Shoggy part 5

    About a week has come and gone since you've started living with Cassandra, a creature not of this Earth call a Shoggoth. While your first impressions were normal for someone in the situation you were thrust into, you've found yourself quickly adapting  to your new life. This morning has been like any other, waking up and going through the daily morning routine.

"Listen, I've got this Cassie." You say picking up her plate covered in the remains of this morning's breakfast of French toast and bacon.

"You don't clean the plates properly Anon, you always forget to do something." Cassandra says with a huff.

"Sweetie you always cook or do something like clean, it won't kill you to rest every so often and let me do this." You say as you walk into the kitchen.

"Yes but you do it wrong and..." Cassandra's protest is cute short as the phone rings.

"Alright you win Cassie," You say leaving the dishes in the sink as you dash for the living room.

    You pick up the phone, noticing the number is from your work. With it being one of your off days you wonder why they would call, dread creeping over you as you realize they may be calling you in. Answering you find your fears well founded; it was your boss, and he needs you in for an odd shift. Business is picking up and they need extra hands. Though hesitant at first you eventually agree to come in for the short time they've asked. Disappointed that your time with Cassie has been cut short, the shift mentioned would only last till around the evening, plenty of time to get home and relax with her.

"How was that on the phone," Cassandra asks as you walk back into the kitchen.

"Work, they want me in for a bit to help out." You say to her, "will you at least let me put the clean dishes away?"

"No, the kitchen is now my domain Anon, and only I shall clean it," Cassandra says in a mock regal tone.

    You roll your eyes and chuckle to yourself. Situations like this are becoming a lot more common, but for you it's a welcome change to being alone. Your brow furrows as your mind starts to realize there was another reason for you being there. You try to remember, your tongue making clicking noises as you try to recall what exactly brought you back to the kitchen. The gears click and you finally remember after a span of a couple of minutes, You wanted to see what was in the fridge. You the left side of the fridge first, scanning its contents before closing the door and doing the same to the right.

"I'm gonna have to go grocery shopping," You muse aloud, opening the left side of the fridge again in some vain attempt to see if the contents have changed.

"If you're gonna go get groceries on your way home today could you pick some things up for me?" Cassandra asks.

"Guess so... Make a list or I'm gonna forget." You say as you close the fridge door once again.

Cassandra seems to be one step ahead of you. "Here you go Anon," she says as she hands you a prepared list

You look at the list with some skepticism, turning it in your hands."This...uh, this isn't made from you is it?" You ask Cassandra.

"I-Its just plain paper Anon," Cassandra says as her face flushes a deep purple.

"Works for me," You say as you pocket the list. "Gonna go get ready now, see ya later this evening Cassie."

Cassandra gives you a quick hug before you leave the kitchen,"Stay Safe Anon, I love you."

"Love you too Cassie," You say returning her hug.

    Your commute to work is a strange one, short enough where driving would be a waste of gas, but long enough where walking does take a bit out of you. Though it lays in that strange twilight range the trip there is standard and uneventful. Work itself is uneventful like your trip there, most of your shift spent just making sure people picking up and dropping off equipment were actually grabbing or leaving the right things. You find that the day speeds by rather quickly, as the sun starts to set. With work over you begin to head home until you realize something, you need to grab groceries. Trying to find the quickest route possible, you duck into a side street to shave off some time from the journey. Turning the corner you bump into someone, knocking both you and them off balance.

"Gotta remember to not take such sharp turns," You say to yourself before looking over at the man in front of you. "You alright?"

"You're a tad bad at the mugging thing you know." The man says brushing himself off.

"First time is always the roughest," You say with a laugh. "Actually just trying to get some Groceries and..."

    You’re cut off mid sentence, something rather quick and powerful tackles you, pinning you to the wall. It's a woman, a rather strong one at that. One with...is she holding you with a giant cat paw?

"If there is so much as a scratch on Avery I'll..." The woman growls out, pressing what feels like several pointy objects against your gut.

"Tanya, put the man down." The man says from behind your attacker, "It's just an accident is all. Neither of us were watching where we were walking."

