Our stroll through the beautiful estate is pleasant and quiet as we make our way to the kitchens, with Jun Li seemingly overjoyed to be escorting . I occasionally steal so glances up toward her face as we walk, and each ti I do she is wearing the most endearing smile while having her eyes closed in delight. I hold back from giggling at her charming nature, happy that apparently just holding my hand is enough to bring her such joy.
Before long we are both through the large double doors holding the illustrious cooking space, and in front of the warded pantry inside. With a thoughtful finger raised to her chin, Jun Li seems to be weighing our options for the task ahead. I keep studying her facial features, basking in how cute she can look even when she's being serious and contemplative, the feeling from last night bubbling back up to the surface the longer I take her in.
After nearly a minute or so of so decision-making process that I am not privy to, Jun Li turns to
with her gorgeous ruby red eyes as she softly speaks out to , "Miss Alia, while I can without a doubt cook anything we desire, I am unsure as to what you would prefer to eat for our morning al. I know you are still new to these lands, but perhaps if you would describe what you would like to enjoy, I can narrow my search and produce similar items for us to prepare."
So that's what she was thinking so hard about for so long? My god, she is just the cutest! "You are so sweet Jun Li! Truth be told I'm fine with anything really, but how about we keep it simple for now. So kind of at, eggs, and more of that delicious bread that Gerra made would be more than enough for . Honestly, I'm still quite full from that wonderful dinner you gave
last night!"
I see the faintest whisp of a blush cross her pale cheeks as her face once again dazzles the room, smiling full toothed and bright at the praise as a hand cos up to twirl a bit of the ends of her hair. "Thank you so much! I had ant to make you a simple lunch as well, but I was so focused on making you a delicious dinner and the preparation ti for the broth took
most of the day. Once I realized the hour was getting late, I rushed to make the Dreroth breast and the glazed fruits, so lost in ti and delight at making you a al I had been!" Again, the blush appears and deepens as she seems to giggle a bit, her eyes holding a bit of embarrassnt at the admission.
Okay. If all of the girls are as amazing as Jun Li, I am in serious trouble. It's bad enough that Akiko is such a bombshell, murder queen while also being one of the most kind, mature, and thoughtful people I have ever t, but now Jun Li storms in with an unrivaled cuteness that just makes
lt!!
Apparently my mouth agrees as I let slip a borderline flirty, yet factually correct, response under my breath in response to her endearing act, "Oh my god, you are too pure for this world..." Realizing that the inside thoughts are quickly becoming outside words, I quickly try to mask what I admitted, "*Ahem!* Well thank you so much for working so hard for , and I really appreciate it Jun Li! Again, it was beyond delicious, and I can't wait to watch you in action so this ti! I'll make sure to keep an eye on the ti though! Haha!" I rally as much as I can, my nervous energy bleeding through.
Even if it seems like my attempt mostly works as her tails wag behind her again at further complints, the way the blush that is residing on her face imdiately beca a shade darker at my slip up makes
abandon that hope instantly. Thankfully, she is kind enough to let the remark slide by, as she simply nods happily a few tis making the curtain of her raven hair bounce slightly with each bob. She moseys on into the pantry proper, and grabs a small, clean tal tray with wide lips around the edges. On it, she picks out and places a few slices of decently thick at, a handful of large brown eggs, and then fills a couple of small bowls with various spices and herbs before making her way back toward the L shaped grills.
With a flick of one of her tails, she motions
to follow and follow I do, glad to avoid a slightly awkward situation brought about by my own fault for once. She sets the tray down before moving to one of the hanging racks to the side, where a few clean aprons seem to reside. Taking down two, she dons and fastens one to herself and then again motions
to her with a tail while holding out the other apron. I smile as I make my way to her, amused at her continued delightful antics, as I reach out to take the proffered apron.
Instead of grasping on to the thick, heavier cloth shielding, I am quickly turned around and see it fly in front of , the loop for my head quickly zooming past my view and settling onto my neck as Jun Li moves my hair aside to tie the knot there. Before I can even voice out that 'Yes, I am a big girl and I can do this on my own, thank you very much!' I feel her hands grab the twine side strings of the apron and then gently pull it taut against my front. Once more in a rapid motion that makes her arms ruffle the ends of my long red hair, the strings are knotted together to secure the covering entirely to
as Jun Li steps around to my front and appears to take extra delight at dressing
up.
"My~ You look absolutely adorable in an apron Miss Alia! It's like you were made for it! Did you often spend ti in the kitchens in the realm you were in before Mara?" Her overjoyed expression and tone to her pleasing river of a voice abolishes any childish annoyance I had at being womanhandled, and even causes a slight heat to form across my own face at the attention.
