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Die Role, by SpectralWolf, November 2020 (revised October 2021)

"She was an ordinary person... until she die'd."

Chapter 4: History lessons

Karen followed Mia through Chinatown, as the black furred feline girl led the way. The white furred wolf girl - who under the influence of the cursed necklace that she was wearing was now solidly of the lesbian persuasion, and more than a little bit horny - appreciatively kept her eyes on the slender ass of her older friend, so beautifuly wrapped in the Chinese girl's emerald green cheongsam style minidress. "So, yeah, something other than Chinese Food would be welcome. I could use something different. I've mostly been eating Chinese, or stuff from the Jewish bistro," she said, shaking her head as unbidden sexual meanings and images for 'eating Chinese' flooded her imagination, and trying to rein in the unaccustomed feelings of attraction for the other girl which she was experiencing.

"You'll like this place, then. Definitely something different," Mia said with a grin. They went two blocks east and a block north, and she stopped at a section of a building which was decorated like an old-time waterfront warehouse. A sign over the open archway read, 'Shanghai Mike's Pub', and featured a tough-looking Irish red fox, dressed like a 1920's era dock worker, with a Shillelagh-type wooden club in one hand, resting on his shoulder, and a bottle of whisky in the other. There were stairs in the archway, between stacks of crates and barrels, which led down towards the basement level. There did not appear to be any street-level dining, though there was a small elevator, hidden inside one of the large crates, and accessed on the side facing the stairs. A menu, plastered to the side of one crate like a shipping manifest, indicated that the restaurant below offered primarily traditional Irish foods. "It's a basic Irish pub, but with a 1920's era Chinese waterfront decor."

"A Chinese/Irish pub? Wow... That's 'different' all right!" Karen said, as they descended the stairs.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs, they were in the bar and restaurant's lobby, which also had a ticket booth for the underground tours. The walls were decorated with photos and drawings of the old speakeasy days, almost 100 years ago.

Mia pointed out some of the photos on the walls, and said, "Yeah... this building was an Irish-owned warehouse, on the edge of Chinatown, back in the days when it was rumored that smugglers brought goods in from the waterfront via underground tunnels, and frequently drugged and kidnapped unwary men, to force them to work as enslaved sailors, or kidnapped women, to force them to work in brothels. This pub opened in 1965, and they play up their connection to the old Shanghai tunnels. The kidnapping was largely a myth, but the tunnel network is certainly real. They date back to the 1870's, when Chinatown was built here. This was an undesirable part of the town, which the European folk didn't want to live in, because the river occasionally flooded it. Chinese laborers, mostly men, set up their homes and businesses here. The tunnels were officially used to move honest cargo from the ships to various warehouses, hotels and businesses in Chinatown and downtown, as a way to keep cargo out of the rain, and to avoid heavy surface traffic. There are underground tours that start here, and take you through part of them. They'll show you places where illegal Chinese immigrants lived in the 1880's, and where, especially during Prohibition, in the 1920's and early 1930's, Chinese criminal gangs ran speakeasies, gambling dens, brothels, and opium parlors. This place was one of the real speakeasies, back in the day. Back then, you had to go in through a fake Chinese tailor shop. The 'tailor' was actually a lookout, and if you had the right password, you could go past him, into what looked like his apartment. Then you had to go through a side door and into a kitchen that seemed to serve a small Chinese restaurant next to the tailor shop. A Chinese cook in that kitchen, who was really a second guard, would check you out, and allow you to get past a locked steel door that looked like it should be a meat locker, to get to the stairs to get in here."

"You seem to know a lot about this place. Eat here often?" Karen asked.

"I do, but I also used to work here, before Mister Chen hired me," Mia replied. "Both as a waitress, and as a guide for the underground tours. I'd flunked out of college, and I was just starting to look for a better paying job, with more hours than the spotty schedule I had here. I had only told a few family members. But Mister Chen is my cousin Mei Linn's godfather, and one of my own parents' best friends. So he heard I was job hunting, from one of them, I guess. I didn't even have a resume printed up yet, but he didn't care. One day, he came here to get lunch, and when I waited on him, he asked me to drop by his shop after work. We had an... interesting chat, when I did. Kind of like your interview, I gather. I left his shop with a new job, as his sales assistant. That was three years ago. I've seen some really strange things since then, while working for him. But nothing close to as weird as what you got hit with."

A bobcat waitress came by. Apparently the girl knew Mia as a regular customer, because after she seated them in a booth, although she did not greet Mia by name, she asked the feline girl if she wanted 'her usual', and rattled off a few menu choices. Mia confirmed those choices for herself, and recommended a few things to Karen that she might like. It was late enough after the lunch rush, and early enough before dinner, that there were no other customers within a few tables of them.

After the waitress left with their orders, Karen looked around, to be certain it was relatively safe to speak freely, then quietly said, "Yeah, it would take a whopper to top my curse. So... you've known Mister Chen a long time? Can you tell me anything else about him? He doesn't talk much about himself. At least, not to me."

"Not to anyone. He just doesn't seem interested in telling stories about his past, not like most older folks do," the feline girl replied. "His family and ours have been close since the late 1940's, when one of his ancestors helped my Grandpa Zhou and his wife to found the Jade Dragon restaurant. I've known him my whole life. He's extended family - comes to birthdays, weddings, funerals... he's almost always around, but... seldom the center of attention. Even when the Chang and Zhao families throw a birthday party for him, no one mentions his exact age. I asked him once, when I was eight, and he just replied, 'Old enough to be wise, wise enough not to say.' And then my grandmother quickly told me it was impolite to ask him that. Most elders are happy to say when they reach a milestone age, like 70 or 80. Not him. He says he just celebrates still being alive, not the number of years. My parents are in their late 50's, and they remember when he took over the shop from his uncle, in 1970. That uncle, as well as the ancestor who founded his shop, were both also known as 'Mister Chen', though I imagine each of them had different first names. My grandparents were around 10 or 12 at the time, and say he looked like he was in his late 20's then, so he's got to be nearly 80 now."

"Well, he sure is in good shape, for such an old guy," Karen said. "I've seen him move faster than I can, to catch a piece of antique porcelain that some customer accidentally knocked off a shelf. And he's stronger than either of us, when it comes to moving heavy crates of merchandise."

