"U-u-ugh," I groaned dejectedly, hanging my head over the empty plate. "Why? Why did I have to come back right when you were discussing me with your family?" This moping of mine has drawn the attention of a certain winged half-snake, who was stuffing her mouth full of food, stopping only when she had turned her head to me. She looked at me with an apologetic expression, which would be quite impressive if only she didn't look like a hamster with those puffed cheeks. A cute hamster, although that only makes things worse.

"Aleshandr Bfulashovich, von't vur-"Asya spoke, but I interrupted her by raising a hand in front of her face.

"Don't eat and talk at the same time," I said sternly, rising my head to look at her. "If you want to talk, you swallow your food first, okay?" Seriously, even if she doesn't know the proper manners, she could've at least come to the logical conclusion that a full mouth does not facilitate clear speaking. But it was clear to me that she wanted me to stop worrying. At least I think that's the message behind her efforts.

"Shorry," she loudly chewed and swallowed her food. Then Asya started smiling all of a sudden and put a scaled arm to her face in an expression of bliss, as if she was enjoying some god-like dish. She was also trembling quite a lot while moaning rather… suggestively. The whole situation was oddly sexy, reminiscent of that one cooking manga I've heard about. I mean, this kind of reaction is flattering and all, but she could've shown her satisfaction in a more child-friendly manner.

As she was doing that, I caught myself remembering the women I've ever seen up to this moment and comparing them with my homestay. Don't know why, but, for some reason, the memories of rare cases of me interacting with the opposite gender resurfaced. They were rarely pleasant and never romantic, but enough to learn roughly about those people. And the more images of the past flashed by, the stronger the fury within me grew, until everything before me seemed to disappear. I hate to remember all of this, but why can't I sto-

"-vich. Alexandr Bulatovich! What's wrong?!" My consciousness was brought back by the panicked shouting of Asya and the feeling of something cool wrapping my wrist. That feeling was the aspid's hand, the black scales barely reflecting any light. I then traced the exotic skin all the way up to the owner, whose owner had her face barely a few centimeters away from mine.

God, that face. I have never seen a face as pretty as this. Fair skin, which looked charmingly smooth; cute little scales on the cheeks; pretty lips, slightly parted to let out the nervous breaths; big sapphire eyes darting all over me – all of this was framed by the locks of long, shiny black hair. Looking at Asya's worried expression I couldn't say a thing, as I felt my- wait, what am doing so suddenly?!

"Whoa!" I shouted, recoiling away from the girl, flailing my arms around immediately after to keep balance on the stool. That failed spectacularly and I felt how I started falling backwards. I closed my eyes hard in anticipation of the impact, but instead of the hard floor I felt something… not quite hard. The surface I fell on was soft but with a rough texture, which was rather nice, scratching my back through the thin fabric of the shirt. I have immediately recognized the feeling and, surely, after opening my eyes and looking around I found myself sprawled on Asya's serpentine half.

How many times did I get myself into a similar situation today? This is both hilarious and infuriating, both emotions coming from a single fact – I keep and keep messing up throughout the whole fucking day! The last time I acted like this was… I never acted like this. Ever!

'Just what is wrong with me today? Why am I being such an idiot all of a sudden?' I cursed myself, all the while growling angrily and holding a palm up to my face. Needless to say, I was very embarrassed. So much so that I felt like falling through the ground. Swinging the arm aside, I rolled over on my stomach and pushed myself up. Then I then set the stool I was sitting on earlier on its legs and, finally, turned to Asya. She had a worried expression, the sight of which made my heart sink even further than it already was.

I made her feel bad again.

"Sorry, I just, uh, remembered something bad," I said reassuringly to the girl, answering to the unspoken question. "I tend to zone out a bit from time to time, but I'm used to it, so don't worry."

"I… I see," she lowered her head, not looking relieved at all. "It's just that you looked so angry and I was worried that I may have somehow caused it…"

"Oh, don't go blaming yourself for it, now! See, I'm fine!" I cheered, smiling wide as Asya raised her eyes at me. The last thing I want is for her to blame herself for my own problems. To further emphasize my point, I even flexed my arms a couple of times in an exaggerated manner. This made me look like an idiot again, but it was a deliberate act, so I didn't care all that much.

