Heartthrob

Up the girlies got, then - Purity looking as fresh and renewed as always, Esthrielle looking particularly vigorous and upbeat. Shocking what a night of emotional catharsis, physical validation, and shared comfort can do to a person. Oh, also the sex, y'know. A good fuck always has people waking up with new pep in their step, ready to face the world anew.

Esper James crawled out of bed, the light sweat on her skin instantly beginning to cool. Purity rolled lazily from her side of the shared bed, still wearing the nun's habit, though it was now in desperate need of a cleaning. Esthrielle, in her own right, hopped up and out quite literally: coiling her lower body back on itself before projecting it like a released spring, transitioning the kip-up into a confident stand. She didn't seem to care that she was bare as the day of her birth, but then again, why would she? It wasn't like it wasn't anything the other bedroom attendees hadn't seen before.

Esper James, even in her anger at her own dreaming mind, took a few moments to watch the other two. Her eyes were fixated on the graceful way Purity stripped down and donned a newer, wrinkle free habit; the suppressed enthusiasm for a new day Est had, grinning from ear to ear with her steely teeth, kicking her old clothes aside. It was... well, honestly, it was a lot. It nearly overwhelmed the little ghoulette, just watching her lovers exist, live and breathe and move in such natural, effortless ways. It almost felt normal. Normal like things had been a little over a week ago... Normal like waking up for work. Normal like Tsa-

She nearly punched herself at that, disgust rising with the force of a space-bound rocket. It took every ounce of ghoulish endurance and determination to not audibly retch at that line of thinking. Maybe, in a different world, things could have - would have - been different. Maybe, in a different timeline out there, she and Purity and Est could have been together in some sort of mild domestic bliss. Waking up together, rolling out of bed, going to go get waffles or pancakes...

Esper James held back the dry heave, but when she felt herself start a dreamy sigh at the fantasy, she allowed it without question. Three girls against the world, trying their best to make it and survive the day. Corporate dystopia almost didn't seem that bad, when the other side of the coin was hellish persistence in a world that seemed to hate you.

Her post-waking reverie was cut short by a sudden wad of fabric smacking her in the face - what it lacked in force, it more than made up for in its ability to instantly remove her sight. It was hard to zone out when everything suddenly went black. The blonde fell backwards onto the bed, fumbling with the cotton lump, pulling the mass of black and white textile from her face. Once it was drawn away, she looked over at her gal pals, readying to give it a return-to-sender stamp. However, she stopped in her tracks after a second, even with Puri giggling at her and having blatantly been the offending party.

This one, that Puri had thrown her, was distinctly smaller than the rest of the habits they'd seen so far. None of the ones in the wardrobes had been this petite, this short, this... Perfectly sized for her? Numerous warning bells and worrying questions arose within EJ's sleep-mired brain, but the fugue of recent awakening was more than enough to keep them just below the surface. She could tell that it was weird, but maybe they just hadn't noticed this habit at first?

She saw Purity's giggling begin to die down into a warm, affectionate smile. The girl closest to her own humanity took a few steps towards the bed, swaying her hips absentmindedly - even in a habit that was a little too big, she still seemed to fill out the ass and upper torso of it well. Puri took a seat on the edge of the bed beside her second-living lover, beginning her inquisition with a single raised brow. When that didn't work, and EJ stayed clammed up, the other woman was forced to inquire aloud.

"EJ, what's wrong, babe? You look like you just learned sinewdles aren't made from real sinew, just repurposed cartilage." Purity's right hand went out to rest upon EJ's thigh; for once, it was devoid of any sort of intimate subtext. Her concern was real, undoubtedly, even if it was hidden behind a layer of playfulness. EJ took a second to respond.

Actions speak a thousand words - and so EJ began her explanation by placing the somewhat-less-wadded-now wad of cloth onto her lover's lap. She then gestured to it with her left hand, looking down as she did, then back up to Purity. "Feel that. Look at it closely. It's small. Like, short, sure, but it's also really thin. Really slender. Like... like they had-" A few more words came, but Est's voice towered overtop of them as she interjected herself into the conversation.

"Oh, like they had a new one made? They did, yeah - Luca told me last night in DMs. Told me that they didn't have anything in your size, and asked what your measurements were. I, uh, haha, I did double-duty while, y'know... Used my hands to estimate your proportions..." She trailed off, pantomiming the not-so-subtle groping from their previous evening. After a few moments of silent, bewildered stares from the peanut gallery, Esthrielle shrugged. "I'm efficient, if nothing else. Never waste an opportunity, yeah?"

