"Aight, so like, one of the people we're meeting is named 'Genki', and she's a little weird." Elma explained "She likes to sexualize the whole Chosen thing a little, but she's chill, just like if she starts snapping pics while flexing and sticking her tongue out, get out of the frame."
"I'll keep that in mind." I said "What about the other one?"
"Oh, her name is Simple Syrup, she's an alcohol based Chosen. Her church does some kind of alcohol based ritual, so her power is to control the level of alcohol in any drink without changing the flavor, and she can make it so the drinks don't give you hangovers. She's great to have around when you're out drinking."
"She's a hero?" I asked "It doesn't sound like there's much potential there..."
"No, only about sixty to seventy percent of Chosen are heroes, the rest work for their churches directly to help their congregation or to put on shows or stuff. You know Diamond Dog, right? The gnoll who looks like she’s made of crystal? She just sells jewelry, nothing else, and she's ranked up in the low hundreds of popular Chosen in Valley City because of her commercials and stuff."
"Oh wow, do you think I could do that?"
"Gods don't choose abominations, you'd have to really sell the 'human' thing, better than you have been. I can recommend you as a 'person of interest', but they'll check out your background and you pretty much popped out of the woodwork." she waved me towards a quaint looking pub "I think you're better off just sticking with me, I can show you around to my circle, get you in on the stuff we do, and you'll get popular that way."
"I don't care about being popular, why do I care if people like me?" I said "I just want power."
Elma looked at me with a funny expression as she held the door open for me "Huh, I didn't expect that. Uh, I guess... We can- I don't know, fuck, I don't know how to get power."
"How did you get power?" I asked her as we made our way to the Chosen section
"I didn't, my power is stupid." she shook her head "I have so many abilities from all these people around me right now and you know what that results in? Me being ever so slightly better at... whatever, writing expense reports or playing darts than the other people in the room."
"Then how did you get the job with the Queens?" I asked
She sighed "If I'm surrounded by a team of highly trained soldiers, I become higher trained than any of them. I still have my own physical strength and muscle memory, but I at least know how to fight. The Queens have a squad of soldiers on call, Vile thought I'd be a good fit to lead them once they trained my body up. I am, but like, I'm kinda the team's dirty secret because my powers are invisible. Plus, goblins don't get chosen much and even Kelly being an ork is weird, but she's strong enough to get away with it. I'm not even on the latest set of trading cards."
"Not at all?" I asked, sliding into an empty booth opposite Elma "That's discrimination, right?"
“Maybe?” she said “I’m kinda in it so I couldn’t say anything to HR, they have me under my legal name as the leader of the strike team instead of as Fem-Butch. They printed my card without the 'Queens' team tag, and my ability is to 'change attack or defense to one more than the target', so I can't be used in a pure Queen deck and I'm only good either attacking or defending so either I die in one move or I can't do damage."
"...It's a game?" I asked
"It's stupid, but yeah, it's a game. I have a Choco-Man deck and a Creamy deck. Working on an Unchosen deck too, but I've not finished it yet; there's not enough support so it's a half-built mill with Ryllis's mass discard as the main mechanic, but I'm planning on focusing on Mod's ability to swap anyone adjacent's equips on the fly and Mourner's ability to be adjacent to anyone on the field to build a deck around stealing the enemy's items and using area of effect cards on the whole field at once."
"Oh." I said, completely lost "Ok."
"You should get into it, it's called "Chosen Slap" and it's the most popular TCG out right now, I can get you a Queens starter deck from our backlog if you like, we can play at lunch?" she offered
"Uh, I haven't-" I shook my head "I have no idea what you're talking about?"
"Damn Elma, trying to get a newbie into your baby game only babies play? Really?" a new voice said, and I flinched
A large, muscular- not as buff as Kelly, but still strong- human woman slid into the booth next to Elma. She had a vest on with nothing under it, and a short skirt with leg warmers. Her hair was silver, and all of her outfit was covered with pins and stickers and clips. She grinned at me and shot me finger guns and a nod.
"I'm Genki, you're the new girl Elma was telling us about?"
"Yeah, I'm Sylifi." I said "I work with her in Queen's Tower."
"She's a receptionist on the top office floor, she's chill." Elma explained
"Nice, her, don't let this one trick you into playing her dumb card games, she cheats." Genki laughed
"I don't cheat, I just have better decks, if you'd actually build one instead of using the basic starter-"
"I agree, she cheats." a halfling woman with dark tan skin and a red dress sat down next to me. Her green eyes shone as she fluffed her frizzy brown hair and waved her other hand in the air "I learned it was futile to play against her, I gave up."
