I arrived back at the boarding house as dawn broke. Earth dawn, anyhow. Terat didn't really have a dawn. I paid my rickshaw driver – a minotaur who was overly cheerful for this time in the morning – and went up to my rooms.

Cass had woken us, eventually, and flown us back to her bedroom. Zabiya had left a tray of sandwiches and some water ("She doesn't let me have coffee after midnight.") and we fell on them like we were starving, because we were. Then Cassandra had started looking through 'the codices'; the multi-volume Codex of The Machine Numinous And Her Mechanisms. She said that I could use the bed, but I decided I ought to head back. Zabiya taught me how to call a rickshaw (a special hand mirror, apparently), as well as showing me out (there was a trapdoor and a rope ladder). She said "Thank you," genuinely, while also seeming glad that I was leaving.

Someone was waiting outside my door, along with mum's old yellow suitcase. He was slouching on the wall and playing with his phone. An impeccable dark suit and a long orange coat. He didn't look up from his phone.

"Fun night?" he said. "Going to have to dodge that sun."

"Hello?" I said.

"Vexillum had me fetch your stuff." He pushed himself off the wall and tapped the bag with his foot.

"Oh, cool, thanks," I said. "Is my mum alright?"

"Better than alright, girl." He winked and gave me a grin that showed off his extended canines. "Laters."

He headed for the stairs, still tapping his phone.

I heaved the bag, and unlocked my door.

***

It was lunchtime before I arrived at the folly. I've no idea what time I was supposed to start work, but I had to admit this was probably a little late for the first day. I needed the sleep, and I suppose helping with the spell was work related.

"Oh, there you are, human Rosemary Dulahan!" said Lyssa. Bunny gave me a warm smile. They were both bent over a pile of paper in the council chamber. Molly and Astrid were huddled together on the opposite side of the room, discussing something.

"Yes, sorry, I…"

Lyssa waved it away. "Did you help Councillor Ransley with her ritual?"

"Yes."

"Good. It is far better that she is helped by a tick who is employed by the council, rather than by random human detritus, as has tended to be her habit."

Oh, so Lyssa had known what Cassandra needed and had basically pimped me out. I would be cross… but I had enjoyed it, so I couldn't really be genuinely angry. Well, apart from calling me a tick.

"Rose is not a tick," said Bunny firmly.

Lyssa raised her eyebrows. "My apologies, I meant 'monsterfucker', I'm sure. I think that’s the preferred term for a human whose sexual fascination is for terats?" said Lyssa. "Anyhow, did Cassandra indicate whether the vision was helpful?"

"The vision was bloody crazy; I'm surprised we made it out," I said.

"You experienced..." Lyssa looked surprised again.

"Yes, I went to the Machine Numinous," I said, "because I'm not a god-damn chaser, I mean tick."

"Such visions are often cryptic," said Lyssa.

"Tell me about it," I said. "Cass was going to check the codices. Is she not in, yet?"

"No, indeed. She is probably doing just that," said Lyssa, adopting a somewhat more conciliatory manner. "Well done, human Rosemary Dulahan, for that, and the press release."

"Okay, well, just so you know, having sex with coworkers isn't my job."

"Just a hobby?" asked Lyssa, sweetly. "But don't worry, I promise we'll use your other skills from now on. Assuming-"

"Excuse me, you two," said Molly, polite but with zero actual patience. "I've done Lyssa's speech."

"The press wants a few more words," explained Lyssa.

"I've done what you've suggested," Molly said, handing me the paper. "No heroics, no politics. Although why local fucking government shouldn't do politics is, ugh..."

"Um, people don't like the idea of politics being mixed in with important stuff," I said. This was a guess.

"But..." said Molly.

"I know," I said, "you've got to get them used to the council first, I guess. Then do politics by increments."

Oh god, was I becoming a centrist? This was a real "If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you," situation; I asked the abyss to park its comments until I was in a better headspace to deal with them.

I grabbed a biro and read it through; rewording a couple of sections where Molly had clearly wanted to do politics, and adding some slightly flowery language so that it sounded like Lyssa.

"Cool," I said, handing the paper to Lyssa. "Again, I think the stance should be we just let the Terat Guard do its job, and we do ours."

"Agreed, human Rosemary Dulahan," said Lyssa. "But we need to determine exactly what it is that the guard are doing."

