Commission for Denda! Thanks again!

	I lay in bed, the only light illuminating the room was a tiny nightlight in one corner. My mind was already racing, but another bump in the night made my heart skip a beat. I rolled toward my nightstand and turned on the light, wrapping my arms around my shirtless torso before grabbing a flashlight and turning it on. I checked my tiny apartment for intruders again. Most every room had a little night light in it that casted a yellow glow across the furniture and walls. It was the third time that night. The wall next to my kitchen rumbled and I leaned in, pressing my ear to the wall. I heard another thump. I heard a moan and a light creaking before another thump rang out. I sighed with some relief, it was just my neighbors going at it again. I decided to check my windows, for the hundredth time, just to be safe. I went meticulously to each one, attempting to open them before pushing down on the lock again. I did my best to stay out of sight as I went to each one, hoping whatever creatures of the night didn’t spot me as I did my work. 
	With a yawn, I returned to my room. It was late and I had work the next day. Another day of being surrounded by people. I just wanted to be alone.  That’s all I could think of as I crawled back into bed, but the new monster laws didn’t allow for work-at-home jobs. At least for unmarried men. Once a monster had you, you could stay home all you wanted. For some reason that terrified me; what did they want from single men? Why do they demand I be social and go out? And worse still, being trapped home alone with one of those… monsters was the last thing I wanted. My home was my only safe haven from all of that! But even then, I had heard of more than one time where a monster entered someone's home without permission and acted like they owned the place. Did the new laws let them do that? I wasn’t too familiar with legal-ese but I was sure that at least that had to be illegal. I once more contemplated calling in, taking some time off to recharge would probably do me well, but I wanted to save my paid time off for when I really needed it. I heard another thump, “What the hell are those two doing?” I groaned quietly to myself. I closed my eyes, once again prepared to toss and turn all night. 

	I wiped the last of the crust from my eyes as I stood in the living room of my abode. The creaking and thumping hadn’t kept me up too late, thankfully. I still felt exhausted, but that was normal. My apartment was barren of most decor, and for furniture it was quite spartan. A couch, a hand-me-down coffee table where I did all my eating, a near barren bookshelf, and the basic amenities of a kitchen. I had forgone a dining table altogether. Never really had a need for one. My mom had put up a few decorations for me when I moved in, but most have been stuffed into a closet at this point besides a few thrift store paintings. It wasn’t like I was a struggling man living on a shoestring budget, having to starve at the end of every month. I was… almost thriving, but I wouldn’t be buying a house like this. Cheap meals and little to spend my money on had gone a long way. Being unable to buy things from the comfort of my apartment had mostly been the cause of this. I used to do all my grocery shopping online then just simply pick it up, but these new ordinances made that impossible, if not illegal, for someone like me.
	I left my apartment as I got the last of the crust from my eyes. I had my bag over my shoulder as I left my home, locking both locks behind me before I made my way down the hallway. I glanced at the elevator as I passed it. My neighbor, along with the massive tiger woman that lived in his apartment, were in there with a few others. The man leaned on the tiger, both looked exhausted, but she smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. I kept moving, headed to the stairs, unwilling to lock myself in a tiny metal box with a monster girl, or anyone for that matter. I took the stone stairs slowly, gripping the handrail as I made my way down the chilly staircase. I passed by a few fire hoses and fire extinguishers on the walls as I made my way down the disused stairs. I lived on the fourth floor, the top one where most everyone who lived there would take the elevator. I ignored it, usually. The few times I took it were when I had to buy an unusually large amount of groceries. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I exited through the door at the bottom of the stairs into the back parking lot where my car sat. It was usually parked right next to the exit. I sighed with relief as I made it to my car, another zone of isolation. Within moments, I was driving off to work. 
	The city I lived in hadn’t changed much since I had moved in years ago. Even since the monster girls started popping up, it hadn’t really changed. Sure the people and the names of the store had swapped hands and had been given different names, but it still felt identical to before. Other than the horse drawn carriages that had slowed down my morning commute. At least the carriages generally looked nice and well decorated. I did wonder where all the horses came from and who exactly is cleaning up the horse droppings, but I couldn’t complain all that much about them. I changed radio stations to a different one as an upbeat pop-punk song about love or something started to blare through my crappy speakers. I sighed and tried to focus on the road as some old dad-rock started to play. 

	As I arrived at work, I pulled into my usual spot before stepping out into the chilly, cloudy morning. The dark clouds overhead threatened me with rain, but I worked in a cushy office so I didn’t have to worry much about it. I grabbed my messenger bag and my ID badge and shuffled to the back door. The ID got me in the back door where I took the back stairs up to the third floor. Multiple offices resided within the building, with the company I worked for, now known as ‘Grem Tech North West,’ taking up the entirety of the third floor. It was a subsidiary of the massive ‘Grem Tech’ company and was focused on the programming half of the business instead of the hands-on inventing and tinkering most people knew it for. Most programming done was for Grem Tech projects, but some were outsourced work and contracts the company had made with smaller businesses, some of which worked out of the floors above and below us. It was a five floor building overall. I glanced around the office which had done away cubicles and instead opted for a mostly open floor plan. Due to my early arrival, most others were not there yet. 
