"Fight?" Na'Vi spoke in disbelief. "This isn't just something you can fight."
"Well I say we try." KuliKuli answered back. "Let the Hunter come and try to catch me."
"Nityri, he's not after only you, he's after all of us. You, me, your mother and sisters. We're all in trouble here, there's a lot that we would risk if we stay."
"My name is KuliKuli, not Nityri, and I'm staying here. You can run off if you'd like, I won't stop you."
Na'Vi scoffed and shook her head, looking to Emyri for her support. "You spoke to her about this, what do you think? After all the running, you think we should just stand here now? Didn't you tell her what happened before?"
"What did happen before?" Janette asked. Now that the topic was mentioned, it did pique her interest to know what happened to have them on the run.
"We didn't do anything before you judge." Dimyri began to say, her eyes glancing back and forth between KuliKuli and her mother.
Emyri stepped forward with a clap of her paws. "It's not my first choice, but your sister is very adamant in her decision here. She wouldn't be persuaded."
"But this wasn't-" Na'Vi hesitated, taking Emyri's arm and pulling her close to speak in a low tone of voice. "Mother, we came to find her and make sure she's safe."
"And she is, is she not? I understand that yesterday we had a different strategy in mind, but things are different. We didn't expect to find my little girl with a mate of her own."
"And we should be happy for that?" Na'Vi asked with an awkward expression.
Emyri stuttered, looking away with a shrug and a chuckle. "It's not how I would imagine this to happen but yes, I'm happy for her."
"But-!" Na'Vi turned around, eyeing Felix briefly. With a huff, she stormed out of the house leaving the rest of the group standing in silence.
Janette cleared her throat. "At the risk of looking like I agree with her, let me make sure I understand. You are deciding to stay here... and fight this Hunter that's coming for you, correct?"
KuliKuli nodded.
"Not just any hunter, but one who specializes in killing monsters. That includes Monster Girls too, you know that?" When KuliKuli kept silent, Janette turned to Felix instead. "You and I spoke of this before, I'm surprised you weren't the first to oppose."
"Well, in truth I am not the biggest supporter of this myself. I would much rather keep out of trouble and stay minding my own business." He explained, grabbing a chair to sit down. "It's a lot to take in, no doubt. I just..."
He chuckled to himself, shaking his head and laughing in disbelief. KuliKuli held her paw on his shoulder, standing beside him to comfort him. Reta hung her head, twisting her lips as she acknowledged where this was heading.
"It's kind of funny, really. It's like the harder I try to stay out of trouble, or the more we try to keep our heads down, the more problems we come across."
"It's a funny world we live in." Reta muttered while looking out the window.
"And I suppose you guys will want to stay here, in my house? Not to say that your cabin lacks any room for additional inhabitants, because it certainly does not. I doubt that." Janette crossed her arms and closed her eyes in a huff.
KuliKuli's ears dropped as she looked at her friend with pleading eyes. "Would it be too much to ask if my family can stay with you?"
"Me in a big house inviting a family of cat girls to stay?" Janette rolled her eyes and smacked her lips. "When I chose to keep your secret back in Farmer's Den, I would have never guessed that choosing to stay involved would be this much trouble."
Emyri looked between the two and cleared her throat, tapping her foot down three times. KuliKuli's ears twitched just as her siblings did. Syri and Dimyri straightened their backs and moved in until they stood next to their mother.
"Girls, what do we have to say to the nice young woman?"
Syri and Dimyri bowed their heads together, pressing their paws over their fronts and speaking to her in unison. "We're sorry for the trouble we've caused and we promise not to repeat our mistakes."
Janette rubbed her eyes and groaned, looking at KuliKuli as she began to pout and make big, pleading eyes. When she looked back to the two cat girls facing her, they did the same. Those large, adorable, shiny eyes and that adorable face...
"Arrrrghhhh~FINE!" They began to cheer and clap, hopping around until Janette slapped her hand on the table, freezing them in place. In a second, they returned into standing in a straight line together. "But I've a few conditions if you lot are to stay here! First, you guys are going to work."
"Taking them to the Den may be a bad idea." Felix argued.
"No, it would be a terrible idea. I never said they would go to the Den to help with my shop." She corrected him, leaning against the table. "I mean that if you stay, the first thing you'll do is clean up around the house."
"Oh, okay." Syri replied, making a weird face. Her sister nudged her arm but it wasn't enough for Janette not to notice.
"What?"
"Oh it's just that this is a big boxy piece of wood, how do you clean it?" She asked, rubbing her arm nervously.
KuliKuli giggled upon hearing her sister's concern. "I know, huh! This place is so big and roomy, why would a human need so much space?"
