Becoming Monsters: Tidbits 27

Becoming Monsters is the creation and property of Ai Loves, setting used with permission.

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Chapter 27: What We're Here For

When she needed to be, Ghata was an impressive opponent. She was monstrously strong in her natural form, and her shapeshifting capabilities meant that she had no need to limit herself to that. Her roaring voice could be heard from literally a mile away. There was also a suite of illusion powers at her command, and though her control with them wasn't always the best, the fireworks could be quite literal.

The sound of flesh striking flesh, flashes of dazzling light, and the impact of wooden furniture against concrete walls accompanied her roars. Opposite her was Todd, not precisely the most intimidating person of all time, but he had learned a lot in the last couple of weeks. Size, muscle, lights, and sound were not going to scare him off as easily anymore. Not after everything. As flesh slapped on flesh, as the clock passed midnight, he hung on for dear life. He put out one more heroic effort, and with a shout of his own thrust deep into her.

They came together powerfully, and in a burst he triggered his own magic.

Both were panting and sweating on her bed, coming down from their shared high, and Ghata put her arms around him. "I think you're actually getting better at this. Which is saying something."

It took him a moment to gather his own thoughts through the twin hazes of orgasmic afterglow and mana drain headache. "Probably something to do with power-leveling a sex class and getting a lot of practice at it."

Ghata smiled, an expression that would have had a horrifying amount of fang for any observer who didn't know her as well as Justin did. "A good working hypothesis. I know I'm looking forward to you... confirming it."

Todd took another deep breath to get steady. "And I look forward to confirming it. I... ah, I need to get to my own bed. Morning is going to come fast."

"Unlike you." Ghata considered for a moment. What she absolutely did not do was let go. "You can sleep here if you want. Not like we're all that far from your room."

"You okay?" Todd was stuck in her arms, but tried to look up towards her face. "I mean, you're comfy and I don't mind the decor, but this isn't really like you."

"I've slept in your bed twice in the last two weeks."

"And I've slept on yours zero times, plus you wanting to get done aggressive style in your natural form. So yes, something's up. Mind telling me so that I don't have to try to figure it out?" He shifted again, a process that technically worked but didn't do anything to get free. Just a bit more comfortable.

She gave him another squeeze. "Everything's just moving so fast, Todd. I barely even recognize myself from two weeks ago, much less the situation." She paused as she felt a tapping on her side, looked down and saw that her squeeze had her partner struggling for breath. "Oops, sorry about that."

The deep breaths Todd took as she let go were much more about oxygen and less about stabilizing himself. "Thanks for letting me breathe. And yeah, I get it. I'm not exactly the same nerd I was when I got here. Still a nerd, just a different one."

Ghata giggled, a sound rather incongruous to her current form. "The whole college experience, huh?"

Todd shrugged, which she felt through the arm she kept wrapped around him. "I don't have direct experience with it, you understand, but I think this is not exactly typical. Still, there really is a lot going on. A lot more than class. I don't think I can step back from the extracurriculars even if I try."

"Yeah, they'll chase you. It feels like the school really cares more about the League than it does our actual classes, doesn't it?"

"Now that you mention it, you do have a point." Todd thought for a moment. "They really obviously want the information for some reason, but it feels like just curiosity wouldn't be enough for everything that's going on. Going to need to think about it."

"Can you think about it overnight, right here?"

Todd smiled. "I think I can. Sleep well, Ghata."

"You too, Todd." The two snuggled together, and rapidly fell asleep.

Todd opened his eyes, and was confused for a moment. What was before his eyes wasn't the darkness of his mental bedroom or the blackboard, it was red-orange. And soft. The light of dawn streamed in the window of Ghata's room.

Either I'm awake, or my dreams are different than usual.

His alarm sounded, ending the debate. He was definitely already awake. For the first time in several nights, May hadn't dropped by his dreams. "Ghata, you up? I need to get ready, and I need to move to do that."

"Mrrrr... kinda?" Ghata yawned, another process that had a lot more fang than most people would be comfortable with.

