All right, here we go...
As I woke up on my birthday, finally legally considered an adult, I looked around my room, paranoid as I sat up with a start. Sis had been up to something all week, and I still hadn’t figured out what it was yet. This was actually the first birthday I was spending living with dad and his new minotaur wife, Hilda.
So far, my time living with them and my new step-sister, Karen, has been pretty rough. The main reason I didn’t enjoy living here, and why I wished I could just move, was reinforced in my head every night when the house almost shook, the noise feeling like it was coming from the next room over despite being on the opposite end of the house, and I could swear there was additional noise coming from the next room over, where Karen was supposed to be asleep.
The other part that made living here awkward, of course, was Karen (and oftentimes, dad and Hilda) getting on my case about finding a nice girl (or rather, a nice mamono) to spend time with. Oftentimes, Karen would come home with her friends and took care to point out each of their aesthetic perks, in full view of said friends. Sometimes, she would even hit on me herself just to see what kind of flustered reaction I would give to her teasing.
This being said, when I figured out Karen was planning something big for when I would officially count as an adult, it put me on edge, as from any corner could come some aggressive mamono she brought along to truly make me an ‘adult’.
“Victor? Why don’t you go out? I mean, it’s your birthday, you don’t really want to be stuck at home all day, do you?” my dad then asked me, noticing I hadn’t really gone to do anything all day today.
“No, thanks. If I go out, I’ll be trapping myself in whatever weird plan Karen comes up with...” I told him, shaking my head.
“Oh, come on...” he started. “Of course she wants to do something special for you now that you’re an adult... After all, she doubtless has lonely mamono friends that would love to have someone in their lives... put it this way...” dad then continued, “...are you going to hide in your room the rest of your life to avoid that?”
Heaving a heavy sigh, I stood up and nodded slightly “Fair point... but I don’t really know what to do...” I then informed him as I stepped toward the door, deciding ultimately to actually go TRY to do something despite her obvious plan to do SOMETHING.
“Well, your mother might tell you something different, but my advice would be: just go for it. I’ve never been happier since I met her, and you definitely want the chance for that kind of happiness...” he then told me, obviously thinking this good advice.
“I’ve noticed...” I commented, annoyed.
“Yeah, she doesn’t leave me much option for subtlety, though...” he then conceded.
I didn’t say anything else as I left the house, now on my way for an afternoon of what I hoped was relative peace and quiet compared to the chaos of being at home. Dad might even want me to leave because they have some kind of plan of their own, but I couldn’t be certain on that front...
Living in a comparatively suburban/rural area, where a small town met the outer county, I easily found a quiet area by a nearby stream to settle down on a tree branch and begin alternating between watching videos on my phone and just enjoying the breeze going by on the branch I was currently on.
“Hee hee, that’s a great video!” a voice then called from behind me. I nearly fell off of the branch when I jumped up, turning to see a harpy behind me, looking at the screen with a smile plastered on her face. “Hi there!” the harpy then said cheerfully, her red feathers fluttering slightly in the wind.
“Oh, hello there.” I responded to her, somewhat nervous around mamono on the best of days, today I had reason to be cautious even more than usual.
“Nervous? You don’t have to be~ I’m a nice girl!” she giggled happily, lowering herself to get a better view of my phone. It was clear this harpy wasn’t in her season, so this was all right.
I spent about an hour having a conversation with her, before our next video was interrupted by a phone call. “Hello?” I spoke into the phone.
“Hey, Victor. It’s Karen. Mom and dad want you to come home now. They say they’ve got something for you~” the voice on the other end of the line told me, before an excited giggle could be heard on the other end of the line.
It was COMPLETELY obvious what was about to happen if I went home.
“Do you have to go home now?” the harpy asked me, sounding somewhat disappointed.
“It sounds like I might... but... one thing I wanted to know... what is your name?” I then asked the red harpy.
“I’m Volant!” she declared, before telling me “I can get you home quick, if you want, Victor!”
Upon hearing her offer, I looked at her, somewhat embarrassed before saying “N-no need, Volant... I need time to think...” However, this was to no avail, as a pair of strong bird claws grabbed me by the shoulders, Volant picking me up and starting to fly in the direction of my house without any prior description.
How did she know where I lived?
At this point, as I landed by the back door of the house, I started to back up once Volant let me go, though Karen was already there to meet me by the door, grabbing me by the wrist. “No need to be so shy, Victor! Good job getting him here, Volant! We can get started!” she spoke with a smile, Volant nodding along.
“Of course, of course! You know our deal right?” Volant asked Karen, before she nodded.
“Of course, Volant. Once you enter your season, feel free to come back and he’d be happy to oblige your urges!” Karen told her. “In fact, come in and join us!” the two of them now pushing me into the house, where I saw dad and Hilda, now accompanied by a manticore, with dark blue wings and tail, and slightly lighter-blue shoulder-length hair.
“Oh look, he’s here!” Hilda cheered happily, as I was being pushed in by Volant and Karen.
“I see you met a nice girl while you were out, nice.” Dad then commented with a nod, Volant nodding happily before standing on my left, Karen on my right. “...this is Elizabeth...” he then gestured to the manticore “...she’s one of Karen’s friends.”
“Just call me Liz, sweetums~” the manticore giggled, stepping toward me. “You look like fun~”
“U-u-umm, dad! Didn’t you want me to come home!? Is there d-dinner, or a cake or something!?” I started, desperately trying to stall for time, as my attempted back-pedalling was stopped by the two girls at my sides.
“Yeah, but those are later... right now, your guests would like to help you advance into adulthood...” dad then told me, gesturing toward my room. At this point, Karen, Volant and Liz now pushed and pulled me along until they got me to my room, the three of them essentially lobbing me into my bed, Liz jumping onto me and straddling me as the three stripped me. “You know the deal! Me first!” Liz demanded, jabbing her tail into my side.
However, as this started to happen, a rush entered my side, before Karen now started to get into position above me “Sorry, Victor, but I can’t stay out of this, I’ve been getting sooo worked up lately~ Liz and Volant don’t wanna be lonely anymore either, so you get to make all of us happy now that you’re legal!” before my vision was now blocked by minotaur, though I could hear her say “I know you’re not in season yet, but if it gets you excited, Volant, feel free to join in!” though these were the last discernable words I heard for a while.
Though by the time they were done, I was pretty sure it wasn’t my birthday anymore...