Volume 7 - Clutching Coils, Chapter 43 - Kaiju Beach

"Oh, thank goodness," Tsuen blurted as she stepped off the bus and into the inn's parking lot, stretching her legs. "I don't think I could handle being cooped up like that for much longer."

Mara followed after, the last one off the bus. She was watching Tsuen's tail and rear end swish side to side and said, "Agreed. I need to move. Want to go for a little jog, Tsuen?" Once clear of the bus, she opened her white and black painted parasol. With it over her head and Tsuen nearby, Mara didn't fear the sky anymore.

Tsuen turned to Yuisu. "Is that alright, Yuisu?"

Yuisu smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we can take in your luggage. Don't go too far, though."

With that, the centaur and arachne took off at a slow jog, letting Mara's shorter legs set the pace.

Haru glanced at the inn's signpost. "The Zoic Inn," she read aloud. "What a strange name. Hey, Yuisu… just what kind of place is this?"

"It's an inn that caters to liminals and employs a bunch of 'em too," Yuisu replied.

Just then, an old woman approached the group. She had grey hair and kind eyes hidden in her wrinkled face and she wore a plain kimono. She said, "The name is based on the word 'cryptozoic', which refers to beings that are unknown to humanity. My grandson suggested it, and I thought it was pretty clever."

Yuisu stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Thank you for having us, ma'am."

"Oh ho ho, no problem, little lady. Just call me Sari." She beckoned and turned towards the main inn doors. "Come on in and I'll show you your rooms. Don't you worry about your luggage. I'll send a porter to get it."

"And that's the door to the kitchens," Sari said, gesturing at a large swinging door. The little old woman had led the group through most of the two-story inn, pointing out every mundane feature. Only Yuisu seemed interested.

Mara let out a long sigh and whispered to Haru, "Is the tour over yet? I'm bored."

Haru put a wing on Yuisu's shoulder. "Are we good now? We'd all like to hit the beach while the sun's still up."

"Oh, sure. Go on ahead, girls." Yuisu said with a dismissive wave. "I wanted to chat with Sari some more about how the inn operates day to day." This is a perfect opportunity to prepare for opening my own inn someday, she thought.

Haru leaned close and whispered into Yuisu's ear, "You should come too. I'll be wearing a certain swimsuit."

"Uh, um." Yuisu mumbled, her mouth hanging open as she got lost in a fantasy.

Sari looked back and forth between Haru and Yuisu, then chuckled knowingly. "Go on with your friends, Yuisu. You and I can chat another time."

Blushing, Yuisu nodded, then the group split off to their rooms to change. Tsuen and Mara shared one room, as well as Yuisu and Haru, but Quess and Iormu each had their own.

Quess didn't bother going to hers, instead just 'changing' right there in the hallway from her lacy dress into a skimpy pink bikini. "While you all get changed, I'll take the blankets down to the beach and pick out a good spot," she called out as she set off on her own.

Iormu slithered to her room, which was a special one for large liminals. It was just as spacious as her room back at the cabin, but it had a beautiful classic Japanese style, complete with dozens of tatami mats covering the floor.

It took her less than a minute to swap her black top for a scale patterned bikini top and her black beaded sarong for a purple one with a few extra straps to keep it secure. She rarely bothered with those strange Lamia-style stick-on panties, so her swim outfit actually gave more coverage than her normal clothes, and a lower chance of indecent exposure.

Iormu was eager to bathe in the warmth of the summer sun and she was already imagining the soft sensation of warm sand under her belly. She was about to leave the room when she realized she still had her bracelets, necklace, earrings, and even navel ring on. She took a moment to remove all those dangly bits of jewelry, then she zipped off out of the inn and down the little zig-zagging walkway to the beach.

Tsuen and Mara would have been changed quickly, except that Tsuen couldn't decide what to wear. She had a bikini top and sarong-skirt bottom that she wore back when Yamato joined them in the hot spring, but she didn't own an actual swimsuit bottom made for a centaur. "If I wear a sarong, I can't go running without flashing someone."

Most people wouldn't even realize they'd seen your privates. And people see horse butt all the time on TV or whatever. Mara knew better than to voice her real thoughts, so she shrugged apathetically. "Then just wear your jogging shorts."

"Those aren't for swimming! They'd get ruined by the salt water."

"Did you really never buy a full swimsuit? Sports Club Kobold has a great swimming pool, so I just assumed you'd used it."

