Juicy Secrets Forbidden Tales of Lesbian Love

By Nuit du Loup

By the time they got back to the house, the girls had discovered a number of very interesting things. Notable among them was that there was a den of foxes nearby that came and stole Karin’s strawberries that she’d picked at the garden when she set them down for a moment and that Isana’s wondrous marvels did not include a portable toilet. The latter was discovered by all three girls at one point or another when they refused to go back early for a break.  Having done it many times before, Isana had no qualms about peeing in the woods, but the girls were city folk and found it quite embarrassing when they had to duck behind a tree for a moment. They also returned very hungry.

Dinner was a raucous meal of laughing girls and good food.  Isana wasn’t all that bad a cook, and she was more than a little proud when the girls deemed dinner-worthy.  They spent an entire hour reminiscing about things, and even quiet Sora had plenty to say. While the girls may not have been very close when they arrived, it was clear even now that they enjoyed each other’s company. It made Isana glad that she’d accepted them into her home.

When Isana left them to their happy conversations in order to wash up the dinner dishes, she was a little surprised when Ayaka came up to her side shortly after and started to dry things for her. When she raised an interrogative eyebrow, Ayaka smiled warmly.

“Sora and Karin washed and dried at breakfast, so it’s not right for me to skip out,” Ayaka explained smoothly. “Besides, Sora got Karin to tell her about the foxes again. That girl thinks they’re the cutest things on earth now.”

While Ayaka was waiting for another dish to dry, Isana noticed how she kept rubbing at her thighs. “A little sore?” she asked in concern.

“Yeah, I haven’t ever walked that much before at one time,” Ayaka smiled ruefully. “If anything else, living here is going to have me in much better shape. I just wish the process of getting there wasn’t so uncomfortable. My leg is so stiff that I know it’s going to hurt even more tomorrow.”

“Which is why we’ll take care of it tonight, with my secret room,” Isana replied teasingly, handing over another dish.

“You keep hinting about this great place of yours,” Ayaka said, willingly rising to the bait. “Is this also where you’re going to explain things to the other girls?”

“Yes, it’s an appropriate place for many things,” Isana replied cryptically.

“A place that lies beyond that mysterious door on the north side of the house?” Ayaka countered, enjoying the game.

“I see my subtlety was wasted on you,” Isana grinned, washing the last plate. “In the future, I’ll have to remember that quick mind of yours.”

“At least now you know about it,” Ayaka agreed loftily. She dried the dish and placed it neatly in the stack with the rest and put the lot of them back into their cupboards. “So when are you going to reveal this wonderful secret to us?”

Isana glanced toward the windows and saw that it was nicely dark outside. This deep into the forest, the sunset fairly early from the thick foliage. “We can go any time now,” she replied. “Assuming you can convince the other two to suspend their conversation.”

Ayaka gave a snort of amusement and shook her head. “Honestly, I really wish they had given us some warning that you had an odd sense of humor. Karin thinks I’ve already wormed it all out of you and she’s tried several times to get me to talk, and Sora somehow seemed to be conveniently close by to overhear each time. I don’t think it will take much convincing.”

Ayaka returned to the table and as promised, Sora and Karin were both more than eager to postpone Sora’s interrogation about the foxes for another time. She earned a darkly humorous smile from Ayaka when she dithered a bit and took her time walking back through the house to the door into her special room. She really liked Ayaka’s sense of humor and it seemed the girl was willing to put up with hers.

A tap on the wood and a tiny jolt of magic undid the lock she’d set, just in case one of the girls had gotten curious enough to try and sneak a peek. This earned her another amused snort from Ayaka, but she blithely ignored it. When she opened the door she led them into a very small chamber with another door at the end and blue tiled walls. One wall held several fluffy bathrobes on hooks, including a smaller girl-sized one Emi wore when she visited. The other side had a wicker rack with several white towels on top that were even fluffier than the robes, and several empty shelves below them. They all stood elevated slightly from the tile floor on wooden slats. Isana gently closed the door behind them.

“What are these for?” Sora asked, feeling the softness of a towel.

“You’ll see in just a second,” Isana said, then led them through the second door.

The large, spacious room they entered glowed hauntingly with the silver of moonlight and Isana felt a moment of pride at the silence from the girls. The octahedral walls were made entirely of slightly opaque glass and rose up to the crystal clear glass roof and the stars above. The moonlight seemed to flow down and accentuate the joining points of the structure until it seemed as if they stood inside a gleaming glass cage. The effect grew even greater when Isana made a gesture and the walls became clear as well, showing a nighttime forest.

The room was just over thirty feet across with the center taken up by a large octagonal pool of water. Vapor rose from the water and its warm humidity clung to their skin in the heated air. Around the pool were several comfortable benches, chairs and couches that she treated regularly to prevent mildew or fungus from growing. Small crystals like she’d made to light the girls’ rooms hung suspended over several of the pieces, but were currently quiescent.

“What is this place?” Sora asked quietly, eyes wide.

“I found the original plans for the house a few years back, but when they built the house they must have come up a little short on funds, so they left this room unfinished. All that was here were the glass walls and ceiling. The floor was left as bare dirt, of all things,” Isana smiled at the memory of how bad this place had looked originally. “I liked the original idea a lot better and decided to make a project out of it. What you see is the product of two years of my own planning, enchanting, and the hard work of a contractor friend I know from town. The blueprints call this room a solarium, but I have always found it to be even more enjoyable by moonlight.”

“You did all of this on your own?” Ayaka said in amazement, looking up into the night sky. “It’s beautiful, but it must have been a lot of work.”

“Oh, it was,” Isana assured her. “But stuff like this is what I like to do when I’m not on a job for the town. I fiddle around and make things. This was just one of my larger and more enjoyable projects. Others, like my truck or the garage door, were more practical.”

“What’s that pool?” Karin asked, moving further in to touch the water’s surface. “It’s hot!”

“That’s why they used to call something like that a hot tub,” Isana laughed. “Watch this.” She knelt down and tapped her finger on a small silver circle on one side of the tub and then the water erupted into a bubbling, seething, froth.

“Are you saying we can get into this ‘hot tub’ of yours?” Ayaka asked with a growing, excited smile. She had moved forward and was standing close by again.

“Of course I am,” Isana answered immediately. “I made it to be enjoyed.”

“What do we wear?” Karin asked, looking eager to try it out. “They never bought us bathing suits.”

“You’re not supposed to wear anything,” Isana answered casually as if that was obvious. “It would detract from the experience.”

“We have to be naked?” Sora asked shyly, but then she glanced at Isana in a thoughtful way.

“I suppose you could wear your underwear if you really have to, but it feels a lot better au naturel,” Isana shrugged. “I’ve had Emi and Claire over a few times, and they seem to like it.”

“I don’t mind,” Ayaka said calmly, drawing everyone’s attention. Even Isana was a little surprised. She had expected all three of them to insist on wearing something their first time. But Ayaka seemed fairly relaxed about the idea and when their eyes met, Isana realized Ayaka had been thinking about their discussion earlier. “I don’t see what’s so bad about it.”

“But you’d be naked,” Karin argued. “Na-ked.”

“So? You’ve already seen Isana nude and I know you had the same lack of privacy back at the orphanage that I did,” Ayaka argued back. “I’m getting in. Do we just put our clothes on the rack in the small room?”

“Yeah, as you probably already noticed, the humidity will have them fairly damp soon if they are in here,” Isana answered with a smile. “Karin, if you’re uncomfortable being naked, just wear your panties in.”

Ayaka was already headed towards the small buffer room, and it was plain that Sora and Karin were conflicted as to what they wanted to do. Both were eager to get in the water, but neither was sure they wanted the other part. Isana followed Ayaka and when they were alone in the smaller chamber, Ayaka let her own shyness show.

“I can’t believe I agreed to this so easily,” Ayaka admitted once she realized Sora and Karin hadn’t followed them in yet.

“It’ll be fine,” Isana assured her with a smile. “You’ll love it, and it’ll help with your sore legs too. Will it make you feel any better if I go first?”

“Yeah, that would help… maybe,” Ayaka laughed. “But I already said I’m doing this, so I will. I’m just nervous.”

“Good,” Isana said and grabbed the hem of her shirt. She drew the garment off in one smooth pull and calmly placed it, folded, onto the rack. Isana smiled amusedly when she saw Ayaka’s gaze settle onto her pink nipples. They were visibly hard already, but there was nothing she could do about that. Instead, she slipped both her shorts and panties off in one go, displaying her hairless womanhood to the girl. They joined her shirt on the rack.

“Does that attraction and desire you were talking about affect other people?” Ayaka asked, not moving her eyes away from Isana’s body. She looked a little flushed.

“I’m not sure,” Isana said gently, not hiding her nudity at all. Her tail was twitching from her amusement. “At least now I know you don’t think I’m ugly.”

“Heh, hardly,” Ayaka smiled widely again. “Karin was telling me earlier how nice you looked; now I understand why. It’s actually hard to look at you and not feel excited. It’s a weird feeling, but really nice too. Now it’s my turn.”

Ayaka took a deep breath and after locking her eyes onto Isana’s, she pulled off her tank top and laid it down next to Isana’s clothing. Not pausing to let nervousness stop her half way, Ayaka quickly popped the snap on her jeans and drew them down her smooth, pale legs. Last to go was a pair of low-cut, green panties. Once she had her clothes stacked, she stood nervously in front of Isana as if waiting for judgment.

Isana let her eyes roam, drinking the gorgeous girl in. She was naturally on the thin side with a lithe musculature and somewhat narrow hips. Her skin was silkily smooth except for the very fine hair on her arms and a small brown tuft of hair over the closed lips of her womanhood. Only a tiny peek of the inner lips could be seen. Ayaka’s growing breasts had proud, slightly upward pointing nipples that were cutely small with lightly tan areolas. They too were hard, and looked tasty. Isana also loved how Ayaka’s long hair hung down to the rounded bubble shape of her butt.

“Ayaka,” she said softly and a little lustily after the moment passed. “If you’re worried about how I think of your appearance, don’t. You are one of the most stunning girls I have ever seen, and that was before you even took your clothes off. Now you’re even more so. I know this will be hard to believe, but I do think you’re even more beautiful than me!”

“Thanks for that last part,” Ayaka said, grinning after barking out a surprised laugh. “I really look all right?”

Isana rolled her eyes. “Gods, Ayaka, I don’t think I can even look away from you right now. When I said stunning, I was entirely serious. I want to touch you so bad that it almost hurts.”

“So what do we do now?” Ayaka asked, her face turning a little red as she instinctively tried to hide her hardening nipples with an arm. She seemed very pleased and excited by the compliments.

“We go out there,” Isana said, pointing at the closed door to the room. “Then we walk to the tub and climb in. Once we’re enjoying ourselves we’ll wait for the other two and then we’ll all enjoy the water together.”

“Sounds like a genius plan,” Ayaka smiled, looking Isana over again. “Hard to believe you’re only a decade older than me.”

“It’s an important decade,” Isana agreed with a grin. “Are you still nervous?”

“Not really,” Ayaka said after a thoughtful moment. “I think I’m more excited now than anything else.”

“Even about the sex stuff?” Isana asked.

Ayaka gave her a very amused smirk. “Isana, I’m fourteen years old. I can assure you that I’ve seriously thought about sex long before your revelation and have become well acquainted with my right hand.  Before today I had just assumed I’d end up fooling around with a boy someday, but after having thought about it since this morning, I think I like the idea of this better. I mean, I’m looking at you right now and wondering what it would be like for you to touch me. All I want now is for Karin and Sora to be okay with it too. I am totally fine with this.”

“Wow,” Isana was impressed. She’d been a lot younger than Ayaka her first time, but she’d also had a lot more time to think about it when her adoptive mother explained things. Yet here Ayaka was, admitting freely that she wanted to have sex with her too. “I’m convinced. Now let’s head back out there before they wonder what’s going on in here.”

“Okay,” Ayaka agreed, taking a deep breath again. After a moment of indecision, she held out an asking hand. Isana smiled wider and took it before she opened the door and they re-entered the solarium.  Twin intakes of breath greeted them from one of the couches where Karin and Sora sat. It appeared they had been waiting to see what Ayaka did first.

“See, it’s not bad at all,” Ayaka told them confidently, even though her grip on Isana’s hand was tight from nerves. She stood next to Isana and neither of them made a move to hide the choicer bits. “There’s nothing to get freaked out about.”

“Wow, Ayaka,” Karin said slowly after a moment of silence. “Did you know that you look really pretty with no clothes on?” Sora nodded her silent agreement with the statement. “I knew Isana was already, but you’re nice too.”

“Thanks, Karin,” Ayaka said happily, and shared a knowing smile with Isana. “Now you two go in there and change too. No more excuses.”

Karin and Sora exchanged a long glance, but it was Sora who answered. “Okay.” They then stood, entered the other room, and closed the door.

“I thought you said you were fine,” Isana teased, leading Ayaka over to the hot tub. “Step down close to the wall, there’s a shelf there for sitting on.”

“I thought I was,” Ayaka shrugged, smiling ruefully. She gingerly stepped into the water. Isana hadn’t let go of her hand yet, and Ayaka didn’t seem to want to either. Ayaka let out a pleased sigh as she stepped down to the bottom which made the water level just over her shoulders. After a moment, she rose up a little again as she found the seat and moved onto it. “God, this is nice! You weren’t kidding at all.”

“Indeed, it is very nice,” Isana agreed. She got in too and sat very close to Ayaka on the next seat to her left. After a moment of silence, Ayaka scooched a little until their arms were touching. Then they both shared another smile and laid back to wait.

A few minutes later they heard the door to the undressing room open. Ayaka started to turn around to look, but Isana put a hand on the girl’s thigh and shook her head with a small smile. Ayaka got the hint and stopped. She also made no move to object about the placement of Isana’s hand. A second later the smacks of bare feet sounded and the two younger girls came into view together.

Isana’s eyes widened and her hand gave Ayaka’s leg a soft squeeze. Karin had a beautiful, darkly tanned skin tone and her body was at just the beginning of adolescence. She is very skinny with the small speckles of scale spots everywhere.  Her tiny breasts were like halves of mandarin oranges with big, darker colored nipples. Karin stopped in front of them, on the other side of the tub, with her legs slightly spread and with her arms crossed, so she and Ayaka had a good view of her smooth, tightly closed pussy. Ayaka also seemed to like the view as much as she did because she was breathing faster again and Isana could feel her muscles tensing and releasing.

Sora followed Karin and was no less appealing. Her skin was a lighter tan than Karin’s, but it went very well with her silky, dark hair. She had no breasts to speak of yet, but Isana liked Sora’s very tiny nipples. Her butt had a very nice round shape that Isana had already sampled this morning and when she turned a little, they saw her pretty, almost hidden slit.

“You’re not so bad either, Karin,” Ayaka said, speaking first. She smirked and then addressed Sora. “And you’re very cute looking, Sora.”

“Really?” Karin asked, looking over herself and then Sora. “I thought she was cute too, but she didn’t believe me.”

“I don’t know if I want to be cute, though,” Sora complained.

“There’s nothing wrong with being cute,” Isana assured her, knowing her arousal would be noticed soon if this kept up. “I think you both have no reason at all to be ashamed of how you look. Now join Ayaka and me over here and get in.”

“Careful, Sora,” Ayaka said in warning. Her hand had settled onto Isana’s and was rubbing on it slowly. “It’s pretty deep in the middle, but there are seats around the sides.”

They made their way over and with just a little assistance from Karin and Isana; Sora climbed in on Isana’s other side and was seated.  Her eyes were wide from the sensation of hot, churning water all around her, but she seemed to like it. Karin just grinned and got in next to Sora.

“Nice, huh?” Isana asked proudly.

“Yeah!” Karin answered emphatically. They had to sit up straight in the seats to keep their heads above the water, but neither seemed bothered by that. Karin wiggled to get comfortable and then closed her eyes. “I feel good.”

“I like it too,” Sora agreed quickly, a smile on her face. “Can we use it a lot?”

“I use it at least four or five times a week,” Isana answered. “Sometimes I just don’t have time to laze about in here, but I do so when I can, especially at night. If I work a really long and hard day, I like to come here first when I get home to relax and unwind. It also helps calm me down whenever I’m upset about something.”

“Well, my legs certainly feel a lot better,” Ayaka said, smiling and giving Isana’s hand a pointed rub. Isana returned the expression and started to slowly run that hand up and down Ayaka’s leg. Ayaka’s smile widened and she leaned closer into Isana and closed her eyes.

For a while they all just sat in the nighttime silence and heat of the hot tub and just enjoyed it. All three girls had their eyes closed and Isana made a mental note to warn them about the dangers of actually falling asleep in the water if they were alone. Isana though had her eyes open and instead of feeling calm, she was terribly excited and almost painfully aroused. Ayaka had lain fully against her and their skin contact was enticing her greatly. She removed her hand from Isana’s thigh and smiled when the girl made a soft whine of disapproval. Ignoring that, she instead put the arm around the girl’s back and held her. Ayaka apparently liked this much better and put her head onto Isana’s shoulder with another pleased sigh.

