Walking Disasters and Me-Cultural Exchange – Ch 49

Walking Disasters and Me-Cultural Exchange – Ch 49

Our walk to the kitchens is uneventful this time and lacking the feeling of being quite so exposed, much to my relief. I'm starting to notice the ins and outs of the layout now, but would probably still need Ios or someone else to help me out if I went anywhere other than the kitchens, and even that is a bit of a stretch for now. Oh well, just means more hand holding time~!
I plaster a pleased smile on my face as Akiko and I are once more opening the large doors to our destination, the smell of recently cooked meats filling the air around us in a wonderful bouquet of aromas. "It always smells so nice in here, I just want to bottle up the air and take it with me~. And the smell of the gardens too!" I chime out after taking in a full breath of the sensation.
"Indeed," Akiko says, smiling down to me, "I always enjoy basking in the after-effects of Gerra's skilled work. Since most of our group is beast kin, this room is nearly always scented with the delicious smell of cooked meats and baked bread. We usually eat out in the pavilion on the other side of the doors here," She says while pointing to the opening at the back of the room, "to further luxuriate in the aromas. Or the gardens, when it fancies us."
I nod along to her, happy to just tag along and let her explain some of her and the group's day to day lives. She gets some thinly sliced meat and a block of what I assume to be cheese by the smell from the pantry before going over to the grill tops. "Why don't you see if any of Gerra's bread is left and then cut us some slices. I think some sandwiches would be perfect for a midafternoon meal."
Damn, looks like I'm not getting credit for that one then... I smile up to her as I skitter across the wood floor toward the ovens, glad to see that Gerra has indeed baked a couple more loaves and set them out to the side where the other ones were. I look around the shelves and hooks until I find a bread knife, and am about to cut into the perfectly baked cylinder before I think to ask Akiko, "How many should I cut?"
"Hmm, I am not too famished myself, why don't you procure 6 slices and then I can show you some of the greenery we like to use for compliments." I hear her soft voice call back from around the corner.
Sounds fair, I am getting pretty hungry, but I wonder if she even
needs
to eat anymore because of her level of power. With a shrug at the thought, I make the requested number of slices of the golden bread and then plate them before heading back to my foxy lady. As I round the corner back into the open space of the kitchen, I see that she has pulled her hair back into a ponytail - likely to keep it out of the way - and donned one of the aprons as she fries up some of the slices of meat. The sizzle and smell delight my senses, but my eyes just cant get enough the look of pure joy Akiko has while she is cooking for us.
With a rapidly melting heart, I nuzzle up next to her side that isn't busy with meal prep after placing down the open ends of future sandwiches. "How do you look even
cuter
than normal sometimes? It's not fair, I say~! Hehe~." I reach up a bit on my toes to give her a peck on the cheek which only makes the warm radiance of happiness shine brighter off her. I go back to flat feet, feeling her lean over to kiss the top of my head as she wraps a tail around my waist like she loves doing as she replies.
"I'm capable of infinite cuteness, you just have yet to see all of it, my dear~." With a giggle between both of us, we stand in companionable silence until she deems the meat ready. I went ahead and sliced out a few squares off the block of cheese while we were enjoying each other's company, and with a quick movement she puts the yellow polygons on top of the perfectly charred lunch meat. Before long they become a gooey mess, at which point she flips each bundle of meat and cheese through the air straight from the grill to the open faces of the awaiting bread! Everything lands perfectly in the center, nary a drop of yellowy goodness falling astray from it's intended target.
With a sparkle of admiration and awe in my eyes, I lean back and clap giddily at the display. "Whoooa!! That was awesome! I bet you're a master at flipping pancakes too!"
She stands proudly at the praise, her fur actually puffing up slightly which is adorable, "Thank you my dear~. I don't spend as much time in this room as the others due to my work as acting Sect Leader, but I have been around long enough to pick up a trick here or there~." With a wink, she guides us back toward the pantry with her tail still wrapped around my waist.
