Amber Deen Leska

She's so delicate, Deen thought as she wiped Erind's narrow back.

The harsh light from her phone, contrasting with the oppressive darkness, made her best friend’s skin look eerie. Erind often joked that she might be a vampire because of her pale skin, and Deen could see that now. But rather than creepy or anything like that, Deen thought it had a beautiful fragility.

Like a porcelain doll, was what always came to mind whenever she observed Erind’s petite body and pale skin. Add in her best friend’s usually timid and reserved personality paired with her soft voice, and Deen couldn’t help but think of her as a doll that had come to life.

She hadn’t said that to Erind—she’d get a barrage of teasing in return and never hear the end of it. Or Erind might think that she was being creepy. She didn’t want that. For now, she was contented with admiring Erind’s body.

Gosh, I really sound creepy.

Erind’s back was now clean, slightly pinkish in places where Deen had scrubbed hard.

There weren’t really that many dirty spots in the first place, given that Erind had turned into Blanchette when she did most of her killing. Yet, Deen continued wiping, starting from the small of her best friend’s back and slowly going up.

Despite looking like a porcelain doll, Erind was physically and mentally strong. More so than Deen, even though I don’t want to admit that.

And so, Erind rarely displayed moments of weakness. Moments when she needed help and emotional support. Moments like this one now. Deen took advantage of this opportunity to show her best friend how much she cared.

Yes, she could tell Erind that she cared for her—and she had done so many, many times already. But there was a huge difference between words and actions. Deen wanted to physically make Erind feel that she deeply cared for her.

Through the fluffy towel, Deen felt the bumps on Erind’s spine as she traced the middle of her back. Inching to the sides, Deen could make out ridges that were the ribs flaring out from the spine. Moving further up, the angular edges of her shoulder blades easily showed beneath her skin.

Deen wondered, should I tell Erind to eat more? Would her best friend be offended by that?

Eating humans probably wouldn’t make Erind fat. It was her transformed self doing the eating.

Deen decided that she should give Erind more food; it wouldn't be too hard to convince her to eat. When it came to sweets, Erind was usually game to eat plenty of them. Sugar was unhealthy, but would that have any effect on an Adumbrae? Or maybe she should just let Erind be. Deen did like Erind looking like a porcelain doll—it made her want to protect her best friend more.

“Are you done?” Erind said.

"Oh, sorry. Am I taking too long?"

“I’m not being ungrateful or anything. It's just that it's getting pretty cold."

"Just finishing a few spots," Deen replied.

She stepped closer to Erind to shield her back from the desert air. She thought of pressing up against her to make her warmer, but that would dirty her back again. I could do that to make this whole thing longer, Deen thought. But she dissuaded herself from pranking Erind. Instead, she held her best friend's hand and raised it.

"I hope you're not thinking of tickling me again," Erind said, resisting her and pulling her arm back down.

"What? I'm wiping your side," said Deen, trying to pull Erind's right arm up again with her left hand. This time, Erind relented. With her right hand holding the towel, Deen held Erind's hip and wiped upward. "Remember, prior criminal activity is not admissible for like character or motive,"

"Aha! So, you admit you're a criminal for tickling my underarm!"

"No, I meant I'm not going to do it again just because I've done it before."

"I know what that evidence rule is about," Erind said, giggling. "But I'm still saying you're a criminal for doing it."

"Whatever. It was payback for last time. Now we're even." Deen had a huge smile on her face. Their banter entertained her. Having a best friend was truly different from all the superficial cliques she had before.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Most of her friends—it might be too much to say all—wanted to be close to her either because of her appearance or social standing, maybe both.

Erind didn’t care about any of that. Deen could feel Erind’s genuineness, especially when her best friend put her life on the line to save her. What transpired at Sanders Mall when an Adumbrae attacked them… Deen could never repay that, although she’d keep on trying.

"Last time?" Erind questioningly tilted her head. Her bunched-up hair bounced a bit.

"When I asked you to help me wipe my sweat after practicing martial arts?"

"I kinda remember that. Hmm… did I tickle you back then?"

