With two cats in the yard

Dawn was a very meticulous, almost mercenary person. She was the kind of woman who tried to put aside her feelings and make the best decision that logic dictated when **** into a difficult position.

Which was why, when Dakota presented this offer to her and disappeared, leaving her with a bounty poster in her hand, her brain froze for a moment as she tried to process the possibilities in front of her.

Was she really going to proceed with this? Was she going to make such a risky choice, and take on a random temporary transformation for the date- let alone three of them?

Paralyzed with indecision, she suddenly saw the image of herself in her mind. The version of herself she’d created in the previous challenge, the airheaded cat bimbo blonde with glazed-over eyes and a listless giggle.

A sick feeling surged through her and made she shudder as she imagined turning into something like that herself.

“Dawn, are you okay?”

And then it was all better. A comforting hand landed on her shoulder, and all her doubts and apprehensions evaporated in an instant. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she raised her head, looking up at Nick. Her eyes watered and a small smile touched her face.

“Nick? I… sorry, I was just thinking of something else,” she said, wiping her eyes and shaking her head. “This bounty, it’s really something, huh?”

“If you take it, and make it through the date, you’ll have more money than Rose,” Nick pointed out.

Dawn barked out a laugh. “Wouldn’t that be something!? She’d blow a gasket, I bet,” she murmured. The paper crumpled in her fingers. Why couldn’t the decision be easier to make?

Why were her hands shaking?

It should be easy to throw this away and not make the choice. But can I really afford not to? Just a couple days ago, Dawn was almost completely broke. The last bounty she’d taken had gotten her a massive amount of BP, and now she could get even more, more money than she knew what to do with. If she had Rose’s transformation, her hair would touch the ground by the end of this.

And yet, she still hesitated.

Octavia’s face flashed before her eyes, and again she recalled the conversation she’d had with the elegant butler.

Dawn swallowed and turned to Nick.

“…What do you think I should do?” She asked.

Nick was surprised to hear that question.

“Huh?” He asked.

Dawn took a step closer to him, gazing up into his eyes. Their proximity really highlighted the difference in their heights.

“…I’m a genius,” she said bluntly. It was such a departure from the conversation that Nick didn’t know what to say at first.

“Uh…”

“I’m a genius,” she repeated, adjusting her glasses. “But I don’t know what the correct answer is. I always… I always want to find the correct answer. But I can’t right now. My brain isn’t working. So please, um…”

She bit her lip.

“Please tell me what you think I should do,” she requested. “I think this is one of those times, I should take a step back, and just… just trust you.”

Dawn gazed up into his eyes. “Would that be okay? Nick?”

“Are you sure?” He asked. He wasn’t sure he could deal with the burden weighing on him right now. She was asking him to… what, exactly?

Make the choice for her?

There were so many things he found wrong with that idea, he couldn’t even begin to think what the right course of action was here.

And he wasn’t sure he could deal with the burden of what would happen. What if he had her take the bounty, and she ended up getting a terrible transformation? It could ruin their whole date. The one positive, at least, was that it wouldn’t be permanent.

“To be clear.”

Dawn interrupted his train of thought and brought him back down to reality. He looked at her alarmingly and saw the fierce gleam in her eyes.

“I’m not the kind of woman who takes half-measures,” she said, holding up the bounty poster. “If I’m going to take this bounty, I’m not going to just buy one transformation. I’m going to go for all three. To maximize my investment, even though it maximizes my risk.”

Nick blinked. “I thought you said that you don’t gamble?” He questioned.

Dawn shook her head, sending her ponytail bouncing. “It’s not gambling. It’s investing,” she corrected him.

“…Are you kidding?”

Dawn tilted her head to the side. The look of confusion on her face spoke volumes.

Nick sighed. “How can you be so smart, and yet- …Never mind.” He shook his head and rubbed his temples in frustration. “Dawn, do you really want to put this on me?” He asked. “I’m not sure if we should…”

“I trust you, Nick,” she said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing. “I wouldn’t be going out with you like this if I didn’t. That… that’s part of being in a committed relationship, you know? Trusting the other person with everything. That’s what I want. That’s what… I want our relationship to be like. Okay? Nick?”

Nick swallowed and nodded. The look in her eye… she was really laying it on thick for him.

But what could he do?

“…Okay,” he said, coming to a decision. “If that’s what you want, then I’ll go with my gut, okay?”

Dawn gulped and nodded. Her tail was stiff.

“…And my gut says that Dakota is messing with you,” he finished.

Dawn’s ears folded and her tail drooped. “…Yeah, you’re probably right,” she admitted. “It would be a bad choice to take this transformation, huh?”

Nick shook his head, surprised. “Huh? No, that’s not what I meant,” he replied, not sure how Dawn could have come to that conclusion. She was a little more caught up in this than he’d thought, apparently. Her intelligence should have figured it out faster than he had. “Dakota wouldn’t make the transformations that bad,” he clarified.