"I did, although probably not as much as you all seem to. While I did cook for myself mostly, either because my sleeping habits made
awake at odd hours, or because I was trying my best to live on my own, I rarely made anything too complicated or that would make a ss. I... struggled enough with keeping myself motivated back then, and the thought of purposefully creating more work for myself was agonizing..." As much as I try to keep the levity of the situation going, my jackass of a brain decides to remind
once again of my sad state of affairs back in my life before.
I feel a hand rest on my shoulder, not even noticing that I had moved my gaze to the floor as I had ended my reply to her and look up to see Jun Li with a commiserating, soft smile on her full, round face. "I understand that feeling well, Miss Alia. Before I t the Madam and the others, I was alone for most of my life. I... have a condition that is not looked upon kindly where I hail from and moved here to the Village many decades ago in pursuit of a better life for myself. I was only a 3rd Realm cultivator back then and struggled to get into any of the Branches due to my newness and lack of connections.
I struggled for a couple harsh, reclusive years living in the poorer area near the walls, always having to fend and care for myself. It was not truly desperate, there are so safety nets that ensure no one goes hungry or lives without a roof that were set up by Madam Akiko, but the isolation after knowing community was its own harrowing experience. I often did the bare minimum for myself, just to ease the burden I found myself constantly under, before one day the Madam saw
cultivating in a nearby park, in the shade of a large tree.
She instantly approached , with a level tone devoid of emotion as she said, 'You have demonic blood.' Let
assure you, I was quite startled~!" She laughs stutteringly behind one of her dainty, slim hands that are still a touch bigger than mine just due to the height difference before continuing her sad mory, "I think I quite literally jumped up into the air with fright at the sudden announcent, as I had heard no sign of her arrival either! Once I regained my wits and took in her wonderful, beautiful form, my mind refused to answer, further making
the fool. Well, thankfully the Madam is patient, and she waited for my reply which I eventually gave in confirmation.
She nodded to
once and then offered her hand before saying the words that forever changed my life and my fate, 'You have a strong will to manage such a condition so well on your own, and I can sense great potential in you. Yet here you are, not a part of any Branch or group, furthering yourself in an isolated space with loneliness etched onto your very soul. What would you say to coming with
and becoming the best you could be?' Needless to say, I took her hand then and there. Her magnificent violet eyes bored into my soul with kindness and compassion so heavy that I thought the weight of it would break the coldness that I had surrounded my heart with would shatter then and there. Not to ntion I was quite smitten by her form from first sight~ Hehe~.
The rest, as they say, is history. I found the family I had long searched for after my previous ho cast
out once they learned of my heritage, and I have beco soone I am proud of in her care. I still have monts of weakness, as do we all, but I would be on a much different, achingly solitary path if not for the Madam's intervention that sunny day in the park. And I am infinitely and imnsely grateful for her for doing so."
While Jun Li was recounting her tale, we walked back to the grill which was preloaded with firewood that she alights. Now, seemingly at the end of such a wonderful story, she wears a thoughtful yet glad expression as she drips a couple drops of water onto the flat surface of the stone slab, gauging if it is ready to begin our culinary endeavors. She nods seeing the droplets reactions and then sprinkles so of the herbs and what looks like so salt on both sides of the cuts of at she had grabbed earlier. Satisfied with her seasoning, she smoothly places the slabs of at on to the center of the grill before gazing softly back to .
Realizing I had been lost in her story and watching her elegant form cook, I quickly shake my head and et her gaze, "That's such an amazing story Jun Li! I'm sad about how you got here, and those bastards back at your hotown are fools for letting such an amazing person like you go just because of sothing I assu you had no control over. But it's their loss, you got to et Akiko and be surrounded by people who love you! And... Thanks. I don't know if opening up like that to
- who is basically a stranger still to you - was hard or not, but I really appreciate you sharing your experience with . It's nice to know that I'm not alone, in a sense, about so of my thoughts and feelings."
I see one of her ebony tails rise up and gently pat my head a few tis as her hands are busy with cooking, the sincere smile never fading for a mont as she replies, "Not at all, Miss Alia, it was a pleasure to share my tale with you. I am glad you found comfort in it, and I thank you for your sympathy for my plight, even if it is long put to bed by now. It warms my heart greatly to see your continued care over others around you, even in your desperate situation."
She turns her attention from the roasting at for a mont to regard
fully, "I hope I am not too forward when I say that I find you quite charming, Miss Alia. You remind
of certain parts of my past, in so ways, but the way you are handling the situation is vastly different from how I myself went about things in those tis. Seeing you constantly struggle and push forward in such an amazingly awful situation, ripped from your loved ones and the safety of your old world yet still driving on with a singular purpose? To be quite honest with you, I would be lying if I said I was not infatuated with the romanticism of it all, and your naturally endearing nature that always shines through.
