Sophia had won the bet with Alex, who had challenged her to beat him and Chloe in a drinking contest. As the tiger was just as immune to it as the fox-girl, Alex had no other chance to give up after having had to spend a fortune on alcohol for everyone. Thanks to that, Sophia was also allowed to live in an elven treehouse in the village. Rent-free, on top of that. As it had gotten extremely late, though, the girls decided to head over to Chloe’s place again to sleep for the rest of the night as she had an available guestroom for the couple.

“Haa~, that was a good run!” It was still early morning, but Sophia was already up and walking through the village. She was currently in the shorts and green shirt she used to wear, and it seemed like she had just come back from doing some sports.

“Ohh, good morning!” Chloe was also up already and promptly ran into the tiger. “Where have you been?”

“We went to bed sooo late that I couldn’t sleep…” The blonde paused for a moment. “Am I getting sick…?” It was way too unusual for her.

“Yes, it was the same for me… I couldn’t sleep, either, and decided to go for a walk.”

“Really?” The blonde looked at her. “You should’ve said something. We could’ve gone for a run together!”

“You were already gone when I left, though.”

"A-Ah…”

“Also, I’m not really fast, and my stamina isn't the best, either. I'm pretty sure I would've held you back, anyway."

“I just ran a couple of rounds around the forest. You would've been fine!"

“…” Chloe paused for a moment before tilting her head. “Eh?”

“Hmm…?” She made the same motion with her own head.

"Around the forest…? A couple for rounds…?"

“Yes?”

“It’s, uhh… It’s a smaller forest, but it’s still a couple of kilometers in diameter, no?”

“I would say so, yes.”

“Eh… A couple of laps? Just how fast are you?! Also, don’t you get tired from running so much?!”

“It was just a warm-up, though?”

“S-Seriously?!”

“Yep.” Sophia gave her a nod. “For how fast I am, I can slightly outrun Fennyfenny if I want to.”

"That's... wow. If I assume that Fenfen is somewhere around as fast as Feyfey, that’s almost unbelievable!”

"It's the best!" The tiger started smiling. "I love to move around, and being able to run so fast is sooo much fun!”

“I can imagine!” She seemed happy for her. “Lazing around is a great hobby of mine, so I love that I have a big and fluffy pillow attached to myself.” While saying so, the fox-girl moved her tail around behind her back.

“I AM SO JEALOUS!” The blonde got loud. Very loud.

“Ahaha…” Chloe only awkwardly scratched her chin. “I still think that having a tail as dexterous as yours is just as amazing!”

“It's just that as a lover of fluff, your tail can't not make me envious… But, well, sure…” Sophia swished her tail around to prove her point. “It’s amazing for keeping my balance, which helps me run around and increases my overall maneuverability. It’s great for bonking Maya or clinging to her, too. Other things that end with -ing that include my tail and Maya, as well. Wrapping my tail around her legs is also the best~.”

“See?!” The fox-girl stared at her. “All that makes me super jealous!”

“Which part?” The tiger tilted her head again. “It helping my balance, or how I’m using it on and with Maya?”

“Yes!” She also got loud.

“Ahh… Sorry about unconsciously boasting again…”

“It’s fine… All those things aside, I do like to hear such stories."

“Maybe we should get you a partner, too?” Sophia sounded even more cheery all of a sudden.

“Ehh…?” Chloe hadn’t expected that turn of events.

“Girl? Boy? Both? Doesn’t matter?” She got excited about the idea. “Though, if it’s anything other than girls, I’m not sure how helpful I can be. I have neither experience nor interest with or in boys, after all. I also have little motivation to change that. Even so, I’ll still be rooting and cheering for you!”

"W-Well…" The fox-girl paused for a moment. "I-I guess you would be able to help me when I need it then…"

“Ohhh!” The tiger liked her response a lot. “So, what’s your type?” Her eyes were already sparkling because she liked this topic a lot.

“I’m, uhh… I’m not really sure…”

“Really?”

“I haven’t really stayed at the same place for long because I love exploring. Most of the time, I was alone with Feyfey, and when we met others, there were very few girls my age…”

“Oh, I see.”

