Cult of the Lamb Chapter 43: Look, Selene! I'm on TV!!

[center]Cult of the Bay

Chapter 43: Look, Selene! I’m on TV!!

<<<Lamb>>>[/center]

The press conference didn’t go on for as long as she had feared, no after Beatrice entered and apologized to the man things were rather crazy for a bit before things started to mellow out once more. The rest of the questions were softballs for the most part, though a few curve balls were thrown at her.

And Piggot was clearly agitated by her, even if her expression never showed it. Which… was fair enough, Lamb did drop one hell of a bombshell on everyone so she couldn't be offended by her irritation.

Still she now had another interview with a reporter, which… she didn’t think she caught her name either, well she was pretty sure Kitsune caught it. But the very first thing she did after she was free from her obligations to the PRT?

Well, first she had to check on Alena to make sure her favorite otter mad scientist was okay.

“I was interrogated for hours,” She complained, falling into Lamb dramatically, “Again! For the fifth time! Second time since I met you!”

“For what?” Though admittedly she had a pretty good idea honestly, but if her otter wanted to be dramatic she’d let her.

Besides she was enjoying petting her pretty otter, normally she’s the one being petted so it’s a nice change of pace really.

“Selene mostly, and asking if I knew that you could kill an Endbringer before you did it,” She answered easily, “And what you did with it, where it went, a lot of questions I couldn’t answer until the press conference and, well, you answered those.”

Lamb just nodded. “Makes sense,” She admitted, “But other than interrogations they didn’t try anything else did they?” She’d felt a lot of mixed emotions, a mix of good and bad really.

“Just some medical tests,” Alena said with a snort, “Nothing I didn’t do to you.” The woman really did just want to be dramatic. “But it was horrible! I was so bored!”

“Well, I guess you’ll be happy to know we’re all planning on a day trip to Italy so I can pamper everyone,” Lamb said, “Interested?”

“That sounds fun,” She replied, “But knowing your luck, we’ll run into the Three Blasphemies or something.” Not that they’d be a problem for her, their gimmick didn’t really… work, but the spirit of the problem was there. “Oh! Maybe Beatrice can make it so you can fix Ashbeast?”

“Heh, maybe we should make a service? We’ll deal with your S-class threat, but you do something for us?” It was mostly a joke really, she already had everything she wanted out of life.

“I’m not sure what Africa can offer you,” She replied with a snicker, “Except maybe your own nation to rule.”

“Nah, that honestly seems like more trouble than it's worth,” Lamb said before she snuggled against the otter, “Besides, I’ve got everything I need so far… so honestly I’m pretty damn content.”

She giggled, hugging back. “You’re far too benevolent for how much power you’re getting, but I guess that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Lamb said, “Don’t worry, I’m sure Selene or Lisa will convince me to do something dastardly eventually,” She added dryly.

“Probably the fox,” Alena replied with a nod, “Selene is just very sexual. She’s been giving me wet dreams! When I asked her to stop she just giggled!”

“She does that,” Lamb nodded, “So, wanna cuddle and watch some tv for a while?”

“Sounds lovely.” Alena nuzzled her. “Ice cream too?” Alena was a simple woman. She liked ice cream, bad movies, and mad science.

“As if I would deny my otter her lovely treat!” Lamb teased with a smile.

“Oh? Your otter hmm?” Alena asked with a grin.

“Yes,” Lamb said simply.

Alena rolled her eyes. “Careful, your possessiveness is showing,” She teased, “Can’t let new converts see how possessive their Cult leader is after all!~”

“Why you little-” Lamb lunged at the otter woman, who had gotten up to get some ice cream.

Alena just laughed and dodged around the lunge, and things devolved into a game of cat and mouse (Otter and Lamb, really) as they chased each other around and wrestled. Lamb’s tail wagging happily and a grin on her face. One which was mirrored by Alena as she treated the whole thing as a chance to test her new physical capabilities.

