Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – Furball

So deep in the night we are lying on the bed in the simple, small apartment Ava was offered and we're catching up on everything we've been doing and that has changed. I'm still cuddling her as I started a long while ago and haven't let her go since.

I relay to her what I went through since I woke up, all with detail, because I don't want to hide anything from her. About me waking up under the Saurus Touched, about the state of the city, about going to the house, about cleaning myself and taking money and clothes... and about Vera and Maria. Everything, even the fact that I killed what has become of the latter, and the strange rifter at the end.

Ava is slightly shaken when I explain the two last points, but she knows very well what decisions were before me. A type 5 Chaos Touched is classified as Wild Beast because that's what it is - a wild beast that can't possibly exist safely with humans without making either miserable. And many tried.

And as for the rifter... well, I could wait for another rifter to pick me up. Bad idea, because there's no saying when it would be.

Afterwards my girlfriend explains what she has been through in the recent days, which is arguably pretty peaceful, at least compared to what could have happened. Just as she wrote in the letter, after hiding in a house somewhere on the side and barely surviving thanks to the Touch, she came out to the evacuation teams finishing clearing the city.

She went home, ate a bit and wrote me a message, then she was taken away by the team and located here. No fights, no conflicts, which was really tame even compared to what happened to me, not to mention what some other people must have went through.

"We were really lucky, huh?" I mutter at some point after she finishes recounting the tale and we both stay silent for a long while.

"...Can't deny it. Do you know how many people survived from Venus?"

"I was told it was eight thousand, and even that including those who were already Touched beforehand." I mutter and open my eyes excitedly even in this situation. "Also, do you know that Sovereign was there? In Venus, I mean? There was a Mythical Avis there, he came to subdue it."

"Ah, so that was that roar, I guess." Ava comments.

"Huh?"

"Um, a bit after I hid I heard incredibly loud roar and screech that reminded me of a bird and a dragon, but I had no idea what it was."

"Oh, alright." I nod energetically and finally look up from Ava's chest I've been clinging to like since fifteen minutes ago or something.

Holy shit, I've been kinda not paying attention to it, but she's beautiful, gorgeous, and something more. Where her body was fantastic before, she's now perfect, where she was perfect for me earlier, now I get to know how mistaken I was about what's perfection. Her face is somehow more attractive than it was before and more alluringly beautiful, while her skin seems to be smoother and her body a little bit less sculpted and softer, plus a little more voluptous, but not enough to change her overall image.

And she is a Vulpes. Wow. Her ears are... not as large as mine, but still pretty big, more or less what you would expect for a Demi Vulpes, and they are crimson red, smootly flowing through blood red into black tips, contrasting with the white tutfs of fur inside. They are twitching and rotating ever so slightly, and they're cute.

Ava's tails though... they are something else. Seven damn tails, every single one long, thick, and floofy, maybe even more so than my bushy tail. Definitely longer, but maybe not as thick.

I reach out to one of the six feet long monstrosities and plunge my hand into the thing, distinctly feeling my hand sinking into the soft floofy fur of the same color as her ears.

Gosh. Damn.

I slowly peel myself off Ava and turn my head to her back, noticing in the corner of my eye that my girlfriend is looking at me with a grin.

And then I jump at her. I look at her face briefly and feel around her body with my hands, feeling all there is new about her and ignoring her weak protests.

"Vesper!" She finally bursts out in panic when I get to her tails and start approaching their base.

"Hm?" I innocently look up to her face and into her eyes. Oh Chaos.

They changed. I didn't notice it before... they were bloody red in color, and they are still bloody red, but much deeper, and the black rim bleeding to the inside seems much sharper and darker. Maybe it's the difference in my eyesight that I can spot it all?

"Vespeeer!" Ava groans, shaking me, and I focus on her face again instead of staring into her eyes. "Focus!"

"Yes, mistress!" I reply and look at her, doing my best to paint a picture of innocence.

"You're one insufferable furball." My girlfriend mumbles and drags her hand over her face. "I was asking about your powers, if you have any. Because I've already experienced your stupid strength."

"Um, I can see vitality, I think. I'm not sure what it is actually." I say and Ava squints her eyes.

"Weren't Touched supposed to know what their powers are instinctively?"

"I mean, yeah, but saying vitality doesn't really describe anything, does it? I mean, eeeh… I know what it is, but I don't really know much apart from that."

