesn¡¯t happen very often that the two of us are alone in here without anyone else since we go to my room most of the time.


    ¡°I suppose you are not tired yet?¡± Sam asks with a smile.


    ¡°No, not really.¡± I reply and walk over to the kitchen. ¡°I¡¯ll start the dishwasher. If you want to put on something on the television, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sam smiles and heads towards the sofa with our glasses of soda in her hands.


    She¡¯s just decided on a channel when I return and plop myself down on the sofa next to her. ¡°So, what are we watching?¡± I look at the television screen. The show that¡¯s airing now looks pretty old.


    ¡°It¡¯s a show I have heard off before but I¡¯ve never actually seen it. It¡¯s an old television fiction series about a coast-guard helicopter search and rescue team.


    ¡°Oh! That sounds interesting. I¡¯ve never really heard of those kinds of shows before. Except that one show about the beach lifeguards but that¡¯s not the same, right? What was it called¡­ Cove Lookout?¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah! That one.¡± Sam starts laughing. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think this is the same at all. Wait, let me see if I can rewind till the start of the episode.¡± She presses a couple of buttons on the remote control after which the intro theme quickly starts playing. It focuses a lot on the characters and on the actual helicopter used.


    ¡°Wow, that helicopter looks cool. I love that camouflage pattern.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. I think I¡¯ve actually seen that one in a museum.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sam nods enthusiastically. ¡°It¡¯s an amazing museum full of airplanes and other things like tanks. It¡¯s such a large museum.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m pretty sure if you take Hilda there she will just want to live there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s already been there before, especially with how much she loves history. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you are probably right.¡± I giggle. ¡°But now I want to go there too, it sounds like an interesting place.¡±


    ¡°And so the list of places to take Ami too grows even longer. We still need to go to the movie theater together as well.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be together for the rest of our lives so we have plenty of time.¡± I give her a kiss.


    ¡°Awh¡­ my heart can¡¯t take those overly sweet words, Ami. You are going to kill me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can revive you anyway.¡±


    Sam laughs and gives me a kiss back. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true.¡±


    There¡¯s a couple of episodes in a row from this one show so we decide to watch it all the way. Luckily for us it was apparently the start of a re-run so we¡¯d be able to digitally record the next episodes too so we can watch the entire thing. However, by the end of the third episode it becomes apparent I¡¯d already need to start recording as Sam is starting to doze off. It¡¯s rare for Sam to doze off before me so I¡¯m going to take full advantage to admire my beautiful girlfriend¡¯s sleepy face. A wise catgirl would probably decide to wake her up and head to bed together, but I¡¯m definitely not one of those. As I nuzzle myself against her shoulder to take a nap by myself. I do turn of the tv before I do so, just so it¡¯s not playing and using electricity for no one.


    A bit later Mochi and Pocky also join us on the sofa for some napnaps. They have recovered from their little panic when Veanya and Gamma made their sudden appearance. Pocky takes up a position on my lap and Mochi deciding to sleep on the sofa¡¯s backrest behind Sam¡¯s head.


    -Ah, such bliss, one big pile of cuddleness¡­-


    Pocky starts purring on my lap, making me doze off soon after.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Ami¡­?¡± I can feel Sam starting to move next to me.


    ¡°Mmm?¡± I hum back.


    ¡°What time is it?¡± She yawns.


    ¡°I unno.¡± I shrug, not even bothered to open up my eyes.


    Sam moves a little bit more. ¡°Oh, crap, it¡¯s already two¡­ C¡¯mon, Ami, let¡¯s get to bed.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just¡­ stay here?¡± I rub the sand out of my eyes.


    ¡°Ami, your back will definitely not appreciate that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a catgirl, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I put my head back on her shoulder.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not.¡± Sam chuckles. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Nyoo¡­ I wanna stay.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll carry you, no problem there.¡± Sam stands up from the sofa, making me fall over. Suddenly I¡¯m a bit more awake. Apparently Pocky and Mochi had already taken up a different sleeping spot because I couldn¡¯t see them anymore.¡±


    ¡°One, two, and up you go.¡± Sam scoops me up in her arms. ¡°Now, off to bed.¡±


    ¡°Buuu, I wanted to stay in the sofa.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be singing a different tune when you¡¯re underneath your blankets.¡±


    That does sound good¡­ I do like my cozy bedding.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame we need to get up tomorrow.¡± I pout while Sam carries me through the hallway.


    ¡°We should take a night away from Turn of Destiny when it''s the weekend. That¡¯ll be nice too, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°But on the other hand¡­ we can relax three days instead of one if we go to Haurchefaud.¡±


    ¡°True, but then I can¡¯t really hug you with my own body.¡± Sam replies, dumping me on my bed. ¡°Well, you know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod again.


    ¡°Okay.¡± She smiles. ¡°Give me a sec while I go back to turn off all the lights. Sam disappears for a while. I hear the clicking of light switches in the distance. It doesn¡¯t take long for her to reappear. ¡°Can you help me with my leg?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I do my girlfriend duty to unleg my partner and in no-time Sam¡¯s leg is laying besides the bed.


    ¡°Phew¡­ I¡¯m happy that¡¯s off.¡±


    ¡°Does it feel good?¡±


    ¡°Occasionally.¡± Sam replies. ¡°Especially when I¡¯ve had it on for a long time and I¡¯ve done a lot of sports. It kinda feels like taking off your bra after a long day.¡±


    ¡°Oh! I know that feeling.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ you are still wearing your bra¡­ Can I?¡± Sam slightly tugs on the bottom of my shirt.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I nod once again and take off my blouse. When it¡¯s off, Sam takes me in for a big embrace, and while she does so, she unclasps my bra, with ease. She then guides my arms out of the straps too and then tossed my bra on the side where I normally keep my clothes.


    ¡°Wow.¡± She looks at my unclothed upper body, making me blush quite a bit. ¡°That¡¯s a sight I¡¯ll never get tired of.¡± Sam then gives me a quick kiss.


    ¡°Sam¡­ that¡¯s lewd.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying I really like your body, aesthetically.¡±


    ¡°Sam! You are making it worse!¡± I blush even harder.


    Sam doesn¡¯t reply but just starts chuckling instead.


    FieryKathy


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 139: Rings

    FieryKathy


    We cuddle up in bed, really close to each other as my room is quite chilly. The days are getting colder again, which means I¡¯ll probably not be able to go to uni tomorrow in a skirt. But comfy and cozy is fine enough for me as well.


    ¡°Ami, your tail is almost whacking me in the face.¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°Oh, oops, sorry. But that¡¯s your fault for always wanting to be the big spoon.¡±


    ¡°Would you rather be the big spoon?¡± She whispers in my ear.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°See, there you go. I am forced to be the big spoon by default.¡± Sam chuckles. ¡°But I¡¯ll just do this, so it¡¯s fine.¡± She puts my tail to the side and puts it in between her chest and arm. ¡°Never mind, that tickles too much.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just try not to hit you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I don¡¯t know why your tail is this active today.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Maybe I¡¯m just really happy to be with you.¡±


    ¡°Awh¡­ my heart.¡± She gives me a kiss on the back of my head. ¡°You are just too cute.¡±


    ¡°No you.¡± I giggle.


    Our conversation then falls quiet for a bit. Sam must be falling asleep again.


    ¡°Hey, Ami¡­¡± Or not.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡±


    ¡°This is a hypothetical, but would you want to marry me if I asked you right now?¡±


    -Wow, that¡¯s a big question.-  ¡°Uh, I think I would¡­ but isn¡¯t it a bit early for that¡­ we¡¯ve not really known each other for that long, right?¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡± She laughs softly. ¡°I was just thinking the same thing¡­ what I would do if you asked me.¡±


    ¡°And what would you answer?¡± I turn around to look at her, face to face.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯d say yes.¡± She smiles.


    ¡°Oh, good.¡± I smile back.


    ¡°But if we both agree, why would we wait? Like, we would both say yes, if the other asked, right now. But at the same time, we also both agree that we should wait a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ that¡¯s true¡­¡± I think about it for a couple of seconds. ¡°You are the first person I¡¯ve really loved this much¡­ so I don¡¯t really know what a good timing for all of this is¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve definitely not been this head-over-heels in love with someone else before either.¡± Sam nods. ¡°But yeah, it¡¯s interesting to think about, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod back. ¡°But I¡¯m really happy you think of me that way. Maybe we could get something to signify what we mean to each other.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Sam calls out. ¡°Can you give me my phone real fast?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I roll over to reach for her phone and roll back to give it to her. ¡°Had an idea?¡±


    ¡°I just remembered something like that. It¡¯s called a promise ring.¡± She quickly types something into her phone and then shows the screen to me. ¡°It¡¯s a ring you give to each other to show your fidelity and commitment to one-another when you are in a romantic relationship. It¡¯s different from an engagement because plans for marriage aren¡¯t made yet, but it¡¯s still symbolically pretty strong to show that you are bonded.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve never heard of this before.¡± I scroll down the search results, but to me most of these rings all look the same as normal marriage rings.


    ¡°Should we get a couple?¡±


    I give Sam¡¯s phone back to her. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± I then lean in to kiss her. ¡°But won¡¯t they be expensive.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯s a good point.¡± Sam scratches her chin. ¡°I suppose we can¡¯t use Dwarger money for this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Sadly we can¡¯t¡­ wait a minute¡­ I think I just got an idea.¡±


    ¡°An idea concerning dwarger money?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± I reply enthusiastically. ¡°They are made of gold, aren¡¯t they? The Golden Dwargon.¡±


    ¡°Hah, I think I see where you are going with this. But it¡¯s not like we can go to a jewelry shop here to get rings made of some strange coins.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to.¡± I smile. ¡°We can let the rings be made in Turn of Destiny, then put them in the vault, and once they are in the vault I can summon them here!¡±


    Sam¡¯s smile grows even bigger. ¡°I have such a smart and amazing girlfriend, don¡¯t I?¡± She then leans in as well to kiss me.


    ¡°Hehe. So we¡¯ll do that then?¡±


    ¡°Yep, sounds like a great idea.¡± Sam then looks at the clock of her cellphone. ¡°Oh, another great idea would be to start sleeping right about now. Or we won¡¯t be able to crawl out of bed tomorrow.¡± She shows her phone back to me. It¡¯s already two in the morning.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Yeah¡­ Let me just roll over to be the little spoon again. Then we can start sleeping.¡±


    ¡°We can sleep while looking at each other too, you know?¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°If I look at you I will definitely not be able to fall asleep.¡±


    ¡°Did you just call me ugly?¡±


    ¡°Nonono!¡±


    Sam is smiling, it was clear that she¡¯s messing with me.


    ¡°Okay, maybe a little.¡±


    ¡°Oh, how rude.¡± Sam chuckles again and then gives me a final good night kiss before I turn around. ¡°Night night, Ami.¡±


    ¡°Night night, Sam.¡±


    This time we manage to sleep through the night without any interruptions, only to be woken up by the alarm I set on my cell phone. We both get dressed and head towards the living room where my sister and Nikki are already preparing some light breakfast.


    ¡°Hey there you two.¡± My sister greets us while reading the news on her tablet and drinking coffee.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± Nikki greets us too. ¡°Did you two sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I happily nod. ¡°Sam proposed to me yesterday.¡±


    Lise almost chokes on her coffee as she puts her mug down and starts coughing heavily. Nikki is looking at us with her eyes open wide.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that way too early?¡± Nikki asks while my sister is borderline still dying.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she means that we are getting promise rings for one another. It¡¯s not an actual engagement.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Nikki brings her hand to her chest.


    ¡°Darn it, Ami.¡± Lise coughs. ¡°Don¡¯t drop that on me just like that, okay?¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± I laugh.


    ¡°But promise rings are really cute. Where do you want to get yours? Because they tend to get pretty expensive nowadays. We can support you monetarily if necessary though.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ we actually had a plan for that.¡± Sam starts explaining our plan with the Golden Dwargon while Nikki sits down as well to eat a croissant.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty unique, but don¡¯t forget to ask if you can actually melt golden coins beforehand.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°How so?¡± Sam and I ask at the same time.


    ¡°Well¡­ from what I know, destroying currency is forbidden in large parts of this world. So maybe you should inform yourself in Turn of Destiny before you accidentally commit a criminal offense.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t think about that.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°Although, with our money, if it¡¯s not possible to melt a Dwargon coin, you could just buy a bar of gold with it anyway so it won¡¯t make much of a difference.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± My sister nods as she finishes off her coffee. ¡°Better to be sure though.¡±


    ¡°Has the shock lessened a bit, ¨¦lise?¡± Sam pokes fun at my sister.


    ¡°Just a little, yes. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m opposed to you marrying, it¡¯s just a bit early and I would like to marry Nikki before my little sister marries, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°She needs to keep some pride as an elder sister.¡± Nikki winks.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± My sister smiles and kisses her partner.


    ¡°Are there any plans for your marriage on the horizon?¡± Sam continues asking.


    ¡°I kinda want to know as well, now.¡± I add, after which I stuff a croissant in my mouth too.


    ¡°Good question, actually.¡± Lise replies. ¡°I was waiting a bit to resolve some issues with our parents first. But then that problem¡­ disappeared.¡±


    ¡°So what are you waiting for, huh?¡± Nikki teases. ¡°I¡¯m patiently waiting for your proposal.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you could propose too, you know?¡± My sis sticks out her tongue.


    ¡°I know you, you would be miffed if you didn¡¯t get the opportunity to do so first.¡±


    My sister nods and starts chuckling. ¡°Yeaaah¡­ you got me there. But now I¡¯ll need to wait a bit longer so it comes at an unexpected time.¡±


    ¡°But if she expects that it¡¯ll be at an unexpecting time, wouldn¡¯t it be better to give it at an expected time?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°But then the unexpected time is the expected time, isn¡¯t it? So there¡¯s still an unexpected time.¡± Nikki continues Sam¡¯s train of thoughts.


    ¡°My brain is not awake enough to have these kinds of conversations. Talk to me again in a couple of hours or so.¡± My sister rubs her temple and wants to take a sip from her empty coffee mug. ¡°Fuck¡­ I need some more coffee.¡± She then stands up and walks over to the coffee can.


    ¡°And we should probably leave for uni now.¡± Sam smiles and stands up too, waiting for me to follow her.


    ¡°But I still want to hear about what they did in Turn of Destiny!¡± I reply.


    ¡°We can do that too when we come back from uni, Ami.¡± Sam lifts me from the chair.