"Fuck you, this is why I have to host ‘challenge the hero' tourneys at the Tower..."
muttered Elma "If you guys would actually try I wouldn't have to beat kids."
"I could, uh, try?" I offered "I don't understand games, but-"
"Yeah you'd be great at it!" she said, nodding quickly "Your skills in resource management would translate super well!"
"I'm Simple Syrup, you can call me Sy." the new woman said, patting my shoulder "I don't recommend playing with her, but to each their own."
"Oh, fuck you guys..." Elma grumbled, crossing her arms "I win at everything but random chance, so cards are one of the only interesting things in my life."
"There's always drinking!" Genki said "Speaking of..."
The waiter saw her waving and walked over, a polite smile on his face "Hello ma'ams, what can I get you tonight to start off with?"
"The usual." Simple Syrup said "Virgin mojitos all around."
"Very good." the waiter said, and left quickly
"Do they get mad at you for using your power on the drinks?" I asked Sy
"Oh, you know then? Mm, they used to, but we tip well, and this way we can ensure clear heads and perky smiles tomorrow." she said "Do you drink? I'm sorry, I forgot to ask."
"I never have, I'll try it though." I said
"You've never drank?" Genki asked "You're almost as old as me, is it a religious thing?"
"I grew up in the boonies." I lied "No booze there!"
"Oooh, noobie here!" Genki said "This is perfect, you can have as much as you want with no hangover, I'll be your designated driver to get you home, it'll be great."
"I can just walk, I'm sure it'll be ok." I said "I'm just living in the park."
"Oh the one on the other side of City Square?" Elma asked
"No, that one sucks, I sleep at the good one, with the ducks." I said "It's around section 220?"
"Oh, wow, are you homeless?" Sy asked "There's shelters around here if you need one, I can take you by one?"
"Uh, nnno?" I said, I couldn't mention my spacepod, but I didn't want to give away too much. "I'll get a home once I get paid, I just need to actually have money first, I have a safe place to crash there."
"Hun, if you need a place to sleep that's not a park, I'll bring you home, no pressure or anything, but I have a sofa you can stay on." Genki said "Honestly, I know the shelters are iffy at the best of times, and I hardly ever have visitors, so you can stay until you get paid if you need to."
This was a tricky situation, on one hand I couldn't tell them I had a pod with a bed and a shower in it tucked away in the foliage of the park, but on the other, I didn't want them to think I'd rather sleep on a bench than take up an offer to sleep on a sofa. I smiled politely and shrugged, maybe they'd forget by the time we went home? Infinite alcohol with no hangover has gotta lead to some serious drinking, I'd be able to slip away after they got sauced up, and I'd be cozy in my pod all night.
"Hey, let's see where the night leads us!" I said with a smile. I had to play this safe, if I fucked it up I'd just be a homeless girl mooching off people instead of a valid candidate for being chosen to be a hero. As the waiter brought our drinks, I made a decision, I was going to be the only one sober at the end of the night through hell or high water, just to make sure I didn't make a fool of myself later on when it was time to go home. Plants couldn't even get drunk, so I'd be more than fine.
~~~
My eyes slid open and the first thing I noticed was how much I itched, my entire body was on fire, like ants and crumbs all over. I shuddered and sat up, looking around at the weird, pastel room I was in. This wasn't my home, it was something weird, a place I hadn't been. Oh, frick, I was at Genki's house, on her couch just like she'd said. I stood up and tried not to scratch at my skin as I looked around at the random posters and portraits of Genki around the room. I couldn't tell if this was normal for a chosen or if she was just vain, but it made it weird to be in here, feeling her eyes on me from every direction. A door opened up, and a man in black combat gear stepped out of a room, carefully closing the door behind him with a click. His eyes met mine and he frowned and clenched his jaw.
"Look, you didn't see anything, got it?" he growled "This is a break in, nothing more, you hear?"
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice quiet
"I'm no one, I'm leaving, so keep your fucking mouth shut about this or you ruin a good thing." he snapped, picking up a baton of some kind from beside the front door
"Oh, o-ok..." I said, looking around the room "This doesn't feel like a break in?"
"It is if I say it is." The man said harshly, and was gone into the early morning.
I let out a breath- or, I pushed new chlorophyll into my fibers, it just looked like a breath from the outside because of the projection. I needed to re-set, I tried the other door, the one that didn't obviously lead to the kitchen, and found myself in a bathroom. I fell to the floor as soon as the door was locked and activated my projection, shutting it off and rippling with relief as the itchy-ness faded. I shuddered and rubbed my claws all over my body, making sure every inch of myself was back to normal and all the itches were gone. I got some water from the faucet and splashed it onto my face, then my chest, then my whole body, drinking in the sweet, sweet liquid.