She brings me to a section further in the back that instantly drops in temperature before standing in front of several multicolored ingredients. I notice several that look familiar yet different, looks like I'll be using
[Inspect]
a lot when I want to start cooking~. Well, probably for all of the crafting stuff, but cooking especially! Don't want to give anyone food poisoning because I grabbed something that looked like something else I'm used to even with
[Cooking lvl 3]
.
She gathers up some various leafy greens, which seem to be a universal constant so far, a purple fruit of some kind, and then a jar containing some brown viscous liquid. Satisfied with her haul, we make our way back to the cooling meat where she first uses a long flat knife to spread the condiment on the untarnished slices of bread. She then slices a few decently thick pieces of the fruit before laying them on top of the liquid, and I can still smell the slightly sweet aroma coming off of it even as I'm standing a pace away from her so she has space to cook. Finally, she rips a few sheets of green for each sandwich, and then closes them up together to complete the ensemble.
With a satisfied nod to herself, she turns to me and gives the growingly common signal for us to depart as she holds out the hand not carrying the tray of food in front of her. I gladly take it, and after a few steps we are closing the doors once more before heading back to my abode. The trip this time is a bit less silent, however.
"Now that you have had some time to distance yourself and think, may I ask why you reacted so powerfully at spirit Ios' quests? I understand the initial reasoning, and I can see how much value you put on trusting those closest to you. I am of the same opinion myself. I am merely curious about why you saw that as a breach of trust rather than, say, a breach of etiquette or something of that nature." Akiko's soft voice tells me she isn't judging me or telling me how I reacted was wrong, per say. Which honestly goes a long way to making me feel better about the whole thing.
I've been trying to put off that encounter while I enjoyed some time with her but seeing as how we're going right back into the same room I may as well address it. "It's just... back on Earth, people didn't just put your intimate life on display like that. Or if they did, they were dicks. You remember how frustrated I got when I was talking about how I don't like pain after both of you kind of teased it out of me right?" I look up to see her nod, her eyes watching me as we walk, "Right. Well, it's a bit of that. I'm still getting used to how free you guys seem to be about that stuff here on Mara. I don't know if it's that's a specific thing to how y'all are, or if its worldwide, but definitely a cultural hangup on my part it seems."
I hear her hum thoughtfully as her thumb strokes across one of my knuckles softly, making the slight bit of tension I was starting to feel melt away back into the background. "I can see that being quite the hurdle indeed. Was your old world more restrictive of sex and things of that nature?"
I scoff and look to the side of the wall. How to even unpack how oppressive and backwards where I grew up was about this. Not to mention their views on my sexual identity. I was lucky both mom and dad were open minded folks who just wanted both Sandra and I to be happy first and foremost and accepted me when I came out. "I don't even know where to
begin
with that question honey. Same sex relationships have been... had been... a thing for thousands of years, but rarely if ever were they seen as normal or accepted. The country I grew up in only started letting gay people marry in the last couple decades or so, and even then not every state, er, province? Not every local government allowed it, including the place I was at. But regardless of if the government saw two same sex people as a legitimate pairing, the prejudice from society and bigoted people was always a present reminder of how unwanted we were.
I was very fortunate to have parents who cared more about
me
than what society thought of me or them, but that's sadly not always the case. The few friends I did have were also gay, and nearly all of them got disowned by their parents and communities when they came out. Which is what we call announcing our preferences to those around us for the first time, I guess. Huh, maybe that's one of the reasons Jun Li and I hit it off so well at the start, her story about how her old home kicked her out reminds me of that now that I've thought about it some." I raise my head thoughtfully as I ponder that, but it does make sense.
