Growing Soft 10 (Patreon)

Miia was shivering. Even beneath her multiple layers of clothing, and beneath a few extra layers of blubber, she could feel her internal temperature dropping. She wished that she owned a knitted cap, or maybe a pair of gloves. She rubbed her hands together before blowing into them, but the breath in her lungs was as cold as the chill from outside. Being cold blooded could be a real bother sometimes…

“It’s not too much farther,” Rachnera said from the front of the pack. “The Garden is just down the block!” A gust of wind swept up from behind and trickles of snow nearly froze Miia to the sidewalk. Her fangs chattered, poking uncomfortably over her lower lip. She shivered, miserable.

“Alright, fine. Come here.”

Miia could hardly react when a pair of hands unexpectedly squished her flub on either side and she was lifted bodily from the sidewalk. Cerea grunted from the strain when she placed Miia onto her back, and as a reaction the scarlet lamia began to spool around the centaur’s flank. 

Cerea’s body exuded warmth and Miia pressed her upper body against her sloped back, wrapping her arms around her waist and ducking her head beneath Cerea’s long blonde ponytail. She opened her mouth to speak, but her clattering teeth wouldn’t let her get more than “T-th-th-t-tha-thanks” out.

“What? She’s freezing,” Cerea said to somebody else. “Don’t grin at me like that.”

“It’s not even that bad out,” she heard Mero. “We went further when we were going clothing shopping.”

“Yeah? Tell that to her,” Cerea replied.

Miia tightened her grip, whining lightly.

“Alright, this is it! Head on in. And remember what I said!”

“How do they get those flowers to grow in the winter, I wonder?”

Miia didn’t look up as they passed from the overcast outside into the bright interior of a building’s entrance. She nearly melted when she felt the power of the heater billowing hot air through her scarlet hair and would have fallen off of Cerea had she not been so well wrapped.

“Are you well, Mistress?” Cerea asked her.

Miia’s teeth were still chattering. She rubbed her hands over her waist. “C-c-cold!”

“We’ll get you something warm to drink. Can you please let go of my chest now?”

“Eh?” Miia glanced around Cerea’s waist. “Oh… s-sorry.”

“I’m surprised you let her ride you,” Mero said from her seat. “I’ve only ever seen you that way with Darling.”

Cerea coughed uncomfortably as Miia unraveled her tail. “Yes, well, Master made the point that she is my Mistress… so, it’d be undutiful not to care for her. She was in obvious… Miia? What are you doing?”

“Waaaaaaarm…” Miia moaned, raising herself up toward the entrance’s heater. She reached all the way down to the edge of her spider silk sweater and began rolling it up over her tail. 

“Miia!” Cerea’s hands found hers, holding them in place. “Hey!”

Miia ignored her, tugging the sweater up past her hips. A long stretchy black fabric hugged tight over her tail, her newly acquired lazy pants, covering her modesty up to her tummy. However her upper body was briefly exposed, pale muffin top pushing over the tight sweats, bottom belly showing a smooth dome inside of them. As her sweater came up past her chest, her bright pink bra was briefly shown before her blue baby doll top unfurled and covered the bottom of her belly. She had to awkwardly slither to get the long sweater fully over her head, but when she did she could feel the warm air coasting over her face and the tops of her breasts, blowing down into her shirt and warming her body.

“Mhmmmm,” she sighed, slinking down to the bottom. “That’s better…”

She opened her eyes to see Cerea and Mero giving each other very flustered looks, while Rachnera grinned at her while holding her face in a claw. “For a moment, I thought you’d be giving us a little show~” the spider-woman pined. 

Miia blushed and then flicked her tongue out. “You wish.”

“Maybe I do,” Rachnera shot back. “I’ve heard that lamias are quite adept at belly dancing.”

Miia hugged her hands over her tummy but couldn’t think of a way to respond. Instead, she stuck her tongue out again and blew a firm “Mynah!” With bright cheeks, she slithered past and into the building proper.

The establishment was thankfully as well heated as the entrance. It was rather strangely decorated, with glittering paper lamps that were adorned with overgrowth. It occurred to Miia that she’d never been in this building, and that she must have missed its name, but she was enticed by the smell of yummy food. 