"Well, he's practiced good dietary and physical discipline his whole life. He still works out at least once a week at the Scarlet Tiger Dojo, where I train, and he has black belts in Tai Chi and Kung Fu!" Mia replied.

"Impressive! But he's all alone here? No relatives of his own in this city? That's sad, but it's great your family treats him like a beloved relative," Karen said.

"Yeah... He's told me that he has a sister and a nephew back east somewhere. Not sure he ever said exactly where. But he has no relatives in this region, not that I know of, anyway," Mia replied. "I don't think he ever married, or had any kids. That's why he's been grooming his nephew to take over the shop when he retires. I gather he helped to put that nephew through college. He's also been generous to other young people in the neighborhood, and gives to local charities. He lives a pretty simple life. No car, as far as I know. He either walks, or takes a cab. He plays Mah Jhong at a local social club, and occasionally plays chess with people in the park. He also likes to just hang out anywhere that people are having fun, and people watch. I've seen him more than once in the Inferno club, just quietly sipping on a drink, and watching everyone."

"Oh? I recall he mentioned seeing Amber 'at work' in Inferno, but I was beginning to wonder if he had any vices at all!" Karen said with a laugh.

"Oh, a few," Mia admitted. "He has an occasional drink, but never to excess. Never tobacco. I've smelled a faint scent of marijuana smoke on him once in a while, but I've never seen him stoned. And I've noticed another, sweeter smell, that I'm pretty sure may be opium. Kind of like undercooked brownies, with an odd, fishy taint," Mia replied quietly. "Don't be too shocked at that. Opium smoking is not all that uncommon among elderly Chinese folk around here. It's kind of a culturally accepted thing, in moderation. My grandfather admits he uses it, when his arthritis gets particularly bad. There's still at least one functioning opium den in the Shanghai tunnels, somewhere, I'm certain. When I was learning to be an underground tour guide, there were a few areas that did not have locked gates, but we were told never to go down those tunnels. I saw my grandpa coming out of one of them, though. And he wouldn't tell me what he had been doing, but he had the same sweet scent clinging to him."

"Wow... okay, pot I don't mind. I've tried it a few times myself, when friends in high school offered me a joint. But I've always steered clear of any harder drugs," Karen said. "Does... oh heck, how can I even ask this without coming across as racist? Does that mean there is still a Chinese crime syndicate active around here, like back in the Prohibition days?"

"No offense taken. Seriously, you've been overly cautious about offending me with questions about Chinese life. I think it's sweet, that you try so hard to be culturally sensitive," Mia assured her. "I'm the same as you, when it comes to pot and other drugs. I guess most of our generation is that way, about weed at least. Personally, I'd rather have a beer or a mixed drink. But if a friend offers me a joint, in a safe setting, I'll accept it. Pot's probably less harmful than booze, really. I mean, 'medicinal use' of cannabis has been legal here for years, and you know a lot of people probably manage to buy pot through 'medicinal dispensaries', just as a recreational drug. And they passed a law last year allowing our state to tax sales of weed, so you can bet by next year, or at least by 2017, it will be legal for recreational use too, and openly sold in stores all over the place. I don't buy anything but booze, though, so I don't even know for sure where my friends get weed, let alone where grandpa smokes his opium. Both the Tong and the Triads, which are the two main Chinese crime syndicates, do still have a presence here. They built the Shanghai tunnels, and there used to be bad gang wars here, ages ago, between different factions. But today they keep a low profile. You don't hear business owners like my parents complaining about paying protection money, or gang wars, or stuff like that. And I've never seen Chinese gang-related problems around here, aside from some graffiti taggers in the industrial area, by the train station and bus depot, to the north of Chinatown."

They changed the topic to gaming as they saw their waitress returning with their food, and stopped talking entirely to eat. Both of them were quite hungry by now, and the food was delicious.

After they had settled their bill, Karen excused herself to go use the bathroom. The women's restroom was being cleaned, so she perused the old prohibition-era photos on the wall, while she waited. A photograph of the entire Chinatown area, apparently taken in 1925 from atop a downtown building a few blocks to the south, confirmed one thing which she had suspected about the Curiosity Shoppe. She could clearly see it in the photo, and it had hardly changed a bit in the last 90 years. Back then, it was taller than the buildings on either side of it, and the street it was on was wider, with a small park where the Inferno club was today. There was what looked like a hotel behind it, similar in height, where the parking garages and the north end of her apartments were today. At three and four stories tall, the shop and the hotel were among the tallest buildings in Chinatown, just like today. The Jade Dragon and Karen's end of the apartment building she lived in was not there yet of course. Just some two story retail-type buildings, on either side of the shop.

She looked at several other historic photos, mostly of Chinese dock workers, steamship freighters at the city docks, and of the old speakeasy that used to be here. Then the staff person finished cleaning the bathroom, and she went in.

On her way back to Mia, Karen spotted something odd in one framed photo in that back hallway, and looked closer. Then she froze in place, staring at a fairly close range image of a group of six people drinking in the speakeasy. There in the photo, quite clearly visible at the right end of the bar were two other people. The fox bartender looked normal enough, as did his six customers. But on the edge of the scene, a Chinese red panda guy was passing a case of whisky bottles to the bartender, offloading a dolly with several other cases of booze on it. And that guy looked exactly like Mister Chen! Younger, certainly. He couldn't be older than in his early 30's, in this photo. But his face markings, lack of head hair, and the style of cylindrical Chinese cap were just like her employer! She checked the date on the picture frame, certain it must be a staged photo, possibly from when the Shanghai Mike's restaurant first opened. But the little brass tag insisted the photo was taken in 1921, shortly after Prohibition began. She got out her phone and snapped a picture of the whole framed photo, then zoomed in close on the red panda for another, and on the brass tag on the frame for the third. Then she rushed back to Mia, her mind exploding with questions.

===

As soon as they were out of the restaurant, Karen grabbed Mia's arm and said, "We need to talk in private, right away!"

"Huh? Hey, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Mia remarked. "My apartment is just over there, diagonally across the Chinese Gardens. Can it wait till we get there? I don't have a roommate, and my gaming group won't be arriving for another hour."

"Yeah, it can, but let's hurry. My mind feels like it is about ready to explode!" Karen replied, picking up her pace and almost dragging Mia along with her.

"Oh no! Is it... 'you know what'... acting up again?" The feline girl asked fearfully, picking up her own pace and leading her friend to her apartment.

