Volume 7 - Clutching Coils, Chapter 45 - All Day

"Alright girls, time to get up!" Tsuen called out into the large room at 9AM on the dot, her voice echoing from the rafters. "You shouldn't waste your vacation by sleeping all day!"

Mara peeked out from under her blanket and peered up at the noisy centaur. Tsuen was standing at the door fully dressed in her running clothes, having already gone for a run on the beach. Mara grumbled, "What's the point of vacation if we can't sleep as much as we want?" then pulled the blanket back over her head.

Tsuen just strode into the room and scooped up Mara from her bed with both arms. "You wanted a wakeup call, and I need a shower. Let's solve both problems at once," Tsuen whispered suggestively.

Mara's six eyes blinked as she processed that. Even her tired mind figured it out eventually. "Ooh, shower fun times!" Mara said, hugging onto Tsuen's side as she was carried out of the room.

The other girls slowly crawled out of bed, looking a mess with bedhead and groggy eyes, except for Quess. She coalesced into her full size with her hair and dress already pretty and perfect.

Suddenly, a thunderous rumble filled the room. Everyone looked around for the source, startled.

"Sorry. That was my stomach," Iormu said, blushing. "I get pretty hungry in the mornings."

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The inn had a breakfast buffet and the wait-staff had to refill it several times that morning as the hungry guests devoured the delicious food. Iormu ate at least a dozen eggs on her own and Tsuen hit the salad bar with similar zeal, having worked up an appetite with her morning run and 'shower fun times'.

As all six women finally ate their fill, a loud rumble echoed through the dining hall. Yuisu and Haru both looked at Iormu, thinking of her rumbling stomach earlier.

"What? That wasn't me this time," Iormu said defensively. "I think it was thunder."

"Thunder? As in thunderstorm? Aw, man!" Mara cried out. "I wanted to go to the beach again today," she said with a frown, then skittered to a window to look outside.

Sure enough, the dark clouds of a thunderstorm had moved in over the last hour. As large drops of rain started to smack against the windows of the inn, it became very clear that sunbathing and swimsuits were no longer on the agenda.

Haru sighed and said, "Well, what do we do now?"

Yuisu tilted her head in thought, then said, "The inn should have some games we could play, like ping-pong. I'll go ask."

A few minutes later, the group had gathered in the inn's comfortable living room. Tsuen and Quess were playing ping-pong while Mara was dealing out poker cards to Haru and Iormu. Everyone was back in their pajamas, except for Quess, who seemed to be testing whether the normally reserved Tsuen could be distracted by jiggly boobs and a lacy negligee.

Mara called up to Yuisu, "Are you going to play with us, Yuisu? I need to know whether to deal you in or not."

Yuisu shook her head. "I'll catch a later round. I'm going to go talk to Sari about how she runs this place."

After Yuisu left, Haru shrugged and said to the others, "She really does seem to want to run an inn of her own someday. I guess she's already halfway there, with all of us living in her house."

Iormu nodded in agreement. "Yep. I think she could do it. Though I can't quite see her as an old-lady-hostess."

Mara paused in dealing out the cards and laughed. "Haha, yeah. Yuri-su the pervy innkeeper is an odd thought. Maybe Yuri-su the pervy maid, in a sexy black and white dress… Mmmm…"

Tsuen twitched as she overheard Mara's ramblings, causing her to miss Quess's serve. As the ping-pong ball whizzed by her fuzzy ear, she turned and glared at the back of Mara's head.

Haru was looking at Mara too, but with a quizzical expression. The little arachne seemed dead-set on muddying her relationship with Tsuen. Haru decided to stop her before she dug herself in too deep. "Enough with the maids, Mara. Just deal the cards."

Once Mara's attention was back on the game, Tsuen sighed dejectedly and thought, Seriously, Mara? After we just showered together?

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After killing a few more hours with board games and jigsaw puzzles, Haru stood up suddenly. "I'm going to go find Yuisu. Seeya later," she said as she walked out of the room.

Quess shrugged her shoulders, sending her whole body jiggling. "I guess we're all getting a bit antsy, being cooped up like this. I was definitely looking forward to spending more time outside."

