Silly Plots 3: With government backing we can make it very silly

[5a Violista]

Pure Harmony

As it happens, there's actually a very reasonable explanation:
Specialty massages are pretty expensive.
Food, basic no-frills facials, and simple manicures and pedicures - especially when all done together - aren't very expensive.
And, finally, customers complaining that their massage was interrupted partway through and weren't given the option of a full refund could be pretty disastrous for business, especially when there's so many other competitors that would gladly snap up those potential customers. Not to mention, giving them vouchers and only a partial refund means Marin and Jade and Honeysuckle will stay there instead of going to a competitor. They'd have done the same even if it were something not-quite-as-serious as spontaneous combustion.

In other words, it's just a simple cost-benefit analysis.


The cafeteria is pretty basic, compared to some restaurants.
It's spacious, it has an interior courtyard garden which fills the cafeteria with natural light, and smells that are a mix of the food and the garden plants.
No waitresses or whatever, though. You have to walk up to the opening on the wall and order your food there. The menu - a blackboard written with chalk - says they have soup, various types of noodle-based meals, rice cakes, eggs, steak, ice cream. No fish. Apparently, fish (and steak, among other things) are only offered on certain days - steak is today. There's also various sodas and juices and smoothies.
Marin's disappointed.
She orders something anyway.

[Recaiden]

That's a repeat

Oh, this is a nice little place.
Might be nicer out in the town, but this is free.

After asking the person at thew gap in the wall what they have here, Honeysuckle ends up ordering steak, eggs, and ice cream.
I mean, steak! How can you be disappointed with that, Marin?

[bc56]

Pure Harmony

Jade orders steak and noodles. She sits down and feels a little conscious about her robe. She's wearing it looser than she was before, and it's showing more of her skin. Hopefully nobody's ogling her, although she's gotten mostly used to it over the time she's been female. She's still a bit surprised that Marin didn't have a stronger reaction to her revelation that she used to be a man.

[5a Violista]

a repeat

Ha! You're not going to trick her that easily, Jade! Marin already knows from experience how conversations about what she finds attractive leads to: Marin feeling humiliated and running out of the room blushing.
...
She doesn't particularly care, though.
She thinks Jade looks hot. That's really all that matters. Started out as like a 6/10 but has been steadily rising the more they've spent time together. Probably around a 7.2 right now.
Jade never actually said how long ago it was that she was male. Could have been years and years ago.

Jade, actually, is pretty lucky at first: while eating and blankly staring, Marin instead ended up staring at Honeysuckle.
Then, finally, Marin realizes what she's doing and adjusts herself. As a result, she ends up noticing that Jade's robe is loose. Huh. When did that happen? she wonders. It looks better that way. She should keep it like...

Realizing what she's doing again, Marin obviously looks away and clears her throat. Maybe they need to talk about something again. "So." Sadly, she doesn't have a topic in mind. They already played that questions game. They've already talked about their plans. Bringing up the fire again would probably be inappropriate. Telling Jade that the way she's wearing her robe looks good would just make her feel self-conscious. What else have they already talked about? She can't remember exactly, so she just says the first thing that comes to her mind. "So. Um. What kind of person do you guys find attractive?" No, wait! That's not a good question, for obvious reasons! Come on, Marin, think of a better one.

[Recaiden]

a repeat

It seems we have no need to trick the catgirl, when she tricks herself so easily.

Honeysuckle is, like before, completely unaware that someone is staring at her. Nor when they stop.
Oh, but Marin's getting all worked up again, isn't she?

"Pick just one kind? Hah." Honeysuckle shakes her head. Far too limiting of a question. "Can't appreciate good looks, right? Gotta be friendly, responsible, good at dancing, soft tail, not too serious or too silly. People worry about it too much, at least, I did." And most other people too.

[bc56]

A repeat

Ouch. That's an awkward question. Jade looks a bit flustered by it. "Oh, um, I don't know anymore. Still not comfortable thinking about... That... In the new body." Although she's warmed up to the idea a little, she still feels weird about any romantic relationships while transformed. "Why? You?" She already knows Marin finds her attractive. She's caught the catgirl looking at her chest.

[5a Violista]

a repeat

Curses! Jade managed to turn the question around! Marin was so sure it wasn't possible, with the way she set up that question.

Marin pops something into her mouth to give her more time to decide whether she wants to answer the question or find some way to deflect. "Um, I have like, three different types," she says, completely ignoring the implied limit in the question. "First, I kind-of like cyborgs and gynoids. Like, um, you know, robots."

She really should just leave it here. That's answering the question enough.
"Also..." She looks away, realizing that what she says next has the potential to make the rest of the trip incredibly awkward. "Both of you kind-of are my other types." There, she said it. Now it might get incredibly awkward, but the benefit is that it has the potential to make it less awkward whenever they catch her staring at them. So it was probably worth it.

Unwilling to leave the discussion on that note, Marin decides to call back to something Jade just said. "Speaking of, Jade," she says, "how long ago did you become a woman?" Because Jade doesn't feel comfortable about relationships yet, it can't have been for very long. "Like, two or three years, right?"