“I think I like this very much,” Ayaka whispered softly a little later. Isana felt a small hand touch hesitantly onto her own leg. Then it began to rub like Isana had done to her. “We are so lucky to end up here with you.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Isana replied, just as softly. Sora and Karin didn’t appear to have overheard. Karin was softly humming and Sora seemed to know the tune because her head was bobbing slightly in time to the song. “I’m very glad you girls are here too. Do you mind if I start things soon?”

“Sure,” Ayaka shrugged slowly. “Just let me know when it’s time. Till then, I just want to lie against you like this for a while because it feels just as good as the water, maybe even better.”

Isana was more than pleased to let Ayaka enjoy herself.  Until now, she hadn’t realized just how alone she had truly been these last few years. The arrival of these girls however slammed home the fact that she had been fighting her nature and that had left a hole in her life. Now she had three wonderful people in her home.  The girl in her arms amazed her especially because not only had she accepted Isana’s nature, but had embraced it fully and returned her feelings.

“Thank you, Ayaka,” Isana whispered, briefly rubbing their cheeks. Ayaka sighed and returned the gesture.

“Isana, you’re the nicest person I’ve known in a long time,” Ayaka said. “I liked you as soon as I met you, and so did the other girls. You’re giving me the opportunity to become important in your and their lives. I should be the one thanking you.”

“What are you guys whispering about?” Karin asked sleepily. She still had her eyes closed. At the question though, Sora opened hers in curiosity.

Isana met Ayaka’s gaze and they both decided at the same time that they may as well get things over with. “Sorry, we didn’t want to disturb you guys. We were just talking about something I need to discuss with the both of you. Ayaka knows already, because we talked about it while you guys were in the shower this morning.”

“Is it something bad?” Sora asked worriedly.

“No, not at all,” Isana answered reassuringly. “It just has to do with the three of us being witches. Ayaka will be directly involved too, because she lives here with the three of us.”

“I knew you were hiding something,” Karin smirked at Ayaka. “So, why did you wait until now?”

“Because our current location and situation might help you understand a little better,” Isana said. “Now let me explain. You can feel free to ask questions. Understand?”

Heads nodded.

“Okay,” Isana said, unconsciously shifting her body as she began. “When a girl is a witch and especially when their power is awakening or is about to, there are changes that occur in that person. They are usually fairly subtle at first, as they are right now in you Karin.” Karin blinked at being mentioned, but stayed quiet. “Specifically, I’m talking your sex drives and related desires.”

“Our what?!” Karin said, surprised. Sora’s eyes were very wide.

“Sex drives, Karin,” Isana said, unable to suppress an amused smile. “Witches’ bodies and minds are slightly different from a base human. One major difference is that we tend to want sex quite a bit more. We are very easily aroused too. In addition to this, witches are almost always attracted only to other women and especially other witches. Many centuries ago, it was why women in villages would sneak off into the woods to meet with their covens. They desired each other’s company so they met secretly for sex and companionship. It’s also why you two have been feeling different lately.”

“Different?” Karin asked.

“Yes, different,” Ayaka interjected. “Karin, think about it. Why have you been hugging us so much lately? Why were you so entranced when you saw Isana naked this morning? Why did you stare so much when we came out naked just a bit ago?”

“Sora,” Isana said gently as Karin frowned and thought over Ayaka’s question. “Do you understand what it is I’m talking about?”

“I do,” Sora nodded. “I kind of know what sex is. I heard other girls talk about it. I’ve always thought girls were pretty.”

“What about when you’re around me or the girls now? What is it you want to do?”

“I really want to be around you guys all the time,” Sora answered. “It feels really nice when I touch you and I get hot inside.”

“That just means you’re feeling aroused,” Isana informed her with a smile. “When a girl is very attracted to someone and wants to do sex related things, she feels hot. I bet you also get wet between your legs.”

“Yeah!” Karin said, perking up at the same time that Sora nodded. “I feel all warm and gooey sometimes, like this morning when I was hugging Ayaka.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Isana said, nodding to them. “But this is only the beginning for both of you. Witches tend to form very tight knit relationships with those they live with over time, and it is very likely we will now too. I’m warning you about this because I don’t want you to freak out.”

“Are you the same then?” Karin asked.

“Definitely,” Isana laughed. “I have a very high sex drive, even for a witch.”

“Then how come you live alone?” Sora said.

“Well, kind of like you guys, I was adopted when I was very young. I was only two, I think. But my magic awoke very early when I was only seven. At that time, the focus on my sexual attention was on my adoptive mother. She recognized the signs and until she died in an accident in town, she was my sole partner. After that,” Isana shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just never approached anyone or tried to seek new relationships.  For the last four years I took care of things by masturbating at least twice every day, and that took a bit of the edge off. I don’t know why I secluded myself, but it was after you guys came that I realized that I really have been terribly lonely. We witches thrive in the close company of others, and I didn’t have that. But now I do.”

“Okay,” Karin said slowly. “So what you’re saying is that pretty soon I’m going to want badly to do sex things with everyone?”

“Yes, and you too, Sora,” Isana answered. “So if you see me naked and it excites you, that’s perfectly fine and normal. I know it’s weird, but I think you’ll find that it’s actually very nice.”

“But what about Ayaka?” Sora asked, worried about her new sister.

“Ayaka and I have already talked it over and she doesn’t mind at all that you two and I are going to want to have sex with her,” Isana smiled and pulled a happily smiling Ayaka close again. “Even if she doesn’t want me to make her a witch too, she’ll be willing.”

“Wait a minute!” Ayaka turned a little and gazed with wide eyes at her. “You can make me a witch?”

“Oh, yes,” Isana grinned. “Most people can learn magic to some degree, and women become witches when they do. Natural witches like Karin and Sora have natural talent and strength, and they’ll use magic whether they want to or not. So if you want, I’d be willing to try and teach you as well. If you do, you’ll have the same strong urges we do.”

“I’d like that,” Ayaka replied eagerly. Then she smiled at her sisters. “Isana’s right, I’m not going to shove you away just because you feel like hugging me or more.”

“So it’s a good thing I feel this way?” Sora asked. Karin nodded as if to second the question.

“Yes,” Isana answered. “I want you to enjoy it too. So just take things at a pace you’re comfortable with.”

“Hee hee, cool,” Karin said, blushing a little and smiling. “It is weird, but I think I understand what you mean about feeling and acting differently. I just never noticed it before. Thanks for explaining it.”

“No problem,” Isana responded warmly. “Are you going to be okay too, Sora?”

“I think so,” Sora said slowly.

“Sora, just think of it to mean that we’ll be very close sisters,” Ayaka said. “Plus, you don’t have to do anything right away. Just think it over tonight, and I think you’ll see it as a good thing.”

“Yes,” Isana agreed. “Sleep on it, both of you. It’s bedtime anyway, and we’ll be all wrinkly if we stay in here much longer. We’ll talk about it again in the morning or whenever.”

“Okay,” Karin agreed. “But can we use this tub whenever we want now?”

“Yeah,” Sora grinned. “I like it a lot.”

“Of course you can,” Isana laughed. “The only rule is that you can’t be in it alone. I don’t want one of you falling asleep and drowning.”

“I think we can work with that rule,” Ayaka said, wriggling a bit. “A bed does sound pretty good right now. Let’s head upstairs, you guys.”

Ayaka moved away from Isana, a move that saddened them both a little, and then pulled up into a sitting position on the clay tiles of the floor as water cascaded down off of her body. She was still stunning in the moonlight and Isana watched amusedly as Karin and Sora stared at her. Isana followed Ayaka out, which spurred the other two on as well.

Dripping wet, they all made their way to the smaller room. As they went, eyes roamed freely. Now that everyone knew what was going on, it was as if everyone was testing out new waters yet again.  Once inside, Isana snagged one of the towels and before Ayaka could grab one as well, Isana stopped her in place and started to dry. Isana made sure to be quick and efficient, but she could tell Ayaka was really enjoying the physical attention.

“Sora, Karin, why don’t you guys help dry each other too?” Isana suggested with a smile. “I think you’ll like it.”

“You want to?” Karin asked, looking at Sora. In answer Sora went over, picked up a towel, and smiled. Karin raised her arms, and Sora started drying her off. Isana slowed her own work on Ayaka to more fully appreciate the feel of the girl. Once she was dry, Isana handed her the towel and they switched places.

Ayaka was hesitant at first when the towel touched Isana, but as her hands moved, she grew bolder. Isana even gave her a very wide smile when Ayaka dried off her breasts. Across from them, Sora was getting toweled by Karin and from the looks on their faces, they liked it immensely.

Once they were all dry, Isana gave each girl a fresh towel to go upstairs in, since putting on clothes seemed like a hassle at the moment. Then Isana sent them on ahead as she shut down the tub.

When she too made her way up to her bedroom, she wasn’t all that surprised to find Ayaka waiting for her there. Ayaka was still wrapped in her white towel, but it rode high enough that the round curve of her butt was plain to see because she was bent over and checking out the big bed. When she heard Isana close the bedroom door, Ayaka turned towards her with a small, nervous smile on her face. Isana approached her without speaking and gently cupped Ayaka’s face in her hands. Ayaka smiled wider and her fear lessened.

“You don’t have to rush this,” Isana told her, ignoring the hot wetness she felt running down her leg. Her body knew what it wanted, but she would deny it if Ayaka truly wasn’t ready.

“I know that,” Ayaka answered. “But I want to. I’m nervous because I’ve never done this before, but I really want to spend the night with you. I want you to be my first, but I’m not sure what to do.”

“What about the others?” Isana asked, breathing a little heavier now that she knew that Ayaka was okay with this.

“Karin asked Sora to sleep with her this time,” Ayaka answered with an amused smile. “I don’t think Karin is going to be doing anything like this, though. I think they’ll just sleep together naked.”

Isana looked into the deep wells within Ayaka’s eyes and saw both a growing love and a mirror of the same sexual hunger that burned inside her own body. Very slowly she leaned in, tilted Ayaka’s face a little, and kissed her. Isana kept the kiss soft and loving, and felt Ayaka’s hand come up onto her face as well. They kissed for a long time and Isana gradually increased the intensity.

Ayaka’s soft moan of pleasure filled her with unparalleled joy when it drifted to her ears. Isana moved her free hand down and slowly loosened Ayaka’s towel. Ayaka made no move or sound of protest and it dropped to the floor. Then Isana undid hers, and they were once again naked. In response, Ayaka pressed herself closer and their skin was hot.

Isana shuffled them towards the bed, but didn’t break the kiss. She rested one hand on Ayaka’s firm behind and began to squeeze and caress it. This brought more moans from the girl, then Isana let out one of her own as she felt Ayaka grab onto her ass. Once she had Ayaka’s legs against the bed, she finally removed her lips.

“Climb on,” Isana said softly.

Ayaka complied, moving to the middle and lying back onto the cushioning pile of blankets and such. Isana followed, crawling towards the girl. Ayaka watched her with desire on her face, then a small tear started to roll down a flushed cheek.

“What’s wrong?” Isana said, up on all fours over the girl. She leaned down and kissed the tear before it could fall, then continued to place kisses on Ayaka’s neck and up near her ear.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Ayaka said with a happy smile. “This just feels perfect. You took me and the others into your house, and it feels as if I’ve waited my whole life to come here. You’re making us a part of your life and I can see in everything you say and do that you really care. I know it’s silly to say this since I’ve only known you for two days, but I think I love you.”

“You’re not silly,” Isana said, rising up to look Ayaka in the eyes. “I told you and the others in the solarium, you have, all three of you, filled a hole I didn’t know I had. From now on we’re a family, and you are an important part of it. We’ll all live and grow together here.”

Isana leaned in again and, starting from her mouth, she began kissing her way down Ayaka. First she spent a little time nuzzling and licking at her neck. Then she went a little lower, kissing very lightly over the young girls’s chest, just above her tantalizing breasts. Ayaka’s breathing increased and a reddish, excited flush suffused her skin. They were both starting to sweat a little, but Isana thought it just made Ayaka even more appealing.

She kept up the teasing kisses for a while, going up and around each of the firm, youthful mounds. As she treated one, her hand would trace slowly and lightly over the other. Ayaka was squirming with need beneath her, but Isana wanted Ayaka’s first time with her to be special. So when she finally gave one of Ayaka’s rock-hard nipples a teasing flick with her tongue, the girl gasped and arched up to her with a hiss. As soon as she did this, Isana switched back to the teasing kisses.

She let Ayaka relax, and then went for the other nipple and took it into her mouth. Ayaka mewled in pleasure and Isana felt a small shudder pass through her own body. She had always liked sucking on a girl’s breasts, and Ayaka’s were heavenly.

They were both sweating a great deal more by now and Isana could smell Ayaka’s arousal on the air. That female musk was exciting and it made her mouth water. Her own pussy was like a leaking faucet.

Ayaka was in a sexual fog when Isana slowly kissed down her smooth stomach. Muscles twitched as she descended and Isana knew Ayaka was feeling every touch with pleasure. A glance upward showed the girl’s face with eyes closed. Ayaka’s small hands were clenched tight to the bed sheets.

When she reached Ayaka’s sparse patch of juice-soaked pubes, Isana nuzzled her face into it and inhaled. This excited both of them, and Isana knew it was time to finish the girl off.

Ayaka’s pussy was inflamed with demanding arousal and it glistened slightly in the moonlight coming from the window. The outer lips had parted slightly from the girl’s excitement and Isana smiled when she saw a hard, very aroused clit peeking out. A small wet spot was forming on the bed, just below the crack of Ayaka’s butt.

She kissed down through Ayaka’s pubes, wetting her face and moved to the side. First she licked slowly and deliberately around the sides of Ayaka’s pussy. Ayaka moaned and wriggled with need, but Isana was patient. She cleaned up all the delicious wetness she found with her tongue and worked her way toward Ayaka’s creamy center. She got a particularly pleasant response when her tongue grazed the cute pucker of Ayaka’s asshole. Ayaka shivered and Isana thought she might have had a small preliminary orgasm.

With her fingers and her mouth, she cleaned Ayaka’s soft, lower lips even as they got wet again. She let one finger rub in circles around the entrance to Ayaka’s questing pussy, then slowly sank it in. After a very short distance she encountered the girl’s hymen and withdrew. She continued the shallow thrusts, and Ayaka twisted her body and groaned loudly with need.

Isana smiled inwardly, knowing just how badly Ayaka wanted her release. So she moved slightly and sucked the girl’s tiny clit into her mouth with a firm suction and clamped with her lips. Ayaka’s entire body arched into a bridge as she came hard and Isana’s finger was suddenly trapped by a tightly clenching pussy. Then Ayaka dropped hard to the bed and Isana moved up quickly to take the girl into her arms. Ayaka’s arms wrapped tightly around her and the girl shuddered several times before she relaxed and lay limp, panting hard.

Knowing she was a bit hypersensitive at the moment, Isana gently trailed her fingers over Ayaka’s stomach and breasts. It soothed the girl, and she saw life returning. Isana leaned in again and kissed her lightly on her lips. Ayaka’s lips opened and their tongues played together.

“How was it?” Isana said softly when she withdrew again.

“So good that I don’t think I can move,” Ayaka smiled and giggled softly as they gazed at each other. “My whole body is still tingling. I know I’m going to remember that for the rest of my life.”

“Then I’m glad you enjoyed your first time,” Isana smiled. Her own pussy was practically quivering and she couldn’t help gently rubbing it into the bed sheets. “I’d hoped it would be special for you.”

“It was,” Ayaka grinned. Then she noticed Isana’s movements and Isana saw excitement bloom in those young eyes again. Isana stopped her humping of the bed and turned on her side next to the girl a little so Ayaka could see all of her again. Then Ayaka touched the wetness around her mouth that had come from Isana’s face and tasted her fingers. “Is this from me?”

“It is,” Isana nodded and wiped her own face with a hand.

Ayaka appeared thoughtful for a moment, and then she wriggled down the bed until her face was even with Isana’s crotch. Ayaka reached out, grabbed her by her ass and pulled in. Isana involuntarily wrapped her legs around Ayaka and moaned like an animal. Ayaka was clumsy and inexperienced, but that didn’t make her tongue any less pleasant. Isana stayed silent and let Ayaka do what she wanted. When Ayaka found her clit, Isana cried out harshly and realizing that this was the right spot, Ayaka’s tongue was merciless.

The first orgasm took Isana by surprise. It ripped out of her like a force of nature and still Ayaka continued. She wanted to tell her to stop and let her rest, but her mouth wouldn’t work right. All that came out her were mumbled half-words and groans. Then her second orgasm slammed home and it was like having an eruption between her legs.

When she came to and found herself panting on her back with Ayaka gently sucking on her right breast, Isana felt like she must have died. Her muscles had a pleasant soreness and she could feel a nice throbbing from her clit. She could feel wetness under her ass, and the more than pleasant warmth of Ayaka lying against her as she suckled.

“Are you awake?” Ayaka asked, releasing the nipple with a soft pop. She moved up and they kissed again. Isana could taste a little of herself there, but she didn’t mind at all. She just enfolded Ayaka in her arms.

“Thanks for that,” she said after a while.

“I liked doing it,” Ayaka grinned. “I might have been nervous about having sex earlier, but it feels amazing and it was just as fun touching you as it was being touched by you.” She used a hand and gently squeezed Isana’s right breast. “I also found out that I like sucking on these and playing with them. Mine felt awesome when you did them, too.”

