Hyacinth kneels amid the bustling market, newly free of her handcuffs, her breath coming hard and her body flushed. She feels alive and bright, and not a little horny… but she’s also completely lost. All around her, women enjoy each other’s bodies, cuddling or fucking on a rge expanse of mattresses and pillows.

  Okay, she has Euphoria, but she’s not quite sure where it came from. Orgasm? No, that first orgasm Alika had wasn’t enough to make one. A strong enough orgasm?

  She tries to focus on her own characteristics, hoping the system that’s helpfully producing dialog boxes will give her more information.

  Skin Hunger

  The more bare skin you have in contact with another woman, the more intense the recoil each of you experience from any stimution you inflict. This power scales with your Sanity.

  So she’s rewarded for being actually intimate with others, as well as giving them sexual pleasure… or at least for cuddling up close. That’s a good sign. She doesn’t know if she likes that she has a Sanity score though: that’s generally a bad sign!

  She focuses on her Sanity score, and at st —

  Hyacinth Fallon

  Presenting as a Rank 1 Housepet

  Fitness 2

  Grace 2

  Ardor 4

  Sanity 3

  Prowess 3

  Moxie 4

  With a little more focus, further expnations of each stat appear on the screen:

  Fitness is how much energy and physical endurance you have in your body. It is the stat that determines whether you’re able to go all night or if you have to take breaks to recover from the exertion. The more vigorously you fuck, the more your Fitness will be tested.

  Grace is how much physical power and agility you have. It is your ability to control the position of sex, and is a strong determinant of who ends up on top. The more Grace you have, the more likely it is that you’ll win any given wrestling contest.

  Ardor is how hot your libido runs. The higher it is, the harder you are to satisfy, and the more you crave intense and prolonged stimution. High Ardor in the subject is necessary to channel high levels of stimution, and thus produce the most valuable products of Void-Tearing and Lifeweaving.

  Sanity is your intellectual firepower and how able you are to cope with intense stimution in the moment. Those with high levels are able to remain more lucid through orgasm, allowing them to focus on their abilities even while in the throes of passion. High Sanity in the subject grants better control over what product results from Void-Tearing, and is useful in the pursuit of production professions in general.

  Prowess is one’s personal finesse with stimution — the ability to inflict the intensity of stimution one intends to. While small motions are generally easy to judge, Prowess truly shines when one attempts to inflict intense stimution without going past your partner’s limits. It is also used in Life-Weaving to channel the flow of Ichor precisely.

  Moxie is one’s ability to flow with events and act naturally in the moment. It helps to throw off foreign influences and to focus one’s own emotional energy in the direction one wishes to point it. High Moxie aids in finding the specific emotional states necessary to produce high quality Seed.

  Well, that certainly confirms for her that she’s in a sex world, if the local stats are all focused on it like that…

  Void-Tearing? Lifeweaving? Ichor? There’s so much to learn. But before all that, what on earth is Euphoria?

  Euphoria

  The energy of Sapphis, given in response to the selfless act of granting another sexual satisfaction. This energy centers in the mind and the emotions, bringing a warm sense of joy and satisfaction to those who contain it. It may be crystallized from the body into gss, metals and gems through Void-Tearing, or saved to improve one’s Gender Rank through Evolution, unlocking new supernatural abilities and skills that descend from one’s gender presentation.

  So then Ichor is… the paired energy?

  Ichor

  The energy of Lesbea, given in response to the selfish act of reaching one’s own sexual satisfaction. This energy centers in the physical body, whether it is spilled outwards to create natural materials through Lifeweaving, used to improve one’s own physical organs through Enhancement, or concentrated in rge amounts into Dream Phantoms, which may be used to grant entirely new body parts.

  Hyacinth’s heart leaps. She’s always been a foxgirl in her heart, but the news that she’s not stuck as one forever is very welcome. If she ever gets tired of it, she’ll be able to change, even if it’ll be troublesome.

  She gets up from the mattress, clearing space for another couple, and goes and leans against one of the market’s walls.

  So, sexuality is used here to produce almost every kind of trade good, reading between the lines. Metal, gss and gems from Euphoria, and all the natural products — cloth, paper, wood, and presumably also food — through Ichor.

  That leaves whatever is creating the PVC and tex she’s seen in the crowd unaccounted for, but perhaps they have advanced mundane chemistry as well. She just doesn’t know.

