All Still There

Ara woke up rather early, at least for her standards. Rather than getting up, however, she decided to stay on the bed a bit longer, cuddling Obe. The sheets had been pushed away during the night, her tails having replaced them as her cover. They were all still there, which was a bit unusual. Eventually she decided to get up, and once she went to the bathroom to wash her face she noticed the marks on her cheeks. She ran her hands over them, her ears twitching a couple of times as she did so. They felt a bit like grooves. It had been a long time since she had last seen those on her face. Though she did wonder why neither Rena nor Oberon told her about them. That said, she noticed that her skin was... really smooth. As in, a lot more than usual. That soap did wonders apparently. She brought her mind to other matters, but... maybe not as quickly as usual.

She went back to her room and opened her wardrobe, looking at its content. She took out a one-piece dress, around as long as the dress and skirt she usually wore put together, white on the front while black on the sides and with a few red motifs over it, which left the back mostly exposed, and with a small, brooch-like decoration which went over her exposed skin, in the space left between the dress and her neck. Usually she would attach it to a black chocker to help held the dress up, but she had to use the metal one she couldn't take off instead. The dress, which was of a very dark orange -or red, it was a bit hard to tell- on the inside, had two tails on the back, the one on the right being twice the size of the left one. Then she wore two black, tight shoulder length gloves, of which the left one had a rather large sleeve -black on the outer side and red on the inner side- attached at the very base of the glove, covering the arm almost up to the wrist. She started getting changed, leaving her usual clothes on the chair, then she took out a single, black thigh high which she wore on the left leg. After that she took a small fur boa and put it on her shoulder, latching it to the base of the gloves with small, hidden hooks. There was a third one supposed to go behind her neck, but since the chocker she had on wasn't meant for dressing -not that way at least- she couldn't attach it there. She took out a pair of small shoes which covered little more than her toes and the side of her feet, with a heel a bit shorter than her usual wedges. After that she changed her hairpins with different, golden ones that matched the motifs which decorated those clothes here and there. Lastly she combed her hair, splitting it into two long locks. The whole process didn't actually take long.

She walked out, then went back in to tell Obe to hide. Though the idea of having him -it? She wasn't sure yet- under the bed for the whole day wasn't that great, so she had him hide in the wardrobe. Whether that was any better might be debatable though. Then she went to the kitchen. Rena briefly thought about what to comment on, decided that the tails probably weren't the best thing to talk about and went for the other option.

"It's quite unusual for you to completely change your clothing like that"

"I felt like it" Ara replied as she briefly looked around "Where's Oberon?" she asked. Breakfast was on the table, but he clearly wasn't in the room.

"He said he would have been busy the whole day with something, without going into details"

"Is that so"

She took a seat -after having turned the chair around, as the backrest hadn't been designed for someone with six tails- and started eating. Then she walked out of the menagerie and looked around. The place was empty as usual, though being just a few days since the fair had ended, it seemed to be even quieter. The sun was shining unobstructed, hardly any clouds in the sky. With nothing else to do, she went for a walk, without getting too close to the regular city as she didn't want to be seen in those conditions. Though it was rather unusual for her to go out even with just her hair turned white, let alone with fox ears and that many tails. That said, nothing special happened the whole morning. Lunch went by rather normally as well, aside from the fact that, with Oberon still gone, Rena had to do the cooking, and even the meat somehow tasted like vegetables due to that.

Ara wondered about something, then decided to step into the elevator. A while after Rena had gone to work though. She went back to the mizutsune's dome, her fist step inside suddenly making her more conscious of the seed still in her womb. Driving her mind away from that, she looked for a good spot to lie down, eventually finding in on top of a tree. She saw the room's inhabitant as she walked around, but it was sleeping. For the better, probably. She was pretty sure she had already had enough interaction with it for quite a while. She spent most of the afternoon there, lost in her thoughts, the familiarity of the landscape helping her relax until the sun began to set. At that point she thought that it was probably better to go back. She found Rena in the kitchen again, in the midst of making dinner. She started bracing her taste buds for more fruit-like meat.

