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Chapter 6 – The third Roommate

“I've already told your men," Said Mr. Donovan, “I can pay you; I just need ten days or two weeks more."

“Really?" began Spike, ensuring that no one else was in the elevator as he pushed Donovan's wheelchair in “Because from what I remember, you're already more than a month behind with your payments. I will need something more than a promise."

“Please, I've always been on time with my quotas," said the elderly ratfolk in a trembling tone, looking up at the gangster. “Bu-but the company hasn't got any contracts in months, and I cannot steal the funds from the company's budget a-anymore. We need that money."

“That is true, you have been very diligent so far. That's exactly the reason why my guys haven't come to visit you yet. But my patience is starting to run thin…"

“Ple-please, I can't do that. How would I pay my employees?"

“You're a smart guy, Jack. You'll figure something out. Or maybe we should discuss this with your girl…how is she doing by the way? I haven't seen her in a long time. Is her law firm going well?"

Mr. Donovan paled.

“I-I-I..." he stuttered.

“Maybe we could ask her if she can spare some money," said Spike, “I've seen lots of people come and go from her office downtown."

To reiterate this, he took a piece of paper from a pocket on his jacket and showed it to Jack Donovan.

Sophie Donovan, Criminal lawyer

_Legal counseling, at a fair price

Available Monday to Tuesday, 8-16_

Jack Donovan lowered his head, looking away from the business card.

“I-I beg you, Spike…leave Sophie out of this."

“Why? Don't you think she would like to help her old man?"

“Please…it's everything I've left."

Spike played with the business card in his hands, passing it through his fingers multiple times, before he curled the small piece of paper into a ball.

Suddenly, the mobster what he had overhead Donovan saying to the nurse, back in the hallway, and an idea came to his mind.

“Very well," he said, tossing the paper ball into the trash “never to say I'm a heartless bastard. I will not bother your daughter. However, if you can't give me my money, you'll have to pay in some other way."

“S-sure!" answered the old ratfolk “A-anything you want!"

“Say," began the shark, sitting down on the chair beside Mr. Donovan's bed, his arms crossed over the backrest,

“I heard you chatting with the nurse, while I was in the hallway, you were talking about something unusual. From what I've understood, a harpy came to the hospital today, is that right? And they took someone with them?"

The old man froze, nodding weakly.

“What was the guy's name? Was that Ryan perchance?"

Mr. Donovan bit his tongue. He was already regretting having agreed to do everything.

“I...I don't remember it now."

Spike glared at the elderly man, a look that made the elderly man's blood freeze in his veins"

“Now, now, Jack. You know me, you can say many things about me, but not that I'm stupid.

You see, call it a coincidence or whatnot, but there was a certain Ryan, a boy in the same course as my nephew Jimmy, you remember Jimmy? Anyway, from what my nephew told me this boy has had a very bad accident with a harpy. Suffice to say that his car got destroyed and he found himself at the ER, in a very rough shape."

“I was taking advantage of our meeting to see if he was in here," he lied “to tell my nephew, so he could come pay a visit, but it's my understanding that he's not here anymore, is he?"

Mr. Donovan simply looked at the starkly clean floor, refusing to answer.

“I'll tell you what: why don't you tell me what you gathered about this kid, and I will give you your two weeks. Have we got a deal?"

The old man looked up at him.

“I-I didn't see anything in particular, I was scared out of my wits."

“Don't worry, friend. Just tell me what you remember. I just want to make sure that the poor kid is safe."

“Be-besides," stated the old man “she seemed a sort of acquaintance of his, he seemed to be at ease with her."

“Acquaintance? She almost killed him!" said Spike, moving closer to the elderly ratfolk, “And she had come to take him and finish the work, out of prying eyes". She probably fluttered her lashes, acted all apologetic, and convinced him that it was an accident, and she was helping him. But it's all a ruse."

Mr. Donovan stayed there, stunned.

“You said it yourself, Jack. They are dangerous, his life is at risk. We need to save him, and we need to be quick about it."

“I-I don't know."

“The big folks are monsters, they don't care about us," he stated, matter-of-factly. “Despite what the government wants us to believe. Hell, they ate us by the dozens up until a few years ago! We are their prey, their playthings. They don't see us as people. Only other small folks can help us. We should stick together against them!"

