A Moment of Dread

You left Lexi’s office feeling enlightened. You had fucked both Cerena and Lexi but you somehow felt invigorated rather than exhausted. The office was in disarray, and you felt amused at how exactly your aunt was going to deal with someone seeing the mess you had left.

After the call with your mother, you had made sure to thoroughly engrain in Lexi’s mind just who was in charge in your current relationship. When Lexi was still coherent, she had agreed to making sure the paperwork was completed for your sponsorship of Lisbeth. In the end, things had worked out.

Going down through the lobby, you had just gotten to the reception area when a calm voice called out to you.

“Excuse me, Mr. Holt.”

You looked to see Kiri standing behind the desk with the same flat affect as before.

“Oh, Ms. Kiri. Did I need to sign out or something?” You walked up to the counter.

“No. I realized that you may need to visit Ms. Lexi again in the future. In order to prevent any confusion or issues, I thought it might be a good idea to give you my direct phone number. That way, you could let me know in advance of you coming in, and I could get you on the schedule.”

Kiri remained still and unflinching. Her cool and calm beauty was quite nice.

“That sounds like a great idea. How about we exchange contact information just in case.”

“That seems prudent.” Kiri slid her phone towards you on the counter. As she reached forward, you saw an emerald color emerge from under the long sleeves of her kimono. Rather than having humanoid hands, it appeared that Kiri instead had the arms of a mantis.

Her jewel-toned arms resembled delicate green serrated blades that shone with a vibrant luster. Despite their form, Kiri moved them with gentle precision.

“I hope you don’t take this wrong, but your arms are beautiful. I’ve never seen mantis arms up close before. Would it be too forward of me to touch one? I’m curious.” You put on a gentle face. Kiri froze at the question.

“Ah. I’m sorry! That was probably rude of me. Obviously it would be off-putting for a stranger to ask to touch your arm. They are just a lovely shade of green. Nevermind.”

“No.” Kiri said with her typical tone. “I don’t mind.” She extended her long blade-like appendage out to you. As she did, you could see the spikes jutting out. In the insect world, these helped the mantis spear and hold prey. You wondered briefly their purpose for the monster girl.

You held out a hand and placed it on the mantis woman’s arm. The exoskeleton was cool to the touch and very smooth and hard. Your fingers traced the spikes gently. Her chitin felt almost like polished marble.

“Beautiful.”

As you ran your hand along Kiri’s arm, a feeling of dread suddenly washed over you. It was as if your instincts were telling you that you were in danger, but you couldn’t pinpoint it. You looked up to see Kiri with the same calm expression. Her face was the same, but somehow the way her eyes were looking at you had changed. It caused a slight shiver to run down your spine.

You withdrew your hand wondering what had set you on high alert. You gave Kiri another smile.

“Thank you, Ms. Kiri. They really are beautiful.”

Kiri stared at you with her face unchanging. “Thank you, Mr. Holt. Is there anything else?”

“Yes, actually. I will be coming to meet with my aunt in the morning for a sponsorship follow up. Could you put me on the schedule?”

“Of course. Thank you for your visit today.”

“Yes. It was nice to meet you. Bye.”

As you turned to walk away, the feeling of dread reawakened more sharply than before. You turned quickly to look at Kiri once more. Her expression remained stoic.

“Something wrong, Mr. Holt?” Kiri’s eyes never left yours, and it made sweat roll down your neck.

“N-no. Thank you again.” You hastily left the AWIO to head back home to Morgana and Lisbeth. You still had a lot of logistics to go through.