Fork in the Road

As you walk through more of the Legends room you notice that while some of the doors that lead to the girls rooms are open with an Animorph present, just as many if not more are closed presumably with no one inside. Curious about this practice you bring it up with the clerk, your query causing the clerk to grin and respond, "You expect us to try and keep all of them locked up in their rooms until closing time? Nah, we usually let them do whatever they want as long as they stay in their designated zones and don't cause trouble...sometimes they actually listen."

Chuckling at the Clerk's jest you respond that it seems quite a few of the ladies happen to have their doors closed causing your confusion over where they might be. Taking a moment or two the Clerk looks around as well, a slightly confused look on his face being emphasized by a rather curious sounding, "huh, you're right..it's never this quiet in this wing." For a moment the Clerk seems stumped but after giving his watch a brief glance he utters a sound of comprehension followed by a slight nod, "Ah, so that's what's going on." Glancing back at you he grins, "Looks like it's lunch time sir."

You ask if that is going to be a problem but the Clerk shakes his head, "Oh no, not really. Some girls take their lunches earlier or later in the day to avoid the rush so many of them should still be in their rooms or wandering about here and there. Granted EVERYONE won't be here but you'll still have a pretty good selection...but..." For a moment the Clerk taps a single finger to his chin, his tongue poking out from the corner of his mouth as he slowly and thoughtfully speaks, "I suppose I COULD give you a little...'peek behind the scenes' and show you to a cafeteria."

Your expression must speak your surprise loud and clear as the Clerk laughs, "yeah, we have a few of them actually. At first we brought the girls their food on an individual basis but after the facility grew and we began making more and more girls we thought it was a better idea to just open some cafeterias near the enclosures and let the girls pick up their own. Gives them a sense of responsibility, individuality, and all that jazz."

Noticing the slightly concerned look on your face the Clerk nods, "and yes, before you ask sometimes the girls do get into fights there. To be honest most of the cafeteria's here operate on the same logic that most high school lunchrooms do, clique's stay together and they pick on others who are different than them, there's a lot of one-ups man ship, and sometimes girls who just don't get along do come to blows. But these are usually few and far between and most of the time the girls just hang around and have their food in peace." Despite the Clerk's reassuring words you feel a heavy tint of doubt in the back of your mind about the whole situation and what going to a potentially volatile location filled with super powerful, albeit sexy, women could mean for a soft squishy human male like yourself. Yet, just as you are about to voice an objection your stomach thunders with the roar of hunger, your own body betraying you and announcing your digestive unrest to a now slightly smirking Clerk, "also, all of the cafeteria's serve food completely compatible with human digestive systems just in case the staff are hungry and haven't brought any food of their own."

"So what do you say pal?" The Clerk asks with a grin, "We can keep going through this enclosure or we can check out the nearest cafeteria. Last I checked this one served the Mythical Girls, some of the free roving Experiments, and the Prehistoric girls." Offering a slightly cheeky grin the Clerk continues, "but if you can hold onto that monster in your gut we can go to one of the other cafeteria's and see what's for grub."