Sophia and Maya talked about all the stuff the two got while shopping in the tiger's old world and how they looked forward to watching a movie with everyone once they set everything up. Afterward, the sisters also got some alone time, and Sophia used the chance to ask her little sister how she liked the new place so far. Needless to say, she was a big fan.

While the sisters were talking with each other in the living room, Maya and Chloe went to the kitchen to prepare a few drinks for everyone. As a matter of course, the two had ended up getting lost in a chat of their own.

“Sorry that we disappeared so out of nowhere yesterday, by the way…” The cat-girl felt like apologizing for that again.

“That sure spooked me! Even more so because it meant you met Canir?! That’s unbelievable!”

“Lots of unbelievable things happened today… I ended up in a different world!” Maya was as shocked.

“Welcome to the club…?”

"A-Ah.” She noticed that she was far from alone with that experience in the group.

“No, that has to be surprising. Also, from what Steph said, it seems like earth has gotten even crazier. Compared to this world, everything there is quite overblown."

“Yeah, it was complete sensory overload." The cat-girl looked a little tired. “The sisters take the cake for having gone through the most, though… Sophia was a complete wreck when we ended up in her world, and even more so when she got the message from her sister. I was trying to talk her into meeting her, the only thing she was doing was hurting herself, after all, but she’s a blockhead… When Steph then finally did find her, she wasn’t any different. She looked so desperate… Those two cried for like half an hour when they were reunited… That insane little sister even decided to immediately follow us to this world because she didn’t want to lose Sophia again.”

“That is some dedication. She's amazing. They really missed each other a lot, huh?"

“That’s putting it rather lightly.” Maya nodded a few times. “Well, Steph seems to love exploring and adventures, so I’m sure she’ll have a lot of fun once we’re back on the go again. Even now, exploring the capital will be an event on its own.”

“That’s true! When it comes to that, this world is much more interesting than the one we came from! It’s also great that we now have another one that loves to go on adventures in the group! I already look forward to going on an adventure with her! And everyone else!”

“That’s not the only great thing about Steph, isn’t it?”

“Eh?” Chloe tilted her head.

“You two were getting along amazingly!” The cat-girl smiled at her. “The start was a little rough, but that’s just because Steph has the personality of an easily excitable puppy, and she had no idea what was going on.”

“T-That’s a very fitting description of her… I also felt reminded of a happy dog, so it was hard to be angry at her…”

“Not that you are much different… or Sophia, for that matter. Still, she takes to crown.”

“Ahaha…”

“Even so, you two got along extraordinarily well~.”

“I guess so? She seems like a fun girl! I enjoyed the time we spent together earlier a lot.”

“That definitely showed. For both of you. Steph seemed to be having as much of a good time as you did.”

“Ehehe~.”

“Still, are you alright with your tail being all over her…? I mean, it seems like Steph likes to cuddle, and I guess you are very cuddly, which she liked, but your tail also was in her face more than once…”

"A-Ah…” Chloe looked a little awkward in return. “Well, we did end up rather close when looking at her phone and ended up staying like that…? My tail also has a mind of its own… Not to mention that I often don’t even notice where it ends up in because I don't feel that much through the fluff…"

“Steph ended up, more or less, using it as a pillow at some point, though."

“…” With the slightest blush, the fox-girl just turned her head away.

“Well, I bet you just want to make Steph feel more welcome, right? Your tail has a very calming effect, after all~.” Maya smiled at her before grabbing the tray with the drinks she had poured while chatting with Chloe. “Let’s head back.”

“S-Sure!”

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

"Ahh, looks like she finally ran out of energy, huh?" Back in the living room, Maya saw that her tiger had fallen asleep.

“Ahaha…” Steph let out a dry laugh while she was glancing at Sophia next to her, who also was resting her head on the shorter blonde’s shoulder. Not only that, but she had also wrapped her tail around her sister's waist at some point. "Sleep always has been quite important for her, after all."

“True.” The cat-girl nodded a few times while sitting down on the empty sofa across them while Chloe did the same next to her. “Then again, to be fair, Sophia and I have been awake for almost two days now. We ended up in your world in the evening here, spent a whole day there, and now had been chatting for hours here… Not to mention that lots of exhausting things happened."

“Wow, she held out that long?!”

“It’s probably the first time she was able to calm down since.”

“Fair point.” Steph nodded a few times. “Do I have to know anything about this…?" She petted Sophia's tail, which had been tightly wrapped around her waist, while the tip of her tail was twitching with every touch of her little sister.

“It’s a sign of affection.” Maya smiled at her. “She does that with me all the time, too. Almost every night when we sleep, actually. “It’s exclusively a thing between lovers and family, I want to add.”

“Really?” She seemed pretty happy about that.

“It’s normally not so tightly wrapped around you, though. She probably also, unconsciously, wants to make sure that you don’t suddenly disappear or leave her.”

“Aww.” Steph liked that explanation a lot and started petting Sophia’s tail even more.

