Chapter 16: The Quickening

Corrections: Ant0nius (FFN)

~Taffy’s POV~

“I’m still surprised you just didn’t try to get into a relationship with Matt.”

The Bunny Prime almost tripped when she first heard Miles pointing this out as she passed near to where he was sitting.

With her green eyes now wide open, Taffy turned her surprised stare at the curious-looking Cat Prime as he tried and failed to properly take a sip from the hot cup of coffee he had been trying out.

There were only a few clients left within the mostly empty bar, patiently enjoying the last few hours before having to return to their morning jobs.

Minos and the human had yet to come by and visit as they would usually do everyday, mostly because it was still too early to see them now. Without either of them, the entire workplace just felt so… quiet.

“W-What?”

“I’m just saying that, while I understand that it’s kind of a big decision and all of that,” He hummed calmly. “I just can’t help but notice that annoyed look on your face when he just isn’t near to you-”

“I-It’s not that!” She interjected with a light blush on her face, setting the broom she had been using until now to lean by the nearby wall. “We just don’t feel that kind of attraction and-”

“I know he doesn’t, and I feel like he is genuine about this,” Miles admitted with a sigh. “But I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that with the same certainty as his own.”

She blinked at the unexpected consideration, panicking internally over this embarrassing circumstance.

She would have expected this from Minos, as the Bull Prime had shown interest in the predicament involving Matt and herself.

Looking down at the stool beside Miles and then back to the counter, she noticed the bartender returning her silent question with a tired look.

The owner merely nodded at her silent plea, giving her permission to engage in the conversation since there was no one around to serve for now.

Thus Taffy took a seat beside the Cat Prime, sporting a nervous grin as she sought to deal with this uneasy topic.

“You- You could say that I’ve been thinking about that a lot,” The Bunny admitted with some hesitation. “I mean, Matt is nice, considerate and incredibly helpful-”

“I think that is the main requirements for Boyfriend Material-”

“I-It’s not like that!” The girl almost squeaked at the comment from her interlocutor, Miles was now sporting a smug smirk at having some control over the discussion. “T-There- There is much more than that.”

Humming, he gestured for her to continue as he finally manage to get a proper sip of his now cooler beverage.

Taffy sighed, closing her eyes to ponder well how she was supposed to explain something this complicated and immensely awkward to someone like Miles.

There was nothing inherently wrong with the Cat Prime. He was actually a decent conversationalist when he wasn't drunk; the issued lingered in a flaw that made expressing things far more difficult.

He liked to interrupt the flow of conversations with sudden comments about the innuendos in some sentences.

And in a discussion that focused on this 'warmth' she had been feeling since that night? Her chances of properly retelling what happened without acknowledging the 'action' in the open... was slim to null.

Sighing again, she broke away from these thoughts and stared right back at him.

“I noticed that… there's something fascinating about him that's been bugging me ever since our first meeting ,” The girl said with a soft voice. “Maybe it was because somehow, in my efforts to understand him, I saw something that I could relate to.”

Nodding slowly, Miles stayed silent as the fellow prime continued with her explanation.

“Back at the time, I didn't think much of this sensation,” She continued with a small smile now plastered on her face. “I saw it more as a reason to draw a strong friendship out of it.”

There was a moment of quietness as Taffy was lost in that precise hug back when it all started.

It had felt so nice, so natural and… so pleasantly warm.

“You two do seem quite close to each other,” The Cat Prime admitted with a quick nod, causing the girl to break from her silence. “I’ve had some friends that were close like that but weren’t… as passionate as you two.”

She frowned at the term. “Passionate?”

“I mean, the hugging and the frequent instances with you two cuddling around,” He replied with a snort. “That... is quite an passionate attachment both of you have for being 'just friends'. ”

“I-It’s just like how he treats friends,” The Bunny weakly motivated. “I think Minos had mentioned having shared a hug with him at least twice in the last few days.”

Miles blinked in surprise. “Wait, you mean that these two have really hugged like… without being dared?”

“You are making it sound way more awkward than it looks like,” Taffy huffed with a confused tone, drawing a nervous look from the young man.

“It’s just that it’s… I’ve never hugged a guy ‘just because’ and I still prefer girls to guy when I need to hug someone.”