I might not have a hangover, but my whole body felt tight and restricted, like I was dehydrated. Wasn't that the cause of a hangover? Why wouldn't Sy's ability stop that too? For that matter, how did I even get drunk? Plants didn't get drunk, they didn't have brains to- Oh, no, but I did have a brain, I'd made one when I was shaping this body into a humanoid form. Was that enough to get drunk with? Obviously it was, stupid question, but frick, now I couldn't risk letting myself drink, but I'd still need to interact with people who were drinking, and one of them could control how drunk I got, frick.
A knock on the door made me jump and I grabbed the doorknob, swinging it open with a whoosh.
"I didn't see anything, I swear!" I said as I met Genki's eyes "I was just leaving!"
"Holy fuck!" she swore and stepped backwards, tripping over the couch I'd been sleeping on and ending up on the floor. She looked up a second later and stared at me with wide eyes "Are- oh, shit, Sylifi?! Are you ok?"
I stepped forward "Yeah, he didn't bother me, I just thought it was-"
"Not my fucking hookup, you're a plant!" she yelled
I looked down at myself and gasped in horror, I'd forgotten to re-up my projection before answering the door! Frick frick frick frick frick, I was going to have to kill my new friend and I didn't have my gun I was going to have to tear her open with my claws and eat her, frick!
"I'm... I'm- you're dreaming!" I said as a last resort
She sat up slowly "Fuck, are you- you don't look like a dryad, what are you?"
I extended my claws, my hands behind my back and I smiled sheepishly "Uh, I'm an- an abomination! I want to be human though, legally I'm human?"
Genki stood and stepped towards me carefully "Elma didn't say anything about that. Does she know?"
"Sh-she does, yeah. She's ok with it, since I'm legally a human?" I said nervously. I might not have to kill her after all, I hoped to seeds I wouldn't, that would be so hard to cover up.
"Ok, ok." Genki took a breath "So what are you? You said you're an abomination, but what kind?"
"Uh, I'm to a flower what a dryad is to a tree, I think." I said, edging out of the bathroom "I wasn't super clear? I don't know a lot of science stuff."
I did know science stuff, quite a lot actually, but I wasn't about to tell her all that. I made my way to the side of the room where the front door was and crossed my arms, keeping my claws tucked into my palms, giving her one of the smiles Chrissie taught me.
"Are you doing ok?" she asked gently "If you need a support group or something, I know Elma works with one sometimes, we could get you in there, and we can find a group home too. I should have known when you said you were sleeping in the park, I thought you were just down on your luck."
"As far as anyone is concerned, I'm a human." I said firmly, activating my projection and wincing at the prickly feeling as the itchy skin covered me "I won't do anything to jeopardize that."
"Oh, you have a hologram?" she asked "Ok, that makes things easier. Uh, so you're really just going to pretend you're a human to everyone? That's super illegal you know."
"Will you tell on me?" I asked her, tilting my head. I might need to use my claws yet.
"No, no, I'm cool, it's all good." she said "I get the masks people wear to fit in. Hell, my main hero persona isn't even the real me, I get it."
"As long as we understand each other." I said cautiously "I don't want any problems because of this."
"No, yeah, I get it, I'm not like, associated with Turganth or something, I'll keep you safe." she said, resting her hand on my shoulder.
"Keep me safe?" I asked "Not keep my secret?"
"I'll do both." she promised "I feel responsible, I drug you all the way to my home after all, I gotta make sure you're ok."
"I... appreciate that." I said, putting my hand over hers "I wasn't expecting that."
"Hey, I became a hero through hard work and effort despite a shitty power. I wasn't even supposed to be a hero, so if there's an opportunity for me to truly help someone, it's in my nature to do it, you know?"
"That… makes sense, but I think I have everything lined up right now, I got a job, I'm registered as a human, I just need a home and I'm good."
She waved a hand at the sofa "Until then, you're welcome to crash here. I'll hold off on having guys over until we get you moved out. Speaking of, did the guy this morning see you all plant-y and everything?"
"No, I was still wearing my projection." I said
"That's good, I'd hate to have to beat him up more than I usually do." she said “Sorry about this whole mess, but... do you think you can trust me on this?"
"I think I can." I said, looking her up and down. I didn't know how much I 'trusted' her, I wasn't going to tell her I was an alien or anything any time soon, but I'd at least let her think I was trusting her, for now.
"I'm glad." she gave me a half-grin "For what it's worth, I think your plant form is really pretty. I love the flower on your head, I'd love to see it again sometime?"
I blushed and put my face in my hands, she didn't know what she was saying, she couldn't, no one would be that forward. "Y-yeah, maybe." I said "Wh-when we know each other a little better..."
