"By all the fairy rings in the north realm, Ky, I'm not sure what you did, but Lifemate looked like me after my siphoning crest activates. I bet it'll be a while before he forgets how your mouth feels."

Ky silently laughed, lewdly licked her lips, and rubbed her belly.

Azalea lazily lounged in the crook of one of Reina's horns, swinging her legs. "Was it more or less intense than the kelp girl, Lifemate?"

"It’s hard to compare."

"Was it?” She smirked. I don’t remember your eyes rolling up when you donated at the Kelp’s hole the first time. You should’ve seen him, Ky."

The batgirl skipped ahead of Devin and turned, barring him from walking any further as she leaned forward and looked up at him smugly.

Devin, wishing to retain some masculine pride, kept his compliments reserved. "You most certainly left an unforgettable memory."

Ky squeaked with happiness and let him pass, falling lockstep with him like someone who had accomplished a great deed.

Azalea rolled off and fluttered over to sit on Ky's head. "Who was the other person in the room with you? I thought it was your pussy at first."

Ky pointed to a cheese store they had just happened to pass and pantomimed someone short with large ears.

"A mousekin?"

Ky nodded.

"Hope she enjoyed it. She made so many cute noises.”

Ky pretended to swoon.

"She liked it that much, huh?"

Reina had a question of her own. "It's barely been a week, but how are things? Did you get settled in at Jeni's? Have you started working at Whitegold yet?"

Ky nodded to both questions.

"Do you think you are going to like it?"

Ky made a heart with her fingers.

"What do you do after work?"

"She waits for me so we can walk home together," declared a bundled figure stepping out from behind a closed fruit stall.

"Suvi!" Azalea launched herself off Ky's head and barreled into the rat-girl's chest.

"Welcome back, my small friend. Have a good trip?"

"Cold, amazing, and fun, but it's good to be home!"

Suvi noted, "Jeni told us a little when she returned about your stay at that piglin place."

"It's worth going if you ever find yourself in that area," Reina recommended.

"You'll have to tell me all about it later."

As Azalea hugged her rat friend, a small, unexpected hand rose out from Suvi's coat and grabbed the unsuspecting fairy by the foot, pulling her down into Suvi's tight cleavage. Her initial squeak of surprise instantly turned to giggles as she disappeared.

"Heyo! Can you two wrestle somewhere else? My boobs aren't big enough for both of you."

Two tiny heads popped out. A fairy with lipstick kisses on her cheek and a Leanan Sidhe with wild, tousled hair.

"Barely big enough for one of us, I'd say, but you are almost a cup size bigger now that you are producing milk!" Zinni cheered.

"How do you know?"

"Artist’s eye."

"Is she producing milk?!?" Azalea began probing around for Suvi's nipple.

"Sure is! Want to see?"

"No, you won't." Suvi ejected the two fae and buttoned up her coat.

"I guess that's a later," laughed Zinni.

"Looks like it," Azalea agreed, giggling. "Did you get new clothes?"

Azalea fluttered around Zinni, inspecting her bright yellow, fur-lined dress and matching coat covered in a mix of glory-of-the-snow and winter iris. "Looks like Granny Gertrude's work!"

"Sure is! Suvi took me there when she saw I had only one set of clothes. The arachne lady was beside herself with happiness when she found out I knew you."

"Did she only make you the one?"

"No, she made me some clothes for under my clothes. What'd she call them? It was a funny word."

"Underwear?"

"Yes, but fancier."

"Lingerie?"

"That's it!"

"You'll have to show me when I get home."

"I can show you now." Zinni lifted the front of her dress.

"What cute stockings!" Azalea ran her finger over the satiny material.

"They are so warm and dyed from the flowers I'm named after."

"I see that. Red, pink, orange, yellow, purple, and lilac all on a white background. Very nice." Azalea brought her face close to Zinni's crotch. "And these panties are super clever! The way the top wings hug your hips, with the bottom pair coming together between your legs. Are they modeled after your wings?"

"Maybe. I didn't ask, though they do look pretty similar, don't they? When she asked me how I liked them, I said it felt strange being covered down there, so she made this little slit so it could be both."

"Convenient, and you don't have to pull them down to pee. How’d you pay for them? Did the Leanan Sidhe start using money?"

"No, I offered to paint some advertising signs for her."

"Playing to your strengths."

"Mhm."

Ky's stomach growled.

"Ky brings up a good point. Where are we eating lunch?" asked Suvi. "Usually we eat at Whitegold, but I suspect Ky would like to spend as much time with you all before you leave again."

Ky nodded enthusiastically.

"Then, if we could stop by the market, I have an idea for something I could cook at Jeni's," offered Reina.

Suvi chimed in, "No complaints from me."

"Or from us," announced both fae in unison.

"Oh, and before I forget, Devin, Sable told me to tell you that Mavis said when you arrive back in town to let her know so she can set up a meeting for you and the other people you will be traveling with. – after you've recouped, of course," Suvi advised.

"Sure, just let me know when so I can arrange our task list accordingly."

----

Returning to Jeni’s after stopping by the market, Devin was reaching for the door handle when it flew open, making him stumble back into Reina as a mass of feathers jumped at him. Instinctively, he stretched out his arms and caught the butt end of an all-too-familiar harpy as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Well, hello, Jeni! I see you missed us."

"Definitely missed us," giggled Azalea.

The stone-faced owlgirl pulled back her wings, which she used to hug them all. "This one was pining away the minutes until her nestmates returned, but now she welcomes them home with everything she has."

"We missed you, too, sweet bird." Crooned Reina.

They all shared several kisses before deciding it would be more pleasant if they weren't standing in the cold.

"We have so many stories to tell you!" The fairy gushed.

Reina prompted them toward the other room. "Let's put this stuff in the kitchen first, and you can talk while I prepare lunch."

Devin moved to put Jeni down, but she clung to him. "Jeni?"

"This one requests a moment longer."

"As you wish, but it's a bit hard to walk."

After shuffling into the other room, Devin sat at the head of the table (Jeni's usual spot), with Suvi on his left and Ky on her lap, having stolen the idea from Jeni.

Landing on the table next to Zinni, Azalea removed her coat, prompting Zinni to bend over and study her stomach. "Hmm..."

"What?"

