Volume 7 - Clutching Coils, Chapter 44 - Girl Talk

Mara, Tsuen, Quess, and Iormu were packing up their beach supplies when Haru and Yuisu finally returned. There was no need to ask what they'd been up to; the sand that was still stuck to Haru's knees and Yuisu's back made it pretty obvious. As tempting as it was, the other girls decided not to press the issue. Teasing the lovebirds about their little tryst could be saved for later.

As Tsuen shook the sand out of a beach blanket, she said, "Hurry up, Mara. We need to be quick in order to get back to the inn and take showers in time for dinner."

Mara opened her mouth to complain, but Tsuen knew what she was about to say and cut her off. "Yes, you do need a shower. I'm not eating dinner with someone that smells like sunscreen and seawater."

"Then you need to shower too, Tsuen," Mara countered pointlessly, since Tsuen was clearly already planning on taking one. "I'm not sharing my bed with someone that smells like sunscreen and sweat!" Mara scratched her chin with a carapace-covered finger. "Actually, that sounds kinda sexy. You don't need to shower after all, Tsuen."

Mara's strange comment earned a questioning look from the five other women. Mara tended to be surprisingly open about her particular fetishes, from 'wide hips and curves' to 'sunscreen and sweat', apparently. If anyone ever made the mistake of asking Mara about her fixations, they'd probably get an uncomfortable lesson about how wide hips make for better face-sitting.

After that little conversation killer, the group was pretty quiet until they reconvened for dinner, freshly showered and not smelling like seawater, sunscreen, or sweat.

The inn's extensive menu had to be seen to be believed. There were meal options for many specialized diets, which was to be expected of an inn that specialized in servicing liminals. But they also had extreme menu items like nectar and even blood. All of Yuisu's group decided to stick with more normal options when they ordered. A few minutes later, the liminal wait-staff brought out plate after plate of delicious smelling food.

"Excellent choice, miss," a black-haired maid said to Haru as she set down a plate with a huge slab of rare meat on it. She kept her lips nearly closed as she spoke, like she was hiding something. "Our steaks are only the finest marbled cuts."

Haru smiled up at her. The maid had bright red eyes, big wolf-like ears, and a fluffy black tail. Haru said, "I work as a butcher, and I agree that these are top quality. It also looks like it was cooked to perfection, and not a second longer, so give my thanks to the chef."

The wolf-girl grinned wide, showing a mouth full to the brim with huge, sharp, and scary teeth. Haru and Yuisu flinched as they caught sight of that terrifying maw. The maid quickly covered her mouth with a paw, then blushed and said, "I'll do just that."

After the maid left to serve someone else, Yuisu whispered to Haru, "Okay, that was scary. I'm going to guess she's not a Fenrir like Froze?"

Given the size of the dog-like maid's ears, she could probably hear every word anyway, but Haru whispered back, "Yeah. Maybe a Cu Sith? I've never met one before. Maybe they have big fangs?"

On Haru's other side, Quess leaned over and said, "Nope. A Cu Sith, Kobold, or Inumimi definitely wouldn't have fangs like that. My guess is Werewolf."

Yuisu blinked in surprise. "Wait, are the things you listed all canine liminals too?"

Quess nodded. "Yep. There's also Orthrus, but if that was the case, she'd have a snake for a tail."

Yuisu just sat there, mouth agape. Despite all the studying she'd done when she became an Exchange Program host, there were still so many extraspecies races Yuisu knew nothing about. After the shock wore off, she bit into her hamburger. On that first delicious bite, she realized just how hungry she was and made short work of the rest.

The wolf-girl maid never showed back up, not that anyone would be brave or rude enough to ask her about her race. Instead, a winged lizard-woman, a dragonewt according to Quess, came to pick up their dishes. She wore her white hair in a single long braid, and her scales, ears, and even her horns were bright cyan.

"I hope you all had a great meal, and may you have a great night too," she said in an incredibly chipper voice. As she spoke, she flapped her little dark blue wings, smiled with her round copper eyes, and was just all-around adorable. "Remember to ring for a maid if you need anything at all!" she said. Then she turned, flicked her scaly tail, and left.

