Kaleidoscope V

Mind Over Matter

---

Banquet Hall, Grand Palace

Luxor, Neo Egypt

Yangu-Grurra, Vasily (YG-4)

07:11, 35/2/4, 15 XP

---

"Arty, son." Iolvin dropped his utensils into his plate of sausage and eggs, pausing breakfast for a hug and a status update. "You missed dinner? How are you doing? Feeling better?"

"Hungry. Also... I had an interesting dream last night. Let's just say I'm feeling a lot more relieved." Artemis quickly slapped his father with a fast hug. "How about you? Yesterday wasn't exactly your day."

"I'm fine if you're fine, son. Just worry about Vix and you won't hear a peep from me." Yoyo slapped his son's shoulder and then rejoined his mates at the long banquet table. "Get some grub. Don't let hunger become the beast that bests you."

"Nah, that gun you gave me will probably do the job first." Arty led the vixen tethered to his tail to a clear spot a few seats down. "I think we really should get me a lesson or two, after thinking about it. Oh, let me get the chair for you..."

Vixellyn allowed Arty to act the gentleman and sat into a tucked chair, a bit frazzled as the panthott also fed her tail through the gap in the back. "Th-Thanks."

"Think nothing of it."

"So wait..." Ilaria leaned her head closer from the other side of the table. "I thought you just forgot her, but you gave away Matilda?"

"Yeah. Arty's responsible enough for her." Yoyo loaded some eggs into his muzzle and chewed while talking. "Gears might need some oiling, but we've got Cid for that. Right?"

"Me?" Sydney's head poked upward from her own meal. "I'm not oiling your gears, idiot."

"No, not that. I'm seriously asking a favor." Yoyo finally swallowed, only to reach for his coffee rather than pace his words. "My son needs training with his new pistol and I know you train the Furnace security teams. Whadd'ya say?"

"Make a donation to the cause and I might consider." Sydney looked up through the windows in the ceiling and frowned at a familiar spot on the tidal moon. "Crap. No, you've already paid enough of a price on my behalf. Let me settle in when we get back and then I might fit you in while I'm cleaning the place up. You're privy to my training grounds?"

"Cid, you've got my favorite dojo on the Furnace."

"...I actually don't dislike that..."

Arty finished ordering some food from one of the harem maids, then nodded in thanks to the ottkat. "Well thank you. We'll give you all the time you need since you're adding us into your schedule. Besides, we should take Vix and Quill to the Academy to see what can be done for them first."

"...He certainly must have gotten his manners from his mum." Sydney sighed and brought her focus back to breakfast. "Alright. I'll stay a few hours after I close shop. You're welcome to--"

"Woah!" Themis held his fancy camera back from his face and double-checked the display screen. "The invisible girl is actually real? I didn't think she looked like anything in particular..."

Phoebe nodded as he looked into the display, only able to spot a certain Figment due to his Link to his twin. "I think he means to say... he expected an idea rather than a tangible person--an enchanting person at that."

"Huh? I don't see anyone abnormal." Rose held the camera herself, then returned it to her husband with a shrug of her shoulders. "What am I missing?"

"She doesn't have the artist's touch." Glitch walked over to admire herself in the photograph, her smile widening when she realized she'd never seen a digital photo containing her before. "Wow. Photography sure has advanced far from the flashbulbs I last saw. You humans and your ingenuity."

"Uh... Em? Yeah, she's to your left." Arty briefly thanked a servant as she placed down a large plate of various fruits, then returned to the topic with a few grapes in his mouth. "Glitch keeps mentioning only artists can usually see her. I think that explains--"

"It isn't the artist, but the creative medium within which the artist gains the title."

"Right. She says you use the camera, thus you can see her through cameras. I use my Sense for art, so that makes it easy on me to just overlay her over my vision." Art swallowed his grapes, but ended his thought with a stare at the Figment rather than caring for more food. "So if a medium is needed, what is Vix using to see you? She can't use a Sense. And you mentioned she's an 'author' of sorts?"

"And authors create and shape entire worlds. The entirety of existence is her medium, to summarize." Glitch shrugged her shoulders and hopped atop the table playfully. "Even I'm trying to figure her out though. The enigma is quite delicious in any case."

"Oh, right. You really don't need to eat or drink anything?" Arty chuckled as he turned to find half the fruit had imploded into cores and seeds, mysteriously paired with a vixen drooling fresh juice from her chin. "We have more than enough if it helps."

"Nope! I'm all good."

"Okay. Glamour it is, then." Arty checked around for his faux-feathered friend and sighed in concern at the lack of the lady. "What about Quill? Has she eaten anything? Anyone checking up on her too?"

"She wanted to claim her own food, from what we gathered." Siamun grinned across the large table through crossed fingers. "That girl's a natural hunter. She wouldn't take anything except a fresh set of clothes and cloak. Still, she's come back satisfied. I admire such self sufficiency."

