***
Chapter Twelve   -   Love Underwater


Jason scampered off down the hall, trying to remember the way back to the playroom. He wasn't sure if Leanna would be back inside by now, but it was a good place to start looking. If she wasn't in her tank, he'd go back outside and see if she was still out by the tree.

The little fox's ears swiveled about. He didn't think he was quite lost. But it was a big house after all, and he'd hardly seen any of it so far. He stopped in the middle of the long, wood-paneled hallway, searching for familiar sounds or smells. The air was still and silent. And then he realized he had to pee.

"Oh crap. Where's the bathroom?" he wondered out loud.

Immediately, something grey and furry appeared in front of his face.

"YAAAAAAHH!!"

Rosie grinned ear to ear and shook with the giggles.

When Jason's heart had stopped thumping, he realized that Rosie was hanging from the ceiling. She had swung down right in front of him to spook him.

She beamed at him, almost perfectly eye to eye even though she was upside down. "Aw, I was hoping all your fur would fly off like in the cartoons!"

"You're dethpicable!" Jason lisped comically.

"Yeah, but I can get away with it because I'm cute!" she said, and blew a raspberry at him.

Jason could not hold in a chuckle at that. "You certainly are."

"An' the bathroom's just behind you, by the way," she pointed out with her wing.

"Thanks. Uh, do you know where Leanna is too?"

A brisk bat nod. "She's in her tank."

"Good. And which way's that? I'm kinda lost."

She giggled at him. "Just keep going down the hall and turn left. The great big doors. It's right there!"

Jason felt a little silly. "Oh, okay. Hey, I'm new here!"

"I know. An' it's okay." She perked up suddenly. "Oh! That reminds me, are you gonna have some of me tonight for dinner?" she asked with an excited gleam in her wide yellow eyes.

"Well, I guess so," he replied.

"Great! I taste really good! I love being eaten!" she said with obvious exuberance.

"Really?"

"Uh huh! You should try one of my feet. And an ear. They're my best parts," she informed him in the same tone as a waitress reading off the specials.

"Okay. Um, will you just be lying there on the table... cooked?" he asked a bit nervously.

"No, of course not! After Jared cooks me, or before sometimes, he cuts my head off and 'juvenates me and I get to eat me with everyone else at the table."

Jason tried to picture in his mind what she was saying. "I think I get it. I guess I'll just wait till dinnertime and see what happens."

"Okay. Wanna yiff later?" she asked in her cutest voice.

The little bat's smile was irresistible. "Sure, I s'pose so. I was gonna go yiff Leanna now, but we can yiff later on too."

"Allright." She gave him a soft little nuzzle with her big batty nose. "You're really handsome, new brother," she told him in a sweet whisper.

With that, she let go from the ceiling, turned a perfect somersault in midair, and went flying off down the hall. Her happiness seemed to improve her agility in flight dramatically.

Jason turned around and watched her go. He saw her little grey tail swish in the air behind her, the round white poof of her diaper, and her little bare pink feet. Jason had never thought a bat was more adorable.

~ ~ ~

After following Rosie's directions (having forgotten all about the bathroom), Jason found himself once again in the enormous playroom. He wondered how long it would eventually take him to look through all the neat stuff here. Some of the video games in particular he'd seen advertised and thought they looked really cool.

At the far end of the room, Leanna was swimming about in her tank. She spotted him and waved him over.

Jason crossed the room as Leanna popped out of the water at the top of the tank with a little splash. A few drops of water landed on him and made him shiver. "Oops, sorry!"

He gave his fur a shake. "That's okay. Um, I got my dick back," he told her. The naked little fox spread his legs to display his rejuvenated foxhood. "See?"

"Allright!!" Leanna looked at it hungrily. "Come on up. I assume Dad rejuvenated the rest of you too?"

Jason noticed a ladder running up the side of the tank. He started to ascend. "Uh huh. You can do that drowning thing you mentioned earlier. I'm not scared."

"Good, and you don't have to be," the little merfox assured. "You'll be fine. And if something does go wrong, I'll be right here to swim you out again, don't worry!"

At the top of the ladder, Jason looked down into the tank, amazed once more at how much work had been done to make it into a perfect little underwater bedroom. Leanna reached out her paw to him and he accepted it. She helped steady him as he stepped off the ladder into the tank. He was expecting the water to be chilly, like at the beach. However, it was actually quite comfortably warm. He bobbed at the surface, up to his waist. "Hey, this is nice!"

Leanna smiled, happy that her new friend and sibling was enjoying her aquarium. She put her paws gently on his shoulders. "Are you ready?"

He could see her pretty fish tail swaying back and forth below the water. He looked up into her emerald eyes. He smiled bashfully at how pretty she was. "I am," he said bravely.

"Okay. Just relax and try to breathe like normal. It'll be scary at first. Rosie really freaked out the first time. She got used to it pretty quick though. Mike and Sarah took to it even easier."

"What about Jared?"

She giggled. "He flopped around like a trout for a bit before he realized he was breathing okay!"

Jason grinned at the mental image of that. He took a deep, calming breath and nodded to Leanna. "Okay. Drown me," he said, and mentally added, 'I can't believe I just said that!'

Leanna put her arms around him and pulled them both down.

The water closed over Jason's head. He'd never been a good swimmer, but he liked going to the beach and the community pool anyway. Every now and then he'd let himself sink and see how long he could hold his breath. He realized now how hard it would be to let his breath go and not panic when he couldn't get any air.

Leanna looked right into his eyes with an expression of firm reassurance. He could tell she was very serious about this and was ready to help if he 'freaked out' like Rosie had.

Mustering his courage, Jason opened his mouth. His air left him in a spray of tiny bubbles that zoomed up to the surface of the water. He knew now he'd have to take a breath.

Leanna's encouraging gaze urged him on. "Go on, Jason. You'll be okay," she told him. He was surprised to find he could still understand her words almost perfectly.

Jason inhaled and felt the water rushing into him. He choked reflexively and his whole body twitched. Leanna held him closer, but not tightly. His instincts were screaming at him. He could feel the water sloshing in his lungs. He knew he was starting to panic.

"Breathe!" Leanna urged.

Jason exhaled.

He inhaled.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Out.

In.

"Hey!" he realized. "I'm doing it!" He was breathing underwater! He'd succeeded!

Leanna gave him a big hug. "I knew you could do it! Good for you, Jason!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Jason murred at that. "Well, I did it so that I could get to be with you, Leanna."

She gave him another kiss. "Thanks," she said softly.

Leanna broke the hug and then swam swiftly around him. "Well, welcome to my room. What do you think?"

Jason was impressed enough just by the fact that he was standing on the floor of an aquarium and breathing like normal (and she was right about it taking a bit more effort to breathe water, but it wasn't noticeable enough to annoy). However, Leanna's little living space was pretty nifty as well. There was plenty of room to swim around in, with more than enough space left over for a bookshelf, boxes of toys, a small mattress with several vinyl plushies sitting on it, and... "Is that a stereo!?" Jason marveled.

"Yeah! Dad bought it for me last Christmas. He found it in some catalogue of spy-type stuff when he was buying things to add to the security system. It plays regular CDs and MP3s, and it's 100% insulated from water! I have no idea how it works, but it does!"

"That is one of the coolest things I've seen all day," said Jason. "Not THE coolest, 'cuz I've seen so many, but it's definitely up on the list." She giggled. "Of course, a cute merfox is even cooler!"

She swam closer to snuggle up against him. "Thanks. I really do appreciate how nice you're being to me." Her gaze told him subtly that she hadn't found this kind of acceptance in her past, and that she meant her words very sincerely.

Jason was about to say something back, maybe compliment her beautiful hair, when his bladder decided to interrupt him. "Oh darn. I just remembered. I gotta pee. I'm sorry. I'll just go and come back."

Leanna's eyes lit up with naughty excitement. "No way! Stay right here!"

"But I don't want to pee in your tank! It seems rude."

She chuckled. "I don't mind. There's a really good filtration thingy in here. And anyway, I want you to! I pee in here all the time. It's fun!"

He grinned at the idea. "Really? Well... okay. It's not like I've never peed in the shower before. Sometimes I even point my dick straight up and see how high I can get it to go, like a park fountain."

She was impressed. "Really? Dang, I wish I had a penis!"

He chuckled. "You can borrow mine for a while if you like!" She laughed with him. As Jason laughed, he felt a first squirt sneak out.

Leanna noticed. "Here it comes!" she said eagerly.

Jason let go then. He felt his stream flow out into the water around him. Leanna was right; this was fun! It felt quite naughty, like he was getting away with something. Leanna looked very enthusiastic about his pee.

She put her paw in front of his penis. "I can feel it coming out!"

Jason stuck out his paw too. He could feel the little warm stream. "Me too."

Leanna leaned down so she could feel the stream on her muzzle. She giggled. She moved her head back and forth, letting Jason's pee go all over her face. She adored the sensation of the warm little spray. She'd always liked having fun with pee. She even wore diapers like Rosie every now and then, just for fun (though Jared had to special order them to fit her fin).

Watching Leanna enjoy his pee, Jason was starting to get hard. He tried to keep his arousal down so he could keep on peeing for her, but it was really a challenge! She had the cutest smile as she opened her mouth and let his urine touch her outstretched tongue. She licked her lips and looked up at him and said "Yummy!"

That did it. His flow stopped immediately as his penis went rock-hard. Leanna marveled at it. "Wow! It got bigger!"

"It's what dicks do," he couldn't resist quipping.

"Obviously! It's just, yours is nice! I like it. It's very handsome."

Jason blushed a bit and his dick seemed to swell a little more. "Thanks!"

She swam up to give him another hug. She murred as she felt Jason's penis touch her scales. "Um, I have to pee a little bit too. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all. It's okay." It was more than okay! The thought that this beautiful vixen was about to pee right in front of him made Jason feel like he was about to explode!

Leanna swam a little bit aways and floated like she was lying on her back. "I'm going to pee now," she informed him in a playful tone.

Leanna's cunny was a delightful pink blossom. A perfectly-shaped little hole, nestled at the very end of where her fur met her scales. Jason looked closely and could actually see the little current as her pee started coming out. He passed his paw over and could feel it too.

Her eyes shone as she watched him come closer to put his muzzle in it like she had done with his. Leanna was so excited to know that her new brother enjoyed this as much as she did!

The tickly little stream passed over Jason's nose. He smiled. It felt so nice! He opened his mouth and could feel and taste the tiny spray on his tongue. He couldn't believe he was actually tasting Leanna's pee! And it wasn't bad at all! Just a nice, light salty flavor. Jason looked up and could see in her eyes how happy Leanna was to be sharing this moment with him.

He wanted to make her even happier. Slowly, just in case she wasn't ready to go this far yet, he moved his mouth closer. He felt her tremble in excitement. He kissed her right on her beautiful sex and held his lips there, savoring the last little trickles of her flow.

"Oh Jason! That feels so good! Are you going to eat me?" she asked eagerly.

"I'd love to! If you want me to, that is," he said, doing his best to be gentlemanly about it.

"Of course I want you to, silly! I'd love that!" she said. Then she got a better idea. "Hey, let's go over and lie on my beanbags. Then we can lie side by side and I can eat you, too!"

"Okay!" Jason immediately agreed. He watched Leanna flutter over first. She was so graceful in the water; she looked weightless. He joined her shortly and laid down beside her, face to face for now so he could give her a kiss. Their nosepads touched as they smooched.

Jason got himself turned around so he was looking into the little pink folds of Leanna's cunny again. "It's very beautiful," he told her.

"Thank you. So is yours," she said in a purring tone, then added, "It looks tasty too!"

Jason wriggled in anticipation of feeling his cock inside Leanna's mouth. "Wow, two blowjobs in one day! How lucky can I get? Jared sucked on it a little while ago too!"

She giggled. "If he did, I'll bet I can do even better!"

"Oh, I dunno, Jared did a pretty good job. You'll have to try hard," he kidded.

"I will. And I hope you will too."

"Don't worry, I promise!" Jason said.

Thus mutually assured that they would do their best, the two little ones began to pleasure each other. Leanna took the lead, slipping the tip of Jason's hard foxcock into her mouth. It was indeed very tasty. She ran her tongue over the little strawberry-shaped head, loving the feel and flavor of it. Leanna often liked to show Jared how much she loved him by giving him a nice blowjob. She knew she was good at it, not just because she practiced often, but because she honestly enjoyed it. 'Cocks are fun to nibble on!' she thought.

Jason's tail shot straight out as Leanna licked him. She _was_ good at this! Not wanting to hog all the fun, Jason wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her muff with his little leathery nosepad. He felt her wiggle in response. He nudged gently at her folds for a bit, just gently teasing her for now. Then he gave her a sudden long lick and she yipped in happiness!

"*Yiff*! Oh Jason!" she cried out. She gave his penis a very gentle little nibble on the tip, then let it slide into her mouth. Her muzzle was a bit long for a fox, but she'd never minded. Not only did most people say it fit her face nicely, but it meant that Jason's cock fit nice and snug inside. She let her tongue explore the warm cock. This was her first time playing with her new brother's penis, and she wanted to really appreciate the moment and hold it in her memory. She'd felt attached to Jason right from the start from how shy and kind and understanding he'd been with her. She knew this would be the start of lots more yiffy adventures between them.

Jason felt just the same. As he lapped gently at Leanna's pretty pussy, he found himself wondering if this all wasn't some blissful dream. Here he was, cuddling with a vixen who was sweet, smart and friendly, who he'd be sharing his life with from now on. He rubbed his cheek tenderly on her tail. He was surprised how smooth and slick it felt, almost like silk. Leanna would have been gorgeous enough as just a regular vixen, but her mermaid tail made her unique and special and all the more wonderful.

Tiny bubbles danced through the water all around them. The two foxes enjoyed the warmth and taste of one another for a bit longer. Soon though, they felt themselves approaching climax. Being that they were young and already excited from their pee play, it was a little fast, but neither of them minded. As they knew, this was just their first time. They would always be able to share many more.

Jason came first. His back arched and he yipped and yiffed as he squirted his seed into Leanna's mouth. She happily suckled on him, loving the taste of his cream and how deliciously naughty it felt to eat it all up. Jason buried his muzzle in her cunny one more time, driving his tongue in forcefully. The suddenness of it pushed Leanna towards her own peak as well. Jason felt a splash of tangy fox fluid tickle his tastebuds. He licked and slurped and did his best to catch it all.

Afterwards, Leanna squirmed around to face her new brother again. She kissed him right on the lips, passionately thanking him for how good he'd made her feel.

Jason hugged her close and added his own thanks to their kiss.

"Oh Jason!" she finally blurted out. "That was great! You did that sooooo good!"

"You're welcome! I really wanted to make you happy. And you did a great job too!"

"Was I better than Jared?" she asked slyly.

Jason was flustered. "Um, well..." He suddenly smiled. "I'm not sure. I'll have to get a few more of those before I make a decision."

She burst out laughing and squeezed him. He laughed with her and the two new siblings snuggled contentedly together in the warm cozy water.



***
Chapter Thirteen   -   Sarah Drops In


Jason and Leanna spent a happy half hour or so chatting, snuggling, and finding inventive places to kiss one another. Like at the picnic, the conversation was mostly Jason asking all sorts of questions about what it was like to live at Foxhole Manor. Leanna helpfully supplied him with all the answers she could. For instance, she told him that in the fall, he'd probably go with her, Rosie and Mike to a school a few miles down the road. The school was just a regular public one, but there were plenty of fun teachers, and the kids were usually pretty accepting about other fursons who were different.

She also explained that the reason they could talk together underwater was due to a special acoustic system in the glass of the tank. Leanna had no idea how it worked, but she did know that it involved a layer of some kind of gas trapped between the panes, and that it was invented by an old college friend of Jared's who'd given him a sweet deal on it.

Partway through their conversation, Leanna was suddenly embarrassed by a fart that decided it just had to come out at that very moment. A column of bubbles, like little pearls, spontaneously appeared from her tailhole (which was located an inch below her cunny).

The merfox's cheeks turned redder, but Jason was not at all offended. In fact, he laughed his tail off, then promptly let off a nice loud one himself.

Emboldened, Leanna tried to impress him by squeezing off an even bigger one.

This soon degenerated into the sort of naughty audio contest that only little kids can really get away with.

The water was soon filled with bubbles and both Jason and Leanna were paralyzed with laughter.

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the side of the tank.

They looked up, and there was Sarah. She had a grin on her face that let them know she'd definitely been witness to their little competition.

"Is this a private pool pooting party or can anyone join?" she asked.

Naturally, this drove the hapless foxes into another fit of hysterics. Leanna was barely able to gesture for her temporary sister to come on in.

Sarah climbed the ladder and did a mini-cannonball into the tank. She'd often spent time in Leanna's tank during her stay and she switched to underwater breathing quite easily. "You two are gross," she pointed out.

Leanna stuck her tongue out at her.

"But you're not as gross as me!" Sarah added, then bent over and impersonated a trumpet.

The three of them laughed so hard their sides hurt.

Sarah made her way over to the others to lie down beside them. She snuggled in and soon the three of them were tickling each other and giggling even more than they thought possible.

Finally, Jason and Leanna just plain collapsed from exhaustion. Nothing in the world can make one feel so simultaneously drained and content as the end of a laughing fit.

"If you tickle me anymore, I'll die," Jason told Sarah.

"Oh allright. I'll spare your life... This time!" She wiggled her fingers ominously, heralding the imminent return of the tickle monster someday.

"That was fun!" Leanna stated after getting her breath back.

"I wasn't interrupting anything for real, was I?" Sarah asked.

"No, it's okay. Jason and I already yiffed. We were just talking," Leanna told her.

Sarah grinned in excitement. "Ooh, does that mean I can have a turn with him now?"

"I don't mind if Jason doesn't," said Leanna.

"I don't!" Jason quickly asserted. This WAS his lucky day! Cute girls were throwing themselves at him all over the place! He smiled bashfully at Sarah, and the pretty squirrelplant smiled back.

In the water, Sarah looked even more amazing. Her vines and flowers floated around her like the tendrils of a sea anemone. She looked like some kind of mythological goddess of the ocean. She flicked her tail and sent strings of bubbles rippling all around her.

