I couldn’t help but notice how different our apartment was from the fancy places I’d been to recently. Our short trip through the streets told a story of never ending extortion to the point that even this was considered a luxury.

  The door clicked closed behind us as we stepped into our new home. The faint scent of cleaning agents lingering in the air was a good sign. It meant that, even if this place wasn’t special, it was clean.

  We wasted no time exploring the space.

  Two bedrooms, a narrow living area with a small kitchen beside it, and a full bath. It was truly nothing special. But that was okay. It was honestly more than I was expecting, and the simplicity was… nice.

  The only thing that stood out as out of the ordinary was a pair of metal shutters built into the window behind a small sofa, probably there to protect the occupants from random firefights. ‘When in Rome’ I guess.

  “I guess it’ll do,” Valerie muttered begrudgingly from behind me while struggling to tuck the keycard into her pocket with her new arm. It was obvious she didn’t approve of the accommodations, but that made sense.

  She’d grown up rich and never had the perspective of living in a cramped studio apartment shared by multiple roommates like I did. It was a huge step down for her.

  “At least it seems mostly safe here,” I offered with a small smile in an attempt to cheer her up as she lowered me onto the sofa. This would be hard for her, for both of us, but we’d get through it somehow.

  Valerie just gave me a weary nod as she fell into the sofa next to me with a sigh.

  We just sat there, staring at the wall as we slowly processed the events that led us here.

  Waking up in a strange body, beaten by armed guards, attacked and almost killed by a cave monster, getting into massive debt with a shady business owner. It was strange how much could happen in less than a day. My head felt heavy just thinking about it.

  It was a lot, but I couldn’t let it bog me down. I had some important questions for Valerie. Mainly, the finer details of her contract.

  “What kind of work is he having you do?” My concern audible in my voice as I broke the uncomfortable silence. “He’s not making you… you know, sell yourself, right?”

  “Heh. No, don’t worry,” Valerie chuckled dryly. “It’s actually not as bad as you think. I just have to work there as a server and assist customers. He doesn’t require any of his workers to participate in sexual acts.”

  I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. That sounded far too good to be true.

  “Though he did inform me that many of the girls do it anyway if they are offered a large enough tip.”

  There was the catch I was expecting. He probably didn’t pay very well so they were forced to do it anyway, but, through a technicality, weren’t breaking prostitution laws. If those were even a thing down here in this lawless place.

  “I don’t intend to sell myself though,” She continued, unaware of my depressing thoughts. “Us Drakanians can live for over a millennium, so I can afford to take this slow. Even if it takes a few decades to pay off this damn arm. Hell, maybe I’ll be able to afford an actual regeneration spell in a century or two if everything works out.”

  “Huh?! Our kind lives THAT long?! W-wait, how old are we?!” I exclaimed as I had the sudden realization that I could already be a few hundred years old for all I knew.

  I didn’t want to shift focus away from her situation, but while what she was going through was more important than my sudden existential crisis...

  It was hard to wrap my head around such a lifespan, wouldn't you get bored living that long?

  “Relax, you’re not an old lady yet,” Valerie managed to choke out between fits of giggles at my shocked reaction. “You’re nineteen, and I’m a bit older than you at twenty-two. Drakanians are considered legal adults at eighteen. So congratulations on sleeping through to adulthood!”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Ha, ha,” I laughed dryly as I felt my cheeks redden in embarrassment over my outburst.

  Valerie looked like she was going to burst into giggles again as she grinned, cheekily at me.

  I looked around for a weapon to fend off her teasing, but unfortunately there was nothing in range, leaving me defenseless against her playful smirk.

  *Ding Ding*

  A chime came from the door, interrupting our sibling moment.

  “Wait here,” Valerie’s once-joyful gaze turned dead serious as she stood and slowly approached the door, grabbing a knife from the kitchen as she passed the counter.

  I held my breath as my pulse quickened. Would we be taken again? Right after we found some degree of safety?

  “Heya fellas! Ya gonna let me in already?” Relief washed through me as a loud energetic voice bounced through the thin door. A voice I recognized.

