Volume 14 - Onward and Upward, Chapter 105 - The Bachelorettes

Two slimegirls sat behind the counter of the recently renamed Pheromagic Flowers. Other than a couple customers visiting on their lunch break, business had been slow that Tuesday. That was fine by Quess, since it gave her more quality time with Pwess.

Pwess spun around on her tall stool for a moment, her purple hair tendrils stretching outward with the force of the spin. Then she grabbed the counter to stop spinning and jiggled to a halt. She looked up at Quess and said, "Mommy, can I be friends with a flower? They taste so good, but if I eat them, they can't be my friend anymore."

Quess raised an eyebrow in confusion, thinking, Pwess is getting along fine with her classmates, so she doesn't need imaginary friends. Then she said, "Huh? Who are you talking about, goober?" Quess had first used the nickname 'goober' as a bit of a joke, but Pwess seemed to like it, so it stuck.

Pwess had a sorrowful expression on her face as she replied, "I want Cissu to be my friend, but she's a flower and I eat flowers. Am I her predator? I don't want to hurt my friend!"

Oh, Cissu is her alraune friend. And Iormu had mentioned that the class was going to cover the concepts of predators and prey, Quess thought. She shook her head and said, "No, you're not a predator and she isn't your prey. Pink slimes and alraune can get along really well, actually."

Then Quess smiled and thought, Really, really well. I still remember the taste of my first girlfriend. Aluru was delicious in so many ways.

Quess shook herself to clear her head of those sexy memories, then said, "Just stick to eating non-people flowers. You can be friends with the people ones, like Cissu."

Pwess broke into an utterly adorable smile as all of her concern washed away. "Yay!" she cheered. "I really like playing with Cissu. She always smells good." She tipped her head in thought for a second, then asked, "Can I just taste her?"

Quess's entire face blushed a darker pink. "No tasting people either." At least not until you're older…

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That evening, Iormu, Quess, and Pwess took a cab up to the Mountain Lily Inn. Now that they were all settled into their new house and new jobs, Iormu and Quess had a wedding to plan. And they wanted some help.

Yuisu greeted them at the door and the family started toward the kitchen, but Pwess was quickly scooped up by Tsuen.

As the centaur squeezed the little slime in a loving hug, she said, "Aww, you're just the cutest, Pwess!"

"Hiya, Auntie Tsuen!" Pwess said as she returned the hug.

"Wanna play in the living room while your moms do boring stuff?"

"Sure!"

At that, Tsuen nearly galloped down the hallway, leaving Quess and Iormu with Yuisu.

As they made their way to the kitchen, Yuisu smiled and said, "Tsuen only gets that hyper when Pwess is around. Or when she first saw your tiny form, Quess."

Iormu coiled up by the kitchen table and said, "Yeah, she seems to love little and cute things."

Quess pulled up a chair and added, "That would explain how she ended up with Mara, despite all their differences."

The three women shared a chuckle, then Iormu said, "Thanks for helping out with this, Yuisu. We want the wedding to be a small affair, with just our close friends. And it could be as early as this weekend."

Yuisu shook her head. "Oh no you don't. You can't get married yet."

Iormu and Quess both looked at her with wide, concerned eyes. "Why?" they asked in unison.

Yuisu smirked and said, "Because you need to have a bachelorette party first!"

Iormu chuckled dismissively but Quess narrowed her eyes and nodded intently. Not only had she taken the suggestion seriously, but she seemed excited by the prospect. "A bachelorette party, huh? Sounds fun."

Just then, a small pink blur zipped into the room and slid to a stop on eight stocking-clad feet. "Did I hear 'bachelorette party'? With strippers and booze?" Mara blurted. She was wearing black hoodie pajamas, complete with cat ears on the hood. With how cute and innocent the little arachne looked, it was hard to believe how perverted she could be.

Iormu wasn't as enthusiastic. "I don't know… I don't want to distract from planning the wedding, and our budget isn't that big…"

Mara pounced onto the table and grabbed Iormu by the shoulders, sending the jormungand's massive bosom quaking. "Don't worry, Iormu. I'll personally handle all of the planning!" she said.

Iormu knew it was meant to be reassuring, but coming from Mara, it sounded dangerous. Who knows what wild things she's got in mind? Iormu thought.

Yuisu spoke up then. "Haru and I can cover the cost of the party, as a wedding gift." Then she turned to Mara and sternly said, "Assuming the budget is reasonable…"

Quess wrapped a gelatinous arm around Iormu's shoulders and said, "I think it'll be fun. How about it, Iormu? Want to cut loose before we tie the proverbial knot?"

Iormu sighed and smiled. "Fine, but it needs to be more than one day before the wedding. I don't want hangovers ruining the ceremony."

