Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/2694308.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/F
  Fandom:
      Homestuck
  Relationship:
      Nepeta_Leijon/Kanaya_Maryam
  Character:
      Nepeta_Leijon, Kanaya_Maryam
  Additional Tags:
      Fluff_and_Smut, First_Meetings, Awkward_First_Times, First_Time, Sex
      Positive, Warm_and_Fuzzy_Feelings, Female_Ejaculation, Sloppy_Makeouts
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-11-30 Words: 13468
****** A Purrfect Guest (NSFW Version) ******
by drhicks76
Summary
     This is my contribution to the Nepeta November challenge on Tumblr!
     This is a bit of a crackship/rarepair piece inspired by a friend of
     mine, shipping Nepeta with Kanaya; I did my very best to make it
     plausible in canon somehow and set it pre-SGRUB. This is the long
     version and while it gets decidedly NSFW, you'll find it to be pretty
     much on track for what Alternian society would consider normal. It's
     quite tame but, as per the inspiration provided by a good friend of
     mine, is most definitely a passionate piece! Thus, if you're looking
     for a Fluff story to warm the cockles of your heart, look for the SFW
     version of the tale on my main page (if you started with the SFW
     version, the first 11 pages are the same, this one just goes on for
     another twenty some). Both versions tie into events that took place
     in one of my other shortfics, "In The Night Air", a Vriska/Kanaya
     pesterlog, taking place a couple of perigees after that tale. Thanks
     for giving this a read! :33
     “I still can’t believe you made it all the way across the desert before
the sun came up,” Kanaya said as she opened the hive door for her guest.
     “Nothing to it!” Nepeta grinned and grabbed the jadeblood in a tight
embrace. “It’s so pawsome to finally meet you!”
    She actually uses those puns in real life, too. Nothing wrong with that, I
suppose. Kanaya involuntarily stiffened at first but was able to relax as she
chuckled over Leijon’s choice of word. “I feel the same. Really, it takes me
the better part of two hours to make it to the edge of the dunes. You did it in
barely half of that! Aren’t you cold?”
     “Nah! That’s what the jacket and gloves are for!” Nepeta broke the
embrace, shook some of the excess ochre sand off of the sleeves of her long
green coat and then quickly dusted more from her gloves. “Besides, running
keeps the blood pumping, right? And I’ve got slightly warmer blood than you.
Why, did Vriskers complain about the cold when she came?”
     “Not terribly. I think she was more irritated about how far away the
hoverbus dumped her from here. And about the idea of having to stay up during
the day. I decided to just accommodate her and rest through some of the day so
we could spend the night together.”
     “Well, you won’t have to worry about that with me,” Nepeta said, all but
bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “I spend a fair bit of time
awake during the day, too, but then I think you knew that.”
     Kanaya nodded. “Mmhmm. You’re one of the few I get to chat with on
Trollian when I’m at my most alert.   And apparently for some reason, I’m not
as alert as I should be; please, come in!”
     “Don’t worry, it’s all good!” Nepeta followed Kanaya inside, set her
canvas backpack down on a rug near the floor and let out a low whistle. “Wow…
it’s just as beautiful inside as it is outside!”
     “You like it?”
     “You have the most unique hive I’ve ever seen! I mean, the shape of the
tower is one thing, but the colourful banners make it just gorgeous. I do love
colour!”
     Kanaya was surprised. “You mean you actually noticed that?”
     “Kind of hard to miss!”
     “Oh… I suppose I don’t get many visitors…”
     Nepeta put a hand up on Maryam’s shoulder; she was surprised at how much
taller her hostess was than she, but then, most trolls were. Guess I just
assumed she’s so close to me in bloodcolour that she’d be the same height.
Never actually met a jadeblood before. “No, it’s a good thing! Really, I love
it! I’m kind of an artist; if there’s one thing I apurrciate, it’s colour!”
     Kanaya smiled at this. “Well, when you put it like that, thank you! Can I
get you anything?”
     “I don’t suppose your lusus does the milk thing?”
     “The… ‘milk thing’?”
     “Oh, come on, haven’t you heard Equius mention the lusus milk? He shared
some with me last time I visited him. Mine makes some, too, but it’s nowhere
near as strong a flavour.”
     Kanaya scrunched up her face as she thought of the idea of milk and where
it came from. “Mine has never produced any that I can recall but I will take
you and your moirail’s word for it. I do have a selection of teas, though:
scarab shedding, ground carapace blend, green ooze, yellow ooze, chamomile,
constant crabmeat, red snapbeast and this mix called Unpleasant Slurry I
ordered a couple of perigees ago. Care to try it?”
     “Sure! I can have chameowmile at home anytime. I’m all for trying mew
things.”
     For a moment, Kanaya contemplated correcting Nepeta’s pronunciation of the
words but let it go as soon as she realized this was yet another series of cat
puns. Instead she sighed, chuckled to herself and set about fetching mugs and
boiling water.
     Nepeta took in her surroundings: they were on the bottom floor of what she
knew to be a tall tower. The first thing she noticed was the high white
ceilings were adorned in various cloth banners of every hue imaginable, and the
second was how clean and orderly everything else was. “Wow, you keep a pretty
tidy cave!”
     “Cave?”
     “Oh, right! Sorry… I meant hive. Just a slip of the tongue there.”
     Kanaya chuckled and put the teaspheres into the cups. “I can’t imagine
what it would be like to live in a cave. I know it’s all you’ve known but just
the idea of being so isolated in the wilderness is almost overwhelming.”
     “You live a long way from the rest of the world, too,” Nepeta replied.
“How is it really any different?”
     “Well, aside from a few sand lusii that are easy to spot from a great
distance, there’s really little to fear in our desert. Every now and then I
need to attend to someone who stumbles upon our little oasis here, but usually
their intentions are benign. When they’re not, I have my ways of attending to
them.”
     “I am just dying to see that weapon of yours! It took me ages to fashion
my claws but I’m so curious to see this chainsaw you mentioned.”
     Kanaya turned around and produced a small white cylinder from the
waistband of her skirt. “Chainsaw?” she asked, giving the tube a quick twist
which brought a stick of jade green pigment forth. “Whatever are you talking
about?”
     Nepeta watched her apply it to her lips, a puzzled look on her face. “Um,
you mentioned you had a chainsaw to defen-”
     “Oh! Out the window! Do you see that?”
     “See what?” Nepeta turned her attention to the single window in the block:
all she could see was the first rays of daylight punching through the leaves of
the trees outside. “I don’t see anything… different…” As soon as her eyes
returned to Kanaya, the jadeblood was holding a large white mechanical
contraption in her hands. “THAT’S SO COOL HOW DID YOU DO THAT?” she shouted,
leaping to her feet.
     “I’m not entirely certain how it works, but I am quite happy that it
does.” Kanaya hefted the chainsaw up and was about to engage the motor but
stopped short. “Oh, right. Mother gets upset when I run it in the hive.” She
swore she could hear Nepeta’s face fall at this so she added, “but maybe I can
provide a full demonstration outside later on?”
     “That would be supurrb!”
     Kanaya laughed. “I have never heard that one before, but I don’t think
I’ll forget it anytime soon.” With a flick of her wrist, the chainsaw returned
to its previous state and she tucked it back into her long red skirt.
     “So… cool…”
     “I think so, too.” Kanaya poured the now boiling water into the cups and
brought them to the table, where Nepeta was sitting, wide-eyed. “So, what did
you bring for us to work on?”
     “Oh right!” Nepeta sprang from her chair and returned with her canvas
knapsack, which was packed to bursting with material. “I’ve got a few ideas,
believe me!”
     “Do you have a few nights to stay while we work on them?”
     “Yep! A whole week. My lusus had no problem at all with it, but you know
how Equius can be.”
     Kanaya nodded sagely. “His behaviour towards you concerns me on occasion.
I hope you don’t think it too forward of me to say so.”
     “No! Totally okay. A lot of people think he’s being controlling but
really, it’s just… kind of the way he likes to act?” Nepeta dropped her eyes
away for a moment. “Can I tell you something? If you promise to keep it quiet?”
     “Of course. Your secrets are always safe with me.”
     “Thanks.” She gathered up her courage for a moment, then blurted, “He’s
actually a big softie but you’d never know it.” Nepeta waited for Kanaya to
laugh or roll her eyes but to her surprise, that response never came.
     “I must admit, while on the surface I would not have suspected as such, it
always pleases me to learn that any preconceptions I have of someone that might
be considered negative are incorrect. I personally wouldn’t have the patience
to put up with his peculiar devotion to hemohierachy, but if you tell me that
he’s capable of much more than that, I’m pleased to hear it. Most of what I
know of him comes from Vriska, of course.”
     “Being his neighbour – and he puts the emphasis on the ‘neigh’ part – I
suppose she’d have plenty to say about him. So what does she say?”
     Kanaya took a small sip of her drink. “Not much. She finds his personal
deportment rather revolting but then, she has a tendency to exaggerate.”
