Velouté aux Elisa

“I’m telling you, it was mammary central, apparently other seasons got no problem handing out tits like condoms on a college campus, but I got saddled with the stingy one!” In the dining room, Stella was conveying to a table full of women the events of the previous “night’s” party. It had taken a minute to convince them that this wasn’t some fantasy the imp had conjured up while drunk and tired, but the level of detail had, in the end, won them over. If it was a lie, it was a fairly convincing one, though the subjects Stella focused on weren’t to everyone’s satisfaction.

“Who cares about breasts?” Maya crossed her arms over her own assets as she twisted her face in consternation, “Did you learn anything about the other season’s games? Anything we could use?”

Raising an eyebrow at the lottery winner, Stella shrugged, “In a sea of bodacious babes, otherworldly beings, and a never-ending flow of booze, I didn’t really think to ask about the 'game’.” The imp rolled her eyes and then stuck out her tongue to the side provocatively, “I did makeout with the hot blonde therapist though, yummers.” She mimed a squeezing motion with her hands. “Some fucking bastards get all the breaks.”

Maddy, who was blushing furiously at Stella’s description of events, mustered up enough nerve to raise her own question, “How were the girls from the other seasons? Happy?”

Stella stopped miming her mammary massage and paused to think, “Happy? I dunno, content. The more details people were willing to share, the more I think we got the short end of the stick as far as hosts go, but it doesn't seem like any set is devoid of drama or problems. But, also kind of comes with the territory of grabbing a bunch of different people together and making them live together, y’know?”

Maddy nodded, and Noemi held out her hand like an overeager student, but not one to wait to be called on, interjected, “I'm still hung up on the how and when you got there. And why were you taken instead of me?” The last statement was punctuated by the Chilean woman pushing her lips out in a pout.

Stella has been standing as she described the party, but moved to sit, reaching across the table and grabbing a banana. As she peeled it, she responded, “If I had to hazard a guess, it was just me and Lily because it fell between our nights, I don’t doubt that the demon bastard didn’t put much more thought into it than that.”

Amy had her arms crossed; she had stayed silent during Stella’s recounting of events. While the implications of so many people from across the universe gathering were stimulating, her main thought was on one thing: “How did you end up going there? You mentioned Lucian took the three of you there and stayed behind, but you didn’t mention how.”

Biting into the tip of the banana, Stella gesticulated in an explanatory motion with her hands, “Remember that building we went to with all the stars and I pressed the button, and then you made us all run away before we could see what it did?”

Amy chose to ignore the fact that Stella intentionally left out the massive, ominous descending form that had come at them after the button was pressed, “Yeah, I remember it.”

Stella took another bite and talked with her mouth full of mushy banana, “Yeah, turns out that’s like a mechanism for traveling between here and other places. Once that thing descends, the liquid makes a kind of gate you can walk through. You just trot on through, and you’re in a different place. Kind of like a wormhole.”

Jumping to her feet, Maddy’s eyes widened, “So wait, couldn’t we use that to escape?”

Maya raised an eyebrow, “Why would we want to do that?”

Ignoring the purple-haired woman, Noemi muttered, “I couldn’t leave Caleb behind, but it would be nice to see my mom and dad again.”

Stella raised her free hand. “Hold your horses there, everyone, a few things. One, yeah, potentially it could do that, but we don’t know how, the controls looked magical and esoteric, and it's possible we could throw ourselves into a random dimension or empty space. Two, even if we could program it or whatever, we’d have to make it there without Lucian knowing, and that pain in the ass seems to monitor every action we do.”

Amy silently nodded but thought to herself, “But he didn’t know originally that I had the mask, so he doesn’t see everything.”

Stella continued, “Lastly, even assuming that we could aim it at our world, get there without Lucian knowing, and then travel home- They already proved they can abduct us from wherever once. What’s to stop them from doing it again? If it were a real option, he wouldn’t have casually shown the three of us. No, we’re not getting home that way.”

Maddy visibly deflated, and Noemi shrugged and returned to her food, while Maya looked around and frowned, “Well, yeah, we couldn’t escape, that’s obvious. But even if everything you said is true, it's not totally true, it's not worth anything.”

