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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
Las Lindas and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Chalo/Chalosan and SoulKat.
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Chapter 21: Tender Therapy
We had a name and we had a 'date' to be wary about.
Mora and I weren't exactly planning to expose ourselves during our subtle investigation; we were running to check the legitimacy of Hope Ravenhurst's attempt to help Taffy. We had just a first impression with the Gazelle Prime and, while seemingly devoid of malicious intents, she sure had quite the bubbly personality that, coupled with that openness, made her dangerous in a rather unique way. Not in the bad way, to be precise… rather in the lewd kind of things.
Digit managed to give a quick look to anything that came up with that name, and I believe Mora was the most surprised of the three of us when we realized that she was a professional singer with a good following behind her. Concerts, charities, and even doing a few humanitarian missions here and there when she was free. The girl definitely had a full package when it came to be a celebrity that enjoyed a lengthy career of positive acts. It was the first time I actually heard of her as a musician, but I was actually impressed by the demo of one of her latest works which the Nanozell Spirit decided to play during her prolonged search.
We already knew her parents, I got some more on her younger sister as she was listed as employed by her father in his company, and then we paused over something particularly worrying about Hope that had us on the edge over her good-will towards Taffy. While she was still regarded as a good role model by many, her career wasn't without a couple of scandalous pictures being recovered by paparazzi. Starting with the few relationships that she had publicly proclaimed in the last couple of years, the girl had also accumulated quite a handful of affairs that were mostly known by the partners she had been with. Sometimes even having said partner within that lecherous circumstances she would find herself in. Nothing really horrifying as many celebrities from a while ago would be shot down for, but it was clear that her 'therapeutic' touch could go one way or another. It was the kind of 50/50 situation that just we couldn't afford to accept and so we decided to further investigate her motivations.
Approaching Taffy now would be a little foolish, and possibly a cracking point we weren't ready to even graze due to how little we knew about the situation. Even trying to ask her would just make things difficult and raise the suspicions of the Bunny Prime. Which was why we had to still focus our capacity to garner information through another source of knowledge about Hope's private personality.
Minos huffed as I decided to approach him on the matter, seemingly surprised by the topic I was bringing up but definitely shocked when I mentioned what caused me to ask for his own perspective on the matter. The reason why he was caught off-guard by the news that his surrogate niece wasn't what I expected and it definitely cut dry the chances of gaining more info about Hope.
"That's… really not what I would have thought she could have gone for. Sure, I know she is quite extroverted and took a fair lot from her mother in openness and… bravery from her father, but I can't give you much on this since it's been years since I had a good chance to speak with her," The Bull Prime explained, leaving me particularly disappointed in this development and putting me in a particularly harrowing situation.
Having already checked with Sandy for info, I doubted she knew more and I was well-aware that hammering a chance more than once would just raise the alarm bell within Taffy's mind. The young woman didn't suspect a single thing, and even a minor disturbance would easily get her to behave more cautious and close down any chance of us finding out more before the day came for Taffy to be pulled in that situation.
With the tight schedule pressing on our back, Mora decided to personally call a couple of old contacts back in Prism that could at least tell her a little more on the individual. Very little was drawn beyond what we already knew and… this set us in quite the complicated situation. It was evening, we were done with dinner and we were currently lying on the bed, taking a moment to think some more on the matter.
"There has to be a solution to this blasted problem," The Cow Prime lamented, her lips twitching as glared at the ceiling. "Seriously, how the hell did she get a proper license to be a therapist? Shouldn't that require years of college or something like that?"
"There are rare cases," I admitted, unsure myself when it came to this specific matter. I've heard of people managing to gain this degree through some specific courses that enabled this kind of work but… it was really rare back home, so I never really paid much attention to the chances of this being easier in the new continent. From Mora's own reaction, I doubted this was really that frequent of a situation but I could see Lady Ambar lessening some requirements to allow the increase of jobs of this kind. "But I doubt it was through illegitimate means. I've met her parents and… they don't give off the air of people that would just ignore something like this if this was indeed the case."
"Are you sure?"
I nodded and the woman shifted so she could lay on the side, her stare now aimed at me. I looked back, her eyes quite mesmerizing when she was this thoughtful and… she seemed to notice the small smile on my face from the way she quickly blushed at my amused gaze. Still, as she looked away, an idea seemed to enter her mind from the way her face twisted in a pleasant realization.
"How about we just ask someone at the farm to call her and see what kind of services she can offer?" The Cow Prime suggested. "You know, maybe she would tell more from what we know from her online info on the service."