“Well, since you live here now, and you’ve found that sex is fun and exciting, you’ll have plenty of opportunities for more of both,” Isana said, caressing an ear with a finger. Ayaka smiled at the touch and they moved closer again.

“It was exciting,” Ayaka confirmed. “I’m still excited, but it feels like I’ve been running for hours.”

“There’s no hurry, Ayaka,” Isana chuckled. “Neither of us is going anywhere. I won’t disappear if we go to sleep. I’m pretty sleepy myself. So let’s get under the sheets before we get cold.”

Ayaka agreed, and Isana found a place for them to wriggle under.  Once they were in place, Isana pulled Ayaka into her body and they spooned together. Ayaka settled down onto her pillow, enjoying the embrace, and Isana did the same behind her. It didn’t take long for them to fall asleep.

On to Chapter Five!

By Nuit du Loup

Karin awoke slowly the next morning and for just a moment she felt surprised that she wasn’t in the room she shared with three other girls at the orphanage. Instead she lay curled under blissfully warm sheets in what to her was a massive sized bed. The room itself was also far larger than her old one and it seemed sadly empty and bare with just the bed and the dresser. Then she remembered where she was and how she had gotten here and a fire of happiness flooded through her body.

“My own room!” she giggled to no one in particular, grinning like an idiot.

She turned the rest of the way onto her stomach and stretched her body to loosen up a little. Most people would have done that on their back, but her wings made anything in that position uncomfortable or awkward. Her wings were also the reason she slept topless. The unrestricted feel was a lot more comfortable.

For a brief moment, she hugged one of the half-dozen pillows that had come with the bed and remembered the night before; the night she, Ayaka, and Sora had become sisters in Isana’s home. Isana’s hug had been so warm and welcoming that she couldn’t help feeling a little gooey inside. She could almost feel a remembrance of it even now. Then Karin rolled more onto her side as a loud cacophony of birdsong arose from outside her window and diverted her attention.

Curious, she pushed up and then slipped out of the bed. It was summer and the warmth from the rising sun made standing on the bedside rug in just a pair of pink and white striped panties perfectly comfortable. So she strode to the window as she also stretched out her wings and gave them a few quick flaps to loosen those muscles up too.

The window was a large one. Had she stood on the sill, it was taller than she was tall with an arched top. Brackets on either side near the top showed where curtains must have hung at one time, but now the window was bare. The deep sill was just above waist height, so she found it easy enough to lift up and sit on it sideways to look out from her new forest-bound home.

The forest was why she was unconcerned about anyone outside seeing her undressed. No one was out there to see her skinny, tan-skinned body and her tiny breasts. The only people that might see her would be the other girls and Isana, and she felt unconcerned about them walking in and seeing her mostly naked; instead her eyes widened in joy at the sight before her.

Outside the window was a panorama of green growing things.  Massively thick trees, exploding with vibrant green foliage covered the land in all directions for as far as she could see. Under them was dense undergrowth with a wild variety of different plants. In the distance, she could see a small group of deer walking calmly through the brush, stopping occasionally to nibble at something.  They were led by a proud-looking stag with an impressive rack.

Closest to her window was a particularly massive oak tree. In its branches was a flock of small, noisy birds, sparrows maybe. She saw nests in some of the branches and wondered how many of them lived in the tree. In all, it was the biggest profusion of nature and life that she’d ever seen. Ayaka would love it.

“Oh?”

Thinking of Ayaka and then Sora, Karin slipped back down to her feet with the intent to find them. They, along with Isana, were her family now and she wanted to see them. She detoured on the way to the bag with her clothes to pee first and that took a bit.  She’d been more than a little impressed by the bathroom the night before and now that she saw it in daylight it was even more so.  The floor and the bottom half of the walls were tiled in a black and white pattern. The bathing area with its big tub and separate shower unit were in an almost separate alcove from the toilet and double sink. She was determined to try out that shower soon since all they’d had before were bathtubs. Then she went back and unzipped the lumpy luggage bag and tried to decide what to wear, which made her giggle again.

Normally she didn’t really care what she wore and just threw things on. Now she was suddenly worried about making the right impression on the others, even though Ayaka and Sora had seen everything she owned a thousand times. The only person for whom something would be new would be Isana, and Isana had told her the night before during the dinner that she thought her outfit had been cute.

Going with that, she pulled out the only other skirt she had. It was a white one that hung to just above her knees. Then she took out a loose,black strapped top that had a back low enough that it hadn’t needed to be modified to allow for her wings. She left her feet bare because she was already starting to like the contrasting feel of the smooth wood floors and the thick rugs Isana had laid over them in places. Once finished, she decided to head to Ayaka’s room first since she knew Ayaka always woke up early.

“Come in!” Ayaka called pleasantly when Karin knocked on her closed door. Knocking was one of the primary rules back at the orphanage where privacy had been a scarce thing.

“Morning Ayaka!” Karin called back, popping eagerly into the room. She was unsurprised to see that the bed was made and Ayaka’s luggage bag lay empty next to the dresser. Ayaka herself was sitting just as Karin had been in her own window. She was dressed casually in a pair of loose jeans and a white tank top. “Enjoying the view?”

“You have no idea how wonderful this place feels,” Ayaka sighed, closing her eyes and then breathing deeply. “It screams ‘you are home’ to every bone in my body.”

“It feels like home to me too,” Karin giggled, and approached her new sister and hugged her left, outward arm. Karin breathed deep too, smelling the herbal shampoo of Isana’s that Ayaka had used.  Ayaka’s eyes blinked open in surprise at the hug and Karin grinned playfully at her. “This is our home now, Isana said so. That means we’re sisters.”

“So she did,” Ayaka smiled back, “and I suppose we are sisters now Karin. It makes me sorry we didn’t hang out much before we came here, even though we lived in the orphanage together for years.”

“Hey, there were over a hundred girls there,” Karin said easily. “Plus, you were there longer than I was and already had friends.  I would just have been a new weird girl with dragon wings and a big horn.”

“I’ve always liked your wings,” Ayaka said, turning her head to look at Karin directly. Karin saw she was entirely sincere and greatly appreciated the comment. “We’re only half a year apart in age, so I should have talked to you more. I suppose that’s a moot point though. Now we’ll live together from here on out, and with Sora too, so we’ll have plenty of time for getting to know each other.”

“And it’s a lot better than the city,” Karin added, nodding to the scenery outside the window.

“It’s certainly my kind of place,” Ayaka agreed. “It just feels so good!”

“Good people, great place,” Karin smiled and hugged Ayaka a little closer. “The only thing missing is a great breakfast!”

Ayaka snorted a surprised laugh, “I was actually thinking something like that myself. Do you think Isana would mind if we made something for everyone?”

“Dunno,” Karin shrugged. “But she said multiple times that we should make ourselves at home. Plus, she’s amazingly nice and she gives out great hugs.”

“Is that what prompted this one?” Ayaka asked in amusement. “And what does that have anything to do with her letting us make breakfast?”

“I was just emphasizing how nice she is,” Karin smiled. “As for this, I just like hugging people. It feels good.”

“Well, thank you for it,” Ayaka replied. “It does feel nice. But can you let me down? I’d like to have some food done by the time Isana wakes up.”

“What about Sora?” Karin asked as she obliged.

“Let her sleep too,” Ayaka said, smiling warmly and tucking some of her brown curls behind an ear. Karin had never thought about it much before now, but Ayaka was really pretty and she found that she enjoyed looking at the slightly older girl. “This may sound a little insulting, but there’s just something about Sora that makes me want to dote on her.”

“Same here,” Karin grinned. “Now let’s head downstairs.”

Ayaka slid down off of the windowsill and Karin felt her eyes involuntarily watch her new sister’s lithe movements. Ayaka had always been a lot more graceful than any of the other girls and Karin liked watching her move. Lately that interest had been increasing and it never occurred to her to question why that was. It was just something nice she liked about Ayaka.

They descended back down to the kitchen and both of them stood silent in a moment of pure awe when they entered the room. The morning sun was streaming in through the many windows, including the large bay one and the forest scene outside was just as stunning as it had been when viewed from the second floor. The room, with the polished counters, gleamed in the sunlight. As Karin took it all in once again, she could see an appreciative smile on Ayaka’s lips. No doubt she was also enjoying the orderly cleanliness of the place as well.

“What should we make?” Karin eventually asked, breaking the moment.

Ayaka blinked and cocked her head thoughtfully. “I’m not really sure. We’ll have to see what she has. Can you look in that door over there, that’s probably the pantry Isana mentioned. I’ll look through the refrigerator.”

They parted briefly to inspect the food stores. After comparing their finds and dithering over complexity and time, they decided to keep things simple and make a pot of oatmeal along with some bacon. The bacon in particular was something they were both eager to try as it was a luxury the orphanage had been unwilling to purchase. Ayaka was known as one of the better cooks back in their old home, so Karin felt safe in letting her attempt to cook the new delicacy.

As they had hoped, it was a meal that was quickly prepared, and soon the delicious smell of the cooking bacon was filling the house.  Karin could feel her mouth-watering and even though she was trying to maintain her normal mature attitude, she could see that Ayaka was just as eager as she was to finally eat the stuff.

“Should I go and wake the others?” Karin asked excitedly when the bacon was spitting and popping and a nice crispy brown. The pot of oatmeal next to the meat was bubbling thickly.

“May as well,” Ayaka agreed. “It’ll only be a few minutes more.”

Leaving Ayaka to watch over the food, Karin made her way back to the stairs and bounded happily up them. Once upstairs Karin decided to wake Sora first since she knew that her youngest sister would enjoy helping her wake Isana up. Sora had taken immediately to Isana and it had been readily apparent how much Isana returned that feeling. It was a surprise then when Karin knocked on Sora’s door and got no reply at all.

Curious, she slowly opened the door and peeked inside. What she found was a completely dark room. There were no windows to provide some light, so Karin touched her hand to the wall and turned the magic dial so that the light crystal things lit up. What she found then was a completely empty room and a mussed bed that looked like no one had slept in it. Feeling confused, Karin wondered if maybe she had somehow passed Sora by going up the back stairway and Sora was already downstairs. Shrugging, she turned the lights back off and crossed over to Isana’s door.

This time she simply opened the door a little and stuck her head inside. Karin’s eyes widened when she took in the room.  Thick shaggy rugs lay over the floor everywhere and the middle of the room was taken over by the most massive bed she had ever seen.  The big dresser against one wall and a few other tables seemed to be crowded aside by the bed. Since it was on the east side of the house, the sun was bright and warm here, filling the space. Karin slid slowly into the room and marveled at the random collection of blankets and pillows covering the bed.

Once she was closer she found Isana’s face by her snow-white hair and she also found where Sora had gotten to. The two of them were snuggled close together and Karin had to smile at the peaceful scene. It looked so inviting that she was extremely tempted to join them. But breakfast was waiting and a fresh whiff of bacon in the air made her tummy rumble.

She made her way to the right side of the bed and to her great amusement the bed was so huge that she couldn’t get near Isana from the side. Since she was more than willing to see how this weird bed felt, she climbed up onto it and crawled toward its occupants. They were both lying on their sides with Sora’s back to Isana’s front, so Karin reached for the bump where Isana’s shoulder had to be.

“Isana,” she whispered gently. “Sora. Do you guys want some breakfast?”

“Hmmmmwa?” Isana mumbled something and suddenly a slim, naked arm snaked up and Karin yelped in surprise as she was pulled downward.

***

Isana jerked awake as a soft, girlish sound of shock burst out near her ears and a large, warm something landed on top of her. Sora was also jolted into wakefulness and both their eyes locked onto the person that Isana realized she had pulled onto them unconsciously.

“Oh holy damn!” Isana swore, seeing Karin’s face near her own. “Are you both alright?”

“Hehe, yeah,” Karin laughed, pulling herself upright again. From the positioning, this had her straddling both her and Sora’s legs. “Sorry, I was just trying to see if you guys wanted some breakfast, me and Ayaka made some.”

“I’d love some,” Isana smiled up at her. Then she looked into Sora’s face which was only inches from her own. “Are you okay too Sora?”

“I’m fine,” Sora replied with her own smile. “I was just surprised. Thanks for making food, Karin.”

Karin shrugged and colored a little. “Ayaka’s doing most of the hard work. I just stirred the oatmeal. Did you sleep here the whole night?”

Sora’s face turned a bit pinker and Isana had to smile. “I was fine with it Karin,” Isana answered for her. “As you can see, I have a huge bed.”

It was then Isana realized where her other hand was. Since they had turned a little and were now facing each other, her lower hand was wrapped around and holding onto a pleasantly warm and soft place. Namely Sora’s round little butt, and from the skin contact and how far inside her fingers were, Sora wasn’t wearing any panties. Once she realized this, her hand unconsciously gave that butt a soft squeeze. Sora made a sighing sound but otherwise said nothing about it except to smile a little more. Isana felt an aroused heat wash over her and it was all she could do not to give Sora’s happy lips a morning kiss. When Karin leaned in curiously, Isana wanted to kiss her too. That reaction meant they needed to have their little talk very soon.

“Can you let us get up?” Isana asked Karin jokingly. “I need to make a quick stop before I eat.”

“Sure,” Karin replied, sliding herself off to one side. Isana saw she was wearing another skirt and a shirt that was cut low and showed off a lot of nice skin as well as Karin’s wings. Isana then loosened her grip on Sora’s more than pleasant anatomy and nudged the girl with a hip. Sora got the hint and squirreled her way up and out of the covers. The two girls descended to the floor as Isana squirmed her own way clear. Then she heard a pair of gasps. She’d forgotten she was naked.

“Sorry,” she said, giving both of the staring girls an apologetic smile and sat on the edge of the bed. “I can’t stand wearing clothes in bed. I hope this doesn’t bother you.”

“Ah…not at all,” Karin mumbled, not taking her eyes off of Isana’s slim form. Isana smiled wider in understanding. Karin too was a witch and had to be feeling the urges; even though her magic had yet to awaken on its own. “You’re very pretty.”

“Thank you, Karin,” Isana replied happily.

“I don’t mind either,” Sora quickly added, not moving her gaze. Then her eyes flicked up to Isana’s, reddened and her ears drooped down with embarrassment.

“Sora, it’s not that big a deal if you look at me naked,” Isana laughed gently. “Why would I mind this after you slept against me the whole night?”

Sora perked back up at this and Isana saw an amused glint to Karin’s eyes. Chuckling silently to herself, Isana rose to her feet and arched her back to stretch it. She knew she was flaunting herself, but it was very much a part of her nature to do so in front of girls she was attracted to, and had they looked, both girls would have seen her tail tip twitching in a happy motion.

“Sora,” she said, glancing at the girl. “Why don’t you go get dressed while I take care of my business? Karin, go on down and tell Ayaka we’ll be right there. That bacon smells too good to miss.”

“Yeah it does,” Karin sighed wistfully. Then she playfully nudged Sora who was sniffing the air thoughtfully. “Come on Sora, Ayaka’s got to be nearly dying down there, smelling that and being forced to wait for us.”

The two girls left with Karin getting more a few giggles out of the younger girl as they went. Once they were gone, Isana made her way into her spacious bathroom and did her business quickly. She was extremely tempted to make use of her fingers to scratch a certain itch, but she normally got really noisy and she didn’t want the girls to walk in on that just yet, at least not until she explained everything to them. After washing her face, she dressed quickly into a pair of loose shorts and a sleeveless shirt.

As she exited the room, the smell of the cooking food grew stronger and she let her stomach guide her downstairs. When she entered the kitchen Sora was seated at one of the island stools, happily watching a conversation between Karin and Ayaka who stood very close by the stove. The two older girls spotted her first and they separated with Ayaka’s cheeks reddening. Isana couldn’t help the amused smirk that bloomed on her lips and as she sat down next to a visibly pleased Sora, then she greeted the young teen.

“Morning Ayaka, Karin tells me you’ve been busy cooking breakfast for us all.”

“We just wanted to do something nice to thank you for taking us in,” Ayaka answered as she picked up a spatula and smoothly removed finished slices of bacon from a pan and onto a plate. She had made an impressive pile of it.

“You’re welcome then,” Isana replied appreciably. “I take it that Karin told you about upstairs since you won’t look at me?”

“What?!” Ayaka jerked and finally looked straight at her. Karin looked worried.

“It’s alright,” Isana laughed gently. “I don’t mind.  Relax. I told you last night that I don’t want any of you to be embarrassed around me. That includes seeing me naked.”

“Why were you naked?” Ayaka asked, now sounding much more curious than worried.

“I hate wearing clothes in bed,” Isana said with a casual shrug. “It’s no big deal.”

“She’s right,” Karin said, cocking her head as she thought of something. “I don’t wear a shirt at night because of my wings, so I’m almost naked too.”

“See,” Isana said. “Now come on, I want to eat the food you two made.”

“Sure,” Ayaka replied, perking up considerably.

Since there were only three stools at the island, Isana had them move everything to the breakfast nook where she slid all the way inside the booth. Sora quickly claimed the seat on one side of her and Ayaka slid in on the other side since Karin volunteered to bring over the food and stuff. Both the oatmeal and the bacon tasted wonderful and all three girls exclaimed over the meat. She found out then that they’d never had it before.