"And she's not fat, and she lives by herself. Did she use to have a big family?" Dimyri chimed in, snickering with the two.
As the three began to gossip and tease, Janette felt her blood begin to boil. Her face turned a bright shade of red and for a moment, Felix swore that he saw steam erupt from her ears. Emyri wasn't oblivious either, smiling nervously before snatching her two daughters up with her tails wrapped around their waists, pulling them toward her. They yelped and froze in a panic, staring forward in fear of witnessing their mother's wrath.
"Girls, I thought I raised you better than that. I'm going to count to three, and when I do I expect you two to behave and do what the kind woman says. Understand?"
Dimyri swallowed heavily while Syri furiously nodded back and forth until her face was a blur.
"Good." She smiled, releasing the pair and stepping back. "One. Two. Three."
"We promise to listen and clean up for you," Dimryi said in a soft tone.
"Even if we have to learn how." Syri added.
"Splendid." Janette breathed in and rubbed her eyes. "I hope not to regret this. Secondly, I'd like to study you a bit if that's okay?"
"Now wait just a moment, study us how?" Emyri stepped in, frowning upon hearing her second condition.
Janette stepped back carefully and held out her hands. "Whoa, I meant questions! Just asking you and your daughters a few questions about yourselves, like your habits and practices?"
Felix stood up from his chair abruptly. "I do think this isn't the best time for that."
"Okay fine, we can drop that for now. Just, try not to break things. I don't know what else to have you guys do, do whatever for now. I need to go."
"Go where?" KuliKuli asked.
"To my shop."
"But I thought you don't work today?"
"Oh I work any day, miss! I need to step out and get some fresh air, you guys talk amongst yourselves. If we are going to fight, then I have something I need to grab from the nearby library."
KuliKuli scoffed and rolled her eyes. "What, this isn't the time to study up on Nekomata, Jay!"
Janette scowled back. "I'm not grabbing anything like that! This is extremely important, and besides, I have to check up on some things. Oh and I need you to come with me!"
She reached out for Reta, pulling her abruptly and dragging her to the front door. The other cat girls stepped away quickly, watching the two make a dash out of the house. Before slipping through the door, Reta yanked her arm out from Janette's grip.
"Why?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.
Janette blinked and glanced back, leaning forward and cupping her mouth, whispering in a hushed tone. "Please?"
The way her eyes darted toward the door and back was strange, but judging by her nervous look, Reta shrugged and followed her out of the room. "Fine, but don't expect me to start selling your junk like one of your workers."
"Can't you stay today?" Felix asked, poking his head around the door frame.
"Nope, can't talk. Clean up the mess, I don't want to see any glass on the floor by the time we come back!" Janette cried out, slamming the door and knocking Felix back.
Felix shook his head and stood up, only he, KuliKuli, Emyri and Dimyri were left in the house. As he returned back into the dining room, he sat back on his chair beside KuliKuli, looking around awkwardly as no one knew what to say next.
"So, the ummm, a Hunter?" Felix asked, tapping his fingers on the chair. "How exactly do you um, do we plan to fight back?"
"I haven't a clue." She replied with a nervous laugh. Her ears shot up and she turned to look at her mother. "Mom, why don't you... wow."
"What is it, dear?" Emyri asked, sitting upright. KuliKuli looked around and started to laugh.
"Um, Kuli?" Felix reached out to her, grabbing her paw.
She smiled back and cupped his hand with a sigh. "I'm fine, it's just... it's really silly that just two days ago I was wondering if I was an only child. I was fine with that, comfortable even. Just a few days ago, things were starting to go back to normal. I was a Nekomata, a cat girl who got super lucky and found herself the sweetest, kindest, hard working human to call my mate. Because of you, I wake up every morning with a smile when I see my cute handsome mate sleeping peacefully in bed. Because of you, I wake up feeling sore yet ready to start our day together."
"That's, wow." Felix blushed profusely, covering his face from Emyri's smirk. "I'm happy to hear that but there are some things we don't need to share in front of others, love."
"Oh no, don't mind me. I'm happy to know my daughter's needs are taken care of." Emyri purred, catching his eye and winking back.
KuliKuli giggled and sat on his lap, hooking her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. "Mmm, and now I have a bigger family. A mom, two sisters, and a friend."
"Yea, about her-" Felix started to say, only for KuliKuli to give him a pleading look.
"It's okay, we'll talk about her in time. Let's just... let's just enjoy this, okay? Please?"
Looking into her shiny golden eyes, Felix felt the irresistible pull as he caressed her cheek before kissing her forehead. With a deep sigh, he held her close and nodded, looking up toward Emyri and Dimyri as they smiled and clapped their paws in support.