Hm. I look inside myself and at her vitality, and focus on it. Mine is much smaller and orb-shaped, though larger than most people I've seen on the way, and it's deep and vibrant. Not sure how to say it, but it feels like... there's something more to it, compared to the 'normal' vitality.

That 'normal' vitality is floating around Ava's orb, which is somehow producing the vitality in large amounts. The orb itself is also on the sixth level, but distinctly smaller, and very... vibrant, but not deep and profound, instead shining like a lantern. Additionally, while my orb seems to slowly exude spent vitality, hers is emitting normal, usable vitality in large amounts, which then joins a huge cloud of vitality swirling around the orb.

It doesn't help that from what I have seen in other people, their vitality is static, neither seeping out nor being produced.

I describe the state of matters to Ava, adding what I got to know largely thanks to the rifter, Violet. That the size of the orb of vitality is directly proportional to the size of the soul, which is also the strength, and that the saturation of vitality is it's quality.

"I also can absorb this vitality from others..." I say at the end, and I pause. And I look at Ava's orb of vitality. "Ava." I say seriously.

"Hm?" She asks with raised eyebrows.

"Do you have any use for the vitality you're producing?" I ask.

"Yup." She nods. "I was going to explain after you. For now I can give it to other people, though I'm not sure what it does, and burn it into flames, which are by the way stupidly powerful. Why do you ask?"

I stay silent for a while, processing the implications of what she just said, and I sit down. "Ava. If I'm not wrong, you can..." I pause and continue in a barely audible whisper, knowing that she will hear me with her ears. "...You can extend people's lifespan. Possibly also strengthen them."

"...You sure? I thought it might be possible, but I never had a chance to try." Ava asks with a heavy frown.

"Use it on me." I shake my head and look up at her with determined expression.

"Huh? But..." She hesitates, but I shake my head vigorously again.

"Do it. If I'm not wrong, we received the best possible pair of powers." I say excitedly, lowering my voice. "I'm not sure how, but I can supposedly grow stronger by absorbing vitality. And I'm constantly losing it. If you can supply me with it... it will be perfect!" I explain quickly, ending in an excited whisper.

"Calm down, Vesper." Ava reaches out with her arms and pulls me to her, with my head landing on her chest. "Let us finish with our powers first, alright?"

"But-." I begin before Ava scritches me behind my ear and shit god damn aaaah!

I twist in her embrace and arch my back as some weird sound escapes my throat, kinda resembling a squeak. Ava freezes in place and bursts out laughing a moment later, and I glare at her from my position on her chest and she starts laughing even harder, showing her own pair of long fangs.

"Ava!" I accuse her, flailing my arms.

"Yesh, sorry, sorry." She says and chuckles, but soon enough schools her face back into a serious expression. "We'll get back to vitality in a while, because it seems like something big that will take a lot of time. Do you have any other powers?"

Hm. "I have extremely fast regeneration. Or restoration, or some other shit, I dunno how it's called." I wrinkle my nose. "Point is that I can heal myself real fast, and thinking about it now, I'm probably using my vitality for that."

Ava squints at me. "I'm pretty sure you needed to experience it to get to know that."

"Oh, um, yeah..." I look up at her. "It wasn't anything major, um, I had some fur from my feet ripped off. It regrew literally in a second."

"I see." Ava nods and smiles again. "I probably have something similar, but I don't think I was in a situation to know that."

"What about that when you were just Touched?" I ask. "You wrote you survived only thanks to the Touch."

My girlfriend blinks a few times with a bit stupid expression. "Hm. Now that you point it out... I don't remember what happens to your injuries when you're Touched."

"I'm pretty sure the body is reconstructed when you get Touched, but the injuries should be carried over. So that would mean you also have very good regenerative powers. That's definitely a good thing." I grin.

"Hm. I'm not a sadist, but that can still be useful." Ava mutters and my grin fades as I blink repeatedly.

"Ava!" I accuse her lovingly, feeling blood rush to my cheeks.

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"Yup, I know." She grins. "Anyway, any more powers?"

"Um, hearing, and sight. I have both really good, and like extremely good. Especially hearing." I reply. "And my nose isn't working yet."

"I see." Ava nods. "I also have much better hearing, sight, and sense of smell, though I can't tell if better than yours. Is that all of yours?"

"Just strength. Except vitality and things connected to it."

"Alright." Ava nods. "So let's get to it. I don't have any more powers from what I know, though I'm not sure about my vitality, because I didn't have a chance to test it properly. Should I give you a bit now?"

