Sophia, Maya, and Chloe went to the bar in the village where the wolves were drinking with a fox-man called Alex. Sophia had business with all of them, but as Fen had no answers as to why Chloe could use chantless magic even though she shouldn't be able to, either, they had to postpone the issue to the next visit of Canir to get an explanation. Afterward, she changed her attention to Alex, who supposedly is in charge of the houses in the village.
“Alex!” With a slightly raised voice, the blonde faced him.
“Yes!” Equally loud, he looked back at her. “What can I do for you?”
“First, those drinks are delicious!” She emptied the glass in front of her before continuing. “Please make sure that I get a lot of them throughout the night!”
“My, I like you even more now.” He enjoyed her attitude. “Sure thing!”
“Great!” The tiger looked happy. “Secondly, Chloe told me that you manage this village?”
“Hmm… I wouldn’t go that far, but I, together with a few others, take care of the infrastructure here and make sure that everything in this village stays in top condition."
“Houses included, right?” That was of biggest interest for Sophia, after all.
“Sure do.” He nodded. “That’s why you have to go through me if you want a house here~.” Alex tried to sound a little intimidating. “Even if it’s just a stupid treehouse.”
“Hey!” Chloe and the tiger got loud. “They’re awesome!”
“Sure, sure~.” He rolled his eyes. "Well, they are quite spacious, and the view's nice, too. Even so, it's hard to get in them, especially if you're carrying something. They're cold, too. Unless you're a cute ball of fluff that loves the cold for some weird reason, normal foxes like to be warm and comfy.” He glanced at Chloe a couple of times while saying so.
“…” There was little she could say here. Being slightly happy for being called cute didn't make it any easier for her, either.
“I’m not too familiar with tigers, but…” Alex changed his attention to Sophia again. “If they’re even a little like cats, wouldn’t you hate the cold, too?”
“I LOATHE it.” She gave him a strong reply. “I love the idea of owning an elven treehouse, though.”
“Why…?” He only tilted his head.
"Because I can then say that I own an elven treehouse, of course!"
“Exactly!” Chloe sided with her.
“Again… why?” This reasoning wasn’t helping him understand it.
"Explaining that would be extremely complicated, and it would take a couple of days."
“Thanks, I’m good.” Alex shook his head.
“You said the same thing when I offered to explain it!” The pink-haired girl suddenly started pouting.
“Well, and I told you that I don’t need to know that time! Especially not if it’s going to take days! If I just call the two of you weird, it will save all of us a lot of time."
“Exactly.” Fen, Aura, and Maya agreed with him.
“Hey!” Chloe and Sophia didn’t.
“It’s not wrong to be weird.” He smiled at the two. “It’s a lot more fun, after all. Anyway, if a tiger is like a cat, why do you want to have a cold home? Ignoring the elven treehouse is romance story or whatever you’re going to call it.”
“That’s the whole reason, though.” Sophia only tilted her head. “Also, while I can’t seem to ever understand it, I’m quite good and creative at using magic. I have my ways of using it to make a place all warm and comfy.”
“Aren’t you a handy one?” Alex sounded impressed. “Also, that sounds lovely. How about you give up on the treehouse and stay with us instead?” He glanced towards the bar counter. “I’d like for our place to get warmer.”
"Hehe." The tiger let out a small chuckle. "No can do. I want a treehouse. Also, I need a place where I can cuddle with Maya on my own~.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“I support this plan.” The cat-girl nodded a few times.
“Fair enough.” He couldn’t blame her.
“Well, I could take a look at your house and see if I can improve the heating there.” The blonde stared at the fox-man. "A little hint, I am 100% sure I can.”
“Why do I hear a but in your voice?”
“Because there is one~.” She looked a little sassy. “I’d need to have a place to stay here so that I can store some things I need for that.” It wasn't the case at all, but Alex didn't need to know that.
“My, aren’t you a shrewd one?”
“Yep.”
“Honest, too. You really are a good girl.”
“Ehehe.” Sophia was becoming a real fan of Alex. “So?”
“Let’s see… Origin aside, this village has turned into a place for the fox beastfolk, so letting a tiger, a cat, and two wolves join… Well, I like all of you, so… Okay, how about a little challenge?” He suddenly showed her a slight grin.
“Oh?”
"How about we drink till morning, and if I cave in before you, I’ll let you stay.” He just wanted to have a fun night in the end.
“Are you really challenging me to drink you under the table?” Sophia tilted her head.
“Yep.” His grin increased. "Fun fact, only one bested me so far." Alex quickly glanced at the pink-haired girl. "Oh, how about that? We don’t own the houses as the elves built them, but we maintain and repair them to keep them pristine. That's why we don't sell them, but rather collect money every month from the villagers to keep it like that. Basically, like rent. If you manage to beat Chloe in our little contest as well, I'll let you live rent-free in a treehouse of your choice."