"Azalea, you know I wouldn't usually be critical of how you look, but as your most bestest friend, I feel I should encourage you to cut back a little on the sweets."

Azalea chuckled. "This isn't from food."

"It's not? Wait! Don't tell me it's..." Zinni grabbed Azalea's shoulders and turned her face to face a serious look. "Did you finally become the cock-sleeve of your dreams?"

Azalea burst out laughing. "Not yet, but this will hopefully prepare me for that."

"Oh. I'm out of ideas then." Zinni pressed on her fairy friend's distended belly. To her shock, it pressed back. "What the..."

"You remember that schlicum I picked up at Muddy Springs?"

"I do. Wait… it's inside you!?!"

"Every bit of it. I named it Oozi for now."

"Names are important. I wouldn't be able to introduce myself without mine." Zinni smooshed her cheek against Azalea's belly and rubbed the taut skin. "Nice to meet you, Oozi. I'm Zinni. Since both our names end in 'i', we most definitely share a special connection, and I hope we can be friends!"

Azalea impressed her love upon the little liquid life inside. "I'm sure you two will be once it tastes you."

"Taste?"

"We think it can distinguish people that way and sense emotions or feelings somehow."

"Huh. What's it feel like?"

"Like I'm carrying around a bag of water. It's harder to fly and take off, but it's satisfying… or fulfilling in a way I can't quite explain.”

"Maybe a sign you'll one day make a great mother. I mean, I never had any doubts you'd be a good mom, but this maybe all but confirms it."

"Thank you. Though I'm not sure for how much longer. It's grown quite a bit in just a few days. Not much room left in me."

"Does it stay inside you all the time?"

"Mostly."

"What's it eat?"

"Me."

"You?"

"I spoil it with all my liquid love."

"Oh my… does it..."

"Amazing."

Zinni rubbed her thighs together, imagining it. "You don't think it, and… er… me..."

Azalea grabbed both her friends' hands and squeezed them. "Without a doubt. I'll see if I can coax it out later."

Jeni shifted on Devin's lap to get a closer look. "What led host Azalea to decide to do such a thing?"

"I wouldn't say it was my decision, per se..."

Azalea recounted the embarrassing story of what led up to her current physical state, and by the time she finished, Jeni's fascination was too much to merely observe. "May this one be allowed to document this unique bonding experience?"

"Sure!"

"This one needs to go find her recording journal." Jeni jumped off Devin's lap, trotted out of the room, and returned moments later, juggling not only a pencil and something to write on, but a small pile of equipment. Her absence prompted Devin to smoothly get up to help Reina cook before the little owlchemist remembered to retake her seat on his lap.

Having dumped all her instruments on the table and taken her chair, Jeni arranged each device in a semicircle in front of her. "This one is ready to take measurements."

"I'm all yours," said Azalea, spreading her arms and offering herself up for study.

Zinni watched Jeni weigh, measure, and record her findings for a few minutes before growing bored and becoming distracted by the savory smells emanating from where Reina and Devin were hard at work.

"Smells good! Whatcha cooking?" asked Zinni, peeking over their shoulders.

"We brought back milt and caviar from Merport," Reina noted.

"Oooooh. I don't know what those are."

"Neither do I," inserted Suvi, also curious.

Azalea yelled into the kitchen, "Don't tell them yet, Reina, Lifemate! Let it be a surprise!"

"Surprises worry me when they come from you, little fairy," Suvi remarked.

"I only give the nicest and most memorable surprises!" rebutted Azalea, feigning innocence.

Reina filled a pot with water from the hand pump over the sink. "Do you like surprises, Zinni?"

"Depends on whether they involve onions, Mrs. Reina, ma'am."

"You don't like onions?"

"Nuhuh. Or celery."

"You'll be glad to know there aren't any of those in today's meal."

"Phew! Then, yes, I love surprises! Much more than I used to. Every day since I arrived here with Jeni has been nothing but surprises. There's been so much going on and so much to see in the big people world."

"Curious Zinni has been a heated aquifer of questions," drawled Jeni.

"An incessant fount of curiosity," elucidated Suvi with exaggerated weariness. "Been nothing but questions since we met her."

"The more answers I get, the more questions I have! Suvi, Ky, and Jeni have been so nice to me, showing me around town. Why, just the other day, Jeni took me to this silver shop where we met this moth woman, and she showed us a bunch of unimaginable jewelry, including a..."

"An egg-shaped harpy plug?" cut in Azalea.

"Yes! She told me it was her version of the friendship buttplug you showed me earlier. With everyone getting one, I wanted one too!"

"And did you?" challenged Azalea.

"Sure did! I showed it to Ky, and then she got excited, and wet, and wanted one also!” Zinni fluttered up to the batgirl. "Want to show her, Ky?"

Ky excitedly squeaked her compliance. Hopping off Suvi's lap, she scooped up Zinni.

"We have to go get them. Be right back," the Leannan Sidhe yelled, her voice trailing as they raced out of the room.

Suvi leaned back in her chair and stretched out her no-longer-occupied legs. "They wanted to wait till you all got home before they actually put them in. They wanted to make a big deal out of it."

"So then you were able to help Urola with her project?" asked Azalea while looking up at Jeni.

"This one was a most suitable model for designing the prototype for the plug of friendship and is currently wearing it."

"You are? Right now?!?"

Jeni set her pencil down, slumped in the chair, and rested her ankles on the table as she spread her legs. Nestled under her downy feathers was the jewel-capped base of the cloacal plug.

"Swift designer Urola efficiently and thoroughly measured this one's egg-hole to make sure the size was comfortable and conducive to this one's request for it to fit deeply so as to remember the depth of relationship she has with everyone."

"Are you able to put it in and take it out by yourself?"

"It can be set within its display frame, allowing for this one to perch over it for insertion. Removal is more challenging."

Standing up, she leaned on the chair, raised her leg, and bent her foot until she could hook a talon on the foldable metal ring at the end. Curling her toe, she pulled, stretching her scrunched orifice smooth as her overly stuffed birdhood bulged out to an almost obscene size, before yanking free the metal bulb with a sucking squelch.

With the warm plug placed on the table for Azalea's examination, the fairy stood on her toes to measure from her head to the tip. "It's huge! It looks bigger than Reina's!"

"This one's kind's uniquely singular combination of holes required a size double the average of her own eggs to be retainable."

