Volume 3 - Speedy Centaur, Chapter 18 - Reaching Out

“Let me properly introduce myself,” the furry visitor said in a peppy voice. “My name’s Polt and I’m a kobold! As some of the first liminals to integrate with human society, and the wealthiest, kobolds established a ton of extraspecies-centric businesses all over Japan.”

Polt smiled broadly. “One of those is my gym in Tokyo, Sports Club Kobold! It’s a top-notch fitness club with all the best amenities, customized for extraspecies bodies of all types.” She stuck out her chest and flaunted the logo on her shirt, or at least that was the intent.

The girls at the table, especially Yuisu, were a little distracted by the marvelous pair of boobs underneath. They look like at least D cups… she thought.

“Well, that venture was so successful that we’re franchising it out! A local kobold expressed interest in opening his own Sports Club Kobold here in town, and I’m here to oversee the grand opening efforts.”

Haru tilted her head. “But what does that have to do with us?”

Polt’s ears perked up. “Well that’s the best part. It’s my standard practice to do a soft opening of sorts, to put the gym through some typical use and iron out any kinks. I needed to find some liminals that could help me with that, and Agent Will recommended you all.” Polt leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially. “But I wouldn’t expect you to do it for free. For helping out , you’ll each get a VIP membership to the gym, and…” She gestured at Agent Will with a claw-tipped finger.

He continued where she left off, “...special approval to travel to and from the gym without an escort, just like Haru with her job.” He ran a hand over his excessively gelled hair and added, “But there are some… stipulations. In order to get the free membership or special travel approval, you’ll need to spend at least eight total hours working out at the gym before the grand opening in two weeks.“

Agent Will set a form in front of each the four girls. “Now if you’ll just sign here, we can get things rolling.” He noticed Yuisu’s confused expression. “Yes, miss Nakahara, you are eligible too, for the free membership at least. During the preliminary two weeks, you’ll need to travel with the girls to the gym anyway…”

Yuisu looked to her left and noticed that Mara was so nervous she was practically shivering. She put a reassuring arm around her shoulders, then turned to Agent Will. “What if I sign this but don’t manage to get the eight hours in?”

Agent Will’s eyebrows scrunched up above his sunglasses as he considered. “I guess you just wouldn’t get the perks. There’s no penalty or anything.”

Mara visibly loosened. Yuisu patted her on the back and said, “Then you might as well sign up, girls. We could all use the exercise, and I’m sure you’d all like the extra bit of freedom.”

After everyone had signed the forms, Agent Will gathered them up and he and Polt stood to leave.

Polt said, “Thanks in advance for the help! You can come as early as 6AM tomorrow, and the grand opening will be next Saturday. I’ve gotta get going to manage things at the gym, but I hope to see you there soon!” She smiled wide and her tail wagged behind her.

“Thanks for the coffee, miss Nakahara. I’ll be around town working with Polt and getting my own office set up, so call if you need anything” Agent Will said as he turned toward the front door. “Seeya around, girls!”

Later, Yuisu found Tsuen sprawled across on the couch, gazing out the window. How unlike her to be idle, Yuisu thought as she sat down in the adjacent chair. “How are you doing, Tsuen?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m alright, Yuizu,” she mumbled, clearly out of it.

“I wanted to apologize for what you happened earlier, in Haru’s room. It was probably pretty uncomfortable for you.”

Tsuen let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Yeah, it was quite a shock. Here I was, trying to keep my sexuality a secret so it wouldn’t become a problem again, only to find out the other girls in the house are outright sleeping with each other.” She smiled at Yuisu. “I think Agent Will really did have the right idea putting us all together, but it’ll be weird not having to hide anymore.”

Yuisu grinned and said, “Speaking of hiding… you weren’t really hiding your adoration for Polt, with all your staring and eye fluttering.”

Tsuen gasped and hid her face in her hands. “You saw that? I didn’t realize it was that obvious, but Polt’s so amazing! She’s one of my biggest role models.”

“Huh? How is she already your role model? You just met her.”