  For now — she has higher priorities. She needs to get to the Housepets’ Guild and gain entry as soon as possible.

  “Um,” she asks the recovering Alika. “Do you know where the Housepets’ Guild is?”

  Alika points out of the square, deeper into the city. “About five blocks that way,” she says. “You can’t miss it.”

  “Thank you!” Hyacinth attempts to curtsey, but has to make a hasty retreat when she realizes that her bnket’s about to fall off. “I, uh, yes, see you!”

  Alika ughs, and waves goodbye, then pries herself up off the mattress and heads back to her storefront.

  Hyacinth wraps her bnket closer around her, and walks onward toward the housepets’ guild.

  ~*~

  The entrance to the Housepets’ guild is marked by another rge square full of women — though in this case, they all seem to be like her! Catgirls, doggirls, foxgirls, and other fuzzy species of kemonomimi she can’t pce lounge outside here in the sun, almost all in their own baskets of bnkets. Some of them lounge in human-size cages, but don’t seem at all distressed: others are eating, chatting, or having very snuggly sex with each other. Some of them have girl-cocks like hers: others have pussies, but both kinds of petgirl mingle freely and seem comfortable in each other’s presence.

  At the corner of the square is a rge building sporting a pair of oversized cat ears of its own: it must be the guild itself!

  Drawing up all her courage, Hyacinth walks across the square to the guild entrance. Nearly three dozen pairs of interested petgirl eyes follow her as she goes: she feels scrutinized in every detail.

  Despite herself, her tail flips up from under its bnket and wagwagwags invitingly. She flushes hard — traitorous little thing! — and hurries her pace, pushing her way through the guild’s doors and into the front lobby.

  A bored-looking fox-woman sits at the front desk, her feet up on the table and her body completely unclothed: a golden kiseru hangs in her left hand, and she looks over at Hyacinth with a small raise of her eyebrow.

  “Um, hello,” Hyacinth says, “I - I’m here to learn how to apply to the guild?”

  The fox-woman blows out a small ring of sweet-smelling smoke, and puts her feet down on the floor and pulls in her chair, which puts her breasts right in Hyacinth’s face. “Recently transmigrated?”

  “Is it that obvious?” Hyacinth looks down at herself and flushes deeply.

  “Mmmmhm. What’s your name?”

  “Um, Hyacinth.”

  “A pretty name. I’m Aya. Pleased to meet you, I’m sure.” She waves vaguely. “So, you want to apply to the Guild, do you?”

  “Yeah,” Hyacinth says. “I’m pretty sure I’m, um, housepet gender, so…”

  “A lot of new transmigrators say that,” Aya says. “We can take you on on a temporary basis, sure, but if your soul doesn’t stick then we’ll have to toss you out again when the next occupant of the body comes along…”

  “What?” Hyacinth‘s eyebrows jump. “If my soul doesn’t stick?”

  Aya winces. “Not so loud! My hearing’s delicate. But yes, it’s standard, new transmigrators are sponsored by the goddesses Lesbea and Sapphis, and there’s a — trial period, you could say. If you don’t perform Enhancement or Evolution within a week you’ll be tossed back into the river of reincarnation for someone else to get your body who’ll take to the world a little more readily, you could say. Don’t worry, you won’t die, you’ll just get sent off to another world somewhere.”

  Hyacinth nods quickly. “Okay, okay, so I need to gather some Ichor or Euphoria, right?”

  “Yeah. About ten charges of either would be enough.” Aya spreads her hands. “Swear you’ll try honestly to achieve that — you’ll be held to your word, by the way, promises are enforced by the Twins — and I’ll let you join the guild.”

  A fre of pink light washes up from Aya’s heart, hovering in the air before Hyacinth.

  She takes a deep breath. “Alright. I so swear.”

  A dart of pink light fshes out and pierces the haze, and Aya cps her hands together. “Right then! I’ll show you to your quarters. Do you want a cell, a pet bed, or a dorm room? All of ‘em are indoors. Pet beds come with free library and cafeteria access, dorm rooms get a bookcase each and a communal kitchen but no library access and you have to buy your own food. In cells you eat what the guild provides and have no other amenities, but some of us prefer it that way, you know?”