"Great, I look forward to it!" she said, squeezing my shoulder "I wanna get to know you as well as I can, I think we'll be very close soon. At least, I hope so, you really interest me, Sylifi."
...Maybe she did know what she was saying after all...
~~~
I walked out of Queens Tower at last, rubbing my arms as surreptitiously as I could. Having my projection on for over a full day with only a short break was rough, and I was dying to get back to my pod. Genki had offered me her bed or the couch, but I told her I needed to do 'plant stuff' in the park tonight, but I might be back a different day. Really, I just wanted a mineral water shower, a soak in the artificial sun lights, and to sleep without having to wear my projection. I just knew I was going to have marks all over my body where the disguise had pressed in...
I made my way down the street, the loud advertisements still distracting me as I trudged along. Elma said I'd get used to them, I'd learn to block them out, but it didn't feel like it. They were so noisy and so pervasive, I hated them. Some of the ones lower to the streets were even motion activated, so I'd be walking along the sidewalk and out of nowhere a screen would flash on and start blaring about me visiting a new church or trying a new product. When I was ruler of this planet, I'd destroy every last one of the accursed things, smash them up and bury them in lava or something equally drastic.
I turned the corner into the park, a respite from the noise, and I sighed in relief. The ads weren't allowed in green spaces, thank the seeds, or I'd be awake all night as the noises filtered through my carbon dioxide pumps. I stepped off the path into the grass and hummed as the soft, prickly blades tickled my feet. I'd seeded most of the land here over the past couple days, and I was starting to feel my extensions take root. Before long, I'd be aware of everything that went on in this park, and have at least some control over the land. My pod was just on the other side of that grove of trees, I was so close to being able to take off my projection I could almost feel the air on my fibers.
"Oh, hey! You!" a familiar voice called out
I felt the petals under my projected hair curl in protest, but I turned and smiled at Chrissie as she walked up to me with a wave.
"Ah, hello Chrissie, still passing out information?" I asked politely
"No, I was just taking my kid for a walk!" she said, waving at the chunky necklace she was wearing. It moved, and I realized with a start that it was a massive, two foot long segmented insect, with a child's body on one end from the waist up. The child part looked up at me sleepily and waved.
"'Lo" it said in a raspy voice.
"Ah, hello to you as well." I said even more politely "I can see the- um, family resemblance."
"Don't mind her, she's just tired." Chrissie said "Anyway, it's nice to see you! No terrorism then?"
"Terrorism?" I asked, a spike of fear going through my phloem "Ah, n-no, I just- I- what?"
"You mentioned doing terrorism once you were done passing out the papers, but you're in one piece and not in jail, so I'm guessing the plan fell through?"
"Ohh. Um." I shrugged, feeling relieved. I'd never intended on doing a terrorism now, I just wanted to be a Chosen. I'd do the terrorism stuff once I had power. "I ended up meeting a some ladies named Elma and Kelly, and they got me a job instead."
"Elma?" Chrissie asked "Chosen, short girl, gray-ish skin, a little rude?"
"Sounds like her, yeah." I nodded. I just wanted to get back to my pod...
"That's wild, small world!" Chrissie exclaimed "Elma's one of a very small list of Chosen I work with! She's one of the founding members of an organization I'm a part of, the FML. She's on the same team as Miss Missile, but at least she's trying to make a difference and doesn't hurt people."
"Oh, well she's very nice." I said "She eats lunch with me, gives me her pickles and stuff."
"I'm glad you made a friend, it's super weird how all the people I know seem to know the other people I know though, I guess that just happens when you run in the same circles."
"Mmm, yeah, I suppose." I nodded "Hey, uh, I actually need to get going, but it was nice seeing you?"
"Oh, got it, got it, I gotta get back home too, we're making meatloaf tonight, and I want to help out." she smiled at me "Hey, I hope I see you around! We'd love to see you at a FML event! Or... you'd be a better fit for the SNCL actually, hit me up if you want to protest! Can I give you my CirNet?"
"I don't have a phone yet, I haven't gotten paid, ah, but if you see me next week I'll give you my info?" I offered. Frick, my body was writhing under this stupid hard light mess, I needed to get home now or I was going to scream.
"Aw, that's fine. I come here a lot, so I'm sure we'll run into each other!" she waved goodbye, and I gave a fake smile as I walked quickly into the woods.
I burst through on the other side of the grove and dashed to the clearing where my pod was. I lunged inside as the door opened up, and sighed in relief as my projection dissipated and I lay on the mossy ground, naked and stinging all over. I crawled to my feet and shuffled my way into the shower, my body coming unraveled into vines and roots as I let myself go. I was comfortable enough in my humanoid shape, but after having the disguise over it that long, it felt more like a prison. I tucked all my dangling tendrils and leaves into the shower cell and turned the water on full blast, as hot as it could go without damaging my fibers. I trilled in my throat as the stinging sensation replaced the itchy one, and I rubbed muddy mineral deposits all over myself, getting the nutrients in every crack and crevice of my body.