"Fight?" Na'Vi spoke in disbelief. "This isn't just something you can fight."
"Well I say we try." KuliKuli answered back. "Let the Hunter come and try to catch me."
"Nityri, he's not after only you, he's after all of us. You, me, your mother and sisters. We're all in trouble here, there's a lot that we would risk if we stay."
"My name is KuliKuli, not Nityri, and I'm staying here. You can run off if you'd like, I won't stop you."
Na'Vi scoffed and shook her head, looking to Emyri for her support. "You spoke to her about this, what do you think? After all the running, you think we should just stand here now? Didn't you tell her what happened before?"
"What did happen before?" Janette asked. Now that the topic was mentioned, it did pique her interest to know what happened to have them on the run.
"We didn't do anything before you judge." Dimyri began to say, her eyes glancing back and forth between KuliKuli and her mother.
Emyri stepped forward with a clap of her paws. "It's not my first choice, but your sister is very adamant in her decision here. She wouldn't be persuaded."
"But this wasn't-" Na'Vi hesitated, taking Emyri's arm and pulling her close to speak in a low tone of voice. "Mother, we came to find her and make sure she's safe."
"And she is, is she not? I understand that yesterday we had a different strategy in mind, but things are different. We didn't expect to find my little girl with a mate of her own."
"And we should be happy for that?" Na'Vi asked with an awkward expression.
Emyri stuttered, looking away with a shrug and a chuckle. "It's not how I would imagine this to happen but yes, I'm happy for her."
"But-!" Na'Vi turned around, eyeing Felix briefly. With a huff, she stormed out of the house leaving the rest of the group standing in silence.
Janette cleared her throat. "At the risk of looking like I agree with her, let me make sure I understand. You are deciding to stay here... and fight this Hunter that's coming for you, correct?"
KuliKuli nodded.
"Not just any hunter, but one who specializes in killing monsters. That includes Monster Girls too, you know that?" When KuliKuli kept silent, Janette turned to Felix instead. "You and I spoke of this before, I'm surprised you weren't the first to oppose."
"Well, in truth I am not the biggest supporter of this myself. I would much rather keep out of trouble and stay minding my own business." He explained, grabbing a chair to sit down. "It's a lot to take in, no doubt. I just..."
He chuckled to himself, shaking his head and laughing in disbelief. KuliKuli held her paw on his shoulder, standing beside him to comfort him. Reta hung her head, twisting her lips as she acknowledged where this was heading.
"It's kind of funny, really. It's like the harder I try to stay out of trouble, or the more we try to keep our heads down, the more problems we come across."
"It's a funny world we live in." Reta muttered while looking out the window.
"And I suppose you guys will want to stay here, in my house? Not to say that your cabin lacks any room for additional inhabitants, because it certainly does not. I doubt that." Janette crossed her arms and closed her eyes in a huff.
KuliKuli's ears dropped as she looked at her friend with pleading eyes. "Would it be too much to ask if my family can stay with you?"
"Me in a big house inviting a family of cat girls to stay?" Janette rolled her eyes and smacked her lips. "When I chose to keep your secret back in Farmer's Den, I would have never guessed that choosing to stay involved would be this much trouble."
Emyri looked between the two and cleared her throat, tapping her foot down three times. KuliKuli's ears twitched just as her siblings did. Syri and Dimyri straightened their backs and moved in until they stood next to their mother.
"Girls, what do we have to say to the nice young woman?"
Syri and Dimyri bowed their heads together, pressing their paws over their fronts and speaking to her in unison. "We're sorry for the trouble we've caused and we promise not to repeat our mistakes."
Janette rubbed her eyes and groaned, looking at KuliKuli as she began to pout and make big, pleading eyes. When she looked back to the two cat girls facing her, they did the same. Those large, adorable, shiny eyes and that adorable face...
"Arrrrghhhh~FINE!" They began to cheer and clap, hopping around until Janette slapped her hand on the table, freezing them in place. In a second, they returned into standing in a straight line together. "But I've a few conditions if you lot are to stay here! First, you guys are going to work."
"Taking them to the Den may be a bad idea." Felix argued.
"No, it would be a terrible idea. I never said they would go to the Den to help with my shop." She corrected him, leaning against the table. "I mean that if you stay, the first thing you'll do is clean up around the house."
"Oh, okay." Syri replied, making a weird face. Her sister nudged her arm but it wasn't enough for Janette not to notice.
"What?"
"Oh it's just that this is a big boxy piece of wood, how do you clean it?" She asked, rubbing her arm nervously.
KuliKuli giggled upon hearing her sister's concern. "I know, huh! This place is so big and roomy, why would a human need so much space?"
