Volume 12 - Grand Opening, Chapter 88 - Night Howling

Yuisu was happy to give Yamato and Misaki a full tour of the Inn, starting at the entryway. Tools and wood were piled by the wall, ready for remodeling. "I've got a couple contractors coming in this week to build a little front desk here," Yuisu explained. "They're the same guys that built the cabins, so I know they'll do a great job."

"I figured as much." Yamato smiled and ruffled Misaki's hair. "When we got here, Misaki was eying those tools and supplies. She's just as curious as ever."

"Hey!" Misaki said, "I don't steal stuff anymore. I just look." She wrapped her black wings around herself and shyly added, "Usually."

From there, Yuisu lead them to the spacious kitchen. "This is about the same as you remember. The second fridge has some space reserved for the use of whoever's staying in the guest room. Speaking of…"

She gestured at the room in the southeast corner of the house, next to Chione's room. "A yeti girl named Miti is staying in it right now, though she's down working at the resort site today." Yuisu smiled proudly and said, "I'm booked to capacity thanks to all the consultants Korbin brought in for that."

Misaki tilted her head and leaned forward in an an inquisitive and crow-like way. "Korbin? Who's that?"

Yuisu chuckled. As she started toward the back door she said, "Sorry, I forget that not everyone knows him. He's the kobold that runs Sports Club Kobold and he's building a new ski resort here in Okayado. We're business partners of sorts now: he loaned me the money for the inn construction, and helped organize it too."

Yamato nodded in understanding. "I think I've seen him around. I've also seen all the construction crews in town headed to the resort. It's going to be massive." He paused to help the wounded Misaki out onto the back porch, then slid the glass door closed behind him. It was a little chilly outside, but the sun was shining and the sky was clear.

"Yep. I think it'll bring a ton of tourists to town, so you can expect a big boost in business across the board, once it's finished," Yuisu said. As she approached the branch in the path that lead to the hot spring, she said, "Oh, we added a little changing room next to the hot spring. Though I decided against splitting it into men's and women's sides."

Misaki's copper-colored eyes went wide. "Everyone's just naked in there together?!"

"Only sometimes. There are scheduled times for male-only, female-only, and mixed-gender bathing. I think it works pretty well, and I haven't had any complaints yet," Yuisu explained.

While Misaki considered that, Yamato gestured up the hill toward the original cabin. "I assume that cabin hasn't changed?"

"Yup. We have a guest staying in the second room, but otherwise it's the same as before, with Quess, Iormu, and Pwess living there. The other five cabins are a little smaller, but they should still work for all but the largest liminals."

The trio continued south along the hillside path that wove between the trees and connected all the cabins. Misaki marveled at the way all the cabins were nestled into the forested hillside. "It's so pretty and restic!"

"I think you mean 'rustic'," Yamato corrected.

"Nope!" Misaki put her wings on her hips and tried to look serious, though her tiny stature and unstable legs didn't do her any favors. "Restful and rustic equals 'restic'!"

Yamato chuckled and said, "Okay, Misaki. Restic it is."

Just then, a woman with long black hair and a sharp black suit approached along the wooden path. She waved and said, "Hello there."

Yuisu clasped her hands together and bowed slightly. She'd started bowing like that whenever she greeted her guests, since it just felt like the natural thing for an innkeeper to do. "Good afternoon, Miss Smith."

Miss Smith smiled and said, "And to you too, Miss Nakahara. The weather is just wonderful today."

"It certainly is." She eyed the luggage the woman was carrying and asked, "Are you checking out early?" If Yuisu was remembering correctly, Miss Smith had been booked to stay another night.

Miss Smith nodded. "Yeah… I hoped to invite Brutus up here, but he couldn't get off work. So, I'm gonna head home early. Mind if I squeeze past you?"

"Not at all." Brutus, that bouncer from the club? I guess him and Miss Smith are… dating? Yuisu thought as she stepped to the edge of the path.

After Yamato had helped Misaki to the side of the path, Miss Smith turned and looked them up and down. Yamato was standing behind Misaki, a full head taller than her, his hands on her shoulders.

Miss Smith smiled and said, "You must be Misaki and Yamato. Agent Will mentioned you. He's very proud that you're looking into the Interspecies Approved Marriage program."