Tsuen smiled up at Yuisu. “I only just met her, but I’ve been following her for years. She’s an ultramarathon runner, she operates a bunch of successful businesses, and she does so much for liminal rights and extraspecies accessibility…”

“And she’s got an amazing body, and looks really cute in those tiny running shorts,” Yuisu continued for her, smirking. “Don’t deny it Tsuen. I saw where your eyes went as she left.” Yuisu nodded sagely.

Tsuen blushed and covered her face again. “Okay, so she’s really cute, especially when she wags her tail, but it’s not like I want to date her. She’s my role model, and that’s enough for me.”

Yuisu stood up. “Oh, I don’t disagree. It can be nice to just appreciate pretty things from afar sometimes.” She patted Tsuen on the back as she walked by the couch. “But don’t forget to appreciate the ones nearby too,” she said a bit louder than necessary.

Tsuen’s long brown ears wiggled as she tried to puzzle out what Yuisu had meant by that. Tsuen didn’t see Yuisu wink at someone as she left the room, or notice the six eyes peeking around the corner from the hallway.

Mara took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was wearing her cutest dress (blue with lace shoulder straps), her favorite pair of socks on her palps (pink with calico kittens), and her hair up in two adorable pigtails. She also had indulged in a bit of ‘candy courage’, her term for dark chocolate, thanks to the alcohol-like effect caffeine has on arachnes.

She stepped forward, her bare feet securely gripping the smooth wood floor, and called out, “Hi, Tsuen! Got a moment?”

Tsuen, still spread across the couch, turned her upper body and met eyes with Mara. “Hmm? Sure. What’s up?”

Mara’s palps and front legs fidgeted and brushed against each other. “Um, I was hoping that, since you have so much experience with the outdoors, you’d, uh, help me out with something.”

Tsuen smiled. “I’d love to, just let me know what.”

“Well, I should explain something first.” She lowered her head and looked at the floor, making Tsuen have to strain to hear as Mara spoke, “I’m agoraphobic, like, super afraid of the outdoors, or anywhere bigger than this room, really.” She waved a leg and arm to indicate the size of the room. “And that’s going to be a problem for traveling to that new gym, and maybe even for working out in the gym, depending on the size of the rooms.”

She inched closer to Tsuen, reassured by her beautiful smile and helpful attitude. “Do you think… you could try to help me get over that fear, Tsuen?”

Tsuen’s ears lifted up and her eyes went a little wide. “That’s a big request”—Mara started to frown—”but I’d be happy to try my best to help you.”

Mara grinned ear to ear. She darted forward and grasped Tsuen’s hands in her own. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Tsuen shrugged and shook her head. “Now don’t get too excited. I’m no expert in this, so I can’t guarantee that I’ll be of any help, but I’d like to be a personal trainer some day, and this could be good practice for that.”

A few minutes later, Mara and Tsuen looked out through the sliding glass door at the back porch. It was bright and sunny outside and the porch was dry, other than a bit of snow that had survived from the last spring snow by hiding in the shadows of the patio furniture.

“Alright, Mara. I’ll be a little stern with you, but if you really can’t do something, I won’t force you.”

Mara nodded determinedly.

Tsuen stepped back from the door and gave Mara the first instruction, “Step one: open the door.”

Mara nodded, less sure than before, and grabbed the door handle with both hands. She pulled, but it didn’t budge. She pulled harder, cursing her tiny size. Then she saw the latch next to the handle. Blushing, she unlocked the door and tried again. The door slid open smoothly and cool mountain air blew in. Mara shivered, and not just from the cold.

Tsuen put a hand on Mara’s shoulder, almost needing to crouch to do so. “Good work. Now just stick a foot out there.”

Mara cringed and drew her arms to her chest. She lifted one front leg and slowly extended it out through the doorframe. She turned and looked up at Tsuen with an expression that screamed ‘can I come back inside now?’

Tsuen was not swayed by Mara’s pitiful state. “Now put that foot down on the deck.” When Mara did, Tsuen added, “That wasn’t that bad. Now just do it again with another leg.”

They repeated the process until, before Mara knew it, she was standing fully on the deck. Tsuen stepped out after her and suddenly closed the sliding door behind herself.