Though it seemed that I have been carried away, seeing how I started acting even more over-the-top, making sounds like "Hnghh!", "Graagh!" and "Oh, yeah!" It was kind of fun and I kept at it right until the moment Asya started laughing. And it wasn't the cute, girly giggle, no – she was guffawing loudly, bent over on the stool and clutching her stomach. Her wings were twitching in time with the ragged breathing, as did the tail. In any other situation I would be infuriated by such behavior directed at me, but the way this girl did it was too innocent to be provoke anger, so I just smiled along until my gaze fell on the empty plates, with the remains of cutlets and mashed potatoes on them, and the half-finished bowl of crab salad.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat to draw the attention of the laughing aspid, to no avail. Then I did the same thing a bit louder. No reaction. A bit more louder and still nothing. Then I cleared my throat so hard that I've started actually coughing, which had finally got her attention. She looked up at me and her face has turned so red that even boiled crayfish would look alive in comparison. She then opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking around in panic, until I put my hand up after recovering from the coughing fit.

"Once again, don't worry. After all, making you laugh was my goal," I told reassuringly. "Now take your plate and bring it to the sink, please," I asked to let Asya channel her thoughts in a less depressing direction. With a nod and a bleak "okay" she put the fork on the plate and took it to the kitchen, moving over her own body. I trailed her movements, especially her plaid skirt, as its hem swung from side to side along with the girl's hips.

Did I mention that Asya has a kick-ass figure yet? Well, even if I did, I'm more than willing to repeat myself since this is how thing really are – Asya is beautiful, and I don't like lying. Although the mere thought of actually saying it aloud embarrasses me and I did not just have any strange thoughts about the girl standing in the kitchen right now! …Okay, maybe I did, but for an entirely different reason! And the best way to get rid of those thoughts is to watch some lamia porn before going to sleep. For now, though, I should calm down and finally get the dishes to the kitchen.

Taking the salad along, I gave the plate to Asya, with whom I agreed to take turns washing the dishes and hers is today. I, in turn, put the big bowl down on the countertop and opened one of the drawers, looking for some plastic wrap to cover the salad with. Sadly, I found nothing but emptiness there, so I opened the one under it. Then the one under that one. Then the one under that one. 'For fuck's sake,' I cursed inwardly, starting to see the pattern. 'Where's this fucking wrap? I definitely put it in here…'

I stood up and angrily slammed the empty drawer close with my foot, startling Asya with the loud noise, which was then followed by the clatter of the plate being dropped. I turned my head to the right and saw the aspid in question grip the sponge so hard the foam was dripping down from her scaled hand. "Uhm, are you alright?" she asked, squinting her eyes in confusion, to which I growled before answering.

"Nah, I'm fine. It just looks that I'll have to look through all of this stuff," I grumbled, annoyed by the madness that was the amount of storage place in the kitchen.

Seriously, gramps, what were you thinking when building this house? I know you probably would, but did you expect a giant to live here or something? Well, at least it's big enough so that I and Asya have no problems being in the same room. But come on, why so many goddamn cupboards; you could fit the whole fucking Dyatkovo Lead Crystal Museum in there and you'll still have enough space for the iconostasis.

And I guess that I have no choice but to search through all of this. Seriously, where did I put the- Oh, hello there, roll of plastic wrap that has somehow ended up on top of the wall-mounted cupboard above Asya, fancy meeting you here! Was I drunk when I put you there? How do I get you down from there, though? I should probably bring the ladder. No, Asya's body might get in the way… Actually, why go anywhere when one of us can freely change their height?

"Asya, could you get that, please?" I inquired, once more distracting the girl from the plates. She faced me with a questioning expression as I nodded at the silvery roll above her head. The aspid stared silently at it for a second, her blue eyes darting left and right, like she was thinking really hard. Then she nodded confidently – the first time so far, actually – and I watched her carry out my demand.

Honestly, I wasn't able to keep myself from looking in amazement at Asya's human half lifting up. She kept rising until her belly was at one level with the counters' top.

I was speechless. I knew that lamias could do such things and there's plenty of videos out there, but seeing it in real life, right next to me is on a whole different level of exciting. And Asya did it with such grace and ease that it was just… just woah!