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Later that night, after Pwess and her moms had departed, Tsuen opened the door to her and Mara's bedroom and stepped inside. At the computer desk, Mara was scrolling through a website filled with photos of scantily clad human women. Most were in bikinis, but some wore only pasties or even less.

"Uh, Mara? What are you looking at?" Tsuen asked, fearing the answer she'd receive.

Mar spun the chair around to look back at Tsuen, but instead of answering, she asked a question of her own, "Exotic dancers, yay or nay?"

Tsuen blinked and her long ears folded back against her head. "Huh?"

Mara waved an arm and one of her legs through the air. "You know, strippers? How important are they?"

Tsuen could only repeat, "Huh?" She had no idea what Mara was talking about, even though she'd gotten pretty good at following her girlfriend's unusual topic changes and leaps of logic.

Mara spun the chair forward and pointed at the computer screen. "Well, I called several of these girls but they all either don't dance for women or can't make it on such short notice. I haven't even mentioned that the audience would be liminals, which is sure to cause some trouble of its own."

When Tsuen continued to stand there in the doorway like a deer in the headlights, Mara realized she hadn't given any context for her questions. Mara said, "This is for Quess and Iormu's bachelorette party, by the way. Do we really need strippers?"

"Ohhhh," Tsuen said as everything finally fell into place. She blushed and said, "I don't know. I've never been to a bachelorette party before."

"Well, neither have I, but the stereotypical bachelorette party has strapping male strippers for the bride-to-be and her bridesmaids to ogle. Obviously our group isn't typical, so I need a female stripper who will dance for a bunch of lesbian liminals."

Before Tsuen could think of anything to say on the topic, Mara continued, "I even called Lethe, asking if she would dance for us. She said it'd be a bit awkward to strip for friends, and she's too busy with a big court case. She said she'd ask a couple of her contacts in Tokyo, but not to expect much on such short notice."

Mara held her head in her hands dejectedly and said, "I also asked one of Actia's acquaintances, some local chameleon dancer girl, but even she's busy this weekend. Something about moving in with her boyfriend…"

Tsuen couldn't help but be impressed with how thorough Mara had been in her search. Just like with ComicMon, Mara was amazing at organizing things when she really put her mind to it.

Tsuen crossed the room and stood next to Mara's chair, then pulled her into a hug. "It's fine, Mara. Since you're organizing it, I'm sure the party will be tons of fun, even without a stripper." Secretly, Tsuen was happy not to have a stripper there. Part of it was because Tsuen could get a bit jealous, but there was another factor too: Tsuen tended to get horny when she got drunk, and she was worried she'd say or do something out of line if the atmosphere got too sexual.

Mara's face was smushed into Tsuen's firm abs, and Tsuen's breasts sat on her head. The sexy situation may not have been intentional, but it got Mara out of her funk really quick.

Mara leaned her head back and smiled up between Tsuen's breasts. "Thanks, Tsuey. I'm sure it'll be fine. But looking at all those photos of sexy strippers made me realize something…"

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Tsuen blinked her wide cyan eyes. "Oh, what's that?"

Mara's smile widened into a very lewd grin. "That you're sexier than all of them."

Tsuen blushed at the compliment, then blushed even harder as Mara's hands reached up and started to massage her breasts.

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That Friday night, a familiar black Hummer limousine arrived at the Mountain Lily Inn to take all the permanent residents into town. The destination was the Wild Life club, picking up Iormu and Quess on the way. Pwess would be staying the night with Cissu and her foster parents.

As Yuisu, Haru, Tsuen, and Chione climbed inside the idling limo, Mara was already at the divider window chatting it up with the driver, Flare.

"This party's gonna be amazing, since I organized it," Mara boasted. "You're totally invited too, Flare."

Flare echoed Mara's enthusiasm back at her. She loved parties almost as much as she loved driving. "Thanks! I've got a couple more hours on my shift, but I'll absolutely be there after I get off."

Mara suddenly grabbed Chione by the arm and pulled her into the conversation. "Chione invited Actia, so you'll get to see how those two lovebugs get along."

Flare's glistening golden eyes blinked. "Uh, me and Actia I could see, and maybe even you, but Chione isn't a 'bug'."

Mara waved an arm and a couple legs dismissively. "Psh, you get what I mean. It isn't like 'lovebird' would have been any more accurate."

Flare shrugged and said, "Anyways, Actia never shuts up about Chione. At least until the topic gets racy, then she locks her lips like a vault." Then she winked at Chione and said, "So, have you been having sexy fun with my bestie?"

Chione turned bright red, closed her mouth tightly, and looked away. She was far too shy to share any details about her intimate times with Actia.

Flare laughed. "You really are perfect for her."

