Chapter 57: Greasing the Wheels.
"So Raymond the others tell me that you once used to be human is that correct?' Lia asked curiously and Raymond baulked a little at how very direct this big Claw girl was, she stood blocking the doorway that led from the washroom back into the main kitchen.
The washroom was not large and it was easy for her to simply reach out with one of her very long arms and lift one of the plates off the counter and looking closely at it her long claw making a clicking noise on the ceramic as she inspected it closely with her incredibly intense eyes which once she was done with the squeaky clean plate she focused on him again narrowing her vertical pupils as she did.
"Umm yes all super mutants were once humans, though most aren't like me or Shauna, most are just genderless hulks that are very diminished versions of themselves," he said softly.
The big claw girl took a single step forwards closing the gap between them in an instant, this made him back up in surprise until he bumped against the counter and once again Lia took another step forwards basically trapping him against the counter by blocking his escape from the room.
Once again he saw her large pupils narrow into their vertical slit form as she lowered her head though she didn't need to lean down much as she wasn't much taller than him though he was far more muscular than her thanks to his super mutant genome making him far heavier than he once was though now it was pure muscle, not that it was fat before, weren't exactly many overweight people out there in the wastes thanks to lack of abundance of food, kinda made dieting rather easy, the survivor diet.
She seemed to be analysing him and oddly enough seemed to be smelling him, he could hear her taking deep sniffs, "You don't smell like a normal super mutant, you smell as much like a human as you do like a mutant, it's strange, why are you different from them?" she asked curiously lifting her large horned head so that she was looking right into his eyes with those predatory eyes of hers.
"Yeah that is because the doctor who created me secretly modified the FEV that's used to make super mutants to attempt to let super mutants keep their personalities and essentiality let them still be essentially what is still themselves, but while it did work to a degree and left as who were once were inside outside it is a very different question," Raymond said as he watched Lia looking him up and down seemingly wanting to analyse each and every inch of him making him feel incredibly self-conscious.
Her head came back up and her eyes refocused on his again, "How do you mean?' she asked.
"Well unfortunately most humans have problems seeing beyond what their eyes see and it can cause issues, even though I am still the same person I always was the people who once knew couldn't see beyond this fucking big green body and I scared them, they just kept expecting me to go full-on hulk and start smashing the place up, so I really had no choice but to leave and try and start again, but I was lucky in that respect, unlike Shauna who really fell in with the wrong crowd," he said both wryly and a bit sadly as he thought about his time in the captivity of the Amazons.
Lia tilt her head in an oddly cute manner which was most definitely odd because he had never associated the words 'Deathclaw' and 'cute' in the same paragraph let alone sentence, but it was obvious she was curious and it was kinda like looking a cat, a giant, scaly, heavily armoured cat with giant claws and horns but those slit-like pupils gave off the same vibe, that curious predatory look that she pulled off rather well.
"Oh how so?" she asked and suddenly he had an idea, maybe this was a chance to get to know this claw girl better and to maybe enrich his knowledge and to Raymond, there was very little of more importance than enriching his knowledge and learning new things, so this was a good chance to learn about claw society and just about her as an individual because unless you are Seven or Gregory or even just at the very least a member of this group, how often do you get to just have a conversation with a Deathclaw with about limbs being removed or high calibre weaponry being involved, though it's not so much a conversation more screaming obscenities while firing on full auto hoping you take them down before said limbs get removed.
"Would you like a cup of coffee or tea and then we could maybe sit down in the lounge and I'll tell you about it?" he asked and Lia looked even more curious.
"What are coffee or tea?" she asked.
"Human hot drinks I'm quite partial to tea myself, but I know Seven loves his coffee and infact he seems to have gotten Visa hooked on the stuff," he said with a soft chuckle thinking that the world was going to be far more interesting with a load of talking caffeine tripping claws wandering about.
"I have never even heard of them let alone tried them so how do I know I will even like them?" Lia asked in that oddly straightforward manner of hers.
"Well, the only way to know is to try some and decide for yourself, if you don't like it then so be it at least you tried right?" Raymond said with a smile and Lia looked at him curiously as he moved along the cabinet with her following him keeping him trapped against it with her sheer presence, he reached up into one of the cabinets and pulled down two tins one filled with ground instant coffee and the other filled with tea bags that apparently had been shipped over from Great Britain before the war and boy did those Brits know a thing or two about tea.
