After Sophia had won the right to own an elven treehouse in a drinking competition, the group crashed at Chloe’s place and spent the rest of the night there. As the tiger, for a very rare change, was unable to sleep well, she decided to go for an early morning run. Afterward, she ran into the fox-girl, and the two had a lively chat.

One thing led to another, and the blonde wanted to help find a partner for the pink-haired girl so everyone could be annoyingly flirty without making others feel jealous. This turned out to be slightly complicated, though, as Sophia seemed to match Chloe’s type way too well. Because that wasn’t going to happen, the tiger tried to remember a different girl with a similar personality as the current her. Still, she could only think of her sister, which didn't make things any easier, either. Far from it, actually.

“We’re back.” Having returned to Chloe’s home, the duo greeted Maya and the wolves there.

"'Morning." Fen and Aura gave them a lazy response.

“Where have you been?” Maya wasn’t quite as lazy as she looked at Sophia. "I would've bet a lot of money that you wouldn't get up before dinner in the evening."

“Ahaha…” The blonde let out a small chuckle. “That’s a… fair assumption.” She couldn’t deny it.

“Your old clothes, huh?” She took a better look. “Couldn’t sleep and went for a run?”

“Wow!” Chloe sounded impressed. “It’s amazing how well the two of you know each other!”

“Ehehe~.” Sophia liked her reaction a lot. “Yep! Chloe ran into me on the way back, and we had a short date afterward.”

“Oh?” The cat-girl focused her attention on the fox-girl while her expression became impossible to read.

“E-Eh?!” Chloe instantly started to panic. “W-We just chatted a bit!”

“You did hit on me, though.” The tiger apparently was in a teasing mood.

"A-Ah…” The pink-haired girl awkwardly turned her head away.

“Ohh?” Maya’s expression became much easier to read all of a sudden. Not that it made things any better.

“As it turned out, I seem to be her type~.” Sophia wasn’t done yet.

“My, isn’t that nice?” The cat-girl’s stare at Chloe intensified.

“She even said that she’d totally try to date me~.”

“Well, I can understand that!” While she didn't stop staring at the fox-girl, she still snuck in a smile.

“C-Can I change my statement about being interested in a little bit of sass and teasing…?” Chloe glanced at Sophia instead. “I-I think I changed my mind…”

“Heh.”

“Uuh…” Glaring at the tiger for a moment, though it looked more like an upset pout, the pink-haired girl eventually faced Maya. “I, uhh… I did say all that, but… It was after Sophia asked me what my type is… She wanted to help me find something to be flirty with on my own so that I don't have to get jealous watching the two of you…"

“Okay.” The cat-girl nodded a few times.

“I haven’t spent that much time with girls in my age range yet, so I’m not sure what my type is… Still, I really like how Sophia’s so cheer-, and playful… She seems extremely fun to be with, and we have a lot of similar interests, as well… It’s just that she’s an amazing girl! I would never do anything to sour or even end the relationship between the two of you, though!”

"Ehehe~." Maya's expression suddenly softened after having heard how her girlfriend got praised to such an extent. “I really can’t blame you for having a good eye, can you?”

“T-Thank you…” Seeing that reaction, Chloe also relaxed again. “I’m sorry that it looked like I was competition for a moment… I don’t want anything more than being friends with both of you…”

“It’s alright. I'm used to it~." The cat-girl couldn’t be mad at her for finding Sophia interesting, and Chloe really didn't seem like someone who would try to steal her either, so she was okay with the events. "Still, finding someone similar to Sophia, huh? That's going to be a tough one." Maya was immediately on board with finding a partner for her.

“Yes…” The pink-haired girl only reacted with a weak nod. “Sophia also had a hard time with that…”

“If anything, I made it worse with running my mouth…” The blonde awkwardly scratched her cheek.

“What did you do?” Maya faced her tiger.

“Well, because I couldn’t remember anyone being quite like me except… me… or Chloe herself, I, uhh…” Sophia paused for a moment. “Long story short, I was a little stupid and then kinda ended up talking about my sister for a while because she’d perfect for our dear fox here because they're so similar…”

“Ahh…” The cat-girl also looked slightly awkward after hearing that. “That, err… Yeah, that could be a little difficult…”

“That’s putting it lightly. Very lightly.”

“Did we meet anyone in the academy that fits the description?” Maya tilted her head.

“I wouldn’t know…” Sophia shook hers. “I was either asleep, messing around with Ari, or causing some headaches. Completely ignoring the part where almost no one tries to approach me because of my ice-queen reputation.”

