Volume 7 - Clutching Coils, Chapter 41 - No Letting Go

Other than the faceful of boobs she got when Tsuen bolted, Mara didn't get any fondlin' that night, but the excitement of a new girl in the house made up for it. Iormu had barely settled in before Mara came by to visit. She was bouncing around Iormu's room and bombarding her with questions but getting only the barest of answers.

"Hey, Iormu, just how long is your tail?"

"Very," Iormu answered flatly.

Mara climbed up on the dresser, then jumped up and tried to touch the high ceiling. She was able to reach it, but just barely. "What do you like to eat?"

"Meat, mostly," Iormu said as she reclined against a throne made of her own tail. Whenever she shifted her weight, her huge breasts nearly escaped from her black and purple top. She was dressed like a belly dancer, but her curvy figure was closer to that of the bustiest adult-industry models.

"Me too!" Mara cheered. "Don't eat Tsuen though. She's my girlfriend." Mara was being so fidgety because she was trying very hard to not stare at Iormu's amazing assets. I'm happy with Tsuen, but damn Iormu is stacked. She's even got those wide, curvy hips that drive me crazy. She blinked her six eyes, then kept talking to distract herself. "Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?"

"No, not right now," Iormu responded.

Mara nestled down onto the carpet, pulling all her legs close until she was nearly a ball. Heated from underneath by the hot spring's water, it was very comfy and warm. "What's it like being cold-blooded? Won't living in the mountains be hard?"

"It's not a problem if I have a heat source. The hot spring will be nice."

"Where'd you live before this, and why'd you move here?"

Iormu finally started to look annoyed as she replied, "Far away, and I because needed a new home."

Mara picked up on Iormu's mood and was getting tired of all the non-answers anyway, so she stood up to leave. "Thanks for talking with me, Iormu! Seeya at dinner!"

As the hyperactive spider left the cabin, Iormu thought to herself, I forgot how tiring being social can be, but I guess Mara is pretty fun.

The next evening, in the living room, Tsuen was sprawled out over two couch cushions with Mara snuggled up against her chest. Quess sat across from them in a chair, but Haru and Yuisu were in the kitchen.

Quess asked, "Did you find out anything interesting about our new guest, Mara?"

Mara shrugged, sending the boobs that were resting on her head bouncing. "Not really. She eats meat, but I told her not to eat Tsuen." At that, Tsuen smiled and hugged Mara tighter. Mara continued, "Oh, and she's single."

Quess leaned close. "Oh, really? Did you find out which gender she prefers?"

"Nope."

"Did you ask how old she is?"

"Nope."

"Cup size?" Quess asked with a grin.

"Ha, didn't think to ask that. Probably too big for any normal bra, though.

Quess sunk into her chair with a frown. "What good are you then?"

"Hey!" Mara said, indignant. "She's really hard to get anything out of. Ask her something and see for yourself. She'll be joining us for dinner, I think."

Just then, two large horns peeked around the corner, along with two larger breasts.

"Speak of the devil…" Tsuen whispered, trying to keep calm.

Iormu, or at least her upper body, slithered into the room. Her tail was still trailing down the hallway. It would have extended all the way outside and past the porch, but Iormu had paused and pulled her tail in so she could close the door. "Hello, everyone. I don't mean to intrude."

Quess jumped up and slid forward to greet her. "Oh, you're not intruding at all, Iormu. Welcome!"

Tsuen started to rise from the couch. "Uh, would you like to sit on the couch? I could move for you."

Iormu waved a clawed hand. "Oh, no. That's fine. I'll just curl up out of the way somewhere." As she spoke, her body continued to file into the room. She slid into the corner and gathered her tail around herself. Eventually all forty feet of her tail was present in a large spiraling mound. It was covered in deep purple scales, except for a pale band on the belly. Along the top, it had a magenta fin running along the entire length.

Iormu reclined against the pile like it was a giant beanbag chair. "So, how is everyone doing?" she asked casually.

Before anyone could answer, Yuisu's voice called from the kitchen, "Dinner's ready! Can someone go get Iormu?"

Mara called back, "She's already here!" and then all the girls started towards the kitchen.

Iormu sighed as she unraveled. I barely got settled and now I get to do it all again.

"So, Iormu, forgive my bluntness…" Haru started, then blurted, "Are you gay or straight?"

Iormu gave a hard look that could be either thoughtful or hostile, and Haru couldn't tell which.

Haru quickly added, "Uh, I only ask because all the girls Agent Will has assigned here previously are, uh, lesbians."

Yuisu shook her head. "Real smooth, Haru." Secretly, Yuisu wanted to know too, and she would have asked eventually and probably with just as little grace. She turned to Iormu, whose upper body was at the table but her tail was still out in the hallway. "You don't have to answer if you don't want, but I'd like you to know that whatever your orientation, we are very accepting here."

Tsuen joined in quietly, "Agent Will put us all together since we have all experienced discrimination for a variety of reasons. This is a safe place."

Iormu nodded. "That sounds very nice. It's great that Agent Will is looking out for everyone like that. He was a great help with my sudden relocation."