He turned and opened both tins before holding them out to her and she looked between him and the tins curiously before leaning in and smelling them and he couldn't help but chuckle softly when she recoiled at the incredibly potent and bitter smell of the coffee which while it earned him an obviously embarrass growl was worth it.
"That stuff smells bitter!" she exclaimed and Raymond nodded.
"Yeah I'm told that's kinda the point but honestly I'm not a fan, I don't like my drinks to punch me in the face when I drink them but your cousin and her man swear by the stuff so there must be something to it but give me a good old fashioned cup of tea any day and hey any drink that can build a nation can't be wrong right?" he said extracting two tea bags from the tin before placing both cans back and extracting two large cups that were more like pint glasses than they were cups to drop them into.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"Tea was once the national drink of a place called Britain which is very far away across the ocean, they swore by the stuff and I can see why, honestly to me there are few things as comforting as a good cuppa as the Brits would have said," he said with a grin.
Given that she had never drunk the stuff before he couldn't ask her how she took it so he decided to make two exact replica cups, with powdered milk and two large teaspoons of sugar to sweeten it, once it was done he turned and handed her large steaming cup which she took with a click of her claws on the ceramic as she mirrored how he was holding his, she watched him take a sip before doing the same.
Her face changed from curious to surprised to happy, "It's good, very good!" she exclaimed and Raymond smiled and before he could say a word she drained her mug from top to bottom and held out the empty cup to him.
"Another!" she said and he looked at her in amazement as that water was freshly boiled, god these claws must have Teflon mouths but he still took the cup and made a second cup in exactly the same way but this time he told her to go easy and to savour it, she looked at him curiously but did so.
He wormed his way around her and led the big curious claw girl back into the main lounge area and it felt oddly like leading an oversized scaly dog around the way she stuck to his heel like glue as he moved infact he almost felt the very odd urge to pat the couch when he sat down to invite her to join him but he really didn't need to bother as she snatched the seat next to him like someone was going to jump in and snatch it from her, suddenly he was beginning to understand what both Gregory and Seven meant when they said that Claws were both impulsive and very territorial in the sense that they acted as if they had claimed something that automatically made it theirs and solely theirs and now that seat was hers and no-one else's and no-one would be under any illusions otherwise.
Given that human furniture wasn't exactly built with claws in mind it was somewhat funny watching her trying to get herself comfortable as she wiggled her large scaly rear end about on the cushion and also trying not to trap her long thick tail under herself and for some reason he couldn't help but comment on it.
"Guess there aren't exactly many chairs where you come from eh?" he said softly and her head snapped up to focus her attention on him.
"No, I never realised that humans live such luxury filled lives, I could very much get used to these things like furniture and tea," she said.
"Well normally I wouldn't exactly call them luxury but that was before I began living as a super mutant and wound up sleeping in basements and on floors and eating whatever mole rat or animal was stupid enough to have a go at me, infact it wasn't until I met the Greasers that I began to feel somewhat human again," Raymond said with a nod.
"Indeed, a Claw's life is not too dissimilar to this that you describe, we live in a nest of our own making and hunt whatever we can catch with our own claws and to be fair this was enough but there always did seem like there was more to life, it wasn't until I saw how humans live that I got curious about such things, well that was until they Enclave took me and my pack, after them, I am genuinely surprised that I do not kill every human I encounter though I think if it was not for your pack leader Seven I would probably do just that, but he has shown me and mother that there are good humans who will see us as more than just animals to be used and killed," she said with a very noticeable bitterness to her voice.
"Yeah he's an incredible guy alright, I mean he's got all this fucking power at his fingertips but all he wants is to help people and to be left alone, all while showing their world what humans and non-humans can achieve together and hell if I hadn't seen it and begun living it I'd have never believed it, especially after what I went through, hell if it wasn't for the Greasers who are just like me after I left my town I'd have probably gone crazy from loneliness and just offed myself," Raymond said shivering at the memories of those dark days.
"You promised to tell me of those days, so honour your word super mutant Raymond," Lia said and Raymond chuckled.
"What is so funny?" she demanded making him flinch, he'd forgotten how direct Claws were.