Tsuen blushed. "We always run together when we go there, and I don't go to the gym without you, Mara."

"There's gotta be a place you can change, so bring both. Let's go, already," Mara said, impatiently. She had already changed into a tie-dye one-piece with cutouts on the sides that looked awfully mature for her little girl's body.

Haru and Yuisu actually took even longer than Tsuen to get changed. Haru made the mistake of changing into her silver thong before trying to put on the top, but it was made for humans and the tiny clasp was impossible for her. She stood topless and held out the bikini top towards Yuisu. "Can you help with this, Yuisu?"

Yuisu had taken off her shirt and just dropped her skirt when she turned and saw the very nearly naked harpy. "Holy…" she muttered as she took in Haru's slim, toned body, firm voluptuous breasts, and tauntingly tiny thong. Yuisu thought, She must have shaved… (or plucked, because feathers?)... just for that swimsuit. A bikini wax wouldn't cut it, because that thing barely covers anything at all.

Yuisu stepped forward, but not to help Haru put her top on. She was in full-on Yuri-su mode, and she slapped the silver bikini top out of Haru's hand while wearing a lewd grin. Yuisu reached forward, meaning to grab a couple heavenly handfuls of Haru.

"Really, Yuisu?" Haru scoffed and took a step back, out of groping range. "Just the sight of me sets you off? It's flattering, but we've got plans already."

"Plans can change," Yuisu suggested with a wink.

Haru brushed Yuisu's grabby hands away with her wing. "Later, Yuisu, okay?"

Yuisu reluctantly nodded, then picked up the bikini top from the floor. After she helped Haru into the top and fastened the clasp, she said, "Sorry if I'm ever too, uh, grabby or needy."

Haru turned around and pulled Yuisu into a hug, her shimmery bikini-clad breasts squishing against Yuisu's plain cotton bra. "No apology needed. I'm the needy one sometimes, and it's okay anyway, since I love you."

"I love you too, Haru. Now let me get changed and let's get outside before I lose my resistance and get grabby again."

It turned out that walking on sand while being made of slime was problematic. Quess's sticky surface picked up all the sand she touched, and at first she kept stopping every few feet to shake it off. After fighting that losing battle for several minutes, Quess had a clever idea. She pushed all the stuck-on sand into one area on her feet and built herself some sand-shoes. The rest of the walk was a breeze.

Shortly after Quess had picked out a good, flat spot of sand and laid out their blankets, she spotted Iormu heading down towards the beach. She waved up at Iormu, hoping she was visible against the bright white sand.

Iormu had barely set scale onto the warm sand of the beach when she heard a voice nearby. She turned to the sound and saw two young men looking at her from where they sat in folding chairs.

"Holy shit. You weren't kidding about this place being called Kaiju Beach. Look at that fucking monster," one of the men said to the other.

"Yeah, lots of monster people, or I guess they prefer 'liminals', come here. That's how it got the nickname," his friend replied.

The first guy lowered his voice and said, "Are all monstergirls so, uh, stacked?"

Iormu had excellent hearing and she could still hear every word as they continued in hushed voices. She kept moving past, hiding her irritation at their rude conversation.

"A lot of 'em, yeah. You can get some nice eye-candy here."

"You say that like you come here often, Tobi."

"Uh, I guess I do. The liminals I've talked to were really nice."

"Woah dude, you talked to them? Are you that desperate for some freaky tail?"

"Back off on the racism, Jotaro," the other man scolded. "They're good people. And it's illegal to get it on with liminals anyway. Ain't no law against looking, though, or being friendly. You should try it."

"Alright, alright. I ain't no racist like my old man. It's still weird to me, but I'll try to keep an open mind."

Iormu smiled, her attitude much improved. I guess there's hope for everyone, she thought as she slithered across the soft sand and enjoyed how it warmed her entire length. She swept her gaze over the lightly populated beach until she noticed Quess waving, then made her way there.

Haru and Yuisu were the last ones to arrive on the beach, but Tsuen had already left for a jog along the shore. They approached the beach blankets where Mara, Quess, and Iormu were sprawled out in the sun.

"Looking good, Haru," Mara said with a grin, eying Haru's itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie silver bikini. "Sometimes I really wish I had a body like that to show off."