Of course, I know you are your own person and not so fairy tale protagonist in a story, but nonetheless here you are. Fighting almost daily against impossible odds and crushing realities, like a hero of yore. I know you plan to court Madam Akiko, as well as your nature as an Intertwined Soul. I can even see the prismatic connection to your sister resting just there, slightly askew of your center." She says as she points a little off to the side of my belly button, "But, I would be beyond receptive if you wanted to pursue
as well. Of course, if you wish for friendship alone, I would be beyond ecstatic to provide that as well! But I just wanted you to know how I felt toward you."
I can feel my mind reeling from this sudden proposition, mostly because I totally thought Jun Li would be more subtle about this kind of thing! I take a mont to look her over, as discreetly as I can since she is still looking at
in a hopeful anticipation, and notice that her tails and ears are vibrating and twitching slightly. I know my read on fox human anatomy tells are still developing, but I think that ans she is also nervous and anxious too, and as I look once more into those blazing red eyes, I can confirm that both of those emotions sit the heaviest behind them.
With a slight ntal breath of relief that I didn't peg her totally wrong, since it seems like she is just as much a ss as I am when I do sothing crazy like this but she just wears it a bit better, I give her a soft smile to drag her out of suspense, "I think that isn't a half bad idea, honestly. I won't sit here and say you aren't one of the cutest things I ever did see, and not just because you are so heartachingly attractive. To be frank with you... I kind of had a similar realization last night, after your adorable reaction to spending the day with
today. You're just such an amazingly sweet ball of energy when you get excited or flustered, but just like Akiko, you are soft, maternal, and thoughtful with
every ti we et.
I... I think for now, it would be best for Akiko and I to work out where we stand first. But I would absolutely love to spend more ti with you until then, and then after I have that talk with Akiko, we can see where we go after that? Regardless, having you as a friend sounds amazing and fun and sothing I will definitely, for sure take you up on, if you still want to! I hope I didn't talk you out of that part of it with
being silly and not jumping at the chance with you. I an... Uh... Friends for now?" I end my slight rambling by extending my hand and trying to express as much kindness and appreciation to her as I can emit. However, I realize that she is still using both to perform the art in front of , so I quickly retract my palm to rest against the back of my head as I laugh nervously, the blush on my face deeper than a well.
She takes it in stride, thankfully, as her halting laughs erupt at my anxious response. With both of her hands still busy cooking the nearly ready at, I see her open-faced laugh for the first ti which only further spurns
to take her up on her offer in the future. Her eyes close harshly, making the bridge of her nose form a slight wrinkle as her dimples beco fully pronounced by the intense upturn of the corners of her lips. Her perfect white teeth with slightly elongated canines owing to her fox nature light up the room as they are held by her plump, dull red lips. As she tilts her head back to fully express her pleasure, her obsidian tinted hair falls behind her in waves of motion that match the rise and fall of her shoulders as she laughs aloud. Her eyes, now that they are both free from the black curtain of hair that usually hides one of them, open up as she tilts her head to regard
again, those red sunset orbs holding
in mirth.
"Again, Miss Alia, you are such a delightful and enticing creature~ I am also glad we both suffer from being quite flummoxed and rambling when we feel anxious! I get teased about it so much by Samantha and Gerra, even the Madam when she wants to be especially coy!" She puts out a small pout as she turns her head slightly, no doubt replaying such a mory of loving teasing before her signature smile returns, "But I cannot deny that I quite enjoy when they do so, even if in the mont it makes
quite cross. Regardless, I will most certainly be delighted to spend any amount of ti with you and get to know you better, my dear. And I had already assud your decision about possible courtship to be made after conversing with Madam Akiko, so fret not!" She once again gently bops my head with a tail, before turning back to the grill.
Noticing that the at is nearly done cooking by now, she quickly cracks the eggs to the side, letting the pure golden liquid spill out from the shells. Huh, guess no more egg whites for . The yellow matter cooks nearly instantly as she uses a wooden spatula to simply make them scrambled and fluffy, before she uses the spatula and a pair of tongs to deposit all of the contents from the slab of rock to two plates. As I'm salivating over one of them, she goes around the corner toward the oven, and I can hear the satisfying crunch of bread being sliced a few tis. She then returns with a few slices, setting them on the tray while she navigates back to the pantry to produce what looks like so butter in a small bowl and a spreading knife.
Jun Li gathers up a few more utensils as well as a pitcher of water and two tal cups and then gives
a happy smile as she nods toward the two open doors leading back into the hall. I get the ssage and then nod back, reaching out for her hand like an idiot as I realize that she is occupied carrying the tray of food already. I'm about to retract it in a slight embarrassnt, before I feel the delightfully soft fur of her tail tip wrap around my wrist and gently tug
along behind her. I look up just in ti to see that she has only slightly turned her head my way with her uncovered eye, a playful and more than pleased look crossing across the visible side of her face before she faces forward once again.