"Er, no?" I said. "You ignore them, and get on with your normal work."

"It will be far easier to ignore them if we know how the investigation is going, and what they're planning."

"What?" I said. "No-"

"Astrid couldn't get anything out of her packmate," said Bunny.

"Scared," said Astrid.

"They have a new leader," said Molly. "Old Commander Zyzund has been sidelined. The Coadunate have sent a Servitor Martial."

"Don't say-" said Lyssa.

"Aemiliana," said Astrid. 

"-her name," finished Lyssa.

The door slammed open. The woman who walked in was probably pushing eight feet tall, without the horns, and had to duck so as not to take the door down. She wore a sharply tailored geometric suit, in charcoal grey, and her hooves and fingernails were painted silver. Or maybe were silver, I didn't feel like questioning her on her cosmetics supply. Her pointed tail flicked in anger.

I didn't know what kind of demon she was. Most of the ones in Monstertown were succubuses, um, succubae? But she didn't look like the type to seduce you, unless by 'seduce' you meant 'grab you by the neck', which, honestly, might work for her.

Everyone in the room appeared to have mentally taken one step back. Apart from Lyssa, and not just because she didn't have legs.

"As I was saying," Lyssa said, "she has one of those tedious ensorcellments that lets you know when people name you, and enough temporal lead time to make a tiresome 'dramatic entrance. What do you want, Aemiliana? We've got important council business to discuss."

"Important, Vexillum? I doubt it," said Aemiliana, looking round the room. "Didn't your mother have this ensorcellment too? I imagine it would have informed her when the Dynast Prime found her guilty of treason."

"I would imagine so," said Lyssa, lightly. "I know little of the charms workings; it seemed like a toy for the insecure to me. I repeat: what do you want, Servitor Martial Aemiliana?"

"Well, I wondered how you were, Vex," she said. "It seems like the Academy was a long time ago. And I wondered why your joke of a council was spying on Terat Guard operations."

I steeled myself to speak; I wasn't having Lyssa defending us. "They just wanted to know, as representatives of the public, how the brave, er, things of the Terat Guard were getting on with this very important case."

Aemiliana wheeled to look at me. She took a step towards me and shot out her arm. She grabbed me by the throat, lifted me until I was standing on tiptoes. Yes, I know, I must have developed psychic powers or something. And, yes, okay, it was hot.

"A human?" she said, eyes flaming violet. They were beautiful. I should probably have worried more about being unable to breathe, but they were nice eyes.

"A dullahan," said Lyssa, casually. "Our new admin assistant. Honestly, Aemiliana, do you think we're total idiots? We're the monster council, not the monster-and-I-suppose-a-random-human council!"

Aemiliana didn't say anything.

"Oh, pop her head off if you must," Lyssa said. "But the Guard will definitely be covering the expense of getting her neck magic recast. Personally, if I had a sensitive case to attend to, I wouldn't spend my time inconveniencing council workers, but what do I know?"

Aemiliana let me go. I could feel the warmth where she'd gripped me. Bunny rushed up behind me with a chair.

"Keep your pets out of my investigation, Vexillum," hissed the demon. "When I've solved it, I'll be sure to let you know.”

Aemiliana turned and strode away, ducking her horns again.

"Bitch," said Lyssa. "Rosemary, are you okay?"

"Pop her head off?" I croaked, incredulous.

"I knew she was unlikely to," Lyssa said. "Honestly, I really didn't want to go through that interview rigmarole again."

"I guess Rose is right, though," said Molly. "We let the guard and her get on with their investigation, and just do council stuff."

"No," said Lyssa and I, together.

Lyssa nodded at me. "No," I said, "she has the look of someone who will absolutely blame the council if she needs to. We need more information so we can protect ourselves. And I am going to rewrite that speech so there's a ghost of a hint that we've got some disapproval of the way the guard is handling things."

***

"Thanks again, Lujayn," I said, sliding off her flank like it was second nature.

"No problem," she said. "The Claw and Cup, right Miss Astrid?"

Astrid had jumped off the sphinx as soon as she had stopped, or even slightly before.

"Yep," she muttered, and started hurrying towards the door.

"I'll see you back at work," said Lujayn.

"Hey Lujayn," I said, "can I ask you riddles? I mean, without eating being involved?"

"Sure," she said. "Do you know any riddles?"