A giggle left her lips at his words. “I guess it’s a matter of people and upbringings.”

He shrugged, showing some doubt over it all.

“I mean, I suppose that's the case,” Miles admitted quietly. “But still, if he hugs his friends, then why didn’t he do that to me?”

Seeing the girl’s eyes narrow at him, he almost sputtered the content of his cup.

“N-Not like I’m trying get one but- It’s just-”

“That’s alright,” The young woman conceded with a kind smile. “I guess you think the issue is that he doesn’t consider you a friend, right?”

The Cat Prime nodded at the supposition and Taffy shook her head.

“I think the real issue is...” She paused, her small smile twitching for a moment before she continued. “That you don’t seem to have had a good shower for some time now.”

He groaned, his right hand reaching out for his face to complete a facepalm.

“I’m… I had to deal with some other issues that got me delayed in having a working shower in the last few days,” He commented with a minor grimace. “I’m working on it, but it’s just that-”

“You know, you could ask for help from Matt and Minos,” The Bunny Prime interjected to push up this opportunity. “I’m sure they would gladly help you if-”

“I mean, wouldn’t they get annoyed at dealing with some hard-work without reason-”

“Showering is a necessity and they do consider you a friend,” She huffed while crossing her arms below her chest. “They wouldn’t mind to help so that you can finally enjoy some proper shower.”

He didn’t reply at first, surprised by the vehement pressure exerted by the girl and… ultimately he conceded a sigh.

“I guess I will have to ask and see then…” Then his golden eyes turned right back to stare at her. “But our conversation wasn’t about me, but about you.”

The young woman tensed up, her green eyes widened in realization. “O-Oh, right.”

She took a brief moment to sigh and then nod at the indirect request of resuming her tale.

“As I was saying, I thought that the peak that I could have reached with him would have been a close friendship,” Taffy muttered with some nervousness. “It was a perfect goal for me and I didn’t try to even ponder beyond that kind of circumstance.”

“And then ‘that’ happened,” Miles pressed on with a little smile.

She sighed. “Yes, 'that' happened, but there are a few reasons why it felt so natural to try going for it, despite my own beliefs about this relationship.”

“Reasons?”

“When he came by for that visit, I thought it would have been the usual friendly situation that I had back when I was close to my friends from the city,” The girl pointed out with some own fascination over that odd situation. “Yet, while I had expected to feel quite shy about having him around at home… it was quite the opposite.”

“You felt at ease?” Miles asked once again with the same curtness, engrossed by her words as she continued.”

“It was a surprise even for me. While I don't have issues with having friends around home, I usually feel a bit nervous when there are guests. With Matt, that wasn't the case.”

“You mean to tell me that it felt so natural that ‘you knew’ that he was a little more than a friend,” The Cat Prime pressed on, feeling a little confused by her phrasing.

“It’s… I guess you could say that, but I wasn’t certain until it was time for lunch and… it all began.”

And what a beautiful thing that began from that mere lunch together.

Taffy had always thought that her first time would have been incredibly disappointing. This is what she could remember hearing from a few of her formal friends back in culinary school.

Surprisingly enough, that proved to be quite the wrong assumption.

Despite Matt being a human with a stamina that should have been less than what a Prime of his frame and strength would have, the man had proved to be more than capable of not bringing her any annoyance over this predicament and…

It wouldn’t be a lie to just think how it had been quite difficult to catch some sleep with what she had been dreaming in the last few days.

Truly an unforgettable day… and night.

“Heh, were you thinking about ‘that’?”

Miles’ voice interrupted her trail of thoughts, getting a blush to spread once more on her face at the fact she had been caught day-dreaming so suddenly.

“N-No-”

There was no way he could have deduced so much from so little! How could he have-

“You are lying~.”

Raspberries!

“I-I’m not!” Her cheeks puffed at the teasing, her little irritation almost vanishing as a quiet chuckle erupted from Miles.

“S-Seriously, you a-are trying to keep this bottled up,” He pointed out mere moments later. “Trying to hide your real emotions, but I don’t see why you would-”

“I think… he has someone already,” She interrupted with a tired sigh, her green eyes moving away from the Cat Prime and right to look at the table’s surface. “I could see… some sadness whenever he looks at me while I’m smiling.”