After the cute dragonewt maid was out of sight, Quess said, "I might ask for a wakeup call from the inn, just for the chance that she'd be the one to come wake me up in the morning…" She pondered for a moment, then added, "I guess I could specifically request her…"

Mara nodded, her arms folded across her chest. "Yes, this is a good plan, and I want in. Project Adorable Maid Wakeup is go!"

Tsuen glared at Mara, feeling a little jealous. With a hard edge in her voice, she said, "I don't think they do wakeup calls for two in the afternoon, Mara."

"Hey! I get up earlier than that when you wake me up to go running!" Mara replied, oblivious as always.

"Exactly," Tsuen grumbled as she got up from the table suddenly. She stomped back towards the bedrooms without another word.

Yuisu and Quess pulled Mara aside to explain the problem and try to guide her through an apology to Tsuen.

"She probably feels like you forgot about her. She wakes you up almost every day to go running, and your comments made it sound like you don't appreciate it," Yuisu lectured.

Mara's six eyes went wide. "But I do appreciate it!"

Quess shook her head. "When it comes to other women, it doesn't matter what you think, or even what actually happened. What matters is how Tsuen feels."

"Okay, so how does that help me fix this?" Mara asked.

Yuisu put a hand on Mara's shoulder. "You can't apologize properly until you understand what's wrong."

"Alright. I get it now: she feels like I don't appreciate her." Mara looked up at Yuisu expectantly and said, "Now tell me what to say."

Yuisu sighed. "Seriously, Mara. It won't count unless it's from your heart, not my mouth. Just go in there and tell her what you really feel," Yuisu said, then pushed Mara out into the hallway.

Mara swallowed hard and walked forward slowly, muttering to herself, "Alright. From the heart. What I really feel. I can do that." She knocked on Tsuen's door and said, "Tsuen, it's me, Mara. Can I come in?"

Tsuen opened the door looking annoyed and stern, but not actually all that upset. "Hi, Mara. What's up?" She stepped back to make room for Mara to enter.

The tiny arachne skittered into the room and turned to look up at Tsuen. "I came to apologize."

Tsuen nodded and closed the door, then lowered herself to the floor. Even with her legs folded under herself, she was still taller than Mara. "Okay, go ahead," she said flatly.

"Uh, I'm sorry about what I said." Mara took a deep breath and continued, "I do appreciate you, and the time we spend together, and I want to make sure you know that."

Tsuen smiled a little, but there was still an edge to her voice. "Not bad. Did Yuisu tell you to say that?" It seemed Tsuen got snippy and a little passive aggressive when she was angry.

"No!" Mara said with a huff. "She only said to tell you what I really feel, in my heart. So that's what I'm going to do." Mara looked up at Tsuen, meeting her cyan eyes. "I love you, Tsuen, and I'm sorry."

That broke Tsuen's stern facade. Tsuen flushed red and immediately returned to her more familiar bashful state. "Uh, did you just say…? That's the first time you've said… uh, um," she floundered, unable to the find the words. Eventually, she settled for leaning forward and grabbing Mara with both arms. Tsuen pulled her into a tight hug, lifting most of her legs right off the ground.

After a moment, Tsuen whispered, "I love you too, Mara. Apology accepted."

Mara grinned. "Admit it, though, that maid was pretty cute."

Tsuen just sighed and said, "Sure, whatever, Mara."

All six girls were gathered in the hallway, trying to figure out how to spend the evening. Yuisu purposely left the specifics of each day open, to let everyone have a part in planning the vacation's events. It also meant less stressful planning and responsibility for Yuisu, but that was probably just a happy coincidence.

"I've got an idea," Iormu said with a youthful smile that made her look ten years younger. Younger than what, no one was sure. Mara and Quess had made some guesses at Iormu's age, but they had no real proof. Their current consensus was: 'somewhere between 30 and 300'. "Grab the futons from your rooms and bring 'em to mine. We're having a sleepover!"

"Ooh, good idea, Iormu. I loved doing that back in school. We can stay up late, chatting and telling ghost stories and stuff!" Yuisu said, grinning like a schoolgirl.

