Amaranthine- Horny Heroes

CHAPTER 12

Cait had called her parents as soon as Lira and Breastman had left. They'd been blindsided, but proud, and it was less than a minute into the convo before they had pulled up a news feed of the fight. Cait gave them a rundown of the situation, and a promise to meet up for dinner once she was settled. Another promise was made that yes, if she met Freeflow she'd get his autograph for mom, and yes, Dad could try stabbing her with any number of steak knives but he had better be prepared to part with them when they broke. After an extended Midwest goodbye, she turned her attention to the pile of her belongings outside. 

An hour later, Cait finished dragging the last of the boxes into her room, opening it to find it was full of her dumbbells. She cursed. 

Why even bring these? They gave me access to the literal coliseum!

She knew she'd have to talk to someone about getting rid of most of this stuff. Simple fact was almost all of the things AEGIS had provided were much nicer than what she owned. She was, however, very happy to see a few things. She'd set up her gaming PC battle station on the desk in her room before she'd unpacked anything else, and immediately plugged in her Streamcube system to the TV when she'd unpacked it. In addition, they'd brought her grill, which stood proudly on the main balcony outside. Finally, she was happy to have her own clothes back, although the way things had been going it seemed risky to wear them. 

If I didn't take some control though, Lira would've probably kept downsizing my shorts until my dong was flopping out of a microkini. 

She shooed Salad out of a box of her clothes. He'd gotten real cozy in the least convenient possible place, as was his habit. Cait shimmied into a pair of jeans she knew made her ass look great, adjusted herself to the left, and looked for a top. She decided on a tight red tank that was just short enough you could see how ripped her stomach was. Dressed to kill, she looked herself over in the mirror. 

6'3" of ash-blonde amazon stared back at her. She hadn't cut recently, so her muscles bulged smooth against her lightly tanned skin. She gave herself a dazzling white smile. 

Hell yeah brother, first day of school fit lets fucking gooooo!!! 

She'd noticed Director Swan had attached a map to the schedule she'd sent them. Cait opened it up and searched for anything that might provide food to this penniless monk. 

Gotta figure out how I get money here. Also if I actually need to eat. Not that it'll stop me if I don't. 

She was delighted to see that there was a spacious dining hall on the first floor of the Palace. Destination set, she checked on Salad and his accouterments, finding his water full, shitter empty, and that AEGIS had jumped for the nice cat food. Cait gave the little weirdo a few thumps on his side just like he liked, and headed out the door. She texted Lira as she walked. 

C: yall run into that girl yet? Has hentai happened? 

L: Not everyone assaults the people they're interested in the day they meet, Cait. 

L: That's just me;) 

L: but yeah she watched his last agility run actually, and he kicked ass 

L: update, they are adorable. 

L: fucking UPDATE he made his hat say HOWDY PRETTY LADY and she actually blushed 

C: absolutely goddamn precious 

She was reaching the bottom of the stairs, and was able to follow her nose the rest of the way to the dining hall. Cait held herself back from breaking into a jog at the scent of food, and strolled through an open set of double doors. It was around noon now, so the place was pretty busy, and Cait was staggered as she finally had the time to take in the diversity of form on display here. She saw the bubble guy in a suit she'd noticed in the pantheon yesterday, and he wasn't even the furthest from human. A minotaur carried a cartoonishly tall sandwich away from a deli counter. There was a big snake with the face of a bald man, wearing a tie where the skin merged with scales, ordering from a barista at a cafe booth. 

Damn, didn't realize Bullrush always looked like that. Worse fates I guess, the furry subculture has been thriving since the Waves. 

Just then, Cait felt a tickle in her mind, then a shock of recognition and wave of aroused appreciation before the feeling abruptly cut off. 

What the hell? That didn't come from me. 

She looked around, and eventually caught a stunning beauty in black curse into her coffee when she looked back at Cait at just the wrong time. Cait grinned, and walked over to Sonder. Even having been caught, she tried to reclaim a bit of Cool Beauty dignity. She straightened up, and fixed golden eyes on Cait above her tiny cup of espresso. 