"You? Interesting words from the one living in the palace but doing none of the palace work." Ana placed a clipboard down to finish eating her own meal, reacting too slowly in protest to stop her husband from snatching it. "Hey, I... <I was only poking some fun. That's important.>"

"<Then it should mean even more when you relax in the baths while I finish this. You work hard enough, dear.>"

"<You're... far too surprising, Siamun.>" Ana relaxed in her seat and focused on her food as she talked. "Please, tell the poor girl your findings, Siamun. If you can be kind to me you should be even kinder to guests."

"Oh, yes! I'm not sure how I should put this..." Siamun checked to his sides but couldn't find the person he seeked. "Really our chief researcher should probably speak, but I can try myself. We do believe you've indeed been bonded to Tyet. We also have a theory that the Book of Thoth may actually be one of these spell tomes we've seen a few of you using. A bit of further research is needed to prove that theory, so I'd like to send the one that came up with the idea to keep an eye on you. Think you could deal with an extra shadow for a while?"

Vix dipped her head into her arm, only for Arty to reach over and clean her face properly with his napkin. "So... Someone would be... f-following me...?"

"Well yes, but with no intent to disturb you. The goal is observation and to study these tomes at your Academy." Siamun gained a toothy grin upon spotting someone enter the dining area and fanned a hand her way. "In fact, I'm sure you'd get along. I know at least one of your shipmates will enjoy her presence in any case."

"Hey, honey." Viola wrapped her arms around her daughter from behind, soon waving over to Vix as well to soothe her nerves. "I assume we're talking about my little trip?"

"Absolutely! I'd normally complain if my Priestess ran off on an adventure, but you're also the religious leader of our people." Siamun shut his eyes and nodded to the African wild dog. "I wish you a safe and productive expedition. Solving a mystery of our past is an important task, but do try to have fun as well."

"I'll do my best, my King." Vi gave Qesis another squeeze and sat beside her. "Oh, will we enjoy ourselves."

Variable Training Stage, Spetsbez Shtab [Police Headquarters]

Vapor Furnace, Public Services Ward 001

Tethered to Winchester Space Elevator, Vasily (YG-4)

17:21, 35/2/4

---

"One more time." Sydney led by example, raising her revolver and blasting down two targets in rapid succession. "Your initial accuracy is spot on, but it won't mean much if you can't ready yourself for the next shot. Give me another burst, Arty."

Artemis sighed in frustration and readied Matilda to fire. "It's no use. This thing's just too strong." He took a shot and shattered his first hardlight target, but the follow-up flew far above the next disc of light. "I can't get it to settle. Fuck."

"I'm firing a .357 magnum, Arty. What's that fire? Nine-mils? It isn't the gun that matters but the shooter. Here, let me show you." Sydney holstered her pistol and took Arty's, grunting at the weight. "Okay, well that doesn't help. This is a bit more massive than it appears. Fuck, and the handle's tiny for all the weight."

"See? It's probably not meant to be fired quickly."

"Actually, see that toggle button on the side?" Iolvin uncrossed his legs and sat upright to better gesture at the location. "Somewhere along the line a full auto mode was installed. Apparently it's one offered by the manufacturer, too."

"Interesting. Yet looking at the irons I'm seeing a thousand... gods, please tell me that's feet and not meters." Cid forced herself to quit inspecting the weapon and instead repeated the two target exercise... missing the second target by miles. "Okay, I take that back. You're not double tapping this thing anywhere by CQB ranges."

"That's what I was trying to tell you. It kicks like a mule and you can't hold it."

Yoyo again gestured different ways to hold Matilda. "I think that's why your gramps had a forward grip on her. You could use the stock, too. I just got used to it, personally."

"The stock...?" Sydney finally noticed there was a frame clasped around both sides of the weapon that at first appeared to be attachment rails. She found a depressor and squeezed it, allowing the scissor-hinged collapsing stock to refold into an extended position before relocking the clasp. "Well that's something you don't see anymore. Only other gun I've seen with one of these was a Luger."

"Same era, same priorities?"

"Maybe. It's hard to tell with all the enhancements done to this thing though. I'm curious now..." Cid pulled back the slide block and locked it open, quirking her head at the odd chambering mechanism and the significantly long ammunition loaded into Matilda. "That's not helping either. What the fuck does this thing even shoot? .50 BMG?"

"I think I had her loaded with ten-mil magnums, so not far off." Yoyo finally beat his laziness and walked over to verify. "Yeah, that's tens. She'll fire anything as long as a 5.56 and wide as a twenty gauge. I've fired quite a few flares from her too."

"Yeah, those are usually just 20 gauge shells too. In any case, that's your first problem. Train the kid on the light stuff first, Yoyo." Sydney manually extracted the chambered round and squinted as she tried figuring out the custom and quite odd variable diameter breach coil. "I have a box of nines in the counter to your right, Arty. Let's try again with those."

"Uh... Oh, these?" Art held up red plastic box holding a rattling black tray. "Can something so small work in this thing?"