Throughout the meal, Isana kept the conversation light and asked how they’d liked their first night in their new home. On this subject, Ayaka was particularly joyful. She spent at least forty minutes just describing what she saw outside her window earlier with a few comments from Karin thrown in. She did see all three of them giving her glancing looks, but whenever she caught them at it she made sure to smile reassuringly, and eventually, even Ayaka started to smile back. When the meal was finished, Sora and Karin volunteered to wash up. That left just Isana and Ayaka still sitting together.

“Do you guys want to continue the house tour?” Isana asked them as she watched the two girls cleaning the dishes. Ayaka had wondered what her tail felt like so she was feeling pretty good as the girl stroked her furry appendage. Ayaka seemed to like doing it so neither of them had stopped it yet. “Or did you guys already look around everything down here

“Just the pantry,” Karin answered. “You’ve got enough dry and canned food in there to feed a small army!”

“A small army or three growing girls?” Isana replied with a laugh. “Claire’s been telling me that nothing eats more food than a group of teenagers. How old are you girls anyway? I never did ask.”

“I’m the oldest,” Ayaka volunteered. “I just turned fourteen last month on the tenth.”

“Thirteen,” Karin said with a smile. “I’m only six months younger than Ayaka, but she’s definitely the older, more mature sister of the three of us.”

“I’m twelve now,” Sora answered proudly. Karin had put her in charge of drying and her small hands were deft with a towel. “My birthday isn’t until December though.”

“Nice,” Isana nodded. “If someone didn’t tell you already, I’m twenty-five and my birthday is in March. ”

Once the dishes were done, they separated once again at Isana’s urging to take showers and freshen up for the day. Since she had already taken one, Ayaka went into the living room to wait for everyone else. When Isana was finished with her very quick shower and returned, she found the girl staring out into the peaceful forest outside while sitting with legs curled up on her big comfy couch. It was older than she was and had been reupholstered several times, but it was always anyone’s favorite seat. Not really knowing why Isana sat right behind Ayaka and pulled the girl back into her arms and against her chest. Ayaka let her do so without complaint and didn’t even object when Isana leaned forward to rub their cheeks together and fold them into a hug.

“You really do have a lot of cat-like behaviors,” Ayaka commented after a few minutes passed. She sounded amused. “What does the cheek rubbing mean? You’ve done it with all of us I think.”

“You know how cats mark things as theirs?” Ayaka nodded. “Well I, like most cats, have small scent glands near there. It secretes into the oils of my skin and when I rub something it leaves a scent marker I can pick up on. It marks something or someone as mine to any other creature that can smell it.”

“Well, I can smell it too,” Ayaka laughed amusedly. “I have a sensitive nose.”

“I can try not to do it to you if you don’t like it,” Isana said, frowning.

“No, I like it actually,” Ayaka replied and settled even deeper into the hug. “It made it more peaceful somehow being able to smell you on me when I went to sleep last night. It’s like having you with me even when you’re not there. I was just curious. Thanks for explaining it.”

“No problem,” Isana said affectionately. “I’m perfectly comfortable with explaining anything about me you want.  Everything here is probably new and weird, so if you want to know something, just ask.”

“You’re surprisingly nice,” Ayaka replied. “I really didn’t know what to expect when they said they had found us a place to live and I half expected it to be like the orphanage all over again, except smaller. But it’s not like that at all. This place is wonderful and I could never have sat and relaxed like this with anyone there. It just makes me wonder if there’s a catch to it all or something that I haven’t seen yet.”

“There’s no catch,” Isana assured her quickly. “You girls are an unexpected blessing to me as well. Before now, I actually liked living alone. Now I have you three to cuddle with and I think I’m gonna love it.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ in there somewhere,” Ayaka laughed. “What is it? It can’t be that bad right?”

“No, it’s not bad at all really,” Isana admitted. She was going to have to have this talk with all the girls, but Ayaka wanted to know and it made sense for the older and more mature girl to know what was going on. “It just has to do with the nature of witches and any girls that live with and around them.”

“Arbor has quite a few witches,” Ayaka commented. “I’ve never heard anything bad about them.”

“Like I said, it’s not bad, just different,” Isana replied and made sure she still heard both Sora’s and Karin’s showers were still running. “Did you notice how fascinated both Sora and Karin were about seeing me naked?”

“I did,” Ayaka replied, her cheeks reddening. Her voice however remained steady. “I also noticed that they have both started touching people a lot more than they used to. Sora used to be too shy, but now she always wants to be near you. Is that all part of it?”

“Yes,” Isana admitted and smiled. “That’s very observant. They are doing that because they, like me, are witches. All sorts of people can use magic and manipulate it in different ways, but witches and the exceedingly rare male sorcerers are born with it in their blood. We will use magic whether we like it or not. But it comes with a few side effects.”

“The touching stuff?” Ayaka guessed.

“Yep,” Isana agreed. “That comes from an extremely powerful inclination in witches to be around and become close to other women and girls; especially if they too are witches. Witches also have an overly active sex drive and a libido you wouldn’t believe.  What Sora and Karin are feeling is the beginning seeds of that and the instincts that come with it. They are probably too young and sheltered to realize that what they are feeling is strong sexual attraction.”

“You don’t think I’m too young to understand?” Ayaka said quietly as she digested what she’d been told.

“You have a very clear head for a girl your age,” Isana chuckled and tightened the hug again. “You had the observation skills to notice things were different, so I told you why.”

“So what you’re saying is that witches want to be with other girls?” Ayaka asked thoughtfully. “And that this is only the start for those two? What about you?”

“Me too,” Isana admitted freely. “My body is screaming at me about it all the time. I have an extremely strong desire for all three of you, but unlike them I know what it is and can ignore it, despite how uncomfortable and disappointing that feels. It helps though when I hold you like this. The other two are going to be showing stronger signs of this and I suspect that Karin at least will figure out soon what it is she suddenly wants from us. I was planning on having a small talk about it with all of you to explain it. But you just happened to hit on the subject early.”

“Lucky me,” Ayaka chuckled. “So what usually happens in a situation like this?”

“Usually,” Isana said carefully, “the people involved just allow things to happen naturally. It’s the reason why if you ask or check, most witches prefer to live in group homes with others like them or with women. It’s also the origin of covens.”

Ayaka sat silent for a long moment and in the silence they heard one of the showers shut off. Isana knew from her familiarity with the house that it was Sora’s bathroom. “You mean the witches and women that live with them just have sex with each other?” Ayaka eventually asked.

“Yes,” Isana answered honestly. “I’m not saying that such houses are constantly running orgies or something. Witch households almost always develop extremely tight bonds with their members, regardless of age. Rebecca and Maya both knew that when they asked me to take you guys in. You just got lucky that I’m still a sexy young lady and not some old biddy.”

“Sexy lady huh?” Ayaka barked a laugh. “That’s some opinion you have of yourself, but I get what you’re saying. It could have been worse, right?”

“Right, for instance, the three of you could have been separated completely where none of you would have someone you knew. This way you and the other girls know each other and have at least that connection. Plus, I can guarantee you that I will never, ever, force my attentions on you or the others. If you don’t want to have sex with anyone, you don’t have to.”

“But I can tell from your tone that it will be very hard to resist doing so and that you think I’d be missing out,” Ayaka’s wry amusement burst out into clear laughter. Ayaka squirmed around in the seat until they sat facing each other and Ayaka looked very pleased. “Thanks for explaining all of this to me like an adult. I know you probably could have just let things happen as they would, but I’m glad I know what will be going on around here soon. I think we’re actually pretty lucky to have ended up here.”

Isana blinked. “So, you’re not upset by it at all?”

“From what you just told me, getting upset about it would be about as useful as screaming at a tornado,” Ayaka smirked. “I admit that I think it’s really weird and knowing that Karin and Sora are going to start coming onto me is even more so, but now at least I’ll have a clue and I won’t accidentally hurt their feelings. Plus it explains why Karin was hugging me so much and why Sora has attached to you. When will you tell them?”

“I’m not sure,” Isana frowned. “It has to be soon though. Karin is old enough and smart enough to work out that she’s sexually attracted to everyone in the house and I have no idea where that will lead her. Sora on the other hand probably has no idea why she is so fascinated by me and why she enjoyed sleeping with me so much.  What do you think? You’ve known them longer than I have.”

“Isana, none of us were very close when we lived at the orphanage,” Ayaka laughed. “I only saw Karin at meal times because we had different friends and Sora mostly kept to herself. Sora is much too quiet a person to have survived there much longer I think. But you’re probably right about Karin; she’ll have it worked out pretty soon. It’s embarrassing, but I was actually surprised when I found out how smart she is a couple of years ago. So I would say to tell them as soon as possible for Sora’s sake more than Karin’s.”

Isana sighed heavily. “Then I suppose I may as well do it today. Thanks for being so understanding about all this.”

“Heh, from what you described, I thought it all sounded kind of nice,” Ayaka smiled pleasantly. “And I was quite enjoying you holding me just now, just so you know.”

“Whoa! Cool room!” they both turned and sat normally on the couch as Karin and Sora walked in together. Sora’s expressive ears were flicking about with interest, and it didn’t pass Ayaka’s notice that Karin had her arm wrapped casually around the younger girl.

Isana was, however, very proud of her living room. Like her bedroom, she had put it together for the purpose of comfort first and visual appeal second. That meant that nothing in the room really matched well, but by coincidence, it did have a sort of eclectic charm.

Aside from the big sofa on which she sat, Isana had kept her adoptive mother’s antique coffee table as a centerpiece. It was a massive thing that she could never have moved except with magic or a team of four burly men. There was a second sofa across from the one she sat on that was made of a red material and then two lounge chairs on either end of the sofas. The sofa Isana and Ayaka sat on ran along one outside wall that was lined with windows. The end wall of the rectangular space was taken up by a large, obviously well-used fireplace made of river stones. The only entrances to the room led to the dining room and the smaller door that led to the study/library.

As they entered, Karin wriggled her toes into the now ubiquitous heavy shag rug and it was plainly obvious that she liked it.  Isana liked to do the same thing, but what she liked about this room was that on really warm days she could lie out and take naps on that rug.

“Thank you, Karin,” Isana said by way of greeting. “I’m not much of a decorator, but it is comfy here.”

“The shower was even better though,” Karin said. She and Sora went around the second couch and sat in it across from them. “Even Sora took a long one.”

“I’ve never been in a shower before,” Sora said, defending herself. “And you took longer than I did.”

“Very true,” Karin chuckled in admission. “But it was nice right?”

“It was,” Sora agreed. “The water stayed nice and hot.”

“So, when does the tour start back up?” Karin asked.

“Right now if you like,” Isana answered.

Since there was only the first floor and the basement left to show the girls, the tour was a fairly quick one. Ayaka and Sora were both a little impressed by the collection of books she had in her library and both of them wore smiles when they left because Isana happily told them they could read whatever they wanted out of it. The really dangerous magic books were kept in a lockable case in the basement, so nothing in them would cause undue harm.  The girls were rather disappointed though when she teasingly decided to save her special room until later and they walked right past its door.

They were also excited and disappointed when she took them down into the basement. The first half of the large underground space was storage and utilities. Here she kept a large sundry of things and trying to explain them all would have taken days. Instead, she told them they were free to explore it all as long as they didn’t break anything too expensive. The back half of the basement was the space she reserved for her lab.

Every witch and competent magic-user had a lab or a space like it. It was where she performed major workings of magic and created magical concoctions. On one side of the lab she had carved and then inlaid with a special alloy, a ten-foot magical circle with extremely intricate glyphs. If she was doing anything really dangerous, she did it inside there. The girls were especially fascinated by the shelves she kept of ingredients and components she used in magical workings or mixtures. The pride of this collection was the ever-burning phoenix feather she kept in a protective glass enclosure.

Since it was only early afternoon still when she was finished showing off the house, Isana decided to show her girls the other interesting location on her property.

“Why do we need to go there in the truck if it’s on your property?” Karin asked as they all climbed into the vehicle.

“Because, by the time my mother and grandmother before her were done, the property grew to over fifteen square miles,” Isana answered with an amused smile. “You can walk if you want to, but we’re headed to the far northern part. That’s a five-mile trek, not including the hills and valleys.”

“Oh, then the truck is just fine,” Karin smiled, buckling in for emphasis.

“How do you own so much land?” Ayaka asked. She was sitting in the back with Sora this time.

“It started with my great-something grandfather,” Isana replied, starting up the truck and opening the garage door with a hand wave of magic. “After the Fall, he saw a bunch of empty land laying around with no ownership claims on them anymore and he began snatching them up. At first, they were very small bites and when the local governments settled down, they hadn’t realized he’d amassed so much. Then it just continued that way for a couple of generations until it reached its present size. Now it’s like owning my own private forest preserve.”

“The forest covers over half the state now,” Karin pointed out.

“And I own this small chunk of it,” Isana grinned. She turned the truck to a continuation of the long driveway they’d come up the night before. It kept on going, deeper into the dense woods. Since it was much less frequently traveled, it was also far bumpier and a little overgrown in places.

“Is the forest safe to walk around in?” Ayaka asked. She had her window rolled down and was looking out it as the fresh, clean air blew into the vehicle.

“If you’re careful and you don’t head into it alone, or at night,” Isana answered. “There are a few of the newer magical creatures about, but my wards keep them clear of the immediate area around the house. There are bears around this area and I’ve heard and seen the tracks of a pack of wolves. The wolves would be a lot more dangerous at night than they are by day. Bears though won’t bother you much as long as you don’t bother them or their young and the wolves usually steer clear of noisy humans. But I’ll give you each a few protective charms anyways. That way I’ll feel calmer about you roaming around.”

Since it was a relatively short drive through the rough landscape of the forest, they arrived at their destination quickly. The first sign they had arrived was that they popped out of the forest into a clearing that was almost blindingly bright from the now direct sunlight. The clearing was a very large oblong area that was just over a hundred yards long and ran right up to the shoreline of a substantial lake.

“Whoa, there’s a lake here?” Karin asked unnecessarily as all three girls had seen it now.

“Actually, there are quite a few lakes hidden inside the forest now,” Isana informed them. “This one was man-made originally, but even though the dam that caused it to form is long gone, it still remains.”

“What are all these plants growing all over the place?” Sora asked as they drove past a large plot of tomato plants.

“It’s a huge produce garden,” Ayaka answered with understanding in her voice. “I wondered why you had so much canned food and jars.  You grow it here.”

“Yep,” Isana affirmed with a proud smile. “I cheat a lot by using magic to keep pests and critters away from it all, but it gives me a nice side income. Usually, I hire a few teenagers from town that want some spending money and they help me harvest it all periodically and then I sell what I don’t eat to a grocer. A lot of people that live out in the boonies like me grow food to help out the town, and to make a little extra money, and to have great tasting fresh produce. On the other side of the lake, there is a really nice guy with apple and cherry orchards. You wouldn’t believe how much money he makes.”

“It looks like a lot of work,” Karin commented warily as the truck rolled to a stop in front of a large utility shed.

“It’s not that bad,” Isana laughed. “Remember, I cheat.”

Isana climbed out of the truck and once she was on the ground she placed two fingers into her mouth and blew out a deafening whistle that echoed oddly over the waters of the lake. Once it died down, Isana cupped her hand around her mouth and yelled “Shasta!”

When the girls joined her they were looking at her very oddly and she didn’t really blame them. She knew how she appeared. But before any of them could ask a question, thousands of small balls of light lifted up all around them in the fields and began to fly around in agitation. Isana smiled at the confusion this caused the girls and waited for the brighter yellow ball that zipped in their direction.

It halted directly in front of Isana’s face and the light dimmed slightly to reveal a tiny, but proportionally plump, naked woman with vividly painted body art and a pair of nearly invisible dragonfly wings.

“Oiyo, Isana, what are you doin’, callin’ me with strange whelplings about you?” the tiny person asked in an angry huff.

“Shasta, these girls are now family to me. They will be living in my home and will have free roam of my property. I called to you so that you would know them and so your clan would not cause them harm.”

“A family now, Isana?” Shasta said in a long string of chuckles. “Two are wee witchlings and the third, oh, a daughter of the earth, what a strange lot you show me.”

Isana smiled at the expressions on the girl’s faces, but it was Sora who spoke first.

“Are you a real fairy?” Sora asked, clearly amazed and impressed.

“Ach! She doesn’t believe I’m real!” Shasta crowed dramatically. Then she clutched a hand to her chest and fell backwards down to the grass as her light dimmed. Sora and the others gasped in surprise and the beginnings of horror.

“Shasta,” Isana growled warningly. The fairy’s light gleamed bright again and then the little person zipped up into the air with a cackle of laughter. Little squeaks of amusement chorused around them from the multitude of other fairies.

“Ahahaha, no one teaches the young ones the classics anymore,” Shasta laughed and then bowed expressively towards Sora. “Aye, tis a fairy I am and a leader of this fine clan, little elf blood witchling. By way of a bargain, the Lady Isana gives us safe and home and a portion of vittles. We tend the green things and make them grow. Honor and privilege and well met.”

“Oh, thank—” Ayaka cut off sharply when Isana gestured quickly to her.

“Sorry,” Isana apologized to the girl. “But it’s never a good idea to thank a fey creature. Some will take it to mean you owe them a debt. Shasta is a well behaved fairy, but if you meet others like her, it would be very bad to say that.”

“Okay,” Ayaka said thoughtfully. “Then I am honored as well, and we are well met.”