"Oh, hi. Were have you been the whole day?"

"Out for a walk. Is Oberon still busy?"

"Apparently"

The day ended with nothing special happening. Aside from some chicken somehow stealing an apple's taste.

Ara woke up a bit later the next morning. And while it did take a while -enough for her drowsiness to mostly fade- she noticed that all six tails were still there. She was getting a bit worried about it, and probably Rena too judging by the remark she did when Ara walked into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Maybe it takes longer because there are so many of them?"

"It's a possibility. Actually, at this point I'd say that seems to be the case"

On his part, Oberon -who thankfully had come back to cook their meals- didn't say anything about it. A while later Rena went to get some paperwork done, or at least that's what she said, leaving the other two alone in the room.

"Do you want to try cooking something?" he asked.

"... yes, I'd like to"

"It's unusual to see you wearing such clothes"

"Why, is something wrong with them?"

"Not at all. I simply thought you weren't the type to wear something so... seductive" he replied, keeping to himself the thought that he had mixed -and confused- feelings about the pantyhose being gone.

"I-it's just..." Ara said back as her ears twitched frantically for a very brief moment, her cheeks vaguely turning red for a few seconds "I just felt like wearing them"

Oberon, whose gaze was fixed on her tails, remained silent for a somewhat long while. Ara cooked rather well that morning. That's, compared to her usual performances. The food tasted almost as bad as ever, but it also turned out actually edible. The rest of the day went by uneventfully.

Ara was going to work the next afternoon, which was coming somewhat slowly. She still had all her tails, and the fact was starting to worry her a bit too much. She wondered if she could somehow contact Eun and ask her about it, but the truth was that she had no idea where to find her. After breakfast, when Rena had left the kitchen, she asked Oberon about what she would have had to deal with in a few hours. And, after a brief silence, he answered. While he didn't go into details regarding the mating habits -because he had never observed the act, so he said- he did provide a rather good physical description. Knowing things -some of them at least- beforehand made her calmer, and the fact that he actually listened to her complain from a couple of days earlier made her somewhat... happy? Satisfied might be a better word. Not that she had forgotten all the times he had made her upset too. Time went by slowly after that, until the three of them eventually walked into the elevator together. Albeith Ara and Oberon got off at the second level, unlike Rena who went deeper. From there they walked to the second room. The antechamber was almost completely empty, with nothing but a table, a chair and a small wardrobe. He gave her the key, waited for her to take the chastity belt off, then put the key back in a pocket before entering the dome.

The inside of that one was a forest, and a rather thick one. The roots of the trees were large and made for a rather uncomfortable ground to move on, and judging by how numerous the branches were, as well as how large and intertwined they were, walking on them would have been easier, if not for the fact that the lowest ones were four or five meters above their heads. There were also quite a lot of flowers, though due to the fact that sunlight was mostly blocked off, seing the less colorful ones was a bit tricky. The air was rather humid as well. They started walking, Ara somehow managing to not break her ankles despite wearing heels on such terrain. Though she realized that wearing nothing around her privates felt rather... breezy with that attire. She moved her mind from that to the first thing that fell into her line of sight, which happened to be a flower. They kept moving for a short while, until Oberon stopped and looked up, at around the same time they heard something above them. She moved her gaze upwards as well and saw them.

Around half of Ara's size, albeith they were rather bulky. Their body resembled that of a gorilla, though the arms's proportions were closer to those of an human, and their head was similar to that of a rat, with two small, antelope-like horns. They were covered in blue fur, except for their neck and belly which was red. They had rather long tails which strongly resembled those of a cheetah. There were three of them, and after a brief minute or so of staring at the two of them -or rather, at Ara- one of the creatures climbed down a tree and carefully approached her. Looking at them up close, they were a bit bigger than she had expected, reacing slightly below her breasts with their heads. Unless you accounted for their horns as well.

