The couple met up with Ari and Anna because they all wanted to go shopping together. For the upcoming fall and winter season, together with Sophia and Maya going to wear a school uniform just like the duo when visiting the academy soon, everyone decided to get new legwear, among other things.

“Ohh, they really have gigantic variety.” The girls had entered a lingerie boutique Ari liked for their assortment of tights, and Sophia seemed to agree. Before focusing on them, though, the four ended up in a section with leggings. “So many colors!”

“Are you going with leggings now?” Maya glanced at the display before looking at her tiger.

“Hmm…” She tilted her head. “Probably not for the uniform. I think that might look a bit weird. I still need some other clothes for when the weather gets too cold, though.”

“Leggings beneath your shorts?” The cat-girl took a wild guess. “Combined with a sweater, that could be really cute and plenty warm.”

“Yeah, I like the sound of that.” The blonde could see herself wearing that but then looked at the leggings on display again. “I kinda would like something colorful, though… The red or purple leggings look really cute, but it would be hard to pull off a good combination with them…”

“True.” Maya nodded. “The purple might work with your shorts, but the red’s clearly out there.”

“I think it’s time for a completely new wardrobe…” She liked her shorts because they were easy to move in, but she had no real attachments beyond that to them. That part wasn’t important anyway right now because it’s getting colder, meaning they’d be traveling even less. Getting some clothes that aren’t as easy to move in might be an option now. “Opaque black tights work with my shorts, and if I combine my shirt with a jacket, I can get by for a while. I’ll think about what else to get~.”

“Yep. Though, I also feel like getting new clothes. Let’s go on a full shopping spree after my birthday, and the academy stuff has settled down a bit!” Maya added some tidbits to the blonde’s plan.

“Let’s do that!” She liked the idea. “What about the two of you?” Sophia then looked at Ari and Anna. “Is your fall and winter wardrobe already sorted out?”

“Not really, no…” The jaguar shook her head.

“No joke, I grew by about ten centimeters since the last winter… Nothing I had is going to fit me anymore…” The princess looked slightly dejected.

“On the plus side, you grew by ten centimeters, and it looks awesome.” Maya was a fan of her tall figure, after all.

“True.” Ari and Sophia heartily agreed.

“T-Thanks…” Anna felt slightly shy after hearing this from everyone, especially including her jaguar.

“Another shopping trip soon~?” The blonde was already looking forward to it.

“How about we finish this one first before planning the next one?” Ari tried to keep her in check.

“G-Good argument… Okay, to the tights, we go!” It hadn’t dampened her motivation much, if at all.

----------------

“I can really recommend this brand.” The jaguar showed her a couple of tights by the same company. “They hold noticeably longer than any other before they get a run or tear completely.”

“Is that so?” Sophia touched the tights that a mannequin above the display was wearing. “Oh, it feels really nice. High-quality, too.”

“You can even get the higher denier ones with a fleece lining that’s invisible from the outside. They mixed in a hint of skin color that slightly shows if you stretch the tights when kneeling down, for example. That makes them look like perfectly normal tights, but they’re sooo toasty! It’s amazing.” Ari apparently really liked them. “It makes them even more durable, as well.”

“A toasty fleece lining…?” Sophia thought about it. “Gimme!” She liked it, too.

“They’re those ones over here.” She pointed at the right side of the display. “They’re available from a 60 denier up to a 100.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Give me the 100er denier, please.”

“Err… I wouldn’t recommend them just yet.” Ari tried to stop her. “They’re super warm. The higher the denier, the more they’re lined, as well. I can guarantee that you’ll overheat with them. For early fall, I’d go with the 60er denier first.”

“Hrmn…” The blonde wasn’t convinced by that. “I want the 100er because they’re absolutely opaque, though…”

“60 is also opaque. I’m wearing 40er right now and, okay… I admit they are still a bit sheer…” She paused a moment, remembering what happened the other day.

“Ahaha…” Sophia let out an awkward laugh. “Sorry…”

“It’s fine…”

“It’s not!” Maya and especially Anna thought otherwise.

“Still, the jump from 40 to 60 is immense.” The jaguar simply ignored them. “Well, you could also go with unlined 80er to 100er denier tights instead. The 100er are about as warm as the 60er lined ones. It feels a bit less toasty, though, because the fleece is missing.”

“Not an option, then.”

“You’re such a pain…” The jaguar rolled her eyes.

“I know.” It wasn’t just Sophia that replied.