The old ratfolk looked up at the shark. He was right, he thought, the big races were a danger to their survival. Ryan was so young, he didn't deserve to die like that. They should help him.

He inhaled deeply, seeing what looked like an expression of genuine worry in the face of the gangster, and finally spoke.

“Very well…I'll tell you everything."

“Well, that was disappointing." Said Ayla, stretching out her arms.

They had spent the last three and a half hours binge-watching the first half-season of Ryders of the Black Valley, the new fantasy anime that according to some websites, was a revelation in fantasy storytelling.

The revelation was that it was incredibly dull and stereotyped.

“Yeah. I dunno what those reviewers smoked. This is definitely NOT a 4.5 stars/5 show," said Ryan.

“Absolutely overblown," convened Ayla, looking down at the little man on her lap “and I hate when they put gore and violence all over the place, to justify any lack of plot."

“I assume we aren't watching the other half?" asked the mousemin.

“Hell no, it's a waste of time. I'm in the mood for some Last Fantasy if you don't mind watching. I have a couple of quests that I would like to get on with. Perhaps we can also play together if I manage to connect your tablet"

“Sure, I would love to do that. Been some time since I enjoyed some games."

“Okay then. I'm gonna go to the bathroom, and then I'll bring the console and controller here," she said, smiling as she picked him up between the tips of her thumb and forefinger's nails.

As he rose up, he noticed that the ascent felt much smoother than before; he didn't feel dizzy as much, and his stomach was also feeling better than usual. He couldn't say that it was because it was getting used to getting handled like that or because Ayla was being more careful than before.

The trip was short-lived, and he rapidly found himself lowered towards the center of the coffee table.

“Stay here, I'll be back in a moment. Stay away from the edges," she recommended.

Instinctively, he looked over the edges of the table, the ground far below him. He backed away; he didn't know what would happen if he were to fall, but he certainly didn't want to discover it.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a heavy rustling of keys coming from the entrance, followed by the opening of the front door.

“ FIIIINALLY. Rhea, Ayla, I'm home!" Boomed an unknown voice.

Immediately after, two loud thumps reached his ears, and then, a rhythmic series of booms, signaling that a figure was making its way toward the living room.

As the steps got closer, the figure finally appeared into view: A gigantic, barefoot girl, who from this distance didn't seem that much smaller than Ayla.

Her roundish face betrayed leonine features, including three pairs of long, thin whiskers, and shorter, three-toed paws.

She was certainly attractive: Her body, contained inside a form-fitting blazer, was shapely and feminine, and she was blessed with an almost perfect hourglass figure. Her strawberry blonde locks paired very well with her golden-brown fur. She would have perfectly fit on the cover of one of those swimsuit magazines. Hell, the girl who was posing in lingerie on the billboard in front of his apartment complex had almost the same physique. Moreover, there was something about her way of carrying herself, even in her casual strut, that made him feel like he was looking at a movie star.

“This must be Daphne." He thought, “Rhea and Ayla weren't exaggerating then."

As she entered the living room, gazing around with her emerald-colored eyes, he heard her voice thundering again:

“ Girls? Is anyone home? Hello?"

She was louder than he had expected her to be, and the buzzing sound that he heard from his headset was not a good sign. He realized then that Ayla and Rhea had whispered to him all the time.

He immediately went ahead and started yelling at her:

“Hi, you must be Daphne. I'm the new roommate, Ryan. I'm here on the coffee table!"

Unbeknownst to him, the sphinx had taken their amplifying earrings off at noon, wanting to impress her new boss with some fancy silvery circlets at their first business lunch, and she had forgotten to put them back on afterward. There was no way she could hear him over the sound of her own steps.

She came closer to the couch, her steps strong enough to make the coffee table shake.

She turned, her magnificent ass right on top of Ryan, three hundred feet above his head, as her tail swished around absentmindedly.

“ Hmmm, either she left with the TV on and with chips all around the couch, or she's in the bathroom. I hope for her that the is the latter." thundered the colossal girl, her annoyance evident in her tone.

Suddenly, she crouched, and then, with a leap, she sat on the couch, the wind created by her rapid movement ruffling Ryan's fur.

“ Fuck, what a day," boomed the sphinx voice, before suddenly, the ground below him shook, as her paws collided with the outer wooden frame of the coffee table, the force of the shockwave making him fall on his ass and tumble on the ground, stopping ten feet behind.

