"So, what do you think of Lisa?" I asked, after dinner. Lisa had retreated back to her den- and Veronica back upstairs- leaving Akane and I alone in the living room.

"She seems kinda withdrawn and private," Akane said, resting her head on my shoulder. It warmed my heart to share these casual touches, to literally feel that I wasn't alone. It wasn't a cure-all for every problem I faced, but it certainly didn't hurt to cuddle up to Akane on the couch while she watched a documentary about an obscure and indescribably shitty Cold War era experimental plane, and I played Minecraft in my head. "Not just overwhelmed. Nicky's pretty private, too, so really, it's just you and me out here most of the time."

"Huh," I said. "She seems sociable enough to me." After all, we had spent all day together, coming to grips with her druidic abilities.

"She seems to like you," Akane said. "You are pretty likeable, after all."

"I am not likeable," I said. "I am a mean, awkward bitch in ways that happen to be catnip to subby sapphics."

"You're not denying the possibility that Lisa likes you," Akane pointed out.

"I am not," I said, saving and closing Minecraft. "I think, perhaps... I should go downstairs and talk to her some more. See you tomorrow, Akane."

----------------------------------------

"We probably need to get some actual furniture down here," I said, carefully pulling a brush through Lisa's hair. It was very common among social animals to use grooming each other as a form of social bonding- that's what your pets think you're doing when you pet them- and humans were no exception. Therefore, brushing your roommate's hair for them was an excellent way to build social bonds, while seeming like a perfectly innocent thing for girls to do for each other.

"You really think I'm gonna be here that long?" Lisa asked.

"I think you're going to be here as long as you want to be," I said. "Quite aside from the fact that you seem likeable enough, and my general obligation to help those in need, there is the matter of the spirit-backed oath I swore to offer my hospitality to druids such as yourself. What constitutes 'hospitality' is a very fuzzy, nebulous, and culturally contingent question, but it is my honest opinion- which very much matters for spirit-oaths- that the obligations of hospitality increase with one's means. It won't inconvenience me very much to have a werefox living in my basement, therefore I have to let her, for as long as she wants."

Lisa simply grunted, and I continued to carefully tease a tangle loose.

"And then there's the fact you might need a friendly druid around," Lisa added.

"Possible, yes, likely, no," I said. "I don't know what the learning curve looks like for druids, but I've been some flavor of supernatural for like five or six years, and am very capable for my age. I have no idea how long it'll take before you're able to accomplish specific things better than I can; I'm willing to bet that it'll be... a while."

"How long is 'a while?'" Lisa asked, pulling out her phone, likely to check the Werewolf's Guide.

"I just said I have no idea," I said. "I read the same book you did, Lisa, and I read the whole thing. It does not tell you how long it should take to learn the various tricks of the druid's trade. Maybe the limiting factor is energy, and once you have your artificial spirits set up, you'll have more of it than any druid back home could muster. Or maybe the limiting factor is finding and treating with rare, powerful spirits, which you may not be able to make. This is probably something even experienced druids would have a hard time estimating, but I can't be sure of that, either. I've worked alongside druids in the past, and hosted druids in my home, but I've never been close with them in the way that lets me understand their life patterns and how they grow. I just know that Jason Thronebreaker was a werecrow who was very eager to work together with me every time a would-be tyrant arose." I sighed. "A shame he couldn't help this time."

"...Jason Thronebreaker?" Lisa asked.

"Indeed," I said. "There's a tendency among supernaturals of all stripes to take on new names. You wouldn't believe how many self-proclaimed Counts and Draculas I've met amongst vampires. Hell, I used to call myself Ophiuchus in the company of my peers. And then I stopped being a teenager and realized I did not have the right presence to pull that shit off without looking hella cringe."

"So I should hold off, then," Lisa said.

"I mean, if you really want to moonlight as a superheroine named Red Fox, I'm not gonna stop you," I said. "Druids were often the ones with the most respectable pseudonyms- remind me to tell you about Tidestrider sometime. But, for the most part..." I shrugged. "Nothing wrong with just being a girl named Lisa Fox. You don't need to impress anyone, except maybe Akane, but honestly, that girl is a golden retriever, and all you need to impress her is let her pet your ears sometimes."

Lisa snorted. "What is it with her and my ears?"

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"You don't spend much time on the internet, do you?" I asked. "You're a foxgirl, Lisa. Of course Akane wants to pet your ears and touch your fluffy tail. That's what modern culture has agreed is the expected way to treat women with animal ears."

"Does that happen before or after the weird, kinky sex?"

"Typically before, but you, of course, can draw your boundaries wherever you like."