The other girls looked at each other. It was blatantly obvious that Iormu had avoided Haru's question.

Quess opened her mouth to ask about it, but Yuisu cast a glare at her. She did say that Iormu didn't have to answer if she didn't want to… Quess thought, then changed what she was planning to say. "How's the new place working out? All settled in?"

Iormu smiled and it made her look far less threatening. "Oh, it's great. The heated floors are just perfect. Keeping all of myself warm is normally a huge problem." She blushed a little and said, "I'd like to try out the hot spring tonight, though I'm afraid I wouldn't leave much room for anyone else."

Yuisu gestured with a hand toward the back door. "Then it's all yours for tonight. We were all in it just last night anyway. Let me know if you need anything."

"Oh, thank you, Yuisu. I will," Iormu said in her sweet, low voice. The inadvertently sensual tone sent a shiver down Yuisu's spine and made her mind go dirty places.

After dinner, Iormu took advantage of the offer and let herself into the hot spring area through the gate, rather than climbing the fence like before. She took a few moments to remove her clothes and her jewelry and store them in a basket. She loved to wear all the dangling gems and pearls, but sometimes they could be troublesome.

Leaving most of her tail out of the water, she lowered her upper body in first. The steaming-hot water felt amazing against her scales, but was a bit much for her bare skin so she had to take it slow. Eventually, she was underwater up to her breasts and then she started to lower her tail in. Displaced water poured through the overflow channel as hundreds of pounds of serpent sunk into the hot water.

After a bit of experimentation, Iormu found that she could leave a large chunk of her tail out of the water to help regulate her temperature and relax better. She leaned against the side of the pool, her giant breasts bobbing in the gentle support of the water, and looked up at the stars.

Above her, thousands of points of light were scattered across the emptiness, each alone in the vastness of space. It's beautiful, but so very sad. It reminds me of my own life, loveless and alone even when I'm surrounded by people. Before her melodramatic thoughts could get much further, she heard a strange PLUNK sound and looked around for the source.

Just on the other side of the fence, Quess and Mara had been spying on Iormu. The noise she had heard was Mara's head being stuffed into Quess's cleavage to keep her from blowing their cover. Mara sunk right into Quess's translucent gelatinous chest and was flailing frantically, unable to breathe.

Quess whispered, "I'll let you out, just be quiet," then she pulled the little pink spider free.

"Ahgh," Mara gasped as she caught her breath. "Sorry," she whispered, "but did you see the size of those things?! They're even bigger than I thought! I just want to squeeze—"

Quess put a gooey tendril to Mara's lips and whispered, "Shush."

The slime and spider peeked back over the fence, only to find Iormu staring right at them. They ducked back down, but Iormu was already addressing them.

A sultry voice called out, "Mara, Quess. You're welcome to join me. And I really don't mind being seen naked, or being so appreciated. It is quite flattering."

Behind the fence, Mara and Quess exchanged half-confused, half-excited glances.

Mara twirled her black and white umbrella over her head in thought. It had been a gift from Tsuen, back at the start of their relationship, and it helped Mara with her fear of the open sky. She whispered to Quess, "I better not, for Tsuen's sake. You go ahead, Quess. Let me know if you hit that!" With that, she skittered off down the walkway and back into the house, clutching her precious umbrella.

Quess swallowed nervously. Even she was a little intimidated by how sexy Iormu was, and a lot more intimidated by her exotic mystery. Quess had done a lot of research in order to keep up her convincing lies during her time as 'queen', but she'd never encountered anything like Iormu. Lamias were exotic enough, but Jormungands were bigger, scarier, and much, much rarer.

She steeled herself and stepped through the fence gate. "Uh, hello," Quess said awkwardly. "I'm sorry for spying on you, but I guess I was just curious to know more about you, Iormu."

Iormu smiled and patted the surface of the water with one clawed hand. "Come, take off your clothes and join me then. I'm not much of a conversationalist, but I'll try."

Quess frowned. "Uh, I can't really do bathing. Slimes and large bodies of water don't mix, or rather, they mix too well. I'll sit nearby, though." She dissolved her clothes and took on a natural nude form, then sat down on the wooden walkway that ran along the edge of the pool. Quess turned to her left and saw Iormu's bare breasts up close for the first time, and blushed a shiny red.

Iormu saw and chuckled. "Everyone loves big boobs, unless they've had to deal with actually having them. These things are a huge pain."

Quess looked back and forth between Iormu's breasts and her own. "My normal size is pretty big, but not compared to yours." She dipped a finger into the hot spring and absorbed some water, pumping it into her chest until her own breasts matched Iormu's, nipples and all. She grabbed her enlarged boobs with her hands. It was an odd sensation, holding boobs that weren't quite her own. "Wow, these things are heavy. I can't imagine how difficult it'd be to have these all the time, especially for someone with muscles and joints to worry about."

Iormu nodded appreciatively. "That's a nice trick, Quess. You're an interesting one." She leaned back and looked up at the sky. "I heard from Agent Will that you weren't an official homestay at first, so what brought you here?"