As he rose up again, he saw two huge, golden-brown furred paws forty feet or so from him, each standing as tall as a 20+ story skyscraper.

“ What was she watching by the way?" blared Daphne, completely unaware of his existence.

He panicked, redoubling his efforts to try and get noticed by her, starting to jump up and down to signal the Sphinx of his presence, even moving right next to her and trying to punch her meaty sole, but it was all useless.

Even if his voice could have reached her ears, the sound of the TV was covering it completely, and the girl was too fixated on the anime that he and Ayla had been watching a few minutes before.

There, the girl stood, totally unresponsive to his efforts, at least until her right paw started to move forward, rapidly colliding with his body, which was unable to offer any meaningful resistance against the mighty foot, causing the mousemin to be thrown further away from it.

Laying on the ground, he saw the long shadow under him extending, the light getting dimmer by the second. As he looked up, he froze: Slowly, but inexorably, her right paw was starting to descend towards him, the dark brown sole getting closer and closer, a building collapsing on top of him.

Frantically, he scrambled to get up and began running. In his panicked state, he didn't even realize that, had he moved towards the left, he would have easily avoided the falling monolith. Instead, he ran straight ahead, hoping to outrun the approaching appendix.

A futile endeavor, considering the sheer size of the paw and the handful of seconds he had lost staring at it in awe.

If that wasn't enough, when he had cleared around half the length of the foot, a single, huge drop of sweat fell from the ball of the paw, straight towards him, hitting him with the equivalent of two gallons of water, enough to make him lose his balance; as he stumbled up, he saw that it was too late, the dark brown fur of her insole was directly on top of him. In a split second, the paw made contact with his body, and he fell, trapped below a mountain of fur, pressed between the appendix and the hard surface.

Luckily for him, her feet were only lying on the table, lightly leaning against the glass, the girl mindful of not leaving her full imprints on the coffee table. While the weight was still enough to leave him pinned, unable to move, that position, along with the cushiony effect of her soft, moisturized fur protected Ryan's body from being crushed like a grape by the colossal appendage.

On the other hand, while the lavender scent of her lotion kept the smell somewhat bearable, the heat emanating from her foot, combined with the dampness of her fur, which surrounded him in three directions, was making the situation rapidly becoming unbearable, his clothes drenched from both her and his own sweat.

Plus, if she wasn't able to hear him before, she most certainly won't be now. He screamed, hoping that Ayla at least could hear him, if she had come down from upstairs.

His prayers seemed to have been answered, when he felt the pressure on his torso and abdomen decrease slightly. He looked down, and he saw that he was finally able to see the glassy terrain under him, more and more of the transparent surface coming into view as he appeared to be…rising?

He turned his head, and the realization dawned on him: he was stuck on the paw, 30 or so feet above the surface of the table, her sweat apparently enough to glue him to the insole.

He struggled, thinking that it would be enough to free himself, but he immediately realized that her rope-thick hairs had become entangled around his legs and abdomen, blocking his every chance of escape.

As he breathed heavily, he noticed something coming into view: a large, thick finger, its fingerpad wider than he was tall. Before he could do anything, the digit collided with him, rubbing him up and down, left and right on the fur-covered surface, kneading him like he was a piece of playdough.

It didn't necessarily hurt, but she wasn't certainly careful nor gentle in her movement.

But maybe, he thought, she would feel the weird shape of what was on her sole, and finally take notice of him.

His hope shattered when he heard a thunderous sigh above him, followed by an equally loud voice.

“ Mmmh, I definitely need to change these shoes," the towering girl boomed.

As soon as she finished her sentence, the rubbing stopped, and her finger disappeared. The relief only lasted a moment, before he saw the coffee table surface approaching again, his body unceremoniously slapped against the glassy terrain. This whole endeavor was gonna leave him very sore tomorrow.

He remained trapped there for what seemed an eternity, tormented by the heat and the dampness, trying in vain to wiggle himself free from his prison, more and more exhausted.

Then, just when he seemed close to passing out, he felt himself rising again, the gigantic pad carrying him like the world's biggest crane, until he was standing vertically, still pressed against the paw, his arms lolling at his sides.

In his hazy state, he looked around, a faint smile on his lips as the now-familiar house-sized blue eyes appeared directly in front of him.