Then, since everyone was in the limo and the doors were closed, Flare put two hands on the steering wheel, one on the gearshift, and her fourth out the open driver-side window. She slapped the outside of the door and said, "Let's get this show on the road, girls," as the powerful Hummer rumbled into motion.

The massive four-wheel drive vehicle made easy work of the dirt driveway and winding roads into town, then detoured into a residential area to pick up Iormu and Quess. They exited their new house both wearing rather skimpy dresses.

As they climbed into the limo, Yuisu whistled, then said, "Looking sexy, ladies. You look like you're trying to hook up, rather than getting married in two days."

Iormu sat on the right side of the limo and adjusted her strappy black top. It didn't cover much skin, but seemed designed to give some real support to her huge chest. Then she said, "That's the point. Tonight is for being wild and free. We'll be classy later."

Quess leaned against Iormu, squishing her barely contained breasts against Iormu's. "Well said. I even busted out this thing that I haven't worn in years."

Yuisu and Haru both leaned forward to get a closer look at Quess. She was wearing a sleek and shiny red club dress that was very revealing but wasn't translucent at all. Haru pointed with a wing and said, "Wait a minute. That's not your slime. That's latex."

"Uh-huh," Quess said with a smile. "It's one of my few belongings that I had sent up after I, uh, snuck into your home."

Haru nodded appreciatively. "Well you look damn good in it, Quess."

"You're looking hot too," Quess said, "Both of you."

Iormu joined in. "Agreed, though I'm not sure what to make of Yuisu's outfit, other than it being attractive."

Haru was wearing a silvery dress with low cleavage and high slits on the legs. She'd worn it to the club before, and she loved the mobility it gave her for dancing. Yuisu had gone in a different direction. She wore a comically short pink skirt over some opaque black leggings and a white mesh 'shirt' over a bright purple bra in plain sight.

Yuisu giggled and said, "I used to dress like this in high school to drive my mom crazy. It was the style for EDM concerts at the time. I tried this outfit on the other day and it made me feel so young again, so I decided to wear it tonight"

Iormu nodded, but she didn't understand the term 'EDM' or Yuisu's fashion sense.

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"This is it!" Mara proclaimed after she lead the group of mostly-liminal ladies through the club to a spacious private room at the back.

The room had a plush bench-seat running along the entire outside wall along with several small circular tables and a scattering of plush chairs. Even with the door open, the loud music from the dance floor was reduced to a level that was easy to talk over.

"A waitress will visit from time to time, and we can call her with this"—Mara pointed at a button by the door—"if we want her sooner."

"Awesome. Thanks for organizing all of this, Mara," Quess said.

"Any time. Literally. If it means attending an awesome party, I'll gladly plan it," Mara said with a self-serving smile.

Tsuen nudged her with her front hip. "As long as you aren't picking the alcohol too," she teased. Mara wasn't familiar with or affected by alcohol, but that hadn't stopped her from trying to pick out liquor in the past, to troublesome results.

Mara started to make a snarky reply, but she got distracted by Tsuen's outfit. She wore a yellow-orange crop top that bared a lot of midriff, a pleated skirt that covered her hindquarters, and pink leg warmers on all four legs. It was somehow both sporty and seductive, since it left her front totally bare from abs to knees.

On a centaur, it wasn't showing any nudity, but it kind of looked like she was entirely bottomless. Mara was pretty sure Tsuen didn't realize how lewd it looked, but she wasn't going to say anything against it.

Meanwhile, Mara wore one of her frilly gothic lolita dresses, mostly black with some pink accents, but she'd passed on most of the typical accessories. She had a pair of pink socks on her pedipalps and wore matching pink panties. Not that anyone at the club would see them, unless she got really drunk.

The waitress came to get their first round of drinks started, and Actia arrived while the waitress was taking orders.

"Und for you, miss?" the heavily-accented waitress asked Actia.

"Midori and lemonade, please," the tiny mothgirl answered.

Chione looked intrigued. "I haven't heard of those going together."

"Oh, it's great. Tastes like a midsummer night. You can have some when it gets here," Actia said. Then she asked, "What'd you order?"

"Just a light beer. I don't want to go overboard like the last time I drank," Chione answered, remembering when she'd had too much with Mimi and Lethe and got sick as a result.

"Don't worry about that," Actia reassured her. "I'll keep an eye on how much you drink and make sure you have a good time." Actia was shy and easily flustered, but she a good head on her shoulders. It came partially from her age and experience, and partially from being a naturally analytical and observant person.

"Thanks, Actia," Chione said, snuggling up to her smaller partner on the bench-seat. Without meaning to, both girls had dressed somewhat similarly, in light colored shirts and dark skirts. Chione's shirt was a pale blue tank-top with a bit of cleavage, while Actia wore a simple white t-shirt that was too large, so she had it tied off at the hip. Both skirts were dark blue and of conservative length.