  Valerie and I let out our breaths as the tension all but vanished. Though Valerie still held the knife in her hand as she unlocked and opened the door.

  There stood Zerava. Her grinning face peeking out from behind two large pizza boxes.

  “Heya guys! Seres said you looked hungry as you left. So she had me come to deliver you—” She paused for dramatic effect. “—pizza! The food of the body, the mind, and the spirit! The perfect gift for our new family members!”

  “I-I see,” Valerie managed to get out through her surprise as Zerava pushed past her without a care and plopped the pizza boxes down on the counter.

  “The pizza gods require a sacrifice!” Zerava exclaimed clownishly, earning herself an annoyed look from my sister as she snatched the knife away from her hand before cutting out a slice for herself and promptly chomping down on it with gusto. “Mmmm, that is some good pizza. Pepperoni for the pizza god! Cheese for the golden stove!”

  Valerie sighed and used the opportunity to snatch the knife back while Zerava was distracted.

  “You’re Zerava, right?” she asked as she used the knife on the remaining pizza.

  “You got it, gal!”

  “Right… well, thank you for the food. I’ll be sure to thank Seres as well when I get there tomorrow,” I winced at the reminder, hoping that the work she had to do would be bearable.

  “Also, I think Seres wanted me to ease your concerns. Or something like that. I wasn’t really paying attention after she mentioned the pizza,” Zerava snatched another pizza slice before sauntering over and unabashedly plopped down next to me, chewing loudly.

  “That’s good, I did have some questions,” Valerie handed a plate over to me as she sat down between us. “I hope you don’t mind answering them.”

  “Course not! Since I’m the newest, or was until you I guess, I get to be the one to show you around and how we do things over at Aether’s Flame,” She puffed out her chest playfully. “Since I’m the best, and generally the most awesome and helpful, you’ll get the hang of it in no time flat!”

  “Uh huh, right,” Valerie gave her a dubious look before continuing, “Mr. Forester gave me the general idea, but is there anything that you can clarify? Like uniform, company policy, pay, or anything else that he may have missed?”

  “First off, we aren’t one of your stupid corps’, so we don’t have a uniform,” She started listing things off on her cheesy fingers as she spoke.

  “Pay’s great, far more than any small time competitor we may have. We do have some basic ground rules, but those are mostly for our clientele like no touching without permission and stuff like that. Because you’re new, you’ll have a surge of customers that request you personally for the first week or so so they can ‘assess the fresh meat’ as Ivy like to say, but after that they tend to request certain girls to wait on them based on our unique personalities.”

  Zerava took a deep breath and leaned back against the sofa before continuing, “My advice is to just be yourself for the most part and you’ll be fine. They might ask you to do things for more money, but how far you go is completely up to you. Though sometimes not giving an inch more than is required is what they are after. Take Seres for example, when she first started she got a lot of requests for how cool and distant she is. Or maybe it’s just her judging glares when people ask to get stepped on,” she shrugged casually, “who knows.”

  “I see,” Valerie blinked a few times trying to take in and process the unfiltered flood of useful info Zerava just casually dumped out for us.

  “So… you make enough that you don’t have to do whatever the customers ask?” I was surprised at how open she was about all of this, but I had to clarify for Valerie’s sake.

  “Uh, yeah? That’s what I just said,” She tilted her head at me, like I was strange for asking. “Hey Val’, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think your sister might be slightly stupid.”

  “Hey! It was an important question!” I protested as Zerava laughed at me. I pouted as Valerie caved and joined in, but I could tell that she was silently relieved at Zerava’s answer.

  I grumbled and ate the rest of my pizza in silence as Valerie asked a few more questions and Zerava gave her answers. I might not have been the best at reading people, but it seemed like the cat-girl was being completely genuine with her answers.

  It was nice. Knowing that the immediate danger had passed. Funny how, for the first time since I woke up in this body, I felt a sense of normalcy.

  But when I closed my eyes, the memory of that strange message about nanites and regeneration hovered in my mind again. I was too tired to deal with it right now though.

  I’d figure it out in the morning.