The Bear and the Cat. [ONGOING]

"Should tell Milly your preferences in terms of food, as she knows mine and would be able to decide better." Getting up, she stretches with her back audibly clicking, "Besides. Not only are you still nude, there are no showers down here. So you will have to put something on over the top of you briefly, AND I have to take a bath as well. Though I can just go to a different bathroom."

"I think I'll be fine with the food if you like it. You probably won't order insanely spicy or something like that" Maria was about to turn out of the room when she heard Imperia. "What? You don't have a shower? Oh my god I just realized.... I can't believe I've spent this much time without a shower...." She said, horror showing in her eyes at the epiphany. "I must reek! Fine, I'll throw on a towel and you can take me to the shower. I'll let you go with me but no inappropriate touching." She said as she walked over to Imperia's wardrobe, pulling out a towel and wrapping it around her chest. "I want to save that for when the mood's right."

"You don't reek, I love your smell. And what counts as inappropriate touching? Or when the mood is right?" Smiling coyly, she already starts towards the entrance to the main castle while she places the towel around her, not caring at the simple silk underwear covering her body being all she has on, "Milly. Choose one of my favourite places please. You should know them all, surprise us please. As for you, miss 'I must smell because I haven't showered in what is like a week' , please note that you smell of your lustful side right now, so I can't make any promises about not touching you, thus I shall take another bathroom after escorting you."

"Inappropriate is in between my legs. The mood will be right when I say so." She said, sticking her tongue out playfully at Imperia. "I'd like to take one alone but if you want to go with me, then I guess I'll allow it. Just keep your hands to yourself, perv~"Maria teased as she followed her, one hand holding up the towel. She looked around the hallways they were passing, noting the ornateness of the decorations. "Hmmm...." She said, catching up to walk beside Imperia. "I'm not sure I've ever been to this part of your place. Looks pretty fancy compared to the cave."

"You are just hearing the words you want to hear, aren't you?" At the comment about how it was her place, she sours visibly, saying in a much different voice, "It's not mine. It's my wretched brother in laws. I just reside in the cave as I see them less. Plus their side of the family is deranged." Her hand feeling around Maria's waist, she subtly pulls them into her, her head going to rest on Maria's.

"You don't like your family?" She asked inquisitively, stroking Imperia's hair as she frowned. "They can't be that bad, can they? If they're related to you, that means that they must have at least the tiiiiiiniest bit of you, the most amazing, sweet, loving, person I've met, though you might be a little rough, in them. I doubt they're that bad."

"One of them has a pet Ursa Major and a pet Beowolf pup. The other has destroyed my androids on more than one occasion. Worst of all, they are both half-breeds, if not more watered down than that." Stating it with disdain, she continues walking, her recognition of the hair stroking fading in her irritance at the subject.

"Pet grimm?" Maria asked curiously, "Isn't that dangerous? I mean, if your family could handle them, I'm sure they're trained well enough to take care of grimm but still. That sounds like a reeeeaaaaaally bad idea." It was an odd concept to Maria, something she had never thought possible. "But as... strange as they are, they're still family, right?"

Stopping at a junction as her nose picks up a quickly approaching scent, the nicely timed roar of Macha rolls down the castle. The Grimm rushing straight past them with a barely armoured Connla clinging to its side, his hand in its clamped down mouth though his skin was remarkably unbroken, a layer of ice between it and his arm. Just staring at them, Imperia sighs heavily as they pass, "I think I just proved my point about why I hate these idiots."

As she heard the roar, Maria ducks behind Imperia, her chest pressed tightly against her back as she gripped her shoulders. "What was tha-" Her sentence was cut off by Macha and Connla's passing, the girl's arms immediately going to her chest and crotch to cover herself though Imperia was already doing so and with much more skin shown. "Was that...."

"The idiot nephew of mine and his pet." Waiting for the subsequent blast of fire goes past them from the direction the two ran, afterwards she grabs Maria by the waist and yanks her forwards, though the junction before making sure the bears towel is around her, "If we waited, then there would be no moving for hours. Let's go, I'll go in front."

"Yeah, thanks." Maria said, hiding close to Imperia, tucked away behind the cat faunus in case any more of her family showed up. Walking along, the cloth near her lower back would be moving constantly, her tail anxiously making a little tee-pee, dropping back down, then coming back up again. "Well it seems lively here, at least." She commented nervously, not really sure if 'lively' were the right word to use. "How far from the bathroom are we?"

"Not far. Just a flight of stairs really. Or the ones on this floor, but I don't trust them to be free." Looking around, she quickly pulls Maria through a massive room, straight to a circular staircase, moving to place her in front, "Wouldn't want someone coming up behind you and getting a face full of your bottom. Well, anyone coming up behind you except me." Giggling childishly, she gives her a push from her rear, though not enough to make her trip on the steps.