"So lewd," Azalea said breathily, referring to both Jeni's gaping cloaca slowly closing to its normal size as well as the plug in front of her glinting wetly in the light.

Latticed with silver strips, much like a pie crust, the open diamond-shaped spaces between the intersections on the base were filled with interlocking, transparent gold plates studded with tiny semi-precious agates, sanded smooth and acting as bolts holding it all together.

"Feels sturdy, and it doesn’t sound hollow,” commented Azalea, tapping the contoured side. “Doesn’t that make it heavy?"

"This one had the same issue as loose Azalea did. She has never held anything inside her egg-hole for a significant amount of time before and thus wanted more weight to help strengthen her oviposition muscles."

"It never hurts to improve a girl’s grip down there. Though, it's so pretty, shame no one can see it when it's inside."

"Perchance wearers would want to display it on a shelf when not in use?"

"I suppose that's an option," Azalea laughed, walking around it, admiring the craftsmanship. "Would this actually be a dildo or a buttplug?"

"I asked the same thing," Zinni said, riding on Ky's shoulder as they re-entered the dining room. Flying over to Azalea, she held out her friendship plug.

"I see you went with a more specific shape. A human penis is always a good choice," Affirmed the fairy.

"Ya, the goblin lady suggested the outside look like what I was named after. As for the part that would go inside, I wasn't sure what I wanted it to feel like, so I settled on what I thought might feel the most natural.”

Ky set hers on the table.

"As you can see, Ky went with a short and very narrow one. I’m guessing because bat boy penises are a similar shape? I think she might have been a bit nervous about trying to take anything bigger.

Ky nodded.

Zinni offered Azalea her plug. "I'd like you to be the first one to put it in me."

"I'd be delighted to!"

As the most ample-bottomed girl in the room, Zinni had to spread her thick cheeks so Azalea could see where to put it.

Lubing it up with her own dampness, Azalea prodded her friend's tiny cinnamon-colored hole, watching it wrinkle and balk before giving way and letting the plug slip inside. "That went in easy!"

"Feels like a good fit, too." Zinni walked around Azalea, testing the sensation. "My butt has never felt so fancy."

Azalea giggled. "Definitely the fanciest I've ever seen it."

Ky, wanting the same done for her, gathered up her plug and pranced over to Devin, holding it out with both hands.

"Hello, Ky. Yes, I see it. It looks well crafted. Good, detailed work, isn’t it?"

Ky squeaked something and proffered it more insistently.

“I think she wants you to put it in, Herdmate.”

“Oh!”

Suvi leaned back in her chair and put her hands behind her head. "She's saying something about how it feels right that, as her only male friend, you should be the one to take her anal virginity."

"Huh… I'm, uh, honored, I guess, that you'd give me such a privilege?" he responded questioningly.

Coating it well with her saliva, Ky dropped it into Devin's hand and presented her rear to him, legs spread and wiggling her butt in anticipation.

Since Ky had the skinniest bottom, Devin had no trouble finding where to put it; her pink pucker made for a very obvious target. "You look pretty tight. I’ll go slow, but let me know if I need to stop."

Ky patted his leg, indicating she would. With a gentle prod, Devin felt her tense and exhale.

She clenched her teeth. The plug felt bigger than it looked, and just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, it suddenly popped in.

"There you go."

Ky straightened up and shifted her weight experimentally. Satisfied, she squeaked, hugged his arm, and bounded back to the girls.

"You're welcome."​

"Hey, I have an idea!" Zinni flew over the table to the opposite wall. "We should have Azalea draw a portrait of us all showing off our friendship plugs together!"

“I love that idea!” trilled Azalea as she dug into her bag for her sketch pad.

​Ky squeaked in agreement and offered her hand to Suvi.

"What?"

Ky pointed to her butt and then at Suvi's.

"Yes, I'm wearing it, and no, I'm not going to show it. My butt has already been seen enough. Multiple times at that."

"I haven't seen it yet," Zinni said hopefully.

"I wouldn't mind seeing it again! It's a very cute butt," chimed in Azalea.

Suvi folded her arms, refusing to budge.

Ky made a pouty face.

"Nope! Not falling for it."

Ky slumped her shoulders and went back to Devin for comfort, dragging her feet, hoping she looked like the epitome of dejection.

"You know they'll find a way to get you out of your clothes eventually. They also outnumber you." Devin teased, stroking Ky's ears placatingly.

Suvi's staunch expression faltered, remembering the many times she'd somehow been compelled to do lewd things. Glancing toward a potential ally, she called out, "Reina, I could use your support here!"

"If Suvi really doesn't want to show her cute behind, I can give a detailed account of how soft and squeezable it is," the Whitehorn tittered.

"Reina!" With her first and last ally of no help, and afraid the teasing wouldn’t relent, Suvi abruptly got up. "Fine! Plug only, no extra freebies! You'll have more than enough eye candy with two perfectly good pussies and a pussy plus from the harpy over there."

Ky clapped her hands, bounded over to her rat friend, and nudged her toward the end of the lineup.

Zinni scratched her chin. "I almost feel like I should make a speech or something, but I'm terrible at speeching."

"Then just say whatever," encouraged Azalea.

"Ok, uh, we'd like to present," Zinni looked over at Suvi, "and re-present the physical manifestation of our love and friendship with each other. Ready? Um, show!"

The two most excited of the group, Ky and Zinni, spun around, flashing Azalea their plug-filled posteriors.

Suvi was slower, begrudgingly turning around and pulling her pants and panties down just enough to show off the top half of her plug.

Jeni rotated placidly, dipped forward, and raised her tail feathers high, making Azalea’s heart skip a beat at the sudden buffet of bottoms displayed before her.

“I’ll need to get quite a bit closer if I’m going to do this properly,” Azalea disclosed with sultry excitement. “To make sure I get every detail right!” She readied her pencil. “And it looks like Ky wants to be first.”

The bat girl wiggled her firmly-filled bottom, enticing the fairy to flutter closer.

Azalea’s hand flew over the paper as she outlined and memorized the details of Ky’s pert little exit capped with a pale, yellow heart.

“How long is this going to take?”

Azalea sidled over to the blushing rat girl. "Just long enough for me to fully appreciate – I mean capture – your adorable embarrassment!”