As Daphne opened the door, she was almost leaning against the doorframe.

She was fucking exhausted. The manufacturers never bothered to show up, leaving her whole department hanging all afternoon, before emailing her that they would come tomorrow.

She looked at her wristwatch: Half past 5. Her usual time, if not for the fact that she had had to come to the office one hour earlier than usual. Today had felt like an eternity.

At least, that trip in the warehouse made her obtain the furniture for the new roommate, she thought, clutching a package with her right arm.

She pushed the door, a briefcase in her left hand, erupting in a tired sigh.

“FIIIINALLY. Rhea, Ayla, I'm home!" she called out.

Nobody answered.

Curious, she removed her 4-inch grey stilettos, sighing in relief as her poor paws were freed from their prison.

She started to walk towards the living room.

“Girls? Is anyone home? Hello?" she asked. After receiving no answer, she made her way towards the couch. The two girls were nowhere to be found.

“Rhea must still be at the campus," she thought, “While Ayla maybe went picking up the new guy"?

Her eyes darted around the room until she saw a bowl half-filled with potato chips resting on top of one of the cushions of the couch. The TV was also on, a weird cartoon of sorts on it, on hold. A quarter-filled bottle of beer was on top of the coffee table.

“Hmmm, either she left with the TV on and with chips all around the couch, or she's in the bathroom. I hope for her that is the latter." She stated, annoyed.

A sudden jolt of pain came from her paws. Those shoes were pretty, but they weren't made to pace up and down the office.

She removed her nylons, folding them expertly, before tossing them in the bin of the dirty clothes and jumping on the central cushion of the couch.

“Fuck, what a day," she said, plopping up her paws on top of the coffee table. Whatever, she will clean any footprints later.

“What was she watching by the way?" she said, pressing the “play" button on the remote.

She immediately saw a very strange opening sequence, with guys in armor cutting demons and monsters open, and scantily clad girls throwing spells and dancing around.

“Ah okay, the usual weird-ass anime…What a nerd," she thought. The two girls of the group did have some nice tits though, she reasoned, as she absentmindedly began lowering her paws on the coffee table completely.

“Wow, this is pretty violent," she commented, stroking and massaging her insteps. “Ayla does have some strange tastes."

Still, it didn't matter that much, she was in the mood for some mindless shit, something to completely turn off her brain. Absentmindedly, she raised her paws slightly, rubbing the soles with her fingers.

She noticed a small, weird lump just below the second toe of her right paw. A callus maybe?

“ I definitely need to change these shoes," she sighed, her sole on the table again, while she started massaging the underside of her other foot.

After a couple of minutes, she heard the sound of someone coming from upstairs.

“Did I leave the TV on... oh Hi Daphne!" she said, smiling at the Sphinx sitting on the couch “When did you get home?"

“I've just arrived," she stated, sighing heavily, as she leaned on the couch's backrest. “I'm so tired."

“Bad day at work?"

“The worst, you have no idea... I've wasted hours chasing the manufacturers at the workshop, to start the production line…

“Sounds exhausting."

She nodded.

“I don't really wanna talk about it…I just wanna relax, watch some TV…even this dumb ass thing you were watching works, no…it's perfect, I really need to shut my brain off for a moment"

Ayla laughed.

“We can watch something else if you want, me and Ryan were just considering turning it off, maybe play some games," she said, pointing at the controller in her hand.

“Ah, the new guy is already home? I didn't see him."

“What do you mean you didn't see him?" asked Ayla, looking at the coffee table “He is…" she froze, her eyes wide, fixated on the perfectly manicured toes of Daphne's paws “Right…here." she said, her voice growing weaker with each word.

“Where?" said the sphinx, a hint of concern in her voice, looking up at Ayla, the drakonid pale as a ghost.

If Ryan had a nickel for every time this week that a girl hundreds of times his size had almost crushed him to death under her soles while being completely oblivious to her existence, he would have two nickels.

Which is not a lot, he thought, but it's weird that it happened twice.

On the other side of the table, Daphne was keeping her eyes low after having gently peeled him off her paws, muttering how sorry she was and what she could do to make up for it.

Before he could reply to her apology, he felt the air leaving his lungs, his surroundings briefly becoming a pinkish color, his stomach turning as he felt himself hoisted up hundreds of feet into the air, before he heard the booming voice of Ayla, loud enough to make his ears ring slightly, even with the protection of the headphones.

