"Kygore's having a terrible day because this sucks!" Mirri cursed, clinging to Annie's side.

  Her damp body against Annie's would have made holding the umbrel straight hard enough, but Telly also didn't want to get wet and had pushed herself under Annie's arm so she could rest her head on Annie's chest. Telly's fuzzy ears stuck against her head as ft as she could, and she'd sunk further into her sweater to get extra cozy. Annie could feel the good vibes drifting off the Espurr. At least she was rexed despite the downpour hammering around them and slowly turning the Glimwood's ground to a thick, muddy sludge.

  "This wouldn't be so bad if you both had umbrels," Annie said, boots testing the ground with every step. Thankfully, the mud wasn't deep if you could avoid the potholes. "But you both wanted to be romantic so you can get a little wet."

  "Worth it," Telly mumbled happily, "Rain sound helps me think."

  Mirri tussled the grey locks of Telly's hair with her fingers and scratched her behind the ears. Despite all the nudging and some rain spttering on her arm past the guard of her umbrel, Annie didn't interrupt them. It was good when the two of them got along. Telly's happy thoughts washed over them all, and their senses blended a little. She could feel the warmth in Mirri's heart that she was making Annie happy, and that itch to py up a little just to check for cracks. Telly was more a cuddly ball of comfort, the simple pleasure of having her head against Annie's chest.

  Annie wondered what they felt from her. Pride? Determination? Hopefully something good. They both felt parts of her she'd been missing. She wanted to keep them safe by her side, and once again considered giving up looking for shelter and just setting tents up in the rainstorm that had suddenly swept over them. They'd all get soaked to the bone, but walking was just making them tired at this point. There hadn't been even a glimpse of something suitable to hide under for ages.

  "Feel that," Mirri said to Telly, "Something mushy is around us."

  "She's thinking soft thoughts," Telly nodded. "I like it. It feels good, like rain sound."

  "I'm thinking where to camp," Annie said, giving the pair of them a squeeze. "That's not mushy thoughts."

  "My mistake. Our perfect Trainer could never get distracted worrying about her wonderful partners."

  Annie bumped her head against one of Mirri's horns, the Impidimp tapping her head back with a contented sigh rolling in her throat. "Knew we'd get to you."

  "I just don't want to have to carry a wet Telly. She'll be twice the weight with all that fur."

  Annie got a quick fsh of Telly's thoughts. Being put over Annie's shoulder so she could stare at her butt. She flicked Telly's ears until it went away.

  "Unlike you two, I can love someone and still be focused. Thank you very much."

  Annie didn't like the smug look on both their faces as they nodded in agreement. They paced on in silence a little while longer until a yellow glow pierced through the rain.

  "Lights," Telly said, "Shelter?"

  "I've never seen a yellow glowing mushroom in the Tanglewood," Annie said. "It's got to be. Let's go check it out."

  ---

  It was a small cottage, though the rain made it hard to make out much beyond the thatch roof and the wooden door, painted a pleasant shade of eggshell blue. It looked brand new, none of the expected peeling of an abandoned cottage.

  "I thought I was the only one who lived in this woods," Annie said, pulling back the iron door knocker and rapping the door three times. The door shook with every hit and creaked open slightly.

  "Not locked?" Mirri said, brushing rainwater off her arm as some of it spilled off Annie's umbrel onto her arm. "Spooky."

  "Maybe they forgot to lock the door?" Telly suggested, shuffling out of her sweater to get a better look. "I can't sense any thinking. Should we go inside and check?"

  "Not sure," Annie said. She gently pushed on the door, feeling guilty as it swung open to a small entrance hall with empty coat hooks. "Is there anyone home? Hello? Your door isn't locked."

  Silence greeted her.

  "Maybe we can just wait inside until the storm passes," Annie said. The smell of the damp earth outside was getting to her. The air inside smelled sweet, like vender and vanil. "I'm sure they'll understand."

  "It'd be good to dry Telly off while we're in there," Mirri said, "She's looking a little soggy."

