It took me two years but these eventually turned into ‘An Aura of Chaos’.

“Cheshire Cat”

	I poked at my laptop as I continued ignoring the professor’s psychology lecture. I opened up Roller Coaster Tycoon and started focusing on that. I glanced up as the door at the front of the room was thrown open. A woman that looked as if a preschooler with only a black and purple makers had colored in a werecat. She strutted up to the professor and handed her a paper. She must have just transferred in. I saw the group of monster girls in this class, ‘The Herd,’ as I call them, mumbled nervously to each other. I watched the holastarus, weresheep and large mouse shift nervously while their stoic centaur leader stared at the purple cat. The hakutaku rolled her eyes, “Take a seat and pay attention.”
	The cat scanned the room with a smug look on her face. As her eyes panned over each friend group of humans and/or monsters, they recoiled as if her gaze alone would bring about something terrible. Her eyes stopped, her grin growing even wider as she settled on me, sitting alone. I blinked at the purple cat had vanished. I started to sweat as some deep rooted sense of dread came over me. I saw eyes were on me and I started to sweat. I felt a large paw like hand grab my shoulders shaking me, “BOO!” a voice shrieked into my ear.
	“AH!” I shouted as my heart skipped a beat. I turned around to see the purple cat behind me, laughing loudly.
	“Ms. Sophia,” The professor sighed, “When you are done tormenting poor Anon, could I please continue my lecture uninterrupted?”
	The purple cat nodded and materialized in the seat next to me. She kept chuckling like a lunatic as the professor continued her lecture. I ignored her and went back to my computer with a scowl on my fave. The purple cat gently grabbed my shoulder and shook me a little bit, “Oh, come on! Your reaction was really funny!” She chuckled. I shook my head as I started to build a roller coaster. I glanced back at her, she was wearing a short purple and black checkerboard patterned dress with a black bow with a brass bell on her neck. Her shoulder down and knee down were covered by soft looking purple fur. Her short purple and black hair had a large bow on the back of her head. Her ears twitched as she started to relax. Unlike most other monster girls with paw-like hands and feet, she actually wore shoes, black heels with purple bows on them, “Sophia,” She held out a hand for me to shake. I inspected her fur covered hand carefully, “Oh, come on. I have SOME mercy in my body.”
	I gingerly put my hand in her as her wide grinning face stared at me, “Anon,” I shook her hand. Her fur was surprisingly soft.
	“What’s that?” She pointed at my computer.
	“Its just an old Dell laptop.”
	“Not the computer, dummy! Your game!”
	“Roller Coaster Tycoon. Ancient game but a lot of fun,” I was happy to share my favorite game with someone. She silently watched me build roller coasters for a while.
After another thirty minutes of lecturing, “Okay, class!” The somewhat exasperated hakutaku clapped her hands once to get everyone's attention, “Break into pairs and give interviewing a try!”
	The purple cat grabbed my shoulder, “Dibs!” I looked at the apologetic looks of the rest of the class and shrugged. I turned back to the cat after closing down my laptop, “Name?” She asked first.
	“Anon,” I folded my arms and crossed my legs.
	“Ah, closed posture, eh?” A frown flashed across her face for a moment before a small grin returned, “Anyways, tell me about your home life.”
	“You want to start with such a personal question?” I asked, frowning.
	“S-sorry,” She chuckled, “What’s your major and minor?”
	“Better. Business major with a psych minor.”
	“Ooooh, sounds tough. Now do you wanna talk about yourself?” She seemed genuinely interested in me.
	“What do you wanna know, purple cat?” I opened up my posture, inviting more questions.
	Me calling her that made her chuckle, “Can I know about your home life?”
	“Fine. I grew up in an entirely human household, mom, dad and two younger sisters. I went to human only schools until college. I’m in my third year of this hell,” She nodded as I spoke, taking in every word I uttered.
	“So, you don’t have much experience with monster girls. What’s that funny smell on you-- not funny ‘haha,’ but funny weird?” 
	“Oh, this,” I rolled up my sleeve and showed her the mana ward on my wrist, “Parents want me to marry a nice human girl and have human babies,” I sighed, “Makes it kinda hard to make friends.”
	“How about you and me be friends? I just moved into town and it doesn’t bother me much!” Her eyes sparkled at me.
