After more than a day of having arrived to Ximore with no signs of Katia, Cheri had started to worry.

Which was a dumb thing to do, seeing how if Katia couldn't make it through the first Cascade, nobody would -- but neither would Cheri have thought she'd take so long. So some concern had crept in, irrational as it might be.

So when she finally received news Katia was fine?

Cheri practically dragged Vella through the streets of Ximore, though Vella was the one leading.

"Take a right up here," Vella stammered, struggling to keep up, half-propelled by Cheri's grip on her hand.

Cheri could tell she was taken aback at her excitement, but that didn't bother her. She knew she could be a bit much, sometimes, but she'd rather people think her weird than force herself to act in certain ways.

They rounded the corner, and though Katia's back was turned, Cheri could recognize her by the platinum hair done up in a serious ponytail. Serious. Always a word that could be used to describe Katia. But only if Cheri didn't have something to say about it.

If she had to guess, she was moving somewhere around mach-five by the time she collided.

"Kat!" she cried out, the only warning. 

It was only through a miracle, and Katia's reflexes, that the two of them didn't go careening down the street, managed to stay on their feet.

"Cheri," Katia scolded in that way of hers, once they'd stabilized. Through great effort, she peeled Cheri off, huffing in annoyance and smoothing down her shirt. "What's wrong with you? It's only been two days."

"Nearly three,” Cheri corrected. “That's so long. What happened? Why are you late? Did you get lost?” Sucked in a breath of air. “Couldn't find a Waystone? And what class did you get? And who is this, and why didn't you come get me yourself?" Another breath, but Katia cut her off.

"Cheri. One at a time." 

Katia's eyes flicked to Vella, and Vella inclined her head.

"I'll be back in a bit," Vella said, putting her hands in her pockets and turning away.

Which made picking Cheri's first question easy, once Vella'd so unceremoniously left:

"Who's that? You two meet in the Cascade?"

Katia nodded. "Let's find somewhere quieter."

Katia led her to the side of a building, away from the busy square. Cheri practically vibrated with curiosity, but kept it contained.

"So," Katia said. "We have a lot to talk about."

"You're telling me? So start!"

"I'm not even sure how," Katia sighed.

Cheri could help with that. "What class did you get?"

“The practical," Katia said with a nod. "I suppose that’s for the best."

That hadn't been Cheri's implication -- it'd just been the first to pop into her mind.

"Duelist," Katia said. "Rogue type, especially suited to single targets."

No surprises there. That was Katia to a T. Cheri's was a little more unexpected, but not wholly. "Champion." She grinned at her. "A perfect fit."

Even Katia smiled in relief at that. Cheri knew she'd been worried they'd overlap. But she and Katia were so dissimilar it would've taken a serious stroke of misfortune for the Tower to mess up their plans. But that was the Tower in a nutshell, wasn't it?

"And Moshe?" Katia asked.

"Also a perfect fit," Cheri said. "A priest. Isn't that lucky?”

Cheri wouldn't say Katia's face fell, exactly, but to Cheri's eyes, with how carefully locked up Katia kept herself, it was downright exaggerated.

"What? That's good, isn't it?"

It took Katia a second to respond. "I suppose it is.”

Cheri wasn’t fooled. "Explain? Tank, support, damage. The perfect trio." As they'd planned it -- not that many plans survived contact with the Tower. "Literally perfect."

Katia's lips tightened as she decided how to explain, but Cheri figured it out before she needed to.

"The redheaded girl? She's a support, isn't she?"

Katia blinked, as if the guess had been remotely hard to deduce. "Well … yes."

"And she's better than Moshe?"  She'd need to be seriously good, if that were the case. Cheri wondered which academy she came from.

"Not … exactly," Katia said. "It's complicated."

Cheri's brow furrowed, and she waited for the incoming explanation.

"How strong are Moshe's early skills?" Katia asked.

"About average for a priest? So pretty good."

"Then Vella's are stronger. Much stronger." Katia struggled for a second. "It's just … she's not academy trained."

"Well, that's hardly--"

"Or even trained at all.”

"Oh." Cheri took that in. "Huh. She must be really strong, then. Since it sounds like you're considering her."

"She is."

"But even then …" Cheri said.

"Inherent strength only makes up for so much," Katia said. "I know."

A brief pause.

"So --"

"I wanted --"

"Go ahead," Cheri said.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay with it."

"With ditching Moshe?" Cheri snorted. "You serious?"

A smile touched Katia's lips. "Okay, maybe I didn't think you'd be too bothered. But … there's more."

Cheri tilted her head.

"... and it might be hard to believe," Katia said. "I'm going to need some … maturity from you."

Maturity? "Okaaayyy?"

"Vella is a priestess."

"As you said."

"Of Eros."

Cheri blinked.

Shook her head to clear out whatever'd been stuck in her ears.

"Come again?" Cheri said.

"Vella is a priestess of Eros. The goddess of," her lips tightened, "sex."

They stared at each other.

Cheri would think it was a joke, but knew Katia well enough to know it wasn't. 

"Huh," Cheri said.

More silence 

"Huh," Cheri said.

"And all that implies," Katia said.

"I'm not really sure what that does imply."

"There are certain uncomfortable aspects to how her skills work."

"Sexual aspects?"

" … yes."

"Ah," Cheri said suddenly, realizing something. "I get it now. Why you were late."

Katia flushed, which didn’t come as a surprise. Any time something remotely spicy got mentioned, Katia had a habit of turning red. Her prudishness was a source of great amusement to Cheri -- one she often took advantage of. Did she really think it was an accident how often Cheri left those magazines laying around?

