“Hup?”

Tulips brief rest did not last as long as her aching lungs would have liked. When she failed to give an answer, Lynda’s massive hands scooped the dragon up by her armpits in a panic.

“Oh, my gawd! Tulip? Speak to me! Did I hurt you?”

The world spun with an uncontrollable bobbing that overtook Tulip’s head. All five of her limbs flailed limply through the air, unable to connect with her rattling brain. It was just nice Lynda could be gentle in her shaking of the dragon's sleek body. Soon the feeling slowly returned to Tulip’s nerves, and she grasped the elephant by their wrists, putting a thankful stop to the rocking motions.

“I’m just...f-fine Lynda.” Tulip managed a crooked smile, eyes still spinning in her skull. She had no idea if it was from the shaking or the massive rear view they had just taken in. Either way, that had not been an entirely awful experience. “I’ve...ugh, I’ve been around hippos enough already. This is nothing I’m not used t-too.”

WHOOMP!!

“Hmmphhh!!?” Tulip felt her body lurch forward only for the world to go dark again. Renewed struggles against an even softer part of the elephant went ignored, much like her muffled cries for mercy.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Lynda gave a cheerful trumpet. Her hold on Tulip turned into a hug that cocooned the dragon in chunky gray arms. “I was so worried I went too far. You have no idea how hard it is to manage like this.”

A flash of movement caught Lynda’s eye, turning her smile into a small scowl. From their table Yuki was gawking back at the elephant like she had just committed a murder, while her kitsune date grappled their table in the throes of hysterical laughter. All the elephant could do was shrug back with a silent mouthing of ‘I’m trying here!’

“Tulip…?” Their reactions were kind of understandable when Lynda regarded the dragon once more. Or rather, what small parts of them were visible. Lynda’s emotional bear hug had unwittingly shoved the dragon face first between the hanging boulders of her black breasts. About the only thing visibly of Tulip was her tail tuft and the back of her horned head. “Oh...gawd damn...I’m so sorry Tulip!”

Tulip said nothing immediately after being pulled away. Unless you count the frantic gasp for air. This woman’s ability to hold her breath for long periods was rather impressive to Lynda. Regardless, the elephant set her down before her emotions made this situation any more sexually awkward.

“It...It’s fine, Lynda, really.” Tulip adjusted her glasses, surprised they had not broken after being smothered by an elephant twice. Despite efforts to shake the dizziness off, her mind and eyes remained almost enthralled by Lynda’s rich cleavage. No hippo she had ever met sported a pair so warm and engulfing before. A year of adventures alone almost made her forget what the embrace even felt like.

Too bad Lynda interpreted the dragons constant shifting and violet blushing as anger. She was already stomping past the confused dragon, intending to buy a gallon of ice cream. Perhaps eat it all in front of Yuki as a form of petty spite. “I’m just going to...go. Yeah. Sorry for being so stupid, but it was really nice to meet you Tulip. I can’t wait for you…”

Two smaller hands grabbed onto Lynda’s, dragging the three ton pachyderm to a full stop. She whirled, expecting to receive a chastising, or at least a threat of an assault charge. Instead, Tulip’s eyes sparkled with a smile that could melt any ice cream.

Lynda’s jaw dropped as she became lost in those aqua iris’s. For a moment she had glimpsed something majestic spanning back through centuries of heritage. And even more amazing was Tulip seemed apparently unaware of the aura she admitted. Tension dissolved under an awe-inspiring glow, letting Lynda know everything was cool.

But then the moment passed, causing both of them to blink out of their dream. Tulip glanced at her hands unable to wrap around Lynda’s one meaty palm and recoiled like the gray skin had burned her.

“You don’t...have to leave. It’s really alright, Lynda. You should just warn a girl next time you’re going to do something so...extreme.”

Lynda giggled, still reeling to comprehend whatever sensations had passed between them. “Yeah, it’s easy to say in hindsight. I’ve been so frustrated about work lately I guess I let things...wait, next time?”

“What? O-oh!” Tulip passed a hand over her face as her tail thrashed hard against the sands. Much of her body was looking a shade of red to the point it might combust from embarrassment. “I mean...Ugh, I need a shower.”

That had not been her intended line, but Tulip’s hand had traveled around the crest of her scalp to the back of her neck. Her unexpected butt inspection had resulted in a lot of sand getting under her scales. The sun had warmed it up, making the skin itch in places her claws could not reach.

“O-oh,” Lynda said, equally confused by the random declaration. Come to think of it, her front and rear were scratching in some deeply embarrassing places, making her regret being in public again. Sand glistened off her swimsuit where they had pressed Tulip into. “Mind if I shower with you?”

“I, gah, what?” Tulip’s mind had become a lot less focused than usual. A brief fantasy inappropriate for all ages crossed her subconscious, followed by a confused self-chastising for thinking such crude things. Especially since Lynda was already trudging towards the poles of public showers for cleaning off sea water. The natural bounce and shake of their rear was almost taunting. “Y-yeah. Sure.”

