Chapter 89 – Window Shopping
101 0 7
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

In the end, we decide to hang around Curly’s drink stand, not finding myself hungry enough for a meal, but peckish enough for a milkshake. I appreciate not being thrown into the Radiant World with all that’s going on in my head, but I really should try to not focus on it, lest the aching in my arm returns. I instead look to Penny, who either isn’t very interested in a beverage, or, well, maybe she can’t be, being dead and all.

“So…” I quietly approach the lizard as I sip from my straw, “Penny, yeah? I’m Cat. Cat Kitten.”

“In the fur, no less!” she jokes, holding out a claw for me to shake. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you, not had much of a chance to come visit. It’s my pleasure.”

Grasping her claw, I give it a shake and nod, tilting my head curiously.

“Coyotl’s mentioned me, huh?” I ask, pulling away from Penny’s awfully firm grip.

“From time to time! I’ll spare you the earlier details, I’m sure you can understand things were a bit rocky then,” she says, and I appreciate the skipping over of old information, I’d much rather keep my mind on Coyo as he is and wants to be. “But he was very worried about being accepted by you in particular, and Fox as well, though, my reassurance helped there.”

“Oh yeah, Fox did mention going to look for you a few nights ago,” I mention, sipping my shake thoughtfully. “That was in the dream world, though, so how does that work?”

“Aha, well…”

Penny explains the situation regarding the gate stone, how it forms a passage between worlds, including those in dreams, so Fox was able to skip out of hers and into the waking realm, though, few can actually see ‘dream walkers,’ as she called them. Being a ghost, however, she’s kinda…between planes, so to speak.

“So can you just wander around and do whatever?” I ask, back leaning against the side of a building as I watch Bomba reading with Niamh from within her lap.

“Not exactly…” Penny sighs. “It’s my soul which allows me to continue existing, I’m told, so the purpose it’s driven towards guides me. I cannot stray too far from that path, though thankfully it was just enough to be able to meet Fox that long month ago.”

“Alright, and that purpose is…well, I guess you mentioned some kind of duty to your family, didn’t you?”

“That’s right, Cat!” she smiles, radiant as a beam of light. “My purpose has always been to keep watch of things where Broila could not, and the best way I could do this was through watching over my family.”

They shift somewhat uncomfortably where they stand, their long lizard tail curling around their leg.

“...It was not a very pleasant watch after a certain point. I could do little, until now, where Coyotl allows me to guard and guide him, where I can follow my family along the path I wished to see built so long ago.”

“Interesting,” I mumble, tapping my chin. “You must have had a really powerful soul to have lasted this long, though I’m guessing not having much to expend it on for so long helped.”

She stands still for a time, her eyes pointed towards the top of Monorise in the distance.

“Yes. The journey with Broila asked much of me, and I’m glad to have been able to endure it all,” she says with a wistful smile that doesn’t meet her eyes. “Oh, what I’d give for one more adventure…”

“...You can’t go on one with Coyotl after this?” I ponder, receiving a shake of the head from the lizard woman.

“I don’t have much left in me to continue, but I’ve lived a long, long afterlife. I’ll be happy knowing my descendant has a bright future ahead of him, and friends like you by his side.”

It’s painful, seeing the bittersweet curl of Penny’s lips, but…I guess there’s little that can be done, huh?

“I’ll personally see him to that brighter future, I promise you that.”

“My goodness, as if you have not done enough to keep my heart hopeful as is!”

The two of us chuckle at one another until I notice the chimera of the hour walking down the street towards us, looking no worse for wear as I wave him over.

“Ayo, Coyo! How’d things go!”

He offers a nod before stopping just shy of us, holding out his claw and giving us a dramatic as all hell thumbs up, the dork.

“Promise kept! All are safe and sound from what I’d last seen,” he tells us, Curly beckoning him over and offering the hero a shake as well, shaking his boisterous demeanor somewhat as he bashfully accepts the gift.

“Atta girl,” I say, almost reaching up to pat his head before remembering the static and opting to pat him on the shoulder instead. “What a goddamn hero, always coming in to save the day.”

“P-please, Cat…” he grumbles, looking extra cute with his face lit up by a green blush.

“She’s not wrong, you know,” Penny adds, idly holding her arms behind her back and smiling pleasantly. “I think it runs in the family.”

“Eyy, ya hear that?” I tease, grinning and nudging the chimera with my elbow. “You’ve got hero’s blood!”

Coyo whines and slumps forward, bringing his drink up to his face and letting the straw poke through the screen, rippling where it touches as he slurps his shake up.

“I’m moving on,” Coyotl states, seemingly able to talk with a straw in his ‘mouth.’ “We should probably be ready to receive the others soon, Sue-Zee in particular seemed especially exhausted.”

