Engel

The Circus At The End Of The World (Engel X The Kraken)

Claire had to steel herself when Kate spoke her name. She could predict what was coming, and while she thought it was a bit funny she didn’t want to laugh Kate in the face when she confessed what it may be. That would be unspeakably cruel to do to anyone who made such a secret known. Kate was her friend no matter what, and she didn’t want to lose her by pushing her away.

She closed her eyes when Kate told her that she had not touched her willingly, so that her friend couldn’t see her rolling them behind her eyelids. Claire doubted her hands had magically moved by themselves.

Claire opened her eyes to listen to Kate’s confession. She raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly when Kate said she fancied her. What was that supposed to mean? Claire fancied Kate as well. Same thing with how Kate said she thought of her as more than a friend. Yeah, well, duh. Claire thought of Kate as more than any regular friend too.

It didn’t seem to work either. There was no tangible result from Kate’s confession. She opened her mouth to tell Kate to try harder if she ever wanted them to escape this nightmare. Maybe she should try groping her while doing her confession. That brought a smile to her face, but she stopped herself from laughing.

However, Claire got no chance to say anything before Kate made an exclamation of frustration, walked over to her and kissed her. Oh, so that was what she had meant when she said she fancied her, was the only thought running through Claire’s head. She kept her eyes open and looked at Kate.
It reminded Claire of a fear of her own that she had had as a teenager. That no one would be able to love her, and that she would forever remain untouched. She hadn’t been a teenager for years now, but um, this was her first kiss of a romantic nature. She had gotten kissed by her tigers, but they used a lot of tongue all over her face. Kate didn’t. Claire closed her eyes and pursed her lips, not having a clue what she was doing, but following Kate’s lead.

The nightmare faded around them. She could feel herself slipping in and out of consciousness, awaking once more to a reality that had gone as
insane as any nightmare. She woke up on top of Kate though, feeling her breathing underneath her.

Claire wondered if Kate and Elijah had experienced what she had experienced. Had it really been them in the nightmare? If so, did Kate fancy Claire in that way?

She wanted to roll off of her before it got weirder, but if Kate had truly been there she might take it for dismissal of her feelings. Claire didn’t know how she was supposed to react to such a confession. She took a deep breath, then laid her head back down on Kate’s shoulder and pretended like nothing.

As Claire heard the beating of Kate’s heart, she had a passing thought that sleeping in her arms would be as natural as sleeping next to Solomon.

The Circus At The End Of The World (Engel X The Kraken)

“Of course it doesn’t make me feel better. Why would it?” She couldn’t stop a second laugh from escaping her though, and mumbled to herself. “I hope that groping my breasts made you feel better at least.”

Despite what Claire had done to Kate when she was under the assumption that she was part of the nightmare, her friend comforted her when she was faced with her own fear. Claire felt grateful that she had someone like Kate in her life, and she had felt like that more times than she could remember.

“Thanks, Kate, I appreciate it.”

Kate summoned blades out of thin air. She threw them at Elijah and missed him as she had intended to do. Claire wondered if it was truly that easy to defeat his fear. He was afraid of getting hit, not letting Kate throw blades at him, right? It seemed to work and make him more at ease though. Claire would have hit him and healed his wound if she had been in Kate’s shoes, to show him that getting hit wasn’t the end of the world.

Claire had her own fear to deal with. She had to disregard her two friends and focus on the wild Solomon that was coming closer. Why were there two of them? She understood that it made sense for a number of her fears to be symbolized by Solomon, but why not just one white tiger?

Solomon kept circling her, growling and whining at her. He never came up to her though. Claire had to think about which one of her fears she was actually facing here. It occurred to her that it might have something to do with what would have happened to Solomon if they had never met. His life had been made better because she had adopted him, but what if she had never been able to do that or inadvertently hurt him in some way by bringing him up?

