Meanwhile:

Rosalyn Losenska

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Rosalyn loved watching Ann leave. The bounce of her gait on those paws made her tail swish hypnotically, not to mention the sway of those hips. It always took a moment for her to recover from the sight, but Kat tapping her horn did the trick.

“Hmm?”

“Ye looked lost fer a sec,” Kat laughed.

“Oh, you know, watching her,” Rosalyn sighed happily. “Little sad to see her leave, but know she’ll be back full of energy and we have a whole day planned out, busy stuff to do and then hanging out. Though I’m kinda not sure what I’m going to do with the morning. Could just spend it reading or something, but I kinda don’t wanna. You know?”

Rosalyn blushed as Junia’s eyes widened at the tumble of rapid fire words. It stoked that insecurity within her. Everyone else in the room had adjusted to her quirks, but Kat’s eldest sister was new.

“Sorry,” Rosalyn offered.

“It’s fine,” Junia waved off the concern. “I’m simply impressed that someone can speak so quickly.”

“Kinda a nervous habit that bridged into the rest of my normal speech and I can’t turn it off. So, yeah, kinda just happens all the time, and it’s embarrassing when people look at me weird, which is a lot of the time with how I’m interested in certain things and I’m rambling again.”

“Ah, I see,” Junia said after she digested Rosalyn’s words. “I can understand that in my own ways. The lists are not normal. I accept this. People judge me for them, but they are me.”

“Cool, yeah, but that makes you super organised, so that’s useful. I’m just a blabbermouth.”

“My blabbermouth,” Kat interjected.

“And Ann’s, yeah. Kinda lucky you two put up with me, what with your sensitive ears. Worried I’d talk them off after a few days,” Rosalyn giggled.

“It’s feckin’ adorable is what it is,” Kat reassured her. “Alright, come on. We haven’t actually had a day tae just the two o’ us… ever?”

“Wait really?”

“I’m tryin’ tae think o’ a day without Ann between us, an’ I can’t think o’ one. Not that I’m complainin’, mind.”

“Oh, me neither, just such a weird thought.”

“You three seem tight knit,” Junia laughed. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

“Attached at hips,” Lucia nodded. “Sometimes literally.”

“We’re not that bad,” Kat objected.

“Yes. You really are,” Bren grumbled.

“Enough. Takin’ me lamb out fer some girl time,” Kat decided.

Rosalyn felt strong hands grasp her shoulders, easily lifting her out of her chair with a squeak. It was always a thrill when Kat handled her like this. Sure, she set her down gently a moment later, but having someone able to just toss her around was so much fun.

They left the breakfast table and made their way out of the palace, servants bowing in Kat’s wake.

“So, what do you want to do?” Rosalyn asked. Strangers and crowds started forming and the anxiety in her chest flared. Quickly, she grabbed Kat’s pants for stability. Once she had that connection, she felt like she could handle things.

“First, I’m gonna hold yer hand,” Kat said, pulling Rosalyn’s hand off her pants and enveloping it in her own grasp.

That was just as good. Rosalyn closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before looking up at Kat. “Thanks.”

“O’ course. Shite, we’re so used tae ye freakin’ out o’er crowds it’s become habit. Ye still feelin’ all scared?”

“Yeah,” Rosalyn said meekly. “It’s just, there’s so much going on at the same time, so many people. After so many years in the woods, it’s taking time.”

“Can’t say I really understand,” Kat said, rubbing the back of her neck where her scales had grown in. The old habit Rosalyn had seen many times before had such a different connotation to it. “Grew up around all this rabble.”

“Imagine going from this into like… I dunno, somewhere really quiet and with no one there. Would that be confusing and scary for you?” Rosalyn asked. They started walking with nowhere particular in mind.

“I guess so. ‘Specially if everythin’ was quiet. No animals or somethin’ like that.”

“Well, that’s scary for another reason. Means either there’s a threat present or a storm is rolling in. Either way, that’s a danger response. That, though, is kinda close to what it is? It’s different from what I’m so used to and I get the danger warning in my head and it overwhelms me,” Rosalyn explained. “You, and Ann, and probably Bren, help. I know you. You are a known thing and I can focus on that. Lucia’s not quite there yet.”