While EJ felt confused, impressed laughter began to trickle up her throat, Purity launched into a full-on guffaw. She cackled hard enough to double over, laughing loud enough for the three of them all on her own. EJ joined in then, Purity's mirth bolstering her own, and eventually Est followed suit. It was a surprising gesture, EJ thought - to even consider the ghoul's material needs in the first place, much less get something custom-made for her. One point for the Knights, she had to admit.

Laughter died away after some brief moments, each woman remembering why they were getting up and dressed at all: food. Esthrielle and Purity were doing admirably, hustling without seeming too excited; EJ, by contrast, was ravenous. She hadn't eaten a home-cooked meal in what felt like centuries... One of the last specially prepared things she could remember consuming was from when Purity had introduced her to Alex and Kristoff. She put the thought from her head quickly, however - she didn't want to think about cannibalism in the heart of a church.

Though, even considering the thought enough to realize she didn't want to consider it made her stomach rumble. She had had meat recently, sure, but she hadn't had blood in a little while. The urge to consume the vitae of the first-living had been strong at first, strong every time she forgot or missed her pills, stronger still after going cold turkey on those same pills.

As the days ticked by and Purity and Est fed her with more regularity, though, that desire to kill and eat another person waned. At this point? She felt like she could probably go a few days at a time without any kind of human meat or blood - though she still craved it... She shuddered, imagining the sorts of things she might be convinced to do if fresh meat was on the line. Her mind's eye started to whip through snapshot memories of the night at the manse, with Est.

Not with Est, of course, but... the cat from her dreams. It had tasted so good... So... indescribably human. That still ate at her with the same gusto she had put towards eating the feline in question, but it was a matter to reflect on later. And then that guy, that Tsang officer who had stopped them in the street. Imagining him now? Remembering the rush of his blood down her throat, the way his meat gushed that delicious, sanguine nectar with every bite? The undeniable, white-hot, feral fucking thrill of pouncing on him and just... sinking her teeth in... It had been somewhere bordering on erotic, in a way. Sensual. Intimate.

To eat the flesh of another was to know them at their deepest, basest level, and to come back for seconds.

"...uh, EJ? You're drooling, dude..." Another soft ball of discarded cloth was pitched at EJ's face - this time, it was Esthrielle's HATEFUCK tank top. The scent of Est's body oil immediately lit a fire within the little ghoul, and she was instantly brought back to her first feeding with the Italian. That had been nice. Comfortable. Simple. It was those things with both her lovers, of course, but she wasn't exactly being given an in-your-face reminder of the way Purity's sweat smelled, was she?

The drool on her lower lip was wiped away, using the offending garment to clean it up. Broken from her blood-clouded reverie by both Est's voice and her scent, EJ threw the thing aside and finally got herself out of bed, swinging her legs over the side and hopping to her feet. The other piece of apparel, the habit, was donned awkwardly - with Puri and Est both watching Esper James struggle to figure it out before finally deciding to assist. After some helping hands were offered and then retracted, the three ladies were dressed.

If Esper James hadn't still been so mad in the background of her mind, beneath the layer of grave dirt that was her blood-hunger, she might've thought they looked comical. A woman with the physique of a professional kickboxer, a woman who looked like she was born to do porn, and their stupid little girlfailure blonde walk into a nunnery... There was more to that joke, but EJ didn't care enough to actually consider what it may be.

Est spoke up first, she being the most confident within the convent's confines. "A'ight, ladies, let's go get some chow. Now, just, uh... Be on your best behavior, please. Don't embarrass yourselves, or, ah, me. I know most of these people on a first-name basis. I'd rather not have Ludmilla pull me aside in the hallway to discuss my unruly friends, yeah?"

The intonation she put on 'friends' immediately made something clear to the other two: despite all the secularization that had happened over the years, all the so-called progress the Catholic Church had made, they still seemed to be staunchly against homosexuality. That would make certain things hard, make certain stories difficult to tell... and while Purity felt the loss of access in a way akin to forgetting something funny one would want to tell their friend, EJ's nerves pierced her.

