Chapter 70 – Unexpected differences

Sophia had successfully hunted a baor using her feline instincts alone, without the help of magic. Once she caught it, the couple brought it over to Fen, and the catch ended up being roasted over their campfire. While they were eating, the girl made yet another discovery.

"I've tried boar, err, baor before, in my previous world, but I wasn't a fan. It tasted too gamey… or strong for my liking. This one, though, was surprisingly delicious! I wonder why? Because I've hunted it myself and am proud of it?"

"This might be it." Maya agreed. "That, or because you've partly become a tiger. One of the most predatory carnivores there is. Like, at all."

"A-Ah."

"That's awesome!" Fen seemed happy for some reason. "Sophia has finally fully awakened to the superiority of meat!" The resident carnivore welcomed his new comrade.

"M-Maya!" She panicked and turned to the cat-girl. "L-Let me try some of the zucchini thingy you roasted over the fire!"

"The zacchini?" She pointed at a long, green vegetable that she had put on a stick to grill it over the flames.

"Those names, seriously... Also, we definitely need some dishware, pans, and the likes." She had gotten sidetracked.

"I would love that, but mind telling me where we should put them?" Maya agreed, especially because she's the main cook of the group, but there was no place to keep them.

"Good point... Anyway, yes! Please let me try the zacchini or whatever, I don't care about the name."

"Sure, help yourself." She handed her the stick with the vegetable.

"P-Please still be tasty!" Slightly shaking, she slowly brought the zacchini to her mouth and hesitatingly took a bite. Chewing on it for a bit, her face eventually brightened up. "Phew... Not my favorite, but it's still good!"

"Aww..." The wolf was disappointed. "So close."

"Hey!"

"Don't worry, Sophia. It's not like you're nothing but a tiger now. Your liking for meat just got enhanced thanks to being partly a tiger now. I like vegetables as well, after all, and actual cats are carnivores, too."

"Y-You're right... I got a little too worried there." The tiger-girl was visibly relieved.

"Then again-" Maya wasn't done yet. "Your instincts are really pronounced. You might've been lucky there."

"They really are, aren't they?"

"A bit, yes. You're still in the progress of getting used to them, but I don't think mine were ever as strong as yours, like during our hunt earlier-"

"You've noticed, huh?" Sophia looked awkward. "After I tripped,"

"In an extremely showy way." She had to add that.

"Y-Yeah," Her cheeks turned red. "After that, my brain kinda took a break, and my body worked on its own while chasing the baor. It felt great, but it was also scary..."

"But it also helped you getting used to your tail, though."

"That's true. I'm able to walk now properly. Even running is not impossible anymore. Still, just why are my new feline instincts so- Oh no!" Sophia suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence while her face turned white.

"W-What's wrong?"

"My-, My boosts... are they affecting those instincts as well?"

"Ah." The other two looked at each other.

"Wait, could that even be? That Canir boosted me only when I came to this world? How would new aspects of me be altered, then? D-Don't tell me that idiot of a god is still messing with me?!"

"Why would he do that?" The cat-girl thought that this would be very unlikely.

"He's a bored idiot that loves to stalk and harass me."

"I-I don't think a god would be such a bad guy."

"He said that he's bored himself. He admitted that he's stalking me. The harassment is obvious in my boosted negative traits and that he's an idiot, well, that's just a fact."

"..." Maya had no response to this.

"Great!" The tiger-girl had a weird follow-up. "I was actually rather thankful for him lately, but now I have another reason to punch him again~."

"What did I tell you about your urge to punch a god?"

"I am most definitely sure I never agreed to stop doing that."

"A-Anyway," As it was Maya's loss, she wanted to change the topic. "It's great that you can walk and run again, huh?"

"Absolutely! Today's hunt was great, and I can't wait for tomorrow! I'm going to run around all day long! Barely being able to move for a day and mostly having stuck to walking for a couple of days was way too much!"

"Even though sleep is so important to you, you really like to move around, huh?" The cat-girl found the contrast rather interesting.

"Yeah, that's a habit from my old world. I did a lot of sports there and always got itchy when I had to stay still for a day."

"You sure get itchy a lot."

"Tell me about it!" She didn't found it funny. "Though, ever since coming to this world, the itch to move my body got way stronger."

"Boosts?"

"Probably. It's great that I can run around for multiple kilometers in the nature each day. Sleeping feels really great after such a day, as well~."

"Ahh." That sounded more like the girl Maya knew.

"I wonder what we run into tomorrow~. I hope something interesting."

"D-Don't jinx it! Your interesting usually ends in a disaster for us."

"Ehehe~."

"A-Alright, let's take a bath first. We skipped it yesterday, and I really want to have one now!"

"And that usually ends in a disaster for me!" Sophia didn't like this turn of events. Or so she said, at least.

"Ehehe~." Their reaction, too, was the same.

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

Even so, because the tiger-girl wanted to take a bath, there wasn't much room for her superficial complaints. After leaving their camp, the couple created their bath a little distance away.

"Hrmmn..." Once she undressed, Sophia was staring at the water with a complicated expression.

"What's wrong?" Maya finished undressing as well and popped up next to her.

"Do I... still like water?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Well," She pointed at her ears while swishing her tail around.

"Ah, I'm good with water as well, so it should be fine."

"T-That's true... B-But if that got boosted as well, then-"

"Actual tigers love water too, right? You should be good either way."

"Yay, tiger!" Sophia was happy about her choice. "Let's go in, then~." Saying so, she entered the water, sat down, and immediately had a relaxed expression. "Such bliss~. Water never felt this great before! A-Ah!"