"Loneliness," Quess answered honestly, more honestly than she had really intended. "I saw Yuisu and everyone else spending time together, having a good time, and I wanted that too. So I followed them home, and I made up a lie so they'd take me in."

She laid out on her back and watched the stars too. "I'm not proud of it, and I know now that it wasn't even necessary. Yuisu would have taken me in regardless. That's just who she is."

"I guess that's why I'm here too," Iormu said quietly. "I'm a bit old for this homestay business, but I needed friends. I needed someone in my life after…" She trailed off.

Quess turned and looked at Iormu, who was staring at the sky with a sorrowful expression. A sparkle on her cheek might have been a tear. Quess asked, "After what?"

"Nevermind." Iormu turned and smiled at Quess. "Thanks for the chat, but I've got to get going. I've got something scheduled tonight." With that, she quickly lifted her massive body from the water, sending her boobs jiggling like beautiful, bountiful balloons. She grabbed her basket of clothes and slithered away.

While the tip of Iormu's tail was still next to the pool, Quess heard the door to the cabin open. Finally, when the last bit of Iormu slid away around the corner, Quess stood, her enlarged chest jiggling. I think I'll stick with the E-cups, she thought as she shot the excess water back into the hot spring, which was slowly refilling after Iormu's displacement.

Early the next morning, Tsuen was jogging up the hill when a small car she didn't recognize passed her, leaving the property. She was pretty sure it was a man behind the wheel. That's weird, she thought. I'll ask Yuisu about it at breakfast.

After rinsing off the sweat from her run, Tsuen joined Yuisu and Haru in the kitchen and got some breakfast. Tsuen set down her toast and apple and settled up next to the table. "Oh, Yuisu. There was a guy here this morning. He drove past me in a car. Do you know what that was about?"

Yuisu furrowed her brow. "A man was here? I had no idea."

Haru's eyes went wide and glinting. "I saw a man leaving the 'cabin' when I was on my hunt this morning. I think he stayed the night with Iormu."

Huh, I'd been thinking she was gay, Yuisu thought, until her reasonable side kicked in. "Hold your horses, Haru. It was probably just a handyman fixing something at the cabin. Maybe tuning the radiant heating."

"No, he definitely stayed the night," a voice said. The three women turned and saw Iormu in the hallway. She could be incredibly quiet, given her size.

Yuisu stood up. "Hang on, Iormu, you should know better than that. You could get in trouble for sleeping with humans."

Iormu blinked a couple times in confusion. "Why'd you think he was a human? Antonio is a lizardman, and such a wonderful one at that…" Iormu licked her long tongue along her lips, and had a hungry look in her eye.

Yuisu sat back down with a defeated THUMP. "Huh. I guess that's okay then. Just be safe, I guess." Yuisu wasn't actually worried about Iormu's safety at all, but she didn't know what else to say to a sexually active, and apparently straight, liminal woman.

A few days later, Yuisu came in through the back door, tiptoeing quietly. She snuck into the living room, where Mara, Tsuen, Quess, and Haru were gathered around the TV.

Haru tilted her head and asked, "So, does Iormu want to join us for the movie?"

Yuisu shook her head a little too quickly. "Ah, no. I guess she'll pass."

Tsuen's ears twitched and she said, "I can tell something's wrong. What's going on, Yuisu?"

"Uh, I don't know the whole story, but I recommend you stay away from the hot spring, and the cabin, for a while."

"How long is a 'while'?" Mara asked.

Yuisu tried to keep calm as she said, "Judging by the boulder that Iormu crushed, and how angry she still looked, I'd say a few days at least."

Quess slid forward and got right up in Yuisu's face. "What!? She's that upset? Why?"

Haru raised a wing. "Uh, I might know." All eyes focused on her and she continued, "You know that lizardman, Antonio?"

Mara said, "The one that we've barely seen because he's always in the cabin with Iormu?"

Haru nodded. "Well, his car was here for almost two days straight, but this morning I watched him speed out of here like his tail was on fire and his ass was catching."

Realization hit everyone at about the same time, then Mara said, "Ah, must have been a bad breakup…" She frowned, then put her arms around Tsuen in a tight hug. "Poor Iormu."

Tsuen spoke up, "I actually talked with Antonio once, when he was arriving the other morning. He said he was the wandering type, not looking for a long-term relationship. Maybe Iormu wanted something else?"

Meanwhile, in the hot spring, Iormu was picking rock fragments out of the water with her long fingernails and tossing them over the fence. The large boulder that had been in the center of the crescent shaped pool was substantially smaller now, crushed by Iormu's powerful constricting coils.

Antonio… Iormu thought as she sulked. You wanted space, but I wouldn't let you go. I wanted too much. I ruined things again. She grabbed a large chunk of stone and easily threw it over the fence into the bushes. And then I went and wrecked their pool. I thought I could do this, this 'living with others' thing, but I was wrong. I'm not cut out for this.

"Arrrgh!" Iormu screamed at the sky and slapped her tail painfully on the surface of the water. She lowered her head and mumbled, "I fucked it up again, and like always, it was because I can't just let go." Tears ran down Iormu's face, falling into the steaming water of the hot spring. "Why can't I just let go?"