Going In Blind
"Sis, I'm going out tonight" Wolfgang said to her sister as he stepped out of the stairs to the second floor of the house.
He was in his usual form, black slick hair tied up in a tiny ponytail, blue astonishing eyes and no beard to be seen in his face. He weared a purple and gray t-shit that highlighted his toned muscles, brown jean pants and sneakers.
"Alright" Dora answered, not bothering to lift her eyes from the e-book she was reading. She was in her own usual form as well. Blond, almost white hair, wide framed glasses, green-and-white striped shirt with a gray blouse on top, white shorts and knee high, black socks.
"Anything new from your Exchange Program Coordinator?" he asked as he put on his black and white jacket.
She took her time to answer this time "Nothing yet...", than she braced herself.
"Ha, guess they're not gonna sent a homestay here after all" he said grinning.
"Oh, please..." she rolled her eyes.
"I mean it, and you should be happy too, sis, you know as well as I do that it was a stupid idea" he argued again.
"Well, YOU don't have any right to talk to me about stupid ideas after the Crossing Briges incident" she teased.
"Aw, come on, you're gonna trow this up every single time we have an arguement?" he asked.
"I dare you to say you don't deserve it" she said.
"I do, but it's not like my failures can keep yours from being relevant" he continued.
"Oh, there's a few long words in there, been reading a dictionary lately?" Dora laughed at her own joke.
"Oh, fuck off" said Wolfgang, even that he was smiling too. "I plan to be back before midnight".
"Yeah, right" Dora said with disbelief.
Wolfgang didn't even bothered to respond this time, he just went to the from door "Bye sis".
"Bye".
However, as Wolfgang opened the door to leave, he found something that he never dreamed to find.
He stopped imediately, looked the two people up and down, then said "Huh... Can I help you guys?".
Dora ran across the living room to see what had happened and saw the scene.
At the door, there was two figures.
First a man, around forty years old, bald at the top of the head, dressed in a black suit and wearing black glasses, looking stern.
Second, there was who was more likely to have freaked Wolfgang out.
A girl, probably around eighteen years old, with white spiky hair, pointy ears and teeth, black sunglasses atached in a weird fashion to her face. Her skin was tan, in the human parts, but her hands and knee down were yellow scales, not to point the also white feathers covering the intersections between the two types of skin as well as her short tail and the claws, both in her hands and her bird-like feet.
She was dressed in a zipped red hood jacket with adapted sleeves, as well as running shorts.
"Oh, she's hot..." Dora thought to herself
"You must be Dora Takeda" said the man looking at Dora.
"Oh, yes, that's me..." she said, not believing that her homestay had finally arrived.
The man nodded "Pleased to finally meet you in person, I'm Agent Weaving" the Agent then pointed the liminal girl he brought "And this is Basillia, your new homestay"
The girl then straightened her posture and faced a blank space at her front as she said "Hi, nice to meet you".
"Ah..." Dora searched for something to say, but Basillia beat her to that.
"I'm a Basilisk, so I have to walk around with those glasses so I don't, well..." she searched for the right word "So I don't turn everyone who looks at me into stone... So I basically have to behave as if I was blind, everytime i'm not alone"
"Oh... Well, I was not really expecting you today, it's quite late, please come in, where is your luggage?" Dora asked.
"I left in my car" said Agent weaving, than he finally looked at Wolfgang "I suppose you're the brother, Dora talked about"
He took his while to get out of shock, but he recovered "Oh yes, that's me, nice to meet you" he extended his hand for the agent to shake, and he shook "Nice to meet you too".
He looked, unsure to Basillia "Uh, nice to meet you too, Basillia... Welcome".
"Uh... thank you..." she implied she wanted him to say his name.
"Oh, Wolfgang", he said.
"Nice to meet you, Wolfgang" she said, plainly.
"Yeah, well, guess we talk more tomorrow, I was acctually leaving..." he looked from Agent Weaving to Dora.
"Well, at least help me with Basillia's luggage, then you go to your party" she asked.
He trew up his puppy eyes to Dora, but she said "It's either that or the underwear" but then she second guessed "Except for Basillia's".
He snorted "Ok then, let's get to it...".
"Follow me" said Agent Weaving as he walked up to the black sedan he drived.
After the few couple suitcases Basillia brought were already inside the house, Wolfgang eagerly left for his party, while Agent Weaving sticked a while longer to check whether everything was in order, then he also left.
With that, Dora and Basillia had the house, almost all for themselves, and as the door closed with the Agent's departure, an awkward silence filled the living room as well as the two girls.
"Well, I suppose I should show you around the house, right?" Dora was quite astonished with Basillia, she readed about many liminal races even before she even considered the idea of becoming a host, however, she found little about the Basilisks, apparently they had two diferent sets of venom, one in their claws and one in their teeth, both very devastating, but none of it was nearly as deadly as their eyes. Seems that a single glance turned people into stone in seconds, even more powerfull than gorgons's, but all that power came with a cost, apparently Basiliks's settlements were rare and unstable, most of them lived alone or in couples, to decrease the chances anyone get's turned to stone.