Once I was fully and completely re-energized, I rinsed from top to bottom and sloughed my way out of the pod, still dripping. I turned on my music player and cranked up the music, the constant flow of music and rhythm soothing my brain. I wanted to get Babbi to hold, but she might get moldy if she got too wet, I’d cuddle with her after I sunned myself.
I crawled my way into the sun lamp bay and lay down, the water pooling under me. I cranked it up and set the mist to high, letting my still soggy form steam away as the bright light blasted me. My pink eyes stung in the brightness and I slid them closed. I needed just a little time to cook and soak in the steam, I'd be back to myself in no time... I drifted off, only stirring when the bay automatically flipped me over to shine on my other side. It was warm, humid, sticky, and so peaceful... None of that stupid projection, none of the itchy-ness or thinking about work or trying to take over the world, just peace.
~~~
My alarm blared, jarring me out of my rest and I rolled out of the bay onto the floor with a thud. I was still soggy from the humidity, and my head was spinning. Frick, it was time for work already? I didn't have my human form ready yet, I was still drenched and dripping from my vines, I was dizzy from the heat, I'd never make it in time! I started gathering myself up into a more humanoid shape and turned the overhead fans on full blast, this wouldn't be good enough, I'd be dripping all the way to work, and if I tried to towel off, I could end up crushing or tearing the top layer of the weakened, water logged fibers that made up my body. At least I wasn't dehydrated and tight like I was yesterday morning, but this was worse, I'd get water all over the floor of the office!
I clenched my roots and stem, twisting my vines as much as I dared without risking tearing and the liquid dribbled out onto the mossy ground below me. I'd have to just run to work and hope the wind would- no, the projection would block the air, stopping me from drying, ugh, why did I have to pass out?! I didn't even get to sleep in my nice soft mossy bed or hug on Babbi, I'd just passed out on the stiff, uncomfortable bay. I could feel my nodes aching and throbbing as I flexed. I could call out sick, but I didn't have a phone to call out with, so I'd have to go all the way there and track water in the building anyway.
There was nothing for it, I was simply going to have to go to work dripping wet and hope no one noticed too much. I pulled up some nutrients into my body from the floor to give me energy for the day, and activated my projection. I looked in the reflector and shook myself. I looked bad, my artificial body was soaking wet, my hair was stringy, my clothes clung to my body in awkward ways, at least I hadn't bothered to render anything under the clothes, otherwise I'd be indecent. How to make this look normal, to make it make sense that I was soaked..? I could claim I'd fallen in the pond, but that was no good, I didn't want to smell like a pond, and if I didn't actually smell like a pond the story would fall flat. Maybe someone threw water on me? No, Elma would try to find the person who did it so she could beat them up, she was just that nice. Hmm...
I peeked out my porthole and frowned. It wasn't raining, but there were clouds, I'd be wasting valuable terraforming supplies, but it was my only hope at not ruining my cover. I picked up the small tablet next to the door and sent a command to the ship in orbit. It'd be about fifteen minutes before the package hit the clouds, and another fifteen before the clouds started to rain. Work started in a little over an hour, and it took me about forty minutes to walk there, so if I waited twenty minutes to head out, I'd be well and truly drenched by the time I got the Queens Tower. I hated using up non-replaceable materials like this, but I needed to keep my cover as a normal human, at least for now.
~~~
I walked into the office and walked quickly over to the elevator, not making eye contact with the lady behind the desk as I left a trail of water along the floor. I pressed the button, the doors slid open, I waved my little keyring over the floors, and I tried to look like I wasn't bothered by my appearance as the other riders slid away from me. We went up quietly and I focused on looking straight ahead, ignoring the dripping and folding my arms in front of me. I reached my floor and I strode out, slipping behind my desk a full three minutes before my clock-in time and I smiled, my eyes daring my coworker Dave to say anything as he stared at me.
"Are you-" he started
"Do you have an appointment?" I asked him firmly
"Hm." he said, and glanced towards the manager's office "Hm."
As he strode off, I glanced down. There was a small puddle below the chair, I'd squished more water out as I'd sat down, frick. I'd have to dry eventually, I only had so much fiber to hold so much water. I glanced up at the manager, poking her head out of her office and frowning at me, and I logged in to the computer, clocking in right on time. I'd set an alarm next time I wanted to steam and sun, that's what I'd do. Letting the moisture puff me up with the heat and absorb into me like that was fine, but I should have stopped the steam far sooner than I did, an alarm would fix that.
