Livestock Futures

Amy had barely reached for the bell when Mrs. Vanilla’s front door burst open and the motherly rabbit yanked her in out of the cold. “Come in! Come in!” Swiftly closing the door, the older woman pulled Amy into a big hug.

Don’t touch me! Sharp tingles permeated Amy’s torso and she grit her teeth, mustering her will to not flinch away from the loving gesture. “My dear!” Mrs. Vanilla exclaimed, releasing Amy from her bosom, but keeping her firmly grasped at arm’s length. “You’re trembling! Whatever is the matter this time?”

The question struck Amy dumb. Where would she even start? Her mood hadn’t been positive when she’d last seen Mrs. Vanilla only the week prior to get some palliatives for Liam and restore her tea reserves, but years might as well have passed since then. “I- I don’t know.” Amy answered unhelpfully, tears forming in her eyes.

Mrs. Vanilla clucked her tongue. “Well, that simply won’t do! Come, come, come!” Amy offered little resistance as she was led to the warm kitchen.

The progress she’d made with Shadow on her touch aversion seemed to have been temporary, as her hand burned in Mrs. Vanilla’s. The urge to roughly pull away was strong, but Amy resisted. Same with hugging Sonic and holding Shadow’s hand, this was another exercise for Amy, another positive connection she wanted to make. Slowly she’d desensitize herself, but she had to be prepared for a long road.

Before she knew it, Amy was wrapped in a colorful, hand crocheted Afghan and seated at the worn round kitchen table. Mrs. Vanilla busied herself pouring hot water over a tea bag nestled in a chipped commemorative mug so old and loved the printed design was faded beyond recognizability. “Are you hungry?” The older rabbit asked as she placed the steaming mug before Amy.

Was she? Before she could answer, an eager rumble from Amy’s stomach spoke for her. Mrs. Vanilla smiled. “I’m going to heat up some stew. Would you like a bowl, dear?”

“Yes, please.” Amy answered meekly. With a tinge of embarrassment, she realized that, in all the excitement with Rouge, Amy hadn’t had anything to eat since Shadow’s pastries that morning. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course not!” Mrs. Vanilla retrieved a covered glass dish from the refrigerator and lit the burner on the stove under a dented saucepan. “We need to get some meat on your bones. You’ll blow away in a stiff breeze in this cold weather.”

Amy closed her eyes, letting the warmth of the room heat her soul. Mrs. Vanilla had baked something with cinnamon recently. The birdhouse clock tick-tocked away, biding its time until the little cuckoo emerged and decried the hour. The blanket was soft and had a lingering trace of Cream’s juvenile Alpha scent. Every aspect covered her in a sense of safety…and maybe Amy very homesick.

She checked her family group text. The congratulations and demands for details were legion. Her mother asked if she was coming to the Lake for the Solstice. Everyone was going, just like when Amy and Sonic were kids. Amy bit her lip. She hadn’t given the invite much thought, but after today…well, something familiar and nostalgic sounded wonderful.

She answered a few questions and said she was planning to go. Then a message from Sonic appeared in the group chat. thts gr8 ames! Oh shit! Amy had forgotten that Sonic had been elected an honorary member of the Rose clan years ago. W-would he be upset she told her family of her promotion before him? Oh, no. He was going to want to celebrate tonight and Amy wanted to talk to him about Geoffrey and Tumble. *Ugh…*She was going to hate disappointing him like that.

“Careful or you’ll bite right through your lip, dear.” Amy looked up from her phone as Mrs. Vanilla placed a steaming bowl in front of her. Inside was a thick brown stew full of large chunks of root vegetables that smelled amazing! Amy laid into the meal like she hadn’t eaten in days. Mrs. Vanilla laughed. “Slow down! It’s not going anywhere.”

Amy smiled meekly and paused long enough to chew properly. “So, what seems to be bothering you?” Mrs. Vanilla asked.

She lowered a spoonful that had nearly reached her open mouth. “I don’t even know where to start.”

Mrs. Vanilla hummed. “Maybe narrowing the field will help. What inspired you to call me today?”

“I…” Was personally threatened by the potential new mayor? Was told to keep silent about his misdeeds by someone she trusted? Watched her shameful history misrepresented to the world? “Got a promotion.”

“That’s wonderful news, dear!” Mrs. Vanilla smiled, but her grin faltered when Amy’s didn’t improve. “But I can see how that would be very daunting. Change can be frightening, even if it’s positive.”

“That’s not all, though…” Amy stared at her stew. “I met an Alpha.” The statement was laughably inadequate, as if Shadow and Amy bumped into one another at the local Kraken.

Mrs. Vanilla’s brow furrowed. “This isn’t the fellow you were so in the dumps about last week, is it?”

