Beauties and Beasts

Chapter 38: brought to you by Prego

In which Shay visits Neara and they talk about the disasters of the fertility ceremony. Almost all of them. Neara's flirting goes over Orson's head, probably because Neara's bad at it, but not in a funny way.

__________________________________________

Neara looked outside at the pouring rain and sighed. It rained all night and it looked like it was going to rain all day today. Orson had finally pronounced her in good enough condition to visit her friend on the provision she wait until the weather was dry. She'd explained holding banana leaves above her head to shield herself, but he scoffed at the idea. Her eyes searched the river for any splash of color and she'd zoned out so far, she didn't realize a red, orange, and white blur was headed for her door until they were almost across the river.

Shay's white arms stood in stark contrast to the dark sky as she waved them back and forth, a big smile on her face. Curtis held her tightly in his arms while Parker trailed behind, looking more annoyed than wet.

"Shay!" She screeched and bolted from the door before Orson could stop her. She'd almost made it to the bridge when Curtis emerged from the water, scales gleaming in the rain. She stopped in fear and locked her eyes on the ground. Shay whispered something to Curtis and he reverted back to human form, his two-headed penis staring straight at her.

"Let's go inside. You look like you've seen two ghosts." Shay snorted at her own joke. Once inside, Parker shook like a dog and Curtis affixed his tunic to his body. Neara sighed in relief although she tried not to let anyone see it.

"Shay! I'm so glad you're here! I've missed you so much, I have so many questions."

"And I have so many answers." She shot a wary look at the beastmen. The bunny beastman stood in the corner looking terrified while Orson ignored everyone in favor of weaving something long and complicated. Winston and Curtis maintained a civil distance, both silent in their power, and Parker kept his eyes fixed on Shay's face, eager to serve. "Um, let's talk in private. I have something to tell you."

Neara followed her into the bedroom, her eyebrows furrowed. "What's up?"

"Ok, so, you're probably going to think I'm a slut, but I slept with Curtis. Like, full on intercourse. Like, it happened over the course of 24 hours."

"I... wow."

"And I kind of think I'm pregnant." Shay tried to make it sound nonchalant, but her blush gave her away.

"Oh my gosh! You're pregnant!" Neara held in her joy and hugged her friend tightly. "That's really great! I mean, is it? You look happy, but I can't tell. Are they snake babies? Or eggs? How will you tell?"

"Curtis explained I'm going to be pregnant for a month if I eat a lot, and with Ryan hunting around the clock, I'm pretty full." She patted her stomach, which didn't look distended in the least. "I'm pretty sure I lay eggs. Live birth for snakes would be... weird to say the least."

Neara shuddered. "That sounds really great for you though. I'd hate it, but I'm glad you're happy."

"Yeah." The conversation grated to a halt and Shay picked at her arms in the silence.

"So... are you ok? How was it?"

"It was good." She blushed and looked down. "Gal, I can't even talk about it. It happened, it went on for a long time, end of story. What about you? Last time I saw you, you were wandering away from the fertility ritual with two men." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, the blush fading from her cheeks.

"Um... so, awkward thing happened: apparently I'm allergic to whatever herb they were burning and I disassociated so bad, Shuu almost raped me."