42 - Saying Hi
Ari lay snuggled in between two warm bodies, wondering how in the world she'd ever gotten so lucky.
"That was great," Ari murmured into Renna's shoulder. It had taken a while for the two of them to recover their senses, but they weren't in any rush. They had laid nestled into each other, enjoying one another's warmth.
Renna squeezed Ari by the shoulder, tugging her in an inch closer. "You really … know how to handle yourself." Through the exhaustion, Renna sounded vaguely amazed, which had Ari glowing with pride. Sure, she had her skills helping her along, which was cheating in some vague sense of the word … but one's skills were part of who they were. Ari had taken care of Renna and her two friends until their minds had turned to mush, and that was her accomplishment to take pride in.
Basking in the afterglow, though, Ari was left with the usual decision:
Did she add Renna? Her two friends? Obviously all three were impossible; she had two slots left.
If Ari were being honest, it was Renna, or no one. For some superficial reasons, admittedly … Renna's eleven-inch cock was the biggest equipment Ari had found, bigger even than Silvana. But less shallow motivations too; Renna's confident-but-friendly demeanor was enjoyable to be around, from what she'd seen of her. Plus, the wolf-ears and wolf-tail was seriously cute.
Ari reached out, unable to help herself, and rubbed the fluffy protrusion that sprouted from rough gray hair. Renna's ears flattened down from surprise, briefly, before Renna nuzzled in closer to Ari and let herself be played with.
So cute.
She stroked and ran her hands through Renna's hair, toying with her ears.
Ari might as well accept she was a bad adventurer.
"Do you want to join me?" she asked.
She'd have one slot left over, anyway. And yeah, one wasn't a lot—but Ari was banking on the fact her Menagerie limit would expand, and hopefully soon.
She couldn't stop herself, okay? She knew she needed to be more discretionary with who she let into her Menagerie, but after such a wonderful, thorough fucking, and with Renna pressed in so warm and tight against her, letting Ari pet her, she didn't stand a chance at achieving something like 'rational thought'.
"Join you?"
"Make this transformation permanent. Stay as a … half-human."
Renna's eyes had been closed as she basked in Ari's petting of her soft hair and ears, but she opened them. Deep blue eyes stared quizzically into Ari's own. "What about Kasie and Lily?"
Ari hesitated. She could make something up, she supposed, but that would set a poor precedent. Might as well be honest. "There's a limit to how many I can. So it'd just be you. I understand if that's not something you want."
Renna considered the offer. Lily and Kasie were, of course, snuggled into the group as well—Lily to Ari's other side, and Kasie to Lily's—and so heard what Ari was saying.
Surprisingly, they were supportive of the idea.
"You should you do it, Renna," Lily said. "It sounds like fun."
Renna paused as she thought about it.
"Could I leave?" Renna asked. "Be de-transformed?"
That was a good question. "Honestly … I don't know. Maybe? I haven't tried. Nobody's asked."
"Nobody?"
Ari picked up the question. "There's three others. I think you'll like them."
Renna chewed her lip. Like Claire had been, she was hesitant about leaving her friends behind.
Maybe it was the knowledge that she'd be reverting back to a primitive intelligence if she didn't—and maybe that was why her friends had encouraged it too, despite losing a friend—and while Ari didn't know the exact reasoning she used, Renna finally said:
"Okay. Sure. I'd like that."
And so Ari had her fourth.
###
Ari hadn't ventured too far from the base, so escorting Renna back didn't take long. She used the thirty minutes or so to catch Renna up to speed—and to discover her class, skills, and orient her to some basics of living life as … well, not a monster. Or not entirely one. Ari was used to answering odd questions, and filling in gaps of knowledge, from her previous three Menagerie members, so the conversation went smoothly.
While not a perfect fit into the Menagerie, Renna's class—Wolfpack Raider—was a good balance between attack and defense. She overlapped with Claire and Lori, but not in too bad of a way. The ideal addition her Menagerie—from a composition standpoint—would've been a mage, or a healer. Any kind of caster, really. With only one slot left, Ari ought to set off to adventuring zones more likely to have spell-casting monsters.
They found Silvana down in the burrow, working away. Claire and Lori had left for their own day's adventures, which was a bit disappointing—though of course expected. Ari would have to make sure she was present for Renna's first meeting with Lori and Claire, so she could smooth things over.
Who was she kidding? Just Lori. Claire would get along with everyone. Ari liked Lori, but she could recognize the catgirl was bristly.
"We're back," Ari called out before finishing the trip down the underground stairway, to give Silvana fair warning.
The impacts of pickaxe on stone stilled, though Ari couldn't see it. She finished the last few steps, and the central room opened up.
Silvana stood there, still naked. To Ari's side, Renna paused in surprise. Ari probably should've warned her.
"Oh," Silvana said. "Got our fourth?" She hefted up the pickaxe and rested it on her shoulder. "Hey, there. Silvana."
"Hey," Renna returned hesitantly, clearly avoiding looking at Silvana's body. "Uh, Renna."
"At this rate, I won't be able to keep up excavation," Silvana said, quirking an eyebrow at Ari. "I thought you were holding off on accepting more?"
Ari blushed. "I—I changed my mind."
The quirked eyebrow went a little higher, saying that Silvana knew exactly what might have changed her mind. And to be fair, it wasn't entirely wrong. Renna's body hadn't been a non-factor. Not the whole reason, of course—or even most—but Ari could admit not a zero.
"Anyway," Ari said loudly, Renna giving her an odd look, probably not understanding Silvana's teasing, "we're just stopping by to say hi. Gonna head back out. Do you need anything?"
"Nothing's changed," Silvana said with a shrug. She nodded at Renna. "It's nice to have you on, though." She blinked, as if realizing something—then looked down at herself. "Oh. And, uh. Sorry about all this." She waved at her naked body. "The dust gets everywhere, and clothing's in limited supply."
"Uh." Renna hadn't come off as awkward at any point—the opposite; confident as Lori, in a less harsh way—but Silvana's nonchalant reference to her nakedness had drawn some out. Ari grinned; it was cute. "No problem. And thanks. Happy to be here. Whatever … here is."
"Our base."
"I know. I mean," she waved around at nothing in particular, and Silvana nodded sympathetically.
"The circumstances," she said. "Yeah, it takes some digesting. We're all in the same boat, at least."
"You were … ?"
"Worker ant." Her antennae twitched as if to emphasize the point. "Wolf, I'm guessing?"
"What gave it away?" Renna twitched her ears in return, and gave a lop-sided grin that had one of her canines poking out.
Silvana laughed.
A brief pause, and Ari saw the pleasantries were over. She stepped in. "Okay. Like I said, we just wanted to say hi before heading back out."
"Stay safe," Silvana said, nodding.
Hardly an instant friendship, Ari thought, working back up the stairs, but no friction, either.
That was good. Ari supposed she'd gotten lucky, in a strange sense, that Silvana and Claire's introductions had been with the rest of the Menagerie present, so first-meetings like this hadn't been necessary. Getting hot and heavy was a quick way to brush past awkwardness. Renna hadn't gotten that.
Though maybe I can figure out a way to sneak in some group activities, Ari thought, a grin creeping across her face.
Later. She and Renna had a few more hours of 'hunts' to take care of, then the Menagerie would be reconvening and helping Ari move out from the Guild.
In the morning, though?
A move-in did deserve celebration, didn't it?
Who was Ari kidding? She doubted she'd make it to the morning.
Tonight.