There were times when she had doubted her skills as a lion tamer, and thought about what harm she could have caused to her kittens if she had been careless. She had never wanted to hurt an animal in her life, but were they really better off living in a circus than living in the wild? She doubted they could be returned to the wild once tamed, but still, it was a disconcerting idea.

Claire closed her eyes like Kate had done, and thought about her whip. She could feel it in her hand before she opened her eyes again. If she were to face her fear, she had to deliberately hurt Solomon. The thought alone made her feel to her very soul.

The white tiger dropped his younger self on the ground, bared his teeth and inched closer to her. She used the whip on the ground next to and in front of him, but he didn’t react at all. He grabbed Claire’s clothes in his mouth and growled at her. She couldn’t get herself to do it anyway. Solomon bit her leg and drew blood, but while she screamed and felt the pain she figured she could endure it. It wasn’t until she heard the crunching of her bone that she closed her eyes hard and used the whip on the face of the tiger.

He released his grip on her leg, and Claire opened her eyes. She saw the mark of the whip across his face, but he looked tame, like his usual self and somewhat sad about having hurt his master. He tried to lick her wound clean before he bothered acknowledging his own. She bent down and hugged him, crying against his fur.

“I’m sorry.”

She felt him fade in her arms, and the only proof left that there had been a feral Solomon in the first place was the cub he’d left behind. Although baby Solomon wasn’t whining anymore, he was running around her and playing with her clothes, as energetic as ever.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and wiped the tears from her eyes. The only one who hadn’t faced their fear yet of the three of them was Kate. Claire looked at her, trying to contain her smile and laughter. It actually was funny to her now though, because Elijah and herself had fears she could understand. Kate’s was a bit silly in comparison.

“How do you want to face your fear then, Kate? Do you want to start where you left off?” Claire giggled, but put her hand over her mouth.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

Avani said nothing as she was taken away and heard Kasai trying her best to defend her. She walked on calmly to wherever the pig was leading her. As they passed a few doors she lost the ability to hear Kasai and the others talking. She focused on the desire she had seen in Kasai’s eyes to keep herself from doing anything stupid again.

What had that been anyway? The woman had been little else than cold and distant when they had been at her apartment. If she’d seen anything like that back then none of this would have happened.

The pig removed the cuffs from Avani as he got her into a cell instead. She still kind of wished Kasai would put her into handcuffs, especially now after listening to her confession. Avani sat down on the bed and waited. She figured Kasai would show up soon enough.

She was right, Kasai showed up an hour later at her cell. Avani was very hesitant to pleading guilty because the pigs had promised to let her go after three days if she did. She had no trust or faith in them whatsoever. Avani could get someone to defend her she supposed, but then Kasai might take more of a hit to her reputation and maybe even get fired.

“You should be, but cool anyway, I can do three days.” Avani sighed.

It was a bit of a let-down that this was how she ended up in jail for the first time though. She had done actual crimes and gotten away with them. Now she couldn’t brag about how she had never served time, and that was just because of some girl. Well, not just any girl.

“However, now you are mine.” Avani said and leaned against the bars, looking Kasai in the eyes. “None of this would have happened if you had told me earlier today even half of what you said in the interrogation room.” She grinned. “In three days, when I get out of here, I will come to your apartment so you better be ready and waiting.” She reached her hand out between the bars and pulled Kasai towards her so she could whisper the rest without the nearby guard hearing. “I will break in your body as my own and make you forget any encounter you ever had with a man. You will be wearing something hot, something you’d not usually wear, but which you think I’d enjoy tearing off.” Avani let go off Kasai when the guard noticed she held her up against the bars and shouted at her. “Also, I need you to find someone that could bring my motorcycle to this building.”

Avani stepped back, turned her back on Kasai and lay down on the bed. “We’ll call it even if you follow my instructions satisfactorily. You can leave now, and you don’t need to visit me again. It’s only three days if they are telling the truth. Take care of your leg, hun.”

