Finding the Professor Ch. 06

Freddie and the Niobe

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It had been a week or two. Freddie wasn't sure and time worked differently on the Niobe. Only two of the four of them had normal lives.

Walt and the Professor were constantly in and out of the ship. It was something she was jealous about. The freedom they had to roam the world without worry of transforming into a beast.

The Professor was a teacher. She spent most of her time teaching her classes. Always reluctant to miss one she constantly in and out of the ship. An alien woman teaching human kids seemed like it could have been a TV series and probably not something would watch. Unless it was a comedy.

When she was in the ship she was always working on a class or correcting assignments. She could be found in her office or the sitting room on the upper level of the console room. Freddie expected her to have multiple offices in such a large ship, but perhaps it was convenience. Plus, Freddie found her availability to talk to helpful.

However, on several occasions Freddie found her studying books on lycanthropy. It was often the book Merlin had given them, but sometimes it was other academic books. Finding stuff that wasn't garbage and filled with trash was probably a difficult task for the Professor. A task she left in her capable hands. Not because she didn't want to help. The woman told her many times to leave it to her for now. She felt it was her responsibility.

That didn't stop Freddie from reading the damn book Merlin had given them several times over. It spoke of a Moon Goddess and she suspected Merlin had snapped something that connected her to Goddess. She didn't feel like that was a good thing either.

Her academic nose wasn't always in the academic kind of book on werewolves though.

Most of the time it was academic and the few times Freddie had caught with a naughty book about werewolves the alien woman had turned shade of crimson she'd only seen on fruit.

The first night she had caught the Professor doing this kind of erotic reading was on her fourth night in the ship. She was sitting in the console room when it happened. Her eyes were so enthralled in the book that when Freddie came to sit with her she hadn't even looked up once.

Instead her cheeks were pink tinged and one hand was gripping her inner thigh. It was obvious that the Professor was feeling something from what she was reading. Freddie had to decide whether she liked the wasted time.

After all, it wasn't her time she was wasting. The Professor had been doing this research in her own time and finding Freddie's curse breaker was a task she had put on herself.

When she saw her slightly reddened cheeks and her horny nose buried deep in the book after a minute she couldn't help to imagine what sex with the beautiful woman would feel like.

"What are you reading?" She asked teasingly. "Are you distracted from finding a cure to my curse?"

Her voice was teasing and playful. She got the response she wanted when the Professor's face turned a deep red. The reading woman was embarrassed and pathetically tried to hid behind the small book.

"It's not... like... that," the Professor stammered out with effort. "I'm sorry, Freddie."

"It's ok, Professor. I'm not judging. Just disappointed," Freddie used a line her mother had used often to great effect.

The Professor tightened her grip on the smutty erotica and tried to hide more. Her eyes hidden behind the book and her hands shook. Freddie wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or fear.

She hoped it wasn't fear. She didn't like people being afraid of her and that was part of the reason she didn't like being a werewolf. People were often terrified of monsters.

"Professor, are you scared or just embarrassed?"

"Just embarrassed," she whispered and slowly removed the book from her face and tried valiantly to meet Freddie's eyes.

Her light blue eyes looked ashamed. Like she had failed some great mission and there was no going back to the way it was.

"I found this book up here. I've read it before, but stashed it away. It has no useful info and I'm not sure why I'm reading it. I'm sorry, Freddie."

"You keep saying that and it's not like you've failed me. Are you still reading more relevant books?" Freddie asked the woman who had put down the book probably losing her spot.

"Yes. I'm trying, but it's extremely difficult. You've thrown me into a world that has just confused me and baffled me," the Professor said.

"I hope you aren't saying that this is my fault," Freddie said a bit too bitterly.

The Professor flinched at Freddie's change in tone of voice. "No! No... I would never say that. I just am not equipped well enough to deal with this and I hate myself for it."

"Ok," Freddie said. "I might have reacted harshly there."

To Freddie's surprise the Professor reached out and patted her leg. Her touch was sensual and loving. She comforted her in her anger and now it was Freddie's turn to feel shame.