I typed away, doing my work for a few minutes, trying not to wince as the water from my fingers dripped onto the keyboard. These were waterproof, right? The elevator slid open again, and I straightened up with a smile on my face to greet the first person of the day. To my surprise, it was Elma, still in her pajamas; a tank top and fuzzy pants, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.
"Ugh, Sylifi?" she muttered "I got a call about you, why are they calling me about you this early?"
"I just got in for work!" I said happily "I don't know why they'd call though."
She looked me up and down and sighed "You're all wet and you're dripping everywhere, do you have another change of clothes?"
"I... do not." I said "I'll be ok, I just need time to dry out!"
"Did you walk all the way here in the rain?" she asked "Without an umbrella or a jacket or anything?"
"I did, yes." I nodded "I needed to get logged in on time, of course!"
She groaned "Ok, well the office manager thinks you're my problem for some reason, so come on upstairs, I'll get you dry."
"I can't leave my desk, I'm at work, Elma." I protested "Besides..." I said in a lower tone "Getting dry isn't as easy as toweling off..."
"I'm your boss's boss and I say you can come upstairs and stop being a shock hazard to that computer." she snapped "We'll figure it out, get your butt on the elevator."
"Ok..." I said meekly and followed her
As we rode up, she looked me up and down and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. I swallowed and shifted, and she looked back at the door, clearly still annoyed at having been woken up. The elevator opened into a hallway of nice, clean doors all in a row. She walked ahead of me at a quick pace and I ran to catch up, following her into one of the rooms. It was an apartment, with a large living room, a full kitchen two rooms off to the back, and a bathroom between them.
The whole place was full of bookshelves stuffed full of all kinds of books, I looked at a few as I passed and was confused at the titles. "Agriculture and You: Farming 101", "Improvised Munitions Handbook", "Computer Coding for Goblins", "Cross Stitching Patterns and Tips", "Taxes at Home", no two books were on the same topic, and they were all well worn. She'd mentioned picking up skills from others, did she just get the skills with no practical idea how to use them? Maybe her powers did suck after all.
She pushed me into the well lit bathroom and waved her hand at the tub "Get in there, gods, how are you still dripping?"
"Uh, I kinda absorb water sometimes?" I said. I wasn't about to admit I'd fallen asleep while being coated with a heavy mist, but I could at least tell her a little.
"What do you mean you 'absorb water'?" she snapped "Is this about your other form?"
"How do you know about that?!" I gasped "Genki said she'd keep it a secret!"
"She also said you told her I already knew, so it's your own fault." she sighed "Look, just transform or un-transform or whatever and we'll go from there, ok?"
"It's- it's private..." I blushed "You'd see me with my- uh, with my petals and pistil out..."
"Why do you care if I see your 'petals'?" she asked "Is that a euphemism or literally petals?"
"Literal, they're like, uh, it's how we reproduce?" I said nervously
"Wait wait wait, we?!" Elma leaned in and narrowed her eyes at me "There's more of you?"
"I meant- 'we', flowers!" I said quickly to cover up my slip-up "I'm a flower!"
"And I'm a mammal with trace bits of furred lizard, I have no interest in plant organs, trust me." she growled "Just take off that stupid human suit and I'll put the blowdryer on you."
"...Promise me that you won't stare?" I asked "Or tell anyone what I look like?"
"Yeah, just come on, you gotta get back to work."
I swallowed and shivered, my vines pulling tight. This was so intimate, so weird and made me feel all awkward. My parents had been very clear in their message to me, I was never ever ever supposed to let anyone see me without my projection on, and here was two people in less than a week, frick. I braced myself and let the image go, swapping back to my natural leafy self. Elma looked me up and down and her face softened slightly.
"Oh. You're just a modified dryad with a super science disguise..." she said "I thought you were- Well, I was expecting something more drastic."
I put my hands over the top of my head, blushing furiously at the sight of her eyes flicking up to my four pistils, feeling exposed. She looked away, and glanced at my petals quickly before turning to plug in the hair dryer.
"You're all water logged, that's why you're still dripping." she said. "I'm guessing I can't just wring you out?"
"I've wrung out as much as I can without risking tearing something." I said, shrugging "I don't know how much the hair dryer will do either..."
She sighed and set it down. "Damnit Sylifi, why did you come here in the rain if you knew you were going to soak up the water?"
"I didn't know for sure." I said "I just didn't want to miss work is all. I need the money."
"And now I'm missing sleep." she said grumpily "Anyway… I like your plant form, it's pretty."
"Uh, th-thank you." I said, blushing again "It's hard to feel comfortable in it outside of- uh, a closed space, because I'm naked."