According to Oberon, those three were more like worker ants, which meant she wouldn't have to interact that much with them. After a short while, the other two climbed down as well, though they kept their distance, as the first one smelled her before placing an hand over her legs. Calmly, Ara ran her hands over its fur, and the creature stepped back a little before moving to her side to take a closer look at her tails. If one were to judge based on how they were moving, Ara seemed to be much calmer than usual. Well, at least until the three creatures suddenly grabbed her and climbed back up the trees, ignoring her protests. They did let go of her when she punched one in the face though, not too hard but still. The workers backed off a bit as she looked down. They were actually quite up in the air, probably around eight meters, but the branches seemed sturdy enough to hold their weight. After a short moment of what seemed to be confusion, the three workers apparently decided that leading the way was safer than actually carrying her, and started moving along. Ara looked around to make sure Oberon was there and, after having seen him not too far away -when did he climb up?- she started walking.

In a matter of a few minutes they reached what seemed to be the den: a rather thick cluster of branches twisted into a somewhat spherical shape, around the same size of the menagerie's kitchen, with three entrances. There were a lot of leaves there, and they were high up enough for sunlight to not get too blocked by other branches above them. The three workers walked inside, and Ara did the same, her tails waving behind her. Inside was a larger exemplar, which would have been taller than Ara if not for his posture, the same of a gorilla. His tail and horns were proportionally larger compared to the workers, and some of its fur was died in a bright green watercolor. The main difference, however, was probably the fact that it had a mane. A large, bright red mane which almost looked like fire. The three smaller ones walked up to it and they seemed to have a very brief talk of some sort, then they moved to the edge of the den as the larger one approached Ara. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason she felt... less in the mood than usual? She couldn't help but feel like that one wasn't exactly to her likings. She realized how weird that line of thought was and cut it off.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, then the creature placed one of its large hands over her shoulder and moved it along her arm, curious. Its fur felt soft but not as smooth as she had expected. When the creature leaned in closer and began smelling her neck she started to get a bit nervous, but the fact that she had already dealt with much, much worse than that was making it relatively easy to take. ... really easy? Probably. When the simil-gorilla pushed its snouth against her shoulder and moved it down, she unfastened the brooch from her choker to avoid having the dress torn off. As a matter of fact, a few moments later her partner pushed it down, albeith it didn't seem too intentional. Ara's ears twitched a couple of times as her breasts were exposed. She blushed as it focused its gaze over her nipples, fondling her chest with one hand while resting its weight on the other. Though, after the initial embarrassment, what crossed her mind was annoyance at how clumsy it was, even for an animal. Realizing what she had just thought actually made her more embarassed, her cheecks turning redder.

Unsure about what to do, she started caressing its head, and actually pinched it -by accident?- when the creature bit one of her breasts with a bit too much strength. Apparently the message got through as it became a bit more gentle, but for some reason she actually wasn't really feeling much in term of stimulation. Then the creature pushed its head against her chest and made her trip over a branch. She broke her fall at the last moment by holding on to another brach, and in that position she saw the creature's member. Which, by the look of it, was fully erect. The size and shape, compared to all the previous ones, caused Ara to... well, giggle. For less than a moment, but it was still enough. The creature froze for a second. Then it turned around and ran away.

"Wh- hey!" Ara shouted as she covered her chest with one arm "... hey, are you serious?!"

Her -supposed to be- partner quickly left the den, and the three workers, after a relatively long bewilderment, decided to follow it. Ara remained there, really embarassed but mainly speechless.

"... I guess that's it for today" Oberon said as he walked up to her.

"I... what... that... ?"

"Normally I'd say that I should have prevented something like this, but I have to say I hadn't expected such a development"

"I'm... not in any trouble for this, right?" she asked, the thought of what just went on making her blush.

"You have the afternoon off, nothing more. ... and this won't help you with your debt"

"That's a... relief. Someway"

She put her dress back in place, then the two of them started walking back to the entrance. On their way, however, Oberon said something.

"Are you feeling well today?"

"I'm not feeling worse than usual. Why?"

"You acted a bit different"

"Really? How?"