Avani pleaded guilty like Kasai had told her to the next morning, after getting some sleep in the cell she would be spending the next three days. There was no need for them to move her to another prison as it was such a short sentence. She wouldn’t be getting to meet her friends in prison or her mom in high security. She was quite shocked to find that the pigs hadn’t made her confess so they could put her away for a few years. She passed the three days’ time by exercising inside the cell.

Once Avani was released, she found her motorcycle outside the police department. Kasai had followed that instruction well, and Avani drove back home to pick up some stuff before she could head to Kasai’s apartment. She put the box in the sidecar and drove to Kasai’s apartment. There she took the elevator up to Kasai’s floor, carrying the box under her right arm. Avani tried the door to her apartment, found it was unlocked and pushed it open.

“Kasai?” She called out, with her sly smile on her lips.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

“I don’t even know what you expected to happen when you sent cops after me in that case.” Avani said and scoffed. "It seems like sending cops to retrieve anyone with a shady background would be a bad idea.”

She decided to shut up and listen though. Kasai probably didn’t know the reasons for her hatred of cops, and the details of her past anyway. It wasn’t like she could hold that against her.

Avani was surprised by how nervous and uncomfortable Kasai appeared to be while trying to explain herself. She did withhold a smile as Kasai confessed she had been thinking about her in the hospital, that she had been reminding herself of Avani saving her when every other memory from the spirit world had been horrible. It made her feel less like a fool for trying to pursue their relationship further once Kasai had gotten out of the hospital.

She would have told Kasai that she was being too hard on herself when calling herself an idiot, but a part of her felt like she deserved it after what Avani had been put through and another part enjoyed seeing her beat herself up over Avani. No one had ever done that regarding her before, at least not as far as she knew. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

It was nothing compared to how she felt when Kasai said she had done all of this just because she thought she would miss out on something great with Avani. She wanted to not let that show either before Kasai was finished talking, but she sat with her mouth slightly agape and her one eye wide open. It was one of those moments that would grow greater with time. She imagined that depending on how it all turned out in the end, she might see this as the moment she began to think of Kasai as the one for her.

She truly regretted resisting arrest now, not because of herself, but because she had put Kasai in some deep shit. Avani had no power here though. The only thing she could do was let Kasai try to work out the situation or go to jail. She was not all that against the latter idea, but who knew when she would be released then. Maybe by the time she got out Kasai would have moved on with her life, so no, she didn’t say anything in response to that either.

Kasai didn’t need to say that she liked her or make Avani think she meant it anymore. Her actions tonight had proven it beyond any doubt, and actions generally spoke louder than words ever could.

Avani was left sitting dumbfounded in the chair, staring in front of her at the wall. It wasn’t until she heard the door opening that she realized Kasai had gotten up and was leaving the room. Of course, she couldn’t allow Kasai to go and beg for mercy from the pigs.

Avani rose and hurried over to the door, fearing it may lock itself when it closed. She picked Kasai up and pulled her back inside the room. Her crutches fell to the floor outside. She doubted it would be long before the real pigs came bursting in.

“Seems the proper straight girl is a lot more bi-curious than I gave her credit for.” Avani gasped, put Kasai on top of the table and kissed her fiercely on the mouth. She took of her jacket and threw it on the floor. “I need you now, but damn is this the worst possible time and place you could have chosen.”

Avani crawled on top of the table, forcing Kasai to lie down underneath her. She slid her good hand up under Kasai’s shirt, and caressed her stomach while continuing to kiss her on the mouth and the neck with an ever increasing need and force.

“You don’t need to tell them the truth if it will get you in trouble. I’ll go to jail if you promise you’ll wait for me. I did resist arrest at the very least.” Avani grinned as she paused her ravaging of Kasai’s body for a moment to look into her eyes. “Maybe I’ll get to see some old friends or mom again.”

She could hear footsteps coming from outside the corridor now. Right before the door was flung open; Avani rolled off of the table onto the floor and raised her hands towards the roof.

“I surrender. I surrender.”