With a slow gait, I found my way over to the far wall where my work station sat. It was one of the most secluded spots in the office. A wall at my back cutting me off from the accounting and HR staff, a window to my left, and a frequently unused row of computers to my right. It sat unused as most of my human coworkers had begun disappearing since we were bought by Grem Tech. They’d get close with a monster and then up and vanish. Whenever I worked up the courage to ask the monster they got close to about them, they’d giggle and tell me they were fine. I didn’t really believe them. I plopped my stuff down at the last computer and turned it on before trying to access my network drive. 
	“Early again, huh?” A feminine voice called. I whipped around to face the source then looked down toward the ground to see my manager. A short woman with animal-like ears coming off the sides of her head, mint green hair, golden eyes, and a grin of sharp teeth, “You tryna impress me or somethin,’ Anon?” She asked in an almost mock innocent fashion.
	“N-no…” I shrunk away mentally, my mind racing for an explanation, “J-just trying to get an early start so I don’t get distracted,” I squeaked.
	My manager shrugged, her gremlin grin showing her pearly whites, “Well, whatever. You can do whatever you want as long as you keep doing so well. You’re really earning that raise, ya’know?”
	“I h-hope you’re not being sarcastic…”
	“Of course not!” She laughed at my sheepishness, “If I wasn’t happy with you, you’d better damn well believe I’d let you know!” She laughed again, “Well, just so you know, we’ve got someone new coming in and she’s probably gonna sit over here in this spillage area since accounting is full. Y’know, you could go sit with your fellow coders, maybe they’d learn from you.”
	“I-I work better alone. They pester me over there a lot,” I explained.
	“Well, this new lady is pretty quiet. Shouldn’t bother you too much,” She grunted before stepping away.
	“Lady?” I whispered to myself. With any luck, unlike most of the other monster girls I knew, she’d ignore me. Maybe she wasn’t even a monster girl, but I wouldn’t know until I saw her. I sighed and got to work.

	“Another if statement down,” I grunted as I saved my work so far. While only gremlins and a few other monsters really understood how an automaton’s hardware operated, and I hardly understood the software that made up their internals. Gremlins didn’t care for programming so I was just given a few files to go over that sort of explained what people had been doing before this was handed off to me.
I rubbed my eyes and glanced over just in time to see my manager round the corner, “That’s everyone in accounting. Since we’re out of computers there you can sit over here,” The short gremlin gestures to the wall of computers near you, “And that’s Anon, the last person you haven’t met. I think. He’s nice enough, real quiet though.”
I mentally prepared myself to politely and awkwardly greet my new coworker. I almost felt the floor shake as she stepped into view. Or maybe that was my heart stopping and my body trembling with fear. A tall woman with golden blonde hair and two round cat ears on the top of her head stared at me with one red eye and one blue. Two horns rose behind her ears, her imposing seven foot or more tall form was covered by a blue button up shirt and slacks. The sleeves of the button up were rolled up, revealing two different, monstrous arms. The left one was a fluffy, white, clawed hand with blue lines of magical energy running across it, the right was black and scaled like a dragon’s with red lines of energy. Her feet ended in hooves with cream colored fur on her legs. I was already nervous, but I was downright terrified as a dark scaled tail swung out from behind her with the head of a snake on the end and purple lines of power across its scales. A pair of wings, one red and one blue, were folded on her back. I struggled to tear my eyes off her as she looked me up and down, sizing me up. Somehow I managed to pry myself away and stared at my computer screen again, “Sheesh!” My manager laughed, “You two look like you’re gonna get along really well!” Her snide, sarcastic remark was compounded as she snapped her fingers, “Hey, Anon! Get Chelsey here set up with her network drive, alright? I gotta go wrangle the idiots in research. Polly was lighting papers on fire again…”
	I was forced to look again as my manager left, leaving me with the imposing woman who had moved closer when I wasn’t looking. She was still staring me down, “Anon, was it?” Chelsey asked as she looked into my eyes. Her voice was deep and a bit gravely. She towered over me, gazing down with an intense gaze and a blank expression.
	“Y-yup,” I could hardly bring myself to squeak the word of confirmation out.
	Chelsey stared down at me for a few moments more before blinking hard and plopping down in the swivel chair behind her. A little giggle came out before she smiled warmly, “No need to look so nervous, Anon,” Her voice now sounded high pitched and warm, “Do you think I am going to eat you or something?”
	“W-well…”
	She giggled again as she grabbed her bag, “Am I so intimidating that you cannot speak? What is the matter? Is there something wrong with me?””
	I sighed and gave her a sheepish look, “It's nothing.”
	Chelsey frowned before leaning back and sized me up again, “If you say so,” Her voice had become gravely and deep again and the smile was gone. She stared me down as I nervously stammered and awkwardly tried to say something. I couldn’t tell if she was angry, her face made her seem completely calm, maybe even a little amused, “You were going to help me get set up?” She retrieved a large keyboard with extra large keyes and a trackball mouse. 
	My eyes flicked to the snake headed tail, staring back into its purple eyes for a moment before looking back at the monster’s heterochromatic eyes, “Y-yeah, s-sure. Uhm,” I got up from my seat and slowly inched toward her, “T-that’s a big keyboard.”