"Okay, put it this way: I really need to get to the bathroom, and I don't think you want me using your bed as a litter box while you're in it." His muscles were also starting to report that the previous day's exercises did not combine all that well with sleeping in one position all night. He also needed to move to make sure they'd be able to move later.

"Yeah, not into that." She let go, stood up, and stretched.

"Thanks. See you in a bit!" Todd tossed on the clothes he'd abandoned in her room before getting into her bed, ran to get his supplies and something to change into, ran for the bathroom, and relieved himself. No longer feeling the pressure, he walked over to get a shower. They were mostly empty, just an Aelf in the corner trying to get clean and ready for the day himself. Todd found himself wishing he'd run into May. She wasn't in his room, she wasn't at the showers. She hadn't been in his dreams. He found that he missed her particular way to start the morning. Besides the orgasms, even. Just her perky way of getting up and getting going. Either way, he had to get himself dressed and off to breakfast and World History. Too much going on to take his foot off the gas pedal, so to speak.

Todd had figured something out during exams. His Class-granted memory might be great for recalling the "what" of history, even the "who." That wasn't good enough anymore, not now that he was out of high school. The professor insisted on considering the "why," and how it affected the present day. Todd fleetingly blamed himself for that. He was the one who'd said the two were inseparable, what seemed like a lifetime and a half ago. Then he was out of time for such things, and instead had to dig in to decode the migration patterns of prehistoric peoples.

He left the classroom alongside his friends feeling more than somewhat fried. Literature didn't treat him any more kindly. Just as much as in History, perhaps more, the mere facts of the passages were not enough. He needed to puzzle out the inspirations and meaning. It wasn't enough to say that a bunch of tree-creatures went on a rampage, it was important that they were fighting against a force that represented both war and industrialization. And why they were. Todd had read the book at least three times before, but he was out of his depth by the time the class was halfway done. At least Ghata, Jem, and Song were there with him for this particular class, and from the looks of it Jem was struggling to remember her own read-throughs of the book from before she suddenly became cool after the Change. Back when she was Jennifer, down in his social circle.

He shook his head. Whether true or not, that thought was unkind. She was here with him now, going above and beyond to make up for things. Struggling to learn the same things. Whether the point Ghata made about the school priorities was right or not, and Todd still felt she was probably on the right track, the teachers were uncommonly enthusiastic about their fields of expertise. It was why they were here. They'd survived the Change and pulled through, not letting their forms or the world pull them from their professions. It showed.

Not that it made him any less happy when class ended.

They walked outside, and were greeted by a now-familiar face. Black fur, blue stripes, tall and powerful, the tigress Shannon was waiting. "Todd. Tim said you would need this." She handed over a folded sheet of paper, then left with the characteristic directness and speed of Tim's thralls.

Song looked as she strode off. "Is she like this every time?"

"Yeah, they all are. It's part of Tim's deal. They always do everything at a hundred percent." Todd had a couple more thoughts, but they got stuck in his head.

A familiar half-barking voice interjected, derailing his train of thought. "Todd, glad you got your friends with you this time." Alastor came out of the building they'd just left. He apparently had a class there this slot, but Todd didn't know what it was. "Who was that? Seen that Tiger a couple times now. She looked kind of familiar, but the person I knew has a very unique color pattern and it doesn't match what I see."

"She got that from a magical effect. Mesmer named Tim has her under control, it's a very long-term kind of effect. I don't know her natural colors, but her name's Shannon."

Alastor froze. Even his tail stopped moving, held low. "What did you just say?" Each word was picked out precisely and carefully, almost entirely unlike his normal rapid speaking pace.

"Uh. Her name's Shannon, black and blue isn't her natural color, and she's under thrall to a Mesmer who is a student here?"

A corner of Alastor's mouth peeked open, the teeth showing not remotely like a smile. "Thrall. As in she isn't in the pilot seat. Shannon

OWENS

not in control of her own soul. And you didn't see fit to stop this?"

Song inserted herself to the exchange, giving Todd a moment to consider things. "He's been keeping us updated. She was under control since before day one, Tim told Todd that Shannon was with him over the summer and volunteered to be dominated before they moved in."