"I didn't know dryads had nudity taboos?" Elma said "I thought they just wore clothes because they legally had to."
"Well, dryads don't have anything to hide." I said "I've kinda got like, my, uh, 'organs' on my head in full view."
"You could wear a hat?" she suggested "Cover up your pistils or stamen or whatever."
"J-just pistils." I said "I chose to only have g-girl parts, I didn't want stamen."
"Huh. Right, you mentioned that..." Elma said "But a hat would work, right?"
"It'd be the same as like, you wearing a thong or something, but yeah." I said "I prefer to be covered up though. My petals are kinda private too, and they're half as big as my whole body."
"There's not any others like you out there though. Aside from a botanist or maybe some rarer forms of dryads, you'd be totally accepted with a hat and basic clothes." she said "I'm surprised you even bothered getting the disguise machine you've been using, you could have registered as a dryad and no one would think twice."
"I'm not a dryad, I'm a flower." I said "I don't have wood or bark or anything."
"Yeah, but like, you're a plant." she said
"And you're mostly a mammal, could you register as a gnome? Would you want to?" I shot back
"It's- but you did register wrong anyway, as a human even." she frowned "That's hypocritical."
"Humans are the dominant species, if I had to be something else, that made the most sense. Otherwise I'd be an abomination, and no one wants to be an abomination."
"First off, that's humani-centric thinking, which is shitty, and second, it's not a bad thing to be an abomination! They're becoming more and more accepted, and I'm even part of a group trying to get them more rights as we speak!"
"Yeah, trying to get them more rights, the same ones humans already have." I snapped "I want people to think I'm a human, there's power inherent to being a human and I want more power."
"That's a shitty way of seeing it." she shifted her stance "You should be chasing power as yourself, and bringing up those like you along the way."
"I don't care about others like me." I rolled my eyes "I care about me, and whatever friends I make. I'm not here to start a revolution, I'm here to get to the top myself, one way or another."
"And once you're there?" Elma challenged "Will you enact change?"
"I'll enact the change needed to keep my power, sure." I said, leaning back against the bathtub wall
"That's- you're being selfish!" she protested "If you're gonna fight your way up as it is, just fucking do it as yourself, help others out! I'm using my goblin status to take a stand, it's not as hard as you're making it out to be."
"That's your choice." I said "My choice is to be selfish."
"Whatever." she grumbled "It's not like you even have power to begin with."
"Yet." I said, wringing out another wave of water from my body "Anyway, I don't know that I'm getting much dryer, I'm still dripping."
"Fuck." she frowned "Ugh, I want to talk about this again later, ok?"
"I guess." I said. It wasn't like she was going to change my mind, I was firm in my stance
"Do you bruise easy?" she asked
"I don't think so?" I said, shrugging
"Ok, great. Grab some towels, I'm putting you in the dryer."
~~~
I limped home, my body aching as I drug myself along. The dryer had 'worked' but I'd been too sick to do any work most of the day. I passed it off to the boss as 'feeling under the weather' but I really was bruised up to bits. I rubbed my body and shivered, I'd avoid the misting sun bay for a while, all it did was cause problems, leave me full of bruises- which I did get by the way- and make people see my true form. I still hadn't explored the city or gone to any churches and it'd been days since I landed, frick, I wished I could just do stuff in the day instead of having to work all the time. I needed a job though, I had to get as much money as I could.
Elma had been missing from our usual lunch-time chats, I could only assume she was angry with me, or somehow too busy, but I missed her all the same. It wasn't fair of her to expect me to make things harder for myself just because other people had it harder, she was being unfair! I wanted to explain myself a little better, maybe get the idea across that I didn't 'not care' about the other people, just that I didn't want to hurt myself for them. I still felt for their plight, as much as I could anyway, I was going to use them all for food eventually, same as the rest of this planet. Until then though I at least felt empathy for them to an extent, I was a person after all, I was made of cellulose, not stone.
As I got closer to the park, I slowed down and sucked in a breath. There was a huge crowd of people around the entrance, and a small stage set up in front of the fence. I slipped up to the edge to hear what was going on. Had they discovered my seeds? Worse, had they discovered my space pod?! I knew it was too risky to use the terraforming tech this early, the signals must have led them straight to my home, frick! I kept my head down and tried to get close enough to hear what was being said by the person on the small stage.
"...explosion was caused by a villain who has since been captured." a familiar voice said, and I looked up to see Chrissie, holding a microphone behind a podium. She was crying, and she had her insect kid around her neck with a small, bloodstained knit doll on one shoulder. Was she ok?
