Gods fucking damnit, she wasn't considering "inconclusive" as a possible test result! Usually when she talks to someone like that they'll either opt for "flirt back" or "get offended"!

(William chose "both". She would follow that thought up with one about how no always means no, and you can never read someone well enough to say otherwise. Then she'd beat herself up over what an anti-feminist, inegalitarian, regressive, chauvinistic, and all-around Gwen thing to think that was—sorry Gwen, she says it with love—except, well. Uh. When she'd called him on it he'd admitted, and was willing to repeat under hypnotically enforced honesty, that that's exactly what he was doing. So.)

In any case, this is the first time Raven's seen someone pick "say nothing", and she's not sure how to proceed.

"Oh, uh, my bad if I'm reading you wrong and overstepping, here. It's my strong advice as an experienced Amazon warrior that you should eat more while working this job but I can be perfectly professional about it if you'd prefer."

Oh fuck, is she? Is that why the whole squad is fat? No fucking way. "Reading me wrong how?"

Gods this is so fucking embarrassing, Raven is not supposed to have to use her literal words to say this.

"Uh, I mean, if I'm wrong to have assumed either of 'you're attracted to me in particular' or 'you think larger women are prettier in general'?"

Sbe covers her face with her hands.

Holy fuck. "I, uh, no, yeah, you're right about both." Katie is visibly trembling as she says this. She wants to lean into Raven so bad but she still feels like she shouldn't without explicit permission.

She removes her hands from her face and lets out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, good. Good. It's just, well, I've spent the vast majority of my adult life—really most of my life per...uh, most of my life full stop, Gwen and Lauren if either of you clowns make a menstruation joke I figuratively swear on the metaphorical River Styx that I'll—you know what, never mind."

Raven clears her throat and starts over, and as she regains her stride her face is once again increasingly lit up with the full force of her earlier confident smile.

"Usually I'm in the company of supernatural community members like myself, who will either flirt right back or tell me to fuck off, I'm not used to little mortal cuties like you being so shy!"

Gwen shakes her head, though if Katue looks in the rear view mirror at the right angle to see her face she's still smiling.

"Raven, you're utterly shameless."

Katie cautiously places a bony hand on Raven's meaty thigh. "is that generally how it works in the supernatural community? Is mind reading a common demigod power?"

Raven responds to the hand with a satisfied "mmmmmmmm" noise.

"Heh. Nah, just...assuming everyone's enough of a big girl to say 'no' if they don't like something.

...while we're on the topic of mind reading, by the way, my hypnotic voice can be used to compel honesty and forthrightness, it ends up with much the same effect. If it's, you know, not too soon to bring that up."

As turned on as Katie is right now, she's still too paranoid to let her guard down so blatantly. "I'm... No, I think I can manage on my own. Yeah, I liked the way you were flirting with me, if that's indeed what it was. A lot." She tilts her spindly, delicate body in Raven's general direction.

Raven snakes one arm behind Katie's back, and pats her head with the other.

"Good girl for using your words."

"Thanks. So like, since I'm already being a freak in front of all of them, are you the reason why your whole squad is so, y'know..." Even now, years of prior experience have made her afraid to say the word out loud.

"Plus-sized?"

"Obese?"

"Curvy?"

"Fat as fuck?"

"Yeah, that. Glad you guys aren't mad at me for bringing it up."

"Hey, I don't care how much fat I have on me, it's what's under it that counts."

She flexes her prodigious arm muscles, which are the biggest in the group.

"Won't pretend I've never tried to lose it, but living a healthy lifestyle isn't worth it if it makes your life miserable, and anyway there's better things you can do for your body than chasing a number on a scale."

"Taking up space as a woman in this world is a revolutionary act. I believe that's true in every possible sense."

"It's just kinda the path of least resistance when Raven's cooking is available all the time."

She perks up even more at that last statement. "God, I hope so. But anyways like, so are you guys a polycule or not? Is this like a rule 63 Sacred Band of Thebes situation?"

"'Polycule' is such a mortal concept. My teammates are my best friends, and I love them. Sometimes I show my appreciation in physical ways. Why does it matter what we call it?"

"Hope's a perv about doing weird Frankensteinian medical experiments on us—"

"The ritual of going into an office and doing paperwork and stuff around my appointments helps me put those thoughts in on a box so I can stay professional, and when I have to treat my teammates out in the field and am in the right mood sometimes they come up!"