Iormu nodded, then whispered, "Maybe that's what's got Mara acting out." She turned and looked over her shoulder at where Mara and Tsuen were sitting on the couch by the bay window. The arachne and centaur were deep in an animated discussion, and it looked like it was getting a little emotional.

"I guess I'm the jealous type, then, okay?!" Tsuen suddenly blurted, a bit louder than she had intended. She covered her mouth and lowered her head.

As Mara tried to calm Tsuen down, Quess tapped Iormu on the arm. She whispered, "Let's give them some space. Want to hang out in your room?"

Iormu pondered for a second, debating whether the lascivious slime was just trying to get into Iormu's skirts. Would it be so bad if she was? Well… I don't want to complicate things at home by getting involved with a housemate right now, Iormu thought. I just want someone to talk to…. After a pause, she said, "Sure. I was hoping to borrow your ear for a moment anyway."

The two slithered and slid down the hall to Iormu's huge bedroom, then settled in on the futons that were still strewn about.

Iormu got straight to the point. "As I was saying last night, I really do want to move on. From Erin, that is." She took a slow breath, then said, "But nothing I've done has worked. I just can't seem to let go of her. She was so amazing…"

Quess looked up at the high ceiling as she thought aloud. "Hmm, I've got a couple ideas, but it'd help if I knew more about what went wrong with Erin."

"Oh. That…" Iormu practically wilted when she realized she'd have to talk about the breakup. "It was my fault. I didn't know that at the time, but it's obvious now." The tip of her tail weakly flicked back and forth on the floor as she spoke, "Erin was far more social than me. She had tons of friends from back in college and from work, most of them female. I got jealous whenever she spent time with them."

Iormu sighed, disappointed in her past self. "I imagined that she was cheating on me. She had to be, with all those beautiful, normal human women around her all the time. I saw the evidence wherever I wanted to see it: times when she'd been slow to respond to texts, times she came home really late, whenever she was 'too tired' for my romantic advances."

After a pause to catch her breath, she continued, "I kept it all to myself, just me worrying too much, until I confronted her one night. Of course, Erin had explanations for everything, good ones too. She was super busy at work, working a lot of overtime and running herself ragged trying to keep her job in a tough economy. But I doubled down on my stupid paranoia. I said those were all excuses."

Iormu lowered her head and started to sob. "I said that if… that if she really loved me, she would choose me over her job… What I didn't realize is that she had already chosen me. Over her health, over her family, and over her friends, who she had barely seen in months. She was working so hard so she could provide for me. Me, the monster who couldn't even trust her." Iormu's sobbing built into full on crying and tears ran down her cheeks.

Quess wrapped Iormu's shoulders in a warm hug, giving silent support until she was ready to talk again.

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"We argued for hours, but I was stupid and bullheaded and wrong the entire time. That's why Erin left me, and she was right to." Iormu had stopped crying, her sadness giving way to bitter self-loathing. "I'm worthless. Even now, I'm freeloading, taking advantage of the exchange program and Yuisu's kindness."

Quess squeezed Iormu tighter. "It's okay Iormu. It's okay to rely on others, especially while you find your place," she murmured.

"No, no it isn't okay. I can't keep asking for help forever, never fixing myself. I need to get over this," Iormu said with sudden determination.

Quess breathed a sigh of relief. I'm glad she wants to improve. We can work with this. Quess sat back and looked Iormu in the eyes. "You can get over this. You have a strong will, and you know what you want, so you just need to act on it."

Iormu furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "How? What should I do?"

"I can't guarantee it'll work for you, but I recommend that you have a new, positive relationship. You're all tangled up on how your other relationships ended badly, so you need to see that a relationship can end on a positive note."

Quess paused for a second, trying to think how to phrase the next part. "You should have something lighthearted, fun, and brief. Go into it knowing it's temporary, and not serious." She grinned and added, "Vacation sounds like the ideal time for a fling."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and a chipper voice called out, "Housekeeping!"

Quess and Iormu looked around at Iormu's messy room. Futons and blankets were still strewn about from the sleepover the night before and snack packages and soda cans littered the floor.

