CHAPTER 10
Kat looked around as she walked through the scrapyard.
The Kitsune had arrived after dropping her mate off to go shopping with her mother. Why she was in a scrapyard was simple, she was looking for a car. This was something she had done several times before, find an old car that needed work (or even just the body of a car) and restore/modify it for resale.
Only she wasn't looking for something to sell.
Since Angela could change into a human, Kat believed that the gargoyle needed to learn to drive. And while she was already working on a bike for her, Kat figured that Angela needed a car as well. And while she had found a few cars already that she was considering, she didn't feel any of them suited Angela.
But as she rounded a corner, Kat found what she was looking for.
Moving to examine the old car, Kat was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the actual damage was cosmetic. The biggest problem would be the numerous missing parts. The car had no engine, no transmission, and the interior had been completely stripped bare. There were also no windows and a few other problems. It would certainly be a challenge to restore, and if she didn't have the three-hundred year old nest egg she had inherited from her mother, she doubted she would even contemplate taking on a job like this without a guaranteed paycheck, especially as she was sure there was more damage then she could actually see without stripping the car down to it's frame and rebuilding it. Jobs like this never went off without a hitch.
But she was sure that Angela would love it when she was done. And that would make any time and money she spent on the car worth it.
Smiling, Kat turned to make her way to the office. She had to buy and arrange for delivery.
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"So who was that woman that picked you up and dropped you off?" Dominique, Angela was still trying to get use to referring to her mother by her alter ego, asked.
Angela froze as she was looking through the suit jackets. "Uh...A friend," She replied hesitantly. "I didn't know you saw her?"
Her mother chuckled. "I have security cameras on the outside of the building," she explained. "And I was curious as to how you had arrived."
"Oh."
Silence hung between the two women, until Dominique placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Have I said something wrong?" she asked, slightly worried.
Angela shook her head. "No but..." the gargess in human form hesitated a moment before answering, "I know how you feel about humans and she is...well it's complicated...umm."
"She's more than a friend, isn't she?"
Angela nodded. Turning to look at her mother, she was nervous, not knowing how her mother would react to her answer. While she was sure about what her father's response would be, she didn't know her mothers response. "She's my mate," she said softly, looking down, afraid to meet her mother's furious gaze.
Dominique sighed, but lifted Angela's head by the chin. The younger woman was surprised by the acceptance and love in her mother's gaze. "I can't say I approve, but it has nothing to do with the fact you love another female. But I do love you my daughter, and I want you to be happy. If being with another woman, even if she is human, makes you happy, who am I to interfere?" she said, a soft smile on her face.
Angela smiled, and pulled her mother into a tight hug as tears of joy and relief began to fall from her eyes. "Thank you mother," she whispered. Stepping back she said, "I've been so afraid about others reactions," she admitted. "So far, the only one that knows is Fox. Father's been, rather vocal, about his distaste for same-sex couples the few times it's been brought up."
Dominique sighed. "That doesn't surprise me," she said. "For all of his claims to accept humans, your father is...remarkably conservative in his beliefs."
Angela's lips twitched up into a smile, "It was hard to say that without actually insulting him, wasn't it?"
The red-head snorted. "You have no idea." She began to look through jackets with her daughter. "So, tell me about this woman that you claim as a mate."
"I won't tell you everything, but I actually think you'd like her..."
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"I told mother about you," Angela said as she climbed into the '46 Ford. "She wants to meet you."
"I hope you didn't tell her everything," Kat said with a teasing voice, to make sure Angela knew she was just teasing. The Kitsune had full confidence that her bonded wouldn't put her in any danger, or reveal any of her secrets without her consent.
"Of course not," Angela said with a grin. Her face became a little more serious. "I may love my mother, but, though I wish otherwise, I don't trust her, not fully anyways. I can't be sure that she wouldn't try and use you for her own gains. Maybe, one-day, we can trust her with the secret, but not now."
"I understand completely," Kat assured her. "I know that Dad never told his parents what mother and I are. Of course that could be because Grandmother is a...well, she never approved of dad marrying a 'pagan whore nip." She grimaced as she said the words. "Needless to say, Dad and I aren't exactly on the best terms with her. She's not exactly fond of me either. In fact, last time I saw her, she bemoaned the fact that I dressed like a man, cut my hair like a man, and did a man's job. She told me flat out that I would never amount to anything, or find a decent husband, if I insisted on acting and looking like a man instead of a proper lady."
Angela gasped and looked at her mate. "She sounds horrible."
Kat snorted. "She is. The only reason I deal with her anymore is Dad. Grandpa was great, when he was alive, but he passed away when I was thirteen. And without him to reign Grandmother in," she shrugged. "I guess he was the only one that could do it. I think the only reason Dad puts up with it is because, like it or not, she is his mother. How he does it is a mystery to me to this day."
"Suddenly, I don't think my mother's all that bad," Angela said with a grin. "She may not approve of everything, but at least she's polite enough to not be insulting, at least not when she's calm. Get her angry and it's a whole other story." She grimaced, "Though I still don't know about Father."
Kat reached over and put her hand over Angela's. "Hopefully, he'll come around," she tried to assure her bonded. She grinned, "But until then, at least your mother approves."
Angela smiled. "I suppose." She looked out the window and frowned. "We're not going to the shop?" she said surprised.
The other woman grinned, "No. We're going to a race-track. The owner's a friend, and he agreed to let us have some time on it."
"Why?" The darker-haired woman asked, a slight note of worry creeping into her voice.
Angela's grin was down-right smug when she answered, "I'm going to teach you to drive."
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Fox Xanatos frowned as she leaned back in her chair.
Anti-gargoyle sentiment was picking up, despite the Quarrymen's questionable tactics. She felt the root of the problem was that, while the Quarrymen had a lot of money to throw around on propaganda, their opposition, the People for Interspecies Tolerance, or P.I.T., had very little money to fight against the propaganda
Perhaps it was time for Xanatos' Enterprises to make a stand.
And while Fox could simply donate a bunch of money to P.I.T., she liked big statements. And now mater how big it was, a donation wasn't a statement, or at least not as big of one she'd like.
And Fox had an idea. The hard part was that, even if she presented her loophole to Owen for Puck to have a chance to use magic, she needed more four more women to help her. She was sure Angela would help, so that was one done. But she wasn't sure she could talk Elisa into helping, and even less sure about Demona, though Angela might be able to convince her.
But that still left one more woman that she needed. And what was more important, it needed to be someone she could trust. The only other woman she could think of was Kat, but there were two problems. One was that she had no idea what Kat looked like, and Kat didn't trust her.
Sighing, Fox said, "I'll just pitch the idea to Angela when she get's back," she said to herself. She'd need the female gargoyles help anyway.
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Thomas Hobart smiled.
It had taken the Quarryman several weeks to discover the identity of the woman that stopped him and his fellow Quarrymen from killing that purple demon.
Now that he knew who she was, he'd make sure she paid for interfering in Quarrymen business. Just like he promised.
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