Taking a deep breath, you moved to leave the room, wondering if your 'guards' would still be there or not after the little chat with the Major.

Leo was not there, the corridor was devoid of movement and people.

Good.

Following the signs, you eventually reached what looked like a cafeteria... or you guess it's the cafeteria due to the tables and vending machines, not that there's anything else that might prove a source of nourishment within sight. Much to your surprise, though most of the options had a corresponding price-tag attached to them, all the machines had a multitude of options that were devoid of a price. The ones without a price also had only drawings to them rather than words.

Odd.

Figuring it was the option for piss-poor patients such as yourself, you selected it. You got yourself a nice glass of water and a bowl of what could only be described as dog food pellets. You looked at it, feeling the hunger from the past couple days going away, the hell was this supposed to be?

A trickle of a thought... maybe some variant of the... pokechow? Was that the name? You didn't quite like the thought of the thing.

Sighing deeply, you looked out the window, glancing across the street and towards what seemed to be a restaurant. A movement across the corridor, a head of pink hair, it drew your attention as she entered the restaurant. She wasn't Dia, but she sure looked close.

...no, you refused to eat this. Putting the kibble aside, you drank the water and returned to your room, hospitals were meant to feed their patients, right? You began looking around for whatever option was the one meant to call a nurse over that you probably missed the first time around. You soon found it, a button with a painted nurse's cap on it above the bed.

It didn't take five minutes for someone to show up.

You felt slightly baffled at the fact that, though as pink-haired as the previous nurse, this one wore actually reasonable clothes. She also seemed older than Dia though you couldn't really tell by how much. "Dia's currently taking her break, I'm Doctor Hale." She introduced herself, her voice was definitely not quite friendly and it lacked that sense of deference. There was a moment as she looked you over, you realised there was also a lack of that naked hunger you'd started to associate with pink-haired women. "You seem to be recovering quite well, what would you need assistance with?"

Reality, right, you coughed a moment to organize your thoughts. "I'm sorry to bother, but what would be the food options available for someone... erm, like me?" You ask politely.

Your choice of words make her blink, the young woman laughed softly before quickly apologising. "Sorry, sorry, it's just... refreshing. Dia wouldn't stop saying how much of a charmer you are, seems she wasn't wrong." She waved away your unspoken question, giving you a sultry grin. "Yes, we do have food, but no, it's better you don't eat what's available for free in the cafeteria."

"What is it?"

"Pokechow, it will keep you alive, but you'll regret it." She replied, placing her hands on her hips for a moment, pausing, she turned her focus downwards, looking around her pockets until she pulled out a colourful piece of paper. "This is a coupon; since you're not a tamer and are currently classified as a disaster victim, the league will cover for your meal expenses."

"That's... nice." You grabbed the coupon. "Why... wasn't informed of this earlier?"

The woman gave you a wink. "Because Dia was probably got a little bit distracted."

You can't stop yourself from blushing slightly. "Uh, so how much..."

"Did she brag, swoon, blush, and croon? Give the description using metric units and precise temperatures in celsius? Plenty." The woman laughed softly at your embarrassed nervousness. "You really aren't from these parts are you? It was hard to believe until now."

Her words made you glance at her oddly. "Would you mind if we continued talking over lunch?" You asked innocently. The doctor's face lit up with a smile at that before she laughed again, louder than before. Pausing, she glanced at you before smiling a bit more coyly. "Ask me for dinner when you're not a patient and I'll think about it. Otherwise, Dia might stab me in my sleep."

Huh? You watched her leave feeling slightly confused, or rather, not quite sure which would be the better way to take this. It was certainly oddly reassuring not everyone in this world would jump your bones at the drop of a hat. Maybe. Or maybe not. Should this be a blow to your ego? Feeling desired in such a direct way was certainly very... new.

Your stomach growled to remind you there were other things that should be taken into consideration right now other than your meandering thoughts.

Such as food.

Food was important and you'd been abusing your digestive track for well over four days.

So you set forth to leave the hospital, the path to the exit a simple one, and the closer to the entrance you got the more women you saw moving about. Some on the side of things that were even more animalistic than Monica in appearance. But there was no random woman who just up and dragged you into a room, only a black-haired girl sitting bored behind the reception desk.

She perked up instantly when she spotted you and thrust her chest out.

That was one mighty chest.

