Daily Life of Monster Girls in Alabama

by GoatManofAnime

It's time for a MonMusu fanfiction that takes place in sweet home Alabama, nuff said.

87. Blind Date

Chapter 81: Blind Date

….Dreamscape…

Hot steam wafted in the air accompanied by the scent of lavender and refreshing herbs. The welcoming apotheosis of the entire area was reminiscent of a classic Japanese hot spring surrounded by wooden walls and a large stone pool filled with hot, mineral rich water to soak deeply into one's bones. There was a tall gray geode formation with two continuous streams of steaming liquid spouting from rounded openings like partially turned-on water hoses on both sides. Alleviating the deepest of stress, soothing the most unbearable of aches, and calming the most restless of minds.

Caleb sat, waist deep at the edge of this spring, sighing contently at the warming waters. He did his best to replicate the experience as much as possible; even if it wasn't truly authentic, it was still quite relaxing. On one side of the geode, he included one of those small Japanese fountains made of bamboo filled with water before tipping over and striking a small wooden drum, the sound echoing throughout the area. He couldn't remember what it was actually called; he just knew it fit the aesthetic. Regardless, the comforting heat was just real enough to melt away his anxiety and physical stress.

"Mind if I join you, Dear?"

Caleb turned and smiled, seeing his girlfriend/wife kneeling beside him with a loving grin, completely naked and only a long purple towel held against her large sweaty breasts while pressed between her front legs, perfectly outlining her sexy curves, shiny velvety fur and womanhood. Another towel rested on her horse's rear partially dangly to obscure her rear pussy.

"Only if you can take the heat, baby?" Caleb playfully responded, lifting his hands out the water and letting it trickle through his pruning finger; an extra detail he added.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing I can't han–" Mirabelle replied, sticking her hand into water then immediately withdrawing with a yelp, "Blimey, that's hot!"

"Hehehe, guess I'll have to lower the temp a bit for the hot Brit," Caleb chuckled as Mirabelle pouted in annoyance before he snapped his finger, causing the water to glow purple for a moment, "Better?"

Mirabelle cautiously tested the water again, finding it more satisfactory before dipping her legs in, wading through the slightly steaming waters, "Better. Thought you were trying to cook me up for evening supper. How on earth can you tolerate such hot malaise?"

"Moon pie, I've tolerated Alabama summers my entire life. This is comforting to me," Caleb casually replied, scooping up water in his hands, "I mean, you've survived your first summer down here."

"Barely, I hardly feel confident I could handle another. Not without a good supply of iced tea as respite," she admitted, nestling down next to him, letting the towel sink into water, exposing her breasts and purposely drawing his attention, "Though, I must say this is quite nice. Always wished to enjoy an onsen bath with you."

"Yeah, maybe someday we can fly to Japan and enjoy one for real," Caleb muttered, wrapping his arm around her back, gently stroking her smooth skin down to her velvety purple fur as she cooed lovingly at his touch.

"I would love that. Though, I feel it would be better if we teleport instead."

"Yeah, that's more practical but wouldn't we have to go there first? We can't teleport somewhere we've never been, I know that much."

"Well…perhaps we could find someone who's been there and I could take a quick peek into their dreamscape and…maybe use it as a checkpoint?" Mirabelle theorized, unsure of the proposition herself.

"Feels like a roundabout way of doing it. You're not scared of planes, are you, Moon pie?" Caleb asked, teasing her a little.

"I'm just not sure how I feel about flying in an airplane. If Oneiroi intended for me to fly, she would have given me wings like our pegasi cousins," Mirabelle responded with a huff, puffing her cheeks out, "Besides, I'm much more wary of falls. I'm not bipedal like you so anything more than a few meters would leave me in a wretched state."

"Yeah, but having just two legs ain't that much better. Be glad you NEVER have to experience the agony of stubbing your pinky toe on a table or something early in the morning," Caleb emphasized, shaking his head while suppressing the memory as much as possible to not cause himself pain in this world.

"I cannot attest to that but I did chip off half of my hoof once when I was little."

"Damn, what happened? Did you get hurt?"

"I was playing with the Dryad children and went overboard trying to impress but, aside from getting an earful from mum, it didn't hurt much but it was awkward and a bit uncomfortable to walk around. At least until it grew in a fortnight."

"So, you basically had the centaur version of a hangnail. Gotta say, didn't take you for the showing off type," Caleb joked, playing with her ear a little, making her giggle.

"Only if for someone I really want to impress," Mirabelle sweetly replied, nuzzling the crook of his neck, "Speaking of which, are you making progress in your training, love?"

"Pretty much any night I don't sleep, Moon pie. I've been doing those astral energy projection exercises you taught me. It's going well so far."

"Smashing! Let me see!" Mirabelle stated excitedly, releasing his arm.

"Aight, here we go," Caleb said before closing his eyes and exhaling slowly to focus intently. He reached his arms up as they begin to glow. He moved them further up as they appeared to gradually vanish, swallowed up by the air, followed by his head and the rest of his upper body. Mirabelle now saw only his torso glowing with purple energy.

Outside in the real world, Caleb's body lay in bed asleep as two purplish-white ghostly hands rose out from his more tangible arms, reaching up for the ceiling followed by the rest of his upper body with a similar appearance. His upper body rippled and shimmered with purple aura, eyes glowing deep violet. He looked around the room, experimentally moving his arms, opening and closing his ethereal hands and doing several basic hand gestures. He looked back at his physical body, lying there completely motionless with his mouth slightly open and the chevalier mark on his chest glowing through his gray t-shirt. Caleb cringed slightly before lying his ethereal back down in his physical one.

In the dreamscape, his body reconstituted itself instantaneously and he sighed in slight fatigue from the energy he had just expended.

"That was incredible, Dear!" Mirabelle praised, giving him a loving hug and a smooch on the cheek.

"Heh, thanks, Moon pie. Still need to work on my control though. I can only get halfway out right now. Plus, it's still pretty freaky looking down at my own lifeless body."

"Not completely lifeless, simply devoid of most of your astral energy. Don't worry, you'll get used to it," she assured, petting his back.

"Hopefully. Also, why didn't you tell me I sleep with my mouth open like that? Look like a damn goldfish," Caleb questioned, not enjoying the view of himself from that angle.

"I think you look cute. You make it really easy to sneak kisses."

"You kiss THAT face in its sleep? Morning breath and all? Uh-uh, nooo," Caleb stated in mock disgust.

"It's not that bad actually, and for the record, I happen to LOVE this face and these lips," she replied, cupping his chin and kissing him right on the lips which he happily returned, "So Dear, anything interesting happened at your new assignment?"

"You could…say that," Caleb reluctantly spoke, shifting his gaze away, feeling awkward at the mention of that day's events.

"Hmmm, that's a tone with a story to tell. Is it that bothersome?"

"I'd say that's only scratching the surface of it, but yeah."

"May I take a look? It can't be any worse than last time…can it?" Mirabelle cautiously asked, respecting his boundaries.

"Honestly, I'm not sure if it's better or worse than last time, just hoping they stop becoming so frequent. But…you can see for yourself," Caleb plainly said, granting her access.

Mirabelle snaked her arms around his, mushing her breasts in his shoulder like a security blanket then focused her power. Her eyes glowed brightly as the memories in his dreamscape flashed before her, prompting her expression to change from shocked to confused, then flustered, back to shocked, then…curious.

"B-Barbecued cat paws?"

"Yep."

"And that woman with your thumb in her mouth…"

"Uh-huh."

"And you had to MILK that other woman?!" Mirabelle stopped herself, taking a second to process that information, "Alright, I'll admit I wasn't expecting that. Yet, despite that, I can sense your heart has not wavered."

"I don't see why it would since it KNOWS where it belongs," Caleb emphasized, gently pressing his finger to her chest, making little circles around her breast. Mirabelle blushed, her heart racing as she stared at him before narrowing her eyes and poking his cheek, "Eh? W-what are ya doing?"

"How on earth are you real? And how did I get lucky enough to find you?"

"I can ask you the same questions, baby," Caleb playfully responded, cupping the side of her face then planting a tender kiss on her lips which she quickly returned, melting into his affection. She knew neither of them would bother answering something so trivial in the end. What was, was simply what must be and whether by coincidence or hand of fate, all that mattered was what was in their hearts right now.

At that thought, she couldn't ignore a faint but noticeable sensation in his heart that piqued her curiosity.

"Dear? Who is Kaiya?" Mirabelle asked as Caleb was taken aback by the sudden question for a moment, "I…saw her in your memories too. I'm sorry, I only meant to look at your assignment memories but…I was intrigued. I'm sorry I did it without your permission," she sincerely apologized.

"I-It's alright. I…I don't really know what all to tell you. She is a Hellhound I saved from an allergic reaction because it was the right thing to do," Caleb answered her honestly.

"She and her family seem…different from those ruffians you first encountered."

"Yeah, they are pretty nice people. She and her cousin Tristan are pretty cool. I hung out with them today after work."

"I saw. She seems quite comfortable around you, even confiding her greatest shame to you even though you barely know her. It was sweet of you to comfort her that nightm," Mirabelle affirmed, suppressing a tinge of jealousy in her words and understanding, in the moment, it was platonic for him.

"How far did you look?!" he asked in surprise.

"I…only saw what I needed. I can tell she trusts you and she seems nice. How…do you feel about her?"

Caleb looked at her skeptically, sensing the reluctance in her tone, "Moon pie, I barely know her for real. I see her like an ACQUAINTANCE, maybe a friend but that's it. She kinda reminds me a little of you which I know sounds weird but, other than that, I don't see her as anything more," he emphasized, looking her in the eyes with a serious gaze.

Mirabelle looked into his eyes and his heart, knowing he meant every word but couldn't ignore that faint feeling in his heart. Deep down, she knew it'd be wrong to extinguish it as he tried to do once before with the others. Besides, she couldn't help but agree how much of herself she saw in the Hellhound female.

"Would that be wrong though if…you gave her a chance?"

Caleb looked at her in surprise, making sure he had heard her right, "What? What are you sayin', Moon pie?"

"I mean! It's just…" Mirabelle took a deep breath, calming herself and tried her explanation again, "If she were interested in you, would it be wrong to give her a chance?"

"Are…are you hearing yourself right now?" he said in disbelief.

"I am and yes, at one point I would NEVER suggest something so barmy…but that was before our relationship with Lyca and Camilla…" she expressed.

"That's…different…" Caleb responded somewhat inaudibly, "It's not the same with other people."

"I thought so too but…I received surprisingly valuable advice from a wise, randy, amicable Bicorn lady at the theater."

Caleb paused at her words, staring at her in confusion, "OK, now ya lost me, Moon pie."

"What I'm trying to say is, the three of us all love you and each other so…would it make a difference if we included another that feels the same for you? So long as we ALL agree to accept her of course."

"I...I just don't know about that. For Lyca and Camilla, they're my charges. I at least KNEW them prior to being romantic and sexual with them, know what sayin? With Kaiya or ANYONE else for that matter…it just feels…I don't know," Caleb replied, unable to find the right word for how uncomfortable and foreign it was.

"Dear, all I'm saying is if you do feel something for her and she feels the same, it wouldn't hurt to explore it. I trust you with all my heart and I know Lyca and Camilla both feel the same. I know you wouldn't do anything with her you're not comfortable with. If you don't feel anything romantic, that's fine, but if you decide you want to pursue her, please tell us. Talk to us. So we can walk forward together. That's all I ask," Mirabelle replied, not wanting him to bottle up his feelings again or feel afraid of hurting them with those feelings.

Caleb thought to himself for a minute then sighed relentingly, "Alright, I'll…keep all that in mind but I'm NOT asking her out. I don't even know if she's really interested in me like that. If I bring her into OUR thing then I don't want to feel like I coerced her into it. I'll only go for it if SHE asks me," Caleb asserted, believing it unlikely that would happen.

"That's perfectly fine, Dear. Though, if we're setting up ground rules then n-no shagging before I and the others say so! A-Also, kissing is fine but NO Frenching on a first date!" Mirabelle stuttered, giving her best serious tone.

"What do I look like? Some kinda slut?" Caleb asked with playful skepticism, "Also, how exactly would we go about introducing her to you guys? Cause I can only think of one way and that leads to a long walk back."

"You let me worry about that, Dear. I've been working on something that'd be quite useful for all of us," Mirabelle confidently admitted.

He looked at her curiously, "Really? What is it?"

"All in due time, love."

"OK. You're…absolutely sure you're fine with this, Moon pie?"

"I am but, in the end, it's still your heart. We're OK so long as we each have a place in it," she assured with a smile.

Through that smile, she decided not to inform of what else she saw in his memories. Specifically, the mental attack he faced early that day by the large, lute-playing Harpy woman. Even though it didn't feel like a malicious attack, it still didn't sit right with her that ANYONE would try to mentally manipulate her lover. She was just glad her "warden" did its job effectively, for better or worse.

…Mini-Lemons…

"Now then…" Mirabelle spoke, rising up from the water, letting both towels slide off her body as she repositioned herself in front of him with both legs on either side of his waist. As Caleb drank in her lovely image of her glistening porcelain skin, plump velvet purple thigh with her pussy in full display, ample breasts partly obscuring her lewd grin before she lowered herself, straddling his thighs. She then spoke in a soft, lustful tone, "Care to show me that technique of yours?"

"And what technique is that, baby?" he coyly replied with a smirk, lovingly groping her thighs and sides.