"You did!” Deen squeezed Erind’s side. Feeling her ribs, she thought of buying a whole cake to feed Erind. Maybe two cakes. “Don’t pretend that you forgot about it. It's only fair that I did it to you now.”

“Eye for an eye, huh?”

“I think you also mentioned the Hammurabi Code that time too.”

Erind looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Deen. “I guess I did.”

Deen returned the gesture, sticking her tongue out too. Erind smiled and faced forward again.

Erind's becoming more comfortable with me. Deen couldn't explain the joy that filled her heart—it was like a cold and moody cat finally warming up to her, displaying her belly to show that she trusted her. Erind probably wouldn't appreciate that Deen momentarily thought of her as a shy pet. This was a good step forward in building their friendship.

She didn’t even need to hold up Erind’s hand anymore. Erind really did trust her that she wouldn't pull any more pranks. Deen's hand and towel went higher, and she reached the side of Erind's chest.

Erind flinched, maybe instinctively, but didn't say anything. She did hold her loose bra closer to her breasts.

Is she self-conscious about her breast size? Deen recalled that Erind would often joke about being flat when the topic of boobs came up.

There was the temptation to grope her, but Deen considered that Erind might not yet be comfortable with that level of skinship. She could feel Erind tense up, probably anticipating her to do something weird.

Not wanting to ruin their rare physical moment together, Deen switched to wiping the other side of Erind's body. She shouldn't push her luck and make her best friend uncomfortable. She felt she had already made a lot of progress; Erind retreating back to her shell was the last thing she wanted.

To further ease Erind, Deen decided to distract her by chatting, "Remember that you have also wiped my back?"

"Um, yeah..."

"I'm repaying the gesture with this. Instead of sweat, I'm wiping—"

"Blood," Erind said. Her chuckles made Deen sigh with relief. "If this were any other, um, circumstance, this would be really funny. But—"

"We should just see the fun in it," Deen said as she reached the left side of Erind's chest. This time, her best friend didn't react. A bit of her mischievous side reared its head. Emboldened by Erind's more relaxed attitude, Deen moved her hand about an inch forward, sliding it under Erind's bra.

Erind gasped and grabbed her left wrist, letting that side of her bra fall. "What are you—?"

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry," Deen exclaimed with fake shock. "I didn't realize I was wiping your, um, sorry. You're so thin that I thought—"

Erind pushed Deen's hand down and covered herself again. "Ha-ha, I'm flat. Moving on, people."

"I'm not saying that! And there's nothing wrong with being flat." Deen’s cheeks involuntarily lifted as a huge smile broke on her face. Erind thinks I accidentally did it. "I know that sounds—"

"Pretentious? Hollow?"

"Whatever. I know it doesn't mean much coming from me—"

"Who has big boobs," Erind grumbled.

"Don't be silly. It's not about—"

"It's like those super attractive people saying looks don't matter." Erind looked back at Deen. "You haven't said something like that to me, have you?"

Deen shook her head. The matted blood on her hair lightly scratched her cheeks. "Nope. I'm not that unaware, you know? I don't want to damage the self-esteem of my best friend by reminding her that I’m like super hot."

"That's it!" Erind walked away and snatched her fresh clothes. "I'll change my clothes now."

"I'm just joking," Deen said as she laughed. "I'm really joking. Don't be mad."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm not mad. But I do feel cold. You clean up too, so we can go already."

"Nuh-uh," Deen wagged her finger. "We're not done yet."

"Wait, you're not going to insist on wiping my stomach, right?" Erind checked her body. "I don't see any dirt on it."

"I know what you're thinking. And, no. Don't worry, I'm not going to insert my—"

"Poke! That was a poke."

"—insert my finger in your navel.”

“I thought you were going to try to get your revenge for that one too.”

“I let bygones be bygones. Revenge is not in my dictionary—"

"Even though you just tickled a while ago as revenge."

"Oh, shush. I'm not going to touch you, okay? But we're not done because there's still payback to be made."

"Let me guess," Erind said, turning away from Deen as she clipped on her bra. "The Japanese thing?" Then she put on her clean shirt.

"Exactly," Deen said, snapping her finger. "It's your turn to scrub my back now."