Sure, comes back the response within a few seconds. You know I always have time for you. 

Mia, I... you know I love you, but it's been weeks since I last saw you, and...

I don't know how to phrase this.

Aww, someone's getting ants in her pants? 

Yeah, I guess. I miss you. I miss the warmth of you in my arms. I miss having you in my embrace. I miss sex that's not over the phone. 

You're allowed to fix that, you know!!!

Yeah, but it wouldn't be with you. You've gone and domesticated me. 

Adorable, but also you clearly have not been getting laid nearly enough. 

Go, Hannah. Find someone charming. The safecharm's in the bedside drawer where it always is. You'll feel better about it. You always do.

I... 

Hannah smiles softly to herself, and hugs her phone close to her heart for a moment. 

You're so good to me. 

If you want to thank me for it you can bring me back a hot story. ^^

Alright, love. Since you asked me to. ♡

Leave right now. That's an order. I know you have nothing to do and the weather's awful. Get your umbrella from the front hall and the safecharm from the bed and go to the tram station and visit the local il'ka. Someone'll fall into your lap within half an hour once you're there. I bet you a favour.

I like the rain, actually. It's soft. Gentle. I'm curled up in the window seat right now.

Reading one of your old favorite books again?

And you didn't say anything about the bet or my order. I'm serious, you know.

Can I at least finish my cocoa?

You can finish your cocoa. But I want you out the door within fifteen minutes. I will set a timer about this. Don't push me.

Yes, Mistress. 

... I was going through my old photo album, actually. My conquests before I met you.

Oh, you definitely need to get laid. 

So what do you say to the bet?

Hannah takes a slow sip of her cocoa, then types back. 

...no bet. You know me too well.

That's my girl. 

Good luck, good skill. I know you're kinda out of practice at the whole picking up girls thing but trust me, it's like riding a bicycle. Everything will come back to you in seconds. After all, you use it on me all the time ♡♡♡♡

Hannah smiles and knocks back the rest of her cocoa. 

Standing up from the window seat, she stretches first her arms and then her legs. 

Alright, I've finished my cocoa. Getting my stuff together now. 

She crosses the bedroom from the window seat, and sets her phone on her bedside table.

Hannah pulls open her bedside drawer, and retrieves a small opal pendant from within. It loops on over her head easily. She takes a moment to pull her hair over it and settle it atop her cozy beige sweater.

Then she picks up her phone again. 

Got my safecharm. Heading out. ILY

Love you too, Hannah. 

Don't forget to put your mug in the sink. 

Hannah pauses halfway to the bedroom door, pivots, and darts back across the room for her empty cocoa mug. 

ty babe

She drops the mug off in the empty kitchen sink as she passes on her way to the front hall. Her shoes wait by the front door, brown suede slipons.

She opens the hall closet and gets down a green windbreaker, which she pulls on over her sweater and jeans. Her phone goes into one waterproof pocket while she zips it up, then gets pulled back into her hands.

Alright, I'm ready to brave the rain. See you with a story later.

I'll be looking forwards to it.♡

Hannah slips her shoes on, pulls her keys out of the pocket of her jeans, and steps out of the front door onto her house's porch. A small flight of wooden steps descend into the residential area, and further down the gravel path is the old oak tree at the end of the yard. She planted that as a seedling when she married Mia, many, many years ago, and it's still as strong and healthy as ever. Beyond it stands the city street, all rain-slick asphalt and concrete curb.

She turns, pulls the door closed behind her, and locks it. 

Soft rain pitter-patters against her windbreaker as she crunches down the pathway, the wind stirring the tails of her jacket and mussing with her hair. 

Her neighbour Luna is sitting in her rocking chair out on her front porch, listening to the wind. She raises one hand casually to Hannah as she passes down the sidewalk, but says nothing. Nothing needs to be said; the pair of them have long since bonded over their common love for the rain.

Not for the first or the last time, Hannah wishes faintly that Luna wasn't ace. 

But the il'ka awaits her; so she pulls the hood of her windbreaker down over her face and hunches into the rain, pushing onwards. 

The rain sweeps down the asphalt and tugs at Hannah's coat, and the grey sky broods. Puddles stain the sidewalk. Houses pass on either side of her, with men and women here and there listening to the rain, silhouetted in windows or sitting outside on their porches. 

Eventually, the tram station comes into view, all green glass and steel skelature. 

Hannah takes the steps up to the tram platform in three long strides, ducking in out of the rain and pushing back the hood of her windbreaker. The rain drips from her coat to stain the concrete pad below her, but she doesn't care. She smiles. 

The rain always cheers her up a little. 

The tram station is a little cold, still. It's a good thing she's got her sweater on beneath. 

The rain rattles the green glass panes, and trickles down in rivulets. The flowering-tree emblem of the company in the facing window sheds droplets of water in smooth streams, making an intricate pattern of water-flows. 

She never gets tired of these. There's one in every tram station, but they're all unique. And this one is very familiar, almost comforting. 

She paces slowly up and down the platform to keep herself warm. It must be around fifteen degrees Centigrade. Not cold, but not warm either. 

She fishes her phone out of her pocket and connects to the tram station's wifi. 

At the station, she finger-types, careful not to drip water on her phone screen. Waiting for the tram.

