ZEN - Part Two [COMPLETED] [#WATTYS2017]

Surprising, Yet Not

Chapter 92 - Surprising, Yet Not

"Phew! Okay, I'm stuffed." Zen pushes herself away from the edge of the restaurant's table, then rises up to her feet and places a pair of soft kisses against her still-chewing wife's lips. "Back in a couple hours, then we'll go to Kileah fer th' afternoon."

"Mm. Love you."

"Love you, too. Jess, Mish." The short Cat-woman whips out her enchanted hand-mirror and calls up an image of the front lobby of Kuro and Shiro in Jozejemi but finds a half-dozen customers lingering there, so she shifts the view to the foyer of their other hotel. "There we go."

In less than two seconds, her position in the world changes, and she just casually waives to the stunned Matron Turshall behind the counter before striding into the dining-hall.

As per the usual, there was barely a seat left free, and dozens of Sisterhood girls were bouncing back and forth from the tables to the kitchens, delivering food and relaying orders.

Since she couldn't just cancel these idiot-customers' meals, Zen simply whirls back around and almost runs face-first into a cute Fox. "Ghah."

"Hello, Shadowcat."

"Sky. What're you doin'?"

"I was gonna get somethin' t' eat."

"Not now, you aren't."

"I'm not?"

"Nope. Yer gonna wait for a bit."

"'Kay."

"In the mean-time, I need you to gather all of our Sisters who aren't workin' the lunch set, here and the other place, an' bring 'em to the training-grounds."

"What for?"

The small Scout averts her gaze in order to keep things clandestine. "I'll explain when we get out there."

"Alright. Kisses."

Zen frowns as the cute Fox-kin leans over to steal a quartet of soft kisses before darting away with her super-fluffy tail trailing behind. Damned teen had tried to slip her some tongue.

With a shrug, the short Cat-woman quits the hotel, and somewhat hurries over to the training-dome about a kilometre from the edge of the city.

Only ten minutes later, a good thirty girls begin filing in to the training-area, and quickly array themselves into a wide arc around her. "This everyone? Alright, when we're done here, you'll switch places with those who're workin', and they'll get the same treatment."

Lisa, the dirty-blonde and perpetually-tanned girl from Shitestad, raises her hand before asking a question. "What's this about?"

"This... isn't a good situation to be in." Zen clasps her hands behind her lower-back while panning her gaze across the faces around her. "You all know my back-story. Over five years ago, my original party was slaughtered, and I spent my following days attempting to track down my brother, whom I believed was the murderer. But after finding that ugly bastard, it became clear that the perpitraitor was a highly-skilled assassin that Jo, Jess, Mish an' I encountered in Zeitstad. This man, who was easily a match for myself, turns out to be the leader of a secretive sect inside the Church, and he commands dozens of others like himself."

The small Scout allows for a few moments of reflection before continuing. "This morning, in the capitol, we allowed ourselves to walk into a trap set by one of his branches. After slaughtering them, we came across some information that put things into perspective. This group we're facing off against is called the Order of the Black Rose... and judging by the looks on some of my Kin's faces, it seems their reputation preceeds them. Violet. What've you heard?"