	“A bit casual for an interview,” I scolded jokingly, any anger I felt towards her earlier melting away at her cute smile. All memories of people telling me to stay away from monsters, no matter how cute and innocent they seem, came rushing back to me. I felt awful saying no to her. I hadn’t felt the warmth and joy of friendship in a multitude of years. 
	“Are you alright, Anon?” She put a concerned hand on my arm. All the training and teachings beat into me over the years caused me to yank my arm away instinctively. She looked at me, small grin turning to hurt.
	“I’m sorry, I’m just--” I quickly tried to explain, “I’d like to be friends,” I admitted.
	“Switch interviewers!” The professor called.
	“Your turn,” The purple cat told me, a wide grin returning to her face.
	My mind was still racing at a million miles an hour, “Ah, uh, uhm... What’s your name?”
	“Sophia,” She smiled, opening her posture.
	“If I may, what kind of monster girl are you?” 
	She looked at me, a little confused before realization spread across her face, “You don’t know much about monster girls,” The grin returned to her face, “I am a cheshire cat.”
	“Thank you. What are you majoring in?”
	“Psychology. Not sure on my minor yet.”
	“Anything interesting about your home life?”
	“I was born to a werecat mother and have a werecat sister and a brother, I am the youngest.”
	“Any interesting talents?” I asked, genuinely curious what a teleporting purple cat could come up with.
	“A few! Here!” She held out a deck of cards for me, “Shuffle,” I examined the cards, a regular 52 card deck. I shuffled them, “Can I ask you something?” I nodded, “Have you ever been friends with a monster?”
	“No, like I said, the ward keeps them away. Usually. You’re something of an enigma. I’m not even sure you’re real. Shuffled,” I handed the cards back.
	“I can guarantee you that I’m real. Pick a card!”
	I did as she said, the king of hearts stared back at me, “Okay,” I put the card back in the deck.
	“Now, observe!” She furiously shuffled the deck for a few moments, “What was your card?” 
	“The king of hearts.”
	“I have taken your card,” She drew the top card, “and turned it into the four of clubs!” She laughed as class ended, four of clubs in her hand. I sat in shock before laughing as well at her ridiculous game. I stopped laughing and looked at her smug grin, “I’ll see ya later, Anon. Thanks for being such a wonderful audience,” She stood, bowed and disappeared into thin air. I got my things together and headed out, my spirits a little higher.

	I got back to my dorm, my thoughts clouded by that mischievous grin. I sat at my tiny desk as I worked on my homework. I wanted to see Sophia again. Really badly. I gently sat my pen aside as I sighed in frustration. I could not focus on my work. I swung around in my chair and nearly had a heart attack. A smug smile gleamed at me in the darkness of the room, “Sophia?” I called as I reached for the lamp. I turned a lamp on to see nothing illuminated by the light. I frowned, deciding that I must have been thinking things. I went back to my laptop only to see it was gone. I jumped up, more confused now.
	I turned to see Sophia sitting on my bed, my computer on her lap, “Anon, is something wrong?” She asked smugly with a grin plastered across her face.
	“N-no, you startled me, is all,” I sighed as I sat back down, “What are you doing here?”
	“Well, you’re my only friend right now... I thought you might want to... hang out.”
I shook my head, “How’d you get in here? There should be numerous wards keeping monsters out!” 
	“Oh, these?” She revealed human made charms that she held in her hands, “Pieces of junk that your family paid too much for. They let me find you, Anon!” She laughed. I reached for them only for her to pull her hands away, “Let me get rid of these before a sabbath member smells them and takes you for some powerful wizard and breaks in.”
	I frowned, she seemed genuine but I didn’t know whether to believe her. I was on my own now and I had no one to ask for advice, “Fine. Do it.”
	“One moment,” She vanished for a few moments before reappearing, thin cardboard box in hand, “Pizza?”
	“Yes please,” I warily took the box from her. ‘Bob’s Pizza Parlor,’ The box read, “I’ve never had pizza from this place before,” I sat it on my tiny table and opened it up.
	Sophia sprang out of the box, “BOO!”
“AH!” I screamed and fell on my ass, bashing my head on the wall.
I held my head in my hands as I groaned from the pain. Sophia’s laughter died instantly as she knelt by my side, “Are you alright? I-I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m really sorry, Anon,” She spoke in a panicked tone.
I looked up at her, tears in her eyes, “I’m fine, Sophia,” I started to laugh, “That was a good one.”
She started to laugh, slowly and nervously at first, then erupting into something loud and boisterous, “Don’t scare me like that!” She gave me a playful push.
