New Pal:

  SpoilerLifmunk

  [colpse]"Do I really have to bind a Pal?" Aoi spoke her question into the darkness where it hung unanswered. Juniper waited silently to see if Lily would respond, especially considering she’d announced it without talking to Juniper first. However, when she didn't, Juniper loosened her hold of Lily and turned slightly in the bed to where she knew Aoi was lying. "I think it would be very beneficial. We can try to get you one in the morning but if we can't manage, that's okay."

  "She can manage." Lily finally interjected, turning where she y as the little spoon in tonight’s arrangement.

  "Oh, now you speak," Juniper sighed. "But she's right, Aoi. I think you'll be fine. You’re already great with Flora and besides, it's actually quite fun." Well, if you did it Juniper's way! Considering Aoi's demeanor, she didn't think the younger woman was going to be assaulting any of the poor creatures so that only left the one option. Something Lily no doubt anticipated.

  "Yeah, I guess." Aoi still sounded unsure but she would see in the morning. Or Juniper hoped she would, anyway.

  Lily continued to shift in the bed until she sat up. "You're going to love it, Aoi. Trust me."

  "Not everyone is like you," Mist added from the far side of the bed.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked back.

  "You know what it means. Now, if we are actually going to do this, we all need to get some sleep. So, pipe down already."

  "Yes, mother," Lily quipped before dramatically falling into a pillow, facing Juniper this time. With a giggle, Juniper did the same and, after she sunk down on the mattress, reached out to find that blonde hair. She pyed with it for a few seconds, twirling a few strands around a finger before moving her hand around to the nape of Lily’s neck. Which allowed her to gently encourage Lily's head to y against her chest. Even if Juniper was somewhat annoyed at the sudden announcement, it wasn’t like she was mad.

  With Lily close, she leaned down and kissed her forehead with a contented hum. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Good luck figuring that out.”

  ---

  In the morning, everyone got up early to account for the schedule of the grass-attuned Pals. That type made the most sense given Aoi's skills and she'd already grown comfortable working alongside Flora. So, the pn was to go and get her a Glumos of her own. Straightforward, right?

  Unfortunately for Aoi, everyone got up early, including Aurora and Vesta who usually preferred to sleep in. Both made it clear they didn't want to miss out and said it was an effort to be supportive. It sounded earnest and Juniper almost believed them. Almost. After they were all dressed and made their way outside for some breakfast, she turned to Aoi and brought a hand up to rest on her shoulder. “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah, I think so?”

  “Are you…asking me?”

  “No! I mean, yes. I’m ready.”

  “You’ll do fine. Now, come on.” Juniper’s hand fell away with a chuckle but Aoi reached for her arm before she had a chance to move away.

  “Just for some added courage,” she added by way of expnation. “I can’t believe you did this within hours of arriving on the isnd.”

  “Yeah. Well, it’s all about survival, you know?”

  “Right, survival…” For the first time this morning, Juniper saw a smile spread across Aoi’s lips and was heartened by it. Even if it was born from the young woman seeing through her poor attempt at an excuse.

  “Fine, half and half.” Which was closer to the truth. Juniper did need Aurora to get her through that first night. Not to mention all the help she’d been since then. Aoi didn’t offer any other responses but the smile only grew as she nodded incredulously. Speaking of survival and Juniper’s first Pal, Aurora quickly appeared on her other side and wrapped herself around the remaining free arm.

  “Don’t let her fool you, Aoi. ‘Survival,’ she says. Did I ever tell you how I found her?”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “Well, I don’t think we need to–”

  “Napping in the water!” Before Juniper could successfully interject, Aurora practically shouted the answer and then fell to giggles. “I just walked right up to her, no problem. She’s lucky I found her and not another Pal with more devious intentions.”

  “I am lucky,” Juniper said with a smile. At least that st part was completely true!

  A moment ter, Flora appeared in front of them and nodded at Juniper before turning her attention to Aoi. “Can I borrow you for a second? I want to give you some tips for dealing with my kind.”

  “Tips?” Aoi asked before tilting her head.

  “Yeah, our bodies are a little…different. I’d rather you know about that upfront so you aren’t caught by surprise.”

  Before she answered, Aoi looked up to Juniper and received a quick nod to confirm that was indeed the case. “You’ll want to hear what she has to say. Flora’s body was different in the best of ways.”

