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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.

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Chapter 12: With Games, The Truth


The next morning began fairly simple. Since we were already going smoothly as we were, and it was Saturday, things were meant to go a tad bit slower than the usual weekdays. For today, we were all going to work for just a shift as Mora had decided to concede a free afternoon after so long, giving all workers at the farm the chance of enjoying some time in complete relaxation to rest for the tough days to come now that we were competing with someone like Alejandra.

Because of this detail, everyone had quickly decided to take this opportunity to make plans on how to spend the evening. Taffy and Miles had said that they planned to go and see a movie at the local cinema, while Minos was interested in checking a Craft Show that was going to happen by the early evening by Gossamer's central square.

And with those plans laid out, the ones that were going to be staying at the farm for the afternoon were, Mora, me… Sarah, and Rachael. It came out as a surprise when that development came out and I was surprised when the two just came out with the fact that 'there was nothing fun to do around in town'.

"What about the local Luna Park?" Mora offered, letting out a degree of annoyance in her voice at the fact that they were going to ruin a time for us to be alone and have all the good fun of this world.

"You mean that place with just distorting mirrors?" Rachael inquired back with a frown. "If we were four maybe."

"Yeah, it's not that fun of a place to hang around the whole afternoon," Her younger sister agreed with a nod. "I mean, why is this even a problem? We can play one of those games like… Twister? Or the Guessing Game?"

At the last suggestion, even the dark-haired Cat Prime had to share the combined confused look we were aiming at Sarah, the blonde looking sheepish for a moment.

"Maybe not that kind of boring stuff but… I need to think about this- it's going to be super-cool, I promise!"

Just as she proclaimed that, she bolted away, humming around and checking for any fun activity that could have been done with four people. Despite that brief respite, Mora still looked annoyed at what was happening and kept on brooding about it, giving me a tough work to cheer her up and keep her from getting too harsh about the circumstance. The least I wanted was to make things tougher on both the Cat Primes because she wanted some time alone. I promised her that I had in store a big date plan for the end of the week and that the finale would have made this flunked opportunity worthwhile. Plus, it was a game night, and I really wondered what kind of madness had planned out for us. When Miles, Taffy, and Minos started to leave the farm to begin their respective dates, the craziest afternoon ever finally began.

From the way Rachael looked as Sarah took the lead as the main entertainer and planner for this event, I could only assume that the young woman was completely clueless to what her grinning sister had prepared for us all to either enjoy or endure.

The first game of this lengthy afternoon was… Twister. With a Twist.

Because, while the game was pretty much the same about the rules to win or lose, there was a big catch in the form of what happens who lost early and the one that won the matches. The winner had the power to pick a dare that, within some limitations, couldn't be countered by the losing side. And since one of us had to be out of that game so that it wouldn't be too problematic or risky to spin the color and the body part wheels, I decided to volunteer for this. As much one would enjoy being in that kind of spot with other girls, I had a strong feeling the fact both Mora and Rachael were competing wasn't something that could be handled by someone like Sarah.

The blonde was actually giddy that she was going to compete too as she had planned to play and get some teasing dares for both the Cow Prime and her sister. With her in the game to present a third annoying challenger to keep an eye out for, both girls would have to be careful with someone as unpredictable as Sarah.

The first round was… a warm-up from the looks of it. They all were pretty calm as I gave them the proper instructions with each spin of the wheels. Mora managed to hold onto hope until she fell shortly after Rachael did, giving Sarah first blood. The dare she decided to employ on her sister was childish in nature, but overall harmless.

Rachael had to press her index and middle finger from her right hand on her nose, stand on her left leg and spin for twenty second. It was simple, but incredibly annoying as the fellow Cat Prime was quick to get dizzy and almost trip because of this. It was only a little after that I would realize that the youngest of the trio had given that dare to further weaken the focus her targets had. By making her big sister dizzy for a while, her expectations were mostly aimed to see her fall again for another dare.

But much to our surprise, it was Mora's turn to fall and trip. Groaning, the Cow Prime was given an interesting dare in the form of giving an honest compliment to Rachael. It was a good idea that saw me praising Sarah for thinking of this as she too seemed to be working in an effort to fix any conflicts between the two women.

