DISCLAIMER
The following is a fan-based
FICTION
Las Lindas and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Chalo/Chalosan and SoulKat.
Please support the official release.
Chapter 9: Renewed Rivalry
From what I've been seeing in the last few months here at Las Lindas, I really hadn't expected for the farm to get a competitor approaching it so soon.
It started as a normal day of work. Miles was stuck somewhere in the orchard going through the usual apple-catching session, the cat Prime taking his time with the simple task. Either by going for a quick nap, or trying to pick some flowers to bring back to Taffy. Minos was busy plowing parts of the fields that had been recently cleared out, leaving only Mora and I to handle what was left of collecting the mature fruits of the recent harvest.
The task was particularly easy since we had cleared most of it a few days earlier. In fact, considering how little work was left for that day, we ended up calling an end to our shift way earlier than planned out and… we decided to spend the hours left before lunch in the most productive way possible.
"I got a Flush," I called out, staring intensely at Mora. The Cow Prime gave me a blank look at first, but then grinned as she slammed her cards on the table.
"Straight Flush!"
FUCK!
My shoulders sagged as I leaned back on the chair. The woman giggled as she recovered her wins, my eyes narrowing at the cookies I had lost in that terrible gamble. Taffy sighed as she stared at the scene from the kitchen, shaking her head as she silently mourned losing half of the baked goods she had produced out for this 'childish game'.
There was nothing childish in poker. Or maybe there were some since we were using cookies as bargaining chips. Then again, cookies felt more enticing than money at that moment that I was famished and I wanted to devour those delicious treats. Ever since she came around, it was common to find her preparing some extra food for us to eat between the main meals. The girl just loved to cook that much, and the Bunny Prime seemed particularly happy to silently take over the kitchen out of my unaware hands.
I sure felt like I had given up a seat of power, but the way Taffy was expertly preparing good stuff just made the little stinging sensation dull and non-existing before the love put in everything she made with her hands. Miles seemed to give it little comment about it, but the rest of the farm was quick to praise the young woman's cooking skills.
Between blushes and happy giggles, she easily found stable ground in her new job. Heck, she even got confident enough to start inviting others for D&D games. Sadly enough, I was the only one that knew how to make a game of that work properly. The Cat Prime was partly happy I was around so I could help him in any screw-ups mid-game, but he seemed to get his head on the game the moment he realized he was allowed to seduce girls all around with moderation and by being the closest thing of a Bard if that option wasn't available.
This very circumstance was… very confusing. For me. Mostly me, at least. While Miles was busy at seducing half the campaigns Taffy was creating for us, I would usually end up trying to keep company to the one character I knew the girl was trying to make as her avatar in the game. Nothing overpowered, but it was clear from the way said characters were molded from the start to the end that they were meant to be Miles' ideal choice in romance.
Since, you know, a woman with a kind wish to see the world while also learning all that was available in the cooking of each universe we explored didn't ring any bell at him. And… it was sad how I would be the one to notice and at least make sure the character wasn't scrapped away for failing with her main purpose.
Taffy noticed and… would always offer an extra quick 'thank you' after giving me one for helping her put everything back to the various shelves in her room after we were done with the sessions. I managed to talk some sense into her to be a little less reluctant to say no to Miles, and the young man was quick to pick up he was crossing a tiny line by being this pushy around her. That seemed to fix a good part of their problems, but I could tell the overall interest for anything sexual was still strong and present within Miles' head.
Not that I blamed him that much for it. Taffy wasn't as big and endowed as Mora, but her bust and hips were nothing to scoff at. She had a beautiful hourglass form and the way her butt swayed left and right as she happily walked around the kitchen corner could make many ogle at her lovely frame for hours. I was just… kind enough to stare for a couple of minutes after the shifts were over. A couple of long minutes. Nonetheless, I knew she was invested in trying to make her relationship with Miles work, and I gave my all to make sure it didn't implode any badly.
