The Bear wore a gray pinstripe, three-piece suit, complete with a black tie of repeating diamonds, white button-down shirt, and dusty black derbies. His hair, the same color as his lacking fur, was a short taper cut, and he sported a handlebar moustache. His dark eyes showed confidence and peace. His features were recognizable without the fur, though his bear ears further gave him away. He wore a ring of purple metal on his left middle finger. He smiled an approving smile at the strutters.

Dust.Everything was dust. The ground was dust. The clouds were dust. The wind was dust. The sky was dust. The ruins were dust. The sunlight was speckles in rays of dust.For the last four days, they had been driving through dust. On the day after their departure from Kazan Kessel-przy-Caldera, they had entered dust. They had been able to see the dust ahead of time, creeping towards them from the horizon like a wave experiencing less time. In one of the last streams before the dust, they filled up

 Two hours before noon following their trip to Barnaby’s airfield, Lauren and company were loading up the beds of three open-top, no-door trucks which they had rented from a car-lending company, at the western fringes of Kazan Kessel-przy-Caldera north of the airfield. With little information, their plan was to head west until they reached the Agonized Lands, hoping that Lauren’s potential domain would take effect. Lauren herself did not want to make a habit of relying on that t

 Later in the day, Lauren sat on the edge of her bed going over her potion supply for the fifth time since the incident. Nadalia sat in one of the chairs, rereading one of the books she had taken from Captain Vice’s stash. Lauren looked up from her potion-counting. “So, would you do it with Foa again?” Lauren asked Nadalia. Nadalia looked over at Lauren. “If given fair warning next time – and less… explosive buttocks – then yes,” Nadalia answered. 

 Everyone stared as Strea drank an entire bottle of olive oil. The seven strutters sat in frivolous chairs in the La Portadora office of the Aurori Family. It was less extravagant and money-marked than Donna Alba’s Yewleek office, but it had the same design and layout of furnishings. Alba Aurori sat behind a desk of sequoia wood, smoking a cigar, drinking tequila. Her gas mask rested on the corner of that desk. Lauren pondered if the mob boss carried it with her from place to place as

 “All right,” Lauren told Strea. Strea gave Lauren a nod of gratitude. Lauren turned around to leave the room. “That’s one less greaseball out of the race,” Alba muttered as Lauren passed, staring at the remains of Freddie. Lauren left the office and walked over to where Melody, Valentina, Theresah, and Foa were opening crates. Nadalia and Molly were nowhere in sight, presumably checking bodies – for opposite reasons. Lauren’s friends turned to look

 Alba Aurori was holding onto a streetlamp as she guffawed, her body limp from laughter. Lauren was holding hands with Nadalia. Valentina was smoking an actual cigarette, looking more sober and more tired. Theresah was fiddling with one of her locks of hair. Strea was grinning, and Foa was nodding in agreement. Melody was teething on her medal. Lauren had just informed Alba of the end result of their “conversation” with Emilio Green. “That is positively swinging,” Alba said, wi

 The establishment that lay before them was a two sub-story amalgamation of speakeasy, casino, and music club. One entered the emporium of vice and municipal opposition onto the second level, a square-ring that overlooked the main area, which also contained several private rooms (some little more than curtain-covered booths). The walls were polished redwood, and the floor was covered in a fine red carpet. Swooping curtains of red and black hung from the ceiling and bridged thin white column

 On the last day of their ride to La Portadora, the Lauren and company were sitting with Alba and Molly in the observation car, devoid of any other passengers due to persuasion by the two Aurori Family members who had accompanied the Family heads instead of returning to Yewleek, one of which was guarding the other side of the door of that last car of the train. With more room to themselves, the nine were able to discuss future events where all of them could listen and talk. Outside the trai

 Lauren allowed her conscious to return, and without taking the time to determine where she was on Melody, she reassumed her own body. As she stretched, she saw that Melody was sleeping facedown on the bed, and Theresah was using the Sharkess’ buttocks as pillows. Lauren half-smiled at the sight. Lauren gathered up her clothes, redressed save for her jacket, and exited the bedroom before the incontinent two awoke and dragged her into some debaucherous activity. No one resided in the c

As per their deal, Valentina reformed herself from Nadalia after Lauren and Nadalia awoke in the morning. She redressed from her clothes which Lauren had folded for her, looking away from the lovers while Lauren fed Nadalia a few glugs of her milk. Valentina left the room, and Lauren and Nadalia redressed. When they entered the main area of the cabin, they found Foa and Strea seated on the sofa while Melody leaned against the wall in a corner and Valentina sat cross-legged on the floor in front

