"An oozemancer?" Ari asked. "What kind of class is that?"
Opal hadn't taken much convincing. Ari had a few ideas why, the thorough milking Ari had provided her probably being at the top of the list. And one item beneath that, the fact Ari was still seated atop Opal, her two cocks inserted into Ari. They were starting to soften, and Ari ground her hips around, idly bringing them back to full mast—and extracting a noise from Opal.
"Well," Opal said, eying Ari as if to say, 'stop teasing, we're talking business'. "I am a slime. It makes sense I'd get a class that manipulates it." She paused, then tilted her head, referencing something in her newly found memory—as if fascinated over how she knew what her class did. Ari had learned to recognize the look.
And it was a fair point. Her Menagerie's races did seem to influence the class they received. Some more than others.
But still. Ari shared a glance with Lori, concerned. Lori inclined her head, recognizing the problem.
"Huh," Ari said. "Don't take this the wrong way, but we were hoping for an illusionist, or an enchanter, or something similar. What can an oozemancer do, exactly?" It sounded like an elementalist-adjacent class, but distinctly not an illusionist or something close. It had been a long shot, hoping to get the class she needed.
"Well. Like I said, manipulate slime. Dunno the details. I guess I'd have to wait until I level up." Opal tilted her head again, checking her memories. She nodded. "Why'd you need an illusionist?"
Ari pursed her lips and looked over at Lori. Her cat-eared friend was studying her with an unusually passive look—as if waiting for something. Ari didn't know what, or why, she was wearing the expression.
"And does that mean you're going to release me?" Opal asked.
Ari turned a horrified look to the girl she was sitting on. "No! That's not—I'm not going to ditch you because you're not the exact class I wanted." Ari realized something. She turned her glare from the slimegirl to Lori. "That's what you thought, isn't it?"
Lori at least had the good grace to look ashamed … though the way her ears flattened down didn't so much vindicate Ari as it pained her.
Ari sighed. "I already told you that's not how this works."
"I didn't think you would," Lori said. "I just …" she shrugged. Her ears stayed flattened.
"It's fine," Ari said, even if she was still offended. Eventually, her Menagerie would figure out Ari meant what she said. That they weren't disposable, and they were in it, together, for the long haul.
"But why'd you want an illusionist?" Opal repeated.
For having suspected that Ari would ditch her, she wasn't particularly ruffled. To be fair, she'd been sapient less than a half hour. She hadn't exactly grown attached to her new brain … or Ari and the rest of the Menagerie.
Ari assuaged her hurt feelings by telling herself that was why Lori had thought Ari might abandon Opal—because she was on the hunt for an illusionist, and Opal wasn't a 'real part of the team'. Surely she wouldn't think Ari would do that to any of them. But she wouldn't treat her party members like a disposable resource, even new ones. She already felt horrible enough about the ones she didn't invite at all.
Which … wasn't that the same, pretty much? Charming and then releasing, versus not offering to join at all? But Ari only had a certain amount of slots to fill … she didn't have a choice.
Ergh. She didn't want to think about it. At a minimum, girls she brought into the Menagerie had permanent spots. That was that. Maybe it didn't make perfect sense, but Ari would listen to her gut.
She finally answered Opal's question. "Well," she said frankly, "this is why." She gestured down at where their bodies were joined together.
Ari was really liking the seat she'd found. She hadn't cum from the encounter, so pleasure still burned across her—but she put it to the back of her head, enjoying it in an absent way.
Opal hardened at the reminder—she'd gone soft, slightly, focused on their talk. Feeling two cocks stiffen inside her was seriously amazing. Ari had to fight the urge to not start bouncing. They were talking business.
"Uh," Opal said. "I don't get it. You need an illusionist because … ?"
"To hide what we're doing," Ari explained. "When we're in more common adventuring spots, say, a dungeon, and there's a chance of being bumped into. I can't exactly let them catch me doing this, can I?"
To emphasize the point, Ari pulled her hips up and slapped back down, filling the air with a loud squelch. Opal grunted, and Ari shivered, savoring the friction—and being stuffed full. She had to fight the urge to work back into a rhythm. She wanted to keep things going, but she had other matters to handle.
"Well," Opal said. "Why not have lookouts?"
"Wasted manpower," Ari said. It'd been one of their first ideas—and one of the more obvious—but it wasn't as neat as having, say, an illusionist on hand.
"I mean … I can split my body, though. I can keep look-out and stay with you at the same time."
Ari paused.
She could, couldn't she?
"Oh. Oh! That's perfect." Ari's brain churned over the reveal. "Maybe even better than an illusionist. A high level adventurer could see right through a spell … but normal lookouts can just warn us. Er, is it telepathic?"
"Sure," Opal said. "I can see through both bodies—they're both me. One mind."
"And how many could you make?"
"Bodies? Just two."
Ari deflated, but Opal continued:
"But several smaller ones. Look-outs." Demonstrating, she held a hand to the side, and pink slime spilled from her fingertips, taking shape into a small, gooey lump.
Disarmingly, the imprint of an eye popped into shape.
Ari couldn't help but laughing: the little creature looked weird. She leaned over and poked it. The slime jiggled. Beneath Ari, Opal shivered, feeling Ari's touch.
"Like Claire's substance," Ari added. The whole 'linked sensation' part. Except, Opal could see through it, too.
"Claire?"
"Later," Ari said. "But yeah. That's awesome. You're going to be a great addition to the squad." She bit her lip. "Though, the team needs a mage … but I need you too, for my sort of adventures. Hm. We'll figure out scheduling later."
For now, Ari had the second item on the agenda to accomplish. She'd already been waiting too long … the fire in her stomach was building, annoyed at being ignored. Some more fun. But practical stuff at the same time—easy to accomplish, considering Ari's class.
So. What effect did Opal's substance give?