A few minutes later, the six women had all changed into pajamas and dragged their futons and blankets into Iormu's gigantic room. The sun had set over the ancient timbers of the Zoic Inn and the atmosphere was perfect for some gossip and scary tales.

"I vote we all share embarrassing stories!" Mara called out. "It's a great way to open up and really get to know each other. I'll even go first."

Murmurs of agreement came from the other girls as they pulled their futons into a rough circle and flopped down on them.

"Not long ago, I said something that was so embarrassing it changed my life forever," Mara began in a dramatic tone. "I saw an adorable dragonewt girl, and I said-"

Tsuen interrupted. "That was earlier today! That doesn't count!"

Mara and some of the others giggled, then Mara said, "Fine. Here's a real story." She settled into her futon, tucked her legs under herself, and said, "When I was little, my homeland Maratus first got access to the internet. My mom bought a laptop, but I have eleven sisters, and we all had to share it. Thankfully most of them didn't care about it, so I didn't have to fight too hard to play my video games. Eventually, while poking around on the laptop, I found a folder of images that my oldest sister, Meer, had saved."

Yuisu cringed, knowing where this was going.

Mara continued, "They were all porn of course. Naked men, hardcore sex, the whole shebang. I'd never even seen a human in-person at this point, let alone a naked one. It was… surprising." Mara smiled and looked around at the girls who were listening intently to her story. "So of course I did what any innocent child would do: I showed my mom, and asked where I could find more pictures like that but with just pretty ladies."

Mara stood up and gave a little bow as she said, "And that's how I got my big sister grounded, earned an awkward sex-ed lecture from my mom, and learned I was gay, all in one go!"

Everyone chuckled for a bit, then Tsuen said, "Okay, Mara, that story counts. Who's next?"

Yuisu raised her hand and said, "I'll go. Some of you may have heard my nickname Yuri-su." There were a couple nods from the group. "This is the story of how I got it, back in middle school."

Haru snuggled up against Yuisu's side and whispered, "I've been wondering about that. This should be good."

Yuisu blushed a bit and said, "I've liked girls-love manga for a long time, so I had years to collect them, but I kept it a secret. One time, I had some friends over, so I had stuffed all my manga into my messy closet. One of us said something funny, and Chiyoko, who some of you have met, was rolling on the floor laughing, and she bumped into the closet door."

Yuisu shook her head as she recalled what happened next. "The door popped open and an avalanche of yuri manga, as well as some clothes and stuffed animals, poured down on her head. My friends all thought it was a riot, laughing like loons, until Chiyoko happened to open up a particularly explicit book. She showed it to the other two girls and then they all ran out of the room, jokingly yelling 'Yuisu's a yuri pervert! Yuri-su, Yuri-su!' over and over. They never let me live that down, and made sure to call me Yuri-su whenever I did anything even a little pervy."

Haru wrapped a wing around Yuisu's shoulders and said, "Well now you're my Yuri-su, and I like it when you're a little pervy."

Iormu coughed. "Uh, could you two lovebirds dial it back a little?" she teased. "Between this and your little adventure on the beach earlier, it's a bit much." Iormu continued in her head, Especially for us loveless saps…

While Yuisu and Haru giggled and blushed, Mara jumped up. "Ooh, Iormu, you should go next! What's your most embarrassing story?"

Iormu looked down at her hands. "Um, I don't know if I want to tell…"

In her sweetest voice, Quess said, "If it's that bad, maybe you really do need to talk about it. Get it off your chest." Her eyes fell on Iormu's boobs and she thought, Your amazing, bountiful chest.

"Alright." Iormu took a moment to reposition her huge tail and settle down on her scaly throne, then said, "Sorry if this story isn't as funny as Mara or Yuisu's, but it is embarrassing." She took a deep breath and started, "I used to live in California, thanks to a program similar to Japan's Interspecies Exchange Program. My host, Erin, was my best friend and we went everywhere together. All the stares and mean comments I got didn't bother me, as long as Erin was there. We even got engaged, waiting to get married until the law allowed it." Iormu smiled. It was a genuine smile, but with a tinge of sadness.

