novelraw Chapter 153 – Adaptation
Chapter 153 – Adaptation
Chapter 153 – Adaptation
“Alterations for all shapes and sizes are available upon request. Changes in fasteners, or their addition, will affect the cost. Ask about lead times and expedited orders at the counter.” – Sign in clothing store that specializes in tailoring and drycleaning.
“Fuck, that wind is bitter.” Kurt groused as he hopped back into the car. Across from him the passenger door slammed shut a moment later as Val piled in with a plastic bag in hand.
“Looks like the rain is coming too.” The kitsune said and opened the bag to begin sorting through it.
They had begun the trip home, making it a couple miles before stopping at a gas station to fill the car before getting on the freeway. While Kurt had filled the tank, Val had taken drink orders and gone into get them. She passed Kurt a large blue and silver can which he popped open immediately after starting the car.
He took a sip of the Red Bull and grimaced. “Ygh. Gross but effective.” He commented before taking a second sip now that his palate had been properly conditioned. “Probably a good thing this doesn’t come in larger cans.”
“What is it?” Kristi asked from the back seat where she sat next to Rindi. Penny had opted to travel the portal network with the excuse of there not being enough room in the back. She had also ignored the fact that there was a third row of seats that could be folded up before vanishing through the aperture to the Order.
“Energy drink. Taste like battery acid but it gets the job done.” Kurt said and mentally reached out to Jade, confirming that their car was ready to get rolling before making the drive.
“Don’t you, like, get no benefit from caffeine?”
“I still get some, but it doesn’t last very long. So, it’s more like an instant thing for me rather than a lingering pick-me-up.” He answered.
They set off a moment later, getting on the freeway for the straight shot north. They settled in at a consistent speed thanks to the late hour and low traffic. They still had a three-hour drive but at least it wouldn’t be hectic.
Kurt didn’t have anything to pass the time besides driving but thankfully the girls were still awake enough to strike up a conversation with Rindi who was looking a little cramped in the back seat. She was back in her human appearance, though people would likely suspect she was para just from her stature.
“So, we asked you a bunch of questions. Did you have any?” Val offered while turning sideways in her seat.
Rindi was silent for a moment as she thought. “Why don’t you seem bothered that I am a half-er- hybrid?” She corrected herself to use the term that they had used before.
“Because we all are hybrids.” Kristi answered from the front the back.
“All of you? Really?”
Kurt cleared his throat. “Ahem, our teams are but our boss, the daemon, is not.”
“Why does he tolerate you then? I have never met anyone who is willing to be around us.” Rindi was genuinely curious and looked from Val to Kristi.
“Let’s get into that later.” Kristi deflected after having a near instant mental conversation with the others about what to disclose at the moment. “Val up there is a dark elf and kitsune mix. My mother is a dragon newt, and my father was a lesser angel. Then Kurt is the special boy. He is a half elf but is also a werewolf… The werewolf, actually. And, in case you were wondering, the three of us are in a romantic relationship.”
“I didn’t think elves, half or whole, could be infected with that or… could be infected with anything.” She said.
“Well, turns out we can but it’s very rare. Other teams have a possessed elf and one of the handlers is a vampire elf.” Kurt said before taking another sip of his drink. “Mmm. I think there might be others, but I haven’t met them yet.”
Rindi was quiet for a few minutes, and they let her digest that info in peace. “Umm…”
“Yes?” Val asked.
“Am I going to be expected to umm- to service our master like you do?” Rindi hesitated for only a moment, and Kurt would bet she had blushed if he wasn’t distracted by nearly choking on his drink.
“Acha. No.” He gasped. “Not at all.” He then looked up at her reflection in the mirror. “Not that you are unattractive- I mean I don’t find you attractive… wait no, I do, but I don’t exp-“
“Kurt.” Val said through her own laugh. “Quit while you’re ahead.”
“Yes, dear.” he quickly replied and retuned his focus to the road.
Kristi filled in their confused guest. “We are not his slaves. We are all partners in our work and in a committed, loving, relationship with each other.”
“Ah. Then can you tell me what my duties will be?” Rindi seemed relieved by that.
“Not really.” Kristi shrugged. “We will have to figure that out as we go. I have a feeling there will be things you need to do for the Order, since it sounds like you are joining our team. For however long that might be.”