“Yeah, those two have been through a lot lately,” I mumble, crossing my arms with a sigh. “Why don’t we head over to the front of town and wait for ‘em? It’s the least we can do after all they’ve been doing for us lately.”

Coyo and Penny nod, the latter allowing their form to dissipate and disappear from view while I wave over to Niamh and Bomba.

“Hey, you two! We’ll be by the town entrance!”

The cherry blossom girl doesn’t flinch, entirely preoccupied with her book, though Niamh waves in her stead.

“Take care, you all, I’m certain you’ll be seeing more of me soon enough~”

“What a riveting prospect, buh-bye.”

 

Me and the chimera spend a bit of time by the front gates, discussing various bits of Radiant trivia we’ve each learnt while we lay in wait, Coyo standing in front of me with a tome open while I lean back against a wall.

“It’s gotta be something something rhythm,” I muse, the chimera shaking his head at my noncommittal answer.

“How does that explain the desert then? Or the focus on weapons mastery? How do those tie into rhythm?”

I shrug.

“Look, knowing what we do about this ‘Ends by Means’ stuff, him being half the duet of Mx. Neptune only really makes sense this way. Their magic was powered by song. Also the ponpa are incredibly rhythmical! It just makes sense.”

“I’m not satisfied with that answer,” Coyo pouts, closing his book and crossing his arms. “Perhaps he evolved into the identity? Though, it is written that it was through befriending Minhocão that Broila learnt the secret of the soul song…”

“I think that answers your query,” I state flatly, trying to hide the smug little smirk on my catty face, which becomes exceedingly easy as it fades noticing a figure approaching Aspen Town in the distance. “Let’s put a pause on that discussion, looks like the girls are home.”

Coyotl tilts his head at me, then turning to see Fox carrying Sue-Zee home as quickly as she can.

“Is Zee not a boy?”

“Demiboy, actually, but he considers himself an honourary girl for the sake of girls night.”

“Very interesting.”

Stepping more out into the open, I can see Fox’s face brighten somewhat once I’m in view, seeming to speed up even more before skidding to a halt before us and tossing the duo into my arms, our navigators seeming barely phased and still asleep.

“Cat! Coyotl!”

“Heya, hun!” I beam, sliding over and wrapping my tail around her waist. “How’d things go?”

“They went well, I think!” my little vixen cheers, claws on her hips and tail peering over her shoulder with Violet’s maw. “Chit chat comes later. Let’s get Sue-Zee to a bed.”

Glancing down at the duo, it’s clear they’re more than physically exhausted with the way they cling to me, so I nod at Vi and get a move on, pulling Fox along with my tail before beckoning Coyo to follow with a few flicks of my tail’s tip.

“A-are you sure you want me along? I would hate to intrude on your polycule…”

“Oh, c’mon, Coyo,” I say, rolling my eyes with a smirk, “I’m asking you to join us. Let’s go.”

The chimera hesitates for a moment before nodding, trotting along beside us as we work our way through town and to the woods as Fox tells me all about the heist.

“Wow, I hope he dies painfully.”

“From what I heard in System Update’s head, it sounds like that’s the plan!”

Turning to look at Coyo trailing behind us, I find a nervous chimera keeping his head low.

“You good, Coyo?”

“Ah! Y-yes, I apologize,” he says with a sigh, prompting my tail to pat his shoulder. “I was just curious about this ‘duetting’ that happens. What does it feel like?”

Fox taps her chin, looking up thoughtfully before turning to Coyotl and walking backwards along the forest path, arms behind her head.

“I’ve only ever done it once, technically, but it’s kinda like…you feel a lot mentally stronger? So you and another person pilot your body at the same time.”

“Like a mecha,” I add, earning myself a grin and a nod from Fox while Coyo nods, taking in the information. “Though, for me and Niamh, it was a bit different. It felt more like we merged to become one whole new being that was Sol, though it still felt like us in a way.”

“Likewise,” Violet says, peeking over Fox’s shoulder once more, “System Update is a different person from Zee and I, more so than what Sol felt like for Cat it would seem. Something entirely different.”

“How curious…” Coyotl mumbles, looking up from the ground and into the empty canopy above. “...I wonder if I could perform a duet with anyone.”

“Wanna give it a try later?”

The chimera is caught off guard by my proposition, jolting and looking at me with shock before turning to avoid eye contact.

“D-do you not need a powerful bond with someone in order to perform a duet though?!”

Heh. I turn back myself and walk backwards, smirking at Coyo as Fox turns to face the path once more.

“And? You’re like a sister to me, Coyo, I dunno how else to say you mean a lot to me.”

We exit the forest just as I say this, the chimera stopping in his tracks and looking at me, the eyes on his screen wobbling as if he were about to cry.

“Y-you really mean it…?”