Mara tensed at the sound of being cut off from the safety of the indoors, but she kept it together. This is going well. Being here with Tsuen helps, and the caffeine is probably helping a lot. She smiled and looked up at Tsuen. “This isn’t so bad. Thank y—” She stopped abruptly. By looking up at Tsuen, Mara was now also looking up at the sky. The big, open, endless, terrifying sky.

Her vision spun and she grabbed onto the deck with all eight legs. She felt like gravity would fail at any moment and she’d start falling upward, plummeting through the open air with no way to stop until she died a cold and lonely death in outer space.

Nope, nope, nope, nope! Mara quickly scurried underneath Tsuen’s body and grabbed her rear legs in a tight embrace.

Tsuen barely managed to keep from rearing up in surprise, both at the sudden movement and the unexpected contact in a very sensitive area. She steadied her voice and asked, “Are you okay, Mara?”

“Nope, I am very not okay, not okay, not okay at all. There isn’t enough caffeine in the world to make this okay.” Her rant built up to full-on panic. “I need to get inside but the door is closed and if I get out from under you to open it I’ll fall up and I’ll die all alone and cold and suffocating and I’m so afraid.” Her breathing was frantic and tears ran down her face from her wide-open eyes. “Oh god, I’m so afraid.”

Tsuen wanted to comfort her, but she couldn’t twist her upper body far enough to reach where Mara was, and she couldn’t really move without risking kicking or stepping on the little arachne. She stood perfectly still and spoke as calmly and forcefully as she could, “Mara. You are safe where you are, underneath me. I won’t go anywhere. I’m far too heavy to fall upward. But I need you to do something for me. Okay?”

Mara shivered and hugged Tsuen’s legs harder. “Okay. What?” she said, panic still in her voice.

“I need you to switch to holding my front legs, Mara. I can’t reach you there, and I can’t move without hurting you. Just grab my front legs instead. Alright?”

Mara nodded, her head rubbing against Tsuen’s lower belly. Mara released one hand and ran it up the inside of Tsuen’s leg and along towards her stomach. It tickled like crazy, but Tsuen clenched her teeth and didn’t so much as twitch. Mara moved the other hand and grabbed a fistful of the stretchy material of Tsuen’s shorts.

Crouching and crawling slowly, Mara worked her way up to Tsuen’s front. Mara stuck her head between Tsuen’s front legs and wrapped one arm around each.

“All clear? I’m going to sit my back end down.” When Mara nodded, Tsuen slowly bent her rear legs until her rump was on the deck. Now Tsuen formed a triangular tent and Mara sat inside, her head peeking out the front. Tsuen hunched her upper body forward, putting her limberness to the test, until she could make eye contact with Mara.

Tsuen, upside-down to Mara, smiled at her. “You doing alright, Mara? I’ve got you safe and sound.”

Mara nodded. “I’m okay now, I think. I’m so sorry for freaking out.” She hid her face behind Tsuen’s leg. “I’m worthless.”

Tsuen used her stern voice again, “You are not worthless. You are as important as anyone else, and everyone has troubles to work through just like you.”

After a moment, Mara peeked out and whispered, “Thanks, Tsuen.”

“Do you want to go back inside now?” Tsuen forced a smile, but blood was rushing to her head and leaning so far forward was getting hard on her back.

Mara noticed Tsuen’s red face. “You can sit back up, but I’d like to stay like this for a bit, if that’s okay.”

Tsuen nodded and sat upright. She twisted and stretched to loosen the muscles in her back, then just waited calmly. She felt like a mother centaur shielding her foal from the scary world.

Mara snuggled backwards into the warmth of Tsuen’s body. The reassuring pressure and heat that engulfed her calmed Mara down entirely. With innocent wonder, she looked out through Tsuen’s legs at the world beyond the house, truly considering it for the first time. The dark green of the pine trees against the clear blue skies and pockets of pure white snow. Small birds sang and flitted from branch to branch, knocking loose needles and pinecones down into the bushes and shadows below. Tears trickled down Mara’s face.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, almost too low for Tsuen to hear.