"Oh nothing just found it amusing you calling e Super mutant Raymond, please it's just Raymond or Ray," he said.
She looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded her large horned head, "Very well and in return you may simply address me as Lia" she said making him smile.
"Thanks, ok then so you wanted me to tell you about the Greasers right?" he said and she nodded again.
"Alright then well it kinda began when I was at my lowest point really, after leaving my settlement which i had tried going back to after I was turfed out of the regular super mutants area after they discovered I was not like them, fortunetly they didn't try to kill me and to be fair neither did the humans of my settlement though they were so very nearly ready to do so until I was able to prove to them that it was still me in here, but nothing was the same after that, the way people looked at me and treated me, so I decided to leave and to go my own way, well that was both the worst decision and the best decision all in one, worst because I have never felt so alone as I did in those days, moving from place to place looking for a place to just be left alone and safe, in those days i fought raiders as well as local wildlife while dealing with crippling depression and anxiety, but just when things were at their bleakest and i was at the point of chewing on a shotgun they found me, the Greasers" Raymond said.
"So who are the Greasers?" Lia asked sipping on her tea as she watched him curiously.
"They are a group of smart male mutants just like me, all survivors of the same FEV that created me but they banded together for their survival and to possibly do some good in the area, they called themselves the Greasers because of the leader's love of old-style hair cuts and Brylcreame hair products, he used to walked around with this perfectly made up quiff that reminded me of Elvis Presley who is a human singer before you ask, I asked him once why he was so insistent on these fancy hairstyles and he said it was simple m dear Raymond when you see a super mutant with a perfect quiff such as this it causes you to pause for a moment long enough for him to come up and say hello to you rather than just shoot at him, means more chance we stay alive and are not shot by the very people we are trying to help," he said smiling at the memory.
Lia looked up at the top of his head where his long hair was now tied back into a ponytail as he wasn't exactly awash with hair products, "May I touch your fur? It looks soft unlike the course animal fur I often see on my prey" she said and he chuckled.
"Well ok as long as you aren't planning on hunting me I guess it's okay, just please don't give me a trim with those super sharp claws of yours, I rather like my hair as it is thanks," he said and she flashed him a fang-filled smile that made him shiver slightly as once again her apex predator status showed itself.
"I will decide who or what I hunt for myself Raymond not you or anyone else, if I decide you are worthy prey then there will be nothing you or anyone else can do from dissuading me from hunting you, an apex hunter such as I only chase the finest of prey!" she declared in a tone that was a mixture of menacing and oddly salacious, was she flirting with him? Was this how claws flirted?
Bloody hell women were tricky creatures to understand, he always thought human women were basically an alien species as they might as well be as trying to understand their motivations and thought processes had always been nigh on impossible for him but now with this group, he was presented with a variety of different types and species of women and that just added even more layers of complexity to them as if they weren't lying walking talking fucking onions already and the last thing on earth he wanted to do was to offend a woman like Lia, most human women would just angry and call you al sorts of names or shred your clothing while you were out if you insulted or scorned them, a bloody claw girl would probably cut your arms off and drop kick them into the next state if you pissed them off and that was if they were in a forgiving mood.
Lia shifted over even closer to him and reached up unashamedly to touch his hair, thankfully she did not do what a lot of people unfamiliar with long hair did and pulled it as if testing to see if his scalp was fucking detachable, funnily enough, but they always seemed surprised that it was not.
Instead, Lia seemed happy just to run her long claws through his hair seemingly both curious and delighted by the way his freshly washed strands fell lightly between her claw-tipped fingers, "Your fur is very soft Raymond, it is obviously cared for, it is good to see a male that understands hygiene, so many always seem to forget that females have sensitive noses" she said in a very matter of fact voice and it caught him so off guard that he felt obligated to pay her a compliment back.
"Thank you and yeah I get it, kinda tricky out in the wastes sometimes but there is no feeling quite like being clean and I can see you feel the same by how clean and shiny your scales are, you've obviously taken good care of them," he said having exactly no idea just how much that something like that meant to her and how important a compliment like that was to the Claw girl.
Lia looked down at her body as if trying to see what he was seeing and the tip of her tail which was hanging over the side of the couch was flicking back and forth like she became a giant dog all of a sudden who was happy to get a treat.