     Nepeta snorted. “You’re not kidding!” She immediately brought her hand up
to her mouth as soon as she said the words. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a jerk
about your moirail.”
     “No worries. I am the one who said it, after all.”
     “Whew!” Nepeta thought for a moment about adding to this and then chose
to. “She is your moirail, right? Some of the things you were telling me last
week suggested something possibly a touch redder?”
     Kanaya fought the smile but failed miserably. “Perhaps. Some of our
activities have suggested so. At least, the things we were doing would be
considered by many to be the province of red lovers…”
     Nepeta watched as Kanaya’s expression darkened as quickly as it brightened
a few moments earlier. “What? Is something else going on?”
     “I just… Maybe I’m just being silly.”
     “You can tell me, Kan! I’ll keep your secrets, too.” She reached across
the table and placed her hand on top of Maryam’s and was pleased that it wasn’t
withdrawn.
     “Well, remember how I mentioned Tavros the other night? And how he was
acting rather strangely around Vriska online?”
     “I do. I kinda saw what you were talking about but then, with Tavros, it’s
tough to tell when he’s being silly or when he’s being serious.”
     Kanaya sighed. “I know. This is what I was referring to, though. Ever
since I made that dress for her to wear with his Pupa Pan one, he’s been
constantly roleplaying with her online and I’m sure they’re going to have
another FLARP session soon enough.”
     Nepeta did her best to repress a shiver. “Yeah… that’s kind of a scary
thought.”
     “I must confess that I believed you’d be quite into that sort of thing.”
     “Oh, I am! Well, maybe less so these nights.”
     “How come?”
     Nepeta wrestled with this. Should I tell her?“The last time I was in a
FLARP was with Vriska. It was fun… to start…”
     “Oh. She has mentioned she went out with you once.”
     That pause is lingering a bit too long. “Uh huh… what did she say about
it? Don’t worry, you can be honest. I’d prefurr it, actually.”
     The pun made Kanaya smile in spite of herself. “All right. She said that
while you were really cute and all kinds of adventurous, she was frustrated by
your, in her words, lack of killer instinct.” Nepeta nodded and Kanaya added,
“Please don’t be upset. Her words, not mine, and I don’t know the situation.”
     “No, no! It’s okay.   Her opinion of ‘killer instinct’ and mine is a bit
different. See, when I’m hunting, I know when to kill. I choose animals that
are the right age and in the right place. I won’t kill for the sake of it or
for pleasure. I have had to kill people who were threatening me or harming
those who didn’t deserve it. I’m not proud of those moments but I refuse to
stand by and watch others be hurt. That scenario involved the potential for
injuring other FLARPers instead of just tagging them. She wanted to make it
look accidental but the injuries would have been real enough to, as she said,
‘teach them a lesson so that they don’t fuck up the same way twice.’ As she was
setting up to do so, I intervened and that, plus having to deal with the fact
that I actually got the drop on her, really made her mad. We still talk and
all; we did have a pretty good time when it came to the non-FLARP stuff, but we
have no plans on going out to role play again anytime soon. At least, not in
real life.” And considering Kanaya here might be a bit jealous of Tavros, I
best keep the non-FLARP activity quiet for now, too, she thought while she
waited for Kanaya’s reply.
     “That sounds like Vriska, all right. No sense in denying it. But I suppose
that’s the role of the moirail, isn’t it? To keep someone from getting involved
in things they shouldn’t be?”
     Nepeta laughed at this. “Yeah, it is. Do you know how many times I’ve had
to talk Equius out of saying something really typist to somebody else, even
though his intentions aren’t as bad as his words would sound?”
     “I’m trying to think of a situation where those kind of words could
actually be anything other than offensive. There are those who can get away
with the occasional off-colour joke but honestly, he comes off as rather
overbearing and elitist at times.”
     “And that’s just it! He’s really not like that! He’s just trying to
fulfill the role that he thinks society demands he play. In his own way, maybe
he’s just a roleplayer like me?”
     Kanaya considered this. “Interesting way to look at it, I must admit. I
suspect he’s more likely to be that way than Eridan, at least.”
     Nepeta let out a long sigh. “Yeah. Vriskers can give me the jeebs now and
then but that guy… he not only sounds like a stereotypical seadweller, I think
he means it.”
     “I’ve had the pleasure of trying to auspistice between him and Vriska. I
think you’re absolutely correct in your assessment.”
     “Auspistice those two? Wow, that’s getting inclade, isn’t it? You sure you
can handle something like that? No offense, but that can get kind of heavy,
especially with an ashen relationship.”
     Kanaya took another sip of her tea and savoured it, letting it roll around
on her tongue before replying. “I seem to have a knack with auspistism. I know
many shy away from it, but to be honest, I think helping others is the noblest
thing one can do.”
     “I’m glad there are people like you willing to do it! I mean, it’s one
thing to have Equius looking out for me, even though I can look after myself
just fine, but to try to keep a genocidal maniac-in-training from falling into
a kismesissitude with someone like her who has no qualms about killing? That’s
a whole other ball of fish!”
     “That’s cute; I’ll have to remember that one, too.”
     Nepeta grinned and tried to take a drink of her tea. “Me-OW! Hot! How did
you drink yours so fast?”
     “Heat never bothered me terribly much, I suppose. Maybe it comes with
being able to walk in the daylight? Speaking of which, sorry we got
sidetracked; what did you bring with you for materials?”
     “Oh right!” Nepeta opened her backpack and first extracted a long piece of
white fur. “I stripped this from something I hunted one morning. I couldn’t
believe it was almost perfectly my size! That is, I have a feeling I’m not
likely to grow much more, so it should work well.”
     Kanaya unrolled the animal skin and examined it: it was basically an
unmounted rug, the entire hide of an animal with the legs and claws and head
still attached, but the skin beneath was nice and supple. “I can work with
this, but what exactly do you have in mind?”
     “A disguise, basically! I want to be able to lash it around my neck,
wrists and ankles and hunt in it. By wearing this, I should be able to sneak up
on larger game. It’s also like a roleplay in a way; I’ll have to learn how
these animals move in order to be convincing enough.”
     “That’s actually a really good idea.” She looked Nepeta over quickly and
then sized up the pelt again. “I believe this should cover you well.”
     “Yay! I also brought some of this, too.” The oliveblood pulled out a clump
of similar fur, this bunch being in pieces but also dyed a shade of blue. “Just
for my own pleasure, could you make this into a pair of slippers? I’d really
like a pair of cat feet… if that’s not too silly.”
     Kanaya smiled. “Not at all. Nothing’s too silly if it’s something you
enjoy.”
     “Really? Aw, thanks!” Nepeta leapt up from her chair and came around the
table to give Kanaya another hug. Kanaya rose to meet her and as Nepeta
embraced her, she bumped something on the jadeblood’s waist, causing Kanaya’s
clothing to suddenly change. “Whoa! What happened? What did I do?”
     “It’s all right; that’s my wardrobifier.”
     “Your whowhatnow?”
     Kanaya reached down to her waist and pressed a small button. Her clothing,
which had switched to a blue silk gown, changed again into a light green dress
with a pink ribbon tied around her waist. “Wardrobifier. It allows me to switch
outfits depending on my mood without having to go all the way upstairs to
change.”
     “How does it work?” Nepeta asked.
     “Quite well, thanks.”
     It took a moment for Nepeta to realize what Kanaya was up to, but when she
did she laughed. “You’re just as snarky in person, you know that?”
     “I try.”
     “Haha! You succeed, too! Anyway, I also brought this stuff…” Nepeta
resumed rummaging through her knapsack, tossing various scraps of fabric and
animal fur onto the table for Kanaya’s perusal. “I was kinda hoping you might
be able to make some neat costumes out of these?”
     Kanaya looked over the clothes the oliveblood was wearing at the moment:
her trenchcoat was decidedly well-worn, and both the black t-shirt adorned with
her symbol and her khaki pants had seen better days, the desert sand
notwithstanding. “I should be able to fashion something out of them. Would you
like me to try and put together some new daily wear for you as well?”
     “Why?” Nepeta asked plaintively. “Is there something wrong with these?”
     “Oh! No, not at all; it was just that… in case you wanted to have an extra
set to wear… and clothes are hard to come by where you live…”
     “Yeah, they can be; all I usually run across are bits and scraps of
material so it’s rare to find an intact pair of pants. Besides, these are so
comfy! I do my best to wash them in the river, but they are wearing down a bit,
I guess.”
     Kanaya was quietly relieved her guest wasn’t inadvertently insulted by her
offer. “Let me see what I can do for you. But if it’s all the same, I’d rather
start on that tomorrow. Besides, I suspect you’re probably fatigued from your
journey.”
     Nepeta nodded. “A little. While I don’t mind being up in the morning, it
was a pretty long run through the sand.”
     “How about you grab your tea and we can take a tour of the hive, then? You
can use my shower to clean up and I have a small cot I can set up in my
respiteblock for you beside my recupracoon.”
