Snowball leads to an entirely separate tent from the Besthal Pet Shop altogether. It’s one of the tents that they’ve set up behind the business for them to live in during their brief stopover in Dewhurst. There are a few Beastfolk tidying up and preparing some food but other than that it’s mostly empty, most of the tribe being out in the main tent for the day I’d assume.

The five of us are taken to a casual lounge room and given large, paw print patterned cushions to sit ourselves down on. Since this area isn’t typically visited by non Beastfolk they don’t have chairs, tables, or any furniture we commonly use for that matter. It’s not really their thing as a species.

“Please wait here, Myaster and Mistresses. I will retrieve the girls in question and we shall fetch you some refreshments.” The graceful Catfolk maid bows leaves us alone in the lounge.

“Alright, let's take bets. What’s wrong with em? Won’t stop meowing? Not litterbox trained? Catnip addicts? Can’t help themselves from scratching at the furniture? Maybe they’re just like... really fuckin’ ugly.” Sam spits out without a shred of tact of subtlety.

Meri blushes awkwardly, “S-SAM!”

I look into her emerald eyes with disbelief. “Gods, we need to make sure you’re removed from the line of succession.”

“Right?” She snorts.

‘I can scarcely imagine the damage Sam would inflict upon our inter-realm relationships were she ever in a position to do so.’ Zutiria sighs. She’s making a point not to sit next on my lap, even though she looks dreadfully like she wants to do so. Instead she let Sam and Meri sit on my sides.

“Is that hard?” Meri tilts her head. “R-Removing her claim to the throne of Karnalle I mean.”

“Nah.” Sam waves her hand dismissively. “I have like... fifteen other (legitimate) siblings but since I’m ‘lucky’ number one the ministers and politicians are dead set on me NOT just renouncing everything and leaving forever...”

“They want to use you politically.” I say with a bit of venom in my throat and a good serving of self hatred in the back of my subconscious.

Sam seems to be growing adept at detecting when I’m being hard on myself, because she instantly grabs me by my collar and pulls me down to her eye level.

“Don’t even compare it, Boss. I know how that stupid ol’ brain of yours works by now! It’s different if YOU m... marry me...” she coughs awkwardly into her free hand, cheeks showcasing a growing blush. “All that other political stuff would just be a bonus... on top of... you know... what we already have.”

“And what do we already have, Sam?” I jokingly lean into her face, watching her sweat as I do so.

Meri watches with voyeuristic intentions and Zutiria calmly adjusts her glasses to watch my moves at work.

“D-Don’t be silly... You already know what!”

“Say it.”

Sam bites her lip and looks away from me, before awkwardly glancing back quickly in my direction and narrowing her eyes. “Love, you dummy.”

I smile back and kiss her, causing the red in her cheeks (and Meri’s) to rise even further. Zutiria merely nods with scholarly approval.

The two of us share a tense smile after our kiss, and of course I can’t ever have a nice moment with someone without some bullshit happening.

-SAMANTHA LUNDREAME BOND LEVEL TWO ACHIEVED, BITCH!-

Sam looks at me with the most confused look in her face imaginable, Meri’s perversions fade and are replaced with curiosity, and Zutiria simply stifles a small laugh under her breath. Naturally, same as last night, everyone around me seems to have heard Luxy’s announcement.

“Cool, right. No, yeah that’s cool and all that. So uh, Boss? I’m sure you understand but I’m gonna need a nice, big serving of ‘what the fuck was that?’ as soon as we’re done here because I’m pretty sure I just heard some sort of godly announcement letting everyone know I suddenly feel even closer to you and that’s a LITTLE embarrassing, you know?”

“In due time. I’m not here right now, Sam.” I let out a sigh.

‘Mental health day.’ Zutiria reminds Sam.

Meri has a keen moment of observation and tilts her head. “Y-You don’t seem all that surprised about this, Zutiria...”

