Humming and moving through the shop with some quick movements, I feel much better handling tables than I used to.

  Not to say I like people, I still hate putting on an act to be “perfect”. How anyone would choose this as a career besides necessity is beyond me. But… I do find it easier now.

  But as I finish up bussing and cleaning tables for the day, just on Lumi to prepare for tomorrow, I plop onto the couch with a long sigh. “Too tired…”

  Lumi chuckles, patting my head and earning tired purrs from me. “You did good. Just… too much socializing?”

  “Mhm… yeah… I can do a lot of things, but people stress me out…”

  Giggling, she sits next to me and pulls my head onto her lap. “So strong and smart with so much, but somehow, people are your weakness. It’s cute.”

  Pouting and relaxing into her soft thighs, I sigh. “It isn’t that… just overthinking too much… worried about saying the wrong thing and all that… I’d rather worry about not getting shot.”

  Patting me more, she smiles, and I hear the mirth in her voice. “Well, I’d rather not worry about you getting shot. Besides, you’re a great help, doing it alone is miserable.”

  Rolling onto my back to look up at her, I raise an eyebrow. “You’ve done this alone?”

  Looking a bit distant, she nods, the mood dying a bit. “I did it with Mom… but when she died from illness, I lost who should’ve been here with me… it was miserable for a month. I… I almost made some regretful decisions, that time of my life was horrible.”

  Tears start trailing down, my heart sinking at the sight, making me worry.

  “You made it through though… still here, running the shop.” Reaching up, I wipe a tear from her cheek, making her realize she was crying at all. “Yeah… I met Yuna around that time, and she helped my life so much better. I…. I miss her.”

  …nodding, I sigh and look at the spot of the couch she’d usually be sitting, I can see her there in my mind. “So do I… so do I.”

  A knock from the back door makes me sit up with a groan. “Great, more people.”

  “It’s after work hours… I don’t know who that’d be.” Standing and walking towards it, I get up and follow, my claws extending on my right hand. And as we reach the door, hearing another, harder knock, I grab her shoulder and move her behind me. “Hold on, let me get it… just in case.”

  “R-right.” She’s gotten used to me being the protector… I’m glad, it helps make this so much easier.

  ‘No strong smells, no diver to check for implants with a scan, no movement or speaking so not likely a group, probably one or a few people at most. Move first ask later.’

  Opening the door with my tail, I swing it open before lunging out and grabbing the woman by the throat on the other side.

  A choked gasp is heard, matched with struggling against my hand, claws ready to extend and stab her windpipe. Looking about, nobody else is present, just her.

  “Salka! Put her down, she’s safe!”

  Hearing that, I sigh and let her down, Lumi running over to the girl. “Are you okay?”

  Coughing a bit, she nods and looks up at me. “Yeah… fuck… what kind of grip does your new input got, girl?”

  Blushing a bit, she looks away and scratches her cheek. “Ehe… she’s a bit protective.”

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  Standing fully, she offers a hand to me. “Glad to see she’s in good hands, haha~ I’m Andrea, nice to meet you.”

  Nodding, I shake her hand and finally look at her body in detail, satisfied we’re safe. She’s an Orca exotic, with a black and white thick tail, fins up her back, and gills on her neck. Very… unique. And not a common exotic by any means. It’s not even offered at the carvers, that must be special order.

  “Oh, right, I’m Salka. Sorry, long day.”

  Giggling a bit, her voice sounds amazing, she must have mods for it. “It’s fine, did I choose a bad time to visit?”

  Lumi speaks up, leading her inside, which I follow. “No no, it’s fine! Come, I’ll make you some food!” “ooh, I missed your cooking~”

  Sitting down and watching, Lumi is quick to start cooking with a smile. “So how’ve you been, Big Chomp?”

  “Wha- hey! I said not to call me that!”

  Laughing a little, I cock an ear at them. “Big chomp?”

  Sighing, Andrea looks at me with an annoyed look. “I ate a whole pizza one time, so she started calling me that. I was just hungry from a tour!”

  “Not my fault you chose to do it without taking a breath~”

  Raising an eyebrow, I voice my wonder. “Well she’s a singer, yeah? It would make sense she has lung implants to hold her breath for a long time, I bet she could hold it for twenty minutes easily. Right?”

  Both of them stop and stare at me surprised, while I just feel a bit nervous. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

  “...no you were right… just scarily accurate. Are you a fangirl or something?”

  Blushing at the insinuation, I wave my hands in front of me. “What?! No no! I barely even heard of you until Lumi said something, I just… know a lot about implants. It’s interesting.”

  Laughing, she waves a hand in dismissal. “I know I know, I’m kidding. Lumi told me her girlfriend barely knew who I was, and I’m topping the charts, so it doesn’t surprise me. It is pretty impressive how quick you figured that out though.”

  “I’m a… a bit of a nerd with that stuff, heh.”

  Lumi serves us all food with a smile, sitting next to me before her tail wraps around mine. “So what brings you to the area? Doing another concert nearby?”

  “Yup~ finally got a break after the last album dropped, so I figured I’d come visit my favorite kitty cafe~ which, speaking of, you ever find Yuna?”

  Sighing, I shake my head. “Still missing.”

  “Ah… sorry to hear that. Well, if I find anything, I’ll let you know.”

  Smiling a bit, Lumi nods. “Thanks, it means a lot. So what about your next concert, you said it’s near?”

  “Yeah, it’s about ten minutes out. You should come, both of you, I’ll save you some front row seats.”

  “Wait huh? A concert? Sounds like… well a lot of people and noise.” Ears folding down, I can only shudder at the thought of how loud it’d be with cat ears.

  Lumi looks confused, before patting my back in realization. “Don’t worry about it, they sell earbuds for that. Besides, it could be fun, her music is good.”

  “...you think it’d be worth the people?”

  The Orca laughs, nodding. “Think of it like a date between the two of you, I’ll be busy most of the day anyways, so it’ll be you two. And despite what you think, people mind their own business, so it’ll be pretty private, ironically.”

  Sighing, I give it some thought, while the others go back to catching up at seeing me zone out.

  ‘I don’t want to deal with the people… don’t even know what we’d be doing there. And the noises, and smells, gods it’ll suck… But Lumi wants me to…’

  Closing my eyes, I can see Reta sitting next to me, giving me an encouraging smile. “Go ahead and go with them, you need to socialize more. Make her happy.”

  ‘As much as I refuse to listen to random things in my mind anymore… this one time, I will.’ “Fine, I’ll go.”

  “Yes~ you two will have lots of fun! There’s food, games, good drinks, and even karaoke.”

  Flinching at the thought of singing in front of others, I hear Lumi speak happily. “Sounds fun! Sal has a great singing voice too, karaoke would be fun!”

  Sighing, I rub my head. “I don’t, you're exaggerating.”

  Chuckling, Andrea speaks up. “Everyone thinks that at first, even I did. But hey, maybe it is good, who knows? Either way it’ll be fun.”

  Nodding a little, I look away. “Whatever…” eating my food, I feel Lumi’s tail wrap around mine, and I relax a little.

  Even if it might suck in its own right… at least it’s for her. She deserves it.

  ___

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