"So... can we yiff, Jason?" Sarah asked, her voice both shy and eager.

"I'd love to." He moved closer to hug the little squirrel. Then he turned to Leanna. "Um, I don't want you to feel left out..."

"Oh, that's okay," she reassured him. "I don't mind sharing my toys." The girls giggled at that, and Jason blushed a little. "Besides, I like to watch." She lifted herself from the beanbag and drifted a little ways away, giving Jason and Sarah enough room while still keeping a ringside seat. She settled in and put her paws over her cunny, her gaze urging the two other kits to get on with their show.

Sarah giggled and looked into Jason's eyes. He noticed that hers were a shade of green he'd never seen before. "You're really pretty, Sarah. Your eyes are beautiful."

She gave him a little squeeze. "Thanks, Jason. That's very sweet of you to say." She leaned in and kissed his cheek, enjoying the feel of his fur on her lips.

Jason felt himself getting hard again. It felt kind of strange to be about to yiff Sarah so soon after he and Leanna had made love. But he could tell Leanna had really meant what she'd said about sharing. And why not? They were all family now. Why not enjoy each other in every way they could? 'Why should a furson have to limit themselves to a single lover anyway?' he thought. 'It's not like love is something that comes in limited quantities. Caring about Sarah doesn't stop me from caring about Leanna too.'

Sarah noticed the thoughtful expression on the fox's face. "Watcha thinkin' about?"

"Oh, just how interesting it feels to be yiffy with both of you. It doesn't feel bad or wrong at all. I think jealousy is kind of a silly idea."

Sarah nodded. "I agree. Yiffing's much too much fun to get all angry and worked up over."

"And there's different types of yiffing, too," Leanna added. "You can play around and have fun with it with some people, and save the more romantic stuff for someone who's really special to you."

"Yeah. I hadn't thought of it that way," Jason said to her. "You know, it's okay with me if you join us. Do you mind, Sarah?" The squirrel shook her head.

Leanna shook her head too. "No, really, it's okay! It's your first day here, Jason. You should get a chance to sample all of us. Like a box of chocolates!" Giggles all around at that. Jason got the mental picture of the other kids covered in chocolate and sitting in a giant candy box. Leanna started stroking her cunny. "Besides, just watching you two is driving me nuts! Go on! Do something!"

So, not feeling guilty anymore, Jason wrapped his arms around Sarah's waist and pulled her closer. Being underwater made the little squirrel seem weightless.

Sarah shivered all over in anticipation. Her vines started to wrap themselves around the two of them like a full-body seaweed wrap.

Jason was a bit freaked out about that at first, but got used to it quickly. Sarah's vines were smooth and fluttery, like nothing he'd ever felt before. Their strange embrace was different and new, like so many other sensations Jason was experiencing today, and he knew there'd be plenty more new things to try as the day continued.

The little pink tip of Jason's penis nudged at Sarah's gates. She cooed in delight. "Oh! That's nice!"

Jason pressed forward a little. It felt like a tiny mouth nibbling on him. Tight and warm and sooo good! "Sarah!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah noticed Leanna staring in rapt fascination at the two of them while her paw was buzzing a hundred miles an hour away at her pussy. Sarah was glad to see her friend enjoying this so much.

Slowly, Jason filled the little green squirrel atop him. His penis slid in smoothly. It amazed him how _right_ it felt. How good and pure and even innocent it felt. He thought that Sarah was totally right when she'd said yiffing was too much fun to get worked up over. There wasn't anything dirty about this. Not at all! They were just two friends playing together, making their bodies feel good. How could anyone see that as a bad thing?

Sarah chittered in happiness. She loved feeling the warm little rod inside her, nestled within her special place. Her vines pulled the two of them even closer, wrapping them up like a double mummy. She bounced her hips against her loverfox's and murred each time.

Leanna's mouth hung open and her paw was a blur. This was one of the sexiest things she'd ever seen! And the broad smiles on Sarah and Jason's faces were the sexiest part of all. Seeing them so happy was what really made it good for her.

Jason let out a series of little yips as he started to bump his hips in time with Sarah's. The softness of her little cave held him sweetly. He felt so wonderful, and only hoped Sarah was feeling the same. He kissed her urgently all over her face; her cheeks, her nose, her lips.

Her tail swishing back and forth wildly, Sarah held her loverfox tight. She relished the feel of his fur brushing against her smooth plantskin. She squeaked and cooed and made all sorts of cute little pleasure sounds.

The vines held them tighter still, till Jason felt like the two of them were wrapped up in a big cocoon. But it wasn't uncomfortable at all. The vines were tender, not clingy. He wanted them to pull him and Sarah closer and closer. He had a sudden thought of what it would be like to sit on her lap while she was on her pod, and let all of her vines at once envelop them together.

"Jason!" Sarah cried out. Her cunny was full of pink fire. The pistoning foxcock was taking her to her ultimate peak. She felt her bliss blossom throughout her, growing more intense by the moment. Finally, she arched her back and cried out in climax.

Seeing Sarah's eyes shut tight, her mouth in a little 'o' of overwhelming pleasure, Jason felt a thrill ripple through him. His resilient little foxhood, undaunted by cumming twice already, speared deep into the silky soft squirrel tunnel and managed a valiant little squirt. "Oh! Sarah! You wonderful sexy squirrel!" he shouted out.

Leanna quickened her pace to lightspeed and managed to join them in a brief shining moment of perfectly shared bliss.

Their pleasure fulfilled, the three little ones began gradually to relax. The water around them rippled slower and slower. And finally it was calm.

Sarah took in a deep breath. "Jason! Oh, wow!"

"That's exactly how I feel," he said, and gave her a quick squeeze and a kiss. "Thank you so much!"

"No, thank you! That was wonderful!" She nuzzled the fox affectionately. She turned her head to see Leanna looking just as gleefully spent as they did. "How about you, sis? Did you have fun watching us?"

"Yup!" was all Leanna could manage at the moment. Her broad grin filled in the rest nicely.

The three of them laid there for a while longer, feeling their hearts thump, savoring the good feelings that pulsed gently through their bodies. All of them smiling warmly, happy to have shared this moment together.

Sarah sighed contentedly. "So..." she started.

Jason and Leanna looked to her, their ears perked up.

"...who's up for another farting contest?"

And the giggles overcame them once again.



***
Chapter Fourteen   -   Bubble Bat


After several more minutes of snuggling, small talk, naughty jokes, and a delightfully disgusting discussion of Sarah's digestive process, the three young furs were interrupted by the sound of knuckles lightly rapping against the glass just above them.

They looked up to see Jared standing outside the tank, looking down on them with a proud paternal smile. "I'm glad to see you all playing so nicely together, my little fishies," he said.

"Don't you know you're not sposto tap on the glass in aquariums?" Leanna playfully reproached him.

"Well, I am sorry if I interrupted anything, but it's getting about time to start preparing dinner."

"Oh boy!" said Sarah, who always looked forward to helping out in the kitchen.

"The only problem is, I can't seem to find Rosie," said Jared. "Have any of you seen her?"

The three little ones shook their heads. "We'll help you find her though," Leanna offered.

"Okay. It'll be like we're on safari, tracking the wild and dangerous Cute Little Grey Bat to bring home for supper!" Jared said, and mimed putting on a backpack and pith helmet.

Jason and Leanna grinned, showing their foxy fangs. Though civilized fursons, all little predators enjoy the chance to play-hunt once in a while. Sarah, though prey herself, didn't mind the thought of joining them and indulging in a bit of role-reversal.

As Sarah started to swim up out of the tank, Jason realized something. "Um, Leanna, how do I stop breathing water now?"

He was afraid she'd laugh at him for asking such a silly question, but Leanna understood that it was difficult for him, being so new to everything. "It's probably best if you use the airlock for now. I have to, because I can't climb down stairs of course, but once you get the hang of it you can just go out the way you came in, like Sarah's doing."

Leanna pointed up and Jason could see Sarah already climbing down the side of the tank. She gave him a little 'come on out!' wave.

Leanna led Jason over to the little circular orifice in the tank's side. "Just go in here and push the button to close the door behind you. The water'll start draining out. When it does, exhale as much as you can, then take in a breath of air once the water's down low enough. It'll be a bit of a shock to switch from water to air so quickly like that, but this way you won't have to cough up a bunch of water first."

Jason nodded. "Okay, I get it." He gave Leanna a hug. "Allright, here I go!" Jason climbed into the little opening. It was just big enough for one. There was a round orange button right in front of him and it 'boop'ed when he pressed it. Several clear panels started to draw in and seal off the opening, spiraling shut like a camera lens. Jason made a quick check to make sure his tail wasn't in the way. The panels closed with a soft thump and the water level in the little chamber began to drop.

Just like Leanna had told him, Jason let out a big breath into the water. He lifted his muzzle above the waterline and took a gulp of air. It was a heck of a shock at first. Air felt so dry and insubstantial after breathing water! But since he'd been aspirating the stuff since birth, it only took him a few breaths to get used to it.

When the water was all gone, six vents opened all around him and warm air puffed out. It reminded him of the hand dryers in the bathrooms at the mall.

Somewhat drier than he'd been before, Jason stepped out of the tank when the opposite set of panels irised open. He watched Leanna getting into the airlock after him. She showed with her smile that she was glad to see he'd gotten through it okay. As the airlock drained, Jason looked around for Leanna's wheelbowl. It had rolled a little ways away, so Jason retrieved it and held it in place for Leanna to slip into once she emerged.

The panels opened, releasing a damp but happy little merfox. "Thank you Jason!" she said when she saw her bowl all ready for her.

"No problem," Jason replied. He held the chair steady as Leanna guided her fin into it and settled down. She lifted herself up to give him a little kiss, and he returned one of his own.

"Oh my gosh, you guys are so *cute* together!" Sarah gushed.

The two foxes blushed a bit, then joined Sarah and Jared on their hunt for Rosie.

~ ~ ~

As the quartet of mighty hunters tracked their wily prey, Jason began to get a sense of just how enormous Foxhole Manor really was. He was surrounded on all sides by rooms, big and small, of every size and shape. Rooms for every purpose imaginable, and some that looked like they'd been tacked onto the house by mistake, or as a joke.

But despite the labyrinthine architecture, Jason didn't feel at all out of place. If someone had asked him to imagine what it would be like to live in an enormous house with dozens of rooms, Jason would have expected it to feel imposing, and maybe even a little spooky.

Foxhole Manor however, was Jared's house through and through. The house was almost a caricature of its owner's personality, and Jared was well aware of that. As seemingly disorganized as the place was, all the rooms had a warmth to them. It was a feeling of open invitation, as if the house wanted to be friends with its occupants.

'I can't wait to start really exploring in this place!' Jason thought with excitement. He imagined there must be plenty of hidden places to peek though. Attic nooks, basement corners...

After the little hunting party had been up and down the stairs a few times, peeking in closets and under furniture, Jason noticed an odd sound coming from a room not too far from where they'd started searching. "I hear something," he told the others.

Leanna and Jared cocked their vulpine ears. "I hear it too," Leanna said.

Jared perked up. "Aha! Bedsprings!"

The spindly fox led his young charges around a few corners and down the hall towards the room of many beds. Parting the double doors with a flourish, Jared exposed a rather bizarre, and rather hilarious, sight to them all.

On one of the beds, Mike was laid out on his back, his stomach inflated to the size of a washing machine. The young balloonie was grinning ear to mousey ear. The creaking sound of bedsprings was caused by Rosie, who was inside Mike's stretched-to-transparent tummy and gleefully bouncing around!

The four at the door could not help bursting out laughing at the little scene they'd found their siblings in.

Mike looked up and noticed them. "Oh, hi," he said a bit sheepishly.

Rosie stopped ricocheting around inside her brother long enough to wave to the rest of her family. She was obviously having oodles of fun, judging by the beaming smile on her muzzle.

Trying hard to suppress giggles, Jared came over and inspected Mike's immense, wobbly belly. "So that's where she's been all this time! No wonder we couldn't find her!"

"Mike ate me all up!" Rosie cried out cheerfully.

"Sorry, she was just too delicious. I couldn't wait until dinnertime!" Mike said casually.

Sarah waggled her finger at her balloonie brother. "Tsk tsk, Mike! We wanted to eat her too! You should learn to share!" she said in a 'stern schoolteacher' type voice.

Rosie, hearing this, collapsed in hysterics, causing Mike's whole belly to jiggle with her laughter.

Jason stared at the two of them on the bed. Seeing Rosie inside Mike like this reminded him of the inflatable bouncey moonwalks he'd sometimes seen at carnivals. Either that or a very strange snowglobe. He even wondered for a moment if Mike could fit him inside too. "So, how did you get her in there in the first place?" he asked.

"I just opened my mouth real wide and she climbed in," Mike explained. He put a finger in his mouth, stretched his cheek out to an impossible distance, then let it snap back. "Balloons are stretchy!"

"Well, I'd like to know how we're going to get her out of there," said Jared. "Sarah and I will have to start cooking her soon if we want to get her done by the usual dinnertime."

Mike grinned. "No way! I'll never give her up! I like having her in here too much!"

"Yeah, I'm staying put!" Rosie declared.

"Uh oh, looks like we're gonna have to pop him," said Leanna.

"Yeah, yeah! Pop me!" Mike enthusiastically agreed.

"Pop him!" Rosie shouted out gleefully, starting to bounce again. "Make him go BANG!!"

Jason suddenly realized that he'd probably never get used to this family, and that he absolutely didn't want to either.

Jared started looking around for something sharp. Mike noticed, and handed him a safety pin from the dresser beside the bed. "Here ya go, Dad."

"Why thank you."

Inside the rubber tummy, Rosie rolled up her big batty ears in anticipation. She normally hated loud noises, but getting to experience her big brother popping from the inside was a treat well worth it.

Jared looked for a good place to poke his son, when Mike had a better idea. "Hey, dad, let Jason do it. He's never popped a balloonie before."

Jason looked a little surprised. "Really? I guess... I mean, if you want me to. What's it like, being popped?"

Mike's smile intensified. "It's great! I kinda can't describe it to a non-balloonie. It's sorta like cumming, but different. It makes my whole body feel like..." he searched for an adequate description of the sensation that he loved more than anything else. "...like it's exploding!"

"But you DO explode!" Jason pointed out.

Mike considered this. "Oh. Well then I guess that's why that's what it feels like!" he said with a grin.

Jason couldn't argue with that."Okay, I'll do it." He took the pin from Jared, who stepped back a few paces.

Rosie curled herself up in a tight little ball, waiting for the big kaboom.

Leanna and Sarah tucked themselves behind Jared.

Mike tensed in delicious anticipation.

Jason cringed a bit as he reached out with the pin, closer and closer to Mike's jiggling tummy, and...


***BANG***!!!!!


The force of the explosion literally knocked Jason over on his butt. His ears rang from the deafening sound. Little bits of golden rubber fluttered through the air like autumn leaves. Rosie was on the bed laughing her tail off. Mike's head lay on the pillow, the expression on his face one of indisputable bliss.

"That was a *good* one!" said Mike.

Jared walked over to the bed, careful to step over any little bits of Mike that had already landed, and scooped Rosie up in his arms. "You okay, little one? Didn't hurt your ears any, did it?"

"Nope!" Rosie answered. "I rolled 'em up tight. That was great!"

Jason noticed the pieces of rubber were already starting to come together like they had before. He scooped up a double handful of the stuff from around him and dropped it on the bed in front of Mike's head. "Here ya go."

"Thanks, Jas'." Mike was enjoying the feel of his scattered bodily bits all coming together again. It was another sensation he loved that was almost indescribable to a flesh-and-bone furson. "So, what did you think of your first popping?" he asked.

"It was kinda scary, but kinda exciting too," said Jason. "It's hard for me to believe that it really didn't hurt you."

"Nope, not at all," Mike replied. "Inflating and popping are as natural to me as your heart beating is to you."

That reminded Jason of something he'd always wondered about balloonies. "So if you're all hollow inside, and you don't have any guts, how can you be alive?"

Mike bit his lip and 'hmm'ed. Balloonie biology was a complicated subject, and one he didn't wholly understand himself. "Uh, I'll tell you after dinner. As much as I know, at least."

"That's right!" Rosie said, upon catching the word 'dinner' in their conversation. "It's time for me to get cooked!"

"I'll go and start getting things ready," Sarah said.

"I'll race you there!" Rosie said. She hopped down from Jared's arms and spread her wings, zooming out of the room.

Sarah chased after her. "Hey! No fair flying!"

Jared took the handles of Leanna's bowl and set off after the two of them.

Jason stayed behind for a bit to watch the last of Mike's body reforming. It was a fascinating sight. The little swatches of rubber came together like some kind of insect swarm, joining together in a big blob and gradually taking shape. The golden brown rubber rippled and smoothed out until the last bits were in place and Mike was his old self again.

He was also nude, and Jason felt his gaze drawn to Mike's chubby little cock and balls.

Mike noticed this with a smile. He checked out Jason's newly rejuvenated maleness as well. He liked what he saw.

The rubber mouse sat up and stretched. "Dang, that feels good." He grabbed his shirt from the dresser and tugged it on. "Come on, little bro. Let's go watch Rosie get cooked. I think you'll get over feelin' weird about it when you see how much she likes it."

Jason was about to respond when Mike stood up and brushed past him. As he did, the tall, handsome mouse touched a tender kiss to Jason's cheek.

Before he left the room, he looked over his shoulder and tossed the startled fox a sparkling smile.

Jason reached up to feel his cheek. It was the first time he'd ever been kissed by another boy his age. He didn't know what to think about it. It was almost as if he could still feel it; the tingle of Mike's lips lingering on his cheek. He shivered.

He realized he was holding his breath. He let it go and went off to follow his new brother to the kitchen.



***
Chapter Fifteen   -   Dinner Preparations

Jason's ears swiveled to and fro like little radar dishes as he honed in on the sounds of his new family's conversation. He was already starting to remember bits of the mansion, as finding his way to the kitchen was considerably easier than finding the playroom had been before.

