The girls finished their initial exploration of the lake in the middle of the oasis city and went to the tavern the wolves had been in for a couple of hours already. There, they also reunited with the horned beast man named Doma, whom they met when arriving in the city. He then told them how they tried to measure the depth of the lake but failed to do so because it was just too deep. Naturally, Sophia quickly offered her help by using magic because she had been curious about it.
“Alright, time for a boating trip!" After having spent the rest of the evening and most of the night in the tavern, Sophia energetically raised her arm high in the air after exiting the building at early noon of the following day.
“Let’s go! Anna was just as motivated as she stood next to her. “It wasn’t needed, but it was nice of the owner to let us sleep in one of the rooms upstairs, so I’m full of energy!”
“I should’ve drunk more to not be awake right now…” Maya still wasn’t looking forward to it.
“You certainly tried last night.” Ari appeared next to her and reacted with a wry smile. "Fen is still out, and Aura's with him, too, so it definitely was an option you could’ve stuck to.”
"Urgh, that's what I get for drinking responsibly, huh?" The cat-girl hung her head.
"Speaking of responsibility, we totally forget to get Chloe and Steph in the evening, huh?” The jaguar just remembered them.
“It’s fine. They were probably too tired to join us, anyway.” Once she recovered, Maya shrugged in return.
“Tired?” Ari looked confused. “From what?”
“They were alone at home all day, and we're talking about Steph and Chloe.” She stared at her for a second. “There’s a 100% chance they had sex together the entire day.”
“Fair enough.” The jaguar couldn’t say much there.
“That’s definitely what I would’ve done with Sophia in that situation.”
“I’m not surprised.” She rolled her eyes while staring at the cat-girl.
“So would’ve you and Anna.” Maya didn’t buy her reaction.
“…” Ari turned her head away.
“Hurry up already!” The tigers had already started walking when Sophia turned around to call their girlfriends.
“Doma is waiting for us at the lake!” Anna was just as impatient.
“We’re coming!” The jaguar waved at her.
“I wonder how many times Steph and or Chloe said the same thing yesterday~.” Maya just had to do it.
“Hopefully not more than eleven times.” Ari decided to humor her.
“Huh?!” She got loud. “Why such a specific number? Also, why hopefully not more than that?”
“Anna’s and my record are twelve times on a single day, and I don’t want them having beat us.” Saying so, she gave the cat-girl a seductive smirk before she started walking to catch up with the tigers.
“EH?!” Maya needed a moment to process that. “SOPHIA!” She then quickly broke into a sprint.
“Yes?” The girl in question tilted her head once the cat-girl arrived in front of her.
“My standing in this group is in danger!” She sounded desperate. “Cancel all the plans you have for tomorrow because I need you for something!”
“Do I want to know what she’s up to?” Sophia looked at Ari instead.
“No.” She shook her head. “Just say yes.” The jaguar wanted to help Maya out a little. “It’s not like she has a chance, anyway~.” She smirked at her again.
“Grr!” The cat-girl growled in return.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“I have some mixed feelings about this.” The blonde scratched her cheek while watching their exchange. “Well, if Ari says I should just agree with it, it can’t be that bad. Okay, fine, I’ll keep my tomorrow free.”
“That’s such unfair preferential treatment!” Maya should’ve been happy, but she raised her voice instead. “Whenever I tell you to just say yes, you instantly refuse!”
“Because we’ve been together for over a year, and I know you!” Sophia just stared at her. “I also don’t always refuse you, only when your intentions are blatantly obvious.”
“…” The cat-girl went silent again. “Am I getting sick? I’m on the wrong side of the teasing business way too often lately.”
“No, everything seems alright.” Sophia, Ari, and Anna synched perfectly.
“…”
----------------
Once the topic was taken care of, the girls finally resumed their walk and made their way to the oasis lake, where Doma was apparently already waiting for them to measure the depth of the lake with the help of Sophia’s magic.
“Slept well?” Arriving at the beach, the girls were greeted by the horned man.
“I always do~.” Sophia gave him a thumbs up.
“I’m honestly surprised that you’re alive again already.” He stared at the blonde. “You drank the cocktails like they were juice, so I was sure you’d be dead until next week.”
“I was serious when I told you that I’m immune to alcohol.” She smiled at him. “To me, it was like drinking juice.”
