Really Strange Stuff

=::= Callie's PoV =::=

"We've gotta send all this to Kid Chaos," I announced as I wandered into the kitchen while my eyes remained glued to my phone. "She needs to know how much support we're getting!"

Then I flicked my ears and swished my tail before correcting myself, "Forget that, she needs to know how much support /she's/ getting!"

My girlfriends both exchanged a look then rolled their eyes. Serenity was just taking a couple plates out of the cupboard, while Bailey carefully got dinner out of the oven.

As she set the plates down on the counter the tall beautiful ravenette pointed out, "I don't think Cassandra needs or wants to hear from us every time we get some positive feedback on social media."

"Anyways she's a goddess," she added as she moved to the cutlery drawer. "She probably already knows whatever it is you're planning to tell her."

The sexy foxgirl set the hot roasting pan next to the stove then commented, "I don't actually think Kid Chaos is omniscient? If she was, shouldn't she have known the interview stream would get purged off the internet?"

Serenity tilted her head to one side and frowned, "Huh. Good point. That makes me wonder if any other gods are really omniscient. Or omnipotent, for that matter."

"It makes me wonder how many other gods are actually out there," Bailey replied. "Especially the big ones. Like is the Judaeo-Christian god real too? Does he hang out on Earth as well?"

My tail swished as I grinned, "And is he actually that weird old guy we see at the IHOP every time we go there? You know who I'm talking about, right? The guy with the big messy white beard, always sits by himself in the corner booth?"

Serenity looked like she was fighting back a smile as she shook her head, "I'm pretty sure that's not god, Callie."

"Or at least, not the god you're thinking of," she added a moment later, while her expression shifted into a thoughtful frown.

Then Bailey announced, "Ok you two, if you're hungry then grab a plate and come get some food."

"Thanks Bails!" I grinned as I stuffed my phone into my hoodie pocket then picked up a plate and some cutlery. With my tail and ears all standing up in anticipation I added, "Can I get one of the end bits please?"

Dinner tonight was home-made meatloaf, and it smelled perfect. Our foxgirl girlfriend used her mom's recipe again, and it always came out really moist and tender. Plus there was a tangy sauce on top that gave it a bit of kick.

"Sure cutie," Bailey smiled as she cut a chunk off the end then set it on my plate. Next came a scoop of roasted veggies, followed by a big spoonful of parmesan-garlic mashed potatoes.

With my plate full I grabbed a can of soda from the fridge then headed out to the living-room, where I sat down at one end of the sofa. I put my drink on the coffee table for now, and had my plate balanced on my lap. Serenity joined me a half minute later, she sat at the other end of the sofa. And finally Bailey emerged from the kitchen and took her place in between us two catgirls.

"Thanks for dinner Bailey," I said after a few bites of the food. "This is great!"

Serenity nodded in agreement, "It's delicious Bailey, thank you for making it."

The foxgirl blushed but smiled, "You're welcome. I'll have to let my mom know her recipe continues to be a big hit around here."

Then our tall hot ravenette girlfriend looked to me and asked, "What was it you wanted to tell Kid Chaos about anyways? Something new, or more of the same?"

After swallowing a mouthful of the mashed potatoes I replied, "Just all the support on our social media feed. It's been six days now but that little apology video we posted Sunday morning is still making the rounds. And it seems like everyone who sees it wants to let us know they're behind us all the way."

"Kid Chaos too," I added as I scooped up some more meatloaf with my fork. "There's literally hundreds and hundreds of requests for us to invite her and Kaylee back on the show, so we can do another interview with them."

The apology video was a short clip the three of us made after Cassandra's visit on Saturday afternoon. We basically thanked everyone who caught the March live stream last Friday night and made it such a huge success. Then we explained that someone hacked our accounts early Saturday morning and deleted a bunch of stuff, both online and from our personal computers. And that resulted in us losing the posted interview, the original video files, and all the chat comments.

We tried to keep the information in the apology vid accurate but vague, which wasn't hard since we didn't actually know for sure who was behind it. And Serenity was really cautious about getting people too riled up. Like we definitely didn't want to make any accidental accusations, we didn't want some of our supporters going off after some dangerous group like the Council or anything like that.

My girlfriends and I were also worried our viewers would be angry at us, for being hacked and losing all the chat history and everything. Luckily that's not how it worked out. Instead we were getting overwhelming support.

The minute-long apology clip got us even more subscribers and supporters, while the folks who did catch the show were all out there talking up how great it was. The ones who got plushies were especially vocal about how they got to experience their own personal miracles thanks to Kid Chaos. And that only drove the demand for getting our guests back for a second show even higher.

"Cassandra said it's not safe," Serenity reminded me. "Whoever or whatever hacked us last week is obviously strong enough or dangerous enough to pose a threat. And she said she doesn't to risk us getting hurt."

My ears folded back and my tail twitched as I sighed, "I know that Sere! But this is our mission, right? We've always said we won't let anyone silence us. We've never backed down before, idle threats don't scare us. Right?"

"This wasn't an idle threat Callie," Bailey pointed out with a frown. "Our computers were hacked, along with our streaming and social media accounts. We're lucky they only deleted the March stream. What if they'd purged everything, or deleted our steaming account? What if they go after the subscriber list next, and clear that out? We'd lose our income, all the history and back-catalog. We'd have to start over from scratch, and even if people wanted to support us they'd have to find our new accounts all over again."