The door was hanging open in anticipation of his arrival. Slipping inside, he found himself looking at something his mind couldn't quite comprehend. For what seemed like the umpteenth time today.

Jared's kitchen was, unsurprisingly, so chock-filled with impressive-looking gadgetry and electronic devices it looked like a robot repair shop, or a lab where they made gear for secret agents. The floor was a chessboard of black and white tile. The decor was mostly stainless steel, but with some wood and glass also. Strange devices hung on hooks above the countertops, only some of them looking like they could possibly be used in cooking.

Jared had already started preparing Rosie for dinner. The little bat was standing up in the sink while Jared pointed what looked like some retrofuturistic space raygun at her. It didn't seem to be doing anything to her, but she was giggling loudly and obviously exerting incredible self-control to keep herself still.

"Ah, there you are," Jared said when he spotted Jason's white fur in his peripheral vision.

Jason opened his mouth to speak...

Sarah put a paw over it. "Wait, lemme guess. 'What's Jared doing with that space laser thingy?'"

Jason nodded. "Yup."

"This," Jared explained as he passed the beam over Rosie's back and bottom, "is a depilatory gun. Fur removal, without any messy creams or gels. Works faster too. And as you can probably guess, it tickles like crazy!"

Rosie tried to reply to this, but was utterly helpless with laughter. It was all she could do to keep her wings pressed tight to her muzzle to prevent loud cackles escaping.

Jared pointed to the gun. "Specially compressed sonic waves vibrate the hair follicles in such a way that it sort of tricks them into letting go of the hairs. It doesn't look like it's having any effect yet, but wait till I'm done."

Jason had never heard of a device like this before. He wondered if Jared had invented it too.

"Stand still. Just a bit longer, honey," Jared told Rosie. He gave her an encouraging kiss on the forehead.

"I-I'll t-t-try!" she sputtered through her laughter. She wriggled reflexively. The fur gun felt like zillions of tiny feathers swooshing through her fur.

Jared passed the sonic waves up and down Rosie's legs. "There, that should do it." He set the gun aside, then turned to his little green assistant. "Sarah, ze brush!"

"Yessss, herr doktor," she hissed playfully, and handed him a thick wooden scrub brush with soft bristles.

"Now watch, Jason," Jared said. Rosie closed her eyes and Jared began to brush her all over. She cooed at what a nice change the feeling. Jason hadn't seen anything happening at first when Jared was using the tickly ray, but he saw the effect now. With each pass of the brush, huge sections of Rosie's fur fell out to land like snow on the countertop. She turned from grey to pink just like adjusting the color on a TV set. The only part of her that was still completely furred was her head.

"Fascinating," said Jason, raising one eyebrow.

"It feels fantastic!" Leanna assured him. "Too bad you don't have a tail like me, or dad could use the scaler on you!" She shivered with a delighted smile on her face, giving an indication that the device felt just as good to her as the fur gun.

"Almost there, my tasty treat," Jared told Rosie lovingly. She squeaked and fidgeted as his gentle touch. Her whole body from the neck down was furless now, just pale pink skin. Jared also brushed her ears, making them furless too. "The ears are one of the tastiest parts," he told Jason, sounding like he knew from plenty of past experience.

While Rosie was getting her fur off, Sarah had struggled a kid-sized roasting pan out of the bottom cupboard and was now dancing about between it and the rest of the kitchen, filling it with pre-prepared veggies and mixing up a marinade in a bowl on the counter.

"Dang, she works fast," Jason said, impressed.

"She helps Jared cook almost every night, so she knows her way around the spices 'n stuff pretty good by now," Mike replied, putting a paw on Jason's shoulder.

The arctic pup blushed a bit.

Mike saw. "D'ja like that kiss?" he whispered slyly.

Jason nodded.

"I did too, little bro."

Jason grinned, sure that he was going to enjoy having such a handsome, yiffy older brother from now on.

Sarah was too small to lift the big roasting pan all by herself, so she and Jared combined efforts to heave it up onto the counter. Taking her wing, Jared led Rosie to the pan and steadied her as she stepped in. He didn't want her to slip on a potato.

The little bat laid herself down, shooing the veggies away first so she didn't smoosh them. She moaned cutely. "The cool metal feels good on my skin!"

"Glad to hear it, my little morsel," Jared said, affectionately ruffling her headfur. "Is the sauce ready yet, Sarah?"

"Almost. Just looking for the Worcestershire." Sarah bent over and scouted around inside the deepest cupboard for it. She was sure she'd put it back in plain sight the last time she'd used it. Aha! There it was. The fennel had knocked it on its side. Sarah scooped up the bottle and eyeballed the correct amount into her mixture. She stirred furiously, then dipped a vine in, tasted it, nodded with satisfaction, and handed the bowl to Jared.

"You are a marvel of efficiency, sweetness," he told her, caressing her cheek. She grinned broadly.

Rosie was all settled in and ready. "Lift up," Jared instructed. Rosie turned on her side long enough for Jared to scoop up a pawful of Sarah's marinade and spread it all over the squirmy bat's back.

Rosie cooed. "It's cold!"

"I know! And think of how nice that big, hot oven's gonna feel when you go in!"

Rosie shivered in excited anticipation.

Jared added another pawful of sauce to her bottom, and a third to the back of her legs. "Ease down now." When she was lying down and comfortable again, he drizzled out lines of raspberry-colored marinade all over her front and began to lovingly massage it into her skin. The sounds Rosie made indicated she was in heaven.

"Cooking scissors...?" Jared asked, reaching out behind him.

"Right here," Sarah said, placing them in his palm.

Jared took them (getting sauce all over the handles), and began to oh-so-gently snip off his daughter's ears. Rosie showed not an iota of discomfort. The sharp blades passed through her skin easily, as if her ears wanted to come off and be made into a delicious meal. Jared dipped them both in the sauce, skimmed off the excess, and laid them in the pan beside Rosie's feet. "Bat ears are a treat," he told Jason. "Chewy, but flavorful."

"Just like me," Mike noted with a chuckle.

Jason had been wondering about that. "Are you edible at all?" he asked his balloonie brother.

"Nope," Mike said sadly. "But you can chew on me. Like bubble gum kinda. Here, try some." He stuck out his finger to Jason. "Go on; bite it!"

Jason looked a little surprised, but figured it couldn't hurt. He took the finger into his mouth and nibbled a little. "Tastes like a balloon," he said. He remembered inflating them as a kid and how the latex tasted. "But a little different..."

Mike looked proud that Jason was enjoying his flavor. "Next time I pop, you can take a little scrap of me and chew it for a while if you like. I can actually feel it when it's in your mouth. Very cool. Just remember to give it back eventually!"

Jason nodded, and wondered briefly what would happen in that situation if he accidentally swallowed. He supposed Sarah'd find it the next day.

Meanwhile, Jared had used up the last of Sarah's sauce and was preparing for the next part. "Could you get two boxes of stuffing mix ready?" he asked.

Sarah saluted. "On it!"

Jared reached past the roasting pan to a block of knives. He considered them a moment, then bypassed them for a laser scalpel. He lightly touched the metal tip to Rosie's tummy. "Ready, darling?" he said softly.

"Ready, daddy," she replied. Wholly unafraid, she closed her eyes and waited for that strange but enjoyable sensation of being opened up.

Jared turned on the laser and made a red line down his daughter's body from her throat to her mound. He paused to give her cunny a tickle, and Rosie squirmed happily. Jared sat the scalpel aside for the moment and reached into the cut he'd made with meticulous care. He widened the opening, peeling back the skin and keeping it positioned with small plastic clips. "Everything feelin' okay so far?" he asked.

Rosie nodded silently, smiling. She'd been turned into dinner many times before and always loved every step of the process. Daddy was so gentle with her. She enjoyed feeling his hands reach inside of her; whether he was preparing her for supper or giving her a checkup. She especially liked knowing that everyone would soon be enjoying her meat and complimenting her on how good she tasted. That made her feel proud. She hoped her new brother would eat lots of her tonight and enjoy every bite.

Jared was not a licensed surgeon, though simply due to lack of interest in the job, not lack of talent. He slipped his hands into Rosie's insides and, guided by touch mostly, located her tastiest bits. He picked up the cooking scissors again and reached back inside Rosie to begin snipping.

Jason could hear the sounds of the tiny cuts. He had to admit, part of him was feeling rather unsteady about this. Especially when he saw Jared lift some blobbly, purplish thing out of Rosie and set it on the counter! But he knew what he was feeling would pass in time. He just had to let himself get used to it. It occurred to him that all the other kids had probably felt this way at first too. It was only because these things were different that they felt strange to him. Seeing Rosie's smile of utter bliss, and the obvious love for her in Jared's eyes, helped to reassure him that this was something his new family had done many, many times before and that there was no danger here for the little bat. Or for Jason himself if he ever decided to volunteer. The idea was starting to sound more appealing, since Jason was curious now how this process could give Rosie a smile like that.

Jared lifted out Rosie's nonessential organs one by one, separating them into piles: which ones would go into the stuffing, which ones could be saved for sausages, and which ones were simply icky. He left her heart and lungs untouched, since the Rejuvenator Mark II was not magic. Rosie would stay alive so long as her vital organs were still intact and able to function, though that didn't mean they had to be currently attached to her.

"Done with the stuffing, Dad!" Sarah called out enthusiastically.

"Perfect timing!" said Jared. In just the short time they'd been together, they'd become a fantastic team in the kitchen. Working together as well as a finely-tuned pit crew. Jared slid the pile of bat-giblets to her and she happily began chopping them up.

Sarah decided they needed a bit more taste. She hopped up onto the counter and placed her own left paw on the cutting board. With practiced skill, it became small shreds in seconds. Mike could not resist her petite green footpaws dangling off the counter and nuzzled her soles. She giggled and grinned at the feel of his little rubber nose.

"All cleaned out inside, sweetie." Jared told Rosie. "Time for your favorite part!"

"Yaaay!" She nibbled her lip to keep from giggling too much and kept still so Daddy could make her very favorite cut.

"Come closer, Jason. You'll have to see this to believe it," Jared said, picking up the laser scalpel again.

The white fox came closer with wide eyes.

Jared touched the tip to Rosie's throat, just below where he'd stopped using the hair removal ray. Right at the line between fur and skin. He pressed down, and the laser glowed.

Rosie let out a tiny squeak.

Jason's eyes got wider as Jared traced the red blade of light in a precise circle. He said nothing, just let his new son watch. He did it slowly to let the boy fully deal with the idea that he was not hurting Rosie in the slightest. The laser encountered bone, so he positioned it between the vertebrae and upped the intensity setting. With a 'sssshhhlurk', the laser suddenly passed all the way through and Rosie's head toppled backwards in the roasting pan.

"Sh-she's still okay?" Jason asked, a little shaken and needing reassurance.

"Ask her yourself." Jared lifted up the young bat's noggin and placed it in Jason's hands.

Rosie's eyes opened suddenly. "Boo!"

"Gaah!" Jason jumped backwards a step and only managed to hold onto Rosie by luck.

Rosie had a good laugh. "Couldn't resist!"

Jason lifted the severed, talking head up and looked underneath it. He could see her throat tubes still moving, and her body over on the table was still breathing! "How is this possible...?"

Jared allowed himself a very prideful smile. "Ever hear that old chestnut about sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic?"

"I had heard that. And I guess so," Jason agreed, staring at what he guessed was Rosie's trachea still doing its job.

"You remember where the Rejuvenator room is?" Jared asked.

Jason pictured the route he'd taken from the backyard to there. "Pretty sure."

"Good. If not, Rosie can give you directions. Why don't you take her down there and get her her body back while I put this one in to cook?"

Jason paled (if that was possible). "I don't know how to work a Rejuvenator!! They're super-complicated, right?"

Jared actually laughed so hard he slapped his knee (leaving a red pawprint). "Maybe they look that way in a doctor's office, but I assure you, mine are much easier! I have several that are pre-encoded with our life-signatures. You'll just have to press a few buttons; Rosie will show you how."

"It's easy! Even I can do it!" the little bat head chirped.

"Well, okay..." Jason said. "I'll try my best."

"Excellent! I'm proud of you!" Jared replied. "I'd hug you, but I'm a little... drippy at the moment." He said with a semimorbid chuckle.

Jason could just imagine red stains all over his nice clean white fur. "Understood."

The little fox left the kitchen as Sarah was dumping Rosie's innards into the stuffing mix, and Mike was waving his tailtip in front of Leanna's muzzle while she playfully snapped at it.

~ ~ ~

Rosie's head was like a furry little GPS navigator, telling Jason when to turn right or left as he walked down the hall towards the Rejuvenator room. "I'm not too heavy, am I?" Rosie asked.

"Not at all."

"Heads weigh more than people think they do," Rosie said authoritatively.

They were almost to the room when Rosie suddenly let out a sharp cry.

Jason was deeply concerned. "Oh my gosh!! Are you okay!?"

Rosie's squeal turned into a sigh, then a deep, murring moan. "No, I'm fine! I just felt Jared putting my body in the oven! Woo, it's hot! It always s'prises me when it happens at first. Then it feels REAL good!"

Jason chuckled. "Okay, glad to hear you're allright. You sounded like you were in pain."

"There was a little," Rosie admitted, "But it turned into feel-good as soon as I wanted it to."

'Like when I put my hand in the hot water,' Jason remembered. "How's it feel to be cooked?"

"Mmmmmm!! Wonderful! Ever taken a really hot shower? Or been in a hot tub with lotsa bubbles?"

Jason had to admit, if that's what it felt like, it did sound appealing. "Neat. I've been kinda thinking about being cooked. I was scared at first, but maybe I _will_ try it sometime."

"Supercool!!!" Rosie shouted. "I can't wait to sink my fangs in an' taste you!"

"Thanks?" Jason replied, thinking that was certainly a strange compliment, especially when taken out of context. "This is the door, right?"

"Exactamundo," Rosie replied.

Jason cradled her under one arm as he pushed the door open with the other. Same doctor's-office-type room, same paper-covered table, same four Rejuvenator machines lined up at the far wall.

"That one!" said Rosie.

"...Which?"

Rosie blinked. "I forgot I can't point."

Jason had a mental image of her body in the oven, pointing for her when she'd spoken.

"The one near the end on that side, but not the very last one."

That was clear enough to make out which one she meant. Jason padded over. "How do I open it?"

"Push the yellow 'on' button to power it up, then tap that foot pedally thing down there. I wish I still had my ears; I could at least sort-of point with those," she said, giggling.

Jason followed her directions and the Rejuvenator's door opened with a 'whoosh'. He stepped back out of the way, lest it bonk him on the chin. "Just sit you inside anywhere?"

"If you can, try to balance me where you think my head would look like it would be. If it were still on me, I mean."

"Okey-doke." The Rejuvenator had just enough incline to set Rosie's head down approximately at shoulder-height. He got a sudden terrible mental image of her head rolling down the padding and bouncing through his legs and out the door!

"Okay, now all you have to do is go over to the main computer over behind you. See it?"

Jason turned around, turned back, and nodded.

"It turned on when the 'juvenator did. Now all you gotta do is click 'Rosie'. Then it'll ask if you wanna do a 'complete reconstruction'. Click 'yes', and that's all there is!"

That sounded simple enough. Jason reached up to close the Rejuvenator door.

"No!" she yipped, startling him. "I mean, it'll do that by itself when it starts working,"

"Oh, okay," Jason said. He walked over to the computer; it showed animated images of the four Rejuvanators, with number three lit up with a yellow outline. Underneath was a list of names. Jason saw Rosie's near the top. He looked around for a mouse or keyboard, but didn't see either anywhere.

"Touchscreen!" Rosie called out.

"Heh. Right," Jason felt a little foolish, even though he knew he didn't really have to. 'It's not like everyone's born knowing how to work one of these', he told himself. He tapped 'Rosie' on the screen and a dialogue box popped up. 'Complete reconstruction' was indeed one of the options, along with 'checkup', 'species change' and 'gender reversal'.

Jason did a double take. He would _definitely_ be asking about that later!

He selected the option Rosie had told him and another box popped up asking if he was sure: yes or no. "Just out of curiosity; what would happen if I'd clicked Mike or Leanna instead?" he asked over his shoulder.

Rosie 'hmmm'ed. "Not sure. Prolly it'd recognize me and give me my regular body back anyway." She suddenly grinned. "...But it might put my head on Leanna's body instead! That'd be cool!"

Jason chuckled at the mental image. He selected 'yes' and the computer went 'boop'. The door to the Rejuvenator hissed and began to close.

"Bye big brother!" Rosie called out. "See you soon!"

"Have a nice trip!" Jason replied.

The door clicked closed and the machine began to hum. Jason walked over to watch it work.

Through the clear blue window, he could see into the machine as a bar of light passed over the interior and scanned Rosie's head. He watched it start again at the top, and this time draw a glowing yellow-green outline of what her body would look like if all its parts were there. A few clicks and whirrs told Jason the machine was now figuring out just how much it had to add to make her whole again.

To his surprise, water began pouring in from the top. It hadn't done that when he'd gone in before. Except, upon closer inspection, it didn't move like water. It was some kind of goo. It completely filled the capsule, then Rosie's head floated upwards, travelled down a few inches, and then became perfectly still.

Jason guessed that remaking a whole body was a lot more work than just growing a penis back, so the paralyzing beam wouldn't be enough. The machine needed to hold Rosie completely still, suspended in the fluid, which looked like it had hardened into a gel-like consistency. Most of the rest of the fluid drained into the bottom, leaving a solid ring, supported by the walls of the chamber itself, that held Rosie's head perfectly in place. Jason was happy with himself for guessing right.

Next, several implements came out of the sides of the machine with tubes attached to them. Like an insanely fast sketch artist, the tiny mechanical arms began to make Rosie a new skeleton. And it looked uncannily like they were simply drawing it onto her! In less than a minute, all her bones were accounted for. Unsurprisingly, it next filled in her heart, then lungs, followed by her other organs. The mechanical arms moved so fast it was impossible to keep track of them. Tiny tubes laid out long strings onto the skeleton; nerves and veins, Jason guessed. Then thicker tubes emerged and squirted out reddish stuff like blobs of toothpaste. The mechanical arms shaped them into muscles and connected them in the correct places. More arms, with nozzle attachments on the ends, began to spray skin over top of the muscles. It looked almost exactly like someone making an airbrush painting.