Cait had to admit, she didn't do a bad job either. The tight black turtleneck she wore was sleeveless, and displayed the generous curves of her breasts and hourglass figure before disappearing into a belted grey plaid skirt at her waist. The snow white skin of her cheeks was colored only faintly by the remainder of her blush. 

"Hey, Baywatch," She said, an eyebrow raised and a smirk bringing one of those adorable dimples back. 

"Are we doing retro tv references?" Cait quipped, "Is NCIS hiring for a new goth thirst trap?" 

Sonder snorted, and kicked out the chair across from her. Cait leaned against it but didn't sit down. 

"The coffee booth any good?" Cait asked, before realizing she had no tender but her tits with which to barter. "And, uh, free?" 

"Yeah, it's both good and free, for you at least." Sonder chuckled. "The compensation package for Guardians includes meals. I've been eating well the last couple months." 

"That so?" Cait said, her eyes scanning the many offerings around the central dining area. "Finna make Director Swan regret that. Keep that seat warm?" 

Sonder rolled her eyes, but crossed her boots on the chair she'd kicked out. Cait jogged over to the barista stand, where a twinky dude with elf ears wore a green apron. She decided against saying anything about that, and scanned the menu. 

A couple minutes later, she was walking back towards Sonder. She. Had a butterfinger frappuccino in one hand, two pancake sausage dogs on sticks in the other, and a huge, completely genuine, grin on her face. She kicked gently at Sonder's boots, scowling at her until she vacated the seat. 

As she sat down she waved the pancake dogs at Sonder. 

"Just like elementary school!" Cait said, true glee in her voice as she bit into the hot sausage. Sonder watched, eyes wide as Cait scarfed the first one in moments and washed it down with what was really just a milkshake someone poured a shot of espresso in. 

"How do you eat like that," Sonder asked, "And still look like…" 

She waved her hand at Cait, who smiled and flexed an arm. 

"Well, from now on I might just say superpowers." Cait said, leaning back and starting on the second pancake dog. "But before last night, it was a job that was mostly fieldwork and my only hobbies being an even split between the gym and videogames."

"Speaking of how I look," Cait continued, waggling her eyebrows at Sonder. "Do you hit everyone that walks in with a mental eye-fuck, or just me?" 

Sonder coughed into her cup at that, thumping a hand against her chest as she caught her breath.

"Uh, no, I mean, I didn't…" She stammered as the faint blush in her cheeks blossomed to full red. Cait's face fell at that. 

"Hey, no, sorry." Cait scrambled, trying to make concern audible in her voice and raising her hands in surrender. "Clearly that was less on purpose than I thought it was, consider it forgotten." 

"Thanks," Sonder sighed, visibly calming, and giving Cait a tight smile. In the coughing fit, a strand of raven hair had escaped the messy bun she wore. It hung past her straight bangs, tracing along a cheekbone towards the black gloss covering her plump lips. She noticed, quickly brushing it back behind her ear. 

Holy shit. Cait thought, knowing her eyes were wide as saucers. She mentally shook herself. No, stop it, don't hit on your goth dream girl when she's clearly vulnerable. 

"Did you get a chance to meet Breastman?" Cait blurted, her mouth feeling dry as she searched for a change of subject. Sonder bit her lip and tapped her chin, pointing her eyes skyward. Cait let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. 

"Do you mean the tentacle guy?" She asked, her golden eyes returning to meet Cait's. Then they went wide in realization. "Oh my god, is that what the hat said?!" 

"Hah! Hell yeah it is," Cait said, getting a good laugh out of Sonder's shocked expression. "That's my boy! He hit me with a truck last night and we've been a package deal ever since." 

She said that last bit with a dramatic tone of wistfulness. 

"Okay, need more of that story." Sonder said, with a soft chuckle. Her voice tickled in Cait's ears. It was low, with a good deal of vocal fry and a breathy quality. Cait could listen to her read the dictionary, and it would keep her full attention. She shook herself again. 

"Nah, it's your classic monster-boy meets dick-girl story, nothin' to tell!" Cait said, waving a hand lazily before leaning forward. She was close enough she could smell the coffee on Sonder's breath. "You want the real tea?" 