"And I've been slowing him down this week. She isn't the only victim, you saw the other two. A Rabbit named Titania and a Fox named Megan are also under his control." Todd closed his eyes. "You can also ask May if you want, she's been in my head while I've been planning and doing the math."

"You would do the math, wouldn't you?" Alastor looked around. They were still standing out in broad daylight, in front of one of the main instructional buildings on campus.

"He made some kind of deal last night, Alastor. One I don't know enough about, but he thinks that it will help him overcome the piece of the puzzle he's weakest on. If you can find out what went down, it'll let us help constrain things. At least until we can verify that everything is by true consent, and make sure Tim's obeying something that resembles rules of ethics." Todd was a lot calmer now that Alastor didn't look like he was about to

quite literally

bite his head off.

"Fine. I'll investigate. I expect that you all will, too, and if you don't do something with the information, I will. Shannon is not the type to let herself be under this kind of control. Real princess type, a creator and mom friend."

"One thing, Alastor. No matter what else is going on, we're the good guys. If Tim gets himself straight and does it right? If he obeys consent properly, if he's really helping the people under his control and not just taking them over? We live and let live. I'm not going to hold someone's Class against them, and I'm not going to deny someone the chance to be good going forward even if they made mistakes in the past." The ladies were all openly staring at him, but he wasn't looking.

"Very noble of you, but that kind of sentiment can get you killed. Not everyone can be redeemed. Some day, one of them is going to stab you in the back. You spin the barrels every time."

Todd looked back at Jem, ever so briefly, then back at Alastor. "Then so be it. Everyone gets a chance. At least two have worked out for the better since I've been here, and even if one almost killed me when he didn't it's my choice to make."

Alastor barked a laugh. "Wish my last LT was like that. Just don't roll the dice with the lives of others while you're at it. I'll be in touch." Alastor turned and swiftly jogged off.

Todd's heart was beating harder than it had when Bradley was trying to kill him. His shoulders slumped. "I... think I need some time by myself. Back in my room. Meet back up for dinner?" The others agreed, and he walked off to go back to the dorms.

It was starting to be too much. The entire world seemed to be doing its best to try to yank him around. All he wanted when he came was to take some classes and enjoy some peace, some time away from his previous reputation. He hadn't had a hope of a social life, nor of power. Just some video games and math books. Who the heck was he to be living like this?

The crisp air was chillier than one might expect despite the bright early afternoon sun. The smell of leaves from the National Park came on the breeze. The sounds of birdsong blended with the distant chatter of other students. All together, it helped him center himself. By the time he made it back to his room, he was almost feeling peaceful. Though he really wanted to load up a game, he had homework. Time to get to it. He wasn't sure how long he'd been at it when there came a knock at the door. "Come in!" Todd stretched out a bit in the chair as the door opened.

Behind it was May, dressed much more closely to how she appeared in his dreams than usual. Her tee shirt was still deliciously form-fitting and nearly sheer, her jeans still looking painted on to her legs, but in all the effect was less overwhelming than her usual. "Good, you're awake and okay. I got kind of worried when you didn't come to bed last night."

"Ghata wanted to snuggle.

I

was worried when I went to sleep and didn't find you."

"I was trying something and ran myself out of mana. I... missed you. No, it's okay." May interrupted his instant and predictable apology. "I'm not the only girl with needs around here, and they can't just go and spend time in your head like I can." She took a deep breath to get her thoughts together, something which did absolutely amazing things to that chest of hers. "Actually, speaking of mana. How are you doing on yours?"

Todd pulled up his Status screen. "Huh, it's full. I hit a maximum Invest at midnight, so I think I've actually been full for a while."

"Can't have that! Every bit of your Mana's precious, let's not let it go to waste. Now, if I remember correctly, you need something selfish to use some magic, so you relax and let me make you feel good while you get your spells set. You've had a long couple of days."

Todd smiled. "Definitely never saying no to something like that, May."