The couple suddenly turned a matching shade of pink. Yamato stammered, "Uh, we uh, haven't, um, made that public yet."

Misaki's embarrassed expression faded and was replaced with a bit of a scowl. She looked straight up at Yamato's face and said, "Why not though? Why can't I tell everyone? I wanna tell the whole wide world!"

Yamato rubbed Misaki's shoulders and said, "W-well, we don't know if we'll be approved yet. I don't want to have to tell everyone that the engagement fell through."

Miss Smith smiled wider, her eyes gleaming through her sunglasses. "Oh, don't worry about that. Back at HQ, I already saw that you've been approved. It can just take some time for everything to trickle through the bureaucracy."

She adjusted the strap of her large duffel bag, cleared her throat, and said, "In any case, I've gotta make my train to Tokyo. My team's been holding down the fort without me, and I'm not eager to find out what insanity went down in my absence." She casually waved at Yuisu, Yamato, and Misaki and said, "Goodbye! I'll be sure to recommend this place to the girls. I think they'd all love it."

Yuisu got ready to wrap up the last bit of the tour, but she turned to find Misaki and Yamato deep in a romantic embrace, celebrating their government-approved engagement. Misaki had jumped up, wrapped her wings around his neck and her legs around his back, and they were kissing deeply. Yuisu waited patiently, blushing and smiling, until they were done.

When they finally split and Yamato carefully lowered Misaki to the ground, the little harpy turned and looked up at Yuisu. "So, when are you and Haru gonna get engaged?"

Yuisu's already high level of embarrassment skyrocketed. "Uh, we… I uh… don't know," she stuttered.

Yamato, still grinning like a fool, stepped up next to Yuisu and patted her gently on the back. "It's alright, Yuisu. Don't feel rushed or anything. Things like that, you need to do it when it feels right."

Misaki excitedly bounced up and down on her good leg, "Yep, like when Yamato proposed to me, right after some really hard sex. I could barely wal—"

Yamato darted over and clamped his hands over Misaki's mouth, but it was too late. Even Yuisu was surprised by that unnecessary bit of information, and she didn't want to think about Misaki and Yamato in that way. She looked down at her feet while Yamato flushed even redder.

After an awkward silent moment, Yuisu awkwardly said, "Well, I think that's the whole tour. Thanks for the visit, guys!"

As the sun set on the Mountain Lily Inn, Chione started to stir. She'd been asleep for nearly fifteen hours, though the first few hours were far from restful. As she woke, the groggy gargoyle tried to reconstruct her memories of the night before.

I remember hanging out with Actia, and we met Miti in the hot spring. Chione couldn't help but smile as she recalled the friendly, bubbly yeti. Then she sat up in bed, yawned, and stretched out her vibrant wings. Her loose t-shirt was all askew, so she adjusted it as she thought, And then Actia had work to do and went home, so I took a nap. I guess I slept away the rest of the night for some reas—

"Oh," she said aloud, her eyes going wide with disbelief. It all came back to her. She'd dreamt of wandering through a big empty building, admiring the traditional Japanese architecture, then she'd heard a sound in the distance. Multiple sounds, slick and wet and erotic. And voices too: flirtatious, unrestrained, passionate.

In the dream, she'd followed the noises to a door and opened it. What she saw there had nearly overwhelmed her: all of her housemates were there, and they were all naked and engaged in sexual actions. She couldn't even process it all, it was so foreign to her. Nothing like that could ever happen in real life, right? So this must be a dream, she'd thought. Then it was like someone else took control of her legs and she stepped into the room…

Chione didn't remember much about what came after that, but the bits and pieces she could recall were more than lewd enough to make her face flush hot. She grabbed her pillow and pressed her face into it, alarmed by the unusually erotic dream.

"Why would I dream something like that?" she muttered into the pillowcase. My mind isn't normally that dirty, and I don't think of my housemates like that…

A new thought occurred to her then. But I do like Actia in that way, so why wasn't she in the dream?! And why did I enjoy it so much… without her?

Chione's mind was a jumbled mess. Sexual images, guilt, and even a sense of satisfaction were battling for superiority and it was really stressing her out. Moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes and she slumped back down onto her bed face-first.