She stood and offered me a hand up, I took it. She helped me up with surprising strength, “Thanks. Did you bring actual pizza or was that just a prank?”
“I brought actual pizza from my grandpa’s place!” She told me proudly as she took a slice. I followed suit and took a slice for myself. I took the peperoni off while Sophia gave me a disgusted look, “Dude, what the fuck?”
“Just think of it as more peperoni for you, Sophia,” I chuckled nervously at her glare.
“Well... I won’t say no to that,” She held her mouth open. I put the stack of peperoni in her mouth. She put her lips over my fingers and sucked on them sensually for a few moments while giving me a lewd look. She pulled away, grin reforming on her lips, “You make the best faces!” She laughed before taking another bite. 
I chuckled nervously, pitching a tent in my pants, “Y-yeah...” I ate the pizza slowly, only able to think of the lewd look she gave me.
	She kept looking at me and chuckling as she ate. When we were both done, she sat down on my bed, “Can I ask you something?”
	“Yeah,” I sat in my chair.
	“Can you help me with my math homework?” She gave me a pleading gaze as she pulled a binder from her backpack.
	“Of course. You did feed me after all.”
She took to the math well enough, got frustrated easily by some problems but she kept at it. What frustrated her the most was the fact that I wouldn’t just give her the answers, “Just tell me the circumference of the cylinder, Anon! I KNOW that you know it!”
“But then you won’t learn anything, Sophia,” I chuckled. She let out a cry of anguish, “You’re almost done, come on.”
“Yeah, yeah...” She punched the numbers into her large calculator, “13.84?”
“You got it right.”
She punched the air before writing that number down, “Okay, last one... Use SAN to find the angle.”
“Easy, you can do that.”
“R-Right,” I watched her punch the number into her calculator, “38.9?” She asked me.
“Looks like you did it right. You did a really good job, Sophia.”
She looked at me, red in the face, “I-I did?”
“Uhuh,” I pat her head without thinking, her hair was incredibly soft. She let out a gentle purr.
“C-can you pat me again?” The humor was gone from her face as her needy whimper reached my ears.
I remembered this from my human school teachings. This was like foreplay for monster girls. But, the way she whimpered and purred at me was getting through my iron heart. I slowly remembered why I was here, living in the tiny, shitty, dorm rather than my lavish home. A slight anger and a feeling of defiance returned to me, “Yeah. Come here,” I hopped on my bed and outstretched my arms invitingly. She looked at me with wide eyes before scrambling onto me. She clung to me as I started to run my hand through her hair. She purred loudly as I placed my other hand on her back, nuzzling into me with her face. I glanced at the clock, it was nearly 11, “Sophia,” I whispered.
“Hm?” She gripped my waist.
“You should head home, its late. If someone catches you here I’ll get kicked out.”
She frowned at me for a moment. A sudden grin spread across her face, “Alright, Anon. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She stood and spun around, teleporting away.
I sighed and got in bed, the warmth of Sophia firmly ingrained in my mind.

I started to awaken, sun shining on my face, “Okay!” A nice voice started, “Three, two, one!” The sound of a pleasant voice was drowned out by a cacophony of noise. A band around me began to play loudly. I shot up in bed, covering my ears. I was outside on the football field as the marching band was doing their morning practice. I looked around confused as the marching band circled around me, playing loudly. I was tackled by Sophia, “GOOD MORNING!” She shouted over the band before laughing loudly.
I looked at her, a chuckle escaping my mouth, “Can we put my bed back?” I said quietly.
“What?” She shouted over the noise.
“

“Cheshire”

I was working on homework when it happened. Home alone, trying to write a dumb psychology paper. I took a quick break before going back and editing it all. I slowly opened /monster/ on my phone looking for more cute art. The only thing I saw was ‘ITS HAPPENING.’ Confused, I opened the thread. News clippings of mysterious rifts opening in Japan and weird beings coming through. That was for sure a manticore. Oh lord. I broke out into a cold sweat. I scrolled further down to see pictures of anons with their waifus. Dare I step outside to try and claim my own? Rifts were opening across the globe, some even inside people’s homes.