    She now has a very pouty cat girl in her arms. But a quick kiss and a hug makes everything better.


    FieryKathy


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 140: Rumours

    FieryKathy


    The entire day at uni goes by pretty fast, all things considered. When you have interesting lessons without much waiting around, time flies by faster than you would imagine. After the lessons have ended, I tell Carol and Hailey about our little chat with Gamma and Veanya yesterday. And how they are setting up the ritual site on the side of a mountain.


    ¡°On the side of a mountain?!¡± Carol exclaims. ¡°Are they mad?¡±


    ¡°It has something to do with aether, the elements, or something¡­ or so they told me.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t they considered some of us may have a fear of heights?¡±


    ¡°Look, you¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll be there as well to keep you safe¡­ even though I¡¯m not a big fan of heights either.¡± I look at the bracelet around my arm. ¡°At least we won¡¯t have to climb up to the peak like I had to for this little thing here. That was a lot scarier.¡±


    ¡°You climbed the side of a mountain, Ami?¡± Hailey asks.


    ¡°Yeah, our whole group did. We made it through that perfectly fine though.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That reminds me! You still need to tell us that story about what the heck you¡¯ve done in Turn of Destiny! Don¡¯t leave me hanging again!¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± I chuckle. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Sam and Max to get here so we don¡¯t need to retell it twice.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Carol concedes, and together the three of us wait for Sam and Max to get here after their lesson. Luckily for us, and for them as well, they don¡¯t have a boring meeting today. So they show up in front of our campus building about ten minutes later.


    ¡°I got a text message to hurry up. What¡¯s up?¡± Max asks the moment they arrive.


    ¡°Ami and Sam are going to tell us a story!¡± Carol replies happily.


    ¡°Are we?¡± Sam tilts her head in confusion.


    ¡°I did promise her to tell her the story of what has happened in Turn of Destiny.¡± I innocently scratch the back of my head. ¡°Better do it now before she catnaps me or something like that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d never do such a thing to my dear friend!¡± Carol hugs me. ¡°Okay, maybe if you refused to tell it for another week or so, then maybe I would.¡±


    Hailey laughs. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s Carol for you.¡±


    We don¡¯t stick around in front of the campus building for that much longer and start searching for a couple of benches in the park where we can get some privacy. Soon enough we find a couple of empty ones, actually not that far away from where we were standing. Since it¡¯s pretty cold outside there¡¯s even less students around in the park than normal, even then, because of the size of the surrounding park, it¡¯s never really busy.


    ¡°Has everyone settled in? Noone needs a blanket to fight off the cold?¡± Hailey puts her hand in her bag and takes out a blanket for herself. ¡°I have an extra one.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± Max smiles and shakes her head. With a Carol on her lap she mustn''t be feeling too cold.


    Sam and I then start retelling our story, starting from the moment we met each-other in the forests back on the old continent. Then what happened at the town that was infested with bandits and where I raised a large chunk of the populace back to life. How the inquisition found out about a new upstart religion. Our trip across the ocean with Captain Taylor and then our adventures on the Dwarger continent. With the big finale the siege of the Dwarger capital and my small detour to Bolasf.


    ¡°Holy shit. I thought that it would be quite the story, but I didn¡¯t expect this at all.¡± Max looks at us with open eyes.


    ¡°Yeah. We heard some things about it but I never thought it would be¡­ you know¡­ such an epic tale.¡± Carol agrees.


    Hailey just looks incredibly interested. ¡°Next time you have such a story, please do tell me. It¡¯s pretty fun to listen to your animated retelling of it, Ami.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± I smile at my other friend.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious about something.¡± Sam raises her finger. ¡°Did you really hear that much about Ami? In your short time of ToD.¡±


    ¡°Max and I spawned practically together in a forest. Once we made our way to the closest city we could find, we heard a couple of players there talk about how some of their friends had been ¡®yeeted and deleted¡¯ by a pink-haired cat girl.¡±


    ¡°Then one of the players appeared who¡¯d fought in the battle himself. And he started telling about his point of view of the battle and then how he met his end.¡± Max continues.


    ¡°Oh by the way. We haven¡¯t told you yet, but the native inhabitants of the lands have also started to speak more and more about this mythic savior. The protector of all that¡¯s good and the one who smites all who does harm and whom should be feared by all evildoers or they¡¯ll be sent directly to their deaths.¡±


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡± I pout.


    ¡°Is that such a bad thing?¡± Carol chuckles.


    ¡°Well¡­ Ami doesn¡¯t really enjoy everyone worshiping her as a Goddess. But because of the way she is and how she acts. It¡¯s kind of inevitable.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not really the Goddess part that annoys me most anymore. It¡¯s the agressive parts of the title that come with it.¡± I explain.


    ¡°Most people have started to call her the Goddess of both Justice and Vengeance.¡± Sam adds on to that.


    ¡°Ah, I do think I¡¯ve heard that name drop as well.¡± Max nods.


    ¡°And what city were you in?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s called Ribaquen.¡±


    ¡°The religion already got there?! Our party started in that city, it¡¯s so far away!¡± I lower my head.


    ¡°It is the capital of that region, is it not? Traders spread rumors very far and fast, and that¡¯s without taking into account players respawning.¡± Max says. She¡¯s right¡­ but still¡­


    ¡°And I think there are definitely worse names they could¡¯ve given you, Ami.¡± Carol says. ¡°Like the Destructor, the Vindicator, the Reaper¡­¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m glad to hear you¡¯ve at least gotten used to a bit of the attention.¡± Sam pats me on my head. ¡°Because I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to slow down.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s enough about us, what have you done in your couple of days in Turn of Destiny? And don¡¯t skip out on the details.¡± Sam directs the attention away from me and onto Carol and Max.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be that person.¡± Max says as she looks at her phone. ¡°But could we keep that for another time? It¡¯s already gotten pretty late.¡±


    Sam grabs her phone as well and looks at the screen. ¡°Oh shit. Have we been talking for that long?¡±


    I look over my girlfriend¡¯s shoulder and see that we somehow spent one hour and twenty minutes retelling our story. ¡°Oh yeah, we should probably go home too.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll promise to tell you all the story tomorrow though. I promise it on my pristine soul.¡±


    ¡°So, what you are telling us is that that promise is pretty useless?¡± Sam chuckles. ¡°C¡¯mon you should¡¯ve seen that one coming.¡±


    ¡°I did, otherwise I¡¯d be disappointed in you.¡± Max winks. She then helps her girlfriend stand up from the bench. ¡°Ami, Hailey, Sam, see you around tomorrow then?¡±


    ¡°See you tomorrow!¡± I reply and we wave our friends off as they leave us to go and do their own thing.


    ¡°Are you going to be able to get home, Hailey?¡± Sam ask Hails. During our storytelling she¡¯d also grabbed the second blanket and had draped that around herself. She kinda looks like a Hailey cocoon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She smiles at us. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to stay here for a bit longer, I quite like this place.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? Try not to get a cold, okay?¡± Sam asks. I really like the concern she shows for my friends.


    ¡°Here, I¡¯ll boost up your immunity system a bit more.¡± I smile and focus on Hailey while I stealth cast a potent heal on her. ¡°I don¡¯t actually know if this strengthens your immunity system but it can¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Hailey smiles at me. ¡°The only thing that would make me even happier is a nice warm cup of soup.¡±


    ¡°Sadly enough we have neither instant soup, water or a cup with us.¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°I could warm it up for you though. I¡¯ve already done that for a couple of tacos.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡± Hailey nods. ¡°That could be very useful in certain situations¡­ and not only when you want your take-out to get home warm.¡± She giggles.


    ¡°Like keeping your girlfriend warm when we are telling a very long story.¡± Sam says.


    ¡°I thought you were plenty warm with me on your lap.¡± I pout.


    ¡°I was, I was just kidding, little kitten.¡± She gives me a kiss on the cheek. ¡°Anyhow, have fun in your little quiet spot, Hailey. See you tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°See you two tomorrow.¡± She reciprocates with a big smile.


    ¡°Bye bye Hailey!¡± I wave as we leave her behind, looking like a very comfy Hailey wrap in her natural habitat.


    FieryKathy


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 141: Hearth

    FieryKathy


    Sam and I get home around six in the evening. My sister and Nikki are already busy doing work in the kitchen when we enter.


    ¡°Spent some after uni time with your friends?¡± Lise asks with a big smile as I done off my jacket.


    ¡°Yep, we had some story time in the park.¡± I nod happily.


    ¡°Outside? Isn¡¯t that a bit cold?¡± Nikki asks. ¡°I was at work with a scarf on.¡±


    ¡°Ami is a pretty hot girl.¡± Sam jokes, making me blush.


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± Lise giggles. ¡°Nikki, I think we shouldn¡¯t worry too much about their health. They¡¯ll be okay with Ami around.¡±


    Nikki shrugs with a smile. ¡°I suppose so.¡± Then she starts putting plates on the table. ¡°Are you eating with us immediately or are you going to wait.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± Sam nods. ¡°I¡¯m pretty hungry, and Ami is always hungry.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I nod. ¡°What do we have for dinner?¡±


    ¡°Spicy Goanese curry vindaloo.¡± My sister states matter of factly. ¡°Nikki wanted something Indian so I googled ¡®random Indian spicy dishes¡¯ and this is what I got.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good way to find a dish to eat.¡± Sam laughs. ¡°But it does smell delicious.¡±


    ¡°You can also thank Nikki for that.¡± My sister smiles as she takes the pot of the heat. ¡°It¡¯s about done. If you can put down some glasses for us to drink and some utensils, that¡¯d be greatly appreciated.¡±


    ¡°On it!¡± Sam and I say in unison.


    After our spicy dinner, Sam and I clean up the dishes and the kitchen while Nikki and ¨¦lise drop themselves in the living room.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t ask yet, but are you two joining us for Turn of Destiny today?¡± My sister leans over the back of the sofa so she has a direct line of sight to Sam and I.


    Sam looks at me, I give her an affirmative nod. ¡°Yeah, sure, why not. Speaking of which, what have you done when we were gone?¡±


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s for you to see for yourself.¡± My sister laughs. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have not torched the city or anything like that. Everything is still more or less standing.¡±


    ¡°More or less?¡± I ask, slightly concerned.


    ¡°She¡¯s joking, Ami.¡± Nikki clarifies. ¡°We¡¯ve mainly done some work on the house. Nothing too major but the interior does look quite a bit different now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that makes me more or less concerned¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you doubting our decorating skills, little kitten?¡± Nikki teases me. ¡°Both me, your sister and Hilda do have quite a lot of time in The Pims, you know? We are practically house decoration experts.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you arguing last time about colors? Or am I misremembering that?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Those were but mere creative differences, Sam.¡± Lise replies. ¡°Or would the two of you say that this apartment is badly decorated too?¡±


    ¡°I always assumed you just got it with furniture and all.¡± I kick in a cheeky reply.


    ¡°Oh ho ho. Nikki, I think someone doesn¡¯t want us to randomly buy fishies for her to eat anymore. What a shame. I was just planning on buying a big fat tuna tomorrow. I guess some other cat girl will have to be happy with that.¡±


    ¡°No! Please! Please forgive me!¡± I race over to the sofa. ¡°I was just kidding! Kidding! I promise!¡±


    My sister smiles and scratches me behind my ears. ¡°Never joke about the decorating skills of the person who buys you fishies, Ami. Unless it¡¯s only Nikki you are joking about. Then I¡¯ll allow it.¡±


    ¡°Jerk.¡± Nikki laughs and pokes my sister in the side with her elbow.


    ¡°You do know Ami is fully expecting you to actually buy her a fat tuna for tomorrow, right?¡± Sam asks, just to be sure. -She is right though.-


    ¡°I am fully aware of that, that¡¯s just a sacrifice my wallet will have to make. Well at least we can get some sashimi from it too.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not getting the entire tuna?¡±


    My sister scratches me behind my ear again. ¡°There there, Ami, don¡¯t be too gready.¡±


    ¡°Owkay.¡± I feign sadness but my purring gives my deception away immediately.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± My sister chuckles again as she continues scratching. ¡°Goddess, I do love having a cat girl sister. I love it so much. Come here so that I can hug you.¡± She stops scratching for a moment and turns around so she sits with her knees on the sofa before reeling me into a big hug. ¡°I mean, cats are great. But having a cat girl sister is just that little bit better.¡±


    I don¡¯t say anything as I just let myself get melted into her hug.


    ¡°Having one as a girlfriend is even better.¡± Sam comments.


    -I like being one the most¡­ though cat girl Sam in Turn of Destiny isn¡¯t bad either.-


    ¨¦lise hugs me for so long that Nikki has to pause the program they are watching so she doesn¡¯t miss all of it. But I can tell that she really doesn¡¯t mind this sisterly bonding.


    When my sister finally backs away from me she wipes her hand over her eyes.


    ¡°Are you crying?¡± I ask, a bit concerned.


    ¡°No, well, yes, but these are tears of pure bliss.¡± Her big smile confirms this even more. ¡°I was just thinking about the past and stuff.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to think about that, I don¡¯t either.¡± I smile and give her a head pat in return. ¡°The past is the past.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t really thinking about that.¡± My sister laughs. ¡°I was just thinking about how little catgirl Ami would look.¡±


    ¡°Oh my Goddess.¡± Nikki¡¯s eyes grow wide.


    I can hear Sam spit out her water in the kitchen. She must¡¯ve gone to get some water while we were hugging. ¡°That¡¯d be the cutest thing ever!¡±


    ¡°I know right!¡± Nikki nods aggressively. ¡°Why have you put this in my mind, Lise. Now I won¡¯t be able to satisfy the urge to have seen that.¡±


    ¡°Surely there must be some kind of magic for this. Just something that allows us to get a glimpse of that font of pure cuteness.¡± Sam scratches her chin.


    ¡°I am kind of curious now too¡­¡± I admit with a blush.


    ¡°Another thing to add to our list of things to do. Find some kind of photography magic that allows us to see smol Ami!¡± My sister calls out, almost triumphantly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that. We are now the fellowship of smol Ami.¡± Sam says matter of factly.


    ¡°I would like to veto that name tho¡­¡± I continue blushing. My family starts laughing at my response.


    Our entire family decides to chill in the living room for a bit longer, turning the heating a bit lower and bringing out the cozy and extra snug blankets. Pocky and Mocchi join us as well, with both of them getting snug under Sam and mine blanket. Nice and toasty.


    ¡°At times like these I miss having a fireplace.¡± My sister comments, she¡¯s not really watching the television, none of us really are.