They chatted a little, getting to know Rindi and trying to get her caught up on some of the things they had done. Val also did her best to explain things as they came up. Most of it was references to modern things like appliances and how technology worked. She seemed to take it all in rather well but admitted that she had no frame of reference for what they were talking about.
She also seemed to be in decently high spirits. The only time that she really complained was about her previous masters and at her current situation. That is to say, she complained about having literally nothing to her name except the clothes on her back.
It turns out that the mage they fought had a sort of pocket realm that they kept their equipment in. When she died, that space became inaccessible which left the large woman in a lurch for when it came to literally any personal effects.
*****
A little over three hours later they pulled into the driveway. Jade’s team had seen them all the way home and waited until Kurt had pulled the car into the garage before they left to return to the farm. He thought it was a pointless gesture, but he appreciated the concern.
“This is your home?” Rindi asked, looking around the garage and its rather spartan appearance. “It is lovely, master. I would love to help uhh- to help…”
“Rindi, this is just the garage. We park cars here.” Kristi said and stifled a yawn. “House is through there.” She pointed at the door that led through the breezeway.
Kurt led the way, his feet only slightly dragging as he rubbed his eyes. “Come on. No tour tonight but we can get you settled in.”
They trooped inside, kicking off shoes along the way. Val immediately shifted her feet back to her fox ones and let her ears and tails out. Kristi followed suit with her scales and tail a moment later. The sudden transformations elicited a noise of concern from their new guest.
Rindi seemed to be rather startled at the sudden appearance of the extra appendages but didn’t comment as Val started talking to her. “Come on. I will show you to your room and get you settled for the rest of the night.”
With that they moved off toward the bedrooms. Val was pointing out a few things but mostly stuck to the bathroom and what was behind certain doors in the short hallway. Kurt and Kristi weren’t far behind either as he only stopped long enough to relight the wood stove before heading for the bedroom.
They did have to stop along the way as Rindi was standing in her doorway, fidgeting nervously. “Master, what are my orders?” she asked, stepping forward and ducking slightly in deference.
“Go to sleep. We will wake you for breakfast if you are not up already.” He ignored the master comment and glanced to his watch, seeing it was past one in the morning. “I plan to sleep in a while since this has been a long night. So, good night, Rindi.” He then turned and went into their bedroom.
Kurt dismissed his clothes into his ring and just flopped onto the bed. The pillow his face had landed in stifled his groan. It was part frustration and part exhaustion but mostly relief at being home again.
Kristi slid into bed next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Are you ok? The feelings I am getting from the necklace are… complex.”
“I don’t like this.” He admitted, rolling to face her and feeling Val slide in behind him. “This whole situation with being set up, who did it, the bridges being open again and now… owning a person.”
“But you own me every chance you get.” Val said. He could hear the smirk she had on just from her tone.
“Not the time Val.” Kurt grumbled. “This country in particular has a rather complex and unfavorable culture around slavery, and I want no part of that-that barbarism.”
“Then be different.” Kristi said, pulling his attention back to her. “If you think it is cruel then be kind. If you think it’s abusive then be supportive. What’s that bullshit quote that people throw around?”
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Val said as she snuggled into him.
Kristi nodded. “That’s the one. It sounds like we are stuck with her for the time being so, treat her like you treat us and it will all be fine until we can get to Talth annul the contract.”
“Well, maybe not just like you treat us. At least let us get to know her first” Val said while running a hand up and down his abs. “Our bed might not be big enough for her to join.”
Kurt snorted. “I think you have delusions of my sexual appetites.” Though he would admit, Rindi was an impressive person and not unattractive. He just wasn’t thinking about her that way.
“But I have no delusions about mine.” She whispered in his ear before giving it a little nip.
Swatting the kitsune, Kristi adopted an indignant tone. “And I thought we had something special!”
“Wait babe. It’s not like that I swear!” Val actually sounded concerned and propped herself up on her elbow to look over Kurt. “I was just playing around. I mean I like the look of her but that is only skin deep. You mean the world to me and I wouldn’t…. oh, you’re fucking with me.” Her ears flattened and eyes squinted as she stared at the now giggling Kristi.
“If the two of you don’t go to sleep, I am evicting you from the bed.” Kurt cracked an eye open to look at Kristi. “Seriously, leave it for the morning.”