But you'd just had a cup-of-Dia, so the effect was mitigated, much to the girl's disappointment.

Stepping outside into the sun felt good, you were left feeling slightly dazed right after when you realized that of every person within your immediate line of sight, four out of five were women in varying states of undress. And most of them had at least one thing about them that definitely didn't count as "normal", ranging from odd hair colours to wings and fur and... 

...and how some of them were looking at you made you feel like you were a lost lamb walking down a street populated mostly by hungry wolves.

That still felt weird, it was as if you'd woken up and the world found you far more sexually desirable than a month ago. Except you were still you, and the female population had somehow become five times more plentiful.

...it would take a while for your brain to fully adjust to this.

Your brain sort of fritzed for a bit. Your stomach growled to remind you you had a mission. Right, food. There had to be a place decent enough around here, right? Meat, definitely meat. And this time it wouldn't be the flesh of a sentient person.

You hoped at least.

Your nose lead the way, and it didn't disappoint, the sight you saw at the entrance of "Super B Diner" was certainly quite the delicious meal.

"Master, thishishshogud!" A... you guessed a pokegirl, told the man she was sitting next to, eating the burger with absolute adoration in her eyes as she looked at the man seated opposite to her. Stepping inside, you realize the sight was a common one. Lots of very happy looking females eating food as if it was ambrosia handed down by the Gods themselves.

"I wuv you Master!" A blonde proclaimed while taking in a delicious looking meal.

You had to guess that if the average pokegirl ate that kibble from the vending machine, then... yeah, that made sense.

"Good day, Master." The voice was aimed your way, and you turned to face what you had to figure was a waitress. The clothes selection didn't exactly scream "uniform" so much as "going out for a run". "Welcome to the Super Burger Diner, table for how many?"

"Just one." You replied, feeling slightly confused by the look she gave you right after that proclamation.

"Right this way!" Her cheery expression didn't miss a beat to come right back up, she led you to a table near the centre of the diner. "Here you are, Master." She handed you a menu. "I'll be right back to take your order in just a minute."

Without even blinking, she turned to leave towards the back. The more you looked around the more you asked yourself what sort of place was this? Wasn't it a restaurant? You wondered as you read the menu of various types of "meat between pieces of bread", there was nothing odd about it short of the names and that the prices had a lot of zeroes. But that may just be a currency thing since you had absolutely no frame of reference.

And yet you began to pay a little closer attention.

But the more you looked through the menu the more you started noticing things that were "off". For example, there were no soft-drinks, it was either juice, beer, or water. Then there was the "meat" part, you noticed there were 4 "types": Kang, Slowlectra, KATTLE, and 'Farm'.

The 'Farm' option cost over ten times more than any of the others.

The waitress was back. "Have you made your choice, Master?"

"Uh... do you accept vouchers?" Your brain was considering whether it would be a better option to walk out, but the food looked good, smelled good too.

"Sure thing! Just not for farmed meat, cows are very expensive to grow!" She declared cheerfully. Actually, was there anything about her that didn't seem cheerful? You looked back at the menu and gulped.

"A beer." You said with a heavy and very tired sigh, you definitely needed one. "Also, what would you recommend with KATTLE meat?"

"Hm..." Tapping her lower lip, the girl placed the other hand on her hip. "I'd recommend the Kang-Deluxe since Mary's been gorging on some good stuff yesterday, but KATTLE meat?"

You watch her consider things and your brain kept trying to interpret what she meant regarding "Mary".

"I guess the tartare would be a good pick if you're not squeamish about raw meat..."

Her words cause a knot of tension in your neck you hadn't expected, it came from the image of Monica as she fed on the corpses. Your stomach revolted and had it not been empty you would've certainly hurled. "No... nothing raw please." You declared, calming down quickly, hiding the squeamishness, but rather certain you were slightly paler for it.

"Sure thing, then I'd say the next best thing would be steak."

There's a lag on your thoughts, you double check. "That's not on the menu."

"Nope." She winks. "Most food here is feral-born friendly, so the tamers don't have to worry about teaching them how to use a fork and knife." A little giggle followed. "We had stake for a while, but some of the girls kept just ripping into it and causing a mess."

"I'll have that, then." You nod, offering the coupon.