When Rosie's ears were finished being constructed and finally fur began to sprout, the machine's humming got softer. The mechanical arms all retracted simultaneously. The door opened up slowly, and again Jason backed up to get out of its way.

Rosie was back to normal, perfectly remade down to the last detail.

She blinked.

...Then immediately leapt from the machine and slammed into Jason in an explosively exuberant hug.



***
Chapter Sixteen   -   Time To Eat


Rosie snuggled Jason all the way out the door. "Way to go, big brother! You did it just right on your very first time!"

He shrugged. "Well, you were right; it *was* easy." Rosie's new fur felt warm and fluffy, like a sweater just out of the dryer.

Rosie giggled bashfully. "I messed up when it was my first time. I was scared a' it when I first got here, so Daddy had me do the machine on Mike to show me how it worked. I pushed the wrong button and Mike turned into a girl!!"

Jason snickered. "What did Mike think of that?"

"Oh, he didn't mind. He said he thought he looked kinda cute as 'Michelle'. Daddy showed me the right button and Mike got in the 'juvenator again and I fixed things up okay."

"I saw that gender button when I was rejuvenating you. Why's that on there anyway? And the species change?"

Rosie looked at him like he was a doofus. "Because it's FUN!" she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, okay." Jason realized that probably a _lot_ of things in Foxhole Manor were there simply because they were fun, and he'd just have to get used to that. 'Then again,' he thought 'isn't that a perfectly good reason for doing most things?'

Rosie suddenly stopped in her tracks and went "Eep!"

Jason turned to her. "What?"

"I forgot somethin' I was gonna do when I got my head chopped off!!" she said. "You just wait here. I'll be back in a jiffy." Before Jason could ask why, she'd darted off down the hallway and ducked into a door they'd just passed. Jason stepped towards it but it closed abruptly. Bat giggles came from inside.

Jason hadn't seen this room before. He put his ear to the door, wondering what she was up to inside.

*ssssswwshTHUP*

'What in the world was that?' Jason wondered.

The door opened a moment later and there stood Rosie, looking as though nothing at all had happened.

"Um..."

She turned and gave him a frisky grin. "Just a li'l visit to our guillotine."

"You guys have your own guillotine!?"

"Yup!" Rosie replied. And with that she reached up with both wings and plucked off her own head as easy as picking a flower. She held it out to the startled fox. "Here!"

"UM..." said Jason.

"I rememmered that when I got it off before, I wanted to suck your willy." Her body bounced with happiness while her head smiled in his paws.

Jason was feeling a bit of unreality, but his penis was already out and showing interest in the idea. "Well, okay." He held her gently under her cheeks and lowered her to his crotch. "You don't have to, y'know."

"I *want* to!" she responded with gusto.

She opened her mouth and her long bat tongue flopped out. He could also see her little sharp fangs. "Just don't bite it. I've only had it a few hours now!"

She giggled, then slurped the tasty fox sausage into her mouth and murred at the taste.

Jason could barely believe what he was seeing, and feeling. He was holding a little bat girl's head in his hands while she very enthusiastically slurped on his boybits and her body danced happily a few feet away. Plus, HOW many times had it been slurped on today? Incredible!

Rosie's eyes were shut in bliss. She let out cute sounds of enjoyment as she tasted and nibbled her new brother's penis. Bat drool trickled down his thigh fur. It was very obvious that she enjoyed his flavor.

The white fox shivered. "Th-thank you, Rosie! Oh, thank you so much! Wow, that feels GREAT!"

She opened her eyes and looked up to him with pure, sunny love. "You're welcome, big brother! Mmmmm, you taste nummy! Salty like a little pepperoni! Just as good as Daddy's!" She sucked on it for a few seconds like a pacifier. "Let's get back to the kitchen now so I can watch myself cooking. Also, I'mma need a new diaper soon."

"Should I put your head back on?" he asked.

She could barely stop herself from sucking long enough to get the words out. "No! I can walk like this; it's okay."

"Really? How?"

Jason saw Rosie's body turn around and start walking backwards down the hall. "Now just follow it," she said.

The fox was awed. It's not every day one sees a headless bat girl walking backwards with the exposed throat and airway moving rhythmically. And avoiding obstacles on top of all that!

"How are you... I mean your body... not bumping into anything?"

Rosie talked out of the side of her mouth while still sucking the yummy fox wiener. "Since my head's facin' this way, I turned my body that way too 'cause it's easier. I know where everything is in the house, so it's not too hard to know where stuff is. Plus, even when I'm not echolocatin', I can still kinda hear where stuff is. Like that table with the flowers on it up there."

Sure enough, her body had just been about to walk into it. Instead it detoured around just as smooth as you please.

"Remarkable!" muttered Jason. Then he yelped a little. "Hey, I said no biting!" he scolded playfully. She'd only just nipped him a little.

The adorable bat head blushed. "Couldn't help it. You taste too good!"

~ ~ ~

When they arrived back at the kitchen, Rosie was still merrily suckling away. Jason hadn't cum yet, but that was mostly because he was still too amazed by the sight of her remote control body. It even held the door for them as they entered!

The other kids had been having fun in their absence. Sarah was still seated on the countertop with Mike positioned between her legs. She cooed softly and cutely as he lapped at her petals with his understandably flexible tongue. He drilled deep inside of her with it, drinking down her girl-honey which, in Sarah's case, actually did taste almost exactly like honey. Jason thought it was cool being able to faintly see the golden droplets slide down Mike's throat into his translucent insides.

Leanna had been busy licking and nuzzling Jared's tailhole. "Oh, you're back!" she said when her bat and fox siblings appeared. She licked her lips. "Thanks, dad!"

He ruffled her hair. "Thank *you*, sweetheart."

Leanna wheeled over to skritch Rosie behind the ears. "I see you couldn't resist being headless again, huh?" She murred enviously, then looked up to Jason. "Did she use the guillotine? Did you get to watch?"

"Yes, and no," Jason replied.

"You'll meet it soon enough. It's fun!"

"Where'd Jason get it anyway? Like, an auction? Is it a real, old one?"

"Naw, he had it custom built," Leanna explained. "It woulda been weird using one that they'd actually killed people with. Nope; the only ones who've used ours is us. It's got a comfy little pad you kneel on and the neck rest's padded too. It's very comfortable."

"...And then your head comes off."

"Yup! Usually you can get in one good somersault before it lands in the basket. VERY exciting!!" she said, flipping her fin for emphasis.

Rosie interrupted. "When are you gonna cum, big brother? I want fox frosting!"

Leanna giggled. "Here; I'll help." She scooted closer and took Rosie's head in her paws. "Jason, you can lean against the table. I'll keep Rosie right here."

"Thanks, big sister!" Rosie chirped, and her body came over to hug the merfox.

Leanna laughed and nuzzled Rosie's neck. "C'mon! Let's get Jason to cum!"

"Yay!" Rosie shouted, and went to work.

Jason braced himself against the table and closed his eyes to concentrate on the pleasure. Rosie was as enthusiastic as he'd expected she'd be. Up till now she'd mostly been savoring the flavor. Now she tripled her efforts, wanting to taste his cream right away!

Rosie wiggled her big nose in Jason's soft tummyfur. It tickled and smelled nice. She giggled and he could feel it through his penis. Her talented tongue held her brother's cock tight in its grip, squeezing and tasting every inch. Every now and then she'd give it a tiny bite. She couldn't resist.

Finally, Jason let out a soft moan and his whole body spasmed. Rosie's eyes lit up as her mouth filled with warm fox cum. She made happy sounds as she enjoyed the reward of her hard work.

Leanna was eager to join in the spoils. She lifted up Rosie's head to lap at her throat and catch the yummy fox frosting as Rosie swallowed.

Sarah was grinning with lusty amazement. "You should've seen that!" she told Mike.

All Mike could see was green. "It's okay. I like this view just fine."

~ ~ ~

Rosie did not take long to cook. Jared later explained to Jason that he'd bought a prototype superfast-cooking oven through a colleague who knew the inventor. Whereas a traditional oven might have required an hour per pound of Rosie, his needed much less. Rosie would be finished in a little less than two hours.

Sarah and Jared set the table. Mike, still licking golden honey from his lips, settled down to play a handheld video game. Leanna put a new diaper on Rosie and Jason watched.

Rosie was the perfect picture of contentment as she laid quietly on the table and let Leanna diaper her. She was so obviously enjoying it that Jason couldn't help but smile too. Leanna also looked like she was enjoying being a mommy.

Jason tactfully asked if Rosie was incontinent and really needed her diapers. Leanna replied that, no, her little sister simply liked how they felt. Rosie added that one time, for about a week, she'd had Jared alter her in the Rejuvenator so she really was incontinent. Just to see what it was like. It turned out to be a little inconvenient. Especially when she'd had her diaper off once and accidentally peed in Mike's bed.

Time passed. Rosie sat on the cool tile floor and had fun trying to make her diaper crinkle as loud as possible. Jason watched over Mike's shoulder as he blew up spaceships aplenty in his video game. Sarah sat on Leanna's lap and they kissed and talked. Jared took a seat at the opposite end of the kitchen, did some stretching exercises, and watched his cubs proudly.

~ ~ ~

The aroma of roast bat had become maddeningly tantalizing. The cubs had all been sneaking intermittent glances at the oven timer to see when Rosie would be done. Finally, when they all heard a loud 'DING', the cubs jumped up in hungry anticipation.

"Time to eat me!" Rosie said joyfully.

Jared didn't really need oven mitts anymore, but put them on out of habit nonetheless. He opened the oven door and a blast of deliciously bat-scented air filled the room.

Jason's mouth was watering. He padded over to look over Jared's shoulder into the oven. Rosie's body was gorgeously golden brown, marinade dripping slowly down her skin. Her little buns were plump and perky, looking like they were beckoning him to take a bite. "Can I help?" he asked.

Jared reached in to pull Rosie out. He wobbled a bit, but managed to get her onto the table. "Nope, but thanks for asking. You just go have a seat in the dining room. I'll handle things here."

"Can *I* help though?" Sarah asked.

"No no no; you've done plenty, sweetheart," he told her affectionately. He tickled under her chin. "You do any more work for me in the kitchen and I'll have to start payin' you."

She giggled and traipsed off to the dining room.

Jason followed.

Walking into the dining room, Jason's first thought was, 'Now THIS is the kind of room I expected in a mansion!'. The lights were comfortably dim. The walls had burgundy curtains and framed paintings of food. The dinner table was long, with plenty of spots for the cubs, as well as room for guests. There was a glass of milk beside each plate and, looking out of place, the jug sitting nearby. It was a very elegant room, yet it felt intimate instead of snooty.

Figuring Jared would take the spot at the head of the table, Jason tried to decide who to sit by.

"Come sit by me, Jason," Leanna purred.

"No, me!" said Sarah, giving her sister a playful push. Leanna giggled and pushed her too.

"Um," said Jason, wanting to be polite and not disappoint anyone.

"How 'bout you sit by Rosie, so she can point out what parts of her are tastiest?" Mike suggested.

"Yes!" Rosie agreed.

"Sounds good." Jason pulled out the heavy wooden chair beside the little bat (who had her own booster seat) and sat down, finding the chair quite comfy. Jason looked over the tablecloth, plates and silverware. "Wow... Everything's so nice!"

"It looks fancier than it really is," Jared said as he walked in, carrying a steaming Rosie roast. He placed it on the table and they all inhaled. Jared shucked his oven mitts and pitched them through the doorway back into the kitchen. "I don't buy the really expensive stuff. I don't feel like I have to prove anything to anyone, or spend money just because I have it. It's enough to have some rooms that look nice, like this one, so we can have our meals in a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere." With an 'aha' look, he scooped up a remote from a side table, pointed it across the room and gentle classical music started playing. Comforting piano notes to go with their meal.

Jared picked up the carving knife and fork. "Okay, so who wants what?"

"Jason's new, so he should get the best stuff," Mike said thoughtfully.

"Agreed!" Sarah added.

Jason blushed. "Really, it's okay. Um... But if no one minds..." He gazed at the luscious bat meat. "What do you suggest, Rosie? Besides an ear and a foot; I remembered."

She looked delighted that he did. "Oh, my cunny's always nummy! Plus my ribs, or my calves, or my upper arms."

"Okay, I'll try an ear, a foot, her cunny and some calf meat," Jason told Jared.

"Comin' up." He sliced the requested parts off skillfully. Each cut released a poof of savory-scented steam. Jared arranged some cooked veggies around the meat and handed the plate to Jason.

Leanna wasted no time in asking for some ribs. Jason's eyes widened when he looked at his plate. This was WAY more meat here than he'd expected! "Can I eat all this?" he muttered to himself.

Jared overheard. "You'll surprise yourself," he said knowingly as he passed a portion of thigh to Mike.

"What do you mean?"

Leanna swallowed a bit of ribmeat and answered for him. "It's a side effect of the Rejuvenator 2 process. It has to be ready to heal you, even if stuff gets cut off, right?"

"Right," he said.

"So your body needs a lot more energy to work with than usual. We all eat like piggies here. Don't worry about getting fat. Your metabolism just needs more now."

"I ate Dad's whole butt once," Mike said, sounding a little proud.

Jason snickered. "No way!"

"He did indeed!" Jared confirmed.

Jason giggled, trying to picture it. "Okay, I believe you."

"Take a bite!" Rosie coached, noticing his untouched plate.

"Oh, okay." Jason cut off a triangle of ear, then speared a bit of potato. He brought it to his mouth.

His eyes closed.

"Mmmmmmmm!! Wow! Wonderful!" he gushed.

Rosie could not resist hugging him. She nearly toppled her chair over. "I'm SO glad you like me!!"

He kissed her forehead. "Of course I do. I knew I would just from how good you smelled coming out of the oven." He quickly sampled a bit of foot. "This is a really interesting taste. Kinda like... I dunno."

Jared had just sat down with a plateful of breast, shoulder and neck meat. "Bat has been described as a dark, smoky meat with a bit of sweetness. Rosie makes very good barbecue, too."

"I wonder what I taste like..." Jason mused.

"Fox meat's usually salty. Overall, kinda like ham," Leanna said. "Needless to say, I've got two flavors," she added proudly.

"I taste like a mix of cucumber and melon," Sarah said.

"And I taste like balloon," Mike added, grinning.

"I know that already," Jason teased.

Mike swallowed a bit of Rosie's thigh. "So, how soon before we see your roast hiney up here on the table?" He reached across to give Jason a brotherly poke. "I wanna TASTE ya!"

Jason giggled and blushed. "Oh, I don't know..."

"Don't push him, Mike," Jared cautioned gently. "He will if he decides to."

"I... I do want to though," Jason said softly.

"You do?" Rosie asked, images of roast brother appearing in her head.

Jason looked across the table to each face in his new family. A sudden deep swell of emotion rose up within his chest. "I do. And not just being cooked; everything! I wanna try everything you guys do for fun. Even stuff I'm not sure of at first. Everything I've tried all day has been awesome and fantastic! I know I'll love anything you suggest I try. I just..." He paused, and realized he was crying a little. "I'm so happy here. It feels so good. I'm so relieved. I was worried at the cubslave place about who'd buy me. I never expected to have a whole new family. I gotta keep reminding myself that... That I'm gonna wake up every day from now on and see all of you, and it's just like... Wow. It's overwhelming."

Jared quietly put down his knife and fork, then walked around the table to lean down and hug his new son.

It felt magical. No matter how many hugs he'd had today, they all felt equally wonderful. "Thanks."

Jared nuzzled between his ears. "You're welcome. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're happy, little one." He gave him another kiss and sat back down.

Leanna gave Jason a warm, welcoming smile. "I know just how you feel. I remember when I was adopted and I didn't know Dad or Mike or Rosie yet. I was scared at first, thinking they wouldn't like me. And when they did, I almost couldn't believe it! And I had that exact same feeling; disbelief that I was actually gonna be with them forever now."

Sarah nodded. "As much as I'm looking forward to living with my new mommy and daddy, a big part of me wants to stay here. But I love knowing I can visit anytime I want."

Rosie gave smiles to both Mike and Jason. "When I was in the cubslave place, Mike shooed away these other girls who made fun of me 'cuz I couldn't fly good. He was my best friend, an' I was so happy when Daddy adopted us both. I can't imagine what it would've been like if we got separated. He was my brother as soon as we met." She gave Mike a smooch on the cheek. "And now you are too, new brother!"

Jason's heart melted as Rosie gave him a kiss too. A tiny touch, filled with infinite love. He took another bite of her tasty meat. He looked down at his plate for a bit. "Um, everyone... Do you guys mind if I talk about my old life for a bit?"

"Not at all, Jason." Jared said.

"I just feel like I should all of a sudden..." The arctic fox took another bite. He hesitated, taking a while to figure out what words went best with his feelings. "My mom was nice to me sometimes. Sometimes. But she was also really... I dunno what the word is. Like she didn't want me around most of the time. Like, she said she loved me, but it was like she was just saying that because she was a mom and she was sposto."

Jared carved his food thoughtfully, sighing at his son's sadness. "Cold?" he suggested.

"That's right," said Jason."She was cold. Even her hugs felt cold."

Leanna reached across the table to pat his paw. "I'm really sorry to hear that."

He nodded to her. "It's okay. I mean, she wasn't *mean* to me or anything. She just usually didn't wanna be bothered. She worked at home. She was always in her office, usually on the phone. It seemed like she was _always_ on the phone. I'd play outside a lot, by myself. Or if I was in my room I'd have to keep quiet or she'd yell for me to keep it down."

He moved the food around on his plate. "She cooked 'n stuff. We went to movies and dinner sometimes. It wasn't that bad. But..." He trailed off.

Jared softly spoke. "Jason, if you didn't feel loved, it's okay to come out and say it."

The young fox nodded. "I didn't. At most, it felt like we were friends."

"Like roommates?" Mike suggested.