“Aye. Wouldn’t expect ‘er tae be,” Kat nodded. “I guess I get that, though. Kinda like when ye an’ Ann got me tae calm down when we got outta the last seed? Shite, I was a mess.”

“Yeah, I guess so? Hard to compare without being in your head, but that was a lot more dramatic,” Rosalyn nodded, then brushed some unruly hair behind her horns. “Need to get this trimmed. It’s getting too long.”

“Want tae ‘ave that be our day today? Get yer hair cut?”

“We could both do it!” Rosalyn said, excitement at the bonding opportunity blooming inside her. “Oh, it’ll be so nice to just relax and chitchat for a while and spend some time with just us. You’re really cute when you blush, by the way.”

“God feckin’, ye’re too cute tae not make me blush,” Kat cursed, looking away, but squeezing Rosalyn’s hand at the same time. “Gonna ‘ave tae pass on the hair cut fer now, though. Ye know, wit’ me neck problem.”

“Oh, right, that’d be a problem. Scales there, and they’d be working on all of your hair, which holy crap you have a tonne of to make those braids, and they’d be touching there. Good point. I guess it’d just be me getting a shear.”

“Shear? Ye gettin’ it all off?”

“Nonono,” Rosalyn said. Stupid, not the right words. Think about them. “Mom used to call it that because my hair is so thick and curly, like a real sheep’s wool. She’d make this big old shearing noise when she cut it. The whole shhhhhnk!”

“That’s kinda cute,” Kat laughed. Gods above, Rosalyn loved the bassy sound that was Kat’s laughter. Ann had this ethereal sexiness to it. All clear notes and what she’d call a middle range laugh. Like a bird singing. Kat was so much more grounded in all ways that her voice just rumbled. It was still feminine. Incredibly so. It just had this quality that vibrated through Rosalyn’s chest and made her insides quiver.

“Earth tae Rosalyn,” Kat called, bringing her back to reality.

“Sorry, distracted again,” Rosalyn lied. Her thoughts were never as focused as when she was listening to Kat or Ann.

“So, gettin’ yer hair cut? That the plan fer a little date?”

“Date? Oh, I guess this would kinda be a date. Maybe there’s somewhere that can do like, your nails or something too? Isn’t that something city folk do?”

“Ye’re thinkin’ o’ a salon? Aye, we can do tha’. Shite, sorry, keep forgettin’ ye’re not, an’ we just talked about this.”

Rosalyn giggled. Kat was surprisingly easy to fluster back. She took this opportunity to press her chest up against Kat’s arm. “It’s okay, Kat. Love you.”

“Love ye too,” Kat hummed happily, not making any attempt to remove her arm from Rosalyn’s chest. Not that Rosalyn was complaining.

Kat deftly guided them through the crowds, always making sure to keep Rosalyn on the side with fewer people. It was a small thing, but it meant the world to the Druid.

They approached a building, low and wide, with windows and a brightly lit interior. Tiles lined the floor and several chairs with stools and wash basins lined the opposite wall. Several women and a couple of men sat in chairs, getting their hair or other features cared for. There was even a Vulhardrin with a beak that was having it polished. Rosalyn made a mental note to ask the employees if they had tips on her horns.

“Welcome to Margrange’s,” a human woman with greying hair and a severe face greeted them. “Your highness, how may I be of service?”

“Erm,” Kat grumbled, suddenly nervous. Rosalyn smiled, seeing her girlfriend so confident in most places, out of her element. “One fer a haircut, an’ I guess I’m getting me nails done?”

“Take the seats over at the end. Our best will be with you shortly,” the receptionist directed.

Kat and Rosalyn walked over and sat in the assigned chairs, Kat offering the one at the very end to Rosalyn.

Rosalyn climbed into her chair and kicked her feet nervously. “This is normal? With the whole window open for people to see you?”

“Aye. Junia comes ‘ere now an’ then. Says it’s fer promotion or marketin’. See how good our hair work is an’ get it yerself, or some shite like that,” Kat explained.

