He waved to Liddy as she walked through the station to get back on the ship. She paused and turned to face him, a smile lighting up on her face.
"Well, it's good to see you again."
"And you," he replied. "I wasn't sure you would remember me."
"You drove the carriage that brought me back to my ship when I brought Leira home in her water tank."
The man who was part elephant may not have been able to blush, but he was touched that he wasn't the only one who remembered. "Thank you, for all of this. When I saw what happened and how you acted, I figured you might be someone who could help if I, or someone I cared about, needed it. Thinking it would save a person or two. Certainly not quite something so grand as all this."
"I will admit that I didn't go looking for this. But once it had happened, I couldn't just leave. How are you dealing with it?"
"Quite well. I'm one of the oldest here, so people seem to be looking to me ever since word got out that you were leaving."
"I wish we could stay longer, but we have done what we can and need to let you find your way. Also, the politics of the situation make staying a bad idea."
"Don't worry about us. We will be fine now. If you find anymore Emberborn, send them our way."
"We will for sure."
Liddy offered a warm embrace as she said her goodbyes. Finally getting back on the ship, she gave the order for Ving to get them in the air. In the lounge she found Easy laying on top of Mari, letting her wings flutter, as they kissed. Surprisingly still wearing clothing, they simply were enjoying each other's company. Cat was tidying up with the soldiers, since the mess left behind by the refugees was everywhere. Liddy let her work, happy that the former noble was working hard to earn her place. Cat didn't really have anything to prove but wasn't going to stop someone from being productive. In her own room, Liddy found Vile making her bed.
"Thanks for the clean sheets. But you are only responsible for your own bed. Though it occurs to me that we might need to revisit sleeping arrangements."
"Well, I have been sharing with Inky and she keeps that thing immaculate. Part of being a soldier, I suppose," Vile shrugged with a smile. "Though it is a bit short for me, my hooves hang off the bottom."
"Actually, I think she..." Liddy trailed off. "Or rather, I need to call a meeting."
Vile was curious about what Liddy stopped herself from saying and followed her back into the lounge. Liddy picked up a bell she had gotten her hands on at the farm, and began to ring it out down the stairs so everyone below would hear. Soon enough, everyone but the engine room girls came into the lounge. Mari and Easy saw no reason to interrupt their make out session.
"Alright, time again to revisit the sleeping arrangements. Vile and Hope need a place to sleep, and I am running out of room. Anyone unhappy who needs to switch?"
"Cat fucking snores," Leira blurted out.
"I do not It just sounds louder because that tub you sleep in," Cat responded.
"Exactly. It's fucking loud enough to rock a cast-iron tub."
"Alright," Liddy interrupted. "Emma, you are the only one alone in a room. Who do you want to bunk with? Should they just be told to suck it up and be grateful that snoring is their biggest problem while you make friends with one of the new girls?"
Emma smiled. "I'm a quiet sleeper. Plus I know how to handle Leira."
"Yeah, you fucking do," Leira commented suggestively.
"Done," Liddy stated to cut off any further dialogue. "Now, Hope, you can bunk with Cat or me. I originally set up a small bed for myself in my room in case I didn't want to sleep in the bed I worked in. If having to kill someone in it isn't enough to stop me then nothing will. So, while it's too small for Vile to fit, it's there for you if you want it."
"Private bed all this time, and you say nothing as the rooms fill up. We finally get a holy girl on board and you mention it. Interesting..." Hannah gave a suspicious glare at Liddy while cocking a wry smile.
"Hush you, I'm not doing this to sleep with her."
"Right, you don't have sex with women who work for you."
"I said hush! I still remember the fantasy land where I kept things professional, and if I choose to live there, then I can."
"Of course you can live there, Liddy. You will just be doing it with a holy girl in bed with you."
Liddy flung one of the pillows at Hannah, who didn't stop grinning even after it hit her in the face. "The choice is yours Hope."
"Well, since I need to make friends on this ship, I think I will stay in your room. Hannah gets to keep teasing you so that helps me with her. And having sex with the captain will take care of you."
"We won't be having sex, Hope," Liddy declared before getting a round of suspicious glances from every other woman in the lounge -- including Mari and Easy, who finally stopped kissing to do so. "You are all fired. Get off. No landing first."
The girls laughed as Liddy blushed and Emma spoke up. "This mean the ship's name gets changed to 'Denial'? Because that's what you are living in."