Knowing the depths of her self denial? Maybe.

"In part, yes," Katia mumbled.

Which made Cheri pause. Something about the reaction was off. Cheri had known Katia for close to fourteen years, and while some people might have trouble seeing through her guardedness, Cheri didn't. 

But that didn't mean she could read minds.

"You know," she said, prodding for information by stating the obvious. "Seeing how there's no way you'd do stuff like that, you must've had to handle the Cascade yourself. Or at one-and-a-half power, even though it'd been designed for two."

Katia opened her mouth, then closed it.

"Well," she said. "No. Not exactly."

They stared at each other.

Cheri sucked in a breath of air at the implication. "You didn't? You had sex with her?"

"Don't sound excited about that," Katia hissed. “And of course I didn’t.”

"Then –?"

"I only used my hands. Stop – stop grinning,” Katia demanded. “I said to be mature!"

"You, Katia Amador, fingered some random girl you'd just met? I can't believe it."

A pause.

"Well … no,” Katia said. “Not exactly. There's more."

"How can there be more?!"

"She has a," Katia waved her hand vaguely around her crotch, as if that should mean something to Cheri.

Cheri stared blankly in response.

"Penis," Katia said finally. "She has a penis. Came with the class, apparently. So I didn’t … finger her." Katia made a jerking-off motion, which was so alien it hurt Cheri’s brain.

Cheri placed the back of her hand on Katia's forehead, looking for a fever. "You feeling all right, Kat?"

Katia slapped it away and huffed. "I said it'd be hard to believe."

"That's understating things."

"It can be proven, if it must, so take my word for it."

"Okay." She'd try. "I forget what the question is, though."

"I'd need to know if you're fine with … all that."

"With –" Cheri laughed, abruptly. "Dude, are you kidding? That sounds awesome. She would, what, buff us by fucking us?" Cheri paused, then blushed – she might not be a prude like Katia, but it was still a concept hard to digest. Kinky for a reason she couldn't put her finger on. "Nah, I wouldn't be bothered. Not if you're fine with it." Which was the crazy part: that Katia was.

Katia frowned for a reason Cheri couldn't place. But Cheri had a lot of experience reading Katia, and it almost looked like …

A hint of jealousy?

Cheri sucked air in, the situation further coming into picture. "Oh my gods. And you like her!"

Katia’s eyes widened, for her, practically a jump in surprise. Her expression smoothed over, and she crossed her arms. "I do not."

"You do. No way."

"It's undecided," Katia said, sticking her chin up, neck flushed red.

This, somehow, was the most unbelievable part of everything. Katia? Romantically interested in somebody? She genuinely thought she'd never see the day. "And, what, you've already jerked her off? You move fast, don't you?"

Katia sputtered for a comical length of time. Cheri let her.

"It was -- it was only a few times! And necessary!"

"It was more than once?!" She broke out laughing. So much material to work with … she was going to have a field day.

"Cheri," Katia demanded. "Please, focus. This isn't about what did or didn’t happen in the first Cascade. We have more important things at hand."

Cheri could tell it was a deflection, but acquiesced -- because she had a point. "Right. Team composition." Cheri sobered up, realizing how sticky this situation could get. Nearly smirked at the pun, but stopped herself. If Katia liked this Vella girl … and her skills were sexually-focused, then there could be some genuine ill will going around whenever Cheri needed to get buffed up. Hmmm … "If you're okay with it, so am I. But are you?"

"I'll do what's necessary."

"Not you with her. I mean, are you fine with me and her? Doing stuff."

"That's hardly something I have say in."

Cheri frowned. "You like her. There's zero shot I'm doing anything if you can't convince me you're okay with it."

Katia glanced away. "I've already come to terms with it."

"Have you?"

"It's not even sex sex." Katia cleared her throat. "Just … hand stuff."

"For now.” The class would surely mutate, grow in scope. “And also not relevant."

"She's – she's not mine. And if she was … well, sharing with friends isn't that deviant, is it?"

Cheri's eyebrows crept up. "Also not relevant. Are you, Katia Amador, okay with it? All that matters. Not what others think, or what should be okay."

A silence.

"If it's you, I think so,” Katia said quietly.

Cheri took a serious moment to judge her truthfulness. Was satisfied.

“Cool." She'd be pestering Katia to make sure her mind didn't change. Because she had noticed that hint of jealousy … so it wasn’t perfectly blue skies, even if Cheri believed her when she said she’d come to terms with it. "What skills, anyways?"

"Later. We need to figure out the Moshe situation."

"Doesn't need to be a 'situation'. Just tell him to get lost." Cheri would feel awful if it was anyone else, booting them so suddenly. But it was Moshe, not anyone else. Cheri got along with most people, but that dickhead? She'd have tolerated it out of professionalism, but the news of a new teammate, and such an interesting one, had brightened her day considerably.

"You know I can't do that."

Cheri rolled her eyes. "Father would be upset," she mocked.

"He would."

"Kay? So let's roll through the Tower -- it'll get him off your back."

Katia nodded, because she knew Cheri had a point. "He'd still be upset. And the Fains too, not just Father. Not small enemies to make."

"I doubt it'd make them enemies. Just … not so friendly with you, anymore."

Katia didn't look convinced. And honestly, she'd know politics better than Cheri.

"It needs to be handled carefully," Katia said.

"Like how?" 

"Well … I have a few ideas."