“Mmrrmmm~.”

“D-Did she just purr?!” Her eyes grew wide. “Well, something like a purr at least, just a bit phonier…?”

“She does that from time to time, yeah. She is part feline, after all. Big cats normally roar, but thanks to her human side, it becomes more of a purr again."

“T-That’s soo adorable!”

“Take it easy, though… She might wake up if you continue. Well, not that it's something that usually happens... Her waking up, that is.”

“R-Right…” The little sister stopped petting her tail and placed her hands flat on it.

“…” A short while later, Sophia also went silent again and nuzzled her head closer against Steph’s shoulder.

"It's okay that she does that, right…?" With a slightly complicated expression, the shorter blonde glanced at Maya.

“Well, I am a little envious, because cuddling with her is great, but the two of you have a lot to catch up on.”

“Thank you…” She seemed grateful for it and then glanced at the tail once more. "I have no plans to leave her, though."

“Well, you made that pretty clear already, but she still wants to make sure. Also, Sophia was the one who wanted to be hard as she didn’t want to be responsible for taking you out of your world, your home, just like what happened to her. Her subconscious knows better, though. No one wants you here more than her, after all." Maya tried to explain the situation. "Not to mention how quickly you made your decision. She might fear that you will change your mind again. Please don't, by the way."

“I have no plans to do so!” Steph sounded as determined as one could be. “I was serious when I mentioned being tired of the city I live in. Before I got Sophia's letter, I was actually getting ready to travel the world… Last year, Sophia and I talked about going on a long vacation together. We had decided on a few countries and cities we wanted to visit… I had planned to go to all of them… Who knows, maybe she ended up there somehow… I know it's stupid, but I was desperate. Now, I actually do get to travel, and it even is with my sister! Being in a completely unknown place only makes it more exciting!”

“You’re going to like it a lot here!” Chloe smiled at her. “We’ll be having so much fun!”

“Ehehe.”

“Just be sure that you know what you’re doing, okay?” Maya looked slightly more serious. “I wanted to have you here the moment we arrived in your world, but more than that, I don’t want Sophia to get hurt. I can only imagine how much you went through with her disappearance. It probably was worse, but I saw Sophia suffering, so this doesn't have to happen again.”

“It won’t.” Steph looked right back into her eyes. “I promise.”

“Good.” She was happy with that strong reply.

“Gosh, how did my sister manage to get such a capable girlfriend? I mean, my sister is the best, but she used to be so… so…”

“She’s come a long way.” Maya started smiling. “Canir did an amazing thing with all the boosts he gave her, okay, many of them, at least. Some were kinda bad… Fen helped her a lot, and I will shamelessly give myself a lot of credit, as well~. All her other friends also positively shaped her.”

“I want to meet all of them and thank every single one of them personally!”

“I’m fairly sure you will see Canir sooner rather than later. You being here probably created some kind of mess he has to say a thing or two about. Don't worry, though. He wouldn't dare make you go back." Maya knew how Sophia would react to that, after all.

“G-Good…”

“Our other friends are also regularly coming over, so you'll be meeting them before long. But, you first have to have magic and a disguise… You looking like a human and having no magic is just too suspicious. It would be impossible for you to be Sophia’s sister. Sophia loves being a tiger, and how her life is right now, so you can’t do anything that would contradict or destroy that! Also, don’t ever do or say anything that would make clear you’re not from this world! Unless everyone around knows about it! We'll probably go over some rules for you once everything is settled, but this is most important!”

“O-Okay!” The little sister nodded a few times. “I wouldn’t want to ruin her life or the place in this world, either!”

“Good.”

“Though… do I have to be a tiger in order to qualify as her sister…? I mean, she looks adorable, and it fits her soo much, but I don’t think it’s my style… She has always been like half a cat, but I don't have much of a feline side.”

“Not really, no.” The cat-girl shook her head. “It should be good enough as long as you look like a member of the beastfolk in general. It is said that as soon as a tiger is involved, their children automatically become tigers, as well. Still, there are always exceptions to these kinds of things. Especially when it involves Sophia."

“Perfect!” Steph’s face lit up. “I definitely want to get some fluffy extras, but I wasn’t thinking about stripes!”

“Do you already have an idea?” Chloe got interested. “What is it going to be?”

“Nu-uh~.” She shook her head while smiling at the fox-girl. “It’s going to be a surprise!”

“Really?”

“I think my idea is really cute, so please look forward to it!”

“Okay!” Chloe also started smiling. “I love how easily you adapt to what is happening!”

“It’s one of my specialties!” Steph gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll only say that I’ll include short hair into my changed looks!”

"Ohh!" The fox-girl seemed to like the sound of that.

“You two really get along like a house on fire…”

“Ehehe~.”

While Sophia continued to nap peacefully and leaned against Steph’s shoulder as she hugged her sister with her tail, the trio chatted together for a good while longer.