	The little smile reappeared, “Perfect for my big hands, hm?” The kinder voice was back.
	I laughed nervously and bit my tongue, knowing that I shouldn’t call her large. I plugged in her special peripherals and got rid of the old ones. Before I could even ask, she showed me a piece of scrap paper with her login info on it. Chelsey thankfully seemed to understand computers more than my mom despite being from a world that assumedly didn’t have them, “J-just log in here…” I pointed to the pop up on her screen.
	“There must be some reason you are so on edge,” Her voice was dead pan and gravely as she started to slowly finger type her info in, “I will not be upset if it is something about me.” 
I looked away from her and folded my arms, “I’ve, well… I’ve never seen a girl like you.”
	“Is that all?” Chelsey’s cheery sounding voice was back again with a giggled, “No need to be so worried. I don’t bite…” She blinked slowly before leaning close to me, gripping my wrist and tugging me close with her fluffy hand. I heard a guttural growl emanate from her as she stared at my face. Her expression wasn’t warm or deadpan. Terror gripped me down to my very core, as my fears realized the look in her eyes. She was hungry, “I won’t, unless you ask me to…” This voice was sultry, smooth, and heavy. The tall woman breathed a hot and steamy puff of air onto my face before leaning back in her seat, the voracious look vanishing. 
Sweat had begun to pour down my face, my body shuddered before I fell back into my chair, “Ha… ha…” I folded my arms and turned back to my computer.
	“Just so you know,” Chelsey cleared her throat and adjusted her button up, her fair and pristine skin glistened with a little bit of sweat, “I am a chimera. A rare cross of multiple other monsters. Thank you for helping me, Anon.”
	“Y-yeah, any time,” I mewled as I tried to return to my work.
	I struggled to keep my eyes glued to the screen as I continued my work on automaton AI. Every so often, I would feel eyes gazing at me. A powerful set of eyes, two sets of eyes even, drilled into my skin, boring holes down to my soul-- at least it felt like that. Every time I would glance over at Chelsey, her eyes would be on her screen, slowly finger typing on her massive, scratched keyboard as she messed with Excel spreadsheets for hours on end. If I looked away, the feeling would resume. All I could do was stay quiet and try not to aggravate her. 
	
I returned to work the next day at my usual time. The thoughts of Chelsey had kept me up through the night. The way she stared at me had sent chills across my entire body. Each time I heard a little creak or thump, my brain immediately jumped to the conclusion that Chelsey herself was breaking into my home. 
	I rubbed my eyes as I took my seat, frowning when I saw I was alone. I shrugged, readying myself for a quiet day at work, wondering if I would be joined for the third day in a row. I started to focus on my work. Minutes passed as my work computer booted up, letting me into the network drives. I ate the light breakfast that I had brought with me, checked my phone, then got to work. I became engrossed in my coding, typing away at my keyboard. Before I knew it, it had been an hour and I needed to stretch.
	“Good morning, Anon,” A calm, gravely voice greeted me.
	I shuddered before standing, Chelsey had appeared. Her computer was up and running and she was already into her work, “Oh, morning,” I greeted back. I didn’t feel much of my nervousness anymore with her around. She had only been around me for four days now, but I felt calm enough to stop stammering and nervously mumbling around her, “I didn’t see you there.”
	“You are always so engrossed in your work, hm?” She snickered with her light and friendly voice.
	“Yeah, just gotta go walk around a bit.”
	As I tried to step by her, she grabbed my upper arm with her scaled hand. My heart rate spiked instantly as she reached up toward my face with her other hand, the head of her snake tail was hissing quietly. The fluffy hand went to my neck and adjusted the collar of my button up shirt, “You looked… disheveled,” Her deadpan voice explained before letting my arm go and redoing the top button.
	“Y-yeah… thanks,” I laughed nervously. It sounded so hollow and fake but she just smiled and watched me go.
	My steps down the narrow hallways of the office were a little irregular as I made my way to the office’s kitchen to grab some water, “Hi, Anon!” A shrill voice cried out to me.
	“Oh, h-hey, P-Polly,” I gave her a weak, nervous smile as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
	“Are you doing anything for lunch? I know you don’t bring lunch on Thursdays. We could go out together! Like a date!” The vibrantly colored harpy from research and development machine gunned her questions at me as she inched closer.
	“N-no… thanks,” I stammered before ducking away and returning to my desk. I checked behind me as I went, making sure she wasn’t following me. 
With a sigh of relief, seeing that she was gone, I turned back only to see Chelsey glaring at me with her arms folded. There was a scowl on her face that sent shivers down my spine, “Who was that you were talking to!?” She hissed in a hushed and demanding tone.
	“P-Polly…?” I coughed, not daring to try to squeeze past her.
	“Do you like this Polly?” She demanded again.
	“I-- No?” 
	Chelsey stared me up and down before her body language relaxed, “Sorry, sorry. I’m just a little on edge,” Her now friendly voice chuckled, “Stop gawking, Anon. Come sit down.”
	I just nodded and sat in my chair. I looked down at my hands, expecting to see them trembling but they were strangely still after her outburst, “You, uh, keep sounding different,” I noted.
