REND

Instead of a slight saltiness covering the bland nothing of skin, I tasted several flavors from one lick. Yes, the saltiness was there, but there were layers of meatiness, more akin to light tones of pork than strong beef—no trace of being gamey at all.

The fuck am I thinking of the gaminess of Deen?

I also picked up hints of other stuff, like dust and cloth fibers. And I swore I could taste the metal of her blood through her skin.

This was a whole new experience. I felt like a preppy food critic, pointing out all the spices used in a dish.

I wrapped my arms around Deen tight as I ran my wide and slimy tongue up and down the side of her neck. For a few seconds, I was entranced by the jumble of tastes. This was the first time I focused on it as Blanchette. My hyper senses activating was overwhelming my brain, and also addictive. Usually, I just chomped and swallowed and killed.

“Erind, stop that!” Deen cried out. “What do you think you’re doing?” She couldn’t pry me off of her. She bopped my head with her fists but held back her super strength. “Stop! Stoppaiyeaaah!”

Spasms ran through her body as she squealed at such a high pitch that could’ve broken glass—my weirdo best friend was getting ticklish. My tongue felt her neck muscles contracting. Her skin heated up.

Desperate, she busted out her patented escape move—groping me. She lodged her arm between our bodies and squeezed my left breast.

I disengaged, withdrawing my tongue back into my mouth, grinning at her with a row of fangs. I didn’t flinch or flee like my usual reaction, confidently starting Deen down as I lowered my hands to her hips. Squeezing her sides a bit, I playfully scratched her with my claws. My snout was a couple of inches away from her nose.

Our legs were tangled like headphones in a pocket; Deen sat more on my legs than on the floor. She still had my hand on my breast. Her pupils had expanded to swallow most of the grey of her irises. A strange scent came out of her pores. My keen hearing picked up her pounding heart.

“Ar-are these real?” Deen stopped honking my boob like a clown’s nose, instead massaging around it to trace its shape.

I tilted my head right, rolling a growl that turned up at the end.

“I know these are parts of your transformation,” she said, completely understanding me. We might be really best friends. “What I meant was, are these illusions? Or does your body like, um, balloon out?”

I shrugged, chuckling. The image of my flat chest expanding like the universe after the Big Bang was so funny. I couldn’t explain my theory that Blanchette was a different body altogether, swapping for my original Erind one.

Deen placed her other hand on my right breast, continuing to grope me. What the fuck was she up to?

I didn’t stop her, however. It didn’t feel bad at all. And the disgust of physical contact wasn’t there in my Blanchette form. There was a childlike fascination on her face. She began to knead more forcefully. Her cheeks were reddish as she breathed through her mouth.

I began to feel weird. Tingly. My pulse picked up. I wanted to throw Deen away but didn’t, curious about where this would lead.

“Oh!” A tiny squeak when Deen realized what she was doing. She instantly let go of my breasts as if they were hot charcoal. They dropped with a springy rebound. “Sorry, Erind! Bla-Blanchette? Sorry… Blanchette. I didn’t—we just met, and I was—we’ve met before! This is the second time…”

I snorted at her with my long snout.

She recoiled from the burst of air. “Yeah, sorry for babbling. I’m going to call you Blanchette. Is that okay?”

“Rhroaarr.” I nodded.

“Sorry, Blanchette, for doing that to you,” she whispered, peeking at me through the golden locks straying across her forehead. “It’s just that I’ve never touched another girl’s breasts.”

I gurgled a growl. Really? It was uncanny to be the one looking down on Deen.

“Well… I have.” She sheepishly grinned. “Yours—your original Erind body, I mean. I guess I’ve groped you several times already. Just, uh, how do I put this?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I do consider those breasts. Jeez, I’m not saying what you think, okay? There’s nothing wrong with being…”

I glared at her.

“…less curvy,” Deen finished. “It’s just that yours, as Blanchette, are so firm and super perky. I’m jealous.” She plucked the black fabric stretched across my chest. “Do you have a bra under there? Is this your skin or your clothes? I’ve seen you transform and noticed your clothes fuse with your skin and grow fur.”

Using my snout, I nudged away her hands fiddling with my clothes.

