"What?" Rachel snickered, skimming through the rules of the Futa Note. Their clothes were back on haphazardly, arousal tempered by a mixture of worry and intrigue.
"It's exactly as I said. It changes people. I write their names, add details, and..." Carmen shrugged, "Don't you think it's weird that everyone's name in the book has a penis? Your sister, Mary, Zoey?"
"They've always been like that," Rachel said and handed it back, "I mean, it's a weird coincidence that I know them all, but it's not like you did it."
"Got a pencil?" Carmen asked, she flipped to the rules page and her eyes shone, though she didn't mention anything else.
"Why not a pen?"
"It's permanent unless I can erase the words. I don't know about paint or the like, but I don't want to chance it," Carmen explained. Rachel got up and found one, handing it over with a bemused smile as her girlfriend wrote her name. Pain lanced through Rachel's head and brought her down. She was caught in Carmen's arms, shaking as a lifetime of memories, of seeing her sister acting 'normal' as she was milked like a cow, were contrasted by an actually normal childhood. Same with Zoey, who she'd have sworn always had a dick. It was real.
"Oh my god." Rachel extracted herself and looked at her girlfriend in a new light. Gorgeous, smart and controlled before, now she was powerful atop all that. If she could alter everyone's memories, turn Leah into a walking, talking cow-girl, then nothing seemed beyond her. This was a power belonging to a goddess. And deities were vengeful. If she didn't say anything there, it'd only get worse, and she didn't want to imagine what could be done to her. Or how it would hurt Carmen down the line.
"I got that coffee shop burned down," Rachel blurted.
Carmen's face fell. She set the book down in her lap and stared ahead, "Soothe the Soul?"
Rachel nodded, "Yes. And... and I gave Gretchen the idea to... to, um, separate you and Stacy." She curled up away from Carmen, waiting for the inevitable explosion of rage. She counted the ticking of each second, a countdown to destruction. It never came. Daring a glance over her arms, she checked on Carmen, who stared at the Futa Note, arms tense and face sharp. Anyone could see the gears turning over in her head, and the scales that weighed pros and cons. There was no doubt that Rachel would be a new entry.
"I've gotta go," Carmen said as flat and cold as the Arctic. She gathered her belongings, cramming them back into her bag and smoothed out her clothes. All was methodical, like a machine at work, while Rachel just watched from the couch in a position of weakness. Once that glorious rear strode away and the door slammed, she crumbled. What she did was all to get Zoey back, and now she was alone. She picked up her phone. Maybe Zoey would help? Shaking, she hit call and waited. The tone started and rang out until she went to voice mail. Of course she wouldn't want to talk. Rachel had nothing to do but wait.
Carmen filled line after line with furious scribbles. Her elegant script was dead to her fingers, which carried out her maelstrom of thoughts with unerring precision, slashing out each angry idea that surfaced. No names were added, she needed the right concept first. Something that summed up her and Stacy's torment. Her family had faced separation, her mother would've done anything to keep her and Melody, and Stacy lost her business. They were broken up by that redheaded bitch.
But didn't it work out for the best? The thought staggered her rage and forced her to look around, ears perked up to hear Melody giggling next door. Her mother was out working on investments for their fortune. It... would they've been better off if Rachel hadn't forced her hand? No, obviously not.
Something dripped onto the notebook. Carmen wiped at her eyes and found tears. A different hand dealt with the other eye.
"Didn't it all work out for the best?" Ryuka asked, repeating her prior thought. Carmen looked away and snapped the pencil in her hand, "Your sister is happy. Your mother is happy. You were happy. What's done is done, Carmen. Nothing can change that."
"I'm not so sure," Carmen said and traced a finger over a page, her face mutating into a sneer, "This thing can alter memories, medical records, and people's bodies. Why can't it change the past too?"
"Don't you dare!" Ryuka snapped, hand coming down like a hammer on the book, "That is Nature's Law. It's not something like toying with people, you'd be warping the universe. The consequences for such a thing are indescribable. You break Nature and it will extol a horrible price."
"So it's not all powerful," Carmen scoffed.
"I don't see why you're so torn about this," Ryuka said and rubbed at her hand, "Rachel clearly loves you. She wouldn't tell you that otherwise."
"It's not just about me. She could've gotten Stacy killed," Carmen cracked a knuckle in her sudden tense, remembering her former boss covered in soot, struggling to breathe on that night.
"You already got Ashley. She was the one responsible for the main part, wasn't she? Why not target Gretchen? None of this would've happened if she was a mindless bimbo."
Carmen went to her bed and flopped onto her back. Everyone was to blame, but no one was solely responsible. She couldn't just write one name and be done with it all. No, she didn't need to write any names. It was her problem. The past was set, but she could control her future. This reaction jeopardised that control. Didn't she want to be happy anymore?
Then her phone blared at her. She checked it; Mary was calling. Time had trickled away into the afternoon without her noticing. Carmen sighed and accepted.
"Hello?"
"Hey Carmen, so glad you got a new phone. I can actually understand you now," Mary said, bubbly as always, if a little breathless.
"Hi Carmen!" Ashley's voice shouted through the line.
"Ashley says 'hi'."
"Yeah, I heard her," Carmen said.
"So..."
"What?"
"How are you feeling about it? I assume you two are gonna do the nasty tonight."
"It... we're not."
"Aw, but you sounded pretty eager earlier," Mary said, then took a second, "Did something happen?"