  “Oh, okay.” Aoi released her hold of Juniper’s arm and slowly started to walk with Flora across the field and toward the forest with a wink from Juniper to encourage her.

  “Looks like I have you all to myself!” Aurora beamed and then dropped her hand to take up Juniper’s.

  “For now,” Lily said in an almost sing-song manner as she walked past with Mist in tow and Vesta off to one side. Huh, what was that about?

  “For now,” Juniper repeated before squeezing the Lamball’s hand. “But I’m quite happy about that. So, let’s go.” She stepped off then, bringing up the rear of the line with Aurora beside her.

  Naturally, it didn’t take long for the group to arrive at the first patch of berry bushes. Where they found…nothing. Never fear! There was another patch not too far away according to the Pals so they all set out once more. Twenty minutes, and a whole heap of anxiety ter, the group finally found what they were looking for. Or, more than what they were looking for considering the who sat in front of a bush on the level below.

  "That's not a Glumos," Juniper observed to no one in particur. The six of them all knelt behind a fallen tree, looking over the next patch up from a higher level of ground. And the Pal that was currently working in it.

  "No, it's not," Lily confirmed before exchanging a confused look with Mist. A moment ter she turned back and peered down at the creature once more. "That is a Lifmunk."

  "A Lifmunk,” Juniper repeated and she couldn’t help but note the odd tone in Lily’s voice. “What's wrong? Is it dangerous?"

  "Not really, you just don't usually see them on this part of the isnd. It's...curious. Besides, even if they aren't a threat, they are fairly mischievous. When you can catch them, that is."

  So, a Pal with even more personality? Interesting. Well, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Especially for someone like Lily who could handle it. Or even Juniper after binding three of her own Pals. But what about Aoi?

  "Maybe we should keep looking until we find a Glumos instead? I don't want Aoi to get in over her head on her first try." Juniper shifted her attention to Aoi to ensure that was indeed the right idea but found that she appeared mesmerized by the sight of the Lifmunk. Who was currently performing the same feat they had seen Flora do many times now. "Aoi?" There was no movement at her name and Juniper had to jostle the woman's shoulder to bring her from her silent reverie.

  "Huh?"

  "Let's go find you a different Pal. A Glumos, like we talked about."

  "What? No!" The hushed outburst took everyone by surprise. Including Aoi herself who turned a light shade of red thereafter. "I mean...no. I'm sure I’ll be fine."

  Lily chuckled from beside Juniper before shaking her head with an amused expression. "Oh, she's down bad."

  "No, it's not like that," Aoi protested. However, none of them appeared to be buying what she was selling.

  "Nothing to be ashamed of,” Lily continued. “I had that same look when I came upon Mist.”

  "Yeah?” Aoi’s eyes made her way back to the Lifmunk before she bit her lower lip slightly. “She is very pretty," she admitted before nodding as if she’d made a decision. "I want to try with her."

  Juniper shrugged and also returned her attention to the new Pal to study her a little closer. "I certainly can't bme you there.” I mean, Aoi was right. Even from this distance, it was easy to tell the Lifmunk was quite attractive. Cute, really. An opinion that was heightened by the bushy, light-green tail and furry ears to match. “I can come along and give you some backup if you want." Yeah, Juniper wouldn’t mind helping at all…

  "Thanks, but I got this." Aoi stood then and removed her gsses, which she turned and handed to Juniper with a smile. "Hold these, please?"

  Well, someone was certainly feeling bold this morning! "Of course. And yes, you do.” Juniper reached up to take the gsses and detected a slight shake to Aoi’s hand. Before she pulled them away, Juniper brought up her second hand to y over Aoi’s. Just long enough to offer some reassurance. “Good luck."

  “Thanks, Juniper.” With those final words, Aoi stood, took in a deep breath, and started off toward the path that would take her down to the next level. All eyes watched her go and once she was out of earshot, Lily leaned toward Juniper.

  “Do you think she can see where she’s going without those?”

  Juniper brought her hand up and inspected the gsses before looking back down and waiting to spot Aoi picking her way through the undergrowth. “That’s a good question…”

  Thankfully, Aoi appeared to make the journey without difficulty after she came back into view. She was either being slow because she was having a hard time seeing where she was going or she didn’t want to scare the Lifmunk before she got to it. Or both, of course.

