The group was still busy drinking together and doing their best to lighten Alex’s wallet because he’s the one paying for everything after having tricked Sophia into a contest where she has to pay for everything if she gets drunk before Chloe does. Little did he know that the tiger was just as unable to get drunk as the fox-girl. Although, even though they cannot get physically drunk, their cheery and talkative mood was just as hard to handle.
A couple of hours had passed since Sophia was pestering the wolves about having little pups because she wanted to cuddle with them. Unfortunately, the result was that they won't have any kids before she didn't have any with Maya, either. Thanks to that, the topic was put on hold for the time being. As it was already far into the night, and how it wasn’t the first night the wolves had spent in the bar, they were a little exhausted. It definitely had nothing to do with Fen being tired from dealing with the tiger. Thanks to that, they turned in soon after. Luckily, Chloe had offered them to sleep at her place, and the two did just that.
“Am I… allowed to give up now…?” Alex was still drinking with the girls when he eventually looked at Sophia with a defeated expression. “The two of you will ruin me…” He also glanced at Chloe this time.
“Hmm…” The tiger stared at him for a few moments. “Have you learned your lesson about tricking girls into giving you free drinks?”
"YES!" He vigorously nodded a couple of times. "I won't ever do it again!"
"Sounds good." She started smiling. "Mark! One last bottle of the good stuff, and we're done for the night!"
"Already? Aww…" Apparently, the black-haired fox-man wasn't a fan of the decision as he got closer to their table.
“Would you cut me some slack already?!” Alex didn’t like his reaction.
“Hehe, you’re cute when you’re upset.” It had a different effect on him.
“He sure is.” Sophia and Chloe agreed with Mark.
“Give me the bottle!” Saying so, he grabbed the bottle and downed it in one go. “Good night!” The brown-haired fox didn’t want to deal with them anymore, and he simply put his head face-down on the table.
“Should I bring you another bottle?”
“Nah, it’s fine.” The blonde shook her head. “Where’s the fun in that if Alex doesn’t see it? Also, while the alcohol itself doesn’t work on me, all the liquid does… I'm tired of hitting the restroom so often…"
“Yes!” Chloe, having had the same issue, wholeheartedly agreed with her.
“I’m good, too. Other than those two, I’m feeling the alcohol, and I’m good with feeling a little tipsy only.”
“I see.” Mark nodded. "Well, you already racked up quite the bill, so Alex will be happy about that, too, once he wakes up again."
“Will he really?” Sophia had some slight doubts about his claims.
“Very unlikely.” He reconsidered while shaking his head. “Well, it’s his own fault, so all’s fine~.” While saying so, he put his hands on Alex's shoulders, making sure he was okay.
"I'm a real fan of your relationship~!" Sophia was having a good time. "A bit of bickering and some teasing are always fun. After all, I know what I'm talking about because I'm dating the sassiest cat in existence."
“Hehe.” Maya liked this a lot.
“Happy to hear!” Mark did, too. “Well then, feel free to stay longer. Though, we’ll be closing in around an hour, so be prepared for that.”
“Okay!”
Afterward, once the three girls were on their own, they decided to spend the remaining time chatting normally with each other.
----------------
“Yay~.” While the girls were on their own, Sophia got really cheerful. In theory, Alex was still with them, but he had passed out after drinking the last bottle of alcohol in one go. “I now can say that I have an elven treehouse surrounded by nature~!”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“It’s the best, isn’t it?!” Chloe sounded just as happy. “I also got super excited when I was able to cross that off my list! I mean, it never actually was on my list because I didn’t think this would ever happen, but still!”
“Absolutely!” The tiger gave her a big nod.
“Is it really…?” Maya was a little more dubious. “I mean, sure, it is pretty cool, but… For me, a mansion in the capital sounds way cooler. Our mansion, you know?” She stared at the blonde. “Way comfier, too. Also, super toasty warm~.”
"A-Ah…” Sophia scratched her cheek. “Yeah, that’s also very nice. It sounds a lot less exciting when you talk about it, though…”
“I don’t know.” The fox-girl tilted her head. "A mansion sounds extremely cool if you ask me!”
“Thank you very much!” Maya was happy to have an ally.
“More than an elven treehouse?”
“Uhh…” Chloe wasn’t so sure about it anymore. “Both. Both are good.”
“Fair enough…” Sophia couldn’t say much here.
“I would love to see it, too!” The fox-girl was as excited as ever. “I’ve never seen an actual mansion from the inside!”