“...What’s YOUR Bond Level, huh?” The Princess glares at the Mage accusingly, who in return calmly looks away to feign innocence.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sammy.’ She lies, even now resisting the urge to jump into my lap and have me 

“...D-Did something, um... happen last night?” Meri blushes and asks. “You two were all alone together...”

“I KNEW YOU WERE TRYING TO GET A LEG UP ON ME!” Sam playfully shouts before jumping over to Zutiria to playfully wrestle her, “I FOUND HIM FIRST, HOME... ER... GUILDWRECKER!”

‘Sir, help. I’m being sexually assaulted by a barely legal Princess.’ Zutiria unenthusiastically remarks.

“My, it seems you all get along so well with one another... don’t you, nyaa?” Everyone turns to see Snow enter the curtained off room and join us once again. She holds a large kettle of tea and four cups, which she begins to serve to each of us while making her way around the room.

Behind her on the other side of the curtains I can see two distinct silhouettes waiting for their cue. “I’m almost jealous.” Snow giggles. “Serving a Myaster such as you seems like it would be an adventure in and of itself.”

Seeing her say that with such an honest, straight face makes me lower my guard and blush a bit. Snow’s really, really cute...

“Open offer, kitty.” Sam playfully makes a kissy face at Snow, who then laughs even further before breaking our hearts into pieces.

“You can’t afford me.” Snow says with a wink.

Ouch.

“I did, however, bring along the girls that would certainly fall into your price range, nyaa.” Snow sets the serving tray and kettle down in the middle of the lounge before all attention shoots back to the curtains where she pulls them open for the two Catfolk in waiting.

Luckily, as she so very often is, Sam was wrong.

These two kitties were absolutely anything but ‘really fuckin’ ugly’.

They wear a matching uniform and headband and seem to be the same height, but other than that they couldn’t be any more different.

The girl on the left has an athletic form with breasts on the smaller side. Her skin is slightly tan, her hair a bit past shoulder length and colored like a slightly faded rose. Her locks trail and flow off into hundreds of different curls in a slightly disorganized, rough way not too dissimilar from Sam’s unbrushed twintails.

Her magenta eyes are bratty, slanted and a look of... noticeable contempt is obvious in the way that she looks at me. Her cute little cat nose also wrinkles in disgust. She doesn't smile yet one of her fangs pokes out. She looks as if she’d rather be anywhere else in the realm but in this very room.

This Catfolk’s fur is light brown, with dark brown spots along her tail ending in a dark brown tip. Her tail is very bushy and I would like very much to touch it.

On the other paw, her companion is much curvier with large breasts, wider hips and thick thighs. Her skin is pale and gives the impression that she never leaves the home if she can do absolutely ANYTHING about it. This Catfolk has long, straight flowing locks of dreamy light blue hair that go perfectly with her gray and white fur. Compared to her friend’s tail, the blue haired girl’s is much longer and thinner, with clear white stripes running along the length. Her bangs droop over the front of her face making it an impossible task to see her eyes, but judging from her blush, posture and nervous expression she’s apprehensive about being here, too.

She actually gives me some of the same vibes that Meri does, albeit instead of hiding behind a large tower shield the blue haired Catgirl hides behind the pink one.

Their uniforms are far from the sluttiest we’ve seen today, the biggest offender of excess skin being their very short black miniskirts that barely cover the tops of their thighs. They wear black, white-frilled sleeves on both their arms and their legs and it covers up the part where their hands and feet stop being furred and transition into normal human skin.

Their shirts are slightly open backed white, button up tank tops with a large ribbon tied around their collars. A golden bell sits at the center of each ribbon.

Sam whistles and Meri opens her mouth wide at how cute they are. Zutiria seems very taken with them, too, a small blush forming on her cheeks as she looks at the kitties.

When we were told they came as a two in one deal, I don’t think any of us were expecting that the girls would come out in adorable matching outfits and have perfect contrasting color themes. It’s almost uncanny how perfectly the two mirror each other both in personality and appearance.