I got dressed quickly before dashing out of my room and slamming my door shut, taking the steps downstairs two at a time. I ran through the living room heading for the kitchen. I stopped before entering the kitchen. Scorch marks on the floor and the smell of ozone. All the doors and windows were still locked. Someone was in here. I heard a noise upstairs. I slowly made my way upstairs, heart pounding, sweat pouring down my brow. I climbed the stairs, clutching the handrail. The door to the first room was open. My room. I peeked into my room. I didn’t see anything. I walked in slowly, peeking around the corner. Nothing still. I walked to the edge of my bed. It was unmade though I thought that I had made it this morning. 
I felt something brush up against the back of my neck. I froze. Too nervous to move. Large hands clamped down on my shoulders. They leaned in close to me and breathed on my ear. A fluffy tail rubbed against my ankles. I couldn’t will myself to move, “Cat got your tongue?” She asked with a nervous laugh.
“Uh- uh-” I couldn’t form words. She turned me around gently. I stood face to face with a cheshire. Her two shades of purple were much more muted and dull than I would have expected. I would have thought that cheshires would be covered in bright, gaudy shades. She didn’t have a huge shit eating grin on her face, more of a nervous smirk. Her hands rested on my shoulders gripping and letting go slowly. I looked down from her bright yellow eyes. She was naked except for her natural fur. Her round breasts looked melon sized, her plump thighs shook nervously and her tail swished from side to side.
“I-I’m going to rape you now,” She stammered. I nodded, accepting my fate. I started stripping solemnly, “No!” She shouted suddenly. I stopped, “I-I’m supposed to tackle you and tear your clothes off and um... Make you love me...” She trailed off. I stared at her expectantly as she blushed and looked down. This wasn’t going at all how I expected. She let go of my shoulders and rubbed her face and slapped her own cheeks, she said something silently to herself and clenched her fists. She took a deep breath and looked up at me again, a new determined look on her face. I gave her a smile as she gently pushed me onto the bed. She grabbed my shorts and tried to pull them off to no avail.
“Belt,” I told her, finally speaking.
“Huh?” She looked up, face red again.
	“I’m wearing a belt. You gotta take that off first,” I reiterated, lifting my shirt up. She nodded and fumbled with it for a few moments before gently pulling my pants off. She paused, staring at my crotch. I was already at full mast. I sat up a little bit and pulled my shirt off. 
	“J-just take his underwear off... just take his underwear off...” She told herself. I waited patiently as she slowly grabbed the top of my underwear with both hands. Her soft fur and claws gently grazing my skin. She took a deep breath and pulled them off. Her eyes got wide as she stared at my man parts. She froze.
	“Are you okay?” I asked, trying to sit up to console her.
	She pushed me back down, “Its just my first time, okay?” Anger flashed across her face for a moment as she climbed on top of me. She straddled me, wet pussy pressed against my shaft, “Are you ready?” She asked me. I was going to make fun of her but stopped myself. This was supposed to be a rape, at least she wanted it to be. I nodded. She got up a little bit and grabbed my member, holding it straight up to enter her. She hesitated for what felt like a minute. She let go and sat back down on me, he face held low in shame.
“You’re doing great,” I told her with a smile, doing my best to encourage her.
“This isn’t how this is supposed to go,” She said darkly. She wiped her face with her wrist. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Hey, come on. I can struggle if that’s what you want,” I offered, I sat up and put my hand on her shoulder. 
She shook her head, “I’m supposed to bust in and confidently pin you on the bed or against the wall and tear your clothes off. You struggle as I ride you, forcing you to shoot your baby batter in me. You panting for air as I nibble on your ear, and then we cuddle all night and you tell me that you love me,” She was trying not to cry.
“I-I’m sorry,” I didn’t know why I was apologizing. She looked down at her hands, contemplating, “You can get me to love you other ways.”
“Who could willingly love me?” She started crying.
I stared at her. I just wanted to stop her from crying, to see her smile, “I can.”
She looked up at me with anger on her face, “You’re lying, just like everyone else!” She vanished instantly.
I lie still on my bed, wondering what to do now. I sat up and put my clothes back on, “Guess I blew it,” I didn’t know whether to cry or be happy that I would probably make it to wizardhood now. I chose the former, tears welling up in my eyes as I rolled over in bed. I sighed, trying to stop myself from crying. Even if she had been acting a little strange, she was so pretty and cute. I just wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be alright. 



“You’re winning me over with your charms,” I smiled. She just looked at me, confused. I got up and grabbed a blanket from under the bed. I wrapped it around her and put my clothes back on, “Do you want any food or clothes or anything?” She still didn’t speak. Her wide yellow eyes watched me move around the room, “A game? A nap?” I was just hoping she’d say something. She still watched me silently, I just wanted to know what she was thinking. At least she had stopped crying. Just seemed confused now. Poor thing. I threw my closet open and grabbed a large shirt, “Here, if you decide you want to wear something.”
