Zoe noticed Jeff's questions and worries over things that Heloise had said about their farm and the possibility that something on the farm interfered with Cupple's magic. A part of her wanted to join in to suit some curiosity, but from her right eye stalk, she could see Maize approaching her. This soon secured her full attention, as while the overall situation for the Chapman family was dangerous, and Zoe had the sense that she'd probably be a Slug Woman for the rest of her life, Maize was still her best friend from high school. Sure, they went to different colleges, but that hadn't ended the friendship between them. During the school year, Zoe actually got more emails from Maize than she did from her siblings and almost as much as from her mother. And so, as Maize approached, Zoe slid a bit on her tail so the two of them could talk with some degree of privacy.
"And so... you were turned into a Slug Woman by a sorcerer," Maize said slowly looking over Zoe's from, "and became a nudist..."
"More by two Slug Women that Cupple's somehow enslaved," Zoe answered, "and... well, their slime sort of disintegrated all the clothes that we were wearing, and when mom started to change, things happened so fast that we didn't have the time to get other clothes. Though... now that all of us have completed our transformations into Slug People... the slime we produce would eat away at most fabrics. So... we can't wear our old clothes now."
Maize gave a small smile, which Zoe couldn't tell was in acceptance of the explanation or something else. Slug People were known for a sort of passive aura that often-made people not notice some things, which had likely been what Megan and Jenny had manipulated to make sure that the Chapmans were exposed to enough of their slime carrying the transformative magic in it to transform. Not being the most knowledgeable on magic, Zoe wasn't sure how well that would work. She could remember all the things that she and Maize had done together as friends and on their high school's girls' sports teams, but if she was producing that sort of aura, Maize might actually remember being friends with a Slug Woman all her life and not a human. Zoe also felt her eyes drift over Maize's body for a brief moment. She didn't have the generous curves that the Chapman women had, and had inherited from Whitney, but Maize was reasonably strong and athletic, and that wasn't a bad thing. To a degree, Zoe preferred it as she'd always thought someone who was more active was more attractive than someone who wasn't active.
"So... what's it like being a Slug Woman?" Maize asked carefully.
"It's strange... some things feel the same as before," Zoe commented, "but in some ways some things feel different. I can't really wear clothes. There's then the odd sensation of how I move now. I mean, I slide forward on a tail and relying on slime to allow for it. Just about everything relies more on muscle strength..."
"Muscle strength?" Maize asked, "you got even stronger? I mean... you do long strong, stronger than Lucy... but..."
"It's more on things going on below my waist," Zoe managed with a small frown, she then twisted to let Maize see her back and ran her own hand down the center of her back, "I know my backbone is still there and my hip bones are still there." Zoe noted that Maize was following Zoe's hand with her eyes as Zoe ran her hand down her back and to where her hips flared out before transitioning into her tail. "But when I changed... it's like all the bones in my legs and feet turned to mush to become the muscle that is needed for me to balance on my tail."
"Did it hurt?" Maize asked.
"Not really," Zoe admitted, "what Megan and Jenny exposed us too left all of us a bit horny, likely a part what makes Slug People what they are. And eventually, it got to the point where I really couldn't take all the "tension" anymore and acted on it. Thus, my final transformation actually felt rather... good."
"Must be weird having a penis in addition to a vagina as a Slug Woman," Maize teased a bit.
"The weird thing is that pleasure from both... as a Slug Woman... is amazing," Zoe commented, "in that... there's probably nothing wrong with enjoying sex. The real problem that Megan and Jenny didn't even ask."
"Did that change anything else?" Maize asked with a small smirk that looked almost hopeful, "changes in attraction..."
Zoe blinked for a moment and then let her jaw drop for a moment with her sensory stalks on her lips dropping down for a moment. The line seemed to indicate that Maize still had her crush on her. She knew that Maize was a lesbian, and that hadn't hurt their friendship, but she'd long had the thought that Maize wouldn't still have her crush.
"I mean... Slug People are largely "female" with them being hermaphrodites and males like Jeff are exceedingly rare," Maize said slowly, "so... it'd stand to reason that you'd become at least bi..."
"You're still..." Zoe said slowly, not accusing and not asking, but just stating.
"Yeah... I know," Maize said slowly, "and I've met some people in college, but... it's like none of them have ever matched up well with you. And I suppose, you were the only one outside of my family that I've really felt close to."
Zoe wanted to say something but was still trying to process the surprise. At the same time, something in her just wanted to hug Maize and assure her that things would be fine. Her eyes also then drifted over Maize's chest and hips. Maize wasn't as curvy as she was, but Zoe knew Maize was athletic and as her eyes drifted down over Maize's hips a thought ran through Zoe's mind about things she could do with Maize. Things that did relate to her present status as a Slug Woman, and this did raise an alertness in Zoe that there was some attraction thee. It likely did come from highly sexual nature that Slug People had, and at the same time came with something in Zoe's mind that said that Maize was not blood family and thus that would be okay, if Maize was actually into her as a Slug Woman. At the same time, Zoe also seemed to "feel" for Maize in a way that felt more emotional that Zoe expected.
"You couldn't find anyone to date?" Zoe asked.
"I'd found a date here and there," Maize admitted, "but nothing that ever worked out. They were nice and all... but nothing ever really "zinged." So, we've been friends, but nothing serious. It's then left me comparing many of them to you. I know you are straight... but... emotionally..."
"You bonded to me the most," Zoe softly and a thought in the back of her mind screaming to reach out and touch Maize's hand. But she couldn't.
"Yeah," Maize looked down, "and I know you're embarrassed and dealing with a lot of real big stuff right now... and I know all of this is selfish of me... but... I had to ask."
"It's okay," Zoe managed an embarrassed smile and feeling the blood rush to her cheeks and was sure the sensory stalks at the corners of her lips were also darker than before, "as... you've always been a good friend to me.... and..." her voice grew softer as she continued, "right now... as a Slug Woman... there IS a part of me that is interested. Though right now, because you're human... sex with me would be like sex with a man for you. As the part of me that is attracted... knows you're female and knows that I'm a hermaphrodite now."
"Sorry... I..." Maize started.
"No," Zoe cut Maize off, "all other things aside, emotionally I've always been there for you. As a friend and everything else. What's happened... changes some things for me, physically, and that has its own changes. But as far as emotions go... I'm still your friend. I'd want you to be happy. Thus, if I can do that now... a part of me would really want that, and in more than just sex. Especially since it's probable that we'll never be human again."
Maize actually smiled and was about to say something when a new voice cut into the conversation.
"That sounds nice, dear," came Whitney's voice, making Zoe turn to see that the conversation between the rest of her family and Maize's mother, Heloise, had ended, "but that'd all be something better saved until after Cupple is defeated and behind bars. Otherwise, we'd only make the Grenzes targets that would be unfair to them, not to mention dangerous."
Zoe could only stand there, though she shrank back on her tail a little. She also glanced with one eye to see Maize blushing a little, but also seeing that Heloise looked supportive. She guessed that Heloise knew her oldest daughter's sexual leanings and was supportive, which was a good thing. However, Zoe had never told her family about Maize taking interest in her while they were in high school. At the time, Zoe had been human and her friendship with Maize wasn't hurt by the fact that Zoe was straight. Zoe, thus, felt no need to tell anyone. Now, though it appeared that her own conversation was overheard.
"But once Cupple is no longer a threat..." Whitney spoke with an assuring tone, "we would be more than happy to welcome Maize into the family."
Zoe found herself smiling at that.
"Though we still have our present mission on getting the information needed to stop Cupple," Whitny then spoke.