BXBX NOVEL Chapter 791
—
Eventually Lily’s human mind was able to acclimatise to the feeling of bliss and return to the real world. Having her human body did help. Well, that and the stone floor. It wasn’t exactly comfortable. Lily managed to crack open one eye only to see Jara hiding her amusement. Lily was instantly mortified. She quickly rolled away from Kat’s hands, not trusting her legs would actually let her stand up. I... I can’t believe you did that Kat!
“I regret nothing,” said Kat aloud.
Lily pouted and carefully pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the wobbling in her legs as she managed reach her full height. Still the shortest in the room, unless her ears counted, but it was something. Her blush only deepened as her mind properly caught up to everything before she started to run over to Jara. “Jara I’ll change in with you yes?” said Lily quickly as she dashed past Jara and into the closet, nearly tripping over the Jara’s foot as she did so. Only her new cat instincts and tail saving her from falling flat on her face.
“Sorry sorry,” said Lily as she whipped around and gave an awkward bow as Jara closed the door. “I... I can’t believe you saw me like that. I’m sorry. I’m also sorry for tripping over your foot... and taking your clothes... sorry,”
Jara gave Lily a light chop between her ears. Jara paused, hand twitching before slowly retracting it. Lily’s hair was now exceptionally soft and smooth and Jara was very tempted to try scratching behind Lily’s ears. She restrained herself though. While it would have been entertaining... it also seemed rather intimate for Lily and considering she was a person, potentially inappropriate. “Firstly, it’s fine Lily. I didn’t feel a thing, these boots are for working. Even though they don’t have steel caps they’re quite sturdy.
.....
“Secondly... I think I agree with Kat. You are quite adorable and I didn’t exactly enjoy seeing you put yourself down so much. I mean, I take care of myself, I do understand I’m attractive and Kat’s quite aesthetically pleasing as well, but you are positively adorable. It makes me want to just protect you from the world. I imagine Kat suffers from more extreme versions of those feelings,” Lily’s blush had returned with full force. “And finally... these are all old clothes so it’s fine.”
That’s when Lily took a look around the room. It wasn’t small at all and it was packed full of more clothes than Lily had ever seen in her life. There wasn’t just one rack of clothes but three. The tallest of which seemed to contain a variety of outfits from Jara’s youth. There was even one of those book ladders you saw in particularly large libraries that ran on a small set of rails around the room.
Jara had managed to pick out a couple of outfits that she thought would fit Lily and put them on the vanity next to the door. It had a nice square mirror that took up the entire back length. It was edged with thin wood carved into the shape of vines curling around it to hold it in place. There was a small stool in front of it with an old cushion that had seen some use. There were a couple of drawers on the right side but the top only had outfits on it now. Next to it was a full length mirror that flanked the doorway.
Lily’s blush was starting to die down until she noticed the second pile. Instead of clothing it contained a few undergarments. Lily couldn’t help but swallow loudly at the sight. She glanced over at Jara who seemed to see nothing wrong with the offerings. “Um...” Lily started to say but her question died when she saw Jara’s completely unconcerned look.
So Lily turned away and stripped down. Carefully not looking at Jara who was actually doing the same sort of. She was just removing her overalls and dumping them in the hamper, revealing cleanish clothes underneath. They still had a bit of dirt and a fair deal of sweat. While Lily was panicking slightly over the clothes Jara was letting her hair down. Eventually though Lily managed to divest herself of her ill fitting clothes and pulled on the bottoms.
*Huh... these actually fit quite well...*
[That was the point]
*Out. Out of my thoughts. I’m already embarrassed enough.*
[Well then block me]
*I can’t. Please can you... just... maybe not make it obvious you know?*
[Fine. I’ll hold my replies back.]
*Thanks Kat...*
Lily shook her head to try and clear away the now perpetual blush and pulled on the bra. It wasn’t particularly modern but it was made with very soft materials. She just... didn’t quite understand how it fit on. Jara, seeing her issues quickly came over and messed around with it. The fact that it fit nearly perfectly was a surprise. *Why does this fit?*
Lily turned around to glance at Jara, and now that she wasn’t covered in gardening gear, it was even clearer just where Lily was... underdeveloped in comparison. “How can these possible fit me!” hissed Lily while glaring at Jara’s breasts.
“They’re my old clothes. I wasn’t always like this!” said Jara innocently.
Lily frowned and looked at Jara, then at the piles of clothes then back at herself before nodding and putting on the outfit. It was an interesting style. The shirt had two pieces of dangling cloth that hung from the shoulders and there was a split starting in the small of her back to draw attention. For Lily though it was a nice gap for her tail. With that in place Lily pulled on the pants. They were loose but well fitting puffy silk pants in a light blue style to match the blue ribbons coming from her shoulders.
With that on Lily looked herself over in the mirror and couldn’t help but smile. That was until she glanced at Jara behind her and her mind caught up to a few things. Double checking their comparative heights Lily frowned. “Jara... how old are these clothes?” asked Lily.
“Not even a year old. They might not fit anymore but they’re practically new!” said Jara cheerily. Not caring at all for most of her closet. One of the outfits she’d chosen was a nice set she’d worn to a ball exactly once before growing out of it. When her mother had bought it, it was already a bit on the smaller side so getting any extra use out of it was asking too much.
“The whole outfit?” asked Lily suspiciously.
“Yup,” said Jara playing oblivious.
“Even the undergarments?” asked Lily not willing to let Jara avoid the question.
Jara let out a light cough. “Well I mean. I don’t really keep all that close track of those sort of things...” and then muttered under her breath, “the maids do it for me.”
Which of course, was perfectly audible to the girl WITH CAT EARS. “I see. Well Jara... how old would you guess?”
“Two?” Lily’s slitted eyes narrowed at Jara’s response, “maybe three?” Lily’s gaze didn’t let up, “certainly no more than four?”
Lily sighed. *That’s the best I’m likely to get.* “Why even bother trying to hide it?” asked Lily.
Jara shrugged, looking off to the side to avoid Lily’s continued gaze. “Some people are sensitive about it and it’s not like I HAD to tell you. If you were only as intelligent as the other young nobles I have to deal with on a daily basis you’d never have even thought about it!”
Lily sighed, “Yeah... it’s... I don’t normally feel bothered by it... but there’s a world of difference between ‘not bothered ever’ and ‘not bothered when your attractive acquaintance is lending you clothes’.”
Jara smiled and let out a polite laugh and said “Can’t let Kat hear you flirting with other girls,”
“I’m afraid your legs aren’t nearly as attractive as Kat’s... well that and...” Lily paused waiting,
“I can hear you all just fine. You’re only on the other side of the wall,” added Kat. Jara just let out a slight huff in response.
“See... I feel like you’re both cheating somehow,” said Jara.
“Magical bond,” the pair said in sync.
“Hmm...” said Jara as she glanced at Lily. “Still not really sure if that’s my thing. I mean... it would probably help. I wouldn’t need to fear them trying for anyone else. Still, if I do ever get married I’d probably want to find someone else who’s asexual like I am. We can just be best friends together. Adopt a bunch of Caaaa... hmm... is that an offensive stereotype to an actual cat person?”
“Um... not really?” said Lily, “I mean... I still know of it and it doesn’t bother,” *nearly as much as it bothers me that fantasy worlds STILL have it as a stereotype. I feel like it says things about the human condition I’m not ready to analyse.*