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In this chapter, Amber pretends everything is perfectly fine as Cain returns to his apartment.
I also went back to edit the third chapter a bit and it's now marked as general rather than mature for those previously unable to read it. It's not really more graphic than the other chapters.
First Chapter
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Chapter Selection
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Despite Amber’s best efforts, she failed to find anything incriminating. The entire apartment also turned into a complete mess during her extensive search. With literally every container or storage device ajar and upended furniture, Amber resumed her mission within Cain’s personal bedroom. Its many locks were no match for her cybernetics by the time she opened the door, dashing inside.
The room happened to be in a state of disarray. Although it had a queen-sized bed, its sheets and pillows were thrown all over the place. Empty water bottles and pint glasses adorned a small drawer. Besides a computer in the corner, some clothes tossed on the ground, and a nearby closet, it had nothing of real notice. Nonetheless, Amber went about looking under the bed, finding a machete nestled in a sheath and an aluminum baseball bat, resulting in her giving a look of annoyance as her ears folded down.
Just as Amber suspected, Cain’s closet retained mostly dark or otherwise black clothing when she opened it to sift through its sparse contents.
A notification popping up within Amber’s augmented vision made her groan.
Adder: How goes the hunt?
She promptly retrieved her smart device to send a quick response.
Amber: not well
Amber: he owns some old and outdated weapons, but nothing technically illegal
Amber: this might not be our guy
Adder: What makes you say that?
Amber: he just seems… depressed?
Amber: like he’s potentially an alcoholic. has some edgy tendencies and this dumb rough and tough persona with his motorcycle typical of a midlife crisis, but he’s not remotely malicious toward me for being a minaki
Amber: literally does gig work and possibly lives off his military savings too
Adder: Amber. Keep in mind you’re dealing with a former peacekeeper previously accused of treason before the charges were dropped. A human man with a nearly identical physical description has been conducting terrorist attacks all over the planet. If you think it’s not him, we might need to investigate the ENTIRE human minority population living on Bedlam, and I cannot think of a single other human living in that city with strong reasons to hate the federation and a skillset capable of causing so much chaos.
Amber: it’s not like we’re on earth or anything. shouldn’t be that bad if he’s innocent!
Amber: i’ll continue the investigation, but that doesn’t change the fact nothing is coming up
Adder: Alright. However, I couldn’t help but notice you spent the funds you requested on shampoo, various foodstuffs, and some clothing before it all got delivered directly to the primary suspect’s apartment. Was that really necessary?
Amber: there’s hardly anything here! dude lives like a monk or something and i’d rather not be completely miserable if he’s going to let me stay here to ‘lie low’ for a while
Adder: If you say so. It’s a trivial price to pay, really. Otherwise, I’ve been tracking his location through his personal electronics and he seems to be driving randomly throughout the city… possibly in preparation for his next attack.
She rolled her eyes and sighed.
Amber: he literally gave me his only firearm that I know about, then went off to deliver fast food and groceries to people or whatever
Amber: real cute how he thinks he’s protecting me too
Amber: plus if the primary suspect is dumb enough to do something illegal with a smart device on his person, we’d quickly find out. like maybe check his financial records too. not finding any evidence of him making improvised explosive devices or potential materials for them besides an unused box of matches
Adder: Well, now he’s making a beeline directly back to his apartment. My guess is that he’ll be back home in roughly fifteen to twenty minutes if only due to the abnormally high speed his vehicle is accelerating down some old roads leftover from the colony’s original settlers…
Amber’s tail shot up.
Amber: gotta go then BYE
Almost immediately, Amber went into a frenzy. She did her best to return everything to its previous state. This even included an effort to lock his bedroom door from the outside by using an extended cybernetic claw on her finger to manipulate its mechanisms, but she failed to re-attach a chain-based one. From there, Amber darted into the living room, throwing leather cushions back onto the couch and rapidly resealing or closing containers in a futile effort to rewind time.