Jason nodded emphatically. "Hey, that's actually really close. It did feel like that!"

"Very perceptive, Mike," Jared complimented.

The rubber mouse smiled.

Jason continued. "And then one day, someone she worked with told her that arctic foxes with blue fur like mine usually got really high prices at cubslave auctions. We'd never really thought about my fur before. I was embarrassed about it sometimes, a little. But mostly back when I was young; like in kindergarten. I wore a hat a lot. I found out over time though that most kids didn't care, so it wasn't a big deal for me overall. I was just blue. But when Mom found out I was worth money...

"She sat me down on the couch and we had a talk. I could tell she felt kinda bad about it, selling me, but that she was still gonna do it anyway. The weird thing was, I wasn't really surprised."

Leanna quietly sobbed.

"The next day I gave away a lot of my toys at school to my friends. We donated the rest, plus my clothes. The cubslave website she went to said I could keep a suitcase, but I didn't really care. She dropped me off. A nice lady talked to us for a while. Mom took a check, she kissed me and she left. I kinda feel bad but... I wasn't that sad. Like I said, it didn't surprise me. And the cubslave place didn't turn out to be too bad. Not exactly fun, but not scary either. I just told myself it was like going to camp."

Leanna was really crying now.

Jason noticed. "I'm really sorry if I..."

"No, it's not your fault," she quickly said. She wiped her eyes on her fur.

"Leanna went through some real bad stuff before she came here," Jared explained. "She's sensitive about it. Understandably so." He scooted his chair closer to reach out and pat her shoulder. Sarah obligingly moved out of the way so he could. "It's okay, honey."

She sniffled. "Actually... I do wanna talk about it. Do you remember what I said earlier?" she asked Jason.

"You said some guy bred you to be a mermaid and then kept you in an aquarium."

Leanna nodded. "He was a big fat guy. Some kinda rodent, maybe a gopher or a prairie dog. I never found out and I don't care. He had this little, ugly mustache and he smoked a lot. He had this big, huge office and I was the centerpiece. I was in that room my whole life. I can close my eyes and see every detail of it. I can remember the pattern on the carpet, the number of ceiling tiles. All the plastic plants and things that were in my tank. The little scuba diver man. The only toys I ever got to play with were aquarium decorations.

"The guy who owned me, he'd sit at his desk and have meetings. There was a skinny wolf guy who wore gray suits. He was, like, the fat guy's assistant. He'd feed me every day and clean my tank. He was like your mom, Jason; he wasn't really nice to me, but he wasn't mean either. He didn't seem to have any feelings. Except irritated sometimes. Usually his face was flat like a stone. But he did take good care of me.

"So I just swam around all day, watching the fat guy do his business stuff. The tank looked pretty. There was gold stuff all on the outside edges, and lots of plants and things inside. But it was only about a third as big as my room here. And all I had to sleep on was this dinky rubber pillow.

"The fat guy would stare at me. I _hated_ that. He'd stare and grin like he wanted me to know all the time that he _owned_ me. That GRIN! That stupid, mean grin! I hated him and I didn't even know his name until Jared got me out of there."

"Donald Carruth Gillespie," Jared said, sounding as if the words tasted bad in his mouth. "I found out about Leanna and offered to buy her from him. Gillespie wouldn't listen until I offered him a ton of stock I had in a tech company he wanted ownership of. Was it my fault I knew the company was going under and the stocks would be worthless within a month?" He grinned slyly.

Jason smiled. "You gave him the shaft? Awesome!"

"I certainly did! Heck, I wished I could've blazed into his office with two machine guns and ran outta there with Leanna in my arms! If I could have gotten away with it legally, that is... You can't imagine how FURIOUS I was when I heard he was keeping a child cooped up and on display like that!"

Leanna was looking at her daddy with pure, shining love. Anyone could see that he was her hero. "Daddy took me home and made me feel loved for the very first time. The fat guy had never let me go to school, so I hardly even knew how to talk. Daddy got a tutor for me, and he had some guys come in and build my underwater room. And he made my wheelbowl and my special pajamas and all sorts of stuff. I've always been amazed that I could go from that life to this one."

Jason didn't know what to say. "Leanna... I'm so glad you go out of there." He reached out his paw to touch hers. "I hate that fat guy too!"

She chuckled softly. "Glad to hear it."

"Um..." Sarah piped up. "If we're gonna do family histories, can I go next?"

"Actually, that's a very good idea," Jared said. "Let's all let Jason know more about us."

The little green squirrel nodded. "Okay. So, um, I've been in a *bunch* of different families. Some sucked, some were okay. A few were nice. None of them really knew how to take care of me. The science guys who made me were sorta glad to get rid of me actually. Picture a bunch of nerds who knew all sortsa science stuff, but had no idea how to change diapers."

Jason snorted. He imagined a tiny, squirming Sarah. "I bet you were really cute as a baby."

"I looked like a lima bean! Jared's got photos!" she said, chuckling. "Anyway, my first place was with some rich guy named MacArthur. He had a big mustache and basically bought me as, like, a status symbol. All his rich friends had exotic cubslaves, so he wanted one too. He was kind to me, but sorta dumb too, y'know? He had no idea how to take care of me and let his servants do that. I stayed with him longer than anyone else, up until I was four or five. Eventually I was getting sick so often he agreed to sell me. At least he cared about me that much. He knew I was better off with someone else.

"I was in a cubslave place for a while. Some of those places kinda blended together in my memory. Then there was this lesbian couple. I was only there a few months with them; they thought I was icky. I don't even know why they bought me in the first place! Then there was another scientist guy named Ralph Hayswell. He had glasses. Also nice; also couldn't take care of me very well. He gave me to one of his colleagues at a college and I lived there for a while. They made me a little bedroom in the science department. It was the opposite of before: they took the best care of me, but they didn't really *love* me. I was a lab partner at best, test animal at worst. They were always taking little cuttings from my vines to do experiments on. It got annoying. But at least the place itself was neat! I got to mess around with all the equipment and pretend the animal skeletons came alive at night and had adventures.

"I think the science guys got pissed off because they couldn't figure out how to make another plantfur like me? So it was back to another cubslave place. I waited around. Made friends with a nice beaver boy named Todd. Then I got bought by a real jerk. Tall guy who coughed a lot. Mr. Farlin. I was old enough by then that he wanted me for a servant. He didn't want to do yiffy stuff with me though, which was fine by me 'cuz he was old and never smiled and smelled like cologne kaka. I had to set the table and bring him things and do other stuff like that. Thankfully, most of the time I got to sit in my room and nap or watch cartoons. But it was boring and I hated it there.

"Thankfully, he needed some money for some reason, so he sold me, and then there was another auction, and then I met Jared!" She grinned brightly and nuzzled his shoulder.

He kissed her mossy headfur. "And soon you'll have new botanist parents who will give you the good home you've always deserved." He looked over at Mike and Rosie. "Who wants to go next?" he asked as he took a bite of bat.

"I will!" Rosie piped up. She turned to Jason. "My old life wasn't so bad really. My mommy and daddy had six kids and we all lived in a little house. We were poor. Me an' my brothers an' sisters were always yelling for attention. Mom and Dad worked all the time, so my oldest sister Desiree and my next-oldest sister June took care of us a lot. My two brothers, Ray and Freddie, flew around the house all the time an' were always crashing into the walls an' ceiling and making noise! My last sister, Henrietta, was quiet and not much older than me. I was the littlest.

"I was in first grade when Mommy lost her job. They needed money, and they heard about a cubslave place that was paying good money for cubs. They talked with us a long time and 'pologized and hugged us an' said that they wouldn't do it otherwise, but money was really important right then. I think all of us volunteered, because we wanted Mommy to get her money. June and me was the only ones who really meant it though, so we got sold. I didn't get much money, 'cuz of my bad wing, but June did. She's very pretty. She got sold to a nice couple who treat her nice an' yiff her a lot."

She looked to Jared with a beaming smile. "And I got bought by the nicest Daddy in the world!"

He smiled back, "You flatter me, little butterfly."

Rosie squeaked happily. She turned back to Jason. "Best of all, we still do postcards all the time. June sends them to me and my old family, and I send mine to them too. We do phonecalls too, an' every now and then we visit. Mommy even got a new job. I miss them sometimes, but not too much. I know I'm sposto be _here_. Everything worked out the way it was meant to, I think. Mommy and Daddy an' my old brothers an' sisters are happier with more room in the house an' June's happy with her new family an' I'm happy with mine."

She gave her rubber brother a poke. "Mike's turn!"

Mike leaned over a bit so he could see Jason past Rosie. "Actually, me 'n the flying mouse here have a lot in common."

"I'm not a mouse!" Rosie protested.

Mike grinned and tickled her a bit. "She told you how we became friends at the cubslave place. I was there because I sort of volunteered. My mom and dad both worked too, and I also had a pretty big family. Two older brothers, plus our aunt lived with us. My other brothers, Damon and Deacon, were like, super-crazy-good athletes. They connected a lot better with my dad. I was just kinda... There. I didn't know what I wanted to do.

"It wasn't like they hated me or I hated them or anything. I just didn't fit in. We all knew it, and it was okay. I mean, we were kinda outcasts anyway, being balloonies. But the rest of my family just clicked together a lot better, you know? We still did family stuff, went on trips and things like that. But most of the time I felt like I was just renting a room there.

"When I heard about the cubslave places at school, I was intrigued. It sounded like an adventure to me. I thought about it a long time. A few months. Then I told my mom about it. She told Dad, Dad told the family. We all agreed it was for the best.

"Dad said 'we parted amicably'; I like that. And we did. They sold me and got some good money for me, which made me feel proud and also happy for them. We hugged when they dropped me off. They gave me a lot of kisses, then a dude in a hat led me inside. It was cool. It felt like this was what was supposed to happen." He smiled serenely.

"I met Rosie, she was freakin' adorable, I chased off her stupid bullies, Jared bought us, and we've been together ever since."

Rosie made happy bat sounds. "I love you, Mike!"

"Love you too, squirt," he said softly as he hugged her.

POP! *pssssssssshhh*

Mike looked down to see that Rosie had stuck a fork in him.

"Why you little...!"

Rosie giggled like crazy. "I only did it 'cuz I know you like it!"

Mike deflated slowly and looked a little wobbly. "Ooooh, I do..."

Jared rolled his eyes in pretend-exasperation. "How many times must I tell you? No popping at the dinner table!" he kidded.

"Righto, Dad!" Mike was halfway deflated, but he willed his punctures closed, then took in a deep breath to reinflate himself.

"You said you were gonna tell me how balloonies work," Jason remembered.

Mike looked a bit sheepish. "I was bluffing. I can barely remember. It's real science-y."

Jared spoke up. "It's not Mike's fault; balloonie biology is tough stuff to comprehend. Instead of having organs like us, everything takes place in the membrane between the inner and outer surfaces of himself. Also, his consciousness isn't centered in his head, but every part of his body is doing brain-like things all the time. It's like each cell of Mike becomes what's needed, when it's needed. Or like each part of him is simultaneously doing a little bit of the work of what any single organ would do. Our cells are individual living things, of course, but Mike's can act much more autonomously. Research on how balloonies can pop and reform was essential to designing the Rejuvenator, actually."

Jason stared blankly. "I understood... maybe half of that."

Mike chuckled. "Don't feel bad. *I* can't remember this stuff, and it's about me!"

"You wanna really make your head hurt?" Sarah interjected. "Have Jared read you some of the notes on how I was created!"

Jared laughed so hard and suddenly that he spat a fleck of Rosie across the table. "It's amazing stuff," he said, shaking his head. "These guys were all brilliant, but had NO idea what they were doing! You get the idea that they stayed awake for weeks, brainstorming and building on each other's theories, coming up with stuff as they went along. Then they succeeded in creating Sarah, and realized they hadn't written down most of how they did it, and couldn't remember anymore!"

Jason laughed. He could perfectly picture a bunch of lab coat guys standing around looking totally dumbstruck.

The little fox ate some more of Rosie. He'd eaten quite a lot without even realizing it. 'I guess they were right about my metabolism. And I'm still hungry!'

"So, what is everyone planning after dinner?" Jared asked.

"I was gonna watch a movie, actually."

"That new mermaid one?" Sarah asked.

Leanna nodded. "Mm-hmm. I like watching them to see what stuff they get wrong and what stuff they get right," she told Jason.

"I could show Jason the video games," Mike suggested.

Jason perked up.

Rosie grinned "And I could hang above you and be annoying!" she chirped mischievously.

Mike snickered. "You're too cute to be annoying," he said, giving her a squeaky noogie. She exploded with laughter.

"That sounds fun," Jason told Mike. "The video games looked nifty."

Mike got a sly look in his eyes. "Plus, we can sit real close..."

Jason blushed. Sarah and Leanna both giggled.

"Well," Jared said, "if you cubs are gonna occupy yourselves, I might head to the study to try and get some work done." He looked to Jason, concerned. "I don't have to though, if that'd feel weird to you. I don't want you to feel like I'm going to shut myself in my office and ignore you."

"Oh, no, it's okay!" Jason assured. He knew just what Jared was worried about. "I know by now you won't treat me like my mom did. If you have to do grownup stuff for a while, it's okay. Mike and I'll probly be playing video games anyway."

Jared nodded. "Allright. I don't usually have *much* work to do, as I let other people who know more than me handle most of my business affairs, but there's always *something* I need to sign or take care of every day."

He smiled warmly at Jason. "I keep my priorities straight though. If I'm ever in my study working, and you need me for anything... for any reason... it's always okay for you to come in and tell me. I can't promise I'll be able to take care of it right away, but I can promise to give you the time you need."

Jason felt happy from head to toe. His new Daddy was looking at him lovingly, and he returned the warmth with his smile. "Thank you."

"Now all that's left is to finish off this tasty bat!" Jared said, scooping up a big mouthful. "And did I mention there's cake and ice cream for dessert?"

Jason's tail wagged. "Really? Cool!"

"Of course," Leanna said. "When you think about it, today's kinda like your second birthday!"

Jason though that was an incredibly wonderful idea.



***
Chapter Seventeen   -   Game On


The family ate and ate until the sun disappeared through the wide windows and darkness covered the world like a blanket.

Jason didn't think he'd ever eaten so much before. His tummy felt as round and taut as a basketball. He patted it and burped. Of course, everyone else was burping too; forming words out of them and giggling. Jared pretended to sternly disapprove, but couldn't keep the smile off his face.

When Jared left and came back with a cake, Jason thought at first that he couldn't possibly eat any. Yet he surprised himself again. The cake was red velvet with white icing, with cherry ice cream on the side. Jason took a big bite as soon as Jared set a plate in front of him and plowed through with renewed energy.

Leanna explained that, in addition to his newly increased metabolism, the reason he was so hungry now was that his body was intentionally stockpiling energy for later use. Jason noted that she seemed to know a lot about the Rejuvenator. Leanna smiled shyly and said she had an interest in medical technology and might go into Jared's field someday when she grew up.

Stuffed with cake and bat, everyone was now in the mood to just sit for a while and digest. They rolled themselves out of their chairs and split up. Jared went off to his study near the front door. Leanna and Sarah headed for her tank. Mike led Jason over to the video game area of the playroom and pulled up some beanbag chairs. Rosie fluttered up to her perch and steered it over to where she could watch them play.

Mike rooted through the basket of games. "Ooh, you're gonna love this one."

Jason plopped down in his beanbag. He craned his neck to look. "What kind is it?"

"You'll see." Mike turned on the console and slid the disc in. He scooped up two controllers, tossed one to Jason, then sat down with a 'fwumph'; all in one fluid motion.

The game started and Mike guided Jason through the basics. It turned out to be a futuristic action shooter with lots of laser guns and day-glo aliens who puked up purple stuff when you shot 'em.

It also turned out that Jason sucked at it. He'd never played on this system before and the controls were counterintuitive. Rosie cheered him on, but it soon became apparent that Mike was leaving him in the dust. So Jason hung back and let Mike take the lead, while he kept an eye out and tried to blast any beasties he saw getting close.

After a while, Jason yawned.

Glancing back and forth between the fox and the screen, Mike asked, "You not havin' fun, bro?"

Jason winced, not wanting to disappoint him. "Um... To be honest, not really. I'm not good at this."

"You'll get better."

"Yeah, but I'm also feelin' a little sleepy. I'm all stuffed full of tasty Rosie meat."

They heard giggles from above. "You're welcome!"

Jason looked up and smiled at her, then back at Mike. "I don't mind watching you play though. You're doing really good!"

Mike nodded, then a naughty smile appeared on his mousy muzzle. He paused the game. "Well then, maybe you'd like to slide over so we can sit a little closer, hm?

Jason looked down and blushed. "Um, okay." He struggled up from his beanbag, which was so squashy it resisted his efforts, but soon managed to get himself plopped down next to Mike. He sat down with a 'fwumph' and bumped Mike's butt. Both boys laughed.

Mike rubbed his shoulder on Jason's. He wiggled a bit, getting settled. "There now. That feels good. Wanna continue?"

Jason nodded. "Okeydoke."

Mike unpaused the game and continued to blast holes in neon-colored abominations. But he kept at least a little bit of his attention on Jason too. The foxpup was nervous, but obviously excited. Mike guessed correctly that Jason had never been so bodily close to another boy before, but was curious, and was enjoying it.

Jason certainly was. He felt a bit of warm embarrassment in his cheeks, but tried to ignore it. At school, boys weren't supposed to get too close to other boys. Especially not like this. Girls had it easier; they could hug and hold hands and no one minded. At the cubslave place, things were much more relaxed. Jason had seen plenty of boys touching and exploring each other, sometimes right out in the open. But he'd been too shy to ask anyone else if they'd like to try that. Though he'd wanted to.

Jason twitched when he felt something tickly trail up his spine. A thin rubber tail popped up over his shoulder and caressed him. He glanced at Mike, who was grinning but still looking at his game and playing fiercely. Jason let the tail stay. It curled around him like a friendly snake.