Just as I started to prepare the new cards, I paused for a moment as a black car started to park near to the house's entrance. It looked pretty new, really clean, and from it emerged an interesting individual.
Standing around at the same height as Mora, the young woman was a Cow Prime herself. Her fur was mostly white, with black patches by the sides of her arms, legs, and a large one around her right eyes. Just like her fur, her hair was mostly silver, with the right side a dark black, by the side of her head two dark horns were protruding upward. Inquisitive blue eyes were mostly hidden by the glasses she was wearing. The woman wore a half-sleeved blue shirt that was open enough to give a simple glimpse at her incredible cleavage.
My brain briefly tried to entertain a comparison between the farm owner's breasts and the ones owned by the fellow Cow Prime, unsure which of the two was bigger, but I was quick to catch myself from ogling too much as I looked back at the table and the cards. Seriously, what is it with Cow Primes being so well-endowed? Sure, I heard they were this big but… damn.
"Mora Linda," The stranger greeted. "It's been so long."
"That's a way to say that..." Mora remarked with a tentative smile. "It's been years, Alej."
Something flashed on Alej's face, but it was quick enough that I wasn't sure it was a sneer or a scowl. Still, I kept quiet as the two decided to walk inside the house and… take the living room for themselves. I remained by the kitchen, staring at their exchange from afar as I helped Taffy prepare some tea for the two women. They stopped talking as we approached them with the teacups.
I placed down the one for Alejandra, the woman taking a moment to glance at me, before giving me a fascinated look. She didn't say anything, but since I heard from afar that she mentioned having some 'sophisticated' farm that she was working on, I could tell that she might have heard about my family.
I decided to not offer any suspicious behavior at these thoughts, returning back to the kitchen with Taffy as quickly and quietly as possible. The exchange continued for some time and I tried to get a clear way to listen to that conversation. In the end it was the Bunny Prime that helped me with this.
Bigger ears meant greater capacity to eavesdrop from afar, and soon I was relayed some words about what was being said between those two. By the time the discussion was over, I already knew that Alejandra had invited Mora to visit her workplace, saying it would be good if they 'teamed up' against other competitors. All in all it sounded like a good idea, but I could tell from her careful expression that the silver-haired Cow Prime had other plans prepared for the occasion.
The very moment she was out and driving back away from the farm, I was given confirmation of what I heard by Mora herself. The woman also mentioned a couple more things about how they knew each other and why this was something that needed to be done.
I was unsure about the way she was wording this situation, but I quickly learned that she intended to ask for both Minos and me to join her for this occasion. I was unsure if this visit was a good idea, but I accepted the offer on the basis that I wanted to make sure things went smoothly for her.
The next day, after drilling in Miles' head that he wasn't to mess things up at the farm while we were gone and making sure that Taffy knew that she was the boss until we were back, we made our way through Gossamer and right to where the address of Alejandra's farm was supposed to be.
I was incredibly surprised when we found ourselves staring at a huge facility instead of a classic farm.
"I'm sorry for… not having thought about buying a car before now."
"It's alright. I don't mind," Minos replied with a nod, and I shrugged and smiled back at her.
"We both know of the money situation, there is no need to be concerned about this," I calmly added. "Still… that's an interesting farm."
It barely looked like one to begin with. The place was structured more like a factory. A clean one since its main purpose was to treat stuff that wasn't meant to pollute and generate smog and other filthy residuals.
"That doesn't seem normal." Mora hummed as we finally stopped at the entrance. "Am I the only one feeling like this is a trap?"
I gave her a calm look. "I'm quite sure it is a trap."
Minos restrained himself to a mere nod. At this point, it was clear that the invitation had been a trick to get us all here and… do something about it. I doubted it was anything dangerous, but I was quick to suspect this wasn't an old acquaintance trying to invite us for a simple tour. There was much more to it, and I just couldn't predict what from the curt summary Mora gave us about Alejandra Coldthorn.