“Well, you’ve caught me,~” Alena said with a grin, the otter girl trapped against a corner by Lamb, “Now what are you going to do with me?~”

“What in need?” Lamb murmured before she kissed the otter.

[hr][/hr]

“Stop fiddling with the jacket,” Much to Lamb’s surprise, Parian had decided to accompany her to the tv interview instead of Kitsune.

Not that it mattered really, seeing as Kitsune was literally in her head ready to help her out. But Parian didn’t seem like she would be interested in appearing on tv. Maybe she was using this as a chance to get more business? 

“Sorry, stage fright or something…” Lamb said.

Parian just giggled, “Where’s the woman that basically announced that Behemoth’s now her bitch?” She asked curiously.

“Well, this is different…” She mumbled, but honestly she was wondering if it really was different or if her mind was playing tricks on her?

“A little,” She agreed, “But trust me. This will be fine.” Parian hugged her gently, “It’s mostly going to be fluffing you up. Just answer the questions, crack a few jokes, and you’re good.”

“And if you have to flirt with the hostess, don’t… well… don’t do what you did to me.” Kitsune said.

“So, if I flirt, don't double down, triple down, and so on,” Lamb said, “I can do that…” She added as she took a calming breath.

“... I give her five, maybe ten minutes…” Lamb just blushed, what made it worse was she honestly didn’t know who said it first!

“Flirting is fine, just don’t drag her into bed or just kiss her without permission,” Parian said with a smirk, “If she offers, or asks for it, then you can.”

“... Am I being bullied?” Lamb muttered playfully with a huff making Parian shake her head in amusement.

“Less bullying and more trying to remind you of a thing called personal boundaries,” Parian chided. Lamb huffed and grinned in spite of herself, a grin that got wider as Parian shifted her mask aside to kiss her. “Feel any better now?~” She purred in question.

“I dunno, I might need another kiss,” Lamb said shamelessly.

Parian rolled her eyes. “Pity, you’re about to be called out. So we’ll put that on hold,” She said with a smile, “Just be yourself within reason and answer questions. And don’t accidentally seduce the host.”

“Just do it on purpose?” Lamb asked with a grin, something that earned a poke to the snout before she was, indeed, called out.

“And our guest, the cape of the hour, woman, no, person of the year, Lamb, leader of Coven!” An announcer called out, the audience clapping for her.

“And that’s my que I suppose,” Lamb said, “Catch you after this,” She added as she took another breath before she calmly walked out.

Her eyes looked around for a moment, and she waved at the audience as she walked over. “Thanks for having me,” Lamb said as she shook the host’s hand.

“Glad to have you, glad to have you,” She replied with a wide smile, “Really, I should be thanking you! I’m sure you’ve been getting drowned by all the messages and appearance requests!”

“Yep…” Lamb admitted scratching her cheek, “I understand why but it still seems surreal, honestly. But here we are.”

“Hey, I never expected to have the Hero Killer Killer’s on my show either!” She replied, “But looking at you… you forgot my name, didn’t you?” There was a clear grin of amusement on her face.

Lamb blushed. “Sorry, the last few days have been pretty crazy,” She admitted.

She laughed and said, “I’m Sally. On that topic, what made you choose Lamb as a cape name? It’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?”

“Maybe, but honestly? I’m pants with names in general,” Lamb admitted, “And anything I came up with was either stupidly edgy or just stupid. So I decided on Lamb and left it at that.”

“Well, I’m sure at least someone in our audience has come up with something!” Sally said, waving to them, “And we’ve gotten some of their suggestions right here,” She shook a bucket filled with paper, “Shall we look through them for some good ideas?”

“Of course! I mean, I’m pretty set on my name. But I’m curious,” Lamb said, “I say… there are at least five that are either pervy, or refer to me cursing the nazis.”

“I’m not taking that bet,” Sally replied, reaching into the bucket to pull one out, “I know when it’s something I can’t win. And look at that, the first one is a bit pervy. ‘The Lady of Lewdity’! Not even a bad name, probably not great with the kids or parents though.”

