[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/z6cC6JC.png[/img]

[b]&

[h3]Kimble[/h3][/b][/center]

For a forced island vacation, the day had gone pretty well. There had been sports, relaxation, and time to chat with friends while meeting new people. There hadn’t been any fights yet, but who knew if that would last. They didn’t even know if they would wake up back home, or if they would be here even longer. Dan hadn’t been clear on that. 

Right now Alicia was erring on the side of relaxation. She was in a reclining chair, currently situated near the beach where she could watch the setting sun. A drink sat on the cupholder of her chair, which she occasionally sipped from as time passed by.

Perhaps after this she would check out some of the indoor attractions, or stake a claim on a room. With it growing darker there wasn’t much that could be done outside, that she was willing to do anyway. 

[color=aba000]“Haa, this could have been a lot worse,”[/color] she observed to no one in particular. Hopefully the rest of the trip would be like this.

Alicia heard a familiar meow coming from a distance, and from a glance happened to spot Kimble, who had returned from the volleyball game and subsequent dip in a pool. She had a pink towel draped over her shoulders; coupled with her habit of moving while crouched down, it gave her the look of some kind of round animal. “Nhh, Mistress is here...” The Seraph could hear the catgirl whisper under her breath. She seemed to stop, as if thinking of something, and then hesitantly went to sit on the chair next to hers. “M-Mistress Alicia...” She began speaking.
“How was your day?” 

A familiar sound drew her gaze away from the beach, and Alicia glanced over to see Kimble approaching. She wasn’t sure what the other magical girl had gotten up to today, but what Sylvia had told her earlier flashed through her mind. Now seemed as good a time as any to address that. 

She waited until Kimble had seated herself on the chair next to hers before speaking. [color=aba000]”Hello Kimble.”[/color] She shot her friend a warm smile as her gaze returned to the horizon. [color=aba000]”Busy. Lots to do, but in a good way. And apparently someone gave them permission to make a doll of me at that boutique.”[/color] With her own day related, she turned the question around. [color=aba000]“What about you? How was your day?”[/color]

Kimble’s lips slightly parted in surprise upon hearing about the Alicia doll. “A doll of Mistress! I would like to visit the store too, nhh.” When asked the same question, her ears perked up, and she gave her trademark smile. “I’ve had a lot of fun-nya! It’s so warm, and there’s so many nice people to do fun things with. I couldn’t have even imagined that this could happen! It’s like paradise.” She then blushed a bit. “B-But even better, I can spend this time with Mistress...I’m really happy.”

On the subject of the plushies, Alicia nodded to confirm what she had said again. [color=aba000]“Yeah. There’s one of Penny too, though it’s her old form from before the White Coin.”[/color] Still, at least Kimble was enjoying herself here on the island. It would have been hard for her to imagine that not being the case, admittedly. She wasn’t exactly the loner type. 

But that made her remember what Sylvia had said, and she moved on to addressing that while they were here and relatively alone. [color=aba000]“Speaking of….Sylvia said that I should talk to you. Is something going on?”[/color]

Kimble was looking at the sunset, humming a happy song when she suddenly froze and her tail shot up. She looked at Alicia with a blushing face. “Unnyah! I-I…” Her tail wrapped around her as she lifted to sit on her knees, her lips wavering. “Well, uhh...Someone told me...That I should be honnyehst, and speak straight from the heart. Miss Sylvia also said the same thing. So, I will do that.” She closed her eyes, an intense expression on her face as her throat rumbled with a purr, before she finally managed to speak. 

“Mistress…I...I love you!” 

She afterwards lowered her head, as if she was afraid of seeing Alicia’s reaction. “Ever since you rescued me, you’ve always been so kind to me, Mistress. You're so wise and brave, and beautiful...My heart beats like a drum whenever I see you, nyah!” She then lifted her head, biting her lip: a tiny fang could be seen poking out, as she waited for Alicia’s response nervously.

Alicia felt her smile rising as Kimble steeled her resolve. She didn’t know what the other girl wanted to say to her, but it had to be fairly important if she was psyching herself up like this.. Though, if it hadn’t been important then Sylvia wouldn’t have mentioned it to her. 

Then Kimble said what she had been trying to get out, causing eyes to widen at the unexpected declaration. The Seraph could feel her heart leap into her throat again, even as her mood fell. This was….it was like Penny all over again. At least she could be grateful that it didn’t come with any other shocking revelations, but that was a small grace in the face of being blindsided like this.

Kimble was not the only one to avert her gaze, with Alicia turning back to the beach and bowing her own head as the catgirl listed off her reasons. At the same time, what Sylvia said rang through her head. She had to be straight with Kimble, rather than string her along. Still, this was going to hurt. She could tell that already.

[color=aba000]“Kimble, I….”[/color] Glancing back, she immediately regretted the decision as she was faced with that nervous look. God, Beckoners just kill her now  [color=aba000]“I’m not that special. I just did what anyone else would have done in that situation. I’m not….i don’t know if….”[/color] With a groan her head came to rest in her hands.  [color=aba000]“I’m sorry. This isn’t how I imagined this going.”[/color]

“Nyeh...” Kimble quietly vocalized her emotional distress, realizing how heavy her confession was on Alicia; her fluffy ears drooped low. “That’s wrong...You are a wonderful, amazing person, Mistress!” Her tail hung limp from the side of her chair as she pressed her hands down before her. “I...I don’t mind if Mistress doesn’t love me back. As long as I can be Mistress’ pet, then I’ll be happy…” There were tears developing in her eyes “But please don’t put yourself down.” She stood up, and walked over to Alicia. “You’re willing to save anyone, even a monster like me, nyah! That’s not something any magical girl would do.” Then, she crawled onto Alicia’s chair, and sat on her lap. “I will always believe in you, Mistress Alicia.”

