[Parley 4 and 5]
Tori exited the small hut on the eastern side of the village feeling more than a little downtrodden. "Well, it was worth a shot," she said, as she, Dan, and Rocky mad their way back down the main road.
"Sorry about that. Folks around here can be surprisingly skittish around new people," Rocky explained.
"Yeah, just give them a little time to get to know you, and I'm sure one of our families will be willing to take you in," Dan added.
"So, what do you want to see next?" Rocky asked.
"You know, It's becoming pretty obvious that the whole bunk mates thing isn't going to happen. I won't hold it against you two if you don't want to keep following me around," she said, wondering why they were sticking with her despite her little proposition going down the tubes.
"Hey, we agreed to be your guides though town. We're not going to ditch you just because the sleepover thing didn't work out," said Rocky.
"Yeah, besides, until Kenta decides if he wants us back out in the field, it's not like we have anything better to do," Dan added.
Tori felt a blush creep across her cheeks, and for once it wasn't because she was walking around town naked. Despite the fact that her body was no longer on the menu, the two youths were still willing to stick around and help her. She couldn't help but find it endearing, and for a moment she too was a little disappointed that her proposed slumber party wasn't going to happen. Then a thought crossed her mind, "Kenta. Hey why don't you two show me where he lives next?"
The two boys shared a concerned glance. "Um, Tori, you're not going to make him the same offer you made us are you? Because he's kinda'... well..." Rocky trailed off.
"I hope you like em' big, because he's hung like a horse. Literally," Dan finished.
"Glossing over how you two know that," Tori began.
"There's a hot spring up in the hills," Dan said quickly.
"I just need to ask him and the elder a few things," she finished.
"Oh, well, in that case, follow us," they said, almost in unison.
Before long, Tori found herself sitting in the living room of the village leader and his father. For their part, Dan and Rocky did their best to avoid looking Kenta in the eye as Sazrahala poured them all some tea. "So, Victoria, we were not expecting to see you again so soon. What brings you by?" the elder asked.
"Well..."
Tori spent the next several hours trying to get answers to as many questions as she could think to ask. What was the state of the rest of the world? Did they have contact with other settlements? If going topless was so common among tanukis then why did everyone keep staring at her tits? And most importantly of all...
"So, tell me about this daemon you spoke of earlier."