Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 10

It hadn't happened in San Francisco, but that was where the dream took her. She was back on the Embarcadero, sitting on a bench, the bay behind her and the city before her. From the empty space beside her came a voice:

"The newbie's late."

"He's only been down here for two days," said someone who was not yet called Mélodie. "He's probably not used to modern transportation yet." She leaned back, taking in the bright, clear sky through her sunglasses." Grandma wanted to give him at least a week before sending him out in the field so he could adjust, but he insisted."

Quick wasn't visible at the moment, but she could practically hear his frown. "She gets very annoyed when you call her that, you know."

"She gets very annoyed at most everything. Hey, the weather here is nice, huh?" As she said it, a warm breeze caressed the two of them. All around folks were about, both locals who were going about their day and tourists taking in the sights. "We should try to get assignments here more often."

He sniffed, invisibly. "I prefer the cold."

"Really? You're so tiny though. I'd think that you'd do better in warm weather."

"Humans think a lot of things about fey folk that aren't true. Is that him?"

"Where?"

"There."

"I can't see you, genius. I don't know where you're pointing."

"Left. Down the street."

"Ah..."

Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 9

Mélodie prepared herself to summon Quick. It was an old ritual, one that predated her birth, established through a covenant made with the Great Mother of the Hidden Forest many years ago. This ritual used, as its primary sacrament, her cell phone.

She dug it out of the pocket of her jeans, selected his name in her contacts list and wrote, Hey, I need your help with something.

And thus the ritual was complete. That was fine, right? Nobody had told her that she shouldn't contact anyone from her old life, and if there was anyone it was safe to talk to, it was Quick. That was the thing about the people looking for her: they could smell magic from miles away, but they were pretty clueless when it came to technology.

The response came in moments. Kinda busy at the moment. I can be there in a few hours.

Ah. Well, looked like she had some time to kill. She plopped down on the one chair in the house and stretched, then pulled the breast pumps out of the box that Yuriko had given her. Those flanges were going to have to come off first - they were fa̷̡̺͕̬̕À̸̪͔̝̌a̵̹͂̓ṙ̶̮̘̤̖̐ ̷̜̖͆̒͊͆t̸͔̃͊͠ ̵̭͛͒t̵̙̹͙͒̈͂ͅǫ̵̀̊̄̚ ̴͖̜͕͓͌ò̷͙̩̭̪̓̈o̸̘̙̬͌̂̉͜Ọ̷̮͉̺̈́

W̶e̷l̶c̸o̷m̸e̷ ̴t̸ơ̵̻ ̵̭̽B̶̮̃ḷ̶̐a̴̼̓n̵̰̍c̷̢̆h̴̳̘͕͇̀̉̃e̷͇̭̰̹̔̽͘p̸̰̲͚̹̈͝ì̸̟̬̖͌ͅe̵̜̣̎̋͝ṙ̷͎̌r̵͇̜̞̈̈̒e̶̬͍̝͖̥̳̖̫̬̾ ̸̟͔̟̮̩̩͉͓͋̀͝-̴̛̪͍̝̲̺̩̏̂̔̇̀̽̃̎͝͝ ̸̧̪̩̫̖̤̒͂̓͝P̵͙̬̮͚̗̳͓̜̓̊̓̍̀͂̑͑a̵̰̱̺̺͎̥̫̰̘͔̅̑͋͗̓͌͠r̷̛̫̳̦͎̹̓̀̀͐̏ṭ̷̹͉̠̐̅̑͊͛̾̉̇́̾̄͠͠ ̸̢̗̺̪͙͉̎̾͌̊͛̌͂͗̿́̌͝͝�̸̡̲̱̥̯̱̲̙̬̖̟̬̼̙̂̂͒̅͠͝�̸̢̨̢̛̗͎͍̱̤͔̘̹̪͙̤̺̻̖̱͙͋͆̓́͆͝ͅ