What's it like? Paint me a picture.

She stills herself for a moment, and listens. 

Distantly, she can hear a faint chirp of a disgruntled bird in one of the trees across the street. The rain pitterpatters as it always does. The wind whistles through a joint at the top of the tram station, making a low, hollow note. 

The earth smells of petrichor and... distantly, cherries. The lingering scent of Mia's shampoo on her sweater. 

Hannah buries her nose in her collar and takes a deep breath. 

Then she types. 

Birds. Rain. It's really starting to come down, the station's windcatcher is whistling. The emblem's particularly beautiful today as well. 

I'm wearing your sweater. It still has a little of your scent on it. Your shampoo, and... a little of you, as well.

Good girl. Did you remember to lock up when you left the house?

Can you name any of the birds?

Of course I remembered to lock up. 

She listens a little longer. 

I think I hear magpies. That distinctive mag, mag sound. They don't sound too happy about the rain.

Very good girl. 

Alas, only magpies. You remember that pheasant that visited us a few months ago?

Hannah smiles slightly at her phone.

Do I ever. That thing's screechy, raspy call made me wonder if I was hearing a ghost for like three days before you spotted it for me.

You don't get those in built-up areas too often. It was a real surprise for me. 

Anyone else there waiting with you?

I've got the station to myself today. Everyone's staying in to listen to the rain.

That's a shame. It'd be nice to be able to people-watch a little.

Penny?

I'm thinking about how long it's been since we've gone out in the rain together, like to a park or something. 

I miss you.

I miss you too.

Try not to mope, okay?

I'm trying my best. It just comes naturally in this kind of weather. It's not such a bad mood. Just a little melancholy.

You'll feel better once you make it to the il'ka. Curling up with a coffee alone is worth something, but with a charming stranger it's even better.

But I'm not alone. I have you.

You know what I mean.

Hannah lets out a long sigh. 

Yeah, I do.

Have fun, love. I've got to go now. Meeting.

Hannah nods. 

You too.

She slips her phone back into her pocket, leans against the glass wall of the station, and listens to the rain.

The denser band of rain passes, and it settles back to a slow drizzle. The windcatcher falls silent. 

A little sun peeks through the clouds, scintillating off the puddles; and then as fast as it appeared, it's gone again behind the overcast sky. 

Hannah interlaces her fingers, and waits.

No-one comes to trouble her at all. 

Eventually, a tram appears at the end of the street, skating into view along its rails. 

Hannah settles her phone back into its pocket, and watches as the tram pulls up. It's grey and gold, in a delicate livery with the same flowering-tree motif. The conductor's compartment is closed, as always. 

A blue-haired woman sits in the back, head against the tram window, looking out at the rain. She's wearing a pink knit cap and a one-piece raincoat, and an umbrella sits across her lap.

... Fuck, she forgot her umbrella. 

Hannah shakes her head and smiles to herself, and steps aboard. 

The woman in the knit cap looks up at her with a bright smile, and nods to her. 

"Sweet rain," she says.

"Sweet rain." Hannah sits across from her on the other side of the tram, and waits for the tram to jerk to a start.

The tram starts off down the rails, deeper into the town. 

The other woman seems content to stare out the window, not bothering to speak a word more. The rain seems to have stolen away her speech.

That suits Hannah just fine. 

She settles into the cushioned seat, and watches as the streets and shops roll by outside her window. 

Row after row of houses glide by, each one unique. That one has a portico, the next a tower-like front room, the next a small rock garden in its front yard. The rain patters on the roof of the tram, tik-tik-tik against the steel. 

The tram stops at another station, and a man in a three-piece suit and red brocade vest boards. He holds a cane in one hand and an umbrella in the other. 

He leans the cane against the seat and closes his umbrella. "Sweet rain," he says to both Hannah and the woman in the knit cap.

"Sweet rain," Hannah replies. She smiles slightly at the man's outfit. "Watchmaker's fan?"

In response the man pulls a silver pocket-watch out of the pocket of his vest, and shows it to Hannah. It's entirely skeletonized, the mechanism clearly visible though protected with glass.

Hannah nods and smiles, and sits back in her seat. 

The woman in the knit cap smiles as well. "Sweet rain."

The man in the vest nods, and takes his seat, pulling his umbrella and his cane together in his lap.

The tram starts up again, and more houses roll by.

They'll be coming to the bridge over the river soon. Hannah turns in her seat and braces herself against the back of it, looking out for the edge of the water.

And here the river is, dull and grey with rain, with ducks floating on it in a small squadron. The trees in the park on the other side flutter in the wind, their leaves seeming to shimmer. 

The tram tracks jolt and judder below them as they pass over onto the bridge, and then the water is below them. 

Hannah presses her nose to the glass and watches, a small smile on her face. 

She's always loved the river. 

Alas, it too must pass behind her, and then she's on into the parkland and the city center. 

The il'ka isn't far.

Hannah puts a hand onto the seat back next to her, readying herself to stand. The tram jostles again, and she sways with it, a small smile lingering on her face. 

The inner tram station comes up to the side of them, and the tram judders to a stop. 

The vest-wearing man stands, as does the woman in the knit cap. They both nod to Hannah. 

She nods back and stands as well. 