Mirabelle's lustful smirk widened deviously before snapping her finger, making her breasts grow to double their normal size.

"GYAH!" Caleb expressed in surprise.

"That 'milking technique' you did with that minotaur gave me a few randy ideas, love. Go ahead. Give me a good squeeze, Dear," Mirabelle saucily spoke, groping and giggling her massive tits alluringly, her cherry red nipples puffy and swollen as the wet smacking of her flesh echoed in his ears. Caleb stared at her, jaw agape and, at that moment, felt feels his penis immediately go rock-hard beneath her, sliding against her lower lips beneath the water, making her gasp at the welcome intrusion.

Caleb audibly gulped, a stoney expression on his face and, to her surprise, took both hands, letting her breasts flop freely. He looked her deep in the eyes with a serious gaze that made her blush, then said with the deepest, blackest tone he could muster, "I'm gonna eat you, Moon pie."

"E-Eh?" she uttered, a combination of nervousness, excitement, and arousal in her voice.

"Like a cake."

"D-Dea–" Mirabelle then exclaimed in pure pleasure as he dug his fingers into her soft, mushy flesh pillows, groping and contorting them like clay. She gasped in delight when he buried his face into her chest, taking her flesh bud into his mouth, sucking and swirling his hot tongue around her areola before switching to the other breast. Every so often, nibbling her flesh and pinching her nipples to send Mirabelle into a pleasure-fueled fit. Her entire body shuddered erratically as she wore a wide-mouthed smile, drool running down from the corner of her mouth with eyes filled with unbridled love. All the while, she could feel his erection roughly grinding against the slit of her pussy underneath the heated waters, stirring her juices, yet purposefully not burying himself inside.

"You're so sweet, baby," he spoke, looking up with her flesh partially in his mouth while continuing to grope her and tease her lower lips.

"Haahhh, D-Dear…p-please…I want it. Give me your cock."

"Heh, so you wanna eat me too huh?" Caleb teased.

"Y-Yes!"

"I can't hear you, Moon pie," Caleb cheekily remarked, swirling his tongue on one hardened nipple while gently tugging the other as the head of his cock rested against her lower lips, bombarding her with waves of pleasure she couldn't withstand.

"YES, DEAR! Let me eat you! LET ME EAT YOUUUUU!" Mirabelle cried out in sheer bliss as he jerked his hips up and buried himself completely inside her. The sudden stimulation, coupled with ceaseless foreplay, caused her to orgasm right at that moment, shouting to the endless purple aether a cry of ecstasy.

The couple spent the rest of the night lovingly milking each other until they had no energy left and the once pristine waters of the hot spring were dyed a whitish hue.

…Lemon Cream Cakes…

.

.

.

…Later that same week…

A few days had passed at the complex as everything proceeded on with their lives as usual. Gradually, fewer and fewer people were talking about the restaurant incident but there were still plenty of students suspicious of the staff in establishments with predominantly human staff members. It didn't help that the Interspecies Affair's Board of Directors had yet to make any announcement or update on the status of the individual they had arrested that night; further increasing suspicion among the students.

On this cloudy Thursday, just past eleven in the morning, on the Northern section of the Chaos-born area of the facility, stood a large single story red brick building that used to be the social science studies building. Now, one of two was a mental health and rehabilitation centers for liminals. Inside, liminals, some a mix of Chaos-born and other liminal species, were going about weekly or monthly sessions. Staff members could also be seen assisting patients suffering from the trauma of physical or psychological abuse and various addictions.

In one of these rooms, Scarlett could be seen sitting on a burgundy couch with a window behind it, letting in light from the closed white blinds. In front of her was a round brown mahogany table with a small bonsai tree trimmed to the shape of a heart. In front of her sat a human woman. She had light brown skin, black hair, somewhat short compared to the demoness and wore black professional attire with a small I.A. blue logo on the chest. This was Dr. Selvan. Scarlett's appointed trauma specialist who made her business to showcase her years of experience by displaying her three Master's degrees and two therapy certifications in human AND liminal psychology DIRECTLY behind her seat for her patients to see at all times. Scarlett openly refused to be seen by any MALE specialists which, considering her circumstances, the board was more than understanding to comply. However, she hoped she'd get someone a little more…modest.

"And how are you today, Ms. Scarlett?" Selvan politely asked in a noticeable Polynesian accent.

"Good," Scarlett responded, getting a nod.

"How have things been since our last session?"

"Fine, for the most part. I've been managing my stress with the cardio routine and doing the breathing exercises whenever I have…those thoughts," Scarlett spoke, shifting her gaze away.

"Good. Have they become more or less frequent?"

Scarlett sighed, leaning back on the soft couch cushion, looking up at the ceiling, "I'd say less but…when those memories hit, they hit hard. Not like a truck, more like…a nail being driven directly in my temple. It can be any little thing to trigger it too. Reminding me of…"

"That's perfectly normal for anyone who's been through an ordeal similar to yours, Ms. Scarlett. Just as with grief of losing a loved one, even seemingly mundane tasks or simple acts can cause painful memories to resurface. What's important is how you acknowledge that pain as part of who you are now," Selvan advised.

"Acknowledge it? Do you know what those bastards did to me?" Scarlett asked, becoming annoyed.

"I do, and it was terrible. Nobody deserves such inhumane treatment. And we can't ignore the wounds it can leave behind and how to treat them. One at a time and one of the treatments is acknowledgment."

"How do you expect me to 'acknowledge' that I was some fat piece of shit's SEX TOY? All I'm going to think about is how WEAK I was to stop it. How stupid I was to trust–" Scarlett stopped berating, pausing as she was about to utter his name.

"I understand perfectly. That it's not something one can easily just accept, let alone acknowledge. However, it's a necessary step if true healing can take place. Trust me when I say, I want the best for you, Ms. Scarlett," Selvan consoled with a slightly worried expression.

Scarlett went quiet, letting her words sink in.

"I also bring this topic up because I've heard about the events occurring as of late; including your involvement with the physical assault on an Angel? Followed by another altercation with your group and theirs?"

Scarlett gave a lethargic sigh of contempt at the mention of those holy scum, "Yes."

"So would you mind telling what had happened?" Selvan asked her.

"Why? Do you know what happened?"

"I do. I just want to hear your side of the story. If you don't mind sharing that is."

"Ha, alright," Scarlett relented.

The red-haired Devil spent ten minutes going over every detail of how the conflict started from her point of view; including the pizza restaurant confrontation where Caleb had to get involved.

"So yeah, that's about it. They started trouble with us so we retaliated."

Dr. Selvan looked at her in thought for a moment, "Hmm, OK, I believe you Ms. Scarlett. However–"

"Here we go.", Scarlett interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"HOWEVER, regardless of who instigated it, there's no excuse for violence in the facility; especially when it endangers the lives of other students or causes property damage! You're lucky they didn't arrest and deport you, given your history."

"So what? Was I supposed to just roll over and let them kill me? I happen to notice THEY didn't get berated like this! Hell, I lost out on a job opportunity AND got another pink stamp! So the last thing is you fuckers always throwing that in my face!" Scarlett angrily stated, rising up to her feet with a red aura radiating her body.

"I just don't want you to throw away all your progress. I want to see you happy, truly happy. Not pretending for others…like Jamie," Dr. Selvan calmly spoke, looking at the Devil woman's expression change from anger to shock, "Yes, I know the rule about mentioning him but…isn't that what it boils down to? You're being held accountable for your involvement in HIS lifestyle?"

Scarlett paused, clenching her teeth, realizing she couldn't deny her statement and knew getting angry in this office would only make things worse. She took a deep breath, calming herself and her aura then sat back down, composing herself, "If it's that obvious, why am I still being punished for it?"

"I agree, it's unfair, but ICEP, while flawed in certain areas, still has its rules that are meant to protect everyone here. You're no different but that protection only exists when you stay within its boundaries."

"And that's supposed to give me comfort, how?" Scarlett skeptically replied.

"By letting me know what your options are. I've been doing my best to have the I.A. lift your restrictions on attending GED and other standard education programs. I assume you're still looking for training or employment at our local businesses."

"Yeah, so far I had every door slam in my face, the most recent being my worst yet. She might have hired me even with my record but those angelic fucks…" Scarlett snarled, thinking of how their involvement completely destroyed any small chance she had but could tell from the therapist's expressions it was best to pretend not to put ALL the blame on them, though she wanted to, "Still, I'm not giving up. I'll find something eventually."

"Your optimism is very admirable, Ms. Scarlett, but have you considered what I suggested before about becoming an exchange student again with a new host family?" Selvan asked her, only to receive a cold stare.

"You can't be serious. After everything, you REALLY expect me to go through that again?" Scarlett questioned in disbelief.

"It just seems like the better option compared to what you currently have. Don't worry, the screening process has been updated and is much more streamlined."

"No."

"You'd be matched with a family that is on very good terms with Devils and other Chaos-born."

"No!"

"You can even elect for a female host-only option and be given all your usual benefits including medical and worker's visa. PLUS, you'd qualify for the new 'Liminal Hardship' pro–"

"I said NO!" Scarlett shouted in her demonic voice, startling Dr. Selvan as the Devil woman held her head low, "I'm not going to put MY life into someone else's hands ever again! I'm going to make my own way, my choices, and my happiness! I have to. I can't be weak, not when everyone in the Chaos Faction needs me," she finished, her voice softening near the end.

Dr. Selvan looked at her inquisitively then quickly jot down a note for later. She knew all about the red-haired Devil's club for other beings like her, "And why do you believe you have to shoulder that responsibility alone?"

Scarlett went quiet for a moment, "It has to be me. The others have their lives to worry about. Besides, I'm the one who suggested forming the group."

"Yes, but isn't the entire point of this 'Chaos Faction' to ensure you're each progressing together? Why is it fair they're allowed to focus on themselves but you have to focus on yourself AND their progress?" Dr. Selvan inquired.

"I-It isn't like that! Can we just drop this? You're starting to sound like Caleb and–" Scarlett rebuked, dodging the question but found herself caught at the sudden mention of him.

"Caleb? Oh, you mean the Caleb Bazzell mentioned in the reports on the incident last week. The same one involved in the fourth of July incident with you and your friends," Dr. Selvan questioned, intrigued, "What made you suddenly bring him up? Did you two have a similar conversation?"

"Kinda. He's living in the unit next to mine so we just chatted a little. Nothing special."

"I see," Dr. Selvan pondered for a moment before an idea stirred, "Would you say you get along well with him?"

Scarlett looked at her curiously, "Y-Yeah, I guess. He's an…OK human. Maybe a little awkward and weird. He doesn't like bragging or even mentioning what he did for us which is even more weird. I just don't know what to make of him sometimes," she spoke, looking off to the side in thought.

"Hmm, well, what would you say if you asked him to be your host?"

Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise at the question, forcing her to do a double take, "W-What?! W-Why in Discord's name would I do that?!"

"You don't have to. Though, it is a possible option you could have. He's not exactly a stranger and he's clearly on excellent terms with Devils. He'd likely be a good host to you," Dr. Selvan replied, crossing one leg over the other, "Of course, this is merely a possible option."

"An option, you say. Well, I'm sure he doesn't want another Devil in his home? He's already got Camilla," Scarlett expressed dismissively, her voice wavering sadly near the end, "B-Besides, we barely know anything about each other."

"Well, you're next door neighbors right? Why not try getting to know him better? At the very least, it may help you adjust to being around men in general," Dr. Selvan suggested to the young Devil.

Scarlett wanted to deny her statement but quickly realized there was some truth in her words. It wasn't just her ICEP records that held from much of the self-improvement programs in the facility but also her discomfort and aversions to being around or even talking to men in general. Many of the academic and trade educators, assistants, and staff were composed of human and liminal males. She realized that Caleb, and even Tristan, were some the very few she could tolerate. Maybe it could be beneficial to her in the long term.

"I…I'll try my best," Scarlett softly replied.

"That's more than enough, Ms. Scarlett. If you need assistance in approaching him, I am certified in masculinity studies from Harddick University," Selvan proudly spoke, gesturing to the degree behind her.

"There's no way that's a thing," Scarlett skeptically said.

"Ohh, you'd be surprised" she coyly responded.

…Meanwhile…

Back at the Hellhound's building, Kaiya's sisters could be seen going about their day. Kaiya headed towards the balcony for some fresh as loud beats from the song 'It Was A Good Day' by Ice Cube could be heard from Tristan's room as she passed.

She then saw her sister Jannali storming towards his room, passing her with an irritated expression, before nearly kicking the door down.

"AYO! WHAT THE FUCK, JAN?! My door!" Tristan shouted.

"FUCK YOUR DOOR! TURN THAT SHIT DOWN! I'M TRYING TO STUDY FOR THIS GODDAMN TEST!" she snarled.

"And I'M trying to lose myself right now! YOU MIND?!" Tristan retorted back.

"You gonna lose your fuckin' head if you keep playing this shit! You've been playing that Kendrick crap for the last two damn days!"

"I'm making a breakthrough in my life, unlike you! Plug your ears up or something, you know your slow ass needs all the study time you can get!" Tristan taunted, much to Jannali's annoyance.

"Unasemaje kwangu?! Nitakupiga teke punda, kahaba mtu! [What do you say to me?! I'll kick your fuckin' ass, man whore!]" Jannali retorted in her native tongue.