    The woman hesitates for a second before letting you go, walking up to and behind the man. You pat yourself down, checking to make sure everything is alright. You finally get a good look at not only the man you bumped into but your attacker. The man seems to be older than you, somewhere in the early to mid 30s. His black 3 piece business suit  appears rather untouched, save for what looks like a grime spot on the pant leg. His overall posture hints at an air of authority, clearly the man in front of you is in charge of something of importance you think. You turn your attention to the woman behind him, which isn't hard seeing as she towers above even him. Her body is toned as well as tanned, it doesn't take you too long to figure out how she got the drop on you so quickly. What catches your eyes however is that not only do cat like ears adorn the top of her head, but her forearms and hands are like that of a cat's.

"Sorry about that son, but Tanya is a bit over protective." The man says extending a hand, "name's Avery by the way."

Still shaken, you extend your own hand out nervously. "Uhh...Anon, nice to meet you  Avery," you say as you shake his hand.

Avery Gestures to the woman behind him, "And the lady clinging to me is of course Tanya. Though I think you've two have met already."

"Shouldn't you be trying to kill me or something?" You ask an eyebrow cocked, "I mean I'm looking at a....whatever she is."

"First off son, Tanya is what you'd call a Jinko." Avery says looking you over, "and second I doubt anyone would believe you that a muscular tiger woman almost shredded your guts."

"I'll be honest Avery," You say  your eyes go back to Tanya. "I've got a similar situation at home, though she'd stick out like a sore thumb in public."

    Avery scratches his chin as he contemplates your words, the three of you standing in relative silence for what feels like hours before he speaks again.

"You said you have someone like Tanya at your house," Avery says giving you a hard stare.

"Well not exactly 'like Tanya," You say making air quotes. "But Cassie is a bit like her, not human bits."

"I don't trust him," Tanya said gripping Avery's arm. "He could be planning to rob you, he's..." Tanya's protest cut short as Avery scratches around her ear causing her tense posture to slack.

"I highly doubt he'd do such a thing Tanya and besides, as long as you're here I have nothing to fear right?" Avery says, his words causing Tanya to blush.

"Well I've gotta grab groceries first, entire reason why I came down this way," you say  as you dig the list Cassie left you out of your pocket. "I dunno what you wanna do Avery but I need to handle this first."

"I'm in no hurry son, why don't we grab those groceries you need and we'll chat a bit on the way there." Avery says as he motions you to get moving.

    You continue your journey to the grocery store now with Avery in tow, however as you look over you notice the head count off by one.

"So uhh...how does Tanya do that?" You say looking around for the now missing jinko.

"Skill of her's, you know how cats stalk their prey right? Same thing." Avery says," In any case what do you do for a living son?"

"Assistant warehouse manager," You say as the two of you cross the street. "What about you?"

"Broker for a company in the area," Avery replies. "Was on my way home from a meeting that took pretty much most of the day."

"And you're traveling side streets why?" You ask cocking an eyebrow.

Avery laughs, "well why were you?"

"To save time."

"See," Avery says holding his palms out in front of him. "Great minds think alike."

    Your conversation with Avery continues on for the length of your journey, details about each other shared between the three of you. Entering the store you and Avery split ways as to not draw attention, with Avery heading in one direction and you in the other. Neither of you know why, but the two of you agreed that it would draw eyes and attention to have the two of you near each other. You work quickly, not wanting to waste Avery's time, popping between the isles and grabbing what items you need. Finishing up shopping and leaving with your carriage full of groceries you find Avery waiting outside for you, checking the time on his phone.

"Son, there is no way you're gonna be able to carry all that," Avery says eying the bagged groceries.

Looking at how many bags there are you begin to realize Avery has a point,"I'll...uh figure out a way to do this." You say.

Avery begins grabbing a couple of bags out of your cart, "Son you're a bad liar you know that?"

"Yes actually," You say with joking enthusiasm. "Quite a lot actually."

"So how far is it to your place anyways?" Avery asks you as she shifts the bags in his hands.

