Chapter 39 – Nosy wolf

Sophia had fallen asleep on Maya's lap after a long and exhausting day, mainly caused by the owner of said lap. Once they were on their own, Fen became curious about why the cat-girl was so pushy today and confronted her.

"So, what are you planning, girl?" The wolf repeated himself while looking at Maya, who was still playing around with the sleeping girl's hair.

"Hmm, good question…"

"Don't try to avoid the subject now." He glared at her.

"I-It's nothing bad, okay?" She felt slightly intimidated. "What am I doing? Some kind of brute-force attack, I guess?"

"Brute-force?"

"Shock therapy? No, that doesn't quite fit… Or does it? Trying to overload her in a controlled situation? Ah, that might be a better fit… If she can be controlled, that is." She was trying to find a fitting description.

"You don't know yourself?"

"I know what I want, but… Wait, do I?" She took another peek at Sophia peacefully sleeping in her lap. "Ignoring her anger and whatnot outbreaks, she seems to have a problem interacting with people, does she not? Getting really flustered over nothing. She even told me she hadn't had any friends… Is that really true?"

"Yes." So he had heard from the girl, at least. "Sophia doesn't look like it at first glance, but she used to be a shy and introverted girl. She was more or less always alone before coming here. Stuff happened with that part of her past, and she became somewhat friendly with others or sociable. At least on the surface. Her mind still has its problems with keeping up."

"I see. It actually makes sense in some weird way. Her personality really falls apart the moment I push her just a little tiny bit, after all."

"I think your definition of a little or tiny isn't the same as mine, though."

"Minor details~. Still, I don't really get what exactly is going on, but this girl went through some stuff, huh?" She placed a hand on Sophia's head and gently rubbed it a bit.

"Hrmng…" The petted girl stirred a little but didn't wake up.

"You have no idea."

"I have the urge to help her, and I wanted her to break out of her shell by doing what I did today… Was that maybe a mistake?" Maya looked back at her pushiness.

"Hmm, I think the idea itself is not bad, but you came in way too fast and strong. I'm certain you already helped her a ton. She changed a lot since meeting you two weeks ago. For the better, I want to add."

"Really?"

"Yes, you are good for her, but I don't know what happens if you push her too much in that regard. I would be careful about that." The wolf wasn't sure what Sophia would do if her shyness gets overboosted, or perhaps even some other, more complicated feelings.

"Okay, I'll try to hold myself back a little then." Maya actually looked a bit disappointed.

"That's a wise choice. Still-" Fen stared at her.

"W-What?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why, you ask?" The cat-girl tilted her head. "I like helping people? Aside from maybe Masi. Anyway, uhh, Sophia's really interesting, and I just want to? Ignoring her power that made me want to come with her, something about this girl draws me to her. Now that we've spent some time together, more than ever. I really enjoy being with her, she's a lot of fun. That's why I want to help her out with whatever she's dealing with."

"I see. Though, is trying to help her really all you intend with your approach?"

"What do you… mean?" Maya stuttered over her answer.

"Girl, are you-" The wolf tried to imply something.

"Shh…" Maya put a finger on her lips and stopped him, not wanting to hear whatever he planned to say. "I won't say I never got a little curious or appreciated the looks of someone, but... All I really ever cared for was magic and fighting."

"Very relatable." Fen lived a similar lifestyle.

"I have a lot of friends and care about them. I liked spending time with them, but I can't say I ever wished to be closer with any of them."

"Mh-hmm."

"Sophia's changed… is changing something about me in that regard. I kinda want to stay next to her, but-"

"But?"

"She's the most… interesting person I ever met, after all, but… I have no idea in what way, and what that entails yet, either. Everything is happening so fast lately that I have no time to sit down and think about it. I'm not sure if I even want to... I only know her for not even two weeks now... It makes no sense."

"Does it matter how long you two were together?"

"Yes. No! Maybe? I don't know!" The cat-girl couldn't decide. "Let's not talk about that anymore, okay?"

"Hmm," Fen took a glance at her nervously twitching tail and granted her request. "Whatever you want."

"Thanks… I'm getting tired, anyway. How about we call it a day?" Maya didn't feel like continuing a conversation about something she doesn't understand herself.

"This might be for the best."

"Good- Ah." She looked down at her lap, where Sophia was still sleeping and found herself in a bit of a bind. "I don't want to wake her up, but sleeping without any support is hard, even for me." She stretched out her back to bring the point across. "What should I do now?"

"Ahh, I guess it can't be helped." Fen stood up, walked around the campfire, and laid himself down right behind the cat-girl. "Will that work for you?"

"Sorry, and thanks." Maya let herself fall back a bit and used the side of the wolf's body as a support for her back.

"It's fine."

"I understand why Sophia likes this so much now. You're pretty comfortable, Fen."

"Not happy, not a compliment."

Having finished their talk and found a sleeping position that worked for everyone, they finally ended the day, having a somewhat slow start on the following one.

