Monster Mansion

IRO

Iro began his morning with a slow, careful inspection of his room. He was meticulous, making sure nothing smelled out of place. His sense of smell was sharp, and any odd scent would nag at him.

His room was a basic square, with the door leading to the hallway tucked in one corner. His bed was positioned diagonally from the door, resting against the far wall with a solitary window at its foot.

He examined the bed. It looked like it had seen a century of use, but it was clean. It’s built to last, I suppose. It was pretty comfortable last night, he thought.

Next, he checked the large wardrobe on the same wall as the door and the smaller vanity next to it. The mirror was still shiny and clean, and although the wardrobe creaked, it felt sturdy.

Everything in the room was old, but it was all well-maintained.

Once he was satisfied with his inspection, Iro moved his suitcase and backpack over to the furniture and started to unpack. He didn’t have much with him, but then again, he didn’t own much to begin with.

He’d left most of his larger items with his former roommate or put them in storage until he had a place to send them.

Looking around, he didn’t feel comfortable setting up his streaming equipment here. He had a feeling Zeltaria wouldn’t approve.

Zeltaria. She’s…something else, he thought, sorting through his clothes. He blushed slightly when he noticed several of his garments were quite feminine.

He wondered if he’d just never noticed before, but after Cerys’s comments about his clothes yesterday, he felt self-conscious.

Well, after being forced to wear a maid’s dress, I guess I’ve crossed that line already. What’s the harm?

After he’d put away his personal items and stashed the suitcase on top of the wardrobe, Iro turned his attention to his maid outfit, which was hanging on a hook next to the vanity.

He took a deep breath, stripped out of his sleepwear, and began to wrestle with the dress.

He’d just managed to get his head through the collar and was pulling the rest of the dress down when he heard a soft giggle.

“Not used to wearing dresses, doggy?”

Iro spun around to see Mika the cat leaning against his doorframe, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

He frowned, annoyed that he hadn’t heard her approach, but figured he’d been too distracted by the dress. “No. I’ve only done it a few times for my…never mind. What do you want?”

Mika put a hand to her chest, feigning hurt. “What do I want? Why do you assume I want something? Maybe I just came to see my friend after his first big day in the big house.”

Iro frowned and stared at Mika. She couldn’t keep a straight face and started giggling.

“Okay, okay. Zel sent me to make sure you were up and ready. Today, you just need to tour the house, avoid breaking anything, and check in with Aranya for your uniform sizes.

“She’s really good at what she does, so it won’t take long to make your uniforms.” Mika listed Iro’s “tasks” on her fingers and gave him a broad smile once she’d delivered Zeltaria’s message.

“But as for what I want, I want some wine. Zel kicked me out of the cellar, though.”

Iro chuckled and hesitated before asking, “I…wanted to ask about…her. What exactly ~is~ she? And what does she do?”

Mika shrugged and looked thoughtful. “Well, to start, Zeltaria is one of our people’s ambassadors to the human world.

“That means she spends a lot of time in big rooms with lots of people, talking about how to avoid wars with the annoying humans who keep coming here and demanding I go ‘meow’ all the time.

“As for why, Zel is a demon. A Succubus, to be specific. So, Zeltaria was chosen by their clan as their representative. Hence, the big house in the big city.

“She was already pretty successful before, but…well, public office has its perks, you know?”

Iro nodded thoughtfully as Mika explained. Understanding what Zeltaria did helped him make sense of why he was here. “And…is she always…like that at dinner?”

Mika grinned, showing her fangs. “Oh. Zel can be much more ~like that~ than at dinner. I think she was just testing you out. Seeing what you’re like.”

Mika twirled and started to leave. “Remember, doggy, explore the house and grounds, don’t break anything, go see Aranya.

“She lives in the attic and uses the room below for work. End of the hall, turn right, end of that hall, turn left, door at the end of that hall. Got it?” Mika rattled off the directions at lightning speed and was gone before Iro could respond.

Guess I’m exploring the house today…

***

Iro followed Mika’s directions down the hall, turned right, and went to the end of the hall. He reached for the handle of the room at the end of that hall and slowly pushed the door open.

A surprised voice greeted him as he stepped inside. “Oh, thank God. Someone’s here.”

Iro jumped at the unexpected voice but saw only an ordinary bedroom. He didn’t see anyone.

“Over here. The bed.”

Iro cautiously approached the bed, half-expecting a jump scare. But when he got there, he found a face peeking out from the bed covers.

It was Holly, the zombie from last night’s dinner. Of course, she lived here, so it made sense she’d be around.

“Heyyyy, it’s the dog. Can you help a girl out? I’m stuck. Didn’t reapply juice before bed.” Holly’s face lit up slightly when she saw Iro, but she didn’t move.

“Stuck?” Iro asked as he reached for Holly. “And what juice?”

Holly let out a soft laugh. “I need to keep my dead tissue from going completely stiff. Usually, that means yoga or some kind of movement. It’s hard to talk when I’m locked up. Can you just…help me out of bed? That should get things moving.”

Iro swallowed hard but nodded. “Sure, let me just—” He began to pull back the covers, and Holly pursed her lips.

“Just a heads up, dog—” Iro fully removed the covers to reveal her completely naked body underneath. “I sleep in the nude!”

Iro blushed and recoiled as Holly laughed. Her body was a patchwork of different parts, crudely stitched together, with patches of multicolored skin covering her from the neck down.

