Volume 17 - Like Family, Chapter 130 - Level Up

Mara, Rem, and Tsuen had decided to start their relationship out slow, like a dating period. They did things together like watch movies and soak in the hot spring, but when it was time for bed, Rem still slept in her own bedroom inside her tiny mansion.

Rem also spent some time alone with Mara or Tsuen when the other was occupied, but those meetings tended to be more friendly than romantic. She was cautious and wary of taking things too far too soon.

One night when Mara was busy with a guild raid in her MMORPG, Tsuen and Rem were in the bathing room together, washing up. Tsuen was sweaty and dusty from her jog home and Rem was dirty from a day of maid work, so they were both more focused on getting clean than on seeing each other naked.

"Ugh, it's always a pain to wash my flanks," Tsuen grumbled, just venting a bit. "This long-handled brush helps a bit, but…"

Rem's white-tipped ears perked up. "Uh, I could help with that." She was done with her own washing anyway.

Tsuen blushed and shook her head. Her wet magenta hair swung with the motion. "I couldn't ask you to do that. The brush would be too unwieldy for you anyway."

Rem smiled and said, "I don't need the brush. I can use my gremlin magic to clean your whole body super fast."

Tsuen looked at Rem with newfound interest. She had been curious about Rem's magic and how it worked. Is it like a magic spell, cast with a special word or phrase? she wondered. Then she said, "O-oh, alright. I'd like that."

Rem hopped down from the stool she'd been perched on, then said, "I need you to stand up so I can reach everything. Then just hold still and close your eyes. I've been told my magic can be nauseating to watch."

"Okay…" Tsuen said, starting to doubt her decision. She'd just volunteered for something that she couldn't even comprehend. She took a deep breath and the doubt faded. If it came down to it, she trusted Rem with her life.

She stood up, planted her four hooves solidly on the tile floor, and closed her eyes. Then she said, "I'm ready."

Tsuen heard the sound of Rem clapping her hands together once, followed by a whoosh of moving air. Then she felt the strangest sensation settle over her body, as if she was wrapped in soft, warm blankets made of soapy foam. It tingled at her bare skin and worked its way into her fur, scrubbing gently.

It rolled over her body from neck to hooves until it had covered every inch of her. It stopped as suddenly as it had started. Then with another clap, a wave of cool water hit her everywhere at once. The flow continued for a few seconds, then trickled to a stop.

"The washing step is complete," Rem said cheerfully. "Sit tight while I dry your fur." Then she clapped her hands again.

Before Tsuen could react, a new feeling engulfed her lower body. Wind whisked around her like she was standing in a wind tunnel, but it didn't push her around at all. Every gust was perfectly contoured to the shape of her body. As her fur rapidly dried, it started to get a bit chilly. Then the magical blow-dry stopped.

"Wow, that was… something," Tsuen said as she opened her eyes. "That must be what a car feels like in a carwash."

Then she looked down and saw the brown fur that covered her hips and legs. It was puffed out, practically standing on end. Tsuen looked like she'd been electrocuted, and her fur actually tingled with static electricity. "Uh, I'm not normally this… fluffy."

Rem looked up at her handywork and couldn't help but giggle. Tsuen's entire body was comically fuzzy. "Ooh, I shoulda predicted this. The same thing always happens to my clothes when I dry them. I think I can fix it. Just close your eyes again."

"Okay," Tsuen said, then she did as she'd been told, wondering how Rem would address the static-y fuzz.

Something soft and firm pressed against her hip, then started moving. As it slid along her fur, she realized it felt like her long-handled brush. Why'd she need to me to close my eyes if she was just going to brush me? Tsuen thought.

Her question was quickly answered when the same sensation suddenly occurred in a ring all the way around her waist. The magical brush then moved downward, spreading out over her legs and hips. Like a wave, it rippled over her entire body, combing through all of her fur in one sweeping motion.

When the movement seemed to have stopped, Tsuen opened her eyes. She twisted her upper body and looked over her lower half, then gasped. Despite only making a single pass, the magical brush had been just as thorough as a half-hour of manual brushing. Actually, it was even better than that. Her fur was practically shimmering in the fluorescent light of the room. It looked positively beautiful.

Tsuen said, "I've never felt so clean in my entire life. And my fur looks amazing."

