Patreon Side Story: Charee ‘Cherri’ B’omma
--- Charee B’omma: Present ---
She sat in her chair with more than a few nerves, her feet kicking through the air beneath what she was sure was furniture imported from a Leos settlement given how it was almost twice the size of anything an Inferni Imp would get.
From the side of the room a door opened and in walked a man wearing a set of glasses and a professional looking business suit. Something that had her feeling a little underdressed in her hoodie and ripped jeans.“Miss Charee B’omma, I presume?”
“Uh, yes, sir.” She nodded jumping up from her chair, her claws briefly clacking on the ground. “Th-that’s me.”
Her interviewer gave her a distinctly unimpressed once over, making her feel like an insect under a microscope, before taking his seat and opening a file on his desk.
Taking that as a sign to be seated she climbed back into her own while briefly wondering if the oversized chair was a powerplay of some kind. Her dad had warned her to keep an eye out for that kind of thing, and her Ma had warned her to bite back if she had to. Her dad also warned her to ignore her Ma on this one.
“Hmm, according to this Miss B’omma, you’re a second generation prospect?” The interviewer asked after a moment.
“Yes, my uh, parents, aunt, and uncle own a small agency together.” She nodded.
Well technically her ‘honorary uncle’ owned it, and her parents worked for him, but that was just minor details after twenty something years. And fudging those was fine as long as it made her look better. (Or that’s what uncle Beeze said anyway, and he owns the company.)
“I see…” The interviewer said as he wrote something down. “And I assume you’ll be joining their agency upon gaining your license?”
“Yes.” She confirmed, knowing that she probably shouldn’t mention the handful of times she’d joined her family on an outing in spite of her lack of a license. (That’s a one way ticket to uncle’s Beeze’s agency license getting yanked.)
“Very good…” The interviewer nodded as he continued to go through the file, giving her the distinct impression that the man was stalling to review the file he really should’ve before taking a seat in front of her. “For the most part everything seems to be in order.”
“The most part?” She frowned.
“Just need to clarify a few things.” The man assured her with a sympathetic look. “To begin, this says you were combat trained by your parents, yes?”
--- Charee: Age 8 ---
“Did you see that mama?!” She laughed, waving her little hands at her parents.
“Oh, that’s my little girl!” Her mama cheered. “Ooh, ooh, another one’s coming honey!”
Turning around she spotted another one of the Hell Creeps rushing towards her before pulling her axe out of the first one’s neck with enough force to send it high as it finally ripped free. Adjusting her footing she latched her tail around the dead Creep, and re-doubled her grip on the axe before bringing it down with as much force as she could, splitting the second Creep in two.
“Ooh, that’s my baby girl!” Her mama cried out, getting a smile and a giggle out of the young Charee as she turned to the remaining Hell Creeps her parents had wrangled together.
--- Charee: Age 12 ---
“Okay, sweetie now, breathe in all the way…” Her father told her as she lined up her shot. “When your lungs are full, hold the breath and finish lining up the shot before pulling the trigger.”
She did as he said and watched as the head of a Hell Creep a hundred meters away exploded.
“Good now exhale and when your lungs are empty fire again.” Her father instructed like he had several dozen times before.
Staying calm she exhaled and pulled the trigger after lining up a second shot. She then repeated this until her rifle ran out of ammo making the majority of her shots.
“Hmm, not bad.” Her father smiled, looking things over with a small monocular. “You get much better and we’ll have to start upping your distance.”
--- Charee: Present ---
“Yeah, that’s right. My mama taught me standard melee forms for several weapons while my dad taught me how to use most standard firearms and a few of the less standard ones.” She explained. “Both my parent’s certifications were of a grade they could authorize me up to a C Rank in their specialty fields.”
Her interviewer nodded along. “Yes, all of that paperwork seems to be in order alongside a B Rank certification for explosives from the local college. Quite extraordinary for one so young.”
“Well we’ve all got our talents.” She smiled, feeling just a little proud of herself for that one. “Though my uncle was the one who gave me my first grenade.”
