by Neven Iliev
As for why it had come to meet her, it was because it wanted to use her as an alibi. It went a bit overboard with the earlier theatrics and was worried that someone might have spotted it darting in and out of the bank’s window. This would surely compromise its Facade, but it wouldn’t be an issue if Keira was seen in public halfway across the city at pretty much the same time. That would cover its bottom in case of an official investigation, though it failed to consider that the rumor mill didn’t care about silly things like logic, reason, or facts.
“Hey, Keira. What are you doing here?”
The redhead looked up from her seat. Rowana stood there looking pleasantly surprised and dressed in an almost identical long coat. Boxxy silently congratulated itself on having kept its clothes clean during its self-inflicted beheading before immediately getting back into character.
“Rowieee!”
Keira’s face blossomed into a wide smile as she abruptly stood up and hugged the elf around her chest, wrapping her arms around her midsection. She then nuzzled her face playfully against Rowana’s collar. However, rather than being embarrassed or flustered, the elf merely grinned in response and patted her girlfriend’s head between the ears.
“Sorry I made you wait. You probably missed me today, huh?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, you don’t need to worry about that. I managed to get the next three days off and I intend to spoil you rotten while I have the chance.”
“Yaaaay!”
“Hey, I told you to keep it down!” the employee from earlier reprimanded them. “Rowana, please take her outside.”
The platinum-blonde elf mouthed an awkward ‘sorry’ before practically dragging Keira out of the doorway while the catkin relentlessly clung to her arm. Once outside, Rowana couldn’t help but feel proud of how she handled that. Just a few months ago she would have felt incredible embarrassment and agitation at such public displays of affection. Though part of her still worried people might think less of her if they knew her orientation, she refused to be controlled by that fear any longer. The crushing loneliness she felt while Keira was away coupled with their emotional reunion made the elf realize that there were more important things in life. Spending as much time as possible with the lovely girl wrapped around her arm was right at the top of that list.
As the two happily walked through the street, Keira suddenly looked up at the elf.
“Hey, Rowie?”
“Hm? What is it sweetie?”
“Where’d Minic go? Now that I think about it, I didn’t see it around the house yesterday. Or this morning.”
“Ah, a friend’s helping me take care of it. It grew quite a bit restless since you left, you know.”
“Restless? What do you mean?”
“It kept knocking things over whenever I was away, and whenever I came home it was bumping against the door or wall while yipping at full volume.”
“Aww, it must’ve been lonely without me,” the redhead grinned happily.
“That makes two of us,” Rowana matched her expression. “I’m sure it’ll be overjoyed when we go pick it up!”
“I hope we’re not causing trouble for your friend though…”
“Actually, my coworker said it’s been surprisingly well behaved, but every time I took it back it started getting unruly again.”
Though the couple didn’t seem too bothered by this behavior, Boxxy took it quite seriously. It heard a change in their environment often agitated pets even if their owners didn’t notice anything. Due to what transpired earlier that day, the shapeshifter couldn’t help but assume Reggie’s’ goons snooping around the house had caused Minic’s distress. They may have even broken in on several occasions. Even if Rowana failed to spot the intrusions, the animate jewelry box seemingly did not.
Boxxy made a mental note to double-check with Reggie next time they met before returning to its act.
“I’m sure the little guy will feel much better when I give it a big hug.”
“Hehe, I’m sure it will,” Rowana chuckled. “Keira’s hugs are the best medicine, in my professional opinion. You know, if we could somehow put you in a bottle and sell you as a happiness potion we’d make a killing.”
“What are you saying?! There’s no way I’d agree to something like that!”
“Ah hahaha, sorry, sorry. That was a bad joke on my part.”
“The only one allowed to drink that potion is Rowie,” the redhead insisted.
“That’s what you have a problem with?!”
“And you don’t?”
“No! I mean, yes. I wouldn’t want to share you with anyone, but shouldn’t you be more worried about being liquefied?!”
“But you already make me melt every night in bed,” she whispered suggestively.
Rowana blushed fiercely at that statement, prompting a mischievous smile from her lover.
“Ehehe, you’re way too cute when you’re embarrassed,” Keira teased her.
“Keep that up and someone will be sleeping on the porch tonight,” the elf grumbled.
“Really? We’re doing it outside again?”
“Keira!”
“What?”
“That’s inappropriate,” Rowana complained in a hushed tone.
“But you’re the one that suggested it.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“So, you don’t want to make love under the stars?” Keira looked puzzled.
“No! Well, kind of. Maybe once the weather warms up a bit…” she trailed off.
The two of them kept shamelessly flirting as they walked through the city. Many laughs, giggles, and hugs were had, not to mention a few quick and discreet kisses. They met up with Rowana’s acquaintance, a male elf who was one of the resident healers at the clinic and was currently off-duty. Minic leaped out of his house the instant he opened the front door and rubbed its ornate wood frame against Keira’s leg. The catgirl picked it up in a hug and mumbled some nonsensical babying words at it. They bid the man goodbye and went on their way wrapped arm-in-arm without a care in the world.
“Well, well, well! What have we here?! A couple of unnatural freaks!”