"Regardless," I continue on my rant, "even if we aren't talking about same sex stuff, sex in general in that society was such a weird and touchy subject. Nearly all advertisements from companies or products that flooded into our day to day lives had some kind of sexual undertone in them, but talking about sex or discussing sexual topics outside of certain places like parties or therapy was seen almost as taboo or at the least frowned upon. Sometimes even in those environments about topics like gay or trans rights, womanly autonomy, anything sensitive like that. Like, I get not wanting to discuss certain topics around small children or something, don't get me wrong, but overall, it was a
very
repressed situation. And a lot of that had to do with religion and how ingrained it was in society, which is a whole 'nother can of worms I don't want to get into right now."
I can feel a bit of anger flashing at memories of people I thought were close to my family and I suddenly telling me how I was going to hell if I didn't change my ways or some other bullshit. Dad actually had to lay into one of his suddenly former friends because he wouldn't stop shoving a bible in my face. Literally, on our doorstep. Thankfully there was a cop driving down the road that saw the whole thing and got that asshole to leave our front yard with a newly blackened eye. Needless to say, we stopped going to that church. Before more unpleasant memories can surface back up, I feel something squeeze my hand. I look down and realized that I had stopped walking in my stroll down fucked up memory lane, and Akiko has been waiting patiently for me with a calm yet concerned look about her.
I sigh out heavily before squeezing her hand back and reassuring her, "I'm okay. Just a lot of bad memories about this kind of thing growing up... But you're right I guess. Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know if I ever actually told Ios to keep that kind of stuff close to the chest directly. Maybe I just assumed she picked up on it given how in tune she usually is with me. Ugh... I guess I'll apologize to her about that part of it when we get back, but I still stand by that I wish she would have talked to me about those quests and showing them off to you first."
Akiko looks rather pleased as she responds, "A fair compromise in my opinion my dear. It is obvious you value things of a personal nature quite heavily, and I am not surprised given the tale you just told me of your past and your previous society. But I also think it was not fair to spirit Ios in the moment either." I bristle slightly at her words, even if I know she's right and that I just said the same thing. It just hits different when I feel like I'm being slightly scolded, I guess. I feel myself get wrapped up in a hug, sinking in slightly to Akiko's soft and sinful body, as she keeps going.
"Mistakes and miscommunications happen and are natural, but rectifying those mistakes and talking through miscommunications are how we ensure they never happen again and the relationship stays healthy. You are a very smart girl, Amelia, and spirit Ios cares for you deeply. I am sure that you both will come to look back on this moment in jest given enough time, but for the present I believe you both should discuss what you have just told me."
I'm about to respond when I hear the subject in question chirp in to my ear, 'It's okay Aims, I heard it all~. We can for sure talk about it tonight, but thank you and I'm sorry again for overstepping.'
The conflicting emotions of being told to be a big girl and talk out my feels coupled with the fact that I forget that Ios is basically always listening just makes me let out a exasperated sigh. "Yeah, Ios apparently heard all of that anyway so at least the conversation won't rehash anything. I'll talk with her tonight, Aki. You're right,
like usual."
I lean back so that I can get a good view of her face as I stick my tounge out playfully. To which she leans down and kisses the tip of it, making my cheeks instantly flush red at the sudden intimacy. With a playful wink, she turns us back around and continues our stroll as it feels like steam is flowing out of my ears.
"Very good then my dear~. Now, let us continue on and resume your inscription training. I think if you do well enough we can start you on actually inscribing tomorrow~!" And we do just that once we return to the room, me still being a little pink in the cheeks. We sit peacefully beside each other as we enjoy the sandwiches, which I now realize has a mix of mustard / mayo, something tomato adjacent, and definitely lettuce on ham and cheddar cheese. Thank the stars for convergent evolution apparently! Ios chooses to remain unseen while we eat, which is just another sign that I have to admit as her being as respectful as she can be given our unique situation.
With happily full bellies and a thoughtful air surrounding me, Akiko pats her lap once more to resume our symbols lessons. Thankfully, I'm able to keep my mind to task even though I can feel it trying to wander a few times, mainly about just how much is already proving to be different here on Mara than Earth. Hours seem to pass as I get more and more focused into the jade slip, before someone raps lightly against the door to my room, making me jump slightly further into Akiko's embrace after letting out a small "Eep!". She giggles and uses a tail to pat my head as she says, "Should I see who it is or are you comfortable having them enter in our current arrangement?"