It was actually the only time Chione had seen Actia in a skirt. Normally Actia wouldn't want to flash people as she flew over the town, but she never flew home while drunk. Chione had gone through the same logical steps herself when she decided to wear a skirt.

The eight girls talked and drank and munched on a variety of snacks for about an hour. It was nice to hang out and relax, but that wasn't the only purpose of the bachelorette party.

Mara jumped up onto one of the tables, keeping it upright thanks only to her remarkable balance and agility, then shouted, "What are we all staying back here for? Let's get out there and dance!"

"Fine, fine, but you need to break this standing-on-tables habit of yours," Tsuen said, then plucked the little arachne from the table and carried her toward the door.

"Put me down. Thish isn't dignified!" Mara demanded, already quite drunk on caffeine.

"But standing on tables is?" Tsuen teased as the group left the private room for the lights and music of the dance floor.

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Eight beautiful women hit the dance floor like a crashing wave. They danced and laughed and generally stole the show. The excessive sexiness caused more than one man to approach the group, but they were all sad to find that, regardless of sexuality, the women were all taken.

Flare's arrival changed that fact. She'd had boyfriends off and on since she arrived in Okayado, but she was currently single. That fact was actually one of the reasons she'd been so excited for the bachelorette party.

The colorful papillon had changed clothes after work, and now she was was dressed in a white crop-top that showed off her fit stomach, black exercise shorts that highlighted her amazing thighs and butt, and red tennis shoes.

[https://i.imgur.com/hyPLLaC.png]

The sporty ensemble wasn't typical dance club fare, but she picked it for a very specific reason: she'd noticed how many of the new liminal men in town worked for either Sports Club Kobold or Ski Lodge Kobold, and in both cases they were often athletically inclined. In her sexy and athletic outfit, Flare was sure to catch their eyes.

She danced her way to her group of friends and said hello, but then she left for the bar. As a late arrival to the party, she had some catching up to do on the alcohol front.

"I'd like a midori and lemonade, if you've got the ingredients," Flare said to the bartender as she sat down at the bar.

The bartender smiled and said, "You're the second person to order that tonight." As she started to make the simple drink, she said, "I haven't been doing this long, but it's normally a pretty uncommon drink."

Flare chuckled to herself, then said, "I bet the other person that ordered it was my friend. I got her hooked on 'em."

"Maybe," the bartender replied. "I didn't see who it went to since it was through a waitress." Since Flare had taken a seat, the bartender assumed the woman wanted some conversation, so she asked, "What brings you here tonight?"

"A friend's bachelorette party, though I'm also hoping to find a guy. I've been single too long, if you know what I mean," Flare replied, then she downed a large gulp of her drink. She was serious about catching up to her friends.

The bartender smiled knowingly, then said, "I know that feeling. I'm in that boat myself." Then she shifted topics and said, "Can I get you something else started? Seems like you wanna be back out there with your friends."

"A shot of tequila, please," Flare answered. "I'll chase it with the last of this drink."

"You got it."

A couple minutes later, Flare returned to her friends, who were gathered in a corner of the dance floor. Due to the size of Iormu's tail, she had to stay near the edge of the floor and keep her tail tucked out of the way. She was still able to do some very seductive moves with her upper body, however.

Flare was sufficiently tipsy and ready for some dancing, but before that, she had something to share with her friends. She announced, "I know you're all into the ladies, so I've got a smoking hot tip for you: the bartender is damn fine and single. Not sure if she's gay though." She flicked a finger on an antenna, then quipped, "My antennae don't do gaydar."

The women laughed at that, then Iormu said, "Thanks, but we've all got significant others already."

A very tipsy Yuisu half-joked, "So? Go check her out as a couple then!" She met Haru's eyes and smiled as she recalled their past threesomes.

That set off another round of laughter. When it died out, it was pretty clear no one was actually going to act on Yuisu's suggestion. They went back to dancing, and after a couple minutes, Chione was the first to break off from the group.

Mara noticed and immediately teased, "Oh, gonna check out the hot bartender after all, Chione?"

Chione shook her head and smiled. "No, I just want another drink. Be right back."

She weaved her way through the crowd, trying to keep her wings tucked close against her back. She was far from the only winged liminal in the club, so people were actually pretty aware and accommodating.

She reached the bar and cautiously asked, "May I have a Kir Royale?" She was half expecting the bartender to need an explanation of the French mixed drink, which consisted of champagne and 'crème de cassis', a blackcurrant liqueur.

The bartender, with her back turned, replied, "Excellent choice, though I didn't know you drank those."

Chione blinked in confusion and started to say, "I think you've confused me with someone—"

Then the bartender turned around and Chione's jaw dropped.