"Sorry. I'm just so angry about this whole thing," Freddie told her.

"It's ok," the Professor jumped into her and hugged Freddie. "I want to help."

The surprising hug was tight and Freddie hugged the Professor back. It lasted several minutes and soothed Freddie.

"I'm glad that you're trying to help so much. It's sweet and maybe you do need a break," Freddie said broke the hug to kiss the woman.

The white haired woman returned the kiss with eagerly. She had been waiting for this for four days and it showed in the vigorous way she kissed Freddie back.

She kneeled over Freddie's lap sitting on her with full access to the werewolf's lips. A horny breathlessness as she shoved their lips together. The Professor had really been holding in her desires to kiss Freddie.

Her hands fondled Freddie's body starting with her face. She cupped her face as she sucked on her lovers lips. Freddie's hands roamed down the Professor's back and gripped tight to the woman's ass.

Freddie interrupted the kiss and had the Professor stand up, she hiked up her favorite blue dress, and had her sit again on her lap, so that she could grab her soft white ass cheeks with nothing but her pink panties in in the way.

They kissed more as the Professor explored Freddie's neck and shoulders. She broke the kiss a few times to suck on Freddie's neck and give a few bites.

The sensations of her bite and sucking her neck made Freddie's toes curl in pleasure. Freddie's hands still gripped the Professor's bubble butt. She broke her grip to massage the woman's pussy folds through the pink fabric a few times before deciding to alternate which hand was squeezing her butt and which hand was massaging her pussy.

Moans were coming from both women as they rubbed against each other.

The Professor broke away from her lips and looked at Freddie with concern. "What if you turn when you orgasm?" Concern mixed with fear swirled around in her stare.

"I haven't turned yet and my heart is beating faster than when I attacked that bastard wizard."

"Thank fuck," she whispered.

Soon she was sucking on Freddie's neck again, but Freddie wanted more. She placed her leg between the Professor's thighs and encouraged to hump her leg.

She wanted to feel the woman on top of her soak her panties from orgasming on Freddie. Freddie continued gripping her ass while rubbing her fingers up and down her pussy. She was already wet and her fingers were getting her wetter.

The woman atop her was crying out with pleasure and moaning into Freddie's ears. The Professor did what Freddie wanted and started humping her leg. She also placed Freddie's freehand on her breast still locked behind a white blouse.

Instinct swept through her and she ripped the offending fabric with one swift movement which surprised both her and the Professor who let out a soft whimper as the torn fabric fell from her shoulders.

"Sorry," Freddie said. Her hand now fondling a free breast. She knew if she had the same to the woman's favorite blue article of clothing that she would've gotten slapped.

Freddie's hand groped at her breast and panties ass as the Professor continued to hump her leg.

She had been wearing a cute summer dress that she had found in the wardrobe. It was still winter, but it wasn't like she had to go outside. The dress, a purple thing with checkered patterns, had been pulled up and the Professor had been rubbing her wet panties over Freddie's bare thigh.

Her thigh had become wet with the Professor's juices and it only served to lubricate the horny woman's movements.

The Professor sucked at Freddie's ear while rubbing her clit with a free hand. A crescendo of moans and whimpers greeted her ear as the woman on top of her orgasmed. Her thighs gripped ahold of her leg and she bit softly onto Freddie's ear.

Her body rocked for a few more seconds before relaxing on Freddie. Freddie had held her tight.

When the Professor finished soaking through her pink panties she returned to kissing Freddie lovingly.

It was rarer, then, to find her nose in a naughty lycanthropy book.

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Walt had school work from various classes and most of his time outside the ship attending classes. Freddie had no idea whether the man had a job. It didn't seem like he left to do anything other than go to class.

There was an occasion when Walt had asked her, when the Professor was busy doing something else, if she knew how to do math.

"My strong suit is writing and not math," he told her with a shamed look. He didn't meet her eyes.

Freddie thought about her times in math and remembered that it wasn't hard for her. She had been practicing math since a young age after her mother had told her that any good chef is good at math.

"Yes. I could say I'm pretty good with mathematics as a chef needs to be good with fractions and measuring. What do you need, Walt?"