"I feel ridiculous. And don't kiss my butt so familiarly!"

"But isn't it nice to look like how you feel: ridiculously cute?" She giggled.

Suvi had no retort for that.

“Azalea, I was told that Ky’s plug and mine vibrate. Does yours?” Zinni inquired.

"Yep," replied Azalea, drifting over to add Zinni’s bouncy backside to the sketch.

"How?"

"Not sure."

"No, I mean how do you, uh, turn it on?"

"Oh! If it's the same as mine, like this.” Azalea pushed on the plug, which responded with a click.

“I don’t feel anything.”

“It takes two people.” Azalea turned Ky’s on and placed Zinni’s hand on the bat girl’s hip.

The Leanan sídhe let out a gasp as her backside began to buzz. "Pixie's pickles! That feels good!"

"Doesn't it?"

"Huh, so if it takes at least two people, that second feature makes more sense.”

“Which one?” Asked Azalea.

Zinni whispered in Azalea's ear.

“Oh? Is that so? I thought maybe it was my imagination! In that case, let's try it with everyone!”

Suvi leaned away with visible concern.

Azalea tapped her own plug through her dress. "Hey, Jeni, does yours vibrate too?"

Jeni had been silently playing with her plug, keeping it just barely from popping out as she enjoyed stretching herself out. Pausing mid-tug, she grunted, “It does, but this one hasn’t tried it.”

“Perfect! You can join us.”

Happy to participate in whatever her horny nestmate had in mind, she pointed her butt toward Azalea and reached her wing towards Ky, as her fairy clicked it on. The sudden pulsing thrum made her hoot in surprise and involuntarily clench down, yanking the oversized plug back inside as she threw her other wing against the wall to steady herself.

"Ingenious Urola failed to alert this one to the vigor of this feature.”

“It’s about to get stronger. Apparently, the more people connected, the more intense it gets!”

Ky turned her attention to Suvi.

"No, don't even think about it. Not gonna happen. I prefer not to be wet before work."

"But you don't mind being wet while at work," moaned Zinni.

"That's different. I can't help it if milking myself for customers feels so good! Wait! How do you know that?!?"

“Ky brought me over. Whitegold is such an amazing place! All those people and delicious-smelling food! And so many happy customer faces and serving girl boobies! You musta been having so much fun with how much you were dripping all over the place!" Turning to everyone, "She often had to go behind the counter and pat her pussy dry."

Suvi's face turned beet red. "Wh...why would you just blurt that out?"

"Sorry. Was I not supposed to? I thought since all the other girls at Whitegold also wore that call bell thing, and were damp as well, that that was normal.” Speaking behind her hand in a more hushed tone but still loud enough for everyone to hear, “But don’t worry. Now that I know it's a secret, I'll keep it even more secretter and from secretting around even more."

Azalea put her arm around Zinni's shoulder and leered at Suvi. "Maybe her friendship plug, and the calling bell, has ended up as a form of anal training and awakening."

Suvi's mouth flapped open, but no sound came out; partly because of Zinni's reveal, but also due to the revelation that maybe she WAS growing to like things in her butt.

As weird and uncomfortable as the friendship plug was… had been, she realized… it’d become a habit and now wore it all the time (except at work).

Ky smirked and patted Suvi's head.

Too distracted by her bat friend's impish grin at having discovered something new about her, the rat girl failed to notice Azalea stealthily drifting toward her rear.

"Now, now! Don't bully poor Suvi too much," chided Reina. "She should be commended for maintaining a professional attitude while working."

"T...that’s right! It’s p...perfectly natural and an unhelpful consequence of my job," she affirmed, regaining some of her composure. “So I'll pass on all your all's...fu…”

Her last syllable was cut short with an uncharacteristic squeal of surprise as the metal bulb inside her butt came alive with a keener vibration than she was used to or expecting.

"Whew, that's strong!” panted Azalea, seating herself right above the rat girl’s tail. “Reina, you should join us!"

"Herdmate and I are in the middle of cooking."

"I'll finish if you want to go have fun," offered Devin.

"Are you sure?"

Devin took the ladle from her. "You won't have that many more opportunities to enjoy everyone's company before we have to leave for who knows how long."

"You're too sweet, herdmate." Reaching to untie her apron, she paused and whispered, “I’ll let you use my mouth or whatever else you want later to make up for it.”

He smiled. “I look forward to it.”

“Then, if you'd be so kind," Reina pulled her dress up over her tail and turned her backside so Devin could turn her plug on.

He clicked it on, staring at her oh-so-inviting pussy as he did so. As nice as her mouth, breasts, and ass were, that cozy velvety slit was what he really wanted. Same with Jeni. Azalea was a foregone conclusion eventually; he just had to wait until she finished stretching herself.

Also thanks to his fairy’s wild imagination in Merport, he had a way that’d avoid getting either of them pregnant. Something Jeni would probably be fine with, but Reina… she would take some hard persuading. Either way, he’d have to wait a few more days before they were on the road and not so busy.

"Hurry up, my buxom beauty, before Suvi gets away!" called Azalea.

"Yes, yes! I'm coming."

"Not yet, you aren't."

"Reina, save me!" wailed Suvi.

Reina crossed the room and knelt behind the hunched-over ratgirl. "Azalea, you're being awfully mean to Suvi."

"Am I?"

Reina gathered up the perched fairy, lifting her off Suvi's back, thus allowing the rat girl to relax as the vibrations ceased. "Thank you, Reina! You saved me."

"Did I?" Careful not to touch her directly, Reina hooked her finger on Suvi's pants and yanked them all the way down. "But who's going to save you from me?"

"Huh?"

"Wh...what are you doing?" Suvi hissed through her teeth as Reina caressed her now fully bare bottom, causing her plug to jerk to life once more.

"Wanting to spend some quality time with you."

"I thought you were on my side!"

"I am. Well, the side where all the fun is happening," the Whitehorn chortled.

With Reina now in the mix, Azalea jumped off her hand and lightly grabbed Suvi’s tail on the way down, using it to swing over to where Zinni was leaning against Ky’s ass, masturbating.

Seating herself next to her fae-friend, Azalea grabbed her free hand, fully linking all six girls.

With each person now added to the chain, the oscillation of all of the plugs intensified, but the sudden jump from three to six made any of the girls still standing drop to the floor.