The steps down to the platform are colder than the tram, but she can see the sign of the il'ka just a little further down the street. It shimmers with a warm yellow glow, its rose emblem bright against the grey sky. 

She takes the sidewalk at a brisk walk, down the steps from the tram platform, around the cornet, and in through the double doors, pushing them open by the well-worn brass handle.

The local il'ka is full to bursting, today. Every last one of the tables is full of a group of three or four women sitting together, chatting lowly, and listening to the rain. Soft jazz music flavors the bustle, adding to the café ambience. There's a small line at the counter for coffee and wristbands. 

Hannah gets in line, and takes a few moments to refamiliarize herself with the place. It's been... months, at least, since she's been here. She's kind of been avoiding it.

Booths stand on the inner wall, with tables and vinyl seats. Closer to the green glass windows, there are round tables with antique wooden chairs, each one well-padded with red cushions. The crowd is mostly women, but there are one or two men scattered in as well. People are on their laptops, chatting together, or both at the same time. 

The line ends at a small glass counter filled with pastries. An espresso machine and a cash register stand behind it, with two women in cable-knit sweaters working the till and the coffee machine respectively. A small pile of red wristbands sits behind glass next to the till. 

The double doors into the private half of the il'ka stand on the far side of the room, behind the counter. A small chip reader is on the wall next to them. 

The line shifts slowly as people take their coffees and go to stand near the windows or take wristbands and walk through the double doors deeper into the il'ka. 

Before too long, she's at the till herself. 

"Sweet rain," says the cashier with a soft smile. "Hannah, right? It's been a while since I've seen your face. You used to be one of our regulars, weren't you?"

"Sweet rain," Hannah says on autopilot. "I -" She looks down at her hands. "Yeah, it's been a while. I'd like a wristband please?"

"Certainly," says the cashier. She picks up a wristband from the pile and touches it to the till, then reaches out an empty hand towards Hannah. 

Hannah pauses, blinks, and then digs in her jeans pocket for her wallet. "Right, yeah, I need a new wristband." She rubs the back of her neck with her other hand. "Here," she says, producing a bill from her wallet. "This should cover it." 

The cashier accepts the bill and returns a few smaller ones to Hannah in return, as well as the wristband. "Here you are," she says. "Have fun getting wet."*

*This is actually a much smoother innuendo in the original language, but English doesn't have words for rain that are also both gracefully and deniably words for sexual fluids.

Hannah cracks a small smile. "Thank you." She puts the wristband on, and walks across the room to the inner doors, where she scans the embedded chip on the reader and steps through. 

The back room of the il'ka is windowless, but lit by strings of incandescent fairy-lights that make the whole area feel warm and cheery. Soft tapestries hang from the walls, muffling the sound of low conversation. 

There are couches scattered around with plastic wrap on them, and a few long tables. A nude, olive-skinned woman curls up in her girlfriend's arms on one of them, having her violet hair petted gently; her girlfriend looks up at Hannah as she comes in and offers a small smile. The girlfriend's glasses gleam softly in the light, round rose-pink frames making her face a little rounder. 

Another girl casually browses softcore hentai at one of the tables, scrolling through curvy women in collars and leashes. She's wearing a women's t-shirt and a rose-patterned skirt, and her raincoat's draped over the back of her chair. A man in black slacks and a black dress shirt at the same table is nursing his coffee and just looking out across the room, clearly enjoying the sight of the various women in shades of undress. He catches Hannah's eye, and raises an eyebrow. 

Hannah smiles, but shakes her head slightly at the man. She passes him by and goes deeper into the room, sitting down on one of the unoccupied couches. 

She lets out a long breath and lays her head back against the couch, letting all her muscles relax again. 

She made it. She's at the il'ka. 

Another nude woman passes, her hip, thigh and shoulder all covered with twining black thorn tattoos. She doesn't even spare a glance for Hannah, occupied with something further into the il'ka. 

Hannah sighs softly, and unzips her windbreaker; then she pulls her sweater off over her head, leaving her in her bra and jeans. Bundling them both up in her lap with her phone still in her jacket, she raises her hand up over her head. 

A woman in a very light t-shirt and slacks comes over; there's a red sash across her body, marking her out as one of the employees.

"Sweet rain," she says softly. She extends her arms.

Hannah hands over her sweater and jacket, and, after a moment's consideration, unhooks her bra and adds it on top. 

"Thanks," she says. 

The staffer nods slightly and smiles. She taps a small device to the bracelet on Hannah's wrist, then gathers the sweater and bra into her arms and carries them across the room, where she puts them into a wooden cubbyhole, slides a door closed, and taps the device again. A lock clicks. 

She looks back across the room to Hannah and gives her a thumbs-up.

Hannah flashes a thumbs-up back, and settles back onto the couch again. 

It's been a long while since she was last topless outside her own room. She takes a slow breath, and leans back onto the couch.

The rain patters against the roof above her, and the soft murmurs of low conversation hum around the room. 

There's no rush.

Two women with undercuts in come in from the outer door, hand in hand, and approach the employee Hannah was speaking to. The left one is tall and slim, and wears a long dress patterned with wisteria blossoms; the other is slightly shorter and much curvier, with a steel piercing in her lip and a t-shirt on. The employee taps each of their wristbands with her scanner, then unlocks one of the doors at the back of the room for them. 

