Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – To Be or Not Toe-Beans?

With the papyrus, reed brush, and ink ordered and on the way from a seller on Etsy called KemetPaperWorks, Chloe spent some time trying to focus on the other items they needed to procure. She didn’t know the first thing about wine, let alone Greek wine, but she was even less inclined to research kitten adoption.

So, wine it was! A quick internet search revealed a number of different options for Greek wines, some of which were actually reasonably priced. Chloe curled her tail around into her lap and toyed with the fluffy end of it as she read reviews, explanations, and run-downs of the different regions, grapes, and flavor profiles. 

“Sweet… sweet… sweet…” she mumbled to herself, scrolling through pages of descriptions. “I have no idea about this stuff, I’m no sommelier. Meh, let’s just get this one!” she announced loudly to no one in particular as she pulled the trigger with an online order. The wine in question was from a specialty site and it was listed as Thymiopoulos Earth & Sky Xinomavro 2019. It sounded fancy and Greek, anyway. Chloe simply shrugged as the order completed and the receipt showed up in her email box. She frowned, looking at the name associated with the email account. Was it better to start a new email account or just change the name on this one? It probably didn’t matter, she decided, as she slouched down in her chair and became the picture of poor posture.

After a few moments, she turned on the webcam to study her appearance. It was surreal watching the cute little catkin turn and move and emote in real-time. She mused it was something like a Vtuber turning on their avatar for the first time, except she could do things that they couldn’t. She stuck out her tongue, crossed her eyes, and pinched her cheeks. As she bounced from side to side with her ears twitching and moving, she heard a loud cough from behind her. Chloe startled, her tail bristling out in an onyx poof, as she whipped her head around to see Morgan watching from the doorway with a sly smile and her arms folded.

“That doesn’t look like researching cat adoption to me, love,” Morgan chastised. “What *are* you doing?”

“Uh… distracting myself by watching myself on my webcam?” Chloe muttered with embarrassment. “It’s still really weird. But I’m kinda cute?”

“Yes, yes you are. I’m pretty sure I made that clear yesterday,” Morgan said as she crossed the room toward Chloe. “How about I help my cute little girlfriend look for local adoption options? After all, I think you might need a little bit of help to keep you on task! You’re so much more distractible than you used to be!” She ruffled Chloe’s hair and teased the tips of the ears with her fingertips before pulling the footstool out from under Chloe’s desk and sitting on it.

“Fine, fine…” Chloe pouted, typing in a search query for local pet adoption. After browsing a few of the websites, they finally settled on a cat café that was about six miles away in the more upscale part of the city. It was called 'Catffeine' and advertised a litter of kittens that had been dropped off recently.

“Well, let’s give it a shot,” Chloe said resignedly. “Just remember, we’re not replacing Luna.”

“Oh, baby, nobody could ever replace Luna. She was her own kitty. I just feel blessed that you brought her into my life when we moved in together. These babies will just be a new part of our life. New friends to learn about and spend time with!” Morgan ran her fingers through Chloe’s hair and gently stroked her chin. “Come on, babe. We can do this!”

Chloe nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

Despite the relatively short distance, driving through the city had the annoyance of stop lights, pedestrians and other drivers. Thus, what should have been roughly a short drive of fifteen minutes became an arduous journey of nearly half an hour. After being cut off by someone in a large SUV, Chloe was approaching her boiling point. 

Traffic began moving and as soon as there was a clearing, she downshifted, gunned the engine, and proceeded to pull into the right-hand lane, squealing the tires slightly as she accelerated to bring her car up next to the black Escalade with booming bass. She rolled down the window, extended one petite arm out the window, and flipped her middle finger toward the offending driver.

Morgan swatted Chloe’s arm and said, “Settle down, you’re going to get us into an accident!” in a scolding tone.

Chloe snapped her head toward Morgan, fighting back a hiss, as she looked into Morgan’s concerned eyes. Instead, she took a deep breath and resumed driving normally. “I’m sorry, Mo. I don’t know what’s going on, I’m just so freaking annoyed with everything!”

“I know, Chlo, but you can’t take it out on everything around us. Remember, it’s not just you at risk, here.”

One large black cat ear laid flat in begrudging acceptance. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m trying to keep it under control, but I’m not doing very well.”

“You’re under a lot of stress. It’s okay to be upset. It’s okay to feel annoyed or angry. But you can’t lash out like this or someone’s going to get hurt,” Morgan said coaxingly.

Suddenly, Chloe’s left ear shifted to the left as it picked up a sudden increase in pitch. Without looking in the direction of the noise, she nailed the brake just in time to see the Escalade swerve across her lane in front of her. Morgan gasped in surprise as Chloe began growling, the latter’s eyes glowing with a preternatural viridian light. 

“Twice you’ve crossed me. Twice shall you be crossed,” Chloe said in a low voice that was not quite her own. The illumination rapidly faded from her eyes as she guided the car more calmly to another lane and put on the turn signal to leave the road.

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As they made their left turn into a sunny strip mall parking lot, a loud “POP!” echoed from the road behind them. Morgan turned to look out the back window of the car in time to see the SUV pulling over with two flat tires. The hair on the back of her neck stood out as she turned back toward Chloe. “Babe, did you make that truck’s tires go flat?”

Chloe blinked a few times, shaking her head as she shifted the car into park. “I’m sorry, what?” She turned the car off and slipped the keys into her purse, turning to face Morgan.

“You said something cryptic that sounded like a curse right before that truck’s tires exploded!” Morgan replied, gesturing toward the road.

“Umm… I don’t remember saying anything,” Chloe said thoughtfully. “I just remember hearing Sekhmet’s voice in my head. She said ‘Let me help,’ and the next thing I knew, I was pulling into this parking spot.” She looked out the window dazedly. “Honey, am I okay?”

They sat in silence for a couple moments. “I think Sekhmet might have hijacked your meat mech for a second to save our lives.”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, that’s a really uncomfortable feeling. I don’t think I like that,” Chloe replied in a hushed tone. “I’m grateful, but I don’t like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“For a second, I felt like a Sim. Like I’m not a real person, just a mostly-autonomous NPC that someone gave a command.” Chloe seemed really agitated; her tail thumped the car seat and her ears were pinned back while the pupils of her large green eyes narrowed.

“Chloe. Chloe, listen to me. Focus on me. Listen to my voice, sweetie,” Morgan stated insistently. “I need you to calm down and slow your breathing.”

The small cat girl complied and closed her eyes, carefully measuring her breath.

Breathe in.

“Okay, you’re you. Even in a different body, even in a different gender, you’re still who you are. Just because you got a little interference from another radio station doesn’t make you any less of an individual. Alright, babe?”

Breathe out.

Chloe nodded as she took in Morgan’s words. “Think of it like a seizure or a tic. Just some extra noise in the ol’ brain box, okay?”

Breathe in.

“Now I want you to turn your head to face forward and slowly open your eyes.”

Breathe out.

In front of the car, pressed against the window of the building in front of them, were the pink-padded paws of several cats as they leaned against the glass, studying the humans in the car with intense interest.

“Oh my goddess, the cute little toe-beans!” Chloe exclaimed.

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