"Mimi ni kahaba mwanamume anayejua fomula ya quadratic, buffoon wa mdomo mkali! [I'm a man whore who knows the quadratic formula, loudmouth buffoon!]"

Kaiya stepped outside, shutting the sliding door as her cousin and sister continued barking obscenities in their native tongue, prompting a sigh of relief as she was left in relative silence. She gazed out over the facility, watching regular blue birds and a few Harpy liminals flying and passing people going about their lives as she tried to clear her mind.

Suddenly, she glanced next to her at the empty space as the memory of Caleb standing there wiping her tears away played in her mind. She then remembered their interaction from the other day, how it felt to be that close to him in the music store and when they got lunch together. How firm and warm his body felt. His wonderfully intoxicating scent. His sharp but kind eyes and caring smile.

She blushed heavily, clenching her chest, feeling her heart racing and an unfamiliar warmth in her lower tummy. She'd been experiencing those feelings for a couple days now, so much that it was now becoming more difficult to sleep at night. Her thoughts had been consumed by him. As much as she tried to deny it, it was painfully obvious.

'There's no mistaking it anymore. I-I'm…I'm…', Kaiya swallowed hard, feeling her core trembling from the thought of it. She needed to do something. She couldn't go on like this, 'I-I need to get some help! Now!'

While that was going on, Amara could be seen in the kitchen, chopping off sections of cape buffalo into smaller steaks for later, humming 'Stayin' Alive'. Blood splattered onto her light yellow apron as the sound of the cleaver tearing through muscle, fat and bone rippled throughout the room. She turned around to the stove where a large saucepan was sizzling with olive oil. She pressed her fireproof canine finger down on the burning metal and oil, checking the temperature.

"Hmm, it could use a couple more degrees," she casually spoke, removing her finger, flicking off some oil, then resumed chopping the meat and humming.

"M-Mama?"

Amara turned her head to see her youngest shyly poking her head around the corner of the entrance to where her lupine ear jutted out along the edge. She grinned in slight amusement, thinking of how Kaiya used to do the same thing as a little pup.

"Habari [hello], Kaiya. How are you feeling?" she warmly asked, smiling at her daughter.

"I'm…fine."

"Hm, that doesn't sound like a 'fine' tone. Something you need to talk about, baby?" Amara patiently asked, putting down the cleaver and moving the saucepan to one of the cooler burners. A bit of burning hot grease popped onto Kaiya's cheek, which she casually wiped away, completely unfazed, not even flinching.

"Y-Yes, Mama? Um, what did it feel like…when you fell in l-love with Papa?" Kaiya asked, noticing her mother's ponderous expression.

"Your father? Where'd this come from?" Amara said, leaning her side against the counter.

"I-I'm just curious."

Amara raised an eyebrow, knowing something was up but decided to go along with it anyway, "Well, it's kinda hard to put into words. I didn't think much of him, at first, especially compared to other males, which wasn't saying much. You won't believe how many 'suitors' got their ass TOSSED around by your mama, know what I mean?" she emphasized with a chuckle, flexing her large biceps.

"Yes, mama," Kaiya said in a hollow voice.

"So then one day, when I was out hunting, I got badly injured and couldn't walk. Thought I was done for if a rival pack or Salamander troop found me. But then your father found me, treated my wounds, even carried me back home, and didn't ask for anything in return. I was SHOCKED. I thought he must be crazy. And that's when I realized it. I knew...he was the one for me. He was strong, kind, loyal…maybe kinda stupid but in a fun way. From then on, when I'm with him, when I talk to him, even just thinking about him…I feel whole," Amara replied in a loving tone.

Kaiya looked at her mother with wide eyes, not visible because of her hair, mouth slightly ajar before responding, "So, you just…felt it? And that was enough?"

"It usually is. Sometimes the heart can see what your mind can't," Amara answered gently then squatted down to her daughter's level, "So, who's your heart reaching out to?" she smirked in a knowing tone.

Kaiya blushed, taken aback at the question, "I-I-I umm…"

"Waaiit, lemme guess. It's Caleb, right?" Amara raised a sly eyebrow as Kaiya's face blushed a deeper shade of black and steam wafted from her head. Her reaction was all her mother needed, "Haha! I knew it! So, you wanna make him your mate?"

"N-no! I-I mean, yes! I MEAN…" Kaiya stammered and fumed in embarrassment, trying to find the words, while Amara gave her daughter time to collect herself.

"You do know that he has a mate already with a Devil, right?" Amara questioned, getting her daughter's attention, "You really want to waste your time knowing there's a high chance he'll reject you? And, even if he accepts you, are you really OK with being JUST his side piece?"

Kaiya thought about it for what felt like minutes, really considering both possibilities but also knowing deep down, instinctively, she couldn't let him escape her grasp.

"...I don't care," Kaiya uttered, clenching her fists, just loud enough for Amara to hear.

"Well, I do," Amara firmly spoke, laying her large paw on her daughter's trembling shoulder, who thought she was going to get scolded, "If you want him to be your mate, then MAKE him yours. Show you're worthy to stand above even his current mate!"

Kaiya looked to her mother in surprise, fully processing her words, then looked down, "I-I don't know how. I'm not even sure how to ask him."

"Child, what did I just say? You don't ASK him! You make him yours! You go up to him, look him dead in the eyes, and say with your WHOLE chest, that you like him and you want him! Let him know we can do this the easy way and admit we have feelings for each other or we do this the hard way and bullshit around, wasting each other's time. The choice is yours. By 'yours', I mean his," Amara finished with a proud smile.

Kaiya looked at her mother in amazement, having encapsulated everything she wanted to say to him, "A-and that'll work?"

"Hell, it worked on your father and we've been together over twenty years."

"What if it doesn't work though?" Kaiya doubted.

"It will. You just have to show him who you are and what you want. Males love initiative."

"B-But, what if–"

"Hapana! Hapana 'ikiwa ni nini' (No! No 'what if's')," Amara cut her off in her native tongue, "Ikiwa unataka mwenzi, fuata wewe mwenyewe! Usisubiri, usisite, fuata kile unachotaka kwa moyo wako wote! Lakini usisahau, sisi wanawake tuna nguvu. Sisi ni wapiganaji! [If you want a mate, you go after them yourself! Don't wait, don't hesitate, go after what you want with all your heart! But never forget, we females have power. We are warriors!]" Amara proudly stated, pressing her fist between her ample chest, making it jiggle, and giving her daughter an assuring smile.

Kaiya stared at her then grinned back warmly, "Asante, mama. Na-nafanya niwezavya. [Thank you, mama. I-I'll do my best.]"

"That's more than enough for me, baby," Amara said, hugging her daughter close to her chest then released her before standing straight up, "Of course, you can bring him back here once you get him. You can go wild with him away from I.A. staff's nosy asses."

Kaiya blushed fervently then responded, "H-Here?! That…um…I-I appreciate it, Mama, but I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"It's no trouble at all, sweety. Now then! Let me teach you a few moves that kept your father happy for twenty-two years," she said in a sly tone as Kaiya frowned in embarrassment and dread.

"T-That's OK, mama! I think…"

"Nonsense! Trust me, you'll need a few of these for later," Amara said, removing her apron and rotating her legs to limber up. She grunted a bit, stretching her leg up high over her head, keeping her balance as her black yoga pants stretched. Her muscular thighs and toned legs bulged out and her large, plumb butt jiggled with every subtle move she made. The fabric hugged her lower region tightly, perfectly contouring the shape of her womanhood and even giving it a velvety sheen, "WOO! HAHAHA! Still got it, baby! This is the position that made you and your sisters!"

"Mama, please…" Kaiya cringing in embarrassment, trying to avert her eyes from her mother's birthing region. At the same time, Krea, her oldest, walked in, stopping in her tracks upon seeing her mother, eyes widening in shock.

"Had my leg up just like this, baby. Your daddy was like POW POW POW POW POW!" Amara ecstatically emphasized, undulating her body, making her breasts bounce and her lower lips rub against the fabric, threatening to tear through it. All the while, both her daughters cringed in horror, "Of course, with him humping me like that, it was inevitable that your mama would turn the table on him. But seeing how cute he was thrusting into me, I held back as long as I could, which was about an hour before your mama pushed him down, grabbed his legs and…" Amara started showing another sex pose as she started squatting down as she reenacted the sex.

Krea wordlessly backed out of the room, as she went to try and forget what she just saw while Kaiya remained stunned and helpless.

…Meanwhile at Jovi's Restaurant…

After a few days of much needed improvements to the establishment, the group were now preparing for the grand reopening. At the same time, they learned that I.A. was sending an official to perform the final evaluation on the business.

"So? What do you think?" said one of the ContractANTS as two others finished installing a brand new 'Hooligans' sign that was redesigned to feature steak and ice cream in neon yellow and white.

"It looks perfect! Really captures the charm of this place. So glad I went with this design," Carmine happily exclaimed.

"Charm indeed. The other one looked more like something you'd see at a strip club in Vegas," Drei remarked as Caleb and Carmine nodded in agreement, thinking of the sign that looked like giant yellow glowing tits modeled after Jovi's. How they came up with that, they'd never know.

"We really appreciate y'all helping us out here. You were a HUGE help," Caleb said to the ContractANT female in the white hardhat, identifying her as the leader.

"It's no trouble at all, sir. We're just doing our job!" she said, doing a little salute followed by the other seven Giant Ant girls, making Caleb feel a little awkward, before blowing a silver whistle, "OK, girls! We're done! Move out!"

As the Giant Ants proceed in their little line, Jovi suddenly burst from the front door and yelled.

"GUYS! COME HERE AND CHECK OUT WHAT I'VE COOKED UP!"

"Welp, you heard the mad cow doctor, let's check out the finished products," Carmine said as Caleb and Drei followed her inside.

As they do, he casually took note of how much everything had changed in a short time.

The floors—once so sticky that it could legally qualify as giant fly paper—were shining clean thanks to a lot of floor polish and hard scrubbing. The booths, tables, and service counter were also wiped clean and rearranged to provide a more contemporary feel and there were various Western themed decorations along with tribal masks reminiscent of ones used by Ghoul raiders; something Caleb suggested to give the place more culture which Carmine appreciated.

In the back, the kitchen—once a disorganized mess filled with dirty dishes, various animal body parts, and blood splattered everywhere like something from Texas Chainsaw Massacre—now looked like a more professional cooking area. The sink, counters, oven and every pot, pan, and utensil was cleaned, disinfected, and organized. There were also newly hanged warning and regulation signs with reminders of basic sanitation, food allergies, and the prevention of foodborne diseases.

The cooler, which used to be a potluck of various uncovered meat scattered like Lego pieces, was now better organized with labels placed on to identify type of meat, when it was cut, and what temperature to cook it.

The cellar, by far, had the most work done on it. Cleaning, remodeling, and the removal of small pens and cages that'd make PETA have a stroke. Fortunately, the ContractANTS were an incredible asset in that endeavor. The cellar was now an extra storage space for their new product and larger meat portions; it was even made larger than it was originally with temperature controls and steel plate doors.

Meanwhile, all the animals were moved to the facility's agricultural resource area controlled by Jovi's old bosses. After some negotiation and a lot of mediation on Caleb's part, they had settled on a deal. Jovi was allowed to keep the animals for slaughter in their own specially built pens and cared for by the staff in exchange for a fixed monthly service fee of 450 dollars. Jovi had reluctantly accepted this deal as it was the best she was going to get. Luckily, it appeared that several staff members had already taken a liking to a lot of Jovi's stock animals, even the possums, so at least the meat would be all natural and better tasting. The ContractANTs had built a mid-sized soundproof slaughterhouse for Carmine's personal use out of the staff's view.

"TA-DAAAA! Behold my creations!" Jovi proudly proclaimed as Caleb and both girls now approached arguably the biggest change next to the cellar. A large white and red ice cream display freezer that the ContractANTs managed to restore to working condition. Inside, she proudly displayed an assortment of twelve unique meat-flavored dairy treats with incredibly goofy names like 'Chicken Lickin' Gelato' or 'Awesome Possum Pudding'. She smiled widely, "So, whaddya think?"

"Well, they certainly look good at least," Caleb remarked, peering through the glass.

"Oh believe me, they are. They got the Carmine seal of approval," Carmine happily confirmed, sticking her tongue out.

"Yeah, and placing it here was a smart move. Gives hungry customers more incentive to wait while their food's getting prepared and pick out homemade ice cream. You're more likely to make two sales in the same spot."

"Make them hungry with the menu, then make them hungrier with the ice cream," Drei clarified.

"A subtle up-sale? That's devious. I like it. Not bad, Mr. Inspector," Carmine remarked, giving him a sly wink.

"Hey, the real work goes to Jovi. It's her product that's drawing their attention."

"Among other things," Drei commented as Jovi's breasts lay mushed against the glass.

"Well, I did have a little help from Carmine in making a lot more flavors. I haven't felt this light in months!" Jovi emphasized, cupping both breasts as Carmine lightly blushed, "She practically milked me dry the other day. Plus, she's the best taste tester a girl could ask for."

"What can I say, I have had a lot of practice with these hands…and this mouth," Carmine spoke in a sensual tone, touching her finger to her soft lips.

"Oh believe me, I know," Jovi lewdly grinned as the two share a chuckle.

Caleb and Drei looked between them, sensing a change in the room's atmosphere; the latter could definitely smell it from the hormones being released.

"Of course, gotta thank our little helper for showing me his milking technique and getting this place whipped into shape," Carmine grinned, showing off her sharp teeth.

