Hey.
My shifts are back to normal, so I should be back to my regular routine. I'll let you know if anything changes.
A happy chapter to complement the last depressing one.
Let us get back to it.
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To say Texas was annoyed would have been an understatement.
It had been two weeks since the clash between Rhodes Island and the Enclave. Two weeks since she saw her lover fighting Rhodes Island operators on the news and two weeks since they had last seen each other.
The last two weeks, it had been a struggle for Texas.
It wasn't even two days after the 'battle,' Emperor had called her demanding to know why she abandoned her contract at Rhodes Island and left Exusiai alone to fight. Not even letting the pregnant Lupo speak, Emperor wanted answers to why Exusiai was shooting at Rhodes Island operators during the confrontation and in full view on the news cameras.
Without giving a single answer, Texas hung up.
After hanging up on her boss, Texas left the hotel where she stayed and returned to Emperor's bar and her room, only to walk through the front door and come face to face with a grinning Exusiai and the ever-smiling Mostima, both of who were sitting at the bar.
"Texas!" Exusiai shouts and rushes her friend attempting to glomp her.
Seeing the speeding Sankta, Texas internally panics, her inner maternal instincts kicking in. She dashes to the side last second, letting the exited Exusiai shoot past in confusion.
Exusiai crumbles to the floor in an undignified heap. "Ow! Apple pies... What the hell Texas!"
To her credit, Texas looks apologetic and helps the Sankta stand back up but seems to be protecting her stomach as if Exusai is attempting to tackle her again. Texas was unaware of the strange look Mostima was giving her as her smile slipped, and she narrowed her eyes at the Lupo, only for the smile to return when Texas looked over at her.
Texas locks eyes with Mostima briefly, noticing Mostima's eyes trail down to her stomach curiously before Texas decides to look back at Exusiai and comments.
"You're too loud..."
Exusiai smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of her head. "My bad"
There was an awkward silence in the room as Texas walked behind the bar, crouching down and pouring herself a drink from one of the small refrigerators beneath the bar. The silence was broken by Mostima, whose eyes never left Texas.
"Texas?"
Texas and Exusiai look back at the smiling Mostima.
"Yes?"
"Where is he?"
The Lupo ducked back down and couldn't be seen behind the bar as she crouched to the small fridge, but the twitching wolf ears peaking over the bar counter amused Mostima and the giggling Exusiai.
"..."
"Silent treatment, huh? Last time I heard, he was on a rooftop shouting Kal'tsit's name" Mostima chuckles, smirking as the fridge door slams, and Texas stands up abruptly, looking annoyed.
"What he does is his own business, not mine..." Texas frowns at Mostima.
"Wait! Hold up! Is that the only reason you ditched me on Rhodes Island? To go 'cuddle' with the big bad Leader again!?" With her fingers, Exusiai quoted the word 'cuddle' and giggled at the stoic but blushing Lupo.
"Exusiai..." Texas attempted to glare at her Sankta friend, but the blush and wagging tail made her look adorable.
"We all saw the picture, Tex!" Exusiai pulled out her phone and showed the embarrassed Lupo the picture of her and Farsight kissing in the street.
"We are happy for you, Texas" Mostima smiled.
"Yea... Lucky b*tch," Exusiai mumbles quietly, putting her phone away and hiding behind a soda can she was cradling.
Mostima snorts loudly, and Texas glares at Exusiai.
"Oops," Exusiai whispers, sipping her drink and turning away from her two companions.
"...Anyway, ignoring Exusiai's perversion, I hear Farsight has vanished again".
"Aww," Exusiai whines and lowers her head in mock shame, sipping her soda unapologetically.
Texas ignores the whining Sankta and looks at Mostima, waiting for her to elaborate further.
"Maybe he got the warning I gave him back at the restaurant and decided to leave..." Mostima hummed as she rested her head on her palm.
"Warning?" Texas
"You know what's happening in Laterano?" Mostima asks. At the mention of Laterano, Exusiai perks back up and listens intently.
"Rising tension?" Texas shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly.
Mostima hums quietly and smiles, "With the appearance of a Living Saint, Laterano devolved into an all-out civil war. The pope has declared martial law."
Texas raises an eyebrow in surprise, and Exusiai looks at Mostima, horrified.
"Why doesn't anyone know of this!?" Exusiai yells, making Texas flinch and growl at the noise.
"If Ursus or Kazdel discovered this? What chance would the Sankta have? They know something is up but not to what extent."
Exusiai and Texas didn't say anything to that.
"So yeah, Laterano is burning, and the cause is the man Texas likes to 'cuddle' with, but I think he's going to be the one to stop the civil war," Mostima smiles at Texas.
"B-but Lemuen! She's in danger!" Exusiai argued loudly.
Mostima looks at Exusiai, smiling the entire time, "Don't worry, I've spoken to her. She's unhappy that Laterano is burning, but I think she's enjoying herself."
Exusiai grumbles but nods after a few moments of thinking. Lemuen always said she was bored sitting around reading and being pushed around the city. Lemeun would see the civil war as her way of getting her fun.
"What's this got to do with giving Farsight a warning?" Texas's stoic expression remained, still waiting for Mostima to clarify.