The two women agreed and let the conversation drop off. They all drifted off to sleep a few moments later, exhausted by the days events and wanting to get a little rest before the sun came up.
*****
The next morning Kurt rolled out of bed in the usual fashion. He did a quick check to see where the girls had ended up then tried to gently extract himself from the tangle of limbs.
It varied based on how they all fell asleep each night. Kurt didn’t often end up in the middle since he was usually the first up. It didn’t make sense to force him to climb over someone on his way out. In this case, He slid up so he was sitting against the headboard before getting his legs out from under the covers and then scooting his way off the foot of the bed.
He noted that the sky was starting to lighten but the sun was still a ways off of cresting the horizon, let alone the trees. He summoned pajamas from his ring, remembering they had a guest and not wanting an embarrassing repeat of when he and Kristi had given Anna an eyeful. After using the bathroom, he made his way out to the living room, topped off the wood stove and then began making coffee.
He was just pouring the first sup when Kristi joined him. “Morning, love.” She said and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She took her own coffee and wandered over to the couch with him.
They just sat there, snuggled under the blanket and watching the fire flickering through the glass on the stove door. It was a rather peaceful start to the morning, reminding him of how he liked to sit on the porch in the warmer weather to watch the sun rise.
After a time, the sun finally crested the horizon and cast rays of light through the windows. It slowly worked its way down the wall and eventually landed on them. Kurt looked over at Kristi and noticed something strange that he hadn’t seen in a while.
“Hey, babe. I think your halo is… more? Thicker? I don’t know what to call it.”
Kristi frowned and her eyes flicked up. “What do you mean?”
Kurt didn’t really know what he meant but just started describing it. “It’s like thicker. You had that aura around your head before but now it’s less like a trick of the light and more… real? That doesn’t make sense.” He reached out and waved a hand through the refracted light only for Kristi to flinch.
“Ah, what the hell?” she cursed and ducked her head. “I felt that.” She then waved her own hand through the spot. “It’s like… like when you have something lightly brushing your hair. Its not really touching you but you can feel the slight movement?”
“Makes sense.” Kurt agreed and watched as the effect faded. “Wonder what that means.”
Kristi shrugged. “Problem for later.” She stated before draining the last of her coffee. “Probably from me absorbing that angel’s power last night.”
“Let’s ask Jay about it today or at least soon.” Kurt said and got up off the couch. He paused, placing a hand on hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. “You would tell me if something is wrong, right?”
She smiled sweetly and stretched up to give him a kiss. “Of course I would.”
Kurt stared a moment longer, taking a good look at her aura. It had stabilized since the previous day, becoming denser, just like Val’s had. Gone was the previous fluctuation and apparently so was the discomfort she had been feeling. He would still keep an eye on it and wondered how she would develop. Would she meet a god? Was there a deity for dragons or angels that would take her under their wing like Inari had with Val?
He moved off to the kitchen and got another cup of coffee as he began making breakfast. Val sauntered in a few minutes later and gave them both kisses before retreating to her favorite corner of the room with her oversized hoodie.
Having just plated the bacon, Kurt heard a door open and they all looked up. He had to step around the kitchen island to see down the hall but watched as Rindi hustled into the room, dressed in the same clothes she wore the day before. She looked up and saw them all staring at her and quickly thumped her way down the hall with long, heavy strides.
She knelt on the ground immediately after clearing the end of the hall and bowed her head. “My apologies for being late, master. I overslept and-“
“Stop.” Kurt held up a hand and she went quiet immediately. “Two things. First, drop the master and mistress stuff. Just call us by name. Also stop with the bows and kneeling, please. Secondly, I told you to sleep and that I would wake you up for breakfast. Seeing as it’s not ready yet, you aren’t late for anything. Not that you would be in trouble either way.”
After she stood up, Val decided to add in her thoughts. “And what’s with this?” she gestured up and down Rindi’s form.
“Mi-V-Val?”
“I thought you said you were more comfortable in your other shape? Form? Argh, the one with the tiger body.” Val clarified.
Rindi’s eyes flicked to Kurt, her face wearing a nervous expression. She then looked back to Val. “Sh-should I change? I don’t want to put anyone off with my appearance.”