“Oh Ryan, thank the gods you're okay! I'm so sorry, I will make sure nothing ever happens to you again" said the drakonid, pressing his tiny body against the side of her snout with a finger, gently rubbing him against her cheek.

Ryan tried to protest, but having his face buried against an amethyst wall wasn't exactly making it easy. Not that he didn't mind it that much, it felt almost like getting a full body massage while lying against a rough carpet. It was certainly miles better than the place he had just left, and it was evident that she was being extra careful.

“You need to look where you're stepping, Daphne. I thought you were the level-headed one here." Ayla said, annoyed, releasing her grip on the mousemin a little.

“I'm sorry, I had no idea he was already here." Said Daphne, her eyes low.

“What do you mean? Didn't you get my message?"

“As I said, work was hell today, I didn't have time to check my phone since lunch."

While the girls were immersed in her conversation, Ryan's eyes wandered around, glancing downward. He froze, a mixture of awe and fear overtaking him, as he glanced at the wooden floor more than two thousand feet below. He was never one to be afraid of heights, but this was on another level.

He doubted there would be anything left of him if he were to fall from such a height.

He instinctively grasped Ayla's skin with his sweaty palms, the wall of barrel-top-sized scales being the nearest anchor available to him.

The massive girl's skin twitched, as she felt his incredibly tiny hands against her cheeks; She marveled at the sensation, it was nothing like anything she had ever felt…

“A-Ayla? Can y-you put me down please?"

His words awoke her from her stupor.

“Oh...yeah, of course Ryan, sorry if I startled you." said the drakonid, lowering her pinched fingers towards the coffee table as carefully as she could manage.

As he scrambled to get up on the glassy surface, he turned towards the two girls.

“I'm actually fine, it was more the scare than anything else" he lied, “I'm Ryan, by the way, nice to meet you." he stated, turning towards the Sphinx, extending his hand outwards “I assume you must be Daphne."

She nodded, extending her pinky finger towards the outstretched arm. Ryan gripped the last fingerpad, trying to move it with all of his might, but it wasn't enough to shake the bus-sized finger.

“Yes, that would be me," said Daphne, barely stifling a giggle as she saw how he was struggling. “I'm glad to see that you're okay. I hope that this isn't gonna sound weird, but I brought you some stuff," she added, pointing at the box that was lying on the left side of the table.

“Oh, you did find it in the end," said Ayla.

“Yeah, hope it will work out for you, it wasn't easy to get it with such a small notice."

“Well, I think that the best thing we can do is try it out now," said Ayla “Although, I suppose Ryan would want a bath or something first…he doesn't smell that great," she added, eyeing Daphne, whose remained motionless, averting her gaze.

“Yeah, a bath would be great, thank you." convened the mousemin, avoiding the topic.

“I'll bring you to your room then." said the drakonid, putting her hand just below the table's surface to allow Ryan to hop on.

As she reached the second floor, she slowly raised her hand to her eye level, looking at the quarter of an inch tall mousemin with a pang of guilt.

“I'm sorry if I overreacted before, I was just worried about you. I should have asked before picking you up."

“No worries," he said, smiling up at her “I understand…that made me realize that maybe I should be more careful myself though."

“Yeah, I thought that me and Rhea had taken care of everything, and that we could handle this situation, but maybe we rushed things off too much. I didn't consider the fact that you can easily become practically invisible to us when we take the earrings off."

Ryan lowered his eyes. Yeah, that was a tangible risk. Even if they had been very attentive, their size difference was too big.

Still, he doubted that reminding her of that would have helped much in this situation.

“Hey, I'm sure it will be fine. We will find a way to make it work, okay? Maybe I just need to, I dunno…buy a couple of high-visibility jackets, and wear them all day?"

She chuckled, opening the door to her room with her other hand.

“That could be a possibility, yes."

She reached the night table at the side of her bed in only a few steps, lowering the hand that she carried Ryan with up to the table's level, pinching the small guy between the tip of her thumb and forefinger, slowly lowering it inside his makeshift house, her fingers barely fitting inside.

So cramped was the space for her fingerpads, that as she went to release him on the ground near his wash basin, her index finger bumped into the cardboard wall of the box, causing the flimsy barrier to bend and fly a few feet forward, the blow strong enough to make the whole box to shake, and Ryan to fall onto his ass.