	“I see. You are unaware,” Her voice was calm, deadpan even as she stared me up and down, “As I have told you, I am a chimera. I am a cross between four beasts, a dragon, calm and wise, a goat, magical and friendly, a lion, powerful and lustful, and a snake, possessive and poisonous.”
“Uh…” I stared at her, slowly picking out the parts of each of the monsters she listed. A dragon hand and wings, goat legs and horns, lion ears and paw, and the snake was the most obvious of all as it was just a snake for a tail, “I see it.”
She nodded, a little smile crossing her lips, her friendly goat demeanor returning to continue this lecture, “While you see the physicalities of all four quite easily, I also have the powers and personalities of each. You have met each of us now.”  
	“And this is the goat?”
	“Ding ding ding!” She giggled, “I try to keep the lion and snake in check, but they force themselves out when my emotions run high. Please don’t be afraid or upset when they do, they don’t want to hurt you. They’re just a little more extreme and ill tempered.”
	“Monster girls sure are strange,” I mumbled to myself.
	“You seem quite nervous around monster girls, Anon,” The goat sounded concerned, “Did something happen?” Her voice switched to the aggressive lion.
	“I…” I trailed off again, “Well, I’m like this with everyone. Human or monster.”
	“You seem quite calm with me now.”
	“Well, you’re just so calm and nice. It's really refreshing that you’re not screaming at me to bed you or drop your pants or something,” I chuckled and she did too, “Like Polly over in R and D screeching at me constantly.”
	“I see. Well, I am quite happy you are comfortable around me, Anon,” Chelsey grinned at me, “Oh, I heard that harpy say you don’t bring lunch on Thursday. Would you like to go grab something together later?”
	I stared at the chimera, taking in all of her parts, my instincts told me to say no, but I couldn’t bring myself to really say it, “Sure. I’m down.”
	“Great!” Chelsey’s smile made my heart beat a little faster, “There’s a place pretty close by that I’ve been wanting to try. You like burgers and sandwiches, right?”
	“Of course I do! Let me know when you want to go, I’ll try to get a little more work done.” 
	
	Chelsey stretched her wings as she strut down the street with me at her side. She stuck the black, leathery appendages straight out behind her and then out to her sides as if to show off her impressive wingspan, “Not a lot of space to do this in the office, you know?” Her friendly goat voice said with a little smirk. 
	“Can you actually fly with those?” I wondered as I watched them fold up again on her back. The sun was up and the sky was blue with a few clouds rolling by. The weather was chilly but I didn’t mind as I bundled up in my thick coat. Chelsey was without a coat, merely a long sleeve button up and a skirt. Folding her arms seemed to be all she needed to keep warm. 
	She cleared her throat, her face returning to her calm and collected expression, “Somewhat. They are more useful for gliding than flying due to my mass. Manticores have the same problem. Too small of wings for a large body.”
	“Aw, you’re not--” I stopped myself from making a fat joke or comment, even if it was to tell her she wasn’t, “I-I mean, uh, that’s interesting. I assume harpies are really light?”
	“Correct. Oh, I see the restaurant now,” She nodded toward a brick and mortar building a bit down the road. A few cars were parked out in front of it and there were a few unused patio seats on the sidewalk.
	“Annie’s Angus?” I said, reading the specials menu out front.
	“Annie’s Angus Bar and Grill,” Chelsey corrected me. It was her deep, aggressive lion voice. She sounded like she was a starving animal now, “I need a big burger,” She snarled, licking her lips. She glanced at me, looking even hungrier as she looked into my eyes. With a powerful shudder, a calm look returned to her face, “Ready to go in?” The dragon asked.
	I nodded and entered first as she opened the door for me. The restraunt was a little tavern made of bricks. There was a bar at the far end and a few tables seating two to six people at each. The lightbulbs overhead were dim and cast the seating area in a sleepy feeling light. A pool table was placed in the middle of the seating area with a dart board near it. Opposite the dart board, a big neon sign decorated the wall that usually read ‘Annie’s Angus’ but the neon was out in a very unfortunate spot making it read ‘Annie’s Anus.’ Around that were numerous polaroids of couples and duos sitting with a massive empty plate between the two of them, ‘WINNERS’ a little plaque by the neon sign read.
“Winners?” I echoed. There were few people in the tavern. A single table of four who were playing a round of cards over drinks and deep fried snacks and a duo of tough looking onis playing billiards together while sipping on sake. Chelsey was taking in the sight as well, trying to decide where to sit, “What do you think it means by winners, Chelsey?” 
“Means those people beat my challenge!” A voice I didn’t recognize explained. I heard the sound of hard shoes on the wooden floors. Turning, I saw a tall horned woman with big muscles on her arms. She wore a set of overalls and chewed on a piece of wheat in her mouth. She carried an empty tray. The hard shoes I heard were her hoofed feet, “Never seen ya’ll in here before,” Her blue eyes glanced back and forth between me and my coworker.
	“I have been wanting to eat here for some time,” Chelsey explained, her goat voice coming through, “I presume you are Annie?”
	The minotaur nodded, “Ya would be right. Can I get ya two anything?”
	“What’s the challenge?” I blurted out, the curiosity was killing me. 
	Annie smirked, “Well, if the two of ya can eat a seven pound steak in an hour, it’s free.” 