I remained in that position – head tilted up and mouth agape – until Asya took the roll of wrap and addressed me, looking down from her position. "Um, did you mean this, Alexandr Bulatovich?" she asked, showing me the roll.

"U-uh, Y-yeah, t-that one," I stammered in response, hastily turning away from the girl as I found her crotch right in front of me. That, and my face went red when I realized that I might have stared at her a tad too long. I mean Asya, not her crotch.

After clearing my mind with a couple of coughs, I turned back to the aspid, who has lowered herself back so that our eyes were on the same level.

"Thanks," I murmured quietly, taking the plastic wrap from her.

"No problem," she responded with a nod and a smile. Asya returned to her task, while it took a couple of extra seconds for me to collect myself and return to mine.

We were done in a couple in minutes, with Asya taking a bit longer to wash the dishes. Don't take me wrong, I appreciate the diligence with which she did it, but it has reached the point where I had to physically stop her, afraid that she will scrub a hole through the ceramic. Nothing of notice happened otherwise, although that little moment has granted me another apology from the embarrassed aspid.

"I'm sorry, Alexandr Bulatovich. I just saw something shining strangely and I thought that it may be grease…" Asya said, hanging her head and twiddling her thumbs sheepishly as we returned into the living room.

"Don't worry, it's just the paint," I explained plainly. "Seriously, don't apologize for every little thing. It's only natural to make mistakes – especially in an unfamiliar environment. So don't sweat it."

"I'm sorry…"

Yeah, it'll take a while to deal with this attitude of hers. "Anyway, how did you like the food?" I took a seat in the armchair, picking up the remote and turning the TV on to create some background noise. I'll be honest – I was asking that question in a rather indifferent manner, because my mind was occupied with pondering about what to do next, so I wasn't going to pay any attention to anything. But the serious manner in which Asya answered made me redirect my attention to her.

The girl's face has instantly brightened, with her blue eyes almost literally sparkling. "Yes, it was very delicious, I haven't eaten something this delicious in a long time!" she exclaimed, sitting on an armchair next to me. "Especially the crab salad – I didn't know it's this delicious!" Suddenly, Asya has leaned so close to me that I could feel her breath tickle my nose. I recoiled back from the aspid, looking around nervously, trying to recover from the slight shock.

"Y-yeah, I-it's nice that you liked it…" I stammered. "A-after all, it's your first time eating it, if I remember correctly?"

"Yes!"

"A-anyway, could you not be this close? You're kinda right in my face…" I reminded Asya, looking her right in the eyes. She blinked blankly a few times until the moment her face became beet red. She then jolted back herself with an expression of pure embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry, I… I just… I…" she shook her head furiously, sending her hair flying everywhere, before lowering her eyes and mumbling, "Really, I just haven't eating nothing good for a- ah, no, I don't mean that yesterday's food was bad, but…"

"I get, I get it. Calm down, Asya, there's no need to apologize," I told the panicking girl as calmly as I could. Seriously, this girl is too self-conscious about things. "Listen, are you sure that you will be alright? After all, besides the cutlets and the quail's eggs, everything else was made out of vegetables. Won't your stomach hurt or something?" I changed the subject, partly to get rid of embarrassment and partly because that question was genuinely worrying to me.

Upon my inquiry, Asya raised he face at me, her blush not gone, but not as furious. "Um, I'll be fine? Didn't I tell that already, Alexandr Bulatovich?" she tilted her head to the side, looking at me with a perplexed expression as if I asked her something obvious. I cleared my throat and told what was on my mind.

"I mean, aren't you a lamia subspecies, Asya? I might be wrong, but judging by what I've read on the internet, your kind is supposed to be carnivorous. I remember that you didn't object when I told you what I was going to cook, but still, I don't want you to get a poisoning because of my carelessness," I explained to the girl all the while looking right at her face with a serious look. Yes, I do realize that it's too late to ask this sort of questions, but I need know how alert I should be.

What's strange is that, while I did read a lot about the most common liminals, I never found even the tiniest snippet of info about Asya's species. All conclusions I've made thus far are based entirely on my knowledge of myths and the assumption that aspids are related to lamias. And it's in the country that, according to TV, is supposed to be the leading force in liminal research.