    ¡°We can put on the fireplace channel if you want to, babe.¡± Nikki takes the remote and types in a four-number channel, immediately landing us on a nice crackling fire.


    ¡°First of all, it¡¯s not the same as having a real fireplace. Second of all, why do you know that channel¡¯s number by heart?¡±


    ¡°Because I like putting it on occasionally while reading a book.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Lise looks at the television. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s not too bad, but still.¡±


    ¡°It does sound a lot like the real thing, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Sam turns herself towards me.


    ¡°It does.¡± I nod. ¡°But I still prefer Hilda¡¯s real fireplace. It¡¯s the smell and the warmth coming from it that you just can¡¯t beat.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm, mhmm.¡± Sam nods. ¡°Sadly a fireplace in an apartment is not really something that is being done. Fire hazards and all that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I lean in to lean my head on Sam¡¯s shoulder. Of course she lets me. ¡°This is good enough for now. We can sit by the real fireplace in Turn of Destiny when we get there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a deal.¡± Sam kisses me on the top of my head.


    ¡°Hilda is going to play too, right?¡± I ask my sister and Nikki.


    ¡°As far as we know she is. She has done even more decorating than any of us. And she¡¯s also managed to get our walker back.¡±


    ¡°Ooh.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit beat up so she¡¯s also spent a lot of time fixing it.¡±


    ¡°Without any help?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Of course. It wouldn¡¯t be Hilda if she didn¡¯t try to do it by herself first. She is a bit of a grease monkey.¡± Lise laughs. ¡°You¡¯ve seen her garage.¡±


    Nikki chuckles as well. ¡°That lady wants to understand how everything works. It¡¯s not a bad quality to possess.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Sam agrees. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve met many people who are more competent or intelligent than Hilda. She¡¯s a great all-in deal.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me to marry Hilda, okay?¡± I look up at my girlfriend. Putting on a playful pout.


    ¡°I¡¯d never.¡± Sam smiles and gives me a kiss on my forehead. ¡°Hilda probably wouldn¡¯t want me anyway.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± I reply with an even stronger pout. ¡°So you were actually considering it.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Sam, the tease, gives me another kiss.


    FieryKathy


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 142: Redecoration

    FieryKathy


    We continue teasing each other for a little while longer until it is time to head to our bedroom and get into the world of Turn of Destiny once more. We perform our usual nighttime ritual of taking my girlfriend¡¯s leg off.


    ¡°It should be pretty close to its maintenance appointment.¡± Sam says I put her leg away.


    ¡°Maintenance? I thought you maintained it yourself.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can do the easy things.¡± She chuckles and scratches her head. ¡°It¡¯s still a piece of very sophisticated technology, you know?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± I look at the leg in my arm. ¡°I can probably just cast a spell on it though. That should work, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ wouldn¡¯t it be too suspicious if I suddenly stopped going to my appointments?¡±


    ¡°Good point¡­¡± I put down her leg in the usual spot. ¡°I hope it doesn¡¯t cost too much then.¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. The expenses are covered.¡±


    I jump into bed, Sam immediately clutching her arms around my waist, dragging me down to the mattress.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± I smile and give her a kiss. ¡°Would you like another kiss? Those expenses have been covered as well.¡±


    ¡°What expenses would that be?¡± She smiles and already gives me a kiss.


    ¡°Cuddles and scratches.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind paying more of those.¡± Sam¡¯s embrace tightens a bit as she gives me another kiss.


    ¡°Alright then, then I¡¯ll up the price a little.¡±


    Sam smiles, boops her nose against mine and then starts scratching me behind my ear. ¡°My beautiful, lovely, amazingly cute, girlfriend.¡± She kisses me once more.


    ¡°No you.¡±


    ¡°I think you meant, ¡®you too¡¯.¡± And yet another kiss follows.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    We decide against fooling around for too much longer so we don¡¯t let our family wait for too long inside of the game. Giving each other only a dozen or so extra kisses before we put on our headsets and are transported back to the world of Haurchefaud. Where we find ourselves back in each other''s warm embrace.


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d love continuing kissing you¡­ this body is incredibly hungry.¡± Sam says as she gives me a kiss, now in her catgirl form. I could hear her stomach growl, even over both mine and her purring.


    ¡°Wow, I can tell.¡± I giggle. ¡°Come, let¡¯s get out of bed then.¡±


    We quickly put on some clothes and head out of the room. I can hear some activity going on downstairs. I also notice that the hallways now have nice long blue and silver woolen carpets covering the stone floors. With marble planters sitting in very carefully placed intervals. I do not recognize what kind of flowers and plants are in them, but the blue and white color scheme continues here as well.


    ¡°Oh damn, those are some rare flowers.¡± Sam comments, pointing at the white ones.


    ¡°Are they? I don¡¯t know them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a species of plants that¡¯s only found on this continent. They glow with a soft white light at night and aren¡¯t easy to grow. But I can tell that these are expertly planted. And luckily they don¡¯t really wilt away when cared for well.¡±


    ¡°I suppose Hilda bought them.¡± I shrug.


    ¡°I think so too, I doubt she had enough time to go and forage for all these flowers.¡±


    We follow the sounds and end up in the main hall with the sounds now clearly coming from the vault downstairs.


    ¡°Is anyone down there?¡± Sam calls out.


    ¡°Oh yeah!¡± I can hear my sister¡¯s voice. ¡°Nikki and I are just sorting some shit out down here. Hilda should be in the kitchen if you need her.¡±


    ¡°Why are you doing this in the early morning?¡± I ask. It¡¯s a bit weird to communicate like this but the staircase down to the vault carries sound pretty well so it doesn¡¯t really matter that much.


    ¡°Yes, tell her honey, why are we doing this right now?¡± Nikki does not sound very pleased.


    ¡°Well¡­ I may or may not have promised it to Hilda that I¡¯d do it last time, but I didn¡¯t, so she got a bit angry at me and now here we are.¡±


    ¡°And you roped Nikki into it?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s what any good partner would do, right?¡± I hear a bonk echo up the staircase. ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go and check on Hilda.¡± Sam laughs.


    ¡°Alright, tell her we¡¯ll be up in half an hour.¡± Nikki replies, my sister staying suspiciously quiet. Probably to avoid Nikki¡¯s ire.


    The main hall also had the carpets changed and some planters added. We now even had some blue and silver banners hanging from the ceiling. I recognize the heraldic crest on the banner as the same one that my sister has on her shield, that¡¯s supposed to represent me. With a winged lioness, holding a burning longsword, prominently placed in its center.


    Sam pokes me and nods up at the banner. ¡°Isn¡¯t the theme a bit wrong for those? The crest should be in rose-gold, shouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Hilda appears behind us, she almost made my heart stop. I hadn¡¯t heard her coming at all. ¡°Oh my Goddess, sorry Ami. I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s fine.¡± I take a couple of deep breaths.


    ¡°Then why are the banners like this? I suppose you didn¡¯t just mistake the colour scheme, right?¡± Sam does not seem very surprised by Hilda so she just continues on like normal.


    ¡°Actually...¡± Hilda claps her hands five times on a distinct beat. As she does that the colors of all the woolen items in the room change. The lioness is now turning a rose-gold color with the surroundings turning into bordeaux red.


    ¡°Holy shit.¡± Sam looks at the banners with her mouth wide open, and honestly, so am I.


    ¡°Neat, isn¡¯t it?¡± Hilda laughs.


    ¡°That must have cost a fortune.¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± Hilda says for the second time, with exactly the same tone as before. ¡°This one weaver is the father of one of the people Ami resurrected on the wall, and as a ¡®thank you¡¯ gift he gave us a huge discount and access to these rare materials on top of the discount we already had by making a deal with that one merchant. I still paid him more than he asked though. I didn¡¯t want to feel like we were completely ripping him off.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yeah, that sounds fair.¡± Sam nods.


    ¡°But what about the flowers upstairs then? Those aren¡¯t in my colors, or do those change too?¡±


    ¡°No, they don¡¯t, I just liked the look of them.¡± Hilda chuckles. ¡°Did you know they could glow in the dark?¡±


    I nod. ¡°Yeah, Sam told me that.¡±


    ¡°Right, ranger, need to remember that.¡±


    ¡°Did you also get a discount on those?¡± Sam asks, when we are asking about the carpets we might as well continue about the flowers.


    ¡°No.¡± Hilda shakes her head. ¡°Well¡­ it is to say¡­ I did get a small discount but as a trade with the flower merchant, I did promise her that we would join her on a botanical expedition.¡±


    ¡°So I guess we know where we are going then.¡± Sam replies.


    ¡°Yep, we should be back in time to log off so that¡¯s not an issue. But I¡¯m happy you didn¡¯t outright reject the expedition.¡±


    ¡°Adventuring is fun.¡± I smile. ¡°Of course we wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°I did have some more arguments to persuade you, just in case.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I tilt my head. ¡°Those being?¡±


    ¡°The expedition will lead us to the more tropical parts of this continent, tropical parts near the ocean.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s what we were talking about last time.¡± I jump an enthusiastic hop into the air.


    ¡°Yep. Tropical beaches included.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like it¡¯s going to be a shame that we can only go there for three days then.¡± Sam ads.


    ¡°If only we had someone who could teleport us all back in one go so we can maximize our stay.¡± Hilda smirks and looks at me.


    ¡°Ooooh!¡± I oh.


    ¡°Ooooh indeed.¡± Hilda winks.


    ¡°And I take it ¨¦lise and Nikki are coming too?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°Yep, as long as they sort our vault out. Or I¡¯ll ground them instead.¡±


    The three of us chuckle. But I¡¯m sure my sister won¡¯t miss the opportunity to go to a tropical beach with the entire family and Nikki wouldn¡¯t either.


    Sam¡¯s growling stomach makes sure that we don¡¯t continue talking for that much longer. Hilda has already prepared a nice plate of charcuterie and an assortment of cheeses together with some very good-looking butter. It¡¯s not necessarily something I¡¯d eat every day. But the different kinds of meats together with the delicious freshly baked bread, do fulfill me immensely.


    Nikki and Lise join us a bit later. My sister¡¯s hair is covered in dust.


    ¡°Where the hell did you find that much dust, sis?¡± I ask. ¡°Didn¡¯t they clean the place before we entered.¡±


    ¡°They obviously missed a spot.¡± My sister says as she grabs a piece of bread and the butter.


    ¡°At least it¡¯s all neatly sorted now.¡± Nikki replies while she puts some cheese on her plate.


    ¡°That means we can all leave on the trip together!¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°Though I just thought about something¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Can you teleport the walker too?¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± I think to myself. -I haven¡¯t even actually tried teleporting other people¡­ let alone machines¡­ we should probably try that before we leave-


    FieryKathy


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 143: Hofudstadr

    FieryKathy


    We eat up our breakfast and make sure our bellies are filled before we head to our rooms and grab our adventuring gear, Birdy included. Once that¡¯s done we meet up outside, with Hilda coming out of the mansion last as she was taking our provisions with us.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the walker?¡± I ask.


    ¡°See that gate over there? It¡¯s part of our mansion, it¡¯s a small courtyard¡± Hilda points a bit further down the road. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, I think the previous owners used it to store small vehicles so I decided to do the same. Gives me a good place to work on the walker as well.¡±


    We follow her along to the gate after which Hilda opens its lock with quite a big key.


    The gate swings open and reveals our good old trusty Walker. There¡¯s some obvious replaced parts and a couple of new additions like a luggage rack and some big lamps.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t it have headlights before?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°It did.¡± Hilda nods. ¡°These are very powerful lights though. I know most of us can see in the dark, but it can help us blind hostile creatures if they come a bit too close. I also installed a sound system too that screeches to scare off wildlife.¡±


    ¡°Hilda is truly making this thing into a survivalist vehicle.¡± Lise slaps the back of the walker.


    ¡°It can always come in handy.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Sam nods.


    I turn myself to the group. ¡°Would everyone get in the walker? I want to try something first if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure thing, sis.¡± Lise hops in and helps Nikki aboard as well. Sam and Hilda don¡¯t even say anything before they mount the walker.


    ¡°You want to try teleporting the walker and us together?¡± Hilda offers me her hand to get in next to her. She¡¯s installed a second seat in the front so we can have two people there now.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I give her a nod and take her hand. ¡°Otherwise we will take the trip for naught.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Maybe just try to teleport it to the front of the mansion.¡±


    ¡°That was my plan.¡± I smile.


    ¡°As long as we don¡¯t end up in the ocean it¡¯s going to be all fine.¡± My sister jokes.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t jinx it.¡± Nikki gives her a tap on the head. ¡°Let your sister concentrate.¡±


    ¡°Okay okay.¡±


    I sit down on the seat next to Hilda and close my eyes. Forming an image of the empty road in front of the mansion. I then concentrate on channeling my aether into my surroundings and focus on casting the teleportation spell. I can feel wind circling around us.


    Then all of the sudden I can feel the space around me shift.


    ¡°Oh wow.¡± My sister says. ¡°That was funky as hell.¡±


    ¡°Did it work?¡± I open my eyes and see that we have in fact all teleported to the spot in front of the main entrance.


    ¡°You did good, babe.¡± Sam smiles and pats me on the head from behind.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I smile. ¡°Noone is feeling nauseous or something like that?¡±


    ¡°No, not really.¡± Nikki replies. ¡°But let¡¯s only use it when we have to because it feels really weird. Very disorienting.


    ¡°Can you describe what it looks like? Because I have my eyes closed when I do the spell.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I was just staring at a wall and an instant later, you are looking down a street, with no movement at all. It takes your brain a second to figure out what happened.¡± Hilda chuckles. ¡°Maybe keeping your eyes closed while you teleport isn¡¯t that bad of an idea.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try that next time.¡± Lise says. ¡°But we should probably go now so we don¡¯t arrive too late at the florist¡¯s shop.¡±


    Hilda nods and starts the car. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Our walker walks along the main avenue towards the northern part of the city where the florist resides according to Hilda. On our way there we do draw a lot of attention from the capital¡¯s populace. Word has probably gotten around what we look like so we get a lot of bows and the occasional cheer as we move through. The only thing we can really do is smile and wave as we don¡¯t want to be seen as impolite.


    The neighborhood the florist¡¯s shop is in, is a lot less busy than the other parts of town, with only a few people walking about.


    ¡°You really went out of your way to find this person.¡± Sam says as Hilda stops the walker in front of the shop.