"Sure thing, Master, one steak and one beer coming right up!" She snatched the paper and walked off, leaving you to your thoughts. Most of those thoughts were that you'd likely have to work through some of the things that had happened while in the forest, you doubted you had come out as mentally unscathed as you'd thought.

Maybe that was the way to go, get Monica and look up some psychiatrist, get your head examined, find some 9 to 5 job and settle down in some small house. The thought was as close as comforting as you could honestly consider within the current situation. Was going back to your world even possible? You thought it over, then thought about Monica and...

"Is this seat taken?" A voice interrupted your thoughts.

Rising your eyes towards the source, you have to do a double-take.

To date, those were the largest breasts you had ever seen, and though you hastily averted your eyes from looking directly at them, just who could find them comfortable...? You realized the girl was still looking at you with an expression of not really giving much of a shit regarding where your gaze had been at.

"Sure." You reply after a heartbeat, not quite sure whether to feel awed or sorry for the beanbags attached to this young woman's chest, but certainly there was a part of you that was reacting to their presence despite every other thought in your head right now. "And you are...?"

"Rachel." She replied with the same lack of shits to give her expression showed, opening the menu as she did.

You frown. Rachel stopped the waitress with a gesture, actually, the moment she'd made the gesture it felt as if everyone was looking her way, like the room as a whole had suddenly felt her presence and was now, collectively, paying attention to her. "Bring me one farm-burger with fries and an apple juice."

The moment passed, everyone turned back to their meals as if nothing had happened.

"Uh... sure thing." The waitress blushed, wobbling slightly before agreeing. The odd woman leaned back on her chair, regarding you for a moment before her attention shifted towards the other patrons in the restaurant, seeming bored as she watched them eat.

"Rick." You answer to her introduction, even if slightly late.

She didn't respond to your name, only glancing your way for a moment before just going back to looking around. You feel your eyes drifting towards her chest again, but you refrain yourself, remaining calm and patient while waiting for your meal. Just how long would it take? You take a moment to consider things, and Rachel, there is something odd, but you opt to push it aside, sensing danger.

The situation feels awkward, but your caution takes the wheel, turning your attention away from her.

"Here's your beer and... your apple juice!" The waitress happily spoke, interrupting the awkward silence and placing the drinks on the table. She wandered away in what was clearly a bit of a hurry to get away from the horned woman sitting in front of you. That sealed things, yeah, this Rachel was not someone you wanted to just openly antagonize.

Quietly you mentally count seconds, keeping your focus on your beer. You also noticed you were starting to feel a slight tightness in your pants, but nothing you couldn't really ignore. The beer remained untouched, it didn't really feel like the right time to take any of it, but you noticed the strange woman glancing in your direction one more time before setting about her eyes into the crowd more intently.

Mentally you start going over what you'll need to do after this, probably best to find Dia or the others and talk things through... hm... you start wondering whether it'd be a good idea to maybe specifically-. "Ah!" Someone's voice sounds out, you turn your head to see the waitress falling down next to your table, spilling the couple drinks she'd been carrying all over the floor.

Some of it had almost reached your table.

Rachel turned to look down her nose at the waitress, her expression seeming silently judgemental. "So sorry." The waitress quietly shrank while she rushed to pick up the glasses and clean up the mess.

"Need help miss?" You stand up without hesitation and reach out to offer a helping hand to the waitress.

"Th-thanks, Master." She declared nervously, accepting the hand and quickly letting go when she glanced at the horned woman sharing the table with you. "I will have everything cleaned up right away, no need to help."

"Sure..." You reply amicably, sitting back down after a moment.

A slight chill ran down your spine and you feel like a flash of heat and arousal coursed you from head to toe right after, the odd feelings make you frown and then you glance around, and start noticing something... odd. The women, uh, pokegirls, they were acting strangely. No, yes, stranger than before, it was subtle, but as soon as you paid attention you realized it was happening everywhere at once. All the girls were sporting slight blushes, and doing those million small gestures to signal their interest in their partners in a more sexual tone. They'd lean forwards or carefully brush their hand against their arm or fingers.

And their owners weren't being subtle either.

Actually, now that you were looking at it, you could see one of the tables that previously had three people sitting now had only two. Occupant number three appeared to be under the table... though from this angle you couldn't do more than imagine what she was doing down there, kneeling.

Your eyes return towards the large breasted horned woman, your attention was becoming drawn to her chest once more, but you resist yet again. This time you see that the way she was looking at the other patrons was more akin to a hungry wolf looking at a herd of sheep.