Head rising from where it had fallen, Alicia cracked a small smile as Kimble sat on her lap. She appreciated the effort to cheer her up, sincere in intent. Yet she didn’t want to make this about her. Not when Kimble was willing to be so honest. That would have been too selfish. 

[color=aba000]“I...I don’t. But I….”[/color] The Seraph was forced to take a deep breath, placing a hand softly on the catgirl’s shoulder. [color=aba000]“I’ve been unfair to you. I guess I got so distracted by the ‘cat’ part that I overlooked who you were as a person.It’s just...hard to tell if it’s monster instincts or not.”[/color]

She did her best to keep that smile, to relax as she gave her own realization and shortcomings a voice. [color=aba000]”I’d like to get to know you. As a friend, more than just a pet. If you’ll let me.”[/color]

Kimble shivered as she felt Alicia’s hand on her skin, causing her to let out a cute little gasp. She lifted her hands up, and hesitantly placed them on the Seraph’s arm; not to remove her touch, but to keep it there. “It’s how I feel in my heart, nya. I-If that is a lie...I don’t want to know the truth.” Alicia did not detect a single falsehood in her statement. Then she blinked at Alicia’s suggestion. Slowly, her smile grew, and her ears perked up. “Of course, Mistress!” Her tails swung behind her as a sign of genuine joy. “Thank you so much!” Before Alicia could react, Kimble hugged her, tickling her chin with one of her fluffy ears. “This is the happiest day of my life, nya!” 

She then realized she may have gone too far; she got off the chair, and blushed a bit. “Um, sorry, nyeh...I got a bit too excited, ehe...”

For a moment Alicia wasn’t sure how Kimble would react, even if she didn’t pick up on any lies. Not that she had really been looking in the first place, but at least the confidence was there. The hug was abrupt though, and she had to keep from laughing at the ticklish sensation. 

There was no effort made to stop or to push Kimble away as she dismounted the chair amidst her apologies. [color=aba000]”It’s okay,”[/color] she assured her with a small wave, before gesturing to the seat that Kimble had just abandoned in her energetic revelation. [color=aba000]”So where should we start?”[/color]
Kimble pawed at one of her ears and gave a catty grin as she sat back down, her tails still whipping back and forth. “Let’s do fun stuff together! Like Keijo! I heard Penny is planning to participate too. Maybe we could form a team!” She then jumped up, carried by her wind magic as she leapt and pounced. “And Dan said there’s a prize for winners! With you leading us, we’ll be sure to win, Mistress!”

Alicia held back a wince, though she still wore a look of uncertainty as Kimble made her proposal. [color=aba000]”I don’t know, that seems like the sort of sport where you’d need particular...endowments,”[/color] she replied, gesturing with a wave over her bust. 

Still, Kimble’s excitement was infectious as she bounded through the air. This wasn’t really what she had had in mind when she was discussing starting, but that was alright. While not sold on the idea, it was clear that she was willing to be convinced by a compelling argument.

Kimble floated in midair, her rear lifted up as she tried to turn and look at it. “Sally told me it doesn’t matter how big your butt is if you use it right, nya!” she then began turning around, like a dog chasing its own tail. “Nhhhhh-!” Then, she performed an incredibly quick hip swing. “Also, I may not have a strong butt, but it is a fast one! I’m sure can deliver more attacks than any other Keijo player, nyeh.”

It was unusual, watching Kimble floating in midair, chasing her tail while talking about a sport like Keijo and how you could succeed without a big rear. [color=aba000]”Somehow I’m not surprised that she said that.”[/color] If there was anyone who would make an observation like that, it would be Sally. 

Of course Kimble was fast, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Penny would probably be an immovable rock when it came to Keijo.That just left her the odd girl out, since she was skeptical of how much leadership you needed in a game like this. She was about to say more before pausing as she remembered something from earlier. [color=aba000]”Oh. Right. Dan said we could only team with people who had started on other islands, didn’t he.”[/color] So much for that idea.

Kimble made an audible brake sound with her magic as she stopped to a halt, her cat ears having flapped at the revelation. “WHAT? I can’t compete with Mistress?” She slowly dropped down to the sand, and sighed as she looked down. “No...” She sniffed. “Well, I still want to compete. Mistress, I’ll prove that you can depend on me, nyah.”

Watching Kimble’s enthusiasm be crushed was both slightly cute and sad at the same time, if only because of how she reacted to the news. [color=aba000]”Yeah,”[/color] Alicia confirmed as what the dolphin had said came back.  [color=aba000]”Something about trying to encourage friendship outside your usual social groups. Maybe he’d make an exception if someone asked, or maybe not”.[/color] Who could predict what that guy would do.

She gave a slow nod as Kimble voiced her intent to continue regardless, flashing her a warm smile at the same time.  [color=aba000]”Well, I may not compete but I’ll watch you compete anyway.”[/color]

“Yeah!” Kimble purred, and returned to her chair; she laid down on it in a curled position like a cat. “Thank you for being there for me, Mistress....” She closed her eyes, and after a moment, only quiet breathing could be heard; Kimble had fallen asleep.

[color=aba000]”You’re welcome.”[/color] Alicia waited for a moment before glancing over to see that Kimble had fallen asleep in the growing twilight. It was probably safe, but she didn’t feel like leaving her out here by herself. At least not on the first day. So she’d relax for now, and see about getting her into an actual bed a bit later. It had been a full day, that was for sure.