The group was back in the capital, and the girls went to the castle to teach Eluna more of the new ways of using magic. Sophia wasn’t interested in that, though, so she decided to meet up with Ari instead. The two chatted about all kinds of things and even made a plan for the upcoming birthday of Maya, where they planned to have Sophia cook a fancy dinner for her cat. Eventually, though, the topic shifted towards Princess Anna, who, according to the jaguar, was behaving a little weird during the last couple of days.

“So, what is going on with Anna that concerns you?” Sophia wanted to know more about it.

“I wouldn’t say concerning… Just, uhh… hard to get used to. Her boosted clinginess takes me a lot to stay calm.”

“B-Boosted, huh…” The tiger naturally reacted to this all too familiar word.

“Well, increased might be the better fit. Adding to that, her clinginess actually keeps getting more with each day…”

“Alright, I’m listening. I have a little experience with my own clingy cat, so I might be able to help.”

“Maya’s clingy?”

“You have no idea. I like it, though, so it’s perfectly fine~.”

“I-It’s not like I dislike Anna being like that, either…” The blush on Ari’s cheeks increased.

“Hehe.” Sophia liked what she heard and saw. “Okay, what exactly is the princess doing?”

“She doesn’t let go of me anymore ever since we got sick after you gave me a part of your magic power. She was even super reluctant to help teach Eluna today because she rather wanted to stay with me, but I didn’t let her have that. Teaching her is really important, after all.”

“Aww, sounds pretty adorable to me.”

“Well, it is. S-She is, but…”

“Confused about why?”

“Exactly.”

“Still, what changed to before? Anna always seemed clingy to me…” The blonde had yet to understand the actual change.

“She started sleeping with me every day since the magic boost, for example.”

“…” Sophia needed a moment. “Err…” A slight blush appeared on her cheeks, as well.

“Hmm…?” Ari tilted her head before her entire face turned red. “N-No! I meant s-sleeping in the literal kind of way! I didn’t try to i-imply anything!”

“Ahh… Sorry, I jump to conclusions from time to time.” She scratched her cheek. “That would’ve been quite the change after the last time I saw you, where you only mentioned liking the princess.”

“Y-Yes…” The jaguar was taking a lot of damage from this misunderstanding. “Everything she’s doing is completely i-innocent.”

“Okay, I understand.” There was the tiniest hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Anna and I had sleepovers every so often, but we never shared the same bed. At least not since we were little kids. It was actually the first time in forever that she did it when I was sick and shivering during the night. Afterward, she wanted to do it again, and we’ve slept in the same bed for the last few days.”

“That sounds like a great time, though.” The blonde started smiling. “I love cuddling and sleeping with Maya.”

“T-That’s a d-different topic…” Ari didn’t deny it.

“So?”

“I don’t know the two of you that well yet, especially Maya, but your cat came up with the idea of sleeping together, didn’t she?”

“Of course. There’s no way I could’ve come up with the idea! Impossible!”

“So, how did you react when she came up with it?”

“Well, actually, it happened without me noticing…” The blonde scratched her cheek.

“Huh?”

“The first time was after I fainted and then woke up on her lap…”

“W-What happened…?” The jaguar sounded concerned.

“Don’t worry, I’m just not good with hot water… It happens every now and then when I take a bath…” Sophia let out quite a lot of details, but that still was the gist of it.

“Oh, I see…”

“Well, after that, Maya decided that we should sleep together every night.”

“Okay, how did you react after that, then…?”

“I almost fainted again while my face literally lit on fire.”

“Aaand there we have it.” Ari almost looked smug when she got her point across.

“A-Ah.” The tiger finally understood the issue. “It’s embarrassing, huh? That’s definitely something I can relate to.”

“Yes…” Ari ever so slightly hung her head. “I l-love her, and it only got worse since I accidentally blurted it out to you… It became real to me… Now that she also got extra clingy for some reason, my brain’s turning to mush…”

“Something else I can relate to… Maya’s a big fan of skinship, as well, and after she went after me for real, that cat went all out on her attacks. I loved it, but it was also pretty tiring and overwhelming. No one did that before, and I had no idea what to do in that situation. I can hardly say that I know what I’m doing right now, after all…”

“Yes!” The black-haired girl wholeheartedly agreed. “Sleeping with her is also a little weird... I have a bit of a hard time falling asleep because I’m nervous about her being so close. Still, I’ve never actually slept better than those last couple of days. It’s a bit restrictive because Anna uses me as a h-hug pillow in her sleep, but that feels super n-nice, too.”

“Aww, how adorable.” Sophia liked the story. “I really like how sweet Anna actually is despite her loud and slightly tomboyish exterior. It’s so cute!”