The foxboy skootched a little closer to Mike. The warm rubber felt interesting against his short fur. Mike also seemed to weigh more than Jason had expected. After all, he thought, balloons are hollow. But he remembered his science class and guessed that Mike's skin probably had a high density. That made sense, given all the stuff that was going on inside it. It also made practical sense; otherwise balloonies would bounce all over the place when they tried to walk anywhere. Jason giggled as he pictured a bunch of balloonies at a bus stop and a sudden wind tossing them all around.

Mike's tail curled and uncurled slowly. Jason could tell from its movements how much Mike was concentrating on his game at any given time. Jason decided he ought to return the favor and wrapped his tail around Mike's waist. The mouseboy snuggled into it. "That feels nice," he complimented, making Jason feel good.

They heard a flapping sound behind them. Rosie had vacated her perch to land beside them.

"Comin' in for a closer look?" Mike asked.

"Sorta. But also, I wanted to pee in my diapers!" she said happily. She gave them a crinkle and explained to Jason, "If I did it while I was still upside down, the pee might leak out and trickle all down my fur!"

Jason had never considered before that diapers aren't designed for reverse gravity.

"I'll bet you know from personal experience," Mike kidded.

"Do not!" she huffed. "...Well, okay. I was watchin' a movie once and I peed upside down an' the next thing I knew it was in my mouth. Bleah."

Mike and Jason could not resist giggling. Rosie didn't mind.

"Okay, I'm peeing now!" she announced.

Jason turned away from the game to watch. The first thing he noticed was the smell, which was a little sour but not at all unpleasant. He couldn't really see anything, but Rosie smiled with obvious relief and patted the front of her padding. He also heard a faint hiss.

"There we go. All done!" Rosie looked immensely pleased. She plopped down in Jason's vacated beanbag chair. "Diapers are neato!" she assessed. "I'll let it get all soaked in an' absorbed, then I'll go back to watchin' you two."

"You don't mind watching the game upside down?" Jason asked.

"Naw! I don't even think about it," she said.

Jason guessed that doing anything upside down would be second nature to a bat.

Rosie suddenly giggled with a naughty idea. "You two look so cute all snuggled close like that. Maybe you should get even *closer*...."

"What do you mean?" asked Jason.

Rosie grinned at Mike. "Like we did earlier. In the bedroom!"

"Ohhhhh, said Mike, catching her drift. He paused the game to look at Jason with a 'you're gonna love this' look in his eyes. "Say Jason... You ever put on a rubber glove before?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"How 'bout a rubber wetsuit?"

Jason suddenly realized where this was going. "Oh! Do you wanna... Put me inside you?"

"Depends on if you wanna get put inside," Mike said suavely.

Jason fidgeted cutely. "I think I'd like that."

"Cool!" Mike sat his controller aside and got himself turned around in the beanbag so he was facing his fox brother.

Jason had a disgusting thought though. "But if I go in you, won't I end up sitting in your undigested dinner?"

Mike laughed hard at that. "No way! Take a look." He showed off his belly. "See anything?"

The rubber mouse looked hollow as ever. "Where'd it go so quickly?"

"Whenever I eat, my inner skin moves it around and distributes it evenly. That's so I don't have a big bulge throwing me off balance. Being hollow makes walking around different for me."

"Ohhh," said Jason.

"All that food's inside me, just spread around. My innerspace is nice 'n clean!" he said with a smile.

"Okay then! That was my only worry, so you can swallow me or whatever now."

"Roger wilco!" Mike quickly whipped off his shirt. "Turn around and lie on your belly. And put your feet out. This is gonna rock. I love swallowing new people!"

Jason gulped and did as instructed. He knew there was nothing to be afraid of, but he knew what was inevitably about to happen and couldn't help but think of boa constrictors.

Mike picked up Jason's feet. "Just go as limp as you can. Relax and let it happen. I won't digest you." He gave the paws he was holding a sniff. "Hey! Yer feet smell like popcorn!"

Jason blushed. Then he cooed as he felt Mike suddenly engulf both his feet in a single gulp!

"Yaaay! Jason's going inside!" Rosie cheered. She watched attentively.

The fox murred and erfed as he felt Mike's rubber throat pulling him slowly inside. This was amazing! He could hear the squeaks and creaks of Mike's rubber skin shifting about to accommodate him. Mike was murring too; conveying with his mouth full that his new brother tasted good.

"How's it feel, Jason?" Rosie asked.

"Really... Interesting!" the foxpup said. He was panting and excited by these new sensations. Mike swallowed him with practiced ease, his tongue moving around to taste all the parts of Jason it could reach. Soon Jason's legs were all the way in. The young fox yipped loudly when Mike got to his crotch!

Rosie giggled. "I think he liked that, Mike!"

Mike muttered something that probably would have been witty if either of them could have understood it through his mouthful of foxboy.

He kept Jason's boybits in his mouth for an enjoyable length of time (leading Jason to wonder if there was anyone who hadn't yet tasted his wiener today!), but then sucked the fox's butt down with one huge gulp.

Jason was trembling from the pleasure. Mike was so *warm* inside! "Sh-should I put my hands down your throat or out in front of me?" He asked, wanting to be helpful.

"Over your head is best," Rosie answered for Mike. "Do a Superman!"

Jason chuckled at that. He put his arms out and slid into Mike up to his armpits.

Mike gulped and gulped, enjoying every moment of his tasty brother filling his throat.

Jason looked down to realize he was almost all the way in. He felt two openings where his paws were, and began to slide his legs down inside of Mike's. He knew he couldn't fit his bushy tail inside Mike's skinny one, so he just curled it around his waist. Then his world went suddenly golden brown as Mike swallowed his whole head!

"Down the hatch!" said Rosie.

Jason's penis was rock solid now, dragging along the inside of Mike's skin, leaving a tiny trail of pre behind. His paws settled in nicely inside his brother's wide mouse feet. When his head was all the way in, Jason pulled one arm inside and slid it into Mike's, then the other. Mike closed his mouth and Jason found himself literally seeing the world through his brother's eyes. "Whoa!"

Just one thing left. Mike reached into his pants and positioned his cock. Jason made the cutest yiffy sounds as he felt Mike's penis slip over his perfectly. Like a finger in a glove. "Ohhhh, Mike! This is wonderful!"

"I'm really glad you like it!" Mike said, finally able to talk. He wiggled his arms and legs around. "And you fit inside me pretty well, too!"

Jason took a deep breath. It was a bit difficult to breathe in here, but his Rejuvenated body compensated quickly. Also, the smell of rubber was omnipresent. A little intoxicating, but also bearable. It was strange and exciting to watch Mike move his arms and feel his own arms move right along with them.

Rosie was entranced with the sight of two brothers in one. "You guys look so coooool! Mike's all plump, like a sausage mouse, and Jason, I can see you inside him! Sweet!"

He turned both their heads to look at her and wondered if she could make out his smile.

"Hey! You better cut that out," Mike teased. "If you keep lookin' around while I'm playing my game and I get my butt chomped because of it, I'll..." He tried to think of something.

Jason giggled. "You'll what? Maybe I'll just fart in here and stink up the place!"

Mike giggled more. "You do that and I might just have to digest you!"

The little fox shivered. "...I'm not sure if I want you to or not."

Rosie smiled knowingly. "You *definitely* would! Mike's digested me lotsa times. You melt all nice 'n slow. Then you're just some bones and he poops you out and puts you in the 'juvenator. Then you're all back together again. Ta da!"

Mike could feel Jason fidget nervously, simultaneously worried and intrigued. "Don't worry, bro. After that big meal, I don't know if I *can* digest you!"

"Oh... Okay," Jason said, feeling a bit relieved. Or was it disappointed?

"Maybe tomorrow though," he said.

Jason gulped.

Rosie suddenly laughed. "Hey, when you guys go to bed tonight, you should stay like this! Jason, you'll have rubber pajamas!"

~ ~ ~

Soon Mike resumed his game and Rosie returned to her perch. As time passed, Jason heard a small, cute sound overhead. He realized she had fallen asleep and her nose was whistling. Even unconscious she was adorable!

Jason also noticed something else. A biological imperative was making itself known. "M-mike...?"

Jason had been quiet so long, Mike actually jumped a little. He paused the game so he wouldn't be eaten by a Glarkulon Mercenary while he talked. "What's up, bro?"

"Um, um, um..." Jason bit his lip, not sure how to say this. "I kind of have to... Y'know..." He fidgeted a bit.

Mike laughed loudly, then quickly stopped himself so as not to wake his sister overhead. He still chuckled though. "Your bladder callin' you? It's no problem. I don't have to let you out just yet. You could pee right in me and it'd be no problem. My body'd absorb it just like anything else."

"Oh, okay," Jason said. He'd half-expected this answer anyway. "You don't mind though? I mean, it's kind of gross."

"Nah," Mike said. Jason could feel his grin from inside. "Rosie's peed in me lots of times. And besides, it's not like I'm gonna taste it."

Jason laughed too. "Good point."

"So long as you don't mind wet fur, go right ahead."

As his experience with Jared in bed that afternoon had proved to him, Jason didn't mind wet fur at all. "Okay, I'll try to."

He reached down to their crotch area. Mike's arm resisted just for a moment, then relaxed and let him take over. Jason cupped their boybits in his hand. Mike softly grunted when Jason slipped his penis out of Mike's and popped it inside.

"That felt nice," Mike whispered.

Jason made a small murr. He pointed his semi-hard penis up towards his chest, then took his hand away and tried to relax. A second ago his bladder had been practically yelling full-blast at him. Now it had lost interest. 'Come on, you!' Jason thought at it irritatedly.

A single spurt jumped out. Mike and Jason both made startled sounds of pleasure. Jason closed his eyes and focused on the feeling as the rest of it came pouring out.

Hot, fragrant fox piss. It surged from his young penis and hit Mike's internal skin with a sound like heavy rain on a rooftop. The sound was amplified inside the mouseboy. Warmly, the pee traced tiny wet lines through Jason's chestfur. He 'arf'ed very quietly as it tickled him.

"Thank you, bro..." Mike whispered.

Jason suddenly noticed how nice it felt when Mike spoke; how the mouse's lips moved over top of his own. He gave Mike a kiss from inside.

Mike chuckled and hugged himself, squeezing his brother tenderly.

Still the rain came. Jason could feel it pooling around his ballsac, trickling down his thighs and around his tush. So pleasantly warm.

It was a shame when his flow stopped. Jason had peed quite a bit; Mike could feel it dribbling down the inside of his legs, all the way to his feet. "Very impressive peeing there."

"Thanks!" Jason said proudly. "That felt *so* good. Better than I expected."

"Isn't it nice to just be able to do yiffy stuff like this any time we want?" Mike asked, smiling broadly.

"Yes!" Jason barked. "I feel silly for all the times in the cubslave place or at school when I wanted to try something yiffy with a friend but didn't 'cause I was too worried what they'd think or how it'd feel."

Mike nodded (and Jason did too). "I didn't get to do any sexy stuff until I was out of my old house too. I fooled around at my cubslave place a bit. Butt grabbin' in the shower room 'n stuff. Rosie was my first yiff. She was cold one night and asked to get into bed with me, and it was warm and we were friends and so... Stuff happened. And it felt just right."

Jason smiled at such a nice thought.

Mike felt something shift down there. He grinned. "Did someone's penis just move?" he asked playfully.

Jason wiggled. "Mmmmmmaybe. You'd better check."

"I think I will," Mike said. "C'mere, penis!" He laid back in the beanbag and ran his paw along his tummy till he felt Jason's little stiffy making a bulge in his skin. "There you are." He ran his paw back and forth across the little lump, making Jason fidget and arf adorably.

Closing his eyes, Mike nudged Jason's boner gently, guiding it back down to their crotch. Jason's moans were reverberating inside his head, echoing in an interesting way. Having someone inside him was different than, say, feeling stuffed with food. He felt fulfilled like this, instead of just filled. It was like when Jared got the air tank and inflated him right to his maximum pressure without going over. For a balloonie, fullness is a rewarding experience for body, mind and spirit.

Jason barked cutely when he felt his penis pop back into Mike's. His brother quickly clutched the two stacked penises in his paw and began jerking off. Both boys murred together. Jason felt his heart speed up and Mike felt a similar sensation, though difficult to describe.

The pee had made things nice and squishy down there, and Jason was helpfully adding pre to the equation. The word 'equation' made him think of math: 'penis + penis = cum'.

Mike's rubber cock moved smoothly over Jason's. His skin squeaked with friction; the tempo of the sound steadily increasing. Mike pawed hard and turned his face towards the beanbag, rubbing against it and making little grunts. His other paw clutched the material. It wasn't rubber, but it was similar enough to excite him nonetheless.

Jason whined with need. "Mike... I'm gonna..."

"Do it, bro!" the mouse encouraged. "Squirt inside me! Splash inside me!"

Just imagining how it would feel for Mike to have someone else Cumming Inside Of His Penis launched Jason straight into orgasm. He tightened up, fingers clenching inside his brother's, and shot out a sticky spray of cum.

Mike tossed his head back and gulped for air. Then he held his breath and tugged faster than ever, Jason mewing at the rough sensation on his sensitive maleness.

Mike tensed, then released, as he let loose his own latex-scented load onto the beanbag chair.

The two boys panted together for several moments, their chests moving in unison.

A thin, tired smile appeared on Mike's face. "So, that was your first time yiffing with another boy I'm guessing?"

"Well, aside from Jared, yeah. But it's not quite the same thing, since he's a grownup."

"I understand," Mike said. "But did you like it though?"

Jason giggled at how silly it was that Mike even had to ask. In lieu of an answer, he kissed his wonderful brother every place his lips could reach.



***
Chapter Eighteen   -   Bedtime


After their hearts had stopped racing, Mike and Jason talked a bit about their experience, then Mike went back to his game. Jason chuckled. He remembered some kids at the cubslave place who could barely be torn away from the video games there too.

Mike continued blowing things up while Jason watched and occasionally spaced out. He was getting sleepy, he realized. What time was it? The sun had gone down hours ago; he knew that.

He heard footsteps, plus the squeak of a wheelchair. Or wheelbowl, rather.

"Rosie's already asleep! How cute!" Sarah said.

Mike paused, saved his game, then turned around. "Hey, you two." The merfox and squirrelplant were there, both looking damp from their time in Leanna's tank.

Leanna gasped happily. "Oh, *there's* Jason! I thought he'd gone off for a potty break."

Jason smiled bashfully. "Already did." He and Mike giggled.

"So how was your movie?" Mike asked.

Leanna rolled her eyes. "Typical. They got a few things right, but mostly it was the same old silly fairytale stuff. I guess I am kinda based on a mythical creature, so it shouldn't irk me so much. But I do *not* magically grow legs when I'm out of the water!" she huffed. "I wish! That'd be so much more convenient!"

Sarah chuckled into her paw. Leanna had criticized the film's mermaid-accuracy the whole time.

"And I don't eat raw fish either! Yuck! Who would?"

"My mom took me to a sushi place once and it wasn't bad," Jason pointed out.

Leanna gave him A Look. "I know! I meant like just reaching out and grabbing a live fish and taking a bite out of it."

"The fish probably wouldn't like that either," Mike noted.

"All my cubs, all together!" came Jared's voice as he stepped into the room. He crossed to the video game area, looking a bit bleary from his boring work. "I saw you guys chatting on the monitor and when I looked at the clock I realized it was definitely bedtime."

"Monitor?" Jason asked.

Jared smiled to see his two boys nested together. He patted both their heads. "I've got the place all wired up. It's mostly for security, but I also like keeping an eye on you squirts when I'm working. Not, like, to see if you're getting into mischief..." (Leanna giggled at that.) "...but just so I know what's going on and I can come quick if I'm needed. Also, watching you guys having fun helps remind me not to work *too* long. After all, what's more important than being with you?"

"Awww, that's sweet," Leanna said, and wheeled herself close for a quick hug.

He leaned down to nuzzle her ears, then looked up at where the snoozy sounds were coming from. "One tuckered-out-bat, comin' down."

He reached up to gently jog Rosie awake. She stirred blearily. "Hmm? Nrrrm?"

Jared looked up into her blinky eyes. "Wouldn't you much rather do that in a cozy warm bed?"

She nodded daintily and then yawned. A really big one, showing off all her teeth. Jared reached up to get a good grip on her and she trustingly slipped off her perch into his arms. The fox 'Oof!'ed, but kept her steady.

"Mike, how 'bout you disgorge your brother and let's all get into our pajamas, okay?"

"Sure, dad," the mouseboy said. He moved to stand up, but Jason wasn't ready and they plopped back down again. "No; do it with me. One, two... three!" This time they managed to get themselves vertical together. Mike turned the TV and console off and left the game in for next time.

The mouseboy yawned and stretched. "I guess it is late. I'm tired too," he said. Leanna and Sarah were following Jared off to the bedroom. "Meetcha in just a few moments!" he called out.

"Um," said Jason. "How exactly am I going to get *out* of you?"

He could _feel_ the mouse's grin grow immense. "There are many ways..."

~ ~ ~

A little later, Leanna looked up from putting on her pajamas to see her brothers come walking in, giggling sophomorically. "Uh oh," she said. "What'd you guys do?"

Mike walked over, patting Jason on the back. "I hadda get him out somehow. But you didn't hear me pop, right?"

"Right."

"And I'm not split down the middle, right?"

Leanna looked him up and down. "Right."

The impish mouseboy nudged his brother. "You tell 'er."

Jason's smile split his face. "He POOPED me!!"

Leanna burst out laughing. Sarah and Jared looked over to see what was so humorous.

Jason was more than happy to describe the experience in detail. "Mike seemed kinda puzzled for a bit, then he all of a sudden said "Eureka!" and bent over. I heard him grunting and felt him straining real hard. Then all of a sudden I started moving! I was like, "Whoa!" I started sliding towards his butt! Then his tailhole opened up and I could feel air on my fur again. No offense, Mike, but it was kinda stuffy inside you."

"None taken," he said.

"It's better when he's 'flated," a sleepy Rosie chimed in from her nearby bed.

"Not that I didn't love it in there," Jason clarified, "it just got a little humid after a while. So anyway, Mike's asshole got REALLY wide, and then WHOOSH! I fell backwards and plopped right out! Except my feet, arms and head were still inside, so I had to kinda buttwalk backwards to get 'em out. Then Mike looked back and said, 'It's a boy!!!'"