“O-ho,” Shasta cackled. “A smart and quick-minded one is the Mother born girl. It really is a wonderfully strange day to meet a silver one, a dragon brood and one like this one. I will watch over them, Isana, never fear. The clan is always in your service. Good day to ye!”

With that Shasta zipped away and all of the floating balls of light flew back down to the various plants they were charged with tending. When Isana turned, it seemed none of the girls knew quite what to make of what just happened.

“Well, now you’ve met Shasta and the real secret behind my lovely garden,” Isana laughed. “She didn’t mean any insult by the names she called you, she just has that odd manner of speech.”

“She said they serve you, though,” Karin said wonderingly.

“We made a bargain many years ago,” Isana answered. “After I saved some of them during a particularly bad storm, I agreed to let them live within my protective warding for as long as they maintained the gardens. They also have permission to eat a small portion of what is grown. It’s a win for both sides.”

“I liked her,” Sora decided. “How many of them live here?”

“No idea,” Isana answered. “Every year a small group of them leave to found their own clans; yet whenever I come down here, there are always at least several hundred of them.”

Karin wandered away a little towards the lake. Since it wasn’t a naturally made lake, there wasn’t much sand on the shoreline that comes with the inevitable erosion on an older body of water.  Instead it was mostly mud except for a small cleared area where Isana had added her own sand. Isana knew what question was coming next.

“Can we swim in the water?” Karin asked, just as Isana knew she would. In answer, Isana approached the shore and grabbed a rope that was staked to the ground near the small beach and trailed into the water after a meter or so, a small object came out of the water with the rope tied around it. What it was a glass ring with a bulge on one side. The glass bulge currently had a green middle.

“See this,” the girls nodded. “Whenever you want to swim you have to check this. I have some very strong wards protecting this little beach, but they wear down fast. If you pull this out and it’s red, that means the ward has failed and whatever new little creatures live in this lake can get to you. You’ll know if it fails while you’re in the water because this thing will send out a really bright pulse of light and a small shock to stun anything that might be nearby so you can get out. The wards only extend out about twenty feet so don’t go any further than that.”

“Okay, so maybe swimming doesn’t seem like such a great idea,” Karin laughed a little darkly. Both Sora and Ayaka were looking at the placid water warily.

“What lives in the lake?” Sora asked after a moment.

“I have no idea actually,” Isana admitted. “But after the Fall, some really nasty things have taken up residence in lakes, rivers and oceans. I tried quite a few searching spells on this lake and all I can tell you is that something large does live in it now and my wards have been shattered three times. I swim occasionally when the mood strikes, but I’m always very careful about it.”

“I think I can skip on the lake then,” Ayaka said wryly. I’m fine with just the forest, the wonderful house, and the gardens.”

“Same here,” Sora agreed. She gave the water a pointed look and took a deliberate step away from it.

From there they spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon wandering around the gardens and in the woods around them. The girls were eager to explore everything and when they drove back up to the house, they explored around that too. Isana subtly kept them away from the north side of the house so they wouldn’t see her secret room and spoil the surprise. She suspected that Ayaka caught onto the ruse about mid-afternoon, but she just smiled and took the lead on their wandering trek.

On to Chapter Four!

By Nuit du Loup

Three days later, Isana was once again back at Claire’s hotel.  This time she was in one of the private dining rooms that Claire rarely ever used. It was a remnant from over a century ago when the Hotel had been a very busy place and traveling businessmen would meet here.

The floor was made of a highly polished, golden-colored hardwood and the table running down the middle of the rectangular chamber would have cost more than some cars way back when it was made. A crimson tablecloth added to the richness of the décor as did the elaborate light fixture on the ceiling. It was a complicated weaving of glass that filled the room with warm light.

“Will you quit fidgeting all about?” Claire chastened Isana in a huff as she ran a fine brush through her fine white hair. “If you don’t I’ll have to do this!”

Isana felt one of Claire’s fingers scratch teasingly behind her right cat ear in a certain place and an involuntary shudder went up Isana’s spine. She arched her back in response and a surprised hiss escaped her mouth. Claire continued to rub the sensitive spot and it rendered Isana useless.

“Mom! Stop that!” Emi cried. She was kneeling behind the chair in which Isana was sitting. She had volunteered to brush out her tail so the white fur looked fluffy. Claire’s actions were making her tail whip around uncontrollably into the girl’s face. “I can’t work like this!”

“I will if Isana is going to stop being a baby,” Claire said primly, looking into her hazel eyes with intelligent brown ones. “She was the one who asked us to do this.”

“O-okay,” Isana gasped out. “Just stop doing that!”

“Good,” Claire responded with satisfaction and withdrew the finger. “You really shouldn’t have told me about that spot.”

“I regret it all the time,” Isana replied, gasping for breath.  That spot by her ears was extremely stimulating and her entire body was flushed. The brushing resumed from both of her friends and she tried to calm her nerves.

In just moments she would be meeting the three girls that she’d be taking in and it was driving her nuts. She’d arrived at the hotel in a near panic and it had taken nearly an hour for Claire to calm her down enough to put on the nice, patterned, dark-purple skirt she’d brought and the matching black spaghetti-strap top. Then she’d realized that her hair and tail were a complete mess.

“What are you so worried about?” Emi asked, holding her tail still and brushing it out some more in long, soothing strokes. “I think it’ll be fun to have more girls around here.”

“You just see possible new playmates,” Claire smiled. “Isana’s going to be responsible for feeding them, clothing them, teaching them—”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough of that!” Isana huffed, ending the list. “I just want to make a good first impression.”

“I see,” Claire said, setting the brush aside.

“Am I done?” Isana asked.

“You look perfectly fine,” Claire assured her, still sounding amused. “Emi, why don’t you go out and wait in the lobby now. It’s just about time for them to arrive.”

“Okay!” Emi popped up to her feet and bounded out of the room, radiating excitement with every fiber of her body.

“Maybe Emi should adopt them instead of me?” Isana said, smirking at her older friend.

“She’d love that,” Claire chuckled. “But give her a couple of days and they’d be helping her clean and cook.”

“If they are even old enough for that,” Isana sighed. “I can’t believe I forgot to ask how old they were.”

“Well, we’ll be finding out very soon,” Claire responded, looking over the set places at the table with a professional’s meticulousness.

The wait wasn’t very long. Even though Isana could swear several hours passed by, Claire insisted later that it was only fifteen minutes. The arrival of the group from Arbor was announced by only a single knock of warning on the door. Then the door swung open and Emi held it open with a welcoming gesture. When no one followed her, Emi looked back into the empty doorway in confusion. Emi, Isana and Claire all frowned, but before anyone could move and inquire as to what was going on, a soft voice hissed, “Just go!” and a short, young girl stumbled into view, obviously recovering from an unexpected shove.

The very pretty young girl looked to be somewhere around eleven or twelve and was only a couple inches shorter than Isana herself.  She wore a dark pair of jeans, a pink long-sleeved shirt and a navy vest that buttoned up the front. When she recovered her balance, dark, almond-shaped eyes swept the room nervously and small hands clasped into fists of fear. Isana’s eyes widened a little as she took this beautiful girl in and she noticed a naturally tan complexion, small facial features and long, silky black hair.  But what stood out most were the two thin, six inch long and pointed ears that twitched and quivered from the girl’s obviously strained emotions. She was so adorably cute that Isana felt an odd flutter inside her heart.

“Say something, dummy!” said the soft hiss again. The visible girl paled a little, but her eyes finally locked onto Isana’s face and it became clear her own description had been given. The girl stared at her for a long couple of seconds and Isana felt her own fears vanish entirely.

“Hello,” Isana said with a warm smile of friendly greeting. How on earth could she be nervous when this young lady looked terrified? “I’m Isana. Did Rebecca and Maya tell you about me?”

The girl nodded, easing up a bit. Her expressive ears lifted up as some of the fear went away. “I’m Sora,” the girl said in a soft, sweet voice.

“Well, Sora,” Isana replied, savoring the name. “I was told that they weren’t going to be giving you any food so that you’d be hungry when you got here. Would you and your friends like to come in and eat with me so we can get to know each other? I promise that I’m not scary or mean at all.”

“She’s really nice,” Emi said, adding her two cents. The girl glanced at Emi and then slowly walked into the room. Isana stood and they met halfway into the room. She reached out a hand and Sora took it with a growing smile that really lit up her face. As Isana led the no longer nervous girl to the dinner table, Isana addressed the two that were still hiding behind the doorway.

“Would the two of you like to eat as well?”

“Is she nice?” asked a calm female voice. It wasn’t the same one that had been whispering earlier.

“I think so,” Sora answered, now looking at Isana very curiously. She seemed especially interested in her cat ears. Smiling wide in amusement, Isana ducked her head toward the girl and was rewarded with a short giggle of delight as the girl reached out a hand and softly touched those ears. “They’re so soft and furry!”

“Glad you like ’em,” Isana grinned. Then she gave the girl a conspiratorial wink, “Looks like it’s just going to be you, me, and my friends eating.”

“What?” The squawk was followed by the head of another young girl as she peeked into the room and saw Sora at ease, happily stroking Isana’s fur covered ears. This girl had very dark, almost wine-colored red hair and a darkly tan complexion. A smooth, white horn came out from the very top center of her forehead and then curled up along the scalp only to curl back upwards at the tip. Her eyes were also a fierce red in color and had a more angular shape. Her nose was small and very slim and her lips were opened in surprise.

The rest of the girl followed after a moment and Isana saw she had to be a year or two older than Sora. She was dressed in a short, black skirt that was deliberately tattered and a black long-sleeved shirt that curved over the small buds of breasts. There were odd speckles on her skin in places. The new girl watched for a second and then the third and final girl stepped into the open.

“See, Karin?” the third girl said to the second in a tone that suggested a tried patience. “There was nothing to worry about.”

The third girl was obviously the oldest or most mature of the three by a tiny bit from her attitude. She stood a couple inches taller than Isana would, an easy feat, and her face looked like she was a bit miffed at the second girl, Karin. She had long, curly, cinnamon-brown hair that fell to her thin waist. Her movements were much more sure and graceful than the other two and her green eyes were extremely intelligent ones. She wore a thigh length skirt of dark blue and a very tasteful green halter top. Isana felt a moment of amusement when she saw that this young lady’s breasts were already a tiny bit bigger than own small endowment. Isana regarded these two calmly and she realized that all three girls were very pretty.

“So, your name is Karin?” Isana asked the second girl.

“Ah-huh,” the girl answered with an urchin grin. “Nice to meet yah!”

“I guess that leaves me,” girl number three laughed. “Sorry about Karin, she insisted on checking you out first. I’m Ayaka.”

“It’s alright,” Isana said with an easy shrug. “Nice you meet you too, Karin and Ayaka. But why did you send poor Sora in first?”

“Because she’s so cute and adorable!” Karin laughed, “and she’s really shy so if she trusted you, so could I.”

“And you?” Isana asked the oldest girl.

“I wanted to come in right off,” Ayaka answered easily. “I had to humor Karin though so I hung back. But Sora seems remarkably taken with you already.”

Sora just smiled and pulled her hand back to lay it on Isana’s arm. “She’s nice,” the girl said as if that answered everything.

“So we see,” Ayaka replied with a sisterly smile in return. “But you mentioned food?”

“I did,” Isana confirmed and glanced towards Claire, who had retreated to lean against the far wall with Emi to watch. “This is Claire, a very good friend of mine and the owner of this hotel. Emi there is her daughter.”

“We met at the door,” Karin nodded, walking over and seating herself next to Sora with a playful flounce. Ayaka snorted in amusement and calmly sat on Isana’s other side. Now that she was closer, she could see the flecks on Karin’s skin looked a bit like scales.

“Well, Claire and Emi have prepared a very nice dinner for us,” Isana told them. “Where are Rebecca and Maya?”

“They handed us off to Emi and told us to enjoy ourselves with you,” Ayaka replied with an amused roll of her eyes. “It is nice to meet you, Claire, thanks a lot for the dinner.”

“No problem at all,” Claire grinned back. “I’m just happy you girls are going to take care of my friend from now on. I’ll go grab the grub and be right back. Come on, Emi.” She and her daughter slipped from the room and Isana regarded her new charges.

“Are you really a witch?” Karin asked after a moment. She was looking around Sora at her inquisitively. She definitely had a mischievous demeanor.

“Yeah!” Sora said, perking up considerably to match Karin’s expression. “Are you really gonna teach us magic?”

In answer to Karin’s question Isana flicked a finger towards a glass of water in front of her place at the table and the liquid inside exploded up into the air. As the girls gasped in surprise, all the water shifted and in the next instant a veritable hoard of ice crystal butterflies were flapping around the room in a loose cloud. Her audience gaped at them.

“They’re so pretty,” Sora said in visible wonderment. “Will I be able to do that?”

“I have no idea,” Isana shrugged, answering honestly. “Like all other things, some people have specific skills when it comes to magic and some are good with a lot of things. But I’ll teach you all, everything I can. Are you a witch, Sora?”

“You bet she is,” Karin snorted, and gave Sora a quick smile to show she didn’t mean it in an insulting way. “Last week we were all woken up in the middle of the night because she started screaming in a panic. Somehow there was a tiny rainstorm going on in her room. There were clouds and lighting and everything! It lasted for almost twenty minutes before it went away.”

Sora flushed with embarrassment, her ears drooping, and Isana chuckled. When the girl cringed at her laugh, Isana reached out a reassuring hand and stroked the top length of Sora’s left ear affectionately. Sora blinked in surprise at the gesture and then leaned in close for another. Isana smiled as she obliged and addressed all of the girls as she gave the ear a few more strokes.

“Don’t ever be embarrassed around me. I can guarantee that I’ve probably done something just as bad or worse in my past, so any problem you girls cause won’t be that big a deal to me. You will cause problems because magic is funny that way, but I won’t insult or mock you when it happens. For example, I can top Sora’s little rainstorm. I once caused every toilet and sink in a small office building to overflow at the same time.”

“Even ones people were sitting on?” Karin asked, breaking out into laughter.

“Every single one,” Isana confirmed with a grin. “Including the one I was sitting on at the time.” Even Ayaka burst into giggles at this and a visibly amused Sora was leaning in close enough now that Isana put an arm around her in hug. “So, other than Sora, who is the other witch?”

“That would be me,” Karin said, reigning in her giggles. When she leaned forward Isana noticed something odd lying against the back of her shirt. Karin saw her gaze and after visibly thinking it over, she raised a pair of small, bat-like wings outward from her back. “Are they weird?” she asked tentatively.

“No more than the fact I have a tail and cat ears,” Isana assured her. “I still think you’re incredibly pretty. Can I ask what you are?”

Karin beamed at the compliment and shrugged, “I was told that I have dragon blood in me. I don’t know what that really means entirely, but it’s why I have these wings and the horn.”

“And she breathes fire,” Ayaka said, smirking at the younger girl. “I noticed you left that bit out.”

“Spoilsport,” Karin grumped with a smile, and then stuck out a very long tongue at her. When Isana raised an eyebrow at her, Karin pursed her lips and a tiny flame licked out into the air.

“So what about you?” Isana asked Ayaka.

“I’m not a witch at all,” the oldest girl replied pleasantly with no hint of jealousy of the other two. “But what I am is an Okami.”

“Okami?” Isana said. She’d heard that term somewhere.

“A wolf-kin land deity,” Ayaka answered helpfully. “That doesn’t mean I’m a goddess or anything that impressive, but I can shapeshift and a few other things. The deity part originates from the fact that my power comes from the nature energy in the land around me. In Arbor I could hardly do anything because of the city.”

“Isana!” they all turned at the exasperated moan and saw Claire pushing in a trolley cart laden with food. Emi followed in behind her with another one and they did so while walking through the ice butterflies. “How can I see what I’m doing with these things all over the place?”

“Sorry,” Isana chuckled. “I was just giving the girls a brief demo.”

She waved her left hand and all the butterflies melted into water and then streamed through the air and back into her glass. She smiled at the looks of disappointment on every face except Claire’s. She was becoming a bad influence around here.

Claire and Emi brought the carts to the end of the long table and began setting out plates in front of everyone already seated and also at their own places on the other side. Tonight they were having chicken cacciatore and it smelled absolutely divine. The girls apparently agreed because all their faces lit up when the food was laid out and the smell of the pasta and sauce wafted up. This was one of Isana’s favorites. Next to come were big bowls of buttery breadsticks and smaller ones of salad. Lastly, Emi poured some fresh lemonade for everyone and then both she and her mother took their seats.

“It smells great,” Isana said to Emi, since she knew who had probably made the main dish.

“It should,” Claire snorted as Emi blushed. “Once she knew it was your favorite, she made damn sure she could make it perfectly. We were eating the leftovers for a week. Go ahead and dig in, girls!”

Not needing any more encouragement than that, everyone gleefully reached for their silverware. Since there was a momentary pause in the conversation, Isana looked over the girls again and thought that maybe it really would be nice having them around. They had such diverse personalities that she didn’t doubt that things would be interesting and in just meeting them she felt a warm glow.

“This is really good!” Sora said, smiling at Emi. “Did you really make it?”

“Yep!” Emi nodded in a proud affirmative. “I always make the food whenever Isana eats here. My mom has been teaching me everything she knows.”

“Are you guys family?” Karin asked, stabbing a hunk of salad and popping it into her mouth.