I continued to brush out her hair. I was fairly certain I got all her knots and tangles out, but I might as well keep going. It was, once properly washed and brushed out, fairly nice hair, with a nice vibrant red color.

"So... you hunted with druids back home, yeah?" Lisa asked.

I sighed.

"I did, yeah," I said, nodding. "And, admittedly, in a week or so, I'm gonna start hunting on the regular again. Veronica's kinda hard to get along with, so I made a bet with her that I could bring in enough money through bounty hunting in one month to pay for the house twice over."

"I don't suppose you could use a sidekick, could you?" Lisa asked.

"Are you really that bored?" I asked.

"I- no- maybe?" Lisa huffed. "I just..." She trailed off.

"...Right," I said, sighing. "One thing I do know about druids is that they do take on meaningful non-physical aspects of their patron animal, and so every werewolf, wereshark, and werefox has, within them, the spark of a predator. Of a hunter." I finally stopped brushing her hair. "That, right there, is what I reckon you're feeling. Well, that and the fact you grew up on Superhero World, which apparently makes everyone into a wannabe cop."

"The hell do you mean, wannabe cop?" Lisa asked.

"You know, the common dream of being a superhero," I said. "Akane had it, too. It is the only way I can rationalize the absolute insanity of anyone wishing they had my job, because, speaking as someone who's been doing it for five years, it fucking sucks."

"Then what do you think I should do?" Lisa asked, more than slightly exasperated.

"Honestly, my recommendation would be to sit down and wait for the feeling to pass," I said. "But, having known many druids in my time... the feeling may not pass." I grunted. "Come to me next Monday morning, if the feeling is still there. If it isn't, and you're just bored and want to spend time with me..." I shrugged. "Iunno, we'll watch TV together or something. Play some Minecraft, maybe."

"Urban Fantasy Earth has Minecraft?" Lisa asked.

"Of course it does. It's not literally Hell on Earth." I chuckled. "Anyhow, you mind brushing out my hair? I've tried asking Akane, but uh... well, she does not know how to handle hair with even the slightest amount of curl."

Lisa snorted. The both of us had decently curly hair, although mine was a great deal longer than hers, having been allowed to grow for years compared to Lisa's two months. It was so long that I physically could not reach large amounts of it as it trailed down my back, and so brushing it out myself required either using my tentacles or a robot.

Hrm. It occurred to me that Lisa didn't know I had tentacles.

"Hey Lisa," I said, as she turned around and took the brush from me. "Did you know I have tentacles?"

"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of-" Lisa began, before a quartet of tentacles poked out from behind my back. "...You're serious."

"Now, because you're a trans furry, I know what your first thought is," I said. "And no. These aren't meant for sex. They're basically just arms."

"My disappointment is immeasurable," Lisa said dryly. "So, why do you have tentacles? Are you a wereoctopus on top of being a mad scientist?"

"I've told you, I'm not a druid," I said, turning around and allowing her access to my hair. "More to the point, that's just flatly impossible. Nobody can drink from more than one well. You can't be a vampire and a demiurge, or a druid and a thaumaturge, or a superhero and a primordial. You get one source of supernatural power, and then you're stuck with it forever."

"So I can't have tentacles of my own?" Lisa asked.

"Weeeeell," I said. "Here's the thing: Demiurges are unique. With a very few intuitive exceptions, Demiurges don't have powers the way everyone else does. We build our powers. And while we can't hand out our tech to mere mortals, we can hand it over to other supernaturals. So, y'know. It is totally possible that I could, say, equip you with a set of gloves that let you hit people with lightning."

"Huh," Lisa said. "Okay, yeah, lightning gloves do sound cooler than tentacles. But I kinda want both?"

"That's... tricky," I said. "Demiurges have been installing gadgets in each other for ages. Buuuut, the track record for implanting gadgets in other supernaturals is... thinner. It's hard to tell which accounts are apocryphal or factual, and a lot of the accounts which are verifiably factual paint a very spotty and discouraging picture."

"Spit it out," Lisa said.

"Seventy five percent chance that installing tentacles in your back will put you in the hospital or just straight up kill you."

"...Okay, yeah, I think I can live without tentacles," Lisa said, starting to brush my hair.

"Thank you for being brave about it," I said. "Hey, you planning to turn in for the night?"

"Not soon, no," Lisa said. "It's barely seven."

"Wanna come upstairs and watch a documentary with me and Akane?" I asked.

Lisa hummed quietly, continuing to brush my hair.

"...About what?" Lisa asked.

"Experimental aircraft," I said. "Akane's an aerospace engineer."

Lisa grunted. "Eh. Maybe next time."

"Fair enough," I said. Baby steps.

One day, I'd get this chick out of her shell. But only when she was ready to hatch.