  "Oh, I can fix that right now!" Telly said and took a deep breath before shaking herself madly. Rainwater spshed all over Annie and Mirri, the umbrel wavering as both of them squealed. Telly stepped into the cottage, her fur all puffed out in a gangly mess. "Your turn?"

  Mirri mopped the spshed rainwater off her face, staring daggers at the Espurr. "Sure you don't want her to sleep outside, Annie?"

  Annie snorted, wiping her own face clean. "I don't think she understands what it's like not to have fur. We can't just shake off."

  "Ugh, there's such a thing as being too understanding," Mirri groaned, stepping into the coat hall.

  "Mirri, bow," Annie commanded. Mirri bent as she was told.

  "Telly, buff her horns and say sorry for spshing her." Annie shut the door behind her as Telly mumbled apologies. The rain was instantly muffled as the door closed. The smell of the house got stronger without the rain taking the edge off it like they were standing waist-deep in a field of vender. It was soothing, a soothing scent that blended with the patter of rain against the window to give a very rexed atmosphere.

  "Whoa, it's nice in here," Telly said, "I want to find a fire to curl up by."

  "Sure it's not a Move? I don't trust strange scents." Annie said, "It could be like Telly's Disarming Voice. Just trying to make us let our guard down."

  "I don't think so. I'm good at resisting that stuff." Mirri said as Telly used her long sweater sleeves to shine her long, thin horns. "Just smells like someone's burning incense to me."

  "Circe loved doing that," Annie said, fondling a lock of her blue and pink hair. Circe, her Hatterene mother, said the strong smells helped clear her head of thoughts. Maybe the owner needed help sleeping? Hopefully, they weren't about to barge in on them trying to catch a nap.

  Past the coat room was a rge living area. The floor was a gorgeous polished wood, a rge Wooloo wool rug id out in front of an old cast stove with a kettle perched on top, wooden logs piled up in a basket next to it. The fire was already lit, the red glow filling the room and making the pce even cozier. A pair of leather armchairs draped with colorful stitched bnkets were pced around the fire, a small coffee table in the middle with an ornate tea set up in the middle.

  "Don't hear anyone thinking here," Telly said, looking around the room, "Still seems weird."

  "Looks tidy to me?" Mirri said, going to warm her hands by the stove. "What's weird about it?"

  Annie looked at the polished kettle and the bck stove on an immacute stone pedestal. The wood was neatly stacked, a fire poker hanging off a hook beside them without even a trace of ash. Not a single crease on the bnkets, and the chair leather showed none of the wear bodies inevitably took on it. The eggshell blue china of the tea set was beautiful by the firelight; cracks in the set had been filled in with gold, and it all gleamed.

  "Too tidy," Annie said, eyes darting around the room suspiciously. "It doesn't look lived in."

  "You're just jealous you can't keep your pce this neat," Mirri teased.

  "You've clearly never seen my bedroom. It was spotless, but not this spotless."

  "Darn got me. You'll have to show me your bedroom sometime." Mirri grinned. "Bring Telly as well. She shouldn't miss out."

  "You're more excited about seeing what it looks like than the sex," Telly said and smirked at Mirri as she spluttered.

  "You said you couldn't read my thoughts!"

  "Don't need to when it's obvious." Telly smiled.

  The kettle atop the stove whistled. The sudden noise made Mirri and Telly jump. Annie just stared at it, the scene might look perfect, but someone had still set it all up. A slightly spooky house and a mysterious tea party? Annie was a good Trainer, she knew what this was and she knew the best way to handle it. The rain pattered against the window as Annie waited, watching the steam curl up from the kettle's spout.

  "Should we..." Mirri said, pointing to the kettle, but Annie held up her hand, signaling her to wait.

  "Someone's here. They made the tea, and we're not going to drink until they come out and talk."

  The whistle of the kettle lowered slightly.

  "I'm not even thirsty, " Telly said as she sat on the Wooloo rug, her purple eyes staring at the teapot. "I can go without drinking for days."

  The kettle rattled, a few puffing huffs of steam as it spun on the stovetop.