“No,” Claire said with an amused smiled. “But Isana may as well be. She and I have been friends for over two decades and she was there at the hospital when Emi was born, so she’s known my daughter literally since birth. She’s like the crazy aunt or something like that.”

“You don’t seem that crazy,” Ayaka said, laughing and looking amusedly at Isana.

“I dunno, she might be right,” Isana smirked playfully. “In fact, just the other day I fought a giant chicken all by myself.”

“A giant chicken?” Karin asked with interest.

“Yeah, a giant chicken that breathed fire and had talons that could tear up concrete,” Isana grinned back at the girl.

“It’s her job,” Claire interjected, deflating Isana’s boasting.

“Your job is to fight giant chickens?” Karin asked disbelievingly.

“Not quite,” Isana laughed. “When the town has a magic related problem and they can’t solve it themselves or they want a magical working, they give me a call and I get paid to fix things. It just happened to be a giant chicken this week. Since I’m just about the only magic user around, I get all sorts of different requests.”

Isana reached for her napkin to wipe some excess butter off her fingers and her arm brushed against Sora’s. It was then she noticed that the girl had moved her chair very close without Isana noticing and the contact sent warmth flooding through her. Sora smiled pleasantly at her at the touch and Isana had to once again remark mentally that Sora was a very good looking young girl. Feeling a need to distract her thoughts from that track, Isana was thankful when Ayaka asked a new question.

“Do you live close by here?”

“No, not really close at all,” Isana answered quickly. “I live about ten miles outside of town in the middle of the deep forest.”

“All by yourself?” Sora asked.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t that bad,” Isana assured her. “Now you girls will be around to keep me company.”

“Her house is huge!” Emi added.

“Cool,” Karin smiled. “But what…”

***

The rest of the dinner passed good naturedly and Isana was more than a little pleased that Ayaka, Karin and Sora were relaxed about being with her. She had worried that they might resent her for pulling them away from the home they had known, but it seemed the exact opposite was true. They seemed very pleased that they would finally have a house and a home that was truly theirs and not a communal place. They also seemed exceedingly happy with the fact that the four of them would essentially be a family from now on.

The only thing that gave her pause was the odd quaver she felt whenever she looked at Sora. The girl seemed to be becoming much attached to her and a certain something inside her was very happy with that. It had been years since she had last had a lover, but she recognized the signs of physical attraction when either of them looked at the other. That could make things weird soon, but she hoped she could explain things clearly to all the girls before anything happened and something would. Sora’s magic was awakening much to strongly for them to resist the desire for very long, even if Sora didn’t yet realize what it was she was feeling.

Eventually all stomachs were full of good food, and it was time for Isana to take the girls to their new home. Claire and Emi escorted them to the lobby where the girls’ bags were waiting, and Isana could see that Emi was sad to see her new friends leaving already. Claire’s daughter, despite being younger than all three of the others, had been a hit. So as they walked out of the hotel’s doors it was with exchanged promises to see the others again. When the door shut, it was just Isana and her three new charges standing out in the late evening sun.

“Well,” Isana said with a content smile as a soothingly warm breeze sighed through the air. “You girls ready to see your new home?”

“Of course we are,” Ayaka laughed brightly, speaking for the others from their similar expressions. “How are we getting out there?”

“In that!” Isana grinned proudly, pointing at the red behemoth truck she drove. It was one of the few powered vehicles in the small lot. Around back would be the stable for those that rode in on horses and a storage space for bikes. “That monster is mine.”

All three girls looked at the huge vehicle and Karin seemed to try and fit them together in her head.

“That is yours?” Karin asked in amazement. “You could pitch a tent and live in the bed of that thing!”

“It is just a tad large,” Ayaka added diplomatically, but she actually seemed a little impressed.

“I like it,” Sora said last. She frowned at the looks from the other girls and felt a need to defend her opinion. “It’s cool looking.”

“Thank you Sora. I’m glad somebody likes it,” Isana said with a rueful smirk. “Now come on. Time’s wasting away.”

She led them over to the truck and unlocked the passenger side first with a simple wave of her hand. In a move that apparently surprised the other two girls, Sora quickly moved forward to claim the front passenger seat. Karin and Ayaka obliged their youngest sister and even helped her climb up into the seat. Karin climbed in behind Sora in the backseat of the cab and Ayaka followed Isana around to the other side and helped load all the bags into the truck bed. Once they were all aboard, Isana made them all buckle their seatbelts before tapping a small copper plate near the steering column.

The magical engine revved up with a deep, powerful hum and Isana saw her passengers exchange doubtful looks. Isana just smiled, backed her truck out of the parking space and drove out onto Main Street. Isana stayed silent as she drove because the girls were far too interested in their new surrounding for her to interrupt them. Occasionally one would point out something particularly interesting and then the others would quickly turn to marvel as well. It was terribly cute.

When they hit the guard station they were quickly passed through the checkpoint since they were leaving, not entering. Then Isana really put the truck into gear and allowed the powerful engine she and a real mechanic had put together to show its stuff. Surprised gasps came from the girls and she smiled proudly as they saw how fast they were now chewing up the miles. Most drivers might have worried about hitting one of the many deer that often strayed onto the road and kept to a slower speed, but Isana had carefully worked layers of shields onto the front and the rear of the vehicle to shrug off any collisions. There was also a spell worked into the headlight lamps that projected a long range ward that would warn of anything ahead, but the road was completely clear all the way home.

When they finally reached the turn off onto Isana’s property, it caught the girls by surprise. Unless you knew to look for the massive pair of trees that framed her driveway, you’d drive right past it. She always got complaints from mail carriers because whenever a new guy got assigned to this route, he or she always took more than one try to find it. But Isana plowed the truck into the dark forest drive without any hesitation.

The driveway, if that was even the right word for it, went another half a mile into the dense, shadowy woods. The sun had almost completely fallen by now and that meant that her headlights were just about the only things lighting up the way except for the occasional shaft of dim moonlight. Isana waited to see who would spot the house first and she smiled when she heard Ayaka’s gasp.

“Is that it,” the girl said, dropping her air of maturity for the moment, “That dark shape in the woods ahead?”

“Where?” Sora asked eagerly, leaned forward to peer through the windshield. Her ears quivered in excitement.

“It’s up there, on that big rise,” Karin said, pointing forward over the front seat so that the youngest girl could sight down her arm. “It’s that big, blocky shadow. It’s huge!”

“Emi was right,” Ayaka agreed softly.

“Why did you build such a big house in the woods?” Sora asked.

“I didn’t build it!” Isana laughed. “I’ve made plenty of changes, but I certainly didn’t build it. The great-great grandfather of the woman that adopted me had it built over two-hundred years ago, back when her family had been much larger, wealthier, and lived in a big extended group. I think there were actually six different families within the main family living in it at one point. But most of those moved away or died during the Fall. I inherited it from my master and adoptive mother when she died in an accident.”

She rounded the last bend in the snaky drive and slowed down in the wide, open space in front of her garage with the crunch of gravel. Behind that garage loomed the massive two-story structure of the house itself. The outside wall of the house was built of well-fitted, dark-colored stone blocks. Isana knew that must have cost a dear fortune, but the result was a very well insulted house that could withstand even the harshest weather conditions.  The garage though was a wooden shingled add-on to the main structure.

Isana flicked a hand towards the garage and the double-wide door rose up smoothly on its track and a light flicked on inside. Using the open space to turn around, Isana deftly backed her truck up into the garage with the smooth ease of long familiarity. Once she was satisfied she was in far enough, another hand wave had the door closing again.

“Well, we’re here!” Isana said, turning a little to see all three girls. Sora was looking at the collection of random junk filling the remainder of the garage with open curiosity and her long ears were flicking. Karin and Ayaka were far more interested in the door that led into the house.

“You’re really alright with us moving in with you?” Ayaka asked after a brief silence.

“I didn’t drive you all the way here just to show you my awesome garage,” Isana laughed, smiling her assurance at the girl. “At first I was just as nervous as you guys were, but so far I like what I’ve seen and I like all of you. So hop on out so we can get inside. I spent all day yesterday cleaning and stuff and I’d hate to have wasted all of that.”

Isana followed her own words by climbing out of the driver’s seat. Sora quickly followed suite and when she came over and stood close, Isana felt perfectly natural in putting arm around the girl’s shoulders again. Sora didn’t complain at all at the action and even moved a little closer. The two older girls followed more slowly, but that was only because they had each paused to lock their doors on the truck which Sora hadn’t even thought to do. They were also thoughtful enough to grab the three luggage bags.

Isana walked them over to the house door and placed her free hand on the red painted oak. The complicated and powerful wards of the house recognized her instantly and the sturdy bolts locking the door came undone. They entered into a small mudroom and when Isana kicked off her shoes onto a reed mat, the girls politely did the same. Then they finally entered into the main house.

The house was dark from the evening light outside, but there was just enough to see that the first room was the spacious kitchen and adjoining dining room. Since it had mostly just been her living alone, both were very clean and organized. The kitchen had a small island with a few barstools, a breakfast nook with a large bay window, and a long set of cabinets and polished stone countertops with a range and magically cooled refrigerator at one end. The dining room just had one long table of dark oak that could seat ten in its cushioned ladder-back chairs.

Isana willed a large cluster of small gem-like lights into being and they floated up into the air and scattered near the ceiling.  When the rooms were more fully illuminated, the girls wandered more deeply inside to look around their new home.

“Feel free to poke around,” Isana assured them when she saw Karin hesitate to open a cabinet to look inside. “This is your house, too.”

“How many rooms does it have?” Sora asked, not moving very far away from where Isana watched. She seemed content to watch the other two.

“Well, there are four master-style bedrooms and three more regular ones. Then there are two additional full bathrooms upstairs and a half-bath down here. The bottom floor has the living room, a small library or study, a pantry, these two rooms, and a certain, special room that I had remodeled and did some work on myself.”

“How is it special?” Karin asked, pausing in her inspection of the inside of the refrigerator. She ended the sentence with a long, tired yawn. Isana could understand how the girl felt. She’s been so nervous that she hadn’t slept at all the previous night and her own body wanted a bed badly.

“I’d rather show you than tell you,” Isana smiled. “But I think we can save a grand tour for in the morning when the sun is up. You all look kind of bushed and I think we should get your bags up to your bedrooms before you’re too tired.”

“Can we pick our own room?” Ayaka asked, turning around excitedly from her inspection of the cabinets. Her delight at the house was apparent and Isana was very happy to see it.

“As long as you don’t fight over them,” Isana agreed amiably. She grabbed Sora’s bag from where Karin had set it down and led them to the back staircase that led from the kitchen and up to the second floor. The upper floor had a square of hallways with the rooms around and inside it. Once up there Isana pointed toward the partially open door on the outside of the East hallway. “That door there is my room, so pick any other one you want.”

Karin and Ayaka both separated eagerly to search inside the other rooms and a cluster of the light gems kept pace. Sora however hesitated and then took her bag and walked straight to the door that was exactly opposite from Isana’s. She opened it and after giving it the briefest glance came right back after dumping off her luggage inside the door.

“I’ll take that one,” Sora said matter-of-factly with a warm smile.

“You’re sure?” Isana asked. “The middle rooms don’t have any windows.”

“That’s alright,” Sora replied happily. “I just want one that’s near yours and that one is right across the hall.”

Well, if you’re happy then I’m happy,” Isana shrugged. “Let’s see how the others are doing.”

Predictably enough, they found Karin flopped on her back in the queen-sized bed of the master bedroom that was on the opposite side of the house from Isana’s. The room had the bare essentials, like a dresser, closet and a rug over the wooden floor, but it was otherwise undecorated. When they walked in Karin had a wide smile on her face and was watching the slowly circling trio of light gems above her.

“I see you like this one?” Isana laughed.

“Uh-huh,” Karin agreed quickly, sitting up. “Sora, come lay on this thing with me. I’ve never been on a bed this comfortable before.” Sora joined Karin on the bed and immediately agreed with the older girl; then an amused snort came from the doorway.

“Find one you like?” Isana inquired as Ayaka entered the room and stood next to her.

“Yeah, the north master bedroom,” Ayaka smiled back. “I tested my bed out too. Which one did you pick Sora?”

“The one across from Isana,” Sora answered, rolling up into a sitting position to look at them.

“Nice,” Ayaka nodded as if that had been expected. “You were right, Isana. I think we can wait for morning to look around. I’m more than ready to go back to that bed.”

“Cool, then let’s get a few necessities from the closet,” Isana replied.

They followed her back out into the hallway were she then led them to the large walk-in size storage closet. They continued to follow her inside and she took them to stacks of neatly folded sheets and blankets on shelves.

“These stacks,” Isana waved at several stacks of matching sets, “are for the queen-size beds. So Karin and Ayaka, you go ahead and grab one you like. Sora, you need one of those on the next shelf up. Do any of you need help making your bed?”

“No way,” Karin laughed, taking down a set of red bed clothes.  Ayaka had chosen a patterned purple one and Sora’s was a light blue floral. “We had to make our beds every day back at the orphanage and wash the sheets once a week. So we’ve had lots of practice.”

“Did you have your own rooms?” Isana asked curiously as they exited the closet.

“No, we all had one or two roommates,” Ayaka answered. “The three of us all had different rooms there.”

“I didn’t like mine,” Sora said, frowning.

“Yes, well, Marta certainly isn’t here,” Ayaka said, smiling at Sora. “None of us are going to bully you. We’re sisters now.”

“This Marta person was unpleasant, I take it?” Isana asked, automatically disliking anyone who’d act that way toward Sora.  The wave of protectiveness surprised her, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

“Yeah!” Sora responded, fuming cutely. “She always messed with me and my stuff or stole things.”

“I tried saying something to the women that ran the place, but they didn’t really care,” Ayaka sighed. “The three of us weren’t very popular with the others.”

“I heard,” Isana nodded sadly. “But you’re here now and I sure as hell won’t ignore you. I’m hoping that you’ll love it here.”

“Us too,” Karin smiled happily.

“Well, while you guys are making your beds, I need to go get something that I prepared for each of you,” Isana said. “I’ll be back in two minutes, okay?”

They separated to their respective rooms, lights following, and Isana watched them for a moment before she ducked back downstairs. In the living room she picked up three smallish baskets she’d filled with a few items for the girls. Then she went back up the main stairs and made her way to Ayaka’s room this time. It matched Karin’s except for a slightly larger window on the far wall. She found the girl there, flinging out the third and top sheet over the bed. When it settled onto the others, Ayaka quickly and efficiently smoothed it out and had it tucked in. Finished, Ayaka turned around and wore a smile of satisfaction. She was visibly happy that Isana had come to her new room.

“You have had a lot of practice,” Isana noted, nodding appreciatively toward the bed. “That was pretty fast.”

“I’m good at these kinds of things,” Ayaka replied with a slight reddening of the cheeks, but she seemed proud and happy at the compliment. “Actually, I kind of like making a place clean and orderly and doing small chores like this. It used to drive my roommates nuts.”

“I have no complaints,” Isana chuckled. “Here.”

Ayaka took the basket just as the other two joined them again.

“What is that?” Karin asked.

“There’s one for each of you,” Isana told her, handing them each their basket. “I didn’t know what you had in terms of basic supplies, so I made up a basket with all of them. There’s soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste, a hairbrush, and since I forgot to ask how old you guys were I added razors, shaving cream and other hygiene items. I also bought you each a few brand new towels for each of the bathrooms.

“Wow,” Ayaka said, looking through her basket. “This is really cool. I was actually a bit nervous before coming here about asking to borrow stuff from you. But this has everything. Thanks so much!”

“Yeah, this is cool…um Ms. Isana?” Karin floundered as it was the first time any of the girls had tried to address her by name.

“Just plain Isana is fine,” she smiled. “Now I need to do one last thing before we all turn in.”

She walked over to the wall next to the doorway and placed her hand over it. Bluish light glowed between her hand and the wall and it quickly gathered together into a think-lined circle of light. Sort of like a vertically aligned halo. A thin white line cut the circle at about the six o’clock position. When she took her hand away it seemed to sink into the wall and disappear.

“What was that?” Sora asked, walking up close to get a better look.

“It controls those,” Isana said, pointing at the gem lights in Ayaka’s room. “Ayaka, can you come here a moment?”

“Sure,” Ayaka said cooperatively, and stood next to her.

“Hold your hand up like I just had mine near the wall by the door.” Ayaka did so and the circle rose up out of the wall. Ayaka blinked at it in surprise. Isana smiled at the expression. “Now you can use your finger to rotate the circle, which will dim or brighten the lights. I’ll do this in all your bedrooms and bathrooms since you haven’t learned to use your own magic yet.”

“Cool,” Sora said, and watched even closer when Isana repeated the magic in the spacious bathroom.

“Do you need anything else before I do Karin and Sora’s rooms and then head to bed?” she asked Ayaka when she was done and they all stood by the door.

Ayaka stood there for a moment and Isana saw she was visibly warring over some decision. Then the girl sighed in resignation and leapt forward, embracing Isana in a tight hug. Isana chuckled at first, realizing Ayaka had been debating how “mature” she should be, but then sighed in a pleased tone and gave a soft rub of her cheeks against Ayaka’s. Ayaka made a pleased sound too and then they separated.