The next rounds saw a complete shift of balance as a few of those were won by Mora, two by Rachael, and two more by Sarah. It was mostly fun, with a couple of exceptions coming up when both the owner of the farm and the oldest of the two siblings began offering some unpleasant dares to the other. There was a minor amount of viciousness in each proposal, but I managed to make sure they didn't go through with any dangerous or humiliating dares.

The second game, which began a few minutes after we were done with Twister, was a game of Hide and Seek. This time everyone was enlisted to the game since there was no need for an external judge, and there weren't any dares involved. Sarah said something about this being more of a warm-up to the last game and… I pondered about what she had in mind for the grand finale. The first one to count was me since I had been the one that had avoided much of the onslaught with the previous game, and I had to count up to sixty before being allowed to wander around to find where everyone was hiding.

Sarah was the one that seemed to profit during this round, while her big sister was the first one to be found since she wasn't that accustomed with the house itself to know of any good hiding spot. But where the two siblings were keen to play the game as it was intended, Mora decided to apply a little enticing factor to it as I found her shortly after Rachael.

I opened the bathroom door to find that the woman had taken refuge by the bathtub, her clothes shirt laying on the side as she happily waited for me. I was stomped at first, but I knew that the woman was just trying to convey a simple but acceptable message. So I told her that, if she behaved well now that we were halfway to end this little situation, I would have given her a fun night. I then gave her a… modest kiss that seemed to actually win her over. The woman would ask for a couple more pecks, which turned out into longer kisses, but when we left the bathroom, she seemed to have accepted my proposal.

Next it was Sarah's turn and the girl ended up finding Mora and Rachael early on, but having some trouble finding me since I had found an interesting spot by the ceiling that led to the attic. Something that nobody but Mora, Taffy and I knew about since it was one of the places that had to be cleaned in the last few weeks of getting the house in a better shape.

Rachael proved to be the best hunter. Sarah was quickly found, Mora was swiftly spotted while trying to use a small unused closet by the kitchen, while I was found while hiding in Miles' room. It was when I had to leave and follow her to the living room that something rather unusual and telling happened. The girl was waiting by the doorstep, and I wasn't paying much attention to this until she 'clumsily tripped' and ended up pressing most of her chest and breasts onto my left arm. I helped her up, but I could tell from her inquisitive eyes that she had expected a clearer reaction than just that. At this point, I had this strong belief that the Cat Prime was trying to gain my interest through that manner, but I wasn't sure what she was hoping to get since I was already dating someone.

Finally, it was Mora's turn and things ended up taking a similar note like when I found her when I was the one searching. As she found me quickly as the first one, she took a moment to claim some rewards in the form of a steamy smooching session. She didn't escalate, but pointed out that tonight she wasn't going to allow me any sleep. I promised back to her that I would have returned the favor with twice the pleasure. Sarah was the second one to be found, and then Rachael was taken out by the very spot in the attic that I had been found in.

With that fun 'intermediary challenge' dealt with, it was the turn for the grand finale and… things got a really weird turn the moment Sarah brought up what she had prepared to end this set of group games. The final game became a reason of discomfort by the rest of the group because of its sexual nature. Even Sarah had to admit that this game had come out in what she had thought was a moment of her being a brilliant genius… only for it to be now seen as a dumb move from her part. I couldn't understand, just like the others, how setting us up for strip poker was meant to be a fun activity knowing how barely accustomed we were with one another. Sure, it would have been a fun one if it had been just me and Mora, but it was clear that nobody wanted to go through this and we had to reorganize the game to something a little less awkward but still interesting.

Picking notes from the Twister with a Twist, I offered a set of ten games of Blackjack where the winner would get points and receive the capacity to decide a modest dare to impose on the loser. Once everyone had gone through the card game with the rest of the occupants, then there would have been a count of the points and the one with the highest score would have decided a dare for the rest of the three.

The idea was accepted by the others and soon we started some tense rounds of blackjack. While it had been fairly long since I played seriously with a gambling-related game, I still managed to get through some of the rounds by winning long streaks and placing myself second, followed by Mora and Rachael. Much to my surprise, despite having virtually zero experience on the game's working and learning of its rules just now, Sarah flawlessly won the entire game with a ten points advantage over my own score.

"I thought you said that your sister isn't good at this game," Mora pointed out with an annoyed look on her face.

"W-Well, I said she never played this. I didn't see a reason to teach her how to play and… I don't even know how this happened."