Dark, hardwood floors led deep into the building, away from the chilly exterior. A pair of butterfly fairies fluttered over the receptionist podium, turning to the girls as they came forward. 

“Hiya!” called one of the ladies. She was a tiny woman, not even as large as Miia’s fat chest, with brown hair tied by tiny flower petals into poofy twintails, and smiled cheerfully at the arriving party. “Party of four?”

“Yes, please,” Miia nodded.

The fairy’s grin became immense. She held out her hand. “May I have your name?” she asked, as if asking for a gift.

Miia opened her mouth but a hand clamped over her lips before she could speak. “Weren’t you listening?!” Cerea asked her.

Miia blinked at her, confused.

Rachnera walked past on her sharp, chitinous legs. “Four seats will be fine,” she said to the fairy.

“What a strange name!” the little woman giggled. “Especially for someone with a butt big enough to fill five!”

Rachnera was completely unphased. She turned back to Miia. “Too cold, eh?”

Miia swallowed, feeling as if she were being talked down to. “S-sorry. I have trouble paying attention.”

“It’s okay. I’m almost as bad as you are, remember?” Rachnera pointed a claw to the emblem on the podium. A lovely assortment of clovers and tulips adorned an immaculately handwritten sign that labeled the restaurant ‘The Garden of the Fae’.

“We’ve stopped here for dinner before going to the club. Now pay attention, okay? Never give a fairy your name,” she pointed a finger at the receptionist as she struggled to gather up four normal sized menus. “It’s part of their charm. If you give it to them, they’ll take it, and name you something else.”

“Err…” Miia’s face fell, trying to understand. “I’m sorry, what? They’ll take your name?”

Rachnera nodded. “It’s like giving them a gift. Also, never take any food or drink one offers you.”

“This way, please!” the fairy called, seemingly unperturbed that Rachnera was talking about them so bluntly. They followed her through a doorway and into a large room that was decorated to resemble an affluent garden. The center of the room had a circular setup around a beautiful cherry blossom tree that basked in golden moonlight, with tiny fairy waitresses dancing and playing while being cheered on by a group of human males, and one female minotaur. The assembled group all seemed to be drinking from deep pints. The fairies were continuously filling their tables with food. Some of the humans were snacking on sushi rolls, while others drank hungrily from little wooden bowls of broth. The minotaur woman tore a hunk of meat from a giant turkey leg, and a couple of fairies seemed to fawn over her.

“If you eat something given by one of the fairies, you’ll go and join them,” Rachnera pointed. “It’s an all you can eat buffet, and you have to sit there until closing.” 

“That’s… weird…” Miia said, trying not to notice how delicious the turkey leg looked.

“They’ll try to trick you, cause they’ll charge you for everything you eat there. Just gotta be careful.”

Miia noticed that they were far from the only other patrons in the dimly lit restaurant. They passed a party of halflings that were sat at a table that resembled the roots of a tree. A hive’s worth of honeybee-women were drinking some sweet looking drinks that glowed in the dark, and another table was filled by a light-weight centaur and her heavyweight, fully armored, companion. There were even a small group of lamias that were wrapped up in conversation with a dark satyr girl who wore a pretty purple blouse that shimmered like starlight. 

Their hostess led them to a table that was near the far wall before Miia realized something. “Hey, wait. If we can’t eat anything, why are we here?”

Rachnera tapped her nose. “I said nothing given to you by a fairy. The waitresses are satyrs and alraune, and those are just fine.”

The fairy dropped their menus on the table and released a solid “Phew!” before flying back up. “Your server will be right with you!” she grinned her impossibly wide grin and then fluttered off.

“What an odd establishment…” Mero said, looking around. “I’d never pictured a place like this.”

“It’s pretty neat, ain’t it?” Rachnera waved Miia onto her seat, which looked as if it’d grown straight up from the ground. Miia tucked her sweater into the crevasse of the booth, and Rachnera squatted down on the other, benchless side along with Cerea.