"What if Hope doesn't reveal the intimate details away from close doors?" I rebuffed, knowing that it just couldn't be that easy. "That kind of system would work on close and recurring clients, thus preventing anyone to freely know about it."
"We could have Randal said that one of her customers told him about it."
"She would ask for verification," I remarked, sighing over the fact she would want to confirm if this was true or not. Plus… Randal. I didn't have anything against the guy after we started to interact friendly with each other, but I knew that he would crumble under any interrogation presented by Hope. A big guy he might be, but he was still a softie deep down and one that really caved when the lady knew what she was talking about. Hope would learn the truth after just a couple of minutes spent talking with him through the phone.
"This… is fucking frustrating," Mora lamented, turning her glare back at the ceiling as she pondered about it even more than before, her mind just teased into trying to find a solution to this dilemma we had been plighted with for a few days now.
And while she was doing that, I actually knew that there was a way we could actually work this problem out with ease and finally put an end to this seemingly endless brainstorming. The idea was blunt, simple and terribly direct, but it was also something that would definitely conclude our doubts and worries all at once. The problem with that brilliant idea? It revolved around putting both Mora and I through a session and seeing for ourselves if this was something fine or not. Since it was the two of us there, Hope would have had little space to make a move on us and we would still gain more info on what happened behind these walls. It was incredibly risky as I really didn't know how much she was willing to restrain herself before 'exploiting' the situation to the best outcome. For her.
It was a troubling matter, and one that got me so worked up that I actually gained the attention of Mora on me as she noticed how thoughtful I was being on the matter. Instead of calmly asking over my sudden change in mood, the Cow Prime silently shifted closer, with my mind grasping at what was going on only when she was ultimately leaning onto me.
"So, did you think of something?"
I blinked, then I gave a nervous look and pulled my gaze away from her heavy scrutiny.
"Just an idea that… I'm not fond of it."
A frown adorned her face at that, and she felt the need to actually push for more. "How so?"
"Well, it could work but it would mean putting ourselves in a situation where we might gain a permanent problem out of this," I explained with a hum. "And it's… are you sure you want to know?"
"If it's to prevent issues for Taffy, then yes. Just spit it out," She lamented, and yet she faltered a little as I cheekily pushed up and planted a kiss on her lip. Her eyes widened slightly but she quickly recovered and leaned down to rest her cheek on my shoulder. In this situation, both morally and physically, I was quite 'forced' into being honest to my lovely girlfriend. And so I spoke up.
"We could try it ourselves and try to check if that's something that's good or bad."
The proposal entered Mora's mind, she remained still for a couple of seconds and… ultimately she huffed. "That could work but… I see the issue. Darn it, I guess we don't have much of a choice at this point."
"You know that-"
"We would live with the possibility of her asking for more sessions, which would be draining on our time and money," The young woman interrupted. "Yes, I'm well aware of this but… it's not like we can decide something else. We either do that, or we just let Taffy go and allow ourselves to spend a full day of pure nervousness and uncertainty. We need to know."
I slowly nodded at her determination and I knew we really didn't have much of a choice about this matter. After we were set with that plan, we decided to spend the rest of the time merely cuddling. We needed to be in our sharpest form in the next few days and we also had to be careful of what things might unfold once we were through with the first steps of this ambitious and potentially reckless plan.
Digit took the phone number tied to the service and I took it upon myself to make that call. I wasn't that happy about it, but I knew that I had to do it and so… I called. And got an appointment. The conversation was mostly as I thought it was. Hope was happy, really happy, and she tried to make a talk out of it. Sadly, I was well-versed in going through conversation through the phone to get what I wanted, pushing the call to an end all the while making sure nobody noticed what happened and how it closed down so easily.
Still, it was now time to wait for the day to go and check on what Taffy might be set out to venture into before she had the chance to.
My regret was immeasurable, but my day was far from ruined since there was still so much that could have happened in a few hours.
Making an appointment with Hope proved to be way easier than expected, and even easier considering that the date was set way before Taffy's and within the week. This was so suspicious, that I just could tell that we were walking into an ambush or something of that kind. Tension fueled my steps, but didn't dominate my mind as I was the one that went to rang at the door of the apartment we eventually reached. This was where the address took us to and I was quite surprised this was our destination. It wasn't a run-down place, far from it, but considering the kind of individual we were visiting and her economic situation, I would have expected a better place for a counseling therapist.