Sonder nodded, grinning wide, her face openly interested. Her golden eyes were locked onto Cait's, at least when Cait's weren't tracing the pleasing curve of her lips.

Why put on the ice queen look if you're gonna break it so easily? Cait thought. Less as a real question, and more to pretend there was a single thing about Sonder that didn't pull on her like the gravity of an entire planet. Who am I kidding? Seeing her look like she does, then smile like that? Its basically drugs. 

"You know Gwyn? Nanosmith?" Cait asked, and Sonder nodded. "Lira and I think she has a crush on him." 

Sonder's eyes went wide, and she gasped, pulling back and bringing a hand to her mouth. 

Black nail polish, chained rings…. Shes going all in on the style, isn't she?

"Hey now, don't be yucking folk's yum." Cait playfully scolded, and waved towards a table where Bullrush sat, surrounded by beautiful women. "Everybody is somebody's thing!" 

Sonder followed her gaze, then let out a barking laugh that sounded a little familiar.

"That is not what you think." She said, laughing hard, and wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "Claudio is gay as hell!" 

"Sandra is a mutual friend, and he's on her team," she continued, indicating a fierce brunette with glorious red tipped wings sitting next to Bullrush, or Claudio, Cait guessed. "Austin, that barista that made your little milkshake? Warhawk, that's Sandra, said she walked in on Claudio using him like a cocksleeve." 

Cait was genuinely shocked. She'd known size queens in her day, but Austin was roughly the size of one of the minotaurs arms. 

"That sounds…. lethal." She responded. "Seriously, how did he survive that?" 

Sonder was still recovering from her laughter, she held her stomach with one hand while the other waved it off like it was nothing. "Austin is stretchy. Not enough to be, like, useful, but enough that a coupling like that is fun rather than fatal." 

"Life finds a way huh?" Cait smirked. "That said, that pair might prove my point better than I thought it did." 

"Fair," Sonder acknowledged. "Gwyn is cuter than you'd expect from a tentacle porn otaku, but since when has that stopped anyone?" 

"Exactly what I'm saying!" Cait exclaimed. She caught Sonder's eye again, and smiled. Their gaze held for a long moment before Sonder looked down. 

"So, uh, what's your name?" Sonder asked. 

Idiot, you didn't even introduce yourself, Cait admonished internally. 

"Shit, sorry, I'm Cait." She leaned across the table, hand outstretched to shake. It was no small satisfaction to watch Sonder's eyes follow the line of a vein down the firm muscle of her arm to her hand. The goth girl started out of her admiration, and hesitantly took Cait's hand to shake. 

Soft.

"Nice to meet you Cait," she said. "I'm Kennedy." 

"That's a really nice name." Cait thought, then realized she'd said that out loud. She realized she was still holding Kennedy's hand, long enough to be awkward after the shake. Cait let go like she'd been bit. 

Way to fuckin' go weirdo. 

"Uh, weird thing to say, forget that." Cait said, feeling her cheeks heat up worse than the multitude of times she'd been caught naked since being Altered. Kennedy's eyes twinkled with mischief now. 

"What, you don't think it's a nice name?" She said, her black painted lips forming an exaggerated pout. Cait coughed, and found herself scrambling for a subject change again. 

"Uh….," was all she got out. Kennedy smiled, then tapped Cait's phone sitting on the table. It had started buzzing at some point but she hadn't even noticed. 

"Looks like you've got an appointment, Miss Judgy." She purred, leaning in over the table. Her breasts pressed together between her arms as she did. The black fabric of her turtleneck stretched over them just enough to be slightly transparent, exposing a tantalizing hint of cleavage. 

It's not fair that she can be this sexy when she's flustered and when she's in control.  

Cait's upper head caught up to her lower one then, and she grabbed her phone. 12:50 pm. 

"Shit! I've got Guardian orientation!" She yelled jumping to her feet. She turned to go before hesitating. "You planning on being at that welcome dinner tonight?" 

"Wouldn't miss it, big girl," Kennedy called after her, and her lips parted in a slow smile that Cait knew was going to stick in her head. 

"That better be a threat!" Cait yelled as she jogged out the door to the Pantheon.