  "We got soaked coming in here," Mirri said and leaned in to nip at Annie's earlobe. "If there's a drink to be had, I'm starting with licking that up."

  "That was pretty bad," Annie whispered.

  "You didn't want to hear my good one," Mirri grinned and licked her lips. "I'll show you it ter."

  Incorrigible. Annoyingly, it did the trick, the tea set on the table rattling as the spinning kettle dropped off the stovetop, spilling out its contents. A wave of purple and gold liquid, thick like treacle, coming straight for Telly.

  "Split it with Psyshock," Annie called, one hand going under the coffee table's edge. She upended it with a single tug, sending fine china sailing into the air. Telly's psychic power parted the gooey seas and saved the rug from a stain as the tea set rained down into the purple and gold goo. Tendrils whipped up to snatch at them, the cups breaking apart as the gold cement keeping them together melted away.

  "One drink would have been polite." a cool, pleasant voice bubbled up from goo as it began to pull in on itself, distending upwards. A figure slowly began to take shape, tall and broad-shouldered, pieces of the tea set floating over the goo to form pieces of armor. A white breastpte with a swirling pattern and a few cracks along the bottom, shoulder pads that sort of looked like the edge of a cup at the top. The boots and greaves were the sturdiest looking piece, maybe because it looked like the gold and purple goo had been poured into it and filled out the rest of the armor in a vaguely human shape.

  The gold and purple in the goo woman's face swirled and blended together to form a creamy skin that actually looked really pretty. Her hair was long, fat dreadlocks that started a faded pink at the top of her head before regaining the purple color of her ooze at the bottom. They bounced gently as if vaguely alive as the teacup ooze gave them a smile, her lips coated with that eggshell blue color that matched the rest of her tea set and her eyes the bright gold of the joining cement.

  "Ghost!" Mirri ughed, "Oh, I'm going to kick your ass teacup. Trying to get us to drink you!"

  The tea ooze squared up. She was taller than Mirri and her horns, almost a head taller than Annie, and she dominated the space around her. A proud, colorful-looking warrior, her angur face was perfect for giving Mirri a haughty look down her nose. "It wouldn't be much of a fight."

  "I wouldn't want to make any more mess of your home," Annie said casually, with a pat on Mirri's butt. With Miri's Dark Type and Annie calling the shots, they'd absolutely bulldoze this Ghost. It would have been fun to execute, but Annie wanted to fish for a little more information. Ghost Types all had a 'twist' to their personality, something that could make them act completely unpredictably. It was smart to learn what it was before setting them off. Mirri looked back, pleading for the nod to fight anyway, but a squeeze of the butt was enough to have her forget about the fight, settling back to lean against Annie in consotion.

  "No wonder I couldn't feel your mind. You were being tea," Telly said as her psychic power fizzled away. "Very, craft-tea."

  Telly looked at the others, ears wiggling as she waited for a ugh. Annie gave her a small one, just to be nice. It was worth it for the gleeful shine in her eyes.

  "She's a Sinistea actually, rather a well put together one." Annie said, "I'm Annie, this is Mirri and Telly. We got caught in the storm."

  "Well met. You are welcome in my home," the Sinistea said, gracefully bowing. The tea set that held her body together rattled. "My name is Maki, and you're free too..."

  She trailed off because Telly had poked a part of her exposed arm, her finger sinking up to the knuckle in the purple skin.

  "That's so cool," Telly said, "You'd actually be really hard to beat, wouldn't you? Even if we got past your armor, there's nothing to hurt."

  Maki gave Telly a polite, if confused, smile. Telly had a way of grabbing the thoughts off the top of people's heads and just announcing them that left even a Ghost lost for words.

  "So why try get us to drink you?" Mirri said while Maki's train of thought had been derailed. "Wouldn't that hurt?"

  "Not at all," Maki said, gently pushing Telly back with her purple fingers on Telly's brow. "I can lose a small part of myself without any bother, and once you had a taste of me, your hearts would melt."

