Chapter 70: 70 – Winding Down

The Menagerie was settling down for the night.

It was a bit surreal, if Ari were being honest, going about her nightly routine as she prepared for bed. Ari had never had roommates before, and definitely never roommates like these. It was oddly intimate. She looked around the room, at what each of her friends had chosen to do as the night came to a close.

Renna had fallen asleep first, apparently preferring her beauty sleep; she’d clocked out almost an hour ago. She was sleeping on top of her bag rather than in it. It wasn’t freezing inside the burrow, but it wasn’t warm, either. Apparently, her wolfgirl companion didn’t mind the cold—because she wasn’t wearing much, just a t-shirt and panties. Which, erm, was a sight Ari tried not to let her eyes stick to. At least, not too blatantly. She couldn’t help a few admiring looks, seeing that impressive bulge.

Claire was stretching. She’d been working through a flexibility routine of some sorts, bending this way and that, and loosening her muscles. That, also, Ari was trying to not stare at. Of everyone here, Claire was the most flexible by far—at least from what she’d seen. Shorter girls, Ari had noticed, did tend to be that way, and Claire was on the short side. She was petite all around. Besides down low … unless viewed by ‘monstergirl average’, where the statement still held true.

She moved from pose to pose, eyes closed, and taking deep, rhythmic breaths. Ari was interested, and not only in the less-than-appropriate way. She considered going over and joining her, because the smooth, sensual transitions that Claire was working through actually looked fun—plus, Ari wouldn’t mind being more flexible.

But she didn’t want to interrupt what was clearly a wind-down routine. Plus, while Ari was far from inflexible, there was no way she’d be able to keep up with Claire. The things she was doing with her body … Ari didn’t even know how. She’d barely needed to ease into the splits.

Ari hadn’t known about that aspect of her. She would definitely be finding out just how bendy Claire was, in the future. Just, not tonight. Everyone was tired. Plus, she didn’t want to wake Renna, and if Ari let herself start something with Claire, she knew she wouldn’t be able to be quiet.

Silvana was tucked into her sleeping bag, covered up, instead of atop it, like Renna. She had laid down a few minutes ago. Her bag was set up near Claire’s, only a foot or two away.

Lori, finally, was tucked off into the corner of the room, focused on the notebook in her lap. She was writing in it. Or maybe drawing, by the slow, swooping scratches that filled the mostly-silent room. Ari had been debating scooting up to her. Lori seemed like a girl who liked her privacy … she might not want to share what she was doing.

Or would she? She seemed to like Ari, not simply tolerate her. Right? Ari wouldn’t call herself insecure when it came to Lori, but Lori was definitely the slowest of Ari’s friends to admit affection. It was mostly subconscious cues that gave her away.

Ari steeled herself, working up the nerve. She dragged her sleeping bag, up until this point spaced out like everyone but Claire and Silvana’s, next to Lori. Lori looked up from her notebook, pencil stilling, as she arrived.

“Um,” Ari said. “Hi. Mind if I sleep next to you, tonight?”

Lori’s attention returned to her notebook. “Of course.”

“Of course, as in, you do mind?”

Lori blinked.

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“Just teasing,” Ari said. “Um.” She sat down next to Lori, but a foot or two away, so she wasn’t invading her space. “Are you drawing?”

Lori looked down at her notebook, then closed it. She hesitated before answering. “It felt … natural.” She nodded Claire’s way. “I guess it’s the same as how she likes to do that.”

“You guys have hobbies,” Ari agreed. “Little quirks, the same as anyone. It’s gotta be a bit weird, discovering them?” It sounded like Lori hadn’t known she’d like to draw, but she’d gravitated to it. Sudden person-hood was, like usual, a fascinating, bizarre thing to see in action … and Ari couldn’t imagine experiencing it first-hand.

“A bit weird,” Lori echoed. “Yeah. It’s that.”

“You any good?” Ari asked. “Er, not that—I mean, did you … start with some skill? Or are you just starting out?” An adult who’d never drawn before would be awful at it. It was a complex skill that took time to learn, not something any adult had innate mastery of. But Lori? Maybe so.

“Hm,” Lori said. “I’m not as good as I want to be.”

That was a very Lori-like answer.

Ari hesitated before continuing. “You don’t have to say yes, but can I see?” She didn’t want to invade, but at the same time, Lori wasn’t exactly throwing herself at others, either. Ari wanted to be friends, in more of a way than simply teammates, or … crudely put, a sweaty, pleasure-seeking kind. So she’d have to bludgeon her way into the position, trying.

Lori hesitated. “Well,” she started, then didn’t finish.

“You can say no,” Ari repeated.

“It’s fine,” Lori said, coming to a decision. She scooted closer to Ari, dragging her sleeping bag—which her legs were tucked into—along with her. A warm shoulder pressed into Ari’s own, which made her heart skip a beat. Lori smelled like the forest, earthy, with a hint of wildflowers.

She hadn’t used the shampoo Ari had brought back when she’d cleaned off in the lake. Not that Ari minded … her natural scent was intoxicating. Ari was barely able to focus on Lori’s words, with her pressed into Ari’s shoulder. Her proximity was intimate in a different way from their sweaty indulgences. Ari might be growing use to the lewd affections, but the easy companionship, Ari was still weak to. Elise had been one of her only friends growing up.

Lori opened her notebook to the first page, and Ari leaned in to look.

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