    ¡°I did, but everyone said that this was the best florist in town, so who was I to argue with that? And they were correct in the end.¡± Hilda just gets up to dismount the walker before she stops herself and sits back down again. ¡°Ah, looks like we don¡¯t need to go and get her.¡±


    An Ulusu lady with long blonde braided hair steps out of the shop and locks the door behind her. She has a very big backpack on her back.  ¡°Thank you for coming with me to the North.¡± She says while fumbling with her keys.


    ¡°A deal is a deal.¡± Hilda says with a smile.


    The lady turns around and walks over to the walker. Lise has dismounted in the meantime to help her put her bag on the luggage rack. ¡°Here, let me take that for you.¡± She then takes the back and gently lifts it in place, making sure it is secured.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    The lady then gets in the back with the rest of our group, my sister mounting up behind her.


    Hilda then turns around so she can look at the back of the walker. ¡°These are the people I talked to you about.¡±


    The lady nods ¡°It¡¯s nice meeting you all. My name is Brianna.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice meeting you too.¡± I smile and introduce myself, my family does the same. ¡°I heard we are going to a tropical beach?¡± I then continue.


    Brianna nods. ¡°The flowers I¡¯m after only grow in tropical areas but can survive perfectly fine in other climates.¡±


    ¡°So we can just set up a base camp at the beach and then explore from there.¡± Nikki nods.


    ¡°That would work.¡± Brianna nods again.


    ¡°Brianna, is there a particular reason you wanted to have people going with you?¡± ¨¦lise asks.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s quite the distance to travel on foot, especially if you want to carry anything back with you.¡± Brianna giggles.


    ¡°Fair point.¡± My sister laughs. ¡°So no dangerous wildlife or the sorts?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always that risk when you are traveling.¡± Brianna replies. ¡°But let¡¯s hope not.¡±


    We leave through the Northern city gate, quickly losing sight of any kinds of civilization except for the road that we are on.


    ¡°Is it far, Hilda?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Hmmm, from what Brianna told me, I think we could get there by the late evening. Especially if we speed along like this.¡± Now that she says it, the walker does appear to be moving a lot faster and smoother than it used to.


    ¡°Did you tune it?¡±


    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Hilda smiles. ¡°Might as well since I was replacing some parts. She¡¯s a very smooth runner now.¡±


    ¡°Quite literally a smooth runner.¡± Sam comments from behind us, provoking a chuckle out of both Hilda and I.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t make that pun on purpose, believe it or not.¡± Hilda says.


    ¡°And we will be going by road the entire time?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°We¡¯ll follow the road up until a certain point before we¡¯ll start off-roading. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll take very long to reach the coastline but we¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t the Dwarger have a settlement at the ocean?¡± Lise asks.


    ¡°No.¡± This time it¡¯s Brianna who replies. ¡°The Dwarger really don¡¯t like that kind of climate. It¡¯s way too humid for their machinery to keep working properly. So they barely have any settlements in the tropical zone. The first settlements you¡¯ll reach if you continue heading North are the border towns.¡±


    ¡°Border towns? Bordering what, exactly?¡±


    ¡°The Bozin desert.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯d continue through the desert you¡¯d end up in the Kingdom of Luja.¡± Hilda takes up the explanation. ¡°Most of the non-Dwarger races who ended up in Dwarger lands made that crossing through the desert, probably when it was less¡­ deserty¡­ Or that¡¯s what the man at the bookstore told me anyway.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t migrate along the coast?¡± Sam asks.


    Hilda shrugs. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought, or even by ships, but apparently the historians in this land don¡¯t believe it¡¯s important enough to research. You saw how little people were working on the ancient ruins too. When it doesn¡¯t matter for engineering, they care very very little.¡±


    ¡°Do you know where your family came from, Brianna?¡± I look to the back of the walker.


    She shakes her head. ¡°I just know that my parents and their parents before them have lived in Hofudstadr.¡±


    ¡°Huh, interesting¡­¡±


    -Wait¡­ I think that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve actually heard the name of the Dwarger capital city¡­-


    FieryKathy


    It''s getting cold again in Belgium. I''m not used to the cold anymore thanks to the very hot summers. Sadness. I do like the cold though. (Though the energy prices are gonna be shit)


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 144: Jinx

    FieryKathy


    We spend a large part of the day just driving on the road North. In the back my family has decided this was a good time to play some card games. Even Brianna got involved although it did take some explaining the rules to her as these games were foreign to this world. But they were having fun and that''s what mattered. As for me, my family had invited me as well but I decided against it. I decided to play a bit with Birdy instead and talk with Hilda for the rest of the time so she wasn¡¯t getting bored herself either. It was like this how we ended up on the topic of bird spotting.


    ¡°Have you done it before, Hilda?¡± I ask.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve not. I¡¯ve got a friend who does though. And then I have another friend who does¡­¡± She looks back at Brianna for a second before she whispers into my ear. ¡°...who does plane spotting.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool.¡±


    ¡°Both are very different yet very similar at the same time aren¡¯t they.¡± She chuckles.


    ¡°I guess they are. Different sizes and colors and even different sounds they make. I wonder if there are many people who have those hobbies overlap.¡±


    ¡°Quite probably.¡± Hilda smiles after which Birdy lands on her head. ¡°Talking about birds, hey.¡± She laughs.


    ¡°Yeah, Birdy likes landing on heads a lot. It¡¯s like her favorite thing to do.¡±


    ¡°Good thing she doesn¡¯t poop.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. That¡¯s true.¡± I laugh. ¡°But now that we are talking about birds. Isn¡¯t it strange that we haven¡¯t heard any yet? This is a pretty big forest, you¡¯d expect at least a couple, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Do you know the answer to that, Brianna?¡± Hilda asks without looking at the back of the truck.¡±


    ¡°Uh, wait a second.¡± Brianna says as she lays down some cards in the middle of the playing field. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure this is a straight¡­¡±


    ¡°A straight flush.¡± Sam nods. ¡°Nice.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Brianna smiles.


    ¡°Goddess darn it.¡± My sister puts her face in her hands. ¡°I thought you were bluffing.¡±


    ¡°How can she bluff, she¡¯s just barely learned the game?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, there¡¯s some pretty good liars out there.¡±


    ¡°At least you didn¡¯t lose any clothes because of it.¡±


    ¡°Any clothes?¡± Brianna tilts her head.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s some¡­ optional rule. We don¡¯t do that now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Brianna smiles and then looks at the front of the walker. ¡°Sorry, what was your question?¡±


    Hilda poses the question we had to her again, after which Brianna thinks for a second.


    ¡°Hmm, most birds that live in this area are voiceless birds.¡±


    ¡°Voiceless birds?¡± Sam asks. ¡°I know there¡¯s a couple kinds of voiceless birds but an entire area that only is inhabited by voiceless bird species is really rare, is it not?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because there¡¯s something dangerous in the area so they¡¯ve evolved to be like that.¡± What Nikki says is actually rather scary as it is a pretty plausible explanation. We do know that dinosaurs are a thing in this world¡­


    ¡°That could be true.¡± Brainna agrees. ¡°But I¡¯ve never encountered anything like that before so it¡¯s probably just a coincidence.


    ¡°Oh Goddess¡­ Brianna clearly doesn¡¯t know what ¡®jinxing it¡¯ means.¡± My sister looks behind her out of the walker for a bit, into the forest. ¡°...and it doesn¡¯t help that I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about it.¡±


    ¡°You are feeling it too?¡± Nikki asks as she grabs hold of her staff, which I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen before... It must be new.


    ¡°Something is watching us.¡± Sam grabs her bow as well.


    It¡¯s as if whatever was watching us realized that we¡¯d gone on alert as a very loud roar shakes the leaves of the trees and shakes us to our bones.


    ¡°Oh fuck.¡± Hilda cranks the speed of the walker to the max. ¡°That didn¡¯t sound good at all.¡± This wasn¡¯t a moment too soon as out of the forest behind us a big creature breaks through some trees and ends up in the middle of the road. What I see can only be described as a mix between a two legged dinosaur like a t-rex, crossed with a black dragon. Black scales covering its entire body with small wings protruding from its back, way too small to be able to carry a beast of that size. It looks at us with its big green eyes and quickly starts to chase. While the walker is already going way faster than what is probably safe, the monster still appears to be gaining on us.


    ¡°What the bloody fuck.¡± My sister unsheats her sword. ¡°For my Sister, My Goddess, I¡¯ll come to Her defense!¡± Her shield pops on her arms as she gets to the rear of the walker. Though I¡¯m not sure if her shield will help if that thing ever reaches us. ¡°Please kill that oversized fucking ugly chicken!¡±


    The dinodragon roars even louder and starts running even faster.


    ¡°I think you just pissed it off.¡± Nikki starts casting spells in the direction of our very scary foe. But it seems like casting on the move isn¡¯t that easy as most of her spells miss the target. The couple of fireballs that do hit, however, do appear to be damaging it, if just a little.


    In the meantime Sam acrobatics herself up to the luggage rack above so she can get clear shots on the target. While she¡¯s a lot more accurate than Nikki, her arrows seem to be doing minimal damage as well.


    ¡°I suppose you can¡¯t drive a bit slower, Hilda?¡± Sam asks while knocking and firing off a couple more arrows. ¡°Most of my higher power skills aren¡¯t meant to be shot at moving targets while also being on the move.¡±


    ¡°Sam for me!¡± Nikki calls out.


    ¡°If I stop the walker it won¡¯t be able to start moving fast enough again in case your skills don¡¯t take it down.¡± Hilda looks to my side. ¡°Ami, can you do something?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± I take my staff out and launch a couple of big blue balls of death, but while they do hit, from what I can tell it¡¯s not doing much either. ¡°I doubt I can go into my alternate form fast enough.¡± I close my eyes and try to focus, but the noise and chaos around me is just too great for me to really get in the zone.


    That¡¯s when I feel a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Ami, I think I have an idea.¡± It¡¯s my sister. When I open my eyes she¡¯s smiling at me. ¡°But you might have to heal me a bit.¡±


    ¡°What are you planning?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°Sam, Nikki, you just need one of us to stop moving, right?¡±


    ¡°Just long enough for me to channel my big hitters.¡± Nikki says.


    ¡°Same for me.¡± Sam replies.


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll try to buy you some time.¡± Lise walks back to the back of the walker and hops in place a couple of times. ¡°Now that I think about it, it might not be the best plan ever.¡± She rolls her neck. ¡°But oh well, no guts no glory, right?¡± Lise looks back at me and gives me a wink, after which she leeps of the back of the walker, performing a superhero landing on the dirt road with her sword stuck in the dirt to stop her momentum. After which she stands up with her shield in front of her and her sword prepared for a good stabbing. Her sword is burning brightly with a rose gold flame.


    The dinodragon appears to be somewhat surprised by this as it skids to a halt right in front of my sister. This is the sign for Nikki and Sam to start preparing their big damage shots. Hilda slows down the walker a bit to give Nikki and Sam an easier time to aim.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, birdbrain? Didn¡¯t think your food would fight back?¡± ¨¦lise calls out to the creature.


    Instead of replying, the dinodragon snaps down to bite my sister. For all intents and purposes the mouth of the creature should¡¯ve been big enough to just swallow my sister whole, but a rose gold force field extending from the shield is not allowing it¡¯s jaw to close.


    ¡°Gotcha now.¡± My sister sees her opportunity to give a good couple of stabs into the open mouth of the dinodragon. It recoils back in pain.


    In that instant, Sam calls out. ¡°Goddess¡¯ arrow, strike true and pierce our foes!¡± A rose gold bolt, with the width of a big cannonball, shoots away from Sam¡¯s bow.


    While at the same time Nikki yells. ¡°From the skies above, meteors reign down with divine judgment before the Goddess!¡± With a giant cloud forming above the dinodragon.


    Sam¡¯s arrow is the first skill to arrive. It strikes the abomination just to the upper right of its center mass leaving a gaping hole in its chest.


    However, this does not finish it off. It roars again and braces for another charge. Just when it starts to move, from the cloud above, a meteor appears which strikes down where the dinodragon is standing, blinding us with an extremely bright light. The shockwave that follows knocks the air out of me. Luckily Hilda manages to keep the walker from running out of control. She manages to stop it as the dust the blast kicked up makes driving extremely dangerous. The good thing is that we can¡¯t hear the creature anymore.


    When the dust settles a couple of minutes later, there¡¯s not much of the dinodragon left, except for some burning remains and a huge crater.


    ¡°Phew, that was something.¡± Hilda steps out of the walker and wipes her brow.


    ¡°Uhm Ami, I can¡¯t see your sister from here.¡± Sam says as she looks out over the road from on top of the walker¡¯s luggage rack.


    ¡°D-do you think she¡¯s dead?¡± I quickly get off the walker, prepared to go and run towards the crater and revive her.


    ¡°I¡¯m here! Can someone come and get me!?¡± We suddenly hear my sister¡¯s voice coming from our right.


    I look into the treeline but I can¡¯t see her anywhere. Sam looks in that direction as well but shrugs. ¡°Sis!? Where are you? We can¡¯t see you!¡± I yell out.


    ¡°Ami!? Was that you!? I can only barely hear you! The explosion sent me flying and I¡¯m somewhere in some treetops. I¡¯m using my skill to amplify my voice! I could really use some healing!¡±


    -Oh no, now we need to go and search for my sister¡­-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 145: Yeeted

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Sam, could you fire a fire arrow or something like that up into the sky?¡± Hilda asks while she stares into the forest.


    ¡°Ah, trying to do a flare?¡± Sam asks back, nocking an arrow on her bow.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s the idea.¡± Hilda nods.


    ¡°Alright, coming right up.¡± She pulls back her bow and then tilts up. Releasing the arrow in almost a 90 degree angle compared to the ground.


    ¡°I can see the arrow! It¡¯s about five-hundred meters to my left!¡± Lise calls back.


    ¡°Okay, now let¡¯s get your sister before her yelling attracts another one of those things.¡± Hilda pats my back. ¡°Nikki, could you stay behind with Brianna?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Nikki nods and sits down on one of the passenger seats again.


    ¡°We will be right back.¡± Sam, Hilda and I then move into the forest. It¡¯s rather dense which makes heading through the forest pretty hard.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine a creature that size could move through this forest like that.¡± Sam remarks.