“Shit!" she exclaimed “I'm s-sorry. Do not worry, I will ask Rhea to fix it. I-I will leave you a-alone now, text me when you're done, and we will try to put in the furniture."

He smiled, giving her a thumbs up.

Rapidly, Ayla came back down, finding Daphne bent towards the kitchen table, checking the furniture. “Okay, the furniture seems in good condition," said the Sphinx “just like I had first gathered. Let's just hope it's the right size for him, the stock clerk seemed a bit unreliable for that."

“Alright, that's a relief. The poor guy needs a bit of a semblance of normal life. Ma-maybe we should wait for Rhea to come back to install it though, I don't wanna break anything else."

“Yeah, they do seem pretty fragile," sighed Daphne, deciding to not investigate her last sentence.

She then turned away from the table “I hope I didn't frighten him too much."

“Yeah, I apologize, maybe I was a bit too brash. But Rhea had just tried to scare him, as a prank, so he was already a bit on edge. We really aren't starting this cohabitation with the right foot."

“Poor little guy, Rhea is sometimes a lot to deal with at our size, I can't imagine how it would look like for someone like him. I am the one to apologize though, I should have checked your texts, or at least worn the earrings, just to be on the safer side."

“He looked so scared…" commented Ayla.

“Yeah, I can see that. Do you think he's scared of me now?"

“I can't say for sure, he seemed fine, but it certainly didn't put him at ease."

The sphinx looked at the floor, her ears flopping down.

“I'm sure it will be fine, though," said Ayla, trying to cheer her friend “It was only an accident after all,"

“Yeah, that's true," convened Daphne, smiling.

The two girls then stood there, looking at their feet, nobody wanting to speak a single word.

After two interminable minutes, the silence was broken by Daphne.

“Shit," she sighed, putting her head between her hands. “Look, I really apologize. I've been a fucking disaster this whole week, my head has been on the clouds all the time. I'm glad we managed to avoid the worst, but I still want to make up for it. I know you guys look up to me, because I'm the older one, and usually the most mature, but I can't say I'm doing a good job at being the big sister in this period."

Ayla moved closer to the sphinx, putting a hand over her shoulder.

“Don't worry, it's fine. We are adults, we can take care of ourselves. You are already doing a lot, you shouldn't make it your exclusive responsibility."

The leonine girl ignored her taller roommate's words.

“I can't believe I almost killed him without even noticing." She ranted, “The guy needs a place where he can be safe, not to be scared every time he's in the house because a big klutz is gonna trample all over him."

Ayla froze. Even if Daphne didn't seem to feel something for Ryan, her words sounded so similar to the doubts she had experienced all along the last few days. She was almost tempted to reveal to her friend what she herself had gone through, only a few hours before.

She opened her mouth, hesitating, slamming it shut shortly afterward. Maybe not, she didn't feel like talking with anyone about the thing before she had figured them out herself.

Instead, Ayla moved her arm across the sphinx's body, lifting the considerably smaller sphinx up a little to squeeze her into a tight hug.

“Hey, stop beating yourself up. I'm sure he will forgive you. Heck, maybe he already has," she stated, to convince herself as much as Daphne.

The sphinx looked down, startled at suddenly seeing her feet considerably away from the ground. “Wow, I keep forgetting how strong you are," she stated.

Ayla giggled, lowering her roommate.

“I'm a big, strong girl." the drakonid said, flexing her biceps playfully.

Daphne smiled and looked up at her drakonid friend.

“But thank you," the sphinx added, “I needed it."

She raised an eyebrow, eyeing her roommate intently.

“What's wrong, Ayla?" she asked. She had seen a strange expression on the drakonid's face.

The taller girl shook, spooked by her roommate's remark. “Crap!" she thought “Read like a book."

“No-nothing!" she blabbered. “I'm fine. Never felt better!" she exclaimed, her lips curved in a forced smile.

“Hmmmmm…" muttered Daphne, unconvinced. Something was up, she should investigate more.

Better to change the subject for now though, she knew how cagey Ayla tended to get when she was anxious like this.

“By the way, did you manage to find something for Friday? You seemed worried about that earlier,"

“Oh," Ayla said, relieved that Daphne hadn't seen through her anxiety. “Yeah, I did find some cute shoes, but I had some doubts about what outfit they would go better with. How tall is this David?"