“Just wondering how this all works. Can I see what’s underneath?”

I let a low growl.

“I’m not pranking you. This is scientific curiosity. If we figure this out, we might learn more about how Adumbrae works.” She met my eyes with a firm glare to show she was serious as she slid her hands below my bumpers and hefted them up. “They feel… real. I’m not sure if yours are bigger than mine.”

“Roargh?” I moved my right hand up her side and cupped her beast with my claws.

She swatted my hand away. “I’m not going to compare!”

I chuckled. It came out as throaty snorts.

“This is enough,” Deen huffed. “We should get on to testing. But before that…” She gingerly touched the part of her neck I slobbered with saliva. “This is disgusting, Blanchette. I know Erind is somewhere there, using you to mess with me. It’s all dried up and crusty, like glue.” She made a face as she scratched her neck with a finger.

I stuck my tongue out in response, threatening to lick her nose.

“Blanchette!” Deen lightly slapped my snout. “Bad dog!”

“Grrooaa?”

“You know what I mean.” She unraveled her legs from mine, our bare skin rubbing together. Then she pushed herself off the floor and hurried to the kitchen half of the condo.

I blinked, processing what the fuck just happened between us. Did I just get molested by my best friend and didn’t stop her? I should make her pay for that!

I sprung up and followed Deen.

Deen tore a couple of squares from the kitchen paper towel roll. She crumpled and wetted them under the faucet. Then she vigorously wiped her neck. She paused to smell the towel and gagged. She glared at me over her shoulder and repeated, “Bad dog!”

I raised a brow. She had grown confident interacting with me as Blanchette. She needed to be taught a lesson.

Deen made another wet wad to wipe her neck after she threw away the first.

I stepped around the small island counter in the middle of the kitchen and stood behind her. I subtly compared our heights. I was taller. Amusing how this gave me a small stab of triumph. Maybe because it gives me a higher stature to bully her.

This was like those toy dog breeds who thought they could take on way bigger dogs because their owners held them up, and they looked down on others. Wait, I’m not a dog!

Deen turned to me, continuing to clean her neck. “Before you say it—”

“Hgrrroa?”

“Right, you can’t say anything. Let’s keep it that way, or you’ll be teasing me. But I know what you’re thinking. And no, I wasn’t… affected… by your licking. Like the act itself isn’t the proximate cause—gosh, I sound lawyerly. Anyway, your tongue is rough, and I got tickled…”

I stuck out my tongue as far as possible, curving it to be within my vision. Cats had spiky tongues. Dogs didn’t. I wasn’t a dog, but a wolf—still the same.

“Fine, it wasn’t rough,” said Deen. Without regard for the environment, she plucked another paper towel piece to dry her neck. “But still ticklish. Same as when you licked me as Erind. This time, your tongue is way bigger and slimier, and—no! No, erase, erase! I’m saying you’ll react the same if I did it to you.”

I tilted my head left and pulled the rim of my hoodie aside, displaying my neck.

“I’m not going to lick you. And I know you’re doing this to prank me. Before you transformed, you said you’d lick me, and now, you’ve done it.”

I shrugged. “Groaawrr…”

“I should be happy you’re more in control of your Blanchette body now than back at Eve. I am happy! But I’m not happy that you’re pranking me.” She tapped the end of my snout.

This was the contradiction I was wary of. I couldn’t blame the Adumbrae inside me if I showed I was taking control of it. Better distract Deen.

I held her waist.

“What are you doing?” She grabbed my wrist. “Let go—ah!”

I hoisted her, swung around, and placed her on the kitchen counter. She sat taller than I stood, strands of hair spilling on my face.

“Is this payback for what I did to you at the grocery?” She narrowed her eyes, glowering down at me. Our noses almost touched. “You’re taller than me as Blanchette. I get it. Whatever you do, it’s not going to work.”

“Rhwar?” My claws crawled under the end of her shirt and climbed her bare flanks.

“Do your worst and watch it fail.”

“Rhhwarrrr?”

“Really, really. Lick me all you want. I’m not going to react—Erind! My god!”

I flicked my tongue over her breast, leaving a small wet patch.