~~~~~
Cain exited an elevator. He fiddled with his phone while walking down a hall. Although the screen indicated that some new energy credits were added to his account, another financial tab showcased a twenty percent crash on a speculative virtual token overnight and a subsequent drop in the value of his combined financial assets. Without hesitation, Cain purchased some more virtual tokens with his newly acquired credits, marginally reducing his average purchasing price per token.
In a matter of moments, Cain punched in the code to his apartment door and waltzed inside. The fresh smell of food immediately assaulted his senses. He then saw Amber sitting on the couch at an angle, kicking her feet in the air while messing with her own smart devices.
“Oh, you’re just in time!” she said, placing her phone in a hoodie pocket. “I ordered some food for myself, and it got here a few minutes ago, but I got you a little something too!”
Cain didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he walked forward, looking around the room. Whether it be his imagination or not, everything looked… slightly off. As if someone shifted the cardboard boxes around and even moved the couch and TV by a few degrees.
Amber tail drooped. “Why don’t you come join me? Unless there’s something wrong…?”
“Did you mess with my stuff?” he asked without skipping a beat.
She looked away and twiddled her clawed thumbs. “Oh. That. Yeah, I… um… got bored while you were gone and looked through some of those boxes since I had no idea what was inside of them! Sorry about that. I wasn’t sure if you would notice and curiosity got the best of me...”
He sneered. “Makes sense. And I don’t really care since it’s all just random junk like kitchen appliances I rarely use anyway, but you should have asked first.” Cain then glanced at the bottom of the leather couch, cocking his head to the side. “Not sure if you managed to move the couch in your sleep either, but that’s impressive. Damn thing is heavy.”
Amber let out a nervous laugh. “I didn’t touch your pistol though!” She pointed at the weapon in question. “It’s still on the counter where you left it if you want it back.”
Cain proceeded to move toward the handgun, returning it to a holster once he grabbed it. He also spotted a large plastic bag containing boxes and additional food containers on the counter. “I could have picked up something on my way back, you know. Would have been easier. Ignoring that, what’d you get for yourself anyway?”
She hopped off the couch. “Real Mongolian food! It’s a personal favorite of mine.”
“Ah, right.” he said, sneering. “Your whole carnivore diet. Mongols mostly ate meat and dairy from what I know, so it makes sense. Never had their food myself though.”
Amber smiled with her tail wagging behind her. “It’s the best of both worlds, really! The food is remarkably similar to minaki cuisine, but it still retains the sort of flavor I grew up with on Earth.” She paused to look left to right, not finding a chair or proper dining table in sight. “But… uh… where do you usually eat?”
“Either my room or the couch,” answered Cain, “But the coffee table usually works well enough.”
At his words, Amber glared at the coffee table with its short and stubby legs. “I know this might be rude to ask, but are you financially struggling or something?”
He shook his head. “Nah. I got enough savings from my peacekeeper days to last for a long time if I lived off them alone. So I’m just frugal and trying to stretch things out right now.”
“Well, Bedlam isn’t exactly a cheap place to live, dude.”
Cain grunted. “I know. The motorcycle wasn’t exactly inexpensive either, but sometimes you gotta live a little to avoid going crazy.”
Amber walked toward the nearby counter, grabbing the food bag and a few accompanying beverages. “Why not live on Earth?”
“I could ask you the same question.” he replied in a deadpan tone. “But I think I already know the answer thanks to this planet’s ridiculous crime problem. Already had to contend with several thugs that ended up being more bark than bite. As for why I put up with it, I decided getting deemed a traitor and targeted by people on Earth wasn’t worth dealing with, so I found somewhere dark and rainy to get away from it all. The very large human immigrant population also helps I suppose.”
She set the bag on the coffee table, then began unpacking its contents. “So you came to this planet to run away from your problems?”
His skin went a bit pale. “Not necessarily. I just don’t know what to do with myself at this point. Feels like I’m in purgatory or limbo right now if that makes any sense. I guess the one thing we have in common is that we don’t have any folks or friends to turn to if everything you’ve told me so far has been truthful.”