"And she's not fat, and she lives by herself. Did she use to have a big family?" Dimyri chimed in, snickering with the two.
As the three began to gossip and tease, Janette felt her blood begin to boil. Her face turned a bright shade of red and for a moment, Felix swore that he saw steam erupt from her ears. Emyri wasn't oblivious either, smiling nervously before snatching her two daughters up with her tails wrapped around their waists, pulling them toward her. They yelped and froze in a panic, staring forward in fear of witnessing their mother's wrath.
"Girls, I thought I raised you better than that. I'm going to count to three, and when I do I expect you two to behave and do what the kind woman says. Understand?"
Dimyri swallowed heavily while Syri furiously nodded back and forth until her face was a blur.
"Good." She smiled, releasing the pair and stepping back. "One. Two. Three."
"We promise to listen and clean up for you," Dimryi said in a soft tone.
"Even if we have to learn how." Syri added.
"Splendid." Janette breathed in and rubbed her eyes. "I hope not to regret this. Secondly, I'd like to study you a bit if that's okay?"
"Now wait just a moment, study us how?" Emyri stepped in, frowning upon hearing her second condition.
Janette stepped back carefully and held out her hands. "Whoa, I meant questions! Just asking you and your daughters a few questions about yourselves, like your habits and practices?"
Felix stood up from his chair abruptly. "I do think this isn't the best time for that."
"Okay fine, we can drop that for now. Just, try not to break things. I don't know what else to have you guys do, do whatever for now. I need to go."
"Go where?" KuliKuli asked.
"To my shop."
"But I thought you don't work today?"
"Oh I work any day, miss! I need to step out and get some fresh air, you guys talk amongst yourselves. If we are going to fight, then I have something I need to grab from the nearby library."
KuliKuli scoffed and rolled her eyes. "What, this isn't the time to study up on Nekomata, Jay!"
Janette scowled back. "I'm not grabbing anything like that! This is extremely important, and besides, I have to check up on some things. Oh and I need you to come with me!"
She reached out for Reta, pulling her abruptly and dragging her to the front door. The other cat girls stepped away quickly, watching the two make a dash out of the house. Before slipping through the door, Reta yanked her arm out from Janette's grip.
"Why?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.
Janette blinked and glanced back, leaning forward and cupping her mouth, whispering in a hushed tone. "Please?"
The way her eyes darted toward the door and back was strange, but judging by her nervous look, Reta shrugged and followed her out of the room. "Fine, but don't expect me to start selling your junk like one of your workers."
"Can't you stay today?" Felix asked, poking his head around the door frame.
"Nope, can't talk. Clean up the mess, I don't want to see any glass on the floor by the time we come back!" Janette cried out, slamming the door and knocking Felix back.
Felix shook his head and stood up, only he, KuliKuli, Emyri and Dimyri were left in the house. As he returned back into the dining room, he sat back on his chair beside KuliKuli, looking around awkwardly as no one knew what to say next.
"So, the ummm, a Hunter?" Felix asked, tapping his fingers on the chair. "How exactly do you um, do we plan to fight back?"
"I haven't a clue." She replied with a nervous laugh. Her ears shot up and she turned to look at her mother. "Mom, why don't you... wow."
"What is it, dear?" Emyri asked, sitting upright. KuliKuli looked around and started to laugh.
"Um, Kuli?" Felix reached out to her, grabbing her paw.
She smiled back and cupped his hand with a sigh. "I'm fine, it's just... it's really silly that just two days ago I was wondering if I was an only child. I was fine with that, comfortable even. Just a few days ago, things were starting to go back to normal. I was a Nekomata, a cat girl who got super lucky and found herself the sweetest, kindest, hard working human to call my mate. Because of you, I wake up every morning with a smile when I see my cute handsome mate sleeping peacefully in bed. Because of you, I wake up feeling sore yet ready to start our day together."
"That's, wow." Felix blushed profusely, covering his face from Emyri's smirk. "I'm happy to hear that but there are some things we don't need to share in front of others, love."
"Oh no, don't mind me. I'm happy to know my daughter's needs are taken care of." Emyri purred, catching his eye and winking back.
KuliKuli giggled and sat on his lap, hooking her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. "Mmm, and now I have a bigger family. A mom, two sisters, and a friend."
"Yea, about her-" Felix started to say, only for KuliKuli to give him a pleading look.
"It's okay, we'll talk about her in time. Let's just... let's just enjoy this, okay? Please?"
Looking into her shiny golden eyes, Felix felt the irresistible pull as he caressed her cheek before kissing her forehead. With a deep sigh, he held her close and nodded, looking up toward Emyri and Dimyri as they smiled and clapped their paws in support.