Beyond the surprise, only reluctance and a guarded notion of carefulness as I knew that this was where I had to keep focus on each step we took and she took. We were here to study her behavior and make sure that we were entrusting Taffy to someone that would exploit her current state of mind. It was a big responsibility with ample margin of error, but something we could still win through the little act we had in mind to exploit to get through this session and not give her any suspicions of what we were doing.
Having dated a girl that studied psychology back a few years ago and having wasted a good part of my free time in the past behind psychological dramas, I just had the perfect alibi to not only justify our presence here, but also dissuade Hope from thinking we were just grasping at straws with our reasoning. Mora was surprised by what I had offered her but… she was fine with it. It was pretty innocent and easy to lie about.
Still, It didn't take long for someone to finally come at the door and we were greeted by Hope herself, an uneasy look on her face. The Gazelle Prime was wearing something lighter compared to what she had back at the party, something informal due to the fact the situation didn't require her to dress as such. Sporting a sleeveless white shirt with the pink words 'Cutie Pie' written on its center, the therapist was wearing a pair of short jeans that didn't reach even close to her knees. Her legs were mostly exposed, with just a pair of toeless black pantyhoses, with her feet exposed as she was donning no shoes at that moment.
"Oh, you're here… punctually," She greeted with a hint of nervousness. "To be fair I would have thought you two would have come… a little later that now."
This caught us both off-guard, thinking that maybe she just had to clean things up and nothing more. Fate willed that something else was causing her to behave this awkwardly as more footsteps approached and I didn't get much to say or think as I saw someone familiar peek over Hope's shoulder.
The girl was wearing a pink bikini top underneath her open orange jacket and a green skirt that was matched by sandals Blonde, her dazzling blue eyes were the same as usual and… the Penguin Prime gasped in delight as she recognized me too.
"I thought I recognized that voice!" She exclaimed mirthfully, getting attention to herself. "Declan, it's been eons! How are you, little human?"
I chuckled. "Doing well, and I see you didn't change much from last time we saw each other, Penks."
A scoff left her beak, faking an annoyed look. "Didn't you forget that we agreed that you shouldn't be calling me that in front of others? Your girlfriend might be a little jealous of what I said to get that nickname."
"I doubt that," Mora commented out of nowhere and it gained a surprised look from the Penguin. Before the blonde could have said anything about it, Hope gasped.
"Wait, you're the one that left Penka with her spanking feti-"
"Please, it was a long while ago and… kinda?"
"He is the one," Penka answered to Hope's query with a calm voice. "We were young, driven by excitement and… while I still pursue the chance of warming beds with close friends, we're not into that kind of chance. Still… I guess you settled yourself. Lovely girl."
"Mora."
"Penka, nice to meet ya," They shook hands and I felt a shiver go down my spine. While my relationship with Penka was one of the first ones I had back in college and one of the brief ones at that, we had been fairly close throughout the last period of education. Really resourceful, sportive, and terribly incapable of going through Math and Biology. Which was where she was introduced to Tootsie and the two had been close friends before the Penguin Prime had to move away for work-related stuff.
We didn't spare too much time discussing with the girl as she was in a hurry from the looks of it. Still, she left us with her phone numbers and… a couple of questions from Mora's side as how I ended up meeting her. To be fair, that was going to be an interesting discussion since the first time I met Penka coincided with the first time I went to the Nudist Beach. I could distinctly remember making a couple of fond memories there.
As soon as the Penguin Prime was out of the picture, it was time for Hope to take us inside the… modest-sized flat that was technically her workplace. I thought she would have put some effort to try and convert the place to a fitting area for the kind of expertise she advertised for but… I could say without hesitation that it wasn't the case from the way the apartment was set up to be more of a living quarter than a place meant for a therapist. Nonetheless, she led us to the living room and set us by the sofa.
"Can I bring you something before we begin? Water, any soda-"
"I'm fine."
Mora didn't sound interested in giving that reprieve, neither was I as I merely shook my head at that. To my surprise, Hope didn't seem upset about it and shrugged it off by sitting by the couch near the sofa.
"So, I suppose we can start discussing how was… your day," The Gazelle Prime started to comment with a brilliant smile. "I suppose things have been going quite well at the farm. With yours being the winner at the Gossamer Harvest Festival, I can only imagine how many donations Las Lindas has received."
"It's been quite calm. Things have been mostly fine at the farm," I summarized the situation with just these words. Not too tight, but not too detailed on the matter. It sufficed to the situation as Hope kept a proper composure and seemed happy with the reply.