Pitching forward, Jeni ended up face down, her butt held by Ky as she forwent her own pleasure and instead pistoned the harpie’s egg exit with her over-sized plug.

Suvi’s knees began to buckle. She was about to join the others on the floor, if not for Reina catching her and effortlessly pulling her close, cuddling the hornily indignant ratgirl to her breast.

Suvi avoided eye contact with the smiling Whitehorn, who looked down at her tenderly. Her dignity was lost in pouting. "Why is everyone so mean to me?"

"Not mean." Reina stroked the ratgirl's flushed cheek. "Just leaving you some lasting memories while we are gone," she cooed.

"I'm not gonna miss you."

"Then why are you hugging me tighter?"

"Hmph."

“Want me to make you cum?”

Burying her face into the Whitehorn’s pillowy cleavage, she nodded.

After kissing the top of Suvi’s head, the larger woman folded the smaller girl's knees up to her chest, cupped her mound, and prodded the buzzing plug with her fingers while grinding her palm against the rat girl’s red and weepy slit, making her squirm.

“I’m going to see if I can fulfill your wish now, Zinni,” declared Azalea.

“What do you mean?”

“You wanted to know what Oozi felt like.”

“Ya… oh! But what if it doesn’t like me?”

“You have a sopping pussy and taste sweet. It’ll be like a bee girl to honey.”

“If you think so. I guess I'm ready. What should I do?”

“Just lie back and let me scissor you. Then get ready! Oozi can get pretty enthusiastic.”

Zinni bit her lip as Azalea hugged her thigh and ground their kissing pussies together, mashing and mixing their juices enough to catch the oozling’s attention.

Thinking this was just another one of the fairy’s masturbation sessions, Oozi had already been lapping and squirming the length of Azalea’s love tunnel, absorbing the feast of pooling juices all the way to her entrance.

“I think it tastes you.”

“ I think you’re right! I can feel i…”Zinni gasped as Oozi made contact with her flower.

Excited by the unfamiliar, spicier flavor, Oozi plunged its probing limb into the unfamiliar, looser, bumpier recess and began to thrash around, living up to its schlicum moniker by adding to the orchestra of lewd sounds the heavier fae was singing.

“So… lively, how deep is it going to go?”

“Probably all the way to your cervix, but I’m not entirely sure. I’ve never done something quite like this with it before.”

Awash in Azalea’s feelings of love and the dual sexual excitement of both, Oozi gorged, bloating itself until it snugly filled both clenching pleasure passages.

“It's like a living dildo!”

“Wonderful, isn’t it? I'm going to cum!"

"Me too!" Zinni trilled, leaning forward to embrace Azalea.

Blocking the fairy’s siphon crest from activating, Azalea appreciated the oozling’s unintended perk of allowing her to enjoy the full extent of her orgasm. Not that it wasn’t any less pleasurable passing her energy to whoever was touching her, but it was nice not collapsing into a useless puddle of bliss once in a while.

She watched her mentor-friend come down from her climax and giggle as Oozi slowed down as well, cleaning her up before pulling free.

Zinni fanned her happy pussy. "Whew. Not sure where I came from first, my butt or Oozi!”

Leaning back, Azalea stroked the tip of Suvi’s tail. "Been a while since I’ve cum while both holes were full. Nice change of pace. How close are you and Suvi, Reina?"

"It feels good, but not quite enough for me to orgasm. I enjoyed watching you have fun, though. I think Suvi’s just about there…"

The ratgirl tried to restrain her moans while humping Reina’s hand, her pussy throbbing and pulsing between the plug still whirring in her ass and Reina's steady circling of her clit. No longer able to hold back, she succumbed to the pleasure she'd been fighting and gave a muffled cry as she covered her mouth.

“There she goes,” crooned Reina. “Last but not least.”

Ky, like Reina, also couldn’t cum without additional stimulation. She mostly enjoyed the tingles while helping Jeni silently ride the last of her climax before helping the owl girl flop over onto her side.

"That’s one way to work up an appetite,” chuckled Devin, admiring the sight from the doorway. Though it looks like you forgot you were making a portrait of everyone?”

Azalea pushed Oozi back inside her. “I got all the key elements sketched. I can do the rest from memory. Zinni will spot anything I miss too.”

"Food is just about ready."

"Smells amazing, Lifemate. What are we having, and can I have a towel?”

"Me too, please" requested Zinni.

"Toasted bread with herbs topped with melted sheepgirl cheese and caviar paired with a bowl of cream of asparagus soup, but instead of cream, I used merman milt.”

"We might have splurged a little at the market, but we wanted to bring out the best that these ingredients had to offer," explained Reina. She clicked Suvi's plug off and felt her go limp in her arms. "Suvi also needs a towel, please, Herdmate."

Tossing the pint-sized girls hand towels, Devin leaned over the table and gave Reina a bigger one, which she used to dab Suvi’s sensitive pussy dry. Then she brushed the hair from her face. "Thank you for letting me make you feel good. I hope you had as much fun as I did."

"It was ok, I guess," the rat girl mumbled.

Reina smiled, knowing she wouldn’t admit how much she liked it; at least not at this moment. "I’m glad, but perhaps I… we can make up for it, aside from food ingredients. We also bought gifts for you, Zinni, Ky, and Jeni."

At the word gifts, the four girls perked up.

“After we eat,” said Reina, getting up to help Devin set out the cutlery and put the food on the table.

While the other girls finished cleaning themselves up, Suvi got up on wobbly legs and slumped back into her chair.

Devin handed her a bowl.

"Going back to my earlier question, what is milt?" prompted the ratgirl as she sniffed the contents suspiciously.

"Just try it!" encouraged Azalea, already digging in.

Ky, Suvi, and Zinni each sipped a spoonful. "This tastes sorta like your Lifemate, Azalea." Zinni hypothesized.

"You're partly right, but it's from a merman!"

Suvi’s second spoonful stopped midway to her mouth. "Are you saying we're eating..."

"This is the first time this one has tasted the procreative seed from a demi-human of the sea. She wishes to compliment her nest mates on incorporating it into such a delicious meal."

"I like it, too," agreed Zinni, tearing off a fae-sized piece of bread.

Ky was quickly finishing her first bowl and held it out for seconds.

