I moan pitifully as the pounding in my head increases ten fold as I sit up on the edge of the bed. The rush of blood that follows nearly causes me to fall back over, and I lean forward while clutching my head.
My stomach immediately protests this maneuver and I have to fight the urge to throw up what little food I had for breakfast. Shiva is keeping quiet for my sake but I can feel her presence push onto me slightly as if she is trying to reassure me that she is still here.
The door creaks open and I look up and catch Iris sliding into the room. She is carrying a tray in front of her but from my angle I can't see what is on it. “How are you feeling?” she asks me softly as she approaches me.
“Like all of my teeth are being pulled and growing back at the same time,” I whine, “Other than it is at the top of my head instead of my jaw.”
There is a slight rattle as she sets the tray down, and after a moment the bed sinks slightly but before I can go far I feel Iris press herself next to me to support me. I throw her a glance underneath my arm and she readjusts and reaches over to the tray.
“Drink this,” She whispers and offers me a teacup.
I straighten up, take it and try to not smell or taste the awful concoction as I quickly drink it and pass the cup back to her. She takes it and offers me another cup, this time full of tea. I take it and drink it slowly to wash away the bitter after taste in my mouth.
“You should eat something as well,” She tells me as she rearranges and pulls a bowl of soup off of the tray.
I look over to her and she clearly looks concerned as she offers me the bowl and I look down at it. I sigh as I take it from her and start to slowly eat it. She just quietly sits next to me and gently rubs my thigh.
After maybe half of the bowl I don't feel like eating anymore so I pass the bowl back to her, and she takes it without trying to force me to eat more. She throws me a sidelong glance as she places it back on the tray and she asks me, “Do you want me to rub your back for a bit?”
I lightly shake my head after a moment of deliberation, “I don't want to lay on my belly right now.”
She nods her head and twists back around to look at me. She leans in and kisses me gently before she slowly gets off the bed and says, “If you need anything don't hesitate to call for me.” The warmth of her lips lingers for a moment as she straightens up.
I nod my head and she smiles at me before she gathers up the tray and walks back towards the door. She glances back one last time before she walks out into the hallway and mostly closes the door behind her.
I look around the room as I try to figure out if I actually want to do anything or just try and sleep. “A bath might make me feel better,” I sigh.
“How are you doing honey?” Shiva asks me in the motherly tone she always uses when I am ill.
“Going to take a bath,” I tell her as the more I think about it the more I want one.
“Don't push yourself to hard,” she responds to me and I nod my head.
I stand up and stagger forward towards the door. I start to pull my shirt over my head and I stumble into the wall with a thud but it at least keeps me from hitting the floor. I toss my shirt to the side and step out into the hall where I practically run into a panicked looking Iris.
“D-did you fall?” she examines me up and down, “I heard something that sounded like a fall.”
“Bounced off of a wall,” I yawn and squint my eyes against the light.
“Are you okay?” She gently probes at the bandage on my shoulder. I nod and start to walk down the hall, and she moves over to my side and supports me, “And where are you going naked?”
“The bath,” I yawn again feeling more exhausted than I should, “I'm sleepy though.”
“It is probably the medicine,” Iris explains, “But you can still take a bath if you want.”
I nod my head again and she continues to lead me into the bathroom. She walks me over to the bath and I crawl over the edge as she starts to draw warm water into the tub. She looks down at me as I lay against the cold side of the tub as I wait for the water to rise.
“I'm going to go grab a couple of things,” she says softly, “and I am going to leave the door open. Holler if you need anything.”
“Thank you,” I nod my head and then close my eyes as she starts to move towards the hallway.
There isn't any sound in the room other than water slowly filling the tub and I sigh as it starts to reach the top of my legs. After a minute or so I hear a slight shuffling and I tilt my head slightly to look at the source of the noise.
Fiona is hiding around the edge of the privacy screen watching me from a distance. “She is concerned about you as well,” Shiva whispers in my ear.
Not even a minute later she hurries off leaving only the soft sound of her feet running on the floor, and I have to fight the urge to close my eyes and go to sleep right here as warm water slowly surrounds me.
There is more of a commotion at the door, but it is also somebody clearly trying to keep quiet as well so I glance over. Iris is trying to maneuver a chair into the room past the screens. Her back is to me as she tries to turn the chair in several directions to fit it through the relatively small gap, and her butt wiggles back and forth cutely as she struggles.
“Enjoying the view,” Shiva asks teasingly.
“She has some cute habits,” I yawn as Iris manages to finally get the chair into the room. She starts to pull the chair over to the the tub and she positions it behind me. She pulls a few of her glass jars out of the bundle of cloth on the chair, and she opens them up before pouring a couple of drops into the water. A soft floral scent fills the bathroom and she sits down on the chair.