     “Sounds great!” Nepeta set about stuffing her material back into her bag
and then slung it over her shoulder before grabbing her teacup. “Lead the way!”
     Kanaya chuckled. “Your enthusiasm is infectious, you know.”
     Nepeta beamed in response. “I sure do! Let’s go!”
 
 
     “YOU MADE THESE FUR ME WHILE I WAS SLEEPING? THEY’RE SO PAWSOME! THANK YOU
THANK YOU THANK YOU!”
     Kanaya waited patiently while Nepeta power-hugged her to express her
gratitude at the gift she left beside the oliveblood’s cot. “Oof… No problem!
And you’re very welcome! The shoes were quite easy to make.”
     “BUT IT’S THE HAT! HOW DID YOU DO IT?”
     “Let’s just say I was inspired by the footwear.”
     Nepeta let go long enough to toss her new slippers down on the floor to
put them on and moments later, the blue fur hat, complete with holes wide
enough to accommodate her horns and a simple kitty face on the front, was
perched atop her head. “This is AMAZING! I never would have thought this even
possible?”
     “You don’t mind that I used the blue fur for this?”
     “Are you kidding? This is better than I even thought possible!” Nepeta
scurried over to the full length mirrors in one of the corners of Kanaya’s
respiteblock and stared at her reflection. “This is just PURRFECT! I can’t
even!”
     Kanaya gave her a funny look. “Can’t even what?”
     The answer came as yet another hug. “You don’t understand! No one has ever
done anything like this… for me… before...”
     She let go quite suddenly and turned away, which left Maryam rather
baffled. “Nepeta? Are you okay?”
     “Mmhmm. Just need a minute.” She raised her wrist to her face and wished
she was wearing her long coat at the time.
     Kanaya gathered that her guest was overwhelmed and opted to just stand
back for a moment and wait for Nepeta to gather herself. After about a minute
she said, “I’m truly touched you think so highly of it. I must admit that my…
moirail didn’t exactly react the same way last time I made her something.”
     Nepeta sniffed and turned to face Kanaya, a few olive streaks still
smeared across her face. “Really? That… doesn’t seem right to me. These are
really something else!”
     “Some people just express themselves differently, I suppose. Vriska gets
excited in her own way but much of it is aimed at the object itself versus the
person who presented the gift.” Kanaya paused and let her head hang forward.
“Forgive me; that was rather selfish.”
     Nepeta answered not with her voice but with another kind hug, which lasted
the better part of a minute. “I apurrciate this so much. Thank you.”
     “You’re quite welcome. And the good news is that we’re just getting
started.”
     Kanaya tried to stifle a yawn but Nepeta picked up on it immediately.
“Were you up all day making these?”
     “I was awake anyway. I tried getting up well before sunup in an attempt to
transition over to your hours a bit. All I need is a bit of a nap and I should
be fine.”
     “Did you want to use my cot?” Nepeta offered. “No sense getting all sopor
slimy just for a nap, right?”
     “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.” Kanaya let go of the smiling oliveblood
and made her way over to the simple bed that was now set up beside the
recupracoon that hung from the ceiling in her respiteblock. The sun had set and
she turned on a small glowglobe so that Nepeta could find her way around. “All
I need is a couple of hours, I’m sure.”
     “If you want a bit more than that, I don’t mind.”
     “Are you certain?” Kanaya asked as she sat down on the cot and stretched
her long arms over her head and yawned again.
     “For sure!”
     “Do you need something to do? My lusus is likely resting now but you can
do as you like. I have ample books and movies downstairs to choose from.”
     Nepeta looked down at her fuzzy blue footwear. “Actually, if you’d like,
I’d be willing to cuddle up with you...”
     Kanaya looked at her with a mix of curiousity and confusion. “But you just
slept for the better part of eight hours; are you certain?”
     “Kan, I could sleep away a whole night and day. Sometimes I’m up that long
hunting but there’s nothing I enjoy more than curling up with my Pouncekitty
and just dozing away, all nice and warm. There’s something kinda... healing
about it, you know?”
     “Admittedly, I don’t,” Kanaya replied. “Well, I’d be willing to try it if
you’re certain you could sleep a little longer...” She had barely finished
saying the words when Nepeta was laying down beside her in the cot. “I see.”
     “How about you just face that way and I’ll cuddle up behind you and keep
you warm. How’s that sound?”
     “You know, I rather like the sound of that.” Kanaya rolled over to face
the wall and a few moments later, felt Nepeta’s arm drape over her shoulder and
her thighs snuggle in to the backs of her own.
     “Comfy?”
     “Quite, actually. More than I thought I would be.” A pause. “I’ve never
actually shared a ‘coon or a cot with anyone else before.”
     “That’s okay,” purred Nepeta, “you’re doing just fine. Now, just take some
deep breaths, count backwards from thirty-three and... oh. You’re already out.”
With a satisfied smile on her face, Nepeta nuzzled in behind her and closed her
eyes.
 
 
     “I trust you found breakfast satisfactory?”
     Nepeta licked her fingers again for emphasis. “Are you kidding? That was
amazing! The toasted grubloaf is as fresh as I’ve ever had and I don’t know
where you found that syrup but I’ve never tasted anything quite like it!”
     Kanaya beamed as she took to the spiral staircase that led up to her
respiteblock. “It’s more of a nectar, technically. There are insects that
pollinate the crystalanthemums – bees of some kind, purple in colour – that
produce a rather sweet by-product in their hives. This isn’t the ‘mind honey’
Sollux uses in his computers, I gather, but something fed to the larva to
sustain them before they adapt to feeding on the more potent neurological
network building agent they are most noted for.”
     “I don’t see many of those bees in my part of the world, which makes
keeping my husktop up and running a challenge. So far, so good thankfully. That
Sollux has been pawfully helpful, hasn’t he?”
     “To say the least. I must admit he struck me as a touch moody at first,
but with a little hassling, he comes around and can be quite willing to assist
when needed.”
     Nepeta giggled. “Hassling, huh?”
     “Well, he’s easier to get through to than Karkat sometimes. When Karkat’s
in one of his moods, there’s no stopping his ranting. Although more often than
not, it’s entertaining.”
     As they took the last of the stairs to enter the respiteblock, Nepeta
said, “Oh he certainly is! You’ve known him for a long time, haven’t you?”
     “Mmhmm.” Kanaya headed for her sewing table and found her graduated
flexible flatmeasurer. “It was through him that I met the rest of you. He was
actually the first person I met when I started using Trollian. Just a random
encounter. I remember signing on the first time and pressing that ‘Troll
Someone Randomly’ button and I get this block of grey text grousing about how
somebody’s lusus was being a... oh, how did he put it... ‘A GIGANTIC FESTERING
TURDWAD WHO NEEDS TO DISLODGE HIS HEAD FROM HIS NOOK BEFORE IT GETS STUCK THERE
PERMANENTLY IF IT HASN’T ALREADY’.”
     Kanaya’s shout made Nepeta start but once she realized the jadeblood was
mimicking Karkat’s typing patterns and that his all-capitals style of typing
likely meant he was yelling what he said, she laughed. “Is that what he really
sounds like?”
     “Yes. He can be an adorable little ball of rage but underneath it all,
he’s really quite intelligent and capable.”
     “I bet! Have you actually met him, too?”
     “I have, yes. A full sweep ago, in fact. I went to visit him, actually.”
     Nepeta tried not to look too crestfallen. “Oh. And?”
     Kanaya sighed. “His lusus was nowhere near as much of an ‘imbecilic
cesspit’ as he suggested. I couldn’t understand a word it said but he treated
us well enough.”
     “And what about him? Was there any... you know... red or black leanings?”
     “Oh, not at all. We started out a bit pale but it never quite developed
fully. I consider him a very good friend in a way that the quadrants don’t
quite cover. Although I have to admit, what I have with him would be closer to
pale than what goes on with Vriska sometimes.”
     “Well, that’s good then!” Nepeta said, trying her best not to sound too
relieved.
     Kanaya retrieved the white animal skin from her visitor’s knapsack and
laid it out on her table. “If anything, there might be an opportunity to
auspistice him and someone else. He can be rather abrasive now and then and
it’s only a matter of time before someone in our group interprets that as ebon
flirtation. The last thing we need is blackrom interfering with our dynamic.”
     “So that’s why you want to go ashen with Vriskers and Eridan?”
     “Precisely. Have you ever been involved in an auspistism at all?”
     Nepeta shook her head. “Nope. The whole black and ashen thing really
doesn’t appeal to me all that much at the moment. I’m way more interested in
seeing people get into redder relationships.”
     Kanaya set about measuring the hide. “So you consider yourself a
relationship facilitator, then? Interesting.”
     “Facilitator isn’t quite the right word. I just like seeing people happy
together is all. To be honest, before you told me about him and Vriska, I kinda
thought maybe you and Tavros might be a good fit.” Nepeta regretted speaking
those words as soon as they left her mouth; Kanaya stopped measuring for a
moment and sighed. “Hey, I’m sorry; I know things are different than that, of
course.”