 .̸̧̡̢̞̥͖̭̙̣̠̣͙̪̝̣͕͊̿̄̅̀̿̂̕͜.̶̡̢̨̧̢̢̡͉̰̩̭̻̭̭̼͍͖̱͇̖̱͕̭̪̠̪̘͖͍͖͔̼̱͈̳̥̟͎̖͎̗̰͎͔̥̼̮̰̣̭̫͉̬͓̠͎͋̅̈́̄̎̽͆̂̈́͆̑̓̀̈́̈́̿̽́̅͐̂́͘̚͘͜͜͜͜͠͝͝ͅͅͅ.̷̧̢̧̧̢̨̡̛̛̛̛̥̳͎̗͚̣͙͙̥̫͉͍̩̰͍̤̙͔͙̬͈̳̣̞̺͙͔̜͚̫̝̺̞̞̝̼͕̞̪͇̰̩͖͙̹̣̙̳̬͕̻̘̓̐͗̒̄͑̌̄̊̏̍̊͋̾̑̑̍̉̓̒͛̋̑̆̿̔̈͒̓͂̌͐̋̽̏̈́̉̂̍̒͒̈̑͌̿͆̍̂͘͜͝͝ͅͅͅ
̸̨̢̧̧̧̨͇̯̣̻̬͓̪̝̪͓̣̩̙̬̣̬͔̦̻̠̹̺̱̯͙̗͎̘̹͗͊͆̀̎̀̈́̄̒͆̉̂̈́̉̈͛͂̽͗̑͐̇̓̏͂̏̎̉̍̽̂̑́̀̓͑̒̿̌̇̈́͘͘͜͜͜͠ͅ
̵̘͎͇͔̙͙̱̮͕̲̜͍̮͔̥̘̹̜̬̱̄́.̷̛̛̺̬̖̯̬̞̗̣͇͇̱͓̟̝̮̻͍̦͔͕̺̪̼͎̙͇̯̞͎̦͔̦̥͇͈͔̞̍̈́͊̋͊̈́̀̅̎̈́̀̕.̷̧̢̨̛̯͈͉͈̼͈̻͓̰̪̲̤͉͔̟̺̫̝̰̟̣͕̯͎͈̰͔̩̯̲̫̖̖̙̩̙̙͚̲͓̤͓͍̻̀̅́̇̃̔̓̀̓͐̒̔̇͆̊͊̉͂̔͗̄̽̈́́̍̚̕͘͜͝͝ͅ
̷̡̛̻̫͚̹̼̘̝̜̞̾͑͌̀̀̾̇̓̈́̋̌̐̇̌̑͊̎̓͐́̆̉͒́̃̄̃̒̐̎̋̓̒̿̍̄̋͋̈́́̀͌̕͘̚̕͘͝͝͠ͅ
̵̧̢̢̛̙̰̩̺̲͎̬̙̹̯̜̻̼͉̺̰̠͂͑̒̏̀͒̔̃͌̿̔̑̾͑͗̂̀̊͌͑̄̇̎̒̇́͆͐͂̍̓̈́̊̒̍̇̄͛̈̄̈́̉̓̓͘̕̚͘͠.̶̢̨̢̢̡̨̨̛̛͎͖̜̺͍͇͍̬̝̦͈̲̦̥̮̲̙͕̲͔̭̦̖̺̦̮̹̣͈͖̙̭̹͇̤̩͉͚̞̞̺͔̼͉̺͍̫̊͒̏̿́̈͆͗͋͐͌̒͊͌͂͐͋̏̄̆̑̎͌̑̈́̌́̏̇̾͑̈̈̍̇͗͌̅̋̂́͆̔͊̎̕͠͝͠͝͠ͅͅ
̸̡̢̡̢̛̫̥̤̰̲͇͎̳̪̟̤͔͉̾̓̑̾̉̄̄͒̓̉͗́͑͆̍͑́͐́̆̋͆͌͛̈́͒̀͛͂̀̂͐͌̉͐̕͘͠͝͝