"How could I say... I don't think I'd have ever pictured you scarring one of our guests in such a way?"

"Why, you wanted to enjoy the show?"

He stopped and turned around. She wasn't blushing, nor did she stutter in any way -something which she usually did when she was really embarassed, or at least so he thought-, she wasn't even looking away. Actually, their eyes met and refused to part. It somehow reminded him of that morning, morning which had never left a small corner of his mind. While in a different way, that time too she acted different that usual, albeith her condition was a bit different. They remained there, gazing at each other, seconds going by in silence, until a whole minute had passed, maybe more. Then, as if suddenly realizing what she had said, Ara turned her head the other way, her cheeks now clearly red, her tails swinging in front of her as if to cover her, almost violently.

"F-forget that"

... should I worry about this?

As for whose thought that was, I'm not sure. An handful of moments later, Oberon began walking again and Ara decided to turn the subject to something completely different.

"So... how much of my debt is left?" she asked

"One million seven hundred and seventy five thousand"

Ara stopped dead in her tracks.

"Y... you mean... wait, even if I don't count the million and a half from that day then... when did I earn that much money?!" she almost shouted.

"This is an approximation, but with every session you take roughly one hundred seventy five thousands off your debt, though there is a great variance from one job to the other"

"Wait wait wait, how much money does Eve make off this place!?"

"... a lot" he replied as he started walking again "Mistress's researches are rather expensive"

"H-hey!"

She hurried after him.

"To be more accurate, sometimes you earn less than twenty thousands, others more than three hundred thousands with a single session. It depends on the partner. You've kept a rather high average value so far"

Which meant he made sure she kept said high value... right?

"And how much would this... session have earned me?"

"Around... twenty five thousands I think"

Well, at least I didn't lose out too much...

Ara went back to her room -after having put the belt back on- to do... things -probably play around with Obe?-, while Oberon went to the kitchen. As for Rena, she most likely was busy with her work at the moment. Then, something unexpected happened. The bell rang. Or rather, someone ran the bell, but rather than making a sound, it sent an alert straight to Oberon's system, which is why none of the other residents heard anything.

Ara quickly pushed Obe under the bed before walking to the door when someone knocked at her room.

"Do you have your mask?" Oberon asked.

"... eh?"

"The one you used for your public performance"

"Y... yes, it's here... why?" she replied, her face turning bright red at the mere memory of the event.

"Put it on and come downstairs. There is someone who wants to talk with you"

"Someone? Who?"

"One of the organizers of the fair"

"... can I refuse?"

"Of course. But I think you should at least hear him out"

"... right. Just give me a couple of minutes"

She found the mask in a drawer, put it on then said a couple of words to confirm that it still altered her voice a bit. She made sure it worked, gave her hair a quick comb then walked downstairs. Oberon was waiting in the kitchen, together with a man in really formal clothes, although they also were extravagant enough to make her think about the fair right away. And then there was his mask, which was actually completely devoid of facial features of any sort, despite being finely decorated. He was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of what seemed to be coffee. ... she had seen that mask once before, at the Tea House. Albeith she had a different one on at the time, so maybe he didn't recognize her.

"Good afternoon" he said as soon as he saw her, standing up and offering an handshake.

"G... good afternoon"

"My colleague doesn't have much experience with the fair" Oberon said as he started pouring her a cup of tea.

"Oh, I see. I thought she would know me already. I'm Sha, one of the founders of the fair" he then began talking as he sat back down, Ara taking the chair opposite to him "While I didn't get the chance to personally attend to your show, I've heard some of my friends talk very positively about it"

Glad that the mask hid her blush, though only partially -why did it have to leave one of her cheeks exposed?-, Ara wondered how she was supposed to reply. Since she remained silent, the man decided to continue.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you could be the model for a photo shooting, or even one or two videos if possible. If it doesn't go against your contract with the owner of this shop, of course. I take it she's your employer"

"What kind of photos are you talking about?" she asked as she tried to hold her tails still.