Very suddenly you had little doubt that, somehow, she was doing something, or had something to do with the growing flirtatiousness in the crowd and perhaps even the own flashes of heat going through you.

Enough was enough.

"I'm guessing you find this amusing, miss?" You asked dryly, watching her with a flat expression. Rachel glanced your way and went back to looking at the crowd, completely ignoring your comment. Your frown deepened. "It's very rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you."

At your works, she merely made a silent 'harumph' sound. "I'm not interested in eunuchs."

Something snapped, she was causing the increasing arousal in the room, and was annoyed you had yet to react. "It must be hard living among teenagers." You commented with a roll of your eyes. "First person who can control themselves and you think he's a eunuch."

"Impotent then?" She replied without missing a beat, keeping her eyes on the others and seeming bored with the conversation with you. "You need some lust-dust to get hard?"

"Your meal, Master!" The waitress brought a much appreciated moment of distraction as she placed the platters in front of both of you with a shrill tone to her voice that went past merely friendly. "Hope you enjoy your meal!" As soon as she'd dropped the plate she was gone, you could almost make the smoky outline of her silhouette with how fast she'd moved to leave.

Rachel kept an icy look on the woman until she'd been gone from sight. Her eyes glanced at her food before looking at you without much interest. "Is that why you don't have any pokegirls? Can't get it up without help?"

You smile at her words, calmly digging into your meal.

Oh fuck, it was delicious. You almost drop the conversation entirely to dig in, but you restrain yourself and keep the pace calm. "It looks to me like you're the one who can't get some cock without using your powers." You avoid the grin from spreading as you see her eyes widen slightly. "Wonder what'd happen when you meet someone who's immune to them?"

The look on her face was akin to getting slapped, her eyes were wide, a flabbergasted look plastered all over. Her jaw clenched, fury rising like a bubbling volcano within seconds. "I will show you!" She seethed.

A flash of heat passes through you, and you hear moans all around you, but to you it felt more like showering in hot water and a gentle massage more than anything else. The look on the woman's face is priceless as she went from rage to something even more vastly stunned than before, and then even greater anger.

"Trying to get me to find you attractive using your powers?" You chuckled, was it something about you that was making you not very reactive to that strange ability? You couldn't tell, but you were certainly feeling amused by it.

The woman opened and closed her mouth, an attempt to say something was made, and she failed.

Realizing she couldn't even speak, she instead threw her plate across the room, smashing it into tiny pieces. It took her a moment to realise what she'd done, looking at you with that look of consideration that made you realise maybe you'd pushed things too far. But it was too late, she'd drawn the attention of the other patrons, many of the pokegirls were being visibly kept in their seats by their tamers, their eyes glaring at the one who'd ruined their fun.

The horned woman scowled, glared at you for a split second, and left.

A collective sigh was released.

Your own shoulders loosened as you took a long swing of beer.

What a brat.

As you go back to eating, the waitress deemed showing up after a handful of seconds, moving to apologise to the patrons and begin picking up everything. You feel like you're at least partially responsible for the whole thing and apologized, trying to lend a hand to clean some of the mess to little avail as the waitresses insisted, repeatedly.

"She wasn't your girl was she?" The initial waitress asked, seeming worried and relieved in equal measure.

"Never met her before." You shrugged.

"Oh, that's good." She nodded, clear relief as her smile broadened into one that was far more natural. "Girls like her are always trouble."

"She was a brat. I'll keep it in mind if I ever see her again." You shrug, going back to your meal and finishing it up, feeling quite satiated and happy about it.

As you moved to leave, you noticed the waitress intercepting you, her hand gently touching your wrist in what normally would've been a dismissable gesture, yet you notice something was dropped on your hand, you notice a piece of paper.

               20:50

Huh.

You glance at the restaurant for a second before pocketing the paper, your head trying to wrap around the things that had happened throughout the past four hours alone. Honestly, it felt quite boggling. Wake up, sex with a nurse, shower, food, the titty-bitch, and more flirtatious gestures from random strangers than what you'd received within the past year.

Focus, focus, your brain returned to the task at hand, right now you were looking for information and you were absolutely certain it wasn't impossible to find it.