“Feel free to visit any time you want~.” The tiger smiled at her. “Though, it’s one of the smaller mansions in the area, so don’t get too hyped.”
“Aren’t even smaller mansions still massive? How many rooms does it have?”
“Err…” The blonde looked at Maya. “How many rooms do we have again?”
“If you can’t even remember how many rooms there are, there’s no way you could call it small!” Chloe got a little loud.
"I never said it was small… After all, I was the most shocked one when I first saw it! I just meant that it’s smaller than some others in the area.”
“Oh, that makes more sense.”
“We definitely have more than enough rooms, that’s for sure. Feel free to take one to stay in when you’re in the capital~.”
“Really?!” Her eyes started to sparkle after hearing Sophia’s suggestion. “That sounds like a ton of fun!”
“I look forward to it~.”
“Me, too!” Chloe agreed with the tiger. “Still, the capital is so far from here that I haven’t been there a while. Riding on Feyfey got us there in no time at all, but going there by carriage with some of the other foxes here, it takes a whole day for a one-way trip only…”
“That sounds like a gigantic hassle…”
“Yes!” She nodded. “Also, carriages are so very uncomfy!” The fox-girl got loud. “My butt gets all tingly and numb just thinking about it!”
“Tell me about it!” Hearing that, the blonde remembered the ride towards Talaga, the city the humans tried to attack quite a while ago, and how she had to bear with riding in a rocky and uncomfortable carriage for a long time.
“Yes…” Chloe hung her head. “That’s why it’s been a while since I visited the capital. Actually, the last time was when I saw the two of you walking around with princess Ellie.”
“Oh, that already has been a couple of weeks, hasn’t it?” Sophia looked at Maya.
“Yes.” She nodded. "That was last month, way before my birthday." While saying so, the cat-girl remembered the day and the sleepover that happened afterward. Soon after, a gentle smile appeared on her lips. “How did it, uhh… actually seem to outsiders when we walked around with Ellie…?"
“Incredibly adorable!” The pink-haired girl didn’t hesitate for a moment with her answer. “I would’ve loved to... have someone preserve the scene for everyone to see! I wouldn’t necessarily go as far as calling what I saw a lovely mothers and daughter scene as the two of you look too young to have a daughter at that age. Still, it didn't feel like sisters, either. Definitely the lovely type of a happy family, though. It doesn't make much sense, but that's how I saw it. It will be hard to top that scene with your own actual daughter whenever that happens."
“Ehehe~.” Sophia liked everything about her explanation. “Also, if I have one talent, it’s surpassing expectations with even more ridiculous stuff. I am 1000% sure that I’ll be able to top it!”
“Great! I’ll be expecting big things, then!” The fox-girl smiled at her. “Looking at something adorable is the best, after all!”
“I-I really shouldn’t have asked…” While the duo was having fun, a slight blush had appeared on Maya’s cheeks. “I know that I’m the one I asked, and I’m happy to hear it, but… but… It’s kinda really embarrassing…” As usual, when it came to kids, the cool surface of the cat-girl took quite a beating.
“Your girlfriend is adorable.” Chloe wasn’t sure what else to say while she looked at Sophia.
“The cutest!”
“Urgh…” Maya didn’t like anything about their exchange. “I’m tired… Ah, speaking of which, where are we going to sleep…? Okay, morning isn’t that far away anymore, but I’d still get some hours… In the first place, why are you still so hyper, Sophia?”
“I’m having fun!” The blonde got even more cheery. “I forgot to get tired!”
“Are you five?!” The cat-girl raised her voice.
“Occasionally, yes.” She just rolled with it. "In my heart, at least!"
“…”
“If that’s okay with the two of you, you can also sleep at my place.” Chloe looked at them. “I actually have an unused guestroom. The bed's a little small in there, but I somehow doubt the lovey-dovey couple here would care about that overly much.”
“I do care!” Sophia got loud. “I care a lot!”
“Really…?” She wasn’t expecting that.
“Yes!” The tiger nodded a couple of times. “You should’ve said so earlier! I suddenly feel very tired, and a bed sounds lovely right about now!”
“Ahh… That way of caring about it, I see.”
“Yes!”
Having decided on a plan for the rest of the night, the girls eventually left the bar and went back to Chloe’s place once again. The wolves were already all huddled up in the living room there. The couple then occupied the guest room of the fox-girl, and everyone eventually headed to bed.