Her back hurt like hell for a brief moment after falling from the table onto the hard floor, but she didn't move at all, keeping her hands raised above her.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

“Why would you want to talk with me? Haven’t you caused enough damage already, pig?” Avani shouted, but Kasai turned and left the room. She tried to spit at her and missed, hitting the table instead. Her aim was way off.

The first reason her drunken and drugged mind could come up with as to why Kasai wanted to talk with her was nonsensical. “Are you pregnant? I never fucking touched you.” She began to move back and forth, swinging from her fastened feet like a pendulum. Her drunken mind eventually remembered that they were both girls. “And that is not how it works. No one is gonna believe you. Dumb pig.”

Avani was left to her own devices as the door shut. She wondered how long they could keep her hanging like this. It hardly seemed legal in the first place. She had committed no crime prior to being bothered by the police, which they would know about. In retrospect, she probably should have let them bring her in, because obviously she was in more trouble for resisting arrest.

The only crime she could think of was what Kasai had said in the spirit world, about how Avani had seduced an officer of the law and she had implied it was a crime then. She groaned at the thought that it may have been an actual crime after all.

Avani would have to claim that she had been framed if that was the reason she was hanging here. Kasai had practically begged her to touch her and then even invited her inside her apartment for sex when they had met in Republic City. She was so glad she hadn’t accepted now.

As the hours passed, Avani thought of a number of bizarre theories as to why she had been sought by the police at all. The only one that seemed plausible was that she had attempted to seduce an officer. Maybe it was considered a form of bribe? She did entertain the idea that Kasai had lied to get to her as well.

By the time the door opened again, Avani had fallen asleep or perhaps passed out from being upside down too long. Either way, the sound of the door opening awakened her. She saw Kasai enter the room once more, alone, to finally have that talk with her.

“Fair enough.” Avani said, keeping herself calm despite feeling the urge to strangle Kasai. “You better have a damn good reason though. If I don’t like what you are about to say, then I will tell your superiors, I will tell the papers and I will tell everyone about this.” Avani betted everything she had on the idea that Kasai had been lying to others and had no justifiable reason to arrest her. “I’m sure you understand what that would mean for your future.”

There was hesitation in Kasai, but she must have realized that keeping Avani hanging any longer would make the situation worse if she had no justifiable cause in the first place. Avani thought about grabbing Kasai by the shirt and lifting her up, or kicking her leg again, but she decided to sit down at the table instead.

“So what does the proper straight girl want to tell the promiscuous lesbian?” Avani snorted and rolled her eye.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

Avani drove away from Kasai’s apartment, heading nowhere in particular. She felt like driving just to keep her mind off how much of a fool she had been. How could she have been so careless that a straight girl, a cop no less, was able to hurt her so? Ryuu would have laughed with her about it, but he was no longer around. Mio had kind of already warned her before she perished as well.

Avani had to stop her motorcycle, as the thoughts of her dead friends coupled with the pain Kasai had inflicted on her made her cry. It was difficult to see anything while driving with tears in her eyes. She sat staring out over the harbour and the sea from the hill she had parked on. It made her reminisce about carefree childhood days with Ryuu, and that actually made her feel better somehow, not worse.

She started the motorcycle back up half an hour later, and kept driving around the city. She visited the areas where she had spent most of her time with Ryuu and Mio, their apartments and their favourite places. It took her a couple of hours to travel between them all. At the end, she drove downtown to visit their favourite bar and get blackout drunk as she had planned. She wished she would have gotten the choice to save either of them over Kasai, but fate was a cruel mistress.

The bar was named the Lizard’s Head, for whatever reason she had forgotten. Ryuu had known though since he used to work here whenever they needed extra staff. It was a friendly place to her kind, much better than what she been forced to endure today. Avani entered the bar and was greeted as if she was a regular, even though she hadn’t been here for a whole week now.

