Stephanie sat in slack-jawed awe as her host pulled open the metallic door in front of them, bathing her in the bright white light that shone inside the office building-sized contraption. More than the light, though, was the wave of cold that accompanied it. Stephanie's arms hugged the lock of black, silky ropes she had secured herself with for warmth (and her hand held her little companion just a little more snugly) as her hostess reached an arm - the very arm whose shoulder she was currently perched upon - into the cold, splendidly lit interior of the refrigerator.

And really, Stephanie couldn't help but stare as she did.

She had never seen so much food somewhere. Maybe at a grocery store, but she was certain the contents of this fridge could give any store she had ever seen a run for its money. Plastic containers - small by the standards of an Omega, perhaps, and seemingly just a bit taller than Stephanie herself - filled the shelves, and Stephanie's eyes darted to each she could find and surveyed its contents through the clear plastic. Scores of plucked grapes, peeled bananas, diced pineapples and sliced oranges filled the top shelves. Below them, she could make out identical containers loaded with that seemed to be vegetables - broccoli, carrots, and peas at the immediate front of the shelf. And below those...

Meat, and God knows how much of it. That was what struck Stephanie more than anything else stored in the thing. She paid attention in class, she wasn't stupid. The Omegas has been at the forefront of the sciences since their emergence, contributing hugely to medical and agricultural advancements. The latter was the relevant case here, of course. "Hunger" had functionally ceased to exist for decades now, thanks entirely to the rate at which the Omegas were able to grow fruits and vegetables. Not just normal fruits and veggies, either - what they produced had a startlingly long shelf life, not even requiring a freezer to be kept for long periods.

But that was produce, not livestock. She had never heard anything about them being able to raise the amount of livestock the containers of meat below her would require, especially to sustain every Omega. How on Earth...

"It's synthesized," Claire casually stated from beside her as the reaching hand grasped its target - a cup of grapes, apparently, and began to withdraw. "The meat, right? That's what you're looking at? Completely synthesized." Stephanie simply continued to stare at it dumbly. Synthesized? She had never heard of anyone managing that...

"We sorta keep it to ourselves for now," Claire continued, still talking casually as if discussing something more akin to a recipe than a life-changing science. "Alphas and Betas can't really digest it too well, so we still have some improvements to make to the process. No one would really want it yet, anyway. I've had real meat before, this stuff doesn't really compare. We have to slather it with sauces to get anything really good out of it, and Daddy's assured me that's no way to eat steak. Want anything, by the way? Kinda have plenty, if you haven't noticed."

"N-No," Stephanie blurted out, still thrown for a loop. If they could synthesize food, what else...

Stephanie's thoughts were interrupted as her perch quickly rose into the air, causing her to re-tighten her now relaxed grip as the cotton-covered shoulder rose and then fell. A shrug, Stephanie realized.

"Suit yourself," Claire remarked as her arm fully withdrew from the refrigerator, the other closing the door behind its retreating partner. That free hand then reached to the fridge's side, grabbing the drinking glass the giant woman had quickly retrieved from a nearby cabinet while making her way through the kitchen. Stephanie followed the glass from the marble counter top where it had rested, to the inlaid water dispenser in the fridge's door. A press of the glass to the tab that hung within the dispenser, and a torrent of water began to fall and crash into provided reservoir. Stephanie's eyes lingered there for a moment, before wandering once more.

It was then that she got her first good look at the door Claire had previously held open, having previously gotten only the most cursory of glances due to both the angle of the giantess's approach and the speed at which the door had opened. It was then that she noticed how...full that metallic surface was, how positively littered it was with various papers held in place by fruit-themed magnets.

And the first thing her eyes found, held in place by a faded slice of watermelon, was a photograph. A bit odd, in this day and age, but Stephanie supposed some people liked to keep solid copies of them. Still, what drew her attention was the subject. Standing proudly on an almost familiar tanned surface, was...well, Stephanie found herself blushing somewhat at the label she applied, a pretty cute guy. Garbed in a black soccer uniform, his black hair cut short and fierce blue eyes focused on the camera, he practically beamed at it with a toothy smile that radiated confidence. Stephanie figured he must have been around her age, at least when the photo was taken. As with the surface he stood on, though, there was something familiar there, and Stephanie squinted as she tried to call precisely what that was. She had seen him somewhere before, she knew that, but where?

Even as she asked herself that, though, Stephanie's mouth began to go dry; her stomach began to tighten. She had seen him before, she just had to remember...

And as she concentrated, her eyes happened to notice a relatively small note scrawled at the bottom of the photograph, in the white below the picture itself. Written in what she assumed was a black sharpie marker. Gingerly, she bit at her lower lip. It had come to her, just as she had begun to read the scrawled little note. Why the guy looked so familiar. He should have.

Big brother before his last game! - Claire, 14

That was what the note read, and Stephanie began to softly knead at her doll. Of course the guy looked familiar.

She had held him in her hands, studied his little face.

Held it. Studied its.

That had been no pride in that face then, though. No fierceness in its eyes. That had disappeared after Naomi had had her needed...release. No, there had been none of that picture's strength or poise in the little thing that she had dangled by the arm. As she had jabbed at it with her finger in an attempt to halt its pitiful little cries, its begging.

No, none of that strength, confidence, or poise. Just...terror. Pain. Desperation.

Despair.

Just as there must have been with...

Stephanie swallowed, her eyes shifted back to the filling glass even as the Omega finished with it. The stream of water halted, and the now full glass was pulled in close to Claire's body. Then they were on the move again, the padding of Claire's bare feet echoing up from the tiles of the kitchen. The woman managed to remain surprisingly stable and level as she walked, to the point that Stephanie found her grip around the lock of hairs loosening again. It didn't take long for them to reach the living room, for Claire to take her usual seat on the couch. That glass of water was set on the coffee table, and Stephanie expected the once-again free hand to come for her.