"Sophia likes water, tigers like water; Tiger-girl Sophia loves water. Sometimes, your boosts are everything but complicated."

"Ahaha..." A dry laugh escaped her lips. "P-Putting that aside, do I need to know anything about my new ears in terms of hygiene? A tail probably doesn't need much more attention than normal hair, right?" Taking a bath right now, she thought it was a good time to ask.

"Yeah, a tail is pretty low-maintenance. Okay, mine needs a little attention because of the color, and it can get a bit itchy if you use the wrong shampoo, but other than that..."

"Snow-white gets dirty easily, huh?"

"Yeah. It's worth it, though. I'm pleased about my color." The cat-girl caressed her tail while saying so.

"Yep, it's beautiful." Sophia was a fan of it the moment she met the girl.

"Thanks. Your blonde's stunning, too. Your new honey even more than the old one. Wait, or is it that the new one which is your old color...?"

"Sorry for being so confusing." The tiger-girl constantly confuses herself with the same kind of topic, as well. "Let's go with my current one."

"Yeah, I love your current color."

"Ehehe~. Wait, where were we again?"

"Huh?" Maya stopped as she, too, had forgotten about the topic after the two got absorbed in their flirting. "Ah, right, ear hygiene!"

"That's it!"

"They actually do need a little care. Want me to clean yours?"

"That's a hard no." She instantly shot her down.

"Ehhh?!" Maya was naturally shocked by such a strong denial. "I'll be gentle, okay?!"

"T-That's part of the problem. I-, I am curious, but you touching my ears... w-with how i-intense that feels... All while I'm in the bath. Sorry, I've passed out enough already!"

"A very, VERY good point. You're seriously bad with that. Though, I enjoy drying and dressing you up afterward. Nursing you on my lap's great, too."

"P-Pervert..."

"Did-, Did I say that out loud...?" Maya's face turned red.

"Y-You sure did." Sophia also got embarrassed.

"A-Anyway, back to our ears."

"Let's do that."

"As I said, they do need some care." The cat-girl pointed at her right ear. "See that fluffy bit?"

"Hmm?" She touched the white ball of fluffy fur inside her own ears. "What's up with that?"

"Dust and other small things like to collect there. Together with some earwax, it can be quite a pain."

"Ehh... but it looks so beautiful and feels nice."

"All nice and beautiful things need to be taken care of."

"That's a fair point." Sophia nodded in understanding.

"That's why-" Maya leaned over to her to whisper something into the tiger's ear. "Let me take care of you~."

"..." She needed a moment. "Maya?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Too much?" She had noticed it herself.

"A-A bit."

"Okay."

"Sooo, I have to carefully clean the fluffy bit?" The tiger-girl brought the topic back on track.

"Yeah, but you really need to pay attention. This soft fur also acts as a barrier against water and the likes for your ear canal. Get water in there while cleaning, and it will stay there for days. Super bad time, I can guarantee you."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Unfortunately... I was half-deaf in one ear for like three days after getting some water inside."

"Yes, that indeed does sound like no fun." She didn't want to go through something like this.

"I wouldn't wish that even my worst enemies."

"You have enemies?!"

"Figure of speech."

"Ahh..."

Afterward, Sophia extremely carefully cleaned the fluffy part of her new animal ears. It took her quite a while, but she successfully managed to keep the water out. Once they were clean, the girls finally got out of the water.

"Being a beast-girl's surprisingly complicated." Sophia hadn't thought their bodies or instincts would be that different from what she was used to.

"Well, it's not like we have a... choice- sorry." She answered without thinking.

"Ahaha. But, in a way, I had no choice, either. At least, staying a tiger-girl, that is."

"Fair point. On an unrelated note," Maya looked at her while she was in the middle of getting dressed. "You sure have developed well."

"E-Eh?!" Sophia instinctively covered her exposed chest with her arms while her face turned red. "T-That's sexual harassment!"

"H-Huh? Ah, no! That's not what I meant!" She quickly tried to correct this misunderstanding. "There's no development!" Only to make it worse. "Did you accidentally make them a little smaller when you turned yourself into the final tiger version?" Way worse.

"Hmm?" Her expression turned a bit scary.

"T-That's wrong! I-I meant your embarrassment and whatnot! Not only were we pleasingly intimate all day, but we're also able to take a bath together without you having a complete meltdown now." She was desperately trying to save herself.

"Ahh, well, It's still embarrassing, but I'm getting used to it. It's at a point where my boosts can take care of it, I guess? Or rather, my improved personality at this point. Most of the time, that is. Also, we're together now, so... I still get shy and self-conscious when I'm naked, and you're looking at me... often, but-"

"Y-You noticed?"

"It's hard not to..."

"Uuh, w-what's the but about?" Maya, too, got embarrassed again.

"W-Well, the feelings I now have, are, uhh, different from before..."

"Oh, how so? What feelings are you having?"

"A-Anyway, let's go back to the camp!" Sophia dropped the topic, finished dressing up, left the bath, and walked away with a red face.

"Ehh?!" The cat-girl ran after her.

The couple bickered, flirted, around the campfire for a while longer before eventually turning in for the night. Sophia's urge to sprawl herself all over Maya's lap was still overwhelming and so she made herself comfortable there before the cat-girl could even complain about it being her turn.

Teanam

More illustrations~!

You might notice that her tail looks different than before. This pattern came up with a different illustration and I like it much better than the ringed one from before.

As usual, I thank everyone who's supporting the story on Patreon for making these possible. I'm super thankful for that and so happy that we can have so many illustrations of the characters.

Not really nighttime, but it's still fitting.

Barefoot/legs: