The refreshingly hot coffee washed down my throat as I sat at the breakfast table, staring out of the tall window to my side. The bright early morning sunshine streamed in, splashing the furniture. It was the only window in the whole house I liked to keep completely clean. It was a spot I could always retreat to when I needed to think.
This wasn't hard anyway, since the house was almost always quiet. Even though I lived with someone else, it didn't feel like it. A few months ago, I was approached via a letter I picked up in my mailbox about hosting a 'monster girl' - which was exactly what it sounded like. I figured I was chosen for the program because of my steady income and decent living space, but there were bound to be other factors.
It wasn't just monster girls, though. Less than a year ago, it turned out a whole world of monstrous people existed that lived completely isolated from us, coming from all manners of cultures - some even based on mythologies. Now, people are making efforts to try and welcome them into our society through government programs. I would say it was going well enough, though some species seemed more reluctant than others to integrate.
The girl I was chosen to host moved in almost immediately. Her name was Luceria, and she was known as an Arachnoid, specifically the spider variety. The only problem at the moment is that I've been nothing but kind to her ever since she got here, but she always closes herself off from me. She doesn't talk to me, and she hardly acknowledges me. I've tried almost everything to close the gap between us but she just won't budge.
When I checked my watch again I saw it was getting past nine o'clock. I drank the last of my coffee and stood up groggily to go take a shower. After dropping my dishes in the kitchen adjacent, I left and went into the wide hallway. The first door on my left was Luceria's room. It was closed again this morning, like always. I reached for the knob to open it but it was locked. I sighed.
Staring at it for a moment longer, I decided to try to talk to her anyway. I wasn't going to give up yet. I knocked lightly on the wood with my knuckle.
"Hey, I'm gonna be in the shower in case you need me for anything."
There was no response. To be honest, there was never any way of knowing whether or not she was even awake -- much less what her sleeping habits were.
Leaving it at that I walked away. I proceeded further down the hall and turned, where the bathroom sat at the very end of the corridor. I stepped in onto the cold tiles and closed the door softly behind me. I collected my towel from the silver rack on the wall and draped it over the top of the shower screen.
After getting undressed I pulled the shower knob towards me and the hot water came rushing out. I stepped underneath it and began to soak my messy brown hair. I was most likely due for a haircut, but I haven't been out as much lately apart from commuting to work.
I closed my eyes and my head rolled back. The water splashed down my chest as I stood there, my body heat slowly rising. My thoughts began to drift the more I relaxed and I was taken to Luceria. I said I wasn't going to give up yet, but in all honesty it was getting to the point where I worried we wouldn't ever connect with each other. Maybe we just weren't compatible; a bad match that couldn't have been predicted by the program. I sighed again longingly.
As if I snapped out of a daydream, I opened my eyes and drew my head back to the front. I rubbed my eyes as I drew in a deep breath. When I turned around to grab the bottle of shampoo sitting on the shelf I saw the bathroom door wide open, a giant, dark looming figure standing in the doorway. I jumped back into the wall, almost slipping over. It was Luceria, holding a towel over her arm.
"Jesus, you scared me," I said to her. What freaked me out more though was the fact I didn't hear her.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Luceria replied. Her voice was gentle, as if it could be carried away by the wind, yet it was full of authority.
Only after recovering from being frightened did I process that she walked in on me having a shower. I quickly turned my back to her.
"Wh-What are you doing here?" I asked, clearing my throat of my light embarrassment.
"I thought I'd join you in here, since I realised I could use a bath anyway."
"Couldn't you've waited until after I was done?"
"Well, I suppose I could... I apologise. If it's too embarrassing, I can leave if you like. I only thought we might be able to spend some time together."
Suddenly I felt bad. It was the most genuine sounding thing I had heard Luceria say since I'd known her. And I definitely appreciated the thought.
"Um... No, th-that's okay," I took back. "You can stay," I told her after reconsidering as she went to turn away. Hoping she wouldn't notice, I secretly made the water hotter to form a thicker coverage of steam on the glass.
Luceria nodded and walked the rest of the way inside. There was enough space in the bathroom to accommodate her body comfortably, since that was the reason for her living her. She was far taller than me; two metres or slightly more if I had to guess, with the human portion of her body attached on her front, similar to a centaur.
As I stood there I couldn't help but watch closely as she walked by the shower, peering curiously at her abnormal body: the whole frame looked sleek and elegant, even including the way she walked despite her many legs.
She had a large abdomen with a hard but smooth black shell covering it along with the rest of her body. Her eight slender legs extended out from under her, each ending in points that gripped whatever she walked on with ease. Her forearms, including her fingers, were made of the same hard exoskeleton as her body rather than flesh, and she had an extra pair of dark beading eyes on her forehead. Seeing her so rarely left me still unused to her appearance, but I didn't mind it at all.
Reaching down she turned on the bath against the wall on the other side of the bathroom. The water came gushing out of the tap and she held her hand out to feel the temperature, adjusting the knobs to suit her. When it looked like she was satisfied she pulled her hand away and suddenly the water's temperature coming from the showerhead over me dropped. I stepped out of the stream to avoid it.
After waiting patiently for a long moment, Luceria cut off the water to the bath and began to undress. She pulled up the oversized white shirt she wore up her body, leaving her back exposed. I felt my heartbeat quicken and I turned away from her to avoid looking.
Wearing people's clothes was difficult for Luceria, but I could tell she was managing. On a normal day she would walk around in a large shirt that covered her entire front, depending on how she was feeling. Underneath, I was fairly certain she wore normal bras. She brought her own clothes with her when she arrived but I've tried buying some for her in the past, usually as a token of friendship. It never really worked as I hoped.
I awkwardly stared at the shower wall, pretending to notice new details about the boring grey tiles despite the fact I wasn't able to see much anyway. When I glanced over my shoulder she had sat herself down inside the bath. The water was heavily displaced around her abdomen as it sank down in front of her, the underside of her belly exposed. Her legs were curled inwards as she rested her elbows on either edge of the bath while her long, straight blonde hair flowed down over her shoulders.
"How have you been lately?" Luceria suddenly asked me while I started to go back to cleaning myself.
"Uh - good, I guess," I replied, pumping body wash in my hand. The sudden interaction had caught me off guard. "Work hasn't been too bad so I've been able to stay here and relax a bit more."
She nodded. "I've noticed that. What do you do for a living, if I might ask?"
"Actually, I'm a graphic designer. For a product company in the city."
"Graphic designer...?" Luceria questioned back, puzzled.
I forgot that she probably wasn't perfectly acquainted with the outside world yet. "I draw stuff: logos, marketing pieces, that kind of thing," I rephrased. "Though I've been wanting to do more art in my free time -- maybe try different things."
"I see. You must be a creative person then."