I roll my head to look at her as she adjusts herself. After a moment she leans forwards and looks down over me, “Do you want me to wash your hair?”
I shake my head immediately, “I really would rather not have my head rubbed at the moment.”
“That's okay for now,” She nods and reaches down, placing her hands on my shoulders. She begins to rub them in small tight circles and up the base of my neck slightly as well and she continues, “But you shouldn't wait for too long to wash it. I'll make sure to give you something for the pain beforehand.”
I sigh and nod my head as she continues to rub my shoulders.
After a bit I start to feel really sleepy so I drag myself out of the water with a sigh, and Iris immediately moves over and offers me her arm. I feel so fuzzy that I don't even bother arguing with her. I just take her arm as I step out of the tub and lean on her to stay upright.
She leads me over to the dressing area and I start to dry myself and she asks me, “Do you feel a bit better now?”
“Mm,” I nod my head slightly, before complaining a bit, “Use less of whatever you used to put me to sleep next time.”
“I'll give it some thought based on your condition,” She giggles lightly and takes my arm again as I continue to dry off and she starts to gently pull me towards the door. As we step out into the hallway she turns away from my room and starts to lead me down the hallway.
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“Nn?”
“It will be easier to take care of you if you are in my room,” she answers my questioning noise, and I don't feel up to arguing that the rooms are the same distance from the front of the house. She pulls me into her room, towards her bed where she pulls the blankets back, “Make sure that you rest plenty, and if you need anything call for me.”
I nod my head and she looks at me for a moment like she doesn't believe me for some reason. “Probably because you will do whatever you want to despite your condition,” Shiva quietly laughs, and Iris leans in, brings our lips together again for a moment, before she steps away from me.
She smiles at me before she walks out of the room and I lay down into her bed. Her blankets feel thinner than mine but there is a pleasing smell all round me as well and I yawn deeply as I struggle to stay awake.
There is a light pattering of feet approaching me and I turn and Fiona is standing at the edge of the bed with a large toothed comb. After a minute of silence she quietly says, “Y-you should brush your tails so they don't get tangled. D-do you w-want m-me to?”
“She is such a cutie,” Shiva sighs contentedly.
“Work from the tip to the base,” I instruct her as I yawn again and she nods her head and starts to climb into the bed and I roll back over. After a moment I can feel her separating my tails and then I can feel her put the brush into the fur near the end of my tail and gently pull it. “That's nice,” I mumble as she continues to gently work.
I notice a ball of warmth pressed up against me underneath my breasts, and when I look down I can see the tops of Fiona's brown ears, and the blanket is pulled down keeping her head uncovered. My head hurts less now as well but I still feel rather sleepy, especially with Fiona tucked in next to me so I don't even bother moving, but I can hear the crackle of the fireplace behind me.
“I-is it strange?” I hear Iris's voice through the open door.
“That you are in love with Lily?” Melodiana asks and I can feel myself blush.
“I-it is just that w-we are both women,” Iris responds after a few moments of silence, “My people aren't overly harsh about other races behaving that way but when it comes to one of our own there are some expectations-”
“Do those matter?” Melodiana asks and before receiving an answer she continues, “We pick our spouses based on strength. It doesn't matter who you are; as long as the both of you acknowledge each other. Isn't that what is important?”
“A bit skewed,” Shiva laughs lightly, “But I can understand her sentiment.”
“D-do you think Lily is strong? Ow-” Iris hisses lightly in pain, “What was that for?”
“Don't you get it?” Melodiana sighs, “It doesn't matter what other people think, make your decisions and follow your own gut.”
“S-shouldn't it be follow your heart?” I ask the door as I stare skeptically at it.
“Ever the romantic, but you do love those books” Shiva teases me and then laughs “I like follow you gut more though. Hearts are fickle, but instinct is quite reliable. So now that you've eavesdropped are you going to properly answer her?”
“S-she actually hasn't told me yet,” I yawn guiltily as I look down at Fiona again, “W-we've only shared kisses and slept next to each other.”
“I know that,” Shiva tells me, “I think that you should have a sit down with both of those girls. You can't just keep going on in this limbo forever.”
I shake my head and curl up tighter around Fiona and Shiva doesn't press the matter any farther. “So what do you want for dinner?” I hear Iris ask.
“Beef sounds good,” Melodiana responds nearly instantly and Shiva suppresses her laughter.
“At least she knows what she wants,” Shiva laughs and I can hear footsteps moving farther away. A moment later the door opens the rest of the way and I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. After a moment the edge of the bed sinks slightly and then I feel a light trailing touch on my cheek.
“Lily,” Iris whispers quietly and repeats her movement, and I give it a moment before I stir under her touch. I open my eyes and blink a bit and look up to Iris and she smiles at me, “How are you feeling?”
