Sophia finished making the first prototype of a hair straightening iron based on what existed in her old world. She was moderately successful with it and even managed to straighten out a strand of her hair that was becoming more and more unruly lately. The blonde still needed to make many improvements because it was hard to find the right temperature, and it was impossible to keep it consistent. As a result of that, it was way too much work because even a single strand took over 20 minutes to finish that way. Meanwhile, Maya had suggested changing the styling of the tiger’s hair and braiding a part of it instead for the time being.

“Yep, I really like it~.” The following day, the couple was once more on their way towards the royal castle, and Maya kept looking at Sophia’s new hair. Most of it had gained even more volume compared to before, but Sophia still had managed to straighten it out a little, together with a braid on the side of her face all the way down to her collarbone.

“Yep, it’s growing on me, too.” The tiger nodded in response. “Although, the thicker braid that went all the way down my bang on the left you tried yesterday was kinda nice, too.”

“Ehehe. That’s great about braids. You can adjust the position, and the style changes completely.”

“Yeah, it’s fun~. I might also want to try something with it starting somewhere on my forehead and then down my ear all the way to the back of my head.”

“Sure! I might try something with my bangs in that regard, too.”

“Looking forward to it~!”

“While we’re at it, I was thinking about changing my hairstyle, anyway. I kinda have enough of going straight the entire time.” She shook her head around to move the hair on her back while saying so.

“…” Sophia stopped walking and just stared at her for a solid minute. “Gosh, I love you.”

“Glad that my stupid joke worked.”

“It was great.”

“Seriously, though, changing it up could be interesting.” Maya grabbed some of her hair and stared at it. “I’ve been thinking about some low twintails lately.”

“Go for it!” The blonde sounded slightly excited about it. “It sounds super cute!”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely!”

“Okay, I’ll give it a try soon.” The cat-girl smiled at her partner, being happy that Sophia was so invested in something simple as changing up her hair.

“I can’t wait!”

“Let’s play around with it once we get back home. I also have one or two more ideas about how I could braid your hair.”

“Yay!” The blonde was looking forward to it already. “First, we’re going shopping with Anna and Ari today. That sounds like fun, too! I have to get some leggings or opaque tights before trying on their school uniform, too. The skirt, first and foremost. I won’t do it otherwise.”

“Sure.” Maya nodded. “No more peaking below skirts to make sure whether the tights are working or not!”

“It’s not like I wanted to find out that Ari was wearing striped panties that day!”

“What…?”

“N-Nothing!” Sophia only now noticed what she had just said.

“You actually saw… And still remember…?”

“I AM VERY SORRY!” She immediately broke into a sprint towards the castle.

“Stop right there!”

“No! I want to continue living!” The tiger only increased her pace. She went through this situation already, after all. Two times, actually, so she knew what this feeling she was having right now meant. Imminent death, that is.

“HEY!”

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The couple reached the castle around ten minutes later, and the mood between the two was a bit better again. Sophia had no actual interest in the jaguar that way, after all. She especially didn’t want to get inside those mentioned panties. Once she could get her point of just being surprised about the proper-looking Ari wearing such underwear being the reason she still remembered them across, the cat-girl calmed down fairly fast. Maya even agreed with it in the end.

“Ahh, great! You’re getting fluffy, too!” The couple met with Anna and Ari in the princess’ room, and the tall tiger was happy to see that Sophia was also suffering from the same curse now.

“Haa…” The blonde only responded with a sigh.

“But wow…” She took a better look at her. “How light is your hair turning?! Your normal blonde was already more than any other tiger ever, but this is something else…”

“It’s great, isn’t it? Something good is coming out of this fluffy catastrophe, after all.”

“But this much…? Your ends are completely pale, almost white. Though ends might not even be right anymore. Actually, it’s more like the lower half of your hair by now. The same goes for your tail.”

“I don’t do things half-heartedly, after all. Not even my body is safe from that.”

“True.” Maya had to deeply nod at this statement and the actual meaning behind those words.

“You sure are something else…” Anna looked amazed. “Before, you still had a good amount of orange in your blonde base, but with this… You’ll be even more unique now.”

“I look forward to it~.” Sophia was smiling. “I have no idea what the final color’s going to be like yet, looking like a pure blonde or pale yellow, but I already love the direction it’s going!”

“That, Ari! See that?!” The princess suddenly addressed the jaguar. “That’s how you deal with odd hair that looks amazing!”

“Ehehe.” The blonde liked the casual compliment that she had heard in her explanation.