She took a seat at the bar, and ordered her first drink. Avani was mainly ignored by anyone that wasn’t the bartender. They could probably tell that she wasn’t in the best mood. About an hour or two later, a police car pulled up outside of the bar. Avani didn’t react until they entered the bar and began to ask around for someone with her name.

She doubted there would be two Avani Shailesh here tonight, so she got up from the bar and pushed her way past everyone towards the exit. One of the cops tried to stop her to ask for her name, but she was certainly not in the mood to talk with any cops so she shoved him aside. He didn’t like that one bit, not like she cared though. Unfortunately, the bartender traitor called out her name because she hadn’t paid for her last drink.

Avani took off running out into the streets, or rather she gave it her best shot, but as drunk as she was it was pretty hard to run straight. The cops soon caught up to her, and with their usual logic wanted to arrest her because no one who was innocent would try to run from the law. Except the law was corrupt and evil as far as she knew.

She decided to fight them with her bending, and to her credit the fight lasted longer than it should have. However, they got her in handcuffs eventually. It didn’t stop Avani from fighting though. Once they got in the car, she began to earthbend once more, so that the police officers had to give up on transporting her by car lest they end up in a car crash. She was pulled out of the car and knocked unconscious somehow.

When Avani woke up again, she was in a grey room that had a couple of chairs and a table on the roof. She tried to move her feet to break out of the room, and realized she was hanging upside down from the actual roof. The table and chairs were on the floor. She moved her arms, only to find them strapped to her body with one of those shirts they put on insane people. She screamed, but lo and behold, found that her mouth had some kind of fabric in it.

The door opened, and a man and a woman walked inside. She recognized the woman instantly and glared at Kasai. The man said something about how they had Kasai to thank for capturing whoever this very capable criminal was, and how they had been forced to restrain Avani by unconventional means as she had managed to fight them first while drunk, then in the car and finally while drugged. He promised to credit Kasai in his report for this important arrest, even though he had no idea what crime Avani had committed apparently. At the suggestion that he remove the gag from Avani’s mouth, so that Kasai could speak with her he said that she had quite the foul mouth but agreed in the end.

“This is some kinky fucking shit, but I guess it goes right into playing with people like you pigs love to do.” Avani shouted. “Screw you Kasai.”

The Circus At The End Of The World (Engel X The Kraken)

“Sure you are, pervert. I totally believe you.” Claire rolled her eyes, not particularly amused by the claim that they were somehow sharing the same nightmare. How would that even happen in the first place? “Maybe you could explain how we are in the same nightmare then.”

It did occur to her that it would not be too strange if that was indeed what was happening, when one considered the bigger picture and the last couple of days’ events. She kind of regretted hitting Kate in that case, because now she was beginning to doubt if she was part of the nightmare
or real as she claimed.

Elijah wasn’t much help to anyone. He was acting like a scared animal if anything. Kate did come up with a suggestion for how they could advance
or escape. Claire thought it was as good an idea as any so they may as well try it to see if worked or not. However, after thinking about it some more the implications of what Kate was saying hit her.

“I am not even sure which is more offensive, Kate. That you are afraid of touching me or that you are afraid of me finding out that you want to touch me.” She grimaced. “Either I must be the most repulsive being around in your eyes, or the thought of being honest with me about something personal is horrifying.”

Claire laughed at the thought, but not because it was particularly funny. It was a bizarre fear, and she was curious about how Kate intended to face it. “What type of monster do you take me for then? Any ideas on how to face this fear of yours?”

She had to wonder which fear she was supposed to confront herself though, and how. Claire was surprised at how there were no big cats around whatsoever. There always was in her dreams, but since there weren’t any this time she had to confront the fear of losing the circus then? Maybe that was a shared fear among the three if they all experienced this together. No one would be calm and sensible if they lost their home, especially not by having it replaced with the fires in front of them.

“If this gypsy woman was right, shouldn’t Elijah already be free of this nightmare?” Claire asked and gestured towards the man struggling with all the blood coming from seemingly nowhere. “There are no animals around either, so how am I supposed to face my fears?”