Hannah's gaze follows them casually, but she says nothing. Neither of them are really her type, and besides it's clear they're here for each other. 

She stretches her arms out above her head and shimmies her shoulders a little. 

The girl browsing hentai looks over, her gaze distinctly below Hannah's neckline, and offers her a small smile and an eyebrow raise.

Hannah smiles, but shakes her head. 

She's waiting for something. She's not sure what it is, but she'll know it when she sees it. 

The door at the other end of the room swings open, and a distinctly nonhuman woman enters. 

She's wearing a crop top and a leather miniskirt. Her skin is hidden beneath black fur, and her face comes to a distinct snout. Her hair is black, dyed with green tips at the ends. Three long fox tails trail behind her, hovering just above the floor. 

She looks around a little, as if taking stock; her arms cross over her body, shielding her from the room.

... A tourist, huh?

Hannah looks over, her eyes tracing the contours of the kitsune woman's body. 

It's been years since the OTC contacted Heart, and after a little disruption the world's settled down to become a sleepy backwater. Immortality's cheap these days, and there are OTC shops in the city, but... nonhumans aren't so common to see. 

She smiles at the stranger, and pats the couch next to her. 

The stranger's gaze flicks over to Hannah, and then down to her breasts. 

She comes across the room and sits next to Hannah on the same couch as her. 

"Sweet rain, right?" she asks. 

"Sweet rain," Hannah replies softly. She resettles herself on the couch to face the kitsune woman. "First time on Heart?"

"Yeah." She smiles slightly. "I was looking for a club, but... it seems you people don't really do that." 

Hannah shakes her head. "No. Festivals, yes, clubs, not really." She looks down along Kumi's body. "Is that why you're all dressed up?"

The stranger nods. "Yeah. I'm Kumi, by the way." She extends a hand to shake.

Hannah takes the hand, and shakes it. "Hannah." 

She props herself up against the couch with one elbow and looks at Kumi. "So do you know how an il'ka works?"

"More or less. I looked up a guide online." She bundles up her tails in her lap, shifting her legs to face Hannah a little more straight-on. "Nudity's fine, but no sexual touch in the common room. Kissing and light petting is fine, but nothing on erogenous zones. Explicit materials are fine, but keep it softcore. Anything serious, you take to a private room." 

Hannah nods slightly. "More or less. The culture's a lot different from what you might be used to..." She crosses her legs on the couch. "... You got your wristband okay, I see. If you want to stow any of your clothes you can call over an attendant and they'll put them in a cubby for you."

"I think I'm fine for now, thanks." Kumi runs a hand through her own hair and smiles slightly at Hannah. "Thanks for the tips, though. I don't want to disturb anyone."

"You're doing better than a lot of tourists do," Hannah replies softly. "More than a few people I've seen have tried to bring in alcohol, or come on to people really directly and had to be ejected..." She spreads her hands. "Your clothing's a little odd for the atmosphere most il'ka go for, but I can tell you're trying."

Kumi smiles slightly. "It helps me feel confident if I dress like I'm attractive. And, I mean... isn't sex part of the point?"

Hannah shrugs. "Yeah," she says, "But... I don't know. I guess you could say on Heart, comfort is sexy?" She smiles slightly. "It's just a different mindset from the rest of the OTC." 

Kumi nods. "Yeah, I can tell just from the overall... atmosphere." 

She draws her claws lightly over the back of her other hand. "... So, are you here just to hang, or...?"

Hannah laughs and shakes her head. "No, no. Actually, my wife sent me to get laid. She's away on a business trip for the whole month, and it's been... A bit of a strain. I've found myself missing her a lot."

"Oh," Kumi says, taken aback for a second. "She - is okay with you fucking other people?" 

"Isn't that common in the OTC too?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Kumi folds her hands together. "It's just... There's something in the way you talk about it that feels different. You'd never say that you were looking for a - replacement for your wife - in the OTC, that's just not done." 

Hannah tilts her head. "That's just the thing, no-one could ever replace her. So why worry about it? Better to be honest." She smiles slightly and traces one hand along her other forearm.

"I guess..." Kumi tilts her head and shrugs. "I guess... In the broader OTC, there's, you know, open relationships, but polyamory still isn't the default to any extent. It's different. I can't quite put my finger on how, exactly. Something about the emotion."

"Well," Hannah says. "You've caught my interest. I mean, anyone here would clearly be happy to have a turn with a beautiful kitsune like you; you're a rarity around here. But... You're a little uncertain, and a little energetic, and I think I want both of those things tonight." She extends a hand. "If you're willing, I mean."

Kumi looks down at the extended hand. 

"What, just like that?" 

Hannah nods. "Just like that."

Kumi tilts her head slightly, then nods as if to herself and lays her hand in Hannah's. 

"I guess I did ask for the proper il'ka experience." 

Hannah smiles slightly. 

"Just so."

She stands, still hand-in hand with Kumi.

Kumi follows, her tails curling in close to her body behind her. "I..." She smiles slightly. "Okay. Lead on, miss tour guide."

Hannah laughs softly, and leads Kumi through the back room to the employee she spoke to earlier. 

"We'd like a room for..." She looks back over her shoulder at Kumi. "An hour, with the option to extend." 