"PLEASE don't mention it. As for the other thing, I'd say 'I was just doing my job' but, let's be honest, my job was taking a look around then leaving and snitching on all the bullshit I saw in here. Instead I chose to stay on my own because I could. You guys just needed the chance to be better," Caleb casually replied.

Carmine and Jovi looked at him curiously before smiling warmly, their cheeks becoming rosy.

"Besides, if that I.A. representative that's being sent tomorrow is anything like how I was in the beginning, it's definitely good I decided to try that chicken sandwich."

"Well, I'm glad our food managed to sway you to our side. Speaking of chicken, how about a little reward for both of your hard work? Let's have some 'Chicken Lickin' Good' ice cream on the house," Jovi happily said, grabbing a foam cup and proceeding to scoop the orangish-brown ice cream.

"Really? Thank you. We appreciate it," Caleb replied.

"My stomach won't. You know I'm lactose intolerant, right?" Drei said.

"Oh, right. Just regular chicken for y—"

Suddenly, Caleb was stopped when they heard a knock at the restaurant door. They looked to see a tall, fair-skinned human male with a white collar shirt, brown pants, and carrying a binder and camera.

"Who's that guy?" Jovi raised an eyebrow, putting the cup and scoop down.

"Doesn't look like a customer? Fuck boy, maybe but…" Carmine remarked, even less enthusiastic, having never having been fond of strangers.

"Lemma go check what's up," Caleb responded, going over to the door with Drei immediately behind him.

It wasn't just her instinct for doing so, she didn't know why but she was genuinely suspicious of the man. Then again, she had been secretly dealing with a few stalkers without Caleb noticing so maybe she was a little more cautious than normal. Also, he did seem familiar to her; she just couldn't place it.

Caleb opened the door, greeting the slightly taller, dark brown haired man who, from what he could tell, was in his mid to late twenties like him, "Hey there, what can I do for ya?"

"Hey, you're Caleb…Beezzell, right?"

Caleb's eyebrow twitched, smile becoming more strained, "It's Bizzell and yes, that's me. And you are?"

"Nicholas Murray, though everyone usually calls me 'Nick'. I'm an…adjunct sent by the board to investigate your progress and see this business is running up to standard. Do you know someone called 'Jovi'?" Nick inquired, not disclosing the real reason I.A. sent him.

"Oh, so you're the REPRESENTATIVE THEY SENT to check on this place," Caleb suddenly raised the pitch in his voice, catching Jovi and Carmine's attention and startling Nick. Behind him, Carmine and Jovi quickly began putting on their game faces. Caleb then opened the door wider, letting him inside, "Please, come on in."

"Uhh, sure, thanks," Nicholas awkwardly stepped past him.

'Man, I can't believe this. First I lose my job because those two jackasses say we are trying to sabotage their restaurant, putting ALL the blame on what happened on us, then they give me this bullshit? Why? Just because the other guy's gotta take his damn shiba inu to the vet cause it keeps peeing on people?! I swear they're doing whatever they FUCK they want with this "deal" of ours now. Then there's this fuckin' weirdo who…kinda looks familiar and swear I've heard his name before,' Nick thought with a polite smile.

'Those slick bastards. They're gonna really send this Timmy Turner-lookin' motherfucker to do the inspection a DAY early?! Catch us with our pants down? Well guess what, I've lived in Huntsville for over seven years! I know the game and all the tricks! I know how to stay ahead of bill collectors and landlord bullshit! We are ready for whatever you have to throw at us!' Caleb thought, following with a welcoming expression, subtly nodding to Jovi and Carmine who returned the gesture.

"Welcome, sir! You're here earlier than expected! Where would you like to begin?" Jovi jubilantly shook his hand, involuntarily making her breasts bounce and immediately drawing his attention, but in the back of her mind she was thinking, 'Alright you clipboard-toting fuck boy, you wanna see what my business is all about?! I'll give you an evaluation you'll NEVER forget!'

'Holy shit, those are freakin' huge!' Nick screamed internally but clears his throat, averting his gaze to compose himself, "W-Well, it says I'm supposed to start with the kitchen, so…let's go there, I guess."

"Excellent choice! Let's go wayyy in the back of the cooking area," Carmine smiled, clenching the handle of a butcher's knife stuck behind her pants, maliciously thinking, 'Where nobody can hear you scream.'

Caleb then went up beside her and gently but firmly grabbed her arm, to her surprise, "Yes! Let us THREE go in the back so I can show you everything," he emphasized his words with a smile with a sharp glare at Carmine, prompting her to sigh and release her grip from the impromptu murder weapon.

They proceeded into the kitchen together as Jovi visibly fumed behind them, irate at whoever had decided to blindside them with a sudden inspection.

"I swear if those two hillbilly half pint sluts had something to do with this, I'm stuffing a spoonful of my frozen treats right up their fat–"

"Jovi! You have the keys to the back?!" Carmine called out.

"Coming!" the Minotaur said quickly in a cheerful tone.

'This is gonna be another long day, isn't it?' Drei thought, shaking her head.

…Elsewhere…

On the other side of the facility was a large liminal gym just twenty minutes by trolley from the Devil's apartment complex called 'Sports Club Kobold'.

Inside, liminals of various species could be seen using the wide assortment of exercise equipment from Red Oni and Lizardmen lifting weights, to Jackalopes and Giant Mice running on treadmills, to more aquatic liminals like Mermaids and sea snake Lamia using public exercise rivers. In front of them was a large green and blue reception desk matching the walls and ceiling with an assortment of membership brochures and other trinkets and German shepherd-type Kobolds running it and assisting clients.

In a small area, away from too many eyes, Tubala could be seen doing yoga stretches on a large green mat. Her black hair was tied up behind her and she wore a matching black and red tank top and black yoga pants that hugged her shapely thighs and accentuated her plump rear. She exhaled, going into a cobra pose, lifting her head up to the ceiling; letting her seething frustration slowly melt away as she thought about her comrade's failings.

First it was Minerva, not only failing in ending the Bizzell human's life, but also getting herself exposed and sent into on-site medical care. Where security might probe her for answers on her actions. Naturally, she had made sure she'd stay silent for the sake of everyone there so, before ending their last exchange, she put a failsafe spell on her.

…Flashback…

Minerva sat up in the hospital bed with a female medical specialist asking her questions.

"I-I can't tell you," Minerva said in a panicked tone.

"Why not? Ms. Minerva, the staff found you with a large bite on your arm and in a fit of hysteria. Surveillance also captured you skulking around the music section following a Hellhound and human male. What were you doing? Tell the truth and we can help get this all behind us," the doctor firmly asked as Minerva could hear the two security staff on the other side of the door.

"I-I can't…I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't. S-She'll be–" Minerva suddenly stopped upon feeling a sudden tightness in her throat, like someone tightening their fingers around her neck.

"Ms. Minerva if you won't tell us, we will be forced to assume the worst and we have to take more drastic mea–"

The doctor was interrupted when Minerva suddenly started coughing violently, spewing blood from her mouth. She clenched her throat tightly, as it felt like her throat was being torn apart by razor blades.

"Ms. Minerva! Oh God! Security! Nurse! I need your help now! Get the mana specialist as well!" the doctor cried out as Minerva gagged and choked on her own blood. When she tried to utter what sounded like 'Tu Tu–' she cried out louder as tiny red mana blades tore through her neck like plant stems.

All the while, outside of the building right beside the hospital room window on the second, a figure with black wavy hair levitated out of view, listening to the medical staff rushing to attend to assist the gagging Devil, before flying away.

….Flashback end…

'In the end, she was kept quiet, indefinitely since her vocal chords had been ripped apart. Serves her right, it only activates BECAUSE she tried to tell them about me. Traitors get no sympathy,' Tubala thought to herself, striking a downward dog pose, 'The same could be said of the others I sent after him but these Lesser Devils are even more pathetic than her. They were stopped by that human's little cat pet with their wings and hands glued to the sidewalk left in such disgraceful positions by some kind of green bonding agent? Fucking really?!And they call themselves Chaos-born!'

Tubala exhaled her frustrations away, letting her muscles relax as she went into a wide split with her tail curled behind her. The black spandex perfectly contorted around the shape of her womanhood and plump rear.

'Clearly, I need someone more capable and clever to end that human. The closest I have is that damn pervert Manticore but I doubt she understands the word 'subtle'. Truthfully, I could care less about the method. I just want it finished without leading back to me. Only once he's dead will I have control and be able to properly guide the others with his corrupting influence gone,' Tubala thought, getting into a new pose with her knee curled to her chest, wings folded, and tail dangling as she lifted her entire body up by her finger tips. She took a deep breath, channeling mana into her fingertips, causing them to radiate with a red aura and lifted herself higher before launching herself upwards. She somersaulted in mid-air and gracefully landed on her feet then exhaled, 'Though, personally, I would rather watch the light leave his eyes myself.'

"Ah, hallo, Tubala! Fancy meeting you here."

The black-haired Devil jolted her head towards the stranger's voice only to see a blonde Greater Devil woman, who she immediately recognized as one of Scarlett's friends, Heidi. She wore a light green and black warm-up suit that hugged her shapely hips and perky D-cups, white Adidas sneakers, and kept her hair tied in a bun. The blonde German smiled at the clan neighbor as Tubala sighed mentally, not in the mood to deal with her but put on a decent smile.

"Hallo, how have you been?" Tubala asked, not really caring.

"I have been fine, danke. I was actually finishing up a full cardio routine, hence my slight perspiration. Then I saw you doing yoga!" Heidi complimented with a smile, catching Tubala, off guard.

"You were watching me? For how long and with who?!" she practically demanded, stepping up to the now perplexed blonde.

"N-Not long! I only JUST noticed you and it's only me, promise," Heidi assured, worried she may have upset the black-haired Devil.

Tubala looked at her skeptically for a moment then responded, "OK. Apologies accepted but I just don't like being watched. It's why I choose a secluded spot like this, away from lecherous gazes."

"No, no, I understand. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that after what you've been put through. I'm sure it probably brings back some awful memories," Heidi apologized with a guilty look then shifted her gaze slightly in embarrassment, "Still, I couldn't help but admire how athletic you are."

Tubala, seeing the honesty in Heidi's eye, realized Discord may have, yet again, provided her an opportunity, "Danke. There's no harm in admiring strength and how good my ass looks in these pants."

"Ja, you certainly are quite stunning. I've still got some flab to burn off," Heidi remarked, puffing her cheeks and squeezing her sides.

"Nonsense! You are beautiful. You know why?"

"Why?"

"We are daughters of Discord. Every single one of our sisters is beautiful inside and out. It has been that way since the first of our ancestors manifested into the world," Tubala assured her.

"I…I suppose you're right," Heidi remarked with a slight grin and blush.

"Of course, in fact, our species was the first to embody beauty as we know it. Our ancestors called it, 'pucherixma'."

"Oh? I've never heard of that. What language is it?"

Tubala looked at her in stunned disbelief, "It's Daema, our species' native tongue. You don't KNOW our language?"

"Oh, well, nobody in my clan really spoke it. In fact, this is the first time I'm really hearing it," Heidi responded, feeling as though she had said something wrong, judging from Tubula's astonished expression.

"Chaos, what a time to be alive where there's almost NOBODY left that still speaks the language of our people. Even my mother…chaos rests her essence in Pandemonium, could only teach me several short phrases," Tubala remarked, shaking her head sadly. Heidi looked at her, sympathetic to how she must be feeling.

"I'm so sorry. A-At least she imparted that knowledge to you. As long as you live, that part of our culture lives on."

"Yes but…there's still only one of me. I would like to teach others of our kind who and WHAT we are."

"Well…I've got time. I haven't finished my regime here so…maybe you can educate me on our people. I enjoy learning new things. Well, I suppose it's new to me, hehe," Heidi lightly joked, wanting to make her feel better.

Tubala looked at her in mock surprise then smiled at the blonde demoness, "I would be happy to."

'If you can't find a pawn, then simply make one of your own,' the black-haired Devil mischievously thought behind her warm smile.

….Elsewhere…

An hour had passed since Nick had arrived at Jovi's restaurant. He had just finished going through the entire kitchen and serving area, checking to make sure everything was up to I.A.'s business standards. He was now finishing up the last of the requirements in the inspection documents. Caleb quickly noticed that he was constantly referencing his book with an annoyed look on his face the entire time. Clearly he was new and Caleb and the girls decided to take full advantage.

"OK, so you say that you clean and prepare live animals at the Liminal Agricultural center?"

"That's right, sir! I even have all the documentation to verify as such," Caleb replied, presenting a manilla folder with signed forms which Nick immediately took and examined the contents.

Jovi and Carmine watched inquisitively as he flipped through the papers.

"Hm, OK, looks…like you guys have all that taken care of. Following servsafe protocol, food storage is good, sanitation instructions visible, everything labeled and in its correct spot, and looks like employees are following all safety requirements," Nick spoke, noticing Carmine staring at him, arms folded in discontent, "OK, I'm also required to ask how many employees you currently have?"

"It's just Carmine. She does most of the cooking and I work the front and keep it clean," Jovi answered.

Nick nodded in response then replied, "Alright, well I it looks like that's everything. Really, the only thing that is left is get more staff hired and trained to help them keep everything up to standard. I.A. has a three employee minimum requirement for a business this size so I guess try sending out offers on LinkedIn or something," Nick said, disinterested and just wanting to finish this.