Panting a bit from the exertion, Rem said, "I'm glad you like it. You do look great."

"Great?" Tsuen couldn't take her eyes off her golden brown fur, the way it shined in the light, the way its smooth contours hinted at the firm musculature beneath. "I feel downright sexy!"

She was so uncontainably happy that she scooped Rem up in both hands and kissed her right on the lips. Due to the size difference, the kiss actually hit most of Rem's face.

Then Tsuen realized they were both still naked. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean for things to get sexual," Tsuen said, blushing red and looking away.

Rem shook her head. "It's fine. It's really nice to see you so happy." Then she smiled and said, "Shall we get dressed now?"

Tsuen set Rem down, then said, "It seems like a shame to cover up my fur when it's so pretty."

Rem peered up at her. "Then don't. Your room's just right across the hall. Mara would definitely appreciate you walking in naked."

Tsuen pawed at the floor with one hoof, feeling bashful. "I think she'd appreciate it if you were naked too. We should go see if Mara's done with her raid…"

Rem liked where this was going. She grinned and said, "Even if she isn't, I think she'll cancel on her guild for us."

In a hurry, Tsuen and Rem slipped out of the bathing room into the laundry room. Tsuen gathered up all their clothes and Rem peeked out into the hallway. The naked gremlin looked both ways, but saw no one.

"All clear," she said. Then she leapt up on Tsuen's back and jumped again to her shoulder. She sat down, parking her perky little butt on Tsuen's bare shoulder.

Tsuen started toward the door, surprised at her own brazenness, but then she froze. She had an even better idea. "W-would you like to sit on my chest? It could be fun…" As she said it, Tsuen propped one arm under her C-cup breasts and pushed them up a bit.

Rem grinned and nodded, then hopped down onto the makeshift platform. She sat down and nestled her butt into Tsuen's yielding cleavage. Her legs dangled below Tsuen's breasts and her head was just under Tsuen's chin. Then Rem said, "Mara's gonna flip when she sees us!"

Then Tsuen darted through the hallway and immediately into the doorway across the hall. She closed the door behind her, tossed their clothes to the floor, then cleared her throat.

Mara was sitting at her computer desk with a headset on and her eyes on the screen. She turned away from her monitor and saw Rem sitting naked on Tsuen's bare chest. Her six eyes went wide.

Mara spoke into her mic, "Sorry guys, I have to bail on the raid." With a huge grin on her face, she added. "Something sexy just came up."

Then she alt-F4'd out of the game and quit out of her voice chat program too. If she had stuck around a few seconds longer, she would have heard a bit of chatter from her guildies, like "Mariados has a boyfriend? Bummer," and "Nah, she's into girls. You didn't know that?"

And if Mara had left her voice chat and microphone running, her guildies would have heard the fumbling, awkward, eager, and passionate sounds of a certain liminal trio's first time together.

From outside the bedroom door, Haru heard exactly that. She had an important question to ask Mara, related to making things up to Yuisu, but it would have to wait until later.

Despite Mara, Rem, and Tsuen's prior decision to take things slow, their new relationship was going so smoothly and felt so wonderfully fun that they really kicked things into gear. The next few days were a blur of romantic dates, casual time together, and of course intimate bedroom fun. They were a trio rather than a couple, but they were no different than other young lovers: excited and eager and wanting to spend every free moment together.

A very special date rapidly approached: September 30th, Pwess's first birthday. It arrived on a Saturday and the weather was beautiful, so Quess and Iormu threw a party at a park in Okayado. All the women of the Mountain Lily Inn were invited and most of them accepted.

Yuisu drove her truck with Mara, Tsuen, Haru, and Hakuto down to the same park they had visited a couple weeks earlier. Unlike last time, there were a variety of visitors around. But Pwess's party was easily found by following the sound of six boisterous liminal children.

All of Pwess's kindergarten classmates had been dropped off by their parents and they were all very hyperactive after eating birthday cupcakes. They ran and yelled and played on the playground equipment like regular children. Kids were kids, liminal or not.

These kids were all around five and a half years old, except Pwess. At just one year old, the young queen pink slime already had the maturity of perhaps six and a half years. But despite the growing gap between her and her classmates, she was able to just have fun with her friends for the day.

The women from the Mountain Lilly Inn approached the party with a wave. The children were too busy playing to notice, but Pwess's moms did.

