Chapter 10: The Party Assembles

Returning to the table with Zoe, Rachel held out a hand to stop the cat-girl from bringing it to him, causing her ears to droop and cheeks to redden; Rachel figured she’d been tempted to sneak another glance at the charming legendkin.

"We have your temporary cure, but do you have an answer to my game?" she teasingly asked, ears straight and alert in case he tried anything else; she didn’t quite fully trust Anthony yet, despite the sincerity and open attitude she sensed. After all, her own change had given her several advantages in mental processing and on-the-spot strategic play to fool others.

A thoughtful hum rumbled in the man’s chest as he leaned against the side of the bookshelf he hid behind, twirling his sword with casual flicks of his wrist. "It’s fairly obvious if you’re not a bunny. A rabbit?"

He laughed upon catching Rachel’s scowl as he came back out, fingers still covering the beauty mark as his other hand placed the short sword against the nearby wall. "Kidding! Kidding! So, you’re a hare. It makes sense; I was once told hares have larger ears than bunnies, and...you certainly do have large ears. Heh. Not that that’s a bad thing!"

"Something to take note of, though?" Rachel challenged, tossing him the foundation container; Zoe’s wide eyes were totally focused on his face, tail weaving behind her. "What’s your backstory to have become a hero in this ridiculous new fantasy world?"

Anthony caught the item and retreated to a window to use it as a mirror. Rachel reflexively covered Zoe’s gaze, knowing the girl still wasn’t in her right mind.

"Aww... Rachel—ack! Sorry!"

Rachel’s left ear drifted to the left, directing a slight frown at the sheepish cat-girl.

"Ah, the name behind the ears," he said. "Thanks, cat-girl. So, Rachel, I thought we were doing a show-and-tell game, not an interrogation. I have no clue what’s going on outside, but I’ve heard the campus announcement. Is there really a dude on fire outside?"

She tapped Zoe’s arm and gestured for her to sit next to her across from where the man would likely settle as he turned to give them an unassuming smile. "I wouldn’t say a lot of people have changed...probably less than one in one hundred around the campus."

Anthony pulled out the chair and dropped into it, his sword and spear a fair distance away, likely to appear non-threatening—probably a calculated move. "It’s true, huh; that’s pretty insane, wouldn’t you say? Last I checked, U of M had around 17,000 enrolled students, and I wouldn’t say 170 power-enhanced people is small."

"You could take that point of view." She shrugged. "More people from the surrounding area are being escorted here to this building as a base of operations; this happened around the world, so it is a fairly drastic change."

"I’ll say," he muttered, taking the piece of paper he’d folded from his pocket to lay it in front of him. Rachel didn’t fall for the bait, keeping her eyes on him, but it most certainly had her attention. "Roughly 1% of the world population..."

Anthony leaned forward, bridging his fingers to rest his chin while centering on her. "You have very unique features, by the way. Have a lot of people become more animalistic?"

"There are a lot from what I’ve seen," Zoe piped up, not wanting to be a bystander, which completely went against her earlier social anxiety; it must have been a lingering effect of the charm. "I’ve seen bird-girls, snake-girls... Oh, there was this really cute squirrel-girl! Uh... Can we learn more about you, though?"

His friendly gaze shifted to the girl. "I’d love to share some details if we can all share in this discussion. What was your name again?"

"Zoe Fletcher! Eh, heh, just Zoe..."

He nodded, focus returning to Rachel as she silently studied every move he made; Anthony was quite observant himself and cautious in his own way. "Why don’t we start this over again? Sorry for the troublesome charm, Zoe."

"It’s fine! So, what do you want to start with?" the brown-haired girl asked, tail slowing its weave in the chair back opening. "Rachel mentioned quests?"

"We can get to that in a bit," he passively dismissed. "Let me introduce myself again; I’m Anthony, twenty-three years old, a U of M graduate, obtaining my Master’s in biochemistry last semester, and, of course, have a fiancé, as I mentioned—which is why this charm is such a nuisance. Not, heh, that it would be a good thing, regardless."