“Y-Yes…” Ari nodded. “I-I’ve gotten better, have I not? After meeting Sophia, I’ve gotten more confident about it…”

“Still upset that you needed her to understand… Even though I kept telling you, too, that it looks sooo good.”

“I’m sorry… It’s just that Sophia’s in the same position, so I know that she’s not trying to flatter me…”

“I know! But I wasn’t, either!” While Anna understood it, it still bothered her. “WAIT!” Something caught her interest with Sophia’s hair as her eyes accidentally fell on it again, and she got loud. “First, the braid looks great! Good job!”

“Thanks!” Maya was the one thanking her for the compliment.

“Okay…?” The blonde was just confused. Anna’s words and her reaction didn’t seem to match up.

“But!” The princess got closer to her and stared at the blonde for a moment. “Why is this one part of your bangs looking so straight and smooth even though the rest of your hair has exploded, as well?!”

“Ahh…” She awkwardly scratched her cheek.

“What did you do?!”

“I’m experimenting with something… It doesn’t really work yet, though…”

“D-Don’t tell me that, after those godly heated floors, you also invented something that can tame even tiger hair?!”

“N-Not yet…” Sophia didn’t like the way Anna was staring at her.

“But you’re trying, right?!”

“I am… The smooth strand on my bangs is the result of it…”

“You’re amazing!” Her face lit up. “Also, the moment you succeed with it, I NEED it.” She still looked scary, though.

“Sure…” The blonde felt slightly intimidated. “Although, even if I manage to do it… You’ll most likely only be able to fix your bangs with it… Your ponytail already is pretty straight because it’s so long and the weight of that hair. I doubt it will do much with the volume of your hair…”

“I’d kill for that alone already!” She looked serious.

“I see…”

“Good thing our hair stays mostly smooth, huh?” Maya glanced at the jaguar.

“Yeah…” She gave her a hearty nod.

Once the tigers, mostly the princess, were able to let go of it, the group finally got to the main topic of today.

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“Let’s plan the shopping trip!” Sophia raised her arm to show her motivation. “I need some fully opaque tights or leggings before I even think about wearing the school uniform the two of you have!”

“Yes, I need some new tights, too.” Ari nodded. “I know a good store for them.”

“And we’re coming with you!” Anna and Maya hadn’t changed their opinion since the last time. The tights and underwear incident had made them wary, after all.

“Sure.” The duo didn’t mind at all.

“I might want to get some, too.” The cat-girl joined in on the fun. “I’d like some white tights, though.”

“No more bare thighs…?” The blonde sounded disappointed for a moment.

“Did I complain about you going from completely bare legs to something fully opaque?”

“Now that I think about it, white tights sound extremely cute. I approve.” Sophia changed her opinion on the topic.

“I like your black tights.” The princess looked at her jaguar while she said that out of nowhere.

“T-Thank you…” She hadn’t seen that one coming, and her cheeks turned slightly pink in response. “A-Are you going to change your legwear, too…? It might be a bit cold this way.” She glanced at Anna’s mostly bare legs.

“I’m still not a fan of tights because they tear so easily, so I probably go with the usual thigh-high overknees. I might try some white ones this year, though.” She looked at the cat-girl while saying so. “Without the red and a bit longer, but I really like the look of it.”

“Absolutely.” The couple heartily agreed.

“I-It does sound cute.” Ari also liked it.

“Okay! Let’s get them!” Hearing that, Anna got even more motivated about it.

“Yes!” Everyone agreed.

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After agreeing on a plan, or at least their first stop, the girls left the castle and went to the shopping district together.

“There we are.” The four walked around for a while, and the jaguar eventually stopped in front of a lingerie boutique.

“Kinky~.” Sophia looked at some of the mannequins wearing some rather sensual type of underwear that could be seen from the outside through the big window next to the entrance. “Is there something you want to tell us, Ari?”

“T-There is not!” Her face turned red. “I-It’s just that they also have a great and wide selection of tights, socks, and even leggings!”

“Boring.” The blonde had hoped for a different answer. “I like what the mannequins are wearing, though~.”

“Wanna do some alone shopping later?” Maya was looking at the same assortment Sophia was.

“Ohhh!” She liked the sound of that.

“…” The other two weren’t sure what to say in this situation. The duo also wasn’t able to look at each other. Still, they had a slightly envious expression as they watched the couple making such bold plans so openly.

“Let’s go inside!” Sophia energetically opened the boutique’s door, and the girl’s shopping spree finally started for real.