Interlude – A Roaming Raccoon’s Reasonable Relationships [Part Four]

Interlude – A Roaming Raccoon’s Reasonable Relationships [Part Four]

Rac woke up with a start to a buzz in her head. No, not her head. Her aug’s alarm was ringing, which could only mean one thing. She sat up, one leg dropping off the side of her bed to swing there while she stifled a yawn and fumbled through the menu on her augs.

The alarm wasn’t one she’d set, but it was one she’d given permission for. Specifically to Jerusalem who had better, in Rac’s humble and currently violent opinion, have a good explanation for why he’d set it off.

The moment she shut the alarm off, she saw the team chat blinking. A twitch of her eyes and it opened up.

Spider: Wakey wakey~
Spider: Got a lead.
Spider: Need you all at the coffee place.
PrettyBoy: I’ll be there in thirty.
TheGorilla: I hate you.
TheGorilla: See you in 45? Anyone need a ride?

Rac groaned. She had to reply, and then get ready and going. She didn’t believe in pyjamas, but she’d rather not have her friends smell her, so she at least needed to change out of her crusty old shirt.

GutterBaby: I’d like a ride. Can you pick me up on the rooftop?

Coco would know where that was. Rac just needed to be there. She jumped out of bed, flung off her shirt, then grabbed a new one from the pile next to the door. It was one of those shirts that Lucy made, this one had Cat’s logo on it, but there were long, electrified wires sticking out of it and the words Wired to Whisker above it and then a line of bottom text that read Ten Million Wands Recharged: Time for Hysteria.

Rac had no idea what that meant, but assumed it was some obscure sexual thing that Lucy was into. That woman was, in Rac’s opinion, a deviant.

She found some pants she’d only worn twice, then shrugged into her favourite jacket. It didn’t have many holes in it yet. She was, of course, wearing armour.

Specifically the under-armoured suits that Cat had gotten a catalogue for. They were pretty expensive, material-wise, but Rac had been quick to get one, and slow to take it off. It wicked sweat away as if she was standing in front of an industrial fan and yet was warm and cozy. She hadn’t tested being shot yet, and wasn’t planning on it, but it was supposed to be resistant to small-arms fire.

The last thing she did was pick up her gun before tossing it onto her back, then she was out of the door and trying to make her way out of the house.

She didn’t make it.

“Rac!” Lucy said. The woman was all smiles as she took Rac in. “Going to work?”

“Yeah,” Rac said.

“That’s nice. Did you get enough sleep?

“Uh? Probably, yeah,” Rac said.

Lucy shook her head. “Give me a second,” she demanded, and Rac paused, not really daring to deny Lucy to her face. In the meantime though, she opened up an auto-taxi app on her augs. It would cost her a few thousand credits for a two minute ride, but it was much faster than taking the elevator down, then walking to the nearest transit point.

She didn’t have to wait long before Lucy returned. “Here,” Lucy said as she shoved a grocery bag into Rac’s hands. “You need to eat more. You’ll never grow big if you’re malnourished.” Lucy crossed her arms and made a point of bouncing her chest up.

“I don’t need that,” Rac said.

Lucy snorted. “More men have died for these than to guns, Rac. And they even work on some girls.” Lucy gave her a wink. “Have fun, alright?”

“Yeah, alright,” Rac said before she left.

She scrunched the bag up to her side, then darted out of the front, ignoring the kittens as she went. Rac didn’t dislike the kittens, but… well, they didn’t feel mature? Some were her age, and all they really did was lounge around and waste the day away. They’d had rough lives too, but now that they had everything they were just… enjoying it.

It kind of disturbed Rac. They weren’t planning ahead. They weren’t assuming that the worst would happen. They had a safe home, for now, so why not use it to get better, make contacts, get rich independently, or at least earn a fair chunk of credits for themselves if shit went down.

She slipped outside, then wished that she’d brought a hat. Actually, a helmet would be nice. There were a few skintight helmets in that catalogue Cat had gotten, but when she wore one to meet her friends, they’d laughed at her.

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Well, Garter had. That was enough.

Rac glanced to the side and discovered Cat staring at the leg of her mech in incomprehension. The samurai’s eyes darted to Rac, back, then returned to pin Rac on the spot. “Oh, hey,” she said. “You got a minute?”

“Um, sure?” Rac said.