“You’re right,” Lamb said, “But I can’t say it's wrong either. I’m not ignorant or oblivious to how I affect people.” Sally laughed as Lamb took another piece of paper out for herself and… blushed heavily. “Ah, ‘The Prettiest Sheep.’” 

“You’ve got some fans in the audience I see,” Sally noted, “If this wasn’t my show, I’d feel concerned!” She laughed, reaching in and reaching for another, “Let’s see if we can’t get a crazy one… ‘Fluffy mc Fluffbutt.’ Honestly, that's barely better than Lamb! Want to take one last one before we get to the interview proper?”

“Sure,” Lamb smiled in amusement, “Honestly, I might take those suggestions and look through them.” Sally laughed again and… the next name was probably the most insane one yet.

Lamb reached into the bucket and pulled one out and looked at it, “Lady of the Eldritch Goddess of Depravity and Sexuality, Herald of the Great Fluffening, and The Great Lamb!” She announced, using her power to make her voice boom and reverberate unnaturally.

“Alright, who got their idea from PHO?” Sally asked, “I’m impressed by your ability to write so much in so little space, but shame on you! She’s clearly not a Lady!”

“And really other than Kitsune, I’ve only Fluffed one other person and she asked for it,” Lamb said honestly.

“Would you fluff me if I asked?” She asked, “I think my audience would like it!”

“Sure! It’s always a surprise!” Lamb said, “But do you have a preference?”

“Well, I’ve always liked owls,” She replied with a smirk, “But I think getting wings like that would ruin my outfit and, well, I like getting more popular but I don’t think my producers would be happy!”

Lamb just wiggled her eyebrows, “Well dam- err darn,” She said, “I could do something to adjust your clothes, I had to do it for the other I fluffed up… and I just now realize that sounds remarkably dirty…”

Sally laughed, “We can do a bit of cursing and dirty humor on here, we’re late night television after all!” The audience was laughing too and… it felt similar to the praise she got when she’d killed Behemoth, just lesser and of a different flavor. An in between of sex and it, perhaps. “But our TV MA rating would just need to get a little upgrade for nakedness. If you can do it without that… can I do a specific request for my looks? To pay homage to a sweet girl going through a trial right now, you might know her as Canary?”

“Canary?” Lamb blinked, where did she hear… “Oh! Bad Canary! But yeah sure, I always wanted to go to one of her performances,” She said.

“You know how she has those feathers in her hair? Can you do something similar for me? Replace my hair with feathers?”

“Okay,” Lamb said, honestly she’d never done anything so specific but she was sure she could do it, “Oh and just so you’re aware. But my powers tend to have a side effect, not harmful but well… you’ll see…” She added with a playful smile as her eyes glowed.

Immediately Sally’s scalp and hair started to glow before it started to shift, transforming from rather lovely hair to some beautiful plumage. It went further than that, but she felt that was Selene’s doing more than hers.

Her eyes shifted into yellow slitted orbs and fine feathers covered the rest of her, though it was hard to see them thanks to their color, and talons extended from her fingers. Nothing that made her ugly, of course, just a little more animalistic than Lamb intended.

“Oh,~” She moaned lightly, a shudder rolling through her, “Fuck me that was intense. Not for kids I think, but damn!”

“I mean I don’t think you want to get that kind of rating but if you’re offering…” Lamb teased with a grin.

She, and the audience, laughed again. “Maybe later. But I wouldn’t mind a kiss, to test of course. Posts by Kitsune imply you’re one hell of a kisser…”

“Oh, I’m fine with it,” Lamb said, “The question is do you want to go further… excite the audience? And there is a good chance the interview would end there.”

“... So! What exactly led you to cursing the Empire?” Sally asked curiously, “I’m sure there are a lot of theories but I’d rather hear it from the Lamb’s mouth.” The woman was clearly trying to help her control her impulses to a certain extent.

“Would you believe it was purely because some of their Hitler Youth was giving my bestie a hard time?” Lamb answered with a smile.

“I would!” She replied, “Particularly with how much of a lesbian you are.”