The words had barely left her lips before she heard a weak whimper coming from somewhere nearby. Claire closed her eyes, blaming herself for whatever horror she had now unleashed upon her mind. If she had been quiet there would have been no need to involve any animals. There was a part of her that immediately recognized the whimper as belonging to Solomon, but she kept her eyes closed.

The sounds of paws against the rocks came closer, and she opened her eyes to find a scarred and beaten Solomon standing a distance away from her. There were ferocity and wildness visible in his eyes that had never been there before. In his mouth, he had a baby white tiger that was the source of the whimpering. As far as she could tell, they were both Solomon, but different ages.

“I shouldn’t have said anything…”

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

“You’re about as fun to flirt with as a wall, aren’t you.” Avani muttered, when Kasai’s reaction to the first round’s statement was to not drink and smirk some more, generally ignoring Avani’s confident flirting attempt.

She had been shot down before, but rarely in as cold as manner as what Kasai had just done. She felt like wiping that ugly smirk off of her face, and combined with how hurt she felt at the knowledge that Kasai had never once thought about her that way it annoyed her to no end.

“Thanks for letting me know you never once thought about me in that way though.” Avani moved away from Kasai, seating herself at the other end of the sofa. “You spent a whole week in a hospital doing fuck all, but nope.”

She sighed, feeling dumb for letting this obviously straight girl get under her skin. Why was she even here? The realization that this was such a horrible mistake hit her right then and there. She should have ignored the gnawing thought that Kasai was any different than the rest, because apparently she wasn’t. She turned her face away from Kasai, not wanting her to see the increasingly sad expression on her face.

“Yeah, I knew the answer, but loosening you up would probably take actual chemicals or like lava.” She kept her voice cool, even though she could feel a lump in her throat threatening to make it audible what she was really feeling by inserting cracks in her speech. She didn’t need this woman to see her as weak.

Wow, she mouthed as she heard Kasai’s first statement in their game. So that was what she thought of her? Avani didn’t drink, which she assumed had to come as a major shock to the proper straight girl. After all, Avani was just someone who slept around with a lot of different girls as a game. She had no feelings to speak of herself.

She didn’t want to be around Kasai anymore, let alone play this game with her. Avani wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She stood up and put her glass on the table. Avani made sure to keep her back towards Kasai.

“I’m sorry. I knew this was a mistake before I even showed up at the hospital.” Avani said, with a cracking voice. “You’re nothing like me.”

She strode through the apartment towards the door, but stopped halfway. “Never have I ever led someone on that I had no interest in romantically.” She said, a hint of disgust in her sad voice. “Drink up why you don’t you, Kasai. You may as well make it a double.”

Avani opened the door to the apartment and slammed it after her, running down the stairs to make sure Kasai had no way of catching up with her. She didn’t cry, but she felt so incredibly foolish and naïve for everything she had done and everything that had happened. She supposed she’d get blackout drunk tonight and forget this ever happened, if she could.

The Circus At The End Of The World (Engel X The Kraken)

“As if you don’t know where we are, you’re nothing more than a part of my dream.” Claire snapped at Kate. “We are standing among the ruins of the circus.”

Claire was angered when dream Kate claimed it was not her who had been touching her at all, like she had not caught her in the act of groping her. She clearly thought Claire was a moron, and that was what angered her the most.

She turned around towards Kate who had tears streaming down her face, as much as she hated to see her friend cry she had to remind herself this wasn’t her real friend anyway. Claire raised her hand and held it in front of Kate.

“Look at it! Look at it, Kate!” She shouted, and then slapped Kate across her face. “That wasn’t me! I didn’t do that, Kate, you must believe. I would never hit you. It was someone else.”

She bristled with rage, clenched her teeth and felt tears beginning to form in her eyes as well, but they were not of sadness.