“Hmmm…I actually don't know that, to be fair, I've seen him only a couple of times, and the first time he was sitting." She looked up and down at her drakonid friend “How tall are you?"

“115 feet."

“I think he's a bit taller than that, 120 feet give or take"

“Shit," thought Ayla. Both the heels she had chosen were taller than 5 feet, if slightly. She wasn't looking forward to being taller than her date, even in her heels. She could only hope he wouldn't mind.

Her doubts were interrupted by the sound of Daphne's voice.

“Well, before deciding if we should ditch the heels, we should maybe check out what fits you came up with…"

A sudden idea crossed the leonine girl's mind.

“You know what? Let's also ask Ryan for advice. He's a guy, maybe a male perspective will help you choose."

“W-what do you mean?" said Ayla, whose anxiety was again rising.

“You know, a straight guy could for sure tell you what looks sexier to a man better than a girl."

The drakonid's cheeks reddened.

“S-sexier? Why d-do you think I would w-want that for a first date?"

Daphne sighed.

“Girl, how much time has passed since your last date? Around two years?"

Ayla nodded. “Roughly…yes. since a bit before I came here"

“I'm not saying that you have to jump straight on top of him. I'm just telling you to be open to the possibility of it happening. You're 24, dammit, you shouldn't be scared or embarrassed about that."

“O-Okay, if you say so," she said, as her phone buzzed, revealing a text from the mousemin.

“L-let's grab everything and move upstairs, then." Decided Ayla, cutting the topic short.

Back in “his" room, Ryan was taking a breather, sitting in one of the makeshift chairs after having washed most of Daphne's lotion off from his body.

“Man, this will be a lot to deal with," he sighed.

After a handful of seconds, he heard a distant, yet loud knock, followed by the sound of the door opening.

He looked up, over the walls of his cardboard apartment, seeing Ayla's snout appearing into view, squeezed between the ajar door and the room's wall.

“Hmm, Ryan? Can I come in?" she asked.

“Of course, that's why I texted you!" he replied.

She pushed the door open, her figure filling the doorframe, followed by the smaller form of Daphne, who was carrying the same box he had seen on the coffee table.

“Okay," the drakonid began, “Good news! We checked the furniture, and while not new nor fancy, is in decent condition, so when Rhea will be back, you two can work together to figure out where to put everything."

He smiled.

“I thought you said she was a klutz." He joked.

“Well…she can be careful if she focuses. But mostly, because I fear that I'm too big to handle them properly."

“Ehrm…" said a voice from behind Ayla, its owner stepping into view, her head low.

“To be f-fair, I'm q-qualified to handle objects like these," explained Daphne “I-I've received some t-training…maybe I can help you as well?...n-naturally, i-if you want me to." she offered, averting Ryan's gaze all the time.

He smiled, looking up at her,

“Sure, why wouldn't I? From what I've gathered, it's stuff that you manufacture, so you must know the ins and outs of them."

The girl looked back at him, a huge weight being dropped off her shoulders.

“Well…more or less..." she said, reciprocating his smile “before that though, Ayla wanted to ask you something."

“W-what? W-why me?" asked Ayla, caught off-guard.

“I mean, those are your things, aren't they."

“Yeah, I suppose so…well, It's nothing, really," she said, noticing that she was stammering more than she would have thought. She inhaled deeply,

“It's just…I have a date this Friday, and, given that…the guy is very cute, I was wondering if…you know"

“If you would help her decide on what to wear for the occasion." intervened Daphne.

Ayla's cheek reddened,

“H-hey, I was able to tell him myself...but yes, I would love some advice."

As he heard her words, Ryan was almost relieved.

“Oh, she's seeing someone then. Good, this means that she doesn't feel that way about you, you were right." he thought, praising himself for not having voiced his sensations in front of her. That would have been awkward.

On the other hand…he couldn't help but feel, on the back of his mind, a strange sensation, a thin, impalpable hint of…sadness?"

He shook those thoughts away, looking up at her.

“I dunno what help I can be, I'm not really an expert in this, but sure. No problem!"

“Oh, thank you," said Ayla, a shy smile on her lips

“Well, we don't need an expert" Daphne explained, leaning against Ayla's desk “Just someone that can tell you how they look from a male perspective. You know, which one looks more…alluring."

