Vitmori POV

Seeing Basti with the face of a dead woman was jarring, to say the least. Dhalia's corpse had laid in her cell just moments earlier, yet here Basti was, a nearly exact replica of a now very dead woman. I could sense Basti was rather pleased with herself, curiously checking out her fingers and rolling her wrists with simple delight. "While it's nice to not fall too far behind Oururu, I'm not satisfied with this body, not at all," Basti stated simply as she began looking over her arms before looking over at me and flashing a rather feline-looking smirk. "Well, I suppose it isn't my body, now is it?" She chuffed with amusement as she moved to sit down on my steps before sprawling out Dhalia's lithe figure and laying back rather comfortably.

There was a rather distinct disconnect between what my eyes were seeing and what I knew to be happening; the view was distracting, to say the least. Basti was lounging on my steps like she usually did, but it was dramatically more provocative than when she was just a big cat; but at the same time, the shape of the woman Basti was borrowing was an utterly trash beastkin and thus ultimately rendered my feelings about the display to be more neutral than anything. 'It really isn't, right? You don't intend on keeping that form, do you?' I still wasn't sure about the extent of Basti's abilities, and as happy as I am to see her grow, her current appearance just makes me distinctly uncomfortable.

Basti glanced over at me from where she lay before sitting up and looking herself over. "Hm... No, I don't think I'll ever use this form after I'm done with it." She said as she flexed her hands again before looking over at my core intently. "And I can tell that I'm making you uncomfortable while looking like this." She mentioned, her tone a little more somber than before as she sighed a bit. "And that's the last thing I want to do to you. I've yet to decide what my body will ultimately look like, though I suppose I have plenty of time to think about while borrowing this one." She mused a little bit before reaching out to touch my core, though she stopped short, pulling away for a second. In the next moment, she enveloped herself in shadows before reverting back to her old self. Now back in her big cat form, she brought her paw up to my core and gently pressed her paw pads against it. "There, is that better?" She asked almost sweetly in a near whisper, her voice sounding like what I could only imagine what a bar of melted dark chocolate stirred into a warm glass of milk tastes like.

It's one thing to know her intent and thoughts back when she was just a beast; before she could speak and emote clearly, and it is entirely something else to hear her speak with those intentions in mind. I could only imagine the goosebumps that would have formed on my skin if I had listened to her whisper to me like that when I had a body. 'Y-yeah, I suppose that's an improvement...'

Apparently, something about my response amused her as she chuffed and smiled some more before lounging back on my steps. "I'm glad to hear it." She replied pleasantly as she stretched before getting comfortable once more.

'So, since when did you realize you could shapeshift like this?' I asked after a few moments of silence had settled between us.

She hummed thoughtfully before rolling over to face my core. "If I had to pick a moment, then I suppose it was the morning after I broke Lichtdren's amulet... There was a dense concentration of mana that ran through me after I had shattered it." She considered before smiling as she watched the swirling lights in my core. "If that mana did so much to you, then something was of course bound to happen to me." She mused before rolling back over to face the entrance to my chamber. "I made sure to share what I got with our cubs, though whether or not they'll capitalize on it and shapeshift like me, is up to them. Though, I have a feeling Basmori will develop first." She mentioned, a sensation of warm pride just emanating from her as she settled in.

I was vaguely surprised when she referred to them as *our* cubs, but I wasn't about to argue or even deny that. Those kids are in my care, and like many others before them, I do consider them as my own at the end of the day. 'Sounds exciting, I'm looking forward to it.' I reply though I had something else on my mind as I watched her. 'No rush, but I think you should go visit Dread and the Sinners, while you might have Dhalia's memories, you're probably not used to moving around with her body, let alone moving around while having arms and legs. I need you to get what training you can before you leave in a couple of days.' Right, she's going to have to leave soon... I feel almost reluctant to let her go, especially for an infiltration job. Those were always exceptionally high risk, even if I could snag an outfit that helped me blend in with the nobodies, but here she was, needing to impersonate someone outright. I do suppose it helps that she looks exactly like the person she's pretending to be and has their memories to boot, but I still can't help but worry.