As I was deep in thought, Asya's face changed from surprised to that of understanding. She shook her head and smiled slightly, "Don't worry - I'm completely fine eating vegetables, fruits, berries and mushrooms. To be honest, I actually really like cucumbers," she admitted, scratching the back of her head with a soft giggle. I couldn't help but smile a bit myself at how honest she was.

But that's interesting… Might she be an omnivore? If that's true, then I might save some money on food, since meat is not the cheapest of foods. I'll still need to buy more food in general, since big bodies require more nutrients for sustenance, but it shouldn't be that much of a problem…Wait, I've already signed up for hosting multiple liminals… Shit. Okay, does Asya hibernate, too? Well, all the rooms have decent heating, so I won't have to deal with a comatose lamia, but… I don't know how it might affect her health. I might need to read up on reptilian liminals in depth…

"Umm, can I ask something, Alexandr Bulatovich?" Asya's hesitant voice brought me back to reality.

"Sure, fire away," I said, scratching my chin as I looked at the fidgeting girl before me.

"Umm, can you tell me, what's a la-*RING*"

Sadly, Asya was interrupted by the doorbell's loud ringing. The girl flinched at the sudden sound, while I looked in the direction of its source with a scowl.' And here I was hoping for a nice, informative conversation,' I looked at the still-working TV, checking the time. Yeah, I should definitely go and open the door.

"Asya," I said, turning off the TV and getting up with a grunt, "could you bring your identification?"

"Sure, but… were you expecting someone to come?" the girl wondered as I moved past her, making me look at her. There was a bit of unease in those blue eyes of hers, reminding me of the fact that she's uncomfortable around people, with an exception of me. If she's not forcing herself, that is…

"Uh, yeah, I did," I said calmly, nodding in the direction of the front door. "Don't worry, though – we're just going to fill out some papers to finally formalize you as my homestay. Now, go. I'd rather make it quick."

"O-okay." With a somewhat shaky nod Asya got up from her seat while I went to get the door.

"So, one more time: what are your duties as a host family?" a nondescript woman, who looked to be in her fifties, asked me as we both stood in the vestibule near the open front door. She stared at me with apathetic eyes that told me to 'stop wasting time and speak up already'. In return, I gave the woman an equal look, the memories of the most boring and emotionless interrogation still fresh in my mind. Sighing, I crossed my arms on my chest.

"As a host family I can't abuse my homestays both physically and psychologically, I must teach them our culture, while respecting and learning about their own and I can't let them leave the house alone," I answered, waiting for the inspector's response.

"Yes, that's about right," she nodded her head. "Okay, I will be visiting you twice a month, starting September. I'll also be bringing you your stipend each first visit. And, finally, your next homestay should arrive in a week," the inspector finished, waiting for my response. I just shrugged, having nothing much to say, except for some sarcastic remarks that I'd rather keep to myself. Seriously, the woman here is not a person to complain about the exchange program to.

With that, we exchanged goodbyes and I closed the door after the inspector. I then returned to the living room, where I found Asya back on an armchair with the remote in her clawed hand, clicking through the channels with the face of a person, who had long ago given up on finding anything interesting – the face I make all the time.

"I would try REN TV if I were you, Asya," I announced my presence to the girl as I passed between her and the screen, taking a laptop that was on the TV stand. "They should be talking about conspiracy theories right now, so, if you want a good laugh…" I added, taking a seat behind the dining table and lifting the laptop's lid. I turned the thing on and, waiting for it to start, turned to Asya, who had tilted her head and faced me with a curious look.

"Conspiracy theory? Is someone conspiring something?" she asked in a confused voice. The way she held a claw on her chin made me let out a quiet snicker as I shook my head slowly from side to side.

"Of course not, Asya," I said reassuringly, glancing briefly at the laptop's screen and launching Google Chrome. Switching to Gmail, I returned my attention to Asya and continued my explanation. "The people at REN TV just love talking about how American capitalist pigs sleep and dream of Russia's total eradication; how they sell us poisoned food and corrupt our youth with video games and anime; how they are constantly trying to start a revolution against our glorious leader's rule!" I finished my speech, which I was giving like an over-the-top orator, voice and all.

I stood before the dumbfounded Asya, one hand placed over my heart and the other one stretched out into the air. She had that "what the hell is going on" look on her face as she stared silently at me panting heavily. After a second of silence she nodded slowly and turned back to the screen.