	“I like free steak,” Her lion voice flared up, licking her lips again.
She whistled as she looked the chimera up and down, “Ya pretty big, lady. I reckon you could more than eat your part. But yar man here is a little scrawny.”
	“We can handle it. Bring me the steak. And a Dr. Pepper,” She grumbled, her body shivering. 
	“Make that two,” I sighed, “I-I mean the drink, n-not the steak.”
	“Alright, sweetheart. Your funeral!” The minotaur giggled as she made her way to the kitchen. Everyone in the bar stared at Chelsey for a moment as she found a seat. I sat across from her as I watched her make a bib for herself with a paper napkin. The drinks came out first, “You sure about this, sweetheart?” 
	“Oh, I’m quite sure,” Chelsey assured the owner, “I’ve been craving something like this.”
	As the cow woman turned to me, all I could do was shrug. Chelsey was quiet as her tail flicked to and fro, the snake's eyes glancing at every other patron in the room. I sat in nervous anxiety, my empty stomach growling as I awaited my food. The chimera nodded to herself, sharpening and cleaning her claws. The steak was brought out on a massive block of wood by two minotaurs. Annie had a stopwatch in her hand. She looked between me and Chelsey, “Ya two got an hour. And that time starts… now--”
	She could hardly finish before the chimera moved with lightning speed. Her dragon hand cut up the steak into more manageable cubes. I stared in awe as she began to eat at an almost animal-like pace. She used two forks to shovel the food into her mouth as her snake tail started to take bites as well. I glanced at Annie who stood in shock. I shrugged and started trying to eat my fill, glad to have some delicious steak for free.

	“Done!” Chelsey triumphantly exclaimed. The block of wood sat clean of everything but the juice of the delicious steak and the few claw marks the chimera had put on it. Annie glanced at me as I finished chewing my meager portion and swallowing it. I leaned back in my chair, sweating like a pig and feeling like I was about to burst.
	“Well I’ll be damned. The two of ya actually pulled it off,” The minotaur shook her head, “Josie! Bring out the camera!” 
“You did good, Anon,” Chelsey smirked at me.
	“Urp… Thanks,” I grunted weakly.
 She had eaten a little more than six pounds of meat and drank three and a half Dr. Peppers. The chimera had only stopped eating because there hadn’t been any left.  She moved seats so she was sitting right next to me as Annie prepared her polaroid camera, “Snuggle up you two.”
	Chelsey leaned toward me and wrapped her fluffy arm around my shoulders and held up two fingers on her clawed hand. This small action where I felt her warmth, felt just how much larger she was than me, felt her soft fur against the back of my neck. If she had been any other person even trying to touch me I would have panicked. My heart pounded in my chest, a twinge of fear and anxiety but mostly some kind of excitement. I did my best to smile and put up two fingers as well before Annie took a photo of us. 

	I returned to work on Friday morning. Finally, the feeling of being full had subsided after that massive steak lunch with Chelsey. The worst part was that I felt like I could go for another steak. I wasn’t alone for very long before the chimera arrived. She was hardly early but I was still glad to see her, “Good morning, Anon,” She smiled and greeted me with her warm and friendly voice. 
	“Hey, g’morning,” I replied as I took the headphones out of my ears and turned to face her, “How are you feeling after all that steak?”
	“Full,” She sighed with a weary expression on her face, “I can’t believe we, the rest of me, I mean, let her drag you into that. The Lion is a lot stronger than I remember. By the time me or the dragon could take over, she had already confirmed that she wanted the steak,” She chuckled sheepishly.
	“It's no problem, I enjoyed that meal. Dr. Pepper was a good call,” I chuckled. 
“I would ask if you want to go on another lunch date some time, but we ate enough meat for a lifetime there,” She coughed, “Again,” Her voice was now the calm dragon, “I am sorry for forcing you on that adventure.”
	“Hey, I enjoyed it, really. I haven’t gone out to a restaurant with someone in a long time.”
	“Why’s that?” She pestered, inching a little closer to me and staring intently at my face.
	“I’ve just never been a people person. That’s why I sit back here all alone. Even before Grem Tech bought us out I did this. I never really bothered to go out even after monster girls showed up. The town just felt the same to me either way. Even if the people were friendlier, the stores were cleaner and full of high quality local goods, the restaurants were better… maybe it's me that’s stayed the same through the years,” I pondered, leaning back in my chair as I felt nothing but discontentment.
I didn’t even notice that Chelsey was so close to me that our knees were nearly touching until she reached out and put a hand on my shoulder, “No need to look so sorry for yourself,” Her draconic, gravely voice comforted me the best it could, “Being anti social seems to have been a common thing in this world for a long time.”
	I found myself leaning my head on her soft, fluffy hand, “Yeah… times have changed and I need to change, don’t I?”
“You’re perfect just how you are,” The friendly goat voice assured me as she turned her hand up my head was in her large palm, her thumb gently caressing my cheek, “I could take you out a bit more, Anon. There’s a lot more local restaurants that I want to try. We’ll ease you into it.” 
I nodded, “Thanks.”