Dora felt quite bad about them as she readed how they where forced to live, having one as a homestay was a huge responsability, both regarding Basillia's own feelings and safety as well as that of those around her.
Yet she couldn't help but feel an atmosphere of security around Basillia, as if she had all the possible reason to be insecure, and anxious but was actually calm and collected, as if she had all possible excuse to be ignorant but actually knew what she was doing.
To put it plainly, Basillia was part of a species build to be a tragic killing machine, designed to kill virtually anything without break a sweat. Yet she seemed like those cool college girls who would spend the night out with her friends without drinking so she could drive them safely home and still manage to finish her homework.
Basillia's expression was hard to read, but Dora assumed she was afraid of feeling like a nuisance "Well you can show me up tomorrow, I mean, we Basilik's prefer to be active by night but we're not full nocturnal, you sound like you could use some rest, and I do too, it was a long travel...".
"Well, at least let me show you the most important rooms, I mean, you might need to go to the toilet or to get some water up at night" said Dora, and so she thought something "Are you hungry? I mean, you said you had a long travel, you must be like, starving. Want me to make you some food before we go to bed?".
Dora had the impression Basillia blushed with that phrase, but she quickly said "Well, yeah, if it won't be a bother, I'm really a little hungry".
Dora nodded to herself and walked to the kitchen, but then she stopped "I'm better walk you around before you can know the house and how to move on your own, right?".
"Well I can follow the sound of your voice and steps, but yeah, that would be good, so I don't trip on anything" she answered.
Dora walked up to Basillia and, for an awkward moment, tryied to decide where would be the best place to hold her homestay.
She settled for the shoulder. As she grabbed Basillia's shoulder, feeling the hot skin underneath, the Basilisk girl passed her hand around Dora's waist and held it.
Dora shivered with the touch of the scales and claws into her, with only thin cloth in between, for many reasons including the poison as well as other, nicer things.
"Well, so much for trying not to look pervy" she thought to herself "at least she can't see me blushing".
Dora walked her to the kitchen and had her sat at the table.
Relieved (or not) for not being in direct contact with Basillia anymore, but not wanting to be in an awkward silence, she asked her "Well, I'm quite sure I readed about Basilisks diet while I was researching to be prepared for when you would arrive, but I kind of forgot, you guys are carnivore, if I remember correctly, yes?".
"Omnivore" she replied "As our species can't really be sure wheater or not we would turn our prey into stone before we could eat it, we had to be adaptable to survive" she explained.
"Makes sence" Dora said as she grabbed ingredientes for a quick noodles soup "You aren't allergic to anything, are you? Just so I know".
"No, not really" she answered.
Dora cooked silently for a few seconds, and then it was Basillia's turn to ask a question "Agent Weaving was telling me a little about you as he was driving me here. Said your father was a pro fighter or something of the sort".
Dora was hit by that question like she was punched in the face. "Well... That's all he said?" she asked.
"Only that he was really good, mixed martial artist" she said, with respect and admiration "I kinda wish I could learn martial arts, but well, I'm deadly enough as I am, plus it would be easy for me to accidentally kill anyone, about any time".
"Yeah, father was really good..." Dora agreed, asking herself why Agent Weaving told her that, but not the whole story "Father is upstairs".
"Oh, really?" Basillia seemed to be trying to hide her excitement, Dora felt sorry for her "I bet he's asleep then, could you introduce me to him tomorrow? I'd like to talk to him about his fights".
"Well you can see him, sure, but he won't be able to talk to you..." she answered.
Dora imagined Basillia's face turning into confusion, but even tho she knew Basillia could not see her, she didn't have courage to look at her "He suffered an accident a few years ago, he's like tetraplegic now, and he can hear who talks to him, but he can't talk anymore..."
Basillia kept silent for a few more seconds "I'm sorry for touching the subject... Sorry for your father too, I lost my share of people, but none were submited to such condition before going, so I believe it must be another kind of hard entirely. Must be hard on you and your brother."
"It's alright" Dora said as she finished the noodles "Tomorrow I can show you his medals and stuff as I show you around the house, ok? It's quite spacious around here, so well have a long day".
She gave Basillia a plate of the noodles and the Basilisk eagerly started to eat.
"But tell me a little about you Basillia, where did you lived before you joined the Cultural Exchange Program?" Dora asked.
Basillia swallowed before responding "Well, I'm greek... Lived with my parents mostly" she stopped, ate some more bacon and broccoli, than continued, with a hint of pain "Remember I said I lost my share of people? Well, there you have it".
Dora nodded than gave up a small, sad laugh "well this house is starting to feel like an orphanage...".
Apparently Basillia found it more funny than Dora herself did, as she almost choked with the food, while still smiling "Fucked up people aways find each other around, right?".
Dora smiled more brightly this time "Well someone has to look after us, why not we do it for each other?".
Basillia blushed alongside the smile this time "Yeah you're probably right".