She nodded, “Thank you,” She put it on cautiously, “Why are you being so nice to me?”
I hesitated, girls don’t like it when you act desperate but I felt the need to be honest, “Because I see a little bit of myself in you. Being sad and desperate for love and all. We both deserve love, you know? Maybe we can find it together?” I wanted to punch myself for how cheesy I was.
	“You’re funny Anon. I’m Sophie by the way,” She smiled at me. It made my heart beat faster. She got up and made a small trunk appear at her feet. I got a nice look at her butt as she dug through it. She put some purple shorts on and sat back down on the bed, “Can I rest my head on your lap?”
		
	My phone started to ring, I looked at the caller ID, it was my mom. I answered it, “Hello?”
	“Anon? Thank goodness you’re alright! None of those demons hurt you?” My mother asked. My heart sank. I should have realized this would happen.
	“No mom,” I was technically telling the truth.
	“We’re coming home early, we’ll be back tomorrow around noon. Don’t go outside, okay?”
	“Okay mom, bye,” I stopped the conversation quickly and hung up. Sophie was asleep with her head in my lap. The stress of teleporting and then our encounter had drained her. I didn’t know how to explain my mother being weird, not to mention the rest of my family. It was only two in the afternoon so we’d have time to figure something out. I pat her head, her earls flicked in response to me running my hand past them. Her hair was just as soft as her fur. I wanted to touch her ears, but knowing cats shed probably get mad. I touched her face gently, hoping to bring some warmth and color back to her pale face to no avail. I gently picked her up off my lap and got off the bed and headed to my computer. I stepped over the small trunk that Sophie had brought with her as I went. I suppressed the desire to search it.  I needed to turn my assignment in. 
I sat in front of the blank screen and moved the mouse, the machine whirred to life and the light of the monitors washed over me. I felt a weight in my lap, looking down I saw Sophie’s head on my lap. She had teleported to me in her sleep. She was kneeling on the floor and resting her arms and head on my lap. I ran my fingers through her hair again. I completed my paper and turned it in. I turned my attention back to the exhausted cat. I picked her up and put her back on the bed. I took another look at her, she wore one of my shirts and a comfy looking pair of loose shorts. Her body was slender except where it mattered, her butt seemed nice and firm. She didn’t seem too muscular, but I was completely sure she could over power me. She was a bit under six feet tall, a bit shorter than me. I was about to lie down on the bed with her when she stirred. She yawned and stretched. Her eyes blinked open slowly, she gave me a small smile, “How long did I sleep?” She rubbed her eyes.
“About three hours,” I told her, “You gonna sleep more?” 
“No. Wanna chat?” She rolled over onto her back.
“Yeah...” I sat back down on my computer chair and looked at the purple colored cat on my bed. I could hear chaos outside my window but I don’t think I could have cared less about that. She had bags under her eyes, “Are you alright?”
“You’ve been so honest with me so I’ll be honest with you,” She teleported so she was now sitting on my lap, “I’ve just been really down, no jokes, pranks, nothing to laugh about,” She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around my neck, “I’m sorry.”
“What? You don’t need to apologize to me for being depressed. Hell, I’ve been down as well,” I squeezed her tight in a hug.
We sat quietly, holding each other, 

[“Three”]

	I sat in the back of the lecture hall, typing on my laptop. I was in a math class, the second day of it and I was doing my best not to pay attention. I knew that I SHOULD be paying attention, since I was paying for the class and all. But, the most interesting thing about this owl mage’s lecture was the way her massive breasts bounced around as she excitedly talked about circles and spheres and cylinders and whatever other shapes came to her. I already understood what we were going over, but The Herd--a group of monsterized farm animals that I had so lovingly nicknamed--seemed to be eating it up. I frowned and shook my head. I opened up Roller Coaster Tycoon to entertain myself for the next two hours. I looked up as the door to the classroom opened. In walked a girl, monster girl. She looked a lot like a werecat, but the colors were off, like a preschooler had colored her in with only a purple and black marker. The Herd mumbled nervously to each other, the holastarus visibly shaking in her boots while their centaur leader stared stoically at the catwoman. 