“It feels almost malicious, the way you describe it,” Cerea said, taking a menu.

Rachnera shrugged. “At least they let the people go at the end of the night. They just have to pay for all they’d eaten.”

Miia looked over centaur’s shoulder and saw the minotaur very happily indulging herself on a series of sausage links, slurping one after the other into her mouth. The woman seemed quite content with the quality of the meats. “I just wanna know how the food is…” she said, feeling her tummy flexing emptily. “I missed breakfast today.”

“The salad is pretty good,” Rachnera helpfully chimed, smirking as Miia mimed a small retch. 

Cerea, however, seemed enticed. One of her brown ears flicked bashfully. “What’s so good about it…?” she asked.

“Oh, the lettuce they use is super fresh. I think the queen grows that stuff daily. They also use cherry tomatoes and banana peppers, and a thick creamy sauce that tastes really good with the onions.”

“Bligh,” Miia’s tongue slithered out. “What about the meat?”

“Look for yourself!” Cerea complained, her blonde bushy tail waggling in annoyance. “You’ve got a menu, carnivore!”

A trio of fairies carried over a platter of four waters. Two of the girls held it while the third served each out.

Cerea, looking over her own menu and without thinking, went for her glass, but Rachnera smacked the back of her hand. As she noticed what she’d been about to do, her blush was strong enough to brighten her whole face in the darkly lit room, and both Miia and Mero giggled at their friend. 

“Ahhhh, hello~” said a very sleepy, mellow voice. 

Mero nearly leapt out of her skin as an exceptionally feminine woman, clothed in nothing more than green plant wrappings and a decorative purple apron, appeared at her side. The woman’s apron matched the violet roses that were growing out of her head.

“Our specials today,” the alraune continued in her tired tone without even noticing, “are Shepherd’s Pie made from cream cheese, ground beef, and mashed potatoes-”

*Grrroooooll*

The girl was interrupted by Miia’s tummy growling. She paused while Miia quietly crossed her hands over her middle.

“And our other dish is Corned Beef served with-”

*Groooooooolll!*

Everyone watched Miia, who was now blushing so heavily that even her ears seemed to glow pink.

“- with cheesey potatoes…” the girl finished. “Can I offer you an appetizer?”

Cerea watched Miia.

Rachnera watched Miia.

Mero smiled at Miia before reaching over and poking her in her soft, hungry, jelly belly. “Yes, please,” she told the waitress. “We’ll have some of your sausage rolls with the honey mustard. And I think we might be ready to order?”

The others nodded, and all looked to the tubby lamia.

Miia’s tail waggled and she raised the menu to cover her blush. “Y-you start,” she told Rachnera. “I gotta… um… double check.”

“Can’t decide on just one, eh?” Rachnera teased.

Miia’s tail batted her long legs beneath the table, eliciting a happy titter from the silver haired spider before she turned to the alraune. “I’d like one of the large soft pretzels with cheese, and I’ll go with the strip steak.” 

She passed her menu to Cerea, who’s tail flicked behind her. “P-pretzel? I didn’t see that…”

“Get one,” Rachnera prompted. “They’ve kobold cooks, and they make them so good.”

Cerea nodded. “Sure… umm,” she turned to the waitress. “One pretzel and cheese, and your square chopped salad, but without any egg. And extra cheese for that, please.”

The plant-woman nodded, her long green hair swooshing over her soft pink body. “Got it. And you, miss?” she prompted Mero.

“I’ll take…” Mero scooched up in her seat, her tail flicking against Miia’s tail. “Hey, would you like to split some of these smoked boneless wings?”

Miia had been staring at her menu, trying very hard to make her tummy stay quiet. She had become increasingly content with her chub, but without Darling around she was very aware by just how loud her belly could be. Still, she had to swallow a mouthful of drool when she again read the sauce list. “W-which sauce?” she asked.

“Hmmm, you pick!” Mero offered.

Miia inhaled. “Umm.. Well, since there’s 18, how about 8 as honey barbeque, and then 10 as the hot?”

“Ooo, you know I like spicy,” Mero sounded excited.