The mental image that swam into his mind made him smile and she noticed narrowing her eyes again and smiling back at him showing off her large fangs, "Thank you for the kind words, Raymond, so please continue with your story I wish to hear more about these Greasers that saved you" she said and Raymond nodded.
"Yeah ok well as I said the Greasers found me right when I was at my lowest, they took me in, fed me, clothed me and gave me a purpose, they taught me not only how to defend myself but how to fight and I joined them and together we fought to show people that we aren't mindless killing machines, that not all super mutants were bad and we didn't do it for glory or even really for praise, we did it to help people while showing that we can help them and that we aren't all bad, plus it was good for us too, it let us remember who we are and what we stand for, so we started hitting raider groups and slaver caravans where we could, granted it didn't stop the Brotherhood from shooting at us where ever they saw us but we learned pretty fast to stay out of the way of those yahoos, one other thing we also learned was not to stay in one place for too long or the raider groups learned where we were as super mutants don't exactly have it easy when it comes to hiding you know?" he said and Lia nodded in understanding.
"We Claws have the same problem when it comes to hiding, it also irritates us endlessly because as proud Claws we should not have to hide but it is a nessessary evil to make sure our packs have the chance to grow otherwise humans tend to pay too much attention to us, so we would always make our nests in remote places that were either hard to reach for them or even nigh on impossible like in highly irradiated places because while we are immune the humans are not, though these places were never very nice or comfortable, but I genuinely believe this struggle made us stronger, it made us fight harder for the resources we got and made us tougher and far more resourceful, we learned to look in places people would never think to look for the things we needed, plus we learned how to hunt even the most dangerous of prey like Mirelurks or radscorpions or even yao guai's which the humans never ever appreciated us for as we were quietly responsible for taking these dangerous predators away from their nests but all they ever did was see us in the same vain as our feral cousins" she said sounding kinda angry but also forlorn.
"Yeah speaking as an ex-human I can say they are stubborn as all hell, they will refuse to see the obvious hard truth even if its staring them right in the face because they would rather hold truth to their ingrained beliefs, it always takes someone to stand up and show them what they believe is wrong, to gather the facts and show them down their throats and say 'Look what is real!' and even then there are still those that will reject those facts because they do not like to be wrong, so they will reject the inconvienent truth and reject reality, instead inserting their own twisted fantasy in its place where they are right and everyone agrees with them, those fantasist's are a pain in the arse to say the least but eventually logic always wins and the idiots are left screaming to the void as they are dragged out of their fantasy and made to see the truth, but only if the truth has strong warriors to fight for it and that's what this group does I believe, they gather people like us together and show us what we can achive together then together we take that message to any who would hear it, now I'm not saying we will reach everyone and while that is a real shame you cannot argue with the already evident results, infact I'm hoping before we leave DC to introduce this group to the Greasers, who knows maybe the Greasers could become like the DC chapter of the Free Peoples of the Wastes" Raymond said.
Lia looked fascinated and he had been so engrossed in telling his story that he hadn't even noticed the big claw girl shuffling closer to him on the sofa as he spoke but now as he came out of it he noticed that she seemed far closer than she had started out, her massive thigh was very nearly touching the side of his and he couldn't help but notice how her incredible muscles bunched and flexed causing her scales to shift and shimmy as they adjusted to her new position.
"I hear that this group rescued you as well will you tell me that story?" Lia asked and Raymond nodded.
"Sure but there's not really much to tell, though I did learn just how fucking scary this group is when they go to war, never seen anything like it in my life, well I got grabbed by the Amazons, they ambushed us and killed some of my patrol but they really weren't trying to kill us, well not right away anyway," Raymond said sadly as he remembered the brothers he'd lost in that awful place and the memories that would never ever leave him.
"What do you mean?" Lia asked innocently.
"They wanted us for what made us male, but they did not want to us as males but to take what made us male from us, to emasculate us, humiliate us, torturous and to punish us for imagined or real slights that their queen and enforcers had suffered at the hands of other men in her life before she was a super mutant, she was bitter because of some bad experiences she'd had, so in her mind, it was every male on the planet's fault, didn't matter who they were or how old they were in her mind all that mattered was that we were male, so she took it out on us, my brothers were raped, tortured and killed, force-fed narcotics to make them aroused or simply mechanically forced using their anatomy to betray them," Raymond said trying and failing to hide the grief and pain in his voice.