"I guess she is just a natural player of these games," I concluded with a shrug. "But now we will have to be more careful when we play card games with her."

Sarah giggled, showing a smug look as she prepared to reveal what she had planned for us to do as a dare.

"I want Mora and Rachael to… to try and be friends."

"What?" Her sister asked with a blank voice.

"I believe I don't understand myself," Mora agreed with a frown. "Can you elaborate on that?"

"I think she means that you two should stop seeing each other as enemies."

"We don't." "That's not true."

Well, at least they can cooperate to dodge this kind of accusation.

"You're both lying," Sarah shot back with a serious tone, surprising everyone with that outburst. "You might not notice, but everyone has seen that you two glare at each other and- and that you exchange insults when the other isn't looking. That's not something that should be fine- that's not how a family Taffy said should behave."

"I'm… I'm sorry," Rachael admitted with a sigh. And I glanced at the Cow Prime as the farm owner just looked particularly thoughtful about that rebuttal.

"I guess I was being… too harsh about it. You have been working for a little while, but you have yet to give me any reason to behave this angrily at both of you," The woman commented with a genuine sense of guilt. "I'm just… I'm just afraid I guess. This farm is no longer something that I'm running as a way to keep up with my mother's legacy. People depend on this and… and I just can't afford to see it going lost because I don't give it enough attention and care."

"We will keep on helping!" Sarah replied with a nod. "It's different than what I've done in the past, and- and I think I can speak from Rachael's mind too that this is the first time we don't have to be afraid of being chased out of a place since… since this feels like home."

"She is right," I finally spoke up, looking at the two women. "Right now Sarah has only spoken an undeniable truth. As much as you try to bicker around and try to keep this animosity going, I believe you already know it will only hurt yourselves in the long run if you try to continue to prolong this frustrating relationship. You are both smart women with keen eyes over specific areas of expertise, and I believe we can all agree that you have it in yourselves the might to just say no to the need to behave like this."

I then turned to glance at the blonde and smiled. "And I have to say that you really did a good job here, Sarah. While you might not realize this, sometimes one just doesn't have a proper answer to this kind of problem, and yet you came up with quite the interesting idea. Isn't this why you decided to skip going outside for this afternoon?"

Both Rachael and Mora looked fairly surprised at this revelation and the young Cat Prime chuckled nervously.

"Y-You noticed?"

"As much as the Luna Park was cheap and lacking big attractions, I bet you would have loved to check the distorted mirrors."

The girl nodded. "Yep. I just… wanted to help Rach and Ms. Boobsalot."

Mora's eyes narrowed at the fact the young woman still used that nickname to address her. But she seemed calm enough to not try to start anything out of it, rather surrendering to the fact that the girl wasn't going to give her anything better, but at least she wasn't going to give her anything worse.

With the game time now over as some resolution seemed to hit their minds, we waited for the others finally came back from their planned dates before going through with the rest of the day, with the biggest detail I could spot being that both Mora and Rachael seemed to be really putting an effort in trying to keep things civil, and Sarah looked more than happy as she noticed this too herself.

Things kept on being smooth and uneventful until we were all ready and going to bed after dinner, my mind set to make sure to keep up with what I had planned to do with Mora… when Miles reached for me and stopped me.

"Hey, there is someone that rang the phone and wanted to talk to you. He said it was urgent or something," The Cat Prime said with a strange frown on his face. "I don't know why but he also made sure that your name was Declan Stone."

My confusion slowly rose at that very detail, but I spared just a nod to the guy before rushing to check on the wired device. I paused before it, bringing it up to my ear and checking who it was.

"Hello?"

"I suppose this line is clear."

I blinked the moment I heard such a clear and formal voice. It was masculine, and clearly not Tootsie… but I still recognized it from somewhere. Then it all clicked.

"You are-"

"It's urgent. We don't have much time despite the things I would wish to address now that I found you, Mr. Stone. Ms. Coldthorn might as well be keeping tracks of phones at the moment to make sure this big event isn't ruined for her, but I believe in the name of friendship that I shall take some risks to aid you now that you need this the most."

"What… What is going on?" I asked, feeling confident of the man on the other side. I knew I could trust him and that it was truly surprising to learn he had switched from my father's company to Alexandria.