“Come on, that’s unfair, Alex!” The fox-girl started protesting.
“Pshh.” He put a finger on his lip before looking at Sophia again. “Heck, if you’re the last one standing, I will even pay for everything we drank tonight. If not, you’re paying, girly.”
"Hmm…" The tiger thought about it for a while before her own grin turned even wider than his. "Sounds like fun!" She held out her hand. "We have a deal!"
“Perfect!” He quickly shook Sophia’s hand before Chloe could protest any further. “Deal!”
“This is going to be a long night…” Maya and the wolves let out a long sigh.
“Mark!” Alex suddenly yelled through the entire bar. “We have a contest over here! We need a ton of alcohol!”
“Sure thing~!” He yelled back with a big smile on his face. “Business sure is booming lately!”
“Mark!” Sophia yelled in the same direction.
“What can I do for you?”
"Only the tastiest, strongest, and most expensive alcohol, please!"
"My, I don't know you yet, but I already love you, my dear tiger~!" The smile of the black-haired fox increased even more while he started preparing a tablet filled with various bottles and glasses.
“S-Sophia…” Chloe looked slightly panicky. “That was a mistake, I think…”
“Why?”
“Alex can really hold his liquor.”
"So can I. Don't worry about me~." The blonde gave her a cheerful reply.
“Also,” She paused for a moment. “I’m immune to alcohol… I don’t know why, but it doesn’t work on me…”
“Is that so?”
“Heh.” Alex looked incredibly smug. “I got ya~.”
“Hmm…” Sophia didn’t say anything for a moment.
“That’s why, even if you’re able to beat Alex, please give up after that…” Chloe looked at her. “I don’t want you to spend so much money on something you can’t win.”
“How can one be so sweet…?” The blonde was touched. “Also, I really love how similar we are.”
“Hmm?” She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
"You see~," Sophia looked incredibly smug while facing Alex. “While you forgot to tell me that your challenge is a little rigged, I did, too. I kinda forgot to tell you that I am, too, immune to alcohol. I can drink as much as I want without any sorts of side effects~.” Canir’s temporary boost from before aside, the tiger’s poison resistance takes care of everything. “Fun fact; I will drink as much as I want. We have to celebrate my new elven treehouse home, after all. Also, free alcohol tastes twice as good as the one you have to pay for yourself, so I have no reason to hold back.”
“R-Really…?” Alex's face had turned completely white.
“Yup.” The tiger showed him her biggest smile.
“Oh…”
“Is that really the case?” Chloe sounded a lot livelier than her fellow fox. “I’ve never met anyone that is immune to it, as well!”
“Yeah.” The blonde nodded. "It can be a little boring at times, but never getting hungover or doing stupid things is a definite plus in my books."
“That is true…” The fox-girl agreed. “I’d still like to experience it at least once, though. "Most drinks are really delicious, and I'm having a great time just enjoying the mood, but I always feel like something's missing… I have never experienced being drunk, and it could actually be awful for all I know, but I still would like to try it somehow…"
“Fair point.” Sophia, knowing what it is like, had a somewhat complicated expression. "Well, seeing how Fennyfenny acts the day after, I'm not sure if I can recommend it.”
“Yes!” Chloe nodded a few times. “I still remember how Alex challenged Feyfey, and both seemed to be in so much pain the day after before I had to apply healing magic on both."
“Urgh… Don’t remind me of that…” The fox in question held his head just remembering it.
“Don’t worry, my dear Alex.” The tiger's voice was dripping with sass again. "You'll be feeling much worse than that tomorrow."
“Cat, please do something about that!” He pointed at the blonde while looking at Maya with a desperate expression.
"No can do." Maya was also smiling broadly. "I think I fell in love with her even more right now." He had asked the wrong S-cat for help.
"My, what a lively table we have here." Suddenly, the black-haired fox-man called Mark appeared next to the group while holding a huge table filled with various kinds of alcohol. "Have fun, everyone. I'll be back once it's empty."
“Thank you!” Sophia showed him an entirely genuine smile.
"Also," He then looked at his partner, who was holding his head in desperation. "Alex, go easy on our lovely tiger. She's new here, and we want to warmly welcome her, right? Let her win this competition, okay?” It was pretty clear that he hadn’t heard what was going on just moments ago.
“S-Sure…” He only hung his head even more.
Afterward, everyone, though one of them rather reluctantly, grabbed a drink and gave a toast to what seemed to be the start of a very long and expensive night.