"Sure can. The magazines have a spring loaded walls to line up anything you can place in them. Never got shotgun shells to work though, only brass." Yoyo took the weapon, unloaded the custom magazine, and pulled up an empty one from a pouch on the holster. "The solid wall points forward. Get to loading and I'll free up this mag for you."

"Thanks, dad."

"Father-son bonding at its best. I remember helping my own dad load his guns when we went camping..." Sydney blanked out for a moment, then fired the remaining two shells from her revolver. "Those trips always made me happy. Good times, dad."

"I knew you had a soft spot somewhere, Cid. Good for you."

"Ugh. I shouldn't have said anything." Sydney flipped open her cylinder and ejected her spent casings into a nearby trash slot. "In fact, don't listen to your idiot dad, Arty. Protect that girl of yours however you like and I'll help you find a way to do it."

"Jeez... Does everyone think we're a thing?" Artemis idly loaded his ammunition slowly while his gaze drifted to Vixellyn and Cherenkov gossiping behind a piece of protective glass. "I just want the best for her. She's been on her own until now, and if you saw how hard she latches onto the slightest of kindness or help..." He finished his reload and slumped against his firing lane's wall. "My mom raised me to treat people like that like family. It's the Christian thing to do, I guess."

"And it's amazing you even say that when almost everyone's tossed that old religion under the bus. That takes some balls, Arty." Sydney eyed her daughters frolicking through the entryway and shook her head. "Well sorry for confusing that with love. You two do seem a little closer than just a charity case, though. Since we've come back from Vasily Vix hasn't taken her eyes off you either, so I just figured something happened... aside from the whole... well, bondage thing."

"Well when you put it that way, yeah it does sound a bit--"

"S'cuse me!" Leannan merrily hopped into the live fire area and vaulted over some low cover, the meerkat resembling a younger Sydney as she toted around a sub-machinegun like it was a part of her. "I'm gonna kill the gravity, mum. Time for some real target shooting."

Sydney drooped her head a moment, then gave her daughter a stern glare. "Lea, I have guests. You can't just barge in here when there are live weapons strewn about."

"But mum, this is the only time I can train today. Besides, I reserved the time slot a week ago like you told me to." Lea tapped a hologram and the gravity slowly dissipated, leaving the girl completely neutral while the others behind the firing counters maintained about a quarter of normal gravity. "At least let me make one run. I already changed clothes... Oh, and I told sis I had a new route she might like to watch! She--"

"Cait can watch you later, honey." Sydney waited for her child to defiantly load up a hardlight obstacle course and start gliding through it before tapping the master override on her own console. "This isn't a game. Bullets kill; patience doesn't, Leannan."

The meerkat's eyes shot wide open as she crashed into the ground turf, her weapon clattering into a corner. "Mum! That hurt!" Lea picked up her customized SMG and checked it over for damage. "You're lucky this thing has a grip safety, too, or else--!"

A loud gunshot echoed throughout the chamber, drawing all eyes to Sydney's drawn revolver. "This is not a game, Leannan." Sparks showered from a control box mounted in a ceiling corner, causing the hardlight interface to flicker and then fade drawing an annoyed chuff that led to Sydney holstering her pistol. "I picked that model explicitly because you were running around with the thing. Planning and control allow us to have fun and be productive without anyone getting hurt. Rules are rules, no exceptions."

"...I'm sorry, mum. I'll come back tomorrow--if I can get that fixed by then." Lea clicked the manual safety on her weapon, slung it over her shoulder, and paused to help her shaking sister off the floor as she left. "The schedule's part of the rules too, you know."

"And so is the requirement for a rangemaster when using firearms. I'm deeming the range unsafe as long as we have an amateur present. Now scoot. Eve was going to try cooking today so eat and think about this."

Iolvin stared directly into Sydney's eyes as the girls left the training area. "What the fuck? I thought I had a rough upbringing, but this... Dad never made his point with gunfire. Fuck."

"What, never? I was pretty much copying Volk verbatim right there." Sydney placed a calming paw on Arty's shoulder and the panthott resumed breathing. "We have an understanding. I like to think it's better than just letting the angst go unchecked. Just don't tell my mates the details, please."

"Yeah, I think I'll stay on your good side from here on."

"As annoying as you can be sometimes, you've always reminded me of your dad. You'll always be on my side of the barrel, Yoyo. He was." Cid took a slow, deep breath as she noticed another arrival. "At this rate we'll need another session just to get the basics down."

"Y-Yeah."

Yoyo gave his petrified son a slap on his back. "She ain't flailing that thing about wildly, son. Don't piss yourself over it."

"Sorry, but she just shot at her own daughter. Pissing myself would just be the start."

"No, I shot that control box. Call it 'resource denial' maybe. If the training course was still active my daughter would probably sneak back out here and do her training anyway. It means a surprising amount to her, actually." Sydney chuckled at an idea that slipped into her head. "I suppose I literally grounded her."

"Yeah, but you grounded everyone else too," commented Iolvin.

