Definitely won’t get ourselves in more trouble now.

Impersonating the deity of less-advanced civilizations was a major galactic felony.

In fairness, though, the police were already at the ‘nuclear strike’ stage of their relationship with the Violetta sisters. What could possibly be worse than that?

Kiki’s dramatic proclamation had a good effect on these ignorant savages. They all dropped to their knees and bowed into the sand before their newly-minted kitsune goddesses. Each of them, careful to put out their hands in front, pressing their fingers together on the ground as they lowered their heads and raised their asses. Well, everyone did that but the leader with the most absurd ass, even by local standards. Larger than, though it didn’t bother them at all, the kitsune sisters.

That one remained standing perfectly still, hands clasped together in front of her, a smile frozen on her face. “Is that so? Then we are honored indeed that you have decided to visit our humble home in the human realm, oh mighty goddesses.”

Vivi’s razor-sharp intellect detected some doubt there, so she decided to go on the attack. Now that she’d pitched herself in once again with Kiki’s latest wild scheme, the only thing to do was keep digging until they saw daylight.

“What’s your name, then, human? Are you in charge here?”

Lavender eyes slid over, and the girl turned slightly, showing how thin her waist was. At least, if not in absolute terms, than in contrast to her hips. How did that girl get in and out of buildings...?

“Of course, how rude of me, exalted ones. I am Tamah Kaminah, and I have the indescribable, humbling honor of being this island’s newly-appointed high priestess. Though I have only held this post for some few months now, I was raised all my life in a religious education by my sadly-departed mother.”

“So,” Kiki picked up immediately, “You’re like, the most religious person ever.”

“I would never make such a bold claim… but yes.” Tamah giggled, and all of the priestesses on their hands and knees around her made sure to giggle too, breaking their quiet grumbling and uncomfortable shuffling. Only after Tamah’s light, wind-chime giggling stopped, did any of the other priestesses dare to stop either.

It actually went on for some time afterwards, as if they were all scared to be the first one to stop, or wanted to be noticed for being the last one to carry on.

A little creeped out, Vivi cleared her throat. “We may be known by your mortal tongues as Vivi, and this is Kiki, our sister. We have come down from the heavens, um.” She motioned to the blasted wreckage towering over the proceedings. “Perhaps not entirely of our own intention.”

“Vivi, don’t-”

Vivi held up a hand. “Please. It’s clear we’re not dealing with your ordinary, everyday fool here, Kiki. Though it is embarrassing to admit, there was a war in the heavens, and we did not emerge victorious. In fact, we were flung down here, though mind you, though no fault of our own.”

Tamah’s face adopted an expression much like somebody who’d heard about sympathy, and intellectually understood the concept, might display.

“I understand, noble hierarchs. Though these matters are far above mortal understanding, we can grasp the basics, and are prepared to render aid if you require it. Are you tired? Do you need food or perhaps, something to drink?”

The kitsune didn’t notice the quaver that ran through the kneeling priestesses at the last word of Tamah’s generous offer. They didn’t see the ripple of recognition and fear tensing up each girl down the line, like a wave being transmitted through some suitably soft, bottomheavy wiggling medium.

If they had, perhaps they could have avoided the wide-open pitfall.

“Yes,” Kiki admitted, wiping her brow from that torturous noonday sun. “Damned hot out here. Bring us your finest wine, humans! If you have any.”

Tamah’s smile widened.

“Right away.”

At her command, a pair of the youngest priestesses rose up from the sand, their brown knees, hands, and faces now off-white. They quivered before Tamah, or just shook in general, perhaps so in awe of the presence of two goddesses. Yeah, that was definitely it, as they waddled off in these islanders’ weird mimicry of a walk.

Only to return quite soon, each one carrying a massive pitcher half their heights.

It was about then that both kitsune remembered they already had to go to the bathroom, and the one aboard Iktomi’s mortal remains had been smashed to pieces. They didn’t even know if this island had indoor plumbing yet, in fact, so maybe agreeing so quickly to their most powerful, potent sacred holy wine or whatever had been a bad move.

The humans were quite insistent now, though. They got up off their knees and surrounded the pair of kitsune sisters. Not quite restraining them or anything so disrespectful, but certainly those wide hips formed a perimeter.

Keeping them in place as the two smaller priestesses quivered forward.

“Do remember not to spill a drop,” Tamah reminded them, voice airy and carefree. “Waste not, want not. That has always been the tribe’s guiding principle.”

The girls quivered much more as they came forward, and each one was finally able to put down the pitcher. Over the ceramic pottery’s rims, Vivi and Kiki could see down into what looked like a dark abyss, barely red, barely reflecting any of the light despite that damned sun being directly overhead.

Vivi and Kiki were offered, quite insistently, a pair of shallow bowl-cups, and extended them out to take a portion of this fragrant, aromatic wine.

“It is quite apparent what you are already,” Tamah said, allowing a chill to slip into her voice, as she watched the foreigners being prepared to drink. “However, we must be sure. Goddesses do not drink. If they do, then certainly, they do not suffer for it, the way that mortal women must seek eventually the use of certain facilities. So if you drink, and if you then experience a certain need from it? You are no goddesses.”

“T-Then what would we be?” Kiki asked, regarding her shallow bowl of wine, and wondering how long it would take to drain that great big pitcher with it.

“Visitors from another world, and not the first we’ve seen in our tribe’s long history. Fools who have greatly underestimated some ‘mere savages’ and tried to take us, as you would say, ‘for a ride’. And, of course, heretics who have committed a grave offense against our whole way of life.”

Yeah, I kind of figured that was where this was going.

Vivi shot another look of recrimination at her sister, then pinched her nose, and tilted her head back, knocking back the extremely strong red wine. A single drop of which exploded her taste buds with its refined, pungent, but obscenely addicting fruity taste. It went down smooth, though not nearly so much as the sake.

The islanders’ elegant pottery containers had kept it relatively cool even against the day’s scorching heat, so it was honestly a bit of a relief. The taste would take some getting used to before she could even adequately describe it, but her bladder recognized instantly, within seconds, its potency.

They’d be getting well acquainted with that particular taste, and the feeling of excessively over-full bladders, in the weeks and months ahead.