"Um, that one where the man's a baby and then has a walking stick," I said, trying to recall where that was from.

"The riddle of the sphinx?" said Lujayn. 

"Yes! Oh. I guess you know that one."

"Yes, also you led with the answer," said Lujayn, with a smile.

"Right, this is the kind of riddle-asking technique I've got to learn," I said. "I'll consult Google before next time."

"I’ll look forward to it."

I jogged to catch up with Astrid, who was waiting by the door. 

"You seemed a bit off with Lujayn?" I said.

"Was I?" she said, looking up with her pretty eyes for a moment. "Sorry. I'm not racist."

"Okay?"

"She's basically a house-cat," she said, "and I'm a dog, so…"

"She's a flying kitty the size of a shire horse with a human face," I said, "and you're a fucking werewolf."

"I know," she said, scuffing her feet, "I didn't mean to be rude. There's just some… species discomfort there. I'll say sorry."

I patted Astrid's head. "Oh shit, sorry," I said. "Automatic."

"It's okay," she said, quickly, and walked into the bar.

The bar – The Claw and Cup – was surprisingly well-lit and neat. My mental picture of a werewolf bar was, well, basically a US biker bar. A dive. Neon behind wire mesh. An old jukebox playing rock and roll. A racist flag. And perhaps a werewolf bar on Earthgate Street would be like that, but we were on the other side of the Zone, largely tourist free.

As far as I could tell, this place was basically a board game café that sold alcohol. A pleasant atmosphere; rows of shelves heaving with boxes, rectangular tables around which sat people playing board games. They were presumably werewolves, though you saw little sign other than the odd tail or ear here and there. 

Near the bar, there was a nook with worn but comfy-looking armchairs, small tables, and bookshelves. It was here that Astrid knew to look for Ylfa, her packmate in the Terat Guard.

"Hello, little Astrid," said the werewolf, beer bottle in hand. "Don't say you've come to bother me about my job again?"

The werewolf looked at her, in a way that I would have called appraising if it had been human on human. And maybe it was; Astrid was certainly striking, once you looked past her dowdy wardrobe and reticent manner. Compact and beautiful. 

Ylfa, on the other hand, was large, even in human form. Older, with a ragged scar starting at her chin and going down her neck, disappearing under her black tee-shirt. Corded muscles. Her hair was a steely salt and pepper, done in a complicated but practical braid. It showed off that one ear was half missing.

"Sort of," said Astrid.

The woman, Ylfa, sighed. "I told you, the new commander is a stickler for that stuff."

"Yeah, we've met her," I said. 

Ylfa looked between Astrid and me. "If she's a snack, you're a long way from the hunting grounds," she said, possibly joking.

"I work with the Zone Advisory Council," I said. "We wanted to know if you'll talk to us, in confidence, as, like, a whistle-blower?"

Ylfa snorted. "What whistle-blowing do you think is needed? She's an okay commander. Doesn't ask for as much advice from us old hands as Zyzund did, but not bad for a political appointee."

"Well, that's the sort of thing you could be telling us," I said. "I mean, discounting the opinions of experienced officers sounds like a recipe for disaster. And is she going to have your back when it all goes wrong?"

Ylfa took another pull of her beer, apparently considering. "Nah," she said, "I can't see how getting politicals involved would ever help. Sorry."

"Ylfa," said Astrid, "I'm councillor for the Supernatural Caucus… in terms of the Ambersky Pack, I outrank you."

"On paper," Ylfa said, staring at her. Astrid stared back. 

I'd always imagined werewolf transformations as being a brutal thing, the crunching of bones as they transformed themselves, the painful reconfiguration of ligaments and sinews. This was, of course, a result of watching films and TV that didn't have a werewolf on staff. 

It was not like that at all. 

The transformation was more gentle than that; magical in both a literal and a metaphorical way. It was like, I don't know, like switching lenses on a camera. The person looks different but not because their jawbone cracked in a shuddersome way. Or, no, it was like when a friend goes on HRT and, over months, you see her face soften, fat reorganise, breasts blossom. Except this happens in seconds, will change bones as well, and is actual magic. Both produce a creature that some are afraid of, I suppose. But the point that struck me is that it wasn't like Ylfa and Astrid were changing into something different, more that they were changing into themselves, their real selves. Which, okay, yes, were a bit scary.