"Eh, the thing was already on the fritz. It's been hit a few other times thanks to the idiot that decided it was smart to install it in view of the gun range." Sydney shrugged her shoulders and held up her paws. "Finally a decent reason for maintenance to drag their arses out here and rethink that flaw, maybe?"

"But you obviously shot it. Fuck..." Arty stared at the disabled equipment as it spewed the last of it's electrical blood. "Someone could have gotten hurt. Hell, your daughter was--"

"--Completely safe. The wall between the range and the activity course is reinforced for gunfire. Nobody was close enough for a ricochet or flak to bother them either, if my magnum even could ricochet on metal."

"Yeah, that's pretty far down range, too. Cid here knew what she was doing. Part of wielding a gun is having the courage and confidence to use it calmly should the need arise." Yoyo slapped and groped his son's groin with a snicker. "Gotta grow some balls before you can use 'em, son. Confidence comes eventually--don't worry."

Paprika quirked an eyebrow at the grope while placing some equipment on the next firing counter. "Uh, should I come back later? What's going on? Your girls left here looking... strange."

"No, it's all fine. We just need to chat later. Actually... could you file a maintenance report for me later, as a little favor? You work with the same blokes so it might go through faster..." Sydney drooped her head upon the vast array of trinkets Rika sorted on a towel. "Testing another toy? I thought you had your own safety chamber in that lab of yours."

"Well after our last experiment on the planet, my uncle told me to take anything with explosives either here or to a detached cargo rig. I didn't feel like wearing a vacuum suit." Rika finished counting her experiments to confirm she didn't leave any behind, then pulled up the schedule on her firing lane's terminal, noting the errors that popped up regarding the recent damage. "Am I disturbing you guys? I thought the schedule was pretty clear. Lea even gave me a go for testing beside her."

"Crap. I did screw up on that part. We should have checked the schedule before doing this." Sydney pulled up the calendar herself and located a gap the next afternoon. "Maybe we could retry this tomorrow? You free around 1600 hours?"

Artemis sighed as he collected Matilda's parts from his station. "I need to track down pretty much every one of the grand wizards at the Academy so we can get Vix free. It might screw up my schedule a few days at least."

"Well I'd normally complain about delays, but you've got a quite valid excuse there." Sydney snatched the freshly loaded magazine from the panthott and started unloading it. "You've got a lot to learn, lad. No walking around the station with this loaded, not 'till you have a license to do so. Personally, I'd hold off even more until you find a way to tame this miniature howitzer with a few thousand rounds down range."

"My arm already hurts just thinking about that kick." Arty took the empty magazine his father held and placed that into the pistol instead. "I don't need to blow open doors or anything. Hopefully we'll find a way to make this work for self defense and we can call it a day."

"You've got issues with recoil?" Paprika turned an ear to her cousin and started building a gadget from several smaller components. "Sorry for eavesdropping, but just how little damage do you think you need? Do you really need to fire lethal loads?"

"Well... I guess not, actually." Arty nudged his snout to the two women waiting for him outside. "I just want to keep them safe, not kill people. What, you got rubber bullets or something? Magic taser thinggies?"

"Well no... I'm wondering if that pistol there is like mom's, though. Can it fire pretty much anything?"

"Yeah, in about the same way." Yoyo took the pistol from his son and displayed the opened breech. "It fits larger stuff than her revolver, but she installed the same kind of system for me. Here, son..."

"About fifteen millimeters... Ah, I think..." Rika reached for a few more parts and pressed the assembly together. Then she use her inherited nanites to create a bubble of pure vacuum around a seam, allowing the metal to fuse by pure contact into a clean weld. "Looks mostly safe. Here, try this. If it works, you might not need to worry about recoil anymore."

Arty took the device resembling a flashlight connected by stiff tubing to a roughly shotgun shell shaped plug. "I have no clue what to do with this. And did you say mostly safe?"

"Don't be such a baby, big bro. I'd never blow your paw off or anything." Paprika took the device and shoved the plug into Matilda's breech, letting the lensed light assembly hook around to rest parallel to the barrel. "There's a charge loaded into that so it's ready to fire. Just make sure to point it away from us when yo fire."

"Uh... This looks sketchy. Dad?"

"I say go for it. Spicy's got me interested now."

Cid shrugged her shoulders in a mild acceptance, followed by Rika handing back the weapon with it pointed down range. "Oh, and it'll still kick this time. This is just a proof of concept."

"Oh. Hardcore testing, huh cuz?" Arty aimed his pistol carefully as a new target materialized, canting the gun to the side to accommodate the extra weight of the new attachment. "Firing..."

"Oh, and maybe squint--"

Quite the opposite, Artemis shot his eyes open as he pulled the trigger with that last warning just registering. Matilda spewed a heavy lick of flame from her muzzle, so much so the veterans considered if the round was a blank or misfire. A split second later however the flashlight-looking assembly lit up brilliant indigo on the fringes of its lens. It appeared the device did nothing at first, but upon the recoil kicking back and raising the muzzle the target scored with a flash of light, eventually splitting into two clean parts.