Miia had actually forgotten, but she passed it off, laughing sheepishly.

“That’ll do, and I’ll take an order of fish and chips, without smashed peas please, and also a plate of your seafood curry.”

“Wow, going all out, eh?” Rachnera asked.

Mero sighed with content as she closed her menu, nodding to Rachnera. “I’ve become more comfortable with the prospect of eating until I’m full.”

Her tail lightly flicked against Miia’s. 

“Alright,” Rachnera said. “But if we find any cute boys at the dance club, then don’t complain about having eaten too much.”

Mero looked from Rachnera down to her wheelchair before raising a pink eyebrow.

“They have a fish tank!” Rachnera defended herself.

Mero shook her head, chuckling into her hand.

“And for you?” their waitress prompted Miia. 

The lamia fretted. “W-well… um.. I’d like one of the shepherd’s pies… an order of the strip steak, rare please… One of the smoke house rules… and what’s this one?” she held the menu out to the waitress. 

“Ah! The mac piggy. So, it’s macaroni noodles, topped with salami, bacon, andouille sausage, and Irish bacon, which is prepped by the queen fairy herself, and a thick layer of melted cheese on top. It’s a very popular lamia dish.”

Miia coughed, quieting Rachnera and Mero’s snickers. “Yes, I’ll have that too… please.”

“Right,” the girl said, taking the menus. “And what to drink?”

******************************************************************************

A kobold had to come out to help the alraune deliver the drinks and appetizers. Each of the girls had settled on some form of soda, with Miia choosing a dark dokupe, one of the few brands that she could really taste. Her and Mero began picking through the wings while Cerea and Rachnera broke off bits of very thick pretzels and dunked them in dark gooey cheese.

She took the first boneless wing with her forefinger and thumb, popping the entire snack into her mouth. It was then wrapped by her long tongue, allowing the sauce to sink into her taste buds before she began munching. “Mhmmmmmm,” she pined girlishly.

Cerea and Rachnera both were similarly abated by their giant doughy pretzels. Little dribbles of cheese melted down Cerea’s pink lips, her tongue flashing out to catch them. “This dough is magnificent,” she said to Rachnera. “It’s so seldom that I can find it without any meat.”

“I will never get that,” Rachnera said, popping a second piece of torn dough into her mouth. “Meat’s sho good, how can you not?”

Cerea turned her nose up in defiance. “Centaurs are herbivores,” she said proudly. “We have twice as many taste buds as you omnivores, and over twenty times that of carnivores.”

Miia had emptied her spicy soda much quicker than she’d realized, and begun loudly sipping at the bottom. She felt eyes on her and looked up to see Cerea and Rachnera staring at her. “What?” she asked, reaching for another wing.

Rachnera hummed, turning back to Cerea. “Herbivores, though? That can’t be true. I’ve seen what the males of your species look like. You don’t get so muscular without any protein.”

“We get plenty of protein!” Cerea replied. “I happen to have a soft spot for peanuts and especially almonds, and have been more open to trying the humans’ tofu. Soy can be very high in protein.”

The three other women made similar faces of disgust.

“You people just don’t have quality taste buds,” Cerea shot back, crossing her arms beneath her hefty breasts and unintentionally lifting them up.

“Even so,” Rachnera continued. “Wouldn’t you need to eat a huge amount to match what meat could provide? Centaurs don’t exactly have small bodies… well,” Rachnera looked over her shoulder, spotting the lightweight centaur. “Most don’t.”

“That’s why she has so many chocolate bars with almonds hidden in her room,” Mero interjected, giggling. 

Cerea’s ears twitched and she blushed. She took another bite of her pretzel, saying nothing.

Mero’s grin widened. “She has a weakness for chocolate.”

“Meroune!!” Cerea whined.

“Oh, Cerea. You don’t have to keep secrets like that from us.” Mero turned. “Here, Rachnera? What’s your favorite dessert?”

The spider raised a claw to her chin. “I haven’t thought about that in a long time… I suppose it’s something like gelatin.”

“Like jelly?” Miia asked.