    ¡°It must¡¯ve made a little opening for itself where it had its lair. Or it could have also just been laying in wait for someone to pass.¡±


    ¡°Even though Brianna didn¡¯t know of it?¡± I ask as well. ¡°Someone should¡¯ve known it was here if it stalked the roads, right?¡±


    ¡°Or we are just very unlucky.¡± Hilda shrugs. ¡°For all we know it could also just have been a migratory¡­ dragon¡­ bird¡­ chicken?¡±


    ¡°Migratory? With those wings?¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first ¡®game¡¯ with absurd monster designs where small wings actually work. I know because I have to review most of them.¡± Hilda laughs.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Sam continues her chuckle as we walk deeper into the forest.


    It actually doesn¡¯t take very long before we start finding traces of my sister in the form of tree debris that has been strewn about the forest floor.


    ¡°She must have hit the treetops over here.¡± Sam points. ¡°And looking at the direction the debris is in, we¡¯ll probably have to move in that direction.¡± Sam points her bow.


    ¡°Well, you are better at tracking than I am. So please do take the lead.¡± Hilda gives my girlfriend a small bow.


    Sam smiles and bows back after which she walks out in front of us. We don¡¯t see any debris for a good while before finding some broken branches. This time the debris trail doesn¡¯t stop and actually keeps increasing, finding bigger branches and even completely snapped off treetops. At the end of the path of debris, my sister is hanging in the middle of a tree a couple of meters up. She looks very beat up, she¡¯s bleeding from scratches and lacerations on her face. Her armor is pretty darn dented too.


    ¡°Ah, there you guys are.¡± Lise looks down at us with a rather painful look on her face.


    ¡°Can you come down by yourself?¡± Hilda asks.


    ¡°No, otherwise I¡¯d have done so myself. I think my armor is somehow hooked on one of these branches.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll climb up to take a look.¡± Sam puts her bow on her back and approaches the tree. In a couple of seconds she¡¯s already almost halfway there.


    ¡°Can you see anything, Sam?¡± Lise asks, she wants to look down at what is happening but she can¡¯t get an angle.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Give me a sec.¡± Sam climbs up even more and reaches my sis in no time. When she gets there she starts inspecting my sister, to see what exactly is holding her up. ¡°Oh, holy shit.¡± Sam says.


    ¡°What?¡± Lise asks.


    ¡°Your armor is practically impaled here.¡± Sam takes out a serrated combat knife and starts sawing something behind my sister¡¯s back.


    ¡°Wait, impaled? But I¡¯m fine, right?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know that? You are the one hanging up there.¡± Hilda comments.


    ¡°Hey, my entire body is hurting right now, it¡¯s kinda hard to make a distinction.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it got to you, I don¡¯t see any blood anyway. That, or the branch is stopping the bleeding but we can¡¯t tell until I get you loose.¡± Sam keeps sawing through the piece of wood. ¡°Almost there.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Sam, shouldn¡¯t you attach a ro-¡± Before I can finish my comment, I hear a snap as Sam saws through the last bit of wood. This results in my sister falling down, face first, onto the floor, with a loud metal bang.


    My sister groans loudly. ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°Oh, shit, sorry.¡± I look up and see Sam looking down at my sister, her expression looks terribly guilty.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine¡­¡± My sister replies and she tries to stand up.


    ¡°No, wait, sis, please stay down.¡± I keep her down. I really don¡¯t want her to move much at the moment.


    ¡°O-okay. I¡¯ll just¡­ lay down for a bit then¡­¡± She lets her body drop back to the floor again. I make sure to put a part of my cloak under her head so she has something soft to lay her head down on.


    I inspect the big wooden branch that has managed to pierce through the back of my sister¡¯s plate armor. ¡°Uhm, Hilda, could you try to take it out?¡±


    Hilda inspects the piece of wood too before she wraps her hands around it. ¡°Sure, but you¡¯ll need to hold down your sister¡¯s armor then.¡±


    I give her a nod as I weigh down my sister.


    Hilda pulls but the piece of wood doesn¡¯t seem to want to move.


    Sam, in the meantime, has managed to get back down from the tree too. ¡°I¡¯ll help.¡± Luckily Sam left plenty of space while she was sawing the branch off so two people could still quite easily grab a hold of it at the same time.


    ¡°Right, on three, okay?¡± Hilda looks at Sam.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°One¡­ two¡­ three¡­!¡± Hilda and Sam both pull on the branch the hardest they can.


    ¡°Try to twist it a little.¡± Sam says with a labored voice.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    When they twist I can finally see the branch starting to move. And then all of the sudden it just pops out, sending my sister and Hilda flying backwards to fall on their butts.


    I immediately look at my sister¡¯s back but luckily it seems that the gambeson stopped the branch from getting to my sister¡¯s skin.


    ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s the verdict? Am I an ¨¦lise satay?¡± Lise asks, she still sounds like she¡¯s in pain but at least she can still make jokes.


    ¡°Nah, it looks like you are just a normal slab of meat for now¡­ maybe just a little tenderized.¡± I joke back, and since there are no foreign objects in my sister, I can finally start healing her.


    The advantage of my healing ability is that I¡¯m also repairing and undenting her armor at the same time.


    ¡°Oh, Ami. Thanks for that.¡± The relief I can hear in my sister¡¯s voice is immense. She also manages to finally sit up. ¡°That really hurt a lot.¡±


    ¡°You must¡¯ve been flying incredibly fast for that branch to be able to penetrate your armor, especially with those stats.¡± Hilda says as she holds the piece of wood they pulled out of her armor.


    ¡°Yeah, it felt like I was going fast too.¡± Lise rubs her face, the scratches are already gone. ¡°I think I bounced a couple of times too before I really started going into the treeline.¡±


    Sam nods. ¡°We definitely saw evidence of that.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m surprised you even managed to survive Nikki¡¯s nuke. Let alone the ¡®crashing into the trees¡¯ part.¡±


    ¡°What can I say, I am the party¡¯s tank after all.¡± She smiles smugly at Hilda. ¡°But if I didn¡¯t manage to block the brunt of the blast with my shield, I might have been off a lot worse. Speaking of¡­ ¡± My sister holds out her left arm and mumbles something. Her shield appears out of thin air. ¡°Nice. I¡¯m pretty sure this thing is indestructible.¡± In her other hand her sword appears. ¡°And this one too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, otherwise we could go looking for it now as well.¡± Sam smiles and helps my sister up now that she¡¯s healed up enough.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± My sister gladly accepts the help.


    ¡°But if your sword and shield are indestructible, why isn¡¯t your armor?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m pretty sure it is, but I think it is indestructible in a way that if it¡¯s completely destroyed or lost, that I can just call it back to me. So it¡¯s not too overpowered.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that would make sense. It means you are not unkillable.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think so.¡± Lise then looks at me and smiles, she then puts her sword and shield away and gives me a big embrace. ¡°But really, thank you for the heals, sis.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± I giggle. ¡°It¡¯s kind of my job isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It is, but still.¡± She then lets me go and gives me a head pat instead. She then nods in the direction of which we came. ¡°Should we head back now? We should if we still want to set up a nice camping spot, shouldn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Yep, let¡¯s go.¡± Hilda smiles and gives her a nod. She then starts walking away with Sam right next to her.


    ¡°By the way, I got to say that I¡¯m pretty happy I could pull some heroics today, even if it hurt like hell. Heck, if the flying and crashing into trees didn¡¯t hurt that much, it would actually have been pretty darn fun.¡±


    ¡°So, what you are saying is that you are happy that Ami didn¡¯t steal your thunder this one time and that you could do what a tank is really meant for?¡± Hilda chuckles.


    ¡°Ami can steal my thunder every time she wants.¡± She replies. ¡°Although it is fun being in the spotlight at times.¡±


    ¡°You deserve it, sis. Every gram of it. Because you are the best sister anyone could wish for.¡± I smile at my sister.


    ¡°Oh my, you gosh darn cutiepie.¡± My sister stops me and takes me into a bear hug once more.


    -Being smothered by love is also really fun.-


    FieryKathy


    The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ


    And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy

 Chapter 146: Lessons Learned

    FieryKathy


    After my big sis releases me from her hug we continue our short track back to the walker. When we walk out of the treeline, we are greeted by Nikki jumping out of the walker and running up to us, well, running up to my sister.


    ¡°Hey babe.¡± Lise smiles. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for blowing you up.¡± Nikki takes Lise in for a big hug.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It was the trees that hurt a lot more than the explosion did. Besides, thanks to Ami I¡¯m as good as new.¡±


    ¡°She almost got skewered.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Almost, not quite.¡± My sister gives Nikki a wink. Lise then looks into the walker. Brianna is sitting there, real shy. ¡°And Brianna, what have we learned today?¡±


    ¡°To not jinx everyone in the walker¡­¡± She shyly replies.


    ¡°I explained it loud and clearly to her when we were alone.¡± Nikki says.


    ¡°I think I have learned my lesson.¡± Brianna nods.


    Lise laughs. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t fret it too much, these things just happen when you hang around us. So, don¡¯t let our jokes get to you too much.¡± Lise hops into the walker and sits down next to Brianna, giving her a pat on the back. ¡°The five of us can take pretty much everything if we work together.¡±


    Brianna nods. ¡°It was very amazing to watch your teamwork.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. We do try to put on a good show.¡± My sister laughs again and then looks back at us. ¡°Are you girls coming too, we have places to be, right?¡±


    Hilda looks back at the crater. ¡°Nikki, have you checked if there¡¯s anything useful left for us?¡±


    ¡°Nothing but ash.¡± Nikki replies as she gets in the walker herself.


    ¡°Alright, then we can go on.¡± Hilda smiles and hops into the driver seat too. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want to miss any good loot, now, would we.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d think something as big as that would¡¯ve earned us something.¡± Sam says as helps me in the back.


    ¡°At least we still have our walker.¡±


    ¡°True enough.¡± She smiles at me. ¡°Do you mind if I sit up front for now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, go ahead.¡± I smile back.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She leans her hands on the walkers railing and gives me a quick kiss after which she runs around the back of the walker to the front.


    ¡°Alright, everyone ready?¡± Hilda gives Sam a hand so she can get on a bit easier.


    ¡°Yep, let¡¯s go!¡± Lise calls out after which Hilda starts walking the walker.


    A couple of hours of ¡®walking¡¯ later, we are really getting into some type of tropical forest, hot and rather most climate included.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m pretty sure we should turn east soon if we want to hit the coast. If you see any of the rare plants you need, give me a call, okay?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Brianna nods.


    Five minutes later Hilda slows down the walker and slowly turns it off the road, straight into the forest. Luckily the trees aren¡¯t as packed here as they were a couple of hours ago, so it can quite easily fit through.


    ¡°There is something I¡¯d like to ask.¡± Brianna says as the walker is now making its way East. ¡°If you allow my curiosity to be answered at least.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure, go ahead.¡± Lise replies.


    ¡°I wanted to ask if you both are couples.¡±


    ¡°You mean Nikki and I and then Ami and Sam?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Brianna nods.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s relatively obvious, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to make assumptions.¡± Brianna smiles.


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Sam is looking back at us.


    ¡°I was just wondering. When you¡¯ve lived in a big city like I have all my life, still being relatively secluded from everyone and everything, it¡¯s interesting to see people who live differently.¡±


    I nod. ¡°I know what you mean, I¡¯ve experienced it myself as well.¡±


    ¡°As an adventurer?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say she wasn¡¯t always the adventurer she is today.¡± My sister replies. ¡°She had people who stopped her from doing what she wanted to do. And they kept her secluded from the rest of the world as hard as they could.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°But that all got a lot better and now I¡¯m seeing the world with these lovely people.¡± I smile.


    ¡°Why not pick up adventuring too, it¡¯s a very good way to learn more of the world around you.¡± Lise gives Brianna a slight nudge.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not nearly brave enough to do that.¡± Brianna giggles. ¡°But sadly the libraries of Hofudstadr don¡¯t really interest themselves in other peoples either.¡±


    ¡°Right, yeah, the Dwarger obsession with mechanics.¡±


    Brianna nods.


    ¡°We can talk to you about some of our adventures and about the different peoples we¡¯ve met along the way.¡± Nikki offers.


    ¡°I¡¯d like that a lot!¡±


    ¡°Well, we probably still have a while to go, so sit on tight while we tell you something about our glorious adventures, like that one time I almost got blown to bits by my girlfriend.¡± Lise starts and smirks at Nikki.


    Nikki kicks my sister¡¯s leg in return. Softly, so she doesn¡¯t hurt herself by kicking the metal greaves. ¡°If you want me to do that again, you need only ask.¡±


    ¡°Haha, I was kidding, my love.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡± Nikki pouts, making me chuckle a little. Though Brianna looks at us with a rather confused smile. Understandable as she¡¯s not yet used to our party¡¯s inner workings.


    As we plow through the forest, my sister and Nikki tell Brianna multiple stories, some of them that happened in this world, others that had happened back on Earth. Yet always cleverly masked so they Brianna never could tell that these events happened somewhere else entirely.


    ¡°Looks like we are pretty much there.¡± Hilda slows down the walker to a crawl, as the entire party looks to the front. It¡¯s already pretty late, with the sun starting to go down, but in front of us we can finally see a beach peak through the trees with the ocean behind it. The almost red-like rays of sun, reflecting from the water.


    ¡°Paradise, here we come.¡± I can see my sister smile ear to ear.


    Hilda stops the walker right at the tree-line. From there it''s still fifty to a hundred meters or so before you reach the ocean. ¡°Ladies and¡­ ladies, we¡¯ve reached our destination. Please orderly disembark the walker from the rear.¡±


    It¡¯s very clear that Brianna doesn¡¯t understand that joke either by the way she¡¯s looking at Hilda, but she shrugs and decides not to question her further.


    ¡°Nikki and Ami, would you like to go and get some firewood for the campfire? It¡¯s going to be dark pretty soon.¡± Hilda points at the setting sun behind her.


    ¡°Okay, are you four going to set up camp while we are gone?¡±


    ¡°Sam and I will do most of the setting up. I¡¯ve got some other tasks ready for Brianna and your sister.¡± Hilda gives me a wink.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t give her too little work, that¡¯s bad for her.¡± Nikki smiles, looking at her partner.


    ¡°I did almost die a couple of hours ago, y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°Almost. But that¡¯s nothing for my tough and amazing honeybun, right?¡±


    I see fire in my sister¡¯s eyes and a smile appears back on her face. ¡°Damn right it isn¡¯t. Hilda! Give me your hardest task. I¡¯m up for it.¡± She flexes her arm as much as you can with armor on.


    ¡°Nikki, playing her like that¡­¡± I shake my head with a smile.


    ¡°The most important part is that she¡¯s happy.¡± Nikki gives me a wink.