“Whatever. I suppose it somehow does taste good,” grumped Suvi, giving in to her hunger.

As they ate, they made small talk, leading to the fastest eater, Ky, and a tiny-stomached fairy finishing first. “We’re done,” announced Azalea, pushing her bowl away. “Ky and I are gonna go get the presents!”

“Don’t rush and drop them,” cautioned Reina.

Returning moments later with a crate normally used for vegetables, Ky set it on the table and sat back down.

"If no one else minds, can I pass them out?" Azalea asked, teetering on the edge.

"By all means, though I'll handle the biggest one when you get to it,” asserted Devin.

Azalea dove into the box and emerged with a package wrapped in butcher paper. "This is for you, Ky. We thought it'd be especially useful this time of year."

Taking the package, she nimbly ripped off the paper and held up a pair of goggles.

"The frame is covered in mother-of-pearl, and the lenses are tumbled sea-glass, so things will look cloudy blue-green, but it'll protect your eyes from glare," Reina informed her.

Ky squeaked her thanks and eagerly went about adjusting them for a comfortable fit on her head.

Azalea shuffled the contents around. "Let's see. Next is Zinni! I saw you didn't bring many of your art supplies with you, so I suggested buying you some paints!"

"You shouldn’t have! I will treasure them till the stars forget how to shine… or I run out, whichever comes first!”

Zinni walked around the glass bottles as tall as she was, as Azalea kept taking them out of the crate. “I've never seen these colors of pigments before."

"Me neither,” said Azalea. “The white one is ground seashells. The black is from Scylla ink; purple is from a snail girl, I think. Green is from shed kelp girl fronds, and the red is from algae. I forget what the other colors are made from."

Producing the next gift. Azalea held it out as she hovered in front of the rat girl. "This is for you, Suvi!"

"I’ll say thank you for the gesture, but I know how you think, little fairy."

Devin laughed. “It’s actually something normal. We got the unusual thing for Jeni.”

The fairy handed over a flat wooden box.

Suvi slid the lid off, her eyes widening at the revealing of a new dagger.

"We thought the new sheath we got you deserved an equally new weapon.”

Explained Devin. “It's more decorative than a typical dagger, but it should still be functional for light use."

Suvi turned over the ostentatious blade. A little longer and heavier than her old one, the blade was straight, with a serrated spine that looked like sea waves, and the handle was wrapped in something like braided cord, making it rough for a better grip.

"Thank you," she mumbled. "I swear I'm going to get you all something before you leave."

"We look forward to it!” Azalea spun around to face the patient bird girl. “Lastly, we have Jeni! You were the hardest to find something for."

"I still don't know how you spotted that. Much less who would buy it." Devin teased.

"Obviously, an appreciator of the sea folk’s gracefulness and who wanted to share their lovely visage with like-minded persons on the lookout for a souvenir unlike any other."

"Or, as an outlet for their horniness," joked Devin, carefully taking out a wooden box too heavy for Azalea to lift. He opened the lid, pulled out the straw packaging, and placed an eyebrow-raising hourglass in front of the owl-harpy.

"That's such an Azalea-style gift," grunted Suvi, shaking her head. "Makes me glad you gave me something normal."

Carved from polished driftwood, twin mermaids mirrored each other in a spiral around a biconical glass container filled with colored sand. With arms draped around the glass, each naked woman was captured in their moment of ecstasy as they pressed their pussies against the clear sides.

Azalea enthused, "But isn't it amazing? No matter which way you turn it, the top one looks like she's laying eggs in the sand. And see here! Their breasts are smooshed down and leaking milk!"

"This one has never conceived of such an… eccentrically whimsical time-keeping device."

"I noticed your lack of clocks in the workshop and thought it might be useful."

"This one can certainly make use of it and thanks her nestmates for thinking of her even when she was not with them."

Devin stroked the feathered tufts on Jeni’s head. "You are always on our minds."

Suvi pulled out her old dagger, hid it in her boot, and slid the new one into the sheath with a satisfying clink. She stood up and announced, “Thanks for lunch and the present. I’ll sprint up to Whitegold and relay back what Mavis says.”

Devin got up and started placing dishes in the sink. “Appreciate it! I’m going to unload our cargo and perhaps go check on the new wagon.”

Azalea swallowed a crumb of cheesy bread. “I want to go! I’d like to stop and pick up those layaway items at the Silver Chalice.”

Zinni added, “Can I go, too?”

“Sure. Anyone else?” Devin checked.

Ky squeaked and pantomimed to Suvi.

“Ky says she has work, but she might walk with you part of the way if it's in the same direction.”

“This one is thinking of taking a nap after this.”

“I’m going to wash the dishes, and then I might join Jeni, Herdmate, unless you need me for more harness adjustments.”

“No need. Take your rest. I just wanted to make sure no issues arose while we were gone.”

—-

Worn out from playtime with the girls, and feeling groggy from lunch, Jeni went to her room to nap for a few hours.

When she awoke, she lay spread eagle-harpy across the bed. A recently rare luxury. With Devin, Azalea, and Reina temporarily taking up the guest room, Suvi and Ky had been cozying up with Jeni in hers. This sleeping arrangement often put Suvi in the middle, acting as the little spoon to Ky because she was the smallest of the three.

Listening for what Reina might be doing downstairs and hearing nothing, she slid off her bed and tiptoed down, in case the Whitehorn was still napping as well.

Upon reaching the kitchen, she found Reina at the table with a blank sheet of paper in front of her.

"How was your nap?" asked Reina, looking up.

"This one feels rejuvenated, but her egg-hole is sore."

"Ky was rather rough with you."

"The discomfort was worth not missing out on the full bonding experience with her nestmates and friends." Shuffling over to the Whitehorn, she leaned forward and puckered her lips, to which Reina obliged, returning the affection.

Satisfied, Jeni pulled out a chair and sat down. “Did participatory Reina enjoy herself?"

"I did, even if it didn’t look like it. If given the choice between receiving or giving pleasure. I prefer giving. I like taking care of others' needs first."

Jeni’s gaze drifted to the blank sheet. "This one wonders… is dictatorial Reina scribing words in her mind before applying them to paper?"