Artemis held the pistol upright, completely perplexed by the result. "Please tell me that was supposed to happen."

"Perfectly." Paprika slapped the lens quickly, then placed her paw around it outright when it wasn't searing hot as she first thought. "Looks like the laser emitter worked without issues. I figured a heat-agitation diode would work but this one performed wonderfully! There must still be a heat sink in the line too or else it would have heated up. We can try adding more fins to the frame when we mount the final--"

Sydney placed a single finger over the pup's lips to quiet her. "No. We only speak English in this dojo."

"Oh... sorry." Rika popped open the breech and revealed the center core of the plug was now hollow and charred black. "You just fired off a shaped charge without a payload. That heated a vulkanium grille which converted it into negative energy, which returned into heat in the laser. Long story short, you just powered a laser gun with an explosion."

"Dark energy laser gun. Gotcha." Iolvin shatched the weapon for a quick inspection, then gave it back when he was satisfied. "So lasers are cool and all, but how does that help if it's still got recoil?"

"Actually, I jumped because it felt weird more than anything. That didn't really have much power behind it." Arty took back Matilda, removed the assembly, and checked for damage. "Looks like she fared well through it. That's not that bad."

"Well let me build something proper and you'll love it even more. With a custom recoil damper on the barrel I should be able to get the pressure to completely neutralize out the sides." Rika took back her new invention and performed her own damage inspection while holding it up to the ceiling lights. "Give me a few days and I should have something to show that fits a lot better. As a bonus I think I can get it to run on the same caseless explosives as my other new toy."

"Interesting."

"Indeed." Sydney nodded as if she understood any of that, bringing up her own point. "You could even reclassify this as a construction tool and get around the tight gun regulations on the Furnace. How powerful is the laser? Similar to the welders they use outside?"

"Yeah... like those..." Rika rolled her gear into her towel and scurried out the training area to work on the gadget. "...only about a dozen or so. Perfectly safe."

Sydney hung her head at that last tidbit. "Here we go again. Can't that sister of yours bear a few normal children?"

"Never." Iolvin churred through a chuckle as he waved for his niece through the glass walls. "It's just not in our blood."

University Commons, Academia Arcanum

North Wing, New Horizons Academy, Vapor Furnace Prime

Tethered to Winchester Space Elevator, Vasily (YG-4)

10:02, 35/3/1

---

"Everyone's looking at me..."

Artemis gave Vixellyn a brief check before comparing her to the mages about the courtyard. "Because you're worth looking at, Vix."

"I a-am?"

Cherenkov giggled as the shy girl hid her blushing face with the hood of an elegant cloak. "He's right--you do stand out in this thing. I'd wager it's better than letting everyone see those gauntlets though."

"Oh... Yeah. That's what you mean..."

"Well to be fair, we are leading an alien around as well." Arty turned to the bird-like lady in question and placed a paw on her own cloaked shoulder. "Quill, you're doing alright with all these people aren't you?"

Quill slowly nodded, picking up the pace as she finished sharing a gaze with a group of witches walking nearby.

"I'm not convinced. How about we find a corner and catch our breath?" Arty nudged his chin toward a shade tree with a bench beneath and began guiding the group there, but found only a few paces forward that he gained a living anchor wrapping his arm. "No? Have something else in mind, Vix? We need to stay somewhere in the open so Viola can find us when she gets here."

"Yeah, but... uh..." Vix scanned around and nodded toward a café on the corner of a bookstore. "You promised me a coffee, remember? Well can we... um...?"

Arty chuckled at the vixen's demeanor and shifted course for the outdoor tables of the café. "You got me there. I could go for a coffee, sure. Quill, you ever had coffee before?"

The avian slowly nodded as she wrote a simple note in the air for Vix to read. <I've tried it from some adventurers, but it was too bitter. They said they were missing 'sugar'.>

"Huh. Well you might like to try it again in that case. They should have tea and other drinks too if that's not your thing. My treat, since you don't have money or anything." Arty pulled out a long bench seat and offered to help Vix sit but was held aghast a moment as she slowly floated down into the seat. "Now you're just showing off."

"Well I have a fair amount of control, even if I have to move super slow. Pretty sure I can make these things do whatever I'd like though." Vix played around a bit, gripping the edges of her seat and then levitating the one side a few centimeters before abruptly dropping it down again. "See? I figure I could fly if I imagined myself doing it well enough."

"At least you're improving, though I wouldn't recommend flying too close to the sun so to say. Here, Quill. Take a s--" Arty suddenly found a large gauntlet tugging at his belt, Vix's face once again hiding beneath her hood. "What's up? Need to find the restroom or--?"

"N-No! I just..." Vix found herself frantically trying to justify her actions, eventually holding up her other gloved paw. "I can't... eat or drink like this, right? Sit with me and h-help?"

"You've been getting better moving your fingers though and I didn't want to draw any more--" Again Vix tugged Arty's belt, unintentionally adding a faint whimper. "Alright, Vix. I'll be here to help whenever you need me."