    ¡°True enough.¡±


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s go and get some firewood.¡± Nikki beckons me along.


    ¡°Alrighty!¡±


    As it would seem, it isn¡¯t very hard to find a lot of wood in a tropical forest. However, if we didn¡¯t have two mages here, finding wood dry enough would be a bit harder. But as it is, with Nikki''s spells that can quite quickly dry out wood and mine which do pretty much the same but in blue, it does not take us that long to get a sizable amount of wood.


    This was probably Hilda¡¯s intention as when we get back it¡¯s getting pretty dark.


    ¡°Could you put some wood there, Ami?¡± Hilda asks, pointing at a stone-walled pit they¡¯d fashioned.


    I empty a bit of my wooden inventory in it, while Nikki drops all her wood in a bigger pile a bit further away. That¡¯s where I also dump my left-over pieces of wood.


    As for the camp, Hilda and Sam have built a couple of lean-to¡¯s with its flooring a bit above the sand, right next to the treeline.


    ¡°We could have set up tents but I think this is a lot more charming.¡± Hilda smiles.


    ¡°At least until we manage to set up a couple of huts.¡± Sam comes over to give me a quick kiss.


    ¡°In time, yes.¡±


    At about that time, both my sister and Brianna appear again as well. Brianna is carrying what looks like a whole bunch of fruits, while my sister is carrying some more under one arm together with a couple of logs on her other shoulder. -That¡¯s definitely not something I could carry without being in angel of vengeance mode¡­-


    ¡°And there¡¯s our dinner and our seats.¡± Hilda claps her hands.


    Brianna smiles and my sister does too, depositing the logs next to the campfire place.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat, I¡¯m starving.¡± My sister then quickly sits down on one of the logs she¡¯d just dropped.


    My stomach grumbles. -And apparently, so am I.-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 147: Glompa

    FieryKathy


    We all gather around the campfire and sit down either on the logs that my sister has just brought in or on some pieces of cloth that Hilda had carried with her. Sam and I had picked the log option.


    ¡°Brianna, what is this fruit? I don¡¯t know what it is.¡± Sam says as she picks up a round purple fruit.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what I call a glompa fruit.¡± Briana picks up one for herself.


    ¡°A glompa fruit?¡± Sam giggles. ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a silly name.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who named it¡­¡± Brianna blushes. ¡°I¡¯m not very good with inventing names.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Does that mean it¡¯s a completely undiscovered species of fruit?¡±


    Brianna nods. ¡°As far as I know, it only grows in this area, together with a couple of other fruits and plants I¡¯ve found here.¡±


    ¡°Wow. It truly feels like we are exploring new grounds here.¡± Sam studies the fruit from a bit closer. ¡°And you are sure it¡¯s not poisonous, right?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve eaten them all before and I¡¯ve done the poison tests before that.¡±


    ¡°Poison test?¡± I tilt my head.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s practically an edibility test.¡± Sam explains. ¡°You generally start by rubbing a little bit on your hand to see if your skin reacts to it. A taste test with a very small amount of the food you are testing. Wait five minutes to see if you notice any burning, tingling sensation, stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°I see. So these things can definitely be eaten safely?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Brianna smiles and gives me a nod.


    Sam takes her knife from her belt and quite quickly splits the fruit in two, giving one part to me.


    ¡°And what does it taste like?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very sweet.¡± Brianna says and does the same to her fruit. Taking a big glomp out of it. ¡°But I can¡¯t really tell you what else it tastes like.¡±


    ¡°Sweet? Can I have one of those too?¡± My sister asks after which Brianna gives her other half of the fruit to her. My sister then takes a big bite out of it. ¡°Oh darn, that is sweet indeed. It¡¯s nice though.¡±


    I look at Sam and Sam gives me a nod back. We both try the fruit at the same time. The moment it touches my tongue the sweetness hits. Just like Brianna had said, it is a terribly sweet fruit. Although not too sweet so that it becomes  too sweet to eat. As for the taste, it somewhat tastes like a mix between a strawberry and a kiwi. It will take some getting used to but it does taste quite nice.


    ¡°What do you think, Ami?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice.¡± I smile and stick out my tongue a little.


    This makes Sam laugh.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that your tongue has turned completely purple.¡±


    ¡°Ah right, I forgot to mention it tends to do that.¡± Brianna giggles. ¡°It¡¯ll go away after a bit or if you drink salty water.¡±


    ¡°How did you find that out?¡± Hilda chuckles.


    ¡°I was trying to test out if it would manage to neutralize the saltiness of sea water¡­¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t.¡± Brianna pouts.


    We all start laughing.


    We try another couple of fruits that Brianna brought along but I definitely have to say the glompa fruit is by far my favorite. In the end there¡¯s only one type of fruit none of us have tried yet. It¡¯s a big reddish fruit with a rather elongated form with a slight curve to it.


    ¡°This looks suspiciously like a chili pepper, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Hilda takes one of them in her hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Brianna asks.


    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s a kind of fruit from the area we are from, although those are a lot smaller than this one is. They are rather spicy.¡± Hilda says.


    ¡°Are chilly peppers fruits?¡± Lise asks.


    ¡°Botanically, yes. Since they have seeds and they grow from the flower of a plant rather than from other parts. Culinary speaking you could make the argument that they are vegetables though.¡± Nikki explains.


    ¡°Interesting.¡± My sister nods.


    ¡°It is in fact a spicy fruit.¡± Brianna replies, getting back to the point. ¡°But still tasty.¡± Brianna takes one of the fruits and cuts a piece for herself and puts it in her mouth. It doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯s reacting too badly to the heat.


    Hilda does the same thing Brianna did and pops a piece of the fruit in her mouth. ¡°Hmm¡­ oh yeah¡­¡± Hilda chews a little and sniffs. ¡°It¡¯s spicy alright, not too bad, though. I¡¯m surprised about the flavor.¡±


    The remaining four of us look at each other and then decide to follow Hilda and Brianna in partaking of the fruit. Sam cuts off a piece for herself and a piece for me after which we both put it in our mouths at about the same time.


    At first I don¡¯t really notice the heat but after a couple of seconds it does start to come at me. The heat stays mostly in my mouth rather than going down my throat which is my prefered kind of spicy. The taste, like Hilda said, is really surprising. I¡¯ve not eaten many peppers in my life, but it¡¯s definitely the first time I¡¯ve eaten a pepper that tastes like tomato.¡±


    ¡°Oh My Goddess, you could make totally amazing salsa with this.¡± My sister exclaims. ¡°Hilda, we need to take seeds of this plant along with us to plant in our mansion.¡±


    ¡°I do agree, but would that work?¡± Hilda looks at Brianna for confirmation.


    ¡°I¡¯ve not tried to plant this fruit back home yet.¡± Brianna admits. ¡°The plant it grows from is rather big though. So it might be difficult without the moisture and heat it needs.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. We can always take trips back rather quickly if we have Ami around. If we can make a little farm for those fruits here, it should be fast and easy enough to get our hauls back to the capital.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea.¡± I agree. ¡°Maybe we could even make some money with it as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surprising coming from you, sis.¡± ¨¦lise laughs. ¡°I¡¯d have expected this coming from Hilda.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± Hilda chuckles. ¡°Just a little question, Brianna, what do you call this fruit?¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t really thought of a name yet.¡± Brianna replies and thinks for a second. ¡°What about v?rdur fruit? It means guardian fruit.¡±


    Sam looks at me. ¡°That¡¯s a bit on the nose, but if Ami doesn¡¯t mind¡­¡±


    I shake my head. ¡°It¡¯s a bit embarrassing, but it¡¯s fine for me.¡±


    ¡°That means it¡¯s official now, from this day on, this fruit is called v?rdur fruit, or guardian fruit for those who don¡¯t like learning other languages.¡± Hilda smiles.


    The group continues planning a bit more, talking to Brianna about potentially setting up a couple of growing fields for the plants that made us come here in the first place. Meanwhile we eat a couple of strips of dried meat that we took along with us. After dinner Nikki and my sister decide to turn in already as it has been a rather exhausting day. Especially for ¨¦lise. Hilda and Brianna chat about the peculiarities of business in the Dwarger capital. Because I¡¯m not really interested in that I decide to take a little walk on the beach, with my girlfriend joining me of course. Though Hilda did make us promise not to stray too far away.


    The ocean is really calm and on a cloudless night like this, this world¡¯s moon lights up the beach quite easily, helped by our darkvision. It¡¯s a pretty beautiful evening and it¡¯s not too warm or too cold either. A pretty perfect night if you ask me.


    ¡°I wonder how far this beach goes on for.¡± Sam asks herself while she walks hand in hand with me.


    ¡°Who knows, maybe it goes on forever.¡± I smile at her.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t really mind that, it¡¯s such a gorgeous beach. The only thing that¡¯s missing our those tiki torches and coconuts filled with some kind of mocktail.¡±


    ¡°That sounds great too, but I very much like how it is right now.¡± I stop Sam for a second so I can give her a quick kiss.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Sam smiles and gives me a kiss as well, after which she smirks at me.


    ¡°What¡¯s the smirk for?¡± I giggle.


    ¡°For this.¡± Sam suddenly picks me up and guides my legs to wrap them around her waist. She then kisses me again. ¡°Beautiful, just beautiful.¡± She smiles and boops her nose against mine.


    ¡°Make sure you don¡¯t fall.¡± I giggle and then I kiss her again.


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s sand anyway.¡± As if on queue she dropped herself down on her bum in the nice soft and still relatively warm sand with me still around her waist. ¡°How about we just sit here and make out for a while?¡±


    In the distance we can still see the light of our firepit flickering away. ¡°Hmm. I think I like that plan.¡±


    Sam smirks once more and then takes me in for a very long, deep kiss and drops to her back so I fall on top of her. ¡°I do too.¡±


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 148: Beach

    FieryKathy


    Making out on the beach on a beautiful moonlit night is terribly romantic. So romantic that Sam and I stay there, kissing one another for at least half an hour. After that Sam takes my hand in hers and together with me, she just stares at the stars above.


    ¡°Do you think one day people from this planet will start visiting the stars as well?¡± She asks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. If we can, why couldn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Sam hums in agreement which then suddenly turns into a big yawn.


    ¡°Are you tired?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± Sam chuckles. ¡°It¡¯s been quite the day today. First day back into Turn of Destiny and immediately we are chased by a huge dino dragon chicken.¡±


    I yawn as well. ¡°I guess I¡¯m a tiny bit tired.¡± I chuckle. ¡°It has indeed been quite a crazy day. Did you notice the monster had wings by the way?¡±


    ¡°I did. And I¡¯m very happy it couldn¡¯t use them.¡± Sam chuckles as well. ¡°Can you imagine what that thing could do if it could fly as well? It was already hard enough to hit it.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°I think I very much prefered the giant angry spirit¡­ even though how it came to be was incredibly gruesome.¡±


    ¡°I would be more than happy if we could fight fluffy pink unicorns or stuff like that for once.¡±


    ¡°Really? I would never be able to fight something that fluffy. I might just let it impale me if it¡¯s a cute enough fluffy unicorn.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Sam and I start laughing.


    We lay down for about ten more minutes before Sam sits upright. ¡°I think we should head back now.¡± She stares down the beach towards our campfire. It¡¯s still going and I¡¯m pretty sure I can still see someone sitting by the fire. ¡°It¡¯s getting a bit colder already.¡±


    Now that she mentions it¡­ The wind has started picking up a bit and the sand definitely isn¡¯t as warm as it used to be when we first laid down on it. ¡°Yeah¡­ let¡¯s go¡­¡±


    ¡°You will need to get up for that though.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you carry me?¡±


    Sam rolls her eyes with a smile on her face. ¡°Sure thing.¡± Sam picks me up into a princess carry and starts walking down the beach with me in her arms.


    I just huggle up close to her while she carries me. Sadly, it doesn¡¯t take her very long to get back to the campfire. The figure I¡¯d seen from our make-out spot was Hilda. She¡¯s still sitting there, snacking on some dried meat.


    ¡°It looks like you two had fun on your walk down the beach?¡± Hilda smiles and talks softly as we approach.


    ¡°Just a little. How could you tell?¡± I ask as, also lowering my voice as Sam puts me gently down on one of the tree logs.


    ¡°Because both of you are completely covered in sand.¡± She chuckles softly.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I start patting my back off as it¡¯s there where most of the sand stayed behind.


    ¡°Did Brianna already go to bed?¡± Sam asks as she sits down next to me, putting her arm around my shoulder.


    ¡°Yes, I stayed up to make sure you two got home safely.¡±


    ¡°You should not have.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Hilda shrugs. ¡°Just in case. You never know if some kind of undiscovered huge land shark suddenly attacks you out of nowhere. With you two nothing is a sure deal.¡± She smiles and gives us a wink. ¡°In all seriousness, I would probably not be able to sleep if I didn¡¯t know everyone was safe and sound back here. Not after the dino thing attacked us.¡±


    ¡°Well, we are here now.¡± Sam smiles. ¡°We¡¯re also going to head to bed soon, we¡¯re pretty tired too after all.¡±


    Hilda smiles. ¡°In that case I¡¯m already going to turn in for the night. If you hear any big black winged chicken approach us. Please do wake me up. I will be pretty miffed if you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡± I giggle. ¡°Do we need to put out the fire?¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s safe enough in the fire pit. It¡¯ll give us a bit of heat too while we are sleeping.¡±


    ¡°Oki. Good night Hilda.¡± I say.


    ¡°Good night.¡± Sam follows suit.


    ¡°Good night, girls.¡± Hilda waves at us and then heads over to her own lean-to.


    ¡°You heard the lady.¡± Sam gives me a pat on the head. ¡°We don¡¯t have to worry about the fire. So let¡¯s get to bed as well.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye.¡± I give my girlfriend a kiss on the cheek and together we then head for our own little shelter.


    With some very soft dry grass and leaves Hilda and Sam prepared for some makeshift bedding, the shelter does feel very cozy, especially with the combined softness of our bed rolls as well.


    Sam and I practically combine our two bedrolls again so we can share one big one instead.


    ¡°Nini, Ami.¡± Sam pulls me close against her body.


    ¡°Night night, Sam.¡± I give her a kiss and softly start purring. Sam¡¯s body reacts to that in kind.


    ¡°Love you.¡±


    ¡°Love you too.¡± With the crackling of the fire, and the soft sound of the waves, it doesn¡¯t take very long for me to drift into a vast sleep.


