Page 25 of Last Resort

“They are lovely, the people are wonderful, and since I rarely walk around in my actual form, it is fairly freeing, and the show has provided me with clothing that fits.”

Estrya chuckled. “What does your work entail when you are on the mainland?”

“Ah, well, I was a freelance coder, and a friend enticed me to Sityr so that I wouldn’t have to scramble for projects. At some point, they required administrative help, so I ended up in the brain-numbing field of shuttling paper around all day, every day, with my fun work forever out of reach. So, you find me here in search of fun.” She laughed.

“I believe that can be acquired. Now, what about your other team members? Have you met them? What do you know about them?”

“Breen is from Aenocyon Games, does coding, and has been involved in the motion-capture aspect. I hear they have nice holiday parties. He’s the bulkier of the two. Myro is with Tiberia Games. He’s also in mocap and also codes. Aside from that, we didn’t get a chance to talk about hobbies or anything. I know they are both very warm and make excellent breeze blocks.”

Estrya smiled. “So, what are you looking forward to most?”

“Working our way through the assignments and seeing more of the islands.”

The host grinned. “I have to ask, do you have any relationships with the organizers?”

“Friendships, but nothing romantic or related. It is easy to make friends with people around here. They are confident and friendly.”

“Thank you for the next topic. Have you heard of the infamous cuffs that are used in the islands and why they are used?”

Poppy took a deep breath. “Ah. Those. Well, the alpha population here on the island is rather high, and while the alphas could hit on every beta who crossed their shores, it was found that a cuff that could determine levels of interest was a very handy tool. Since the betas were travelling to—uh—interact with the alphas, the cuffs allowed the alphas to put a value on their interactions and to be paid accordingly. So, a white cuff is the payer, and a black is the recipient of financial benefit. Both parties can waive the fees if they are willing, but if the match isn’t suitable, the cuffs can tell. It helps to match level to level.”

“What does that mean?”

Poppy looked at the woman whose gaze was sparkling. “It means that if someone likes to pursue one particular interest, they will match most strongly with the other half of that pairing. Hand and glove, foot and shoe, crop and butt.”

Estrya laughed. “Thank you. That was concise.”

“A minor match would be two hands that could still connect.”

“Got it.”

Thera was chuckling behind the camera, and Orc was rubbing her back.

“Oh, no, now I want to keep going.”

“So, Poppy, does your family know you are here?”

“Um, no. I am imagining that they are figuring it out now. Don’t worry, folks, the Stronghold is down, and most of the surviving Elite don’t have enough energy to open a tin of beans.”

Estrya grinned. “The same reason my scales are out and proud.”

“You are an omega as well?”

“Yes. For what? No clue. It probably has scales.” There was a soft expression on Estrya’s face.

Poppy said softly, “So, have you tapped cuffs with anyone?”

Estrya blushed. “Right. No. Not on the islands. His life was suddenly filled, and there wasn’t room for me anymore.” She stroked her scales and said, “The association became embarrassing for him, and I didn’t even look like this at the time.”

Poppy frowned. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean for the question to go there.”

Estrya waved it off. “I lost it for a minute. Very sorry.”

“It’s all right. I am sure that they will edit it out of the final.”

The host smiled. “Back on track. So, are you going to follow your previous competitors’ footsteps and compete pregnant?”

“No. Absolutely not. I don’t care how charming they are. The pants, skirts, swimsuits are staying on.”

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