"O-okay, I'll make sure to… check that channel out," she said slowly as I lowered myself back onto the stool. It creaked loudly, as if to emphasize the embarrassment I felt at the moment.

'Well this was unnecessarily dumb,' I thought while scrolling through the unread e-mails, finding nothing of any significance. Sighing, I closed the browser and opened Steam, hoping to maybe find some good games on sale. While I was doing that, I decided to break the silence – working TV not counting – by talking to my homestay. Thankfully, there was something I wanted to ask her since the inspector had left.

"Say, Asya," I addressed the girl, making her turn away from the TV, which was showing REN TV, unsurprisingly. "Why exactly did you choose Bryansk? I'm not saying that the universities here are bad, but they're definitely not the best in the country. Why didn't go to Moscow, for example?"

The reason I'm asking her this is because, while talking with the inspector earlier, Asya has stated that her reason for taking part in the C.E.P. is to get a university degree. And when I remembered the expression she had when passing by said establishment, it was a no brainer to put the pieces together.

Getting a degree is an admirable goal to have, if you ask me, especially considering the fact that, as far as I know, most of the lamias apply only to find human males to turn into communal husbands for their tribes. If one such lamia would come to my house, I would kick her out immediately, no questions asked, because a) I hate being viewed as nothing more than a sex object, and b) I prefer consensual sex, thank you very much. Thankfully, this girl here I'm hosting seems to be different. I hope.

"W-well…" Asya stammered, twirling her black hair with a timidly expression. "My father recommended it to me, since he graduated from there…"

"Oh, really? Interesting," I raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by the aspid's words. "And what exactly do you plan to study there?" I inquired, now fully intent on learning more about her decision.

"Mechanical engineering," Asya smiled shyly, lowering her head slightly. "Or anything that has to do with cars, really…" As she was speaking, I had my hand on my chin, scratching it thoughtfully.

"Yeah, having a goal is good and all, but will you be able to get into BSTU?" I asked, remembering a certain bastard getting his furry ass expelled. "After all, there are entrance exams you'll have to take next year, so I hope- wait, why are you looking away?"

When I mentioned the exams, Asya fallen silent all of the sudden, hanging her head even lower, to the point where her face was completely hidden behind the shiny black hair. Nervous giggling soon followed, and, when I leaned harder on the table to get a better look at the girl's face, barely avoiding crushing my laptop, she threw an abrupt gaze my way before turning in the opposite direction and covering herself with a wing. I've only managed to see her flustered cheeks in those milliseconds and, needless to say, such behavior made me suspicious instantly.

"Okay, what are you hiding, Asya?" I demanded in an authoritative tone.

"N-nothing, A-Alexandr Bulatovich…" the girl responded weakly, turning away even more.

"Is that so? Honestly, this is not how people act when they have nothing to hide," I pressed further, staring intently at Asya's back.

Now, don't think that I didn't notice how uncomfortable the aspid was with my questions. I was genuinely worried by her acting and I wanted to discuss the matter now to avoid any irreparable consequences later, but seeing her squirm and tremble under the pressure has dissuaded me from prying. I was about to apologize for my actions and drop the subject, but got interrupted by Asya's loud sigh. Then she lowered her wing and slowly turned back to me, though still hanging her head low, but at least I was able to see her face now. Her cheeks were burning red as she bit her lip and her eyes were looking sideways. She put her hands on the armrest and gripped it so hard, that I heard the fabric tear under the pressure of the girl's big, black claws. She was obviously struggling, so I just sat and waited for her actions.

After a few long seconds Asya has finally spoke up. "U-um, I… I'm really sorry, I don't… I don't want to be a bother to you, Alexandr Bulatovich, but…" the girl stuttered out, releasing the pressure on the armchair slightly. She then took a deep breath and raised her troubled blue eyes at me. Though, when I looked back at her, she averted her gaze instantaneously.

"Listen, Asya, if there's something bothering you, I think you should say it," I addressed her, trying to speak in a calming manner. "It'll be easier for the both of us. If you need help or just worried – at least I'll listen," I offered to Asya, looking straight in her trembling eyes. "Although, if you don't want to talk about it, I'll understand…"

"Is that… really okay?" Asya asked timidly, finally turning her gaze to me, "To ask you for help?"