“Hee hee, that always gets the new ones. Come on, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. Just help me out of bed.” Holly laughed as Iro’s fur stood on end.

“O-okay,” Iro mumbled as he placed his hands on her cold body, careful to avoid any sensitive areas.

“I can’t feel you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Go ahead, touch me everywhere.” Holly smirked at him as he struggled to pull her out of bed.

“Your mouth doesn’t lock up, too, does it?” Iro grunted as he pulled her surprisingly heavy body out of bed and rolled it onto the floor with a thud. “Sorry.”

Holly laughed again. “Only when it’s around certain things. Zel finds all kinds of uses for it. Telling off idiots in the street, scaring away birds that chirp too loud. I once won a shouting match with a siren.

“My vocal cords might wear out, but I can just replace ‘em.” Holly slowly lifted her arms and started to push herself off the floor.

“There we go. It’s awful when I can’t move. Zel usually gets mad if I’m late. Thanks, doggy. Where were you headed? I assume it wasn’t here for little ol’ me.”

Iro struggled not to stare at her unusual body but nodded at her question. “Y-yeah, I’m looking for Aranya. She’s supposed to fit my uniform.”

Holly nodded knowingly. “Yeah, this house can be confusing. Go out my door, turn right, end of this hall. That’s her workroom.

“Just so you know, she doesn’~t~ sleep nude, but she is a late sleeper. Nocturnal, you know. It’s hard for her to stick to Zel’s schedule, but Zel understands, so Aranya gets out of most morning duties.”

Iro began to leave as Holly became more active, stretching her limbs and reaching for a bottle of some thick blue fluid. “Thanks, I’ll just…leave you to that.”

Holly waved as he left and began to pour the liquid onto patches of her skin and rub it in. “See you later, doggy!”

Iro left Holly’s room and began walking down the hall, trying to clear his mind of inappropriate thoughts, but failing miserably.

What kind of things does she usually lock her mouth around? I was just asking if she ever shut up…

Finding the room indicated, Iro knocked on the door and heard a lazy mumble from within.

Taking it as permission, Iro pushed the door open and stepped in to find a spacious room filled with clothing design tools and mannequins. A loom against one wall sat dormant with white thread standing ready.

“A-Aranya? Zeltaria sent me to get my uniform fixed. And to get some more. Are you here?” Iro stepped inside and looked around.

There didn’t appear to be anyone here, and he certainly wouldn’t have missed a giant half-spider.

She was a little bigger than Cerys even, with her large black spider body, eight legs, and human half with well-endowed features. He really couldn’t have missed her. Right?

A quiet sliding sound alerted Iro’s ears, flicking for the source of the noise when a sudden tug on the back of his uniform turned into a hard pull, and Iro found himself lifted off his feet and flying up to the ceiling.

Screaming, he looked up and saw four chitinous spider legs reaching for him, grabbing him and tucking him against a warm and smooth carapace.

“F-five more minutes…Mikaaaa,” a sleepy voice said from above him. The spider legs slowly spun Iro, wrapping him in a sturdy strand of spider silk and causing him to shiver in discomfort and panic.

“Ara! Aranya! It’s me! Iro! T-the doggy! I’m not Mikaaaaa—”

The legs stopped and released him, falling almost to the floor before he was caught by those legs via the strand of silk.

Aranya slowly lowered herself from the rafters and pulleyed Iro back up over a beam, the big spider falling to his level as he rose to hers.

“Oh. The doggy…s-sorry. Mika usually comes in for snuggles or to wake me up early.” She swung herself forward gracefully, bringing her white-haired and eight-eyed face close to Iro’s. “I didn’t scare you, did I?”

Iro nodded frantically, still worried about being dropped. When he saw her face droop, he quickly stammered. “Y-y-you just surprised me, is all. I wasn’t expecting to fly like this.”

Aranya met his face and seemed to accept his explanation before using her clawed hands to tear through her silk cocoon around him and lower him to the floor. “Sorry about that. I’m always so groggy in the mornings.”

Iro caught his breath and shook his head. “I-it’s all right…I’m…just here for my uniform…stuff.”

Aranya lit up slightly and tapped her front two legs, drawing Iro’s attention to them. “Oh! I’ll get my tools. Wait here.”

Aranya began skittering around the room, and Iro watched and inspected her. She had eight spidery legs attached to her spider half and each one seemed to be covered in an inky-black chitin.

The tapping sound as she walked around suggested they were quite solid. Her human half conjoined to the spider half organically, with chitin running halfway up the small of her back and melding into her creamy human skin.

Aranya was dressed in a short pajama top that draped loosely over her ample chest, ending just above where her chitin blended into her skin.

Her hair, a silky white, moved fluidly with her, parted to reveal her glowing red eyes in all their intensity.

Once she was content with her selection of tools, Aranya turned back to Iro, a measuring tape in her hands. “First, we’ll get your measurements, then I can tweak that old thing you’re wearing. So…um…could you undress, please?”

Iro’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red. He let out a resigned sigh. “Guess I’ll have to get used to this, huh? The whole…being naked thing.”

Aranya’s giggle was light and airy, her clawed hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Y-yeah, I think while you’re serving Zeltaria, you’ll have to get used to this.”

Iro’s frown deepened as he pondered the implications of her words. Pushing the unsettling thoughts aside, he focused on the task at hand—getting undressed and getting fitted.