It had been a strange detail that made their interactions somewhat confusing if now saddening altogether.

He would seem unaware of this glint from within his stare, but the indifference over the matter made the whole sight difficult to keep up with.

“Wait, you mean that Matt didn’t tell you if he has a girlfriend or not-”

“Matt is… amnesiac,” Taffy replied with a certain irritation, starting to feel uncomfortable about the discussion now. “He was found a little more than two weeks ago by his boss and since then he has been living with her family.”

“What? Really?” Miles’ questions were given in half-outburst, but then the young man paused as he realized that the one he was speaking with was starting to feel distressed. “I-I mean, I didn’t want to-”

“That’s alright,” The Bunny Prime said while giving a nod back to him. “I understand that you are curious about this but… it’s quite the private matters and if you want to know more, you should probably ask Matt about it.”

“I understand, you don’t want to give out this delicate situation to anyone without his permission,” He guessed as he finished drinking the last drop of coffee from his cup. “And what are you going to do about the fact you love him?”

…

“Hmm?” Her posture was a little tense as she hummed questioningly at the Cat Prime, but Miles didn’t seem surprised by her lack of reaction.

“He was found a little less more than two weeks ago by his new boss. Ever since then, he has been living with her family.”

She shuffled nervously in her seat at that continuation.

“But to what end? It would just… make things even more awkward than now,” Taffy said with some hesitation. “It’s already difficult to not think about what happened a few days ago and-”

“Forgive me for saying this to you, Taffy,” Miles said with a serious but also faux-irritated tone. “But you are being incredibly stupid in keeping this to yourself. Expressing what you feel towards Matt would only do good, both for yourself and him.”

“But what if-”

“When I was still in that strange relationship with Hope, I think that if I had been a little more understanding of her. If I had been truthful with my emotions towards her, maybe...” He paused as his lips formed a sad thin line. “Maybe things would have gone much better than now.”

…

Taffy blinked as she stared silently at the sorrowful expression on the Cat Prime’s face as he thought back about that very instance that was formed by ‘ifs’ and other missed opportunities.

“Miles-”

“Matt once told me that telling someone about my own past mistakes can make the difference if I was careful when to point those out and to whom,” He spoke once more, this time a small smile appearing on his face. “While he might not return your same emotions, don’t restrain yourself from telling him what you feel about him. It’s… the right thing to do.”

The young woman returned the smile with a tinier one, yet she felt her interest piqued at the words brought by the fellow Prime as… there was an oddly-inspiring note in this little recollection.

Miles’ regret had costed him the chance of a relationship, and while that wasn’t a case that similar to hers, it was still a must to give it a try and set free the painful bubbles forming from within the chest.

Bubbles that were so close to burst, to let out some little more pain over the fact she was keeping quiet about it all.

She sighed, but nodded. “I… Thank you for telling me this, Miles. I appreciate this, really.”

He nodded back, his smile widening at her words.

“I suppose lessening my attachment to beer can really make the difference,” He pointed out with a comical tone. “Still, I hope you are planning to give him a speech soon or-”

“Not without a proper setting, it would be… ‘wrong’ to tell him straight away,” The girl admitted with a small sigh. “Maybe I could organize a little picnic and… see where things go from there.”

“It could work, just...” The Cat Prime hummed with his eyes narrowed at her with a teasing note. “Don’t forget to tell him about your emotions just because you want to ogle him.”

She froze and… tensed up.

“I-I don’t stare at him!” Taffy mumbled nervously, another bout of blushes appearing on her face. “N-not too much at least.”

Miles let out a chuckle and from there the conversation veered back to some simpler tones… until both Minos and Matt made their appearance to the bar, greeting both Miles and Taffy as they prepared to spend some hours by the farmers’ market by the nearby square.

The human was more than glad to accept the little picnic offer, his smile almost giving some chances to make tomorrow another grand day.

~New POV~

If there was something that she was starting to hate about her life away from home, it was waking up with a massive hangover after the usual late night party from the day before.