I look down at us, me practically hanging off her neck after my sudden fright, our bodies smushed together in unintentional yet delightful ways now that I'm seeing what bits are where. I cough slightly before sliding off her lap and sitting in the chair next to her with a sheepish smile on my face. Akiko looks only slightly disappointed at her lap mate gone, but smiles none the less as she turns to regard the door. "Enter if you please." She says in her gentle motherly tone.
The oddly familiar yet still very welcomed voice that graces the room makes a slight pang of homesickness shoot through me as I look upon Gerra as she slides the door open. "Good evenin' Madam, little bird~. Figured you two could use some dinner since I didn't see you for lunch, although given the tray there on the table looks like ya managed to fend for yourselves~!" Her wavy pink hair flits behind her as she turns to close the door, a tray of food balanced expertly on the end of her tail which is coiled underneath it, a pitcher of water and two cups carried in her off hand.
"Ah! Very thoughtful of you darling~!" Akiko says as she stands up and helps bring the spread over to the table. As soon as they are done, Gerra sneaks an arm around Akiko's waist from behind to plant a small kiss at the base of her neck, making the fox woman shiver slightly.
With their bodies basically on top of each other, she says up to Akiko just loud enough for me to hear, "Not at all Madam, it's always my pleasure to serve~." She looks at me from the side and gives me a wink, which makes the heat rise to my neck and face. I'm not really sure where to look or what to do, so I just kind of... deer in a headlight her for a bit before giving her a small smile and nod of my own, my low voice coming out shakily as I try to maneuver around her flirtatious display.
"T-thank you, Gerra, all of your food is always so delicious! I can't wait to see what you've made for dinner, and I'm sorry for keeping Akiko to myself these past few... well, since I've gotten here." Damn it, fumbled right at the starting line. The rush of blood to my face thickens as I kick myself, but Gerra seems fine to not bring attention to it, for which I am eternally grateful.
With a toothy smile, and I'm reminded that her toothys are quite pointy, she says back happily, "Why thank you hun~! The only thing that's better than cooking all of this is getting to feed all of my wonderful people and enjoy it with them~. And don't you worry about eating up the Madam's time, we all know you the situation you're in. You just focus on you for now sweetie." She finally breaks away from Akiko's back after gripping her waist a few times with a playful smirk, before turning back to me and leaning down to give me a hug with her strong, slightly muscular arms.
The position is a bit awkward since I'm still sitting, but I feel her more than a handful breasts press together pleasantly with mine as I let out a small sound at the contact. That fucking title better not have made my chest
more
sensitive, I swear! Won't even be able to wear clothes anymore if this keeps up!!
From our conjoined position, I hear Gerra's deep voice come out in a raspy tone which makes my body shiver, "Of course, if you want to take a break to focus on any of
us
like you did with the Madam, all you have to do is ask~." I feel a wet sensation on my earlobe which makes me involuntarily let out a soft moan, before quickly pulling back while still in her embrace. My stunned expression meets with the growing warmth radiating off my face and starting to trickle down to my core as a hand comes up to the assaulted ear. Feeling a bit of wetness still there, I come to the conclusion she must have just
licked my ear.
With another saucy wink she lets go of the embrace before adding on quickly, "Think about it, I would
love
to take you for a spin too~. Now, y'all enjoy the food while its hot. I'll go tell the others that you'll be indisposed for dinner tonight, Madam." I feel a fuzzy sensation that's different from the one I've been getting used to now brush up against my cheek as she turns to walk away, the soft brush like sensation sending yet another exciting chill through me.
Akiko nods back to dismiss her, clearly watching and being quite amused by the forwardness of Gerra, "Thank you, my sweet. I will be sure to visit all of you tonight to express my gratitude at how well you all have been handling things~." For the first time, I see Gerra's mask slip a bit as a flash of red creases across her porcelain face, and I swear her pupils turn into actual pink hearts for a second, before she bows to Akiko.
