*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"You have someone at the front door, Scarlet."
"If it's the delivery person, tell them to leave it at the front door. I'll pick it up in a bit..."
"It's not the delivery person. They've only just now received your order."
"...Shit."
It had been fifteen minutes since Scarlet had started being Scarlet once more, and already her time off had been interrupted. Rising back up from her couch, she'd press a button on her remote to pause the TV and adjusted herself a bit to look a bit more presentable to whoever was knocking on her door. Was probably some damn solicitor, looking to secure funds for something. Either that or some girl scout.
Opening the door, Scarlet crossed her arms as she glared at the person outside. "Alright, what the hell do you want? I only get so much time off during a day, so this better be quick..."
"Uh... uhm... well..."
"Spit it out, alright!"
"Well, I just was trying to say hi... I'm your new neighbor... name's Luiza. Luiza Gomez."
Hearing the girl out, Scarlet was keeping her eye on the girl as she examined how she looked. Luiza, despite her timidness looked pretty modified compared to a standard human. She was only a inch shorter than her, but everything else from the pointed ears and tinted green skin reminded her of a certain set of modifications that was popular about a decade ago. Blins they called it, after a species of creature in some fantasy book.
"Hmm... you certainly look unique. I take it you couldn't afford the modifications to shorten your height?"
"Actually, I've been slowly paying to modify my height to be more normal..." Luiza admitted, sighing a bit. "Mom and dad wanted me to have the same kind of Blin mods they had adopted growing up, but I'm not that much of a fan of such modifications. Well, aside from these ears. They actually hear quite a bit better than regular ears, believe it or not."
Indeed they did. Scarlet had to deal with criminals with that specific modification more than once, and they were very annoying. Not only could they hear her arm revving up before she even got close enough to use it, she felt that they could even hear a pin drop. If it wasn't for the fact that Enforcers didn't usually work alone, she'd never get anything done against them. At the very least, that same sensitivity to sound meant that loud bursts of sound were very effective on them.
"Well, anyhow the name's Scarlet. I've got a few things to do now so could you please fu-"
"I've got a welcome basket for you!"
Quickly pulling out a big basket from behind her, Luiza placed it at Scarlet's feet and let the enforcer pick it up. The bag immediately caught the cop's attention, as it was filled with a good assortment of baked goods carefully preserved and prepared. Chocolate chip cookies, brownies, as well as some good old fashioned slices of pumpkin pie, which was her favorite. All these goods managed to make her retract from finishing what she was about to say and actually consider this woman in front of her a bit more likable.
"Damn... this is a lot. You really are generous, aren't you?"
"Just trying to make new friends, really..." Rubbing the side of her arms, Luiza peered to the side as she continued to look very nervous. "I don't exactly got any friends or family in this town. I mean, I moved here to get away from my family, so I guess this is what I should expect... but I'm just trying to find a way to survive."
"Well, at the very least you'll make some people like you a lot. I'd be a bit careful about giving so much though..."
"Oh don't worry, all of that's home made. Graduate of Dionysus International University, with a major in cooking."
"Impressive, but I more meant being careful of being seen as giving out everything." Checking her pockets, she'd pull out a badge from her job to show the girl. "Take it from an enforcer, but generosity is often taken advantage of in small towns like these."
"I... I see..."
Watching as Luiza turned dour again, Scarlet thought a bit and sighed. Looks like today wasn't exactly a good day to be Scarlet after all, but rather a day to help someone. Pulling out her phone, she'd duplicate her order just for the greenskinned girl, before going inside and keeping her in. She was going to regret this, but it was clear that this woman really was new to the turmoil of this sort of town.
"Don't feel so bad. Hey, why not spend the night with me? I can help you in getting used to living here, if you want. Maybe crack open a beer or two, and you can tell me a bit more about yourself."
"I prob... probably shouldn't." Luiza admitted, a bit nervous about the idea. "I still got a few more baskets to deliver, and-"
"Relax. They ain't going anywhere. Not while I live in this apartment. Now come on in. Take a seat..."
Still a bit nervous about everything, Luiza thought of just running away then and there. However, while she was not really used to talking to a person like Scarlet, she was still at least hearing her out and talking to her in a friendly tone. The last person just threw their basket back in her face and mocked her for her Blin modifications, so she was very much not exactly in a good mood... but Scarlet on the other hand actually offered her a chance to hang out.
Ultimately, she took the chance and went in.
"Oh honey, you invited them in? That's pretty rare to see of you." Tee teased, as she watched the two make their way to the couch. "Usually you're nowhere this social..."
"She gave me food, that's all okay?" Crossing her arms, she's then give out a simple command. "Tee, user override, go into preset settings 3."
"Understood. I'll be off doing errands for you then."
Ah, good old Preset 3. Scarlet had made a variety of different preset templates for Tee to go into on the fly, for whatever she needed. Whether that was transferring into her big arm in case she needed emergency help on a mission or for... more horny experiences she had a preset for almost anything. Preset 3 in particular was a simple one, designed to send her out to take care of keeping tab in cyberspace as well as taking care of groceries. It was perfect for getting her out of the way for a night... though usually if she forgot to turn it off she'd end up buried in a mountain of groceries by morning.
With that though, the officer and the Blin woman hung out and conversed, before eventually bonding with burgers. As the two ate, they each got to know each other as well as what they did for a living. After they were done with the burgers, they continued to follow up on snacking through some of the cookies and pumpkin pies for dessert, as well as watching a surprisingly good B-Horror movie that Luiza recommended.
From all of this, Scarlet learned quite a bit about Luiza. The Blin woman was 24 years old, and came from the city of 7E, the home city of the food and wine megacorp Dionysus International. Based in what was formerly Spain, the city was quite a bit higher in terms of living standards from 0B, and housed at least a million different people within it's borders, most of them working for the Megacorp.
In 7E, it was a lot more common to see full-bodied modding due to these higher standards, and those who did take to a certain style were free to live without much prejudice. Her parents took this to thinking that it extended to their children however, and modified their own children to be a bit more like them during their growing years. Enzymes to stop growing beyond 3 feet, skin modifications to make their skin green, the standard Blin ears... as well as enhanced tastebuds for leisure purposes, a trait not usually combined with the Blin set of bodily modifications.
Luiza was the odd one out of course, who especially didn't like being so small and helpless. She wanted to be more natural in regards to her appearance. As such, by the time she moved into university she saved up all of her body to receive one last set of modifications. Since she could only afford one with her own money, she went for bringing her height to "normal levels", so she could both stand eye to eye with her peers as well as so she didn't need a stool whenever she cooked.
Unfortunately, her mother hated her for that. Unable to tell the difference between culture and a type of modified person, she considered her a disgrace for trying to "throw away her culture", something Luiza couldn't agree with. Scarlet empathized with that deeply, as she too had... a falling out with her mother. While Scarlet stayed in the same town however, Luiza moved to 0B, wanting to be as far away from her family as she could be while still able to use her degree in a good cooking career.
By the time Luiza left, Scarlet learned one last thing: that she just got hired for a local bakery known as the Bouncing Ball. It was jointly owned by Dionysus and Venka in a friendship between the two corporations, so at the very least the Blin was in familiar hands. She was stuffed to the gills now, but perhaps she could visit tomorrow during her next shift to see how the girl's first day went.
Still though, tomorrow was going to be a long day for Scarlet...
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