"Mhm." I look up at her expectantly and stare at her arm travelling to my hand.

When she touches my hand with hers, I see the cloud of vitality around her orb sort of...  spinning like cyclone and thinning, and a streak of vitality flows out of Ava's, uh, whole body and through her arm. Strange, but who am I to question that. When it touches my skin it gets quickly absorbed and devoured by my orb of vitality, then somewhat converted into the enriched version I have inside me.

And... Chaos. Wow. I feel something... strange. Gah, wow, it's absolutely amazing, who am I kidding. Though, I can't even describe it. It's a... spiritual equivalent of eating and filling my belly, I guess? But somewhat... strange. I mean, I'm almost full now, and I can tell the vitality coming from Ava is getting sort of stuffed inside instead of flowing there smoothly, but it doesn't feel unpleasant at all. The complete opposite actually. It's... divine. Absolutely delightful.

And then the flow of vitality stops and I find myself missing the heavenly taste and feeling a strange sense of loss, and I try take a deep breath and choke on it, starting to cough.

"Vesper?" I hear Ava's concerned voice as I snap back to reality, looking up at her from her chest and breathing heavily. Huh?

I blink repeatedly in confusion and take another look at my orb of vitality, finding it completely full.

"Why... Why did you stop?" I ask heavily and raspily and only then realize how I sound. Like... like a fucking addict. "Fuck, no, wait."

I take a deep breath, pulling away from Ava's chest, and rub my eyes. "Chaos, damn. That was... scarily amazing." I mutter.

"What happened?" Ava asks in concern and I hug her tightly again, looking up to her face.

"I'm not sure." I reply quietly. "It was kinda... I don't know. It was absolutely amazing, but... kinda scary, and not at the same time. I don't know how to describe it. But my vitality is full again, so that's definitely a plus. Though I'd like to see what would happen if you stuffed me to the point my vitality and soul would crack."

"What!?" Ava shouts before I realize what I just said.

"Um, no no wait! I don't mean anything bad!" I wave my arms, trying to reassure her. "That rifter, Violet, she said that I can grow stronger if absorb more vitality, and that's correct, but she said I can only do that by wear and tear. I'm pretty sure it means that I need to strain and damage my soul for it to regrow stronger."

Ava wears a heavy frown on her face and seems to be thinking intensely about something. "What's that about soul? That sounded like you were planning to kill yourself." She asks finally in stern tone and I blink in surprise.

"Um, I didn't tell you that?" I ask uncertainly.

"Tell me what?" Ah, so I probably didn't.

"Um, vitality fills the soul. So, like, if you stuff me with more vitality than I can hold, it will strain my soul." I explain. "And I'm pretty sure it will allow me to grow stronger, though we need to test that, because I'm not sure."

"...Ah, you said that, right. But, later, alright?" Ava replies after a while with conflicted expression. "Let's first get somewhere more... private and safer. Would you like to go to Percula? My parents have a villa there, and it's near Palermo. I imagine we could stay there until things are sorted out and we go to the Academy again, and we could go to that ruin in Palermo when it becomes available."

I mull it over for a moment. "Yeah, sure, I'd like that." I nod my head. "What about Venus? I mean, your house there. What will we do with it?"

"Ah, well." Ava deflates visibly with her face becoming sullen and I trail my hand over her back comfortingly. "...I don't know, to be honest. I imagine it would be best to take everything of value from there and just leave it, but I don't really like that."

"Mhm." I mumble. "But there isn't really any better option, is there? Venus is basically a ghost city now. It will be years till we can live there comfortably, if that even. I wouldn't be surprised if it became completely abandoned like Vitalia. Last I heard there were two thousand people living there, and that after almost thirty years since the Storm."

"...Yeah." Ava sighs heavily. "We'll see. For now I'd like to message my parents and get at least a few days of normalcy. As much as we can with those changes." She reaches her hand out to my head and rubs lightly between my ears, getting a quiet growl as a reward.

"What about Academy?" I ask, remembering another important thing. "Now that we're Touched, we don't need to go there."

"Hm. No idea, to be honest." My girlfriend shrugs in response. "I guess we could continue our general course in another city, but... do you really want to get back to that? The Chaos studies are also pretty pointless for us and I only went there because I needed to choose something. Not to mention you."

"Mhm." I mumble in response, fighting my lips curling into a smile. "No Academy then. What about your career? You wanted to be a scientist, no?"

