Party 1, Part 3: Then, You Take The Toppings And You Spread 'Em, You Spread 'Em

Tessa

After dinner, most everyone gets back to playing arcade games. Kevin is playing some fighting game. Jenny is having fun playing Skee-ball poorly, still getting used to moving; it’s more of a psychological thing than a physical one with the level up, but the hesitation is still there. Ootah has swung the big hammer and rang the bell. Mineko is staring at the “stop the spinning light in a scoring zone” game, occasionally chasing after the rotating light. Gaia is watching over her, that protective nurturing instinct she should be encouraged to embrace working on the former terrorist. Andromeda is sitting by herself, watching; Tessa considers going over to sit with her, only to see Winter already making the move.

Then there is Tegan, bleary-eyed, curled up in a corner. Tessa sits on the floor beside her, close enough to reach, far enough to not crowd her. They sit in silence, Tegan trying her best not to cry, Tessa trying her best to give the fox-girl what she needs.

Tessa watches Tegan. The vicious vixen’s eyes follow Mona as the Mistress bounds from person to person, playing games and chatting. It’s good to see Mona trying to make everyone feel welcome. Tegan somehow curls into herself tighter.

Once the silence could no longer be beared, Tessa finally prods, “Do you want to talk about today?”

The question hits Tegan hard. She growls, “No.”

“You want to get up and play a game? I was never really one for video games, but I am willing to give it a try.”

The answer this time is smaller, “No.”

“What can I do to help? Your bad day was partially my fault, since I didn’t insist that we stick together.”

The fox-girl whimpers, “I don’t know. I don’t know if I can even be helped. I’ve been cursed with these grotesque tits and my life is ruined.”

Tessa’s ass tingles, as it has been whenever she rested on it since her transformation. “You aren’t the only one who’s body has been expanded today.”

Tegan takes her eyes off of Mona long enough to look at Tessa’s ass. “I suppose not.”

“So, do you want to talk about today with me or with Mona? Because I am not letting you wallow like this.”

A tinge of anger is back in Tegan’s voice, “Fine. Talk.”

“Today was a bad day for you. I won’t deny it. The breasts were a part of it, sure. But, most of it was how you chose to respond. You chose to hurry a scouting mission that required caution. You chose to lash out and blame others. You apparently tried to **** a vampire with mail? I can’t believe I have to say that. I don’t know what you did when we gave you space this afternoon, but you do. And, now, you are choosing to wallow in self-pity instead of trying to move forward. What’s the end goal of all of that, Tegan? I don’t like seeing my former students self-sabotage.”

Tegan’s voice is soft again as she absorbs the chastisement, “I... I don’t know.”

“You want to tell me what you did this afternoon?”

“Hurt myself trying to shoot with these accursed things and got chewed out for it.”

“By whom?”

“The freak that runs the archery range.”

“Who I assume is one of my sister-in-laws,” Tessa interrupts to add, “I’m frankly surprised that you haven’t been hit with XP penalties yet. I guess Tyalangan has a distinction in mind between insult and slur.”

Tegan’s ears and tail bristle. I struck a nerve. The fox-girl sighs, “Doesn’t matter. No way Mona is gonna keep me. She’ll just toss me aside and focus on the ones the game didn’t break.”

“Who says that the game will break you? You can choose to be better.”

Tegan starts to whine, “But I am not some degenerate pervert. I can’t just walk around with these things out! I’m not strong enough.”

Tessa hates whining. She tries her best to keep the irritation out of her voice as she replies, “Then that is what the rest of us are here for. I know you don’t like my sister and her wives, but I have been watching them. They support each other, even though some hard transformations to bear. You find your breasts difficult? I will volunteer for you to use your magic on me to make them smaller. I won’t even look at you while you do it to preserve your modesty. I’m sure Gaia will offer the same deal. And, one day, when they don’t feel like a real burden anymore, you will grow to love them. I know Mona already does, and not just because she is how she is. She loves you, more than you love yourself.”

Tessa stands up, offering the fox-girl a hand. “So, want to try a game with me?”

Tessa nods, taking the offered hand. It’s a little awkward pulling the girl up, between her different center of gravity and the fact that their breasts pressed together. Still, the two of them meander together to find a game to try.

Andromeda

Andromeda was never one for video games. She played Leylines Cyberspace because that was a cheap way to play her formats before her parents bought her the first version of her Legacy BUG control deck. So, the arcade doesn’t particularly interest her.

She is trying to work up the nerve to go socialize. She needs to make friends. Mona can do this so easily. Why can’t I?

Winter of all people sits down, greeting, “Hey.”

“Hello.”

“What are you up to?”

There is no point in lying. Andromeda answers honestly, “Trying to psych myself up for being a person for a while.”

“One of the great things about having hundreds of sisters is that I have seen all kinds of people. You’re introverted; it’s okay.”

“Is it really okay in this kind of situation? I need to not just fade into the background.”

“Two of the most introverted people I know are my mothers. They thrived in the game. One of them spent more time alone than with the others, too. So can you.”

“Which mothers are you talking about? Mattie, Daphne, and Alex all seem pretty outgoing.”

Winter laughs, “Yeah, those are some pretty extroverted mamas of mine. I was referring to my birth mothers though. Though, technically Tyalangan is my daddy? Don’t tell her I said that.”

Andromeda chooses not to think about the implications of that last confession. Instead, she asks, “Tyalangan is an introvert? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Trust me, she is. She’s exhausted by the social aspects of her jobs, like, all the time. She just learned how to cope. Having to spend time in the pool to rest her lungs definitely helps. She can decompress where only Mama Daphne could reach her, and Mama Daphne knows when she needs space.”