Quess darted forward. "Oh, you made it! Wonderful!" Her strands of slime 'hair' were pulled back in a loose ponytail that made her look simultaneously motherly and strangely attractive. It's true purpose was just to keep her tendrils out of the way when wrangling small children.

Yuisu nodded, then brought her hands out from behind her back. She was holding a small package wrapped in bright pink paper. "And we brought presents. Where should we put them?"

"Over on that picnic table, next to the cupcakes. And feel free to take some. They're from the Muse's Grace bakery, and the sakura-vanilla buttercream frosting is delicious."

The children finally started to notice the new arrivals and Pwess came running, her pink princess-style dress jiggling with her movement. It was fancier than what she usually wore, but it seemed very fitting for her first ever birthday party. A little alraune chased along after, moving a bit slower on her root-like tendrils.

"Aunties!" Pwess cheered. Then she noticed Hakuto standing at the back of the group, feeling a bit out of place. "And Auntie Hakuto too! This is the best birthday ever!"

While Haru mumbled something about a sample size of one, Mara handed her umbrella to Tsuen and pounced forward to give Pwess a hug.

Mara said, "Wow, you're getting big. I won't be able to call you a slimelet for much longer." The little slime had grown since their last visit and would be taller than Mara in another year or so. As she stepped back from the hug, she said, "Happy birthday, Pwess, and congrats on the level up!"

Pwess had been around Mara and her video games just enough to have an idea of what Mara meant, so she smiled and said, "Thanks!"

"Um, hello," came a small voice from behind Pwess. It was Cissu, who had green skin and bright pink hair that would have made her hard to miss if not for the way she often stood inhumanly still.

"And who is this?" Mara asked even though she already knew the answer. Pwess loved to tell her Aunties about her classmates. And Mara had seen Cissu before at Quess and Iormu's wedding.

"She's Cissu, and she's my first-best friend." She leaned forward and whispered, "The other kids in class are all competing for second-best friend."

Then Pwess turned to Cissu and said, "Cissu, meet my Auntie Mara. She's small, but she's a real adult."

Cissu blushed at being called Pwess's first-best friend, but she moved forward to shake hands with Mara. Mara ignored her offered hand and pulled the adorable little plantgirl into a hug. "It's nice to meet you, Cissu."

After that, Cissu got to meet Yuisu, Tsuen, Haru, and Hakuto. While she had their attention, she gushed about her own Aunties: the women of the special ops M.O.N. squad. She mentioned an ogre, a cyclops, a zombie, a doppler radar, and Miss Smith.

Yuisu had actually met Miss Smith, but it took her quite a while to realize that Cissu had meant 'doppelganger' when she'd said 'doppler radar'.

While that was going on, the lizardboy Taky and the kobold Karli were playing with a soccer ball. On the playground nearby, the catboy Sam and the pre-metamorphosis papillon Mona played pretend. They seemed to be playing house, but they both wanted to be the mom.

That all came to a stop when Cissu was chased right through the playground by two rabbits, one pink and one white.

"Help, help! The rabbits want to eat my leaves!" she shouted with a wide smile on her face.

Taky stopped the soccer ball with one wide and scaled foot. He held his arms wide and proclaimed, "Not if I can help it! Get behind me and I'll stop them with my lizard-goalie powers!"

Karli stood at Taky's side with an intense expression on her puppy-like face. "I'll help too. We can call this game 'Protect the Plant'!"

Mona was too slow-moving for athletic games, but she was happy to watch from the sidelines, especially if she had company. Sam must have known that. Instead of running and playing with the others, he crossed his legs and sat by Mona's side.

While the kids and Hakuto played, the other women caught up with Quess and Iormu. The flower shop was doing well and Iormu was loving her teaching job.

"The kindergarteners have been great lately. They're getting along with the human children much better now, so I've got no worries about them joining the human class in April," Iormu said. Her upper body was propped up on the picnic table but her tail trailed off into the open field to get maximum sun. And like Quess's hair, Iormu's long purple locks were held back in a low-maintenance braid.

"How about your high schoolers?" Yuisu asked. She knew firsthand that teenagers could be pretty awful. She'd been a bit of a punk herself during her own senior year, mostly to drive her mother crazy.