“I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be,” a calm woman’s voice said.

Rosalyn’s heart stopped for a moment, her eyes wide, before she realised the hairdresser had simply snuck up on her. She let out a shaky breath, hand searching for Kat’s briefly before the princess grasped it.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the woman said. “My name is May. I’ll be doing your hair today.”

A very pretty man appeared behind Kat, startling her as well. “And I, yours, princess,” he crooned. “The name’s Pietre.”

“Er, not me hair,” Kat stopped his hand before he could brush aside her braids. “Just me nails? Dinnae if there’s much ye can do fer ‘em. They’re a bloody mess.”

May pushed Rosalyn gently back in her chair. It was a firm and practised touch that didn’t set off any of her anxiety. Closing her eyes, she tried to relax as the woman got to work.

“You have lovely hair,” May said, running her hands through the incredibly tight curls. “I may need to move your head while cutting. Is touching your horns acceptable?”

“Light touches, please,” Rosalyn requested. She didn’t want to become a sack of limp Vulhardrin in the chair.

“Of course. Now, let’s start with getting your hair washed. Oils build up no matter how well we take care of things.”

With that, Rosalyn relaxed, opening her eyes as water ran over her scalp and into the basin behind her. Magic of some sort was directing the flow and right now, she didn’t care how. It was incredibly soothing.

Kat, in the meantime, was giving Pietre a nervous look as he fussed over her nails. “Highness, you really must take better care of these. Nails are for more than decoration. They protect your fingers, give you tools to pick at things. Honestly, their state is a travesty. Do you even have a nail file?”

“Nae. Usually just bite ‘em,” Kat mumbled.

Pietre let out a scandalised gasp as Rosalyn giggled. Kat was so incredibly out of her element, it was cute. Not that Rosalyn was really in her element either, just that May’s hands on her scalp were very nice.

“Ye… alright?” Kat said to words Rosalyn had lost in a contented humm. “Rosalyn, just, I’m doin’ this fer ye.”

“Love you for it,” Rosalyn said, reaching out and grabbing Kat’s free hand. “You’ve really never done something like this? Even I’ve heard stories of places like this for the finest of ladies. Never something a poor girl like me could have afforded, but you’re a princess!”

“I mean, maybe a couple times when I was younger,” Kat shrugged, earning a smack on the back of her hand for moving. “Shite, sorry. Junia dragged me to these places when I was little, an’ me parents were still tryin’ tae make a lady o’ me. Great lot o’ good that did.”

Pietre and May let out quiet titters of laughter. Rosalyn knew Kat had a reputation. It wasn’t often she got to see people react to it.

What’s my reputation going to be? Going to be the scared thing that’s always hiding with Ann and Kat? Maybe the crazy Warped obsessed freak who digs into corpses. Gods I hope not. I don’t want to be scary. I just want to be me and be with them and have no other problems. Not going to happen, though. If Kat’s changing, I’m probably gonna too. What’s even going to happen to me? Am I going to get scales? I don’t want scales. I like my wool and horns. Maybe I can keep the horns? Ooooh this is so much.”

“Ma’am, are you alright?” May asked, leaning over her, a concerned look on her face.

Rosalyn realised she’d started shaking slightly. “Sorry, just lost in some bad thoughts. I’m fine. Keep going.”

May nodded, then returned to drying off Rosalyn’s hair.

“Ye worried about what might happen?” Kat asked, keeping things vague with others present.

“I’m trying not to be, but yeah. Just, it’s such a big unknown and things just started for you. Who even knows if it’s going to keep going? Such a scary thing.”

“It’ll be fine,” Kat said, squeezing her hand before she had to relinquish her grip for Pietre to start working on it.

“I’m not as strong as you or Ann,” Rosalyn sighed. “The way things happen, I might not be. Worried. So much worry worry worry. All bottled up.”

“I know, love,” Kat said. “I know the feelin’. Worry about ye every day. Ye an’ Ann both.”

“That’s your you, though. You’re always the one looking out for us. I’m not used to worrying about much besides people, and crowds, and new things, and I guess this falls into that last part, but it feels like a whole different scale than the rest because it’s me and I can’t control or run away from it if it happens.”