A loud and rude voice suddenly came at the couple while they were making their way across a busy plaza. Its source was a tall, middle-aged male elf with a mean look in his eye. He completely ruined their good mood. Worse still, Rowana had a terrible feeling that this was precisely the sort of bigot she worried about. She had played this scenario out in her head countless times, formulating all kinds of excuses and arguments. However, the sudden reality of it all made her panic. All she could think to do was run away immediately.
“C’mon,” she spoke softly to Keira. “Let’s just ignore him and go.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Boxxy actually agreed with her on this one. It really didn’t want to get tangled up with something pointless. It already had its fair share of meaningful encounters for the day, so it could seriously do without any more of them. Unfortunately, the couple’s displays of public affection gathered quite a bit of attention as thirteen other people suddenly cut them off and surrounded them on all sides. They got as close as five paces away and none of them looked too friendly.
“Oh no, you don’t!” the man from earlier shouted as he made his way into the circle. “You’re not going anywhere, you heretics!”
His surprisingly harsh words combined with that suspiciously well-organized formation ended up drawing the attention of quite a few onlookers. Most of these bystanders hung around and formed a small crowd with Rowana and Keira at the center. Some had heard the elf’s harsh words and wanted to see what the fuss was about, while others were drawn in by the two lovely ladies’ exceptional looks.
“Look at them, my fellow citizens!” the instigator addressed the crowd. “These queers have been popping up all around us without our notice! A coupling between two women?! Surely this is abnormal!”
Murmurs spread throughout the crowd.
“They ignore
the teachings of our beloved Goddess Nyrie! No, even worse! They purposefully act against Her will! Should we just sit idly by and allow such treachery to happen right under our noses?! I say thee nay!”
The buzzing from the crowd steadily grew into shouts directed at the flabbergasted couple.
“Yeah! They forsake our Goddess!”
“They must be spies for that blasted Empire!”
“That’s right! No proud citizen of the Republic would shun Nyrie like this!”
“Stone them!”
Rowana quivered in fear as their voices rose in volume and aggression. She’d heard of this happening to others, but severely underestimated how terrifying it was to be the target of such harassment. It was as if one of her worst nightmares had become real. Though much of the crowd seemed rather indifferent at first, all of that yelling and finger-pointing started riling them up. It was a textbook example of mob mentality at work.
Boxxy remained calm and assessed the developing situation. A less perceptive individual might have failed to notice what was actually going on, but the shapeshifter’s powers of observation were fearsome indeed. The loudest voices belonged to a few individuals that moved amidst the crowd to make it seem as if there were more of them. Moreover, they were shamelessly pandering to the citizens’ fears and concerns regarding the ongoing war. Someone was instigating this, meaning that this whole thing was staged.
Having determined that allowed Boxxy to quickly formulate an appropriate response.
“It’s fine, Rowie,” Keira whispered. “I’ll handle this.”
“Y-you will?”
“Of course. I’d never let anything bad happen to you.”
Those quiet, reassuring words combined with her winning smile seemed to drown out all of the horrible words being thrown around.
“Just follow me and try not to look scared. Focus on me and nothing else, okay? And here, hold this. I might need my hands free.”
The elf nodded once to show she understood, then silently accepted the scared-stiff Minic from Keira. She hugged the tiny creature tightly against her bosom, which somehow seemed to calm both of them. The beastkin then reassuringly gripped her hand and stood resolutely in front of the chief instigator. The man sneered arrogantly at her as if he was looking at a piece of fresh goblin dung.
“Oh?! What’s this?! The heretic sluts seem like they want to say something!”
His venomous words further egged on the crowd.
“Screw her!”
“She doesn’t have the right!”
“Throw her in the dungeon already!”
The catgirl didn’t even flinch under the shower of insults, although her girlfriend’s knees started shaking once again. Thankfully, Minic remained calm. The last thing Boxxy wanted to worry about was that spastic little box running all over the place. In any event, Keira’s sign of defiance had clearly raised the tension further. The situation seemed to be moments away from devolving into public lynching. However, contrary to expectations, the beastkin didn’t confront, attack, address, or even acknowledge the loudmouth.
Instead, she calmly looked to the people on his left and politely asked, “Excuse me, I’d like to pass through.”
Her voice cut the tension like a dagger through the heart.
“Hey! Who said you could leave, heathen?!” the primary instigator raised his voice. “Don’t think you can escape punishment for your sins!”
Keira ignored him and addressed the young gentleman directly in front of her.
“Please? We’ve all had a long day and just want to get home.”
Those simple words, spoken calmly and clearly, carried not a hint of concern. It was the sort of tone one would take when trying to pass through a busy market. Combined with her adorable appearance and genuine smile, it made for a surreal sight. The people in front of her came back to their senses and immediately felt terrible for ganging up on a pair of young girls.
“Th-that’s… uhm… I… err…”
The guy closest to them was flabbergasted when he realized the confused crowd was gazing at him. Being put on the spot like that, he was unable to even form a complete sentence. He gave up on speaking and awkwardly moved out of the way, which seemed to piss off the chief asshole something fierce.