Amy’s cheeks flared. Down in the dumps was a mild way to describe how depressed she was after the album release Party. She’d been haunted by Shadow’s possessive rage and convinced they could never be together…but then Blaze’s wedding and yesterday happened…And then there was just this morning-!

“Amy, please take a breath, dear.”

Amy looked up, tears she hadn’t noticed forming breaking free. “It’s the same guy, but I met him again over the weekend and w-we-“ Fucked. They barely knew one another, and they fucked for hours straight. “We’re dating now?” They had planned a date at least. Did that count as dating?

Mrs. Vanilla’s frown deepened. “You don’t sound very certain, dear.”

“I am, but…” Amy cradled head in her hands. “The last few days have been a lot.”

“It sure sounds like.”

“I d-don’t know about…anything right now.” Amy’s head felt solid, like an engine that ran so hot the pistons fused. “I feel paralyzed. Like I’m some sort of emotional shock. All my thoughts are just jumbled up and I can’t- I just can’t even think.” Was she making sense? The words were rushing out of her. “I don’t know if I should be happy or sad or afraid or…I just don’t know!”

Mrs. Vanilla listened attentively. “That all sounds very frustrating. Life comes at us fast sometimes and even the good things can feel bad when they overwhelm us.”

“I feel lost.” Amy shrank in on herself, threading her arms through the blanket to hug herself tightly. “Normally I’d feel really afraid and just run and hide, but this time…For as many problems I have, there’s people to help me, too…and I guess I just don’t know how to handle that. It’s like a whole ‘nuther layer of uncertainty.”

“Ah, having help available doesn’t make accepting help any easier sometimes.” Mrs. Vanilla hummed contemplatively. “I have idea for ordering your thoughts a bit if you’re willing to try.”

Amy looked at the motherly rabbit expectantly. She was willing to try anything. “What is it?”

“How about I do a tarot reading for you?”

Amy frowned. “Tarot? Like fortune telling?” She knew Mrs. Vanilla was a little (a lot) traditional and holistic (and a bit on the woo-woo side of science), but the rabbit hadn’t claimed to have magic powers before…or at least Amy hadn’t remembered anything explicitly hocus pocus.

“Oh, I can hear the skepticism rattling around in that busy head of yours.” Mrs. Vanilla grinned, not insulted in the slightest by Amy’s hesitation. “How about this? Think of it like a free word association exercise.”

“Free word association?” Wasn’t that the game she’d play with her siblings on long car rides as a kid? One of them would pick a word and the next would say the first thing they thought of. They’d prattle away hours chasing each other’s imaginations around.

“Your thoughts are all over the place, right?” Mrs. Vanilla turned one of her hands palm up and mimed dealing cards. “Well, I’ll pull some random cards out of a deck and each will have a little story to go along with it. The stories might give you an outpost from which to explore your own mind.”

That…well that sounded really useful actually. Her thoughts needed a corral and to be let out one at a time, but Amy didn’t know where to even start. And everything was connected. Sonic attacked Shadow, but is dating Silver, who works for Blaze, who works for Shadow, who is best friends with Rouge, who employees Amy, who’s best friend is Sonic, who doesn’t know Amy slept with Shadow…On and on and on. Amy was getting a headache just trying to think of where to start.

Maybe a little mysticism couldn’t hurt?

“You can believe it’s magic or not, no skin off my nose,” The rabbit shrugged, “but if it’ll help you even a little bit, I’d like to give it a try.”

“Okay.” Amy nodded.

Mrs. Vanilla smiled and lifted from the table. She returned to the kitchen a few minutes later with a small wooden box. She laid it before Amy and took her empty bowl to the sink. Amy stared at the beautiful and intricate carvings that adorned the lid. A moon and sun, a king and queen, a jester and a devil. “It’s beautiful.”

“I inherited this deck and its container from my mother. She said she got it from her mother, but I think she was full of it, because I distinctly remember her returning from a trip to Spagonia with it.” Mrs. Vanilla winked. “But we can’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, can we?”

She lifted the lid, releasing a rich earthy scent and revealing a deck of cards a bit bigger than a regular set of playing cards. Mrs. Vanilla withdrew the deck from the box and started to shuffle. “I think a simple three card draw should get the juices flowing. Do you have a question you’d like to ask?”

“I…” Amy’s mind went blank. Her headspace was abuzz with this, that, and the other just a moment ago, but, by being asked to snatch a single idea and bring it into the real-world, her brain evacuated. She frowned, struggling to turn her churning sense of overwhelm into words. Should she ask about Shadow? What about Geoffrey and Rouge? Her messed up heat schedule?

Mrs. Vanilla placed the deck in front of Amy. “Let’s make it easy and do a past, present, and future draw.”

Amy’s shoulders relaxed. “What do I do?”