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"Haaa~. Hrng…" Sophia let out a prolonged yawn and stretched herself a little, but it was of no use. Without even opening her eyes, she nuzzled her head against the pillow again. "Soo comfy!"

"Why, thank you."

"…" Cold sweat immediately appeared on her forehead. Gingerly, she used her hands to pat all over her pillow, and the bad feeling got worse. Giving it a good squeeze, or three, Sophia became aware that it was indeed not a pillow she was resting on but a pair of legs after the fifth squeeze. They felt very pleasant to the touch, that's why she ended it squeezing them two more times on top, but those definitely didn't belong to her. Slowly opening her eyes, they met Mayas, the actual owner of these legs.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." The cat-girl gave her a light greeting.

"M-Moring… So, it wasn't a d-dream, huh?" Sophia still seemed to be rather sleepy.

"Slept well? How was my lap? Comfortable?"

"N-No," She reacted on instinct but then managed to take herself a heart and tried to be a little honest. "Y-Yes, very…" The brute-force method of the cat-girl might be promising.

"Good~." Maya liked the answer. "It's all yours to use." She was in a good mood.

"T-Thanks, I'm good." She was certain it would be bad for her mental health.

"Ehh?!" That answer, she didn't like very much.

"Haaa…" Yawning again, Sophia ignored her complaints and finally found the motivation to leave the cat-girl's lap. She got up before stretching herself some more to fight her fatigue and drowsiness. "Oh, you used Fen to sleep, huh?" She only now noticed the wolf relaxing behind them.

"Good morning." He greeted her. "She didn't want to wake you by moving, so I offered my services instead."

"A-Ah, thanks."

"E-Eh? O-Ouch!" While the two were talking, Maya suddenly yelped out, getting their attention.

"W-What are you… doing?" Sophia saw that the girl had fallen over and dived her nose headfirst deep into the ground.

"Uuuh, I can't feel my legs…" Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes once she dusted off her face before she fruitlessly tried to stand up again.

"Ahh." She felt strangely responsible for the mess, not that it was her fault.

"Help me up!" The cat-girl lifted her arms.

"S-Sure…" Sophia grabbed her hands, gently pulled her up, and waited until she was somewhat able to stand on her own. "Pfft!" She tried her best to hold back her laughter while watching the newborn fawn that was barely able to do so, wobbling all over the place.

"D-Don't laugh!" The cat-girl looked like she was about to fall over again, trying her best not to do so.

"I-I'm trying to, b-but you just look way too funny!" She had a lot of fun with the situation.

"You! Okay, let's change positions tonight and see how you fare tomorrow!"

"Yeah, no, let's not do that." Sophia didn't think she would able to deal with such a high-level task.

"Tch! It was worth a try." Maya was recovering quite fast.

"Sure was." She played along. "So, anyway, what are we doing today? Except that, of course."

"Hmm, you're not in a hurry to reach the capital, right?"

"Not at all. Why are you asking?"

"Is it okay if we stay here for a while? I wanted to train my newly learned water magic and test some things out. I think this place is perfect for that." Maya pointed at the huge lake right next to them.

"Oh, that might not be a bad idea. Maybe I'll do the same because I had some interesting ideas."

"You're staying with me!" She sounded extremely serious all of a sudden. "No solo trips for you anymore! Especially if you mention interesting ideas!"

"F-Fine, let's do it together…" Sophia felt that there was no room for negotiations here. Not that she minds spending time with Maya. Besides the mental strain, that is. "What about you, Fen?"

"I have some things on my own that I want to test. Don't mind about me."

"Alright. Shall we go then, Maya?"

"Yeah, let's." Having decided on their plan for the day, the girls left the camp after getting ready and walked over to the nearby lake to play around with water-based magic.

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"Is there anything specific you want to learn?"

"Hmm," The cat-girl intently stared at the water. "Yeah, something I can use as an attack. I want to get much stronger, after all!"

"Drowning your enemy in a giant ball of water would be quite effective, I assume. Ah, just the head would probably enough, would it not?"

"You're quite… extreme." Maya wasn't the biggest fan of the idea. "I do like your enthusiasm, though."

"Hehe, what about… water blades? Basically, just like the wind ones, but made out of, well, water."

"Oh, that doesn't sound half bad. I'll give it a try!" This seemed like a much more feasible attack to her.

"Okay, then I'll go-" She turned to the side but didn't make it far.

"You'll stay right next to me!" Maya didn't give her a chance to run away and do something outrageous on her own again. "You can do whatever you wanted right here."

"Fine…" She looked a little pouty.

"What were you planning in the first place?"

"No idea." She was being obstinate just because she wanted to.

"Ehh, then don't be like that!" The cat-girl complained about her unreasonableness.

"I always get the best ideas when I'm just playing around without a goal."

"I see. I'm sure you can do that just fine within my reach as well."

"Probably, yeah."

"Good." Having successfully put a restriction on the walking catastrophe called Sophia, Maya started thinking about a way to learn the previously suggested water blades. At the same time, the other girl began to suspiciously eye the lake's water surface, trying to think about something interesting to play with.