Chapter 176 – All cats are similar

Sophia and Ari were currently having a rather lively girls-talk type of chat where the two were trying to find out why Princess Anna had gotten so clingy later. Clingier than usual, that is. The blonde had the feeling that Anna had fallen for the jaguar because there were some similarities to her cat, but Ari naturally couldn't believe that.

"So, other than her wanting to sleep with you, not to mention trying to suffocate you with her massive chest, what else has changed with Anna?" Sophia had a lot of fun with the topic.

"Stop focusing on her breasts already! They're mine!"

"Oh?"

"A-Ah." The jaguar froze up after realizing what she had just said. "I-I didn't plan to say that out loud…"

"But you were thinking it, huh?"

"Uuh…"

"Well, I can't blame you. If they actually become yours, you'll make a lot of people jealous. I prefer Maya's looks, but I'd lie if I say I don't enjoy the view of the princess."

"Yeah… Anna's amazing…" Ari had no problems admitting it, though the color of her cheeks had been dyed in red the entire time already.

"You've got it bad for her, don't you?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Okay, give me some more pointers on what's going on with our clingy princess."

"She's also been behaving pretty suspicious during the last few baths we took together…"

"How so?" Sophia sounded very interested in it.

"The bath we usually go to in the castle is closer related to a pool in terms of size, but she insisted on sitting right next to me. She even tried to cling to me once or twice when doing that… but that was too much for me in that environment… W-Way too stimulating…"

"Aaand that's how I fainted most of the time when taking a bath with Maya. Being not good with hot water was only part of the reason…" Sophia remembered all the times she lost consciousness whenever her cat got a little overzealous during their bathing activities. In the past, at least, before the two started dating.

"T-That was also one of my concerns…"

"Our situation's way too relatable… Did she do anything else? Like stealing glances at you, for example. Maya did that. A lot. I did, too, later on, but let's ignore that…"

"I don't know… To be honest, it was more me doing my best not to look at her, so I had no idea where she was looking. Well, I noticed that she was intently looking at my face from time to time, so I had to make extra sure that my eyes don't w-wander…"

"My, do we have a pervert in our midst?" Sophia had to take a jab at her.

"S-Shut up…" Ari couldn't keep the eye-contact with her anymore. "H-Hey, you just openly admitted doing the same! Don't tease me!"

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you managed to hold back." The tiger completely ignored her. "It's really easy to notice if someone's stealing glances at you, after all. It even sounds like Anna was trying to find out whether you were trying to do exactly that."

"W-Why would she do that…?"

"To see if you're interested in her body? That's, more or less, what stealing glances during a bath means, after all. Well, you could also be comparing your, let's call it… growth, but let's not go there..."

"Again, w-why would she want to do that…?" The jaguar had to repeat herself.

"To find out whether she has a chance or not?"

"A chance? For what?" Her brain wasn't the fastest right now.

"You."

"Me?" Ari tilted her head in confusion.

"If I'm right with Anna being interested in you, I'm sure she wants to see if there's a chance for it to work out with you."

"I-I see… Wait!" She needed a moment. "A-As in, she wants to know if I'm physically interested in her…?" Her face, once more, lit up in an even brighter red.

"Sure. It's not everything, but for me, that's a vital part of romance. It's not only the emotional part that's of importance. There are many feelings and things that need to be or get stimulated."

"T-That's way too early!" Ari got defensive.

"Of course, but you want to make sure about those things before it's too late, don't you? If there are no feelings in that area, things might become dull really quick."

"T-That might be true… Huh? Does that mean I should look at her…? I-I don't think I can do that without having a meltdown!"

"Nah, probably not. As you said, that's way too embarrassing. Though, if you catch her doing it, try not to be too self-conscious. Also, if it actually happens, then it might not be such a bad idea to let your eyes wander, too, to get a nice view. The princess can't say anything in that situation, after all."

"I-Is that really how it works…?" The jaguar wasn't sure how to feel about the plan.

"Maybe?"

"Hey!" She got loud after seeing how the blonde lightly shrugged her shoulders.

"It's not like I have much experience, okay? I'm just telling you about my observations with Maya. It worked out with us, so it can't be completely stupid…"

"I see… That does sound promising, then." Ari knew how hopelessly the two were in love with each other, so Sophia's words were quite credible in the end.