     “I know. You didn’t mean anything by them. Honestly, Tavros isn’t my
type.”
     “Well, he can be a bit wishy-washy, but he does have a kind spirit.”
     Kanaya faced her friend, a hint of blush in her cheeks. “It’s... more than
that. I just... tend to prefer the look of... well, ladies.”
     “Ohhhhh. Well, that’s cool. I’m fine with either but I know some folks who
have their preferences. The drones don’t care where what’s in the buckets came
from so long as it’s there and it’s what it should be, right?”
     “Drones,” Kanaya grumbled. “My lusus told me that collecting buckets was
their task once upon a time. They were far kinder about it than the Empress’s
drones are. What if I don’t want to form a black relationship anytime soon?
Especially before I get dragged off-planet to fight in some conflict I want no
part of! You feel the same way, obviously. It’s not fair to be culled because
of that, right?”
     “No, it isn’t!” Nepeta agreed. “On the night side, at least the drones
don’t tend to visit where I live terribly often. I don’t think they’d care to
come through here that often, either, so you should be okay, right?”
     “I certainly hope so. Want to hear something funny? I like to use that
phrase but as ‘On the bright side’. Seems to suit a Daywalker better, wouldn’t
you agree?”
     “I gather you’re a big fan of those Rainbow Drinker stories. I had a peek
at your library; it’s been so long since I’ve seen a new book.”
     Kanaya froze. “You mean you don’t have books?”
     Nepeta shook her head. “Not many. Certainly not as many as I’d like to
have. There aren’t a whole lot of bookvendors in the middle of a forest. Most
of the ones I have Pounce kept from way back or I’ve taken from the bodies of
people who had an unfortunate run-in with the forest animals. It’s a pretty
mixed collection, let me tell you.”
     “Then perhaps I can lend you a couple? Under the promise that you’ll
return them when you’re done?”
     “Sure thing! I’m all about romance.”
     At that, Kanaya drew herself up and put her hands on her hips. “Rainbow
Drinker tales are about far more than just romance. It’s a common misconception
in this night and age that they’re little more than ‘trashy literature’. I can
assure you that there are many exciting adventures that take place within those
pages that far exceed the standard of many books that bear the title of ‘worth
reading’.”
     Nepeta chuckled at Kanaya’s response, uncertain if it was entirely an
exaggerated defense or not. “All right, sure, I’d love to try one.”
     “Oh! Okay, that’s... great!” Kanaya smiled, her longer fangs protruding
from under her lip. “... more than Vriska would do, that’s for sure...” she
mumbled as she finished making her measurements.
     For a few moments, Nepeta debated whether to say what was on her mind and
opted to do so. “Something tells me you’re not really too happy with Vriskers
right now, are you?”
     Kanaya let her shoulders drop. “Yes and no. I mean, everything is going
well in a pale sense, and she certainly does like to flirt with me in a much
redder manner, but...” With a sigh of exasperation, she continued, “It’s
difficult to think that I might not be the only one she’s flushing for. Is it
my lack of experience? Is there something really wrong with me?”
     “The only thing that could pawssibly be wrong with you, and I mean ‘wrong’
in the nicest way pawssible, is that you’re too hard on yourself. All you need
is a little self-confidence!”
     “I’d like to think that I’m quite confident in my abilities.”
     “This is a different kind of confidence,” Nepeta said, sauntering over to
the sewing table. “You need to be proud of who you are and what you have to
offer. You’re not going to be able to find love or hate unless you can love
yourself fully or be your own best rival and challenge yourself to new
heights.”
     “My lusus says something similar to that,” Kanaya lamented.
     “Did it ever occur to you that maybe she’s right?” Nepeta was about to
give the jadeblood a couple of playful knocks on the head to emphasize the
point but decided that might not go over well with her host’s personality.
     “Possibly, but it’s easier said than done!” Kanaya slapped her palms on
the sewing table and hung her head in frustration. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to
carry on like this, but it’s hard and no one underst-”
     “Uh-uh,” Nepeta interrupted, “someone DOES understand! I’m your age and I
know what it’s like to question whether or not someone likes you either as a
friend or a quadmate. Crushes happen all the time; sometimes they’re returned,
sometimes not. People who are meant to be together will be in time, so just be
yourself no matter what! If you show confidence, you’ll just be that much more
attractive, right?”
     Kanaya gave her a look that suggested she wasn’t entirely convinced but
was willing to hear more. “Maybe...”
     “That’s the spirit! I, for one, think you’re wonderful. You do such
amazing work and you’re so kind and supportive. Who wouldn’t want you in their
life?”
     “Well... when you put it that way...”
     “Exactly! Now, let’s get you doing what you do best and go from there,
okay?”
     With a nod that suggested maybe her oliveblood friend might actually be
right, Kanaya picked up her flatmeasurer again and finished taking stock of how
long the limbs on the animal skin were. “All right, I think I have a handle on
that. Time to measure you. Put on whatever you’d want to wear underneath that
hide and I’ll get started.”
     “Okies!” Without so much as a moment of pause, Nepeta peeled off her black
symbol t-shirt and began undoing her pants. “Oops... better remove these cool
blue kitty shoes before I try to get those off.” A few seconds later, she
stepped out of her underwear and stood completely bare in front of Kanaya.
“Ready!” When she didn’t get a response from the jadeblood, she looked up to
see Kanaya looking at her, eyes wide. “What’s the matter? Everything okay?”
     Kanaya’s mouth was moving but not much in the way of cohesive sound was
coming out.
     “Oh! I should explain: I usually hunt in the nude. Clothes are restrictive
and the colours often scare away the prey. Besides, it’s really hot out there
during the day, but of course you knew that. Maybe you don’t feel the heat the
same way I do? Wearing this skin is going to make it plenty warm, I know, but
if it helps me sneak up on some bigger game, it’s totally worth it!”
     “Oh... I, uh, see...”
     It finally dawned on Nepeta why Kanaya was having issues speaking.
“Wait... you’re not used to this at all, are you! I hadn’t even thought about
that! I’m naked as often as not; there’s no one else around usually and
honestly, what’s the big deal? We’re all naked under our clothes, right?” She
noticed Maryam’s eyes stealing glances down now and then and smiled. “Have you
ever seen anyone undressed before?”
     Kanaya swallowed hard, her mouth dry. “N-no, actually. Not in person,
anyway.”
     “It’s okay; just relax! I’m still the same person I was a minute ago. I’m
purrfectly fine with my body. I’m sure yours is just fine, too!”
     “Well, it’s... a little curvy in some spots but...”
     “You’re beautiful, Kanaya. Really. Don’t be afraid to show it! See, once
you get used to yourself, you become way more confident! Do you like what you
see?”
     This time, Kanaya was left stammering, a state she wasn’t used to at all.
“Well, I, er... yes, I... can I say that?”
     “Of course! And that’s totally natural! Besides, if this is what I’m
wearing under that hide, this is how you’d want to measure me, right?”
     “Um, yes, yes it would be...”
     Nepeta smiled warmly. “Good! Then go right ahead!” She drew her tiny frame
up as tall as she could and extended her arms out to the sides.
     At first, Kanaya was hesitant, but she opened up her flatmeasurer, walked
up to Nepeta and placed one end on her small but muscular shoulder, the other
to the tip of her middle finger. “Did... did you want it to come down to end at
your wrist? Or did you want to keep the animal’s feet so they cover your
hands?”
     “I was thinking to tie it at the wrists and keep the feet to hide my claws
until the last minute! Rawr!”
     Kanaya actually giggled in spite of her awkwardness. “All right, that’s
not a problem. I... um... need to measure you from shoulder to feet. Would
you... prefer I do it on your front or your back?”
     “You can choose whichever you like. I’m not any taller on one particular
side,” Nepeta joked.
     “That sounds like something I’d say,” Kanaya replied. “Don’t tell me
you’re picking up some of my wit already after only a couple of nights here?”
     “Okay, I won’t tell you.” Nepeta tried her best to keep a straight face
but couldn’t.
     Kanaya shook her head. “I’d call you a smartnook but that would be a case
of the small ironcast heating vessel calling the large ironcast heating vessel
an identical shade of black.”
     “Hee hee...”
     Initially, Kanaya thought about running the flatmeasurer down Nepeta’s
chest to her feet but realized it would likely encounter one of the olive
nipples present. She instead moved to Nepeta’s posterior, but found that the
tape might not run straight vertically due to the curvature of her backside.
Worth a try... She placed the flatmeasurer at Nepeta’s shoulder and let the
other end fall to the floor; it fluttered as it went, tickling the oliveblood
which made her titter.
     “Whatcha doin’ back there?”
     “Just... you know... measuring.”
     “Take your time. My butt doesn’t bite.”
     “I’m most relieved to hear it!”