"Judging by my gut feeling, I'd gladly try to date you if you were free, though. Among some other problems with that idea..."

“W-Wow…” Sophia hadn’t seen that one coming. “T-Thanks…” She got a little bashful. “You are way too smooth… Well, that should be helpful, though.”

“Ehehe.” Chloe let out a happy chuckle thanks to her reaction. “Does that mean that outgoing, cute, and quirky girls that know how to have fun are my type…?”

“…” The tiger had to take a short break, but she had a slight smile on her face. After all, there was no way she wouldn't love being described like that. She was incredibly happy that nothing of her old personality in that regard was left. “O-Okay, seriously… You are TOO smooth. Thanks to Maya, I found out that I need some, or a lot, sass and teasing in my life, not to mention that she's a gigantic pervert, and that is ama-; Wait, where was I going with this again…?” Sophia tilted her head after having noticed that she’s gotten slightly off-topic. “Right! Because of that, I don’t think you’re exactly my type, but you almost made my heart ache a bit just now…”

“Yes, being a pervert aside, I don’t think I’m overly sassy or enjoy teasing others that much."

“That’s why I mentioned it… Huh?” There was something about Chloe’s reply that caused the tiger to tilt her head yet again.

“Hmm?” Chloe did the same after seeing her confused expression.

“Hmm…” She continued to stare at her for a while longer. “Well, whatever… Everyone I met so far is the same, after all… Myself often included." The blonde mumbled a couple of words before going back to the topic. “So… Someone who is similar to the current me, but who isn’t actually me?”

“Probably?” The fox-girl wasn’t entirely sure about it, either.

“Okay, should we clone either of us?”

“Eh?!”

“Well, your general personality is quite close to mine, so…”

“I doubt I’d enjoy dating myself…” Chloe had a very complicated expression while answering her. “Also, while I don’t enjoy being sassy or teasing others… Receiving a little of it might be not so bad…?"

“Okay, fair enough. Sounds slightly narcissistic, too.”

“Very, I’d say.”

“True.” Sophia nodded a couple of times. “While my clone would work for you in that regard, I do like teasing or being sassy, I don’t know why, but I have the feeling such a scenario would end up in a threesome with me, myself, and Maya if she notices that there are two of me… I have to admit that it's ever so slightly intriguing, but it also gives me VERY mixed feelings…" Many emotions were showing on the blonde's face right now.

"Okay…" Chloe stared at the tiger for a while before averting her face. "I, uhh… I accidentally imagined such a scenario just now, and I’m not sure if I can ever unsee it again… Sorry."

“S-Same…” Her face turned redder. "Wait, would that be considered cheating...? Not in my case because I wouldn't play with myself... Wait, would that be masturbation...? Anyway, for Maya to be with two girls... if they're both me...?"

"Is it a clone as in fully duplicating yourself, feelings, thoughts, and memories included? Or is it just the same person, closer to a twin?"

"Hmm...." She tilted her head to think about it, but the tiger's expression soon turned even more complicated. “Please don’t tell Maya about anything we just talked about…”

"Sure." She gave her a big nod. "Why were we talking about that in the first place?! Cloning either of us…? How did we even end up there?!”

“No idea… I am delighted that you actually worked with the idea instead of calling it stupid the moment it left my lips. Might be kinda unhealthy, though, because I need some supervision when it comes to having stupid ideas.”

“Yes… Feyfey keeps telling me the same…” Chloe hung her head. “It was a stupid idea, though. Although, pretty fun!”

“Absolutely!” The blonde wasn’t completely serious about her idea, after all.

"Okay… Still, I wasn't actively looking for anyone before, but now that you opened that box… You don't know anyone with a similar personality as yours…?" The fox-girl stared right at her.

“Hmm…” She gave it some thought. "Anna's more of an M, but she's also pretty easygoing... Oh, Maya is actually quite similar. Though, maybe a little less adventurous and more S than I am, but…”

“I don’t think I want too much of that… Also, Maya wouldn’t solve anything here. If she were single, that would mean you'd be single, too! Ignoring a couple of things, I’d just try long and hard enough for you to change your type to me in that scenario!”

“…” Sophia had to take another pause. “Let’s just forget about all of that! Neither of us will be an option here!”