“Then we find out a way fer us tae deal wit’ it, an’ Ann an’ I help ye. No one on this feckin’ planet knows how this shite works. Not all the way.”

“Isn’t that scarier, though?”

“Feck, I guess,” Kat shrugged, getting slapped again and some grumbles from Pietre, who was trying to fix her ragged cuticles. “Not gonna change what’s happenin’. I’ve just been workin’ on not freakin’ the feck out.”

“Even after who you talked to?” Rosalyn asked.

“Especially after who I talked to. Ye think that wasn’t a massive crisis?”

Both of them fell into an uneasy silence. Neither spoke for a while as their attendants worked.

“How would you like your hair?” May asked, eventually.

“Oh, um, just, longer in the back, all wooly still, and enough to drop down over one of my eyes? It can go around the horns, too.”

“As you wish,” May said, then got to work with her scissors.

“Sorry fer freakin’ out,” Kat said. Her hands were done, and Pietre had insisted he start the process on her toes. She still couldn’t hold Rosalyn’s hand yet with the drying paint, so she pressed her hands nervously together.

“It’s weird seeing you not in control,” Rosalyn admitted. “You’re always so confident. The more I see, the more I feel like I’m getting to know the actual you, though.”

“Plenty o’ shite I’m not comfortable wit’. I’m gettin’ a feckin’ dress later,” Kat grumbled.

“Ann’s gonna love that,” Rosalyn giggled. “We’re both going to be teased like crazy.”

“You fer not knowin’ dresses.”

“And you for hating them so much.”

“Shite, is it really just her? The girl who wears a kilt everywhere is the girliest o’ us all, includin’ Lucia. Huh,” Kat laughed.

“We’re not really the typical girly bunch, to be fair,” Rosalyn giggled. “I mean, I had a doll or two growing up. Then I figured out how to whittle and made my own.”

“Ye can whittle?”

“Sure can. Takes more time than drawing, and more space, so I haven’t really been working on it when we’re fighting and running all over. Can be delicate stuff.”

“Who taught ye?”

“I did. Just started peeling away at a leftover block of wood out of pure boredom one day. Kept it up after I moved out and just used the mistakes as firewood. I’ve had a lot of practice.”

“I’d like tae see one,” Kat said. “I mean, I guess I ‘ave, bein’ tae yer home an’ all, but didn’t know they were yours.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Can probably work on some of it while we’re in the city.”

“Alright, how’s that look, ma’am?” May asked, sitting Rosalyn up and bringing over a hand mirror.

It was exactly what she’d asked for. Pristine white wool draped over one of her eyes, giving her a slightly alluring look, while the rest tumbled in its naturally tight curls down her back. Low maintenance, but looked good. “I love it. Thanks!”

“My pleasure,” May beamed back. “Have a wonderful day!”

“… and purchase a nail file. It is important!” Pietre finished scolding Kat.

“Fine. Feck. Thank ye,” Kat grumbled as she kicked on her boots, working on the laces.

“My pleasure, highness. I hope it has been an informative day. Farewell,” Pietre said, bowing.

“Fancy frump,” Kat mumbled.

Rosalyn barely contained her giggle. Rising, she took Kat’s hand as they paid and made their way back out onto the streets of Korvas. It wasn’t quite time to meet back up with everyone, so they just wandered, looking at the front windows of shops as they went.

Suddenly, Kat’s grip turned to iron, and she pulled Rosalyn into a darker alley. Mighty hands closed firmly on her horns, and Rosalyn felt her body go limp. Her heart raced as she looked up at Kat. There was a desperate need in those pale blue eyes. Kat’s lips met hers, and she felt the woman’s desire wash over her. Rosalyn’s heart pounded as she hung there, suspended by Kat’s grip as their tongues wrestled.

Kat pulled back, still holding her up. “Been waitin’ tae do that fer an hour,” she panted.

“Why stop now?” Rosalyn asked. When she saw the hunger in Kat’s eyes, she knew she’d said the right words.