Iormu lifted herself and started towards the door. "Uh, I should let her clean up." She opened the door, revealing the white-haired dragonewt maid that had so enchanted the girls at dinner.

[https://i.imgur.com/Y7z2rAn.png]

The maid took in the room with her wide copper-colored eyes, then whistled. "Wow, you ladies must have had a fun party last night, because you sure did a number on this place."

Quess and Iormu both apologized profusely for the mess, but the petite maid just waved it off. "No worries! This is my job after all," she said with a cute smile.

Iormu turned to Quess and said, "Go hang out with the others. I'm going to stay and help her move the futons." She smiled. "And I'll think on what you said, Quess. Thank you."

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Once Quess left, Iormu started dragging the heavy futon mattresses into a pile by the door. It was pretty easy, with her strength and the leverage of her massive tail.

The maid was thrilled for the help. She smiled up at Iormu and said, "Oh, thank you so much, miss! Those things always give me trouble." As she spoke, she flapped her little wings that were clearly too small to be used for actual flight. "My name's Lato, by the way," she said as she gathered up some trash into a bag.

Iormu smiled back and said, "I'm Iormu. And helping with this is the least I can do, since we caused the mess."

As Lato leaned over to grab something with a scale-covered hand, Iormu caught a glimpse of her chest. Lato's breasts were practically spilling from her tight black and white dress. Her boobs were surprisingly large for how short and skinny she was.

She'd understand the pain of having big boobs, Iormu thought.

As Iormu grabbed another futon, Lato bent over again, facing away. Iormu's face went red as she saw lacy white panties peeking out from under the maid's short dress. Damn, she's pretty sexy, Iormu thought, Is she doing this on purpose?

Then Iormu saw something else. A white flake of skin stood out on Lato's cyan-scaled tail. The maid was apparently shedding, something that Iormu had extensive experience with. A few times a year, Iormu's entire tail would shed its skin. It was always an arduous process, since she had to slowly peel off the old skin from the super-sensitive new skin underneath.

I'll offer to help her with her shedding. It'll be totally platonic, just a favor from one reptilian liminal to another. Yeah… Iormu cleared her throat, then awkwardly started, "So, Lato, uh, it looks like you're shedding."

Lato stood up and turned around. She cringed a little and said, "Oh, yeah. It's been just awful this time. It's been too sensitive for me to peel off, but having that dry skin there is so unsightly. It looks bad for the inn, doesn't it?" She frowned, and even that was cute.

Iormu scrunched her nose and answered, "A little bit, yeah. Would you, uh, like some help peeling it? I mean, I know all about shedding." To illustrate her point, she gestured an arm at her massive purple body and waved the tip of her scaly tail in the air.

Lato smiled her adorable smile. "Oh, you'd do that? That'd be just amazing. The itching's been driving me crazy, you know?" Before Iormu could respond, Lato belly-flopped on a futon and started wiggling her cyan tail in the air. She was very lively, and didn't seem to find the situation awkward at all.

Iormu blinked in amazement. She's so damn cute, and I think she's sending me some signals… Iormu thought as she approached the wriggling dragonewt. Well, Quess did say to have a fling. Let's just see where this goes… Iormu moved up behind Lato, grabbed her tail, and started to slowly peel away the shedding skin.

[https://i.imgur.com/n6w2IaA.png]

Seeing Lato's thighs and butt so close was getting Iormu a little fired up, but she focused on the task at hand, carefully pulling the sheet of skin back from the scaly tail. "How's that, Lato?"

"Mmm," Lato moaned as she shivered at the tingly sensation against her new skin. "Just wonderful. Thanks again, Iormu. It's probably a little awkward for you, since you don't even know me, but it really is a huge help."

"Oh, of course. I've been through it myself, more times than I can count." Iormu's eyes kept drifting down to the shadow under Lato's short skirt. She could almost make out those lacy white panties she'd spied before. They'd have to be customized string panties, likely with a tie above and below her lizard-like tail to keep them in place. Iormu zoned out, idly peeling skin and thinking about panties until a voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Did you hear me?" Lato asked, her voice light and cute as always.

Iormu blushed. "Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought."

"That's fine. I was just saying that for the base of my tail, and my back especially, I'll need to take off my dress."