Everyone laughed. It was a very Mike-ish thing to do. The mouseboy grinned bashfully and took a little bow.

"I guess you're my new Mommy now, huh?" Jason said, giving Mike a kiss on the cheek.

Mike affectionately petted his ears. "If so, that means I can order you to eat brussels sprouts and clean your room."

"What 'bout rubber pajamas?" Rosie interjected, yawning again.

Mike snapped his fingers (which, unsuprisingly, sounded like someone rubbing a balloon). "Oh, right! We forgot about that! We were gonna have you sleep inside me tonight. Wanna get back inside?" he asked Jason.

The little fox shook his head politely. "Nah, it's okay. Like I said, I was gettin' sweaty in there. Arctic foxes don't tend to like hot places much."

Mike nodded in understanding. "So you didn't mind the visit but you wouldn't wanna stay all night. Gotcha."

"Exactly," Jason said.

"Okeydoke. I'mma go get my pajamas on, " Mike said, and took off for the racecar-shaped bed across the room. For the first time, Mike noticed it had normal blankets and rubber sheets. He wondered if that just felt more comfortable for Mike, or if he liked to wet the bed too.

Jason looked back at Leanna. "Your pajamas are pretty," he noticed.

She lit up. "Thanks! They're special! Jared had 'em made for me." She flipped her fin at him to show them off. They were a one-piece sleeper with a zipper down the front, colored a gentle pink with a pattern of small white and yellow cartoon goldfish. The sleeves were short and the bottom contoured exactly to Leanna's fishy half.

"It's not just made to fit me though," she said. She unzipped partway and let him see inside. "Put your paw in; feel that!"

Jason got a naughty grin as he reached out.

"The inside of the pajamas, I mean," she clarified. Then she smiled coyly. "But you can touch other stuff if you wanna while you're in there."

Jason's paw brushed her soft fur as he reached inside. As soon as he touched the lining, he knew why this was a special pair. "Oh! It's all squooshy!"

She nodded. "Uh huh! We tried rubber 'jamas with water inside for a while, but they always leaked in the bed. Plus they got smelly. And I looked like a hot water bottle! Instead, these ones have this special gel stuff that keeps my fin moist. Cool 'n comfy all night long. And no leaks!"

"I kinda assumed you'd just sleep in your tank," Jason said.

"Sometimes," Leanna said. "But a soft, warm bed feels nicer. Plus..." She looked at him with obvious naughty thoughts on her mind. "...this way I can *cuddle* with someone all night long."

"Ooo," said Jason. That sounded like a good idea.

"G'night everyone!!" Sarah suddenly called out from across the room, startling both foxes. 

Jason jerked his hand out of Leanna's pajamas and unintentionally copped a feel. The merfox did not mind a bit. "Oh, wait!" he called out.

"Hm?" She came back over to him. Sarah had on yellow fuzzy pajamas with stars and was carrying a teddy bear under her arm. Her pajamas had slits in the back for her vines. Her little yellow flowers poked out from every opening too. "Oh! I forgot to kiss my new temporary brother goodnight!" she realized, and did so promptly, right between his ears.

Jason wiggled happily. "Actually, I remembered something. Something I wanted to give you."

Sarah cocked her head inquisitively. "A gift?"

He was blushing through his fur. "Yeah, um... Remember at the picnic?"

She connected the dots, gasped in happiness and suddenly hugged him fiercely, flinging her teddy onto the nearest bed. "Oh THANK you, Jason! Do you mean you're gonna poop for me!? Oh, you're so wonderful! Thank you for being so accepting and generous!" She squealed and assaulted his face with tiny, adoring kisses.

Jason blushed even more at her overwhelming gratitude. "You're welcome. I just, y'know, felt like I had to poo while I was in Mike, and I thought I'd better keep it in and not let it go to waste." He paused. "No pun intended."

Leanna groaned.

"Still, it was *very* thoughtful of you," Sarah said. Her mouth was already watering in anticipation of his taste.

"Should we, um, go to the bathroom?" Jason asked.

"No, it's cool; just sit here on my bed," Leanna offered, patting her blanket. "You can lie on me and I'll hold you while Sarah has her midnight snack."

He giggled. "That definitely sounds fun!" Leanna wriggled herself back until she was seated with her tush against the headboard, propped up by pillows. Jason sat (realizing with no surprise that it was a waterbed) and she guided him to lie with his head on her chest, right on her small boobs. "What nice little pillows!"

She laughed and playfully swatted his nose with her tail.

By now they'd attracted an audience. Jared paused in putting on his violet silk pajama top to watch his cubs having fun. Rosie, her pajamas unsurprisingly pink and ruffly, sat on Mike's lap. His jammies were light, smooth fabric; bright white with racecars on them. (Despite being casually nude much of the time during the day, everyone agreed that pajamas were fun.)

Sarah hopped up onto the bed, making it slosh, and knelt by the end. She took Jason's paws in her hands and spread his legs apart. "Don't worry, Leanna. You know I'm careful. I won't let any 'stuff' get on your bed."

"Oh, I know," she assured. She whispered in Jason's ear, "I've seen her have bedtime snacks before. It totally grossed me out the first time, but I couldn't look away! You know what I mean? After that, I couldn't help but look. And now I like it! It's really kinky!" She giggled, feeling naughty for enjoying her sister's poo shows.

The hungry squirrelplant licked her lips in anticipation of yummy fertilizer. "Ready, Jason?"

He gave a little push. He could feel its presence, waiting to emerge. "Think so."

Sarah reached under the fox's thighs to lift them up a bit. She leaned way over. She nudged Jason's tail out of the way with her chin. Then she gave his little pink hole a grateful kiss.

Jason wiggled so much Leanna had to hug him to keep him still.

When Sarah started licking, Jason started making the cutest little murrs. Leanna nibbled her lip to keep from laughing. They were just too adorable! Like a tiny puppy! Sarah's tail curled languidly through the air behind her. Her hiney was way up in the air, and her leafy tail looked like a sail.

Already she liked his flavor. A much lighter taste than Jared's, but there was definitely a similarity. A quantifiable foxy flavor. Jason released a few little toots but she just giggled at them. She lapped greedily at the little hole, soaking it in saliva. That would help his gift slide out easily into her waiting mouth.

Jason shut his eyes tight and rubbed his head lovingly against Leanna's soft body. Her pajamas felt very nice against his cheek. He could feel the squishy lining inside and smell the strange, exciting mixed scents of vixen, fabric, plant and fish.

The foxboy grunted and Sarah felt her tongue touch something. A semihard little bump. She teased it with the tip of her tongue. To her, it tasted fantastic. A rich, deep satisfying flavor that her body called for.

Feeling it begin to move, Jason held Leanna's hand as he pushed. Taking a poop was a pleasant enough sensation as is, but having it accompanied by Sarah's eager, questing tongue felt so good he could barely comprehend it. He pushed again and felt it start to slide out. He heard Sarah murr as she began her meal.

Leanna watched and felt a little jealous. She'd only done this with Sarah once before, and both girls were very disappointed that Sarah couldn't stand Leanna's flavor. Sarah had really tried her best to tolerate it, but it just wasn't to be. Which was sad because Leanna had truly loved how it had felt. She wondered if Sarah would agree to just licking her a bit down there sometime.

Sarah looked serene. Perfectly content. Jason could see her expression and found it hard to believe she could be enjoying his yucky poop so much. 'But then again, you enjoyed hers,' his mind reminded him. He was happy for her though. He liked knowing he was helping her. And boy did helping ever feel good! Sarah's tongue was amazing!

Mike scooped up Rosie in his arms and, kissing her all the way, took her to his racecar bed so they could snuggle and watch the show there together.

With one more push from Jason, it was all out. Quite a big loaf, Sarah assessed. Not as big as Jared could bake for her, but then again, Jared was a grownup. Bigger foxes meant bigger poops. She made sure to give Jason's pucker a thorough tongue-scrubbing when she finished, plus several kisses for good measure.

Sarah sat up, licking her lips. "That was *delicious*! And very nutritious, I'm sure. Lots of good nitrogen and potassium. Thank you so much, Jason!"

Wobbly from pleasure, he eased off of Leanna to kneel and give Sarah a hug. "You're very welcome. And thank you too! That felt incredible! Your tongue was all over the place!"

She giggled proudly. "Yup! I've had plenty of practice on Jared. Haven't I?" she called over to him.

"Indeed she has!" he replied from the great big canopy bed.

That made Jason aware of a dilemma. There was his new dad in that great big, wide bed all alone. But here he was already settled in with Leanna. Who was he going to sleep with tonight?

Leanna yawned adorably.

Sarah hopped down and scooped up her teddybear. She gave Jason another peck on the cheek. "G'night, Jason. I do wish I could cuddle you more, but I only got about an hour on my pod today and I really should do more if I wanna keep myself healthy."

He nodded; that made sense. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning."

"G'night, lawn clippings," Leanna teased as she nuzzled noses with her squirrel sister.

"G'night, anchovies!" Sarah padded over to give kisses to Mike and Rosie, then made sure to give one to Jared too before walking towards the door with a good-bye wave. "Good night! Sweet dreams, everyone!"

They all called out "Good night!" and "Sweet dreams!" back and Sarah left to go rendezvous with her pod.

Jared lifted the sheets out from below his tush and slipped himself beneath them. He looked over to his new son and his fishy daughter and felt unlimited happiness at seeing how close they'd grown in just one day. Jason had fit into his new home like a piece that completes a jigsaw puzzle. As if he'd always been here in some way. As if he was meant to be here.

Jason looked from Leanna to Jared. "Um, Dad..."

He smiled. "How about you and Leanna sleep together tonight? You already look pretty cozy there."

"Aw, but you'll be all alone, Dad!" Leanna said sadly.

Her thoughtfulness warmed him. "It's okay. We can cuddle in the morning, right? I'm happy just knowing you two are happy. Really."

"Okay," Leanna said. She reached up to pull the still-kneeling Jason down into a hug. She touched noses with him. "We'll both send you yiffy dreams then."

Jared put his head down on the pillow. "Sounds like a good idea." He reached up to a small silver rectangle just above the bed. With a touch, the lights dimmed. Jared stroked his finger across the pad a few more times until there was nothing but a faint, firefly-like glow.

"Goodnight you two," Jason called softly across the room to Mike and Rosie.

They were either already asleep, or too deep in cuddling to hear. Jason was happy for them.

For a few moments there was stillness. Jason wriggled a bit to get comfortable on the wobbly waterbed. He'd never been on one before.

"So, Jason..." came Jared's quiet voice. "How did you like your first day here?"

Jason turned himself around so he could see his wonderful daddy (while still hugging Leanna, of course). "It was... better than I ever could have imagined it," he whispered back. "I never thought I'd end up in a place like this. I thought being a cubslave was either gonna be boring or scary. I never thought I'd get a whole new family. And I never thought I'd get to do such awesome yiffy stuff with you all!"

Leanna chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Normally we're a little more relaxed. We're all kind of extra-yiffy today because we're so excited that you're here."

Jason murred and warmly nuzzled her, his nose travelling all over her beautiful face, enjoying her blissful fur and scent. "I'm glad to hear that."

"And just think," Jared said. "This is only your *first* day, Jason. There'll be a new one tomorrow. And another one after that. And the day after that, and the day after that. Whole months and years are yours to discover. I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to spending all that time with you. We're going to learn and have fun and love one another so much. From now till forever."

Jason smiled at Jared. Father and son. "I can't imagine a better future, Dad."

The elder fox yawned softly, then gave one last, loving look to his son before closing his eyes. "I couldn't imagine a better little fox for a son."

Jason felt a tickle at his ear. Leanna whispered feather-lightly, "...And I couldn't imagine a better new brother. Give me a kiss?"

"Of course, new sister," he said.

They kissed and giggled quietly in the dark, cozy bedroom. She pulled the blankets over them both, enveloping them in warmth. Their bodies shared heat. They skootched closer to embrace. Jason softly pawed at Leanna's tail with his feet. Their little noses touched again and again.

They meant to yiff, but they'd had so many adventures that day already. Before Leanna could even reach for her zipper, they were both fast asleep.



***
Chapter Nineteen   -   In The Hallway


Sometime during the night, Jason woke up.

He could see moonlight outside. Blue, soft light against the black silk sky.

He had to pee.

Moving with great care so as not to disturb the slumbering merfox next to him, Jason slowly peeled back the blankets and began easing out of the bed backwards. In the low light, Leanna looked like a perfect vixen statue. Her body barely moved as she breathed. Jason stepped off the bed. Leanna made a tiny 'erf' and her eyelids twitched, but she did not wake.

Jason looked across the room. Jared was splayed out on his bed, snoring slightly with his arms out wide. He looked like he was in mid-disco-dance.

Mike and Rosie looked like they were in a cocoon together. They'd wrapped their blankets around themselves tight and were sleeping nose-to-nose. Jason was certain Rosie had her wings around him.

He tiptoed to the door and turned the knob achingly slow, not knowing if it would click or creak. Then he nudged it open just far enough to slip out.

In the hallway, light streamed in through an arched window that went almost to the ceiling. Jason could see the near-full moon.

Making no sound, he padded down the hallway to relieve himself.

~ ~ ~

Jason reached the bathroom door just in time. By now he was bursting. He supposed his boner had kept him from discharging his full cargo while he was inside Mike. He did a little frantic dance to the toilet and was glad he wasn't wearing pajamas. With nothing in the way, he let go and sighed blissfully.

As he watched his water splashing yellowly into the bowl, he thought about what Jared had said. About tomorrow and the days that would follow.

This was his new home now, he realized. Permanently. Maybe not forever, but surely for the rest of his cubhood. No more cubslave place. No more small, cold apartment with Mom.

Tomorrow he'd wake up next to a beautiful mervixen. Together they'd hop into their daddy's bed and wake him up with tickles and kisses. The other children might join in too. Mike would make jokes and Rosie would supply plenty of cuteness. They'd wake Sarah from her pod and all have breakfast together. And then what?

Anything they wanted, of course. Anything at all.

The unlimited possibilities of his new life stretched out before Jason, and he was awed. This was a dream come true. Even if he'd never dreamed it himself, it was still what his soul had most fervently wished for. Real love. A real family. Closeness. Touch. Togetherness.

It was mind-boggling. It was too much to take in. It was too much joy for his young heart to handle all at once. He didn't know how he was going to get back to sleep with all these exciting thoughts buzzing around in his head.

Then he looked down and realized he was dribbling on the rim.

"Oops." He quickly wiped it up with some toilet paper and resumed.

When he finished, he was about to reach for the toilet handle, but there was none there. Jason blinked a bit. How was he going to flush?

He stepped around the side to check if maybe there wasn't a flusher hidden somewhere. When he did, he heard a muted beep and the toilet flushed for him. Quietly, too. 'Oh, neat! Like the ones at the movie theater'.

Thankfully, the bathroom didn't also have those silly air-blowing hand-dryer things too. Just regular towels. Jason washed his hands, dried off and turned out the light.

~ ~ ~

He walked back down the hallway in the silent night darkness. His paws made no sound on the carpet.

When he turned the corner, there was a man standing there in the hallway.

Jason froze. His spine turned into icicles.

The man looked up and saw him. His eyes narrowed and an irritated flown spread on his muzzle.

Jason saw a metallic flash. The man was in shadow; his back to the tall window, but Jason could still see that the man had a gun.

He pointed the silver tip right at the young fox. "You're going to keep quiet," he said. Low and firm.

Jason could not help that. He was rooted to the spot. An ice statue. There was no blood in his veins, only fear.

The man in the hallway was a wolf. Tall and very thin. He wore a black suit with no tie. He had a sack with him. His eyes were small and cold, with as much expression as the barrel of the gun he was holding.

Something clicked in Jason's mind.

"I know you..." he spoke, the words feeling like they'd torn themselves from his lips without his permission.

The man took a step back, visibly confused. "No, you don't."

Jason took a step forward. The first twitches of anger began to replace his fear. "Yes, I do. Leanna told me about you at dinner."

The wolf grimaced. He looked like someone had just beat him at cards. "Ah, fuck." He muttered bitterly to himself. "I knew he shouldn't have sent me. Like i'm the only employee he's got. He sends me. Dumb bastard."

Jason took another step forward. He couldn't remember the name when he opened his mouth, but suddenly it was right there. "You mean Mr. Gillespie?"

"Ah FUCK!" the wolf hissed again. "Christ, this was stupid..." He pointed the gun right at Jason's face. "Now you listen to me, kid. You forget you ever saw me here. You tell anyone and your life is misery, okay?"

But Jason knew that was exactly what he had to do. He had to warn everyone. Wake them up. This man was here to take Leanna away; there was no doubt now. He couldn't let that happen. "NO!" he barked, with all his courage.

The man suddenly surged forward several steps and pointed the gun right between Jason's eyes. The hallway was long and they were still separated by several feet, but Jason could *swear* he'd felt the end of the gun briefly touch his forehead.

Jason's heart was pounding. It felt like it was trapped in his ribcage and trying to get free. It felt like icy, sharp fingers were clutching at it, their grip tightening slowly.

"What did I just say, kid? Do you not see this gun? Are you so stupid you don't know what one of these things does!?" The man was furious now. Furious and panicky. He was fidgeting, glancing around in every direction. His bared teeth shone in the moonlight.

'He's scared,' Jason thought. 'That's good. Maybe I can make him run away.' The rational part of his brain told him not to be scared. He remembered going in the Rejuvenator. He remembered Rosie being prepared for supper and how she had been just fine afterwards. But no matter how much his mind insisted that he could survive a bullet screwing through his body and leaving a tattered hole behind, his heart would not believe it.

The man pointed towards the bedroom with the gun. "Now, I am going to go in there and do what I was paid to come here and do. You are not going to hinder me, do you understand?"

Something about the way he was being talked to made enough anger surge into Jason to finally conquer his fear. He looked straight into the wolf's eyes. He took two steps to his left and blocked the bedroom door.

He steeled his courage, then screamed, "I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU TAKE LEANNA!!!"