	Chelsey’s fingers slightly gripped my head and a hiss escaped her lips. Even if she was hissing, she looked strangely happy. She let me go and scooted back, “Boss is coming,” A guttural growl from her lion self informed me.
	I straightened myself up, both of us turning as the little gremlin rounded the corner and immediately started assaulting Chelsey with a barrage of questions and demands of what she needed to do next. I tried to push it out of my mind as the short, pushy woman talked with the chimera who calmly engaged in conversation.

	“Not much time left, hm?” Chelsey asked quietly as she leaned back and stretched. I nodded, “Plans for the weekend?”
	I shook my head, “Nah.”
	“Maybe we--” Chelsey stopped herself and shook her head, “Relaxing sounds nice.”
	“You?”
	“Still moving into my new apartment. It’s a little small, but I like it.”
“Good to hear,” I stood and moved past her, “I’ll be right back.”
“Alright,” She made sure to pull her gazing snake tail in so it couldn’t keep me from leaving.
There was a bit more spring in my step than usual as I made my way over to the office kitchen to grab some water for the trek home. I used the fridge’s built-in water and ice dispenser to fill up my metal bottle. A shrill voice startled me as I began to screw on the cap, “Hi, Anon!” Polly squawked at me, blocking the exit.
	“H-hey,” I mumbled.
	“You went out with that new lady, didn’t you!?” She suddenly looked furious, “I kept asking you out and you kept shooting me down! What’s she got that I don’t!?” I anxiously stared, sweat starting to pour down my face as I struggled to speak, “Well?” The harpy impatiently tapped her clawed foot.
	“I-I-I--” I took a deep, shuddering breath, “Y-you’re totally flat,” I stated as firmly as I could, “No m-meat on you at all. A-and you’re too l-l-loud for me… sorry.”  
	“WHAT!?” Polly screeched loudly, rapidly advancing on me, “B-but… Anon, I’m not that thin! I-I have boobs!”
	There was a loud hiss that sent a shiver down my spine, “The man said no,” Two big hands clamped on the harpy’s shoulders. It was Chelsey, of course, who had come to protect me from the tiny, screeching harpy, “Leave him alone,” Her snake part hissed protectively.
	“Okay…” Polly whined, tears starting to fill her eyes.
	“No need to cry, Polly,” Chelsey’s warmer goat part assured her, “Anon may not be on the market, but have you talked to Blake in accounting? I heard he likes girls like you. A lot more friendly than Anon here too.”
	“R-really?” The harpy used her wings to dry her eyes. Chelsey nodded and moved the harpy out of the room. Polly dashed down the hallway toward accounting, “Hey! Blake!” She cried out.
	I shuddered, trying to still my pounding heart. The chimera looked me over, “She didn’t hurt you, did she?” She growled, the aggressive lion grabbed me and held me close, my face was pretty close to her massive breasts, “Are you okay?” The goat ran her softer hand down the back of my head, petting me gently.
	“I’m-I’m fine,” I assured her, pushing her hands off of me.
	She nodded and stepped away from me, realising she had lost as much of her composure as I had. Her calm and collected dragon voice took over, “I am glad to hear that--” She coughed, “my preciousss--” The snake voice spoke for only a second before the dragon took back over, “coworker was not harmed,” Chelsey rubbed her forehead, “That was too much excitement for me. Shall I walk you home?”
	I shook my head, “I don’t want to take up your time any more than I already do.”
	“Let me walk you home,” She repeated. I opened my mouth to speak and she growled quietly, “I am GOING TO walk you home.”
	I frowned, “Alright. I don’t really seem to have a choice.”
	She frowned and shuffled her feet sheepishly, “I’m sorry,” The goat voice came out as an almost pitiful sounding one, “But I’m just so worried about you after that. I’ll be able to sleep tonight if I make sure you get home safe.”
	I just nodded, still a little shaken from the harpy nearly accosting me. 
	
	The darkness of night had long overtaken my small home. My body was weary after a somewhat exciting day at work where Chelsey had told Polly off. I was grateful she had done that, but I didn’t know what she wanted from me. Was she courting me? Planning something nefarious that had something to do with me? Wanting to eat me? I had seen how her lion part had stared at me. There was a bit of uneasiness as I thought about her, but the image of Chelsey in my head was more exciting to me  than fear inducing. I sighed and turned off my computer and prepared to head for bed. My mind only had the chimera in my thoughts. She had forced her way into my life, sitting with me at work, taking me to lunch and was now walking me home after work, it seemed. I wondered what would happen after the weekend, I was almost nervous about what would come on Monday. At least I had the weekend to calm myself down and collect my thoughts on this woman. 
	There was a thump, it sounded like it came from below my apartment. Even if I didn’t really fear it, I still started my nightly rounds of checking my apartment. My mind continued to wander as I checked my windows and doors. I stretched and turned on the light in my main room, shivering as I noticed the open window, the breeze making the curtains billow. I pulled the curtains closed and shut the window, making sure to lock it. My eyes were heavy, but with the front door’s bolts locked and most if not all windows, but I was on the third floor so I knew now I could be at least a little careless. 
