She entered with Ariel in one of her arms, her coat and anchorbows in the other, crossing over to their bed, setting Ariel down onto it. Carmela tilted her head to the side, circling the bed and removing Ariel's glasses for her, placing them on a nearby nightstand.
The large girl huffed, slowly taking layers off her body as she got ready for bed, shutting off lights and tech that may have been on beforehand.
Ariel groaned, tossing in her sleep, catching Carmela's attention, immediately putting her on alert, ready to hide away in her own home before watching the small woman before her unfasten her tie with bleary eyes, and pop open her dress shirt, and pants, slowly sliding the pants off her legs and throwing them to the side, quickly stuffing her face into a pillow.
Carmela sighed through her nose, observing Ariel in this half-exposed state as she quickly drifted back to sleep, before sinking into the bed right next to her, turning around so Ariel could only face the woman's back.
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I woke up, still groggy, my body feeling as if a heavy weight had been put onto it as I peeled myself up from the cushioned surface below, groaning loudly and pressing my back up against a wall the bed was pressed against.
I sighed, running a hand along my face, blinking away yesterday's exhaustion before realizing... This isn't my home. My heart raced, and I instantly started panicking, looking around frantically for my things before noticing my barely clothed state, dress pants falling to the side, and my collar popped open to expose my chest.
Oh god! Please don't tell me... I assumed the worst as I blindly slapped my hand against the nightstand, attempting to find my glasses. After a couple of attempts, my fingers wrapped around the frames, settling them back onto the bridge of my nose, vision clearing.
I checked for anything out of place on my own body, but couldn't find anything amiss.
I stood up, using the nightstand to support me as I scanned the floor-- Anchorbows, check. Pants coat... everything seems to be in order. I sighed, running a hand across my face, mumbling, "I hope I didn't do anything... especially--" I shivered at the thought before something massive entered my periphery.
I grabbed my weapons in this exposed state, keeping them swaddled in cloth, but ready to flip them straight into my hands at a moment's notice.
Dark fur and dark skin met my gaze, golden eyes alight amidst the shadow they cast as the sun beat down onto their back behind them. Easily 2 meters tall, long curly black hair rolling down their back, two braids with golden adornments falling down their chest, two pendulous ears on the side of their head, tusks jutting out from their lower jaw, and horns curling around both sides of their skull, sporting the nose of a bovine with fur that ran up along to their hairline.
They stood there momentarily, tail flicking about behind them. They were covered in muscle. If we were to fight, there'd be no way for me to win from just the size difference alone. "W-Who are you?"
They stood there quietly observing me. After a moment passed, they approached, one step at a time, as they proceeded to cover their face with a single hand, holding out the other.
"N-No... sorry... y-you don't have to do that."
She dropped her hand, now only a single meter away from me, looming.
"A-Are you... a part of our team? The Goat Zodiac?"
She nodded.
"C-Can you talk?"
She shook her head.
"What's your name?"
She spelled out the name, "Carmela."
If she were normal, she'd be an appropriate distance away from me, but due to her size, a meter felt like inches, and I couldn't help but feel even more insecure about my height as I had to fully bend my back to look up at her, using the nightstand as a support. Damnit... I'm too exposed... I lamented mentally, embarrassed by myself. "Ariel..." She's definitely the girl who's been keeping their face hidden for a couple of days now.
Her eyes scanned... my face, my body, I have no idea, but she turned away, crossing over to the other end of the room. She looked to have just gotten out of the shower, fur wet and matted, wearing what could only be described as pajamas. I suppose we have a day off after yesterday, don't we?
Before I re-buttoned my shirt, she signed to me, "You can use my shower."
Don't mind if I do, I suppose. Just as I was about to step in with the clothes I wore last night, she stopped me with a hand. I didn't even notice her approach.
"Shirt." She handed me a shirt much too large for me, but it was fresh clothing. No reason to reject her offer, right?
"T-Thanks." I've never been more flustered in my life. This girl seemed so nice, and I'm here, half-exposed, seemingly terrified over characteristics that she can't even control, and now I'm about to wear another woman's shirt for the first time in a situation that's more like charity than any that I would actually have wished for for these exact circumstances to happen.
Washing away the guilt, I walked back outside the room, and just as I had expected, the shirt barely fit, my sports bra somewhat exposed as one side of the collar slid down my shoulder. Whatever, it's something. I sighed.
"Thanks, Carmela. I'm... sorry to have bothered you like this. Thanks for taking care of me last night, even though we were essentially strangers to each other." And I gave a small nod to her.
Carmela simply responded with a thumbs up.
Signing back and talking, "Can you read lips? Is that the way you use sign language?"
She shook her head, then pointed to her neck, attempting to vocalize words but failing and signing to me, "When I became like this, I became unable to speak."
"Became?"
She shook her head.
"No problem..." I sighed, scanning her kitchen. "If... you don't mind... do you have anything that I can use? Anything to make food with?"
Carmela nodded, "What for?"
"I want to... It's a thank-you gift, I suppose? I think I owe you for helping me, so I might as well make something in return, no?"