“Cherry, Periwinkle, this is the man who’s interested in adopting you. You’re very lucky after what happened on the showfloor yesterday, Cherry, so I’d recommend doing your best to make a good impression, nyaa.” Snow smiles warmly, but also kind of threateningly.

“...Hmph. I’m Cherry.” Spits out the pink one as she looks away from my eye contact.

Snow kicks her in the shin.

“NYAA?!” Cherry looks her attacker in the eyes with surprise, only for Snow’s expression to change her own to a much more fearful one.

“...T-Thank you for meeting with us... Myaster.” Cherry then does the most half assed curtsie I’ve ever fucking seen while forcing herself to look at me with those disapproving, bratty eyes of hers. The way she calls me ‘Myaster’ almost makes it sound like she’s forcing it out harder than if it were a hairball.

“Gods, even I could curtsy better than that.” Sam whispers under her breath.

Cherry’s ears react to this and she raises an eyebrow. “That so? Guess we’re not needed here after all then, Peri. Blondie is apparently going to serve as both his Maid AND his slut from now on.”

Zutiria takes a sip of her tea, remarking, ‘Oh, this is just delicious.’

Meri, mouth wide open from the (literally) catty remark, looks towards Zutiria and asks. “...T-the tea?”

‘...Sure.’

Snow’s ears twitch from irritation and Cherry’s friend nervously shields her from any harm that might bring as she hugs her and pulls her away from Snow. “Cherry, no! Stop... please. You said you’d give him a chance... you promised you wouldn’t start any problems, nyaa...”

“Nnngh...” Cherry blushes and hangs her head in shame, before shaking off Peri and crossing her arms.

“Sam, don’t-” I preemptively stand from my seat in case I need to calm a rampaging, temperamental Princess, but to my surprise she’s laughing and shaking her head.

“Don’t what? I love this bitch already!” She claps her hands in amusement, a pervy grin on her face.

“Myaster, if I may be so bold as to ask you to present your hand to the two of them?” Snow asks before reaching into her sleeve and pulling out... a riding crop, like the kind used for horses. She menacingly taps it against her paw while glaring at Cherry to let her know that her participation in the smell test is very much non-negotiable.

Cherry flinches at the sight of it, as if it were her oldest, most terrifying foe.

Meri also gives the riding crop a curious look, albeit for a much different reason...

“Of course, Snow. It’s good to meet you, Peri... Cherry.” I present my hand towards the kitties before I catch Snow looking strangely at it as well.

“Might as well get in on the action, Snowball!” Sam teases.

I sigh and shake my head. “Ignore Sam, she’s probably still hoping we can somehow talk you into coming along with us.”

“Why are you always so thirsty, Sam...?” Meri asks with a blush, genuinely curious about the answer.

Sam’s face becomes distant and comatose. “That’s a story for another day.” She offers meekly.

Snow giggles and stands in between Cherry and Peri. “I’ll humor her. It’s just a sniff, after all.”

Together the three Catfolk all lean down to sniff my hand and the reactions each of them have, well... they each tell a story unto themselves.

Snow becomes stiff as a board, her eyes darting back and forth from my hand to my face like she was watching a duel between two fencers. “Oh.” She says. “Oh, that’s... something, alright... nyaa.”

Peri instantly and wordlessly gets on all fours and begins submissively rubbing her head all over my legs so vigorously that it isn’t long before her headdress falls off and she accidentally shocks me through my pants from static electricity. Meanwhile, her tail sticks completely straight out from her butt as she purrs from the back of her throat.

“NYAA?!?” Cherry’s eyes go wide open and the catty slits dilate. She stumbles backwards before falling onto the floor, evidently proving wrong the myth that a cat always lands on her feet. In her state of shock she evidently doesn’t realize her skirt has flipped upwards and her black, white-frilled panties are now completely on display.

Oh, gods...

Something tells me those weren’t nearly that wet a moment ago...