Groaning tiredly as her eyes were still adapting to the dim light of the bedroom’s ceiling, the woman couldn’t certainly be glad of the ‘luxurious freedom’ she had gained from running away from her hometown.

With the search for her father technically complete and her main objective concluded, Mora Linda was starting to regret having not planned any smart step to take after finding out whatever had happened to her missing parent.

It was difficult enough that she had to learn how to live alone and without trustworthy people all around for some time, quite the opposite of what she had been accustomed back in Gossamer.

Now that she was without a true purpose to wander around, the Cow Prime was sure starting to miss the lovely farm where she had spent two whole decades of her life in.

The very place where her mother, Diana Linda, had created a small heaven for her children, and where she would had have a simple, happy future.

Mora could still remember the boredom riddling her days during the last few years spent there, but she could say without a doubt that she would prefer living in ‘that boredom’ than having to do every strange job available in the places she was passing by in this aimless trip of hers.

The woman missed the times where she could just rest without having to fear having to deal with some issues from the past, or even to face any major repercussions with the odd predicaments she had been facing since her ‘escape’.

The recent messages from Randal were starting to slowly erode her doubts over approaching her big brother and see if the situation at the home front was alright or not, especially with the confusing news she had heard about the farm going in a strong decline ever since she had left.

The Cow Prime couldn’t just believe this. Her mother would have never allowed for the family property to come crash down, not even after that heated discussion that saw Mora bolting away from her home, away from the town and… away from Gossamer.

But what if something had happened while she had been away?

A legitimate question that was promptly buried in numerous reasons to not take a major risk in checking in with the Collie.

Her mother was a strong woman, there was nothing that could seriously keep her down.

Mora let out a sigh as she felt herself breaking away from the little sleepiness that was keeping her at bed, her mind slowly regaining some bearing of the current situation and… she was alone in that room.

Good. Actually, this was just perfect.

No distraction and no annoyances to face after dealing with some alcohol-induced poor life choices.

Carefully getting herself up from the mattress, the young woman let out a yawn while she stretched her arms a little.

Then she started to stand up from the lone bed of the hotel room she had rented the day before, her recollection of the night before giving her nothing to truly worry about now and… so she drifted back to her general situation.

She had to keep moving, never stopping in a single place for too long.

At least, that would have to be the case, until some ideas about what to do with her life started popping up and give her the opportunity to finally settle down.

A very crappy plan, there was no hesitation in considering it as such, but it was the best she could afford.

The alternative was easily ignored out of pride and fear.

She couldn’t just return back home like this, not after the harsh words that had been handled between herself and her mother.

Still fresh in her memory, a reminder of how dangerous her temper can get without a careful approach behind it all.

Finesse wasn’t her thing.

Thus, she had been doing poorly in getting more answers from the older Prime before leaving her home.

Sure, there was no reason to not believe that Diana Linda would have forgiven and taken her back within the closeness of family…

But would it have been correct of herself to just accept? Even with how her stupid approach had almost torn apart the bond she had with her mother

Mora had done something wrong by childishly pursuing the truth about her father, by ignoring her mother’s advice to not dig any further than the information the older woman was glad to give out.

It had all been within her rights to know more about her missing parent after so many years spent ignoring the issue, but she should have also expected that things wouldn’t have been that much nice if there wasn’t much said about him.

The scene at that laboratory-like building had been fairly unsettling, terribly so considering the ramifications of what she had seen back there.

If her father had been stuck in that place for years if not decades, what happened to the various money her mother had sent to ‘help him while he was oversea’?

Was it stolen by the same organization that was using the Narakhan as a lab rat? Or maybe there was something else that she was missing all over the clues afforded by her research.

A groan left her lips as her thoughts dissipated at the sudden and vibrant noise coming from the small cellphone by the bedside.

Her right hand carefully hovered over the device as she quietly checked for the number of the caller.

…

It wasn’t one she knew about, and this made things a little annoying, as there was actually someone she was trying to avoid right now.

Idward had been far too persistent with his flirting.

The wine at the event where he had met him making some impressive work in keeping her senses numb enough to sustain the conversations she had shared with him before going for some fireworks later that night.

It wasn’t his fault that she couldn’t feel the spark from his forward attitude, but the overall stubbornness about it all made him… quite an object of irritation for her.