 Lauren Greci had been unsure if mortals could actually touch her form (without undergoing some grave effect), so as the Donna clung to Lauren Greci’s legs while she wept, the Goddess received an answer, a positive one. Nadalia was scratching her head with her right hand and wiping off her mace on the seat of a close-by car. Valentina was checking the bodies of the Aurori gang members to see if all of them were dead by poking them with the butt of her rifle. Melody was placing the con

 Without speaking, the Gallant Gadget rushed forward and pulled another device off her belt. Lauren did not wait for her to deploy it. Lauren snapped out of the bonds holding her ankles. A flash of surprise went through the Gallant Gadget’s face, but she threw the item in her hand at Lauren with little pause. A burst of bright fire streamed past Lauren and incinerated the projectile before it could reach Lauren. Lauren looked over her shoulder and smiled at Nadalia, who was serious in

 Lauren and her friends were getting ready to leave their suites - putting on hats and coats, hiding bags and blades, making idle chatter. It was the morning following the night at the club. Strea had finished digesting, but she had gained nothing from her targeted meal. Lauren’s mood was sufficiently cleansed after finishing the night and starting the morning with Nadalia inside her. Having succumbed to the anxiety of not having one of her weapons on her at all times, Foa was strappi

 For three days, Lauren and her companions waited for more correspondence from the mafia clan they found themselves partnered with, but silence was all they received. In the meanwhile, the seven women enjoyed the comforts of the suite, explored the city more, ate at a new restaurant for every meal so that Lauren could expose her friends to new tastes, and engaged in the occasional sexual activity as they were want to do. On the fourth day, the seven strutters were leaving the hotel to

 Lauren was smoking with Valentina on the balcony of the common room of the double-suite in the hotel, named Dawn Suites, to which they had been moved. The furnishings were nicer, and the hotel staff was less demeaning. Each bedroom held two medium-size beds, and the common area connected to a bathing room. Theresah, Strea, and Melody had one of the bedrooms to themselves, carrying over that positioning, though Lauren had her doubts that they made use of the second bed. Lauren, Nadalia, Val

 “Are you done?” Lauren asked Demonic Valentina as she ejaculated yet another load of semen that was once Melody into Lauren’s bloated womb, stomach spilling out to each side since Valentina had her bent over and pressed down into the pool table. Valentina bit into Lauren’s shoulder in response, hard enough that she should have been able to draw blood but her teeth cauterized the minor wound. Lauren ignored the searing in her shoulder to turn her head towards Strea and

 Lauren, Nadalia, Theresah, Foa, Valentina, Strea, and Melody sat around a roundish table on the second floor of the Yewleek Library.The city’s major library was floored by white, gray, and black tiles. Black columns served as decoration and support for each story’s sparse ceiling. Ceiling lights provided illumination from above; lamps provided better light at ground level; and the sun provided natural light that streamed in through the recently-washed windows. Art of recent and

 One day after their first day of searching for The Bear in Yewleek, Lauren and her friends were having an early lunch. Earlier, Lauren had exchanged more of her gold and silver and some of her friends’ for more cash, just in case. After a lengthy discussion of the day’s plans, they decided on getting a proper meal first before Nadalia and Theresah could have their day exploring the entirety of the library. Lauren had gone to sleep the night prior while Nadalia read from her bor

 Lauren and Nadalia were lounging in the bathtub, Lauren stomach-down on top of Nadalia. The water was near the rim, a result of overfilling for their double-soak. Nadalia’s arms were wrapped around Lauren’s back. Suds drifted around their exposed heads. The warm water was cooling slower with both their body heat. Neither woman moved, though an occasional sigh of comfort was given Their eyes were barely closed. Lauren wanted to be nowhere else. Alas, a strong knock resounde

 It took the seven strutters about thirteen minutes to find a decent all-purpose clothing store, gathering all kinds of stares the entire way. Lauren and company entered the store, sandwiched between a delicatessen and a travel agency. A chime from the small bell attached to the door signaled their entrance. Lauren’s friends gave most of the clothing odd looks, but they followed her in all the same. One of the three clerks talking to each other at the center counter broke away from th

 Lauren opened her eyes to a faceful of grit. She was almost relieved that the trend had returned. And someone was screaming, which muddled that relief. A caring hand grasped Lauren’s arm, and Nadalia helped Lauren rise to her feet. Then, Lauren discovered that the grit – which she began scouring off her face – was erosion from a flat, sun-warmed stretch of asphalt leading in two far directions. They and the road were surrounded in every visible direction by a field of dry