It was clear even before Lynda got to the showers that they would face her with another challenge. All the shower heads had been built around seven feet tall, leaving them barely at a height to sprinkle across her bust. She wondered just how rare elephants were in these parts. There had to be bears or something that needed the extra size consideration once in a while too. Her trunk puffed with an angry snort as she tried twisting the hose. Surprisingly, it yielded at least enough to raise the shower head into an arching spray across her face.

A soft yelp came from behind, making her grin at Tulips skittish reaction to the water. It was freezing cold, no different from the crashing waves a few yards away. After a few tries, she managed to linger under the downpour, letting her limbs get used to the shock. Hands caressed across her chest, waist, down to her hips, working out all the stuck grains in her scales. Feeling it all wash away sent her tail wagging with a pleasant moan.

Lynda quickly turned away, trying to not to dwell on the unintentionally alluring display this was making. Those were the glistening curves of a goddess. No way she would go for some dump truck full of lard like her.

“Crap.” Tulip nearly scared the elephant when her mumbling broke the silence. Her hand was fussing to scratch under an armpit. “As nice as this day is, I don’t like sand.”

Lynda shook her head with a giggle, sending droplets raining off her flapping ears and trunk. “Would you say it’s rough, course, and it gets everywhere?”

“That would be an understatement,” Tulip replied with an unseen nod. Hands remained zeroed in on rubbing her lower arms while trying to reach around to her back. “It’s even worse with scales. You think you washed it all out and hours later you sit down to realize there’s a bunch stuck under your tail...wait, was that supposed to be a movie reference!?”

Lynda rolled back her head, letting out the breath she was holding. “Oh, thank gawd! I would feel weird if you didn’t catch that.”

“Like anyone can forget that cinematic massacre of Shakespeare, right?”

“Seriously, you’ve watched Star Wars too?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tulip turned to jab Lynda in her squishy fat hip, other hand resting on her hip to feign indignation. “You think I’m some kind of girl that doesn’t enjoy movies?”

“N-no, hah. It’s just...I mean, you do so much traveling and stuff.”

“I don’t spend most of my life miles from civilization, silly. There are plenty forms of entertainment I like to partake in.”

“Oh, hey, me too!” Lynda turned to Tulip, more so to give her sandy butt a good rinsing. Swallowing the lump in her through, the elephant grabbed her trunk, forcing the words out before she could reconsider. “Would you want to see a movie with me then?”

“Whoa…” In her defense, the gentle side-to-side rocking of Lynda’s hips became a literal big distraction. Not even the shower spray could drench all that span at once, forcing the elephant into a bumping dance. Eventually Tulip’s mind realized she had asked her a question, one that quickly made her blush return. “O-oh! Well, gosh. It’s been ages since I’ve been out.”

“Sorry, it’s a stupid idea.” Lynda gave a sigh, trying to hide her depression by smacking the water off her cleaned rump. The violent jiggling that brought to her cheeks was not helping Tulip’s focus any.

“Who said it was?!” Tulip snapped so fast it surprised both of them. It was clear this elephant had a lot of self-confidence issues, but that brief display of dominance had caught a dragon’s attention. Her curiosity was way too peeked to just let them slink off with tail between their legs. Unfortunately, there were some other problems. “It’s just that I have work tomorrow. A movie might be much if we will be out late.”

“Ooooh,” said Lynda with obvious relief. A lot more cheer had returned to her backside washing while she smiled down at Tulip. “I still feel terrible about, um, sitting on you without permission. Can I at least buy you some drinks? Maybe dinner?”

Why did she have to bring up food? Tulip was ready to decline any offers with her phone number as compensation. Just the thought of nourishment made her stomach clench hard in protest. That was its angry reminder she had consumed almost nothing all day thanks to her adoring fans.

“Y-you know what? I am feeling a bit peckish. Dinner would be lovely.”

Apparently Lynda had not been planning to have her invitation accepted either. She straightened up with a deadpan blink, but slowly grew into a wide grin. Tulip got the feeling she could not have made this elephant happier if she had won the lottery.

“You serious? I mean, sweet! I know a great place down the street.”

“Fantastic! Do you have a change of clothes?” Lynda nodded a bit too enthusiastically. “Let’s get a little more decent and meet back here in thirty minutes?”

“Oh, thank you, Tulip!” Lynda stomped forward for another hug, but the horrified way Tulip back peddled made her reconsider. “Eh heh. I will...see you soon then. Yeah.”

The girls shut off their respective showers before parting ways into a brief respite. Lynda was mentally walking on air, but physically quaked the ground with happy bounces. Those that were not shaken off their feet were left gawking at the heavy jostling of Lynda’s, well, everything. It was a miracle she did not get hit in the face with her own sloshing boobs.

Yuki had grown used to this, so easily prevented her ice cream from slipping off its cone upon the elephants approach. “Hey, Lynda! I haven’t seen you this happy since the coffee machine overflowed and got us free lattes for a week. Did things go well?”

“Better than ever!” Lynda did a little victory booty dance in place, distracting Yuki’s kitsune friend. “Can I have the car keys? I need to change for my date.”