“Well, you could place your hand on the deck, close your eyes, and ask the universe to grace you with guidance.” Mrs. Vanilla smiled, “Or you could just cut it. If you don’t have homegrown faith, determination to face your problems serves just as well.”

Amy chuckled and laid her hand on the deck. I don’t know what I want to know, she told the deck. She lifted about half and placed it to the side. Mrs. Vanilla restacked the cards and fanned them out elegantly face down. “Pick three. The ones that speak to you or randomly, it makes no matter.”

Examining the spread of cards Amy did try to feel…something. A pull? A warmth? Something inexplicable, but she found nothing. They just looked like cards and trying to make them seem like something more was filling her was a growing self-consciousness. She picked three at random. Mrs. Vanilla scooped the unchosen cards and returned them to the box. She arranged the three cards before Amy in a line.

“This is your past.” Mrs. Vanilla explained as she flipped the first card. “The nine of swords.” Amy frowned. Beautiful wrought on the card was a figure bent over, covering their face with their hands as a legion of nine swords formed a deadly halo around the person, points directed to kill from any angle. “Fear. Anxiety. Isolation.”

Amy swallowed. That…that was exactly right. She’d hidden away, pretending to be a Beta for so long because she was terrified of losing her freedom. Isolating herself from Omega communities, even anonymously on the internet.

Mrs. Vanilla leaned forward. “The card seems to have struck a chord with you, dear. Would you like to say anything?”

Amy blinked away her reverie. “It’s right.” She admitted.

Mrs. Vanilla hummed sympathetically. “I’m so sorry, honey. This fear, do you still harbor it?”

Amy placed a hand against her chest. “I…” Geoffrey St. John’s face loomed in her mind, but he was quickly shouldered away by Shadow, Sonic, Rouge, Liam, Vector, Mrs. Vanilla, and Cream who all formed a barrier around her. Warmth spread from her chest. “I don’t think so. Or, at least it’s not the same.” It wasn’t the same, Amy realized. Yes, she was afraid, but she didn’t feel alone anymore. Maybe she shouldn’t have ever felt alone.

Mrs. Vanilla smiled. “And that is why it is in your past. Are you ready for the next one?”

Amy focused on the middle card. “Yes.”

With a quick flick of her wrist, Mrs. Vanilla turned over the card and then she flinched, her smile fading. Amy stared at a monstrous demon holding court over a pair of chained figures. “The Devil.” Mrs. Vanilla whispered.

Amy’s brow pinched at Mrs. Vanilla’s reaction. “W-what does that mean?”

Mrs. Vanilla leaned back, but did not take her eyes off the devilish card. “The devil is always watching us, jealous of our freedom. Always ready to tempt us in our weakest moments to exchange our souls for earthly delights.” She sighed and gave Amy’s a worried look. “Obsession. Oppression. Dependency.”

It was Amy’s turn to lean back. The warmth had disappeared, cast by a coldness. Obsession. It’s meaningless. Oppression. Divination wasn’t real. Dependency. No one knew the future and certainly a deck of cards didn’t.

Mrs. Vanilla’s words swirled in Amy’s mind forming a picture of enraged red eyes and snarling fangs. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Those eyes with their deathly conviction. No hesitation. No doubt. Like he’d already-

“L-let’s move on.” Mrs. Vanilla said, reaching for the third card. She snatched it up and looked at it while keeping the card faced away Amy. At once she relaxed and her warm motherly smile returned. Placing the card beside the Devil, Mrs. Vanilla named Amy’s future. “The ten of cups. The happily ever after card.”

A loving couple embraced and watched a pair of children play while a fan of colored chalices formed a rainbow above them. A healthy family. A beautiful life. A happily ever after.

“Everything will work out.” Mrs. Vanilla explained, her smile beaming. “Happiness. Joy. Security.”

Amy picked up the ten of cups card. The darkness evaporated behind her eyes, replaced by the sunny day depicted. She saw herself in the card and beside, holding her so closely and staring with such joy and pride?

Shadow.

A family with Shadow.

Something stirred inside her, twisting and expanding, growing bigger and brighter. She felt like she would burst. Amy blinked and tears ran down her cheeks. She…she wanted this. The tight knots in her brain seemed to loosen.

Omegas were biologically predisposed to desire children and in resisting her nature, Amy had dispensed the idea of ever bearing children. She’d never thought about the prospect deeply and had simply rejected the idea out of hand.

But now?

Amy wanted children. Fiercely. She wanted to marry Shadow and bear children. Fiercely. She wanted the couple on the card to be them.

God, was she listening herself? Amy scrubbed at her eyes. Stupid tears. Stupid Omega instincts. Was she seriously wanting to marry a man she just met? How stupid was that? What was she? In middle school pining over some fictious Prince Charming?