"The kind we probably wouldn't show to children"

She took a silent, deep breath to keep her composure, then replied.

"I don't intend to have sex with strangers for money" she said, her firm voice surprising Oberon, who on the other hand didn't really seem fazed.

"... I see. I personally find it a bit odd for your work policy to allow animals and not people, but... oh, of course. The fox was probably yours in the first place. I apologize for my rudeness. I am glad to inform you, however, that I had already planned for most photos to be with you as the sole subject. In case of the presence of another person in the image being necessary, there'd be no problem for it to be your coworker here" he said as he gestured towards Oberon "assuming he accepts and is fit for the part, of course"

This is so awkward...

"I'll think about it" he said, almost coldly. Or at least she got the impression he wanted to sound so.

"... what sort of photos are we talking about?" she almost repeated.

A brief silence.

"Oh, right. The theme of the shooting would be bondage. A rather common subject, I know, especially compared to your own show, but this is what the market demands. That said, I'll try to add some other... interests in the album. I'll rent one of the nearby buildings, so you won't even have to travel somewhere for the job"

"I-I see. And... how many photos are we talking about?"

"I don't know the exact number yet, but I would say around... twelve? Obviously, that excludes all the trial shoots, and the number might increase. No more than thirty, anyway. And that would be the most extreme case"

"And how much would you pay for this photo shoot?" she asked, also because she wasn't sure she could stand that conversation for much longer and that seemed like a good and polite way to get to the end of it.

"Considering that I would have to pay a couple of staff members and other preparations... I think twenty five thousands each? As for the videos, the price would depend on the length and content. If you are willing to do them, I mean"

"... I'll... think about it..."

"Wonderful" he replied as he got up and shook Ara's hand again "I'll come back tomorrow afternoon"

"S-sure"

And with that he walked out. Ara let herself fall on the table, without bothering to take her mask off.

"Why does it feel like I'm getting sucked into a world my parents wouldn't be proud of?"

"You can refuse if you don't want to do it"

"I know..." she replied as she grinded her head against the table. The pay wasn't actually that high. Sure it was better than what she had recently found out to earn with a single session, but those at least were... private. That time with the fox was public, true, but on the other hand the money she had earned that time were a lot more. And she wasn't even sure she didn't regret doing it in the first place.

"Can you at least pose?"

"I never tried"

Then something started ringing. Ara looked around, a bit confused, while Oberon walked to the box Eve had left in the kitchen before leaving. He pushed an hidden button and the sound stopped, replaced by Eve's voice.

"Oberon?"

"Right here, mistress"

"I got a letter from Sha, is he there already?"

"He left a few minutes ago"

She mumbled something in a low voice.

"What did Ara say?"

"I'm here too" she commented.

"Oh, perfect. So?"

"Can I... like, actually even trust him?"

"Of course. He has a reputation to maintain, he can't afford to not keep his word. Does that mean you accepted?"

"I... don't know yet"

"If you decide to do it you can take off the belt, it would probably cause you a few troubles and possibly cancel the whole thing. Only in that case, and only for the duration of the shooting"

"Can you not talk as if I've already taken the job? Please?"

"I actually was expecting you to turn him down immediatly. Are you feeling well?"

"How come you're all so concerned about me today?"

"I'm just surprised, I didn't think that my show would have become the starting point of your career at the fair"

"I told you I haven't accepted the offer!"

"Yet?"

"And I don't want this kind of career!"

"I think you might be suited though"

"... I need a bath" Ara replied as she left, slamming the door behind her.

"Oberon" Eve said then "Since we're here already, how much has Ara paid off so far?"

"Two millions seven hundred and twenty five thousand"

"More than I had expected... I guess she likes the job more than I had thought. ... even if she accepts, the shooting won't be held before next week, I know Sha's schedule. Some of it. Just in case, prepare the test body, I wouldn't want for her debt to run out before I got the chance to try that. I'll get there soon, but I won't be able to assist for more than the actual exchange, you'll have to document everything else by yourself"

"As you wish, mistress"

Then the call ended. As he walked away, Oberon wondered if it was really a good idea to do what Eve had planned. Then again, she had given him a clear order so it being a good thing or not had little -if any- importance.