Basti seemed to sense my worry as she leaned up and pressed her forehead against my core. "I'll go and train now; I ought to do my best to ensure I don't mess anything up." She mentioned with a small smile before standing on all fours. "I wouldn't want anyone to think your right hand is lacking after all." She mused almost mischievously as she started padding away, making her way out of my chamber.

I'm not sure how to move forward with Basti; she was just a beast to me, a friend and trusted partner, but a beast. I knew she had affection for me, but back then it was more like knowing an ostrich had a crush on you or something. But now? Now she is a person, and I need to be serious about her feelings, but before that, I need to figure out how I feel...

Remy POV

She was watching him again. He didn't even need to look at her to know she was just around the corner, peeking at him as he worked on preparing dinner for the group.

Luna spoke up with a bit of a smile as she sidled up beside him, setting down some freshly washed wild tubers on the counter before glancing over her shoulder and looking back to Remy. "Your admirer is back, I knew you were handsome for a rat, but you've got her locked onto you." The wolfkin teased kindly as she patted Remy's shoulder before stepping away to the other side of their workspace.

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Remy smirked for a moment before sighing softly as he set the tubers down on his cutting board to start working on them next. "It's not a bad feeling at all; I just wish she was more willing to just approach, ya know?" He confessed, speaking very softly since he knew Luna could hear him regardless while doing his best to ensure Mina, the new ratkin girl, didn't know they were explicitly talking about her.

Luna casually bobbed her head as she began cubing some thick chunks of venison. "Well, perhaps she doesn't know how to approach a boy her age." She offered as she glanced over in the direction of the peeping rat.

His ears twitched thoughtfully as he cubed the tubers, sliding them over into a wooden bowl and setting them with other ingredients for tonight's stew. "But she was by my side nearly the entire night during the party, and now she can't stand within a few feet of me; what gives?" He asked, not understanding what was going on at this point.

Luna had to think on that for a moment before smirking with amusement as she looked over to Remy again. "She had quite a few drinks with her friends that night; no doubt that liquid courage helped push her to be a lot more outgoing than she normally would've been." She mused as she stifled a chuckle, sliding the meat into another bowl before stepping away and bumping her elbow against Remy. "I'm gonna go wash off this blood real quick, see if you can't get her to help. Maybe putting her to work will distract her enough to open up." She offered as she made her way out.

Remy's tail curled as he considered what Luna said; after another moment, he set his knife down before wiping his hands off on his apron. Taking yet another moment to consider his approach, he turned and made his way over to Mina's hiding spot. As he walked closer, he could hear the nervous shuffle of her clawed feet skittering away from the corner she was hiding against. Rounding the corner, he stepped into the women's communal quarters; nobody else was there save for Mina, who seemed to be busying herself with folding blankets that didn't really need folding. He couldn't help but smile at how cute he found her, her reddish-brown fur was rather glossy and well cared for, and she had the nicest pink eyes he'd ever seen. He caught himself staring a little too long though, and cleared his throat as he collected himself, which unfortunately caused her to jump. "H-hey, sorry if I scared you." He mentioned apologetically after watching her jump. "I was wondering if... Err... If you want to help out with dinner? I remember seeing you help out with meal prep at last night's feast and figured you knew your way around the kitchen." He explained as he offered a kind smile.

She kept her back to him for now, her ears twitching rapidly for more than a few moments.

Remy waited patiently, but even he could sense she was more than a little anxious. "It's okay if you don't want to; I just... Well, I was hoping we could chat while we worked, maybe... I-if you want." He offered, his own ear starting to twitch nervously as he quietly swallowed. He heard her mumble something as he took a step to leave, his ears perking and flicking as he looked over at her again. "S-sorry? I didn't quite catch that."

She finally turned to face him, well at least face his direction as she stared down at his feet while fiddling her thumbs together. "I would love to help... If you'll have me." She said, speaking up just enough for him to hear her words.