They rose like kudzu on a residential building, climbing their way up to her heart and entangling themselves around it. It was one thing to not be gay for another woman; it was another entirely to restrain oneself from displaying affection to ones so deeply engrained in your love center. Hell, even if she just wanted to hold Esthrielle or Purity's hands, she couldn't. A scary thought, to say the least.

Purity interjected, pulling the words of apprehension straight from Esper James's worry-wracked brain. "So... is this a 'we're just friends' sort of thing, or...? Because I'm sure God wouldn't approve of all the girlies I've been with, if that's the case." She stared at Est as she waited for an answer, crossing her arms halfway from curiosity, halfway from standoffishness. EJ neglected to join in and give Purity her support, but from the silence that filled the room, it was obvious where her thoughts laid. Est realized after a few moments of utter quiet what she had said.

Immediately, she began to scramble for something to say. "N-No! It's not like that! The Church promotes relationships of all forms nowadays... It'd be problematic if they didn't! People would take to the streets! It's just that, uh... Look, honestly, it's a comfort thing for me." She sighed, looking at her feet for a second before shifting her gaze to the floor nearest them. "I don't really want any of them to know what I've got going on in my life, you know? Separation of work life and personal life. I'll kiss you both in front of them, if you really want..."

Purity's skeptic expression blossomed almost immediately into a mild, supportive smile. She stepped over to Esthrielle and threw an arm around her with all the casual swagger of a pick-up artist moving on a mark. "Nah, nah, I'm just fucking with you, Est. Mostly. I'm mostly fucking with you. I'll only be really pissed if they start trying to tell me we can't share a bed or something." She leaned down to plant her lips on Esthrielle's flawless face, pink puckered lips to soft umber skin. Est continued to look at the floor, but her shoulders visibly relaxed.

EJ meandered over and took the both of them by the wrist, starting to pull them towards the doorway. There was a reluctance to leave the little love-nest they had created for themselves - even once they were at the door they drug their feet and made small, impotent excuses about why they didn't want to leave. First, Purity needed to find some socks to wear; then, EJ didn't want to leave without making the bed. Eventually, after the third 'one second I think I dropped my phone under the covers', Est took them by the hand and forced them to head out into the hall. Once they were there, though, EJ was glad that she had.

Even here, so far from that distant dining hall, the scent of cooked flesh hung heavy and savoury in the air. EJ felt like she could practically taste the spices that the aroma carried with it; it only served to intensify her greed for meat. She had to actively focus on not starting to drool again - a task made more difficult by her proximity to warm, living flesh.

EJ was silent, then, for the entire walk to the mess hall. Purity wasn't quite so reserved; instead, she made little comments to herself about the interesting things they passed by. Every saintly icon hung high upon the wall was rated on a one-to-ten scale; every little nook or cranny bedecked in religious iconography was touched upon, literally and figuratively. Esthrielle had to stop their trio and say something to the pinkette, otherwise they'd arrive at the mess with twenty little porcelain figures in Puri's hands.

Finally, after a walk that felt longer than it was for all women in attendance, they arrived at a huge pair of hardwood doors. The doors were opened just a crack, and light poured out from the break in its hiding place. Alongside the light, of course, came the scent of food. The food in question was pretty obviously just steak with aromatics; however, it had been more than a while since EJ and Purity had sunk their teeth into a real steak, made by a real cook. EJ's tummy rumbled its enthusiasm.

Est stopped them at the door, turning towards the other two so to better address them. "Alright... there'll be like, twenty people in there. Plus Luca, plus the mother abbess, so... so please, at least wait until we say grace to start digging in, yeah?" The pleading look on Est's face spoke of a new kind of emotion that her partners hadn't yet had the misfortune to witness: factional discomfort.

EJ could understand the sentiment. When she had worked at Tsang, she had ever even made an attempt to befriend her coworkers, much less have them at dinner. She wouldn't have been able to bear having one of them see how Judas ordered her around... What she could get the vulnerable and lonely ghoulette to do, with only a kiss on the forehead in return... The very idea of having someone who she saw regularly for work see her acting like a little toy for her boss would've been too much.

Purity simply nodded, saying nothing, but straightening her posture out of respect for Est's worries. EJ followed suit - hands were placed behind backs, those backs were held upright and awake, and any hint of joy was cleansed from their countenances. They were ready for their big debut to the actual nuns, though it did make EJ a little uncomfortable to be wearing a habit when doing so. A deep breath, reminding herself that 'when in Rome', and then the door was laboriously pulled aside.