“Not as bad,” I find myself yawning, “Still a bit sleepy though.”
“That's good,” she murmurs lightly, and continues, “It has been a few hours so I am glad you were able to get some sleep. Are you feeling up for some dinner?”
“I'll consider it,” I tell her to appease her and she smiles gently again.
“Is the sky falling,” Shiva gasps in mock surprise, “This is a day that I thought I would never see.”
“I'll bring you something to wear,” Iris says, “And then start to prepare dinner.”
I nod my head and she leaves the room before returning relatively quickly. She walks over, drops a small bundle of clothes onto the edge of the bed, bends over and gently kisses the top of my head before leaving. I sit up and Fiona stirs and sits up as well before she yawns deeply.
“Hungry,” she informs me while looking around sleepily.
“Iris is starting dinner now,” I tell her and she nods her head, crawls out of bed and heads for the door. I sit up and pick up the bundle that turns out to be a single large grey button up blouse that is easily long enough to act as a dress for me.
“I think it is one of Iris's,” I mumble as I put my arms through the sleeves and pull it up my shoulders and it Indeed smells lightly like Iris does.
“I think she is letting you use it because you won't have to pull it over your head,” Shiva agrees with me, “And you don't have many shirts that button up.”
I nod my head slightly as I work upwards to close the shirt but there is no way for me to button it across my breasts so with a sigh I leave it partially undone as I stand up from the bed and move towards the door. As I step out into the hallway I bump into Leyla and after making sure that I'm not going to fall down she looks me up and down with a scrutinizing gaze but doesn't say anything and moves past me into her room.
My mind goes back to what I overheard and I have to wonder if she minds me more now. “I don't think so,” Shiva says reassuringly, “She never seemed to take your teasing too seriously, I think it is because Iris is her little sister.”
“I see,” I mumble and move towards the kitchen. I step in and Iris is standing with her back towards me. I don't see Fiona anywhere so I assume she is in the sitting room right now. Iris appears to be preparing a stew for dinner, so I just quietly sit down on a stool and wait.
She turns around after some time and looks over in my direction and blushes a bit, “Y-you should button the shirt all of the way up.”
“It's to tight,” I complain, “I wasn't able to close it enough to button it.”
“R-right,” she nods her head before turning back to the range, and I prop myself up against the counter top as the smell of food slowly rouses my appetite. I catch her throw tiny glances in my direction every few minutes as well but I don't say anything to her about them.
Fiona runs into the kitchen and asks, “Can I go play with Tali tomorrow?”
Iris stops what she is doing and kneels down in front of her and gently rubs her head and smiles, “We can go and see if Talia wants to play in the morning.”
“Okay,” Fiona quickly nods her head and her tail wags in a happy ark before she runs back out of the room and calls, “Meldy teach me more checkers.”
“She is quite excited,” Shiva giggles as I watch Iris resume cooking.
“I think we should be glad that she is so insistent on getting along with Talia,” I nod my head. I pause for a moment as Leyla goes past the kitchen door, and not much later Melodiana walks in and over towards the counter and picks up some berries.
She glances at me and sighs, “I suppose we should be grateful that you are at least half dressed today.”
I stick my tongue out at her and call back, “You enjoy the sight of my body.” She doesn't even bat an eye at me today and I cluck my tongue at her growing immunity to my teasing, and instead switch tactics, “Now run along Meldy, Fiona is waiting for you.”
She blushes slightly at Fiona's nickname for her before exiting the room. “I think it is a rather cute little name,” Shiva laughs.
Iris starts to giggle and I look over to her and she is watching me again and she asks, “Upset that you didn't get the reaction you wanted out of Melodiana?” I squint at her and she continues to giggle, “We were all likely to get used to you eventually.”
I raise an eyebrow at her, wondering if she knows I saw her glances. I roll my shoulders back and pull her shirt open revealing my breasts. She stops laughing as I clearly have her attention and I cup the bottom of one of my breasts and I start to gently knead and rub myself. I tug my hand forward while lifting at my breast and I let my grip loosen causing it to sway as it falls back down and I refocus to lightly play with my nipple.
I can feel my heart race as she watches me while blushing incredibly hard, and I shift after a moment and have to stop myself and I cover myself back up. Iris doesn't say anything and instead goes back to cooking.
“My, my,” Shiva whispers almost seductively in my ear, “Feeling quite bold today hmm?”
“I-it must be a fault of the medicine,” I stammer as embarrassment washes over me from my actions, and I groan, “Oh gods, what if Fiona happened to walk by?”
Shiva doesn't say anything and just laughs at me, and Iris blushes anytime our eyes meet for the rest of the night.