The woman had spent most of her childhood at Las Lindas since her father was a close friend to Mora's mother. With that explanation, I eventually remembered that there were some pictures back in the house that had a younger Alejandra in them. I could tell there was a bigger story behind these photos, but I decided to wait until we were done with that visit before asking Mora to tell me a little more on the matter.
"Oh, hi! You must be the visitors for today," The words came from someone coming from the now opening main doors, the young woman smiling and giving us a confident look as she addressed us. I tensed up as I… actually recognized her. And I was surprised she hadn't realized this despite how many years we hadn't seen each other.
The Mouse Prime had gray fur, with her long blonde hair pulled in a big ponytail. Wearing a lab coat over her sleeveless pink shirt that left her midriff exposed, the girl's fine hips were held back by tight blue jeans. Violet eyes glowing in genuine curiosity, she still failed to recognize me and… that was quickly hurtful.
"Ms. Alejandra isn't here yet. She's always 'fashionably late', ya know? Hehee~," The blonde continued with a determined but calm voice. "So maybe we can go like, go on the tour and stuff? It'll pass the time. By the way, I'm-"
"Tootsie," I interrupted, my voice seemingly snapping her out of her calm expression as she stared in confusion right at me. Her violet eyes narrowing at first, then growing wide open as she finally got a hint of who she was looking at.
"No fucking way," She muttered quietly, shock dripping from her voice while she said that.
"Yes way, Toots," I returned mirthfully before bracing as I knew what awaited me next. Just as I expected, the girl bolted and pulled me in a tight hug, one that I returned with the same eagerness.
Looking up, the girl stared at me with a frown. "It's been eons, you jerk. You could have tried to call me out on that brain-fart earlier."
"And miss the adorable face you have when you realize you are wrong about something?" I stared at her in faux shock. "Nonsense!"
We both shared a chuckle at that, basking in the fact we had reunited after so much time had passed since we last saw each other.
"You know each other?" Mora quietly inquired, her eyes narrowed on the fact we were still hugged. I noticed this detail before she twisted her expression to a blank one, but I wasn't sure why she was giving us such a jealous look.
"We studied at the same college," I explained with a nod. "Tootsie was the first friend I made-"
"Your bestest friend at that, you prude. We were the best of the best!"
I sighed happily. "And I remember you being way less confident than this."
"Things change. What I can't make in height, I can make in confidence now, heh," The Mouse Prime mirthfully remarked. "Still, you have grown… hunkier-"
"Toots!" I half-shouted, holding back on my voice to not hurt her ears.
"I will not apologize for saying the truth. Still, you work for Ms. Linda."
"That is correct," I said with a nod. "And you work for Ms. Alejandra."
She groaned. "Man, this isn't… our finest hour."
"I thought that was back when we managed to start a food fight in the cafeteria back in our second year," I recalled and Tootsie seemed to lighten up at the memory.
"When Mrs. Cross got barraged with apple pies- Ah, those were glorious days," The young woman admitted mirthfully, gesturing removing a tear at the funny picture I brought back to her mind. "Still, we have a tour to go through. We will go down memory lane when we are done with the duty."
I nodded. "I understand."
And with that, the tour around the facility began, starting fairly smoothly. The place was very quiet, with the workers silently working on making sure the machinery worked properly while a small group was tasked with taking the milk gained and putting them in barrels meant to be stored away.
Tootsie explained the entire process, holding onto some 'secret' details that could have been exploited against them. Just like back when we were in college, the girl hadn't missed any moment to show how much experience she had in the various instruments on display, sounding almost bragging from the way she confidently addressed the sections we were visiting.
Eventually we arrived at the second floor, the section offering a sight over the entire facility working without any obstructions. Just as we did so Alejandra 'arrived to join us'.