The dining hall was opulent, to say the least. More real, genuine wood was found herein - all the tables were a deep, rich mahogany, lacquered to darken them up even further. The floor was tile, though a long red carpet ran from the hall's entrance, down the middle of the rectangular room, and out through a side door. And now, here, at the threshold, the scent of fresh food was overwhelming.

EJ did a very quick head count as they stepped inside. Two-dozen women sat at the long wooden tables, each sat upon a similarly long bench that ran alongside. Their plates were piled high with steak, a side of asparagus and bread seemingly included with every helping. The air held a savory, umami-laced tang to it that spoke of the flavors found on each woman's plate; an underflow of butter and garlic punched through at the last moment of every whiff.

EJ could almost taste it.

As they stepped in, though, the whole mess fell silent. Every nun in attendance turned their head to look at the newcomers - their expressions were by and large those of someone whose meal has been interrupted by a stray animal. Esthrielle didn't bring her entourage forwards at first, the pressure of the situation planting her on the spot. A few disconcerting seconds ticked by, those stares feeling even more pointed as they went on. However, after nearly ten seconds had gone by, a familiar voice spoke from the crowd.

"Hello, guests of honor! Come, come, your seat is over here, with me. Don't mind the ladies here - we all sometimes forget that some in attendance can't simply tune-in to our secured channel. As for the rest of you, again, please be courteous to our guests. They cannot speak as we can; I would ask that you speak aloud for the rest of dinner."

Luca's voice cut the silence like a butcher cuts meat, and one by one, the nuns began to openly acknowledge that there were two-and-a-half new women in their midst. Some waved; others simply said hello; others still scooched aside, so that the new girls might find a place to all be seated together. However, once the convent was finished with their greetings, the nobleman began again.

"Here, come sit with me. I have some questions for you, Esper James; I'm sure plenty of others here do as well, but we can get to those in time." Luca gestured from where he sat - to his credit, it was unnecessary. The long, flowing purple robe he now wore was enough to set him apart from the rest of the crowd. Est began to move towards him, and the open seats beside him, without question; the other two women followed suit without so much as a peep.

Once they had arrived at the table where Luca was eating, and had taken their seats, Luca spoke anew. This time, however, the tone was more hushed, more deliberate in its desire to be a bit more discreet. "Esper James, here; I've had the convent cook make up a special order just for you. Give it a moment, and I'm sure you'll like it." Luca's infectious grin appeared once more, immediately taking effect - Est, at least, did her best to emulate him.

Esper James nodded to acknowledge him; as Est had said, she was trying to fit in as best she could. Almost as soon as they had sat properly and settled in were platters of food distributed to the newcomers. Alongside some cups of water that were distributed to the table, diners were also given a small loaf of crusty white bread, some of the aforementioned asparagus, and a sizable glass of red wine. Purity opted against the red wine, giving her hand a gentle, noncommittal wave from side to side; Est was more than happy to take what she was given.

No platter was brought for EJ, though - at least, not right away. Luca cleared his throat, and within a moment, an auditory-enhancer assisted voice said grace. Then, once it was done, everyone dove straight into their food and began to eat. Everyone save for EJ, that is. Just as she was about to say something, however, their patron's eyes caught upon something coming from the side door. He said nothing, but smiled like a Cheshire cat, all the way up until someone reached around from the ghoul's blind spot and placed a bowl before her.

"Oh, and here is your special dinner, Esper James. Please, enjoy - and if there's anything you'd like to be made, we can accommodate it, I'm sure. I would like your stay here, brief though it may be, to be as enlightening as possible." Luca smiled down at her, gesturing naively to the bowl which lay before the blonde. EJ, on the other hand, had scant ever felt her throat catch and her body tense so fast.

Within the bowl, chunks of barely-seared meat floated or bobbed in a thick red broth. No herbs at all were to be found; just meat and broth, with nothing on the side. It was certainly big enough to do without a side, but... then the scent of it hit her. Wine. Red wine. The entire bowl was at least half-full of the stuff, judging by smell alone... though whereas that initial tannin-laced assault struck her with the back of its hand, the other half of the aroma caressed her with a velvet glove.

The hot scent of copper and iron ripped through the air from bowl to nose like lightning sent back up from earth, and it was every bit as electrifying.