“Oh, for Yom’s sake, Coyo!” I exclaim with a smile, Fox needing to pry Sue-Zee off of me as I hand them over to her for a moment, sauntering over and pulling him into my arms. “Yes, I mean it. I love you, promise.”

Oh jeez. Maybe I shoulda saved that one cuz here comes the water works.

“I…I love you too, Cat…”

To the side, I see Violet shift into a claw on Fox’s tail, helping her escort Sue-Zee into the house while I hold onto our dear lorekeeper here. He doesn’t feel exactly natural when it comes to hugging, probably being unused to displays of affection, so I take the lead in holding him tight until he’s finished crying on my boobs. Oops. Hadn’t thought about where I was pulling him into…

“You good?”

“Y-yes, I apologize…”

Aw, poor guy. I give him a pat on the shoulders before ushering him over to the open door awaiting us.

“Nothin’ to apologize for, crying is important. Let’s get you somewhere a bit warmer though, don’t want your tears freezing up before they’re out.”

“C-can that really happen?!”

Oh Coyo.

 

Once inside, we find Fox walking out of our bedroom, waving her claw and swishing her tail as she approaches.

“Took a bit of effort to get ‘em off of us, but they’re cozy in bed at last.”

“Thanks, hun,” I say, walking over and pulling her in and up into a kiss, catching her off guard and leaving her woozy as I let her down.

“Wowzers…”

“Heheh, cutie pie. You mind keeping Coyo company while I check in on Sue-Zee?”

The vixen continues to swoon for a moment before shaking herself out like a dog and giving me a nod.

“They’re out like a two pronged light, but I doubt they’ll mind the company.”

“...Honey, what the hell is a two pronged light?”

She sweats, scooting off and preparing tea as quickly as she can.

“I couldn’t think of a better ‘double’ joke, sue me!”

“One of these days someone might just,” I tease her, waggling my paw at her as she rolls her eyes and pats a claw at me dismissively.

“Get outta here. Coyotl, what kind of tea do you like?”

Oh boy. Asked this one already, not eager to hear his answer twice, giving me good enough reason to duck outta the kitchen pronto, quietly closing the bedroom door behind me and smiling at the cozy duo before me. Real quick, I slide open my drawer and find the gate stone safe and sound, glowing dimly in the mild shade of the nightstand’s confines. It fits nicely in my paw, and seems to shine just a bit brighter as I hold it, soon finding it fits even nicer in my pocket. I wanna make sure this thing goes off, after all. Sliding into bed, I’m immediately seized by the duo in their sleep, being clung to as they dream away. Guess there’s no going back now, huh? Closing my eyes, it’s not long before I find myself drifting off, arms and legs wrapped around the navigators…

 

Fox/Violet

 

“What do you mean you’ve never had tea before.”

The chimera sighs and takes a seat, holding their head in their hand as they slouch over the table.

“I don’t see why everybody is so taken aback by this.”

“Because you lived in a mansion!” I exclaim before Vi covers my mouth with her tail claw, reminding me to keep it down. “Plus, like, tea is just awesome. I can’t believe you’ve never tried it before.”

Coyotl grumbles and sighs, shaking their head.

“Soda did me just fine. It isn’t like anybody ever taught me how to prepare it, so…”

I’d propose the idea of looking it up online, but to be honest, I never did much of that myself, so I don’t really have any ground on the argument, even if she doesn’t know that.

“Ah…yeah, I get that, actually,” I admit, seeming to disarm the chimera somewhat as I get the water boiling. “It’s like when people kind of do everything for you early on, and never teach you how to do anything, picking up anything new is incredibly frightening.”

Vi, help me out, what kind of tea. Nothing too strong. Alright, peppermint is usually pretty easy. I snatch up a tea back from the tea drawer and dunk it in with an overly dramatic flourish that splashed some boiling hot water onto us which I take like a champ, well protected by my fur.

“We’re lucky we had Cat to support us the whole way through,” I muse wistfully, leaning against the counter while petting Vi’s tail maw. “Dunno what we’d do without her.”

“...I completely understand. She’s an outstanding individual.”

...It’s odd, being this civil with them, hearing them talk like this. Have they always been like this beyond the familial brainwashing? Or have they changed that much in such a short amount of time?

“...Did you ever have anyone like that?”

A gentle quiet hovers over the room until the kettle sounds off, giving Coyotl a moment to think as I grab her a cup and pour her some tea.

“...Not that I can recall. My parents restricted my access to other people heavily, among other things. I do recall making a...”

They pause, tapping the side of their head with a clack of their claw.

“...I hesitate to use the word ‘friend’ when we had only ever spoken once,” they explain, taking their cup and somehow blowing on it through their screen, the bottom of it rippling as she does. “But after my remaining guardian had passed away, I found myself wandering the streets of Monorise on my own for the first time.”