She shook her head, "I feel like this was a warning. They could have done a lot worse, and maybe if we challenge them again then next time they'll shut us down for good."

My ears drooped and my shoulders slumped while I pouted, "I just don't like giving up. Maybe Kid Chaos can protect us if we become her prophets? She said she'd look into that, remember? It seemed like she was interested in the idea."

"We don't even know what that would mean Callie. We have no idea what's involved, or what it might do to us," Serenity stated in a wary tone.

Her ears folded back and her tone got a little harder as she continued, "And I'd appreciate if you'd check with me and Bailey first next time, before you go offering us up to any random supernatural who comes along."

I cringed, "Sorry Sere. But Cassandra isn't just some random supernatural. We've known she was a goddess since October. And she's been helping us out since then too, with all that information she gave us on the Council? Plus she magically updated our ID. Not to mention she's also an RSS subscriber."

Bailey pressed her shoulder against mine in a supportive way as she replied, "Serenity and I know you mean well cutie. But Kid Chaos warned you about making those kinds of offers back when we first met her, remember?"

"I know it seems like we can trust her," she added, "But back in October both she and Kaylee sort of hinted that gods could be dangerous. And I certainly haven't forgotten how she basically threatened one of our viewers on last week's stream."

That made me sigh as my shoulders slumped, "Yeah I know. You're right. I'm sorry Bailey, Serenity. I know I get carried away sometimes, but I still feel like this is the right thing to do. It's like everything we've been working towards for years, plus a whole lot more."

"We know Callie," the tall hot ravenette said. "And I'm not saying you're wrong. I just feel like we need to be a little more cautious about these things, rather than diving in head first. And I think Bailey feels the same way."

She had a gulp of her drink then suggested "So let's just keep working on our regular shows for now, and if Cassandra gets back to us about the prophet thing we can think about it and evaluate whatever it is she offers us. And try to be rational about it."

"Alright Sere," I nodded slowly. "I can't argue with that."

The conversation seemed to come to an end there, and the three of us all went quiet for the next little while as we just focused on our dinner. Except I still had more I wanted to say on the subject. In fact the whole Kid Chaos situation was probably going to be stuck in my head until it was resolved one way or another.

Like Cassandra was right about how Really Strange Stuff's goals and mission statement lined up with her own Chaotic plans. And I wanted to adopt her long-term goals too. I loved the idea of magic and the supernatural becoming a regular normal everyday thing. Even if that meant our show would someday become obsolete, it felt like it'd be worth it.

And if we did eventually put ourselves out of work, at least we'd be able to say we were right all along. Maybe we'd even get some credit for helping make Cassandra's goals into reality, since we'd have been bringing the truth to people all along, even when almost nobody believed us and popular opinion was against us.

Eventually Bailey broke the silence with a question, "Are you still thinking about contacting Cassandra, to update her on the ongoing social media support?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Unless you and Sere really don't want me to."

The cute foxgirl got a thoughtful look on her face as she seemed to consider the question. Then she adjusted her glasses as she suggested, "Instead of texting or emailing her, have you considered maybe trying to pray to her?"

"Seriously?" Serenity asked, with her head tilted to one side. Then she grimaced, "I know she's a goddess, or at least she claims to be one. And she's obviously powerful, we've seen her do some really amazing things. At the end of the day though, the idea of praying to someone we can see and touch and text, someone we've recorded and interviewed... It just feels kind of weird to me."

Bailey smiled, "Honestly I feel the same way. But I haven't forgotten how it felt when she told us what she really was, when we first met her in Willow Park back in October. Remember that? She did something, and I sure felt it. Like we were in the presence of something much greater than anything else I'd ever experienced."

Both Serenity and I were nodding even before our foxy girlfriend had finished talking. I agreed, "That's right. I don't have any other words to describe that, other than divine. Like she let us feel something she obviously keeps under wraps most of the time."

"Yeah true enough," Sere agreed.

Then I smiled, "And you're right Bails. That's what I'm gonna do. Tonight before bed, I'll pray to Cassandra, Goddess of Chaos."

"Thanks for the suggestion," I added. "It's a great idea, and way better than just sending her a text or email."

Our foxgirl girlfriend smiled back, "You're welcome cutie."

After that the three of us were quiet again as we all finished on our dinner. Then when it seemed like everyone was done eating I volunteered, "I'll take care of washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. Sere, want to give me a hand?"

"Actually maybe Serenity and I can handle the washing up?" Bailey responded. "You need to finish tidying up and sorting everything out in here, Callie."

I frowned, "What do you mean? What's to do in here?"

She rolled her eyes and flicked her ears as she gestured, "You left the tools out after assembling your kitty tower this afternoon. And the tower can't stay there, it's blocking the TV. You also need to get rid of that big cardboard box too."

Then she smirked and added, "Or if you and Serenity want to keep the box so you can play with it some more, at least put it somewhere out of the way please."

I felt my cheeks heating up, while my best friend and I exchanged an embarrassed glance. Neither of us meant to fall asleep in there this afternoon. I hadn't even really thought about it after putting the tower together. But the box turned out to be loads of fun, at least when I was in kitty mode. And Serenity seemed to agree with me, since the two of us ended up playing with it a lot today, until we tired ourselves out.

"Alright Bails," I grimaced. "I'll put the tools away, and find a better spot for the tower."

Then I added in a quiet little mumble, "And I'll find somewhere to put the box."