Liddy rolled her eyes and sighed as she waited for the girls to quiet down. "So, when we get to the capital..." Liddy started, hoping to bring their attention to the exciting prospect. "We need to see a lot of clients to make up for the downtime we had. So let's get this place looking spiffy and ready to entertain. Hop to it!"
As the women dispersed and Easy begrudgingly got off of Mari to help clean up. Inky took Vile by the hand and led her down the stairs. The powerfully built woman could barely fit down the staircase but managed as she held Inky for support. Finally down, Inky got on the balls of her feet to make herself tall enough to kiss Vile. Gripping the woman tightly she returned the kiss. While Vile might have been worried about what Liddy might have avoided saying earlier, she was much more at ease now. The kiss broke as she relaxed and let Inky down.
"I needed that."
"I could tell. Now let me show you something." Inky brought her to her room and opened the door.
Inside was almost entirely bedding, the rest of the furniture had been removed or attached high up on the wall. Vile crawled in and laid on her back to look at Inky in the doorway. Looking down at her hooves, she could see they didn't reach the end and wondered how much effort Inky had put into rigging everything on the walls or rebuilding the bed inside without her knowing. Vile gasped trying to hold back tears. She failed as she smiled at Inky, who stepped onto the bed and closed the door behind her. Slowly she started to strip out of her uniform and hang it on the ceiling hooks, her head barely below. Vile watched as the tan-skinned woman stood naked over her.
"Do you like?" Inky asked. As she turned slightly to take a sexy pose that showed off her bum.
Vile was about to thank her for the bed when she saw what was on her lover's well-toned ass. It was a heart shape, but the heart had horns and a pair of tails, just like hers. Vile wondered when she had gotten it done and why she hadn't been paying enough attention to Inky's ass to notice.
"I love it," Vile replied.
She bent her knees to give Inky something to hold on to as she straddled her body, facing away, to give her a closer view. Vile admired the sight of the tattoo as well as the bare back of the woman on top of her. Her tails were already caressing Inky, who took one of them into her mouth to tease it with her tongue.
"I always wondered if..." Vile started, before feeling Inky bite down on her tail.
"Well, now you have your answer. But I will happily repeat it whenever you need me too. Just don't ever think you need to wonder about it again."
"If you say so." Vile smiled as Inky looked back at her. "Though I am wondering how you are going to make the bed to your usual standards when you have no choice but to stand on it."
Inky laughed as she turned her whole body to face Vile, stripping the cloth still covering the massive red breasts, "Very carefully."
Vile flinched as Inky pinched her nipples tightly in her fingers. She responded by wrapping her tails around the breasts before using the tips of her tails on the nipples. Inky moaned as her nipples were toyed with while she did the same with her hands on Vile. Leaning forward, pressing their breasts together, Inky gripped Vile by her horns as she kissed her again.
"I think these things are getting bigger," Inky stated after the kiss as she played with the horns.
"They haven't grown for years. Not since I first got them anyway," Vile replied, sliding her tails down to caress Inky's new tattoo before exploring deeper.
"They are bigger, by at least the width of my..." Inky stopped the moment she felt a tail push inside her and wriggle about. "Oh, fuck, that's good. But the horns are bigger by the width of my thumb. I counted the little ridges on them and there are three more there than when I counted the first time."
"I don't know why they would suddenly start growing," Vile reached up to meet Inky's hands on her horns to examine for herself.
After inspecting her horns, Vile took Inky's hands in her own and watched as she used them to leverage herself against the tail penetrating her. She could feel her tail being moved by the thrusting hips that contained the tip. The other tail wrapped around Inky at the waist to feel herself through her lover's flesh. Vile felt drops of sweat land on her bare breasts as she watched them run off of Inky's. Working her sensitive tail in and out of Inky as she thrust her hips took timing that got harder to focus on as she lost herself to the pleasure. Inky moaned and screamed as suddenly she covered the tail inside her with her climax. Vile felt the fluid running down her tail and let Inky lay on her chest to relax for a moment.
"I was never allowed to please myself with my tails. He said only his body mattered and I shouldn't bother with it. I remember thinking then how useless my tails were. Men didn't want them, even if I was allowed to be with one. So I knew, even if I was free, they would just be a reminder of how imperfect I was."
"Then you discovered women."