"Alright, noted, so they passed everything else, right?" Caleb inquired, a little on edge as were Jovi and Carmine.

"Yeah, all in all, you guys passed the certification. Congrats."

Jovi and Carmine grinned from ear to ear, letting out a cheer in delight.

"Yeah! We did it! That's what I'm talking about!" Jovi happily exclaimed, high-fiving then low-fiving Carmine who then turned to Caleb, who immediately returned the action then turned to Drei to keep the chain going.

"No, thank you," the wind weasel plainly responded, leaving him hanging.

"Yeesh, who shoved a stick up your ass?" Carmine remarked.

Drei paused at those words, trying not to look at Caleb, then looked away, "I just washed my hands."

As they were bantering and celebrating, Nick could be seen signing and stamping a few documents on the reception counter.

"Sign here, Ma'am."

Jovi went over and signed her name on the line, prompting Nick to stamp an I.A. liminal-owned business seal on the papers.

"OK, that's your certification, feel free to hang it up in your office or somewhere others can see, your choice," Nick spoke, partly reading off the form, then handd her the certificate.

"Woooo! I'M CERTIFIED, bitch!" Jovi cheered, victoriously waving the certificate around as Carmine proudly grinned.

Caleb nodded in satisfaction, glad that two of them had managed to get a passing score, but mostly because it meant this assignment was a success.

***Assignment 2: Complete***

"This calls for a celebration! How's about some homemade ice cream for everyone, even you new guy, on the house?" Jovi offered while going over to the ice cream display.

"I recommend the grilled steak one! That's my favorite so far. Give it a try, Cal," Carmine suggested, winking at Caleb.

"Count me in!" Caleb said.

"That's…kind of you to offer but I really should get going," Nick replied, not wanting to remain any longer than necessary.

"Nonsense! You've got time to try a sample of the product from the business you spent the last hour scrutinizing so TRY it," Jovi spoke, scooping the ice cream in foam cups, still a little bitter at the sudden intrusion on her business.

"What she MEANS is you seem like you could use a break man. Clearly there's something bothering you and if I had to guess, this isn't your normal job, is it?" Caleb inquired, salvaging the situation.

Nick was taken aback by the question, "H-How did you figure it out?"

"Let's see, constantly referring to your notes, the fact you clearly don't know many of I.A. business inspection protocol, and the 'I really wish I weren't here right now' vibe you got going on. Either Thursdays are your check-out time or you're an unpaid intern," Caleb answered.

"Believe me, I'd rather be the latter. At least they get to go home to spend time with those they love," Nick bitterly remarked.

"Yeah, I understand the feeling. That's even more reason to enjoy little bits of respite and happiness whenever you can. Case in point…" Caleb trailed, noticing Jovi place four white foam cups loaded with ice cream and white plastic spoons sticking out, "Dig in. Come on, she put her whole heart into this." And milk.

Nick looked at Caleb curiously at the ice cream as each person grabbed themselves a cup. He picked one that kinda looked like Rocky Road but had a rather smoky aroma. In fact, it smelled like smoked barbecue. He curiously scooped some in the spoon.

Drei sighed, looking at her chicken-scented ice cream woefully before scooping up a spoonful.

Each of them took a bite out of their respective dairy treats and they were all immediately blew away by the intensity of the flavor.

"Holy shit! This is incredible! Never thought anything could taste so meaty yet so sweet! Like I just bit into the sweetest most tender baby back rib ever cooked!" Nick happily said.

"I know what you mean! I've heard of steak and shake but this steak IS the shake! So sweet and juicy…with a hint of vanilla," Caleb said, crooning as the flavors bombarded every inch of his mouth.

"Why? Why would you do this?" Drei whispered, shuddering with her head hung low, having taken a bit of her teriyaki chicken ice cream.

"Drei? What's wron–Oh, right," Caleb said, remembering her lactose intolerance.

"Why would you give me something I can't have that smells and tastes like one of my favorite foods?"

"You don't have to eat it."

"I know, unfortunately…" Drei woefully said, scooping a spoonful of chicken ice cream, "I'm hungry," she said before taking it in her mouth. Immediately the weasel was overtaken by the sweet, creamy texture and rich meaty flavor of freshly cooked chicken sending literal euphoric chills throughout her body.

"So?" Caleb inquired.

"Delicious. I know I'll be in hell later but I'm going to enjoy this piece of heaven," Drei replied, taking in another spoonful, humming in delight as her bushy green tail swayed happily which Caleb thought was kinda cute.

"Hmm, note to self, 'include a lactose-free option'," Jovi uttered, mostly to herself.

"Well, I bet this will certainly get the customers rolling in once you guys reopen. I'll be heading back to the office now to report everything," Nick said, packing up his things and ice cream, "Thank you for the ice cream. It's been a pleasure Jovi, Carmine, Mr. Basell."

"Bizzell!" Caleb corrected with slight irritation.

"Right! Sorry. Actually, I've been meaning to ask, you seem familiar. I swear I've heard your name before."

"Heh, you should have. This sweet piece of dark meat has quite the reputation. He's the guy that rescued those Devils on the Fourth of July AND the same guy who saved a Hellhound after some dipshit tried poisoning her," Carmine informed, roughly slapping Caleb's back, almost making him choke on his ice cream, "Oh, my bad."

Nick's eyes widened in surprise then he looked at him, "Wait! Y-You're THAT Caleb Bizzell?!"

"Yeah, pretty much," Caleb replied, clearing his throat before noticing Nick's profoundly shocked expression and tried to ease the awkwardness, "It's not that big a deal, Kaiya's OK now and I.A. managed to get the guy who did it in custody."

"He didn't though…" Nick muttered under his breath, catching Drei's attention who looked at him skeptically.

"Whatcha say? I didn't hear ya."

"N-Nothing! I was just thinking out loud. OK, welp, I'll be seeing y–ah," Nick tried to leave but stopped when he saw the short green-haired cat girl in his path.

"You know, now that I look at you, I swear I've seen you somewhere recently. Were you one of the customers at the restaurant that night?" Drei said, narrowing her eyes at him with her spoon pensively tapping her chin.

"What? No, I have never been there before in my life. OK! Gotta go before my boss chews me out again, bye!" Nick quickly moved past her, hastily leaving the restaurant as Caleb and the others watched, a bit confused. Drei watched as he left, knowing there was something unusual about him.

"He was weird. Even weirder than you when you first arrived," Carmine jested, looking at Caleb with a smirk.

"Yeah, because watching the restaurant cook elbow drop a chicken before chopping its head off is perfectly ordinary."

"Please, don't act like you DIDN'T think it was kinda cool."

"I would be lying to myself as a man if I did," Caleb casually admitted, eating another spoonful of ice cream and humming at the delightful flavor, "OK, seriously, that guy had a point though. You have an amazing product here, Jovi. Heh, you two really are gonna need some extra hands when customers start piling in."

Jovi blushed at the compliment and happily swayed side-to-side, "Well, if that's the case, why about I hire you on? You've shown you're a very hard worker and you get along with Carmine; and she hardly gets along with anyone."

"Ooh, I like that idea. How about it, sweet meat?" Carmine teasingly spoke, moving closer to him, gently pressing her ample, firm chest to his arm, "I wouldn't mind some help in the kitchen; just know that it gets pretty hot in there. Think you can take it?" she spoke, licking her lips as Caleb looked into her sharp, seductive crimson gaze, sending a chill colder than the ice cream down his spine.

Caleb gulped but composed himself enough to respond, "Thanks, but…I have other assignments to attend to. I can't really commit to that."

"Are you sure? We can work something out, you know. We just wanna thank you for all the work you put in for us," Jovi spoke, leaning down with a mischievous, hungry gaze, giving him a good view of her mountainous flesh dangling. It was evident she had chosen not to wear a bra today as he could faintly see flashes of small pink flesh with every gentle sway, "How about the three of us enjoy something even sweeter than my ice cream?"

Caleb could feel his excitement growing but steeled his nerves, refusing to give in and plainly responded, "That's alright, I'm trying not to eat too many sweets. My wife would chew me out," he emphasized.

"You sure? It can be our little secret. Nothing wrong with a little snack every now and again," Carmine whispered in his ear, her hot breath making him shudder as she bore her sharp teeth, ready to taste his flesh.

She was then taken by surprise when he shoved his spoon with ice cream on it right in her mouth.

"Well, enjoy it yourself because I'm good," Caleb casually replied with a stern gaze, pulling out a backup plastic spoon from his pocket.

Carmine and Jovi were taken aback a moment as the former removed the spoon, able to taste him and smirked deviously.

"Heh, your loss," Carmine shrugged, nonchalantly.

"Bummer. Well, at least I know I have something to finally show up those two midgets! I'll steal ALL their clientele before they know it and make LOADS of money!" Jovi boasted ecstatically as Caleb and Carmine looked at her blankly.

"She's gonna ride that one-sided rivalry until the wheels fall off, huh?"

"It gives her life at this point," Carmine shrugged, shaking her head.

"Welp, whatever works for her. I wish the two of you the best with your business. Let's go, Drei," Caleb said, walking towards the door where said weasel waited patiently.

"Wait, one more thing!" Jovi called out, pulling out a large white paper bag, "I had Carmine cook up a batch of chicken sandwiches just for you guys."

"Oh really? Thank you," Caleb said, happily accepting, "You really didn't hav–"

Before he could finish, Caleb was blindsided when Jovi bent down, placed a hand to his shoulder, and planted her lips right on his cheek. He was stunned for a moment, processing what was happening, before he pulled away in protest but was caught off guard when Carmine planted HER lips on his other cheek, giving him a good smooch.

"H-hey! W-what do you two—" Caleb stuttered, flabbergasted by the bold gesture, noting their warm expressions.

"Sorry, had to steal at least one more taste," Carmine remarked, winking and touching her luscious lips.

"You're always welcome back here, you know. I'll give you a reasonable discount on anything you want," Jovi flirtatiously spoke with a devilish smirk.

Caleb was taken aback but managed a response, "Uh, thanks. I'll…definitely keep that in mind."

"Alright, time to go! It's been an interesting experience, good luck with the restaurant, don't drink bleach. Bye!" Drei said, pushing Caleb out through the door and leaving the pair alone.

"Hmm, damn I was really hoping I'd get to eat my fill of that guy. He was an interesting on," Carmine complained, puffing out her cheeks with hands on her hips.

"Yeah, same, oh well, guess we'll have to put our celebratory ménage à trois on hold. Sucks, I don't why but that guy's scent got me horny a hell right now!"

"Oh, if that's the case, how about we kill two birds with one horny stone. I would've mind sinking my teeth into this beef again," Carmine sensually remarked while swaying over to Jovi, grabbing a handful of the minotaur's chunky ass and making her gasp.

"Oh! Yeah, I wouldn't mind that at all. We're not opening back up until tomorrow, how about we take this into my office. Don't want things to get messy in here," Jovi lustfully replied, hugging the Ghoul woman before scooping her up bridal style, inciting a startled but playful yelp out of her as they proceeded into the office, closing the door.

The pair proceeded to commit at least six health code violations. Thankfully, they were mostly kept in that office.

…Outside…

Caleb and Drei could be seen walking to his car parked along the curb, bag in one hand and drinking the slowly melting ice cream from the other.

"Well, glad that it's over. I was almost trapped in another unwanted three way. Never thought I'd be thankful for that NOT happening but that's my life apparently."

"You poor thing. Though you realize you're most likely gonna get jumped into a four-way when you return home, right?" Drei reminded, still eating her ice cream.

"Maybe, but I actually welcome it with people I love. Mama didn't raise no man hoe."

"At least not a disloyal one."

"I'm not a damn hoe! I'm more of a… husband of ethics!" Caleb vehemently stated.

"...A H.O.E.?" Drei asked him.

Caleb thought for a second, putting the pieces together before facepalming, "Fuck. OK, look, I trying to say–"

"C-Caleb?!"

Caleb and Drei stop in their tracks upon hearing someone call his name. Looking ahead, they were surprised to see Kaiya who had been waiting on the sidewalk beside his car. She had sprung upon hearing his voice and now stared at them both, her sudden, thoughtless outburst putting her in a socially precarious spot.

"Kaiya?" Caleb spoke, surprised to see her here.

'Well, this is getting interesting,' Drei thought, eating the last spoonful of her chicken ice cream. She then heard her tummy loudly grumbling, signaling her looming consequences, 'And so is my evening going to be later.'

…Meanwhile…

Back at the Hellhound building, Amara and three of her daughters, Alkina, Kreã, and Jimena were watching a show on Netflix called 'Squid Game.'

"What the fuck is even happening? You're telling me none of them band together, kill all the pink guys and the boss, and take the money?" Amara questioned, very confused by the premise.

"Kinda defeats the point of a death game, Ma. Besides, all those people are either criminals, poor, or just bad with money. Doubt they'd even think of working together," Kreã pointed.

"Child, low IQ or not, there's safety in numbers and they got the numbers advantage. Sheep can understand that," Amara remarked, dubiously looking at the human competitors on screen.

"It's one of those nuanced things, Mama. You know, a whole 'how far would humanity go' type of things. I watched a human on YouTube talking about it and he made some valid points," Jimena pointed out, scrolling on her phone, barely watching the actual show.

"Jimena, there is nothing 'nuanced' about that, OK? Don't you go letting these humans tell you what makes sense and what doesn't. You were raised to know better."