     Kanaya could see the lean muscle in Nepeta’s legs and rump, yet her
feminine curve was still quite evident. I shouldn’t be looking at her this way,
should I? She certainly doesn’t seem to mind at all. “Um, would you mind if I
measured you from the front, too? I fear this particular measurement may be
slightly inaccurate.”
     Nepeta chuckled. “You go right ahead.”
     “Thanks!” Kanaya brought her tape around and stood facing Leijon once
again. She laid the end of the tape on Nepeta’s collarbone and asked, “Can you
hold this for me?”
     “Sure.”
     Kanaya guided the flatmeasurer down this time, trying hard not to look
like she wasn’t trying to look at the places on Nepeta’s body that had a
distinctive olive tinge to them. Once she arrived at Nepeta’s feet, she took
her measurement.   “Got it. You can let go now.”
     Nepeta did so and watched Kanaya’s face as the jadeblood rose again.
“Having fun yet?”
     “You could say that.”
     “If I were you, I’d say ‘I just did.’”
     “Hard to argue that,” Kanaya said with a smirk. She took a step back and
thought about what she was going to have to do next.
     “Can I put my arms down now?” Nepeta asked.
     “Actually, the next measurement I need to take is your chest... and I’m
trying to figure out a way to do it that wouldn’t be too... awkward?”
     “Kan, it’s not awkward at all. I’m totally comfortable with it.”
     Kanaya wished her mouth wasn’t so dry. “I’m... getting there.”
     “Would you feel better if we were on even ground?”
     “What do you mean?”
     Nepeta smiled warmly. “What if you took off your shirt, too? This way
we’re both in the same state of dress... or undress, as the case may be? Might
help with your confidence? You know that there’s no way I’m going to make fun
of you or say something nasty. I think you’re beautiful.”
     “You do?”
     “Yup!”
     Kanaya’s hands moved to the bottom of her own black shirt but stopped just
short of grabbing the hem. “Nepeta... is this a red overture? I need to know.”
     “I was wondering if you were going to ask. Kan, this is really all about
me trying to make you see how pawsome you are! There doesn’t have to be any
connotations at all! My red intentions... belong to someone else, but there’s
nothing wrong with a couple of friends teaching each other some things, is
there? I like you lots and lots, Kanaya, and if you weren’t pale with Vriskers,
I’d consider you for the quad, but we’re just good furrends trying to help one
another out. Does that work for you?”
     Nepeta waited, slightly nervously, for Kanaya to peruse this and was
relieved when Kanaya nodded. “Yes, I believe it does. I trust you. And I really
like you, too. Maybe you have the right idea.” Before Nepeta could even
vocalize a response, Kanaya lifted her t-shirt over her head and tossed it on
the sewing table, followed by the tight long sleeved one she wore underneath.  
“There. How’s that?”
     “It’s not about me, Kan, it’s about you. How do you feel about it?”
     Kanaya looked down at the two soft grey cones that came to jade points
before looking back to the smiling Leijon. “Pretty good, actually.”
     “See? I’m proud of you! Now, come on over here and measure me. My boobs
don’t bite, either.”
     “While I’m glad you’re taking the time to reassure me about these things,
do most parts of other people’s anatomy generally bite?”
     “I can’t tell if you’re being snarky here or not.”
     “To be honest, neither am I.”
     Nepeta laughed and raised her arms just a little bit higher to encourage
Maryam to slide the flatmeasurer around her torso. Kanaya did so, bringing her
bare chest just a little too close to Nepeta’s in the process and causing her
guest to inhale involuntarily at the sensation as they met. “There are a couple
of spots that are a bit more sensitive than others, but I think you just
noticed that.”
     Kanaya nodded her agreement and as she brought the ends of the tape around
Nepeta’s body to complete her measurement, she detected that the oliveblood’s
nipples were now just as prominent as her own. “Those might make getting a
proper measurement a bit trickier.”
     “You can just run the flatmeasurer around me underneath them. Should still
work, no?”
     “I believe so.” She made the adjustment and said. “Got it. Looks good.”
     “Thanks! So do yours!”
     There was no mistaking the flush in Kanaya’s face this time. “Thank you!
Now... hmmm...”
     Nepeta studied her friend’s face. “You’re trying to figure out how to ask
me something, aren’t you? I can so tell.”
     “Well, actually, the next measurement I need to take is your inseam.”
     “Ooh! What’s that entail?”
     Kanaya paused and tried not to look directly at the area she’d be working,
despite her curiousity. “I need to measure the inside of your leg from your
ankle to your.... um...”
     “My?” Nepeta asked with a smirk.
     Maryam scrunched up her face. “‘Crotch’ is such an ugly sounding word. So
is ‘groin’.”
     “Do you prefer ‘seedflap’?”
     Kanaya was about to reply when she suddenly understood what Nepeta meant
and started laughing. “I see what you did there. I do happen to have a
preference, yes.”
     Nepeta was cracking up at her friend’s response. “Thought you’d like that.
Go right ahead and measure away.” She could see Kanaya on the brisk of
hesitating again and made a suggestion. “Would it help if you...”
     Kanaya nodded. In for a caegar now... Just go for it! She hooked her
thumbs into the waistband of her scarlet skirt and pulled it down to the floor.
Once she stepped out of it, Kanaya used her foot to gently nudge it aside and
placed her hands in front of what she had never shown anyone else.
     “Something tells me you’re not a fan of underwear?” Nepeta asked.
     “Not usually. I rather just like the feel of the fabric of my skirt on my
skin. I do wash frequently, though.”
     “That’s never a bad thing. I’m lucky to have a nice stream beside my cave
to bathe in. And you don’t have to be shy around me, remember? It’s going to be
pretty tough to measure me with your hands down there.”
     “I suppose you’re right.” Kanaya let her hands fall to her sides. “There.”
     Nepeta stepped forward and put her arms around her friend. She relished
the skin-to-skin contact but knew this was about more than that. “I’m so proud
of you, Kan. You’re absolutely gorgeous! I love the curve of your hips! I wish
mine did that.”
     Kanaya smiled sweetly. “Really? I mean, they’re rather helpful at keeping
my skirt up.”
     “Really! Be proud of your body!”
     “Well, Vriska does say I have a ‘choice ass’, for what it’s worth.” She
quickly turned around to show Nepeta and then back again. “Do you think so?”
     “I think your butt is great, but it doesn’t mean anything until you
believe it. Do you?”
      Kanaya looked over her shoulder to the full length mirror in the corner
behind her. “I could be convinced...”
     “That’s a start! Now, are you ready to measure?”
     “I believe so.” She approached Nepeta and decided which leg to measure;
once determined, she kneeled down and found herself directly in front of the
oliveblood’s seedflap. I want to look but not too long; I better say
something...“Does this part of you bite? I suppose I should ask and not
assume.”
     “Nope, it doesn’t bite. If it did, I wouldn’t have any fingers left!”
Nepeta thought Kanaya was blushing before, but the jadeblood’s face was
positively radiating heat now. “And playing with it is perfectly natural as
well. Have you ever?”
     “Perhaps,” Kanaya whispered.
     “Kan, I’ve seen the books you read. If those don’t make you hot and
bothered, I don’t know what would!”
     “I’m not certain I’m even doing it right, though. I don’t seem to get the
copious amount of fluid or gratifying release they talk about in the bucket
scenes and I can’t even believe I’m telling you this!”
     Nepeta rested a hand on Kanaya’s bare shoulder. “That’s okay! You need
someone to talk to and I’m here! You know I’m not going to tell anyone
anything, right? Your secrets are safe with me.”
     A memory moved across Kanaya’s face like a shadow. “It’s a bit tough to
trust sometimes. Vriska let it slip on Trollian that she and I fooled around a
bit. I don’t think she did it intentionally but I suspect she was trying to
brag to Eridan and it just sort of happened. At least, that was her
explanation.”
     “Yeah, I was on that night. It was one thing for you to talk to me about
it with a Private Pester but for her to blab it all over the boards like that
wasn’t cool.”
     “Are you still upset with Vriska over the way the FLARP took place?”
     “A little,” Nepeta admitted. “But not to the point where I don’t think
she’s a good person. She does genuinely care for others, but sometimes she just
seems kinda fickle. There’s all kinds of good and bad in that one. I’ll just
make sure I watch my back around her is all. If you’re feeling upset like I’m
insulting her or something, I’ll totally stop talking about her...”
     “No, it’s okay. I wasn’t impressed with her there either. It was the –
can’t believe I’m telling you this, too – first time I’d ever kissed someone,
much less engaged in, well, sexual play. It left me rather confused as I no
longer understood which quadrant she was trying to romance me in, but then,
maybe it was like what you’re suggesting: just friends trying something out.”
     “Hey, I made it clear up front. When it comes to declaring quads, that
sort of thing should be laid out pretty plain.”
     Kanaya nodded. She placed the edge of her flatmeasurer in her right hand
up against Nepeta’s right ankle and ran the left one slowly up Nepeta’s inseam.