Remy couldn't help but smile; she even sounded nicer than he remembered as he waved her over. "Great, just go rinse off your hands and I'll get an apron ready for you." At that Mina nodded as she walked closer, glancing up at him occasionally before scurrying past him as she went off to do as he asked. Now feeling moderately more confident, Remy went back to his cutting board, finishing up with the tubers as he scooped them into yet another bowl. Taking a quick moment to rinse his knife and board with some water he had set aside for this specific task, he went about preparing the vegetarian meal for the herbivores in the group.

While he was washing the brown rice, he could hear Luna one-sidedly talking to Mina as they came back from cleaning up. Though, as they got closer, he quickly realized Luna was telling her about him for some reason. His ears burned as Luna rounded the corner with a smile on her face, Mina following close behind. "He's also deceptively strong; you should see him hauling those bags of grain around, even I was surprised." She mused cheerfully.

Mina nodded intently, her ears fully perking as she seemed happy to listen as Luna carried on. Though as they rounded the corner, Mina hesitated upon seeing Remy, who greeted her with a smile. She didn't get to stay still for long, Luna's hand suddenly finding her way to Mina's back as the ratkin got coaxed forward faster than she had planned. Taking a moment to collect herself, she looked between the duo and silently waited for instruction.

Remy waited silently as well, glancing between her and Luna, who shrugged as she smiled and busied herself with the bones of the meat she carved earlier before walking over to a large pot and tossing them into the warming water. "So, do you know how to make flatbread? We're gonna be making a lot of it since we have quite a few people." He mentioned as he brought over the flour, some salt, a jar of butter, and a bottle of milk. "We're lucky that a couple of the chivostieds were still giving milk, this will really help with nutrition going forward, as well as further increase the variety of meals we can prepare." He mentioned cheerfully as he swished the bottle around before setting it on the table.

Mina offered a small smile and nodded a bit more, managing to move her gaze up to his chest now as she then turned to look over at the ingredients before taking a handful of flour and sprinkling it on the counter.

Remy watched her for a moment before going about mixing the ingredients into a bowl, though the longest step ended up being having to melt the butter using a heated metal spoon. Soon enough the dough was mixed together and poured out onto the flour-covered counter. Mina immediately got to work on rolling the dough itself, being rather thorough and precise with all her movements. "Wow, I was right; you really do know what you're doing." Remy mentioned with a grin as he went about working on the next batch of dough. "How long have you been cooking? When did you get started?" He asked, hoping to get her talking while they worked.

Mina seemed to perk up a little more at the compliments, though her ears fell at the questions, she kept working, not daring to mess anything up. She didn't say anything at first, and Remy relented, going back to his prep work when she finally mustered up the nerve to speak. "I... I started when I was ten... I have been cooking for five years." She explained, her tone rather reserved and a little flat.

Remy nodded along as he offered another smile. "Ah, looks like I have you beat by a couple of years." He mused kindly. "I got started when I was eight, and I've been doing it for around half my life, so about eight years." He mentioned warmly, reminiscing about his experience.

Mina seemed to be saddened by that revelation. "For so long? And when you were so young? How awful..." She murmured, tears welling in her eyes.

Remy seemed more confused by this than anything as he prepped the counter with flour, not having seen the tears yet. "Awful? No, I loved cooking, it was one of my favorite pastimes, and I got really good at it over the years." He enthused warmly.

Mina just seemed more distressed, but kept working regardless. "I was a good girl, so Mistress Diarosa allowed me to pick some skills to learn as long as they benefited her… Cooking was something I did a lot." She explained softly as she stared down at the dough, rolling out another piece of flattened dough.

Remy exchanged a glance with Luna at that comment, not sure what to make of what Mina just said. "Um… So you worked at a noble's household before this?" He asked curiously.

Mina looked confused by that question. "Hm? No, I wasn't one of the maids… I was Mistress Diarosa's personal slave; I've been tending to her needs for years now." She mentioned, though a smile started forming on her face. "But not anymore, thanks to the great Vitmori." She mentioned, finally looking up at Remy's face. "So when did Vitmori free you all?" She asked sincerely.