"I-I uh... got into Stats and... uh I think that was a mistake," he glared at the floor.

While she helped him through the mess that is statistics she thought of her time 10 years ago being an apprentice chef in Paris. It had been so difficult to find a quality restaurant that would hire her let alone let her be an apprentice chef.

It was a tough memory and had taken many years to move up the ladder. She remembered messy kitchens, solving other people's problems, arguing with other cooks, and making great food.

Just as her mother had done. She hoped those few years had made her mother proud.

Now she was terrified she'd lose her calm in such a place, transform into the wolf, and devour any unruly coworkers, or customers. Especially anyone who was like Jasque; that unhealthy bastard had made her life hell for years.

"Rat bastard of a head chef," she said quietly as she looked over Walt's work. Most of it was correct except a few things that would lead to massive problems later.

"What?" Walt asked her.

"Nothing."

It was best, she thought, that she spent the most of the time in this weird ship. She didn't want to rip anyone apart with those giant claws she got after transforming.

"This here is completely wrong," she pointed to the biggest offending problem and showed him how to do it correctly.

Walt was like the heart of the small crew. In the two weeks she'd gotten to know him she found out the boy was shy and had a big heart. Sticking his nose in even when it could lead to a dangerous outcome. He'd stand between the two fighting ladies in hopes to stop them, but willfully taking damage so that no one got hurt. No one got hurt apart from him.

He mentioned family often, Freddie was an only child and any parents had died, and Freddie enjoyed listening. He had three younger brothers, Johnny seemed to be his favorite, and Freddie had trouble imagining growing up with such a chaotic family. It was always just Freddie and her mother. Then it was just her.

Walt liked solving others problems. Especially Triple's sadness about Double. Freddie was glad she could take the time to help him with any of his especially if he found Stats so hard.

He saw personally to fixing everybody's problems and was surprised that he wasn't reading werewolf fictions as well in hopes to fix Freddie. Maybe the Professor had told him not to.

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Triple was the person that Freddie had found the most conflict with an angry individual, going through as must stress as Freddie, and had taken it upon herself to train the crew in hand to hand fighting.

Freddie thought it was a ridiculous endeavor, but participated anyway. She found satisfaction in not having to use claws.

Triple had become a sort of security officer of the ship. Taking it upon herself to train out the weakness she saw.

Protecting others when she could. It's where she found most of her enjoyment. Whenever she held her sword there was a huge pride etched onto her face. It's where Triple was most confident.

Freddie and Triple were often left alone on the ship. For the first few days Freddie followed the feline woman only for the feline to growl at her.

It wasn't the first, the second day, nor the third, but eventually the shorter woman had had enough.

"Find something else to do, dog," triple had said and put extra emphasis on the word dog. She then growled at Freddie until she left.

Triple had been reading about Earth in hopes of getting closer to Walt. For better understanding Walt. But that word choice was mean and Freddie hoped the combative woman realized that.

Perhaps she was being kind and let her follow out of pity, but it eventually became too much for Triple.

It was that word choice that had made Freddie explore the ship and it wasn't out of curiosity, but as a last resort.

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After being called a dog Freddie left the console room. At first a deep anger welled up in her. It was ready to break the damn of her control before she sat against a wall in a hallway. It was smooth and a painting visited her on the other side.

It was a cute little cottage in a landscape. It reminded her of something Bob Ross would make. Bob Ross and Studio Ghibli had come together and produced the piece of art. Freddie knew that was unlikely, so she got off her rear and looked at the signature.

Persephone Courage

Perhaps the weirdest thing about a giant spaceship was finding things still surprised her in the spaceship. A simple painting of a cabin and she was crying at the thought of home.

A home that was maintained by her mother full of flowers and her mother's best food. A warm fire just like the one at home she watched with her mother. The one that would keep them warm while they watched Christmas movies with hot cocoa.

She studied the painting for a bit longer before deciding she had enough courage to explore the rest of the ship.

Freddie had been an up and coming young chef before she disappeared 10 years ago. She was going to open her own restaurant and cook food that reminded her of home. Cook food that would make her mother proud.