“I may need you to... er... open up your stance slightly to get an accurate
measurement.”
     “You bet!” Nepeta stood legs slightly akimbo and watched Kanaya work. As
Kanaya moved her hand just inside Nepeta’s thigh with the tape, the back of it
brushed lightly against her lips and she inhaled, followed by a soft moan.
     “Oh! I’m sorry; did I hurt you there?” Kanaya asked.
     Nepeta just smiled. “Nope. Quite the opposite.” Kanaya blushed again but
Nepeta could see there was a smile on her friend’s face as well.
     “All right, I think I’ve got it. Let me measure your ankles, wrists and
neck now. I don’t suspect you’ll find that as outwardly pleasurable but it
won’t take long.”
     “You just do what you need to do,” Nepeta encouraged, offering her wrist
for Kanaya to measure. “I’m in no rush at all.”
     “This is good. You’ll get a far better fit if neither of us is in a
hurry.”
     What an absolute sweetheart, Nepeta thought to herself. I still think
Tavros would be a better fit for her than Vriskers ever could be but if she’s
just into girls, that’s fine. My heart belongs to another but there’s nothing
saying I can’t thank her for being so incredibly pawsome to me. And maybe learn
a few things myself...
     “All done,” Kanaya declared as she tossed the flatmeasurer onto the sewing
table and recorded the last set of numbers on her husktop. “You have a good
eye; that skin should fit you almost perfectly. I’ll only need to make some
minor adjustments to the legs. Your horns should fit nice and snugly into the
earholes so I won’t need to do much there. And now that I have your
measurements, I should be able to construct these other costumes you’d like,
but it might take me over the next three nights to do them and ensure that they
fit you properly an-”
     “Kanaya, you’re rambling.”
     “I... I am, yes. Sorry about that.”
     “I thought you were finally relaxing a bit?”
     Kanaya shrugged. “Well, mayhap. I’m getting there. I had completely
forgotten I was naked for a few minutes there and then I just suddenly thought
of it and now I’m a tad flustered, so perhaps I shou-”
     While Kanaya was carrying on, Nepeta had walked over to her, rose up on
the balls of her feet and silenced her jadeblooded friend with a kiss, one that
started with pressed lips but quickly gave way to exploring tongues and hands
that grabbed onto whatever they could.
     After a couple of minutes, Kanaya broke away and took a deep breath. “I
thought you said this wasn’t a flushed thing.”
     “It isn’t,” Nepeta explained.   Can we call it... practice?”
     Kanaya nodded. “That would work just fine.” A moment later, they were
locked in another deep kiss, one that found each of them thinking about each
other... and another.
 
 
     Nepeta pushed open the door to Kanaya’s respiteblock and leapt into the
room, fist extended before her. “KAPOW! The Olive Rogue arrives at her hideout!
Behold my cape and feel my wrath, evildoers!”
     Kanaya was on her heels, chuckling at her friend’s excitement. “I take it
you’re happy with this costume, then?”
     “Are you kidding? This is amazing! WAY better than I even hoped!” Two
bounding jumps and she was in front of Kanaya’s mirror, checking out the
burgundy and olive tights, flowing green cape and matching eyemask. “Just LOOK
at this! I still can’t believe you made it!”
     “You found the materials; an outfit can only be as good as its constituent
components. Where on Alternia did you find it all, again?”
     Nepeta’s head tipped forward a bit and Kanaya immediately wondered if she
should have asked the question. “Actually, I found most of it in a refuse pile.
Someone had thrown away these exercise garments and they didn’t seem to be in
too bad of shape and I hoped that maybe someday I’d be able to make them into
something. I hope you don’t mind that you’re working with garbage,
basically...”
     “Oh, not at all! You cleaned them well; I never would have guessed! I
thought you might have purchased them somewhere but it didn’t occur to me that
there aren’t a lot of stores near you.”
     “The refuse pile was pretty far away, too, but I like to make the trip
every perigee or so just to see what I can find. I never really thought
anything of it until now; all of the fabric around here is so bright and
vibrant! It must all be brand new.”
     Kanaya was relieved that Nepeta’s mood rebounded so quickly. “It literally
is as new as one can get. I didn’t purchase any of it, either; it came from my
lusus.”
     “She can make fabric?” Nepeta asked, incredulous.
     “Yes. She generates a silk from her abdomen and then weaves it with a loom
she built. The colours come from whatever flowers she happened to consume
nectar from.”
     Nepeta looked out the window. The red light of day was breaking and she
could see the white form of Kanaya’s lusus working her way through the gardens,
tending to the blooms. “So after she makes us breakfast, she has her own,
right?”
     “That’s right.”
     “And she’s out there all day? She won’t usually bother you up here?”
     “She knows I have a guest; she’s more than happy to do her thing while
you’re here and let us be.” Kanaya couldn’t help but smile in anticipation.
     Nepeta grinned as well. “Purrfect. Then how about you help me out of this
costume and reveal my secret identity?”
     “I already know who you ar-”
     “Just play along, silly!” Nepeta turned her back, undid her cape and
waited for Kanaya to unzip her.
     Kanaya sighed but did as she was asked. “At last, I have you, Olive Rogue!
And now the world will find out just who you really are underneath that mask!”
     “Alas, Vamphyra! Your Drinker Powers have me completely under your spell!
I must do as you command! I can’t move at all! How am I ever going to escape?”
     “Pathetic fool! There’s no escape!” Kanaya shouted, pulling the zipper
down and peeling the top of the snug costume down to Nepeta’s waist before
suddenly stopping. “Was that too much? I’m still kind of new to this.”
     “No, not at all!” Nepeta answered, pulling her arms out of the sleeves.
“Just run with it!”
     “Very well.” She cleared her throat and continued. “First, I have taken
your ability to escape and next, I will take your clothing that hides you from
the world and finally, I shall take you to my bed and have my way with you!”
     “Oh NOES! Not the comfy bed with the unstoppable tickles!”
     “Mwa-ha-ha! Oh yes!” Kanaya latched onto Nepeta’s tights this time and
with a quick tug hauled them down to the floor.
     “Ack! Stripped bare by the Drinker Queen, the sound of her dark laughter,
‘Blah-blah-blah’ ringing in my sponge clots!”
     “Hey!” Kanaya said indignantly. “That was ‘Mwa-ha-ha’. We don’t say ‘Blah-
blah-blah’.”
     “No ‘Blah-blah-blah?” Nepeta asked.
     “No ‘Blah-blah-blah’. Common misconception.”
     “Oh! Good to know.”
     “It’s okay. Now, to spirit you away to be touched and cuddled!” Kanaya
grabbed Nepeta’s hand and hauled her across the block towards the cot.
     The oliveblood giggled. “But wait! You haven’t revealed my secret identity
yet! My mask remains on!”
     Kanaya smiled and for a split second, Nepeta wondered if the legends about
the persuasiveness of jadeblood Rainbow Drinkers were actually legitimate. “All
in due time. First, I think you need to remove my robes.”
     “I am your thrall; I will do as you say,” Nepeta answered, her voice a
flat monotone. She reached forward, undid the green bow in the front of
Kanaya’s black and white robe and flipped it open as though it were a curtain.
     “Good. Now slide it over my shoulders and kiss me like you did the day
before!”
     Nepeta blinked. “The day before? But Vamphyra, this is the first time I’ve
been so close to you. Have we done this before and your used your Rainbow
Drinker Thinkpan Wipe Ability to make me forget?”
     Kanaya smiled and shook her head. “You really get into this, don’t you?”
     “I don’t know what you mean, Vamphyra; I’m still the Olive Rogue, champion
of love and justice and decidedly epic poses! But maybe, just maybe,
unpurrneath this mask you might find this girl you say you’ve been fooling
around with last day?”
     “Heh heh.   Maybe indeed.” Kanaya reached up and gently slipped her hands
under Nepeta’s hair and untied the olive mask before removing it. “So... it IS
you! Somehow I suspected the rumours of your identity but now I know they’re
true!”
     “My secret revealed!” Nepeta gasped, throwing a hand to her forehead in
mock distress. “Whatever shall I do?”
     Kanaya drew right up to her and looked down into her olive eyes. “All you
can do is what I say. You belong to me now.” With that, she placed her jade
tinted lips on Nepeta’s and kissed her firmly. Soon hands began to find
purchase on bare grey skin and they collapsed onto the cot, brushing and
touching.
     “I think it’s totally hot when you talk like that,” Nepeta whispered.
     “Really? I was just... playing.”
     “I know! It was amazing! You do that for Vriskers and I bet she won’t know
what to do with you! She’ll be putty in your paws.”
     “Do you honestly think so?”
     Nepeta nodded. “Yup. Look how turned on it’s got me.” She pulled back a
bit, exposing her erect nipples and let her left hand disappear between them
for a moment before returning with a bright olive tinge on her fingers.
     “And that’s just from us kissing?” Kanaya asked.