Reina sighed. "If only. I've been thinking a lot, on and off, about Azalea's suggestion to write to my parents. I feel I should at least make an attempt before we go, but I don't know how to begin. There is so much I want to say, but I don't know if I should even say any of it."

"This one understands. She, too, has been wondering if she should let her old mentor know how this one is doing but doesn't know where to start. Perhaps, together, this headwind of writing can be more easily navigated. Maybe the uniting of the same performative task will yield solutions."

"I would enjoy your company." Reina tapped the quill nib on the table. "Any ideas?"

"What three things would reconciliatory Reina most like to tell her parents? Perhaps start with the easiest to talk about."

"Well, I'd like to tell them I formed a herd with three people who have grown very dear to me and whom I love very much, and that I miss them and am sorry for growing so distant."

Reina stroked the feather on her quill. She had never told anyone the full story, feelings, and mindset about that night she and her sister were abducted and the weeks after. But Jeni's steady, disarming gaze made her feel like she could open up to the harpy.

Reina took a deep breath. "When the raiders from the south crossed into our territory, my herd was one of the first to be attacked. In the initial surprise, my sister and I had been abducted along with others who looked like they wouldn't put up much of a fight.

"The attack only lasted a few minutes, but the shock and fear were enough to put us in disbelief and a daze, making it easy to overpower and herd us away.

"But while they struck fast and retreated just as quickly, it was only a short while before my father led the first retaliatory rescue. Knowing the area better and in many ways physically superior, they ambushed our captors.

"I think they were expecting it, though, because they didn't act surprised. In fact, the strangest thing was how dour they all acted – like it was the do-or-die scenario they were trying to accomplish."

"Many of the raiders were slain, but desperation and their will to survive, alongside a hastily put-together rescue team made up of whoever was available, enabled them to get away, escaping with those who weren't rescued in the chaos, including my sister.

"I was taken back home and bandaged. As I lay in the tent, wishing I’d been the one taken instead, I listened to desperate arguments about how to save the rest.

"One group wanted to form a militia and push deeper into the middle kingdom's territory and retrieve them. Others discouraged it, citing our lack of combat experience and a standing army, having relied too much on our mountains for protection. We had some advantage in the uneven terrain, but in the open flat lands of their side of the border, we'd have no chance."

Reina paused her story to take a sip of her tea and pour herself another cup, setting it aside to cool. "Eventually they came to the consensus not to pursue, and only shore up our defenses and scout for any more possible attacks.

"While my parents weren't the most expressive, I could tell how frustrated and angry they were. Capturing us alive was, in a way, worse for them. Knowing my sister was still alive made it hard to grieve properly.

"The weeks after were strained and awkward. I felt guilty and frustrated with myself, despite knowing there wasn't anything I realistically could have done.

"Eventually, I couldn't stay with them anymore because the pain was too fresh, the memories too many, and even though they probably didn't blame me, I couldn't stop blaming myself. I withdrew little by little, emotionally, until I physically moved out of the family tent, living on the edge of the herd's camp and ultimately outside of it.

"They didn't stop me, whether because they were also grieving or understanding I also had to grieve, it just happened. Though, on some level they had to blame me, right? Time numbs feelings.

"Which is why, even now, after all this time, an opportunity has allowed me to travel south, find her, some news of her, or at least some news of her fate for closure."

Jeni placed her wing on Reina’s hand. “This one does not know what was in the mind of her parents. But she thinks that writing to them to explain these things is the right thing to do. And it sounds like writer-blocked Reina now has some organized key points to write about."

"I suppose I do. Thank you, Jeni, for being a good listener."

Reina began to pour her heart onto the page, leaving Jeni to think about her own letters.

Jeni’s turn. She had two letters to write. One to her old academy instructors regarding Iceford’s enigmatic gargoyles and their crests, along with what Azalea had discovered about maybe awakening them.

And the other other more important letter to her adopted guardian. Taking a sheet from the stack of paper, she began jotting down ideas she wanted to say.

Widely regarded as the foremost golemancer in the north, perhaps the continent, his exact age was a mystery. But she had reason to believe he might, as impossible as it seemed, have predated the Era of the Bands, over a thousand years ago, when the demi-human tribes migrated as refugees from the middle kingdoms' persecution.

Only because he talked as if he’d actually experienced that history. As to the how, the only possibility she could think of was he might be bonded similarly with an extensively long lived partner she’d never seen or met. Similarly to her Nestmate’s love crest & glyph.

Whatever the truth of his enigmatic past, their bond was an unusual one. Neither quite that of a mentor nor that of a surrogate parent.

Years ago her parents had apprenticed under him. When she came onto the scene, Old Mentor had built an incubator into one of the golems to keep her warm in her egg, allowing her parents to continue their research without distraction.

It wasn’t much later, after she’d hatched, that her parents passed away during the great famine – a loss that, while Old Mentor didn't show it, Jeni was sure had affected him with the obligation and responsibility of raising her.

He was ill-suited to be a parent. Reclusive and taciturn, he raised her like an engineer solving a problem, with the same mindset he used when building his golems. A frame that needed intelligence and purpose, but neglected the importance of self-care. Things like preening her feathers and trimming her talons were left undone for a long time, until she looked like a scraggly puffball with six toes.

She hadn’t been without her own faults either. Her personality and mannerisms posed a challenge for such an ancient man. Her wings regularly knocked things over, and she had an early obsession with climbing up to high places.

His golems became her siblings and protectors. They had substantial influence on her despite their limited intelligence and interaction capabilities. She'd adopted their lack of facial expressions, blunt delivery of information, and circumspect references to herself.

Yet he’d done his best to care for her in his own peculiar way and she didn't begrudge him then or now. While he'd utterly failed to help her develop any social skills, he'd given her the tools and knowledge to become self-dependent. He'd taught her artificing of the materials for the northern and central style of golemancy. How to devise the structure, and articulate their movement. But her favorite lessons were reading and writing, which let her discover the world through books, scrolls, and maps.

She still remembered when her secluded, solitary, but rewarding early life of doing nothing but learning was interrupted. Old Mentor had some obligations to fulfill in town that had nothing to do with her, but he offered to take her if she was interested.

She readily went along. It was her first time leaving the workshop, leading to a chance encounter with the first demi-human she’d seen beyond her reflection in a mirror – a charismatic black-feathered raven harpy and her adopted human brother.