"I'd say another ten, maybe fifteen minutes?" You reply hazarding a guess, "though to be fair I overestimate a lot."

    Your trip home resumes after the small detour, Both you and your newfound companion hauling bags of groceries. As you near home you point out to avery your apartment, the faded lemon yellow 3 story house sits in a quieter part of the city, or at least that's what the you were told when you looked at it years ago. You take the lead as you step up the stairs, digging through your pockets till you find the house key you were given.

"Where's Tanya?" You ask looking around "Not many people around so should be safe for her to come out."

"She's never too far behind, wouldn't worry about her son." Avery says readjusting his grip on the bags, "Now let's get this over with my arms are tired."

    You don't even take 2 steps into the apartment before you hear a familiar voice behind you.

"Passage is too narrow, you could easily jump my poor Avery or push him down the stairs." Tanya says  from somewhere behind you, "I don't like it."

"Then you take the lead," You say turning around and offering the keys to Tanya who stands almost directly behind you. "Second floor, that's mine."

	Tanya takes the keys from you, examining them as she holds them. You wonder if she's overprotective or just paranoid, deciding it's probably a mixture of both. The three of you climb the stairs in single file, Tanya stopping on the landing to the second floor. As the three of you enter the apartment you notice it's too quiet, no trace of Cassandra to be found.

"Cassie?" You call out to your seemingly missing wife

"I knew it was a trap, I was right." Tanya says, shooting daggers at you.

"Cassie come on now," yo say putting your bags down. "They're friends."

	Cassandra's head pokes out from inside the bedroom, erring on caution. You've never had people over before, and this is her first time meeting others.

"Anon, who are these people?" Cassandra  asks approaching you.

"Well you didn't lie Anon, she's definitely different from Tanya." Avery says looking over Tanya.

"The gentleman is Avery, and then there's Tanya," you say gesturing to each of your two guests.

Avery's hand extends out towards Cassandra,"nice meeting you miss." he says.

"Missus actually," Cassandra says with pride in her voice.

	Tanya remains silent eying Cassandra, both you and Avery wondering what is going to happen next.

"So you're a mamamo as well?" Cassandra says finally breaking the silence.

"Of course I am!" Tanya says walking up to Cassandra, "and what are you supposed ot be?"

"A shoggoth, it's a type of slime mamamo." Cassandra replies looking up at Tanya.

	Stepping out from behind Avery, Tanya walks towards Cassandra. While slightly taller than Avery, you notice Tanya positively towers over Cassandra.

Avery leans in, whispering to you "Son, are we sure they aren't natural enemies or something?"

"She's safe," Tanya says turning back towards Avery.

"Tanya sweetie, I don't think we needed confirmation of that," Avery says wrapping an arm around Tanya's waist, her posture relaxing at his touch.

"So Anon," Avery says turning to you. "Do you mind if we stay for a bit longer? Would be a bit interested in hearing about you and your lovely wife."

"Well I don't mind, what about you Cassie?" You ask Cassandra.

"Not at all," Cassandra says with a smile. "Though if it's not to much to much to ask, would you help me in the kitchen Tanya? I'd like to get started on supper"

"If we're staying for supper then I will have to," Tanya says. "I want to make sure you don't do anything to my Avery's food."

	Despite every fiber of your being wanting to get in a snide comment you relent, handing the groceries to Cassandra, while Avery hands what he had been carrying to Tanya. While the two head off to the kitchen you show Avery to your living room, offering him up the couch while you take the recliner that sits in the corner. You flip on the television offering Avery if there is anything he wants to watch, to which he declines, instead the TV becoming background noise.

"Avery I gotta ask, how are you so calm about this?" You ask as you tuck the remote between the chair's cushions.

"What do you mean son?" Avery asks you.

"I mean we literally just met and you're in essentially a stranger's house." You say, a hint of concern in your voice.

"It's easy son, after meetin' Tanya I've been a bit more open to the world around me, that and you didn't freak out seeing her."