“That’s a fair point.” Amber said, sighing. “But that also sounds really depressing if you’re all alone here…”
“That’s the thing.” continued Cain. “I don’t really care anymore. Pretty sure if I ended up dead tomorrow it’d take people a while to notice, assuming anyone cared at all.”
Amber set the plastic bag aside, sliding a drink towards him. “I care, Cain! You saved me. But now I’m concerned if you’re telling me you have some kind of death wish!”
He shook his head. “Nah. It’s not that.” Cain then glared at the ground. “I’m just… here. I exist. People tell me stuff like the motorcycle is beyond stupid, but it’s one of the only ways I feel alive anymore. Like bailing out some mysterious alien criminal.”
“You keep saying that,” she replied with a sneer, “But it’s not really true!”
“I mean, if I were a woman, I probably wouldn’t be comfortable crashing in some random dude’s place in a city like this. Meanwhile, you showed absolutely no fear or hesitation about it.”
In response, Amber narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to imply something?”
Cain made a dismissive wave with his hand. “You know how it is. It’s just very strange to me the more I think about it all, but I guess I didn’t give you a reason to distrust me.”
“Fine!” Amber said, crossing her arms while looming over the coffee table. “I’ll tell you the truth. I used to smuggle stuff between this planet and Earth, but I lost something valuable, and now I owe the wrong people a big debt as a result.” She turned her head with a huff and a swish of her tail. “I’m more valuable to them alive than dead, however, so taking a chance with you happened to be an infinitely better idea than trying to handle this issue on my own.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “That finally clears things up. I still don’t know how dangerous these guys are and it’s been a while since I’ve killed anyone, but I won’t let them give me any trouble for helping you out.”
She groaned. “Don’t say things like that! I doubt they’ll find us and I might be able to find a way to solve this situation peacefully.”
He scoffed. “Okay, princess. I hope everything works out.”
“Let’s just eat.” Amber said, popping open one of the boxes. “It could get our minds off these things. I don’t really want to talk about the topic beyond that, but ideally I corrected any… misunderstandings.”
Cain stared at Amber’s meal resembling huge pieces of jerky. “Got it. Did you get more of your favorite dried meat or something?”
Amber made a sly smile, revealing a single fang. “They’re called borts.” She removed a lid from her drink to showcase a light brown liquid. “And this is milk tea! Authentic Mongolian cuisine compared to the fake stuff some dude in Taiwan gave a dumb name.”
He picked up his own drink. “Huh. Did the restaurant have to import all this or what?”
“Bedlam’s climate is actually good enough for raising livestock far away from the cities.” she said, unraveling another package containing a white substance divided into squares. “Albeit it’s pricey. Especially with animals from Earth compared to the more synthetic options. Nothing beats the real deal like these dried curds though!”
As for Cain, he opened a second container himself, finding more borts. “And I’m assuming this one is mine?”
Amber took a big bite of a single bort, ripping out a sizable chunk with her teeth and creating an audible nomming noise. She spent several seconds chewing it before swallowing. “Ah… yeah. I wanted to get some boodog instead, but I doubt both of us could eat that much. Enjoy!”
“Killer.” he said with a sly smirk of his own, digging into his own food too.
As this occurred, Amber nonchalantly hopped on the couch to sit next to him. She went about nibbling on each chunk of meat, using the claws on her fingers as natural knives to divide it into smaller pieces whenever her sharp fangs failed to suffice. On the contrary, Cain meticulously chewed, grinding things down and savoring some of the more spicy flavors gracing his taste buds with every bite.
Cain wiped his lips upon finishing a few. “Not bad.”
“Glad you like it!” Amber said as her tail wagged. “I’m probably going to refrigerate or store the rest in your kitchen, but I was wondering if you had any other plans for today.”
He rolled his shoulders. “Eh… originally I planned on hitting the gym. Trying to stay in shape now that I’m out of the military, so I might end up leaving you by yourself again.”
She finished up another bort, licking her thin lips and fingers afterward. “Could I go with you?”
His face contorted. “Aren’t you supposed to be hiding here?”