--- Charee: Age 6 ---
“Now you saw those fuckers over there?” Her unc-y Beezy asked her, as he plopped a small green thing in her hands. “When I tell you to, I want you to pull the ring on this baby and chuck it over there as hard as you can princess. Okay?”
“Okay!” She nodded, briefly losing her balance if not for her unc-y Beezy catching her.
“Careful there kiddo, don’t need you getting hurt on my watch.” Her uncle told her before ducking as something sparked off the top of the car they were hiding behind.
Her uncle growled, his eyes glowing as he drew a flintlock very different from her daddy’s handguns. “Now just wait for my mark…”
She gave another nod and grabbed the ring so she could pull it when her uncle asked.
“Hey, I’m over here shit for brains!” Her unc-y yelled standing up and firing his gun as he ran into a nearby alley. After a moment of leaning against the alley wall and avoiding several more gunshots he told her to, “Throw it kiddo!”
She pulled the pin on the green thing and threw it over the car in the direction of the bad men who wanted to hurt her uncle. Stumbling after her throw she ended up toppling out from behind the car and got to watch as the green thing blew up in a pretty explosion of fire of all colors forcing the bad men to all run away screaming.
“Ha, nice throw princess!” Her unc-y Beezy laughed as he picked her up and tossed her into the air. “You know what that kind of throw deserves?”
“Huh?” She wondered.
“Ice cream!” Her uncle smiled as she grew one of her own. “Oh, but don’t tell your parents about this. We don’t want them knowing I spoiled your supper, eh, kiddo?”
--- Charee: Present ---
“It was incendiary.” She remembered fondly.
“A classic for a reason.” Her interviewer nodded with a touch of amusement. (Which means the interview is going well, right?) “Now I’ve noticed you’ve some minor training in magic, though notably of a lower quality than your other certifications. Especially given how you have two notable teachers for this one subject.”
She couldn’t help but grimace at arguably the biggest black mark on her record. “Ah, yeah… I uh, I know a few spells but I don’t quite have the same talent as others. Both my aunt and my uncle’s uh… boyfriend tried teaching me but…”
--- Charee: Age 10 ---
“Now that you’ve learned how to harness your Anima we’ll work on actually casting spells beyond the Starlit Nightlight.” Her aunt Roska told her as they sat down in the woman’s dressing room for the day’s lesson. “For this reason I’ve laid out a few basic frameworks for us to work off of to try and hone in on your personal affinity. That way we can determine the best direction for you to get the most out of your magical studies.”
“Uh, isn’t there a way to… magically figure out my affinity?” She couldn’t help but ask as she looked over the sheer number of books her aunt had laid out in front of them, because as much as she loved reading spell books tended to be a little… boring. (And this is a lot of spell books.)
“There are a few ways, yes. Such as an Arcane Nexus Ring.” Her aunt nodded. “Unfortunately, those are highly regulated given the way our economy is tied to magic and summoning. The last thing the government wants is someone using the ring to alter their Nexus records and risk losing their monopoly on the industry’s regulation.”
“What’s a monopoly?” She asked curiously.
“A hume game for either families or assholes depending on the scale.” Her aunt shrugged. Something that earned a giggle from the ten year old in the fact that much like her uncle Beez her aunt Roska didn’t mind cursing in front of her, as long as her parents weren’t around.
“Still we’re getting off topic…” Her aunt Roska pointed out before picking up a simple book. “Why don’t we start with a simple ignition spell? Even if you don’t have a Fire affinity this is a must for all magic users, and if you do have an affinity since its base level is barely equal to a match it shouldn’t cause too much damage.” Or that’s what they thought until a ten year old Charee accidentally blew up half of her aunt’s house in hellfire and brimstone.
--- Charee: Age 14 ---
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” She had to ask her… (what do I call the guy sleeping with my uncle? Teacher, I guess since even if he’s just trying to earn brownie points with the family he seems serious about this.)
“It’s quite alright darling.” The Avarician assured her with a head pat that would’ve been extremely condescending if not for the fact that Inferni rarely came up past an Avarician’s chest. “While I’m sure your… aunt did her best to teach you magic, you were also her first student. Whereas I have been teaching lessons at the local Arcane college for years, ignoring the lessons I’ve given my own daughter and nephew. I’m sure we can solve your problem with ease, after all ‘it is not the student who fails the teacher but the teacher who fails the student’!”