Ylfa was huge, and covered in shaggy grey fur, her clothes magically gone. Hunched over but athletic somehow. Her tawny eyes now yellowish and intense. A long muzzle, pulled back, bearing wicked fangs. Her scar was even more marked in this form, a jagged line from muzzle to stomach. Her beer bottle was clenched very loosely between worryingly large claws. 

Astrid was a lot smaller than Ylfa. In fact, she was only slightly taller in this form. Her dark brown hair was lightened a bit as a wolf-thing, and the blue in her flinty eyes was more marked. Her fur was patterned, with stripes around the limbs. She was not hulking, but instead seemed built for speed and dexterity.

They stared at each other, yellow eyes against blue.

"Oi," shouted the bartender, "any wrestling and I'll chuck you right out."

Astrid looked away, already transforming back to her almost human form. She turned and hurried away.

Ylfa took a swig of her beer, even as her face was becoming human again. She did not seem particularly pleased.

"Go after her," said Ylfa, flatly.

"What was that?"

"Competition. Stand-off. She broke first," said the werewolf, finishing her beer. "Rank is what you make of it, but she'll be upset."

***

"Stupid!" said Astrid.

"Can we slow down?" I said, panting. "So we can talk about it."

Astrid's legs – human legs – might have been shorter than mine, but she was a much faster walker.

"Nothing to talk about," said Astrid. "Tell Lyssa that I failed again."

She went into a building, a block of flats, and went up the stairs two at a time. I looked about for a lift, but realised I had no idea what floor she was going to, so hurried after her.

Luckily, I just saw her tail disappear round a corner of the stairwell, two flights up. I followed the tail to a long corridor, with one door ajar. I knocked.

"Astrid?" I said.

I heard her mumble something indistinct, and I entered. 

"I didn't know you lived in this part of town," I said. It was quite a small flat, but decorated nicely, with a sort of floral theme. It was slightly haphazard, but in a lived-in way.

"Werewolf village," she said matter-of-factly, sitting on the sofa, head in hands.

I used a glass off the drainer and filled it with water. Those stairs had been exhausting.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I mean, she obviously wasn't, but it seemed more polite to ask.

"Of course not," she snarled.

I sat at the other end of the sofa, putting my water on a side table.

"Okay," I said. "Well look, the whistle-blower idea failed, but maybe we can find some other way."

"She doesn't respect me now…"

"Because of the challenge thing?" I asked. "Ylfa's huge. No offence, but you're not evenly matched."

"It's not about strength," she said. "It's about... determination, I guess."

"I don't understand this wolf stuff, but I'm sorry."

Astrid slump over, putting her head in my lap.

"Um…" I said.

"Headpats, please."

I tentatively headpatted her. She made a good noise, so I stroked her head some more.

"Do you think I'm silly?" said Astrid. "Wanting headpats and… other things."

"Seems pretty harmless," I said.

"I'm small, for a wolf," she said. "But I could be aggressive, if I wanted to be. But I don't." 

"You don't have to be," I said.

"My mother thought I would be," Astrid said. "When I told her I was a girl, she thought I'd go in for feminine stuff like growling and fighting."

"Oh, are you trans?" I said. I really needed to stop being surprised that monsters can be trans. Don't tell the TERFs.

"Trans is a human thing," she said. "But I have a cock, yes. I don't care about female things like fighting, though."

I hadn't seen her girlcock when she transformed, though I was polite enough not to ask.

"Right, I get it," I said. "You are what you are. If it was just, I don't know, putting makeup on that I wanted, then I'd be a boy that wore makeup. But it's not."

"Mmm," she said. "Please keep stroking me."

I'd stopped, but started again.

"How come you've got wolf ears and a tail?" I said. "Ylfa didn't, and most of the people in the bar didn't."

"I just like them," she said. "It's like a dial, with human on one side and wolf on the other. Stop it where you want."

"And the wolf thing in the middle?"

"The therianthrope, and yes," she said.

I scritched her ears for a bit.

"So, should we go back and talk to Lyssa and the gang about our next move?" I said. "Or see if Ylfa is still there and try a different tactic?"

"Oh, she will be there," said Astrid. "Not going to embarrass myself again. Shame she doesn't like humans or I'm sure you could beat her."