ä̴̳̞́̆ą̸͇͚̱̘͓͉̟̻̱̺̣̋̈́̒̽͜͜A̸͕̼̦̥̤̥͙̳̖̫͓̙̾͑G̵͕̗̞̞̦̜̿̈́͒͒̔͛̈́̕͜â̷̛̖̮̖̟͙̽̀́͊͗̐̑̒̇́́̏̒̆ͅį̶̛̜͉̎̀͋̎̑̍͂̋͋̋̾̌̐͐͝ͅ ̶̢͚̬̗̙̤̠̞͚̳̗̦̗̈̂̈́͊̇̂͐̿̓̒̇͊̚͝ṉ̵̭̲̗̽̀̃̏̈I̶͈͂͌̂̿̀̽͛̍͌͑͒̀̑̔͐͊̉͂͛͝ ̸͕̦̳͍̓̓͋̋̎̋̋̋͐̆̇̄͆̅̚̕͝ ̵̢̢̤͉̞̬̲͉̱̀̑͊͂̍̋̀͜ ̴̧̛̳͍̺̈́͌̀̂̍͗͒̎͛̉̇̋̐̑͊̽͊͂̐͝͝͠͝Ş̸̢̘̦̣͎̟̙̤̫͚̼̝͙͚̩͕̣̖͈͒̔́̍̓͌̈́̆̎̈́̉̈̓̂̐̚̕̕͜͠͝͝͝c̴̨̨̺̙̪̰̹̝̞̖̻̮̝̼͗̒̃̀̉̐͑̊̃̎̆̈̆̈͊̋̌̀̌̓͌͘̕͠r̶̢̡̡̢̧̥͉̱̹̙̪͖̜̟͈̙̫̼̜͈̲̳̆͊̔͐̔͆̈́̆̐̈́͊͐̈́̂̈͗̎̒͆͒͑̑̚͠r̸̛̯̭͊̈́̈́͒̈́͐͆̽͆̇̀͐̏̆̏͌͛̃̑̇̀͋̂̍̑̃̐̚͘͝eÁ̷̝̭̭̼̣̮͍̻̰̖̝̆̔͐̓̕͘m̵̝͔̪̫͉̓͒̎̒̎̀͜͝͝m̴̹̀̎ ̵̢̼͙͇̖́̓̌͊ḭ̸̼̀͂̿̚͠n̷̠̣̼̼̬͗̓̄̔͑̇̂̈́̋̀̚̚͠T̷̡̬̙͈͔̤̯̠͖̠̪͒͒͛̉́̍́̄ǫ̵̫̥̹̖͕̤̗̣͎͊̌̈́̀ ̶̧̭̪̗͈̞͇̦̜͆͗̏́͑͐̀ ̶̡̨̥̳̻͕̈́̓  ̸̲͉̮̟̩̻̣͙̋̎̆̓̈́̚̕ ̵̹͍̟̫̯́͑̿̈͠t̵͔̩̟̜̯̗́̄͗̐̒͂͝͠h̸̙͍̔̊̆̓ ̶̧̧͕̯̼̀͂é̵̢͉̮̳̦͍̙͔͍ ̷̮̞̉͆͆̓̈͐̑͜ ̸̥̭̹̻́́͆t̴̮̩̰̜͗̅̌̈́̍̈́̀̚T̵͈̦̼̪̆̌̎̆͜Ų̴͖̈̔͌̒mm̵̧͈̟͌͌͆ ̴͇̟̅̎u̷͎͔̹͗̊ ̷̜̀̎̍͂ ̶̳̎l̴̥̼͑͊̆̅t̵͍̖͈̯͒Ǔ̵̙͖̀Ơ̴̹̼͖̈́͐Ȗ̵̬̠̬͓̒͆s ̷V̶o̵I̸d̷.̵.̷ ̷I̸,̸ ̴  W̴H̸o̴ ̴H̴A̴V̷E̷P̵E̷e̷r̷E̸D̸ ̶I̵N̷ T̶O̸ ̷T̸H̵E̴ ̷I̴N̸C̶O̶M̷PREHENSIBLE WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE. I, WHO HAVE SLEPT UNDER THE EARTH FOR MULTITUDINOUS YEARS. I, WHO AM HUMAN AND NOT HUMAN. I, WHO AM GOD AND NOT GOD.

LET ME TELL YOU A STORY. A BET̶͓̀T̵͔̎ER STORY.

ONCE THERE WERE TWO BABIES, A BROTHER AND A SISTE̵R̴.̸ ̵T̷HESE TWO WERE BORN IN THE DIRT, LOWER THAN THE INSECTS. THEIR MOTHER DIED IN BIRTHING THEM, AND THEY NEVER KNEW THEIR FATHER. THEIR GRANDMOTHER CARED FOR̸ ̸T̵H̸EM, BUT SHE TOO PASSED ON WHEN THEY WERE BUT CHILDREN.

THEIR WORLD WAS A CRUḘ̸̆͑L̴̳͑̍ PLACE. THE CHILDREN HAD TO STEAL TO SURVIVE, AND THEY HAD TO SHELTER IN THE SEWERS WHEN THE FROSTS CAME, AMONG THE RATS AND THE SHIT. EVEN PEASANTS LOOKED UPON THEM IN CONTEMPT, THESE FILTHY CHILDREN WHO STOLE THEIR FOOD AND SMELLED PUTRID. WHEN THEY WERE SEEN IN THE STREETS THEY WERE KICKED AND YELLED AT, AND WHEN THEY WERE CAUGHT STEALING THEY WERE̴ ̸B̸E̵A̴TEN.

