Chapter 337 – Sleepy tiger
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."
“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 nothing else...”
“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.