“Do you take me for a fool?” Claire snarled. “I’m probably just some tamed barbarian with no brain, right? Cause clearly no one else than me would be dumb enough to believe you over their own eyes.”

Claire felt her anger subside with every heavy breath that she took. Hitting and screaming at dream Kate had felt good, and it helped her calm down, as she had let out most of the anger by taking it out on someone else.

“I love the real Kate.” She stated simply. It wasn’t news to herself or anyone. “I trust her with my life. She would never lie to my face or hide something from me.” She went on; speaking words she hoped were truth for Kate about Claire in return as well. “If she wanted to touch me like that I would… probably let her.”

Well, it wasn’t something she needed to consider in reality, but she saw no reason for her to lose her childhood friend over something so silly. Though she hoped the real Kate would have the decency to not do it when she was asleep and unaware. That had been creepy and unwelcome.

“I’m not some dumb animal.” Claire muttered to herself. “Animals aren’t dumb either.”

She hated the idea that Kate would think about her like some did. Those who whispered behind her back about how she was uncivilized and had no understanding of how human interaction worked so she spent all her time with animals that were as smart as her, but just because she knew how it worked did not mean she wanted to be a large part of it. She was a member of a traveling circus for fucks sake.

Claire sighed. “Any suggestions for how I get out of this nightmare into something more pleasant?” She turned to look at each of her friends’ dream replicas. “Elijah? Pervert Kate?”

She turned back to the area around them. One of her worst fears come alive, her home destroyed and everyone gone. At least she hadn’t seen any corpses or signs of her kittens demise, so she could pretend like it was fine. It felt like the walls of her mind that had imagined this wanted to crush her psyche though.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

“Ooooh, does the cop want to lose a fight as well as a bet now?” Avani laughed. “I’m all for kicking your ass if that’s what you are into.”

She watched as Kasai picked the bottles out of the cabinet, quite surprised by the amount of different bottles and the variety of liquor the woman owned. She thought about joking how they had more in common than she had imagined, as they both seemed to be alcoholics, but she doubted Kasai would have found it amusing.

A dear, huh? Avani smiled, feeling a bit warmer inside. She liked the feeling and thought of Kasai calling her names of endearment. It was better than kid or immature for sure. It kind of made her consider acting more like an adult, but she knew from experience what could happen if she tried to be someone she was not in a relationship. Avani grabbed all the bottles at once, and walked over to the coffee table.

She placed the bottles on the table, struggling a bit to keep them from falling out of her grip, and then watched as Kasai filled both of the glasses with rum before downing the contents out of one of them. It wasn’t until after she had done that that she offered Avani the option to choose what to drink.

“You drink out of your guest’s glass before offering them a drink, do you?” She laughed. “Such savage behaviour! I like it.”

Avani checked the labels on the bottles before making a decision, to see if there were any special or extravagant brands. “Hmm, I think I’ll have some more sake.” She said, and moved over to the other side of the table where Kasai sat. There were plenty of room in the sofa and the chairs around the coffee table, but she sat down as close to Kasai as possible. Their bodies grazed against one another as she took a seat.

“I want to sit next to you. I hope you don’t mind.” Avani smiled at her, and filled the glass that Kasai had just drunk out of with sake. “As for the challenge, I think never have I ever would be the best choice with just the two of us. It’d be a good way for you to learn what you want about me before I defeat you.” Avani put her hand on Kasai’s leg. “I suppose I should start with an easy one since you already downed some of it, wouldn’t want me to have an unfair advantage now would we?”

She raised her glass and looked into Kasai’s eyes, leaving her hand on her leg. “Never have I ever fantasised about anyone in this room.” Avani downed the sake to confirm that she had indeed fantasised about the only other person in the room, making a show of licking the glass clean before refilling it.

“Now that was just a test.” Avani said, and removed her hand from Kasai’s leg. “Let’s start for real. Never have I ever been with a guy, or been romantically involved with one.”

Avani didn’t drink, but grinned as she was certain Kasai had.