A statement that if taken at face value resulted in four years of painful failure, explosions, numerous magical accidents, and at least two separate mental breakdowns for the decades old magical teacher before managing to teach her a spell after two years of so much pain for the Avarician. All of which was then replicated in the year it took him to teach her a second spell, and then again for her third at which point her uncle Beez staged an intervention for the desperate and -in the B’omma family’s opinion- suicidal man.
It did however earn him massive brownie points with his boyfriend’s family.
--- Charree: Present ---
“I did eventually pick up a few spells like I said but… uh, after eight years of tutoring…” Her grimace deepened at her interviewer’s look.
“Yes, the spells you listed are… significantly less impressive with that information.” The man agreed, as he wrote something (bad) down.
(Oh, I should’ve fudged that… They have no way of knowing how long I took to learn those spells…) She internally cried, much like her uncle G had for the years teaching her.
Eventually her interviewer asked her, “Moving beyond your combat abilities, you have gone through all of the standard classes on what to expect as a contractor?”
“Yes, I even made it into the top ten percent of all my classes.” She smiled, knowing that that was a positive point on her record that would definitely be worth all of the late night study sessions with her parents. (Even if dad was the only one to manage to stay awake through them.)
--- Charee: Age 16 ---
“If summoned by an Orkin the proper method of gaining respect should they not provide it is?” Her dad asked her, holding a fairly large book in front of him so that she couldn’t see it.
“Since we’re Imps, climb up them before clapping their ears and using the leverage to headbutt them on the bridge of the nose so my horns will strike just to the side of their temples. Then while they're disoriented, use my weight to throw them to the ground and tell them to gimme a roight propa foit nex’ time.” She answered, trying her best to mimic the actual words of the Orkin’s native tongue rather than simply letting the Nexus translate for her. Something that was supposed to be what her uncle referred to as ‘cherry tapping’.
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“Technically correct…” Her father sighed, letting it slide since her uncle Beez was the one to negotiate most of their family’s group contracts. “Though I don’t think they’ll give bonus points on that one. Next, what is dimensional drift?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one.” She smiled, remembering her lessons on magic and the nexus as explained by her uncle G. “Dimensional Drift is the phenomenon where due to different realities moving at different… time speeds, you can save or lose time when jumping between dimensions based on the dimensional angle you jump from.”
“Dimensional Angle isn’t the actual term for it but that’s more for Nexus maintenance than actual contract work. So it shouldn't matter.” Her father shrugged. “And last question, how much of the magic used in a contract summoning payment is given by the summoner?”
She thought about it for a moment before narrowing her eyes. “Trick question. While the summoner makes a payment of Anima to the Nexus based on the rank of their summon, the actual magic collected by a Contractor is fully derived from the Arcane Nexus itself that was collected from residual magic built up in all worlds connected to the Nexus. Which is why there is such a massive difference between what summoners pay and what contractors get paid.”
“Correct!” Her dad laughed, closing his book. “Glad to see you can spot that rather than getting caught up in it like your mom and Beez.”
“Yeah.” She nodded glancing over at her mama who’d passed out on the table half way through the test. “Books… aren’t really their thing.”
“Everyone’s got their strengths and weaknesses.” Her father nodded, brushing a bit of her mother’s hair. “Heh, that fact is what keeps us in business.”
--- Charee: Present ---
While they weren’t the most fun of nights, the fact that her parents both stayed up to help her still filled her with a warmth in her chest regardless of each’s own effectiveness at the task.
“Ah, very good, but I was more referencing the… final classes on how to interact with Hume, given how they are our most common contractors.” Her interviewer clarified, looking a little uncomfortable himself for once. “Because regardless of grades I feel it’s always best to make sure people know exactly what they’re getting into on that front.”
She blinked for a moment before it clicked exactly which class he was asking about.
“Y-yes… I’ve taken the class…” She admitted with a blush.