“I had an idea to remedy that potential problem…” Amber said, gesturing at some boxes behind them. Their position in the corner of the room near the entrance made them less apparent for anyone walking inside unless they turned around. “You see, I ordered some things online I might need for about a week, including cosmetic contact lenses and dye for my fur.”
“Still sounds like a stupid idea.” Cain said, shrugging. “But it’s your funeral.”
“So… can I come with you?”
“Do you want me to make decisions on your behalf?” he asked her in return. “It’s your choice. Not sure why you’d wanna tag along anyway.”
Amber looked away. “It’s just to avoid going stir crazy.” She looked down at her own fur. “I know it might be putting you at risk, but changing up my appearance could conceal my true identity if we did that. Brown is a really dull color too and something else might look better.”
Cain perked up his head. “You talking about your fur?”
“Obviously.” she replied with a sigh. “With that in mind, is there a coat color or shade of eyes you think would look better? Sure, brown fur and irises are the most common ones for minaki, but I always thought snow white or scarlet red fur could look more pretty...”
“I don’t consider caramel brown an ugly color at all, Amber, but whatever.”
Her toes and fingers curled up. “Still, I need to pick a new color. Preferably a natural one.”
He scratched the back of his head. “I’m not a form over function guy. Red would probably be the easiest color to dye your fur compared to something like white.”
A smile spread across Amber’s snout as she hopped off the couch again. “That’s a good suggestion! If you’re willing to give me an hour or so, I’ll be ready by then!” She paused to pop a cheese curd into her mouth, then sealed some containers before putting things back into their respective bags and moving towards the kitchen. “It could take me much longer than that though…”
The last remaining box of bort remained with Cain as he continued eating. “I can wait. I didn’t work for long today, but some downtime is always nice.”
Amber returned, just to walk past him to enter the hallway. “Perfect!”
“Just remember I gotta use the bathroom at some point too, princess.”
Rather than receiving a response, Cain heard a huff alongside the respective door slamming. He snickered and sank into the leather couch, spreading out his arms as he relaxed and helped himself to some sweet and creamy milk tea.
First Chapter
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Chapter Selection
I also went back to edit the third chapter a bit and it's now marked as general rather than mature for those previously unable to read it. It's not really more graphic than the other chapters.
First Chapter
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Chapter Selection
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Despite Amber’s best efforts, she failed to find anything incriminating. The entire apartment also turned into a complete mess during her extensive search. With literally every container or storage device ajar and upended furniture, Amber resumed her mission within Cain’s personal bedroom. Its many locks were no match for her cybernetics by the time she opened the door, dashing inside.
The room happened to be in a state of disarray. Although it had a queen-sized bed, its sheets and pillows were thrown all over the place. Empty water bottles and pint glasses adorned a small drawer. Besides a computer in the corner, some clothes tossed on the ground, and a nearby closet, it had nothing of real notice. Nonetheless, Amber went about looking under the bed, finding a machete nestled in a sheath and an aluminum baseball bat, resulting in her giving a look of annoyance as her ears folded down.
Just as Amber suspected, Cain’s closet retained mostly dark or otherwise black clothing when she opened it to sift through its sparse contents.
A notification popping up within Amber’s augmented vision made her groan.
Adder: How goes the hunt?
She promptly retrieved her smart device to send a quick response.
Amber: not well
Amber: he owns some old and outdated weapons, but nothing technically illegal
Amber: this might not be our guy
Adder: What makes you say that?
Amber: he just seems… depressed?
Amber: like he’s potentially an alcoholic. has some edgy tendencies and this dumb rough and tough persona with his motorcycle typical of a midlife crisis, but he’s not remotely malicious toward me for being a minaki
Amber: literally does gig work and possibly lives off his military savings too
Adder: Amber. Keep in mind you’re dealing with a former peacekeeper previously accused of treason before the charges were dropped. A human man with a nearly identical physical description has been conducting terrorist attacks all over the planet. If you think it’s not him, we might need to investigate the ENTIRE human minority population living on Bedlam, and I cannot think of a single other human living in that city with strong reasons to hate the federation and a skillset capable of causing so much chaos.