The imp didn’t bother to respond, focusing instead on munching on her banana, but Amy’s ears perked up. “How do you mean?”

Maya reached down and drummed her piece of honeyed toast against the plate before lifting it to her lips before she answered, “In the third scenario, you might be able to leave just long enough to get a message to one person.”

Stella gave a snort, “Yeah, I mean, I guess. I didn’t mention it because it feels pretty pointless. Even if we tell someone about what's going on it's not likely to help.”

Conversely, the oni chewed on the information before sitting back and muttering, “Yeah, maybe to another season for help? But yeah, I guess reaching home to deliver a message has limited use scenarios.”

Despite their responses, Maya’s expression was undeterred as she bit into her toast, “I didn’t say it would be useful, I just meant it was an option.”

Maddy smiled over at the lottery winner, “I appreciate you trying to help.”

Maya looked confused by this, “I don’t know what you mean. I was just correcting an incorrect statement. I think it’s silly to want to leave here. We have friends, a fun game, good food…”

“Ah…yeah, right.” Maddy’s smile turned withering; she could never get a handle on how the other woman thought. Luckily, she didn’t have to spend too long thinking about it, as her thoughts were interrupted by someone else entering the room.

“Oh wow, looks like it’s a party, good morning everyone!” Every turned and saw Eliza standing in the doorway before she crossed the room and began to fill her plate. Despite her cheerful entrance, a noticeable dour mood took over the table. With everything they had learned yesterday, no one wanted to be the first to speak and maybe say the wrong thing.

Luckily, one person at the table didn’t care about things like that, as Stella opened her mouth full of banana, “Nah, the party was last night, I was just telling everyone about it. Lucian made Caleb, Lily, and me go to some other master’s birthday.”

Eliza finished filling her plate and pulled up a chair, smirking over at Stella, “Sure you didn’t just dream this up?”

Regarding the young professor carefully, Amy spoke up, “Kind of what we all thought when she started blathering about it, but she’s either super committed to the bit or it’s real. When Caleb and Lily arrive, we’ll know for sure.”

Stella frowned and turned up her nose, “Can’t trust good ol Stella, who has never been anything but kind and helpful.”

Eliza snorted, “What sort of selective memory do you have that that’s the version of yourself you think we’ve seen?”

“Thievery isn’t inherently bad! You wouldn’t begrudge someone stealing a loaf of bread for their family.”

Eyebrow twitching, Maddy was the one to speak up, “You stole ALL my magical confections last round.”

“Which you had no plans for, and would have gone to waste,” Stella remarked

Noemi’s eyes narrowed, “You made Caleb have a full-blown panic attack.”

“He got over it! Listen, I’m not saying I’m sinless here, but c’mon, in the grand scheme of things- they were shenanigans.” Stella held her hands up and shook her head as if she was explaining something painfully obvious.

Eliza put down her food, “Yeah well be careful about the types of shenanigans you pull, never know when someone is gonna bite back.” And she snapped her teeth shut in Stella’s direction

“OOooh, professor’s got some spice now- love it. Loving the new look too, very boss bitch.” Stella remarked, gesturing at Eliza’s new clothes. Much like yesterday, she was dressed in a form-fitting outfit with dangling chains and her leather jacket; her makeup was also done in a different style than the group had seen, with smokier eyes.

Summoning her courage, Maddy spoke up, “Eliza…are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m doing great. Why do you ask?” She let the question hang in the air as everyone, but Stella, fidgeted nervously, “Guys! C’mon, I’m over it. You guys don’t need to be tiptoeing on glass around me. Honestly, I’ve never felt better!”

Amy shot the professor a skeptical glance, “Really?”

There was a slight edge to the professor’s words as she responded, “Yeah, really, in fact, I wanted to invite you guys all out today. For my date, Caleb and I went to a bar on the restaurant island, but it has food and games too.”

“Games!” Having said the magic word, Maya’s eyes sparkled as she leaned over the table.

Eliza chuckled, “Yeah, darts, and pool, a card table. I think they might have even had an arcade cabinet hidden in there. Thought we might be able to have a nice casual girls' day out while Stella enjoys her date.”

Stella’s mouth dropped open, “Wait, you guys are going to go out to a bar without me?! This is the ultimate betrayal.”