"Well, I wanted to work in GCM, and I could go there and apply even now, I think. But I'll see, not like I'm pressed with time. I'm also a bit lacking on certain subjects, and I'd like to read on them. I can find books anywhere though. Right now I want some peace." She pauses for a while and sighs just as I nod in response. "Also, I had a thought, when you, uh, when you killed the Beast that was Maria before, did you absorb any of her vitality or something? What happens to it at death?"

"Uh, I got a bit of vitality." I tilt my head to the side. "But she was basically dying, so it didn't have any of the effect you had on me." I squint at her and she averts her eyes.

"That's not my fault, okay?" She mumbles.

"I'm not saying it's your fault." I pull myself up and sit on my girlfriend's legs, looking into her beautiful eyes. "It's your merit."

I stare into her eyes for a long while. "...What?" She asks finally.

"Can I get another?" I ask in what I hope is cute, pleading voice, bringing my face close to hers.

"Ah… Okay, you damn furball. But just a bit, because I want you usable tomorrow." Ava replies with a twinkle in her eyes and locks our lips. Huh?

And then I melt. It's absolutely... divine. Heavenly. Delightful. Mind-blowing. I whimper in a haze and suck on something vigorously for even a single drop of this nectar, and I'm engulfed in a huge torrent of pain and delight interlaced. Ethereal and physical at the same time, crashing through my soul and body like a tidal wave and a lightning bolt, crushing any remains of conscious thought I might have still had and obliterating any resistance I might have built.

When I come to be, the first thing that assaults me is a pleasant smell of embers and nature intertwined. I inhale it deep, almost tasting it, savouring it, and it takes me around three seconds of bliss to realize that I just smelled something.

I immediately bolt awake and try to feel my nose, only managing to hit something soft with my hand. I blink in confusion, trying to orient myself, and quickly realize I have Ava's face in front of my eyes. I stare at her for a long while, admiring her beautiful features, before another whiff of the slightly strange, pleasant smell sends me back to reality.

I bring my face closer to Ava's and sniff her... Chaos that sounds wrong. I sniff my girlfriend and quicky realize that as I suspected, this smell is coming from her. Hm. It's her smell, then? I don't think it's shampoo or anything of the sort, because now that I focus on my nose, I realize I smell quite a few more things, none of which could be Ava's smell.

Hm. I definitely like it.

Though, going back to what happened before... damn how long was I out?

I lok out of the window, but it's night just as before, so I can't tell the time at all, and I don't know where any clock is. Too lazy to search for it.

Though, hm. Speaking of being out, what happened? I focus on vitality I can sense from me and Ava and pause for a long while when I instantly notice two things. First, Ava's cloud of vitality is almost gone. A new one is forming, but it will be at least a day till it goes back to its previous size.

Oh, that at least tells me that not much time passed. An hour or so, maybe. Should have passed, at least, because that's only my guess.

Hm. Why is it missing though? She was supposed to give me only a bit... unless I sucked it out? That's certainly possible... and kinda worrying. Hm.

Anyway, the second thing is that my orb of vitality is slightly larger and sort of... ripped? Fractured? No, not really... not in a purely bad meaning, at least. I feel some dull, ethereal pain from there, but something tells me there's nothing really bad happening. There are just some newly grown and not yet fully formed parts of my soul there, and vitality isn't flowing smoothly through them. As a side note, for some reason my vitality is barely two thirds full... and come to think of it it's probably because of my soul growing larger and using up the vitality, because now that I pay attention, it is seeping out into the cracks and sort of fusing with them.

Hm. Not sure how I know that, but it definitely helps. Chaos Touch doing it's weird things, I assume.

...Is that the reason for my nose working properly? Likely, though it's not like I have anything to prove or deny that.

Well, no matter. Ava's more important now.

I shake my girlfriend's head lightly and her eyes immediately flutter open, revealing the two amazingly beautiful and entrancing marbles. She jerks upwards and looks around in alarm before her eyes settle on me as she makes a confused and concerned expression on her face.

"Vesper? You alright? What happened?" She rapidfires before I'm able to open my mouth and I jump up to hug her reassuringly.

"I'm alright, don't worry." I quickly say and start explaining what happened.

Chaos damn. We've got some testing and explanations to do, and I'm so freaking excited for it. I'm growing in strength, damn it! And I can live thanks to Ava! And I'm Touched with her! And we're both floofy!

Omigosh, I need to cool down a bit.

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