Amber: it’s not like we’re on earth or anything. shouldn’t be that bad if he’s innocent!
Amber: i’ll continue the investigation, but that doesn’t change the fact nothing is coming up
Adder: Alright. However, I couldn’t help but notice you spent the funds you requested on shampoo, various foodstuffs, and some clothing before it all got delivered directly to the primary suspect’s apartment. Was that really necessary?
Amber: there’s hardly anything here! dude lives like a monk or something and i’d rather not be completely miserable if he’s going to let me stay here to ‘lie low’ for a while
Adder: If you say so. It’s a trivial price to pay, really. Otherwise, I’ve been tracking his location through his personal electronics and he seems to be driving randomly throughout the city… possibly in preparation for his next attack.
She rolled her eyes and sighed.
Amber: he literally gave me his only firearm that I know about, then went off to deliver fast food and groceries to people or whatever
Amber: real cute how he thinks he’s protecting me too
Amber: plus if the primary suspect is dumb enough to do something illegal with a smart device on his person, we’d quickly find out. like maybe check his financial records too. not finding any evidence of him making improvised explosive devices or potential materials for them besides an unused box of matches
Adder: Well, now he’s making a beeline directly back to his apartment. My guess is that he’ll be back home in roughly fifteen to twenty minutes if only due to the abnormally high speed his vehicle is accelerating down some old roads leftover from the colony’s original settlers…
Amber’s tail shot up.
Amber: gotta go then BYE
Almost immediately, Amber went into a frenzy. She did her best to return everything to its previous state. This even included an effort to lock his bedroom door from the outside by using an extended cybernetic claw on her finger to manipulate its mechanisms, but she failed to re-attach a chain-based one. From there, Amber darted into the living room, throwing leather cushions back onto the couch and rapidly resealing or closing containers in a futile effort to rewind time.
~~~~~
Cain exited an elevator. He fiddled with his phone while walking down a hall. Although the screen indicated that some new energy credits were added to his account, another financial tab showcased a twenty percent crash on a speculative virtual token overnight and a subsequent drop in the value of his combined financial assets. Without hesitation, Cain purchased some more virtual tokens with his newly acquired credits, marginally reducing his average purchasing price per token.
In a matter of moments, Cain punched in the code to his apartment door and waltzed inside. The fresh smell of food immediately assaulted his senses. He then saw Amber sitting on the couch at an angle, kicking her feet in the air while messing with her own smart devices.
“Oh, you’re just in time!” she said, placing her phone in a hoodie pocket. “I ordered some food for myself, and it got here a few minutes ago, but I got you a little something too!”
Cain didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he walked forward, looking around the room. Whether it be his imagination or not, everything looked… slightly off. As if someone shifted the cardboard boxes around and even moved the couch and TV by a few degrees.
Amber tail drooped. “Why don’t you come join me? Unless there’s something wrong…?”
“Did you mess with my stuff?” he asked without skipping a beat.
She looked away and twiddled her clawed thumbs. “Oh. That. Yeah, I… um… got bored while you were gone and looked through some of those boxes since I had no idea what was inside of them! Sorry about that. I wasn’t sure if you would notice and curiosity got the best of me...”
He sneered. “Makes sense. And I don’t really care since it’s all just random junk like kitchen appliances I rarely use anyway, but you should have asked first.” Cain then glanced at the bottom of the leather couch, cocking his head to the side. “Not sure if you managed to move the couch in your sleep either, but that’s impressive. Damn thing is heavy.”
Amber let out a nervous laugh. “I didn’t touch your pistol though!” She pointed at the weapon in question. “It’s still on the counter where you left it if you want it back.”
Cain proceeded to move toward the handgun, returning it to a holster once he grabbed it. He also spotted a large plastic bag containing boxes and additional food containers on the counter. “I could have picked up something on my way back, you know. Would have been easier. Ignoring that, what’d you get for yourself anyway?”
She hopped off the couch. “Real Mongolian food! It’s a personal favorite of mine.”