A sudden sharp snarl to his right made him jump and he looked up to see Lia clenching a fist and full-on snarling, her tail was whipping back and forth like an angry cat and her fangs were fully on display.
"Vile violating scum!! Please tell me that justice found that tail lifting violator!!" she snarled fixing her very angry and very predatory stare right on Raymond making him flinch backwards, boy an angry Claw was no fucking joke!
He nodded quickly, "Yeah she met her hands to this group here, infact it was Seven himself who took her out, boy you should have seen them Lia it was like watching an interspecies army, they came in from every direction all at once, from left, right and above, while your brethren burst in wearing this incredible heavy armour made by Malakai who came down from the ceiling like a giant spider with Wisp riding him like an angry knight, they bust us out of there and took us to safety while, Visa, Ven, Seven and the others royally kicked their jolly green arses upside down and trust me when i say Seven might look like a normal human, don't get him fucking angry, he's like a force of fucking nature and Visa oh boy she is like epitome of claw fury, she cut through those green rapists like the scythe of the Grim Reaper himself, as did her brother but hell i have to admit that when I found out about Seven and Visa later on I definitely could see what he sees in her, she's a whole lot of claw feminity and fury wrapped up in pretty scales" Raymond said chucklingly a little softly and bitterly to himself as he remembered the scene clearly in his mind.
Lia nodded proudly, "There are few forces on this earth that can stand up to the righteous fury of a healthy Claw female, Visa is a healthy and proud alpha female and I wish to be just like her someday and I swear this to you Raymond I too will stand tall and proud as an Alpha Claw one day and the male that I choose for myself will know that he is safe at my side because I will protect him and fight for him as I know in my heart he would fight for me," she said and Raymond couldn't help but smile.
"That guy is gonna be a very lucky one Lia and I hope he shows you the honour that you deserve I mean if you are willing to stand for him in that way then at the very least he should be willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with you, as your equal, ready to defend and stand for you as you are for him, it's only right," he said nodding his head to affirm his own words.
Lia smiled warmly, "I am glad you think like this Raymond it shows me further evidence that this strange pack that we have joined believes in the cornerstone values of a Claw pack and it makes me happy, it also makes me believe that mother was right to join up, I believe we will fit in nicely here and i cannot wait to begin my hunt, I have spent too much of my life walking my path alone and after the injustices I have seen and have suffered i am not willing to wait any more, my time with the Enclave taught me one very important lesson, life is fragile even when you are a mighty claw such as I or even mother, the smallest of creatures can overcome us with the right technology and determination, I saw so many of my beloved ones lost to their insidious ideals and wants and it has made me realise something very important, life will pass me by and my life will end lonely and unforfilled if I do not take hold f it in my own Claws and reign it in, so that is what i will do" she said and Raymond smiled warmly.
"You are very much right Lia though I cannot help but feel both the teensiest bit sorry for and jealous of the male that catches your eye, poor little human isn't going to know what hit him," he said with a chuckle and Lia flashed him an odd look.
"Who said anything about humans?" she said and Raymond raised an eyebrow at her.
"Sorry I just assumed given the kinda flow and well the theme of this group I just assumed that's the direction your attention would go," he said curiously and apologetically.
Lia shook her head, "While I do not judge my cousins for their loves or even if my brother or sisters hell or even my mother if that's the way their tails wag but personally I cannot look at them in that way, not after what they have done to my beloved ones and before you think badly of me I do not blame Seven or any of the humans in this group for such things or even any other innocent human, but I cannot look at them like that, they simply do not interest me" she said and Raymond simply shrugged.
"Oh well their loss I guess," he said and she cocked her head curiously.
"Why do you say that?' she asked.
"Oh I was just thinking that you will most likely rock whoever's world who does catch your eye and you definitely would have rocked a human's world but the actions of the few have soured things, so I guess it's true what they say when they say a single bad apple can spoil the barrel," he said and Lia looked thoughtful while scratching her chin with her long claws before nodding.
"Yes we Claws say something similar, one rotten mole rat will ruin an entire day's prey, so always make sure your prey is fresh and succulent or you will end up with a mouth filled with maggots!" she said and Raymond laughed at the energy at which she said it.