Dia was still in the hospital, somewhere, while the others... you weren't sure, but you doubted they'd stay in their room if they could explore. At least so long as they weren't May. Maybe May was also in the hospital somewhere? Scratching the back of your head. In the end, you opted to take the option you were both dreading but also suspected was the wisest option.

The police ought to know a thing or two, right?

Better go and find someone you could ask for help to clear out some doubts, maybe answer some questions, Huge had mentioned a pamphlet for outworlders but he clearly had not left it in the room. So... next best thing perhaps?

As you walk around the small village, you keep noticing just how intrinsically geared for sex everything seems to be. A thousand little and large things that just kept jumping at you everywhere you looked.

On the subtle side of things, a lot of the girls would do things such as straightening up or thrusting their chests out or increasing the sway of their steps the moment they realized someone was looking at them. Some would shoot saucy looks, winks, unbutton their shirt slightly. On the other, less subtle side, you'd passed no less than three instances of people fucking right up against a building while most of the bystanders would just give them a look and carry on.

One invited an onlooker to join in. And she did.

You... opted to continue on and ignore them... also to give them a wide berth.

And the more you walked the more you kept noticing some of the more discreet instances of-

"Help, please!" Someone's shout drew your attention. "Please! This isn't some sort of kinky denyal roleplay! I'm serious!" Walking towards the source of the voice, you found a bushy-tailed pokegirl (couldn't be anything else, you figured), half crying for help from the passerby's who kept coy grins and amused expressions as they went.

"I'm a real officer!" She proclaimed loudly. "Please help me out of these cuffs!" She noticed you looking her way and perked. "Please help me, I swear this isn't some kink-play, my partner cuffed me and ran off!"

You looked her over. "You sure?" You asked, hands in your pockets and well away from any flailing limbs.

"Yes!" She said, teary-eyed. "Please help me?"

A sigh and a nod. The world was insane.

"Just a minute." You declared, moving behind her and realizing that the cuffs had been duct-taped to the metal. "Do you happen to have a knife? I'm going to need to cut this a bit."

"Belt, backside." She replied, her tail moving to the side to reveal the pouch with a small knife in it. "And thank you so much, it's almost been half an hour of being here. The Chief's going to chew my tail out."

"What's your name?" You offered, calmly starting to cut off the tape and trying to distract yourself from how her shifting kept raising her skirt. "I'm Rick." She perked as soon as you had cut her loose. Her wrists were still cuffed to one another though, so you then had to unlock one of them.

"Officer Trish, kitsune at your service!"

You didn't laugh mostly out of respect, though you did feel incredibly amused. "It's nice meeting you, officer." You declared with a courteous tight nod. Thank fuck this hadn't turned into some weird attempt at getting you to fuck her.

"And you as well, sir." Her ears rotated this way and that as she picked up her gun and placed it on her belt.

Wait, she had a gun? You... definitely should've paid closer attention. No matter, change the subject. "Actually, this meeting is rather fortunate." You added, catching her attention once more. "I was looking for some help from an officer."

"Oh!" Her ears stood up, and her face reddened slightly. "I'm flattered, but officers aren't allowed to tame while on duty; you'd have to wait until my shift ends."

Though you weren't certain what 'tame' meant, you could take a wild guess and feel fairly sure of what it meant. "No, it's a different sort of help. You see, I'm not from around here and have some questions about the law I could use assistance with."

"Oh!" She perked further, nodding enthusiastically. "Then you can accompany me to the precinct! I'm sure Bea would love to help you with whatever doubts you may have!"

Someone was definitely all smiles and cheer once free of her conundrum it seemed, it was welcome at least, closer to normal than seeing a threesome spontaneously occur in public.

"Why did you think I wanted to tame you?" You wondered as the both of you walked.

"O-oh? No reason in particular, sir." She waved off your inquiry almost in a rush, her eyes seeming to very intently glue themselves to the front. "Unless you're interested?"

"Just curious." You shrugged.

"A-ah, yeah, yes, obviously." A quick nod and a quickening of her heels as she walked.

"Why is your uniform like that anyways? Isn't it impractical?" You continued asking.

"That's because..." She went silent, you notice a bit of tension. "I just need to earn a position as an actual officer."

"Wait, you're not a real officer?"

"Yes I am, just... a rookie." The woman deflated slightly. "So most of what I've done is fine people."

"That's rough, but I'm sure you'll make it if you put the effort." You reassured her.