"Of course it is. After all, I'm your host – it's my responsibility to help my homestays," I smiled at the girl. That seemed to finally ease up her anxiety, seeing how she let go of the armrest and relaxed her expression. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Thank you…" Asya said quietly, running a hand through her hair. After a second, she continued with a much more confident manner, "Alexandr Bulatovich, I… I need a tutor to study for the exams."

"I see…"

Can't say I didn't expect Asya to say something like this. After all, I highly – and I mean highly – doubt that she could've received education on an average human's level. I'm not saying that she's dumb, of course – I never would – but I've yet to see a school in the middle of a forest.

"By the way, what subjects do you need to study?" I asked, returning my attention to Steam since there was no more tension left in the air. There was nothing worth of interest, besides a few 2D sandboxes, which I added to wishlist, and I opened my library to see if there are any games I can play. Looking through the long list of games gave me a stupid, but potentially fun, idea.

"Umm, I need to study up on Russian, mathematics and physics," Asya listed, counting the subjects on her fingers. But yeah, that's a lot of learning to do, and I don't even know how much she knows now. There's still a year or so until the exams, so we have plenty of time to do something about this.

"Well, I'll ask my father if he can help us with tutoring," I said, making a mental note to myself to call dad later. I then leaned back on my stool and looked at Asya, who has returned to watching REN TV, where they were showing off some new APC developed for our army, capable of transporting liminals, not forgetting to mention how it's years ahead of anything NATO has, of course. Ugh.

"Listen, Asya, are you really going to watch this?" I asked with clear contempt in my voice. The last thing I need is for this girl to experience the blatant and tasteless propaganda our mass media loves broadcasting. This shit is best watched with a certain amount of sarcasm to avoid being influenced by the stupidity.

"But wasn't it your recommendation?" Asya asked back, tilting her head a bit to the side with a questioning look.

"I was joking, of course. When I told you to watch REN TV, I've actually meant that you should stay as far away from it as possible." I explained to her, "Especially if you consider yourself to be intelligent."

"I-If you say so…" she stuttered, turning the TV off, which made me feel bad, since it looked like I was manipulating the poor girl. She then put both her hands on her tail and started looking around the room, looking for something to do. In that moment I've sighed heavily, which got Asya's attention, and turned my laptop so she could see its screen.

"Say, since we have nothing to do for the rest of the day, how about playing some games?"


A/N: Ah, fuck it, I'm posting this.

I am NOT dead. I was just waiting for my beta's response, but he was taking a bit too long, so I decided to post this chapter anyway. It's a good thing I have two beta-readers.

So, this chapter was about MORE world and character building. MC has some issues, laws of Russian C.E.P., blah-blah-blah. You've read the chapter. Also a bit of regime bashing on my side. I know. I'm political.

Should I tell you what to expect for the next chapter? Well, it's going to be different. It won't be about our main characters, however it won't be an extra, either, so look forward to that. Not telling you more.

Also, wow, 3000 views. I mean, I'm flattered, but scared at the same time - scared of srewing up. I'm afraid that my story won't live up to your expectations, but I''ll try to make sure it will.

Answers to some questions:

darkistorrik: Meh, I dunno. Posting this fanfic on a Russian site would be equal to someone uploding a fanfic about liminals in America to this place, and I don't really see any point in that. Besides, I'll have to translate this thing into Russian, and I'd rather NOT read my work again. I'm wanting to kill myself hard enough as it is.

Ray nightshade: Also dunno. Baba Yaga is an interesting character, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's possible to create a race of liminals based on her. I mean, she's basically a human with some magic powers and a bad case of eating babies. Point is, I'm not making any promises of making an actual character based on her. But I'll consider the possibility.

Finally, there are some people I need to whom I need to express my gratitude. pyrojack25, thank you for beta-reading and listening to my ideas. Your input is really important. ChallengerDeep, thanks for your HUGE help with the language. Look forward to even more questions, huehue. There's also a certain russian(?) I'd like to thank for beta-reading, but I'm not sure wether he reads this.

Okay, that's about it for today. Do the usual, throw mistakes in my face and stay cool. This was ChillingComrade. До следующего раза! Если он будет, конечно...