"Not that, thankfully," Karen insisted. "But I saw something in there... something even weirder than what has happened to me. I really don't want to explain more, until we're sure no one can hear us, okay?"

"Sure... but you've really got my curiosity going... and you know what they say about cats being curious!" Mia's tail twitched anxiously as they rushed into her apartment building, she keyed in the lock code to get past the public lobby, and they took the elevator to the fourth floor.

Karen followed almost blindly, not really noticing anything until they were inside Mia's place. The curtains on the far side of the room were closed, so she couldn't see outside. But just the parts of the apartment that she could see so far - the living room, plus the open kitchen and dining areas on the right - were decidedly bigger and fancier than the wolf girl had expected. "Wow! You live here? By yourself? Nice! How can you afford a place this big, in downtown?"

"We... can discuss that later," Mia replied, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "What was so urgent that we had to run all the way here?"

"First, do you have a wireless printer? I could show you photos on my phone, but it will be easier to see if we can print them bigger," Karen said.

"Over there with my computer, on that desk on this side of the low wall between us and the kitchen. Look for 'EmeraldChi' as a wifi router, and give me your phone so I can put in my router's password. Then you can print to the 'Emerald-color' printer, on that wifi network. Photo quality paper is in tray two," she replied.

They got the three snapshots started printing, and while they waited, Mia sat at her dining table and placed quick calls to her gaming friends, informing them they would have a new player joining the gaming group tonight.

When the photos were done printing, Karen gathered them up and said, "You know those photos they have all over the place, in the Shanghai Mike's restaurant? I saw something impossible in one of them! Look at this." She dropped the closeup of the red panda on the table in front of Mia, with shaking hands. "Recognize that guy?"

"Mister Chen? Ummm, I'd guess back when he was 30 or so? But what is he doing?" Mia asked. "And why are he and that other guy dressed up for a costume party?"

In answer, Karen dropped the other two photos - the full framed image, and the brass tag dating the photo - on the kitchen table. "He's delivering whiskey, apparently... In a speakeasy... In 1921!"

"What? No... there... there must be some mistake. I could believe maybe 50 years ago when the current pub got started, in 1965," Mia said, shaking her head. "No...If the date on the frame is right, it must be an ancestor of his. He'd have to be over a hundred and thirty years old today, to look that age in 1921! No one in real life ever lives that long. That only happens in stories, or in fantasy role playing games."

Karen dangled her cursed necklace from the hand wearing her equally magical bracelet. "No one in real life ends up wearing magic bracelets or cursed necklaces, either! But I did... in HIS shop! What the hell is going on here?"

"Well... I... I really don't know... I mean, I could show you a picture of my great grandmother, that you would swear was me. And his ancestors in the Chen family have been here since the 1850's. Almost as long ago as when Timberland was founded as a logging town," Mia replied, uncertainly. She looked closer at the enlarged pictures of the red panda and of the brass tag on the picture frame. "Sure does look like him, though. Really strange, all right."

"You said one of his ancestors helped your grandfather to start the Jade Dragon. Are there any photos from back then, that might show what that 'Mister Chen' looked like?" Karen asked eagerly.

Mia frowned in concentration, then said slowly, "Well... I don't know for sure, but I think there are some photos like that in the banquet room. He might be in one. But this is silly! My parents knew Mister Chen in the 1970's, and they told me he was less than 30 then. Our family has watched him get older for the last 45 years! He couldn't possibly be a hundred years old or older, and still look just as young as we know he looked 45 or 50 years ago! That's impossible!"

"Maybe not," Karen said, as her fur color almost instantly morphed to match Mister Chen's red panda fur and markings. This looked incredibly odd, as she was still shaped like a petite female wolf, with long, snow white hair. "But me changing my coloring like a hyperactive chameleon should be impossible too, even with my magic bracelet." She shook her head, and her fur almost instantly returned to her normal winter white timberwolf coloring. "Even Mister Chen can't explain why I can use the bracelet's magic to change myself so completely, or so fast, without even touching it. Magic doesn't seem to follow the rules you and I were taught about what is and isn't possible. I really don't know what is impossible any more. But I know I want answers."

"So do I, but we can't get them here, tonight," Mia said. "Hide those pictures in your fanny pack, and don't mention a word of this to my gaming group! I suppose we can just... ask Mister Chen, tomorrow. But... Well, what if he says it's just an ancestor? Heck, even if he admits he really is that old... what's next?"

Karen gathered up the printed pictures, folded them, and tucked them into her fanny pack, adding her phone before zipping it up. "Oh, I don't know! But just for once, I wish I could make sense of all this!"

===

Before they could discuss it further, there was a knock at the door. Mia went to answer it, and admitted two feline guys and a feline girl. The two guys bore a strong family resemblance to Mia. Like her, they were both Oriental Shorthair cats, with black fur, green eyes, and Chinese facial features. One had his hair in a short 3" braided pigtail, while the other wore his hair in a bowl cut. They were both a few inches taller than Mia, and perhaps a few years younger. Clinging to the arm of the boy with the bowl cut was a slender and quite attractive chocolate point Siamese cat girl, with shoulder length dark brown hair, and blue eyes.

The boy with the pigtail hugged Mia, kissed her on the mouth, and said, "Hey Sis! So, is this the friend you mentioned? You didn't say how cute she was!" He kept an arm wrapped around Mia's slender waist.

"Simmer down, you big lug!" Mia replied. "Yes, this is Karen Bright. She's been working with me for the last week. Karen, this overly familiar goofball is my little brother, Jung. The other guy is my cousin, Rio. He's Mei Linn's big brother. And this is Rio's girlfriend, Sue."

"Nice to meet all of you," Karen said. "Though I'm beginning to worry that this might be awkward, with me as the only dog in a room full of cats."

Mia laughed, disentangling herself from her brother's embrace, "I don't think she's ever had a friend of a different ethnicity before. She's so worried about saying something culturally insensitive. Relax, Karen. We aren't that thin skinned. Just treat us like you would your friends back in Haven, and we'll all get along fine."

"Oh! You will not be the only dog, Karen!" Sue said. "Karl will be here too, yes Mia?"

"Did I hear my name?" said a deep male voice from the hallway. The door was still open, and through it came a tall, muscular Rottweiler dog, with a dark brown crew cut.