"We lost several people in the fight, all of whom I personally knew and considered friends, but we will carry on, even as the operations scope of section 247's heroes are expanded to the surrounding affected zones in the wake of this tragedy."
The doll leaned forward and I gasped as she began to talk, a string mouth appearing on her face as she spoke to the crowd "We offer our condolences to anyone who was involved in the attack, and we will be offering support and care to anyone who needs it. You can find people directing those in need to shelters at The Unchosen headquarters and the Lorgiaia's Angels base. Myself and a couple other rogues have been given clearance by the GGDS to act as support for the heroes during this time. Any pardoned rogues will be wearing this:" the doll held up a badge with a blue star on it "and can be approached as if they were heroes."
This was odd, why were they all the way over here if the attack happened all the way over by section 247? This was nowhere near there, we were at least a full thirty minute walk or more. I edged towards the entrance to the park, trying to slip in unnoticed, but Chrissie left the podium, the doll girl still standing on the podium as she answered questions called out by the crowd. Chrissie's eyes widened as she noticed me, and she quickly climbed off the stage and rushed over to me, talking my hand.
"Oh, are you ok? I know you said you worked with Elma, she deployed to the areas that were hit earlier, did you get caught up in that mess too?" she asked
"Uh, n-no I was at work?" I said "I- what even happened? Why are so many people at my- at the park?"
Chrissie shuddered and shook her head "It's- it was bad, I'm still processing it. We're here because Candy- I mean, uh, Angel Rouge asked me and Ravel to do a press conference for her, and this was the nearest neutral ground..."
"Ok, well..." I struggled to think of something to say "I'm sorry you had to go through that?"
I didn't know what else to say so I just awkwardly patted her shoulder, avoiding her child, who was curled up tightly around her neck and shaking. She nodded and pulled me into a gentle hug, her body making mine itch where she touched me.
"Thanks..." she said "It'll be hard to get through this, but we'll make it."
A ticking noise came from behind her and I looked up to see the doll suspended from long wire metal legs crawling across the ground, her body hanging between them like a spider "Hey, you know Chrissie?" she asked me as the crowd behind her dispersed
"I- yeah, I do?" I said "I'm Sylifi."
"Sylifi..." the doll muttered "Sounds familiar. Anyway, we gotta head back to 247, we've got a lot to sort through, sorry to break it up, but we're needed there more than here."
"I hope you'll be ok..?" I said to Chrissie "I, uh. I'm sorry for... what happened."
They hadn't even said what had happened, just that it was bad. There were lots of heroes in 247 though, at least ten that I knew of, a wildly concentrated amount for such a small area. If they were all there all working to fix whatever had gone wrong, I'd have a high chance of working with one of them directly if I went out to help! That could be huge in getting me in a position of power, after all, it's who you know. I felt my bruises and considered the people still standing around, I could just go to my pod and be done, spend the night listening to music and cuddling Babbi, but I had a golden opportunity here. I swallowed and took a breath, I could put up with this stupid projection a little longer, I had connections to make.
"Hey, uh, may I come help?" I asked the doll as she walked away. She and Chrissie turned around, the later giving me a small smile and the former looking me up and down.
"Are you a Chosen?" the doll asked
"N-no, uh, I'm just me." I said
"Ok. We need help with resource distribution and sending people to the areas in need, you'll be behind a desk at the LA base. Is that ok with you?"
"Anything is, yeah!" I nodded "I'm used to desk work!"
"You'll be working with... Angel Rouge." Chrissie winced "Are you ok with that? She's going to be the one giving you orders at the site."
I knew of her, vaguely. I'd seen an advertisement on TV for a cafe her and the rest of her team were going to open. She was a magical girl of some kind, perfect for making connections with! Who knows, maybe we'd have something in common!
"I'll do it." I said firmly
The doll looked at me for a long moment before shrugging. "Ok then, come on, we gotta get back there. Lots to do. Just... don't let her touch you, ok?"
Touch me? Weird, I'd keep that in mind. I squared my shoulders and set off down the road. No matter what I was walking into, I'd come out of it with more connections and a more solid understanding of the world I was taking over. I hoped it wouldn't take too long, I had work again in the morning and I really needed to drop my projection at some point to refresh. Until then though, I'd be happy to take orders from a magical girl and sit behind a desk for a while. It was pretty much what I did already! The sun started to set as we headed south, and I noticed with some interest the plume of smoke coming up over the horizon. Whatever had happened, it looked like a mess, I was glad I'd been at the Tower all day. I wondered if Elma would be there when I showed up, or if this was too far outside her jurisdiction. Hopefully she'd be around and I could say hi, clear the air a little. I hated leaving things unresolved.
~~~
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Sweet Touch Volume 3: Chapter 1 (Chapter 19)