--- Charee: Age 17 ---
“Now a quick warning about humans.” Their instructor called out to the classroom. “Given how common they are as summoners, it must be underlined in triplicate that at some point in your contract with a human they are liable to proposition you.”
She couldn’t help the shiver of disgust she felt at that idea, something she idly noted she was not alone in.
“Yes, yes, I agree full heartedly with the distastefulness but humans are our greatest source of Anima so it is sadly something we must put up with.” The instructor continued. “Now this does not mean you are obligated in any way form or means to accept said proposition, but it is something you should accept will happen at some point.”
Given her uncle’s… tendencies, that wasn’t really something she needed her teacher to warn her about. (Really, I love uncle G and all but I’ve got no idea how uncle Beez can stomach sleeping with a non-Inferni. I don’t even want to know how the anatomy lines up.)
She wasn’t stupid enough to look for an answer.
“Humans are in a constant state of estrus, which while not necessarily different from our species, isn’t as limited to their own species as our own.” Her teacher warned them. “Of all the species we interact with humans are the most likely to try and bed a member of a different species. In fact their own society refers to this as rules thirty-four, thirty-five, forty-nine, and sixty-three of their data net. Depending on context. Oh, and remember if you get morbidly curious about how bad it is and make the mistake of checking their data net for it, all of that is then underlined by their rule thirty-six. No matter how fucked up there is worse than what you’ve witnessed.”
Given what she knew about the Hume that seemed like an apt summary of the entire species as a whole. (But maybe I’m biased from working jobs with my family. We are hired to kill assholes after all.)
Either way it wasn’t like she’d ever have an interest in a non-Inferni, which is why she was extremely relieved that a part of every Inferni contract included the option to-
--- Charee: Present ---
“I’ll, uh, I’ll mark myself as uninterested in that… service with an immediate severance clause if necessary.” She answered as professionally as she could in spite of the fact that the nature of the question had her blushing up a storm.
Her interviewer looked immensely relieved by that, which left her wondering how many of her classmates didn’t opt out of having any sex based summons auto-rejected. (No, Charee, you don’t want to go down that rabbit hole.)
“Very good…” The man told her sounding like he sincerely meant it. “Now, one last question before you mentioned that you would be joining your family’s agency. While that is still perfectly acceptable, I am curious if you intend to take on any solo contracts before your six year review?”
“Solo contracts?” She frowned in confusion. “Why would I need that when I’ve got my family’s agency to work with?”
“Yes, well while you are a member of your chosen agency and thus able to be summoned in as a specified unit by your Contractee or as backup unit under your designated [Leader]’s personal group spell, I’ve found that it’s usually a fifty-fifty split on whether a legacy intends to solely work within their family’s agency or to take on solo contracts of their own like many other fresh graduates.” Her interviewer explained. “From what I’ve been told it’s a common method of stepping out of the shadow of one’s family or an attempt to create a side-hustle should they feel themselves being underutilized by their family.”
“I see…” She nodded a little reluctantly as she began to piece together what the man was telling her. “I, um, I don’t really think of myself in my family’s shadow and I know my uncle won’t screw me on a contract.” (Especially given how many times he’s taken me out illegally.)
That said, she’d also be the first to admit she was… a little greedy at times. (Mama’s explosives are expensive!)
“But how, uh, how exactly would a solo contract work? Like they won’t… disrupt my family’s jobs will they?” She may’ve been greedy, but she wasn’t going to screw her family because of said greed.
“Oh, not at all.” Her representative assured her. “Like with regular contracts, yours will take advantage of the Nexus’s usage of dimensional drift to make it so your time spent on these jobs is relatively next to nothing in our world’s progression of time. Thus allowing you to fulfill your contractual obligations whenever time is permissible. Though, you will still be taking more jobs so you’ll be responsible for managing twice as much mental and physical recuperation on your part. Which is why I’d recommend visiting the station twice as often as the rest of your agency.”
(That might be a bit much but… taking one or two solo contracts shouldn’t be too bad.) She figured. “Well, if I can take a solo contract and keep up with my agency… I don’t see why I shouldn’t try for both… I mean if I only take one or two it shouldn’t be too much work.”