Karen froze in place, recognizing the sexy male jogger who the queer saluki femboy, Jamie, had been pursuing in the park, only yesterday. The muscular canine dreamboat had flirted with Karen, as well, but she quickly realized that he couldn't possibly remember her, since she had been in her femboy form then, as Kip. Regardless of her current lesbian leanings, the memories of how strongly he had affected her when she was a gay male femboy were still strong enough to render her speechless, for a moment.

"Ohhh, and is this delightful new lady the friend you mentioned would be joining us tonight, sis? Charmed to meet you, miss... Karen, was it?" He reached out and took Karen's unresisting hand, and kissed it like an old-world courtier. Still holding her hand, he said, "Karl Chang, at your service! I'm Mia's big brother. Adopted, of course. Her parents adopted me as an infant, a year before she was born. And is it too much to hope that a lovely girl like you just might be single?"

"Give her a chance to talk, big brother." Mia said with a laugh, moving to Karen's side, and protectively placing her arm around the wolf girl's waist. "And you're charming sweet talk is wasted on her. She doesn't swing that way... usually."

Karl released Karen's hand, and cocked his head as he looked aprasingly at his sister. "Oh ho? Claiming her for yourself, sis? I thought you were trying to reel in Steve, at the Bistro." He turned to Karen, gave her a big grin, and said, "Apologies, my dear. My sister doesn't usually date girls, but I can certainly see why she might switch sides for you! No worries. I play with anyone that's willing, boys or girls, but I don't ever poach other people's dates. My sister neglected to mention that you two were an item."

Karen finally snapped out of it enough to stammer, "Oh! We're not! I mean, I do... pretty much prefer girls, but... we're just friends! And I... haven't really been dating anyone, yet."

"Then I can still hope to talk you into a date? Well, if you ever have a craving for a 'thick German sausage', instead of 'eating tacos', I'd be happy to show you how much fun a guy can offer you. Ow!" The last exclamation came as Mia playfully bopped him on the head.

"You boys are both hopeless! She came here to play card games with us, not to get seduced, by you or by me!" Mia replied. She turned to Karen and said, "I fear my brothers are much too eager to find new 'playmates'. Karl, in particular. But they're both relatively harmless. Tell them no, and they'll respect that. Won't you, boys?"

"Yes ma'am!" Her brothers replied in unison, though both were grinning. It seemed to Karen that their sister had chastised them many times before, for being too flirtatious.

"Can't blame us for trying though, can you? She really is quite pretty," Karl added. "So! Has Mia told you how tonight's game is played?"

"Umm, yeah, she has," Karen replied, blushing slightly. "And, er... thanks for the compliment. If I was going to try dating a guy, you'd stand a good chance, I think. So, let's play!"

===

The evening went by all too fast, and Karen's troubled mind was quite pleasantly distracted. The card game was quite fun to play - a very tongue in cheek spoof on more serious fantasy adventure role playing games. And some of the puns, both on the cards and bandied about by the players, were outrageously amusing.

Both unattached brothers still flirted playfully with Karen all night, but they also commented on what a cute couple Mia and Karen made. In response to their insinuations, Mia kind of flirted with Karen too, though it seemed more like she was trying to discourage her horny brothers, rather than seriously making passes at Karen. Rio and Sue merely watched the other's byplay, with apparent amusement.

As they played, they also learned more about each other. Karl and Jung both worked as cooks at the restaurant their family owned, and Rio was a waiter there, as well as being in training to become their accountant. Karl also worked part time as a student instructor at the Scarlet Tiger Dojo. Sue, whose actual Chinese name was Ai Shu Wu, worked at a very large downtown bookstore. Like Karen, she was fairly new to the town, having only moved to Timberland a year ago, for her job.

Karl freely admitted to dating both genders, while Jung shyly admitted to only being bi curious, while primarily straight. Rio and Sue obviously had eyes only for each other. Karen responded by saying that she did kind of have a girl crush on Mia, but insisted they were not dating. Mia eventually assured the others that this was true, and that she and Karen really were 'just friends'.

After four and a half hours of gaming, Karl and Jung had to leave at 9:30, to go to work at the restaurant. Karl made a point of giving Karen his phone number and email address, before he left. "In case you ever want to give playing with the other team a try," he added with a smug grin, when he handed her the slip of paper.

Rio and Sue stayed for a while longer, and the remaining players switched to playing another weird card game, loosely based on the French revolution, where the idea was that they were executioners taking turns running the guillotine, and the goal was to collect the most highly valued noblemen's heads. Karen was glad the flirting had stopped with the departure of the brothers. She had been getting more and more confused about Mia's intentions all night.

Mei Linn joined them about 10:30, having ended her waitress shift at the restaurant. They shifted games again, this time playing one where you got dealt cards with random words and phrases, and had to make funny fake tabloid headlines. Mia seemed pleasantly surprised to see Karen, and was decidedly amused when she caught her cousin, Mia, holding Karen's hand, or placing a hand posessively on the wolf girl's thigh. The only comment she made, however, was, "Ah! I see that the boy at the bistro has some unexpected competition! Do let him down gently, cousin. He's a nice enough guy." Mia just blushed, and placed her hands back in her lap.

They finally called it a night about midnight, when Rio, Sue and Mei Linn headed for their respective homes.

===

"I like your family, Mia," Karen said, once it was down to the two of them. "Your brothers' sense of humor is a real hoot. God, I don't think I have ever heard so many atrocious puns in one night before!"

"They all like you, as well, and... they seem to approve of the idea of us as a couple, if we choose to pursue that further. Though Karl seems to like you a bit too much, for my liking!" Mia replied. "Would you like another beer, before you go?" They had not been drinking any alcohol while gaming, because the brothers had to go to work, and both Sue and Mei Lin did not drink.

"Yeah, sure, a beer would be nice. And I really didn't mind Karl's flirting." Karen replied. "If I was bi, straight, or a gay male, I wouldn't mind dating him. Heck, as Kip, I would have melted into his arms in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, well... you be careful around him, okay? My big brother can be... very persuasive. If you start dating him, I'd bet your virginity would be gone in less than a week!" Mia warned. As she opened two bottles of pale ale, and handed one to Karen. "Karl is a real stud, and he's much too well aware of it. He has a lot of lovers, but never seems to have a serious girlfriend or boyfriend. At least I can assure you that he's careful about safe sex. He'd probably take precautions to make sure you don't get pregnant. Can't recall any of his past lady friends ending up with bulging bellies. He'll only bareback a girl if he is certain she is on birth control, even though filling a girl's cunny to overflowing while he is firmly knotted inside her is his favorite type of sex."