Am I a bad person? Chione thought as she quietly wept.

KNOCK, KNOCK!

"Chione, are you awake?" It was Lethe's sultry-sweet voice. "I need to apologize to you."

Chione heard, but didn't react. Why would she need to apologize to me? I'm the awful one here.

Lethe tried again. "Chione? I messed with your dreams last night, and I'm sorry."

She what?! That got Chione moving. She leapt from the bed, darted across the room, and threw the door open. "You did that?" the young gargoyle nearly yelled. Her eyes were wide and red from crying. "It wasn't my fault that I did those things?"

Lethe jumped back a step in surprise. She wasn't expecting such a strong reaction. She took a breath, stepped close again and put a hand on Chione's shoulder. "It was my fault. I caused that dream, and I am sorry for all the trouble.

Two sensations hit Chione then, all at once. She was relieved that it wasn't her fault, and she was embarrassed for standing in the doorway in nothing but a t-shirt and panties.

She blushed a rosy pink and bowed her head slightly. "Apology accepted," Chione said, then she tugged her shirt down to cover her cute pink panties.

Just then, a different flash of pink skittered down the hallway and slid to a stop next to Lethe and Chione. Mara said, "Good, you're awake, Chione! It's time for our weekly ComicMon meeting!"

She peered up at the two taller winged and horned girls, but she didn't notice the tense mood at all. She turned to Lethe and cheered, "Ooh, perfect timing, Lethe! You can help us with the legal side of our convention preparations."

Lethe raised one thin eyebrow. "Convention preparations? What do you mean?"

Mara danced side to side on her eight legs. "Oh, it'll be awesome!" she started as she pushed Lethe into the room. "We've got plans for all kinds of stuff!"

Lethe and Chione sat down on the edge of Chione's bed, but Mara was too hyper to stand still. She quickly explained their ambitious plan to make a liminals-in-pop-culture convention, but Lethe's expression grew more and more serious.

"So, like, when is it?" she asked.

"About three months?" Mara said flatly.

Lethe entered lawyer mode and sternly said, "I'm surprised you haven't brought on legal counsel sooner. There's a lot to do in this time if you actually want this to succeed. Are you girls serious about this?"

Chione and Mara nodded intently. "Of course!" Chione said.

"Alright then… I guess my workload back home is pretty light, so I can help you with the legal side and insurance and permits and stuff." She looked at the two girls. "Have you even picked a venue or date yet?"

"Nope."

With a sigh, Lethe said, "Okay, I've got a contact that can probably help with this. You're lucky I've been to so many conventions and trade shows over the decades. I know a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff." A devilish smile crept onto her face and she added, "Not to mention all my connections."

Yuisu had just returned from cleaning the cabin Miss Smith had vacated when the business phone started to ring. She sprinted to the front hallway and grabbed it.

"Hello! Welcome to the Mountain Lily Inn. This is Yuisu speaking. How may I help you?"

A gruff, restrained, female voice said, "Oh, hey there Yuisu. Congrats on the inn. Do ya happen to have any vacancies right now?"

Yuisu wracked her brain, trying to recognize the woman's voice. It was familiar, but something was different about it. Finally, she realized who it was, despite the lack of her normal energy.

"Froze? Is that you?"

"Yah, it's me. Got any vacancies?"

Yuisu smiled. "Thinking of visiting Japan again? What dates?"

"As soon as possible. Not sure how long. Sorry about the short notice."

Between the absence of Froze's normal enthusiasm and the strange urgency in the fenrir's voice, Yuisu was a little worried about her. "Don't worry about it, Froze. I have a room open tonight, and I can hold it until you get here."

"Thanks, Yuisu. I'll catch the next flight. Bye."

CLICK. Froze hung up before Yuisu could say a goodbye of her own.

Yuisu found herself worrying. I hope Froze is doing okay. She sounded really… off.

Barely 24 hours later, Yuisu was looking at Froze in person and her worries were confirmed. The Canadian fenrir wasn't her typical abrasive and hyperactive self at all. Yuisu, flashlight in hand, started to walk Froze to her cabin, but she might as well have been escorting a robot.