I returned to my bedroom and got changed, hearing another thump. I groaned, hoping I wasn’t going to hear my neighbors moaning and shouting all night again. I crawled into bed, letting my body warm up the cold sheets and blanket. I yawned and stretched again, starting to toss and turn like I usually did. Another thump made me jump but I ignored it. A part of me wished that Chelsey was making that thumping but the rest of me, the much more rational part of me, was terrified of that thought. I started to think again, thinking about how she had asked me if I was harmed and held me close to her surprisingly soft body. I found myself wanting that. 
	There was a barrage of thumps, slow at first with a THUNK then rapid, lighter thunks. I groaned again and sat up, wondering what the hell was going on. It took a few moments for me to realise that those thunks were coming from outside my apartment, I had no neighbor in that direction. I got up, slowly grabbing my big maglight flashlight with a shaking hand. I could hardly keep the heavy light stable as I made my way into the main room again. A stiff, chilly breeze met me as soon as I stepped into the room. The window, the one I had thought I had closed and locked, was open again. I wondered if I had just dreamed of myself closing it. I shook myself and closed it, being sure to lock it before stepping away and patting my cheeks, wondering what was wrong with me. 
	I heard another noise, something a little strange. I whipped around, training my flashlight on the couch behind me. I felt a lot of my fear wash away as I stared at a most beautiful and wholly familiar form. I could see the blue, red and purple magical lines across her body, her gorgeous face illuminated and shaded by the flashlight in my hands and a surprisingly beautiful red dress draped across her curvy body, “Come here often, handsome?” A wonderful smile spread across her lips as she sipped on dark red wine from one of my glasses.
“Chelsey?” I rubbed my eyes and moved the flashlight away from her face, “I’m dreaming, right? No way someone that pretty would be in my house.” 
	She giggled with her cheery goat voice, “Here, come sit with me,” Chelsey beckoned me with a friendly smile and a pat on the seat next to her. Still believing I was dreaming to have such a beautiful girl in my apartment. Plopping down on the couch next to her, I could immediately feel her warmth and that was only amplified as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
	My heart thumped as she held me tight, “W-what are you doing here?” I mumbled, trying to keep my cool in front of the chimera.
“What do you think a monster like me is doing here, dressed like this?” Her hungry lion part ran a clawed, dragon scaled hand down my chest.	
“In all honesty, I, uh, don’t know what it is you monsters do to men.”
	“Oh, my sweet summer child,” Her neutral tone came out as did a sigh, “So innocent and pure,” A wicked grin crossed her lips as she grabbed me and forced me to the floor, placed on my back as the large woman climbed atop me, “I will enjoy this,” She snarled as the lion reemerged. I froze up, expecting the worst as her mouth moved to my neck. She was rough as she kissed me, her soft, luscious lips pressing against my neck, ravenously nibbling, licking, and smooching me. I shuddered, excited and a bit afraid as the chimera did as she pleased with me. She pulled away and gently took my chin in her hand, “What is it, Anon?” Her friendly goat voice asked with a frown, “Do you not feel the same as I do?”
	“What are you talking about!?” I demanded, still stuck under her, “I don’t know what it is you want!”
	“You!” The snake hissed, “I want you! I want all this! I will have it!” 
	“What?”
	She rubbed her face, “You are lucky I find your thick headedness so adorable,” Her dragon voice said with the tiniest of smirks, “I want to have sex with you, Anon,” Chelsey finally explained.
	“S-sex? With me?”
	“Yes, I want to make you mine in the eyes of the law, our matrimony coming to fruition as we fornicate!” The dragon voice exclaimed, “I’m so scared that I’m going to lose you,” Goat voice spoke, “Some girl might come out of nowhere and just rape you, forcing you into wedlock with her. Anon, I love you, WE love you. I promise I won’t hurt you,” She kissed me on the cheek.
	“Y-you don’t w-want to eat me?” I whimpered as she stroked my hair.
	“Of course not,” She coughed, “Unless you ask me to swallow that COCK!” The lion voice shouted, roughly kissing me on the lips and grabbing my crotch. As I moaned, her long, rough tongue forced its way into my mouth and started to feel around. The chimera pulled back with a big grin on her face while I was left panting as she had kept me from breathing, “Just say the word, Anon,” She shuddered, “And you will become MINE!” The snake voice hissed in a strangely loving manner. 
	I looked up at her as she caressed my face again. I sighed and looked her in the eyes, “Well… I guess that doesn’t sound too bad,” I chuckled nervously, “But I really don’t feel like you’re going to give me a choice, are you? I’ve heard about monster girls forcing men into it.”
	“Well, I am not forcing you,” The dragon reminded me, “I do not want the love you feel for me to be fake. But like you said, bedding me does not sound all too bad, hm?”
	“Y-yeah… alright, Chelsey. Just… promise me that I won’t be alone anymore.”
	She climbed off of me, now straddling me, “You’re going to be loved for the rest of your life. I will always be by your side. I promise,” The goat voice spoke with a happy grin on her face as she scooped me up and hoisted me over her shoulder, carrying me off to my own bedroom. I was plopped onto the bed, I had hardly a moment before the chimera was upon me, her dress torn off in less than a second. The feeling of her naked skin against mine was heavenly. Her mouth went in for another round of rough kisses. First my collar bone, then my neck, and finally my cheeks and lips, “Such a handsome man,” Her lion voice grinned menacingly and felt my body, one hand inching closer to my pants, “You’re just so cute when you’re nervous,” She chuckled, pulling my underwear down, exposing my member to the cold of my room. I only felt cold for a moment before she straddled me, covering my nethers with the warmth of hers, “Ready?” I could feel her soft, shaved pussy leaking onto my erection.