I nearly choked on my water. "You're joking, aren't you? She'd wipe the floor with me in human mode, let alone as a huge fuck-off wolf-thing." 

"I said it's not about strength," said Astrid. "Bunny says that you're quite dominant."

"Dominant? Oh shit, was that competition thing flirting?"

"No," said Astrid. "But it could turn into flirting, if both sides wanted. It's… very sexy."

She turned her face into my skirt in embarrassment. Actually, I was a little worried myself. While she'd been upset, it wasn't a problem; I don't get aroused by upset people, I'm not a Tory. But she wasn't upset anymore.

"Okay, but Ylfa didn't seem to, um, be into that when she beat you," I said.

"Of course not," said Astrid. "She's a sub."

"But so are you?" This was an assumption on my part. Headpats equals subby.

"Sometimes switch," she said. "But mostly, yeah."

"She was hoping you'd win," I said, suddenly understanding.

"You think so?"

"Yes. But I don't see why she didn't just lose, 'accidentally'," I said. "Accidentally losing to your domme is a fine subby tradition."

"Among humans, perhaps," sniffed Astrid. "Werewolf subs have more honour."

"So, this competition thing, it's just a staring contest?" I said. "I mean, can't you just not look away?"

"Hmm," said Astrid, considering. "I don't know whether that's human stupidity, or top stupidity."

"Um…"

"Come on, try me," she said, leaping off the sofa. "I'm going to try to not look away."

"This seems dangerous," I said.

"Just a competition," she said. "Proving a point."

She looked me in the eyes. I looked back. Her eyes were easy to look at. Pretty, but hidden, like her. Flinty, steel coloured at first, but as you looked you saw more blue, in patches and edges, glittering and ephemeral. You saw that her reticence was like ash on fresh coals, hiding a bright ember. A brilliant blue flame, a-

Astrid looked down, blushing.

"Oh," I said. I reached out to take her hand. "Don't worry, I see what you mean."

She went to her knees, bending her head forward.

"Er…" I said.

"... headpats?" she said, quietly.

I patted her head. She slumped down in my lap. Now she could definitely feel some inappropriate coworker relations under her cheek.

She began to push my skirt back.

"Look, Astrid…"

At the moment, I'd only fucked two out of five councillors, but this would make it the majority. I hadn't seen any sort of employee's handbook, but it wouldn't surprise me if this sort of thing was frowned upon. At any rate, it would give me something of a reputation, possibly a bad one. 

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," I said.

"You won the competition," she said. "Don't you want to teach the pup her place?"

"Councillor Cherrisse-"

"I have a collar if that would help?" She reached under the sofa and pulled out a box of toys.

On the other hand, I thought, three out of five was scarcely more than half.

Okay, but this was definitely the last one.

I pulled out the collar, turning it over in my hands. It was a normal pleather dog collar.

"I'd have thought being put in a collar, like a house pet, was quite degrading for a werewolf," I said.

"... it is, yes," said Astrid, quietly. She was blushing, trying to contain her excitement. This might have been more successful if her tail wasn't wagging frantically.

I reached forward, putting the collar around her neck. Fastened it, slipping two fingers inside to make sure it wasn't too tight. I cupped her cheek and then pulled at the d-ring.

"Why don't you get undressed?" I said. 

Astrid discarded her clothes in a hurry. A blush spread down from her collarbone, over lovely tits and tum. I followed it down to her girldick; it was little and hard.

I put out my hand and caressed it. Astrid shivered. 

"You can call it small," whispered Astrid. "I like that."

"It is small," I said. "Little and cute. Or large for a clit, I suppose."

Reaching into the box, I brought out a leash, clipping it onto the collar's ring. I pulled her onto my lap, kissed her gently. And then more roughly. 

I kissed her neck, nipping and biting. She whimpered. With a coil of the leash, I traced over her breast, delineating the edges, outlining the areola, teasing the nipple. 

"Please," she whispered, her hands searching downwards.

"Nuh-uh," I said, grabbing her hands, and 'capturing' them in a couple of loops of leash.

I turned her around in my lap, adjusting my position. Her tail got slightly in the way, but she absorbed it without a pause. Clasping her breasts in my hands, I kissed and nipped the back of her neck. She arched and moaned, moving against me. I bit again, to hear her moan, to feel the slide of her butt against me.

I somewhat awkwardly adjusted myself, lifting my skirt and manoeuvring down my panties enough to free my, uh, engrossed girlcock.