"G-Good."

"You two are far too entertaining." Glitch played with a few flowers in a vase on the table, shifting them around but not drawing attention to herself otherwise. "Maybe waiting won't be as drab as I thought."

"Not everything has to be exciting, Glitch. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and relax."

A giggle and a grunt met paths as the Figment booped Arty's nose with a finger. "Don't go turning pessimistic on me, Artist. You'll literally kill me."

"Okay, that last bit sounded like the only pessimistic part. Cheer up, Glitch." Vix cooed to herself as Arty took his seat, the smaller bench and added heft of the Tyet braces forcing the two closer than intended. "Um... I'm sure we can each... uh... find something we'd enjoy out of this."

"Well said." Cheren pulled out one of the individual seats on the other side of the table, then offered it to Quill as she fumbled with hers. "Considering how awkward we all are right now, I think we could use some fun."

"Ah, sorry. Glitch decided to join us again and that was pointed her way." Artemis grabbed a menu and tapped a caramel apple iced coffee listing. "I've gotten this more than a few times with toffee flavor added and it's superb. Get what you like though, girls; it's my treat after all."

"Can I jump in on that offer?" Vydr quite unsurprisingly appeared out of nowhere to sneak a playful jab in his brother's side. "Hey, bro. I thought you were meeting some magicians, not having a date."

"It's... not a date, despite looks." Arty tried to scoot further from Vix, but the fox's bindings didn't allow for such wiggle room. "What are you even doing here? I thought you had a shady deal to handle or something."

"I guess you could call it that. Every time I set boots down on this campus people get antsy." Void checked around nervously as if he anticipated a threat, coming back to his senses when he was bumped from behind. "Oy, right. These three wanted to meet the holy woman for some news or something much the same. I knew where you were and they wanted me there too..."

"The whole of your crew is concerned, so we wanted to ask nicely." Evelyn rematerialized from a clip attached to her daughter Caitlyn's hair. "We've got a job request that came on a delayed message. I wanted to pass it along personally, if I'm not intruding at the moment...?"

"Oh, not at all. Actually, I was offering drinks while we waited for Viola. You're free to join, my treat. I'm pretty sure we can just scoot another table over."

"It's best if you ask first, but certainly." A ferret girl dressed in a frilly server's outfit walked over to the group and started sliding another table into place. "Looks like you're all set to order, right? Or would you like more time? I was about to take a break but I'm sure I could fit you in first."

"Considering the larger order and the tips, I'm guessing." Leannan pulled up reversed chair and hopped onto it, placing her sub-machinegun on the uneven space between the two tables. "Black tea, please. I'm reasonably sure my sister wants the sweetest, coldest thing on the menu, too. Right, Cait?"

Cait much more elegantly sat down with a proper posture beside her sister. "Um... The strawberry frappe p-please."

"Got it. Extra strawberries too, cutie. I love your fur."

Vix nudged Arty, trying to pull his sleeve but unable to correctly manipulate her comically oversized gauntlets. "Art, I... I have to use the, uh... restroom first."

"Hm? Sure. Let's get our order in and Cher can help you out."

"But..." Again the vixen tugged at the shirt, using both paws to properly pinch the fabric this time. "I don't feel safe like this. There's so many people around, and security could scan my neck, and... Just maybe could you, um...?"

"Jamie? Two of the usual for us. We'll be back, guys." Arty pat Vix between her ears as he stood, then offered a forearm for Vix to hook around. "C'mon. I'll watch your tail, Vix."

"I'd watch it too if I was still single." Void forced his eyes off the vixen's ass and perked up for the Jamie. "Right. One black tea as well for me, love."

"Got it. And you, Cheren? Want something today...?"

Vix trotted along for a bit, but broke her concentration enough that she tripped over her own sluggish hindpaw. "Ouch."

Immediately Arty lunged to catch the fox, though she actually caught herself with her own gauntlets. "You alright? What happened?"

"Just... a bit nervous, maybe?" After a moment to get her mind back into a groove Vix regained her balance and resumed walking. "So... you know that waitress? I thought I was the only one that called you 'Art', too."

"Oh, Jamie? Yeah, she's usually the only server when my classes get out. I think they're changing shifts at that time or something. It's pretty nice though because she knows my tastes, heeee." Arty found the door to the restroom and nudged it open. "Here you go. I'll be here, so don't worry."

"But..." Vix took a single step through the door, then turned around with renewed determination, clasped her paws around Arty's shoulder, and tugged him into the restroom with her. "Watch the stall? Please? I just think... I'll be safer that way..."

"Shit. Well... we're alone in here. Sure, I guess. We'll just want to be quick then since this is the women's room." Arty relented into the beckoning and guided Vix to the first stall. "Not sure why being here exactly helps, but I'll be right out--"

"But how do I, um...?" Vix sighed quietly and then threw the bottom of her cloak to the side, revealing her panties to her friend. "This sort of thing isn't easy with these gloves. Could you--?"