	I was trembling slightly, “A-as ready as I can.”
	“Do not look so nervous,” She kissed me on the lips again and grabbed my wrists, holding them above my head, “I shall do all the work, my precious husband,” She hissed. She pierced herself on my member, swiftly taking me down to the hilt. I writhed underneath her as the pleasure shot through my body. Due to her being much taller than me, her huge, jiggling breasts were right above my head as she slowly rode me. She went up and down my shaft, her tight pussy clamping on my member as she moaned and groaned atop me. It was a cacophony of her four voices, even the calm and deadpan dragon grunted with pleasure, the goat moaned my name, the lion growled and grinned, and the snake hissed in my ear. Not wanting to lay like a dead fish, I tried to thrust into her, each one of my small thrusts sending her deeper into the throes of ecstasy. She howled, as if all her voices were fighting for dominance and wrapped her arms around my head, pulling me between her breasts as she used her powerful hips to slam herself against me. I groaned, half in pain, half in warning of my impending orgasm.
	“Cum, Anon!” All four voices called out to me at once, “We love you!” The voices turned into a garbled mess of gibberish as she orgasmed, almost painfully clamping down on my cock, forcing me to orgasm deep inside her. I howled between her breasts, muffled by the flesh melons as I grabbed her hips. Once I had finally stopped throbbing and blowing my load in her, Chelsey rolled off of my body and lay on the small bed next to me. She quickly pulled me against her, forcing me to be the small spoon as my head was trapped between her breasts again.
	“I love you. All of you,” I told her.
	She held me even tighter, entwining her legs with mine, “We love you too.”
	It was the best night of sleep I had in a very long time.
	
	. . .

	“Slow down!” I called, weighed down by numerous bags as Chelsey stomped down the sidewalk in front of me. 
	She turned back, her sundress billowing in the breeze and a lightweight navy jacket that I had given to her was keeping her torso warm. It was a little chilly but the sun was out and mostly shining through the fluffy white clouds. She giggled at me, “Anon, you’re keeping up this time!” Her goat voice laughed before she doubled back to me, taking one of the larger shopping bags from me, “I will carry this for you. We are almost at the restaurant,” The calm and collected dragon informed me. I nodded and got a sweet, loving kiss on my forehead before the lion took over and nearly tried to make out with me in the middle of the day in public. 
	I pulled away from her, “Wait till we get home,” I scolded. We had been out all day. Like she had promised, she had been taking me out into the city more and more, getting me acclimated and keeping me from staying too anti-social. She huffed at me, shopping and dining had been on the agenda for today, not that I was complaining, at least I wasn’t now. When we had first gotten together there had been quite a few grumblings from me as she nudged me into social situations, “What restaurant is it?”
	“You’ve been there before. We went out to eat for the first time there,” She grinned.
	“McDonalds?” I wondered, knowing that we were in the area, partially taking the piss out of her.
	“That was second! And it doesn’t count!” She laughed, “Annie’s, Anon. We’re going back to Annie’s.”
	Thoughts of massive steaks crossed my mind. I salivated at the thought of it. Chelsey pulled me inside as I nearly walked right by the restaurant, “Thanks,” I gave her a little smile as she pulled me to a booth.
	“Of course, Anon,” She put our shopping bags on one side of the booth before forcing me into the other side and locking me in by sitting next to me, “Oh, that looks good,” Her lion voice growled as she pointed to the menu. It was a massive cheese burger with everything on it.
	“Yeah, it does. I’ll probably just get one of these spicy chicken sandwiches.”
	“Spicy? Anon you almost cried when we had those spicy wings,” The dragon reminded me.
	“That was when you forced me to do a super spicy wing challenge with you!” I countered, “I can handle it!”
	“Heya dears--” Annie took one look at us and folded her arms, “I hope yar not plannin’ on ordering the steak challenge.”
	With a smile, Chelsey shook her head and spoke with the kind goat voice, “No, not today. Dr. Pepper for us both. I will have the Double Large Cheese Burger. Cheddar cheese, please. Sweet potato fries too. Please. Anon will--” She blinked, “Sorry, you can order for yourself.”
	“I-I’ll have the spicy chicken sandwich, p-please. F-fries please.” I smiled weakly, handing over my menu.
	“Sure thing,” Annie nodded, scribbling it down.
	“Oh, please don’t make his chicken too spicy,” Chelsey whispered, hoping I wouldn’t hear.
	“I can handle it!” I cried, putting my head in my hands in embarrassment.
	Annie laughed loudly, “Alright, hun. You two sit tight.”
Chelsey waited a few minutes before wrapping an arm around me, “Are you really that embarrassed? I am just trying to protect you,” The snake voice hissed.
“No, it's fine. I’m not mad,” I admitted, leaning against her as she kissed my scalp.
“Good. I cannot sleep at night when you are upset with me,” She reminded me, “I love you.”
“I love you too. All of you.”