"Really, sir?" Her tail began to wag happily. "If Sir thinks so then it's definitely a possibility for me!"

You'd feel bad if you corrected her abrupt source of optimism... so you didn't. Instead changing the subject. "So how did you end up tied up like that?"

The happy mood turns into a growl. "Stupid Elise ditched me."

"To do that she tied you up?" You wondered.

"I wouldn't have let her if she hadn't!" Trish fumed. "I'm sure she even broke protocol and went somewhere to get a taming or something, she never follows the rules!"

"Why hasn't she been fired already?"

"Dunno, she's not fucking the Boss-man, at least not that I can smell it on her, so..." She shrugged her shoulders, sullen.

Better steer the conversation away from those waters. "How is the town? I'm new here so I'm sort of clueless, what's the law around here? Anything I should definitely be aware of?" You ask curiously... and a bit cautiously.

"Uh... don't join a Team, don't kill, don't steal, and don't talk about pokegirl freedom out-loud in front of anyone with a uniform..." Her eyes quickly looked at you. "If that's something you believe in, sir."

Not quite sure how to take the last bit, you keep your expression neutral and held back from commenting on it, probably better to change the subject again. "Anything interesting happens recently?" You wondered innocently.

"Oh, totally, yesterday Boss-man said that we'd be getting some outlanders!" She then sighed wistfully. "Man, it'd be so awesome if they're the nice types."

"Really?" You prompted her to continue.

"Oh yes! I'm sure they'd be so dreamy!" She gushed loudly, with a slight squeal. "Maybe I'll catch the eye of one of the outlanders!"

"Maybe." This time it was a bit hard to hide the amusement over her enthusiasm. "Would you run away with them?"

"Never!" She became serious quite suddenly, but with a pout, which took away a lot of the edge to her words. "I'm going to be the best police-woman in New Bark town!"

Well, she seemed enthused once more.

"So what do you think about outlanders?" You wondered. "Seems like an interesting subject."

"There was once one called The Stallion!" Trish almost leaped as she said this. "Rumours said he was so good at taming that he once made a psydyke to swear loyalty while riding his cock!"

"Ahem, yes, very... impressive." You bashfully muttered. "Anything else, besides his... taming abilities?"

"Oh yeah, the Speech!" As soon as she opened her mouth she shut it. "Though I'm not supposed to talk about that, it's against the law."

"Please, don't get yourself in trouble over me." You insisted softly, though inwardly now felt curious about this 'Speech' she mentioned. You'd keep it pocketed for the time being.

"Yes, yes, thank you sir, you're quite kind and understanding." She gave you a wan smile, almost bittersweet, her tail wagging slowly. "Oh, we're here sir!"

At her proclamation, you turned your gaze towards the three-floor tall building with a blue rooftop. Trish lead the way inside, straight through the main entrance, bypassing an empty receptionist desk and taking you somewhere near the back, you noticed Trish was sniffing as she walked, appearing to be following something. The destination looked like a breakroom.

Within it was a young woman reading a book, Trish approached her happily. "Bea, Rick, Rick, Bea! I have to go make a report or the Boss will chew me out later!"

Feeling slightly whiplashed, you glanced at 'Bea', and then at the orange tail of the 'kitsune' as she vanished through the door.

"Hello?" The woman asked curiously, raising her gaze from her book. "May I help you, sir?"

"I... think that was a bit abrupt." You muttered. "Hello, my name is Rick. I'm what you'd call an outlander?" You introduce yourself. "I was looking for some legal help since I'm literally new to this world and... all that."

"Oh, ugh." She rolled her eyes. "Trish always dumps me with every little legal inquiry as if I'm some common-..." Pausing, she did a double-take. "Wait, did you say outlander?"

"Yes, and I-."

"Outlander... how?" Bea suddenly wasn't even paying attention to the book she'd been reading. "Does your world have magic? What about technology? Do you have powers? Did you get pulled through a portal? Hit by a truck?"

Her sudden closeness combined with the intensity of those blue eyes made you feel overwhelmed. "No, look, I just wanted..."

"Legal advise, yes, whatever, I'll listen." She impatiently tapped a foot against the floor.

"When I got here I befriended a... feral purrsian but-."

"But the League took her away from you because you didn't have a license, right?" She replied, then waved you off. "She's League property now, they might give her back if you become an official citizen though it'd depend too much on whether you have the proper permits. Personally I'd recommend that if you have the funds they'd be better spent on something else, cat pokegirls are too much about sex and too little about brains."