The employee shakes her head lightly. "All the rooms are full at the moment," she says quietly. "The rain's put everyone in the mood. The next booking ends in around twenty minutes." 

Hannah rolls her eyes and smiles. "You just filled the last one, huh? Alright, I'll wait." She looks back at Kumi. "That's alright with you, right?"

Kumi nods. "I could use some time to settle in, honestly."

"Come grab me when the next booking's up," she says to the staffer. "I'll be here."

She raises Kumi's hand to her lips and gently kisses the back of it. "Sorry for the delay."

The staffer smiles, nods, and moves on in the direction of a raised hand.

Kumi flushes slightly, and rubs the back of her neck. "I... We don't know each other that well, so... It's nice to have a little more time to get to know you. Even if it's a little less authentic, I guess."

Hannah nods, and lowers Kumi's hand. "Back to our couch?"

"Back to our couch," replies Kumi. 

Hannah leads Kumi back to the couch they departed from, lets go her hand, and sits again. 

"So," she says. "What brings you to Heart, anyway?"

Kumi settles herself on the couch again, her gaze flicking down to Hannah's breasts and then back up to her face again.

"A local fox-girl convention. I was hired as a speaker for kitsune in general because I have a masters' in kitsune culture, as well as my personal experience as one myself. It was... really quite intense. I was kind of expecting something more charged like that when I came here."

Hannah raises an eyebrow. "A master's in kitsune culture, huh? How many years of study was that?"

"About a decade. I did a lot of travelling to other worlds in the kitsune diaspora, getting to know the locals casually. It really got me accustomed to the love of travel, so even once I had my degree, I decided to do conventions and panels around the entire OTC that wanted an offworlder like me. There's been plenty of opportunities." She touches the necklace at her neck lightly, feeling the ridges of the silver translation charm that sits there. 

"You like being seen as exotic, huh?"

Kumi flushes and nods. "Yeah, a little. It's nice to get to feel like I'm... innately special somehow."

Hannah nods back. "I can understand that. My wife makes me feel like that sometimes, and it's really quite a lovely feeling. Getting it from a larger group of people must be intoxicating."

"Something like that," Kumi says. "It's a little scary sometimes, even. People come in with all their own expectations of who and what I'll be and I have to play to that. It can be exhausting. But... I still do it." She smiles slightly. "I guess it's just something I want."

"You can find vital nutrients in the most unexpected of places," Hannah replies. "If it's good for you, it's good for you. But it's important to rest too." She shifts on the couch, the plastic wrap crinkling with the small motion.

"I'm not really a resting kind of girl," Kumi replies. "Give me a crowd any day of the week. I'd rather be on my feet buzzing along and doing things."

"Like having sex?" Hannah smiles slightly.

"Yeah." Kumi smiles a little wider. "But... I don't know the scripts for Heart, so..."

"Well then, why don't you lay your head in my lap and I'll play with your hair a little while we wait?" Hannah smirks.

Kumi blinks, then taps her fingers against her chin. 

"... You know what? That might not be so bad."

Hannah shifts on the couch, shifting back, and pats her lap with both hands. 

"Come lie down, then." 

Kumi considers Hannah's lap, then nods. 

"Alright." 

She leans forwards onto the couch, and brings her head down into Hannah's lap, facing away from her towards the rest of the room. She tucks her shoed feet up onto the couch behind her with a thunk, and sighs softly. 

"... Go ahead," she says.

Hannah lowers one hand, and buries it in Kumi's acid-tipped hair. She strokes gently behind her ears, along the nape of her neck, and along her hairline. 

Kumi sighs, and smiles, and closes her eyes. 

"That's really nice," she says.

"That's what an il'ka is for," Hannah says. "Keeping warm against the cold." 

Her hands tangle in Kumi's hair together, stroking and petting.

"... I think I'm starting to see the appeal." 

Kumi stays still, and drifts.

Hannah strokes and massages for a little while, and eventually one of her hands traces down along Kumi's side, feeling the smoothness of her fur against her fingertips.

"... Your fur is very soft," Hannah says. "It's nice to touch."

Kumi sighs lowly and makes a small noise in the back of her throat, almost a purr. 

"... Thank you. It's nice to be touched."

Hannah smiles slightly, and digs in her fingers a little, feeling the warmth of the skin beneath. 

"This must really help keep you warm in the rain. Did you even have a raincoat?"

Kumi makes a considering noise. "Mmm. An umbrella. One of the attendants outside took it for me."

"Ah. That makes sense." Hannah strokes along Kumi's back, feeling the length of her spine beneath her crop top. "Feeling warm yet?"

A pleased note comes into Kumi's voice. "Mhm. Definitely."

"I'm glad." 

Hannah shifts her hand a little further down, slipping to the base of Kumi's tails. 

"- careful there, that's sensitive."

"Sensitive-delicate or sensitive-erogenous?"

"The latter."

"Ah." Hannah shifts her hand a little higher, away from Kumi's tail. "For later, then."

Kumi smiles softly. "Yeah."

She lets out a long sigh. "This is nice. Really nice, honestly."

"Yeah. It's nice for me too." 

The staffer in the red sash comes back across the room. "The booking ahead of you has cleared," she says quietly. "Do you two still want that room?"