Maria was about to reply when she found herself suddenly climbing up a set of stairs. Embarrassed at what Imperia said, Maria's hands go to her rear, pressing the towel down to cover herself. "Normally I'd thank you for doing that." She teased, feeling Imperia's hands on her, she puts them on her back before covering herself again. "But I know fully well of your intentions."

Craning her head beneath Maria's legs to still get a look, "I can just do this though.I mean, I am not exactly going to take you on a flight of stairs. I won't even touch it." Smiling sincerely, she speaks again, though with more vigour, "I swear it on my firstborns life."

"Imperia, we both know you would." Maria said, laughing as she suddenly stopped in her tracks, causing Imperia to walk face first into her rear, the bear faunus bumping her in the face before skipping up a few steps. "Besides, you don't have any firstborns, well maybe Milly but still. You're swearing on nothing."

"Fine. If I do, I can't touch them again for a week." While you are awake, hehehehe~ Thinking to herself, she waits for Maria to get to the first floor before tugging her towards it, rushing up the steps to spin her into a kiss, "Third door on the left. Or right, there are two."

"Oh good, we're here." Maria said, quickly breaking away from the kiss to trot to the door she indicated. Grasping the handle, she turns it and finds no resistance. Remembering what Imperia had said, she tries the other bathroom door and gets the same result. "Hey Imperia." Maria said as she turned to look at the cat faunus, a dejected look on her face, "The knob's busted."

Sighing heavily, she tries the doors and gets the same result, "Gheez. Well. We can either break the door down or go find a different one. First is probably a bad idea, so we should do the second." Already leading them back to the staircase, she goes up first, putting no effort to stop Maria looking up at her.

"I hope we find another one soon, then." Maria said, taking her hand off the defective doorknob as she follows Imperia, moving to walk beside her. "I just hope that no one sees us or something. It was bad enough that Ferdiad and ursa guy saw us but if anybody else does? I just might feint or something." She said, looking around every now and again, ears perked up for any sign of life. "Where's the closest bathroom?"

"Next floor up. One on every floor, dummy." Wrapping her arm around the girl's waist, she pulls her not-so-subtly into her, continuing to speak, "Well anyway. I doubt idiot number two saw you when his arm was in the Ursa's mouth, and my sister knows you came round at the least." Giggling, she whispers into the girl's ear, "Want to meet her? She has a thing where if you touch her ear in the right place, she goes crazed. According to the mongrel of a husband that is."

"Your sister knows too?" She asked, her face a mixture of horror and embarrassment, red as an apple. "H-h-h-how? Did she see us too?" Maria kept her eyes on Imperia, hoping for her to give the answer she wanted. It wasn't exactly embarrassing that her family knew about their relationship. It was almost comforting in fact, like meeting her boyfriend's parents. But I don't want them to know me just as Imerpia's friend with benefits! She yelled in her head, digging her cheek into Imperia's shoulder. "Actually... I think I'd like to meet your family. All of them. Not like this though... and definitely not today. Maybe next week? Could you introduce me then?" She asked sheepishly as they stepped onto the upper floor.

"Back when you came, after a few days I asked Cecilia for some spare clothes for you, kinda explained then." Nodding as she turns her head to plant a kiss on Maria, she takes the girl to the second door on the left, gesturing to the handle, "You can do the honours. If it doesn't work? Screw it, we can just place something in front of it so that they can't get in."

"Imperia, what's wrong with your doorknobs?" Maria asked, horrified when the door swings inward without any resistance, only requiring a push for it to open. "the one downstairs doesn't open and this one doesn't close." Leaning forwards, she looks down the side of the door, finding latch missing. "Gah." She said in defeat, just walking in and turning to face Imperia. "C-could you stand watch, then?" She asked hiding behind the door, only her hands, head, and shoulders visible to the cat girl.

"You owe me like. Ten sex sessions for this." Sighing heavily she moves to take the door and close it, standing in front of the door and starting to whistle to pass the time, already becoming irritated at being deprived of her Maria. After a small amount of time, she lets out a small "Gah" and decides to listen in on the person washing, the door opening a fraction to let the noise out.

Smiling at Imperia as she disappeared from sight, Maria took off the towel and hung it on a hook behind the door. Walking over to the little shower area, she pulls open the glass door and turns on the water, waiting for it to warm up and until the room was sufficiently foggy until she stepped in. Looking around, she takes what she needs and begins her shower, grimacing as she realizes how long its been since she last had one.

Pacing from side to side of the door, Imperia bites her lip as she waits for the girl to shower, apparently thinking she can do so in 5 seconds. Groaning, she opens the door again, keeping her eyes closed as she says into the room, "Can you run my bath while you are there? Don't put any cold water in it as by the time you are done it will have cooled. Thanks." Closing the door again, she sighs and quickly goes to the other bathroom, scowling at it's perfect resistance when locked before grabbing a towel before returning to her post.