"Apologies for the lateness, I was busy with some possible buyers," The Cow Prime mentioned, trying to appear particularly smooth with her sudden arrival. "Mora, now I believe Ms. Roswell offered you a proper guide around, how about we take this opportunity to talk in private?"
I could tell Mora was planning to decline the request to be left alone with just her, maybe trying to get either me or Minos with her too to dodge any sneaky surprises from her old friend and… then Tootsie spoke up.
"Oh, we can talk some more about the old times, Dec! Minos can come too, I really need some help fishing some boxes I had left really high so I can restock the break room."
I narrowed my eyes at that silly effort from Toots, and I could tell from the pleading eyes she was aiming at me that she really wasn't scraping the barrel with that attempt. I knew that the girl would never accept working for someone dangerous, so I decided to take a risky step and gave a nod first at Tootsie and then at Mora. The brunette groaned at my silent response, but she still rolled with it as she followed Alejandra to her office.
Minos and I walked together with Tootsie until we eventually arrived at the break room. The place was mostly desolate when we arrived, and the girl decided to enlist the Bull Prime's help in getting some boxes that had been left on shelves far higher than her current height.
With the quiet giant distracted, the young woman returned her attention to me. "Look, I know this sounds strange-"
"It is strange, Toots."
"Yeah, I… I'm sorry to say this, but the boss really wanted to be alone with Mora. I can assure you that she hasn't planned anything bad- I mean, I think she hasn't. I know she isn't a bad person."
"Still, it doesn't make it any less suspicious."
"I know, but I can guarantee things will be fine either this visit ends successfully or not for our company."
I sighed. "I really hope so."
"Trust me. I swear on cheese itself that it's the truth."
…
"Fine."
"Hehe, how about we exchange phone numbers? Now that I found ya, I ain't planning to let go of ya."
"I thought you were done with pranking now that you work for a serious business," I pointed out, causing her to let out a huff.
"Bah, it's not for pranking. I really want to spend some quality time with my best friend, the very man that always had a warm bed at night-"
"Toots-"
"I mean, so many women. So many gorgeous women-"
"I stopped doing that. Sleeping around with girls," I interrupted, causing the girl to gasp.
"You're lying."
"I'm not," I calmly remarked. "I had a very rough few years before starting to work at Las Lindas."
The Mouse Prime wanted to ask for more, but she paused as she remembered what got my life upside down.
"I bet it was..." She tactfully remarked, and I decided to turn back the conversation elsewhere.
"So, how did you get hired here?" I asked quietly. "I would have expected that you would have aimed a little higher than this."
"I did. For a time," Tootsie admitted. "Then things started to get a little bit… crazy. People just don't like it when their scientists went a couple of steps close to diving for illegality."
"At least you didn't change on that front,"
"Still, can I ask you… how you have been? You really went missing without any notice and… and I really thought you were kidnapped or something more serious for a time," Tootsie asked. "Like, we all learned what happened but… we expected something before you left."
"I… I wasn't in the right state of mind to say anything to anyone the day I left," I muttered truthfully. "My head was hurting at the time and I felt set in just keeping away from them. I really didn't want to worry any of you guys."
"You were never the guy that left without saying anything. Which is why we were worried and angry at a time. "Then we learned what happened with your father-"
"Toots, please. Don't," I quietly interrupted, looking in Minos' direction and feeling relieved that he was distracted with the task or recovering the box. "I'm… not really up to be reminded of that."
"Even after what? Four- Five years had gone ever since that?"
… "Yes. I've grown out of that, but it's still not a topic I like to discuss."
She sighed. "I guess you're still the stubborn Dec I remember, always trying to bottle things up and play the tough game," The young woman lamented, ending this with a small smile. "But tell me the truth, how are you?"
"Well. Way better than the first two years," I honestly answered. "I believe the worst was trying to find a job without them finding out where I was."
"And considering their reach… well, I bet it was really bad. And now you are in an interesting situation."