"Yeah," says Hannah. "We do." She extends the hand with her wristband on it.

The staffer touches it with her scanner. "You've got six for an hour. Back of the room, far left corner." She tilts her head. "Do you remember how to add time?"

"Yeah. Scanner by the door in the room." She traces her hand down Kumi's side again. "Well, beautiful, shall we?"

Kumi smiles. "I'd love to."

She lowers her feet back to the ground, and sits up. 

Hannah takes her hand and nods to the staffer. "Thank you."

The staffer ducks her head and smiles. "Have fun." 

And off she goes again.

Kumi takes Hannah's hand. 

"Together, then?"

"Yeah. Together."

Hannah squeezes Kumi's hand, and stands up. Looking around the room, she spots six off in the corner and starts making her way through the tables and couches towards it.

Kumi trails along behind her, a smile on her vulpine face. Her tails bob and sway behind her.

The room beyond the redwood-panelled door is long but narrow, just big enough for a double bed and a bedside table. There's a soft pink lamp on the table, which glows gently to light the small space. The walls are painted with a fresco of robins among flowers. 

Hannah lets go Kumi's hand, and crosses the room to sit on the bed.

Kumi closes the door behind her, and locks it with her wristband on the scanner beside it. Then she crosses as well, and sits next to Hannah on the bed. 

Her gaze lingers on Hannah's bare breasts, a small smile on her face.

Hannah touches Kumi's chin and guides her gaze gently back up to meet her own. 

"May I kiss you?"

Kumi smiles. "Of course."

Hannah leans in, and presses her lips to the tip of Kumi's snout. 

Kumi giggles. "It's a little hard for girls who've never kissed a kitsune before not to go for the nose, isn't it?~"

"I mean, it's just hanging right out there. Very obvious kiss target."

Kumi takes a handful of Hannah's hair, tilts her head in, and kisses her properly on the lips. 

Her tongue is a little longer than a human's, and a little rougher as well.

Hannah sighs into Kumi's mouth, and reaches down to stroke at her own breast a little. 

Kumi smiles. Her hand slips down to the pendant at Hannah's neck. 

"A safecharm?" she asks. 

Hannah nods. "Fertility, contraception, and warding against serious injury. I..." She flushes slightly. "I like it rough."

"Do you now," Kumi says. "I think I can accomodate that."

Her claws trace against Hannah's collarbone and shoulder, teasingly light.

Hannah smiles. "I've never had a girl with claws before." 

Kumi traces her hand slightly lower, taking a handful of Hannah's bare breast.

"And I've never been to an il'ka before. So we're both learning something together."

Hannah leans into Kumi's touch, her shoulder sliding over to rest against hers. She shivers slightly. 

"So we are."

Kumi lowers her hand, and settles back onto the bed. She sways her shoulders from side to side. 

"Um," she says. "There's something you should probably know about me if you're going to fuck me. I should've said this outside but..." She ducks her head. "I got caught up in things." 

Hannah raises an eyebrow. "And that is...?"

"I have a penis. I'm - well, for humans I'd be intersex, but my species just naturally comes in three genders." 

Hannah waves a hand. "You and half the girls in this il'ka. It's dirt common on Heart."

Kumi lets out a sigh. "Oh. Okay, good. I didn't - it's really that common?"

"The porportion is maybe more like one third, but yeah." She smiles slightly. "It's pretty common."

Kumi smiles. "Alright, then. Um..." She ducks her head. "Is it okay if I undress?"

"I would love to see all of you. And I'd join you."

Kumi nods. "Okay, good, because, uh... tucking is not very fun." She pulls off her miniskirt, revealing a pair of black panties beneath with a very distinct bulge in them - then she pulls her panties off, and her cock falls free. It's pointed and tapered, with a distinct red color that stands out against her fur. 

She looks away.

True to her word, Hannah slips off her own jeans and panties, setting aside her wallet and keys on the bedside table along with her clothes. 

She stretches her arms up above her head, and shimmies her hips slightly. It's good to be nude again, and the thrill of being seen by a stranger resonates down her spine and pools in her core.

Kumi looks over at Hannah with a warm blush on her face, then pulls off her own crop top and bra and joins Hannah in complete nudity.

"... You're hot," she says. "I like how confident you are in your body. It feels like... you just have this rock-solid reliance on yourself, even when you're half-nude or more."

Hannah smiles. "You're not half bad yourself." 

She crawls up onto the bed and sits cross-legged, her pussy half-hiding against the sheets. 

"So," she says. "How do you want me?"

"I was kind of hoping you'd have an idea for that." 

One of Kumi's tails slips out and caresses along Hannah's side. "If you want something, though... maybe I could get atop you?"

Hannah tilts her head, then shakes it. "I think... I'm not really up for being on the bottom right now, now that I think about it." 

She looks down at Kumi's cock. "But I feel like I could get you lubed up and then ride you, maybe."

"With your tongue, you mean?" Kumi smiles slightly.

"Yeah, with my mouth." She tilts her head. "How does that feel?"

"Pretty good, I bet." Kumi waggles her eyebrows and leans back against the headboard. "If you want to let me sit back and not have to do any work, I'm hardly going to refuse."

Hannah smiles. "Let's, then."

She crawls forwards along the bed, lays her head against Kumi's inner thigh, and begins to kiss there lightly.