BUT THEY WERE SPECIAL, FOR THEY HAD THE MOÖ̵͓N̸͍̐S̶̭̄ IN THEIR EYES. THE BOY AND THE GIRL KNEW IT, BUT THE WORLD HAD YET TO LEARN. WITH NOTHING BUT DETERMINATION AND CLEVERNESS, THEY TAUGHT THEMSELVES TO BEND PEOPLE TO THEIR WHIMS, FIRST WITH THEIR WORDS, THEN WITH THEIR BODIES, AND THEN WITH THEIR SOULS. THEY LEARNED THAT THE MORE POWER THEY GAINED, THE LE̷S̶S̸ PEOPLE COULD HURT THEM.

THE BOY AND THE GIRL BECAME A MAN AND A WOMAN, AND MEN AND WOMEN BEGAN TO FOLLOW THEM, FOR THEY HAD THE MOONS IN THEIR EYES. THEY UNITED ALL THE LANDS WITHIN THE GREAT ENDLESS SEA WITH THEIR WORDS AND WITH THEIR SWORDS AND WITH THEIR MAG̵͓̿IC, AND SO THE MAN BECAME A KING, THE WOMAN A QUEEN, BOTH BELOVED BY THEIR SUBJECTS. THE BEAUTY OF THEIR WORDS WAS MATCHED ONLY BY THE BEAUTY OF THEIR VISAGES. THEIR EVERY UTTERANCE WAS POETRY, AND TO GAZE UPON THEM CAUSED ARTISTS TO FALL TO THEIR KNEES AND WEEP TEARS OF JOY. FINALLY, THEY HAD MADE THE WORLD RESPECT THEM.

THE KI̴NG AND THE QUEEN GREW OLD BUT THEY DID NOT AGE, NOR DID THEY DIE, FOR THEY HAD THE MOONS IN THEIR EYES. THEIR POWERS GREW W̵I̸TH THEIR YEARS. THEY RULED WITH COMPASSION AND WISDOM, SHOWING THEIR SUBJECTS THE KINDNESS THAT THEY WERE NEVER AFFORDED. BUT ALL WAS NOT WEL̸L̴. THE ENDLESS SEAS WERE NOT ENDLESS. THERE WERE LANDS BEYOND THEM, LANDS THAT DID NOT KNOW THE LOVE OF THE KING AND QUEEN. AND SO, THE KING SET OUT TO CORRECT THIS. HE SAILED ACROSS THE SEAS, TO UNKNOWN LANDS, TO SHOW THEM THE LIGHT OF HIS MERCY AND KINDNESS SO THAT ALL OF HUMANITY COULD BE BROUGHT TO PEACE.

BUT SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED WHILE HE WAS AWAY. NOT ALL OF THE KING AND QUEEN'S SUBJECTS LOVED THEM. SOME WOULD NOT OPEN THEMSELVES TO THEIR WISDOM, AND THESE HERETICS SPREAD THEIR DECEITFUL WORDS AMONG THE PEOPLE UNTIL THEY COULD NO LONGER BE IGNORED.

THE KING WOULD HAVE BEEN STEADFAST AND JUS̷̱̍Ţ̸͝ IN HIS PUNISHMENT, AND HIS SUBJECTS WO̶͖͂ULD HAVE KNOWN THAT HE WOULD TOLERATE NO DEVIATION FROM HIS RIGHTEOUS P̶ATH, FOR HOW ELSE COULD ORDER BE MAINTAINED?

BUT T̷H̶E QUEEN WAS WEAK. SHE LET THE TRAI̵TOROUS̸͙̦̔ W̶HISPERERS CO̸R̷R̶UPT HER MIND AND SOUL UNTIL THEY FINALLY REMOVED HER FROM HER THRONE. THE KING CROSSED THE WIDE OCEANS TO RESCUE HIS SISTER FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE NONBELIEVERS BUT DISCOVERED, TO HIS AMAZEMENT, THAT THEY̶̭̅ HAD NOT IMPRISONED HER. BEFORE HE AND HIS ARMIES COULD MAKE DOCK IN THE LANDS THAT THEY ONCE CALLED HOME THEY WERE REPELLED BY THE QUEEN HERSELF.

AND SO THE WORLD WAS Ṋ̶̇O̵̗͗ LONGER UNITED. AS LONG AS THE QUEEN FOOLISHLY PROTECTED Ṫ̷͍HE VERY TRAITORS WHO REMOVED HER FROM HER THRONE, THE KING COULD NOT REACH HER. THIS TROUBLED HIM, AND SO HE RESOLVED TO FORCE THE MOONS THEMSELVES TO BOW TO HIM SO THAT HE MIGHT GAIN THE POWER TO GUIDE HIS SISTER BACK TO THE PATH OF REASON ONCE AGAIN.