"Well, I..."

"So tell me more about your world." She disregarded your words again, interrupting. "How are the ruling powers structured? Is there a separation of powers? Checks and balances? Or is it all in the hands of just a couple of people?" Her enthusiasm was increasing the more she asked.

"Wait, wait, wait." You quietened her, raising your hands in an appeasing gesture. "Let's make it one question for another, that sound good?"

She opened her mouth and closed it with a snap, slightly annoyed. "Fine, under the caveat that if a question can't be answered then a new one can be asked without cost. It's also my turn." She said. "Could you list the different types of government your world possessed that have been functional for a period longer than fifty years?" Your mouth became dry just considering the question, and the look seemed to be one she was familiar with, she threw a different question. "Was the world divided into countries rather than kingdoms and/or empires?" Her tone was certainly... unamused now.

"Yes." You nodded, not really sure how to handle the situation, you'd never studied politics and this woman was asking some things might be hard-pressed to find out without at least confirming it. And there was no Google here. You were a chemistry teacher for crying out loud!

"Your turn, ask." She spoke with a droll tone.

"What are the various tamer professions?" You asked.

"Tamer is a profession." She replied. "But I'm guessing you mean what 'jobs' are available that involve handling pokegirls. Those would mainly be divided into: Tamer, Breeder, Watcher, Researcher, Craftsman, Master Tamer, and Hunter. There are also specialized jobs that put you into contact with pokegirls such as police officer, but those can fall within the other categories if you broaden the definitions enough." With a pause, she sighed. "My turn now I guess. Is there such a thing as a 'Republic' existing in your world?"

"Yes." You nodded. "The oldest modern republic is the United States and it's about two hundred fifty years old. But if you consider republic-like traditions, then Greece had its roots a couple of thousand years ago." Oh, huh, yeah, that one you knew well, made you chuckle.

"Huh." She actually seemed marginally impressed with your answer.

"What does a Hunter actually DO?" You ask.

"Hunters are dogs of the government." Bea shrugged her shoulders. "A particularly dangerous feral shows up? The hunters are sent to kill or capture her. Some troublesome Teams? Hunters go track down the terrorists. Some rebellious person is starting to rock the ship? Hunters."

"So... what, mercenaries?"

"More or less. They are a special sort of tamer so to speak. They work directly for the government so they're considered agents of the League and carry the advantages such a position gives. More often than not there are bounties they can hunt down at their leisure, but they're also on speed-dial and if they're called they must answer or get court marshalled and summarily executed." She waved her hand vaguely. "Think about it like being part of a loosely held military unit that uses live-fire to train its recruits."

"I... see..." You don't really know how to properly react to this news other than not quite like it.

"My turn, has Communism happened in your world?"

"Yes, sort of, lots of countries have declared themselves communist, but it's one of those things that seem full of holes." You reply.

"Interesting." She smiles with a nod for herself.

"The League told me that to keep in its good graces I need to make a blood and sperm donation whenever I reach a pokecenter. Would you happen to know why they'd be interested in such a thing?"

As you said this, her eyes widened like plates and she froze, an abrupt look of shock, and even fear, crossed her expression. "Next question." She spoke hurriedly.

"..." You almost gaped at her.

"Please, next question." She spoke in a rush of words.

The first question to come to mind was the one you spoke. "Just what is a pokegirl?"

"Yes, yes, pokegirls, yes." She nodded hastily obviously relieved by the change of subject. "It's... this is a big question. Pokegirls are a bioengineered weapon that was unleashed on the world by a man named Sukebe some odd three hundred years ago."

A long pause. "What?"

"Sukebe made pokegirls to fight humanity, he lost eventually, but by then things were a mess." She explained.

"..." You looked at her for a very long moment.

"I answered your question..."

"What of the sex?" You asked. "What about the feral state? Why the fuck would some madman with the power to create genetic soldiers do... well-."

"Us?" She pointed at herself, raising an eyebrow. "Your guess would be as good as mine. Well, not quite, but anyway; the only known things about the madman was that he hated humanity, made the Titans, and made pokegirls. That's about it. Everything else is guesswork, conspiracy theories, and maybe some grain of truth hidden behind some government censorship or top-secret walls."