I reached into my backpack and pulled out an old book, ‘Monsters, you and what to do.’ I thumbed to the cat category as she handed a paper to the professor. I found an entry that matched her description physically, a cheshire cat. I read the short blurb about them, this book being so old and it claiming cheshires to be so rare that it doesn’t have much about them. ‘Mischievous, energetic, peppy and smug, these monsters have the ability to teleport, turn invisible and destroy the very laws of reality around them; all to play a few pranks or have their way with you.’ I tilted my head, that didn’t sound so bad. In large red font the book practically screamed at me, ‘AVOID AT ALL COSTS.’ I scratched my head, I had never seen anything like that in the book, not even when speaking of manticores.
I looked back up and noted the dull purple fur on the cheshire as well as the very modest white dress she was wearing, her tail drooping behind her and she solemnly nodded at the professor as she was told, “No funny business!”
She turned to the seats and shrunk back when she noticed that all eyes were on her. The professor continued her lecture, nearly all eyes returning to her. The cat walked up the ramp on the side of the room and sat in the back row five seats from me, there was no one in between us. She glanced at me and I gave her a small wave and a smile before getting back to my game.

After an hour of lecture, worksheets were handed out, two pages. We were instructed to break into pairs to do the class work. I stretched and looked at the only other person in the back row, the cheshire. She leaned over her paper, scratching her head. I looked at her perfectly sized, perky breasts and her adorable, pale face. I disregarded what the book had told me and picked up my things and moved next to her. She looked up in surprise as I plopped down. I saw nervousness and a tinge of fear in her eyes. I stopped myself from greeting her with a joke and a grin, “Hey, I’m Anon,” I gave her a kind smile.
“S-Sophie,” She stammered as she began poking at her pencil. 
	“Wanna work with me on this?”
	“You... Want me to work with you?” Her face became red and her ears twitched. She  “I would love to work with you,” She gave me a big grin showing off her pointy teeth, “Can you walk me through some of this?”
	“Of course. You have this side and this angle, and need to find this side. Use this equation to get it.”
	Sophie punched it into her calculator. She apprehensively looked at me, “Five point eight?”
	“You got it. Do the same thing here but use ‘sine’ instead.”
	
	“Done!” Sophie smiled at me as she looked over her paper.
	“Good job,” I praised her as I began packing up my things, “Think you can do that stuff on your own if you had to?”
	“Yes!” A bit of vibrant color returned to her fur and skin, “I feel like you’re a better teacher than--” She glanced to the front of the room where the owl mage was snacking on seeds. 
	I laughed a bit, “Thanks. Glad I managed to hammer it in.”
	“Do you live around here, Anon?” 
	“Nah, I’m pretty far from home. I just live in a tiny dorm room. You must have just started here, huh?”
	“Yeah I did,” She frowned, “My family just moved into town and I couldn’t bear to be so far away from them so I moved as well and switched colleges.”
	“Can’t cheshires teleport?” She shrunk away from me, “Surely it must have hurt to leave behind all your friends,” She mumbled something quietly, “What was that?”
	“I can’t teleport easily and I didn’t have any friends back home,” She glared at me, tears in her eyes. 
	“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” I quickly apologized.
	She wiped her eyes with a sigh. She was silent as she packed up her things, leaving me in suspense, “Its okay,” The once semi-vibrant colors had faded back into the dull, muted purples. 
	“Sophie--”
The professor suddenly stood up and waved her wings, “Class dismissed! Make sure you hand in your work!”
	“Do you want to--” I turned back to Sophie just to watch her sadly get up and grab both of our work and quickly turn them in as I scrambled to get my things together and go after her. I put my bag on and sped out the door. She was already gone. Defeated, I trudged to my dorm room, cursing the mana ward on my arm. Usually I was avoided by monsters because of the accursed ward. My parents were heavily anti-monster, wanting to return to life before they came through the portals all those years ago. Being the rebellious young man that I was, I chose to attend a university with a high monster population.