“Ehh,” Rachnera shrugged. “Sort of, but more than you’d put on a sandwich.” Her tone shifted, becoming more playful. “Jiggly and soft, something you can suck up and drink. I also enjoy cream puffs and… marshmallows.” Six eyes caught a frightening glint of red light. Her arachnid teeth looked sharp as she made a noise like she were sucking out something’s insides. It felt like Rachnera was staring straight at her, and for the first time in a long time Miia felt an uncomfortable shiver, reminded of Rachnera’s spider-nature.

Mero hummed, satisfied. “My favorite is also chocolates,” she told the group. “But I prefer higher quality dark chocolates, while you seem to enjoy sugary milk chocolate.”

Cerea sighed. “That figures. Even your diet is that of a princess.”

“Bllluuiiiigh,” Mero rumbled like a dead fish, completely detached from her refined manners. “Please, don’t bring that up…” she put her hand to her head. “Mother’s been sending me mail all week. Someone from court informed her of what had happened at the gym.”

Miia perked up. “Eh? The gym?”

Then she remembered her long tail slamming down onto the head of the shark mermaid and then forcing her to apologize to Mero.

“O-oh… You’re not in trouble, are you??”

“Far from it…” Mero sipped at her drink, looking like she wished it were alcoholic. “She praised me for, as she put it, ‘putting the common folk in their place.’ Even sent a package of chocolates as a gift, and asked when I’d be returning next.”

“Oh, well that’s good then!” Miia said before noticing the grimaces on Cerea and Rachnera. “R-right?”

“It hardly felt like it,” Mero sighed. Then, after a short pause she added, “Those chocolates were really good, though…”

Miia stirred uncomfortably, seeing to change the topic. “H-hey!” she tried, “You didn’t ask me what my favorite dessert is.”

“Do you even have a favorite?” Cerea asked.

For a moment Miia thought that the question was sarcastic and opened her mouth to make a harsh reply, but she froze. A trickle of sweat began to dribble down the side of her head. “Ah… err….”

Meroune began to laugh. She tried to quiet herself, but it ended up coming out as an undignified snort, which only made her laughter redouble, and the others joined in.

They had been so busy talking that they each still had food when their entrees arrived. Cerea and Rachnera stacked their pretzels on a wooden board as the salad and pie were respectively placed in front of each. Mero pushed the wings towards the center, while her fried fish, fried potatoes, and bowl of delicious smelling curry was set in front of her. Then, Miia’s four dishes had to be interspersed around what little room remained on the table. 

She started on the shepherd’s pie. 

The entrée was about the size of Miia’s head, but that was nothing compared to the size of her hunger. Her fork and knife sliced through the mashed potato topping, spilling droplets of juicy meat filling. The beef inside had been thoroughly cooked but the flavor was livened by the addition of heavy spices, and the lovely filling that colored the mashed potatoes gold. She tried to place what exactly the golden taste was, but it escaped her.

The server returned, bringing Miia a fresh soda. Cerea had finished a quarter of her salad when the scarlet lamia took her steak and put it down onto her now empty pie tin. “Goodness,” she watched the first slice disappear past Miia’s fangs. “You really are hungry today, aren’t you?”

“Mmm, mhmm!” Miia hummed through her full mouth.

“She’s been eating more since she got married. I hear that happens that happens to every couple,” Rachnera supplied.

“Does it?” Cerea seemed speculative, turning back to Miia.

The redhead’s tail danced and she swayed cheerfully in her seat. She didn’t suspect most people had what her and Darling had, but even just thinking about the ring on her finger made her feel as light as air.

An unexpected change then occurred. Mero, who had been hesitantly blowing on her steaming hot curry, began eating it faster, matching Miia’s pace. She quickly turned to her other plate and began to scoop handfuls of fries into her mouth, filling out her cheeks and hungrily tearing through the batch before snapping into the breaded fish.

Miia hardly noticed, devouring the bloody 8 ounce steak and then retrieving her next dish.