Dawn blinked for a moment, and then realization dawned across her face. “Oh, uh… yeah, you’re right,” she stammered. “If Dakota were to give me some bad transformations, then people would lose trust in her, and these random bounties. She would be more inclined to incentivize me and the other girls with a carrot instead of a stick. So we should take the bounties, right? I’m so stupid, I should have figured that out… sorry, just… I’m dealing with a lot of stress right now.”

“Dawn…” Nick reached out and rubbed her shoulder gently to console her. “What’s wrong? You’ve been really weird these last few days. When I’ve seen you, anyway!”

A long sigh escaped Dawn’s lips. “It’s… it’s complicated,” she groaned, shaking her head. She looked down the hall at her room. “It’s because of the Luxury Suite.”

Nick blinked. “The Luxury Suite?”

Dawn raised her eyebrow. “You didn’t know? Nobody told you? …I guess you have been pretty busy, huh? Well, long story short, the Luxury Suite? It brings out the inner desires of the people who stay in it, in excess. By magnifying some aspect of their personality. For Morgana, it’s been making her bolder and more courageous, and for me, well… it’s making me want to sleep in. A lot.”

Nick wasn’t sure he understood how that could be. “Wait, sleeping in is an aspect of your personality?” He questioned.

She shook her head and laughed incredulously. “No, it’s… my laziness. My desire to take it easy and relax. That’s what the Luxury Suite is bringing out in me,” she explained.

Nick was surprised to hear that. “I-I can’t imagine you being lazy,” he replied, shaking his head in confusion. “Are you sure about that?”

She nodded. “Believe me, I feel it. But that’s neither here nor there. I’m here now, right? And I’m not being lazy!”

As the words left her lips, she gasped in surprise. “…Wait, that’s exactly what’s happening now!” She exclaimed.

Nick was confused again. “Uh… wait, back up a sec, what are you talking about?”

“By asking you to take responsibility and make a decision, then that’s just me being lazy!” She shook her head and brought up a screen. “I need to make a decision for myself.”

“Wait, Dawn, don’t you think you’re being a little impulsive about this?” Nick asked worriedly. It was one thing if she wanted to take the bounty in order to spice up the date on her own, but right now it felt like she was making a decision on impulse.

That was a problem in his eyes.

But she was determined.

“I know what I’m doing,” she said, looking up at him, her finger hovering over the screen. “You might think that I’m just going wild, and not thinking this through. But I want to show you, I can do this. I want to make the date happen, and go well. …And get some money, too.”

She smiled slyly, and looking at her Nick couldn’t honestly object to her decision after that.

“…Okay,” he relented, taking a wary step back and nodding in assent to Dawn’s decision.

She typed some things on the screen, and her BP took a quick hit. For a moment, she was inclined to do the smart thing, and purchase the transformations one at a time in order to hedge her bets, but she doubted Dakota would let her go through with that.

No, this was definitely an “all or nothing” kind of situation, and they both knew it.

So she went for “all” instead.

Dawn: 5500 BP – 4500 BP = 1000 BP

As soon as the purchases were made, a sigh of relief escaped Dawn’s lips, like a massive burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She slumped her shoulders and her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at Nick and waited for her transformations to sink in.

Marking Her Scent: Cats rub up against their owners not just because they’re happy and friendly, but also in order to mark them with their scent. As a cat girl, Dawn will now feel inclined to do the same. She’ll rub her head (and other parts of her body) against the master whenever she’s in a good mood, in order to stake her territory and show him how much she likes him. It’s encouraged to pat her head in response! (Temporary)

The first one didn’t seem so bad. Dawn looked around, feeling a bit of a haze falling over her body. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Nick, then smiled. “Well, that one wasn’t so bad,” she said hopefully.

Nick winced. He knew she was tempting fate the second the words left her lips, and the look of alarm in her eyes showed she realized it too. And then, the second transformation sank in.

Like No One Ever Was: Dawn’s competitive streak will flare up now more than ever! She is determined to work harder, be better, and be the best in the master’s eyes. If she feels like she isn’t living up to his expectations in comparison to another girl, then she will do whatever she can to prove herself, and draw his attention to her. Whenever she feels like she’s the star of the show, she’ll feel a warm, fluttery feeling in her chest and get a surge of horniness. (Temporary)

A look of alarm flashed across Dawn’s face as what she just read sank in. She and Nick shared a look. This second one… it wasn’t like the first. The first transformation she received, that one could be just a harmless bit of fun. Nothing to worry about at all, and maybe they could even get some sexy fun out of it.

But this one?

“It… maybe it won’t be so bad,” Dawn said, trying to play the transformation off. “I mean, from how it’s worded, it won’t trigger unless I’m around another girl, right? And we’re going to be alone on our date today, so it’s not going to be an issue.”

Nick wasn’t so sure. After all, while they had the day to themselves, when they returned to the Master’s Suite, Mary and Holly would be present. If Dawn felt the urge to compete with them…

“Fucking Dakota,” Dawn muttered under her breath. It was one of the rare times she ever cursed. “What next, is she going to give me a physical transformation or something?” She was almost hoping for that over another mental one. Maybe Dakota would even give her bigger boobs, or an adult figure like she’d given her other self. She might even accept a slight bit of bimbofication if that happened, though she wouldn’t say that out loud.