"I'm sure the girls will be pleased. Should we all stay together or were you wanting a more individual affair?" The hunger seeping out of her throat is beyond obvious now, and it's even starting to get me riled up at the thought of what will be happening for them. I imagine Jun Li all splayed out underneath Akiko, Samantha and Gerra laid in either of her arms as they all intertwine together and-. I shake my head, trying to cast the horny thought away. I'm not trying to get keyed up right before I eat, damn it!
"Hmm, I think it has been too long since we all had a time together. If everyone is agreeable, let us spend the night in the same room." Akiko says while she pretends to look thoughtful and refined, but the mischief and desire are plainly seen in her eyes and the tone of her slightly husky voice. Gerra simply nods in excitement before turning back to give me a smile and a wave as she quickly makes her exit, no doubt to go inform the others of the good news.
Akiko chuckles softly at the departure before turning back to me. "Well, seems like I have quite the night in store for myself~. What say we enjoy our meal and then we spend the next hour or so completing the jade slip. You're nearly done with it by now~."
I blush at the implied activities she is about to enjoy but give her a shy nod anyways. "Sounds like it haha! I'm jealous~. That you guys are going to have fun, I mean! Not like, jealous about you or any of the girls or something, or about the hanky panky. Wait, no I am jealous of that, but I'm not mad that you're going to have fun with them!" Hello there social awkwardness, long time no see~! I groan under Akiko's ever increasing teasing smile, as I pitifully mutter out, "I'm just gonna use
[Appraise]
on all of this food and then eat. Maybe then my dumbass mouth can stop making me look like an idiot..."
I turn to start my distraction in full before Akiko rests her hand on my shoulder. "There's no need to feel embarrassed my dear. It will take time for you to adjust to how sexuality is viewed and sought here on Mara. If you are truly feeling left out and desire companionship, I can stay here for the night?"
I sigh as I look up to this amazing woman, who would forgo a session of group sex with three other certified baddies just to make sure I don't get too wrapped up in dumb emotions. I shake my head, partially at the thought that no one else except Sandra would have done the same for me back on Earth and partially because I can't let her follow through on that offer. "No, thank you though. You're so incredibly sweet and thoughtful Akiko," I kiss her hand as I rest my cheek against it, "I won't let you keep avoiding quality time with Gerra and the others just because my brain is being dumb and I'm adjusting to all of this still. You're incredible for offering it though, I really appreciate it~."
I feel her presence lean down and plant a small, wet kiss on my forehead as she nuzzles me a couple times. "If you're sure darling. I'm positive they would understand if you wished me to stay."
"No, I'll be fine. I don't want to do that to them, or you. Maybe... maybe when I start getting more comfortable with all of this, I can be more involved with that kind of stuff, because I do want to. But I don't want to rush anything or keep you guys from your normal day to day stuff." I reply back softly.
Akiko seems to smile knowingly at that, like she had already assumed my answer. "Very well, thank you my dear. I promise to make it up to you in the morning. Now, let us eat and be merry and then finish this jade slip that takes any other apprentice over a month to master in just two sittings~! How exciting!!"
I laugh at the silly fox, some levity coming back into the room finally. I do use
[Appraise]
on the spread before us, looks like some baked chicken breast, some kind of fried rice with veggies, sliced bread, and some yellow sauce that Akiko starts to drizzle onto the chicken. A lot of the same buffs and modifiers appear, and the skill also gets to level 4 finally, and after basking in the afterglow of Gerra's amazing skill for a few, I plop back into Akiko's lap and we do just as she says.
Another three hours pass by judging by the large ornate grandfather clock that Akiko gifted the room before we finally reach the end of the slip. I lean back into her embrace, rubbing my temples softly. "Ugh, those last few pages were the worst ones by far. It's crazy the amount of layering concepts that those last two, Qi gathering and storage, had. It legitimately made my brain hurt." I whine out.