The Smoke House Rules was a bowl of noodles and shredded brisket covered in cheese. Miia was growing more and more fond of cheesy dishes, as the warm gooey texture dribbling down into and settling into her belly was exceptionally pleasant. She loved feeling it mash around with all of the meat in her tummy, and had become infatuated with how smooth and round it made her belly feel. Digging into her bowl, she could feel herself getting a little turned on. 

She wished Darling was there. She wanted to sit in his lap while she ate, to feel his hands on her belly, massaging her sides, pinching her fluff.

Miia caught her left hand creeping up beneath her baby doll shirt and pinching her muffin top. She swallowed another mouthful of cheese-soaked meat and coughed a few times before taking a deep, deep drink of her cool soda. She needed to refocus her mind. 

“So, where are Papi and Suu?” she asked Rachnera.

Rachnera was taking the finishing bites of her strip steak, dunking the meat into a glob of barbeque sauce. Miia was so bewildered by the sauce that she nearly missed Rachnera’s answer, looking around the table to spot a bottle she had missed. “Can you imagine bringing them here?” Rachnera asked. “Papi would tell everyone her name, even the fake ones they’d impose on her.”

“And they’d get stuck with that group over there,” Cerea said without a hint of judgement or doubt, pointing towards the center of the dining room.

“Ehh, it’s not so bad,” Rachnera referred to them. “You see the drinks that they have? It’s nectar from the tree. Apparently, it’s really tasty, but it makes you super hungry too. Fairies used to keep humans forever… but, apparently, it’s more cost effective to keep them till close.” 

“They don’t hurt them?” Cerea asked.

Rachnera snorted. “Oh, no… You know, one of my blind dates drank the water right after he saw me.” She laughed airily at Cerea’s cringe. “Hey, I’m used to it.” 

She blinked each of her eyes in succession to make a point. 

“They come over, do a little ritual, and then bam… you’re handed a bill for ¥30,000 and you can’t look at food for a week.” Her grin was sharp, almost seeming to enjoy the malicious idea. “If you’re lucky, the head chef might come out and entertain them while we’re here. The Fairy Queen. Besides, Mero said we might try going to that new liminal club.” She flashed Miia a cheeky look. “Not all of us have our own little toys.”

“Oh,” Miia said. She’d been caught up in hearing about the feast in the middle. She watched them being served by an endless stream of fairies twinkling back and forth while others danced and played and laughed. It was overall a very joyful atmosphere. She searched for another topic, then turned to Mero. “Hey! If we’re going to a club, why couldn’t Darling… eh?”

Meroune was hovering over her plate of curry, cheeks so red that she looked like she was glowing. She was shoveling spoonful after spoonful into her mouth, hardly seeming to even swallow.

“M-Mero?” Miia asked.

Mero looked up, her spoon caught in her mouth. Her blue eyes became the size of her bowl with everyone staring at her. She swallowed. Tears began to form. She opened her mouth and took deep heavy breaths. “I-it’s…*phew* It’s a bit… *gasp* hot. It’s hot.” 

She fumbled for her soda and began sipping it back.

Miia chuckled awkwardly. “W-well yeah, they sai-”

“Hot!” Meroune interrupted her, thunking her empty glass onto the table. Her tongue fell out of her mouth and she fanned it. She looked over at Miia’s.

“W-what?” Miia looked from her to her glass. “Get outta here! Mine!” she said, defensively tucking her soda to her chest.

“Hoooooot!!” Meroune whined, and Miia could see steam rising off her tongue. Her chest was heaving, and she ripped the shroud off her head, waving at her face with her hands. She looked around desperately, and her hand seized one of the cups of water.

“No!!” the trio shouted, moving to deny her but Meroune had already dropped it with a huge effort of will.

“Here, have an ice cube,” Cerea offered.

Meroune took it from Cerea’s empty glass and rubbed it over her tongue. The cube turned into liquid almost instantly, dribbling onto the mermaid’s chest. The mermaid shuffled, her flipper kicking Miia’s tail beneath the table as she seized her dress at the sides and lifted it over her head.