“Hey!” She was the only one who got loud afterward, though.

“That being said, any leg… or other places the 60er lined might show won’t be yours, anyway, because it’ll come from the colored fleece.”

“Tights that lie to someone… Not sure if I approve…” Maya had her own opinion on the colored lining.

“Yeah…” Anna had to agree.

“Shut up!” The duo didn’t want to hear any of that.

“It sounds like it’s worth a try.” Sophia grabbed a few sets of the lined 60er deniers in deep black in her size. “I might get some black panties for underneath to make sure, though.”

“There’s no real need for that because the lining makes them absolutely opaque without any transparency to your actual skin or other things whatsoever. Still, it has no demerits, either. That’s why, if it makes you feel safer, go for it.”

“Yes… I’m new to tights, and I look forward to them, but the whole skirt business makes me a bit uneasy, so I’ll do it my way for the time being.”

“That’s absolutely fair.”

“Dear tights master, may I humbly request your help, as well?” While Maya was used to overknees already, actual tights were also new to her, so she felt like asking an expert while she had one at hand.

“S-Sure…” Being addressed like that made her feel a little awkward, but Ari was still happy to be of help.

“Do you have a recommendation for white tights?”

“Hmm…” She tilted her head. “Personally, I’ve always worn black ones, so… Anna tried them out every now and then, but she’s super clumsy with them and tore most while putting them on for the first time… The only times they held up for a day was when I helped her into them…”

“Hey!” The princess started complaining. “I’m not clumsy!”

“Though she had the same issues with the black ones she tried.” Ari didn’t even feel like acknowledging her. “That’d mean they aren’t any more or less delicate.”

“Well, that’s good to know.” Maya nodded.

“Do you want lined ones or start with the regular kind?”

“Can you really say no to toasty legs?” She didn’t need to think about it.

“A good choice.” The jaguar nodded in agreement. “As the black ones are the best from the company I, and Sophia now, too, are using, I see no issue in recommending their snow-white series. The 60er denier lined ones in maybe a size larger than us because you’re taller.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Saying so, the cat-girl grabbed a few sets of just that. “Thanks to the lining, they’ll probably be fully opaque, too, huh?”

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t be. Then again, white is always a bit special when it comes to showing through. Does the packaging say anything about it?”

“Let’s see…” She looked at it and studied the text for a bit. “Truly opaque thanks to our warming fleece lining. You might see a bit of skin showing through when wearing our great heat-tech tights, but that comes from the flesh tone added to the inside to make the fleece lining invisible. Enjoy staying warm without sacrificing the great look normal tights give your legs.” Maya looked impressed. “Oho, sounds great.”

“Yeah, it also seems to be exactly the same as our black ones.”

“I look forward to toasty legs~.” The cat-girl already was a fan of it.

“Yes!” So were the other two.

“…” Anna felt a little left out.

“There’s still time to join the side of tights supremacy~.”

“How do you know they’re supreme?!” The princess stared at Sophia while she was teasing her. “You’ve never worn them before, haven’t you?!”

“Weren’t you listening? Fleece lining for extra warmth!”

“Urgh… Overknees are quite warm, too… They’re essentially long socks, after all.”

“Quite breezy around the thighs, though.” Maya knew what she was talking about.

“…” There was nothing she could say.

“The last tights you destroyed… tried, I mean… They were unlined, right?” Ari looked at her tiger. “The lined ones are quite new, after all.”

“Yeah, it’s been like three years since I last tried any…”

“As I said earlier, the lined ones are a lot more tear resistant thanks to the fleece. How about you give them another try?”

“You think so…?”

“Why not?” The jaguar smiled at her. “There’s not much too loose, is there? Even if it doesn’t work out, you can still go back to overknees.”

“Let’s get matching ones~.” Maya also encouraged her. “Those two are matching, so we have to do the same, right?!”

“That’s true!” Anna sounded motivated again.

“Is it…?” Ari and Sophia only tilted their heads.

“It is!”

“Sure…” As usual, the duos were in great sync.

“Okay! Let’s get some pairs to test!” Saying so, the princess grabbed the same tights as Maya did before. They were only a number larger because Anna’s quite the tall cat, after all.

Sophia and Maya quickly checked out some of the mannequins in the lingerie area of the lingerie store on the way to the cashiers and made a mental note for their own private shopping trip some other time before the girls paid for their new tights. Once they exited the store, the group thought about what else they could do together.