As I entered my dorm room, I pushed the warding charms aside that dangled from the ceiling. Even if I was fine with monster girls, I was opposed to one breaking into my room in the middle of the night and tying me up before having her way with me. I frowned as I looked around the room, remarking at how dim and depressing my room seemed. I had a small bed, a desk with a chair, a dresser, a little fridge, a counter with another two chairs, a microwave and a tiny tv. Nothing adorned my walls besides the aforementioned charms. I sat on my bed, distracted by the thought of Sophie. I had never felt this way about a girl before, human or monster. I suspected she might have cast a spell on me with her wonderland magic, some kind of charm making me fall for her. I frowned, I had resisted sabbath magic before thanks to my wards, how could a cheshire so easily tear through it? Was I being tricked? I was sweating and my heart was fluttering. I shook my head, I needed to do something else to distract myself. I turned on the TV and plugged in some video games. I looked at the coupons I had been sent in the mail, trying to decide what I wanted to eat. A new pizza place had opened up, simply called ‘Pizza Now.’ Six bucks for a medium pizza and two liter was a pretty good price. I called into the place and put in an order to be delivered around six thirty. Taco pizza and a coke. I returned to my seat, controller in hand and did my best to relax for a few hours before my food arrived.

I eagerly awaited my pizza, it was getting close to seven and I was getting hungry. I was getting distracted by my stomach growling while I tried to play some old games. A knock on the door roused me from where I slouched lazily. I hurried to the door, wallet and coupon in hand. I opened the door and nearly shouted in surprise. Before me stood a cheshire, Sophie. She was looking down at a receipt. She wore a plain white shirt with the Pizza Go logo stretched across her breasts and khaki pants. She put on her best fake smile, “Your total is--” She gasped as she looked up at me, nearly dropping the pizza, she tried to stabilize it, causing her to drop the coke. The coke exploded, showering her in the dark liquid. She stood still as the sugary drink dripped from her. I had no idea what to say, it was almost humorous. I would have laughed if she hadn’t looked like she was going to cry. Mixed in with the coke, tears started to flow from her eyes.
Even if my brain was screaming at me to not do it, I couldn’t stop myself, “Come in, let me get you some new clothes,” I took her by the arm and pulled her inside, closing the door behind her. She offered no resistance as she started to cry. I took the thankfully untouched pizza from her and set it on my desk. Sophie sat on the floor and started sniffling. I pulled out a large shirt and a pair of sweats for her to wear and got a bath towel wet so she could wipe herself down. She was staring at me with her big golden eyes as I moved around my small dorm.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” She mewled as she took the towel from me.
I hesitated, not wanting to sound like a loser, but honesty sounded like a good idea, “I don’t have many friends either. I had a good time with that hour we talked today.”
“Even though I snapped at you?” She wiped her face off.
	“Yeah. I’ll uh, stand over here and face the wall so you can change and wipe yourself off.”
	“There’s no bathroom in here? How do you live like this?” I could hear her start to strip.
	I chuckled, “Its just down the hall. I make it work.”
	She finished changing, “I’m very sorry about the soda. Can I do something to make it up to you?”
	I turned to her and thought for a few moments. She was making sad kitten eyes at me. I smiled, “Yeah. Have some pizza with me, friend.”
	She blinked at me, her confusion slowly turning to a grin as some color returned to her form, “Okay!” She sat at the counter and I pulled up my desk chair, “Oh! I’ll be right back!” She hopped up and dashed out the door. I sat and stared at the door, unsure if she was coming back. She was back in five minutes, “Here,” She handed me a bottle of Pepsi as she panted, “They didn’t have Coke at the convenience store.”
	I looked at the bottle, “Did you just sprint across campus just to get me a soda?”
	“Mhm!” She had a bottle of Code Red for herself.
	“How much do I owe you for the pizza?” I asked her as I opened the box and took a slice.
	“Nothing. I nearly ruined your evening. Grandpa should understand.”
	“Oh shit, your grandpa owns that pizza place?”
	“Yup! He’s great.”
	“You have to get back to work, don’t you?” I inquired sadly before taking a bite of the pizza. It tasted wonderful, the crust was perfect, the sauce, cheese, meat and other ingredients all came together perfectly.
	“Grandma and mom will understand,” She frowned and looked at the floor, “I hope.”
	I reached to put a hand on her shoulder but pulled it back as I hesitated, “If you gotta go, thats cool.”
	“Thanks Anon. Can I have that big slice?” I nodded and she gleefully picked it up. She shoved the slice in her mouth and happily ate it, “Woah, is that a Super Nintendo!?” She pointed to the TV on my dresser along with my small collection of consoles.
	“Yeah. Did you wanna play it after we eat?”