Iormu shrugged. "Not bad. We just started a new semester, so most of the troublemakers either developed an interest or dropped the class. It sounds like I'll be teaching a second class during the final trimester, focusing on liminal integration, so that should be fun."

Yuisu and Haru nodded along, but Mara and Tsuen were in a different conversation with Quess.

"So, what changed with you two?" Quess asked with a knowing smile.

Tsuen blinked and said, "What do you mean?"

"Something just feels a bit different about you girls. I can't place it, but you've got a lovey-dovey smell on you, and you're both smiling too much."

Mara and Tsuen glanced at each other, then back at Quess. Finally Tsuen said, "We're trying something new with our relationship. It isn't public yet."

Quess hummed in thought while she decided whether to pry. It made a beautiful echoey sound, like the chime of a bell. Then she said, "Whatever it is, it's clearly making you happy, so keep it up." She smiled wide and added, "And let me know if you ever want some pheromone flowers to spice things up."

Surprisingly, Mara shook her head. "I think things are plenty interesting right now without them."

Back at the inn, Chione was sleeping like a rock. She'd had a busy Friday night at the nightclub and was far too exhausted to even consider attending a noisy birthday party in bright daylight.

Aluru spent the day lazing about in the sun and in the clothing-optional hot spring. Even if she was allowed to be nude in the public spring, she didn't want to deal with families and men that used it. As for the birthday party, Aluru had made up an excuse for not going to avoid mentioning her real reason: she wanted to keep her distance from Quess and her family.

Maybe a time would come when Aluru would offer the metaphorical olive branch, but she wasn't ready just yet. She was worried that any interaction with Quess could turn sour, and a child's birthday party was no time to air dirty laundry.

Meanwhile, Rem and Sya had their hands full with inn guests, day visitors, and cleaning duties. Rem had briefly considered trying to go to the party by working something out with Sya to cover her responsibilities. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with Mara and Tsuen, to the point that she was constantly tempted to swing by their room when she was supposed to be working.

But then Rem remembered Tsuen's comment about liking how responsible and reliable Rem was. With that extra motivation to do a good job, Rem set to her work with doubled enthusiasm.

As the two maids took a quick lunch break, Sya asked, "You seem particularly determined today. What's up?" Just a few months in the exchange program and working at the Mountain Lily Inn had already helped Sya be more casual and laid-back when the situation called for it.

While she waited from Rem to respond, Sya took a huge bite of a haunch of boar. Now that Hakuto and Haru were friends, big game animals were plentiful around the inn and Haru had hunted more than she could eat on her own. As a predator liminal, Sya was happy for the delicious bonus.

Rem was mid-nibble on a comically large gummy worm. She'd been consuming more candy lately to power her gremlin-magic baths for Tsuen, and her nighttime fun with her girlfriends.

After she swallowed a sugary mouthful, she answered, "We've been private about it, but it isn't really a secret: I'm dating Mara and Tsuen. And I'm so determined because Tsuen said she likes how reliable I am. I want to live up to that."

Sya had barely heard the end of Rem's statement because she was still stuck on the first part. "Wait. What do you mean you're dating two people? And weren't they together? Did they break up?"

Rem quickly waved her hands to cut off the rapidfire questions. "They're still together, and now we're all together. It's a polyamorous relationship."

Sya just blinked her big blue eyes and flicked her tail in thought. She was still inexperienced with regular love, so a polyamorous relationship was just too wild for her. After a moment, she said, "And that's working out for you three?"

"Yep! Before we started, we had a long conversation about what we all wanted out of it, and it's been great so far."

Sya looked away, focusing on her plate of food. Then she said, "I don't think that kind of thing is for everyone." Sya still believed in stereotypical romance, and she secretly hoped to meet a regal prince someday. She just hoped that happened naturally before her parents pushed her into an arranged marriage.

Rem nodded. "Maybe not. You have to be good at sharing, and you have to have a lot of love to give." She smiled wide, her eyes sparkling with hope. "I guess I have a big heart, and Mara and Tsuen do too. They were there for me when I really needed it. And now we're all there for each other, like a family."

Sya chewed her boar daintily, lost in thought about what Rem had said. 'Like a family'? My family isn't like that at all. My parents' idea of support is throwing their money and connections at me until I succeed. But I'm doing alright, so maybe their approach works too. Even after she returned to work, Sya's mind kept drifting back to what it meant to be a family.