  "Poison?" Telly said, nervously ducking her head back. "Kind of a jerk move to trick us into falling for you."

  "No!" Maki csped her hands to her porcein chest-pte, eyes wide with shock. "It's about the taste. You see Annie as beautiful, don't you? Just because she's attractive, that doesn't mean she's tricking you. Can't a person taste beautiful?"

  Annie understood the logic, but the idea of someone tasting pretty was a weird concept. Then again, she had a psychic cat woman as a partner who made people's inside voices come out a lot and a mother who read an entire's towns thoughts as casually as a newspaper. Weird Annie could handle.

  Mirri, on the other hand, couldn't resist it. She stepped up to grab Maki's hand, holding it up and spreading the fingers to look at the long, slender purple digits. "So you taste gorgeous? What's the fvor notes?"

  "Try it and find out," Maki said, her fat dreadlocks bobbing as she leaned in. "Or you can try to kick my ass first, and you can get a taste when I kiss you better after."

  "You promise this isn't a trick?" Annie said, "Telly will know if you lie."

  "It's not, I swear," Maki said, wiggling her fingers at Mirri. Pushing her back until she hit a wall, a picture of a boat at sea falling off its hook and crashing to the floor. Maki's armor clinked as it pressed against Mirri's chest, and she pattered her fingers over Mirri's lips. "You can repce my china with pstic cups if I'm lying."

  "Fuck, lucky I love this kind of confidence." Mirri grinned, a slight blush on her pale skin as she leaned to get a nibble of Maki's fingertip. "I'll try it out for the team."

  Nobody had asked her to do this. This was all on Mirri.

  "Telly?" Annie said quietly to the Espurr, who'd id back down on the soft rug.

  "She's just excited to hear her response," Telly said, "And a little distracted? Nerves."

  Maki's mind was definitely elsewhere, her eyes closed as she bit her lower lip. Mirri was taking her time with the bite, slowly sucking the tip of Sinistea's finger. She dragged her tongue over the fingertip and then screwed up her face in disgust, stepping back and coughing.

  "Ugh, it's horrible!"

  "It's not," Maki said, gripping Mirri's shoulder. "Take it back. Liar!"

  "It's like licking an ashtray clean, fuck. That might be the worst thing I've tasted."

  "You have a filthy mouth." cracks of gold formed in the creamy skin of Maki's face as she fumed. Her purple skin swirled under the armor as she stiffened up.

  "Hey, it's fine. Just need some sweetener." Mirri grinned. It just made Maki's skin steam.

  A little less honesty could have helped here. Was this Maki's Ghost twist? She couldn't take criticism?

  "Let's just calm down," Annie barked, stepping between them. She put a hand on Maki's chest pte and pushed to try to separate them.

  It didn't work. Maki's body flowed around her armor and spshed over Mirri in a cascade, the Impidimp gasping as the gold in the purple goo stuck to her skin and began to shine bright.

  "Cheap shot," Mirri slurred, her eyes half-lidded like she was about to nod off to sleep. Some kind of draining move from how the gold pulsed like a heartbeat, Mirri's legs shaking as she tried to remain standing.

  "Telly, Confuse her. Mirri, Swagger out of that!" Annie called. "Maki, quit it! You want to impress, don't you?"

  "What's the point!" the Sinistea wailed, her armor flowing back around her body to turn away a purple bst from Telly's eyes. Mirri tried to shuffle out of her grip, but Maki just flowed to keep her up, completely nullifying the Move. "I try my hardest, and always people find a reason to hate me!"

  Well, that answered what Maki's twist was. A perfectionist who went to pieces when the fws were exposed.

  Telly wound up another confusion shot, the purple beam forcing Maki back as her porcein armor snapped into a spiky circle. The vague outline of a saucer decoration ran around the edge, made from all the different parts. It was a solid shield against Telly's moves, but it left Maki completely naked behind it, her purple skin swirling with rivulets of gold as she held her shield firm.

  Mirri leaned against the wall for support, bck energy crackling between her fingertips. "Get me a shot, Annie. I'll have her picking bits of her teacups out of the ceiling."