[Recaiden]

a repeat

"Probably the same as your old body, right?"
Honeysuckle just focuses on the steak a while while Marin is awkward.
"Think you were subtle about it? We know. But that's not very specific. What about me, hmm?"
Not a very nice question to ask the poor catgirl, is it?

[bc56]

A reapeat

Jade gives Marin a look that says she too was fully aware of her interest. To her, two or three years sounds like a very long time. She's sure she'd be fully used to it by then. "No, not nearly that long." She laughs nervously. "Month and a half, about." As for the question of whether her preferences are the same as before, it's left unanswered. She's not sure herself.

[5a Violista]

a repeat

Ugh, Marin needs to get better at checking people out.
Maybe she just needs more practice.

"Y-your ears. And your tails. And your face. And your waist and hips. And the whole package, really," the catgirl responds to Honeysuckle, getting quieter and quieter as she goes on. She also does her best to hide behind her drink. It's not a very good thing to hide behind, to be honest: it's not big enough. And hiding behind a drink probably doesn't help you hide any better from someone who's already wearing a blindfold.

At least Marin was obvious enough that Jade isn't going to ask that question.

Speaking of Jade, luckily she comes in to save the day and offers a conversation pivot point. "Wow, that short ago? I never would have been able to tell," she says.
"So what's it like?"
She pauses, then clarifies: "Being a guy, I mean." She asks this and assumes it's clear enough to know what she's saying even though she's been calling the both of they 'hey guys' this whole time so far.
Probably not the best question to ask, honestly, but she'll take it if it means changing the subject.

[Recaiden]

a repeat

She can't just check people out, though. You have to do it with the intent to get better. Pay attention the whole time.

Honeysuckle smiles, tails waving back and forth happily, but maybe Marin's attempt to hide was successful. At least, she doesn't ask any other questions.

"People still bother you as a guy, just different reasons. Pretty nice, a little boring." she answers, even though that must have been a questions for Jade.

[bc56]

A repeat

Jade looks a little surprised by the question. Marin's the first person to ask her about that. Usually people ask how she likes being a woman. "It's different. Taller, more upper body strength, less weight on my, um, chest. If I could go back, I would, but as far as I know, I'm stuck like this forever. Might as well try to enjoy it." Honeysuckle's comment surprises Jade. "You were a man?" That's a surprise.

[5a Violista]

a repeat

Yes! It appears her diversionary tactics have worked! The topic seems to have been successfully changed without Marin running out of the room embarrassed.

This means Marin can get back to eating without worrying about anything. She's almost finished, by the way.

Honestly, yeah, it sounds like Honeysuckle's right. Sounds kinda boring.
"...huh. You'd think it would be more different." She thinks for a bit. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind being taller." Because taller people can -
Marin finishes her food, so she decides to just listen now.

[Recaiden]

a repeat

"Sorta. Temporarily." Not really something to go into the details of. "Guess it was more 'neither'."
Honeysuckle shakes her head.
"What, think I was just making my advice up?"

She gives Marin a nod as she finishes up her own steak.
"Wouldn't complain about more height."
"Hmm. Say, change one thing about how you look - what is it?"

[bc56]

a repeat

"It is different," Jade responds. "It's difficult for me to explain because I was born one. To me, it's normal, and this is different. People look at me differently now, for one." That ties directly into the next question. "One thing? Other than going back to being male, it would be smaller breasts." Jade doesn't mind her other curves, but her breasts are just awkward.

[5a Violista]

a repeat

No, wait, don't make them smaller! She has the impulse to say this but successfully manages to keep her random thoughts as thoughts.
... It's a lot easier to do this because Jade has previously said she's not really looking for any kind of relationship.

"I'd probably be stronger," Marin says, before realizing that "Oh I guess that's not really an appearance thing. Um..."
She has to think about it a bit more. But not for long.
She flicks her cat ears, and swishes her tail around. "Probably would get rid of these, or at least have some way to hide them," she says. Then, as explanation, she adds, "You wouldn't believe how many jobs I've been turned down for because of them and that catgirl army way back when." Still fresh on some people's mind. "Not to mention," she sighs, "when I finally do get an offer, it's pretty clear what's on their mind."

Having finished her food, Marin pushes her plate slightly away so that she has space to slouch and rest her chin on the table.

[Recaiden]

a repeat

"Your tail is so cute though." Honeysuckle protests, unusually specific.

"Think I would believe it, actually." She taps her own right ear. "Lost work over looking like this Ain't right to back down over. But guess you haven't always had them, huh?" She adopts a bit of a sympathetic expression. Getting turned into a catgirl might be worse than getting turned into a woman, now that she thinks about it. Goodness, is she the lucky one here?

She doesn't bother answering her own question. No one asked, so no need to think about it.

[bc56]

Marin needn't worry about Jade shrinking her breasts. The curse prevents her from significantly altering her appearance. "Wow. That sounds awful." Jade comments. But Marin's ears and tail are cute. Honeysuckle is right. Jade's finished her food by now, and is just waiting for the other two to be done.