"OK, Mama. Now can we just keep watching, we're getting to the part with the giant robot girl playing sniper red-light-green-light," Kreã lightly whined, wanting to just enjoying watching.

"The fuckin' excuse me?" Amara replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey? Have you guys seen Kaiya anywhere? I need her help figuring out how to use this music software and it's not downloading right," Tristan asked, getting their attention.

"Have you tried unplugging and plugging it back in?" Alkina sarcastically asked.

"That is NOT the answer to all human tech, Kina!" Tristan attested.

"Though it about sums up all your relationships in I.A. so far," she casually rebuffed.

"Besides, you ain't gonna find Kaiya around here for a little while, hehehe," Amara slyly spoke with a smirk and the tone raised some eyebrows.

"Hm? Why's that? She out with the twins or something?"

"Nope! She went to ask her little savior, Caleb, to be her mate," Amara proudly spoke, shocking her children and Tristan.

"Whoa! Auntie, are you serious?! She's gonna ask out Chommie?! That's crazy!", he jubilantly expressed.

"Yep, she should be on her way to him. Called in a favor from the director's office to have a driver take her to him."

"Whaaat?! Kaiya just snuck off to go–DAMMIT! If I knew he was free today, I would've gone to tap that ass too!" Alkina complained, groaning to the ceiling.

"That's awesome! She's really making the first move! Gotta say I'm surprised, knowing her. She's always the quieter one. It's nice to see baby sis stepping up for a change," Kreã acknowledged,

"You're sister's stronger than you think. Hell, she's the one who came to me for advice on getting a mate," Amara casually remarked, much to the others' intrigue.

"Wait, really? What did you tell her?" Tristan asked curiously.

"I just told her to be direct. Be confident and let him know that she likes him and she wants him. They can do it the easy way or the hard way. Choice is his," Amara proudly remarked, oblivious to the connotations as her daughters voiced their approval.

All the while, Tristan was stunned silent at hearing that grouping of words. Those very familiar words heard during late night scrolling on his phone when he came across a popular dialogue, the 'booty warrior', from a show Caleb told him about called 'Boondocks'.

"Auntie…you didn't tell Kaiya to say those exact words, did you?" Tristan inquired, eyes widening with a sinking feeling in his gut.

"Well, she can put her spin on it, but yeah," Amara casually replied with a smile and a shrug as Tristan's face went pale in horror, "If it worked on y'all daddy, it'll work on a male like him. Shoot if that don't seal it, the moves I showed sure will. Hahaaa!"

"Oh, oh, for Barghest sake, Mama," Kreã pleaded, cringing along with her sisters and not wanting to be reminded of their conception, "Can you go one month without sharing yours and Papa's bedroom stories? It's embarrassing."

"Hey! A woman should NEVER be embarrassed about sharing how wonderful her husband is! Keeps a marriage strong and keeps the - "

"Humans look at us weird though…" Jimena whined.

"Let 'em look. You shouldn't give a damn. You're a proud Hellhound woman. I always tell you, don't forget that while we're here, a part of their little society," Amara firmly stated.

"Hey, Trist, can you back me up here?" Jimena asked, looking to him only to find the male Hellhound was gone, "Tristan? Where'd he go?"

"Yeah, I heard the front door close a minute ago," Alkina casually answered.

…Outside…

*For immersion, play 'Spiderbait' version of 'Black Betty' while reading this scene*

Tristan could be seen sprinting down the sidewalk at top speed, tracking his cousin's scent.

"Kaiya! Kaiya no!" Tristan howled, moving as fast as his legs could carry him, trying to prevent Kaiya from making a horrible mistake. Not to mention saving his chommie from being subjected to that and getting the worst idea about their race.

"Hey there, Tristan!" spoke an attractive female Husky-type Kobold in tight fitting pink and black jogging attire coming running up beside him, matching his pace, breasts bouncing with every stride and catching his attention, "Good to see ya, bae. Getting a good run in today, huh? Whaddya say afterwards we go to my place to rehydrate then get some more cardio in, yeah? It's a safe day for me," she offered, panting as she looked him up and down hungrily.

"Not now, Emi! I'm on a mission! Can't believe I'm saying this but SAVE THAT COOCHIE FOR ANOTHER TIME! LATER!" Tristan shouted, sprinting faster and quickly getting far ahead of her much to the Husky's surprise and disappointment.

"Dang, I hate to see him go. But I love watching him leave," the Husky smirked, raising a saucy eyebrow watching the Hellhound's tight, firm rear in black jeans.

…Elsewhere…

Back at the gym, Tubala and Heidi were just finishing up the latter's regimen and during that time Heidi had learned a considerable amount about the Daema language along with other subjects that seemed to tickle her curiosity. The pair were now seated at a Dalmatian-spotted white circular table, in chairs shaped like Dalmation paws, located near the tanning area.

"Ahh, so Daemic proper nouns are interchangeable based on circumstance rather than relating gender, correct?" Heidi inquired.

"That's correct. Daema is quite…idiosyncratic in nature. Where most languages have 'his', 'her', 'he', or 'she', ours has 'ta', 'tha', 'kan', and 'ka'. We also have 'va' and 'var' used for males and female children respectively. Though, from what I understand, in olden times using 'ta' to reference a child was in incredibly poor taste. If you're just learning the language you should make that fact clear to whoever you are speaking. Otherwise, you can expect a mother to snatch up her children and look at you like a complete pervert or get smacked in the mouth," Tubala informed with a chuckle, sitting with her leg crossed over the other.

"Haha, now THAT is a perfect example of why words matter. Saves you everyone's humiliation AND teeth in your mouth," Heidi laughed.

"You seem quite interested in linguistics."

"Well, I've always been interested in how people communicate. It's one of the reasons I learned English. Don't get me wrong, it's still an utter fucking headache at times; ESPECIALLY with homonyms. How is 'colonel' pronounced the SAME as 'kernel'?!" Heidi expressed, facepalming as Tubala pretended to laugh in amusement then decided to humor.

"Zumindest ist unsere Muttersprache viel einfacher. [At least our native tongue is much more straightforward.]"

Heidi smiled at the response, "Oh, dafür danke ich Discord auf jeden Fall." [Oh, that I definitely thank Discord for that.]

Tubala took a deep breath, looking out the glass window pensively, "It's nice to meet members of our kin who cares about our culture. Still care, I mean."

Heidi looked at her with confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Our people were on top of the world, now many of our sisters only care about fitting into human society, speaking human language, mimicking human trends, doing human activities, learning human subjects, some are even obsessed with the TikTok and Instagram nonsense," Tubala shook her head bitterly, "Before ICEP, before the harems, we dominated the world with our influence and power. We were once a proud, noble breed with vast wealth of knowledge and temples to our benevolent Chaos. Now look at us. Our culture is nearly erased by angelic steel and humanity's arrogance; especially those males," Tubala spoke, her words dripping with venom near the end.

Heidi sat wordlessly for a moment then responded, "It's not all bad. There's still plenty of us left that are trying to keep our culture alive. It's one of the reasons we started the Chaos Faction. Oh! That gives me an idea! What if I talk to Scarlett into including time for us to focus on our species' past?" she excitedly spoke.

"Why should you have to ask? Don't you just have much say on what happens as her?" Tubula asked her, catching her off guard.

"Yeah, but we've kinda just decided that Scarlett would have final say over activities. She just has this air of leadership, kinda like Camilla in a way."

Tubala looked to her inquisitively, "Camilla? Ah, right, the Elder Devil and the supposed lover of that insect. That cannot be your only reason for following her."

"Of course not. We've been so much together. When…all of us were enslaved, our powers were stripped away by angelic collars. I'd never been lucky, honestly. A week before being captured by smugglers my clan gets attacked by Angels. Mein mutter [mother] and several clan sisters died while mein vater [father] and the rest of his harem escaped, leaving me to fend for myself. I thought that was the end. I would spend the rest of my life as some human's personal toy," Heidi told her with a hollow gaze, "I met Scarlett, Camilla, and the others as we were moved here and there along with many of our sisters. We've been starved together, been beaten, even violated together but through it all those two in particular never lost that fire in their eyes; especially Camilla. Once a human buyer tried to touch between her legs and she bit his nose off. Said he 'tasted like shit'."

"Heh, she sounds like a fierce woman indeed. I imagine Scarlett was just as proud."

"Yeah, she was…until that human man got ahold of her. He…he hurt her everyday while we could only listen to it all. Whenever he brought her back, I could see the pain and…brokenness in her eyes. I'll forever live with the fact that I was powerless to help mein friend," Heidi expressed, clenching her fist in frustration before feeling Tubala's hands atop hers, then looking to see her stern but kind eyes.

"Good, let it serve as your motivation for why you'll never be weak again."

Heidi looked at her in amazement.

"You know, men like your father, that human, all men really…they're all the same. When they think they have all the power, all they want to do is fuck. When they think they're going to die, all they want to do is fuck," Tubala spoke, rolling her eyes with a bitter frown, "It's all about power. They think if they fuck us enough we'll just submit and let them take everything we are, just because they can. That's how it was for me. Day in, day out, trying to break what little there was of me."

"Tubala…I'm so sorry…" Heidi remarked, believing she was speaking insensitively and needed to apologize.

"It's OK. In the end, I survived. I was saved by the will of Chaos and it told me to save the rest of my sisters too. That's all I want, honestly. For you and many more of our sisters. I just want to do it without relying too much on human ways of doing things," Tubala said with a caring smile laced with malice, taking Heidi's hand and staring into her eyes.

Heidi smiles back, "That's very admirable of you, Tubala."

"Hey!"

A masculine voice called out, catching both Devils' attention. They looked to see a tall Jackalope male in a black tank top showing off his firm pectoral and biceps with a cheerful demeanor. Heidi looked at him curiously while Tubala glared coldly in sheer contempt.

"Um, hallo? Can we help you?" Heidi asked, trying to be polite.

"Nothing really, me and my boy just saw you guys over here chilling and figured we could hang. I'm Rudy, this here's Jay," the Jackalope man gestured to another Jackalope man in a red tank top and matching shorts.

"Oh, well, nice to meet you. I'm Heidi and this is–"

"Leaving. I am leaving," Tubala interjected, standing up to leave only to be stopped by Jay.

"Hey, come on. No need to be rash, we just want to hang out with you. Maybe go try out the huge pool they got in here," he offered.

"Uh-huh, what do you really want? Don't think I didn't notice you both watching us on the treadmills earlier," Tubala plainly replied, eyebrow raised as both Jackalopes' eyes widened in surprise.

"Haaa, OK, listen, sorry for staring and all but you're both very beautiful ladies and we were nervous. We thought, you know, we could have fun and the next full moon is only a couple days awa–"

"Uh-huh. Not interested. Now move out of my way," Tubala coldly replied, conjuring a red magic seal.

"W-Wait, Tubala, it's OK," Heidi assured, taking Tubala's arm to hold her back then looked to the Jackolope men, "Danke, but we are not interested," Heidi politely spoke as the black-haired Devil glared at her incredulously.

Suddenly, the Jackolope in the black tank walked up and roughly grabbed Heidi's shoulder, stopping her.

"Hey! Don't walk away from us. Who do you Devils think you are?" he said with irritation.

"We're trying to be nice here. We're offering both of you a good time and some full moon fun, the least you can do is take it!"

'Take it…take it…take it…' those words echoed into Tubala's mind as the memories of her time in the Playpen flashed before her eyes. The countless human males that would pin her, beat her, rip her clothes, and force themselves into her with those wretched daggers of theirs. All the while telling her to 'take it' like it was the only thing she deserved.

At that moment, Tubala grabbed the red tank Jackolope's wrist, squeezing so hard the bones shattered like glass as he let out a shriek of pain, releasing a now surprised Heidi. She then saw Tubala glaring down the Jackalope with utter disdain, like looking at a mangie animal that needed to be put down.

"Aghhh! Let go of me, you crazy bi–AH!" he cried out before tossing him backwards, as he fell to the floor cradling his broken wrist and getting the attention of a few other gym patrons.

"Bro! You fucking bitch! You're gonna pay for that! I'll–" the black tank Jackalope yelled, ready to fight the black-haired Devil but was stopped by a red seal appearing in front of his face. Suddenly, as he was distracted, Tubala kicked him hard between the legs, causing him to howl in pain, collapsing to the floor.

"You men…so proud of these VILE things!" Tubala stated, stomping hard onto his family jewels as he cried out louder in pain. The bystanders nearby either stood shocked or ran away from the scene, "YOU WANT ME TO TAKE THIS, HUH?! WHATEVER'S LEFT OF IT?!" she shouted, repeatedly stomping him out as his voice grew more strained and higher pitched and his friend watched in horror. She wanted to make him suffer as much as possible before ending him.

"Tubala!" Heidi shouted, getting the black-haired Devil's attention before grabbing and pulling her away, "That's enough!"

Tubala, resisting the urge to bash the blonde Devil in the face for stopping her, relented as she saw three German shepherd-type Kobold employees approaching the scene.

"What's going on here?!" one of the female Kobolds demanded.

Tubala took a deep breath and put on her mask, "I'm so glad you're here! These two men were trying to assault us! They tried to grab my friend so I tried to protect her! Right, Heidi?" she stated, conjuring tears in her eyes and a fearful expression.

Heidi looked back at her pleading eyes then replied, "Right. One of them even grabbed me."