Curiosity had compelled her to go talk to them. Despite her total ineptness at conversation, Mavis had taken an immediate shine to her quirky personality and way of speaking. So much so that she took it upon herself to teach her how to socialize and converse a bit more properly. Devin was also friendly and a perfect partner to practice what she'd learned.

She enjoyed their company, gradually drifting away from a comfortably solitary workshop lifestyle to explore the outside world. Which is why, many years later, when she said she wanted to go to the academy in Thawdenn, all her mentor said was: “I’ve taught you what I can, so I won’t wish you an easy road. You’ll learn nothing from one, but you’ll do well enough to impress those musty beards in the capital.”

Old Mentor was not one for sentimentality, but he gave her his old scholar robes so she’d at least look like she fit in.

That was the last time she'd talked to him in person. She’d written a few times during her term in the capital, but he never wrote back. Soon, like a fledgling leaving the nest, time and life drifted them apart.

Lately, though, the time spent with her new family made her yearn for some reconnection with her old one. She was itching to tell him about her nestmates, how she’d found a place to belong, and that the trip they were about to embark on had rekindled the pursuit of her lifelong dream of designing and building her first golem.

She’d designed and assembled various pieces and parts for his creations in the past, but now she had the opportunity to visit his home country and the birthplace of golemancy. Maybe he’d have advice for landmarks to visit that gave him inspiration.

She was keen to begin designing. Like an updraft under her wings, she wanted to see how far she could soar supported by all she’d learned.

Over the last few days, she’d been trying to squeeze in as many last-minute orders as she could and sell off a lot of personal belongings she wouldn’t need anymore to amass a nest egg for materials to get started. It’d give her something to do while they traveled. Perhaps she could trade for exotic components she’d never considered using before.

The sound of the front door opening with an accompaniment of heavy boots and flittering wings snapped her out of her reminiscing.

"I can't wait to show everyone, though it's so quiet! Is anyone here?"

"We're in the dining room, Azalea."

“Ah, there you are, my large love… and fluffy love. We have come bearing gifts!”

“And I am one of the we!” added Zinni, fluttering in and setting her bag down.

“You are! So is Lifemate, partially, except he has some super secret announcement he wouldn’t tell us till we got home.“

“Not so secret, but it was fun listening to you two guess.” Devin chuckled. “It was just to say that the wagon will be done the day after tomorrow.”

“Yay! Finally! And here I was thinking it was some clever add-on.” Azalea finally noticed the paper on the table. “Oh, were you two in the middle of writing? Sorry for being so loud coming in."

"It's ok. They are letters to family, and I just finished," Reina stated as she put down her pen.

"Oh, you decided to write one! I should too, to my mom."

"You might not receive a response before we leave," Devin informed them.

“I know, but I don’t want to leave things unsaid any longer.”

"I can hold onto any letters that arrive for you while you are gone,” offered Zinni.

"That's sweet of you! I would appreciate that." Reina folded her letter neatly and laid it aside. “You two said you had gifts for us?”

Zinni cheered, "We do! Well, Azalea does. I just helped with some finishing touches.”

Azalea directed Devin to set the bag he was carrying on the table, then she disappeared inside. Rising up with two small wooden boxes, she held them out to the Whitehorn and harpy. “I picked them out before we left for Merport."

Reina flipped the lid up. "What a beautiful flower pendant!"

"It's an accessory with a twist. Literally. Rotate this part."

Reina and Jeni both twisted the center, sprouting open the minuscule petals.

"This one has seen a similar thing before. The wearing of hinged accessories containing a picture of a loved one."

"That's right! Though, as you can see, this one holds four! I sketched everyone multiple times for each one, but with slight variations to add to the specialness of each one."

"And Azalea asked me to paint them," expounded Zinni.

"I'm not as good with colors, and I could see Zinni's wings were all a-quiver like a morning dewdrop to try her new paints."

"They turned out absolutely lovely." Lifting both fae, Reina kissed Zinni on the top of her head and Azalea more intimately. "Thank you."

"This one too wishes to express her appreciation." She copied Reina, though the kiss with Azalea lasted a little longer.

"I didn't know you could kiss like that," Azalea panted.

"This one has been practicing with kiss-mentor Reina."

"That explains it. She’s good at it, isn't she? She even got Mavis a little hot'n'bothered. Reina's kisses are intimate, deep, and slow. Jeni's feel like a modified version but with tongue!”

Reina picked Azalea up from off the table. "And you, little fairy, are a confusing mix of both flirty and overt."

Azalea grinned smugly. "It's fun to keep the other guessing… for more impact."

"This one would also like to kiss Nestmate and show what she has learned."

“By all means. Lets see what you learned” Devin held out his hand to help Jeni out of her chair.

Standing on her tippy-talons, she could just reach his lips. "This one loves her nestmates so much."

"And we love you, too," said Devin, shuffling them closer to Reina and Azalea so they could cuddle the bird-girl too.

Eating up the attention, she asked, "Could Nestmate tell sister Mavis something for this one the next time he sees her?"

"Sure."

"Tell her that this one will never be able to express how thankful she is for her introducing this one to the one she first had romantic feelings for, and by extension, was able to meet her other nestmates."

"I'm sure she already knows, but I will tell her all the same."

Reina interceded, “And I'm thankful Azalea found me so I have herdmates to look after. Is everyone hungry? Should we start dinner?"

"I’m hungry."

The voice caused everyone to turn.

"Suvi! You are always so good at sneaking up on us."

"Habit. I just got back from Whitegold. Ky’s got a busy night with some very thirsty customers. The people you lot will be traveling with." Suvi nudged Devin's leg with her toe. "Mavis set up your meeting for tomorrow evening at six."

"Works for us. Thanks for playing messenger.”

"Think nothing of it."

“Now that we have a definitive time, if you girls are up to it, we can go to bed early.” Looking at Reina and Azalea, “Then we can visit the milk exchange tomorrow to get you two partially registered or whatever we need to do."

“Let's do it!”

Reina smiled softly. “That sounds like a good plan. If we can wake up the sleepy head in time.”

“If not, just put me in your pocket or something.”

“I’ll wake her up,” volunteered Zinni. “Even if I have to, uh, squish her cheeks together or sit on her and tickle her with my wings!”

Azalea laughed. “I’ll hold you to that.”