“I have met many people who said the exact same thing before, and they all got wasted on the following day at the very latest.”
“Fair enough.” She couldn’t blame him for thinking so. “Well, I’m actually physically immune to getting drunk, so that’s that~.”
“Wow.” Doma needed a second. “I’m not sure if I should feel sorry or happy for you, though.”
“It’s indeed a bit of a mixed bag.” Sophia scratched her cheek. “For the most part, it’s positive, for health reasons alone, but it can get a little weird if everyone else is drunk. Then again, I’m always silly and rarely make sense, so I fit right in with drunk people.”
“Makes sense.” He nodded. “I actually didn’t even notice that you were completely sober.”
“Hehe.” She was still smiling. “It also made me win some bets in the past~.”
“Cheeky!” The horned man looked impressed. “I like that.”
“I have been called cheeky at times, yes~.”
“At times, yeah.” Ari rolled her eyes.
“Anyway, let’s go and measure the lake’s depth!” Sophia ignored her and faced Doma again. “How should we go about it?”
“We have a boat more than big enough for all of us we can use.” He pointed at a dock not too far away from the group. “Everything else will be up to you.”
“Sounds good to me!” The blonde raised her arm, and the group went to the dock to board the boat.
----------------
“Yeah, I kinda don’t like this.” While Sophia and Anna were rowing the group over the lake, Maya leaned a little over the edge of the boat to look at the water. It was so clear that she could see all the way to the bottom without any issues. If it weren't for the slight ripples and waves the boat was creating, it would look like they were flying instead of floating. In the area they currently were, the lake was around 50 meters deep, and the bottom was mostly made out of sand, algae, and seaweed. A variety of fish was swimming around, as well. They, too, looked like they were flying rather than swimming.
“Really?” Ari was doing the same but looked rather fascinated instead. “I think it looks quite cool! It’s like we’re flying~.”
“That’s why it’s creepy! Something about it is super unnerving!”
“Hmm.” The jaguar tilted her head. “I think murky water is way worse in that regard because you don’t see what’s in there.”
“You are not wrong about that.” Maya could follow her logic. "Murky water is more natural and the expected state, though. Somehow, that makes it easier for me to deal with it."
“You’re a weird girl.” Ari had nothing else to say.
“She sure is.” Sophia agreed with the jaguar. “That’s why we love her, though.”
“That is true!” Anna and Ari felt the same.
“And I hate all of you.” Maya, on the other hand, had a different opinion on the matter.
“Ehehe~.”
“It’s interesting how similar this royal group is to the one of the prince.” Doma was just listening to them. "They were almost as close, and one of them also was scared of the weirdest things that made no sense.” He glanced at the cat-girl at the end.
“…” She didn’t like that.
“Really?!” Anna got excited hearing that.
“Well, they didn't sound like they spend every night in one big pile like you four do, if you know what I mean, but they also were amazing friends.”
“…” The girls looked a little awkward after hearing that.
"We don't do that, either." Ari decided to correct him. "Anna and I are dating, while Sophia and Maya are a couple. We aren’t all dating each other.”
“Sure you aren’t.” The horned man rolled his eyes. It was obvious that he didn't believe her for one second. “They also loved to make jokes, so that’s one more point where the groups are similar.”
“Haa…” The jaguar hung her head.
"Also, the wolves aside, we're six," Maya added some more detail. "There are two more girls who aren't with us right now because they hate the heat with a, funnily enough, burning passion.”
“More for the pile, good for you.” Doma naturally understood it only that way.
“Can we ignore the pile for a moment, and can we concentrate on Nathan again?!" Anna raised her voice. “Did it seem like the prince was dating any of them? I need to know how much I can tease him the next time we meet!” She didn’t even try to hide her ulterior motives.
“They weren’t as obvious as all of you, and as I don’t understand the romantic antics of the youth, I don’t want to take a guess there.”
“Too bad!”
Afterward, Anna kept pestering Doma about her brother while they were rowing closer to the center of the lake. After all, it was her sisterly duty to get as much dirt on her brother as possible, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
- Alex Taylor -
Patreon and financially supporting the story so everyone can enjoy more art!
extra stuff!
Lots of NSFW goodies (art/animations) to see there~