HE FAILED.

AND HE WAS LAID LOW.

BUT STILL HE COULD NOT DIE.

---

LET ME TELL YOU ANOTHER STORY.

ONCE THERE WAS A FOOLISH GIRL. SHE THOUGHT HERSELF WISER THAN ME. SHE THOUGHT THAT SHE COULD BEND MY HEART TO HER WHIMS WITH HER WORDS, OR IF NOT WITH HER WORDS, WITH HER BODY, OR IF NOT WITH HER BODY, WITH HER SOUL. I, WHO HAVE PEERED IN TO THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE. I, WHO HAVE SLEPT UNDER THE EARTH FOR MULTITUDINOUS YEARS. I, WHO AM HUMAN AND NOT HUMAN. I, WHO AM GOD AND NOT GOD.

SHE FAILED. BUT IN HER FAILURE SHE TOOK SOMETHING PRECIOUS FROM ME. I MUST HAVE IT BACK.

SHE RAN. SHE HID AND IS HIDĪ̸̘N̸̡̆Ǵ̸̹.̸̥̊ ̸̹̍Ḃ̷̳Ủ̷̳T̴̩͐ ̵̦̆N̸̻̆Ǫ̴̖̼̈́ͅ ̵̧̛̦̞͎̍͛ͅL̸̡̘̘̐̔̆̽͆O̷̺̱͛̍̈́̎̽͘N̷̼̈́̎G̸͔͈̓͊̈́̚E̶͍͓̬̫̱̎͆̚R̵̨̳̪̬̮̳̉.̷̮̭̀̈̈́͂̈́ ̵̠͚̝͋̋ͅ

Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 8

After thinking on it for a bit, Mélodie decided that getting a bike would be her best bet. It'd probably be cheaper in the long run than using the buses, but it wouldn't be so expensive that she'd blow almost all of her remaining money on it. She could always look into getting a moped later, after she had a source of income.

Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 7

It was an obvious choice, really, and a stroke of luck that All Shapes and Sizes happened to be doing walk-in interviews at the exact moment that she was walking around looking for exactly that. She headed inside.

The shop was rather... Sparse. It wasn't a particularly large shop, but the space that they did have felt bigger than it was simply because of the dearth of goods on display. There were a couple of shelves and a couple of racks full of clothes, but not nearly as many as the place could have fit. Behind them all there was a counter, and behind that there was a guy. He was...

Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 6

Her dreams were a muddled mess of memories. She was in her room back in Stockholm, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation while watching television. Then she was back in Germany, somewhere outside of a tiny town in the Black Forest, following a set of lupine pawprints. Another forest now, this one covered in snow. She didn't recognize it. Now she was standing on the peak of an enormous mountain, looking out upon endless fields of golden wheat miles below.

Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 5

Mélodie dropped the applications on top of her little tray table after closing the apartment door behind her. She would fill those out later. She was visibly sweaty and her clothes were soaked in it, so she took a quick shower, and as she washed she considered her options for the night. Yuriko was mysterious, and intriguing, but she was also right next door. Mélodie could visit her any time. She didn't know where Tomino's Pizza was, but she hadn't seen it anywhere Downtown, so if she visited Rose there she would probably get to see a new part of the town, but eh... It was already getting dark, so she wouldn't be able to see much anyway. And again, Rose lived right next door. She could talk to her any time.

Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 4

Part 4! Had a whole lot of folks suggest the same general course of action, so that's what Mélodie's doing! There was also a good submission in my Curiouscat that didn't make it into this part, but it'll almost certainly come up later...

-~o~-

Mélodie deployed her newly-purchased air mattress right there in the living room, just to try to make the place feel a bit less empty. It didn't really work. Even once it was inflated and covered with the sheets she had bought, the room still looked pretty barren. She could probably have afforded to fill the apartment up with some cheap furniture with the $700 she had left, but seeing as how she had no source of income yet, the idea didn't seem prudent.

Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 3

This one's a bit later than I thought it would be, sorry about that. I was going over it last night before posting it and realized that it kinda sucked, so I took some extra time to make it not suck.

-~o~-

The idea of looking for jobs really didn't appeal. She'd never really had to do it before now, and she wasn't sure where to start. She'd have to make a CV, probably? Or a résumé. That was what they called them here, right? And she didn't really have the type of work experience that would get her... Any sort of mundane job, really.