They both knew from experience that there was not enough room under his desk for her to fit with enough room to do what she did and do it well. It was a good thing, then, that her Strength was well above average. May pulled his chair back and spun him towards her before kneeling down in anticipation. She had his pants off in his dick in her mouth in moments, sighing like everything was right with the world again. As for Todd, he tried momentarily to keep reading, but realized within seconds that it was pointless. He set the book down, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and laid his hands on May's head as she began to blow him with gusto. She was focused on his penis like it was her security blanket, like her life was a stormy sea and it was her anchor.

It wasn't the most energetic or enthusiastic blowjob she'd ever given him (and it remained a shock to Todd that he could even make that kind of comparison), but it was sincere in a way that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Despite his hands buried in her silky smooth hair as her head bobbed on him. When he came, it was a slow and gentle kind of thing. Drawn out. Not a rocket into the stratosphere, it was like floating in a pool of pleasure. The magic from his Class was almost incidental, the magic of her soul touching his was what mattered here.

She swallowed what he gave her, the physical, magical, and metaphorical alike. Her body joined his as she did, the feeling of it almost a revelation on its own. A reminder of why she was here, what had made her change the way she lived her life a mere week and a half prior. Both came down from their highs, but neither really wanted her to let go. Eventually, somewhat regretfully, May pulled her head back. After one last little lick, she pulled his underwear and pants back up.

Todd was all smiles as he got his pants straight and buttoned up again for some reason. May crawled out from under the desk, stood up behind him, and more or less draped herself over his shoulders as she asked "so what are you doing?"

"Catching up on literature. And afterglow." Todd enjoyed this almost as much as the blowjob, truth be told. "I've got my Moment of Greatness and Anticipate Peril active. Hoping I don't have to actually trigger that last one."

"Isn't that how you managed to dodge Lucas on the roof?"

Todd nodded. "Yeah. Once. From what I've read, that spell hangs out until you need it or it goes too long, but once it goes off it has to be reapplied."

"I'll be happy to help!" May smiled, one that was surprisingly cute given where her lips had just been.

"Actually, speaking of. You never did tell me what your Class was, and if you managed to run yourself out of mana yesterday then it must be good." Todd turned to face his girlfriend. She didn't move, so this just ended up with his face in her cleavage. Not that either minded this fact.

"Oh, that. I'm an Imbuer. I kind of... make things be better versions of themselves. Only ever got to Level 2, but I think I should at least try to get to three and see if any of my path choices appeal."

"That makes sense. Any that you're trying to get?"

May shrugged. "I don't know yet, no. Haven't thought about it too much."

Todd sighed. In this, they were almost exactly opposites. "You sure about that?"

"I mean... I know some of what I can get. I can drop extra power into things right now, I can make metal harder or give things a temporary tune-up. I hear the various paths are a lot of the same, just changing which to focus on.."

"I really do wonder what Subclasses for a class like that look like. Maybe I'll take a look..."

"Please don't. This one's my choice, and I'll look it up before I level. You have enough on your plate without worrying about me."

Todd pulled back slightly so that he could stand up. "I'll trust you on that. Come on, then, dinner's soon. The others are expecting me, but I'd love to have you there."

Closer to the dormitory buildings than you might expect, out in the forest surrounding campus, a Demonic man was having a very bad evening. He was relatively short, red-purple of skin and covered in spines, but the Malinois in front of him was much more prickly. He hadn't given his name, neither had the man he faced. None were necessary. "I'm on a contract. Going to be out of here in a few days, soon as we verify everything's working."

Alastor's hands were glowing with blue flame. "That answer ain't good enough. What are you here for? I can smell the magic out here, this isn't a nature study."

The demon shrugged, the spines on his shoulders bristling menacingly. "Of course it isn't. The sooner I can get to Boston, the better."

He suddenly felt an unfamiliar sensation. Nestled between his spines, the touch of cold steel against the skin of his lower back. A nasally voice with a New York City accent chimed in from behind him and low. "Enchanting tools, and from Boston? Who're ya working for in Harvardtown? This trip ain't cheap and neither are your skills, better be a good answer."

"The kind of guy who can afford to power level me, a specialized Alchemist, a Wizard, and a Valkyrie bodyguard. And no, he isn't in Harvardtown. Don't mess with this operation, little man, you don't know who you're dealing with."