"Dear Lord... This is exactly why I wanted Cher to follow you." Artemis stepped partway into the toilet stall and reached out a single paw, turning the rest of himself to face away from Vixellyn for a sliver of privacy. "Uh... Here? Yeah, here. I'll just tug these down and leave you be--"

The restroom door shoved open and Vix freaked out, pulling Arty fully into the stall so the door could shut. "Crap! Keep quiet!"

"Same to you!" Arty tried to keep his voice low and calm, failing miserably, as he locked the stall. "H-Here, they're down now. I'll look away, so..."

"You expect me to go like this? Just stay quie--"

The middle stall door clacked and then locked. "Oh, awesome timing." A familiar voice giggled provocatively for reasons that quickly became clear. The toilet tissue roll slid to the side through roughly carved grooves, revealing a sizeable hole in the divider panel. "You're a guy, right? I hope the whole hindpaw-dick size thing holds true, dude. Let's see that beautiful cock."

"Jesus Christ. Is that Jamie?" Arty gazed at the plump lips showing beyond the glory hole, then shot Vix a frantic expression. "What the fuck do we do?"

"What do we do? Well we don't have to do a thing." Vix sat on her toilet and concentrated on her tinkle instead, turning her head to the opposite divider wall. "Don't look at what I do and I won't look at what you may or may not do. I mean... you seem to have a thing for her, so... I won't blame you if you want to..."

"Come on, dude. Better hurry up before someone else walks in and gets me first."

"Crap." Arty shook his head and took a step back. "I can't. I don't care how much she expects it, it's unfair to you and it's... I don't want to make things awkward..."

"Well now that's a hell of an answer." Finally the floodgates opened for Vix, her nervousness calming greatly with those favorable words. She closed her legs a bit as she made use of the facilities, freeing her paws to tug and press at Arty's belt. "You obviously are thinking about it. This won't happen again, so... just indulge yourself for once, I guess. Besides, it's not like I haven't watched you get it on before."

"Yeah, but that was with Cher and we both trust you. I--"

Vix finally hooked the panthott's belt and pulled his pants down his waist. "Just shut up and have fun, Art. You're already stressed out dealing with me."

"And what if that's because I like dealing with you?" Arty properly opened his pants and pulled out his two cocks, only he turned to face Vix instead of the offered muzzle. "What if I'd rather you be on the other side of that wall?"

"Art..." Vix giggled as she finished her tinkle, reaching out for a toilet tissue she couldn't grab. "Some girls have... strange ways of getting what they want. Right now this Jamie wants you. Please, don't keep that poor girl waiting. We have more time to talk about ourselves--"

Arty grabbed a pawful of toilet tissue, guided Vix off the toilet, and mostly blindly cleaned her nethers for her while keeping his eyes locked to hers. "And what if I only have eyes for you?"

"A-And... what if I want you to realize that crush you've got?" Vix bopped the longer of Arty's cocks toward the glory hole and nudged his hips forward. "You'd feel better if you didn't have to wonder how her m-muzzle felt. I'd feel better if you got her out of your system and... found me in your arms when she was gone. Win-win."

"Vix... I'm not sure--Ouh!" Arty impulsively slammed his whole body against the partition as his tip became enveloped in wet warmth. "Holy fuck."

"See? Win-win."

Jamie gagged as the huge manhood poked her throat, then chuckled while her paws played up and down the length. "Holy shit, buddy. This might be the longest cock I've ever seen. I don't think my mouth is gonna handle this beast." The sound of a zipper and ruffling clothes piqued Arty's interest, followed by the immense heat that came to rest atop the base of his manhood. "Shit, I'm out. I'm not sure if you can knock me up or not, but... got a condom, big boy? I want this fucker inside me proper."

"No, I can't..." Arty looked down into Vix's accepting eyes and came to an understanding. "Hold on a sec. I might have one." He always kept two in his wallet in fact, one canine and one magnum to cover his bases. "H-Here, this should work."

A dainty, webbed paw reached through the hole and snatched the foil packet, then moments later Arty felt the added pressure roll over his length. "Might want to think about upgrading to horse condoms, big boy. This thing barely fits."

"It's safe though. Used these before." Arty groaned and furled his eyebrows as the further half of his hard spire suddenly felt like it was as hot as fire. "Fuck... She's so tight..."

"She feels nice though?" Vix stepped out of her panties and then moved her face closer to Arty's groin. "It does look like it doesn't want to fit, though. Do you... like it really tight? How do you like it?"

Arty snorted as Jamie began to slide up and down as much of his cock as she could handle, his eyes now darting between his more exotic cock and the curious face so near it. "Tight is... okay. I'd rather take my time though, to really let the both of us enjoy ourselves." Arty lowered a paw to his second cock and slowly stroked against its fleshy barbs. "I kind of want to get my rocks off right now, though. This is a bit awkward... A little conundrum."

"You know, I could help... if you wanted..."