  Annie grabbed the rug Telly had been lying on and bundled it up in her arms, "Telly, Disarming Voice."

  "Hey, teacup," Telly said, the air humming with her thoughts as she dug the right words out of Maki's currents. "You look so pretty like that. I love the design. You're big, tough, and keep a beautiful home. Don't you want to try again?"

  "Again? And again and again." Maki growled, digging the edge of her shield into the ground to keep it steady. "I do everything I can, and someone always finds a fw in me. You're too protective. You're too suffocating. It's exhausting, it's unfair! "

  "Maki," Annie said, trying to sound calm despite the chaos breaking out and the storm hammering down inside. "I know what that's like."

  "You have two gorgeous partners, you don't!" Maki growled, turning her shield to gre at Annie. Annie slung out the Wooloo rug when she did, the edge of it catching on the sharp shards of Maki's shield. A good firm tug and Maki stumbled off bance, spshing over one of those brand new chairs as Mirri hammered a Dark Pulse right around the edge of her shield. A wave of bck energy sunk into Maki's purple skin and dragged her repressed thoughts up to the surface.

  They'd been practicing this style. Mirri's moves were perfect for weakening people's focus so Telly could get into their head. It was particurly devastating against an already emotional Ghost. She slumped, her armour shards gathering around her waist like a spyed-out skirt.

  "Just once, I wish someone could handle me," Maki said, utterly devastated. Her dreadlocks hung down, covering her face as she just sat there slumped, barely keeping her form together.

  "Shit, now I just feel bad." Mirri groaned. "Maki, I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt this way."

  "I did," Annie said. "Being too good for people to handle, we can rete."

  Annie brushed aside Maki's dreadlocks until she saw one sad, golden eye buried beneath them. "Telly's incredibly strong but struggles with control. Mirri wants to cheer people up but can't seem to do it without pissing them off."

  Mirri shrugged. "Didn't do a great job here, did I? Sorry teacup, I should have let you kick my rude ass."

  Maki tried a ugh, but it came out as more of a bubbling sob. "I don't want to be broken. I want to be perfect. People deserve perfect."

  "You should taste her, Annie," Telly said as her purple eyes shone. "Trust me?"

  Annie did. She offered her hand down to Maki. "If you want another try?"

  "You'll hate it." Maki sighed. But she offered out her hand anyway. "But I can't say no to a beautiful woman."

  "A lot of people can't." Annie smiled and raised Maki's fingers to her lips, giving them a gentle lick.

  It was so much better than Mirri had described. Rich, sweet, and creamy but it didn't just taste that way. It was more than that, a feeling of decadence that washed over you, like a loving hug on a warm summer's day and the promise of more to come. Annie could feel her throat gurgle as she tried to hold back a moan, a taste of beauty sold it short. This was throwing back the warmth of loving kiss and chasing it down with a liquid orgasm.

  Telly was smiling too, and there was that soft, inquisitive feeling in the back of Annie's head that she'd got to get used to. She was using Reflect, letting Annie taste what Maki thought she should taste like. As she pulled back, a bitter aftertaste id itself over Annie's tongue. It was unpleasant, but the memory of the taste overpowered it.

  "That's how you feel about yourself?" Annie said, looking down at Maki, brushing her hand through the fat purple dreads that moved to squeeze her hand back.

  "It's not how I really taste," Maki sighed, "But it should be."

  "Then let's work on it," Annie said, "Because I want to taste that again."

  "Me too," Mirri said. Maki's head rotated to look over her shoulder at the Impidimp. The benefits of being made of goo. Bones were optional. Mirri recoiled from the gre, waving her hands before her face to shield herself. "Okay! Okay! I'm intimidated! Sorry for being a bitch. I'll uh, I mean... Telly want to see a trick?"

  "I would love to be a distraction from your own failure," Telly said sweetly, her purple eyes sparkling as she looked at Mirri.