Amy looked at the card again and felt her chest tighten. This was the future, she reminded herself. Not now. How far in the future? Next week? Next year? Five years from now? Twenty? There was no way of knowing.

She wasn’t marrying Shadow today.

She wasn’t pregnant with his pups today.

But in year or two? That felt less impulsive. More reasonable. More like a goal than a mandate. In five years, when she turned thirty, it would be nice to have a family.

Amy looked at the card once more. The future suddenly didn’t seem so chaotic and uncertain. She knew she wanted to eventually marry. She knew she eventually wanted to bear children. Now she needed t find out if Shadow wanted those things too.

Like magic, the tumultuous sea of her mind began to settle. What the heck?

“Fear and isolation are behind you, but great trials haunt your step today. Great danger lurks ever watchful, looking to bind you in darkness. But the sun will one day rise and the clouds will part, basking you in the loving embrace of kith and kin, home and hearth. And then it will all have been worth it.” Mrs. Vanilla swept her hands over the cards remaining on the table “I hoped this gave you something to think about.”

“Yeah.” Amy smiled softly. “Yeah, it helped a lot, actually.”

Mrs. Vanilla beamed.

Suddenly the front door opened. “I’m home~!” Cream’s voice sang out. Amy dropped the card back onto the table. The teenage rabbit appeared in the kitchen.

Her mother twisted in her chair. “Welcome home, dear.”

“Hi mom! Oh!” Cream noticed Amy, “Hiya, Amy! That looks snuggly.” Amy looked down. She was still swaddled in the plush Afghan. “Oh hey, did you do a reading for Amy? Did you get anything cool?”

“Cream…” Her mother cautioned.

Cream smirked. “I used to stack mom’s deck when I was little, and she got so pissed when she found out.”

“Cream!” Mrs. Vanilla scolded. “Don’t you have homework to be doing? As I distinctly recall, a certain young lady nearly failed her last math test.”

Cream gave her mother a sour look. “Yeah, but it’s just math, mom. It’s fine!”

“It’s not fine! You want to be a successful businesswoman? Well, you need to know math so you don’t get cheated.” Mrs. Vanilla lectured. “There are a lot of unscrupulous and desperate people in the world who have no reservations to take advantage of the foolish.”

“Geeze mom, okay. I get it. Lay off my case, already.” Cream rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Honey’s coming over later. We’re going to work on our business plan. She says it’s got to be perfect before she submits it to that big investor she met through her scholarship thing.”

“Hmmm,” Mrs. Vanilla hummed. “Sounds like something that knowing math would help with.”

Cream made a frustrated noise. “Okay! I said I get it! God!” Stormed off further into down the hall.

Mrs. Vanilla sighed. “The joys of motherhood.” She turned back to Amy. “Looks like you’ll have to cross this bridge in the future. I do like that Honey cat. Really ambitious. Better than that bee boy, for sure, but love is what love is.” Mrs. Vanilla shrugged. “Maybe they’ll form a pack? There’s a reason they say it takes a village to raise a child, you know.”

A pack. The most traditional family configuration consisting of an Alpha, a Beta, and an Omega. The Omega and Alpha produced children, the Beta and Omega raised the children, and the Alpha and Beta supported the family. Or at least that’s how the movies portrayed it.

Amy had never felt the desire for a thruple, no matter the tax benefits associated with it. Was it something Shadow wanted? Amy felt her gut tense at the idea of sharing Shadow with anyone. She pushed the ugly thought away.

The front door opened again and Mrs. Vanilla’s ears perked. “Welcome home, love!” She lifted and met Vector at the threshold of the kitchen. Amy looked away as the pair presented her with the same display of affection as a month ago.

“Amy!” Vector spotted her and slid into the chair Mrs. Vanilla had vacated. “What’s this?” He looked at the cards on the table. Twisting to face the rabbit, he asked. “You doing your voodoo stuff?”

“You mean Ifá, darling.” Mrs. Vanilla corrected as she set about putting the kettle on. “And, no, this is tarot.”

Vector sighed, shaking his head gently, and faced Amy. “Anyways, thanks for coming by Amy. Especially on such short notice.”

“It’s okay.” Amy gave a weak smile. Time to rip off the Band-Aid. “I actually had something to tell you as well.”

“Oh?” The crocodile’s brows raised. “Why don’t you go first then.”

Amy swallowed, mustering her courage. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t work for you anymore. Rouge has promoted me to a full-time position with her campaign, and I won’t have the time or flexibility anymore. At least not until the election is over.” And maybe even after, if Rouge won.

Rather than getting upset, or sad even, Vector looked relieved. “Congratulations, kid! That’s real good, actually. Makes what I need to tell you a little less complicated.”

Amy frowned. “What?”

Vector sighed, “The client wants to meet you.”