"Ms. Coldthorn managed to create substantial proof through the recent public releases of your farm's output to urge the bank to lessen the available time to pay the debts over the property," The caller explained with a grim tone. "She will press for the bank to deal with this matter as soon as possible, which is why I suggest you act on the name of the activity you're working for."

"This is bad and… what I can do? I don't have any contacts with-"

"Mr. Bruford wouldn't deny helping by offering guidance and assistance if it was the grandson of his late close friend to ask for it."

"Bruford? You mean my father's lawyer?"

"No, I mean the Stone family's lawyer. His ties to your father are non-existent after what led you to abandon your hold as the heir."

"That's something I will have to still discuss with my boss and… I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for a situation that was well beyond your powers to predict, Mr. Stone. I don't see reasons to blame your reaction," The old friend interrupted. "I shared your emotions when the truth came out, and I wish to make it clear that I will aid you despite my current allegiances. I will never forget the ties that keep us close."

"As siblings in all but blood, like grandfather used to say."

"Just like our grandfathers tended to. They were the ones that formed this alliance."

"Indeed. Thank you, I hope that we will-"

"I will be there when Ms. Coldthorn will try to get through with this attempt. I hope you will not mind if I came to personally oversee your newest workplace."

"I will not. I'm glad to hear you are sound and well."

"Likewise. But now I better leave, lest we risk our current efforts to prevent any unpleasant situations. We shall see each other soon, Mr. Stone."

I nodded and the call ended there. Sighing at the current circumstances that were now unfolding as everyone ignored the threats slowly encroaching at the farm, I knew that the moment to finally tell the truth to Mora had finally come and… I wandered up to the bedroom with a serious look.

As I entered the familiar room with an uneasy mood, I found Mora already waiting for me to come closer to the bed, her green eyes already offering me an invitation to warm her under the covers.

"I know this might sound awkward but, I think we have to discuss something important," I started to say with a tense tone. "It's about the farm. I learned from a... 'trustworthy contact' that she is planning to do something with the bank that would bring them to come and collect all debts quite soon."

Mora sat up from the bed, a panicked look on her face.

"W-What?"

"It's… it's kind of alright, I'm certain I have something that can work and fix the situation. I might not be a law expert, but I know someone that had worked for an old firm."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed. "I know a lawyer that has been a family friend for several decades now. He had become close to us through my grandfather and… I'm quite sure he would lend us some help without needing us to pay anything about it."

"And how are you this… sure? What are you not telling me, Declan."

...

"The truth is that… I didn't tell you the complete truth about why I decided to spend some years now in this part of the world rather than somewhere closer to where my family lives."

The woman stood up from the bed completely and approached me, I looked up at her and I could see a fair degree of support as she seemed to realize that I was going to give her a tough explanation that I wasn't really happy about. And to increase that perception of closeness, she also pulled me close in a tight hug.

With that extra boost, I knew that I had no reason to keep quiet about this any longer.

"My name is Declan Stone and, until a few years ago, I was the heir of the farm-specialized company called Stone Advanced Farms."

I expected outrage at the revelation, a form of upset to what I had just said. And yet Mora just hugged more closer as I kept on talking.

That night, which had been initially planned to be one of passion, ended up one that brought us one step closer to further consolidate our bond. Because, even after listening to my full story and giving her own opinions about it, Mora was nonetheless thankful of this revelation coming up now rather than in direr time. Adn, at the same time, she used this chance to finally give me some more inside about her life here at the farm and a deeper look over her relationship with the rest of the family, with her older adopted brother and Alejandra included in that picture.

We were both lying on the bed, talking to each other about these two different yet similar backgrounds and… we had to accept the fact that the mood was slightly ruined by this situation and that we would have to wake up early to get this call to the lawyer made as soon as possible, thus hindering our plans for some fun time by the bed for tonight.

Despite my worries of ending up ruining my current relationship with the woman through speaking up what I had been keeping quiet about for a long time now, I still found it particularly cleansing how pulling out the truth out of the cage I had kept it for so long… and at the same time, I could tell that Mora felt lighter about herself when she brought out the full story of the Linda Family.

Before we know it, we both fell asleep one hugging the other, in a genuine moment of love rather than list. We needed to be strong for what was about to come, and I knew things weren't going to be that easy.


AN

Next chapter will see the full-fledged revelation, the identity of the mysterious man behind the call, and… a certain Bear Prime is finally going to be there.