“Wonderful.” The man nodded, writing something down on her file. “Well, then, that should just about wrap up everything on my end. Do you have any last questions?”
“That’s it?” She couldn’t help but frown. “I thought there’d be a bit more to it all.”
“No, no, just had to get the final blanks and make sure you understood what you were getting into.” The man explained. “With all of this settled, we can have your Nexus Initiate Circuit completed, and we’ll have your license available for pick up when you come in on… what day would you like to begin?”
“Um, uh, I have to do the N.I.C. before I can go out with my family, so… when’s the soonest we can do it?” She asked, some odd mix of impatient and excited now that she knew there was nothing left to be worried about.
“Tomorrow morning it is.” Her representative handed her a slip. “Just show this to the front desk at the station and they’ll help you sort things out. And given how first Contract meetings are usually all talk, you should be able to set up your first solo contract and still manage your first day with your family’s agency should you desire.”
She accepted the paper with a stuttered, “Th-thank you.” as she realized it was her temporary license completely signed off and listing her certifications.
Name: Charee B’omma
Agency: Infernal Mercenary Professionals
Contractor Rank: C
Primary Class: Blaster (Demolitionist)
Secondary Classes: Infiltrator, Marksman, Scrapper, Scout
Mystic Status: Positive
“It’s my pleasure to help such a promising young Inferni join our prestigious institution.” Her interviewer smiled offering her his hand, which she took and shook with her own. “I expect great things from you Ms. B’omma.”
---
“Ha, I told you you were worrying for nothing.” Her uncle Beez laughed as fell onto her parent’s couch. “The interview is always just a bunch of boring bureaucracy.”
“Doesn’t make it any less stressful.” She argued, plopping down between him and her dad.
“Ooh, look at my baby! Not even past her first day and she’s already considered a C Rank contract!” Her mama cooed gushing over her temporary license with her aunt Roska and uncle Gosh. “You know that’s the highest you can get without field experience.”
“But of course she is my student after all.” Her uncle G preened, hand to his chest as he let his nobility shine through. “To expect any less of her would be an insult.”
“You mean our student.” Her aunt Roska cut in.
Her uncle’s four eyes narrowed. “We both know who really taught her magic.”
“Yes, and we also know who taught her how to pluck a bird.” Her aunt smiled all fangs as she conjured a rather sharp knife.
“Now, now, there’s no need for that!” Her dad cried, standing up to try and calm things down. “Let’s not start a fight on Cherri’s big day!”
“Oh, come on honey, you know a fight would just make things more fun!” Her mama laughed, taking her dad by his arm.
“Hell yeah, I’m sure I’ve got a few grenades on me if we really want to spice things up!” Her uncle Beez grinned digging through his coat, before pulling one out.
“Please no, explosives in the house!” Her dad called, looking much more panicked.
“Ah, but like you said it’s Cherri’s big day!” Her uncle reminded him, pulling her close and putting on a pout she was quick to match. “And you just know she’d love to bomb a bitch!”
“Sir…” Her dad groaned.
“If we can’t use incendiary, I’ve got a batch in my room where I’ve added some paint to spray.” She offered. “It’s got less firepower but the paint blasts might be fun.”
“True one should let out their artistic side whenever they can.” Her aunt Roska agreed, throwing out her vote.
“Just so long as the color doesn’t clash with my robes.” Her uncle G shrugged.
“Come on babe, we don’t even have to set it off in our house. Let’s go bomb the fuck out of that blue corv that keeps parking in my spot!” Her mama ordered the familial vindictiveness on full display.
“Now we’re talking!” Her uncle Beeze grinned before yelling. “Time to firebomb a bitch!”
A yell that was quickly echoed by her and her mama. “Firebomb a bitch! Firebomb a bitch!”
“Fine…” Her dad reluctantly caved as she, her, mama, and uncle all ran to grab her explosives. All to the amusement of her aunt Roska and uncle Gosh. “At least let me move our car before you blow anyone up!”