"Oh?" Karen replied, as she took a sip of her beer. "I thought he seemed quite charming and nice."

"Oh, he is nice, in spades. So nice he can charm the panties off a girl before they realize he's seducing them. Or to seduce another guy. He is very dominant, and knows just how to use his charming ways to get what he wants, especially when what he wants is sex," Mia replied, as she opened the floor to ceiling curtains of her apartment windows, revealing a rather spacious 4th floor balcony overlooking the Chinese gardens, to the south, below. She opened a sliding glass door, and went outside.

Karen joined her friend on the balcony. Chinatown sprawled before them, bordered on the left by the waterfront park and river, and on the right by the gay nighclub area, and further away, to the south, the rest of downtown. The balcony also extended further to the left, around the corner of the building. "Wow! Killer view! The city looks so pretty at night. And around the corner is yours too? The view of the river must be amazing."

"It is, yeah," her friend replied wistfully. "Come look from over here." Mia led her to the corner, past a second sliding glass door. Around the corner, the balcony was just as long, and there was a third sliding door near the far end. Across the river, the city stretched for miles, until it reached the eastern hills. "The sunrises are amazing, especially when an early morning fog blankets the town. Then it looks like a vast, grey lake, tinged with reds and gold. We're just high enough here to be above the usual fog banks. That's my bedroom, behind us. I usually keep the curtains open, so I can wake up to that magical view."

"With a view like this, your rent must be way more than I can afford, for sure!" Karen said quietly. "How can you do it, without a roommate? Why such a big place, for just you? You've been working for Mister Chen for three years, but your duties and mine are pretty similar. Your salary can't be all that much more than I get paid."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I do make more than you, but probably not all that much more. Mister Chen is more than fair when it comes to the wages he pays. As for how big this place is, I was... supposed to share this with someone else," Mia replied sadly, her voice choking up slightly, as she wiped away a single tear from her eyes. "Nine years ago, in 2006, when I was 18, almost 19, this was going to be our perfect little love nest. My high school sweetheart and I were all set to move in together, several months after we graduated from high school. We both had jobs, and together, we could just barely afford it. Kenny and I were very much in love, but we both knew we were too young to get married right away. And his parents wanted me to convert to their religion, and for us to get married in their church, when we did. But after he publicly proposed to me, our parents reluctantly agreed to let us move in together, as long as we promised to keep our virginity intact, and sleep in separate bedrooms, until we got married."

"But... what happened?" Karen asked. "You said it was 'supposed to' be your place, together... not that it ever was?"

"Yeah, well... we blew it. Or rather, I did, big time," Mia replied."We were already doing oral and anal sex, and had been for nearly half a year. On the day I signed the lease, I was so happy that I insisted he should pop my cherry, to celebrate the start of our lives together. We got caught by Karl, in my old bedroom at my parents' place, with my fiancé firmly knotted in my freshly deflowered cunt. My dear big brother got videos and pictures with his phone, before he let us know he was there in the hallway. Long story short, Karl was nice, and didn't tell our parents, but... what happened that night frightened Kenny, and two weeks later, before he even tried to move in, Kenny called off our engagement. But he never asked for his share of the deposits or rent back, either. He even sent me a check to chip in for my next month's rent. He left the area, to attend an out of area college, and we told everyone he hoped to get back together with me after he had a degree, but... well, things happened, and... he never came back"

"Ohhhh, that's so sad! But at least he didn't knock you up, like my mom's high school sweetheart did to her!" Karen said, coming close to hug her friend from behind. "So I suppose you had to scramble to get a new roommate? But you don't have a roommate now? I'd offer to split this place with you, but I just signed a one year lease."

"That's okay. I don't need a roommate now. Back then, I tried other roommates, sure. But they never worked out. The first girl brought home a steady string of 'boyfriends', and which guy she was with changed so often that I seriously wondered if she was actually a prostitute. Some of her boyfriends were really creepy, and I didn't feel at all safe around them. The next two or three girls I roomed with weren't much of an improvement, either. I even tried having a gay guy share the place with me," Mia said. "It was in May of 2007, about nine months after our breakup, when I found out Kenny had knocked up a vixen girl, who he met at college, and that he had married her. Well, that eliminated any remaining shreds of hope I might have had for our ever getting back together. So I... took advantage of an offer which had been made to me, which gave me a way to cover my rent, without a roommate."

"I want to ask how, but... you sound pretty reluctant to talk about it. I apologize for even asking. None of my business," Karen said, finishing off her beer. "I... I should go. Sorry I upset you, Mia."

"No, please stay," Mia quickly said, catching her friend's arm. "I... already made up my mind to let you know this secret of mine. Only fair, since I know some real doozies now about you. And... well if we ever were to start dating each other, it's something I would want you to hear first from me, and not second hand."

"Okay, I'm listening. You have my undivided attention," Karen said, setting her empty beer bottle on a small table, and leaning back against the balcony rail.

"I don't have what you could call a normal boyfriend, but there is a special guy in my life. Two of them, really. Do you know what a... 'sugar daddy' is?" Mia asked.

"No, not really, no," the wolf girl replied. "Does it mean some guy made you his Mistress?"

"Not quite, but close. It's different from being someone's Mistress, because there is a clear understanding from day one that a normal relationship with your Sugar Daddy will never develop, and the Sugar Daddy isn't necessarily a married man. A Mistress, on the other hand, is usually screwing a married guy, but she might hope to lure her guy away from his wife," Mia replied. "And it's not quite prostitution, either. Not like what our friend Amber does. She'll fuck anyone who has the cash, as long as she feels safe with them. But a sugar daddy doesn't pay his girl for each thing you do, like they would pay a whore. He just gives you frequent 'gifts'. So it's pretty much like having a boyfriend, but... you're doing it for the money. More often than not, a Sugar Daddy is an older guy, who wants to screw a much younger girl - maybe he even wants to fuck a minor."

"An older guy? Holy shit! You don't mean... not you and Mister Chen?" Karen asked incredulously. "He isn't... paying you extra for sex, is he?"