The issue was that hangovers seemed to heighten the irritating effects from his intellectual side.

But he shouldn’t be aware what her phone number is, especially with how quick she had bolted from that unplanned encounter that was slowly developing in quite the unpleasant circumstance to deal.

He would eventually find someone that would love him back. He had a chance, but it wouldn’t be with her.

Mora Linda was far from meeting someone that could keep up with her whole personality and… flaws.

'Instead of continuing her internal musing, she ultimately decided to answer the call.

From there, she would think about what to do after that.

“Hello?” Her voice sounded a little strained, her throat aching a little at having to work so early in the morning.

“Hello, am I speaking with Mora?” The caller sounded fairly nervous, but he sounded unfamiliar if not somewhat harmless

“That’s me.”

“My name is Matt, Matt Newcastle and… I’m contacting you for a serious situation that require your attention-”

“Look… pal,” She groaned at the phone. “I understand that it might sound a little rude but… it’s fairly early in the morning here and I would appreciate if you just skip to the point. I still have stuff to do and-”

“Mora, I understand- but the situation can’t be summarized in a few words because of the gravity-”

“And I think I will just close the call if you can’t just tell me what’s going on-”

“Y-Your mother is dying.”

…

What.

What did he just say?

There was no way that Diana Linda was close to passing away. Randal would have-

Oh right, he had trying to call her quite insistingly until now.

The frequent increase of the messages could suggest that something was wrong back home but… that Diana Linda was dying?

Unbelievable!

“I swear, Newcastle, I’m not up for games and I will not continue with this fucking prank when-”

“It’s related to your father,” He pressed on with some nervousness in his voice at the chances. “Something that is connected to the fact he is... a Narakhan.”

There was a moment of silence, her green eyes widening as whoever was on the other side of the call dropped a hint far too difficult to just ignore.

The only people that she was aware of that knew about her father’s true nature were herself and her mother… so how was this stranger aware of this very secret?

Did her mother finally spill the secret to someone else? Did Randy know about this or-

“Ok, let’s rewind things a little bit,” The Cow Prime said, her mind finally out of her sleepy phase. “Matt, how do you know about ‘that’ and… why are you the one calling me?”

“Considering that you have been ignoring Randal’s calls? It was best for me to try since we have never met before,” He pointed out quietly, getting a quick flinch out of her at hearing the light chiding tone in his voice. “The reason I was made aware of Diana’s conditions is because I’m the newest and sole worker here at the farm.”

Mora frowned at this last detail, remembering that there was a little army of people working at Las Lindas that were as close as family to Diana Linda when she had first gone away.

Did they just started to leave once the declining health of her mother had been revealed?

“B-But what about mom’s conditions?” She half-stuttered, resuming the conversation with the important topic. “Can you tell me a little more about it?”

“Sure, I think it’s… correct for you to know,” He began to say with a tenser tone. “Your mother tried performing a full Narakhan conversion when she was pregnant. She did this because there was a risk that you would have suffered serious illnesses if you had been born from a Prime mother-'”

“A botched ritual?” Her voice was soft, fragile even as her eyes widened in recognition as she knew where the man was going with this reasoning.

“Y-Yes.”

No, there was no way that her mother would have-

But she was so kind, she would have done that if it was to make sure her child was born well and…

Gods, that… that was messed up.

“I-Is she alright?”

“She is mostly fine,” Relief entered within her mind at that confirmation, yet she was still tense and for good reasons. “But she is mostly restrained to the proximity of the house. Randal helps with giving her the proper medicines while I go through the labor of the farm.”

Him alone?

Surely this ‘Matt Newcastle’ had to be some tough Prime to be able to do all the tasks needed at the farm without any major help.

But there was no time to further waste in thinking about little things and Mora pressed on.

“D-Does she know about-”

“I told her that I would have given a try to contact you, but she isn’t aware that I’m currently speaking with you if that’s what you are asking about.”

At least she wouldn’t have to deal with her mother so suddenly and through a phone of all means.

An encounter so important would need her to be present, to make it a direct conversation rather than an impersonal one because of the phone.

Still, there was little that she could do about it and… she gave a sigh.