  Hyacinth bites her lip. “Um… I think I’ll go with a pet bed for now.”

  “Great!” Aya comes around from the desk and leads Hyacinth along down the corridor to a rge communal room, where another dozen cat, dog and fox girls are hanging out reading and chatting. A rge pte of what looks like some kind of brownie has been left out on a low table, and a few of the petgirls are snacking on it.

  “Everyone,” Aya announces. “This is our test member, Hyacinth. She’ll be staying with us for the foreseeable, assuming she doesn’t get sent off again. I have a good feeling about this one, honestly. Treat her gently, alright? You all remember what it was like to transmigrate here for the first time, so be nice!”

  There’s a soft chorus of “aww”s around the room as the various petgirls take in the bnket-cd Hyacinth, and then Aya points to a small pet bed near the door, made of wicker and lined with deep pink pillows.

  “There’s your bed,” Aya says. “Have fun learning! And don’t forget, you’ve got to earn that Ichor or Euphoria somehow.” She grins, then turns on her heel and heads back off down the hall.

  Hyacinth settles hesitantly into her pet bed, very aware that the eyes of the whole room are on her. “Er, um,” she says. “Hi. Um, hi. Hi, everyone?”

  A catgirl with deep teal fur and a tribal tattoo of a sun stretching from her right shoulder all the way across her breasts crawls over to sit in front of Hyacinth. “Hey,” she says, and licks the back of her right hand. “I’m Mica.”

  Next to Mica, a dog-eared girl comes across the room with a slice of brownie in her hands, and kneels next to Hyacinth to hand it down to her. “Here,” she says. “It’s chocote. And packed full of vitamins. Proper pet food. You must be really starving. I’m Avaline, by the way.”

  “Um, hi Mica, hi Avaline.” Hyacinth ducks her head and accepts the brownie slice, and pops it in her mouth so she doesn’t have to talk.

  It tastes amazing. Rich, fudgy dark chocote, with notes of oats and dates and an undertone of honey. She moans softly from the taste and takes another bite.

  “It’s good, isn’t it?” Mica leans in. “You’ve had a nasty transition, but it’s okay. We’ll take care of you. You’re in good hands here. We’ve got your back.” She sits down cross-legged in front of Hyacinth, the small motion emphasizing the soft cock that lies between her legs, and smiles. “Tell us if we’re crowding you, okay? And — if you’d rather not communicate by speaking, that’s okay. We’re good with body nguage, and in the longer term we teach sign nguage, so you won’t have to speak if you don’t want to.”

  Hyacinth flushes, but nods. “I — It’s okay, I can use human words.” She ducks her head, realizing that her hard-on is tenting her bnket but unable to shift to deal with the traitorous little thing.

  “But why resort to it if you don’t have to?” Mica raises her eyebrows. “It’s okay if you find them useful, though. Um, let me see… Avaline, what am I missing?”

  Avaline ticks the items off one by one on her hand. “Comfort restraints. A colr. Books. Especially local porn to masturbate to. And some space to think, I think.”

  “It’s okay,” Hyacinth says. “I’ve got a pair of cuffs in my bag, and a key. It’s, um, an A1 key if you know what that means? And I don’t want a colr right now, that feels personal to me. Books would be good though, especially porn. And, um. It would be nice to have privacy to undress, but I’m getting the vibe that I’m just going to have to get used to going nude around here.”

  “You would be correct,” Mica says. “I think you’ll fit right in. Any particur interests in porn I should get?”

  “Sadism and masochism,” Hyacinth says, her flush deepening. “They, um. They add quite a bit of spice for me.”

  “We can do that, for sure.” Mica gestures to Avaline. “Go fetch, would you? And a spare A1 key for our newest member, too.”

  “Yes, Mica,” Avaline says, and she darts out of the room at a fast clip.

  “For now,” Mica says, “Try to rest and settle in. It’s a different life, but I think it’ll fit you much better than your old one. Pets trying to be human never goes well.” She smiles, showing many pearly white teeth, then crawls off across the room to go curl up in her own bed.

  Hyacinth is left alone, with half a brownie in her hand, in a crowded dormitory that’s going to be her new home.

  Well, she thinks. At least today isn’t boring. And at least it has chocote.

  She takes another bite of brownie, and settles back into her basket.

  She feels… strangely content.