"Oh! Oh, hell no! Not him. He's always been a perfect gentleman. In fact, As far as I can tell, he's completely celibate," Mia replied."No... let me finish. A sugar daddy can simply be anyone who desires you sexually, but who can't openly date you, and really doesn't want a normal romantic relationship. And they're willing to pay you or give you 'presents', if you will agree to fuck them occasionally. Well... I found a sugar daddy. And thankfully, they're about my age. They usually only ask me for sex once a month, but what they pay me covers the other half of my rent. All I have to do is... be their totally submissive sex toy, when they want me."

"Oh... Well, yeah, that is sort of out there... but yes, I suppose that's better than what Amber does. Okay, I think I'm cool with that, as long as they don't hurt you," Karen replied.

Mia let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks. Since you were so cool about Amber being an escort, I'd hoped my secret wouldn't weird you out. And they always try to make it pleasurable for me, too. I didn't like the submissive sex toy idea all that much at first, but now I'm pretty comfortable with our arrangement. Hummmm, so... would you... like to stay here tonight?"

Karen did a double take, and her heart kind of skipped a beat. "Wait, what? You mean... with you? Like, in your bed?"

"No, silly! In my spare bedroom!" Mia replied, her laugh breaking the bubble of tension over her discussing her sugar daddy deal. "Seriously, it's getting close to one AM, and even though it's a short walk back on well-lit streets, this is still Chinatown, at night. Not the best idea for a pretty girl like you to be walking alone out there, this late. And if you stay, I'll fix breakfast. I make a really good mushroom and cheddar omelette."

"Twist my arm, why don't you?" Karen said with a big grin. "I love omelettes! And sorry if I still seem overeager to get intimate with you... this damned curse still has my mind playing tricks on me. I promise, I'll behave tonight."

"No worries, my friend. Follow me. The beds are already made," Mia replied. She showed Karen where the bathroom was, between the two bedrooms, and accessed from the living room. Then she showed her the guest bedroom. "These windows face East, so you'll get a great sunrise view. But if you'd rather sleep late, the curtains have two layers. Close both sets, and it stays pretty dark in here. Close just the inside set, and you'll know when the sun is up, but it won't be shining in your eyes. We really don't need to be up and getting fed and ready to leave before 10 am, but we do work tonight, so sleeping in makes sense."

"Okay. I'll set a 9:30 alarm on my phone. See you in the morning!" Karen replied.

===

Karen slept fitfully. When the sun rose on Monday, she was already awake, though still in bed. She propped her pillow against the headboard of the twin bed, and enjoyed the sunrise view through the windows whose curtains she had left fully open, then she fully closed the curtains and tried to sleep again until the alarm on her phone went off. She still woke up twice, and hid under the covers again each time, before it did. When her alarm finally went off, she could smell bacon cooking.

She dressed quickly, and came out to find Mia in the kitchen on the far side of the living room. The feline girl was halfway through fixing breakfast, with various ingredients on her kitchen counter, and two places set at the breakfast bar that divided the kitchen from the dining room, over by the balcony windows. There was a dining table six chairs over by the window on the far side of the living room as well, where they had been playing games last night, but it still had the game stuff on it.

"I couldn't sleep either," Mia said. She was also fully dressed and ready to go. "Coffee's already made. There's also hot water for tea. I'll start the omelettes as soon as the bacon is done. Would you prefer your bacon on the side, or crumbled and mixed into your omelette?"

"Whichever you prefer," Karen replied, as she fixed a mug of coffee for herself. "Both ways sound delicious, and I'm starving!"

"Cooked into the omelette it is, then. How starving? I normally make two-egg omelettes, but I could make yours a three or four egg size, if you like," Mia said. "I have plenty of eggs."

"Three would be wonderful, thanks," Karen replied.

Mia just nodded and finished making their breakfasts.

Once they were both eating, Karen asked, "So, ummmm... can you tell me anything more about Mister Chen? And I'd still like to check those old photos that he might be in - the ones you said were at your family's restaurant - preferably before we see him today."

"Yeah, I can... There are some things I couldn't tell you in Shanghai Mike's yesterday. Things you don't mention in public. But I guess it's okay to tell you," Mia replied. "First, not really a secret, but did you know that Mister Chen is a certified medical Doctor? Those herbal remedies he sells... some of the stuff in them can only be sold by a licensed physician. There's a framed certificate on the wall behind the cash register. The one that's three times as tall as it is wide, and all in Chinese. It's his MD diploma, from a med school in China. But as far as most folks know, all he does with his Doctorate degree is the herbal stuff, and some acupuncture. He doesn't advertise for patients as a physician. But he can do all of the stuff a good family doctor can do, and more. Even surgeries... though he... isn't set up to do that in his shop, of course. But some people come to him for medical help, or even have him listed as their primary care doctor, when it wouldn't be rational to see a normal doctor. Like... pregnant girls who need an abortion, or street kids who need birth control, but don't have parental permission. Kind of goes with the territory of providing 'unique and unusual merchandise', I guess..."

"Oh! Oh my..." Karen said, stopping her fork halfway to her mouth so rapidly that her bite of egg fell back onto her plate. "No, I hadn't realized that. But still, Planned Parenthood offers abortion services and birth control to people under similar circumstances, right? So why the hush hush bit?"

"Well, the secret part is, I guess, that you could say Mister Chen 'has friends in low places'. You see, some of his... medical clients... are Tong or Triad members. Yeah, the Chinese crime syndicates definitely do exist here, but I couldn't say in such a public place that I knew that as first-hand knowledge. He isn't one of them, and neither am I, nor is anyone in my family. But he can patch them up medically, and will do it without making a legal record of what he does for them. And they... sometimes do 'favors' in return. They don't usually come or go via the front door, or even via the shipping dock out back, either. There's a part of the basement hallway, between the front storage rooms and the rear shipping and receiving area, that isn't on any of our security cameras. Considering how well the cameras cover everything else, that alone is weird. But I've seen him talking with some shady looking strangers down there, when I happened to be in the shipping and receiving area. People I know don't show up on that day's security camera recordings. So... I don't know where it is, but I am certain there's a hidden door in that area, connecting to the Shanghai tunnels. Strange crates sometimes unexpectedly appear in that hallway, too, for us to unpack. Some of them have contained the harder to obtain herbal medicines and other merchandise that he sells. And some, only Mister Chen is allowed to open. And, well, his operations, and his friends' businesses, are also sort of 'protected' by the crime lords. No one messes with Mister Chen, or his friends. It would piss off the wrong sort of people. And I guess that protection will include you, now, once enough people know you work for him."