"She's lying! We didn't do nothing!" the red tank Jackalope stated, raising to his feet while holding his wrist.

"Oh yeah? What was that about 'having fun' and the full moon huh?" Tubala shot back as the Kobold employees looked at him suspiciously.

"You know we have a strict 'no full moon solicitation' policy in this establishment, right? Get I.A. security here and a medic," the male Kobold ordered.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"You two. Don't move," said the female Kobold.

Heidi and Tubala stood by, forced to comply, much to the latter's discontent. Then she looked at the groaning Jackalope on the ground cradling his now worthless jewelt, wanting nothing more than to tear his throat out and shut him up.

…Back to Caleb…

The female Hellhound stood before the human man that had been consistently on her mind throughout the week. Despite the area being dangerously close to Angel territory, she knew she had to see him and simply waited for him by his car for over an hour until he eventually came. Yes, she was aware it was crazy and foolish but she didn't care. The longer she looked at him, her heart was telling her it was right.

"Kaiya. What are you doing here?" Caleb asked.

"Ah! Um…" Kaiya yelped, a bit more high pitched than she liked, noticing his slightly concerned expression. She needed to salvage the situation, "I…I was just…in the neighborhood hood and…um."

"You, a Hellhound, were just in this neighborhood? Where there's a large clan of 'Chaos-born hating' Angels not even five minutes from here?" Drei commented, raising an eyebrow as Caleb looked at her then at Kaiya in realization.

"Oh right. Yeah, it's really dangerous for you to be here!"

"I-I know, but…"

"But what?" Caleb inquired, growing more concerned by her odd behavior.

"I…I just needed to see you! I had to come because I have to tell you!" Kaiya blurted out, becoming more nervous, cursing herself for not practicing any of this beforehand.

Caleb eyes widened, exchanging a look with Drei. She closed her eyes and nods.

"I'll watch for Angels. You deal with whatever this is. Quickly," she said, as they heard a rumbling noise from her stomach, "Ignore that," she spoke, generating a mini-cyclone and launching herself upwards.

Caleb turned his attention back to the Hellhound, sensing from her tone what she was trying to do. It reminded him of the same tone Mirabelle had when she… oh no, "W-What do you want to tell me, Kaiya?"

"I want to tell you that I…I like you and the choice is mine!" Kaiya blurted out as Caleb looked at her, confused and surprised.

"What?"

"N-No! I mean, the choice is yours. Wait, no, I'm getting ahead of myself! W-What I mean is we can do this the easy way or the hard way? Or both ways?" Kaiya stammered, struggling to get her words out. She mentally facepalmed, wanting to go hide somewhere to save herself further embarrassment.

'Is she short circuiting?' Caleb thought, eyebrow as she held her head, shaking with frustration.

"W-What I mean is! D-Do you l-like this?" Kaiya asked, getting desperate, grabbing her leg and trying to stretch it up in the same yoga pose her mother demonstrated earlier but failing as it looked more like her hopping around on one leg.

'What the hell is happening right now?' Caleb thought, even more bewildered.

"This is an interesting mating ritual," Drei remarked, perched atop a tall electric pole.

Kaiya quickly regretted this action as, since she didn't limber up from standing around for the last hour, her muscles started painfully cramping and locking up, causing her to lose balance.

"H-Hey, caref–" Caleb was cut off upon hearing the sound of something tearing.

It was the crotch of her JEAN shorts audibly ripping right before his eyes, unintentionally flashing him a good look at her blue lace panties that perfectly contoured her lower lips. Her jaw dropped, letting out a shocked canine bark, cheeks flushing deeper gray. She noticed him looking before quickly turning away out of embarrassment for her.

"Ahh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean–ah!" Kaiya apologised while hastily trying to put her leg down to cover herself but tripped and fell forward.

Caleb saw this and, on sheer protective instinct, teleported in front of her and caught her from landing face-first on concrete. Kaiya, expecting pain, was surprised to find herself now in his embrace. Her body pressed so close she could feel her heart beating fast from the short burst of adrenaline.

"Damn! Are you OK?! Should I get some help? Hey, Drei?!" he asked as she looked up at him, eyes obscured by her hair cheeks flushing darker gray. His entire being radiated a caring warmth that eased her mind and gave her courage.

"You rang?" Drei asked, floating down to him taking a quick look at the Hellhound, "Other than her pants, and possibly her dignity, I would say she is OK. I can fix your pants. No stranger to wardrobe malfunctions."

Kaiya clutched his shirt sleeve, "Please…"

"Hm?" Drei uttered as Caleb looked at her curiously.

"PLEASE GO ON A DATE WITH ME!?" Kaiya blurted out, startling the pair.

Caleb was stunned by her question.

"Well, I can't fix that," Drei commented plainly.

Caleb looks down at the nervous but expectant Hellhound, just NOW realizing how closely he was holding her to his chest. He could feel the heat chest pressed against him and her heart beating with anticipation. However, that all paled in comparison to her sudden declaration as it brought his mind back to his conversation with Moon pie in the dreamscape. The utter befuddlement he felt at the sheer improbability of this scenario would have been enough to shock him…if he hadn't already experienced a similar feeling THREE separate times.

'Well, fuck,' Caleb thought in slight dread.

Kaiya's entire face went a darker shade of gray and she gently pushed herself off him, "I-I mean, um, I like you and…I want you to…I-I'm sorry! Just forget i–"

"Alright," Caleb responded, catching Kaiya and Drei off guard.

"W-What?" Kaiya breathlessly uttered.

"Come again?" Drei joined in, eyebrow raised.

"You…what?"

"I said…alright. I'm not busy the rest of the day. Let's go…on a date. The two of us. Isn't that what you want?" Caleb inquired, accepting his fate.

Kaiya sat wordlessly staring, eyes covered by her hair, as her mind raced with thoughts and questions. Too many to focus on so she responded with a slightly mouth agaped nod and 'Uh-huh'. Though, one thing was clear to her. He had accepted her and that alone made her heart swell with joy.

Drei looked at him skeptically, wondering what he was doing.

"Kaiyaaa!"

The trio heard a voice calling out, getting their attention. They turned to see, in the distance, a figure running towards them and calling Kaiya's name, making her ears perk up.

"Now what?" Caleb questioned in slight exasperation, standing up with Kaiya.

"Both of you stay back, I'll handle it," Drei calmly spoke, readying her scythes and Bungy Ball, taking position between Caleb and the possible enemy.

"Kaiyaaaaaa! Don't do iiiiiit!" the figure cried out, coming more into view.

Kaiya squinted her eyes, "Wait. Tristan?" she uttered in surprise as Caleb and Drei looked at her for a moment.

"What's he doing here? And what does he mean by 'don't do it'?" Caleb inquired.

"Kaiyaaa!" Tristan cried out, seeing, to his horror, she was already standing with Caleb. He charged right at her, much to her surprise before skidding to a stop and snatching her by the shoulders, "DON'T DO A FLEECE JOHNSON ON CHOMMIE!" he yelled in panic at her, panting profusely from tracking her down.

'Huh?' Caleb and Drei thought simultaneously with dull expressions.

Once again, both were left stunned speechless and profoundly confused while Kaiya reeled her head backwards, disoriented from her cousin shouting in her ears.

"Chommie! You OK?!" Tristan said in panic.

"Uhh, yeah? Are you? Look like you just ran a marathon. And what was that about Fleece Johnson?!" Caleb inquired.

"Horrible advice based on good intentions, that's what! Chommie, Kaiya didn't mean what she did! She just wants you to be her mate! That's all!" Tristan assured as Kaiya's eyes immediately rolled back into focus upon hearing that.

Caleb looked at him curiously, starting to understand, sorta.

"Tristaaaannn! What are you doing?! Why are you telling him that?! Haven't I been embarrassed enough?!" Kaiya whined in embarrassment, clamping her cousin's mouth cheeks together to silence him.

"Aha! So you DID do auntie's advice! I'm trying to help YOU out here!" Tristan responded, countering by stretching her mouth cheeks with his thumb causing discomfort.

As they squabbled, Caleb sighed to himself, looking at Drei who shrugged and gestured for him to proceed.

"Hey!" Caleb stated loudly, getting their attention, "Tristan, bro, it's fine. She didn't do anything…OK, she did a lot of weird shit but I already told her yes. We're actually going on a date after we leave here."

Tristan, releasing his cousin's cheeks, seeing her now more reserved and flustered demeanor, looked to them in surprise.

"Wait, for real?" he asked, looking at Kaiya who shyly nodded, prompting an ecstatic grin to spread across his, "Yes! That's what I'm talking about! Yeah!" he cheered, high-fiving Caleb and patting his cousin's back.

Drei then noticed a small group of at least five Angels, approaching from further away down the sidewalk.

"OK! Time to go! Angels are inbound."

Caleb and both Hellhounds immediately snapped to attention, the latter pair not looking to stir up more trouble.

"You guys can ride with me and try to duck your heads down so they don't see you," Caleb stated, quickly opening the backseat doors.

"Right, thanks, chommie!" Tristan said as Kaiya climbed on inside before him and he followed, "Kaiya, what happened to your pants? I can see your ass."

"POINTING IT OUT IS NOT HELPING!"

"We can stop at her home to get her some new pants," Drei added, getting in the passenger side, fastening her seatbelt while Caleb did the same, starting the car. Both Hellhounds, being just the right size for the compact car, had enough room to duck down.

As he drove pulled away from the curb, making a less-than-legal U-turn, the five Angels, ones from Michael's congregation, noticed the vehicle speeding off.

"Hm, humans are always off in a hurry, aren't they?" Maalik curiously spoke.

"Sometimes to a fault but, otherwise, it is a virtuous trait to have. Tardiness leads to sinfulness as my father would say," Samuel remarked, proudly.

"Ahh, so THAT'S why you're so insistent on meeting that tea time is at 10 am sharp. I just thought you were just a stickler," Raphael teased, prompting a chuckle from Maalik and Camael.

"Oh! How crass. Do conduct yourselves with more refinity when out on our afternoon constitutional."

…. Meanwhile…

Further away, after leaving the restaurant, Nick could be seen heading to the trolley stop. He was supposed to have been picked up by I.A. personnel to take him to the Liminal Business Affairs office but now he was taking a trolley due to a 'public disturbance' at the gym across town.

"I swear to God, they're just fucking with me at this point. Whatever," Nick curses, gripping the form tightly, nearly crumbling it.

His mind quickly went back to his experience at the restaurant and meeting that man, Caleb Bizzell, the guy responsible for saving the Hellhound girl and the fourth of July incident. He wasn't what he expected. He imagined the guy that gave those Malone pricks so much trouble would be…more. He just looked like a regular guy, kinda awkward, but pretty normal.

'Then again the normal ones are always the biggest freaks, huh?' Nick coldly thought, remembering the day he and the other freaks were brought in by the Malones to the so-called witch 'Playpen'.

"Hello," came a familiar feminine voice.

Nick looked up to see an Angel woman standing in front of him, a caring smile on her face, shimmering blue eyes transfixed onto him, and snow white wings furled behind her white Romanesque robe. He quickly recognized her as the Angel he had met and chatted with a couple nights ago.

"Oh, hey…Ophelia, right?"

Her smile widened in satisfaction at him remembering her name, "Yes! That's me! It's so nice to see you again, Mr. Murray," she enthusiastically replied.

"Yeah, it's…nice to see you again too," Nick responded, less energetic.

Ophelia's smile morphed to immediate concern, "What's wrong?"

"Eh, just this job I had to do today. These I.A. people had me working someone else's assignment on top of the work in the mandragora gardens later," Nick spoke in annoyance as he walked, the Angel closely following and listening.

"It must be quite rough on you."

"Yeah, but nothing I can't handle. I may complain but I'll still get shit done if I need to," he replied, taking a seat at the trolley stop with Ophelia sitting beside him, a bit closer than he'd like but she didn't seem to notice.

"You're such a strong-willed person," Ophelia spoke in admiration, scooting a little closer.

"Heh, not really but it means a lot coming from an Angel. So, how are things with you? Did everything work out?"

Ophelia went silent for a moment with a bleak expression Nick could only describe as someone who had just watched their beloved pet die right in front of them.

"I guess not…" Nick remarked.

Ophelia realized what she was doing and quickly put on a warming smile for him and anyone passing by to see, "It's OK."

"If you say so but if you ever need to talk, I'd be happy to listen. Whatever you're going through, it'll work out I'm sure of it.", He tries to encourage.

Ophelia's blue eyes sparkle before her smile returns, "Thank you, Nick. I'm sure they, no, I GUARANTEE things will change for you too."

"Heh, appreciate it."

"If it means anything, I say you performed your assessment of the restaurant wonderfully."

"Oh, well, thank you? I don't remember saying I was at a restaurant though," Nick responded, eyebrow raised.

"I just…assumed from you manner semi-formal dress and paperwork and because you smell of freshly cooked food," she answered innocently.

"Oh, well, you're right on the money then."

At that moment, the trolley could be heard coming down the street.

"Hey, looks like my ride's here. Are you boarding too?"

"No. I just wanted to talk. Besides, I'm not much of a bus person. These tend to be an inconvenience for some people," she casually replied, gesturing to her wings.

"OK, that makes sense. Why use public transport when you are your own transport?" Nick joked with a chuckle as Ophelia laughed heartily at his bad joke. The trolley pulled up in front of Nick then the doors opened. He could see several liminals all packed inside, "Alright, see ya later, Ophelia."