  Annie tried to turn Maki's head back. She couldn't get a good grip, so she just had to nudge it until it all flowed back around. Maki made it look natural with how she gently flowed. It was how she moved when she wasn't trying to appear more human.

  "I meant what I said," Annie said, looking into those golden eyes, "Let's make this happen. If you're willing?"

  "How?" Maki said, "Even if you like me, that doesn't change how I taste."

  "Doesn't it?" Annie smiled. "I might inherit from you, but you'll grow with me too. I can be the sugar in your tea."

  Mirri mumbled to herself about the unfairness of using her pickup line as she stretched out Telly's cardigan sleeves, tying them both in a knot as Telly watched, trying to work out the trick.

  "You want me?" Maki smiled, brushing back a deadlock. "Even if I'm fwed?"

  Annie smiled and nodded for Maki to look at Telly and Mirri. Telly was staring at the knotted sleeves of her cardigan as Mirri walked off to lounge in a chair. "That wasn't a trick," she said, disappointed as she waggled the knotted ends of her sleeves. Maki and Annie watched her as Telly slowly realized she couldn't undo the Cardigan knots with both hands inside the tied-off cardigan. "Mirri! I'm psychic, you know!"

  "Doesn't work on me!"

  "I'll make it work!" Telly growled and pounced on Mirri. With no hands, it was difficult to win the tussle, but she put in the effort, bopping Mirri's chest with her head. Mirri cackled as she tickled Telly while she couldn't resist.

  Annie was trying not to giggle at it all, her body shaking as she did a polite cough in her fist instead of trying to disguise the sound of a ugh. "I love these two, and they're not perfect. I've had a lot of people say I'm perfect, and they left me because they couldn't handle it."

  "People say you're perfect? You're an eight at best," Maki said ftly.

  Annie sucked in a breath as she stared at Maki, feeling her skin prickle. The nerve of that! Maki leaned in and ran a hand through Annie's blue and pink hair. It felt nice, her fingers flowing around every strand and leaving a bit of warmth behind.

  "You're a strong ten, and you know it," Maki smirked.

  "You could get anyone if you really wanted. So why do you want to be with me?"

  "I'm a ten? Thanks, Maki."

  "You've looked in a mirror before. It's obvious. Don't make me repeat the question."

  "If you're expecting some kind of special reason, sorry," Annie said, shuffling closer to Maki. Her porcein armor wasn't comfortable against her skin, but what was underneath was softer than silk. Worth enduring. "I just see someone who needs a little help to shine, and I'm reaching out a hand."

  Maki's arms flowed over her fingers as she shifted to let Annie sit in her p, her fingers reappearing out of the tendrils of purple and gold goo to feel around Annie's hands, slip into the cracks, and steal a squeeze of their palms together.

  "That simple?"

  "That simple." Annie nodded.

  "You really are perfect. That's hard to live up to." Maki said.

  "I can tell you're a hard worker. It shouldn't be too much for you." Annie leaned in to get a suckle on Maki's neck. A real taste. It was bitter, viciously so, but not wholly unpatable. Annie liked her coffee strong. This wasn't much worse.

  "Maybe I'll get a real taste for you. Given time."

  "And I can't say no to a beautiful woman." Maki giggled and wrapped Annie in a tight, warm embrace, her body shifting and squirming under Annie's clothes, pulling her in until they were pressed together, pieces of china clinking to the side as they were shuffled out the way. The kiss was a treat. Even with the bitterness of Maki's insecurities washing over her tongue, Annie enjoyed it. Every bit of Maki's body was as soft and warm as it molded to fit against Annie's skin.

  Her lips were no different.

  They parted slightly, and Annie felt something flow over her lips, coating them like lipstick. Maki moaned softly as Annie kissed her, and then the warmth became all-consuming. Annie opened her eyes to see her and Maki had merged together, their skin and colors blending like a swirl of cream in a coffee, pieces of her porcein armor fitted over her arms and legs.

  "She looks good on you," Mirri said, currently being sat on by Telly as she used Mirri's horns to unpick her tied-up sleeves. "Can you even fuck like that?"