Instead, Stephanie traced its movement to the container of fruit Claire had retrieved earlier, watched it casually rip away the plastic covering and place that atop the table as well.

"Sure you don't want any?" Claire politely asked once more, still with that grating casualness.

"I said no," Stephanie spat with annoyance, and that same up-and-down movement was the Omega's response.

She watched with mild fascination as Claire brought that container upward, as she brought it to her lips. Her gripping hand began to tilt the fruit-filled plastic cavity, and Stephanie's slack-jawed expression returned as the grapes suddenly began to roll and tumble downward as the container closed in on a near 180 degree tilt. The expression stayed as she watched them tumble free of their plastic confines, past the plush, pink lips, and into the Omega's hungry maw. What had to be hundreds of the presumably tasty grapes were essentially a sip to the gigantic woman.

The container returned to its proper orientation within a couple of seconds, a decent chunk taken out of its contents from Claire's casual feast. The Omega's jaw moved up and down a few times, an action Stephanie couldn't help but feel was mostly for show. And then she swallowed, the audible action pulling the fruit into the cavernous stomach that awaited it.

"Well, you'll have to excuse my little snack, then," Claire said, pulling the container away and setting it next to her glass of water. "Haven't had a chance at a breakfast, yet." Stephanie rolled her eyes.

Just get this shit over with, she thought.

"I feel you should know," Claire started, even as she leaned back into the couch, catching Stephanie off guard even as the shoulder burying into the furniture provided her with a backrest of her own, "that I cleared Naomi to begin her community service. She'll start tomorrow, actually."

"I hope she takes advantage of it," the Omega added, and Stephanie was struck by the sincerity attached to that sentiment. Moreover...Stephanie found herself agreeing with her. She wanted Naomi to be able to do community service in lieu of the oncoming exams Claire had promised. Naomi wasn't the best, academically speaking. She stood a better chance of getting out of these punishments if she could distance herself from a test, if she could just...be herself.

"I think she will," Claire continued happily. "She's been eager to give something back since she started, eager to do something constructive for the Betas. I really do have high hopes for her."

"And, y'know, I have those hopes for you, too."

Stephanie grunted. Hell, she wanted to laugh. Hopes for what, precisely?

"I really would love to clear you for service as well, Stephanie. To give you that constant chance to makes things...easier, on yourself. To give something back." Stephanie had to snicker somewhat at that last part. A snicker that, if heard, went unacknowledged. "And the thing is, I'm tempted to clear you. I really am. Because I don't think you'd be a threat to any Betas around you if I did."

Stephanie blinked. That had been...unexpected, to say the least. Unexpected, but the idea itself was not unwelcome. She had spent more than enough time covered in her hostess's sweat at this point, a good chance to get out of that would be...

"The problem with that idea," the Omega informed her seriously, "from my perspective, is this: I don't think you'd be a danger to any Betas while performing your service. That's good. The problem itself, Stephanie, comes down to one of reason, of purpose. And the only reason I believe you would behave, is that you wouldn't want to make things worse for yourself. The only purpose behind your work would be for yourself. Do you feel that's an accurate assessment on my part? Is it something you would agree with?"

"Yes," Stephanie responded. No shit, she thought. Of course she wouldn't act out if cleared for service, there would be far too much riding on her conduct to even think of doing that. If Naomi felt she really had to work for the stupid Betas, then that was her business. But she wouldn't be following suit.

"And that's precisely why I won't be clearing you," Claire said following a deep sigh, causing Stephanie to sneer. "That's not what the service is about, and it's not an outlook we want to reward. I'm hoping this will only be a...delay, though, and not how things are going to be for the rest of the year with us. I really am."

"So in the interests of working toward that goal, I'm offering you something...special, this week," Claire stated, piquing Stephanie's interests again. She had mentioned something about a deal, before they had left the young woman's room. Was she finally getting to it?

Claire's open palm suddenly greeted her as it rose from beneath the larger woman's chest, and the fingers tenderly grasped her. Stephanie allowed her hug of the soft lock of hair to come to an end as she was pulled away from her seat and brought before Claire's tender face.

"A little test, Stephanie," Claire informed her, "Just a little one question, open-ended test. No writing required. Just answer it seriously, and you pass."

"So what about this is 'special', then?" Stephanie asked with a tilt of her head.

"I'm glad you asked," her warden responded with a smile. "What's special about this, is that I'm doing a little...two-for-one special, Stephanie, just for you. That is, answer my question in a satisfactory manner, and I count it as two tests. And passing two tests means that we don't do a session for this week. So how about it? Care to give it a shot?"

"Yes," came Stephanie's eager, elated response. There was no reason not to try, she'd be a fool to turn this chance down. She had done her reading, committed it to memory. Tests were easy for her, always had been. Nothing Claire could ask her would pose a problem, she was confident about that.

"Very well," Claire said, her smile fading into a straight line once again. "Just keep in mind, then, that I expect a serious answer. We won't be done until you give me something. Is that understood?"

Stephanie gave her a nod, a smirk on her face. What a useless rule. She'd have this, easy.

"Good," Claire stated, as the hand currently grasping Stephanie began to rise until the smaller girl found herself level with the brown eyes of her warden-turned-proctor, "so here we go, then."

"What I want to know," she continued, her voice becoming low and serious, and Stephanie heard a deep breath emanating from a few feet below her, "what I want you to tell me..."

An audible swallow from below, now.

"Tell me, Stephanie, one thing you and your brother liked to do together."