Reading up

You pick up the herblore book Kasumi left for you, unsure where to start. You begin to skim through, and eventually notice some earmarked pages. You figure anything Kasumi deemed important enough to earmark is a good place to start. You read through descriptions of some herbs, their uses, and techniques for preparing them, and eventually come across a very familiar herb. The book details its uses as an aphrodisiac and virility booster. While you could have guessed those uses yourself given your experiences, you notice that the herb also tends to lower inhibitions. Your face flushes slightly as you remember your actions with Kasumi.

You'd never thought of men in a sexual way before, but you'd opened wide for Kaumi's cock without a second thought. She's clearly not a man given her appearance and pussy, but you can't get over how readily you'd sucked her cock. Could it have just been the aphrodisiac lowering your inhibitions? Kasumi is beautiful, and you always feel at ease around her, but surely you wouldn't just suck a cock like that, so easily. You push the thoughts from your mind. What's done is done. If there's anything to this other than the aphrodisiac, it'll come up later, and you can think about it later. For now, you can just focus on the book, and helping Kasumi out.

You continue leafing through the book. but the niggling thoughts of Kasumi don't stop. The light coming in through the window has taken on a decidedly more orange tint as the sun begins to set. You begin eyeing the book on kitsune magic, but before you can pick it up, Kasumi comes in. "Looks like you actually did what I told you this time. Good job", she teases. She kneels down in front of you, her delicate fingers tracing over the talismans on your ankle. You feel a slight warmth from the talismans, and the faint blue glow from the lines on them intensifies briefly. "Barely any strain on it while I was gone, looks like you really were good" She rights herself, and continues moving about the room, organizing a few items here and there, grabbing pots and pans, and setting them on the counter. She ignites her stove with a small blue flame, and begins working

"Is there anything I can do to help?" you ask hopefully

"Stay right there and recover. I understand your urge to help, but you're no help to anyone if you keep overexerting yourself. If you don't calm down, I'll just get you a traditional cast, and put you on bed rest. Maybe that's what you're after. Maybe you just want a beautiful woman to dote on you all day. I might be willing to do that, but not if it's because you refuse to take it easy." The seemingly casual offer to take care of you like that takes you aback slightly, and causes you to blush a little.

Kasumi finishes preparing dinner, and gestures you over to the table. She sets a plate on either side, and sits across from you. You look down at the meal she prepared for you, an appetizing plate of fried rice. You and Kasumi dig in, eating in companionable silence. Kasumi grabs your emptied plates, and begins washing them. You watch her tails flick around, wondering how soft they must be. You consider asking to touch one, but it seems such an odd request. You lose yourself in the rhythmic swaying of her tails so much that you nearly don't notice when she turns the water off, and turns to you "We still have a bit of daylight left. Why don't we go over what you learned today, and see where you stand?"

"That sounds good " you reply ""I mostly stuck to whatever you had dogeared. I hope that didn't make me miss anything important"

"You might have missed some common herbs, but what you did wasn't a bad idea. You missed out on a lot of the general ecology too, so I'll have you go over that tomorrow. For now, tell me what you learned, and I'll make sure you have a full understanding of what you read" You begin telling Kasumi what herbs you'd read about, and what you understood about their uses and qualities. She seemed overall impressed with how quickly you picked up on the book's contents, and some of the connections you made that the book never mentioned "It seems you have a hidden talent. Maybe you chose the wrong career" Her tone indicates that the latter part of her praise was a joke, but you can't help but wonder if she's right. You'd only really become a courier because you had good natural endurance, and wanted to get outside the city regularly, and see new places. Gathering herbs as an apothecary would certainly get you out of the city.

You continue your review with Kasumi as the sun dips below the horizon, and small blue flames flicker to life around the room, casting a pale light over it. Towards the end of your review, Kasumi starts yawning. When you finish, Kasumi stands up, and steps toward her room. "You did well today. I hope you keep this up tomorrow." She continues toward her room, but stops with her hand on the door. "It may seem a little forward given we've only known each other a little over a day, but given how far we've gone already, this would hardly be any worse. Come to bed with me. That futon has to be awfully lonely." You stop to think for a moment. It was indeed very forward to ask to sleep together already, but you'd also already done worse than sleep in the same bed. You can't deny that you're very attracted to Kasumi, and would appreciate the opportunity.