    I wake up by the movement of Sam next to me. When I open my eyes I see that she¡¯s trying to get out of the bedroll.


    ¡°Sam?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Ami¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to wake you.¡±


    That¡¯s when I start noticing rain¡­ actually a lot of it. It¡¯s pretty strange that I didn¡¯t notice that before. ¡°It¡¯s raining?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sam nods as she crawls back inside of the bedroll. ¡°Now that you are awake I might as well tell you what we are going to do.¡±


    ¡°From the comfyness of the bedroll?¡±


    ¡°I might as well, right?¡± Sam winks and gives me a kiss on my nose. ¡°Hilda thinks it¡¯s going to stop raining soon so when that happens she and I are going to start constructing the first actual hut. These lean-to¡¯s are okay but if it starts raining harder or if the wind picks up this won¡¯t really do anymore.¡±


    ¡°Can I help out with that?¡±


    ¡°Probably. Let¡¯s talk to Hilda, there¡¯s definitely something that we can get you to do.¡±


    ¡°Yay.¡±


    Sam kisses me and a bit later we both get out of our bedroll, and get into some clothes. Just as we are about to leave my sister walks by and sees us. She¡¯s wearing a dark green rain cloak, or at least something that looks like it.


    ¡°Oh, good morning you two. Would you like a couple of these as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± Sam replies.


    ¡°Here you go.¡± My sister puts two rain cloaks in my girlfriend¡¯s arms. ¡°At least you won¡¯t have to go and dry your clothes every time it starts to clear up again.¡±


    ¡°Maybe going to a tropical beach wasn¡¯t the best of ideas.¡± Sam chuckles.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about it, it¡¯s probably going to clear up later.¡± My sister waves Sam¡¯s point away with a smile on her face.


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Sam smiles and starts putting on the rain cloak. I do the same and then we both walk out of the tent in the direction my sister walked to.


    We find the others already standing around underneath one of the bigger trees at the treeline, it¡¯s providing quite good cover against the rain.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± Hilda smiles as she sees us walk over. Both Nikki and Brianna echo her sentence.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I smile. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    Hilda points at the forest behind her. ¡°Before we get some breakfast, I want to gather up a thing or two first, as we probably don¡¯t want to have our breakfast in the rain.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Nikki nods.


    ¡°Yesterday Sam and I saw some trees with very big leaves, pretty much the size of your sister and then almost just as wide.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely a chonky leaf.¡± My sister laughs.


    ¡°As they weren¡¯t our priority at the time we didn¡¯t climb up the tree to gather them. But today I¡¯d like to cut down a couple of those trees, both for wood for construction as for a nice watertight roof.¡±


    ¡°This sounds like a job for you, Sam and ¨¦lise again, where do me, Ami and Brianna come in?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°I wanted to ask the same thing.¡± I nod.


    ¡°As for the three of you, we could use some plants that have good fiber structures to make some ropes with. If you are willing, that is.¡±


    ¡°Yeah sure, sounds cool.¡± Nikki nods. ¡°Any idea on where to find those kinds of plants?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve not seen many around myself but Brianna knows this area a lot better than we do.¡± Hilda looks over at our botanical guide.


    ¡°I think I might know a place.¡± Brianna nods with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s probably going to be a couple of different kinds but I don¡¯t know which ones work best for your purposes.¡±


    ¡°You can always bring a couple, we can always find a purpose for the less usable ones.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Brianna nods.


    ¡°Since we still need to have breakfast I¡¯d say to return here in an hour and a half tops?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Nikki nods and waits for Brianna to take the lead. Brianna agrees as well and starts walking off with Nikki behind her.


    ¡°Stay safe, okay?¡± I quickly grab my girlfriend in for a kiss.


    ¡°Same goes to you, babe.¡± She kisses me back.


    And with that sweet goodbye, I quickly run after my companions.


    -Let¡¯s go gather some vines!-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 149: Stream

    FieryKathy


    ¡°Hey Brianna, have you been to this exact beach before?¡± I ask while we walk a bit down the beach. We¡¯re following Brianna¡¯s lead. Right now the rain has somewhat lessened in intensity but it¡¯s still coming down quite badly.


    ¡°No, why?¡± Brianna looks back at me.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I was curious because you said you knew a spot to gather the vines at.


    ¡°Oh. Yesterday when I was collecting the fruits I encountered a small stream that flowed into the ocean. I know a couple of vine species that really love to grow in the neighborhood of small streams of water so that would be a good spot for us to start our search at.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Nikki nods. ¡°Let¡¯s hope we have some good luck then, would be a bit sad to come back empty handed, wouldn¡¯t it.¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ technically I could teleport back to the city, buy some rope, and teleport back.¡±


    When I say that both Brianna and Nikki stop walking, making me having to stop walking too otherwise I¡¯d bump into them.


    Nikki turns around and looks at me with a pensive facial expression. ¡°While that¡¯s incredibly smart, I¡¯m pretty sure our survivalists would probably not like that as they would consider it cheating.¡±


    ¡°I am not opposed to that plan though.¡± Brianna raises her hand.


    ¡°Brianna, you do not understand how they can be. They¡¯d be very very very disappointed. Let¡¯s just keep Ami¡¯s idea as a last resort option. But it is true that we need to keep in mind that that¡¯s an actual option.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± I chuckle and scratch the back of my head. It¡¯s true that Hilda and Sam would probably be quite disappointed if we did it that way, although I¡¯m pretty sure my sister wouldn¡¯t mind at all.


    Our little group starts walking again and soon we reach the little stream which has carved its way to the ocean. Brianna then starts following her and we follow her from a couple of meters as well.


    While we follow our pocket botanist, Nikki pokes me and lowers her voice. ¡°By the way, Ami. Have you already figured out what the bracelet does?¡±


    I look at my arm and jingle it around for a second. ¡°Not really. It is still not giving me any tooltips or anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s already been a while since you¡¯ve held it, you would think that you¡¯d at least already know if it has any effects or not.¡±


    ¡°I guess you can never know with strange old relics can you.¡± I shrug. ¡°I¡¯m just happy it doesn¡¯t hurt like it did when I touched it.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait and see. But if you start feeling something is wrong with it. Tell us immediately, okay?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± I give her an affirmative nod. ¡°But now that we are talking about magic¡­ what was that spell you used back on the walker? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard you cast it before¡­ Same with Sam¡¯s special skill¡­.¡±


    Nikki laughs ¡°Well, I can¡¯t tell you about Sam¡¯s skill, you¡¯ll have to ask that to her yourself, but I got that spell and a bunch of others together with this new nifty staff.¡± She takes her staff out of her inventory and quickly shows it to me before stuffing it back. ¡°I got them after we defeated the siege of the Dwarger capital. If I had to guess, I think that¡¯s when Sam got her bow and skills too.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes some degree of sense.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t let Lise have all the fun Amicia themed things, now can we?¡± She chuckles and pats my head.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ that¡¯s true¡­ it would be kinda unfair if my sister got all the things.¡±


    ¡°I just wonder if Hilda got something too.¡± Nikki adds. ¡°Logic dictates that if we got something, she must have gotten something as well, right?¡±


    ¡°Now that you say it¡­ She didn¡¯t really get any action during the last fight so it¡¯s not like she could demonstrate it. But then again, wouldn¡¯t she tell me if she got something me-themed?¡±


    ¡°Maybe she just wants to surprise you.¡± Nikki shrugs. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s some super cool spectacular skill that puts mine in the shade.¡±


    ¡°I doubt anyone could put your meteor spell in the shade.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Fair enough. It is quite amazing, that¡¯s true.¡±


    -Maybe I should ask her when we get back, and then I can interrogate my girlfriend too as to why she didn¡¯t bother to tell me about her skills either.-


    Nikki suddenly raises her finger as if an idea just popped in her head. ¡°Oh, and before I forget, have you already used your skill points?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been doing that since¡­ I can¡¯t actually remember since when¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you get a tablet from Gamma?¡± Nikki asks.


    ¡°I did, but if I recall correctly, she said you couldn¡¯t ¡®edit¡¯ your skills with it.¡±


    ¡°And have you done it afterwards?¡±


    ¡°Not that I can recall.¡± I shake my head.


    ¡°So, what you are saying is that you¡¯ve been sitting on an absurdly big mountain of skill points all this time without even realizing it?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ might be the case.¡± Now that she mentions it I open my skill UI. The sight of which already seems so foreign to me that it must indeed have been quite a while since I¡¯ve opened it. I quickly scour the page and find a number next to my skill point count.


    ¡°142.¡± I read out loud.


    ¡°142?!¡± Nikki calls out, making Brianna jump up. ¡°Ah, sorry Brianna, it wasn¡¯t directed at you.¡±


    ¡°142 what?¡± Brianna asks with a confused look on her face.


    ¡°The amount of dolls and stuffed animals Ami wants to buy for her room.¡± Nikki makes that up on the spot but I honestly couldn¡¯t tell by looking at her that she was lying.


    ¡°That¡¯s an oddly specific and pretty big number, isn¡¯t it?¡± Brianna looks even more confused.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ it¡¯s a bit of an addiction¡­¡± I roll with the lie that was set up for me. -And in all honesty, having 142 plushies in my room, doesn¡¯t sound all that bad-


    ¡°Ah, I see¡­¡± Brianna puts her index finger against her chin. ¡°I think I know a shop or two in Hofudstadr if you need a recommendation.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, that would be most helpful, even though we probably shouldn¡¯t encourage her too much.¡± Nikki thanks Brianna with a smile.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Brianna nods back and then walks on along the stream.


    ¡°Nice improv.¡± I whisper to Nikki.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Nikki winks back.


    We stay silent for some time before we continue our conversation again in relative silence. ¡°Just¡­ make sure that you get through them¡­. 142 is a lot of skill points.¡±


    ¡°Easier said than done¡­ the amount has grown so high that it¡¯s kinda overwhelming.¡±


    ¡°And whose fault is that?¡± Nikki chuckles.


    ¡°I know¡­ I know¡­ I will try to look at it when we get a break¡­¡±


    ¡°If you need some help picking, you can always take us aside for some help, okay?¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯ll probably make use of that.¡± Just as I finish my sentence we arrive in an area of the tropical forest that looks rather different from the other part we were walking in just moments ago. A small waterfall lands into a pool of water from which the stream we were following flows. While the trees we¡¯ve encountered so far were relatively clean from any vegetation, apart from some moss or mushrooms here and there, the trees around this pool of water are covered with all kinds of different vines, going from classical green to almost fluorescent yellow and different colors of blue. The colors explosion makes me think of certain incredibly expressionistic art styles. It¡¯s a very beautiful sight to behold, even through the rain.


    ¡°There we go.¡± Brianna smiles and takes a knife out of her backpack.


    ¡°Are you sure these are not poisonous?¡± Nikki asks. ¡°Those colors really don¡¯t scream ¡®hey I¡¯m here, you can take me for your building materials¡¯ if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to eat them¡­¡± I comment.


    ¡°True, but you generally don¡¯t want poisonous sap to be touching your skin either.¡±


    ¡°That would be concerning, yes¡­¡± I look at Brianna too.


    ¡°They are fine.¡± Brianna confirms. ¡°The roots of these vines and liana are actually a very good source of starch. And the only thing that comes out of these vines themselves is water.¡±


    ¡°At least we don¡¯t have to worry about that then.¡± Nikki nods slowly and takes out a knife as well. ¡°But just in case¡­ Ami¡­ if you see us start acting weird, try to cast some antidote magic on us, okay?¡±


    ¡°Weirder than you already are or¡­?¡±


    ¡°Haha, very funny little kitty cat.¡± Nikki takes a second knife out of her own backpack and hands it over to me. ¡°Just keep an eye on things if you start feeling strange.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± I smile and take the knife out of her hand.


    -Let¡¯s start cutting away!-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 150: Explodifishing

    FieryKathy


    We cut away at the vines for fifteen minutes or so, making sure that we cut them off as long as we possibly can. That way Hilda and Sam can cut them back down to a good length if they need to. It¡¯s just important we don¡¯t cut them off too short. But now that I think about it, I suppose I could just ¡®heal¡¯ them back together if need be¡­ Or knots, that could work too.


    By now luckily the rain has completely stopped so I can take up my rain hood so I can clearly behold my gathered materials. Together we collect quite some meters of viney rope.


    ¡°I think this should be plenty.¡± Nikki claps her hands and then rubs them together.


    ¡°And if we need more we can always come back later.¡± I agree and put the vines I gathered in my inventory. ¡°And we didn¡¯t even get poisoned so that¡¯s fun.¡±


    Nikki laughs and shakes her head, putting away her vines as well.


    Brianna is already packed and ready to go, she¡¯s just waiting for us by the pool of water. ¡°If everyone is ready, we should probably go now. I¡¯m starting to get really hungry.¡±


    Nikki and I catch up to Brianna.


    ¡°So am I.¡± Nikki agrees and looks into the pool.


    Surprisingly I¡¯m not actually that hungry yet but that might be because I ate a lot yesterday. But I won¡¯t let my friends sit on their hunger so I join them at the small pool as well. Now that it''s no longer raining, the water of the pool is very clear. So much so that I can even see the bottom of it. There¡¯s even a couple of teeny tiny fishies swimming around in it. How those fishies got here, I don¡¯t know, but it does make the small pool of water look a bit like an aquarium.


    ¡°Off we go?¡± Nikki pokes me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Yep.¡± I give her a nod and a big smile.


    ¡°Or would you rather eat a couple of those small fishes first?¡±


    ¡°Nah, those are way too small.¡± I giggle.


    ¡°Ami being picky about fish, who would¡¯ve thought.¡± Nikki chuckles as well.


    I simply stick out my tongue as we march back through the forest in the direction of the beach. When we arrive back at the beach the rain clouds over the ocean had just started to disperse, letting the sun break through in a couple of places. It¡¯s a beautiful sight to behold. So much so that the three of us halt for a minute next to our stream, just staring over the ocean view.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m not the biggest fan of open water. But when we can see a sight like this from land, I must admit I¡¯m quite a fan of this.¡± Nikki says with a smile.


    ¡°Oh, right, I almost forgot that you people came here from across the sea.¡± Brianna comments.


    ¡°We did. I can tell you, I was not a big fan of that.¡± Nikki replies.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were scared, you looked pretty happy during the journey.¡± I look at Nikki.