"Couldn't have said it better myself" he said and she shot him a fang-filled grin.
"I am glad you understand Raymond, it seems that you understand Claw logic, honour and thinking very well," she said.
Raymond shrugged, "Well since living with these guys I have tried my hardest to open myself up to the new ideas and ideals they champion and the more I do the more new and interesting ways I find of not only looking at things but solving problems, I find it broadens me as a person," he said quite shyly but also somewhat proudly.
"It pleases me too because it will make my hunt so much easier because someone who already understands claw thinking and methods will be easier to hunt successfully, oh I am so happy, I cannot wait to begin this hunt! It's going to be so much fun! Ahhh I can feel the day when it is successful and I claim my prey with my own two claws and receive my reward for a successful hunt, ahh it makes my tail swish with anticipation" she said flashing a very predatory smile at him that sent a nervous shiver down his spine.
"Umm did I miss something? Who are you hunting now?' he asked and Lia's smile widened till it very nearly reached both of her horns.
"Oh I am hunting you Raymond and I can tell you now this Claw always gets her prey so brace yourself Raymond because I am going to catch you then I am going to drag you into my nest and I am going to devour you very very slowly," she said making Raymond's head pop like someone just set off a Fatman in the back of his skull.
"M-M-Me? You're are hunting me!?" he exclaimed and she nodded very vigorously.
"Yup so get ready for the run of your life big green one because as big and strong as those muscles of yours obviously are I am still going to take you down and when I do I will make my claim, you will be my prey, my reward, my trophy" she growled making his spine feel like someone just shoved an electrical socket up his arse.
"J-J-J-Just to c-c-clarify something here, w-w-when you say d-d-devour you don't mean it literally do you? You're not actually going to try and eat me are you?" Raymond said feeling pretty dumb as he said it and to his shock, the big Claw girl roared with laughter, she was positively rolling up slapping her large thigh as she rocked back and forth belly laughing.
She stood up and gave him a very very predatory smile, then without saying a single word she simple flicked her long tail in wide sweeping motions and walked away leaving Raymond with a million questions cycling through his head like a hurricane and a tornado smashed into one in his skull.
He began to very quickly hyperventilate as he began to replay the whole thing over in his mind, he had often suffered from this problem over seriously overthinking and over analysing things in his mind after the fact, infact sometimes it was like his brain had his worst moments and humiliations on a fucking slide reel in his mind when it was feeling particularly viscous it would stick it on like a shit movie for him to wallow in.
He began to wonder how in the hell did he wind up with a Claw girl hunting him, what had he done to attract her? He hadn't flirted with her, hell Raymond didn't even fucking know what flirting was let alone how to do it, but somehow he had given her the impression that he was interested in her and now she was seeing him as her prey, how the hell did he put a stop to this and did he even want to put an end to it?
To be fair she was very far from ugly, hell if anything she was even prettier than Visa and he had always thought that she was a mighty fine looking Claw girl, but could he even handle having a relationship with a Claw? Hell, he didn't even believe he could please a human girl let alone a fucking Claw girl, honestly, he didn't know how the hell Seven managed to do it but whatever he did he wasn't sure that he could fucking manage it, so just how the hell do you let a Claw girl down gently?
Suddenly there was a little electrical crackle to his right and Raymond jumped a mile very nearly throwing his mug of now lukewarm tea at the figure that appeared until he realised that it was Gregory as the little human pulled his mask down and fixed him with a sly grin.
"Well well well, Raymond I must say you work bloody fast dude, snatching up one of the new Claws before someone else gets in there, good man," Gregory said.
"What!? No! I didn't! Aww fuck I don't even know anymore!" Raymond exclaimed in panic and Gregory chuckled at first until he realised he was serious and then his expression changed to one of concern and he quickly took Lia's seat on the couch.
"Whoa calm down dude, I was just kidding, breath dude just breathe," he said placing a hand on his arm to reassure him.
Raymond looked at the young man and he did as he said trying to regulate his breathing and slowly he began to clan himself down, "Alright first question dude, do you like her?" Gregory asked.