"It's a lovely farm, really," I commented. "It really strikes at some funny memories of when I was a kid."
"Oh no, the man-child has never left-"
"As if you have any moral ground to stand on with these shameless accusations," I faked annoyance. "Weren't you the one that wanted to spend a Million Dollar you won from a bet against me in a fountain of fondue?"
"That's more me being coherent to what I love. It was either that, or I would have tried my best to get components to build my own working Death Star."
Just as she said this, the door of the break room opened and… two familiar individuals entered. My stare narrowed only at the human, the guy that had led the small group meant to harass Mora and I when we were going to the bar to try to bring Miles and Minos back to the farm. Then it all clicked as I remembered the man mentioning about their boss and… it's a woman. Alejandra is their boss.
"Oh… Shit."
"Damn right," I muttered under my breath, but it was Minos that moved in on them. There wasn't much resistance, and with the two put out of commission, we proceeded to find where Alejandra's office was.
"L-Look, I can explain-"
"Toots, those bastards attacked my boss twice now. And I was around when the second time happened."
"I… It's more complicated than that!"
"Then explain. I think I can easily understand if you have a legitimate reason behind what we just saw."
…
"Toots-"
"Alejandra just wanted to probe if Mora was capable of handling simple intimidation. Right now she is… trying to convince her to let go of the farm- W-Wait, I'm not done-"
I scowled at her clinging, angry and betrayed by what was going on.
"Toots, I really hope you don't have any big role behind this-"
"I don't- I really wanted this to happen through diplomacy than else," Tootsie interrupted. "D-Dec, I really mean it. I didn't want to hurt anyone and you know how I detest violence on civilians."
"I believe a couple of people back at college would want to say something on the matter," I shot back as I recalled all those moments where the girl's devices put entire classrooms in danger if it wasn't for the intervention of the teachers from time to time.
"D-Different times, I'm less irresponsible with this kind of stuff. Please!"
I stopped, glancing at her with a serious look. "Swear it on our friendship right now that you didn't have any active role in this."
…
"I… I didn't. I swear."
…
I sighed. "We will talk more about this. We can go to a club or some place in Gossamer that can offer some private space to discuss this kind of stuff."
"I'm sorry it had to come to this- I didn't mean to… to see you hurt or your boss on the matter-"
"It's… alright. We... will talk later about this, Toots."
The blonde didn't continue after that, merely nodding gratefully as we finally arrived at Alejandra's Office. We didn't bother knocking, with Minos pushing the door open and dropping the two half-conscious thugs on the ground, disrupting any activity unfolding there.
"We found these two in the break room," The Bull Prime muttered, causing Mora to frown angrily at Alejandra.
"And you think the way I run things is shameful, huh?" The brunette mentioned dryly. "You just want to buy us out before I can renew Las Lindas' contract. And you sent those thugs to make me want to sell out of this damn city!"
The room's temperature seemed to rise as the fellow Cow Prime didn't seem to submit at that furious comment.
"It's funny to see how you so easily call that brothel of yours a home," Alejandra rebuked fiercely. "Tell me. Do you take that endless parade of men to your mother's bed as well?"
That was terribly low, and I could tell from Mora's look that things were getting really bad. But while in this matter I would have tried to moderate things, I actually decided to do the opposite at the accusations that were being leveled against all of us. She wasn't just aiming that at the woman, but to every worker at Las Lindas.
"Excuse me, what?" I sternly asked, stepping closer to the exchange. Blue eyes turned to gaze at me with annoyance.
"I believe you heard me perfectly. Your owner is known to whore herself out instead of-"
"Libel is punishable with years in jail," I coldly interjected. "But please, continue spitting lies so you can feel better in that dumb powerplay you are trying to get out of this."
… "What?!"
"First you invite Mora to your workplace, then you flex the fact you have modern technique of treating the products you make, then you coax her to try to let go of the farm- finally you insult her because you couldn't get what you wanted. Like a child that can't be given the toy she wanted."