    ¡°Scared is a big word. I¡¯m just not a fan. Having solid ground underneath your feet is just a lot better.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I think I do agree with that.¡± I nod. ¡°And you don¡¯t need to swim all the way back if the boat sinks.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Nikki smiles. ¡°Just give me my good old trusty dirt and I¡¯m happy.¡±


    Brianna nods. ¡°I can get behind that. As someone who has grown up in this nation. I can¡¯t even imagine getting on a boat for a prolonged period of time.¡±


    ¡°And luckily you won¡¯t have to either.¡± Nikki smiles and nods in the direction where our camp is. ¡°That aside, we should get moving again. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s almost time to meet up again.¡±


    We arrive back at our little basecamp but as for now it appears that we are the first ones to return. With the sun now having completely broken through, the sand and our makeshift benches are slowly starting to get dry again.


    ¡°Alright. As we are the first ones back, why don¡¯t we start making some food?¡± Nikki suggests.


    ¡°Sure, what are you suggesting?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s still some fruit left from yesterday.¡± Brianna says, walking over to a makeshift storage place Hilda had constructed yesterday.


    ¡°If you¡¯d mind cutting up a bit of those fruits and presenting it nicely on some palm leaves that are scattered around, that¡¯d be great.¡±


    Brianna agrees to that with a nod and then immediately gets to work.


    ¡°As for us. Ami, why don¡¯t you try getting the fire going while I go and collect some fish.¡±


    I look at the wood storage we made yesterday. A lot of it got pretty wet but I suppose I could quite easily dry it. ¡°Sure, but are you okay with fishing? I didn¡¯t know that¡¯s something you were skilled at.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t need to be skilled at fishing.¡± Nikki smirks and takes her staff in her right hand. ¡°Have you ever heard about the concept of blast fishing?¡±


    ¡°Blast fi¡­ - Ah!¡±


    Nikki¡¯s smirk grows larger. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I give her a nod and with that Nikki walks off with a confident and excited strut.


    ¡°Amicia, what is she planning? I don¡¯t think I can follow.¡± Brianna comments, looking confused at how Nikki is walking away towards the ocean.


    ¡°Uh, I think you¡¯ll know soon enough.¡± I chuckle and scratch the back of my head. I then walk over towards the wood and start carefully drying it with my blue ball of death.


    When I¡¯m finished with the first couple of logs I suddenly hear a big explosion behind me, together with a relatively minor blastwave accompanied by some heat as well.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± I hear Brianna vocalize from a bit further away. -And now she knows.-


    I keep drying the wood as some more blasts occur down the beach.


    ¡°What the heck is going on here?¡± I hear my sister call out. They must¡¯ve just arrived. ¡°Ami. Why is my partner blowing the shit out of the ocean? Is she working off her frustration or something.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I put a couple of the dried logs in the firepit and then look up at my sister who appears to be soaking wet. That makes me raise my eyebrow. ¡°...she decided to go fishing¡­¡±


    ¡°Fishing?¡± My sister looks back at the ocean as another blastwave reaches us. ¡°That¡¯s definitely fishing a la Nikki I suppose¡­¡±


    That¡¯s when I see Hilda and Sam also arrive at the camp, they are both carrying very very big green leaves, but just like my sister, they are soaking wet as well.


    ¡°But what happened to the three of you? Did you decide to go swimming with your clothes on?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± My sister rubs the back of her neck. ¡°It might be best for Hilda to explain.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sorry, that¡¯s all my fault.¡± Hilda admits as she sits down on a log, after putting the big green leaves in our storage space.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s entirely your fault.¡± Sam says, doing the same and the wringing out her hair clothes a bit.


    ¡°We found this new tree none of us had seen before. It had this very nicely coloured wood so I asked your sister to cut it down so we could maybe build a hut out of it.¡± Hilda starts.


    ¡°But as it happens, those trees have this very peculiar way of storing water, with some kind of bowl shaped leaves at the top that we didn¡¯t see from where we were standing.¡± Sam continues. ¡°And when your sister hit the first stroke with her axe, all those leaves folded down for some reason, releasing all of the water on top of us, all at once.¡±


    ¡°And it was a lot of water¡­¡± My sister looks at me with a painful grimace. ¡°Like, a lot of water.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think I know those trees you are talking about.¡± Brianna nods. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them do that but then again¡­ I didn¡¯t try to cut one down.¡±


    ¡°So now we know what happens if you do that¡­¡± My sister stretches. ¡°So we didn¡¯t want to drag all that wood back here because¡­ cold¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, let me start the fire already so you can warm up a bit.¡± I add a couple more blocks to the firepit and then light it up with my blue ball of death.


    ¡°Thanks, sis, you are a lifesaver.¡± Lise starts warming up her hands.


    ¡°Hehe, no problem.¡± I then go and sit next to my girlfriend, using a very very gentle version of my spell to warm her up a bit as well.


    Not that much later the blasting stops and soon afterwards Nikki returns back to the camp with dozens of fishes in her arms. Weirdly enough they are not fried at all.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Hilda asks. ¡°I was sure they were going to be fried.¡±


    ¡°I just used the shockwave to knock them out by casting my blasts above the water. Then I gathered the nice looking ones and¡­ well¡­ I¡¯ll spare you the graphical details.¡± Nikki puts down the fishes on another big palm leaf. She then cracked her fingers and took out her knife again. ¡°Now, it¡¯s food preparation time.¡±


    My mouth starts to water. Even though I¡¯m still not really hungry¡­ -There¡¯s always room in my stomach for a nice fishy, as long as it isn¡¯t too small¡­-


    FieryKathy

 Chapter 151: Wrong

    FieryKathy


    Nikki proves herself yet again as being the best chef from our entire group. How she managed to cut such thin slices of sashimi with her knife, I do not know, I just know that she did. The fish that she cooked was also expertly spiced and cooked to perfection. Combined perfectly with some of the fruits that we had left over from yesterday to create some new flavor profiles.


    -It¡¯s just so perfect.-


    ¡°Enjoying your meal, Ami?¡± Sam bumps against me.


    ¡°I am! It¡¯s so delish!¡±


    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m glad you are enjoying it this much.¡± Nikki smiles as she flips over another fish on them pan.


    Sam smiles as well and then rubs my back gently while I¡¯m eating. It looks like she¡¯s not really that hungry, even though she did eat, she has definitely not eaten much at all.


    ¡°Are you not feeling that well?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I do. I¡¯m just not that hungry.¡±


    ¡°Oh, can I have the rest of your fishie then?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can.¡± Sam laughs and then rubs me in between my ears. ¡°Here you go.¡± She gives her remaining fish to me.


    After I also finish that off, I do notice that Sam is still pretty quiet. She¡¯s just staring in front of her. Which is incredibly atypical for her.


    ¡°Uhm, is it okay if I go and take a walk with my girlfriend for a bit?¡± I ask the group.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask us for permission, Ami.¡± Nikki smiles at us. ¡°See you in a bit then?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± I take Sam¡¯s hand, even though I¡¯ve not asked beforehand if she wanted to join, but she still joins me nonetheless. I do see in the corner of my eyes that my sister is looking suspiciously at the both of us as we leave. -Oh well, I¡¯ll answer her questions when we get back.-


    When we are on the beach, we walk in the opposite direction from where we had gone yesterday evening. Before walking in a relatively open part of the treeline. I find a small rock formation and decide this is where I want to have my chat with my girlfriend.


    ¡°Come Sam, let¡¯s sit down here for a bit.¡±


    She obliges without saying anything.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sam?¡±


    ¡°I told you, there isn¡¯t anything wrong¡­¡±


    ¡°Sam, clearly that¡¯s bullshit.¡± I sit down next to her and put my hand on her thigh. ¡°Did something happen between Hilda, you and my sister while you were out gathering wood? Did you fight or something?¡±


    ¡°No, not really.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°Things are good between us, like they always are.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Sam grunts and then shakes her head. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± putting her face in the palms of her hands. ¡°My head just feels¡­ weird¡­¡±


    I look at her and raise my right hand to her chest. Starting to use my healing magic on her. ¡°Is this helping?¡± I give it a couple of seconds to do its job.


    But Sam shakes her head. ¡°No¡­ it actually feels worse now¡­¡± Sam tries to stand up but gets a dizzy spell instead, dropping back down to the rock.


    ¡°Sam!?¡± I stand, now in a slight panic. ¡°Wait¡­ that tree that you three tried to cut down. Hilda said it had colorful wood, right?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah¡­ I think¡­ yellow¡­ purple and uh¡­ streaks of black¡­¡±


    ¡°I wonder¡­¡± I quickly open my user interface and go and take a look at my skills. -Nikki mentioned antidote magic before, but I¡¯m not sure if I actually unlocked that¡­- I quickly read through everything on my screen but in the end I can¡¯t find any antidote magic. But luckily I do have a metric fuckload of skillpoints saved up. I then quickly browse to the leveling screen. It does not take long for me to find a basic antidote skill. When I unlock that one I get a pop-up that it has automatically combined with my other healing skills, together with an addition of divine magic making it incredibly potent.


    I close my screen again, leaving me with 140 unspent points. ¡°I hope this works.¡± I raise my hands once more and then start casting my heal again. This time the light blue healing magic appears to be drawing out some black clouds of gas out of my girlfriend¡¯s body which quickly dissipates in the air.


    ¡°Ho¡­ holy shit¡­¡± Sam sits upright again and looks up at the sky. ¡°That feels so much better.¡± She then looks back down at me. ¡°Wow¡­ Ami¡­ I¡¯m sorry for that¡­ it was as if my mind was completely fogged up.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t care.¡± I take her in for a tight hug. ¡°I¡¯m just happy you are fine again.¡±


    She reciprocates my hug. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯ve learned antidote magic now?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± I nod. ¡°Luckily for us I had 142 points to spare.¡±


    ¡°142!?¡±


    I chuckle. ¡°Yeah, that was Nikki¡¯s reaction too.¡±


    ¡°When we get back to camp, you are not doing anything else before you¡¯ve spent them all, okay?¡±


    ¡°But what if I need a skill and I don¡¯t have any points left?¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s spend at least 120 of those points then.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I think I can agree with that.¡± I nod into my girlfriend''s neck.


    ¡°Uh¡­ and now that I think about it¡­ speaking off camp¡­ shouldn¡¯t we head back to see if your sister and Hilda are fine?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Right!¡± I quickly release my partner from her hug and look in the direction we came from. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go before anything bad happens!¡±


    ¡°Right behind you.¡± Sam gives me a nod, after which I start running towards the beach.


    When we arrive back at camp, Brianna, my sister and Nikki are still sitting by the fire. My sister is still eating some fish. Although she looks quite surprised as to why we come back running.


    ¡°Is Sam okay?¡± Lise asks. ¡°Or is there a different reason why you came running back.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s okay now. But are you feeling well?¡±


    My sister looks even more confused before giving me a nod. ¡°Uh, yeah. Completely fine and dandy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d cast it on her to be sure, Ami.¡± Sam says.


    ¡°That was the plan.¡± From where I stand I cast my healing magic on her with my staff, yet this time, not even a small puff of black smoke leaves my sister¡¯s body.


    ¡°Uuuuuh? What are you doing, sis?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Sam got poisoned at the tree you three tried to cut down, that¡¯s why she was acting strange. But apparently that¡¯s not the case?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, I¡¯m actually immune to poison because of my skills. You know. Paladin stuff.¡± My sister quickly stands up. ¡°Hilda however¡­ She went to lie down in her lean-to¡­ I thought she was just tired...¡±


    I look at Sam, she looks back at me and gives me a nod. ¡°Then we¡¯ll quickly go and find her.¡± I start running on towards the lean-to¡¯s with Sam close behind me and in her turn Lise following close behind her.


    When we turn the corner however, it looks like Hilda didn¡¯t even make it to her lean-to as she¡¯s collapsed in the sand, right in front of Sam and mine.


    ¡°Oh shit.¡± My sister calls out as she sees that.


    I quickly go down on my knees and start channeling my magic into my heal. She¡¯s still alive but I can feel that she¡¯s severely weakened. So it¡¯s good that we noticed in time.


    When my heal starts doing its work, just like with Sam, a dark smoke starts getting drawn out of Hilda¡¯s body. However this time, there¡¯s a heck of a lot more of it.


    ¡°Is that the poison?¡± My sister asks.


    ¡°Yeah. For some reason it looks like this when I draw it out of bodies.¡±


    ¡°It looks very sinister¡­¡±


    ¡°It kinda reminds me of the angry souls back at the Dwarger capital¡­¡± I mumble as I finally draw out the last of the poison.


    ¡°Mhmmmm¡­¡± Hilda groans and opens her eyes. ¡°Wh¡­ where am I?¡± Sam takes her by the arm so she can help Hilda up a little.


    ¡°You got poisoned.¡± Lyse says as Sam helps Hilda sit up.


    ¡°Poisoned? Poisoned by what?¡± Hilda rubs the sand off her face.


    ¡°The big tree we tried to cut down.¡±


    ¡°I think the water presumably had mixed with poisonous sap from the tree.¡± Sam states. ¡°I got pretty messed up as well.¡±


    Hilda still looks pretty confused. ¡°And you were fine?¡±


    ¡°Yup, paladin.¡± Lise points at herself with her thumb.


    ¡°Right¡­ Okay¡­ let¡¯s not use that wood for huts then¡­¡±


    ¡°Whaaaat? Can¡¯t I have my personal hut made from poisonous materials?¡± My sister chuckles.


    Hilda rolls her eyes but doesn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Ah, so you don¡¯t want to sleep with Nikki anymore. I¡¯ll tell her.¡± I grin at my sister.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t, she will actually kill me if you say that to her.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ give me some ear scratches and I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡± Lise puts her hand on top of my head and scratches me behind my right ear. ¡°I¡¯ll give you some more later.¡±


    ¡°Alrighty.¡± I smile.


    Sam then helps Hilda stand up completely.


    ¡°I guess we should be lucky the poison worked as slow as we did. Otherwise Ami would have had to use her resurrection magic on us instead.¡± Sam says as we walk back towards the fire.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a good question. Would my resurrection have removed the poison out of your bodies?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I think it would have?¡± Hilda shrugs but she¡¯s clearly not sure.


    ¡°We can go back to test it if you want.¡± Lise proposes.


    ¡°No thank you. I¡¯d rather not.¡± Hilda quickly shakes her head and Sam chuckles.


    -Testing it wouldn¡¯t be possible anymore anyway since my antidote magic merged with my healing skills. And now that I think about it¡­ shouldn¡¯t ¡®alpha testers¡¯ know things like this? Maybe they just looked over it.-


    FieryKathy