Iormu somehow managed to turn even redder. She stammered, "Uh, oh. Okay, yeah. Go for it," then slid back to give Lato space. She looked away as the dragonewt unzipped her dress and stepped out of it. It figured that all her clothes would have to be able to zip or tie on. Between the wings sticking out of her shoulders and the large tail extending from her lower back, normal clothes couldn't work. Lato held her dress against her chest to cover her breasts and settled back down onto the futon.

When Iormu turned back, she paused to appreciate Lato's beautiful pale skin. It contrasted sharply with the deep cerulean scales that ran up her along her spine to her shoulder blades and wings. Something's missing… Iormu thought to herself, Ah! No bra, since the straps would get in the way of peeling that part of her back. She blinked a few times, then realized there were no straps around Lato's tail either. Iormu's jaw dropped open and she thought, Oh god, she took off her panties!

Lato, wearing nothing but her thigh-high stockings, called out, "Iormu? I'm ready whenever. We've just got the base of my tail and my back left."

Iormu tried to control her breathing and slow her racing heart. "Yeah, of course." She slithered up behind Lato, trying very hard not to look at the treasure hidden under her tail. With unsteady hands, Iormu grabbed a bit of skin on Lato's upper back and started to pull.

Almost immediately, Lato let out a suspiciously erotic moan. "Oooohhh, that's the stuff…" she muttered. She involuntarily thrust her butt up in the air, giving Iormu no choice about looking under her tail and between her legs.

Huh, a patch of scales, but white like her hair… sexy. When she saw that area, Iormu's thoughts immediately went to dirty places, like how convenient the erogenous tip of Iormu's tail was with female lovers. While Iormu's mind wandered off, her hands continued to work at Lato's skin.

Lato's lewd wiggling and exclamations didn't stop. It was very apparent that her new skin wasn't just ticklish; she was getting a very different, very specific sensation from it. Every inch Iormu progressed closer towards the base of Lato's tail seemed to arouse her even more, until she was clenching a pillow with both hands and practically mewling in pleasure.

[https://i.imgur.com/53vu9li.png]

To say Iormu was also excited would be the understatement of the century. She hadn't been this aroused in at least that long. This adorable woman was quivering in pleasure at her slightest touch, and that thought had Iormu wound up like a coiled spring. I can't take it anymore. I need to finish this shedding ASAP, and if Lato doesn't want to get it on, I'll have to kick her out and just satisfy myself!

Iormu grabbed the last patch of skin and ripped it off suddenly. Lato reacted just as quickly, but even stronger.

"Uaahhh!" she moaned as her entire body trembled and shook for several seconds. Then she tipped over and fell onto her side, clutching her crumpled dress against her heaving chest. Struggling to catch her breath, Lato muttered, "Thanks, Iormu… I guess I shoulda… told you about… how much it affects me."

Iormu had no idea what to say, so she just stood there, wide-eyed and amazed. Did she really just climax…? From just that?

After recovering a bit more, Lato looked up at Iormu and chuckled when she saw the baffled expression on her face. "Yeah, sorry about the surprise." She stood up, baring her entire naked body to Iormu. Her breasts were perky and bouncy, and easily E-cups despite her tiny frame. "Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?" she asked suggestively.

A lewd grin crept onto Iormu's face as the jormungand's massive tail wrapped around the petite dragonewt and drew her close. The tip of Iormu's tail flicked and fondled across Lato's soft skin and pliable scales. "Oh, I can think of a few things," she replied in a sultry, low voice.

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The sun had already set by the time the door to Iormu's room finally reopened. Quess was watching from around the corner as the dragonewt maid stepped out. Her long white braid was a disheveled mess and she wasn't even wearing her boots, holding one in each hand instead. She wandered off down the hallway, looking a little unsteady on her feet.

Quess was torn. On one hand, she was excited for Iormu for getting out there and starting a new relationship. On the other hand, Quess was envious of Iormu for getting with that sexy maid and jealous of the maid for being Iormu's fling instead of Quess.

In any case, the pink slime was thankful for the meal of pheromones and sexual energy that had been wafting down the hallway for hours.