The next day came surprisingly slowly. Ara had spent most of the morning sitting on her bed, either messing Obe's hair or running her hands over her own tails, thinking about the offer. Not the whole morning though. At one point she laid on the bed, on top of Obe, with her back up, the sheets partially covering them. She rested her head on the pillow, next to his, grabbed one of his hands and gently guided it on her back, down along her spine. While she hadn't given him any specific order, Obe could follow manual instructions rather well. She moved his palm below her dress, over her butt, and managed to slid one of his fingers inside her rear. The fact that the chastity belt left it always exposed was something she had gotten used to surprisingly fast, but that didn't make it any less awkward.

Her cheeks began to turn a bit red as she whispered something into Obe's ear, and he began to move his finger -both around and back and forth- inside her rear, slowly and rather... mechanically. She took her time to get used to the sensation, then made him push a second finger in, and not long after a third one too. She instructed him to speed up a bit, her face getting more flushed as her breath began to become a bit less regular. Her ears were lowered against her head, her tails slowly moving around above her. Then, with less hesitation than she would have expected from herself, she pulled Obe's fingers out and inserted in her rear the plug instead, before having him move it back and forth. She had gotten rather... used to anal at that point. Not enough to say she was really comfortable with it, but the other option was... well, locked off at the moment. Her breath got a bit ragged as she grabbed Obe's head with one hand, the other gently fondling her own chest. Then she heard the door hopening and her heart stopped.

"Ara, lunch's ready... are you still sleeping?" Rena asked.

For a few instants, panic overrode Ara's whole mind. Thankfully, she realized almost immediatly that the elf couldn't really see what was happening under the sheets, and from her position Obe's head was covered by Ara's. That said, he was still moving the plug back and forth.

"I-I'll come right away" she replied as she tried to fake a yawn, though the combination of awkwardness and stimulation -albeith not particularly strong- made it sound especially... crafted.

The elf either believed that or -more likely?- decided to not make any question as she walked away, closing the door. Ara took a long, deep breath then made Obe stop. She got up, her ears twitching a bit when she removed the plug. Then her gaze locked in on it...

Lunch went by quietly, and a while later Rena -who had been informed of the little... incident in the dome, but not of Sha's visit, mainly because that would imply telling her about Ara's public show too, and that was one of the last things she wanted the elf to know- went to work in the underground levels. Luckily, when Sha arrived Rena had yet to come back up from the lower floors. She put on her mask and went to meet him.

"I apologize for my rudeness" he said as he stood on the doorway, both Ara and Oberon standing in front of him "But I'm really busy today. If you could..."

"I refuse the offer"

She had thought about it, and... the pay wasn't worth it. Especially because, unlike that public session, photos were something which remained and could get passed around. That exhibition, at least, hadn't been filmed. ... because it hadn't, right?

"Is there a way for me to make you change your mind?"

"I... appreciate it that you thought about me for this job" she lied, trying to sound as formal as she could while hiding her uneasiness "But I won't go back on this decision"

"How regretful" he replied with a single, loud clap of his hands -which seemed really out of place considering she had turned down the job- "What if I raise the pay a bit?"

"The answer is still a no" she said, her tails waving nervously behind her.

"I see. If you ever happen to change your mind, your employer should know how to contact me" he added as he quickly shook her hand.

"S-sure..."

"This isn't how I had hoped this to go, but business works this way" he added as he bowed down "I'll take my leave now"

And with that he left. Ara closed the door, turned around, took a step forward, removed her mask and then walked to her room. Keeping the plug on during all that turned out to be a bad idea, as it made her even more agitated.

In truth, Oberon had almost expected Ara to accept the offer, as she had been acting a bit... off lately. Then he looked at her white, soft tails, wagging behind her as she walked upstairs.

They were still six.

This chapter probably is a bit all over the place, sorry about that.