"Umm well yeah I guess, I mean fuck I've never thought of a Claw in that way before not until I met this group anyway but ever since I've had all these confusing thoughts running through my mind and yeah she's surprisingly beautiful, I mean she's very womanly, she has nice legs, her arms are fucking massive, her abs look like I could do my laundry on them and fuck me does her bloody tail hypnotise you when she walks but I didn't even realise any of that until like half an hour ago, how the fuck can all this shit just happen so fucking fast!!?' Raymond said feeling the panic rising again and Gregory squeezed his arm making him look at him again.
"Fucking scary as hell ain't it? Like having a bloody roller coaster in your skull with a fuck ton of guilt swirling around for good measure making you think you are wrong for thinking like this right?" he said and Raymond nodded in amazement.
"How the hell did you know that!?" he exclaimed and Gregory smiled.
"How the hell did you think I felt when I realised I was attracted to not just a boy but a claw boy, trust me double fucking whammy dude especially with tolerance and acceptance being fucking dirty words in some places, but not here dude, not with us, here there is absolutely fucking nothing to be ashamed of in the slightest, all that matters are most simplest things in the god damn universe, she likes you and I'd say its mutual by the way you were just speaking," Gregory said and Raymond blew out a huge sigh and nodded forlornly.
"Y-Yeah, I guess I do, fuck how the hell did that happen?" he said and Gregory grinned even broader.
"Not a question that yours or anyone's to answer dude, we don't get to choose whose tail sweeps us off your feet, yours like mine and like Seven's happens to belong thick and covered in a lot of scales, oh FYI there's a nice piece directly under it where the scales stop, it's sensitive and very ticklish so if you ever want to see what a claw looks like giggling like a school girl surprise tickles are fun, the soles of their feet are also pretty bad," Gregory said and the surprising tidbit and mental image that accompanied it made Raymond burst out laughing.
When he finished and he dried his eyes he smiled at Gregory, "Thanks dude I needed that and that image is going to stay with me for a while" he said and Gregory patted his arm.
"Thought so and your welcome, don't work yourself up dude, just go along with it and let it happen unless it's something you don't want then just say the word and I'll get Seven on side and we'll put a stop to it before it goes too far, but if it is something you do and trust me it seems like you do, then just let it happen and if you need any advice on how to either impress her or just how to make her smile come see me or Seven, oh and the claw love club meetings are every Thursday and its bring your own claw," Gregory said making Raymond laugh again.
"Thanks, dude that means a lot to me, more than you'll ever know, world needs more people like you you know?" he said and Gregory beamed from ear to ear.
"Damn straight it does, you can never have too many fabulous looking claw loving human boys in my opinion, I making claw girls jealous with every step I take in this little number," he said making Raymond roar with laughter.
"God I needed that" he said when he could breathe again.
"Oh and just an FYI when she says devour she doesn't really mean eat, that's just how claws flirt, they'll treat you like you're prey, she's going to do things like show you how good at hunting she is, she will leap out at you and try to overpower you, Ven told me all about it and we've even done it more than once because it's part of who he is, so just be ready for it, don't worry she won't hurt you, that's the last thing she wants, but she does want to show off for you, so show her you appreciate it when she does," Gregory said and Raymond nodded.
"Thank man," he said and Gregory nodded before patting his arm and standing back up.
"Don't worry I'll have whispered in Seven's ear for you, he's far more well placed to know Claw girls hear than me, my claw has different bits don'tcha know?" he said with a wink just as Ven wandered into the room but obviously hadn't noticed Gregory who did a 'shhh' motion to Raymond by placing his finger to his lips and then pulling his hood and helmet back up and vanishing into thin air again.
Raymond raised an eyebrow as he watched Ven looking around seemingly looking for someone and looking confused, "Hey Raymond you haven't seen my sexy little human around here have you I could have sworn I heard him speaking" Ven said and before Raymond could answer there was resounding slap noise and Ven's tail shot upwards turning into part flagpole part ramrod.
He whirled on the spot and Raymond could have a sword he saw a human handprint embedded in the scales of Ven's left ass cheek for a moment before the big claw raced off down the corridor in hot pursuit of the rapidly fading giggle that gave away the little invisible human who was vanishing into the corridors, "Now it's on human!! Just you wait till I catch you! I'm cutting that bloody suit off you!!" Ven yelled and Raymond found himself laughing again, perhaps this claw loving thing wasn't going to be so bad after all.