"But one time when we were out in the city, a guy insulted Erin and I got so angry I just about lost it. I rose up high above the guy and growled, 'You need to apologize right now, before I squeeze your insides out like a tube of toothpaste.'"

Haru nodded approvingly. "Nice one. I like your style."

Iormu chuckled, then said,"Of course, a police officer happened to be walking by just then… Long story short, I got arrested for threatening a human with violence. Since it was my first offense, I didn't get deported or anything, but Erin had to post bail, and my coordinator freaked out."

Tsuen raised a hand. "What about Aaron? How'd he feel about you standing up for him?"

"Him…?" Iormu looked confused for a second, then realization hit her. "Ohhh, Erin's a woman. It's spelled 'E R I N', not 'A A R O N'," Iormu explained.

Tsuen hid her face in her hands and stammered, "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I just assumed… because of how you had Antonio over…"

"Ah, don't worry about it. I told Yuisu, but I guess I never told the rest of you: I'm bi," Iormu said with a shrug, as if it was no big deal. In a way, it wasn't. All the other girls knew first-hand the discrimination that came with being gay, so they certainly weren't going to judge Iormu for being a little different.

As the girls continued telling stories, laughing, and teasing each other, Quess was lost in thought, staring dreamily at Iormu. If anything, Iormu revealing her sexuality made Quess even more interested in her. Quess was most attracted to women, but the male form had wonders of its own, so she considered herself bisexual as well. She could relate to that, and maybe to some of the other issues Iormu was facing.

After another hour or so, a light snoring sound suddenly came from Tsuen's futon. She had fallen asleep sitting upright, which was surprisingly adorable. Smiling, Mara guided Tsuen's upper body down and covered the sleeping centaur with a blanket. Then she turned to the others and whispered, "I guess that's a sign that we should call it a night?"

The others nodded and climbed under their own blankets, except for Quess. Instead, the pink slime slid up next to Iormu's futon and whispered "Hey there, lonely."

Iormu covered her coiled tail with a warm blanket, then laid on her belly and turned to Quess. She propped her head on her hand, leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm lonely?"

"A few things. The way that Haru and Yuisu being lovey-dovey bothered you, the look on your face when you talked about Erin, and the way you've been acting ever since Antonio left."

"Okay, so what if I am lonely? Is this your way of hitting on me?" Iormu said, unimpressed.

"That's not it. I'd like to help you, if I can." Quess put a soft hand on Iormu's arm. "Earlier, it looked like you wanted to open up about Erin, but you stopped short. Would you like to talk to me about it?"

Iormu lowered her head and covered her face with her arms. "I miss Erin so bad. I thought a fling with Antonio would distract me from the pain, that it'd help me move on." Sighing, she said, "But I screwed that up too, and it only made me feel even worse."

Quess laid down on the floor next to Iormu's futon, her gelatinous body and squishy breasts making even the hard floor plenty comfortable. I'll start with Antonio, and see if we can work backwards. "What happened with Antonio?" she asked gently.

"He only wanted our relationship to be a casual thing. Just sex and hanging out. That's what I wanted too, at first." Iormu lifted her head again, then ran her fingers through her long hair, fidgeting. "But then I tried to make it into something else. I was trying to fill the hole that Erin left in my heart when she left me."

Should I ask why Erin left? Quess debated with herself. No, I think Iormu will bring it up on her own, when she's ready. Then before she could have asked anyway, Iormu spoke.

"Thanks, Quess, for listening to me, but I'm… tired… right now." Iormu sounded frustrated and mentally exhausted. "Goodnight," she said as she rolled over away from Quess. Then she pulled a blanket over her head, horns and all.

"Goodnight, Iormu. I'll be here again if you need me," Quess whispered, then slid back to her own futon. With a long exhalation, Quess shrunk down and reverted to her small blob form, which is how she preferred to sleep. As she slept, the little slime dreamed of serpents and dragonewts, of massive breasts, and of being squeezed tightly in Iormu's purple embrace.