"I'm not at all sure I like the sound of that," Karen said. "Like, is he selling stolen stuff, or illegal drugs? Is the shop just a front for a smuggling organization?"

"Nothing nasty like that, to my knowledge. As far as I can tell, he keeps his contact with them to a minimum. So mostly, I think it's things like skirting around import restrictions," Mia said. "For example, our friend Amber got an abortion once, with his help, and she later got her birth control implant from him. It's a safe hormonal contraceptive, one that's perfectly legal and well accepted in Canada, but not approved for use in the USA. That stuff keeps her safe from pregnancy for five years, with no daily pills to forget. And... his underworld contacts could probably also get you a very good set of fake ID, for any of your other forms. No questions asked. Stuff that would pass a cursory police check, even. I know at least three people he's arranged that for.

"Well, that's not so bad, I guess. And it sure would be handy to have ID in my other forms... as long as the price wasn't too high. Any other weird stuff I should know?" Karen replied.

"Not about him, no... But I could tell you a few weird things about our friend Amber which would probably surprise you. I've known her intimate secrets for six years - since I met her, in 2009. And since you're her friend, you'd find out if you ever accept an invitation to a 'party' at her place, so I think it's okay to tell you," Mia replied. "I've been to several of her parties. I enjoyed attending them. But she won't invite a virgin to join in the fun, unless she is absolutely certain the girl does not want to still be a virgin by the time she leaves the party. You see, they're sex parties, for her and the people she lives with, and select special friends. They're just parties, not admission paid orgies - even though the others in her household are sex workers, like she is. Once you're sexually active, and she knows it, I think it's very likely that she will offer you an invitation. She likes you, I like you, and I'd bet the others who attend would like you as well. And... well, the people on her guest list are all very good at keeping each other's secrets. She wouldn't invite them, otherwise. So if you chose to let them know about your curse, and how it changes you, they could be trusted not to tell anyone else."

"Not sure I'm ready to take that step, yet," Karen replied. "Either my participating in a sex party, or me trusting more than a handful of people for them knowing about my curse. The idea of a sex party doesn't bother me, by itself. My mom hosted a few at our home, though of course, I never participated, since I was too young, and I was supposed to be refraining from getting sexually active too soon. Maybe I would get into that sort of fun eventually. I don't know. I certainly won't say the idea turns me off. I'm not the bashful type, so if I trusted the others involved, I think I wouldn't care if other people watched me getting fucked, or if multiple people wanted to do it with me. But I haven't been fucked at all yet, so I might feel different, once I have real experience."

"Ummmmm, what about watching other people getting fucked? You okay with that? Or... watching them doing pretty kinky stuff?" Mia asked hesitantly.

"Oh, I suppose that doesn't bother me, especially not with the rapid fire changes to my sexual preferences, attitudes and sex drive that I have been going through because of the curse," Karen said. "I've read a lot of the 'Beginners Guide To Kinks' pamphlets in our shop's adult section, including the stuff on mild bondage with collars, cuffs and ropes; Dominance and submission; Pet play; and French maid and Master fetishes and other forms of sexual roleplay. Some of those kinks aren't to my taste, like getting spanked with a riding crop. But it doesn't bother me that other people do that stuff and enjoy it. Depending on where my mind was, on that particular night, I might really enjoy at least watching."

"Even... stuff like real incest?" Mia asked. "Like... an adult girl fucking her adult brother?"

"What? Well... oh, I suppose... as long as no one is getting forced to do it, and they all want to do it, that it isn't for me to decide what's right for them. I mean, the laws about incest are mostly to prevent kids from getting abused by older relatives, and to prevent close relatives from making babies, right? Now I wouldn't be okay with adults forcing themselves on child relatives. But it matters a lot less, in my opinion, if they're all consenting adults, and careful with birth control," Karen said. "Do you mean you... actually know someone who does that at those parties? Oh! Are you... implying that Amber...?"

Mia looked very relieved, as she said, "Y-yeah, Amber. She has an older brother. Most people call him by his stage name, Robert Reynard. But most people don't know he's her brother, because their parents were... odd... when it came to how they lived when both of their kids were born. Her daddy was a long-haul trucker, and on the road a lot. Both parents lied about their past, pretty much always. It's debatable if their parents were even legally married. So their kids' birth certificates don't show the same surnames or parents' names at all, even though Amber and her big brother did have the same parents. Her legal name is Amy Franken, and his name is Evan Allen. They got those surnames when they were both put up for adoption, and raised in different families, when Amy was still very young. Hardly ever saw each other as kids. When she moved here, in 2008, she was 18. Her first job was acting in a porn film. She was supposed to play a bit part, as college freshman cheerleader who was one of several girls who got seduced by a female track coach, and who caught that coach fucking the male star football player. But Amy wasn't very good at sticking to a script. She ended up losing her virginity to that guy, in a wild three-way, while they let the cameras roll. The cameraman even joined them, before it was over. Turned out the male porn star really was her big brother, and... she was surprisingly okay with that. They became lovers after that, even though they knew they were siblings. But it was all completely consensual, I assure you. So... if you do go to one of her sex parties, you'd see her fucking her brother, a lot. She's quite happily in a submissive relationship with her brother, and he pretty much acts as her pimp and protector. They live together, and publicly they pretend they are married, with a fake marriage certificate and all, though neither of them wears a wedding ring. He's still a local porn star, working for a small studio that churns out kinky stuff like BDSM and Incest porn films. She doesn't act in porn films very often herself. But when she does, it's usually where she's fucking him. And... Some of their other friends are incestuous intimate couples, too. Siblings, and... other relatives. You sure you're okay with that?"

"Well, yeah, but... Oh my gosh! You too? You seem way too embarrassed, and way too worried about how I feel about this stuff, for it to just be about Amber fucking her brother... And you have two brothers, yourself... who, come to think of it, seemed pretty hands-on with you at games night..." Karen said slowly. "Is that why you're telling me all this? Do you... fuck your brothers too? I... okay, I won't say I think that's normal or anything, but if you do... I promise I won't think less of you. You're my friend, and like I said, who a person fucks is strictly their own business, as long as they're old enough to give legal consent, and it's consensual all the way around."