[5a Violista]

a repe-pe-pe-pe-peat

Marin's ears perk up. "Thanks." She smiles at the compliment.
"Don't worry, I won't change anything. It'll be weird trying to adjust for balance and just two ears again." Even though nobody actually said anything about her ears. Having four ears is something she's just used to now. It kinda helps with various things. "Besides, I was twelve when I got 'em, so now I just basically consider it part of puberty."

Marin's finished. Jade's finished. She glances over at Honeysuckle...is she finished too?
She stands up and grabs her own dishes, then makes a move to grab Jade's and Honeysuckle's (if they're done). "Here, I'll get these for you."
Then, she'll take them to put them...wherever they go.

[Recaiden]

Honeysuckle is sufficiently done, and pushes her plate just a little bit away to indicate that.

"Oh, thanks Marin." Quite thoughtful of her.
Now Honeysuckle can just zip up from the table, wait for everyone to be ready, and go exploring Pure Harmony to find the salon-ish section for their nails.

[bc56]

"Yeah, thanks." Jade is glad Marin is so helpful. She gets to her own feet and follows Honeysuckle towards a nail salon, wondering what's in store for her there.

[5a Violista]

Pure Harmony

As it happens, the nail salon will do both a manicure and a pedicure, and also does facials. regular places will do the three together.
If they just use the vouchers, that means they'll just get the basic treatment. Marin's fine with that. In fact, she's not really sure there's any real point to doing the more expensive ones. However, if they want to upgrade, they can say so.

The room is basically a squarish-U shape, with the elevated salon chairs around the outside wall and the supplies in the middle wall. There's a lamp over each chair, for optimal lighting, and the decorations continue to follow the loose theme that's been going on throughout the rest of the place. Polished stone walls, a couple plants here and there, and so on. And two entrances - on on each tip of the U.

Talking with a worker at the entrance is enough to be told where to go, what to do, and so on. And then, once they sit down, an esthetician will start with the facial. Once they get to an appropriate point, the nail-workers start as well. That helps get through more customers at once.

Unfortunately, with the facial going on, this means the three probably won't be able to talk with each other, or leer at each other, or be checked out by a catgirl, or whatever else it is they wanted to do during the manicure and pedicure.

[Recaiden]

Pure Harmony

Basic is fine, Honeysuckle thinks. Jade wouldn't appreciate anything more elaborate, anyway.

It's too bad about the efficiently organized pampering of this salon preventing them from chatting in the meantime.
Honeysuckle at least can check out up to one catgirls in the meantime.
And maybe it's nice to have time to think without worrying about what to say.

[bc56]

Pure Harmony

Jade's find with basic. It's all new to her anyway. She spends her time just trying to soak up the experiences of the facial, manicure, and pedicure without worrying.

[5a Violista]

Pure Harmony

Unfortunately, as none of her companions are catgirls, Marin can't check out any of them.
'cause apparently that's how it works.

Sometimes parts of the treatment are a little too much for her ramped-up sensitivity that she squeals a little at some parts and purrs at others, as she wonders if her skin will ever get back to normal, after that acid sunscreen misstep or whatever that stuff really was. Luckily, biting her lip seems to help.

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

Because they chose the basic package, it's finished about half an hour later.

[Recaiden]

Pure Harmony

Well, she could observe non-cat-girls, but that wouldn't be as interesting.

Feels like your skin is tougher, as well as all clean and soft...
Although some of it was a bit much even for her not-particularly-sensitive skin. Imagine how it must have been for Marin!

Honeyusckle stands up from the chair with shiny organized nails and a smile, feeling perfectly at ease.
"Settle up here and then go see the town a bit, right?"

[bc56]

Pure Harmony

Jade examines her newly beautified nails and touches her face, surprised by what she feels. "That sounds good." As much as she's gotten used to wearing this robe, it will be nice to get some real clothes on again, both for covering and for the support of her undergarments.

[5a Violista]

Pure Harmony

"Y-yeah," Marin says. Definitely should do that; finish up and then go. "So I know I recommended a body scrub too but we can just skip that, right?" Since it'll literally be just like the facial but on your whole body. Marin doesn't think she could get through the whole thing. She (probably) wants to just get back to checking out her companions and is still trying to get over the last treatment. Sounds like her, right?

If so, they go back to the changing room so that they can change back to their clothes. Marin, back into that turtleneck and skirt so she can remove the possibly-damaged-by-now scarf.

[Recaiden]

Pure Harmony

That does sound like Marin. It's so normal and Marin-like that it simply must be a trick.
"Sure, done enough here."

Honeysuckle gets changed back into her normal clothes with (hopefully) no complications. And a short time later is triumphantly departing Pure Harmony.

[bc56]

Pure Harmony

Jade changes quickly. She's glad to be back in real clothes. Jeans, t-shirt, serviceable and simple. Although... She kinda wishes she'd brought a skirt. Since this is a day for her to just do woman things without worrying, she could have done it. And after she got used to the robe, pants feel a little weird now.