Now the idea made her sick to her stomach these days. The idea of being in a kitchen full of people arguing, being stressed, and bumping into each other made her start growing fur in places she shouldn't have been.

It used to excite her. The idea of ordering around so many people and creating the best food in Paris.

Nowadays, any thoughts on it, any idea of it made fur start to protrude, but at least she had control. She had no control 10 years ago. She lost her home 10 years ago. She lost any connection with the world 10 years ago.

She'd fled to the crypt the first time she transformed. It was a lonely place and it always felt that way. She'd cry for her mother most nights. Hoping that wherever she was perhaps she could help. No help came. She also had the impression that the bodies placed in there were watching her.

When she thought of the crypt she usually forced the thoughts from her head. Any thoughts leading that way led to pain and misery.

When Triple forced her to be alone Freddie's terror rose. The idea of being alone made her think of her 10 years alone.

Triple paced the halls on that fourth day. Both Walt and the Professor were out of the ship. They weren't there to comfort her. She left that painting and explored. The maze of bright rooms and hallways reminded her a little of the crypts. It wasn't pleasant.

Triple had forced her out with that angry growl and that insult.

An angry growl. The kind you'd give to a younger sibling who wanted to see what you were doing. A growl she'd have given in the crypts to any passerby who got too curious.

She recognized that growl as a warning. The kind you'd give to tell someone to "fuck off and if you don't I might fucking hurt you."

Freddie did her best to fuck off. It terrified her, but she didn't want anyone to get hurt.

At first she felt the loneliness of the crypt. It was almost enough for her wolf out. It would have been the first time since Merlin. Tears started forming in her eyes and her eyes began to cloud her visibility. She really didn't like being alone. And that painting continued to remind her of a home that was ripped from her.

She wandered the halls alone looking for anything to distract her from the pain she felt. The pain of being left alone.

Then she heard the ship, the Professor always said she was alive. It was whispering at her. Whispers in a motherly way. The whispers even sounded like her mother. She was telling Freddie to listen and go this way.

Listen Freddie did. She led Freddie to a kitchen. A kitchen she'd have been proud to work in. A kitchen that was fully stocked.

Which was weird because the Professor had never brought the food she'd found in the fridge and cupboards through the only entrance in the ship.

No one brought groceries in and Freddie just assumed they outside, but she still got food. It bland food. She still ate.

There was never any of this food entering through the engine hood of the sports car. There was milk in the fridge.

"Milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese, sour cream, and any dairy product I might need."

Then she checked the pantry. Excitement grew in her. The kind she had gotten when her mother first started letting her cook. A freedom washed over her that she hadn't felt since before the catacombs.

"Oregano, parsley, pepper, salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom. And even ones I haven't even seen before."

It was impossible.

It baffled Freddie. The sense of joy washed over her and she had to quickly decide what she was going to make first. There was so many options with the ingredients in front of her.

"Are there apples?" She asked with excitement. A slight knock sounded from the fridge and Freddie opened it to find apples begging to be pulled from the crisper.

"Now the cinnamon," A knock came from the spice cupboard she had just visited. "I know where that one is."

"I'm gonna make your apple pie, ma," she said with some tears clouding her eyes again.

All the right ingredients, exact ingredients that her mother had used, ingredients her grandmother had used, and ingredients she used.

It was as if the Niobe had reached into her mind and fetched the recipe. She had placed it all in cupboards for Freddie to find.

In a flurry she cut the that apples and made dough fresh.

Bake she did. The freedom of cooking had come back to her. Something she had forgotten she missed so much. The ship had not. It had been waiting her for her to find. Been waiting for Freddie to listen and explore.

She wouldn't be alone on the ship and that fact hummed in her heart while she made her pies. She wanted to make more than enough for everyone to enjoy.

She made three. All with different latticed tops to represent each of her new friends. She wasn't very artistic in terms of imagery. Walt's was supposed to be two people holding hands, Triple's was a sword, and the Professor's was a heart.

She loaded them into the giant pink oven. An oven that she would've loved to have at home. It had a big door an a smaller door.

