Checking myself in the mirror, I have the proper dress clothes on. A full suit… well, I never liked dresses, so this is what I wear, a nice black suit and tie.

  Hope Lumi doesn’t mind. Hm, how should I do my hair? A ponytail, or just let it hang?

  …

  After thinking for a bit, I check the internet, realizing I have no clue how formal attire really looks.

  ‘So a ponytail should be high and slicked to reduce hairs sticking out… but some say it’s too formal and uptight… but having it down is also too casual… kos damnit interweb, you and conflicting answers.’

  Sighing, I close the tab on my holodisplay, before tying my hair up high… even if it takes me a few tries to get it.

  “Salka, are you alright in there?”

  Hearing Yuna’s voice, I move and open the door. “Yeah, I’m good, was about done anyways.”

  She’s holding Oraxia, having been spending a lot of time with her lately… as she said it, to keep her from learning bad things from Lumi and I in heat. Which I can’t really fault, we have been very… active in bed.

  Though she looks me up and down, blushing a little with a slight nod. “It um… nevermind, Lumi’s waiting for you.”

  Smiling slightly, I step out past her. “Thanks, and thanks for keeping an eye on Oraxia for me.”

  Waving a hand dismissively, she nods. “Yeah yeah, it’s fine. She’s cute anyways. Now go already.” The mock hurry makes me laugh as I nod and turn around. “Yes Ma’am.”

  Heading out to meet Lumi, I blush at the sight of her. Hair let down, a cute braid down one side of her hair, a pretty dark blue dress that ends in a cute skirt. I’m in love again.

  Not that I fell out of love to begin with.

  As we both come to our senses, we speak at the same time. “You look-”

  “You look-”

  “You go firs-”

  “You go firs-”

  After a few beats of staring at each other, we laugh.

  “Ah… you look beautiful, Lumi.”

  Blushing a bit, she walks over and holds out an arm for me to grab. “You look stunning in a suit.”

  Grabbing her arm in mine, I start walking out with her, our tails entwining as we do. “Thanks, I was worried you wouldn’t like it.”

  “Huh? But you’re always the strong, confident type. A suit fits you perfectly.” Smiling, I feel her lean into my side. “It’s one of the things that made me fall in love with you.”

  Wrapping my arm around her instead of holding her hand, I feel my body almost completely calm for once. Even the natural tenseness I get when outside and wary, is gone.

  It’s so strange… not bad though.

  “I’m glad you think so. I always thought my stubbornness made me unladylike.”

  Looking up at me, she raises an eyebrow. “But you are unladylike. Instead you’re Salkalike, and I like that a lot more.”

  My heart pounds at hearing her say that. “Thanks, Lumi. Though I always thought different, growing up. Me and my brother always bickered over it.”

  Frowning, she squeezes against my side a bit harder. “So? I always did the same with Yuna. It’s only recently it’s toned down a bit. It’s normal.”

  “Maybe…”

  Enjoying the calmness between us, we continue our walk.

  ‘Am I getting too comfortable around her? This has been pretty quick… I mean, yes, I’ve spent months around these two, and many hours just confiding in them. Once you’ve spilled blood and protected each other, a lot seems to fade away. But…’

  “What’s wrong?”

  Sighing, I answer, worried I’ll ruin the mood but not wanting to lie. “Just… am I moving to fast? Are we? I’ve… never felt this relaxed, around anyone.”

  In silence for a few moments, she nods. “I mean… I don’t personally think we are. We’ve nearly died, we’ve lived together, slept together, cried together; we’ve seen more of each other than I’ve ever shared with more than three others in my life. So… no, I don’t think so.”

  A bit unconvinced, I just nod.

  “...well, it could always be the heat, playing into it. After all, it does make you crave affection more… and with more affection, you’ll get more loose and open naturally.”

  “Huh… I guess that makes sense. Thanks.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  As she leans against me, I smile and can finally let my wander.

  And with the comfortable silence, I can enjoy a few perks of being a cat some more. I can smell the food from a far distance from the restaurant, and even pick it out among all the smell of cars and people.

  Even though it’s mid evening, I can see like it’s daytime, a great bonus.

  And I’m never unarmed… even though my old blades were the same, they’d also tear my expensive suit if I used those. These claws, however, are out of the way.

  And as we get closer to the restaurant, we enter the busy district of the city. The cafe has the bonus of being between the outer ring of the city, and the inner ring. It gets business from both, but is out of the way enough to not be surrounded by the loud traffic and blaring lights.

  Now though, entering the inner ring…

  It’s loud. I can hear so many cars honking, their engines roaring, people talking. Smell the gasoline burning, the exhaust fumes, the hundreds of people with individual colognes and perfumes, so… overwhelming.

  My ears hum with overexhaustion already, and we’ve barely been here a few minutes. Christ, no wonder their restaurant is where it is.

  Let alone, I almost want to vomit from all the conflicting smells… I can feel bile rising up my throat, but I force it back down.

  I’m not dirtying this damned suit, that’s for sure.

  Just focus on your breathing, in and out… deep breaths… in and out…

  Feeling her tail give mine a gentle squeeze, I find myself calming down a bit more.