Mia came over and hugged Karen, and whispered, "Thanks. And yeah, I do. My sugar daddy... is my big brother, Karl. That started seven years ago. And sometimes we both fuck my little brother, Jung. And yes, we're all very happy with the arrangement."

Karen returned the hug, and said quietly, "Wow... thank you, for trusting me with something like that. Yeah... that's a lot to think about, but yeah, I'm good with it. And with you, my friend." Then she giggled and added, "But wow, yeah, now I really understand why you warned me to be cautious about getting involved with Karl. So, I guess you're all bi, then? I mean, you said Karl fucks Jung, too?"

Mia shrugged and said, "Jung is pretty much in the closet. Karl is the only guy he ever has sex with. But yes." Then she returned to her breakfast, and they finished eating in contemplative silence.

As they cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, Karen asked, "So... ummmm... How did your brother, of all people, end up becoming your sugar daddy?"

Mia blushed, and replied, "I told you that Karl could charm just about any girl into his bed. Well, I was no exception to that. Nine years ago, in 2006, Karl seduced me. I had just turned eighteen, and... he got me stoned, and then he taught me how to do oral sex, saying he wanted to help me seduce Kenny. We... Karl and I... we thought that would just be a one time thing, at the time. At least I did, and that was what Karl said he intended, when it happened. And besides, even though he was raised by my parents, and he's been 'big brother' to me my whole life, he is still adopted - we aren't blood relations, and could even marry if we wanted to. But later that year, when Karl caught me really fucking Kenny, he wasn't just 'nice' about keeping silent. He asked to fuck me too. Just that one night, and never again, was what he asked my fiancé and I for. And he asked for both Kenny and I to act submissively to him, in a cuckolding sex scene. Kenny was okay with all of that. And... well... having gone that far, and seeing how much I enjoyed it, Karl also called my little brother, Jung, and we allowed him to join us as well, even though Jung really is blood kin to me. We got it all on video, too. You can watch it with me some time, if you want to. We all had a pretty fun time. Or at least, I thought we all did."

"Wow, really? I... may take you up on that offer, Mia," Karen said. "Watching it first on video, while alone with you, would be better, I think, than seeing you fucking either of your brothers in person, if I go to one of Amber's sex parties."

"Okay. Maybe we can watch that video together, some time later this week," Mia said. "Well, unfortunately, that one-night orgy screwed everything up between me and Kenny. Karl and Jung fucking me, while Kenny submissively watched him do it... was what caused Kenny to dump me and run off with another woman. Not so much the incest, or that I fucked anyone else at all... but as I said, Kenny and I both acted submissive to Karl that night, and... it made Kenny question what he really needed in a relationship. Neither of us had ever been intimate with anyone else, if you don't count Karl teaching me how to seduce Kenny. My fiancé ended up deciding, several days later, that he needed to be submissive to a very dominant woman - or maybe even to a dominant guy, like Karl. And, well... dominant doesn't describe me very well at all, in the bedroom," Mia said, returning to her meal and continuing to eat as she talked. "When Karl found out Kenny dumped me, leaving me stuck with a lease I couldn't afford, he was furious at Kenny. But he also was very upset with himself, for selfishly being the catalyst that destroyed my impending marriage. He promised he would always be there for me, if there was anything he could do to help me. After several of my attempts at finding a roommate flopped, he offered to be my sugar daddy, and to pay what would have been Kenny's portion of the monthly apartment rent, in exchange for one night or so per month of me being his submissive sex toy. I thought it over for a while, and in 2007 I agreed to my brother's offer. And we occasionally include Jung in those ongoing sessions, too."

"Wow... so... your brothers... they just... come over here once a month, and fuck you as much as they want?" Karen asked.

"Not usually here, no. Though for the first year, we did it that way. But I was worried my neighbors might notice, if my brothers spent the night regularly in my apartment. Chinatown is a close-knit community, and rumors would be sure to get to our parents eventually. We met Amber and her brother in 2008, and after we'd both had sex with Amber, 'professionally', she invited us to join her sex parties. Since then, we've done it at Amber's place, in the suburbs, while Amber and her brother and one other sibling couple are also fucking each other," Mia replied. "So for seven years now, those sex parties have been part of our routine. That group trades partners frequently as well, mixing it up every way you can imagine. Though so far, I... haven't paired up with any of the girls... even though Amber and I have been quite pleasantly intimate that one time I hired her. I know I can trust those people, but... that other lesbian girl who wanted to date me in college... she turned into such a possessive drama queen that it made me hesitant to get sexually involved with a woman again."

"Oh! I see..." Karen replied, eyes downcast as she finished off her coffee and helped to tidy up. "Sorry. I had no idea."

"Don't be sorry," Mia replied, hugging her friend. "But yes, that's the main reason I've been hesitant about your advances, as well. I honestly do like you and trust you, but you have to admit, even with the best intentions, your 'special circumstances' will complicate any serious relationship attempts. Honestly? I do think you and I will eventually give intimacy a try - and that we'll try it in several of your forms, both male and female. I'm... even kind of looking forward to that. But I want to be sure, for both our sakes, that when we do, we're both really wanting it to work, and not just reacting to hormone surges or to your curse's effects on your mind. And you'd need to accept that we'd have an open relationship. Because I won't stop fucking my brothers."

Karen grinned, returned her friend's hug, then pushed away and said, "Thank you for that, and I'll try to be patient. I think you're right. I still don't know how this curse will affect me, long term. Us doing an open relationship makes sense too. Certainly, some of the changed forms my curse has imposed on me would have had no intimate interest in you at all. And it would not be fair to you to expect exclusivity, if I became that way more often than not. But if I can learn to control this curse's body and sexual preference shifts, the way I can already control my bracelet's color changing magic? That could change everything!"

"Okay, well, lets worry about our combined intimate futures later, okay?" Mia said. "If we leave now, we still have time to check out those old photos in the restaurant's banquet room, before we ask Mister Chen how he could be in a photo from 1921!"

"If we ask him at all," Karen added, as she rinsed out her coffee cup and Mia's, and added them to what was in the dishwasher. "Let's go. We'll ask him if it seems to be a good time, I guess. Though my curiosity is still going crazy over that photo!"