"Hey, Yuisu. It's nice to see you again," Froze said with barely any emotion. She had a black hood pulled up around her face, hiding her expression. The hood had adorable ear-shapes on top, like pockets for her actual ears, and she was wearing a sexy short plaid skirt with long black leggings, but Yuisu was far more concerned with Froze's attitude than her cute outfit.

"It's nice to see you too, Froze! Are you feeling alright? You seem… down."

"I'm fine. Just felt like traveling."

"I understand. My success relies on people getting that itch to travel, after all." Then Yuisu swallowed and carefully asked the question that had been on her mind since the phone call, "So, where's Kehp?" She couldn't forget the image of Froze sweeping Kehp into a deep romantic kiss as they were leaving the house months ago. They clearly cared deeply for each other, and complemented each other well.

Instantly, Froze's fluffy blue and white tail bristled and stuck straight out. She lowered her head and her ears folded back. There was a deep growl under her voice as she said, "I don't want to talk about that."

Yuisu jumped back nearly three feet, surprised at the sudden hostility. "Oh, sorry I asked. I'll let you get settled into your room." After a second of deliberation, she added, "Feel free to use the hot spring too." It looks like you could really do with some relaxation.

Later that night, after midnight, after even Mara and Haru had fallen asleep, a deep howling sound echoed across the mountainside and carried down into the valley below.

OWWW-OOOOooooooOOO!

Throughout the house and all six cabins, people jolted awake. Even Chione, who was already awake watching late-night TV, was startled to attention. She muted the TV and looked around sheepishly. Nothing got the primal part of the brain into fight-or-flight mode quite like the sound of howling wolves.

OWWW-ooooooOOOOoooo!

The mournful howl came again, just as loud as before and just as hauntingly beautiful. The women in the main house started to gather in the living room and soon Chione was surrounded by five sleepy and worried faces.

Tsuen was the most nervous by far. Her magenta hair was a frazzled mess and her cyan eyes were wide. "Is that a wolf? Are there wolves in these mountains?! Have I been taking my life in my hands every time I went for a run alone?!"

Miti, wearing pastel-blue pajamas and standing even taller than Tsuen, patted her on the shoulder. "No, darlin', the Japanese wolf has been extinct for over a hundred years."

After a third howl rang through the house, Yuisu slapped a hand to her forehead. "I know exactly who it is. I wanted her to be able to introduce herself in the morning, but…" She smiled awkwardly at the room full of liminal women. "Froze is visiting again."

Haru smiled wide, already looking forward to spending time with another predator and a kindred spirit. "Well, we're all awake now. Let's all go say hi!"

Identifying the source of the mysterious howling was enough to diffuse the tense atmosphere. Mara bounced on the couch excitedly and even Tsuen's worried frown faded.

Yuisu held up a palm. "Not so fast. I don't think she's feeling well. I don't want to bombard her with greetings just yet." She gestured for Haru to come forward. "Haru, can you come with me? She knows you best." Yuisu swallowed hard and didn't voice the other reason she wanted Haru with her, And you're strong enough to protect me, if something goes wrong…

Wearing winter coats over their pajamas, Haru and Yuisu stepped out the back door. Yuisu started toward Froze's cabin, but Haru blocked her way with a wing.

"No. She's over here." Haru's excellent hearing told her that the howling was coming from the hot spring area. Her talons clicked softly against the wooden walkway as she cautiously lead the way to the spring. All the lights around the hot spring were off, but the full moon overhead illuminated the path in its pale blue light.

With one wing, Haru pulled open the outer gate and stepped into the changing room. There were no clothes or belongings in the cubbies, so Yuisu started to doubt if Froze was actually there.

Her doubts were erased when Haru opened the inner gate and the women cautiously stepped inside. There was a wolf-girl standing in the pool, naked and steaming in the cold night air. She was staring at the moon, with her ears perked and her long blue hair streaming down her back.

Yuisu stepped forward, her brow furrowed in concern. She tried to force thoughts of horror movies and feral werewolves from her head. "Froze? Are you alright?"

Froze finally noticed them and turned their way. Her eyes were sad and exhausted, and fresh tears ran from the corners, glistening in the moonlight.

Her normally rough voice was soft and somber. "Yuisu. Haru. I'm sorry you had to see me like this." Her tail and ears went limp and she looked at the girls with needy eyes. "No, I guess I'm not alright after all."