     “A bit more than that. Really, it’s the way you were acting, with this
kind of confidence, that got me so aroused.”
     Kanaya smiled broadly, her long fangs quite visible. “I’m... touched you
think so.”
     “Oh, you’re gonna be touched, all right. If you think you’re finally up
for it?”
     The jadeblood thought back to the events of the last two days: they spent
almost every moment in her respiteblock as bare as they were on their pupation
night, the excitement of just being unclothed around someone else providing
Kanaya with a spark she never could have imagined. By the second day, her self-
consciousness had all but evaporated as Nepeta coaxed her so completely out of
her shell that she found herself wondering if this was what matespritship could
actually be like. But I can’t, not with Nepeta. I still think about Vriska and
hope that she and I could be like this. Maybe now we can be? She wondered where
those thoughts of Vriska had gone to when they curled up together in the cot,
nothing at all between their bodies and Nepeta started idly rubbing her all
over. Kanaya felt that arousal that would often visit her when she read the
racy passages in her Rainbow Drinker tales but in a way that was different
somehow. When Nepeta began to press herself up against Kanaya’s backside and
her friends hand found its way to gently squeezing her jade nipple between her
fingers, she felt an ache down below the likes of which she had never known. I
know what I want to do but I still don’t quite know how to do it. Maybe this is
my chance to find out. “I think so, yes.”
     “So what do you want to learn?”
     “Well,” Kanaya began, finding her mouth suddenly as dry as it was two days
previous when Nepeta first suggested she remove her shirt, “I suppose before
anything else I should learn how to... touch myself.”
     “I can definitely help you there; I’m a pro at that. Sometimes, I get so
excited after catching what I’ve been stalking all morning that I’ll find a
secluded spot and rub one out right then and there in the bushes. After I’ve
made sure there isn’t another critter stalking ME of course!”
     “That would be a significant concern, I’d imagine.”
     Nepeta laughed. “Yep. Anyway, the first question is ‘are you aroused right
now’?”
     Kanaya made a snorting sound. “Do you really need to ask?”
     “Just making sure. Why don’t you check and find out?”
     “How do... oh, right. Like you did.”
     As Kanaya reached between her legs to check for wetness, Nepeta rolled
over slightly and said, “I’ll spare you the trouble; look at my thigh!”
     Sure enough, there was a streak of jade on Nepeta’s leg, just about the
knee, where Kanaya had wrapped herself around her friend while they were
kissing on the bed. “Oh! That came from me?”
     Nepeta replied with a raised eyebrow.
     “Right. Never mind.” A quick glimpse of her fingers also confirmed that
she was, in fact, quite excited. “So, what happens now?”
     “Hmmmmm... First, do you have any towels? I’d hate to make a mess on this
bed, unless you do the laundry and not your lusus? I just take mine down the
river and beat it on a rock...” When this produced a horrified look from
Kanaya, Nepeta added, “But I’ll make sure not to do that with these costumes
you made, don’t worry!”
     “Okay, good. So, towels? I can get those.” Kanaya rolled off of the cot
and walked over to a small door opposite her recupracoon that led to the load
gaper and shower. She returned with the towels they had used when they had
their showers that morning. “Might as well use these; it will give me an excuse
to bring out fresh ones. And yes, I do the laundry. Rocks are not involved.”
     Nepeta knew Kanaya wasn’t being insulting, just a smartnook. “Ha ha. Toss
me one of those, please and thanks!” She deftly caught the dark green towel,
and laid it out on the cot before grabbing up the pillows. “Now,” she offered,
“you can either take one of these and lay with your head at the opposite side
and watch or you can lay the same way as I do and maybe we can help each other
out?”
     Kanaya wasn’t certain how to answer in case there was a wrong answer but
opted for, “Maybe I should start by watching?”
     “Works for me!” Nepeta tossed one of the pillows to each end of the bed
and then propped the one closest to her up to lay back against. Once she was
comfortable, she gestured for Kanaya to join her which she did by sitting
across from her. “Nervous?”
     “A little...”
     “Just relax. The only way you’ll get there is if you are. As funny as it
sounds, the best thing to do is not to think about and it’ll happen.”
     “If you say so. I’ll try not to try too hard.”
     Nepeta chuckled at this. “That should work. Now just watch my hands.” She
let one leg fall to the side, doing her best to keep it on the bed and lifted
the other over Kanaya’s and set it back down so that her left foot was just
barely off the edge of the cot. She then licked two of her fingers and placed
them between her now spread legs. “Have you ever looked at yourself in a
mirror?”
     Kanaya nodded. “I have. I know what everything is down there but usually
when I try to touch my nub, it hurts and it sometimes spoils the mood I was
in.”
     “Well, that’s half the problem! You can’t just go right at it to start.”
Nepeta placed her yellow nailed left hand over her seedflap and moved the skin
in gentle circles. “You have to work your way up to it and kind of rub all of
it at once. At least, that’s what works for me.” She noticed Kanaya watching
her movements intently. “You go ahead and look; that’s the whole idea here,
right?”
     “All right,” Kanaya replied, although she was still a touch worried about
offending her guest by staring.
     After a few moments, Nepeta began moving her fingers a bit faster and
occasionally sliding them into the opening of her seedflap and withdrawing a
thin film of olive which she would use to moisten her lips and small protrusion
at the top of them in particular. “See? If you kinda warm yourself up a bit,
you can start getting your nub more involved... and that’s where the fireworks
really get started!”
     Kanaya couldn’t help but feel her own starting to ache and as she watched
Leijon happily rubbing away she wanted to follow suit. Okay... let’s try
this... She let her slender fingers rest on top of the soft smooth skin and
made long, slow circles with them. Ohh... that’s...
     A soft sigh escaped her and Nepeta picked up on this. “I know that sound.
Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!”
     “Don’t mind if I do.”
     Nepeta couldn’t help but watch Kanaya’s explorations and it made her
arousal that much more intense. She used her right hand to give one of her
nipples a light pull and it made her moan with some volume.
     “Is that what those are actually for?” Kanaya asked.
     “It’s what I use them for! Feel free to try it. You don’t have to do it
hard; just play with them a bit like you are down below and see what feels
good.”
     Kanaya brought her hand to her chest and let her fingers stroke down the
shape of her right breast to the jade tip and applied a hint of pressure.
“Oh... oh!”
     “See? Now you’re getting it! But once things really get going down below,
you’re gonna want to focus on that.”
     “I bet you’re right.”
     “Haven’t I been so far?” Nepeta let her eyes drift across the body of the
beautiful young woman in front of her: her large yellow and grey eyes, the
sweeping cones of her horns and her small breasts, the soft curve of her
stomach and the fullness of her engorged jade-coloured labia. I still can’t
believe I’m actually doing this with someone else! I wonder what she’s thinking
about. Or who. Well, I can sure enjoy the view and this is really hot!She let
her right hand drop away from her chest and slipped it under her thigh to play
at her own seedflap, her fingers teasing at the entrance, causing her to sing
out louder yet.
     “Careful... those windows are open. Don’t want to be... too loud,” Kanaya
warned, her breathing having become faster and more shallow as nature took
over.
     “Oh right! I might have to put one of these pillows over my mouth!”  
     Kanaya suddenly became a touch self-conscious. “Will I get that loud?”
     “Not necessarily,” Nepeta answered, “You can control it to a point. Just
remember to keep breathing, though.”
     “Okay. I will.” Kanaya noticed her fingers were now working right over top
of her nub and the pain of overload she had experienced before was all but
absent; there was nothing but a steady climb in pleasure that was both
satisfying and yet spoke of more to come.
     Nepeta, however, knew what was to come and her legs began to shake as her
body approached its climax. Her breath became panting and she arched her back
off of the pillow as the first wave of orgasm struck. Despite her best efforts,
she still called out as a spray of olive rushed from her seedflap and onto the
waiting towel. When she slowly opened her eyes a few moments later, they rested
upon Kanaya whose mouth was open in awe of what she’d just witnessed; her left
leg and thigh were also now sporting a decidedly more olive shade as well. “Oh!
I’m sorry...   I totally lost control there...”
     “No, it’s okay! It’s... it’s so... oh... OHHH” And with a wail and a
splash of jade, Kanaya’s body followed suit, unleashing her wetness onto the
towel but also in various directions as well as it splashed against her
fingers.
     As Kanaya’s convulsions slowly ceased, Nepeta could feel her own
burgeoning arousal flare again at the sight of her friend’s first orgasm.
Attagirl!She reached down to touch near her nub again; it was singing out to
her even though she had just climaxed and she was initially wary to touch it
but instead of finding the strange biofeedback that normally told her once was
enough, the impulse to continue was there waiting. Maybe we can do something
about that but first I better see how she’s doing. Nepeta wiped up as best she
could with a corner of the towel and then crawled over to lie down beside the
softly-breathing jadeblood. “Hey... how goes?”
     “oh... my...” came the whispered response.