“You’re not going anywhere!” someone in the crowd shouted.
“That’s right! You have to pay for your crimes!” chimed in another.
“Crimes? Hahaha, what are you even talking about, mister?” Keira dismissively waved at him. “I wouldn’t dare think of breaking the law.”
If there was such a thing as a God of Hypocrisy, he would have undoubtedly made Boxxy his Hero right then and there.
“The law is just lacking!” roared the leader. “That’s why freaks like you are still allowed to roam free!”
“Yeah!” shouted one of his accomplices. “Your very existence is offensive to the Goddess!”
“Again, what are you talking about, mister? My Goddess has no problems with girls dating.”
Typically speaking, beastkin predominantly roamed the vast, pure-white desert on the continent’s southeast edge in nomadic tribes. Their kind thrived in the Pearly Dunes’ harsh conditions because of Zephyra, the Goddess of Rain and patron deity of explorers and travelers. It was by the grace of her blessed showers that the region was habitable, which only served to reinforce the beastkin people’s faith in her. Rumors said a single mouthful of holy water from Zephyra’s followers was enough to satisfy a person’s thirst for three days and three nights.
This common knowledge immediately made it clear who the redheaded catgirl was referring to when she spoke of ‘her Goddess.’ Even if it wasn’t the truth by any stretch of the imagination, those words had the intended effect. Quite a few people started wavering when reminded that there were indeed multiple faiths and cultures in this world. It gave them pause since infringing on one’s religious freedom was widely considered to be a ‘dick move.’
This wasn’t merely an elvish or Republic sentiment. History proved monotheistic cultures could not exist in practice. Military personnel, for instance, all prayed to Axel, the God of War, for success in battle. Should they fail, the mortician handling their remains would lay them to rest in accordance with Mortimer’s scriptures. A researcher would not hesitate to beg the Goddess of Magic and Learning for guidance after a failed experiment, and any farmer would give offerings to Nyrie in hope of a bountiful harvest. Some faiths were naturally more dominant than others among various cultures, but all enlightened knew that to spurn one of the gods was to spurn them all.
Once reminded of common sense, some of the people recognized how wrong this turn of events was. They had latched onto religion as an excuse to vent their frustrations, and could do little but slink away from the scene, their heads hung in shame. Others had a moment of clarity and remembered that what they were doing was, in fact, quite illegal. Questions of religion and morality aside, they didn’t want to spend the night behind bars, so they vacated the area as well.
“So, you admit you are in a relationship with that woman!”
The main loudmouth didn’t notice the crowd thinning as he kept throwing accusations around.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Keira smiled. “Rowie’s the love of my life.”
Rowana’s ears turned red as she was overwhelmed with embarrassment and joy in equal measure.
“Come to think of it, is that really that big a deal?” a question was murmured.
“They can’t have kids though!” an answer was shouted.
“So? I mean, no offense, lady, but you don’t stand much of a chance in that regard either.”
“Besides,” came a third voice, “it doesn’t feel right shouting at that adorable face…”
“I’ll say. That smile is so dazzling I want to hog her all to myself.”
“Aren’t you married, though?”
“I meant as a daughter, dipshit. She’s way too young for that besides.”
With the
tension well and truly annihilated, the crowd began to disperse in earnest. A few even offered the couple sincere apologies. Rowana couldn’t believe her eyes and ears whereas Keira smiled smugly at the furious asshole who started the whole mess. The other instigators quietly slinked away. It wasn’t clear what they were trying to accomplish, but they chose the wrong target. After all, cute girls could get away with anything, and Keira Morgana’s looks and demeanor worked in tandem to turn that notion into a weapon.
Of course, there was more to it than simple appearances. Unbeknownst to the onlookers, Keira had quite a lot of Charisma (CHR) under that tanned skin. The Attribute’s primary effect was to render one more physically beautiful, which wasn’t much use to a shapeshifter. However, its secondary property ever-so-slightly amplified one’s force of personality. Boxxy didn’t know how it worked, but its best guess was it affected things that could only be perceived subconsciously, such as body language, voice inflections, and facial micro-expressions.
Regardless of its exact function, CHR unquestionably made it easier for the monster to influence others through its words and actions. That said, it wasn’t fair to give all the credit to a bunch of numbers on Boxxy’s Status. Though its alter ego’s ‘girl power’ helped disarm the volatile situation, it was only made possible thanks to the excellent job Snack had done when designing Keira. The monster’s ability to observe its surroundings and think calmly under pressure had handled the rest.
Not that Boxxy gave the matter any serious thought. It didn’t care whether the situation was resolved peacefully or not. If violence broke out, it could have easily gotten both itself and Rowana out of there safely, then used the incident as an opportunity to garner sympathy. Much like it told that random piece of meat in the crowd, the day had indeed been a long one. It wanted to get home, and diddle the elf into a coma so that it could play with its shinies in peace, but some random asshole just had to pick a fight. It was somewhat disappointed the situation didn’t turn into a riot, because it would have then had an excuse to scratch the idiot’s eyes out. It was unfortunate, but the monster would have to settle for a verbal beatdown instead.