“Ah, right.” he said, sneering. “Your whole carnivore diet. Mongols mostly ate meat and dairy from what I know, so it makes sense. Never had their food myself though.”
Amber smiled with her tail wagging behind her. “It’s the best of both worlds, really! The food is remarkably similar to minaki cuisine, but it still retains the sort of flavor I grew up with on Earth.” She paused to look left to right, not finding a chair or proper dining table in sight. “But… uh… where do you usually eat?”
“Either my room or the couch,” answered Cain, “But the coffee table usually works well enough.”
At his words, Amber glared at the coffee table with its short and stubby legs. “I know this might be rude to ask, but are you financially struggling or something?”
He shook his head. “Nah. I got enough savings from my peacekeeper days to last for a long time if I lived off them alone. So I’m just frugal and trying to stretch things out right now.”
“Well, Bedlam isn’t exactly a cheap place to live, dude.”
Cain grunted. “I know. The motorcycle wasn’t exactly inexpensive either, but sometimes you gotta live a little to avoid going crazy.”
Amber walked toward the nearby counter, grabbing the food bag and a few accompanying beverages. “Why not live on Earth?”
“I could ask you the same question.” he replied in a deadpan tone. “But I think I already know the answer thanks to this planet’s ridiculous crime problem. Already had to contend with several thugs that ended up being more bark than bite. As for why I put up with it, I decided getting deemed a traitor and targeted by people on Earth wasn’t worth dealing with, so I found somewhere dark and rainy to get away from it all. The very large human immigrant population also helps I suppose.”
She set the bag on the coffee table, then began unpacking its contents. “So you came to this planet to run away from your problems?”
His skin went a bit pale. “Not necessarily. I just don’t know what to do with myself at this point. Feels like I’m in purgatory or limbo right now if that makes any sense. I guess the one thing we have in common is that we don’t have any folks or friends to turn to if everything you’ve told me so far has been truthful.”
“That’s a fair point.” Amber said, sighing. “But that also sounds really depressing if you’re all alone here…”
“That’s the thing.” continued Cain. “I don’t really care anymore. Pretty sure if I ended up dead tomorrow it’d take people a while to notice, assuming anyone cared at all.”
Amber set the plastic bag aside, sliding a drink towards him. “I care, Cain! You saved me. But now I’m concerned if you’re telling me you have some kind of death wish!”
He shook his head. “Nah. It’s not that.” Cain then glared at the ground. “I’m just… here. I exist. People tell me stuff like the motorcycle is beyond stupid, but it’s one of the only ways I feel alive anymore. Like bailing out some mysterious alien criminal.”
“You keep saying that,” she replied with a sneer, “But it’s not really true!”
“I mean, if I were a woman, I probably wouldn’t be comfortable crashing in some random dude’s place in a city like this. Meanwhile, you showed absolutely no fear or hesitation about it.”
In response, Amber narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to imply something?”
Cain made a dismissive wave with his hand. “You know how it is. It’s just very strange to me the more I think about it all, but I guess I didn’t give you a reason to distrust me.”
“Fine!” Amber said, crossing her arms while looming over the coffee table. “I’ll tell you the truth. I used to smuggle stuff between this planet and Earth, but I lost something valuable, and now I owe the wrong people a big debt as a result.” She turned her head with a huff and a swish of her tail. “I’m more valuable to them alive than dead, however, so taking a chance with you happened to be an infinitely better idea than trying to handle this issue on my own.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “That finally clears things up. I still don’t know how dangerous these guys are and it’s been a while since I’ve killed anyone, but I won’t let them give me any trouble for helping you out.”
She groaned. “Don’t say things like that! I doubt they’ll find us and I might be able to find a way to solve this situation peacefully.”
He scoffed. “Okay, princess. I hope everything works out.”
“Let’s just eat.” Amber said, popping open one of the boxes. “It could get our minds off these things. I don’t really want to talk about the topic beyond that, but ideally I corrected any… misunderstandings.”
Cain stared at Amber’s meal resembling huge pieces of jerky. “Got it. Did you get more of your favorite dried meat or something?”