     “You did wonderful, Kanaya! Way to go!”
     “I had... no idea...”
     Nepeta chuckled and hugged her friend. “Told ya! Are you okay?”
     Kanaya’s eyes blinked open. “Never better.”
     “You did so good there!” Nepeta gently helped Kanaya to a slightly
elevated position and then used her feet to grab at her own pillow to bring it
over for Maryam to lie back on. She kissed her on one of her long horns, which
made Kanaya squeak again. “Still a bit sensitive?”
     “Mmhmm... big time. But thank you for showing me.” She reached for Nepeta
and brought her in for a soft kiss on the lips. In the light from the windows,
she could see that she left a streak of her jade lipstick on Nepeta’s lips.
“Oops. Sorry about that.”
     “Don’t be. It’s all good. Congratulations on your first lesson. Do you
feel up to a second?”
     Kanaya thought about it. “I’m not sure. I’m actually a bit sore down
there. Is there anything I can do for you?”
     “Well, now that you’ve learned how to pleasure yourself, did you want to
try to pleasure someone else? It’s a handy skill.” Nepeta took one of Kanaya’s
hands in hers and gave it a slight squeeze.
     “Aren’t you funny; I had no idea the Olive Rogue was such a comedian.”
     Nepeta beamed. “Just one of the many superskills I have. But do you want
to try?”
     “If it helps you, it’s the least I can do. Just tell me what you want me
to do.”
     “All right.” Nepeta laid back on the pillows beside her friend, took the
hand that was in hers and placed it softly upon her moist seedflap. “Get your
fingers nice and wet first and then do it just like you were doing on your own:
slow to start and working the whole thing in wide circles.”
     “Okay.” Kanaya did as Nepeta asked and listened to the sweet exhalations
the oliveblood made when she did. Almost like a purr, she thought to herself.
“Is this satisfactory?”
     “Uh huh… Oh yes. Just start to make the circles a bit smaller now and just
a little faster. Don’t worry if you run over my nub a bit; I’m already really
warmed up!”
     Kanaya nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, letting her fingers feel
their way across the soft, full lips beneath them. They occasionally
encountered a firmer part, and each time she brushed up against it, Nepeta
would make a sound that spoke of pure pleasure. This is wonderful… to know I’m
making someone else feel as amazing as what I was doing for myself did. This
kind of reinforcement made Kanaya a little bolder and she placed a finger on
either side of that protrusion and just let her fingers shake very lightly.
     “Oh, Kan…” sighed Nepeta, who started to tip her hips back and forth
slightly. Oh Kan is right… I just wanted this to be friendly and now here we
are. She’s so pawsome and yet… yet my heart needs another. How it wish it was
him doing this… Maybe somenight it will be. Just pretend it’s him… Ohhhhh…“Ka…
Ka… Ka…”
     “Shhhhhh…” Kanaya whispered into her sponge clot. “Just focus the way you
told me to do.”
     Nepeta bit down on her lip as the sensations were coming stronger and
faster and there was nothing she could do about it. SO much more intense when
someone else is doing it… Not long now… please take me over! Please!!!Her legs
started to shake again, all but kicking of their own accord.
     Kanaya kept doing what she was doing as best she could as the lithe
oliveblood thrashed and moaned. I know what might help… She reached her right
arm underneath Nepeta’s arched back as best she could and brought her fingers
around to put firm pressure on the hard nipple they found. The wail that came
from Leijon confirmed what Kanaya had hoped for. “Let go for me…” she
whispered.
     Nepeta couldn’t form a coherent word but the sound that came from her a
split second before the torrent of olive jetted forth all over Kanaya’s hand
spoke of the raw wave of pleasure that possessed her in that moment of release.
She shook in Kanaya’s embrace and finally came to rest with a solitary word
that floated from her lips: “Karkat…”
     “Oh… um… I see…” Kanaya stammered, trying to decide how best to react.
     “OH SHIT! Did I say what I think I just said?” Nepeta bolted upright and
buried her face in her hands. “I’m… sorry,” she sobbed, “…didn’t want to tell
anyone… or hurt your feelings.”
     “It’s okay,” Kanaya said and rested her right hand on Nepeta’s shoulder.
“I’m not really offended. Just... really surprised is all.”
     Nepeta sniffled and moved to the edge of the bed. “Please don’t tell
anyone? Please?”
     Kanaya sat up and joined her there. “You mean about Karkat, right?”
     “Yes.”
     “I won’t tell a soul. I promise.”
     “Thank you. I just… I know we said we should just think about the other
people we want to be with while we were doing this but…” She paused and rested
her head against Kanaya’s slim shoulder. “I really like you a lot and I didn’t
mean to hurt you by saying it out loud.”
     “Really, it’s okay. I have to admit I’m having some pretty mixed feelings
right now. It’s very strange. I feel like I should be… more than I am with you,
but I feel in my pusher that I want to be with Vriska.” Kanaya exhaled and
blinked away a tear of her own. “Should we have done this?”
     This time it was Nepeta who offered a comforting hand. “No regrets,
Kanaya. None. I still think the world of you and that felt so pawsome you have
no idea!”
     “Oh, I think I might have an idea now, thanks to you.”
     Nepeta chuckled and the smile was back on her face. “You’re quite welcome.
But you know what? It was way more intense with someone else doing it for me.
I’ve never experienced that before.”
     “Really? You sure seemed to know what you’re doing. I wish now that I’d
asked you to do it for me, except that I’m still really sore.”
     “That’s okay; we still have a couple more days to go, right? If you feel
like you want to, just say so.”
     “Would it be all right if we kept it mostly to cuddling?” Kanaya asked. “I
enjoyed that immensely, but I need some time to recover physically and perhaps
emotionally.”
     “Sure. But if you do want to, just say the word, okay?”
     “I will. Don’t worry.” Kanaya looked at her left hand, still sticky with
Nepeta’s emissions. “I should probably wash up.”
     Nepeta nodded. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
     “No need to be sorry. It was really something to witness that! I’ve read
about it so many times, with varying quality of description, but it doesn’t
truly prepare one for experiencing it firsthand.”
     “Firsthand, eh? Nice choice of word, there.” Nepeta nuzzled Kanaya’s
shoulder and the jadeblood returned the gesture by resting her head on
Leijon’s.
     “Thank you, Nepeta. This was a wonderful experience.”
     “Glad you thought so. It was supurrb for me, too. Lots of firsts there.”
     “Indeed. At yet, you’re so confident, I can only marvel at how adroitly
you handled it.” Nepeta laughed and looked away shyly. “Why look away now?”
Kanaya asked.
     “Kanaya, it might surprise you to know something…” She leaned in and
kissed Maryam for as long as she could and when their lips parted, she
whispered, “You’re the first person I ever kissed.”
     If Kanaya’s eyebrows could have risen any higher, her hair would have
obscured them. “Are you serious?”
     “Quite. You’re not going to make fun of me for it, are you?”
     “Oh no! Never in a million sweeps! It’s just that… well, I’ve even kissed
Vriska – sloppy make-outs with her as she called it – and the way you, well,
went for it made me think you knew exactly what you were doing!”
     “Nope!” Nepeta said cheerfully. “Just winging it. Doing what came natural
is all.”
     Kanaya nodded. “Well, that certainly felt natural enough.”
     “Sure did. Thanks again, okay?”
     “It’s me who should be thanking you. And I have and will likely do so
again before our time together is through.”
     “You’re the one who’s making me these incredible outfits! It was the very
least I could do for you. But the thing is that it was just as much for me,
too, so I’m in your debt still. If there’s anything I can ever do for you, just
let me know, okay?”
     Kanaya patted her on the knee. “I will.” She stood up to head for the
gaper room and realized what she’d done. “Oh no! Did I…”
     Nepeta laughed as she looked at the hand shaped olive stain on her knee.
“No biggie. I’m sure it’ll wash right off.” She extended a finger and smeared
as much of her wetness as she could onto it before slipping it into her mouth.
“Mm. There’s another first.”
     “Oh! Wow… er… how, um, was it?”
     “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”
     Kanaya looked at the mess on her hand and thought carefully about it. “I
suppose I could…”
     “It’s totally sweet,” Nepeta encouraged.
     A tentative finger made its way into Kanaya’s mouth. She waited a moment
then exclaimed, “BLUH!”
     Nepeta’s eyes widened. “Really?”
     “No, I’m joking. It’s actually quite nice.”
     “Whew! I was worried for a moment! Vriska was right; you really are a
smartnook, you know!”
     “I know. It’s an irrefutable fact.” Kanaya winked and headed for the gaper
room.
     “Hey, Kanaya,” Nepeta called after her, “Vriskers was right about
something else, too.”
     “Oh? And what’s that?”
     Leijon grinned a toothy grin. “You do have a choice ass. Thought you
should know.”
     Nepeta could definitely see Kanaya blushing fiercely as she closed the
door but the lovely smile was unmistakably present as well.
 
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!