"Okay, putting the bathing thing aside, for the time being, did the princess do anything else out of the ordinary?"

"Anna has always been on the clingy side, but she's sticking close to me even more now. We went shopping together yesterday, and she didn't let go of me for a second. At first, she was hugging my arm while pressing it against her ch-… Anyway, walking is really hard like that!" She didn't want to finish her first sentence for some reason.

"Hee…" Sophia grinned at her for a moment before continuing. "Yeah, Maya did that a lot in the beginning, too. I liked the feeling, but you're too close to walk that way. Because of that, we, with that I mean, Maya, decided to hold hands wherever we go instead. Not that I would complain about it now."

"It's the same Anna did! After she almost tripped over either my or her own feet a couple of times, she also settled for h-holding hands… It feels n-nice holding her hand, and I like doing it, but it's very e-embarrassing to do in public… Everyone knows Anna, and with that, me, as well, to some extent. After all, she's the first princess of this nation, and I'm her maid, while also being the only jaguar with black hair. That alone makes me self-conscious enough already. Add holding hands on top of that, and EVERYONE looks at us…"

"Yeah… getting used to the attention is really hard." The blonde sympathized with her.

"How did you do it…?"

"Who says I did?" Sophia shrugged her shoulders again.

"Urgh…" It wasn't what Ari wanted to hear.

"No, I've gotten a lot better at dealing with it. I think it just needs time. Also, only focus on Anna alone and ignore your surroundings. Okay, onlookers still affect me, but it gets a lot easier if I pay attention to Maya and Maya only. Nicer to look at, too."

"I-I see… Well, you are right… I should focus on Anna. That's more fun, after all!"

"That's the spirit!" Sophia liked the sound of that. "Still, the princess sounds like she's really going for it if you ask me. Did she do anything else on top of that?"

"Hmm… We went to school together again after I felt better, and she was super defensive whenever anyone tried to come near me. Well, she always did that, and I'm really grateful for it because I don't enjoy the attention, but it felt like she was doing it even more now. More aggressively, too. Someone looking at me causes her to glare at them in an instant…"

"Basically, something along the lines of you being her's and no one's allowed to get near her…?"

"I-I don't know if I could put it that way… but it does feel a little like she doesn't want to share me."

"Wow, she really acts exactly as Maya does. Are all outgoing cats like that…?"

"Anna's a tiger, though?"

"So?" Sophia tilted her head. "Anna's the tiger princess. I'm supposed to be the purest tiger alive. You're a rare jaguar, all while Maya's supposed to be a normal cat. But, even so, I'd still say Maya is the biggest predator amongst us. When it comes to her personality, at least. Aren't we all just cats in the end? Just with slight deviations in our fur patterns and maybe slimmer or thicker types of ears and tails. We all like to hunt, laze around in a comfy spot, and could do without the cold weather, among many other things."

"W-Well…" There was little Ari could say. "You're not wrong, but…"

"Alrighty~," The blonde simply continued. "Again, it definitely sounds exactly what Maya was doing when she tried, and succeeded, to get me. It's almost weird… Wait a moment!" She suddenly raised her voice.

"W-What is it now…?" Ari flinched and looked at her in surprise because she hadn't expected her to get loud.

"As I said, we're all just cats deep down…" She liked the jaguar's reaction, knowing how absolutely no feline being likes to get startled. "No, aren't those two spending a lot of time together lately, as well?

"Yes… Anna's also talking a lot about her lately… Saying how happy she is that she managed to befriend her after everything that happened, and stuff like that. It almost makes me a little jealous."

"Aww, how sweet." Sophia started smiling. "Don't worry, Maya also enjoys the view, but she has no romantic interest in the princess."

"I know… It's easy to see how much the two of you are into each other. Still, I'm not the biggest fan of Anna speaking fondly of other girls…"

"Fair point. Okay, back to the topic," The two got a little sidetracked. "I feel like Maya's influencing the princess with something. Anna's behavior reminds me too much of my cat."

"B-But why…?"

"There are two reasons… Either Maya was bored, or the princess asked for help. If I had to take a guess, it's probably… a mix of both."

"Help…?" Ari tilted her head. "With what?"

"To get you."

After Sophia's interpretation of the events, and how Anna was acting, the duo had to take a little break because Ari needed some time to wrap her head around it.