---
“Oh, we’re so proud of you baby!” Her mama told her hugging her close as they stumbled up the steps to their city’s main Nexus Station. “You’ve got all your weapons for your first day right?”
“It’s technically not my first day…” She felt the need to remind her mama.
“Maybe not but it is the first day you actually get paid, kid.” Her uncle pointed out clapping her shoulder as he passed her by. “You get your license sorted out and you’ll be the first one I call out for today’s contracts!”
“R-right.” She nodded, wondering if she should mention the solo contract she was thinking of taking on with her initiate summoning.
“Trust me kid, I’ve been pulling strings all month to make sure your first paycheck is going to be huge as shit by the time we’re through with the day.” Her uncle assured her as he walked backwards through the station's front door.
Seeing her nerves her dad gave her a much more reassuring shoulder pat. “Don’t worry sweetie, since the contracts are all agency based if it becomes too much you can always take a break in our Nexus room.”
“I know.” She nodded. “Just feels like today is a bigger day than it should be.”
“Well, using the official Nexus is a bit different than using the bootleg one your aunt set up for us.” Her dad admitted holding the door open for her and her Ma. “But don’t worry, we’ve got much better support here even if it means paying the station a cut of our contracts.”
“Which is highway fucking robbery when you think about how much they take.” Her uncle Beez muttered under his breath.
“Yeah… I’ve uh, I’m going to get my N.I.C. taken care of.” She told her family, pointing towards the front desk.
“Do you, do you want us to go with you?” Her dad offered, still picking up on her nerves.
“No. I’ll, I'll be able to handle myself.” She assured him.
“Well we’ll be in room H-311 when you’re all set.” Her father told her.
She nodded as she waved her family off before making her way to the front desk and waiting for her turn with the receptionist, a chipper looking woman for what was essentially an interdimensional DMV.
“Hello, dear, how may I help you?”
“I’m, uh, I’m here for my N.I.C.” She answered, showing off her temporary license.
“Oh, goodie.” The receptionist smiled at her, before pointing to a set of doors opposite of where her family had gone. “Step through those doors there and someone will be along to help you shortly.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Making her way past the doors she found a small hall with a handful of other Inferni her age, a couple of whom she could vaguely remember from her school milling about in a hall full of doors.
“Name please?” A man asked, walking up to her with a clipboard in hand.
“Uh, Charee B’omma.” She answered.
“Mm-hmm, right this way please.” The man waved for her to follow him through a set of doors halfway down the hall where she found a massive spell circuit had been written on the ground in an extremely complex script that she couldn’t begin to understand. “Now before we begin, it says on your file that you’re a solo and with an agency. Did you wish to use your test summoning to seek your first contract or to simply self summon yourself back here?”
She thought about it for a moment before deciding that (if todays the big day, I’m going to make it a big day) and telling the man, “I want to find my first solo contract.”
“Alright, then just step into the designated space on the circuit and we’ll get you all set up.” The man nodded, gesturing to the empty space on the circuit. Once she was in place he then told her. “Since you’re mystic positive, go ahead and flow your own magic into the circuit. That should make it more likely that your first contract will be someone using a Confidant Catalyst rather than some random.”
“Uh, right.” She swallowed down, knowing that Confidant Catalyst’s were supposed to summon the creature or person most compatible with who you were when using it. Something she couldn’t help but wonder (what kind of person does that mean for me?)
Knowing that she couldn’t let nerves slow her down, she began to push her magic into the circuit. An act that normally would’ve drained her warm magic out of her but was instead causing a cool warmth to wrap around her as little particles of glowing blue magic began to cling to her.
Magic that slowly grew heavier as they began to cover her entire body before exploding in a blinding flash of light.
Blinking her eyes clear she found that she was no longer in the Nexus Station with the attendant but instead somewhere completely different and standing in front of what she was pretty sure was a teenage human.
(Okay, wasn’t expecting a human…) But given how common they were in the Nexus she really should’ve. (Still need to make a first impression.)
Taking a deep breath she put a smile on her face and greeted the human with a wave before sticking her hands in her coat pockets. “Hey there, my name’s Charee B’omma, you my new partner?”