"I can't go into much detail, but I'll simply say... There is something far more powerful fixing its sights on Farsight and blaming him for everything happening in Laterano." Mostima shrugs.
"But he is sorta responsible?" Exusiai looks at the two, confused.
"Farsight is the Living Saint which changes things in Laterano. Certain parts of our government and 'law' see Farsight as an upstart that will change the status quo."
"Sooo... Certain people are clinging to whatever power they have and react poorly when new power comes along they can't control or use" Exusiai tilts her head at Mostima.
Mostima smiles at Exusiai. "Pretty much sums it up."
"Are you an enemy, then?"
Exusiai and Mostima snap to Texas, surprised by her inquiry. Texas's eyes were drilling into Mostima's with a dangerous amount of suspicion, her previously wagging tail gone still and ears swept back.
"Texas?" Exusiai asks her Lupo friend in shock.
Mostima stares at Texas, who stares right back, both having a staring match. Mostima was doing an excellent job of hiding her initial shock, having never been accused by Texas before.
"What do you think?" Mostima smiles at the stoic but tense Lupo. The Sankta-hybrid can see Texas will lash out at her if she thinks she's a threat to Farsight...
But there has to be more to it than that. Texas had never accused Mostima of anything before and certainly never accused her of being a potential enemy... What changed?
"I think you want something..."
"Oh?" Mostima's smile widens slightly.
"Why else would you warn him?" Texas frowns.
"Maybe she wants what you have?" Texas and Mostima slowly break eye contact and look at the grinning Exusiai.
"..."
"Exu, Explain," Texas demands.
Exusiai rests her head on her palm like Mostima and smiles mischievously at the Sankta-hybrid.
Her halo and wings glowed brighter as she beamed.
"A Living Saint is like... the ultimate thoroughbred among Sankta." Answering Texas's question but not taking her eyes off her blue-haired friend.
"..." Mostima's smile fades slightly.
"It's strange... when a Living Saint appears, you also appear, Mostima... It's almost like you aren't here for Laterano-related business but for pleasure."
"..." Mostima's smile fades a little more.
"Maybe a certain Senior Messenger is looking for a man? Who better than a Living Saint!"
"..." Exusiai's cute little smile grows as Mostima's shrinks.
"You wanna know what I think, Tex?"
Texas doesn't reply; she's too busy glaring at the Hybrid.
"I think she wants to steal my idea for a holy sex tape!" Exusiai yells, making Mostima blush lightly and shake her head in denial.
"That's, ah... Not true... Wait, what do you mean holy sex tape?" Mostima defends, an awkward smile plastered on her face, but it changes to a look of surprise which is rare for Mostima.
"Hahaha, A video of the Living Saint and a pretty Sankta girl getting hot and heavy in premarital intercourse! It would be the hottest thing on Terra!" Exusiai looks away, blushing and giggling as she chugs the rest of her soda.
Mostima stares at her longtime friend as if she's lost her mind, but the heavy blush on her cheeks betrays her thoughts and feelings.
There was an awkward silence between the three, but Mostima and Exusiai seemed to have forgotten that Texas was still standing there.
*Growl*
Exusiai and Mostima look at Texas and chuckle nervously.
Texas looked between the Sankta and Hybrid, her sharp teeth bared and tail wagging viciously, smacking the bar counters repeatedly.
"...Exusiai, Mostima."
"Heh... Y-Yes, Texas?" Exusiai gulps.
"Tell me more about this... Holy sex tape." Texas growls loudly.
"It was a joke, Tex!" Exusiai backs away from the bar, creating some distance.
"I don't think it was" Texas walks around the bar, holding a wine bottle like a club.
"Eheheh, You wouldn't hurt me, Tex?" The Sankta nervously giggles as she backs further away and raises her hands in surrender from the angry and emotional Lupo.
"Come here, and I'll show you..."
"Texas! Wait I...AH!"
If only Exusiai knew that Texas had a reason for being so emotional, Mostima watched the scene wide-eyed, never seeing this mood shift from the usually stoic and quiet Lupo.
"Could Texas be... No, surely not!" Mostima whispered in disbelief as she watched Texas chase Exusiai with a wine bottle.
Avoiding the glomp, protecting her stomach, mood swings and emotional...
Could Texas be pregnant!?
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Done!
A fun chapter to write.
I'm skipping ahead two weeks, but this was a convo a few days after that battle between factions. Otherwise, people will think Texas just randomly sat in a hotel room doing nothing.
My biggest annoyance is. I try to write characters as they are in the anime or game, which is good, but it is tough to keep the momentum going because I want to revert to my way of talking. I'm rather formal when speaking, so writing characters differently is hard. Do other Authors feel the same? Plus, I'm writing and researching characters simultaneously, so it takes more time.
I must remember I don't have to write characters perfectly, but I did pretty well with the banter between the three ladies.
Throughout the story, readers have mentioned the Holy Sex tape, so I thought, why not add it? Of course, it's Exusiai that brought it up and tried to weaponize it against Mostima as a joke.
But this is my way to get Mostima and Exuiai rolling into the Harem. A sex tape...
Mostima always struck me as knowledgeable regardless of how she acts, so I'm not surprised she caught on to Texas's pregnancy.
I own no Art or Gifs
Thanks for the support and votes!
Zero-