“How old were you exactly when this happened?” I ask, tiling my head one way while Vi tilts her maw the other.

“Hmm...I must have been 15 at the time.”

“Fifteen?! Goddess, I’m so sorry...”

They shake their head, however, tempted to take a sip of their tea before beginning to blow on it again.

“Frightened as I was, I was free for the first time in my life. I could take care of myself well enough, I rarely spent their wealth on anything besides necessities, and they seemed to have done something to keep government types away before their passing.”

“It still sounds lonely as all hell.”

“Quite...” they mumble solemnly, sighing. “I am getting off track, however. This individual was a strapping young woman who happened to bump into me while distracted by a curious fixation on a dress through a store window.”

“You must be one hell of a chick magnet to keep running into us then, huh?” I joke, sticking my tongue out playfully at her, only to find her blushing and staring, quickly looking away once she notices she’s been caught.

“Y-yes, though it is quite unfortunate I would find so many far beyond my league,” they sigh, glancing back at me as she takes the first sip from her tea. “...This is quite nice. Thank you, Fox and Violet.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

“Oh, just take it,” I tell Vi, poking her cheek before turning back to Coyotl, pouring myself a cup and taking a seat opposite to her. “You seem a bit on edge, what’s up?”

“I-I would not want to burden you with my woes,” they stammer out, earning a sigh from both me and Vi.

“Coyotl, I’m just asking because I want you to be comfortable around us. It’ll be easier for us to be comfortable around you at the same time if you feel welcome here.”

They pause, then nod, taking another sip and sighing.

“I should not be allowed to admire your beauty. I almost killed you.”

“You’ve also saved us time and time again,” I argue while Vi blows on our tea.

“That does not mean I did not wrong you, however. And for that...I wish to apologize.”

I look her deep in the eyes and wonder if they even need to at this point.

I think the fact they are even after doing so much says a lot about them, really.

“...Apology accepted, Coyo.”

“From the both of us.”

The chimera blinks at us in disbelief.

“I-it cannot be so simple, can it? Not after all I’ve done...”

“It can be,” I assure her, “and we’d like to make it so, considering all you’ve done for us, and everything we’ve all been through.”

They look about ready to cry again, but hold it back, steadying themselves and taking a deep, shaky breath.

“Thank you...thank you both so much...”

“There you go. You should say thank you more often, it’s good for you.”

They seem almost taken aback by that statement, thinking on it for a moment before nodding.

“Ah, I almost forgot to complete the story!” they exclaim, their tail wagging, which in turn makes ours sway as well.

“Well go on, tell us about this beautiful woman you befriended!”

They seem a bit flustered by that, but clear their throat and continue on regardless.

“As I was saying, I bumped into her as she was admiring this dress, and she was incredibly apologetic, and also looked to be quite worse for wear. So, I offered to buy her the dress.”

This is…

Awfully...familiar sounding…?

“She was taken aback, but I insisted, even as the store manager seemed upset for whatever reason, if a 15 year old has enough money, they listen. She goes to try on the dress, and we talk through the stall door. She speaks of her reservations, and I speak of my understanding, knowing such doubts. She was reserved, but she had a wily edge to her tone…My first time speaking with a stranger, and she was something magical, even more so as she exited the changing room. She looked beautiful in the dress, and it was as if a light in her eyes had been rekindled, she looked so happy for a moment.”

Oh.

Oh.

“Alas, she seemed quite embarrassed after changing back out, and simply ran out of the store without the dress.”

This whole time as Coyotl is explaining, staring out the window wistfully, blissfully unaware of our demeanor, we sit here with a look of complete shock on our face.

“I hope...one day we will meet again, so perhaps I could--”

“Coyotl?”

He stops, turning back to look at us, surprised by how red our face is.

“D-did I say something wrong…?”

“N-no, Coyotl,” I begin, trying to find the words. “That...that ‘girl’ was...”

“That was us...”

“Before we’d even known we were a girl...”

All three of us sit in silence, staring at one another, unsure of how to continue.

“Wh-what?!”

“I-I DUNNO!!” I exclaim, face in my claws. “Goddess! Strapping? Beautiful?? Oh my Goddess???”

“TH-THAT IS JUST HOW I REMEMBER IT!!” they shout back, only to be shushed by Violet, “Sorry-- I was 15…! Give me a break…!”

Once the initial wave of embarrassment and shock subsides, it’s hard not to laugh at the absurdity of it all, Coyotl even joining in on the giggling as things wind down.

“Well, uhm...hey, you found her!” I announce as if presenting an award, the award being sexy ol’ me. “Maybe...maybe we could follow up on that initial meeting sometime…? We kind of need a wardrobe makeover...”

“I...I would like that a lot, I think.”

7