After I shut the doors behind us and we continue, I ask her sothing that's been on my mind about her and Akiko's use of their tails. "Jun Li, is it normal for fox humans, or kitsune's I guess, to use their tails to be so... ambulatory? You guys seriously use them like another set of hands with how much control you have over them. And what's the significance behind the number of them? If that's okay to ask."
She looks up thoughtfully at my question before giving
the side eye once again, "Hmm, most developed kitsune can indeed beco quite proficient with their tails regardless of their number, and we use them as you say, as another usable appendage. However... It is considered quite intimate to use one's tails for sothing like holding on to a person or wrapping them inside of them unless there is a purpose behind it, like we are doing now." For emphasis, she wiggles the tail that still has my wrist wrapped making both of us giggle slightly as she continues, "As for the number of tails, that is related to a mixture of bloodlines and the strength of your beast core. The Madam is a uniquely strong case, as most 5th realm cultivator kitsune's will have only 3 or maybe 4 tails, gaining more as they ascend to Immortality. However, her bloodline is so pure and strong that she was able to break through that norm quite decisively."
So... all those tis Akiko has been caressing
and hugging
with her tails have been... hoo boy, I think my face is going to lt from the hot flash of blood that rushes to it after hearing her explanation. Thankfully Jun Li has already turned back around so she doesn't notice my plight as I squeak out a quick, "Ah! Great, good to know, thank you Jun Li! And thanks for the further clarification too."
With a bit of luck, I'm spared from having her turn back around to get a glimpse of my now full body blush as we arrive back in front of the door to my room. I quickly step ahead, trying my hardest to get the blood flowing back to the rest of my body, like its supposed to, and open the sliding door up for the both of us to enter. She gives
a kind nod as I clear the way for her while holding the door open and then closing it behind her as we both make our way to the table.
Ios pops back up to greet us as we get comfortable at the nicely carved round table, "Hello girls~! Looks like you guys had a fun ti! The food looks delicious, by the way. I'll let you two enjoy and then we can go over plans for the day regarding Aims' studies." Quick as a cat, she bows before blinking back out again. Huh. She's never that formal when its just Akiko and
talking with her... My danger senses start tingling...
After a mont, I shrug my shoulders at the thought knowing I can ruminate on all that complicated stuff later, right now there's food to be devoured~! With another quick thanks to Jun Li, I dig in and enjoy the simple, yet wonderfully cooked breakfast before . In no ti at all, both of us are resting our arms on the table in satisfaction and contentnt, and after a few minutes of luxury I turn back to Ios' box. "Alright then Ios, what's the gaplan for today?"
Once more, my many ard ntor alights to life as she dons a new outfit that instantly makes my face heat up. She has her curly blonde hair done in high twin pigtails, making the ends of them fall to just above her shoulders while they are being held up by two bright, white hair ties. In each of her four hands, there are white and red pom poms, and all of her wrists are sporting a thick, fuzzy white cloth wristband. Her top is that of a bold crimson cheerleaders top with my college's football team's na embroidered in white script across her ample chest, OU, and a similarly crimson short skirt ripples on her waist. White athletic shoes adorn her feet, without any socks visible as she performs a high kick in the air, which also lets Jun Li and I see that she has so white spandex shorts on underneath the skirt.
I nearly pass out at the sight of her to begin with, but that high kick makes my mind shatter. I feel a damp wetness fall below my nose, making
lick my lips to investigate. My search ends up finding the tallic tang of iron mixed in with salt, no doubt from my nervous sweating. I quickly raise a hand to cover my sudden nosebleed as I can't help but stare wide eyed at this fucking master level troll. My muffled voice cos out from behind my closed digits, "Ios what the fuck?! That is so not fair, and you know it!"
Without missing a beat, Ios responds, "I don't know what you an sweetheart~! I was just getting in the proper attire for today's lesson! I think it would be a wonderful idea if sweet Jun Li here leads your studies today, and I cheer you on from the sides! Of course, I'll pop in if you need any help with earth analogs or sothing, but who doesn't love a little motivation, right hun~?" Ios fires back in a sickeningly sweet voice, fully knowing what she is doing.
I glance over to see Jun Li is nearly ready to erupt in laughter, her own face red as both her hands are covering her mouth trying to keep in her outburst out of respect for . Or at least, I hope that's why. Sadly, her efforts are in vain as I look back to Ios who performs another cheer routine that ends with her leaning over, showing us her well-shaped, grab able round ass while looking seductively behind her, "See!? Wouldn't this be a great motivator for study ti~?"
I stand up abruptly and run to the bathroom to try and do sothing about the full-on geyser of blood that is happening unbidden of my thoughts on the matter, as well as the slight dampness I can feel beginning to form between my legs. As I make my retreat, I hear Jun Li finally crack as her loud, full stuttering laughter fills the room which is soon joined by Ios' chirpy staccato mirth as well.
I hate this place.
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