"You're really living your school life to your fullest, huh?" The cat-girl rolled her eyes.

“Hehe.” She only smiled at her.

“Wait, what…?” Listening to them, Chloe looked rather confused. “Most of those things make enough sense for me not to question them, but did you say ice-queen just now…?”

“What’s with the questioning look?” Sophia stared right at her. “I totally look like one, don’t I? I feel like my character is a perfect fit for that, too.”

“…” The fox paused for a moment before glancing at Maya. “What is this… girl talking about…?”

“You’re free to call her an idiot.” Maya doubted the wording of Chloe a little. “She is one, after all.”

“Yep.” The idiot only nodded.

“I-I would never call someone an idiot!” She got a little flustered. “Still… I’m very sorry to say it, but there’s just no way that you would ever qualify as an ice-queen, Sophia…”

“Ehehe~.” The blonde started smiling instead. “Happy to hear~.”

“Maya…?” Chloe, looking even more confused, faced the cat-girl again. “Context?”

“She had to get up way too early on the first day of school and was extremely tired and half asleep. The students completely misinterpreted her behaviors and thought she’s a taciturn l-lady that rarely speaks while nothing could possibly face her…"

“…” She looked at Sophia again. “…Really?”

“How rude!” The tiger pouted for a few seconds before her expression relaxed again. “I’m the most surprised here, you know? I’m quite loud and obnoxious, after all.”

"She gets full marks when it comes to being self-aware, though," Maya smirked at her. "Not that it matters, as she has no plans to change anything!"

“NONE!” The ice-queen got even louder.

“Someone’s having fun in life, huh?”

“Yep~.” Sophia nodded to Chloe’s remark. “Some unfun… things happened in the past, so I want to be in a good mood at every moment in the present and future!”

“Aww, I like that a lot!” The fox-girl looked really happy. “That’s a great mindset!”

“Ehehe~.”

“Some of my past also wasn’t the best, so I can relate to it a lot!”

“Hmm…?” Sophia tilted her head while looking at her for a moment before quickly shrugging her shoulders again. “Long live the present and future!" She, more than anyone, knew that one's past shouldn't matter.

“Yes!” Chloe energetically raised her fist high in the air.

“The two of you have way too much energy…” Fen, having had to listen to the two from a little away, let out a small yawn while looking at the duo.

"Thank you very much!" It was a compliment to them.

“Sure…”

“Anyway… Chloe!” The tiger suddenly looked at the fox with a serious expression.

“Y-Yes…?”

“I’m hungry! Is there a place in this village where we can get breakfast?”

“Ahh…” She relaxed again after hearing what the blonde’s problem was. “The bar where we went before also serves breakfast and lunch. Mark's an excellent cook!"

“Ohh!” Her voice got even more cheerful. “That means I can also ask Alex about the treehouse! Let’s go!”

“Sure!”

Afterward, Sophia quickly changed her clothes back to the school uniform, and the group went to the usual bar together once again. To eat breakfast this time, though.

----------------

“Okay, what’s wrong…?” On the way to the bar, Maya suddenly stopped walking while looking at her tiger. “Why do you keep glancing at my tail while having such a weird expression?!"

“Uhh… I’m just thinking about s-something…” She stared even harder at her tail.

"Why are you blushing?!" The cat-girl only got more confused.

“C-Chloe had a rather… p-peculiar idea, and I’m wondering whether it would work or not…” She paused for a moment. “Or rather, whether I want it to w-work or not…”

“Do I want to know what she’s talking about…?” Maya changed her attention to the fox in question.

“Y-You absolutely do NOT want to know…” The cheeks of the pink-haired girl also turned red.

“Should I be concerned…?” She didn’t like Chloe’s reaction.

“It, err… I-It could maybe hurt a little if you decide to play along… Depending on how t-tight you are dow- A-Anyway, I’M VERY SORRY!” The fox-girl decided against finishing her sentence and simply apologized once more.

“I don’t get it, but stop thinking about whatever you’re thinking right now, idiot!” Maya faced the blonde again with a very worried expression.

“T-That could be for the best, actually…” Even so, there was a hint of regret in Sophia’s voice. “T-Though, maybe… Some issues, like the f-fitment, aside… You might be interested in Chloe’s idea…”

“Judging by the reaction of both of you, I HEAVILY doubt that!” Maya got loud.

Afterward, the pervert duo decided to stop talking altogether, and everyone continued their walk towards the bar while Maya looked extremely confused and also not being sure how she should feel about any of what just happened.