Without much delay several soft kisses land on my temples, my giggles washing away the frustration at a nonstop study session. Akiko smirks back after my little fit as she says, "Indeed, those are meant to test the new apprentices and see if they can identify the underlaying symbols and structure that constitute them. The fact that you grasp them already is astounding, as comprehending those two glyphs is a significant milestone to making any inscription worthwile."
I preen at the praise, even if most of it probably deserves to go to the system's frankly ludicrous learning buff, which earns me another soft peck to the cheek. "Thanks Aki~! I can't wait to actually start using some of these! Speaking of which, I wonder how far along I am in the quest now..." With a thought, I mentally pull up the one for apprentice inscriptions and use
[Inspect]
:
[Quest Started: Become an Apprentice Level Inscription Creator!
Gain enough knowledge to be considered an apprentice level inscription creator on Mara.
Reward: 75 Ability Points, 250 Shop Points, 10 Skill Points, 50 points into Dexterity, Intelligence and Wisdom
Rewards will increase as your crafting rank increases.
Remaining Tasks: Create 10 viable inscriptions on any material.
Completed tasks: Learn at least 1,000 different glyphs, symbols, or structures.]
[Progress: 85%]
Wait, I've learned
way
more than just a thousand of these things by now! What a ripoff! Hopefully the next quest in line will take that into consideration, otherwise I may be boned until I can leave the estate. "Looks like we may have went a
little
too hard on this one Aki. I only needed to learn 1,000 symbols and such and then make 10 inscriptions for the quest."
She seems to think for a second before giving her own sheepish smile, "Ah... I had not thought about that aspect of it. I am used to teaching and learning in the traditional sense for Mara, wherein you power through until you hit a bottleneck, then meditate and deepen your understandings until you breach that choke point of comprehension. Well! Looks like you are indeed going to be learning how to inscribe come the morrow then, my sweet Amelia~! Someone just cannot help but be an overachiever it seems~!" She says mischievously as she reaches up and tickles my sides, making me squirm in her lap and let out various unwomanly squeals of excitement and pleas of release.
One tickle attack later and I find that she used that to camouflage her carrying me over to my bed, which I didn't even notice while my sides and stomach were being assaulted. With a few breathy intakes of air now that my diaphragm isn't spazzing out, I look up to her accusingly, "You meanie, you could have just asked me if you wanted to go to bed~."
She looks like she's about to take the bait, the flash of hunger in her eyes at my own sneak attack landing a critical hit, as she leans down closer and closer to me. Her larger form sinks into my prone one before giving me a long and deep kiss on my lips, her hands cupping my face. She pulls back eliciting a small whine from my throat as she says, "I can always stay if you have changed your mind my dear, but if you still are acceptable to what we discussed before then I should be heading out now."
I can see a tinge of regret in her eyes, which does kind of comfort me. She wants to spend more time with me just like I do her, but I don't want to come in between her and her harem. "No, go do your thing with the girlies~. I need to talk with Ios a little bit and then rest, my brain really is fried after staring at that scroll for so long."
She laughs a bit, planting another kiss on my forehead before standing back up to her full height. "I can imagine, my dear~. And thank you for being so understanding, I cannot wait for the day when you feel comfortable enough to join us~. Talk through matters with spirit Ios and get some rest, if you still feel lonely come morning, I will be more than happy to rectify that for you~."
She must notice how much all of those statements make me squirm under the covers and blush at the thoughts they give, as she puts on a devilish smile and then saunters sexily out of the room. My eyes don't leave her wide flaring hips and the perfect ass it carries until it's finally beyond view behind the slowly closing door. I look up to see her knowing smirk give me a wink before finally sealing me off from the rest of the estate once again.
"She really is something else, huh Aims?" I hear Ios chime up as her projector flicks to life, having her respectable outfit from the last time still on her form. She gives me a small smile as she turns to me and says, "Hey."

Cultural Exchange – Ch 49