  "I'm working this out as I go," Annie said, wiggling her legs. She felt the goo shift and mold itself around her thighs, making her gasp. Maki's body could move independently, but it still reacted to her desires. "It feels nice, though. Like you're being squeezed by a pillow."

  "Yeah, but it's a pillow you can kiss without getting funny looks," Mirri ughed, then yelped as Telly managed to loosen her sleeve and pin her arms above her head, finally getting the upper hand. Annie would let them get on with it. They probably wouldn't kill each other.

  "I can be any shape you want," Maki said, her voice a purr that vibrated along Annie's body. "Show you what it's like to be with someone almost perfect."

  "I don't want a perfect woman," Annie said. "I like a challenge. Show me your true colors."

  "Was that a pun?" Maki gasped.

  "I've been working on those."

  "With who? That was awful."

  "Telly. But you liked it," Annie asked, feeling Maki's dreadlocks slide around her wrists to pull her arms back, her previous body reforming atop Annie's. She could be anything, but Maki chose to be tall and well-built, with just enough muscle on her complete ck of bones to impress. Not heavy on the curves, but Annie had a nice handful when she gave it an experimental squeeze. It felt good, soft like it should be, but her fingers dimpled it instead of sinking. Perfect.

  Maki leaned over Annie and ran a hand up her skirt. "You're not funny, but you are gorgeous. So, I'll look past that small fw. Are your partners going to jump in on this?"

  "Oh, we're loving the view," Mirri said, lying upside down on the leather chair, her white ponytail bobbing down as Telly rested her head on Mirri's chest, watching them with big purple eyes. "Stop worrying about us and fuck already. I want to see how you do it. Telly wants to feel it."

  "Get her good," Telly nodded.

  "They're so supportive, love you both." Annie blew them a kiss and raised her arms as Maki's hands moved to her breasts, gently squeezing and kneading them through her shirt. She felt a tug as the buttons started undoing themselves, some of Maki flowing through the gaps between them and doing the work. The fabric slid over her shoulders like an invisible force lifted it.

  "This is pretty cool," Annie said, just enjoying the strange easiness of it. "You're all over anything you touch."

  Maki just grinned as she leaned in to kiss Annie's bare stomach, her skin fizzling as the purple and gold caressed her abs.

  "Mmm, yes," Annie cooed. "Keep going."

  "I think I'll try here," Maki said, and Annie felt something warm and soft brush over her thighs. Looking down, she saw Maki's fat dreadlocks sliding under her skirt, slithering up her thighs.

  "You're going to fuck me with your hair?" Annie ughed incredulously. "I mean, I can see how, but wow."

  "You are not ready for my dick."

  Annie reached down and squeezed Maki's cheeks. "The st Pokémon who said that to me ended up begging for mercy."

  Maki shook her head, her dreadlocks pushing aside her underwear, sliding against her pussy lips and sending a shiver through Annie's body. The texture was so different from a finger or a dick, silky smooth and so flexible. They didn't stretch Annie out. They adjusted for her, flowing between her folds and spshing up against her clit. The change from liquid to firmness came and went, the pulsing change in states and multiple competing dreads a rather pleasant stuffing that made Annie's toes curl.

  "Ooh, fuck, okay," Annie puffed, "A little impressed. I expected you to be rougher."

  "You want a little change of pace? I can do that," Maki purred, her voice rolling with a vibration that ran up through her hair and rippled over Annie's insides. Annie grabbed some of that Wooloo rug to squeeze. It wasn't enough to push her over the edge, but Annie was starting to feel warm all over, her heart building up a drum beat that she could feel in her throat. Maki leaned in and pulled Annie's legs over her shoulders, a few dreadlocks wrapping around Annie's hips for support as more of their soft warmth pressed up against her clit. For a burly-looking bruiser, Maki was surprisingly dexterous and graceful beneath it all.