Haru enjoyed the attention, as well as the jealous look on Yuisu's face. She spun around so the others could see the backside too. One-inch straps on the bikini's top matched the whale-tail shape of the back of the skimpy thong. Even Quess blushed when she saw how sexy it looked on Haru's perky tush, though Mara and Iormu were less affected. They definitely thought it was sexy, but they had no butts of their own and didn't find the idea of a thong all that lewd.

"I'm glad people like it. It's not often I get to show off," Haru said with a smile. She turned to Yuisu and said, "I'm sorry if I'm stealing anyone else's thunder though. You look great, Yuisu."

Yuisu was wearing a bright green bikini with reasonable coverage and a bit of a cheeky cut to highlight the shape of her booty. She was pretty proud of her bottom, and the rest of her body, thanks to her fitness routine at the gym. I bet I can get some looks and compliments too, if I tried, Yuisu thought, but she wasn't that competitive. Instead she said, "Thanks, Haru. What do you want to do first?"

"I want to tan, not burn, so I could use some help with this," Haru said as she tossed a bottle of sunscreen at Yuisu, then she flopped down onto an open spot on the blanket.

Yuisu scrambled to catch the sunscreen, then grinned like a kid on Christmas as she realized what she was about to get to do. Goddamn, I love you, Haru, Yuisu thought, then straddled Haru's butt and squirted some lotion on both hands. Then, with the careful passion of someone who really, really, enjoys their job, Yuisu started to massage sunscreen into every inch of Haru's smooth, sexy skin.

By the time Yuisu finished with both sides, she was pretty aroused from touching Haru's amazing body and seeing nearly every bit of it up close. She stood up to take a dip in the ocean to cool her jets, but Haru grabbed her by the arm.

"Uh-uh, Yuisu. Get back here," Haru said. "You need sunscreen too, since you're paler than me." Haru threw Yuisu down onto the blanket and pounced on her back, then realized her feathery pseudo-hands were ill-equipped for applying lotion. "Ah, dammit." She slapped her wing against her forehead at her own stupidity, then looked around for someone else to help.

Haru's first choice was Quess, since their past intimacy meant there'd be less awkwardness or jealously, until Haru realized that Quess would have a very different issue with applying sunscreen: absorbing it. Next, she eyed Mara, who was lounging under her favorite parasol, and thought, Despite her flirty attitude, Mara has a good sense of boundaries. She could work. "Hey, Mara. A little help?"

Mara had already read the situation and seen Haru's searching eyes, so she was quick to respond. She raised her carapace-covered hands and wiggled her sharp fingers, then said, "I'm no good for applying sunscreen. Tsuen had to do all mine for me, but she's still off running somewhere."

Out of options, Haru turned to Iormu. She thought, I'm not sure about her… Yuisu's been spending a lot of time with her, and I don't want to send the wrong message. She paused for a second, then had a dirty thought, Unless I actually do want to send that message. What would that threesome be like?

Before Haru could say anything one way or the other, Iormu spoke up and slid closer. "I can do it, Haru. Is that alright with you, Yuisu?"

Yuisu blushed a little, thinking something surprisingly similar to Haru, then said, "Uh, yeah, sure."

Haru moved out of the way and stood by in a state of half jealousy, half desire as Iormu ran her strong arms all over Yuisu's body. Iormu held her entire upper body aloft as she worked, and her hands were the only part of her that actually touched Yuisu, so it didn't end up being as intimate as Haru and Yuisu had expected.

"Thanks, Iormu," Haru said when Iormu had finished. Then she grabbed Yuisu's hand and helped her stand. "Let's go for a walk, and see how many heads we can turn together."

With wide smiles and waggling hips, Haru and Yuisu strutted arm in arm down the beach. As they had hoped, the two beautiful women drew a lot of stares from liminals and humans, male and female both.

At the north end of the beach, the white sand slowly gave way to rounded boulders and craggy ridges. Yuisu pulled Haru behind one of the rocks, out of line of sight of the other beach goers, then sat down in the sand and pulled Haru down next to her. "Nothing like a nice ego boosting walk with my lover to get me revved up," Yuisu whispered as she kissed Haru's collarbone.

Haru pushed Yuisu onto her back and straddled her hips. "I was thinking the same thing, Yuisu." She leaned down and planted a kiss on Yuisu's lips.

Since someone could walk around the corner at any time, their little nook wasn't quite private enough for anything too risqué, but it was perfect for a summer afternoon makeout session. Yuisu reached up and grabbed Haru's prominently-displayed and barely-covered butt with both hands, pulling her into a deeper kiss that was returned with gusto.