Turning Tail [Reader x Doldia Girls]

Part Two - 09 | To Fan a Flame

. . .

The door comes open and Linia walks in, dragging her feet. She's got sweat piled on her brow, her tail drooping between her legs.

"Tired," she whines. "Patrol suuucks!" She closes the door and rests her back against it. After blowing out an exhausted sigh and lifting her head, she looks at you and Pursena getting all cuddly in the bed. Her heart skips a beat. Linia's face drains of all color, a shriek slipping out of her throat.

"Eh?!"

Pursena stares at her sister, still resting the side of her face on your chest. She looks completely casual, completely calm.

"That was fast," she says, ignoring Linia's shocked face. The feline-girl's jaw drops, her eyes switching back and forth between you and Pursena frantically.

"The hell is this?! What, did you goons get married overnight or somethin'?"

Pursena shrugs, looking away from her sister and focusing all into relaxing on your body. You feel her sink into you and get the instinctive urge to embrace her just a little tighter.

"No, it's not like that," you answer for Pursena, who seems to be delighted with the idea of playfully avoiding questions pertaining to marriage. It's like a game. It's funny to her to make it seem like you two really have joined together in marriage, when in reality she's only acting more like your girlfriend. As weird as that sounds.

"Ugh, whatever," Linia says. She comes further in, settling down on the edge of the bed. "If you're gonna be getting all touchy though, get a damn room!"

She pauses. You shoot her a mocking glance.

"Oh, wait." Linia looks around the little room. "Forget it. I-I don't really care anyway. But don't be doing anything weird or I swear I'll boot you both out! I was the one who paid for this room anyway."

Pursena perks up, blinking her eyes groggily. "Nothing weird'll happen," she mumbles, but there's an odd look in her eyes. It takes you a moment for you to recognize this glow shining within her irises. Lust.

"Well," she adds, "not unless Boss wants it to..."

You shake your head quickly. "Don't say stuff like that!" It's hard for you to hide your blush. This girl can crack you down easier than she inhales jerky sticks.

"Gross!" Linia blurts. "Calm yourself down, sis! God, you're a freak."

Pursena climbs off of you, going back to lying on her side of the bed. She sits up and faces her sister, a sour look in her eyes. "Oh please. We both agreed we wouldn't do that kind of thing until after we're married. And with me and Boss, technically—"

"Technically nothing, nya. You ain't married. You're clinging to Boss like a high school girl, nothin' more." Linia fires back with ease. The two girls exchange long, silent gazes, yet another one of their stare-downs that make you question if they have some sort of sibling telepathy. They carry on like this for a while, sending each other a static, fiery glare.

After a while, the tense stand-off is broken apart when Pursena sighs and lays back down. "Yeah, maybe you're right. For once." She turns to you. "Sorry, Boss. No action for you."

God.

You groan. "I wasn't looking for action."

"Anyway," Linia quickly interjects, luckily for you and your compromised emotions. "The big man and his lackeys ain't anywhere near this place. We should be good unless they go combing through buildings."

Pursena yawns like she's got not a care in the world, yet she's the one being targeted by people you have never even seen. You turn and face her, a look of bitter disbelief on your face, because you just can't believe she appears so carefree. So easygoing at a time like this.

Linia shares the thought on your mind, sending her sister a dirty look when she yawns. "Seriously? How come you look so comfy? Are you forgettin' it's over for you if that guy catches you?"

"He won't," says Pursena.

"Says who? The guy's a brute, and he's got his own little squad of misfits who, mind you, ain't a bunch of pushovers like the nyewbies at school."

"He won't catch me. Boss'll protect me."

You find yourself going still at the sound of her words. Protect her? The reason for you coming along with the sisters clicks in your brain. You remember it clearly — why you've set out with them and stood by them despite everything. You had planned on protecting them all along. But even now you're not so sure your skills can stand against this Augustus fellow. The sisters make him out to be a tyrant, a beast. Furthermore you've just learned he's more than a force to be reckoned with alone.

"You can't keep relying on Boss," Linia says to her sister who is still lying cozily beneath the blankets. "Boss is cool and strong, not indestructible." She looks into your eyes, desperation within hers like she's pleading for you to agree. "Ain't that right, Boss?"

"I guess so," you say and shrug your shoulders. "I can still try though. Can't just sit there and let him do what he wants."

Oddly enough, Linia is now gazing at you with glittering eyes. Her tails swishes rapidly behind her, her ears twitching, her lips quivering like she's holding back the urge to start beaming.

"Damn it, Boss," she groans, awestruck eyes still fixed on you. "Stop making me like you even more!"

You blink. Huh...?

The girl crosses her arms tight over her chest, shaking her head. "Quit talking like that or I'll get all pumped up. You can't keep being cool and expect me not to get excited, nya!!"

Pursena notices that you aren't grasping Linia's sudden change in behavior, so the girl leans over and whispers in your ear: "She likes your fighting spirit, that's all."

You're suddenly whisked out of the sheets when Linia clasps onto your arm and yanks you. You make a noise, yelping as you're dragged violently out of that comforting bed.

"Get your lazy ass up, nya! I want you to teach me how to be even stronger, Boss!"

Linia gets you to your feet, and for a second you're about to stumble and fall but the girl holds you up before you plummet. You glance at her and see a look of almost childlike determination flaring up on her face.

"Would you relax...?" You try to calm her but it's useless; she is dead set on spending quality training time with you.

"Hell no! If Pursena gets snatched and you ain't around to save her, I gotta step in. But I'd my ass waxed, so you gotta teach me everything you know!"

Her eyes bore through you like daggers. It's not exactly unusual to see her like this, but it goes without saying that you accidentally managed to rile her adamance in strength. Now she's hyped and ready to go.

You sigh. "Can I at least eat first?"

Linia shakes her head and before you know it, you're being dragged out of the room. You feel like a weightless ragdoll. "Nope! We're training right nyow! There's a little empty field at the edge of this town, we'll head there right away, nya..."

Pursena doesn't even try to stop the two of you. She watches from the bed, visibly amused, and even starts giggling when she sees your distressed face as Linia pulls you outside.

You get the feeling you're gonna be out tutoring her for... a while.