“I know!” Chloe was just carrying on her ideas, after all.

“Good!”

"Okay… Don't you know any other girls other than the two of you that would…?"

“Well… There's one that loves to tease one every now and then and can be a bit sassy at times, too. At the same time, she’s incredibly caring and sweet that you just have to love and pamper her. And get pampered by her in return just as well… She’s also really quirky and even more outgoing than the current me. Last but not least, she loved to go on trips and explore places she’s never been before… Really, she's basically an exact copy of you when it comes to a lot of that, especially your likes, only with being a little more teasing and sassy like I am.”

“Oh? She sounds lovely!” There was more than a hint of excitement in the fox-girl’s voice.

“Yeah…” Sophia's had become the complete opposite of that all of a sudden, though.

“What’s wrong?” She naturally noticed the sudden change. “Is there something wrong with that girl?”

“Well…” The tiger wasn’t sure how to continue her sentence. “I’m sorry for getting any sort of hopes up with that… I don't know why, but I was talking about my sister just now, and that’s… well…”

“O-Oh…” Chloe looked just as sad as the blonde. “I’m really sorry that I made you remember something unpleasant… That wasn’t my intention…”

“Why are you apologizing…?” Sophia just looked at her. “Also, there isn’t a single unpleasant memory when it comes to her.”

"I see…" She looked a little happier again. "She was a great sister, huh?"

"The bestest!" Sophia's reply came instantaneously. "I totally would've shipped the two of you. I also would've been extremely annoying while doing so!"

“Ahaha…” Not knowing what to say, the fox-girl only reacted with a giggle. “It’s too bad that I couldn’t meet her… The way you speak of her makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. She really must've been amazing to be around.”

“Yeah…” She nodded. “It would’ve been the best for her to be here...”

"Well... WAIT!" As Chloe was as skilled as the blonde when it came to reading the mood and changing the topic without any prior warning, she suddenly got loud.

“Hmm?”

“Earlier, you said that your tail’s great for bonking Maya…”

“Yes?”

“Y-You also said that it's great for other t-things that end with -ing…?” Her cheeks turned red for some reason.

“I did?”

“H-How…?” The fox-girl glanced at the tiger’s tail. “Sure… some of it is fur… but… isn't it a bit too t-thick for that…?” Chloe’s entire face was glowing by now. “D-Does it actually fit…?”

“Ehh…?” Sophia looked confused. “I was talking about honking, as in booping Maya’s chest with it. Maybe her stomach, too. Depending on her mood, it’s super cute when she gets angry about that, or her mood turns to something else~.”

“A-Ah…”

“Oh, did you mean like trying to stick it into her cleavage…? My, what a pervert~.” The blonde smirked at her. “I, uhh, I actually did try that when she was wearing a camisole with a deep cutout and… Yeah, my tail actually got stuck because it was too tight in there. It was a ton of fun, though~.”

“E-Eh, err… Y-Yes, I meant her cleavage!” Chloe somehow managed to blush even harder.

“Why am I not buying your response…?” Sophia just stared at her. “Just what were you imagining?”

“W-Well…” Hesitating for a moment, she eventually slowly looked further south at the blonde with an extremely embarrassed expression when she eventually stopped at her shorts. "I-I might was thinking about a little more v-vulgar word ending with -ing where you use your tail in a different type of i-insertion..."

“E-EH?!” The tiger looked shocked. “In down there?!”

“…”

“Why am I surrounded by so many high-level perverts?!”

“…” She couldn't answer.

“You also look so innocent, so that hits twice as hard!” Sophia obviously hadn't expected to hear something like that. “Do you have any idea just how sensitive our tails really are?! Something like that would feel… feel…” She suddenly turned silent while her cheeks also turned red. “W-Would it fit…? Maya’s, probably… but mine…? Also, all the fur! It would be such a pain to get it out of there again… Maybe if we put something thin and flexible over it… Uhh…” The tiger got a little lost while she also brought around her tail to touch it a little, almost feeling it up.

“I-I AM SORRY!” Chloe didn’t know what else to say.

Afterward, as the mood had gotten a little weird, the duo decided to head back to Chloe’s home to reunite with Maya and the wolves.