"No, I... don't want to make it weird for us, either. Not yet, I guess." Arty doubled down on his pleasure, fully committing to pawing his second cock as Jamie sped up to a ridiculous pace that matcher her ridiculous moaning. "Could you maybe... move your muzzle away? I might blow any second and I don't want to--"

"Art, you can cum on me if it helps. In fact..." Vix pulled herself up by Tyet's odd hovering hold upon her, then slowly lowered herself to straddle Arty's smaller cock and grind her pussy against its barbs. "Th-That feels n-nice..."

"Oh fucking Jesus...!" Double-dipping his sandwiched cocks forced Artemis to buck forward a few times, then immediately he lost control and blasted pints of baby blue cum into his latex sleeved cock. The other throbbed between Vixelynn's ass cheeks and frosted the base of her puffy tail with blue love goop. "Vix... Oh God, Vix..."

Vix squeezed her thighs together to milk the panthott. "Damn... I was close too." She threw her arms over Arty's shoulders and pulled herself up to embrace the quivering hybrid. "But at least you're satisfied. You enjoyed that, right?"

"I did. I really did." After a moment the heat and pressure left his longer cock, then soon the used condom went with it. Freed from the death grip on his manhood, Arty guided Vix to float off of his spined cock. "Can we... forget this happened? I know you have a history of people taking advantage--"

Vix lifted herself up and planted her lips on Arty's cheek. "Don't you dare. That was fun, and I normally don't find that sort of thing very entertaining at all. But with you, it's been nothing but kindness and caring..." She inspected the mess under her tail, then tossed her cloak over it without a care in the world about the consequences. "Actually, I wouldn't mind... making this more of a thing. I mean, you could always focus on Cher and--"

"Fucking gods, dude. We're doing this again without the wall in the way. I don't want to walk straight for a month." The stall door suddenly unlatched from the other side and Jamie shoved it wide open, revealing the ferret's loins were drenched with her own cum while she presented a ballooned condom with about half a gallon swelling it. "You're still hard after that? Holy..." The ecstatic smile on the ferret's face faded as she took in the occupants of the stall. "Fuck, Art? I had a suspicion but... I wouldn't have guessed you were hiding that from me. Oh... and.... your girlfriend..."

"It's... uh..." Arty reeled his hard cock back from the glory hole, revealing his unique anatomy much more clearly in the same motion. "I can explain. We, uh... Vix needed to..."

"Art, you don't need to explain anything. It's a fucking glory hole." Jamie walked over slowly, taking a moment to stroke the more exotic of the two cocks. "I wish I would have know about this guy. I've always wanted to take a knot. Maybe that's asking a bit much I guess." She leaned in closer to Vix and threaded a paw beneath her cloak, misinterpreting the warm mess her paw found but licking her fingers clean all the same. Then she moved even closer and planted a kiss on Vix's lips, petrifying the vixen on contact. "I see you had your fun too, though. Thank you for sharing your man with me, hon. Maybe I can convince you to come back again sometime soon? I might even have to try out women again because of you, cutie."

"Uh... M-Maybe..."

"Oh, I get it. Shy without the wall in the way? This might be perfect for you, then." Jamie paused to give Arty a kiss as well before leaving the stall and shutting the door. "I'll leave you two alone in that case. Don't be strangers to this little secret. Oh, and..." A slurp tracked long enough to tell that Jamie had resumed her post in the middle stall. "Yummy. Thanks for the cream, kitty. If you ever want to feed me straight from the tap in the off hours, ask and you shall receive. Have fun, you two."

"Uh... Thanks, Jamie." Arty pulled up his pants and refastened his belt, trying his best to settle his shrinking cocks. "Shit. We need to get back to the others."

"Yeah... but would you want to...?"

"I think," Arty reopened the stall door as he crouched to recover Vix's panties and place them in his pocket, "maybe I owe you an orgasm after that. Let's just... put a pin in it there? I need to think about this..."

"Yeah. Yes." Vixelynn adjusted her cloak and left the stall, presenting a hooked arm and a large smile to the panthott remaining inside. "Next time we're alone we can figure it out... and if it's not too much to ask I'd like to try... what you tried with Jamie..."

Artemis took a deep breath to clear his head, then took the offered arm with a hook of his own and guided the cheerful vixen out the restroom. "I'll make sure to treat you right."

Just as they opened the restroom door Jamie cheered, "You two are so cute! And don't blame me if your coffees are cold because you wanted to get your stirrer wet! I don't want a bad tip!"

"Oh, you'll get all the tips you want, Jamie." Artemis chuckled with Vixelynn for a moment, only to pause as a labrador retriever tried to pass into the ladies' room. Arty pulled out his other condom and awkwardly slapped it into the dog's paw. "Make the girl's day. She's dying for a knot."

"Uh... s-sure. Whatever, man."

"Aw. Such a gentleman." The squealing ferret gleefully slurped her treat as the new patron entered a stall. "Honey, that Art is a gods damned keeper. Enjoy every inch of that wonderful hunk."