"See you soon!" she happily waves as he boarded the trolley. As it pulls away, she watched with an unsettlingly wide smile.

Little did he know that she had been secretly tailing him since first spotting on her early morning flight. She was also discreetly observing him work at the restaurant, happily providing emotional support and prayers for his success. At the same time–for reasons she didn't quite understand—she felt…anxious, even a little upset when either of those other women got too close to him; it took some restraint to not use her heavenly arts and blow her cover. Nevertheless, it made her incredibly happy to hear his kind words. The only thing that could top that is if she could have him around her all day, every day.

She then pulled out the leftover pack of napkins he had given her that night, rubbing the soft cloth against her cheek, enjoying his lingering scent.

'My sweet Nick. I promise we will soon be together,' she thought, heart swelling and imagination wandering before spreading her wings, taking off into the air as three loose angelic feathers haphazardly floated to the ground; changing from pristine snow white to haunting raven black.

…Elsewhere..

Heidi could be seen walking with Tubala down the sidewalk away from the gymnasium. The black-haired Devil wore a sour expression on her face which didn't surprise her. They did just spend the last half hour talking with I.A. security personnel trying to clear up the misunderstanding they had with both Jackalopes. Heidi did most of the talking as Tubala was clearly agitated by the human men questioning her. Luckily, as they technically weren't the aggressors in the matter and both Jackalopes had had several complaints by other liminal students for unwanted advances towards them, both girls were let go. However, because the Jackalope needed urgent medical attention, Tubala ended up getting two pink stamps for aggravated assault.

Heidi looked to her wavy-haired friend, seeing she was still quietly fuming, her body language speaking volumes with every aggressive stride she took.

"I'm so sorry you got pink stamped. A-At least those guys were taken in by security," Heidi carefully said.

"It wouldv'e been better if they were taken out of this world," Tubala growled under her breath, surprising Heidi.

"You're still upset, huh?"

"No, Heidi, I quite enjoy having two literal horny rabbits treat me like a whore THEN be treated like some hysterical child by fucking human males!" Tubala sardonically retorted at her stupid question, "Why did you hold me back?!"

"I couldn't let you do anything rash! You could've been detained by I.A. if I didn't! I didn't want to see you throw away your second chance out of anger," Heidi wholeheartedly admitted.

Tubala glared at her in disgust at her weakness, balling her fists and wanting to remind her of what their rightful place is but decided it was counterproductive to her goal. Instead, she chose to utilize this 'heart-to-heart' in her favor.

"Haa, I know…it's just…" Tubala sighed, stopping in her tracks and rubbing her face, pretending to hold back tears, "I just hate it. Being treated like that's ALL I'm good for, you know?"

Heidi gently touched her shoulder, getting her attention, and kindly spoke, "I completely understand. You've been through so much and…sometimes rage just slips out; especially when the right asshole brings it out. I don't think any less of you though."

"Thank you. I'm sorry you had to see me like that," Tubala lied.

"It's OK, it's the first time I had a friend go absolutely berserk on a pervy pig," Heidi assured with a knowing grin.

Tubala looked at her curiously but satisfied that she may have found a useful tool after all.

"Ah! It's Scarlett and Jocelyn!" Heidi happily stated, looking ahead to both girls seated outside of a boba tea shop run by a trio of Large Mice girls, "Let's go say hi!"

"Yes, let's," Tubala remarked, turning her attention now on two more factions, thinking she could use this moment to sway them.

All the while, Jocelyn and Scarlett could be heard having a riveting conversation while enjoying their boba tea.

"So I slapped her on the ass and told her I didn't want to see her again for the rest of the week!" Jocelyn stated, making a paddling motion with her hand as Scarlett stared in befuddlement.

"Wow."

"I know, right. These damn 'Wonderland' weirdos have been popping up a lot lately. That march hate bitch has been showing up at the shop for the last two weeks asking ME personally for massages and therapy treatments. Requests started out tame at first but now they're just getting fucking weird! You know she asked me to massage her thighs with my BARE feet?!"

"I…what?" Scarlett expressed, dumbfounded.

"Right?! Don't get me wrong, I got standards but she is one of my higher paying clients. Hell, she tipped me two hundred the other day."

Scarlett nearly choked on her drink upon hearing that, "T-Two hundred?!"

"Yeah, she might be a weirdo but she has money for those fetishes. Though I am curious yet dreading how she'll top feet thing. Oh well, I'll charge her double so long as it's not outright sex. Ms. Akke got a strict policy in force after the Satyr Oil Wrestling incident," Jocelyn casually remarked, swirling her drink.

"Do I even wanna know?"

"No, you do not."

"Hallo Fraulines!" Heidi happily greets the pair, getting their attention.

"Oh! Heyyy, Heidi girl! What's up?"

"Hi Heidi, nice to run into you here," Scarlett said welcomingly.

"I am here toooo!" Tubala chimed in with the friendliest smile she could muster.

Jocelyn's smile diminished considerably upon seeing the wavy-haired Devil, not feeling like dealing with her. Neither did Scarlett, who tried to keep a more neutral expression but was still a little anxious from seeing her.

'Great, what's she doing here? Please, Chaos, don't sit this racist bitch down with at our table,' Jocelyn thought, sipping her tea and eating the tapioca balls, trying to appear casual.

"Mind if we join you?" Heidi inquired.

"Oh, no, go ahead," Scarlett replied, trying to appear welcoming as Jocelyn side-eyed her.

'CHAOS FUCKIN' DAMMIT, SCAR–'

"Hello! Welcome to our shop! What can I get for you?!" one of the Mice popped out of nowhere, startling the Devil women. She was jittery and energetic with a happy grin fixated on the group.

"Oh, um, I'll have green tea with lemon if you have it," Heidi said.

"We do! We have ALL the teas! And you, miss?"

"Hibiscus tea, ice crushed, please," Tubala ordered, giving a slight glare at the Mouse girl, daring her to get it wrong.

"Alrighty! Be back in a jiffy!" the Giant Mouse saluted then moved at a near blinding speed back to the kitchen.

"You think they get high on their own supply?" Jocelyn remarked, seeing the Giant Mouse girls busily making drinks and snacks for customers, moving so fast it could make one exhausted just watching.

"Nah, I read they're always like that. Fast metabolism, you know," Heidi casually answered, "So what are you both up to?"

"I'm on break right now and I asked Scar if she wanted to join me. Though, I'm more curious why you two are hanging out?" Jocelyn skeptically asked, gesturing towards Tubala who narrowed her gaze at her a bit.

Scarlett looked between them, ready to intervene if necessary.

"Oh, well, it's kind of an interesting stor—"

"WHICH they don't need all the details to!" Tubala quickly interjected, not wanting to be reminded of her humiliation of frustrating experience, "We just met at the gym, did some yoga and cardio, and talked for a while. Nothing more," she plainly spoke as Heidi looked at her curiously but understood her desire to avoid the topic of today's tumultuous events.

"O…K?" Scarlet accepted, still a little curious, "It's good to see you both getting along at least."

"Not just that, Tubala's been teaching me a bit of Daema!"

"Daema?" Scarlett questioned.

"What is that, like some new yoga poses or something?" Jocelyn asked, just as confused.

Tubala looked at them blankly then rubbed her eyes in immediate frustration then responded, "No. It is the LANGUAGE of our people. One of many things of our culture lost or destroyed by angelic scum."

"Wait, really?" Scarlett asked, intrigued.

"Scilicet ta ratak! Loquor paulatim. Vor noscere," Heidi happily responded in the Daemic tongue as Scarlet and Jocelyn looked at her, intrigued. Tubala, however, was a bit irritated that she used 'vor' instead of 'var'; it made her sound like she was addressing males.

"Cool, no idea what you said but sounds kinda hot," Jocelyn coyly remarked.

"Tubala wants to teach our language to the others in the faction. To help us all reconnect with our roots somewhat."

"That's…actually a fantastic idea," Scarlett replied, unable to deny how.

"Yes, but just so we're clear. I intend to teach our language to our people. Your little Witch friends will have to entertain themselves," Tubala obstinately remarked, arms folded.

"Here we go again…" Jocelyn rolled her eyes, catching Tubala's attention, while Scarlett sighed in disappointment.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It MEANS you need to let that shit go. Ms. Venus and her coven, along with the others are our fellow Chaos-born too. We're all made from the same primordial being so it's not fair to ostracize them."

"Jocelyn's right, Tubala. I told you this already, we have to respect each other if this faction is going to hold strong," Scarlett chimed in, chiding the black-haired Devil.

"We were ALWAYS holding strong! Our kind never needed lowborns among them to BE strong," Tubala stated, arms folded in defiance as Heidi looked at her, worried.

"Yeah, that was then. Now, guess what? It's the future," Jocelyn replied in a mock whimsical tone, waving her hand like a wand, "We don't do the whole caste system thing here. We're a democracy of Devils and others."

"So you'll abandon our way for that of humans? Ones who are part of the very reason our culture is going extinct?" Tubala questioned, sounding displeased.

"That's not what we mean, Tubala! We only wish for cooperation among our people and others like us. If the world is against us, it's better we stick together, instead of belittling and ostracizing each other," Scarlett calmly replied.

"Yeah, besides, not all humans are against us, you know. I work with a few and we're on good terms," Jocelyn pointed out.

"Isn't that lovely? You meet one human like that Bizzell clod and you think all humans are your friends. Stop fooling yourself and letting your lust for him control you!" Tubala berated as Scarlett was taken aback by the statement.

"That's NOT what I said and you know that. And leave him outta this! He has nothing to do with whatever your problem is."

Tubala scowled angrily, clenching her fists, about to verbally–and quite possibly physically–attack the silver-haired Devil before Heidi chimed in.

"By the way, I haven't seen him around these last few days. How's he been, Scarlett?" Heidi innocently asked, trying to diffuse a little tension.

Tubala raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Why are you asking her in particular?"

"Oh, because she and Caleb are next door neighbors. Kinda like us, only closer and with small girls living in his room," Heidi jokingly answered as Tubala's eyes widened in surprise.

"What!?"

"Heidi?! Seriously?!" Scarlett exclaimed before rubbing her eyes, "Yes, he lives in the unit next to mine and, to answer your question last I checked he was still working his assignment. Something about a restaurant and…barbecue cat paws."

"Cat paws?!"

"Barbecue?!"

"Yeah, don't ask, because I didn't want to."

"Are the kitties OK at least?!" Heidi asked, very worried.

"Not without their paws, probably not. Ever try scratching an itch with no hands? That's gotta suck," Jocelyn shrugged, drinking up more tapioca balls as Heidi sadly squealed as Scarlett just shook her head.

Tubala listened to their nonsense, shocked and revolted to learn she and that wretched human were neighbors. Still, she couldn't deny it opened up a huge opportunity as the gears in her head began turning.

"Well, hopefully we can all hang out this weekend. Ask him out for us next time you see him, Scar."

Scarlett's cheeks flushed pink, "A-Ask him out?! What are you even talking about?"

"Relax. I mean as a group having some fun. Get your mind outta the gutter," Jocelyn teased with a smirk while Tubala glared in disgust at her insinuations.

Scarlett scowled in annoyance before sucking several tapioca balls, stuffing her cheeks like a chipmunk and chewing them up aggressively while Jocelyn and Heidi chuckled at her. Ignoring their laughs, Scarlett's mind wandered back to her conversation with her therapist then Caleb. Perhaps it may be a good idea sometime around him, if nothing to help with her anxiety. Besides, it wasn't like it'd ACTUALLY be dating.

At that moment, the group chat notifications on all–except for Tubala since she didn't have one—their phones went off simultaneously.

"Wow, Alkina and her sisters are blowing up our group chat right now," Heidi spoke, reading through some of them.

"What's it say? My phone's battery is just about dead. It's not more Kobold Clap memes is it? I swear to Chaos–"

"Whaaaat?! No way!" Heidi loudly gasped, jaw dropped wide enough to catch a swarm of flies while Tubala recoiled, startled and annoyed.

"What is it?"

"Yes, what indeed could possibly–"

Tubala stopped when she sees Scarlett's stunned and slightly agitated expression, staring jaw dropped at her red-cased phone and barely able to form words.

"Scarlett? What's wrong with you two? What are they saying?" Jocelyn demanded.

"Tristan sent a text earlier about Kaiya asking Caleb on a date," Heidi plainly answered.

Jocelyn and Tubala paused for a moment, letting her words sink in.

"What?!" they expressed simultaneously.

"And he accepted," Scarlett added in disbelief.

"WHAAAAAAT?!"

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WN

~I guess you wonder where I've been?~. Too damn busy, that's what!

What's good Fam? Been a minute since I last posted but I am still writing as much as I can, whenever possible. Wasn't joking when I said I've been too damn busy. Work got me fucked up with all these new projects, sprained my ankle last week and had to go to the hospital, still dealing with police to find the guys that broke into my place, and trying to find a balance with my reading and writing schedules. Still making it as best I can though.

I was hoping to have this out before Valentine's Day but I was finishing up the little bonus I made for y'all. A little different than the others and full of familiar faces. You'll love it. Or maybe not depending on your religious views. Gotta give a special thanks to my co-writer, Sandshrewmaster and my betas for their hard work as always. Love y'all.

That's about it. Don't forget to hug your parents, drink water, get some sleep, never take dating advise from a hellhound mom, and I'll see ya'll real soon. PEACE FAM!