"Which in turn means that the two of you and the rest of the workers at the farm had the chance to enjoy some time together more than before. Right?" She inquired, scribbling something on some paper she had left on the couch. We merely nodded, and I got a grasp of what she was aiming for with this long turn.
"So, you have… enjoyed private times with each other, feeling less pressed by the need to be reserved about it just a few times each month and… trouble came in the form of trust."
And that's where the tricky acting had to start. The gist was that Mora and I were having a little bit of a fight over who takes control of the pacing in bed. Which was incredibly wrong since we both were particularly even-splitting in that regard. Each had their times to shine, especially when the other was tired and just needed a moment to recover while allowing the other to keep the heat going.
"Something like that, yes," I replied tightly, purposely making it seem as if I was really having some issues even talking about it. The Cow Prime did a fine job looking away, masking her current mood through a faux expression of awkwardness and reluctance. It was enough to tip Hope into the direction we wanted as she nodded and sighed.
"You two are… I guess I can say you two are just being incredibly silly to think this is actually so important to make your relationship crumble," The girl pointed out, humming as she thought about it. "Let me ask you this, Mora. Did Declan take decisions that, beyond the bed, you wanted to contest out of a personal whim? Even in a situation when it was clear it would have made you petty?"
…
"Not… really," The woman admitted, keeping up with her act. "We have been through a lot together, and while we just really started to enjoy our relationship to this extent. I guess… it's just a problem tied to that specific aspect of it."
Hope hummed a little louder, a noise of agreement as her gaze moved right at me.
"And I suppose that has been as troubling for Mora to handle as it has been for you, Declan."
I nodded. "We're not this… antagonistic towards each other. Normally," I 'admitted' "Sure, there are some times where we have opposing views, but we find the time to talk it out and reach out compromises."
"Which isn't exactly something that can be easy to achieve during sex," The Gazelle Prime added, nodding at this development while pondering over the matter. "It's truly an interesting case. Not unusual or rare, just… unexpected. Yet, I can see this being a problem that can be solved with some guidance. Nothing too complicated or invasive, just sessions that are meant to find a solution that better fit with your situation, but also to your distinct personalities. It might sound a long time spent there but… it's worthwhile. I can assure you both of this."
While I would have just nodded it off as a good way for Hope to expand her chances to try something funny, I couldn't help but actually find her reasoning fairly solid. It wasn't orthodox psychology due to the system applied by the young woman, but it was definitely something that had some reasonable foundation and didn't coax anyone into anything… weird. Surprising but also relieving as it meant she was going to do some good to Taffy when she would come by.
With our worries simmering down to almost nothingness, the rest of the session was just aimed to discuss the schedule of the sessions, which were to be set in flexible dates for both her and us, and the payment that we were to give to Hope. Once again, we were given quite the surprising list to follow and I frowned at her with a mixture of skepticality and surprise.
"Isn't this… too cheap?" I asked quietly, still perplexed by the minuscule cost.
"Well, if this was my main job, I would have inflated it a little more but… I do this more as a good way to help people," The Gazelle Prime explained with a happy smile. "I guess that's something that stuck since I started helping mom with her own therapies. She is ten times better than me at this but… I do what I can to help others. I really want to make sure your relationship stands on solid ground."
I allowed a smile at that, feeling the genuineness in that proclamation. It was quite rare to find someone able to have a job like this and feel happy without potentially robbing their clients with the costs.
"And… we will trust you on this matter."
Her smile widened, and I felt another shiver go down my spine as I could tell that this opening was partly a mistake on my side. She merely giggled and led us to the exit. There was no delay when we had to eventually leave but… as we left, Hope took this moment to check back on the paper she had been scribbling on and sigh giddily as she took the document back to her room.
A plan was being concocted as we left, one that we had unwittingly given the chance for the girl to form through that session. While Hope had no plans to act on Taffy… that didn't mean she was going to miss the chance to make new friends through this interesting circumstance.
Friends… of the close kind at that.
AN
And in comes the Penguin.
Variety to its finest-
With a penchant to apply the lewd Gazelle into the Equation. I'll patiently wait when it's the turn of others. Of Hugging Bears in that regard.
...I thought Naerie asked to be shipped with-
I wasn't talking about my daughter, dearie~.
Uh… I don't recall you saying that I can ship Sirio.
Of course I didn't! Why would I let my little boy out in the wild so young?!
You mentioned bear and- wait, where are you going with my papers!
Fixing mistakes. Something about… taking over for the sake of… good? Nah, lewd. Only lewd.