Ayla's cheeks were now deep red.

“Come on girl, stop blushing and get changed!" the sphinx exhorted, rising up from the desk, and moving towards the night table.

Suddenly, Ryan's surroundings became shrouded in darkness, as a pair of voluptuous, skirt-covered thighs filled the sky, rapidly replaced by Daphne's leonine face.

“Sorry dude, I didn't want to startle you, but we should give the girl a bit of privacy."

“O-of course," muttered Ryan.

He spent the next three minutes or so talking with the sphinx that was crouching before him, her right arm lying against the night table for support. Just as their conversation veered towards their college careers, which they had discovered to have been very similar, they heard a small “Ahem" coming from above them.

Ryan saw Daphne turning towards her draconic friend.

“Oh, those pants look great" she commented, as the mousemin's vision was still obstructed by the sphinx's expansive shoulder blades, as she leaned on the night table.

She must have noticed that, because she immediately moved a bit sideways, revealing the standing form of her roommate behind her.

Ayla was dressed in a casual, yet classy outfit, consisting of a light grey shirt with a form-fitting blazer, and a pair of tight, long black pants, that hugged her legs beautifully, making them appear even longer than they already were.

He looked down, seeing her claws next to the night table, clad in black, open-toed heels, that sported what he realized must have been the equivalent of a 3-inch heel. It was difficult to tell, considering that from his perspective, they stood taller than an 8-story building.

Still, looking up at her, he could see why she had chosen such footwear, it really complemented her figure, making her appear even more statuesque than usual.

Had he found her hanging around in a cocktail bar his size looking like that, he would have definitely hit on her.

Seeing that she was staring at him with anticipation, he spoke.

“Y-you look gorgeous. Those pants suit your figure very well."

“Okay" intervened Daphne “So this is something that we'll keep, even if you don't decide to use it for the date. Next!" she commented, urging her roommate to try on the other outfit.

After 5 more minutes or so, Ayla revealed herself to her judges again.

“WOAH….this is freaking gorgeous" was Daphne's only comment.

A the drakonid appeared into view, Ryan couldn't help but agree, rendered completely speechless by the view in front of him. Ayla was clad in a sky-blue, ample dress, whose skirt reached up to her mid-thigh, most of her scaled leg exposed. Legs that, as now Ryan could see, were toned and muscular, with the lines of her quads and calf muscles clearly visible, proof of her years as a volleyball player. At her feet, two open-toed heels of a slightly darker blue, that reached well above half of the night table, noticeably taller than the previous ones.

So high did her ankle appear to Ryan that for a moment, he wondered if, was he to jump from the night table, he would have landed on the back of Ayla's foot before gravity would make the fall dangerous.

Instinctively, he looked up at her, her face curled in an embarrassed smile from Daphne's comment, while the necklace she had matched with the outfit shone in the afternoon light.

He remembered, as a kid, seeing the mountains up close for the first time. He felt the same mixture of awe, amazement, and bewilderment as that moment, all of those years ago. Staring up as a living, beautiful mountain like that was something else.

“I've chosen this b-because it reminded me of my p-prom dress, which Momma always said looked r-really good on me." Explained Ayla, crouching a bit to avoid scraping the ceiling with her horns “Maybe it's a bit too much, what do you guys think ?"

At the question, he abruptly awoke from his daydreaming.

“This one!" he erupted, maybe a bit too eagerly. Both girls looked at him startled.

“I t-think that this one looks a-absolutely stunning, I love the color!" he explained, trying to recollect himself.

Immediately, he saw Ayla's cheeks turning beet red.

“I agree," said Daphne, smiling broadly, “This is perfect, you're gonna make everyone's head turn."

“T-thanks. So this one it is then," said Ayla, averting Ryan's gaze, her face still crimson.

As they came back down the stairs, Daphne was certain of something: What she had initially dismissed as a fleeting sensation was back, now turned into a tangible hunch.

And although she couldn't read Ryan's facial expressions as well, it was pretty evident from how he spoke that he felt the same way, at least a little.

But who knows, maybe he was just really overwhelmed by the whole ordeal, that was understandable.

She will have to investigate more, for sure, but if her suspicions were confirmed, they would need some help. If she left Ayla to her devices, she would never do something about it.