Kumi sighs softly, and reaches out to put a hand in Hannah's hair. "Mmmmm. That's nice."

Her fur is soft and sparse beneath Hannah's lips, short enough not to steal any sensation from the skin beneath.

Hannah settles in, kissing lingeringly, taking her time. The delicacy of Kumi's fur is odd against her lips, unfamiliar... but the skin beneath still carries a familiar heat. 

She kisses slowly, slowly, slowly up Kumi's inner thigh, passing inward towards her cock.

Kumi sighs and shifts a little beneath Hannah, her hips reacting to Hannah's touch, her cock stiffening a little. She lets out a heated breath, low and long.

Hannah kisses in, and in, and in, until she's less than a centimeter from kissing Kumi's pointed shaft -

Then she passes over, returning to the base of Kumi's other thigh, and starts all over again.

Kumi lets out a little sigh, and strokes Hannah's hair gently.

"Tease," she accuses.

Hannah smiles slightly. 

"Yeah," she says. "I am." 

She presses her lips in again, and nuzzles Kumi's inner thigh.

Kumi sighs, and rolls her hips slightly. 

She opens her mouth, but what comes out is another long and shaky breath, not any words.

Hannah leans in and presses a delicate kiss to the pointed tip of Kumi's cock. 

"Fox got your tongue?"

"No, I'm the fox and you're the one with the tongue, get it straight."

But she bites her lip and smiles.

Hannah dips her head, and lays a long, lingering lick along Kumi's cock.

"Ah..." 

Kumi tenses slightly and settles her hand in Hannah's hair. "That's nice," she says quietly. "Go on."

Hannah laps softly at her, working her tongue up and down Kumi's length. She makes a small appreciative noise at the hand in her hair.

Kumi closes her eyes, and lets out a long, lingering sigh. 

"Fuck that's good."

Hannah smiles, and kisses the pointed tip of Kumi's cock again. 

"I'm glad." Her tongue flicks out and swirls around the delicate tip.

Kumi lets out a sharp gasp. "Fuck."

Hannah tucks her hair behind one ear, and dips her head and starts to bob slowly on Kumi's cock, suckling and slurping at her.

Kumi clenches and tenses, her cock jumping, and lets out a long strained breath. 

Her hand traces through Hannah's hair. "Iiiiii think that's more than enough," she says softly. "Fuck."

Hannah pulls off and works her saliva into Kumi's cock with one hand. "You're that close already, huh?~"

Kumi ducks her head and nods. "All those thigh kisses got me... kind of worked up." She skritches at the nape of Hannah's neck. 

"Alright, then. Time for me to get on top?"

Kumi's gaze lingers on Hannah's face, tracing the contours of her lips... then falls to her breasts, and then her ass. 

"Yeah," she says. "I think so."

Hannah sits up again, and shimmies forwards on the bed until her hips roughly align with Kumi's. Resting her hands on the headboard above Kumi's head, she lowers herself carefully and presses her sex to Kumi's vulpine cock.

Kumi shifts as well, finding a position where she can work her hips against Hannah, sitting up a little in bed and propping herself with a pillow. She reaches out and settles her hands on Hannah's hips, feeling the curve where her thigh meets her pelvis. 

She rolls her hips, just slightly. Her cock throbs, pressed between her belly and Hannah's hot, slick cunt.

Hannah raises herself up a little and presses the tip of Kumi's shaft to her opening, guiding the motion with one hand. 

Kumi's breath catches. 

Slowly, achingly slowly, Hannah eases herself back down Kumi's cock, and earths it deep in her sodden cunt.

Then she leans in, and kisses Kumi firmly.

Kumi's hands rise to Hannah's back as they kiss. 

Hannah's cunt is hot and slick and tight on her cock, and feels incredible... but she finds herself wanting to savour the moment. 

She embraces Hannah, and kisses her, and holds still.

Hannah kisses back, lingeringly, slowly, her breasts pressed against Kumi's. 

Then she leans back, and slowly grinds herself forwards and then back again, the cock inside her stiff and insistent against her inner walls. The shape's not quite what she's used to, and the exotic sensation of that pointed tip presses in precisely against her g-spot. It feels so good, blunt-sharp just against her weak point. 

She lets out a small moan, her breath ragged and slow.

Kumi siiiiighs and pulses inside Hannah and takes a handful of her ass and rolls her hips back against her, claws digging gently into her skin.

Her cock grinds in, and the ridges and bumps of Hannah's sex glide across her, milking her exquisitely. The feeling of being sheathed in sweet heat hooks right into her hindbrain and makes her pant and shudder, her hips juddering unsteadily. It's incredible, and Hannah's barely even moving yet.

Hannah presses back against Kumi, her breath coming faster, and quickens her motions, her hips rocking back and forth, back and forth along Kumi's thighs. Half an inch of cock starts to slip in and out of her as she exaggerates the motion, finding her own pace. 

Each short thrust seems to grind right in against the deepest part of her, filling her, completing her, making her whole. The hollow ache she hardly noticed she had in her is suddenly, completely filled, and it's primally satisfying like nothing but sex ever is. 

Words can't express it, so she just moans and hopes Kumi understands.  