Miia gasped when she saw Mero’s pale tummy pudge out over her bottoms. She wore a purple and black swimsuit beneath her Lolita dress, although it seemed as if it could barely hold on. Her plump chest puffed like two heavy balloons, pushing out and around the tiny straps and small covers. Large gaps of white underboob sagged out of the outfit. She clamped a hand onto her heaving chest while another continued to rapidly fan her tongue, shaking her silver bracelet and tiny mermaid charm. It glinted pink when it caught the moonlight.

Miia didn’t know what to say. Mero had looked a little soft at Christmas, but now she looked squishy, her always wet skin reminding Miia of Suu’s slime.

Meroune’s eyes doubled and she locked onto a tiny silver cup of thick ranch dressing. She snagged it, lifting it raw to her mouth and lapped her tongue into the cup.

The effect was instantaneous. Her red tongue began to fade back to pink, and the blush fell off of her cheeks. “Ish hob,” she mumbled, tongue still in the cup.

Miia snorted, putting her cup back onto the table. “Here, lemme try, it can’t be that bad.”

“Meroune,” Cerea interrupted as Miia scooched closer. “Where’d you get that cup?”

Meroune looked over to the blonde. She looked down to the cup and then pointed to their pack of unfinished wing.

“Neither of you had ranch…” Cerea said in a low tone.

Meroune looked down at her tongue. “Oh… crab,” she mumbled as several pairs of crimson red eyes fluttered maliciously up from behind her. 

She hopped, dropping the ranch cup into the bowl when one of the fairies landed on her shoulder. It was the hostess from the entrance. “Did you like my gift?” she asked. “I thought you would! We made your food extra spicy!”

Mero gulped. “U-uhh, umm,” she started.

“And now it’s your turn to give a gift back!” the little girl twirled on her shoulder, and a sudden gust of wind came from her wings. Dust was flung into the air over Meroune, glittering down over her pink hair and pale body, filling her lap.

Mero’s large chest started first, lifting upward and nearly leaving her bikini behind. “U-uuwaahh!!” she held her hands across her chest, tucking her tail up towards her pudgy tummy as she began to lift into the air.

The pixies and fairies all delightedly giggled, twisting and twirling around their new floating prize.

“What’s going on?! Let me down!” Meroune shouted.

A pair of pixies floated over to her belly and began mashing it like dough. “Ooo, so soft.”

“What a pudgy princess!” the other one teased.

“Meroune!” Miia called, rising up from her seat. A claw shout out and grabbed her hand so tight that it hurt. 

“Miia, no,” Rachnera denied. “She broke the rule. If you try to help her, you’ll break it too.”

“Here!” the hostess sprite said, flying up to Meroune’s mouth. In her hands she held a tiny shot glass that glowed with a bright golden light. “Drink this!”

“N-agh!!” Meroune loosed a frightened yelp as the fairy upended the cup over her face, not waiting for her to deny it. The mermaid began sputtering, but it was evident that some of the golden liquid had found its way to her mouth, because she began to relax after that.

And then, worryingly, she began to giggle, reminding Miia of her wine-drunken laughter. She twisted in the air, laughing uncaringly while her flipper kicked as if she were swimming.

“It’s the nectar from their tree,” Rachnera told Miia before she could ask. They watched Mero floating away towards the center, where the group of humans and minotaur cheered as another was added. “It’s their world tree. She’ll be fine, we’ll just have to pick her up at close.”

Miia fretted back and forth. “W-what are they gonna do to her?” she asked, watching as she was seated on a comfortable chair next to the minotaur woman. The minotaur clapped a giant hand on her back and passed her a wooden mug that was as big as her Mero’s head.

Unquestioningly, Mero drank. She drank it as deeply as she ever had any drink, hungrily and greedily taking the entire container down. As she chugged, her soft tummy fluffed outward with each pull and when she finished, she dropped it down onto the table with a satisfied gasp. A plate of freshly baked fish had been put before her.

“They’re gonna feed her,” Rachnera said, cringing. “I hope she brought her wallet.” 

Miia’s tail swished. At first it was in discomfort, but she felt the rising heat. It started in her belly and rose into her chest. Defiantly, she reached for her glass of water. The lamia charm of her bracelet tinkled against the glass.