"Zoe Fletcher, as I said, and I’m seventeen—eh, well, just turned eighteen, heh, actually—and this is my first semester at U of M. I’m from Montana, but most of my family live in Virginia—heh, kind of a country girl that hates the country—I got made fun of for my accent, so I tried to get rid of it. Oh, umm, I’m not in a relationship—were we supposed to disclose that?" she asked, spilling everything as word vomit. "I’ll just shut up now. I, uh, have social anxiety..." she hissed, head drooping.

Rachel forced a smile. "You’re fine, Zoe. I’m Rachel, nineteen, and enrolled in the law program’s fast track. What changed besides your looks when...The Oscillation occurred?"

"Oscillation?" Anthony questioned, watching her ears tilt left. "Is that what the government is calling it?"

Zoe followed his gaze, trying to catch up. "You’re listening to the government chatter even now? Ugh. You really did get the S-tier roll," she complained, crossing her arms and shooting a glare between them. "Freaking domestic cat... Total scam."

"A domestic cat, huh?" Anthony asked, head shifting on his bridged fingers to show Zoe a thoughtful look. "I wouldn’t say that’s a terrible choice. Cats are loved by most people—maybe a bit too much for the online community. Besides, does that mean you have nine lives?"

"I didn’t think about that." Zoe smiled, her depression melting under the attention. "Nine lives isn’t bad, I guess, and maybe I have good instincts... Oh, and cats get to laze around and... Do I want a master?" she gasped, face turning bright red before burying her face in her arms. "Why can’t I shut my mouth?! Stupid!"

Rachel laughed with Anthony, reaching over to rub her back comfortingly; the girl was really having a hard time. "Why don’t we dispense with the evaluation for Zoe’s sake? You’re a legendkin, and I’m a mythickin. You’re the only legendkin I’ve found around the campus, but I am hearing about more as we speak...not all pleasant. What motivates you, Anthony? Conquest?"

"Wow! You’re the type of girl to take no prisoners, huh?" Anthony smirked, leaning back to show he was totally at ease. "Conquest? Goodness, no! Well, unless you’re talking about the conquest of my fiancé’s heart. In the spirit of full disclosure and trust to make some ground... I’m apparently the Legend of Diarmuid with a Subclass in Spearman."

"Mythickin lunar hare... Unfortunately, I do not hear good things about either of those species, and I’d suggest we keep such information to ourselves for the time being."

"Enlighten me!" Anthony chimed. "Oh, and we can’t forget our cat-girl."

"Oh! Uh. I’m a nobody," she whispered, tail low. "A beastkin domestic cat. I’m only good for early-game, I guess, since I’m a total fantasy nerd... Reading was all I could do at our ranch since we didn’t have good internet service."

"C’mon, don’t be too hard on yourself. Also, I didn’t change physically all that much," he added, turning back to Rachel to refocus the topic.

The several books that lay on the table snatched Rachel’s attention, and she smiled at the title of one small volume. The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne and The Exile of the Son of Uisliu... He’s been reading up on his legend, but what is all the published medical documentation for?

"If you tell me everything you’ve been able to discover, I’ll share what I have since you are a piece of the puzzle I haven’t been able to fully connect yet."

Anthony slowly nodded, arms crossing across his broad, muscular chest, and Rachel was even more intrigued by his past if he’d maintained that sculptured physique before this change that was recently being termed ’The Oscillation’ by government officials.

"I see... Between Zoe, as a beastkin, you, as a mythickin, and me, a legendkin, we can further study the powers and how they differ between the various Kin. Well, I’m hitting something of a dead end in my own research, so you’ve arrived just in time! It sucks that we’re being given a bad name by others, though; I’m sure that won’t come back to bite us in the ass."

Rachel chuckled as he unfolded his sheet of paper and slid it to her. "I’ll come up with a plan... I just need to get enough information to give us a way forward."

"I’m game! Friend request sent."

Zoe’s expression brightened as he spoke her lingo. "Accepted! Welcome to the team, DPS Spearman. Wait, am I supposed to be the thief in the party? I suck at stealing things! I’m so worthless...and Rachel’s another finesse DPS, probably, so...we need a healer, tank, and mage? We are so physically focused," she groaned to herself, glaring at her claws.