"Please," she said, again, rubbing against me.

"We need lube," I said, "and do you want to pop to the shower to-"

"Charms," she said, shaking her head, "on my back."

It was an awkward angle, but I looked down; what I'd assumed was an abstract tramp stamp, was glittering a faint red. Okay, I assumed Astrid knew what she was talking about.

I bent her slightly forwards, tentatively steering myself in. She was tight, but lubed, and I slowly inserted enough of myself that she could sit on my lap again. She felt wonderful, hot in all senses. I leant in and bit her shoulder.

We started to move, together, a sliding push and pull, mostly silent now except for some laboured breathing. I dropped a hand and found Astrid's girlcock, gently rubbing it against herself. We upped the pace again, thrusting faster. There was an intensity to things now, like we were trapped but about to break free. My eyes were mostly closed, but in their half open moments I saw Astrid shaking, parts of her changing for an instant and then back.

Astrid finished, squirting all over her belly and my hand. She made a low, bark-like grunt. I was close behind. With a moan I was released, like emerging from a cave into the clear night sky. I heard wolves howling.

***

I sipped some more water. Astrid didn't have coffee or tea in the house, just energy drinks. If I'd have realised that before having sex I might have… nah, who was I kidding?

I'd had a quick shower, and also scrubbed out a couple of spots on my skirt where I hadn't been careful enough. Okay, more than a couple of spots.

"Ready?" asked Astrid, dashing half-naked out of the bathroom towards, I guess, her bedroom.

"For what?" I asked. I was knackered. 

"Ylfa," she said, coming out of the bedroom, pulling on a fresh tee-shirt. "I think I can win this time."

"Aren't you tired?" 

"Werewolf metabolism," she said, getting an energy drink from the fridge. 

I sighed and drank my water.

At least the walk back to The Claw and Cup was less hurried than our walk away from it. It was getting late, and the streets were a little rowdy, but not in a way that felt dangerous.

"You're confident you can beat her?" I asked.

"I'll just follow your example."

I really wasn't sure that would work.

The bar was busier too, people packed around the tables. As Astrid predicted, Ylfa was still there, playing some sort of game. It had plastic spaceships and hexes, so I knew it was serious.

We manoeuvred our way through the crowd. I tried not to think about how any one of them could transform into a huge sinewy monster of teeth and claws if I trod on a foot or spilt their beer. Though, to be fair, they seemed a bit too chill for that; I guess that when you have a murder-form you don't need to bust it out all that often. 

"You lot again?" said Ylfa.

"Yes," said Astrid, a bit aggressively. "Outside, now."

Ylfa seemed to consider this. "Okay," she said. "Dev, you take over my space lions for me. Remember to watch those sneaky Yssaril bastards."

We walked a little way from the door, to a less busy side alley.

"So…" I began, but Astrid and Ylfa were already staring. Their bodies changed again, in that strange, subtle yet unsubtle way. Astrid's eyes shone blue; Ylfa's eyes were bright yellow in the orange of the streetlights.

I held my breath. Well, for a bit, then started breathing softly, because this was taking some time. 

Was that a falter from Ylfa? Astrid leapt, teeth out, at her neck. I expected Ylfa to sweep her out of the air with her wicked claws, but, if anything, Ylfa raised her muzzle slightly. They both went to the ground, Astrid's claws on her shoulders, teeth at her throat. 

Ylfa went limp, muscular arms and legs dropping to her side. Astrid worried at Ylfa's neck for a moment longer. Well, mock worried; there were no gouts of blood, though it still probably would have killed a human. Then she sat back on Ylfa and gave me a thumbs up.

"Rose, see you tomorrow at work," she said.

"Right. Enjoy…" I said, "er, stuff!"

She and Ylfa nodded.

I went back to the bar and asked if they would call me a rickshaw. I was glad I wasn't a lycanthrope; werewolf dating was crazy. I mean, not as crazy as straight dating was when I thought I was cis, but really getting up there.

Checking with the bar staff that it was safe, I scanned my phone. A message from my mum seeking confirmation that I definitely wouldn't be home tonight. I sent back a quick reply, "No x."

My rickshaw was here. A slightly standoffish centaur. My phone dinged. "Good," then a vampire and an aubergine. Oh god mum, do I get this from you?