"You don't know what you are talking about. And I advise you-"
"What? What do you want to advise me to do, Ms. Alejandra Coldthorn?" I baited angrily. "The only thing I need to do is tell you how unprofessional and childish this behavior is for a businesswoman."
…
I didn't press my current advantage, noticing how my words had gotten the woman quiet very suddenly. I could tell she was surprised at butting heads with someone that wasn't submitting to her opinion, and I knew for a fact that this kind of person just wasn't geared to face an opposition this stiff and resilient.
So with that in mind, I decided to not press my luck since I knew that one thing was stunning these individuals so one can go away from their range of dropping annoying comments, another was poking at the sleeping dog and risking to fall on the side of wrong. Which is why I turned to Mora and sighed.
"Boss, I believe we should get going," Wouldn't want Miles to start getting confident in skipping his shift at work."
The woman gave me a surprised look, but after looking back at the entire predicament and how going for more would be like asking for an unneeded retaliation, she accepted this with a nod. We didn't greet anyone while leaving, and I gritted my teeth as I saw Tootsie keeping near to her boss, Alejandra just now glaring at us as we left the facility altogether.
We started to make our way back to the farm in the worst mood possible. Minos was silent, but he carefully watched the two of us as we tried to keep ourselves from snapping back in the anger that was still coursing in our veins. Mora was pissed, and so I was as I was still trying to digest the gut punch I received at finding Toots and learning that she was working under such a bitch.
"I will probably call Tootsie," I muttered quietly, drawing the Cow Prime's attention while I kept my stare on the road. "She isn't part of this."
"People change," The woman quickly reminded me and I sighed.
"Not like this. Not when I can tell when she is lying or not," I remarked without hesitation, drawing a scoff from the brunette.
"Seriously? And you know that is true?"
"We were close in college. Really tight," I added with a nod. "I can tell when she is lying. And she wasn't."
"So how can you tell she isn't just trying to get in your pants?" Mora asked bluntly and I frowned at that comment.
"Because I tried to do that when we started being close to each other back in College," I explained calmly. "But then I learned that the reason why she was opposed to it was because she wasn't into guys."
"What's that supposed to- Oh."
"Tootsie is attracted to girls. Guys hardly managed to tickle her fun bone like that," I further explained. "So yeah, while our interactions might seem like we are two morons trying to keep quiet about a relationship, it's more of two morons being best friends and doing little to cover the degree of intimacy we share."
"So you trust her as a friend?"
"She is like a sister from another pair of parents. Really different from me, but we both went through some tough times together during the last years of college. We were there for each other, and I refuse to think she is really gone for that horrible route herself."
Mora didn't say much beyond this… but she said something else.
"A-Also, about what you said to Alejandra… thank you."
I frowned, looking at her with a confused look.
"I've been… I'm not trying to say I doubted that the farm was doing well, but I still have doubts I, as a person, am doing the right thing in the present."
"You're doing fine. You had some bumps but… I believe we can all agree you made big steps forward," I said with conviction, turning my stare to Minos. "Am I right?"
The Bull Prime nodded. "You might be easygoing at times, but… it's not bad. It's actually refreshing when it's not during work hours."
The Cow Prime nodded, smiling and calming down at hearing this many positive words aimed at her.
But as I felt myself easing down over the irritation I had over the situation with Tootsie, I quickly caught on the fact that Mora was looking at me with particular intensity. Minos didn't seem to notice, and I felt nervous as her smile grew… amused at my reaction.
It's been a while since Minos has been back, and Mora has been incredibly slow in trying to do anything with him. And… maybe I now knew why.
AN
Mora and Alejandra's standoff! MC headbutts into it and manages to get Alej's attention on him for the future. The situation about Toots will be complicated, but hopefully something interesting can come out of it.
Finally… next time there will be kitties and… A lemon!