“Who betrayed whom?” Lily’s voice interrupted as she and Caleb entered the breakfast hall together.

“No one is betraying anyone! We’re planning a fun day out.” Noemi grinned from ear to ear, excited for the chance to have some quality time with her harem sisters.

Caleb felt a sense of relief seeing everyone eating together, though he was a little surprised by Eliza’s outfit. Not wanting to come off as rude and knowing he was staring, he approached, “You look good.”

“Mmm, thanks, babe.” And everyone watched as Eliza grabbed Caleb’s chin and stole a kiss from him. Maddy’s hands flung up to her blushing face, and Maya leaned in, eyes narrowing.

As they separated, Caleb’s own face was flushed as he had been caught entirely off guard by Eliza’s forwardness. Normally, he might have been concerned over the sudden switch from the previous night, but unfortunately, the tag team combo of Eliza’s confidence and her tongue in his mouth had made it so his brain was elsewhere. He froze and took a second to reboot, “I-I’m gonna get breakfast.”

Stella gave a full belly laugh and wrapped her arms around Eliza, “Oooh, I like the new Professor, you and I need to do some shenanigans together, first opportunity we get.”

“I’d like that.” Eliza leaned into the embrace, “Together, we will certainly keep things from getting boring.”

Lily sat at the table, and Amy locked eyes with her, “So, can you settle something for us? Did you three really go to another season last night?”

The plant woman nodded, “Yeah, I met someone with a transformation like mine…though she couldn't wear any clothes at all. Made me thankful for being only really able to wear leaves for once.”

Caleb sat at the table, “A Bunch of Masters said they wanted to form a support group. With ****, it sounded like a fun idea. Sober, it’s essentially a mailing list.”

Lily stirred her oatmeal around idly, “You know, while I was there seeing other harem members interact, I felt like they were lucky. I think I spent the majority of my time thinking people were out to get me, but seeing everyone interact like a weird sort of family, it gave me hope? I guess? I mean…this is the first breakfast we’ve all had together, really. Not just sharing the same room.”

Maddy gave a tentative smile, “Yeah, I guess that’s true. It’s nice to be able to eat together like this.”

Pushing her empty plate forward, Maya gave a wistful smile, “It was always just me and mom, so I’ve never eaten with this many people. It’s different.”

Noemi pushed her chest forward, “Family meals are the best, they’re what binds a family together, more than blood!”

As that thought left her mouth, there was a sound towards the entrance announcing another member’s arrival, and everyone turned to see Mira leaning up against the doorway. Her posture made it clear she had been trying to be as unnoticeable as possible, trying to sneak in and avoid anyone’s attention.

For a moment, it was like time stood still, the tension palpable in the air as everyone’s minds were drawn back to the confrontation that had occurred yesterday. How angry Caleb had been, Mira’s shameful defense, the awkwardness as everyone separated. It all came flooding back. Everyone turned to Eliza, worried about her reaction. But if they had expected a shrinking violet, backed against her chair, they would be wrong.

Instead, the blonde had her eyes locked on Mira and was smirking, “Well, come on then, if you’re going to eat, then you better move inside instead of scurrying around like a rat.”

Mira glanced around the room as if silently asking for permission, but at Eliza’s interjection just gave a nod and murmured a quiet, “Sorry.” Before darting in and hurrying past the table to the buffet. After she grabbed her food, she sat at her far corner table as normal, which had never felt so far away as it did right now.

Eliza looked at the rest of the table, “Guys, cmon, are we really going to let the mood die every time this comes up. We can acknowledge she’s a piece of shit without it ruining our day.”

The response to that was mixed; there was truth in what she was saying, but Caleb could hear the edge surrounding Eliza’s words, it almost felt like they were at gunpoint being told, “be cool or else.”

Stella glanced around the table, “Well, I’m not gonna let it ruin my day. In fact, I’m going to go get ready because Mr. Master- you and I have a date and I am going to put you through your paces, so you better be ready for a day on the town.” Stella pushed away from the table and gave everyone a wave, “You all enjoy your bar, and remember, drink responsibly unless it would be fun not to!”

The imp then darted out of the room, but only after providing enough levity that conversation was able to resume amongst the group. Trying to ignore the shadow that plagued them in the corner of the room.