Bedtime

Surprisingly, the rest of their meal went without much fuss. There were still plenty of stares, but Morgala found herself getting used to the attention. It wasn't all bad; some of the looks she even found flattering. The only gazes that still troubled her were the many ladies making bedroom eyes at Thurkla, prompting Morgala to wrap her arms protectively around her green madonna possessively. She hoped her eyes communicated the message, Look, but don't touch.

With the food finished, the other miners all started to file out of the dining hall. Gruphim rolled her neck with a satisfying CRACK and said, "So, you gals wanna hit the bar? There's bound to be some fun tonight with three new faces."

Thurkla yawned as she replied, "If it's alright, I'd like to get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"You sure? Things get pretty wild down there; you probably won't even be the only ones without clothes by the end of the night."

Morgala blushed. "As, uh, tempting as that sounds, Thurkla's right. We should hit the hay."

Gruphim shrugged. "Yer loss. I guess I'll have to get to know you better another night." She winked at Taykov as she said this, making the surface dwarf's face feel as hot as the mines. She hoped there wasn't a snail trail left on the bench when she sat up, because she did not want to be that obviously horny.

Jerra smiled as she followed her friend. "Nighty night, lassies. Don't let the cavemites bite."

Morgala hoped that was just an expression and not a warning as she waved back. As the doors closed behind Jerra, the nudists were left alone in the dining hall, and the tension left their bodies like deflating pufferfish (none of them had seen one of those before, but rest assured if they had, it would be an apt comparison). "That went well, I think." Morgala sighed.

Thurkla nodded. "They seem nice. Maybe this won't be so embarrassing after all," she said cheerily.

"Yeah, sure," Taykov wheezed, still trying not to cream herself. "But I'm still cold and exhausted. Can we actually go to bed, now? I want to get a better night's sleep than when we were out in the woods."

"Okay," Morgala replied, in that tone that proud parents gave their toddlers at the end of their first day of school. "But we should probably take Sherry's advice and get some blankets. I don't want to be freezing all night."

Taykov shook her head and said, "Let's hope we can actually find enough."