It was going to be hard, and that was the perfect reason to put it off. She still had to settle in a bit, get her feet wet. She would figure out something out for rent later. For now, meeting people seemed like the best idea. Having connections would make anything she had to do here easier, she knew that from experience.

Welcome to Blanchepierre - Part 2

Check out the last entry for the winners of the previous poll! Or just read on and find out in the context of the story. You can do it either way, I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life.

-~o~-

She observed herself in the mirror and ran her hands through her short, red hair. She'd always wanted to grow it out, but long hair was a bit of a liability in her line of work. Or rather, her former line of work. Ah, well. Maybe this was an opportunity to finally Rapunzel it up. Getting to grow her hair out in exchange for moving to the other side of the world and starting an entirely new life for herself wasn't something she would have chosen, if the choice had been hers to make, but that was the hand that life had dealt her, so now she just had to work with it. She couldn't help but notice that her tummy was getting a bit softer, too. After several weeks without exercise, her once well-defined abs had faded a bit. She would have to find a gym out here and get back into it. Or, maybe pick up some exercise equipment.

Welcome to Blanchepierre - A Sexy CYOA!

Corn. Wheat. Corn. Wheat. Cows. Corn. Corn. Wheat.

Heathrow had been packed. A confusing, crowded mess. O'Hare had been much the same, a sensory overload of loud people and bright lights. And then the Kansas City airport had been such a tiny, quiet little thing: a little C-shaped terminal with hardly anyone in it. And now she was driving. Driving through vast, flat fields full of nothing but corn and wheat and cows.

She nearly fell asleep. More than twenty hours of air travel had left her exhausted, but crashing in a hotel for a night in Kansas City, unfortunately, wasn't an option. She had to keep moving until she reached her destination. After a while the sun set behind her, and she was driving through a sea of darkness, broken only by her rental car's headlights and the occasional gas station on the side of the road.

She could swear that she saw things in the dark. It was entirely possible that some of them were real. Missouri was a low-activity state - one of the lowest in the world, in fact - but no place was completely safe for her nowadays. Even here, there were threats.

But they were small threats. Nothing that she couldn't handle. That was why she was here, after all. It was a haven. And a prison. She couldn't imagine how bored she was going to be.

After about an hour and a half of driving, she spotted lights in the distance. A city. Or, rather, a town. It was too small to properly be called a city. It would, she realized, be the smallest place that she had ever lived.

Her GPS guided her to an out-of-the-way street on the edge of town. The key to her apartment had already been provided to her - she had it in an envelope in her luggage, heaped in the back seat of the car. She dragged it all up the stairs in one go, and opened the door.

The place was clean, at least. She checked the tiny kitchenette and found that the fridge worked, as did the sink. Power and water were already turned on, then. There was also a microwave, but other than that, the place was entirely empty. She sighed and laid down right there on the floor in the middle of the living room, using her softest bag (the one that had all of her clothes in it) as a pillow. Exhaustion took her. It didn't matter that it was terribly uncomfortable, or that her new neighbors were having incredibly noisy sex next door. She drifted off into dreams of busy airports and deep forests...

---

...And awoke to a very sore neck. Sunlight was filtering in through the windows by the front door. She sat up and tried to rub some of the soreness out while she looked at her phone. Noon. She had been asleep for a solid twelve hours. Still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she went to the bathroom to take a shower...

And realized that she had no soap and no shampoo. She took a soak under the hot water anyway, and when she emerged, she realized that she didn't have a towel. She went over to the sink, dripping wet. No toothbrush or toothpaste either.

But she did have a debit card and a bank account with $1000 USD in it. It wasn't much, to start a completely new life with, but it was something. She pulled her hair out of her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror.

The Perfect Cure for a Lousy Day

I felt like writing Rose and Lilly being cute and gay and horny and in love, so that's what I did. This one has got a lot of breast-play, a lot of lactation, and some proper banging, which I feel like I haven't written in a while?

Oh, also! I have a Pillowfort now! Go check it out for more boob stuff.

Career Counseling

Man, it's been a while, huh? Apologies for the lack of stories lately. I ended up moving halfway across the country earlier this year on relatively short notice, and also, you know, a pandemic is happening. So it's been difficult to write for the past few months.

Anyway, a while back someone asked me on my CuriousCat what Mike is up to after the Quake, so that got me thinking, 'Good question. What is Mike up to?'. So I wrote this.