Amber made a sly smile, revealing a single fang. “They’re called borts.” She removed a lid from her drink to showcase a light brown liquid. “And this is milk tea! Authentic Mongolian cuisine compared to the fake stuff some dude in Taiwan gave a dumb name.”
He picked up his own drink. “Huh. Did the restaurant have to import all this or what?”
“Bedlam’s climate is actually good enough for raising livestock far away from the cities.” she said, unraveling another package containing a white substance divided into squares. “Albeit it’s pricey. Especially with animals from Earth compared to the more synthetic options. Nothing beats the real deal like these dried curds though!”
As for Cain, he opened a second container himself, finding more borts. “And I’m assuming this one is mine?”
Amber took a big bite of a single bort, ripping out a sizable chunk with her teeth and creating an audible nomming noise. She spent several seconds chewing it before swallowing. “Ah… yeah. I wanted to get some boodog instead, but I doubt both of us could eat that much. Enjoy!”
“Killer.” he said with a sly smirk of his own, digging into his own food too.
As this occurred, Amber nonchalantly hopped on the couch to sit next to him. She went about nibbling on each chunk of meat, using the claws on her fingers as natural knives to divide it into smaller pieces whenever her sharp fangs failed to suffice. On the contrary, Cain meticulously chewed, grinding things down and savoring some of the more spicy flavors gracing his taste buds with every bite.
Cain wiped his lips upon finishing a few. “Not bad.”
“Glad you like it!” Amber said as her tail wagged. “I’m probably going to refrigerate or store the rest in your kitchen, but I was wondering if you had any other plans for today.”
He rolled his shoulders. “Eh… originally I planned on hitting the gym. Trying to stay in shape now that I’m out of the military, so I might end up leaving you by yourself again.”
She finished up another bort, licking her thin lips and fingers afterward. “Could I go with you?”
His face contorted. “Aren’t you supposed to be hiding here?”
“I had an idea to remedy that potential problem…” Amber said, gesturing at some boxes behind them. Their position in the corner of the room near the entrance made them less apparent for anyone walking inside unless they turned around. “You see, I ordered some things online I might need for about a week, including cosmetic contact lenses and dye for my fur.”
“Still sounds like a stupid idea.” Cain said, shrugging. “But it’s your funeral.”
“So… can I come with you?”
“Do you want me to make decisions on your behalf?” he asked her in return. “It’s your choice. Not sure why you’d wanna tag along anyway.”
Amber looked away. “It’s just to avoid going stir crazy.” She looked down at her own fur. “I know it might be putting you at risk, but changing up my appearance could conceal my true identity if we did that. Brown is a really dull color too and something else might look better.”
Cain perked up his head. “You talking about your fur?”
“Obviously.” she replied with a sigh. “With that in mind, is there a coat color or shade of eyes you think would look better? Sure, brown fur and irises are the most common ones for minaki, but I always thought snow white or scarlet red fur could look more pretty...”
“I don’t consider caramel brown an ugly color at all, Amber, but whatever.”
Her toes and fingers curled up. “Still, I need to pick a new color. Preferably a natural one.”
He scratched the back of his head. “I’m not a form over function guy. Red would probably be the easiest color to dye your fur compared to something like white.”
A smile spread across Amber’s snout as she hopped off the couch again. “That’s a good suggestion! If you’re willing to give me an hour or so, I’ll be ready by then!” She paused to pop a cheese curd into her mouth, then sealed some containers before putting things back into their respective bags and moving towards the kitchen. “It could take me much longer than that though…”
The last remaining box of bort remained with Cain as he continued eating. “I can wait. I didn’t work for long today, but some downtime is always nice.”
Amber returned, just to walk past him to enter the hallway. “Perfect!”
“Just remember I gotta use the bathroom at some point too, princess.”
Rather than receiving a response, Cain heard a huff alongside the respective door slamming. He snickered and sank into the leather couch, spreading out his arms as he relaxed and helped himself to some sweet and creamy milk tea.
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