She bit her lip as she started to glow a third time, and she felt a tugging inside her heart as the transformation rolled over her.

Then the tugging got even stronger, like she was being pulled apart and split in half. “Uwagh!” She groaned, clutching her chest as she was ripped into pieces by the transformation.

Then the light faded… and to Nick’s shock, two Dawns stood in front of him.

Pair Adoption: Anyone who’s ever raised kittens knows that it’s better to adopt two kittens instead of just one. A pair of kittens are less likely to get bored and get into trouble as they won’t be bored, and can keep each other entertained. Let’s test that theory out with cat girls! Dawn will be split into two cat girls, but even when split in half and behaving differently, they are both really Dawn. (Temporary)

“What!?” Both Dawns shouted at the same time, recoiling in shock as they looked at each other. It was like staring into a mirror, something both versions of her remembered vividly from the previous challenge.

Nick, who had also played unwitting witness to Dawn’s actions in that challenge, was just as shocked.

“Dawn? Wait… there’s two of you?”

“No!” The Dawn on the right shook her head firmly. “There’s not two of us, not… not really! I’m still me! …I think.”

“Whoa!” The Dawn on the left’s eyes widened as things settled, and she looked around. “There’s two of me? That doesn’t make any sense! I still feel like me, after all!”

Nick could understand some slight differences in their behavior. But looking at them like this, they really did seem like the same person.

“We- we need to figure this out,” he said, running his hands through his hair in exasperation. “Before you get overwhelmed.”

“Agreed,” right Dawn nodded.

“Yup,” left Dawn nodded as well.

The two looked at each other, making awkward expressions as they adjusted their body language. Their perceptive eyes picked up that they were even moving in unison.

Nick could tell they weren’t getting anywhere. “Okay, how about this?” He asked. “We need to think about names for the two of you.”

“But I’m Dawn,” they both replied in unison. “Just call me that.”

Yep. About what he expected.

Nick looked back and forth between the two Dawns again. Even though they looked almost identical, their body language was slightly different, and the atmosphere around the two of them was slightly different as well.

The one on the right seemed a little sharper, more prickly. Like she was tense, and on guard, like she wasn’t sure. It was something he was used to from Dawn.

The one on the left, conversely, seemed to be handling this a little better. She was a little more relaxed, and her eyes were softer. Again, like the Dawn he knew.

“We have the same brain,” the Dawn on the right said. “So any nickname we come up with, would be the same.”

“Good point,” the Dawn on the left nodded. “I was just about to say that!”

Right Dawn raised her eyebrow. “…But you didn’t,” she pointed out.

Left Dawn pouted. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You’re me, so you know what that’s supposed to mean,” Right Dawn replied snootily, crossing her arms in return.

A chill ran down Nick’s spine as he remembered the second of her three transformations.

“Wait, D-Dawn… Dawns,” he stammered, holding up his hands.

They both looked at him. “What?”

“Your transformation, the Like No One Ever Was one, I think… I think it triggers off of you. Err, I mean, you’re both triggering each other, or… oh, you get what I mean!”

Both girls stared blankly at him. But it was the Dawn on the right who figured it out first, a hair faster than her counterpart.

“Wait… we’re going to be competing with each other!?” She gasped.

The left Dawn scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, like there’s any competition!”

She skipped over to Nick and pulled his arm into her embrace, hugging him to her modest chest. “Nick obviously likes me more.”

“What!?” Her more composed counterpart very quickly was not, as anger surged across her face. Her eyebrows furrowed and her ears flared in frustration. “Let go of him! You can’t just-!”

She looked incredulously up at Nick. “Right in front of me?!”

Nick didn’t know what to say. “B-but… she’s you, too,” he pointed out.

The anger drained from that Dawn’s face, and her jaw dropped. “Uh… well, when you put it like that, uh…”

She scratched her head sheepishly. Her hands were trembling and she looked enviously at the cuddling Dawn, rubbing her cheek happily on Nick’s shoulder.

“I-I could do that, too!” She pouted.

The Dawn cuddling Nick stuck her tongue out at her flustered counterpart, showing exactly what she thought of that.

But if she thought that would be enough to discourage her other half, then she clearly didn’t know herself all that well.

Or maybe she did.

“I can!” The irritated Dawn exclaimed. She rushed over to Nick and practically leapt atop him, pulling his other arm into her clutches. She squeezed it just as hard as her other self, and before Nick could even blink, he found himself sandwiched between two competitive cat girls.

Normally, that was a situation that people would find envious. But feeling the tension pumping out between the two of them as they rubbed up against him and each tried to pull him closer to her, he found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place.

He had a hard enough time juggling his dating life with multiple women- now he had to go on a date with the same woman in multiple bodies?!

I hope this works out, because right now it looks like Dawn really failed her gamble! He thought, biting his lip. Dakota! What the heck?! I thought you were supposed to be going easy!

His words from before sounded like hollow platitudes now. So much for Dakota not wanting to discourage future bounties and temporary transformation purchases, this was a real doozy. Dakota had decided to prioritize sexiness, and ratings, after all.

Somewhere, he knew she was cackling at him.