“That was very nice of you,” Isana said, smiling at the girl. “I’ll see you in the morning, Ayaka.”

“Yeah,” Ayaka agreed, apparently a little embarrassed but also happy. “In the morning.”

After leaving Ayaka’s room Isana made up the lights in Karin’s room just as she had in Ayaka’s and the girl found them briefly fun to play with. Then when she was going to leave and do Sora’s, Karin wanted a hug too. It was then Isana found out just how affectionate a person Karin was. Once they were together Karin didn’t seem to want to let her go. But Isana also found out that the junction of Karin’s wings was a ticklish place and they separated with Karin giggling like crazy.

“Aww, that was mean,” Karin laughed, dropping onto her bed heavily as she caught her breath.

“Just be thankful Claire and Emi aren’t here,” Isana replied. “Those two will remember every weak spot you have.”

“What’s yours?” Karin said, her giggles subsiding.

“I’m not going to tell you that so easily,” Isana smirked. “But what I will say is that Sora here was the closest to finding it out.”

“I was?” Sora asked with her eyes wide. “But all I did was… oh!”

“Where is it?” Karin asked eagerly, leaning forward.

Sora reached up a hand towards Isana and then paused with a frown.

“It’s alright, Sora,” Isana laughed. “I suppose it’s only fair to show her since I found hers just now. Go ahead.”

Sora’s small hand continued up to her head and Isana felt those small fingers scratching near her ears. Using her own hands, she adjusted them slightly until they hit the sweet spot. It was readily apparent when it happened because Isana felt her knees try to buckle from the pleasurable feeling Sora was giving her and she couldn’t help letting out a sharp hiss. Sora gasped in surprise and jerked her hand away.

“I didn’t want to hurt you!” Karin exclaimed in shock, misinterpreting Isana’s reaction. Isana heard a strangled sound and as her head cleared she saw Sora was clenching her hands tightly. Her face said she was ready to cry, and Karin wasn’t much better. “Why did you do that?”

“It didn’t hurt me at all,” Isana said, smiling wide to show she meant it. “It was just the opposite, in fact.”

“Huh?” Karin looked confused.

“Haven’t you ever seen that on some cats that if you scratch in just the right spot they go all gooey and beg for more?”

“Yeah,” Sora answered, still looking at her worriedly.

“Well, that was my spot. It just feels really damn good; so good that I almost can’t do anything else and it seems that Sora’s fingers were especially good.”

“You liked it?” Sora asked, perking back up.

“Oh, yeah!” Isana grinned. Then she looked warmly at Karin. “That’s why it’s my weak spot.”

“I’ll remember it,” Karin smiled back, wiping her eyes.

“Hah, goodnight Karin,” Isana said, shaking her head in amazement.

“G’night!” Karin returned. “And you too, Sora.”

Sora’s room was the fastest to do since it was only the one bedroom. In contrast, Sora’s goodnight hug took the longest of all. Isana couldn’t bring herself to do what she had with Karin.  In Sora she felt someone that badly wanted to be loved, and the girl was probably betting everything on Isana. It probably didn’t help that Isana knew she must be experiencing some new feelings and desires, now that her gift as a witch was blossoming on its own. That made Sora a lot more fragile than the other two girls, and something inside her responded strongly to that.

After a while of just sitting on Sora’s bed hugging the girl in peaceful silence, Isana reached over to the basket of stuff which Sora had placed on a small bedside table, and took out the hairbrush.  Sora very willing moved onto her lap, facing outward, and Isana began to gently brush the girl’s long, silky hair.

After about fifteen minutes of this treatment Isana smiled when she saw that the soothing feeling of the brush was having its desired effect. Sora’s eyes were drooping and her breathing had become slow and steady.

“Time for sleep,” Isana said then. She pulled back the covers and laid Sora down. “You should change your clothes for bed. Goodnight, Sora.”

Isana stood slowly and left Sora’s bedroom, closing the door behind her. She then crossed to her own bedroom feeling ready for her own bed. She’d long since made the room hers in almost every way, but her bed was the most unique. It was a massive nest-like collection of blankets, pillows, comforters and sheets that covered the biggest bed she’d been able to purchase. After a brief pit stop in her bathroom to pee and shed all of her clothes, she made her way to it and climbed inside that nest. It took only moments for her naked body to feel comfortable and warm. Then a light knock sounded from the partially closed door.

“Yeah?” she called out.

The door cracked open slowly and Sora stepped inside, bathed in moonlight from the window. She was dressed only in an oversized t-shirt that went down to her knees and Isana saw cute little toes curling into the thick, heavy shag of the rug she’d put down on the wooden floor. Sora took in the room with a tired glance and then locked onto her face.

“Need something?” Isana asked pleasantly, knowing only her head was sticking out of the mass on her bed.

“Can… can I sleep in here with you?” Sora asked. Her hands clenched onto the shirt and then released it in an idle fashion. “Please?”

Isana knew that she should probably make Sora get used to her own room, but something else stopped her. She was too tired and comfortable to think of what that was at the moment though. Instead, she nodded her acceptance.

“Come on.”

Sora’s face brightened immediately and after quietly closing the door again, she quickly climbed onto the bed. At first, she seemed very confused by all the blankets and stuff but she crawled her way to Isana and wriggled down next to her. Isana wrapped her arms around Sora until they were snuggled together with Sora’s back to her front. There was a small moment of surprise when Sora realized she was completely naked, but they were both too comfortable to deal with that right now. Instead, Sora just sighed happily and relaxed in the embrace.

Minutes later, they were both asleep.

On to Chapter Three!

By Nuit du Loup

Note from JetBoy: Old acquaintances of the vintage Lesbian Lolita site will surely recall the exquisite stories of Nuit Du Loop. Through the years, we’ve had requests for more of his work to be posted here — but I always resisted, thinking of the lion’s share of his writing more as high-quality fantasy fiction than pure erotica, despite the lesbian content.

What changed my mind was the two Tequila Kid sagas that I had the good fortune to edit for Purple Les. These were high-quality Old West tales with lesbian content… and all of a sudden, Nuit’s stories seemed like a natural fit for Juicy Secrets.  So relax, settle in and enjoy, taking into account that it takes a while to get to the actual sex. The wait is worth it, I promise.

***

The warm summer sun was beautiful that day. The cloudless sky was a clear, azure strip seen through a break in the trees caused by the dry, dusty road that cut a narrow swath through the dense forest. As Isana cruised with reckless speed down that road in the red behemoth of her pickup truck, she considered how perfect the day seemed. Her lively, ice-blue eyes took in the world around her with open enjoyment because she loved the wildness of it.

She hit a particularly large pothole in the road, she bounced up in the seat and caught a bit of her reflection in the rearview mirror. Long, snow-white hair cascaded down from a small head and framed her almost childlike face. The sight made Isana smile wryly in amusement. Her face wasn’t the only thing childlike about her appearance.

She was twenty-five years old, as of her birthday two months past. Yet when people looked at her, their first impression often put her at least a decade less than that. This was mostly because she was incredibly short at about four and a half feet tall and her face was blessed with what her close friends called “dainty” features. Her nose was tiny, her lips were small and thin and her eyes, which turned up slightly on the outsides, usually held delighted amusement. Her body was lithe and skinny with small, handful-sized breasts and what she considered a pleasantly rounded backside.

She looked the way she did because she wasn’t human, or at least not entirely so. She wasn’t sure, because her mother hadn’t stuck around after she’d been born and the woman who had adopted her hadn’t known either. From what she knew, her mother was a bakeneko, a kind of feline shapeshifter, and her father’s identity was entirely unknown. From this uncertain parentage, Isana had been blessed with the white hair, the small, fully functional, and triangular cat ears that poked up from the top of her head, a long, fluffy white tail and a few other things. Isana didn’t really mind how she looked, but it sometimes made introductions with strangers more difficult.

Thankfully, most people were used to seeing the odd and the strange these days. A century ago, when magic had first exploded into the world during the event now called the Great Fall, new creatures and part humans like herself had begun appearing even as billions of people worldwide were dying from the collapse of technology and strange magical cataclysms. But humanity was resilient, and now if someone saw something strange, he just went about his business unless it represented a threat. There really were threats and dangers in this new world; many of them in fact, but the current population of the planet, all 1.1 billion, was determined to make it safe again.

A dark shape inside the dense trees ahead and to the right caught Isana’s attention. Seconds later the truck rumbled past the object, and Isana’s smile grew bigger. The shadow was the ruined remains of a large structure from before the Fall. There were a great many like it littered around, but this particular one meant that she was only a mile from the town of Willis. It was a small place with less than ten thousand people, but it, and the surrounding area, was her home territory.

A short time later, Isana slowed her magically powered mechanical beast as she approached a small white shack on the right side of the road. Tied to the shack at a sturdy post were three massive horses. When she came to a stop in front of the barricade sticking out from the shack, the nearest horse in the line eyed her aggressively and stomped a hoof hard enough into the dusty ground to get its threat across. Isana never got on well with horses. They didn’t like the way she smelled.

“Good morn’ ma’am.”

A tall, unfamiliar blonde man in the crisp blue trousers, white shirt and crossed red bandoliers of the Town Patrol uniform exited the shack from the only door and rounded the vehicle. His weapon belt held both a large caliber handgun and a curved saber. All town patrolmen knew how to fight with blades, bullets and their own two hands. They kept the general peace, enforced the law and kept the nasty supernatural things from trying to take bites out of the town. This man looked confident and competent in his own strength. Exactly the type of guy they posted on the roads into town.

“Morning, officer,” Isana replied cheerfully. “Are you new to the Town Patrol?”

“Yes, I am,” the man smiled back, obviously proud of his accomplishment. “I finished my training last week. Can I ask your business in town and your name?”

“Isana Tyler,” she answered. “I’m here to deal with that little chicken problem you’re having.”

The officer looked at her dubiously.

“She’s not lying, Mark,” the second gruff, male voice came from another much larger and more muscular man coming out of the shack. He smiled and nodded at her in greeting. Isana nodded back, for she knew Sergeant Meyers well. “She may look like a fragile little thing, but Isana there can turn you or the entire town inside out with a flick of her finger if she cared to. Haven’t you heard of or seen our resident witch before?”

“Uh…no. I’m sorry, ma’am,” the younger man said in quick apology. “Headquarters mentioned you, but they didn’t give me a description.”

“That’s because Captain Keller likes his little jokes,” Meyers sighed. “Thanks for coming, Isana. Even those two pretty boys from the Magical Defense Unit haven’t been able to solve our little problem.”

Isana grinned; Meyers sure knew how to flatter a girl. Too bad for him she only liked women. “You should give them more credit, Meyers. They have learned some magic, and they were a lot of help when that creek flooded last year and washed out that bridge. Where do I need to go?”

“It’s down in the old industrial area. The rest of the boys have it holed up inside that big bottling plant,” Meyers sighed. “It’s a good thing they built that place with corrugated steel, or we’d have even bigger problems with fires. Just let me raise the barricade for you.”

Meyers walked toward the mount for the wooden spar, then levered it upwards and out of the way. At the same time, a hundred feet of roadway and grass ahead of her down the road rippled as massive wards and defensive spells were temporarily put to sleep. Those were the true barricades barring the road. If someone blew through or hopped the physical barrier, then the magic on the other side would tear them apart — or something equally final and unpleasant. Though neither patrolman knew it, Isana had been the one to lay those spells and she could have disabled them easily. Instead, Isana drove on down the road to the town.

The town of Willis was a bizarre hodgepodge of surviving pre-fall buildings with newer structures interspersed around them along brick-paved roads. It had never been very large, but it had the things necessary for a population center to survive and thrive. There was plenty of food, fresh water and a strong sense of community.  While most of the major cities were great, moldering mausoleums to their long dead residents, Willis had actually improved in the last hundred years. Isana loved the town and knew a large number of people here personally. Occasionally she regretted that her own home was fifteen miles to the west and deep inside the forested lands which Mother Nature was rapidly reclaiming as her own. But she loved her house too much to give it up, and she also liked the peace and quiet.

The industrial area she arrived at was a small clump of old factories and warehouses on the north edge of the town. It was largely abandoned, and the town had been planning for ages to tear it all down and reclaim any useful metals and glass. The smelter to melt down the metals was already being built. For now, it was an unsightly, rusting mess that attracted the occasional creature looking for a new den. The building Isana headed to had once been the bottling facility for a long-dead beverage company. Now it was an ugly hulk surrounded on all sides by a couple of dozen men and women wearing the Patrol uniform.

They watched her approach, and she saw relief on many of their faces. There was also a little resentment from a few of the younger ones, probably those who felt that they could handle this on their own. She ignored them all and drove around the perimeter until she saw an older, rough-hewn man wearing a wide-brimmed brown hat with the rest of the uniform. He and six other men stood in the weather broken expanse of the former parking lot. Their horses were tied up a good distance away in a small grassy clearing. It was cheaper, even for cops, to use horses instead of cars. When she brought the truck to a crunching halt and stepped out into the sunlight she understood why the horses were so far away. The air reeked of sulfur.

“Phew, that is one hell of a stink!” she complained cheerily, wrinkling her cute, sensitive nose. “Good to see ya again, Captain Keller!”

“Isana!” the older man sighed. “I know I’ve told you this a dozen times, but you’ve done more than enough around here to call me by my first name.”

Isana waved her hand dismissively as she approached. Once she called someone by something enough times, it took a near act of god to make her change. “Are you sure of what you’ve got in there?”

“Definitely,” Keller responded firmly once they stood facing each other. He, of course, had to look down to meet her gaze. “Dan Crosswell smuggled the damn thing in from the Detroit wasteland, where he says he bought it from a weird dealer. He confirmed that it’s a basan. Claims it was nice and docile when he bought it here, and he has no idea why it decided to go nuts today.”

Isana snorted. “Did he say what he planned to do with a giant chicken that spits fire and has major territorial issues?”

“No, he didn’t,” Keller responded dryly. “Is it going to be a problem?”

“No way!” Isana laughed, propping her fists against her denim-clad hips. The pose made her loose tank top rise up a little to expose her toned belly. “Give me twenty minutes, max, and I’ll have it all wrapped up for you.”

“What if it makes a fuss?” asked a youngish brunette woman in her early thirties. Alisha Waters was Keller’s second in command.

“Then I’ll cook it and turn it into dinner for the lot of us,” Isana said confidently. “Do I need to know anything else before I head inside?”

Keller thought about it for a moment, and then he blinked and nodded. “Yes, but it’s unrelated to the current problem. There are two women from the Arbor City Council that have been asking how to contact you. They’re staying at the Heaven’s Rest hotel. I promised I’d pass on the word from them.”

Isana frowned and mulled it over. Arbor was the nearest city to Willis, and she couldn’t think of a reason why they would need her for anything. She knew that they had some social unrest issues, but they also had a strong police force, a battalion of MDU troops and at least five witches and mages comparable to herself. Still coming up blank, she shrugged and decided to go and see the two women when she was done here.

“Thanks for letting me know,” she said to the captain. “See you in a bit!”

She turned towards the building and saw that the front windows of the office section were long broken, and the only door on this side of the building hung open on corroded hinges. Isana made her way over and without pausing, entered inside. She studied a time-worn fire escape plan near the doorway on the wall, then ducked into the long hallway that would take her to the main production room.

Her eyes quickly adjusted to the gloomy light and she became aware of a rough scratching sound coming from ahead. After a short distance over moldy, rotted carpeting she came to another doorway and shoved it open. The metal door swung hard with a screech and slammed against the wall with a nearly deafening bang. Across a wide expanse of open concrete and a jumbled assortment of collapsed machinery, a feathery creature squawked in indignant surprise and pushed itself up onto the massive talons that were its feet.

It looked exactly like any other chicken you might see. This one just so happened to stand three feet tall at the head and probably weighed as much as she did or more. It was called a basan, a type of yokai from Japanese mythology. Its feathers were made from an asbestos-like material, and even from where she stood Isana could see that the talons were scoring long grooves into the concrete floor. It also spat flame and often consumed the burned flesh of its victims.

The large fowl twitched its head back and forth, looking at her through black, angry eyes. When Isana started to walk towards it, it began to rustle its wings in a physical display of warning. Isana continued forward unabated. At about fifty feet or so away the bird jerked its head, squawked again, and then spat liquid fire in her direction.

Like all fire, it expanded as it moved outward, and the white-hot gout became a fan of deadly heat. Not the least bit surprised at this action, Isana casually flicked out a finger on her right hand, and the oncoming flame broke like water on an invisible bow ten feet ahead of her. An inferno raged all around her but she continued walking calmly forward. When the first salvo ran down, the basan seemed indignant that the interloper in its midst hadn’t become a crispy critter for it to eat. Isana smiled at it and she knew a predatory light was in them. The feline in her saw weak prey.

“Try that again,” she taunted playfully, laughing. “You’re not even making me work here.”

Another blast of fire raced out at her and again Isana shunted it aside with little effort. The factory around her, however, was another story. The machinery was drooping and sagging like soft wax and there were places where the metal glowed with heat. The concrete floor had shrugged the heat off except that any moisture had been vaporized away. Isana found the air was fast becoming dangerous to breathe from the fumes and the stench was almost overwhelming.