You scowled.

"Want the rest of the explanation?"

"...I feel like I'll regret it, but sure." You mumbled.

"Well, like I said, pokegirls are bioweapons with a ticking clock that will make us go insane if we don't have sex often enough." She said. "The clock can be tricked if we tame another pokegirl, but only partially, and it can never really wake us up from the feral state. Besides, it doesn't allow us to bond."

"Bond?"

"I'll finish the explanation, then you can ask." She scowled at you. "Anyway, it's something many think it was a bit of an engineering oversight on Sukebe's part, but pokegirls when fucked by humans can form a bond with them. It's a low-level psychic connection that our brains are wired to interpret as a combo of emotions, mostly sexual attraction, desire to protect, and under certain context even submission."

You quirked a brow, burning with the need to ask.

"Once the bond is formed, it stays so long as human and pokegirl keep fucking. The bond will eventually break if the human doesn't fuck the pokegirl or if she goes feral." A deep breath followed. "It doesn't often form the first time you fuck, but certain factors make it likelier to occur. But in the end, the bond is a pokegirl's life. It will take root deep in our thoughts and the stronger it becomes the clearer its influence." A warm smile followed, then a chuckle. "Though there are exceptions and variants, the bond will generally cause the pokegirl to feel the need to do what the person they're bonded to tells them to do, and above all, it makes them wish to protect them."

You nodded.

"Questions?"

"I... can't really think of much of one except that I keep thinking about that man you mentioned, Sukebe. The war... did he win?"

"No." A firm shake of her head. "Pokegirls got turned to humanity's side, and he was killed, his armies fell. Unfortunately... he had a backup plan." She grimaced. "Humanity was hit by a plague, killed nine out of every ten humans, the world was practically plunged back into a dark age, many many things were lost to the destruction. It's been three hundred years since."

Numbly you stare at her as she explains this, feeling like your brain sort of fritzed out. Nine out of every ten... the thought is appalling. You just... slump on the chair and blink, just blink, you feel yourself blinking as the sheer scale of the realisation of what that meant swept through you.

You realize Bea had asked you something at some point and that you answered it, but for the life of you you can't remember what it was, your brain was just... nine out of ten, one survivor out of every ten, the world crumbling around them, a war and then...

"Sorry." You muttered. "My... head was elsewhere, what did you just say?

Bea opened her mouth and was going to say something before her wrist beeped, an alarm. "I've got time for one more question." She declared.

Question, question, right, question... you mentally scramble to look for something and grasp at the first thing that comes to mind. "What are the requirements to become, and duties/responsibilities of, a Tamer?" You feel there may be other questions you could ask, that you could've asked, but frankly all of this is so... overwhelming.

Bea laughs at the inquiry. "You only need to be human and able to have sex as a requirement, there's a test for it but it might as well be checking whether you're a vegetable or not; and as far as duties go, you just need to move about the place, hunt some ferals, and maybe prove you're putting effort into making your girls stronger by going through some trials and earning badges at the various gyms."

A heavy sigh, you've heard this before. "Let me guess, it pays peanuts."

"The League pays you a basic stipend, but you can sell ferals, and if you challenge or are challenged by other tamers you can bet money or pokegirls." She shrugged. "There's also the whole sport of it, competitions and championships if you win there's plenty of money and fame to be earned there. Anyways, my-."

Her words cut off as the alarm beeps again, and this time she cursed before giving you a hasty look. "I have to go, how can I contact you?"

"I'm currently living in the hospital, afterwards? Not a clue." You replied.

"Dammit." Bea muttered under her breath. "Well, whatever, I'll find a way. I've got to go." She stood up, hurrying out, leaving you alone.

You glance at the clock, it was 18:07, you wondered what would be so important for her to have to rush like this. Dimly, you remembered the note from the waitress with the 20:50 time on it, and then took a second to consider if it'd be worth seeing her to begin with. The idea was put away in favour of something else, mostly that you should probably meet with the others at some point and compare notes with one another about this... this world.

If they didn't know what you'd just learnt... it'd surely be a bomb for them.

Mutely leaving the station and barely acknowledging the couple words of goodbye thrown your way, you stumble onto the streets and despite knowing tomorrow you had the tests, that there were people you wanted to talk to back at the hospital, that you had so many things you should probably be doing...

Despite it all, you feel lost.

 

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