“Technically, my Sexuality is Yes and More Please,” Lamb said, “Besides I’m a Changer and well…” She just wiggled her eyebrows again, “Who says parahumans are only fight-happy morons?”

“Well I don’t usually have my guests call themselves a moron, but I suppose there’s a first for everything,” Sally teased, “Another question for you, what made you decide to start Coven? Just gathered a few capes and said ‘fuck it, I want to help people’?”

“Pretty much, actually,” Lamb said with a shrug as she fiddled with the cuff of her jacket, “Why Coven… well it was the least culty sounding name I could think of.”

“You really are bad at names, huh?” Sally asked, “I think ‘The Friendlies’ would have been a little less cult sounding, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah. But then people might think we were hippies or something,” Lamb said, tilting her head.

“And no one likes hippies,” She agreed, “How about ‘Keepers’? Cause I think your members all are.”

“Um, how bout we move on before you make me question my naming sense anymore,” Lamb requested, getting a laugh from the audience.

“Sure, sure, another question then,” Sally started, tapping her chin, “Aside from the obvious, have any hobbies?”

“Well, I love baking,” Lamb said, “And I love experimenting with older recipes.”

“And your members?” She asked, “Like Kitsune or Scylia? And we’ve heard Panacea is part of it too? Any truth to that rumor?”

“I enjoy solving puzzles and playing detective in my free time.” Lisa informed her, something Lamb repeated, “Scylia, well she enjoys reading and writing actually. And Panacea, well, she’s still with New Wave, but well she’s free to hang around as much as she likes,” Lamb said.

“There were reports she made her own little forest in your headquarter’s backyard, was that you and not her? If it was her, think she could give my garden a once over?” Sally asked, getting a laugh from the audience.

“Heh, yeah. That surprised us both actually,” Lamb said, “But that was her, I don’t think she expected her power to work on plants honestly.”

“Well, if she ever needs new job prospects, I know a guy that can get her a gardening license!” Sally announced, “Now, one last question I think, do you have any cape you want in Coven? If you could have anyone, who would it be?”

“... That’s certainly a loaded question…” Lamb said as she scratched her snout.

“Come on, you can give us a little hint, can’t you?” She teased, “Any cape at all, as long as they aren’t the Endbringers because, well, kinda seems like you’re going to get those anyway.”

“... Well there’s a couple. Maybe if we do this again I can share the others,” Lamb teased, “But if I had to pick one? Dragon.”

“Oh, good choice,” Sally replied, “Wonder if she stays away from people because she’s shy? You know, the shy ones are the best in bed!” More laughter and…

“She just clipped that on PHO,” Lisa noted, “Proclaiming that she is not shy, just agoraphobic and that she is not the best in bed. I get the feeling she’s a virgin? Hard to tell.”

“But, I think we’re running out of time,” Sally said with a smile, “Can I get another hand for our dear Lamb? And then a round of applause for Parian for the lovely pre-show puppet show!” The crowd, naturally, erupted into applause and she could feel Sabah’s embarrassment from where she was sitting.

As the cameras went off and the audience started to leave Lamb looked at Sally with a smile, “Now, I believe I owe you a kiss?~” She teased.

Sally smirked. “Perhaps, why don’t you come over here and take one?” She teased.

Lamb just grinned and jumped over at her.

[hr][/hr][hr][/hr]

Extra Scene:

Convo via the bond.

Kitsune: Okay, honestly she lasted a lot longer than I expected. At least the cameras ain’t rolling.

Contessa: Sorry, too busy eating popcorn; the PHO reactions are gold, what happened?

Parian: At least she asked for it.

Taylor: … I have a new fetish for owls. Which is very ironic.

Tammi: I’m willing to put ten bucks on the fact that she joins Alena as one of her fuckbuddies but not part of the cult.

Everyone else: Not taking that bet.

Tammi: Spoilsports.

Annette: So, what are the chances that since she was reminded of Bad Canary she’ll try to fix that problem?

Contessa: smugs