	“YES!” Her eyes sparkled at the very idea of getting to play the ancient console. Her fur was the most vibrant I had ever seen it, her pale skin became peach colored as she quickly ate her fill of delicious pizza. I let her play Super Mario World as I finished eating. There was a beeping from Sophie’s pocket. She picked up the phone and looked at the screen. She went pale and slowly answered it, “H-hey mom... Yeah, I’m fine... No, the guy I delivered to was one of my classmates and I spilled his soda all over myself,” She chuckled, “He invited me in and--” She paused, listening to what her mother was saying, “No, I’m not lying I--” The color faded again as she got an earful from her mother, “I’ll be home soon. Bye.”
	I frowned as she hung up the phone, “Gotta go?”
	She nodded at me, “Yeah. Thanks for having me, Anon. I’ll give you your clothes back in class, alright?”
 


	I got mad, this was my fault. I snatched the phone from her, “Hello?” I interrupted the older woman’s rant. I stopped myself from snapping at her, “Please don’t be mad at Sophie, I asked her to stay.”
	“Oh! I thought she was lying again,” She laughed, “She has a tendency to stretch the truth to get out of her duties!” There was an awkward pause, “Anon, was it? Are you... Single?” The question hung in the air for a few seconds. I had no idea what to say.
	I decided quickly. I just hoped this wasn’t a bad idea. I laughed nervously, “Yes. Here’s your daughter,” I quickly thrust the phone back into Sophie’s hand, not wanting to let her ask me more questions.
	She listened to her mother for a few moments, her face lit up red, “M-mom! Why would you ask him that!” Sophie shouted, “I’m hanging up! I’ll probably be home tonight!” She quickly tapped the red hang up button and buried her face in her hands, “I’m so sorry.”
	“Its fine. Wanna play two player? You can be Mario if you want.”
	“Yes...” Her color came back a bit. I smiled, just glad to see her happy again. She took her turn, skillfully and easily navigating one of the levels. When it came to my turn, she looked around the room, “Hey, what's with this wall art?”
	“Oh, my warding charms? They’re supposed to repel monsters, but obviously they don’t work,” I shrugged.
	“No, I can feel them, but I can ignore that pretty easily. That mark on your arm is a ward too, right?”
“Yup. That 's made it hard to make friends. I hate this shit,” I grumbled.
“The goombas that aren't actually goombas?” 
“No, no, the wards. Its part of why I got out here, away from my family. I couldn’t even make friends with The Herd and they’re TOO damn friendly.”
	“The Herd?” She echoed, “Are you... Are you talking about the holstaurus and friends in our math class!?” She laughed loudly, “That’s amazing!”
	“Oh, come on. Its not that funny,” I smiled. 
	“I wish I knew good jokes and could make people laugh,” She sighed.
	“At least you’re fun to be around,” She blushed and hid her face, “Your turn, by the way.”
	“Oh, right,” She got back to the game, “I, uh, did your parents force you to have all this warding stuff?” I nodded, “The ward on you smells pretty nice to me.”
	“Really?” I was shocked. I had been avoided by monsters for YEARS because of this ward.
	“I’m sure your natural energy smells even better,” She stared at me, a hunger in her eyes. She didn’t turn her eyes back to the screen until she heard the death jingle as an enemy wandered into her, “Oops! Your turn, Anon.”
	I laughed nervously, “Maybe I should get it removed, then,” I couldn’t stop myself from humoring her.
	“That would be cool,” We were quiet for a while, only speaking about the game in short sentences. Sophie was really hot and bothered, panting when she looked at me sometimes. As soon as I noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra and her nipples were poking through her shirt, I was pretty bothered too. She saw me staring, “D-do you like what you see, Anon?” 
	“S-sorry,” I quickly looked away.
	“Anon,” She stood up and stood over me, a nervous smile spread across her face. She sat down on my lap, facing me, “Do-- Do you-- Am I pretty to you?” She quickly got off of me and sat back in her seat. Her face was completely red as she stared at the floor, completely embarrassed of herself, “I’m sorry, I’m being irrational.”
	“I think you’re really pretty,” I admitted quickly, “Do you like me, even though I’m kind of an ass?” I asked as my own nervousness came out.
	I stared at the floor, ready for her to tell me no. I received no reply. A soft hand caressed the side of my face gently, “I, um, think you’re really cool and handsome, Anon. We should hang out more,” She was nervously sweating. I looked up at her causing to pull her hand away as if I was going to bite her.
	“Does... This make us boyfriend and girlfriend?” I wondered aloud, “I don’t know standard dating practices for monsters.”
“You want to... DATE me?”