"That's because I spent most of that energy when I came home to a cleaned house and Cassie," You say to Avery. "Jokes aside, how long have you been with Tanya?"

Avery seems to mull the question over,"Oh I'd say about two maybe three years?" He says.

"Three years?!" You say with some surprise, "Cassie only came about a week ago."

"That's a bit of a story son, you sure you wanna hear it?" Avery asks you.

You shrug towards Avery,"we've got time."

Avery frowns as he begins to recall, "well at the time I had just got out of my second marriage, turns out my whore of an ex had been screwing other guys while I was away on business trips. Guess I should have seen the signs it would be a complete shit show after my first wife left me for never bein' around." He says, his shoulders slumping.

"In any case I get home one day from a trip, and she's there fussin' over me asking if my trip was alright, of course the first thing I do is demand to know who the hell she is."

A smile cracks over Avery's lips as he continues,"She introduces herself and hands me this old looking book, says it's 'from the gods'. At first I didn't believe her, so she goes and hands me the book and I take a look inside, and inside there was some stuff in that book I never told anyone."

	A doubtful noise escapes you as you listen to Avery's story,

"Well what else is god or the gods or whatever gonna do to convince ya son?" Avery says looking offended

"Nothing Avery, just that I didn't get a book." You say, "it was more like a hastily written note."

"You're shittin' me son," Avery says in an incredulous manner.

	You leave the living room heading towards the bedroom, returning moments later with the by now heavily crumpled note.

"This was the only thing you got?" Avery says looking it over, your only response is a simply 'mhmm'.

"Anyways Avery, you wanna continue your story?" You ask.

"Right...So I look through the book and there is some basic info, and some spiel about how I got 'chosen' to 'test' Tanya."Avery continues on, " thought it was a load of bull in all honesty."

"So how long did it take you to get used to her?" You ask

"Not too long, got jumped one night comin' home from the office. I'm about ready to hand over the wallet when suddenly BAM!" Avery claps his hands together for emphasis, "Tanya comes out of no where and pretty much deals with the problem, started fussing over if I was alright or not."

	As the two of you continue to talk you begin to build a picture of how Avery and Tanya grew close, Avery omitting most of the more obscene bits. Eventually Tanya and Cassandra call for Avery and yourself respectively to the table, dinner is ready. During the meal you're finally able to get a closer look at Tanya, while her body is toned and muscled, her face displays signs of age as you notice the slight wrinkles in the corner of her eyes. The dinner conversation fluctuates from how the two girls cooked and prepped to moments each couple shared, your voices mingling and filling the apartment. Eventually dinner comes to an end, utensils clattering onto plates as the four of you gather everything up to bring to the kitchen to be cleaned, a task that Cassandra insists on doing herself. As the night grows eventually your impromptu dinner party comes to an end, you and Cassandra thanking Avery and Tanya for coming over.

"Anon, mind throwing me your number?" Avery asks as the four of you exchange your final goodbyes. "I figure people in our situation should keep in contact."

"Uhh...yeah sure," You say, waiting for Avery to take out his phone before reciting your own hone number.

"Right, well that takes care of that." Avery says stuffing the phone back into his pant's pocket, "Thank you Anon, you and your missus' hospitality was appreciated."

	You reach out and shake Avery's hand for the last time that night, bidding the two a safe trip home.

"Well that was fun," You say to Cassandra as the two of you stand there, the sounds of Avery and his wife slowly fading as they left the building.

Cassie hugs  you, a big smile on her face, "It was, its honestly nice knowing there's a couple like us out there."

"Guess you're right. Though sometimes I feel bad Cassie, we can't exactly go out," You say to her

"It's fine Anon," Cassandra says sinking into your embrace. "I have my Anon, so I'm happy."

	You stroke Cassie's head tenderly, these touching moments are something you've come to enjoy from your newfound relationship.

"Hey Anon?" Cassandra asks as she looks up at you. "It's late, let's go to bed."

You kiss Cassandra on the head, a serene look on your face as your joy mixes with fatigue from the day, "Alright."

	The two of you head off to the bedroom, ready to put the eventful day behind you.