She looked as if she was about to shake her head, but stopped, "If you wish."
"No problem, I'll make the perfect meal for you then." I slipped straight into the kitchen before continuing. "Don't want to be rude by asking this, but how much do you weigh?"
Carmela took a moment to consider her answer. "Nearly 400lbs."
I almost stumbled over myself, "W-Well... that isn't too unsurprising, I suppose..." I cleared my throat. "How do you even carry that much weight around and survive?"
"Lots of calories-- mostly muscle."
I can definitely tell. Carmela had sat down, and she barely fit in one of her own chairs. In that time, I placed some fatty steaks onto a cutting board, grabbed some rosemary and thyme-- butter, and put on some light seasoning on the steaks before throwing the butter into the pan first. Once it melted, I threw the steaks in next, following that with the herbs themselves.
First time that I've managed to get cooking here, and it's for a massive, beast of a woman. I need to focus. "On a lesser scale..." I spoke as I worked, "I'm... also a mutant."
I could see in my periphery as Carmela's ears perked up in curiosity, though her face remained virtually expressionless.
"My father experimented on me for most of my life. He did it until he said I was... in his words, 'perfected'. To be honest... I didn't hate what he did to me. It has its own benefits. I'm able to breathe underwater now, y'know?"
Carmela nodded, taking in the information.
"Your height is the scariest thing about you, by the way... you're..." I shouldn't say that. "Since you're in Mercury now, it wouldn't be too much trouble to show your appearance more."
Carmela slowly looked away, ears and eyes twitching as she absorbed what I said. I wasn't sure if it was insensitive at the time, but I figured I might as well say my thoughts aloud here since I believed that she didn't look too bad. She would be a terrifying opponent, that's for sure. Could be good to ward off the more nefarious we might come across.
I looked at her, pausing from my cooking to see her response, and she proceeded to sign, "I cannot deny that there are benefits to my form. But I believe that prejudice overtakes practicality."
"Isn't it hot wearing that hood all the time?" My eyes gesture to the hair on her body.
"Yes, but... things are never so simple. I'm not sure I'll remove my mask anytime soon. I'm not sure that the team would take it as well as you have."
"You'll be fine. I'm sure Alex and Nora would help manage the crowd for you."
"And then there are those in other Spheres. I believe you underestimate the hate people hold." She looked frustrated at me.
I averted my gaze. I felt as if I'd done something wrong, but I couldn't fully fathom what just yet as I continued cooking. "Sorry. If I've offended you... I..."
I glanced to see a thumbs-up from Carmela, followed by a shrug.
A began pre-heating the oven for the steaks, basting them repeatedly with a metal spoon before flipping them once more. I wiped some sweat from my brow, periodically glancing at Carmela.
After some time, I had made both of us some steak and eggs, making Carmela here an additional steak for good measure, cutting between the two of them like stacked pancakes. "Tell me if it's good or not." I cut into my own, looking at a patch of pink on the inside, red juice pouring out. I think I got a perfect medium rare.
Carmela didn't even need to speak, as her eyes did the talking as she scarfed down pieces of the meat readily, biting down carefully on each bite. She had a sort of regal air when she ate, which surprised me given her more gruff appearance.
Just as I left, Carmela stayed by the door, attempting to obscure herself just in case anybody passed. "Okay, thank you for everything, by the way."
She nodded, and I was on my way, stepping down from her patio.
"No fuckin' way!" The good moment had been suddenly interrupted by an ear-piercing voice coming from none other than the passing by Chris. Carmela slinked further into the shadows in an attempt to hide herself, but it was clear Chris clocked who it was. "Yo! Glasses, did you really tap into that giant pack!?"
"God, Chris, could you not? We didn't do anything, she just helped me."
"Right~..." She snickered, "Even better, she's a whole mutant, one of the animalia variety? You're getting bold, Glasses~! More bold than you've already been." She broke into laughter.
"Chris..."
She lifted her sleeve. "Guess we're a trifecta, huh? Not including that 'Red Boy'." With a clearer look, the tattoos looked more like a natural birthmark rather than actual tattoos. It wasn't made from ink. She activated her ability, and the marks lit up. "I'm a mutant too. I normally don't activate these things cause it'd give it a way, but it enhances my abilities by a hell of a lot."
"You're a mutant..."
"You are too, right?"
"W-How!?"
Chris tapped the nape of her neck. "I'm good at catchin' shit. You had a scales on your neck at some point." She snickered, "Maybe grow longer hair if you wanna be more subtle, Glasses."
Carmela revealed herself a bit more, resting at the doorframe, keeping an eye on Chris.
Chris herself just let out an airy chuckle before waving us off, leaving.
I put a hand on my head, sighing. "I guess we'll hope he doesn't say anything..."
Carmela signed to me, "I don't think she will."
"Me neither, but you never know." I turned back fully to face Carmela, giving her a bow. "Thank you for letting me stay at your place for the night. I'm sorry to have intruded on your personal space as I have."
She dismissed the apology, and I gave her a respectful nod as I walked back home.
Wait... Chris saw me wearing only her shirt... I forgot to change...