“I-I see. Thank you for calling me and-”

“Mora.”

Her mouth closed at the interruption.

“I understand that there has been some reason to see you leaving the farm, to avoid keeping contacts with your family and… I will not try to intervene in your family’s privacy until it’s a matter of necessity,” The young man said with a calm but determined voice. “But I have to implore you to please return home to at least see your mother, she needs you-”

“I-I wouldn’t bring her happiness-”

“You would-”

“But then I would have to tell her about what I had to go through,” She continued, ignoring his efforts to reply her. “I didn’t make a good life after leaving the farm and… she wouldn’t be happy about it.”

The things she had to do to survive even now? There was not a single day that she seriously didn’t regret the easier life of the farm.

But her pride couldn’t just allow it. Mora couldn’t just bear with the fact that she would have to describe the unpleasant stuff she had to do to have a warm bed and some food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

“Mora-”

“It wouldn’t work,” She pressed on with some stubbornness, tensing up at the intense exchange.

“She just wants to see you and-”

“It would hurt her-”

“Mora, your mother is dying and you are clutching at straws for reasons to not visit her!”

“I-”

“I don’t care whatever life you have been conducting while away!” He half-yelled through the phone. “I will not inquire about it, nor I will try to force you to come here- but I remind you that the woman that took care of you for most for your life is here and she wants to see you before dying. Do you understand her wish?!”

…

Why was her sight getting blurry?

Something wet fell on her lap, then again and… again.

“I- I think that-”

She held back as a sob tried to get out of her lips but was stopped before dignifying how badly she had wanted to do something that horrible.

The discussion should have mattered little, the issues that she first expereinced were now well away to become once again troublesome, and…

“Matt… I’m sorry- I- I will...”

There was a sigh coming from the other end of the call.

“Look, I’m sorry that I sounded a little… harsh with my words- but you have to understand that the situation is bad,” Matt started with a softer approach. “I understand that… there are some doubts within you that prevent you from coming back. While I can’t just fully understand you, I can say from what Randy told me that… you are a good person, Mora. ”

She let out a sniff, her free hand reaching for her eyes as to cover them.

“I think he is… right. You don’t seem someone that fail to see the problem and I know that it’s difficult but… you need to try. Not just for Diana but for… yourself,” The young man continued with his speech. “This is after all your home. Las Lindas was and still is the place where the Linda family will find a safe haven. So please, I beg you, at least consider coming back to visit her.”

…

She sighed, her green eyes given once more sight over the device’s screen and… she nodded.

“I-I will come back.”

AN

I bet some people are thinking- but ‘insert goodish title for author’ why are you presenting Mora this early, it’s just past half the story and- there is some ‘puppy-kicking’ planned in a few chapters from now.

And before anyone asks, no I don’t dislike Mora and the reason why she sounded this much… frail over the call was about the topic itself.

Family is a strong reason for one to show their inner core and sometimes, when the situation is truly that dire as a parent dying, they will get emotional over it.

Still, I would have thought you would have waited a little more. I do love the fact that my little crush is finally coming back to her home but… it’s awfully sad that she is forced to experience such a horrible situation.

Life can’t exist with just good things. The bad stuff… teaches us to care about what we have, the little and insignificant things that made our existence whole.

Poetic… but I still don’t forgive you for having gone to cut your hair this short.

What?

It lacks the same… fuzziness.

It’s softer and-

It’s not fluffy enough!

Sigh, you pest of a-

By the way, dear readers, did you know that there is now out a new story written by this very author about… Gasp! University shenanigans?! And I’m in it.

Much to my immense displeasure-

You know that I have my Bo staff around, right?

I mean- much to my immense displeasure-

Meanie~!

I have indeed written a story where Ambar has a more active role. The name is ‘Learning: Affection’ and for those that might recognize part of the title, yes it is set in the same time period of Learning Curves (but this time we start from the beginning of their journey with a curious protagonist).

It’s available in FFN, in Sufficient Velocity, in Spacebattles, in FurAffinity and SoFurry. What a galore of various ways to read such a curious piece of work!

Hopefully, not a bad one.

Bah, I think you are doing… well?

I will give you a B+ for at least trying.

Yay!