“Having navigated life in a harem family is probably a bigger boon that I initially thought.”

“It is. The family dynamics are weird, by your standards; it’s just normal life for me.”

“And your other birth mother? She’s introverted, too?”

“Should be obvious. Mama Skye?”

“I have had maybe two conversations with her all of last week. That’s not enough data.”

“You would not believe how much time she spent alone during the game. You know she did like 70% of the work to throw her own wedding by herself?”

Andromeda blinks. “Really?”

“Really. But she found her place. You’ll find your place here, too. Just need to give yourself time.”

Forcing myself to interact may be necessary or it may be counterproductive? Hard to say. Natural interactions would be better.

She is lost in thought, so she doesn’t notice Mona wander over, “Hey, guys. Having fun?” Mona sounds somewhat unsure.

Winter nods and replies, “Yes, Mistress. Just checking in with the brains of the operation as Kevin practices for his inevitable Ophie rematch. How about you, Andromeda?”

Andromeda is slightly distracted by Mona’s blush, but stumbles through an answer, “I’m trying. Parties are hard when you don’t know the rules.”

Mona wraps an arm around Andromeda’s shoulders. Andromeda senses her LEDs that mimic blushing activate. Mona encourages, “Hey, we are all friends here. You got this. I believe in you. Now go forth and have some fun! Jenny’s getting a little better at Skee-ball, if you want to try for a friendly game?”

I suppose I should try. Be a good chance to get more comfortable around Jenny, if nothing else...

Jenny

Jenny is slowly getting used to standing and walking. She’s slowly getting used to talking. She’s slowly getting acquainted with the people that will (hopefully) be her family after everything had happened during her ****.

After a few rounds of Skee-ball with Andromeda (Quiet girl, pretty but doesn’t act like it, trying to fit in), Jenny does need to give her arms a break, so she scans the room. Andromeda meandered to a shooting game and is playing it with Mona (Mistress, loud, often speaks before she thinks, wants what’s best for us?). Ootah (Quiet girl, big and muscular, seems nicer than scary) and Kevin (Big guy, still not completely comfortable in his skin but getting there, would be worth asking out if he wasn’t taken) are taking turns on some punching machine again. Winter (Little catty, androgynous, really into Kevin) is busy teasing one of Tina’s kids at the ticket counter, clutching a Skye plushie a little more tightly than Jenny would expect. Tessa (Reserved, pretty and knows it, soul of a poet) and Tegan (Ball of rage, needs to calm the fuck down) are playing some perverse Whack-a-Mole, the former uncomfortable, the later with waaay too much glee. The way their breasts are swaying as they hammer the jutting cocks with foam mallets is a little distracting. I wonder how it would feel to motorboat those boobs. I never motorboated a girl before...

Then, she hears it. The opening chords to Everybody (Backstreet’s Back). Jenny squees and rushes over to the sound. Gaia (Protective, a little strange, kangaroo-girl?) is trying to show Mineko (Hyperactive?, very strange, very cat-girl) how to play this strange game. There are these arrows on the ground and arrows that float up on the screen. A small bar to lean on maybe is behind the ground arrows. Gaia seems to be trying to stamp in the ground arrow that corresponds to the floating arrow when it reaches the top of the screen. Mineko is very distracted by the lights and sounds.

Jenny watches Gaia, enraptured, until the song finishes. She thereupon asks, “What is this?”

“Oh, MMR. I mean, using electricity for video games is super wasteful, but this one at least encourages some exercise. I thought Mineko might want to give it a go. You want to try?”

“MMR?”

“Movement Making Rebellion? How do you not know about MMR? It’s a super old game.”

Tyalangan answers over the intercom, “The first machines for MMR hit the Japanese arcade scene the year AFTER Jenny was kidnapped.”

The kangaroo-girl, looking sheepish, apologizes, then steps away so Jenny can try it out. The dryad uses her feet to select the next song. Ooh, I haven’t heard this NSYNC song before! Jenny selects it on beginner difficulty.

The arrows rise up in beat with the song, but feel a little slow? Jenny does not know enough music lingo to describe it. Still, by the end, Jenny is belting out the chorus, “I wanna see you out that door / Baby, bye, bye, bye!” Gaia joins in, too! She wraps the kangaroo-girl up in a hug, squeeing.

“Wanna compete on a harder difficulty?” Gaia asks.

Jenny enthusiastically nods her head. They get in position. Mineko crouches on the bar between them to watch the lights and sounds better, tails wiggling. Alright, basic difficulty!

The arrows come faster, maybe twice as fast? The patterns of steps get more complicated. The chorus gets easier to sing along with, “You may hate me, but it ain't no lie / Baby, bye, bye, bye!”

A small crowd has gathered. Mona waves, watching. Jenny is a bit out of breath, a little horny and happier than she felt in ages. “Like... one more time?”

Gaia nods and loads up the next difficulty (the “difficult” difficulty) up. The arrows come even faster. The patterns are tricky enough that Jenny starts to get lose track. The noise the game makes for missing a step is annoying. Out of breath, Jenny can’t sing, but the crowd behind her does, “Might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie / Baby, bye, bye, bye!”

They get through the song, barely. Jenny is panting, which again feels weird. Gaia is slumping over the rail.

The little green-haired bunny announces over the intercom, “Last call for prizes. Curfew is coming up soon.”

Jenny grabs her tickets from the game. I hope I got enough for a Tina plushie!