“My turn!” she laughed at the bird and took a deep breath.  Placing the first two finger over her mouth in a ‘v’ she blew out hard and this time a cone of fire exploded out away from her and towards the shocked basan. The giant bird dropped to the ground where it stood, over a tangled mess of old electrical cables and ducked its head under a wing just in time as the fire crashed over it.

While it was still hiding Isana reached up, plucked a single white hair from her head and worked a larger bit of magic. The strand of hair glowed golden and when she let go, it shot like a needle across the gap and right at the bird. Faster than a striking snake, the hair wrapped itself around the beak of the creature and tied it as tight as steel cables would have. Then the hair split, grew longer and shot out again to entangle and snare the legs and wings. When it was done, Isana had herself a giant trussed-up chicken.

“Just like I said,” Isana smiled. “Ten minutes.”

***

When Isana finally made it to the Heaven’s Rest Hotel, she was in a very good mood. It had taken nearly another thirty minutes to get the squirming basan loaded into the bed of a trailer. Even though she’d only been called in to deal with the capturing part, she’d stuck around to lend a hand with the rest of the grunt work because she never liked dumping things onto other people. Now she had the nice glow of accomplishment to keep her mood soaring.

The Heaven’s Rest Hotel was in what passed for a downtown district in the small town. It was nestled between the town hall building with its old Greek style columns and the public library. As far as Isana knew, it had always been a hotel, even before the Fall, and was a couple of centuries old. The current proprietor, Claire Renow, was a young woman not much older than Isana herself and she was well known in town for her odd sense of humor. She had inherited the building from her father, who had seen the niche for a hotel when all the franchise companies crashed with the rest of the world and vanished. Now it was the place to stay when you visited Willis. It was also a place Isana was intimately familiar with, because the bar and grill that occupied the ground floor of the six story structure was one of her favorite haunts. That, and she knew the owner quite well.

“Isana!”

Isana instinctively stopped at the familiar cry of her name on her way through a beautiful front entrance made of polished copper and glass. A second later a weight hit her and her arms encircled around the skinny body of Emi, Claire’s ten-year-old daughter, bringing her in for a fierce hug as a deep purring thrummed inside her chest. She’d known the child literally since birth, since she and the mother were close friends of old. Back then she’d still been an apprentice witch, but she still loved Emi dearly.

“One of these days I’m going to miss, you know,” she said laughingly in the girl’s ear. She then rubbed their cheeks together affectionately. “Then we’ll both go splat onto the floor.”

“You haven’t yet,” Emi giggled, pulling back. Today she was dressed in a navy dress with a small white smock over it. “Are you here to see Momma?”

“I’d never stop in and not talk to her,” Isana answered as she stood back. “But I was told that there were people staying here that want to talk to me.”

“The Arbor ladies?” Emi asked curiously. “They are the only ones staying with us right now.”

“Yep, I—”

“Emi, where did you get off to?!” Isana cut off as Claire came bustling into the foyer of the hotel from a side hall. It was a very plush room with comfortable chairs, warm lighting, and a big front desk where the desk clerk, Bill, sat in his dress black slacks and pressed white shirt. Claire’s eyes locked onto the two of them. “Oh, Isana! I see you’re the one making her slack off again.”

“Yeah, so don’t go blaming Emi,” Isana responded with a grin. Claire was a vibrant, energetic woman in her early thirties. She stood almost two feet taller than Isana and had long, naturally curly chestnut hair, just like her daughter. As always, she was dressed conservatively in a long skirt and a white sleeveless shirt. She was a somewhat well endowed woman and her chest cushioned their friendly hug when they came together.

Despite Isana’s preference for women and Claire’s obvious good looks, there had never been anything like that between them. Claire definitely knew what Isana’s interests were, and never made a big deal of it. They were good friends, and that was the way they liked it.

“You know, I blame all my troubles on you,” Claire grinned back. “At least one of those old stories about witches has to be true.”

“Well, if your milk curdles prematurely and your cows are born with two heads, we’ll know!” they shared another laugh and Isana nodded towards Emi. “What did I interrupt?”

“Oh! I’m supposed to be washing and folding the dinner linen!” Emi squeaked and looked apologetically at her mother.

“It’s all right,” Claire smiled. “Isana doesn’t visit us often enough, so I suppose it’s understandable that you’d want to talk to her. Just make sure your lunchtime chores are done.”

“They are,” Emi smiled joyously. “Isana said she came to see our guests.”

“I know,” Claire said, looking back to Isana. “Will you have lunch with us? They’ll probably be coming down for their own meal soon.”

“Sounds great,” she replied easily. “What am I eating today, Emi?”

Emi thought about the question for a moment. They had established a small tradition between them that whenever Isana ate at the hotel, Emi would choose for her. “The roast beef sandwich with broccoli and cheese soup?”

“Sounds excellent,” Isana agreed, feeling herself salivate at the mention of the meal. She let herself be led by Emi into the main dining room. It was a very comfortable space with scattered tables and booths, all with dark wood and red upholstery. The walls and pillars of the room were also made of naturally dark woods. Along one long wall was the bar and the doors into the kitchen. At the moment it was completely empty. After sitting at a barstool and nodding to Jenna, the bartender, Emi disappeared into the kitchen. Claire had already gone back to getting things ready for the day.

The food didn’t take long to make so only moments later she was slurping down the delicious soup and savoring every bite of the sandwich. Despite her young age, Emi was well on her way to becoming a first-class cook. Starting about a year ago, every meal that Isana ate at the hotel had been made by the girl, and each time it only got better. There had of course been the occasional miss or flop, but Emi always wanted to learn something new. When it became time, Isana had no doubts that Emi would take over the hotel and it would run better than ever.

“So, how is it?” Emi said, watching intently from her perch on the next stool. Isana knew her opinion carried great weight, so she made sure she knew her answer.

“The soup is great,” Isana said with complete honesty. “The cheese is perfect and the broccoli is nice and soft. Did you bake the bread for the sandwich?”

“No,” Emi held up her small hands. “I’m not strong enough to knead the dough. I get tired or cramped too soon.”

“But you made the rest of it?”

“Yep!” Emi was practically glowing from the accomplishment. “I made a whole batch of the soup last night, so there’s plenty more if you want it.”

“No, I think I’m good,” Isana smiled and patted her belly. “Unlike you, this is as tall as I’m getting, and I have no desire to become any rounder. Plus, I’d have to work for any more than this, and your mom had that look in her eye today that says that wouldn’t be any fun.”

Isana idly picked up a pristinely white linen napkin that sat at the seat next to her. When she saw Emi watching her still, she grinned and pulled a little magic together. While most witches and magic users in general needed spell words, arias, or incantations to make magic work, Isana had always been able to manipulate it with only her will. Now she crumpled the napkin inside one hand and then clapped it together with the other. Weaving the magic tighter, she locked onto Emi’s eyes for a moment and gestured towards her hands with her head. Emi’s eyes widened with delight.

Following the silent instruction, Emi reached out a hand and Isana lifted her hands apart just a crack. Emi’s little fingers probed inside and Isana’s smile widened when she heard the girl’s gasp.  When Emi pulled her hand back she had a long green stem between two fingers. When she felt it was right, Isana parted and withdrew her hands completely and Emi was left holding a real white chrysanthemum.

“Cool,” Emi breathed out, marveling at the flower in her hands.

“Isana! How many times must I tell you that my supplies are not for you to be magicing with?” Claire was striding into the room as both Isana and the woman’s daughter turned toward the doorway. Behind the stern-faced Claire were two women. One was a tallish redhead with short cropped hair, in her late twenties or so. Her partner was at least a decade older, a petite brunette. She held a finger-thick folder. Both were dressed professionally. Behind them walked a man that Isana knew well, the Willis town councilman Tony Reffit. He was an older, balding man with many laugh lines on his face. Neither of the women seemed surprised by her appearance, so Isana assumed Claire must have warned them.

“I can change it back,” Isana said, trying to reassure her friend.

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Claire sighed. “I can still remember that little mess you made at Emi’s birthday party three months ago. It took hours to round up all those little birds.”

“They were so pretty, though!” Emi giggled, ignoring the slightly cross look her mother passed her way. She raised the flower back up. “I like the flower, but we need the napkin more.”

“See? Emi is most definitely your daughter,” Isana replied jovially. She took the flower, held it by the end of the stem, and flicked her wrist. In the next instant the napkin drooped back down and then Emi expertly folded it and put it back in its place. Isana then stood to her full, unimpressive height and acknowledged the others with an inclination of her head.

“Good afternoon,” she said in polite greeting. “I hear that you have a need to speak to me?”

“Yes, we do indeed,” smiled the older of the women. Her voice sounded dreadfully tired. “I am Councilwoman Rebecca, and my companion is Maya Detwiler, the current head of the Arbor Coven of Magic, which is the body that governs the magic users in our city under the oversight of the Council. Would you be willing to join us at a table so that we can sit and discuss something?”

“Sure,” Isana responded amiably. “I’ve already eaten so feel free to order something. I won’t think it to be rude.”

“Thank god!” Councilman Reffit chuckled as Claire cleared a circular table in the center of the room near one of the support pillars.  The table had four ladder-back chairs with comfortable wine-colored cushions on the seats. A matching tablecloth draped low and on it were clear glass salt and pepper shakers. At each place were more of the linen napkins, except these were black. Isana allowed the others to be seated first, then took her place and tucked her tail between the chair slats.

“What can I get you?” Claire asked in renewed perkiness. Isana’s friend loved running the hotel and restaurant, and it showed in her manner.

“That soup smelled wonderful,” Reffit smiled. “I’ll have a large bowl of it and some bread.”

“I’ll have a plate of the spaghetti.” Detwiler said, speaking for the first time. Her voice had a clipped harshness to it, yet it didn’t seem at all unkind. “Is the sauce very meaty?”

“It can be,” Claire shrugged. “We’re more than happy to make it the way you like it.”

“Oh!” Detwiler thought for a moment. “Then I’ll have it thick with some garlic toast on the side.”

“I’ll have what she had,” Rebecca smiled, pointing toward Isana. “She seemed to like it a great deal.”

“That’s because Emi made it,” Isana grinned, speaking loud enough for the girl to hear the compliment and giggle happily on her stool. “Got any pie, Claire?”

“When don’t we have pie when you’re here?” Claire laughed. “I’ll have all your food out to you in a bit.”

“Well, while we’re waiting for the food, can you tell me how I can help you?” Isana asked pleasantly. She saw that Maya was watching her twitching tail curiously.

Rebecca grimaced. “It’s a complicated matter that we wish we could deal with ourselves. Unfortunately, current events have forced us to seek outside help. When we made inquiries, Councilmen Reffit responded to us and let us know to approach you with this.”

“I see,” Isana responded pleasantly. “But that doesn’t tell me much.”

“No,” Rebecca agreed. “But have you heard of the unrest that has been building in our city?”

“Only a little,” Isana admitted. “I confess that I haven’t given much attention to the rumors of events outside of Willis lately.”

“Well, unfortunately ‘unrest’ is now an understatement for what is going on back home,” the older woman said in a sour, displeased tone. “The main problem is an explosively growing dislike and outright hatred towards non-humans and magic users in general. We don’t know what or who is fueling this, and there haven’t been any signs indicating it will settle down.”

“But you guys have many times more of both than we do,” Isana said, feeling shocked. “Hell, I think I might be one of the few trained magic users in Willis. I know the MDU boys have a decent punch, but most of the others are just folks with one-trick talents or self-taught things.”

“That does about sum things up,” Reffit confirmed. “There are one or two others, maybe.”

“Yes, and that is all part of what we want to discuss,” Detwiler nodded.

“What she means,” Rebecca continued, “is that we would like to help add to your local talent pool while also doing a great humanitarian service.”

“That sounds a bit ominous,” Isana frowned.

“I suppose it was,” Rebecca replied, not smiling at all. “That is because we want to ask a great deal of you. Because of our social problems, we have another new one as a result. That problem has to do with three young girls.”

“How are these girls a problem?” Isana asked. “What have they done?”

“Nothing,” Rebecca said with a sad smile. “The problem lies in the fact that none of them are human and two of them visibly so. This is further exacerbated because two of those are natural witches…” Isana winced mentally at that. “…and the third has innate magical abilities. All three have been living in an orphanage in Arbor, but now there’s a lot of stink rising up about them. For some reason the mob had focused a large amount of their hatred on them.”

“That… that’s so flipping stupid!” Isana hissed, bearing her teeth in a very feline manner.

“It is,” Rebecca agreed, showing her own displeasure. “But also unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to keep the crime down and also post constant guards to keep the girls safe when the other kids around them are starting to pick up on the hatred of the adults.  There have already been several incidents.”

“Kids can be crueler sometimes when they ape their elders,” Isana said. “I’m guessing that you’d like to move them here?”

“That’s exactly what we want to do,” Rebecca agreed readily.  “But specifically we’d like you to take them in.”

“Me!” Isana jerked upright in her chair. She could feel her upper cat ears twitching along with her tail from her growing agitation.

“Yes, you,” Reffit answered amiably. “Isana, you just said it yourself. You are the only true magic user in this town, and like you, two of these girls are natural witches. You are the only one who can train them and show them how to use their magic safely, and we see no reason to separate them from each other. Also, you live in that great big house out in the forest by yourself. Doesn’t that get lonely?”

“I like having my solitude and peace,” Isana retorted confusedly, not knowing what to object to first. Her voice notched up higher in panic. “Why couldn’t we just make it like school or something? The girls could live with someone else and I can teach them there.”

“Isana,” Maya said in a soothing tone. “I too am a witch, just like you. So I ask this: how did you learn your magic?”

Grimacing in reluctance, Isana answered. “I lived with the woman who raised me, and at the same time I was her apprentice. I lived and learned from her until she died five years ago.”

“I learned the same way, through a live-in apprenticeship,” Maya agreed knowingly. “Learning magic means living with it and constantly being around a master. One of these girls has already had her magic awaken, and it is causing her a great deal of stress and unpleasantness.”

“But I am not a mother figure,” Isana argued. “Wouldn’t you want someone a little older? You know what inevitably happens when witches live together.”

“We do,” Maya agreed again, this time with a wide smile. “But we’ve been told that you have never done anything to harm anyone who doesn’t try to harm you, and you’ve always been kind and generous. We all agree that you are the perfect person. We trust you implicitly.”

“You’ve always been great with kids!” Claire added as she walked over with a tray filled with food. Isana’s nose and eyes quickly found the generous slice of blueberry pie topped with a sizable scoop of ice cream. Claire gave her a knowing smirk, then passed her the pie last. “Isana, you’ve always been willing to watch other peoples’ kids before. I know I’d trust you with Emi in a heartbeat, and she loves you so much.”

“Yeah!” Emi cheered, obviously still listening in.

“Thanks, Emi,” Isana smiled wryly. Then, after relishing a mouthful of pie, she addressed the visitors. “There’s no other option?”

“None that wouldn’t carry a far higher price and would force us to split the girls up, which would be painfully disruptive to them.  You have both the ability and the resources to make this possible.”

Isana frowned unhappily under the hopeful looks from the visitors from Arbor, the Willis Councilman and even Claire and Emi. She felt like she was being emotionally and morally blackmailed. But she also couldn’t fault them for coming to the conclusion they had.  Her home was indeed a very large one, with many empty bedrooms, and her own gardens produced more than enough produce to feed at least half a dozen people. But she didn’t like the idea of taking on such a substantial commitment out of nowhere.

Her adult life so far had mostly been one of easy living and freedom. She’d never before been fully responsible for the lives of others, especially young people. The thought of having kids herself was something she had seen as far into her future. Now she was looking at three girls who would depend on her for almost everything. It frightened her more than anything had in years.

“Isana, you can’t tell me to my face that you aren’t lonely,” Claire said, smiling. “Every time something calls you into town, you come speeding in as fast as you can. Then you spend as long a time as possible here before you head back. Emi and I love when you visit, you know that, but with these girls, you can have your own family. It would be both a challenge and a joy, I think.”

“Hmmm,” Isana propped her head into her hands and really thought about it. Her eyes strayed over towards Emi, and the girl gave her an eager thumbs-up gesture. That enthusiasm made her snort a laugh. If Emi approved, how could she not?

Sighing deeply, Isana ate a few more bites of the wonderful pie before saying another word. If she was going to possibly doom herself, she wanted to at least enjoy dessert first. She knew the others were watching her closely the entire time. Then Claire cracked a happy grin.

“You’re being stubborn, Isana,” she laughed jubilantly.

“I just think there has to be a better alternative,” Isana insisted, trying not to let her friend get so much satisfaction out of this. Then she nodded her head towards the other two women. “I suppose, if this is the best way, then I will agree to do this for the girls and take them in. You sure there’s no alternative?”

“Not without major sacrifices, like we said,” Rebecca answered, smiling widely. “Thank you so much for doing this. They really are wonderful girls.”

“I guess that’s some comfort,” Isana said, smiling in resignation and defeat. She really was a sucker for charity. Her brain was already whirling with thoughts on everything she’d have to change and do. It was a lot. “When were you planning on bringing them?”

Now Rebecca looked sheepish. “Well, we’d originally planned on having to wear you down over several days,” she said unapologetically. “But it seems that was unnecessary.”

Isana didn’t know how to respond to that, so she kept safely silent and Rebecca went on.

“I know their bags are already packed and ready to go, so how about we…” She gestured toward the door.

On to Chapter Two!