“I feel the same. The difference between those two extremes is amazing. It’s like getting two for the price of one~.”

“Ehehe.” The blonde had some experience with that, as well. Maya got like five girls in one with her, after all.

“Have you tried hugging her back during those times? It sounds like you could act a little bold in that situation.”

“N-No…” Ari’s blush intensified. “W-Well, I tried to, but…”

“But?”

“While her hugs feel good… Before anything else, I have to take care not to suffocate…”

“Eh?” She tilted her head again.

“Literally, I mean… Once Anna falls asleep, she unconsciously hugs me in a way where she often presses my head against her… c-chest, and my face gets buried into them so deep that I have trouble breathing every so often…”

“…” The tiger had no idea how to react to something like that. “Uhh… I’m kinda, no... very jealous…”

“Ahaha…” She let out a small chuckle. “It’s not as nice as it sounds.”

“I bet it’s soft, though.”

“Incredibly soft.” Ari didn’t hesitate for a second with her answer. “Warm, too.” A bashful smile appeared on her lips. "Also, being able to actually feel Anna's heartbeat while falling asleep... Wow. That rhythmic beating and hearing her soft breathing right above my head while she's sleeping is by far the most relaxing and addicting experience I had in my life.”

“Not as nice as it sounds, huh?” Sophia only stared at the black-haired girl. "Also, yeah, best feeling there is."

“A-Ah…” Her face, once more, turned even redder. “W-Well… The thing is, all that aside, I still like being able to breathe while sleeping… A slight adjustment would be nice... Her tail, too, is all over the place... W-Wrapping around me and all that. Last night, it had even tangled itself around my own behind my back... I-I was so embarrassed that my face almost set on fire..."

“C-Cute..." Sophia looked at her with a warm expression while imagining the scene in her head. "Well, okay, fair enough.” She could agree with that reason. “Though, I might have to try something with Maya tonight~. While she’s not quite as soft, warm, squishy, and comfortable in places, my cat still has a lot going on for her. She’s more of the spoon type, though, so she often clings to my back instead when we’re sleeping.”

“T-That sounds nice, too.”

“It absolutely is. Not quite as exciting as death by boobs, but it’s really relaxing to sleep like that. I can only recommend it.”

“S-Shut up…”

“Ehehe.” The blonde liked her reaction. “Well, you have two options now. You either tell the princess to stop, or-,”

“No.” Ari interrupted her.

“Someone’s getting more honest, huh?”

“A-Ah…” She only now noticed that she’d reacted on instinct alone.

“It’s only natural. The girl you love is hugging you and trying to suffocate you with her boobs. Why would you tell her to stop, right?”

“C-Could we stop focusing on Anna’s chest already?”

“Easier said than done. They’re hard to ignore.”

“True.” The jaguar answered without thinking again.

“Hehe.”

“W-Why do I keep getting trapped into your pace?!” Ari got loud.

“I have a talent for that. I’m good at throwing off people.”

“You can say that again.”

“Well, anyway, chest aside, the other option would be to get used to her hugging you while sleeping together.” Sophia, sort of, got back to the topic.

“H-How…?”

“Time, I guess? I needed a lot of that to get used to Maya’s pushiness. Still, look at where the two of us are now.”

“B-But… Maya did that because she loves you, right…? I have no idea why Anna’s suddenly acting like that…”

“What speaks against it being the exact same reason? Maybe she fell for you when she nursed you back to health when we were sick?”

“Do you have any alternative ideas that actually make sense?” Ari was unable to believe that theory.

“Makes a ton of sense to me, though.”

“We’re childhood friends, and we were like sisters for most of the time. Why would she suddenly f-fall for me…?”

“Yeah, that makes sense. There’s no way that would ever work out.” The tiger rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you fell for her while being in the exact same situation or anything.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“A-Ah…” Ari had nothing to defend herself with. “Still… it would be way too convenient for Anna to l-love me, too… That’s too unbelievable.”

“Exactly my thoughts when it came to Maya for me. I, too, refused to believe it for a long time.”

“Ugh… You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

“Normally, not really. Like, at all, but this topic is super relatable for me as I went through something really similar. Also, I like you, Ari, so I want to help out as best as I can.”

“T-Thank you…” She got even more bashful. “You sure are smooth.”

“S-Shut up…”

“Ehehe.” Ari’s mood relaxed a little.

“Alright, how about you tell me a little more about Anna’s changed behavior. Maybe I’m able to see some more similarities with my cat.”

“Okay…” The jaguar closed her eyes and tried to recall everything that was going on with the princess lately. It seemed like their girls-talk was far from over. In fact, it looked like it had just started.