‘Just be comfortable. If that means in this shape or another, I don’t care. Literally don’t care. Nobody is going to make a fuss about it in our home.” Kurt said before turning back to the food he was cooking.
“See, isn’t that better?” Val asked and Kurt looked over his shoulder to see Rindi once again in her felitaur shape. Her clothes were still far too oversized for her but that could be a problem for after breakfast.
“Umm, yes. Thank you, Val.” She stepped over to the island, carefully moving a stool out of the way to make room for her odd body shape.
Kristi stood up and moved around the island. “Would you like some coffee or tea? We have juice or just water if you prefer.”
“What is coffee?” Rindi’s ears swiveled to Kristi before her head did, making an odd two step motion.
“What people in this country have for a bit of caffeine. Like how tea picks you up, but a bit stronger and is more bitter.” Kristi answered. She poured her a little into a mug and slid it over the counter to her. “Here, give it a try. Some people like to add cream and sugar but try it black first.”
Rindi took the cup and sniffed before taking a sip. She grimaced and made a face before sliding the mug back. “Ygh. Bitter.” Kristi added a little creamer and stirred it with a spoon before sending it back over. This time Rindi took a sip and seemed to like it. “Mm, that is better. It’s like the roasted nuts teas that they have on Askenet.”
Kurt turned around then and began setting out the plates of eggs, sausage and hashbrowns. He then went over to the fridge and pulled out the fruits and juices along with condiments. “Alright, dig in. I have a feeling we are going to be busy today.”
“I heard that Ra and his pack were busy boys and girls while we were away.” Val said, tapping her phone. “You should read the report from last night.”
“Heard from Penny yet?” Kristi asked while loading up her plate and then setting it aside to scoop food on to Rindi’s.
Kurt looked at his phone. “She just texted a couple minutes ago.” He read the message quickly before putting it away and making his own plate. “Looks like we are taking the day off so a long weekend. We are going to start onboarding Rindi on Monday.”
“TC today?” Val asked around a piece of strawberry. “She needs clothes so I could take her shopping.”
“Mind if I go to Hamlets then? I want to talk to Alec about possibly working for Renee.” Kurt asked.
“Please, don’t feel the need to cloth me.” Rindi tried to protest but was shot down immediately.
“Rindi, dear.” Val said sweetly but with an expression that was beyond stern. “Don’t fight me on this, mkay? You have literally nothing besides those clothes. I think we can scrounge some stuff that is baggy but it won’t fit your giant ass and we will not have you dressed poorly while you are in this house.”
“Val, you can’t have it both ways.” Kurt pointed a fork at her, sausage still attached. “Either she has free will or she doesn’t.” that started a little side conversation between them where he wanted Val to ease up and Val wanted him to back her up.
Kristi took the opportunity to lean over to Rindi. “Just accept. She won’t stop until you do and it will make things so much easier. Don’t worry about owing her a debt, she is doing this out of the kindness of her heart and because she likes it.” She gave the tiger woman a soft smile and a pat on the hand. “And eat up, we have a lot to do and still have to get ready for the day.”
“C-Clothes sound great.” Rindi said.
“YuuSSSSss.” Val pumped her fist.
Kurt just shrugged. “Fine by me, just try to go easy on her.”
“I will, but we have to get clothes for both shapes. Or is it all three?” Val said before getting sidetracked again. “How would we find something for your wings?”
“My mantle? Umm… the wings are ephemeral. They are conjured over my clothes, but the tail is very real and the extra fur.” Rindi said, getting swept up in the conversation.
Val nodded and summoned a note pad, startling Rindi. “Mhm, and in this shape. How do you cover your umm, bits? Do you need the skirt up front or no? Is it only the back end?
Kurt rolled his eyes and shoveled the last of his eggs into his mouth. He quickly chewed and swallowed. “On that note, I am going to shower. Rindi, well, good luck.” He dropped the plate in the sink and started down the hallway before he could overhear their newest member explaining the workings of her felitaur reproductive and digestive systems.
He closed the door behind him and immediately made for the shower, drowning out the conversation with the soundproof door. At this point I think I just need to roll with it. He thought to himself as the water began to warm up and he stepped inside, finally getting a chance to get a deep scrub after a few days on the road. Kurt just hoped that the day wouldn’t have any more surprises waiting for him.