Kumi flushes and grins as that moan spills from Hannah's mouth, and her tails come up and wrap tightly around Hannah's thighs, helping with the motion, spurring her on. 

Each thrust feels like it jars right against her brainstem, sinking her deeper into lust and need and satiation, blurring her thoughts, making her crave more, more, more -

But the pace is Hannah's to control, and so there's nothing she can do but moan and beg -

"Faster, fuck, faster, deeper, harder, more -"

Hannah laughs lowly, and slows her pace a little. "Ask nicely," she purrs.

It's hard to slow, hard to tease, but she wants to see the look on Kumi's face so badly -

"Please," Kumi begs. "Faster please, Hannah, you fucking tease, please."

Her cock pulses inside Hannah, tense and hot and achingly unfulfilled, her claws digging into Hannah's back now, her body tense and needy.

Hannah sighs, and smiles, and lets her body take over. Her thighs slap against Kumi's as she speeds to the pace she wants in her core, Kumi's cock pumping inside her, her breath tense and sharp and high and shuddery. Each thrust builds the tension higher, higher, sharper, brighter, purer within her, raw sensation, raw need -

Kumi moans hard, feeling the intense slick friction all around her shaft and tip. It drives all thought from her brain, replaced with heat and need and yearning -

"I'mgonnacome," she gasps in one breath, and pulses hard inside Hannah. "HhhhhhhhhAnnah!"

Hannah grins. "Come then," she manages. "Fucking spend your load inside me. I want to feel it. Every last drop of it. All of it." She kisses Kumi firmly and deeply and clenches hard around her, feeling her cock grind in deep and firm and right inside her.  

Kumi grabs Hannah's thighs hard and spears her cock into her in a sharp buck, her hips rising off the bed for a moment, then grits her teeth and closes her eyes and spends herself inside her. There's nothing left in her head but blinding, white-hot pleasure. 

As Hannah feels Kumi's cock pulse inside her, she comes too, fingers grabbing the headboard hard, her body overwhelmed in a wash of hazy heat and satisfaction that flares from her sex and washes over every inch of her body, from her toes to her fingers to the top of her head. 

She gasps, and collapses onto Kumi, every ounce of energy spent.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh...." Kumi wraps her arms around Hannah in a close embrace, the tails wrapped around her thighs hugging her close as well. "That was... That was really something." She kisses Hannah's shoulder, slowly, lingeringly. Her oversensitive cock is still earthed in her, and the tingles in her brain still haven't stopped. Everything feels warm and faraway.

Hannah settles in and lays still as a lump, her body soaked with sweat and her fluids matting Kumi's fur. 

She feels... happy. 

Kumi carefully unwraps her tails from around Hannah's thighs, and lets go her embrace. Her claws are stained with blood, but the matching marks on Hannah have already faded.

She nuzzles her snout gently against Hannah's shoulder.

Hannah sits up, and carefully disentangles herself from Kumi, pulling off her cock and shifting over to instead sit next to her on the bed. Her thighs tremble slightly, and a dull ache runs through her body. 

She rubs her forehead and takes a long breath. "Whew," she says. "That was a workout." She smiles despite herself, and her hand trails down Kumi's chest, just beside her breasts. 

Kumi smiles back dreamily. 

"That was..." She runs a hand through her hair. "... better than i expected, honestly. With my nerves all jangling like that."

"Yeah," says Hannah back. "For me, too." She sits back. "I think... I think I got what I came for. You've been lovely, and all, but..." She ducks her head and hides a smile. "We shouldn't hog the room."

Kumi sits up as well, and lets out a low sigh. "Yeah, you're right." She smiles slightly. "Well, it - it was nice. Thank you for... showing me the ropes."

Hannah reaches into the bedside table and pulls out a sealed tube of wet wipes. Pulling one out for herself, she passes the tube to Kumi.

"Don't mention it," she says. "It was a pleasure."

Kumi ducks her head and accepts the tube. "Yeah. Um..." She looks away. "I... don't want to presume, but... I enjoyed this, and I'm still here for the next week..."

Hannah shakes her head just slightly. "Have fun without me, then," she says. "I'm heading home."

She tosses her used wet wipe in the room's garbage, then picks up her panties and jeans from the bedside table and puts them on again. 

Her wallet and her keys go into her pockets again, and she stands and goes over to the door. 

She rests one hand on the doorknob, and looks back over her shoulder. "It was nice to know you, Kumi."

Kumi looks away. 

"Yeah," she says. "You too."

She picks up her discarded clothes and starts shimmying them back on again.

Hannah steps out into the back room of the il'ka, and makes a beeline across the room to her cubbyhole. Unlocking it with her wristband, she pulls out her sweater and puts it back on. Her bra can go in her windbreaker's pocket. 

She pulls out her phone again. 

Just finished at the il'ka, she texts Mia. Fucked a kitsune tourist. Her fur was very soft. Her claws... less so.♡

There's no reply.

Oh well. 

She puts her jacket back on, slips her phone into her jacket pocket, and steps back out into the front room of the il'ka.

Things have quieted down again in the outer room. The rain has cleared up, and the sun streams in through the green glass windows. 

The two women with undercuts from earlier sit at one of the tables in front, sharing coffee and chatting. A few of the other tables are filled as well, but the rush has died away.

Hannah steps out the front doors, and into sunlight.