When they were done she pulled them all out. It had been a few hours since she had left Triple and wanted to return with a surprise.

"I hope she likes apple. She better apologize for calling me a dog," she said as she carried the pie back to the entrance room.

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The growl returned when the sword training woman saw Freddie returning, but quickly disappeared after she smelled the delicious pie.

"Damn right that growl disappear. This pie will be the best fucking pie you've ever tasted," she told Triple as she came into view.

Freddie was pushing a cart with two dishes of ice cream, two slices of pie, forks, and spoons. There were plenty of napkins and even two glasses of water. She had come prepared.

There was worry across her face when she approached the stairs to the upper floor. Loud clicks emanated from the stairs. The clicks echoed through the front room and then stopped without anything happening. Stairs turned into a long ramp they drooped and extended, so that Freddie could easily take the cart to the two chaired sitting room. Which Triple had been hanging out near. Her fur was wet and she had a towel wrapped around her neck.

Her favorite sword, her only sword, was leaning against one of the chairs. She wore her relax wear having changed from her sword training gear she usually wore. Instead of the militaristic wear it was a simple robe. A robe that was still practical with pockets, but comfy.

"I see you finished practice today, Triple," Freddie said. Half a question and half a statement of fact. She parked the trolly by the table which sat between the two chairs. It appeared to have grown a foot or two from a normal coffee table to a dining, or cafe table.

Triple only nodded. She glared at the pie releasing delicious fragrances. She had had ice cream. That was obvious from the way she ignored it and solely focused on the apple pie.

It smelled of cinnamon, baked apples, warmth, love and home. They nearly always carried a scent that led her thoughts to her mother.

Freddie sat in the chair opposite of Triple and looked around. It was only two chairs, but with her as the newest addition the crew had increased to four. "At some point are going to need more than two chairs."

Triple still glared at the pie. Maybe with the hopes it would be handed to her, but Freddie desired more. She desired an apology. Triple needed to apologize to her. It was a selfish request and something Freddie needed.

"What you said was mean. Like really mean. I know you're suffering. You aren't the only one suffering," Freddie said. Triple removed her eyes from the pie and stared at her claws. Freddie continued what she wanted to say, "calling me a dog only reminds me of my ten years alone..."

Triple still stared down, but hunched further after Freddie brought up the name calling. "It was wrong," Triple whispered, "I had no reason to call you that or hiss at you. I just wanted alone time."

"I understand that. Next time tell me and I'll leave. The only reason I stuck so tightly to you when Walt and the Professor are gone is because of so many years alone."

"I'm sorry," Triple said. Her tone of voice was apologetic, but she still avoided eye contact. "I regretted it right after you left."

"It's apple pie, Triple. Feel free to eat," Freddie said. It was all she needed to say for the cat in front of her to grab the pie and a fork to start eating. "Thank you for apologizing."

"It's delicious, Freddie," Triple said and made sure to use her name. At least this time she said something while looking at her directly.

Freddie also ate her pie. It was the first time she'd eaten pie for so long and the way it melted in her mouth. She had baked it perfectly. There was no dryness, nor hard bits of apple. Her mother's apple pie never failed her.

"I've still got it," Freddie said proudly. "After so many years away from the kitchen."

"I can never imagine being away from something so long. I've been away from Double for such a short time compared to that and every day he's gone it hurts," Triple said and continued to eat the pie. "I wish he had been able to try this."

"I'm sorry you lost your brother, Triple. Was he the only family you had?"

Triple nodded, "we were orphans. Double was the closest thing to a parent I had."

Freddie winced. She didn't know that.

"I have no family either. Mom died when I was 16. Father was never there. He left when I was 5 or something."

Then it was Triple's turn to wince. Her orange eyes holding back tears. They were always filled with such determination. Now she looked sad.

"One thing I hate about apple pie is that it makes you feel all mushy inside. It makes you pour your heart out," Freddie half joked. Partially to give the strong short woman in front of her a possible out of the conversation.

"It's really good," Triple complemented and then returned to silence the rest of the time she ate.