  She'd be an incredible frontline for the team, but Annie couldn't think too hard about the details. She was utterly at the mercy of Maki's whims, the purple goo squeezing her breasts as her tongue ran lines up and down her thighs. Maki wasn't just everywhere because of her ability to spread and fondle. She was really doing her best to please every part of Annie at once. A perfectionist, even when it came to fucking women.

  Annie cmped her thighs down on Maki's head. Finally, a real challenge.

  "No need to grip, I'm not going anywhere, gorgeous," Maki chuckled, her body writhing as she worked her tongue and fingers. More than she had started with, Annie was sure. It was difficult to count when her mind was full of bliss and her senses overloaded.

  "Just making sure you know you're mine," Annie panted. "Can't have you forgetting just because I'm so good."

  "Wouldn't dream of it. Now, where was I? Oh yes, here." Maki pressed her head between Annie's legs, showering her tender skin with fizzling kisses. Maki's fingers pushed deeper inside Annie, and her dreadlocks flowed up and over her clit, a dozen pping tongues all working together to work into every little crevice and treat every spot with equal love and care. It was too much. A tsunami of pleasure rolled over Annie. She cried out as her hips bucked, squeezing Maki with her thighs so firmly she had to flow and reform around them, bending Annie's legs up higher.

  "Fuck," Mirri whistled. "I'd be jealous if they weren't both so fucking hot."

  "Like that?" Maki said, "Good enough for you?"

  "Solid eight out of ten." Annie groaned, her head swimming from the aftershocks of her orgasm.

  "Oh, you want the full ten?" Maki grinned, rubbing her hip up against Annie's. A length rubbed up over Annie's stomach. A very big, very firm length. "Or do you want to go for some bonus points?"

  "Annie, use ass!" Telly yelled, mimicking her Trainer's calls. "It's your only hope."

  Annie tried to get her muscles in some sembnce of working order to roll over. Telly was right. She'd need every advantage she could. No weakness.

  "You said you'd show me almost perfectly," Annie said, gripping the rug tight in her hands as she waved her beguiling butt at the Sinistea. "I said I wanted a challenge. You got a lot of work to do on both before you're done."

  "Whatever the dy desires." Maki said fondly, "The dy will get it."

  ----

  The rain was still thundering down as Maki put the keys to the house under the rug.

  "You don't mind leaving it?" Annie said, Telly and Mirri clinging to either side of her to hide under her umbrel. "You took such good care of it."

  "And it'll make someone happy when they find it." Maki said, "I got my cups and saucers, my Trainer, and my Partners at my back. I don't need a pretty house as a lure anymore."

  "I take it back," Mirri said, "You're the sweetest Maki."

  "Don't forget it," Maki smiled as she stepped back, rain spshing off her purple and gold skin. "Rain's awful."

  "I got an umbrel." Annie said, "Squeeze under."

  Maki looked at the huddled group, then raised her hands. Her armor flew off her, shards cracking into each other and forming above her, making that giant shard shield again. It also worked perfectly as an umbrel so big they could all fit under it easily.

  "I should still hug Annie," Telly said as they stepped under. "For her to lean on me. She's got trouble walking today."

  "Thanks, Telly," Annie nuzzled her fur. She just wanted hugs and deserved them. Annie was managing with the walking. Barely. "Someone took my ass as a challenge."

  "A worthy one," Maki nodded. "One, I feel I didn't give all I could."

  "Well, we'll just have to keep practicing," Annie said. "Until you're perfect. Not that you need to be."

  "Not that I need to be," Maki ughed, "But it's a worthy goal to reach for."

  On that cheery note, they set off into the rain, one Pokémon stronger. The rain sound cheered Telly up as they spshed through the mud, and soon, they put the rain aside and turned to more important questions.

  "Wait, if all your china is up there, are you naked right now?" Mirri said.

  "Don't think about it."

  "She's thinking about it." Telly tattled. "You made your hips too big. She can't stop thinking about them."

  "Well, stop it. I'm liquid. That's not naked. You wouldn't say a cup of tea is naked, would you?"

  "No, because it's wearing a cup. You're so naked!"

  They argued about it for far too long.

  Annie just enjoyed the view.

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