  Hurrying a bit, we finally get into the restaurant, the sounds and smells fading into the background finally. Even if I’m assaulted by a whole new barrage, these in here are at least pleasant and food related.

  As soon as we get our seats, I slouch into mine and let out an exhausted breath. “Ha… that was… terrible…”

  “Are you okay? I know the city is bad but… I didn’t think you’d be so overwhelmed.”

  Gulping a bit of bile down, I nod. “I think I’m fine… just… ugh so many smells and sounds all at once, I thought I was gonna puke.”

  Looking at me in surprise, she nods. “You’re… very sensitive, huh?”

  “I always have been… generally. Or maybe it’s just that I’m always trying to scan everything around me, so now I’m still trying to do it with too much input.”

  Grabbing the menu, she hums in agreement. “It’s a bad habit for us… well, depending on where we are. I guess you just need time to get used to it… I’ll bring a barf bag next time.”

  Frowning, I snatch up my menu a bit faster than I meant to. “Not funny.”

  Chuckling a bit, she turns the page of her menu. “I’m serious! Yuna used to need one every time we came to the inner ring, it’s only recently she doesn’t.”

  Blinking in surprise, I find what I want to order… that’s the cheapest anyways, this whole place is expensive. “Really? Where did she used to live that wasn’t bad? Even the outer ring is terrible in terms of shit, you just live in that sweet spot.”

  Sighing, she puts down the menu. “Well… she found me on the street, on a bridge that leads to the outskirts. She was so small and alone… I had to bring her in. It’s crazy that she’s grown so tall.”

  Nodding slightly, I get the feeling there’s more to this story. But I put a hand up for her to pause as the waiter comes by. Giving him our orders, he quickly walks off.

  “Alright, continue?”

  With a solemn look, she does so, her voice low so I can only hear it thanks to my new ears. “Well… her old family was bad… a cult. No, not a family, just… the people she was with. They praised some… weird things, I couldn’t explain it if I tried. She couldn’t. But… well, she ran away at some point, and I found her.”

  Sighing, I look away, my head spinning. So she was in a cult… is that why she was so willing to let Oraxia in? Were they the cult that praised the Soul Weavers that we culled, or was it another one? Do those habits of prayer, did they get passed down?

  Shaking my head, I feel ashamed of myself. Did I really question her being insane? She’s… she’s like my best friend, right next to Lumi. How could I do such a thing?

  She’s just such a caring person she’d accept Oraxia, not because she thinks she is much higher than herself.

  “Sorry for… dropping that on you.”

  Raising a hand to stop her, I speak. “No, no. It’s fine, I asked to know, after all. Let’s just… try to enjoy the rest of this meal, huh? I think my body has finally calmed down.”

  The food is served right on cue, and she smiles. “Sure, let’s do that.”

  Taking a bite of my fish, I feel my mouth water. I haven’t had fish since the change, it tastes amazing now!

  I quickly devour two bites in no time, before realizing what I’m doing and blushing bright, forcing myself to slow down.

  Lumi just laughs. “It’s fine, eat as fast as you want. Fish is really good so it makes sense.”

  Blushing a bit less, I pick up speed a bit. Not as fast as initially but… a bit less self conscious about it.

  My tail goes beneath the table and finds hers, wrapping the ends around each others.

  Finding a pause in my eating, I swallow and speak. “You know… you two probably saved my life, back then. Not just for helping me recover, either.”

  Hesitant, she slowly questions it. “...what do you mean?”

  Sighing, I look her in the eyes. “If it weren’t for having you two to protect… I don’t think I would’ve let myself live long. That’s all. So… thanks for saving my life.”

  Her tail tightens around mine as she nods. “Of course… and don’t ever think of doing something like that, got it?”

  Chuckling a bit, I nod. “Yeah yeah, I know.”

  Silently, we finish our meals in silence, but one where we’re just so focused on eating that nothing seems important enough to overtake it.

  Company is all that we need right now, anyways.

  …

  Finishing up, I pay for the annoyingly large bill, before getting up and offering her my hand. As we walk out, she speaks. “That was… really overpriced, wasn’t it?”

  Letting out a breath, I shake my head. “Oh thank kos it wasn’t just me.”

  Laughing together, she leans against my side again. “Why do you say that, by the way? Kos?”

  “Oh. Well… it’s the closest thing I know of to a god. It’s not all knowing or anything, but it’s plenty powerful, and it doesn’t actually mind us ants.”

  “Oh. So its name isn’t dangerous?”

  I shake my head. “On the contrary, if you’re lucky she’ll kill any very large threats. But that’s if.”

  “Huh, alright.”

  Patting her head, I have a small moment of thought. “Hey, why did you send Yuna to check on me in the bathroom earlier? Were you waiting for long?”

  “Huh? I never did that. I only just got out there when you came out.”

  I look at her in confusion, before a sinking feeling fills my chest.

  ‘Shit, what am I missing? She was holding Oraxia, blushed a bit at my look, before she pushed me out the door…’

  “We better hurry home.”

  ___

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