  However, Juniper would be shocked if she managed to get close without the Lifmunk becoming aware. Flora had all but confirmed that when Juniper tried to do the same.

  “Flora…” Juniper started.

  “Yes?”

  “What are the chances that Pal knows Aoi is there?”

  “Unless she is shit with her powers…I’m certain she knows Aoi is coming. There’s a good chance she knows we're up here, too.”

  “Huh,” Juniper grunted as she leaned against the fallen tree. “I wonder if she’ll run.” They all fell silent then, intently watching the younger woman make her way towards the target.

  Unfortunately, it seemed that the Pal must’ve been reading Juniper’s mind because just as Aoi stepped out into the small clearing that held the bushes, the Lifmunk’s eyes snapped open and confirmed there was someone sneaking up on her. Once she saw Aoi, she hastily stood up and then bolted for the opposite trees.

  “Wait!” Aoi called out after the Pal and then took off running herself. Everyone on the cliff stood tall too, waiting to see what would happen or give chase if that was necessary.

  A few steps ter, Aoi must have hit a root or something with her foot because she suddenly tripped and was sent sprawling forward to nd on the ground with a loud “humph!”

  “Shit,” Juniper muttered before turning and making for the path down. However, before she even made it two steps, Lily reached out and grabbed her arm.

  “Wait, look down there.”

  Juniper turned and did what she was told. Only to find that the Lifmunk had stopped running at the noise and had even taken a step back toward where Aoi y on the ground.

  “Are you okay?” The Lifmunk asked curiously but from a safe distance.

  Aoi was already sitting up and she took the time to wipe her knees clean before practically defting. “Yeah, I’m fine.” After checking herself for injuries she looked up to the Pal and shook her head lightly to herself. “You can go, it’s okay.” It was pin from her voice that whatever gusto she’d felt a few minutes ago was gone and all that was left was an undercurrent of defeat.

  “Oh…I mean, I could. But are you sure you aren’t hurt though?”

  Well, this was interesting. Juniper, and the others, returned to their hiding pce, now intensely curious how this was going to py out.

  “I’m fine,” Aoi answered. “Just a bruised ego, that’s all.” She still wasn’t meeting the Lifmunk’s eyes and made no effort to stand from the ground while she spoke. “I’ll live, though.”

  “Your ego, hmm?” Again, the Lifmunk took a step and it was clear her tail rexed somewhat behind her. “And why exactly would that be bruised? Were you pnning on doing something?”

  “Well, yeah! I was going to bind you obviously.”

  “You?” From her tone, it was clear the Pal didn’t consider Aoi much of a threat. Not anymore, at least. And honestly, Juniper couldn’t disagree with that assessment. However, Aoi didn’t need to be dangerous, she only had to be enticing. Juniper certainly felt enticed, just like that Lifmunk. “No offense, but I don’t really see you coming down here and beating me up. Can you even see?”

  “I can see just fine, thank you.” Even from farther away, it was clear from the flush on Aoi’s face that she was getting embarrassed. Or angry. Or both. “And I wasn’t going beat you up, I was going to do it another way.”

  “Oh? Another way?” More steps and the Lifmunk was now just out of arm’s length of the sitting woman. Whereupon she knelt and got down closer to Aoi’s level. Which drew the young woman’s gaze. “And what way was that exactly?”

  “I was going to…seduce you.”

  The boisterous ugh that came from the Pal had even Juniper cringing where she knelt and she felt a sudden urge to go down there and give the Lifmunk a piece of her mind. Or bind the damn thing herself. Then she’d see who was ughing. However, she took a deep breath and settled back down, trusting Aoi to do this herself. The ughter caused Aoi to look back down but once the Lifmunk settled, she said something unexpected.

  “Alright.”

  “Alright?” Aoi repeated before raising her head up with a look of utter confusion.

  “Yeah,” the Lifmunk confirmed with a shrug. “I have to admit, I am intensely curious about how you intended to do that.” Following her words, she stood tall and finally closed the remaining distance. “So come on, give it your best shot.”

  When she came to a stop, he stretched her hand down in offering. Aoi remained silent for a moment before dropping her eyes to the hand. However, she hastily brought her own up to grasp it before the Lifmunk hauled her to her feet.

  “Fine. You’re on!”