Jason flinched, sure that he'd feel the bullet tearing through him in the next second. But he didn't.

He opened his eyes to see the wolf with the gun in true panic now. They both knew that Jason's scream must've woken up everyone in the house. The wolf knew his mission was in dire jeopardy. Jason could clearly see he was trying to decide between carrying it out anyway, or bolting for the front door.

The wolf ran a shaking hand through his hair. "Are you fucking NUTS, kid? Does this gun not work on idiot little fox kids or what!? This is supposed to shut you up! This is supposed to scare you silent, dammit!!"

Behind the wolf where he could not see, Jason watched the second door into the bedroom slowly open.

The man's voice quavered. "I'm not evil, allright? This is just what I'm paid to do, okay? Mr. Gillespie wants his property back. That's all. He wants what's rightfully his. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm just doing what he wants."

Jason did not move a muscle away from the door. He kept his gaze locked on the evil man in front of him.

But in his peripheral vision, he saw Jared Ravensfire step out into the hallway with cold, fiery murder in his eyes.

The man with the gun chuckled. "This is all your fault anyway. You know that, kid? We followed the car. Yeah, when he picked you up. We followed the car from a helicopter, and we finally got a good look at his security number when he walked in the door. You get that, huh? YOU'RE the reason I'm here! You're the reason I got in! What do you think of that, huh!?"

Jason trembled, hoping the wolf was lying, but he still did not move. He knew it wasn't really his fault, no matter what this man said.

He watched Jared silently pull a samurai sword down from the wall. One of many. The swords that hung all over the house were not there for decoration.

"Will you move?" The man clenched his fist, then squeezed his hand to his temple like he had a headache. "Will you goddamn move? I didn't come here to kill kids, allright? I don't want to. I draw the line at that. I don't want to. Don't make me. I'll shoot you in the leg first if you make me, but I will, and I will get through that door."

"No, you won't."

The wolf swiveled around at the sound and there was Jared, silhouetted in moonlight. His loose violet pajamas resembled a sensei's robe. His feet were planted in a stance he had practiced thousands of times, over many years, in preparation for this one moment. He'd known from the beginning it was inevitable. It was almost a relief that it had finally come.

His blade stretched out in front of him, seeming miles long. The moonlight ran up and down it like a lover.

"Get away from my children," Jared said. Low and firm.

"Fuck you, man," the wolf spat.

Jared's eyes darkened, hate swirling deep within them. "I don't enjoy repeating myself," he said. His tone was calm, but a hurricane was brewing beneath it.

"Get away."

"From."

"My."

"CHILDREN."

Even though the man was turned and Jason could not see all of his expression, he nevertheless saw something change. The wolf's panic suddenly went away. His fright snapped suddenly into contempt. His mouth became a disgusted sneer.

"I have a gun. You have a sword. Fuck you."

BANG

"NO!!!" Jason screamed out.

Jared started falling.

BANG BANG

He was hit two more times before he crumpled to the carpet. Blood had gone everywhere. The red droplets seemed to hang forever in the moonlight as they streamed from Jared's wounds.

He hit the floor with a muffled thump. Then Jared Ravensfire was still.

The wolf with the gun turned suddenly around and Jason realized with crystal clarity that this man was insane.

"LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!!" he screamed. "LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!!!"

Jason was trembling, shaking, crying. "I... I didn't-"

"YES YOU DID!" the man screeched. The gun waved erratically in his shaking hand. His eyes swirled: logic gone. "I didn't want to fucking have to do that! I just wanted the fish bitch! She belongs to my boss and I am getting paid to BRING HER FUCKING BACK, do you understand!?"

Behind him, the bedroom door opened slightly and Jason looked down into Leanna's eyes.

She was on the floor. She had crawled in her pajamas across the room. He didn't think it was possible for anyone to look so terrified. "Just let him," she whispered. "Don't make him hurt you."

Jason's whole body quaked. He twitched with fear and uncertainty. He looked down at his beautiful sister, then back at the cowardly monster in the hallway.

"NO!!!" he screamed, and the word was like fire in his throat.

He saw the gun pointed right at his face.

"One chance..." the man snarled. "One chance to stop this stupid shit and-"

"I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT MY SISTER!!!" Jason howled. And the sound felt louder than a tidal wave.

The man with the gun stopped, and stared at him. And then he started laughing. "Jesus! Get real, kid! You haven't even known her a day! You're gonna fucking DIE for her? You're gonna take a bullet right in the fucking face!? She's not your sister!"

"YES SHE IS!!" Jason screamed back.

Leanna crawled forward and put her paw around Jason's ankle. Whether to stop him or let him know she stood with him, he didn't know. He didn't take his gaze away from the monster.

"You're fuckin' delusional, kid," the wolf laughed. "I seriously don't have time for this. I've got seven thousand dollars waiting for me when I drop this guppy on my boss' desk. I've already killed one moron tonight and it didn't feel that bad, so disregard what I said before about not killin' kids. You get the hell out of my way or I shoot you, allright?"

The wolf took two steps towards Jason and smiled obscenely.

From behind them, a voice spoke.

"I said..."

Jared lunged forward. His blade sang through the air.

The wolf's expression changed to almost-comical bewilderment as his head parted silently from his body.

Jared caught it in midair.

He held it by the hair so that their eyes met.

"...get away from my children."

The wolf's body twitched on the carpet now, its neck nothing but a circle of red. Jared threw the head with all his rage down the hallway and felt good at the sound it made when it smashed wetly into the wall. It bounced softly against the carpet, the lower jaw broken almost completely backwards.

Jared slumped to the floor.

"DAD!!!" Jason and Leanna screamed at once.

Jason ran to Jared and enfolded him in a hug. Leanna flipper-crawled over as fast as she could and joined them. In a heartbeat, Mike and Rosie were there too.

Then Sarah peeked her head around the corner. She saw the bloody, furry thing on the floor and recoiled. She ran down the hallway to join in the hug with the others, stepping nimbly over the dealt-with wolf.

Leanna was sobbing, wishing she had more arms so she could hug both her brave, wonderful father and her brave, wonderful brother with all her strength at the same time.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

Jared was panting, exhausted and terrified. He had not let his fear anywhere near him when it mattered, but now it had finally crept in. "I'm f-fine," he stuttered. "A few bullets ain't gonna stop me." He kissed his son's forehead. "Are YOU okay?"

"Just fine, dad," Jason said, still shaking rather obviously.

Leanna managed to hoist herself up on her fin just long enough to kiss Jason on the cheek. "Oh, Jason! You're my hero! Really! I can't even believe...! You were so amazing when you stood up to him! You must've been so scared!"

"I was," Jason readily admitted. "The only reason I didn't piss myself is that I'd already just gone to the bathroom before it happened."

That brought a welcome break to the tension. Jared chuckled, sighed and flopped onto his butt on the floor. "You were immeasurably brave," he told Jason.

Jason looked down at his paws. "I wasn't, really..."

"You were too!" Leanna insisted. She gave him another squeeze. "Now shut up! I say you're brave as heck and don't you argue with me!!"

He smiled at the fierceness in her voice. He leaned down to kiss between her ears. "Okay."

Mike rubbed the back of his head. "I feel kinda bad. I heard everything that was going on and, especially when I heard the shots, I wanted to run out and help."

"You protected *me*," Rosie said softly. She looked at Jared. "He had his arms around me the whole time."

Jared reached up to pat his mouse son on the head. "Good boy, Mike. Don't feel bad. Both you and Jason did a wonderful job protecting your sisters tonight."

"I was still worried!" Mike insisted. "I kept hoping you'd be okay, and I kept thinking of Sarah down the hall and hoping nothing had happened to her!"

"I'm fine," the little squirrelplant insisted. "I came out of my pod when I heard Jason scream and I stayed out of sight. But if that creep had come anywhere near me, I'd have bitten him!!"

Leanna was still crying, but she smiled anyway at her leafy sister's pluck. "Thank you. I'm sure you would have."

She looked down at herself. "Stupid fin... I wish I had legs. I wish I could have moved faster. I wish I could have gotten to the door quicker and just ended this."

Jared put a finger under her chin and lifted up her face to meet his. "Hush, sweetheart. It already is ended. Everything turned out right. Don't feel bad about what didn't happen; feel good about what did. That horrible man didn't take you away and now he never will."

"We... we *are* gonna rejuvenate him, right?" Jason timidly asked.

"We shouldn't!" Sarah said defiantly.

"Now, now." Jared patted both their shoulders. "Jason's right, Sarah. Even though he's toxic scum who doesn't deserve it, once I get my breath back I'm going to drag him to the Rejuvenator room, put him inside one and then lock it. He won't be in danger of permanent death for several more hours. We'll keep him there until the policemen show up." He turned to Leanna. "And do you know what the best part is, honey?"

"What?"

He pointed up at the ceiling. To the little dark lens glinting there.

"The cameras!" she realized.

He nodded. "Yep. I'm sure they caught it all. Audio too. And that means that not only is our guest going to jail, probably forever, but so is your least-favorite fat rodent."

Leanna suddenly squealed with joy and jumped forward to hug Jared with all her might.

From the very first day that Jared had taken her from her tank in that awful man's office, Leanna had always felt that small fear in her heart, knowing the fat creep was still out there. Knowing he still wanted her back. Wondering what he would do to get her. And when she heard Jason's screams, she knew. Her nightmare was finally coming true. Her only thought was to give herself to the wolf so he wouldn't hurt her family. But she hadn't needed to. And now it was over.

Jared grunted. He picked up his sword and jammed the tip into the floor. Groaning and swearing a little, he braced himself with the hilt and dragged himself up to stand again. It was not easy. "Okay... Hard part's over. Now we got stuff to do."

His cubs listened attentively.

He pointed to Rosie. "Can you go bring me a phone so I can call the cops?"

"I sure can, Daddy!" Rosie tore off flying, delighted to be helpful.

"Sarah, do you think you could help me with Mr. Dead Wolf Guy here? I don't think I can carry him myself."

She nodded. "I'll do my best."

"How 'bout I carry the head?" Mike offered.

Jared smiled. "I was just about to ask."

"D'you mind if I kick it down the hall like a soccer ball?" the mouse asked with a devious grin.

Sarah chuckled.

"I don't see why not," Jared said.

"What can we do, Dad?" Jason asked.

Jared paused, turned to his son, and put his paws on the boy's shoulders. "Jason, you and Leanna have the most important job of all right now."

Leanna looked puzzled. "What?"

"Hug each other," Jared said firmly. "Either sit here, or go back in the bedroom, but either way you hug each other tight. I have to save this miserable bastard's wasted life right now, so I can't do it. Even though he doesn't deserve it, my conscience wouldn't let me live if I let him die. So you two hug. Right now. Love each other with all your hearts until I get back, you understand?"

Leanna took Jason's paw in hers. "Yes, Daddy," they both said.

And as Jared and Sarah lifted the headless thug up and began lugging him down the hall to the Rejuvenator room, the two foxes did hug. They sat down with the wall at their back and they held each other tight. Rosie flew past with the phone held tight in her foot. Justin and Leanna closed their eyes and rested their muzzles upon one another's. They could feel their hearts beating. Neither said a word.

"Phoooo-wee! We're gonna need to have someone in to shampoo this carpet!" said Mike.

~ ~ ~

Eventually they heard sirens outside.

Jason and Leanna had gone back into the bedroom and he'd helped her up onto the big canopy bed. Still, they did not say a word. There was no need to. They simply looked into each other's eyes and saw confirmation of what they'd already known from the first time they'd met: they were brother and sister.

They laid down side by side. Jason was a little chilly, so he pulled the sheet up over them both. They were very quiet. Just lying there looking into one another's eyes.

Soon they heard talking from the hallway. They couldn't discern words, but they could tell whose voice was whose. Jared was trying to explain what had happened, and Sarah, Mike and Rosie were all chiming in enthusiastically with what they'd seen and heard. From far down the hall, they heard a loud profanity from the officer who discovered the creep in the Rejuvenator. After a while, they heard a hum, and then heavy boots led a smaller pair of shoes down the hall and out the door. The wolf who had been so talkative before was surprisingly quiet now as he was taken away.

The front door closed with a thump.

"He's gone now," Jason whispered to Leanna.

She nodded, and touched noses with him. "Thanks to you and Daddy."



***
Chapter Twenty   -   After


Not too much later, the bedroom door opened and an exasperated Jared Ravensfire burst in. "Bleah! How many questions can a man answer before his tongue falls off!!" Outside, everyone heard engines rev and sirens start up, then fade into the distance as the policemen finally left. Jared crossed the room to the canopy bed, looking desperate for rest.

He was happy to see how Jason and Leanna were holding up. They were very much awake, snuggled together under the sheet. Holding paws. And smiling.

Jared turned around and let gravity have him. He fell back onto the bed with a loud FWOOMPH that made the two cubs chuckle. "You two look like you're handling this okay," he said with abundant pride in his voice.

"All's well that ends well," Leanna said wisely.

Jason's tail was curled comfortingly around his sister's waist. He gave her a squeeze. "We just held each other until we weren't scared anymore and our hearts stopped thumping."

Jared pulled himself forward to kiss their foreheads. "Good for you. I am *so* proud of you."

"We're-"

"THEY'RE ALL GONE NOW!!!" Rosie announced at top volume as she flew into the room.

Jared blinked and shook his head. "Thank you for the news report, Rosie."

Mike and Sarah entered next. Mike was rubbing his paws with a paper towel. "The head cop guy took yer sword," he told Jared, "but they left the carpet since they'd already took pictures. Me 'n Sarah rolled it up and put it in the laundry room. We asked first, and he said it was okay."

Jared sat up. "Really? That was incredibly thoughtful of you two. C'mere!"

Smiling, Sarah ran over to accept her reward hug. Mike crumpled the towel and made a graceful free-throw into a wastebasket before joining Jared for his.

Rosie fluttered over to land daintily upside-down from the canopy top. She let go, fwoomphed to the mattress, and wiggled with laughter. Now the family was all together again.

"So what now?" Leanna asked.

Jared ran a paw lovingly through her headfur. "What now? Whatever you and Jason want, I suppose. You've both been through an absolute nightmare tonight. I'm willing to do whatever I can to make sure you feel all better."

"Nightmare!? I just got *scared*; you were the one who got _shot_!" the merfox protested.

He smiled nonchalantly and waved it away. "Eh. No biggie."

"Yeah, can we see your wounds, dad?" Mike asked with macabre eagerness.

Jared chuckled. "Sure, okay." He pulled open his pajamas to show that there were still three very small furless circles on his torso. By morning there'd be no trace of them.

"Hey, where's the blood?" Jason asked.

"Oh, the cops took some photos, then they let me take a shower. My other pajamas were totalled, so I gave the top to the cops and threw the bottom in the garbage. This is a duplicate pair, in case you were wondering."

"What about the bullets?" Mike asked. "Where did they go?"

"Fell out while I was taking my shower," Jared casually replied.

"Cool," Mike, Jason and Sarah said simultaneously.

"Didja keep 'em as souvenirs?" the squirrelplant asked.

Jared smiled. "Of course!"

"Badass!"

"But back to you two..." Jared said, tickling Jason and Leanna's chestfur and making them giggle. "What do you need now? What can we do to make sure there'll be no bad dreams tonight?"

"We should all yiff," Rosie suggested with a bashful smile.

Leanna laughed. "Maybe. Actually, I *would* like us to be all together. And..." she hesitated.

Jared looked at her with all the love in the world in his eyes. "Anything, darling."

She looked to Jason. "...I'd kinda like some more ice cream. Would you?"

The foxboy's tail wagged under the sheet. "Yeah!"

Jared sat up and struck a dramatic pose. "Ice Cream For Everyone!!!" he proclaimed.

Sarah was already up and zooming for the kitchen. "I'll get the bowls!"

"I wanna help toooooo!" Rosie sang as she chased her out of the room.

"Heroes and distressed damsels get to stay put," Mike said as he patted his foxy siblings' heads. "We'll take care of this." They both smiled at him as he exited.

"How about me?" Jared asked the two pups. "Do you want me to help or stay?"

Jason thought it over for a bit. Then he wiggled his paw out from under the covers and took Jared's hand. "I think I'd kinda like it if you stayed."

Jared nodded understandingly. "Okay. I'm sure those three can handle ice cream without setting the kitchen on fire."

Jason and Leanna giggled at that image.

Then Jared looked to Jason with a look on his face of wonderment, of awe. "Jason..."

"Mm?"

"After I was shot, I only blacked out for a moment. It hardly even hurt. And frankly, it turned out to be advantageous to me since it gave me back the element of surprise.

"But while I was down on the carpet waiting for my heart and lungs to restart, I heard everything you said." He squeezed his son's paw in his. "I heard when you said you wouldn't let him hurt Leanna, and called her your sister. And then he laughed at you. And you..."

He paused a second, as he had tears in his eyes. "You shouted back that she _was_ your sister, with all the fire in your heart. I..." He brushed his eyes. "I can't even come close to saying how proud I am of you for that."

Jason made a small, happy 'arf' and sat up to hug his daddy. Leanna sat up to hug them both.

"I mean, I'm proud of you for *all* of it," Jared continued. "But especially for how unequivocally you defended Leanna being your sister." He kissed his son between the ears and nuzzled the boy's sweet blue headfur. "You've only been here a day... It just amazes me how much it feels like this was meant to be from the beginning. When I started out, and told my colleagues about how I wanted to try adopting cubslaves and finding them homes, they all told me horror stories about the adoption system. I heard several times that it was impossible to have a real family with adopted children. That there'd inevitably be jealousy and fights and it'd never feel right. They were wrong. They were so incredibly wrong, all of them..."

Jason nuzzled his loving daddy. Warmed by his strong body and his loving words.

"And Leanna..." Jared kissed her too. He gifted her with a flock of little kisses all over her cute ears and beautiful blonde hair. "I know how much you hated that old tank you were in. Hated it, hated it, hated it! Remember how when I first got you, you wouldn't shut up about it for a week?" She giggled. "And I didn't blame you one bit! So for you to actually be willing to give yourself up to that horrible man... let him take you back to that... just to keep your new brother from being hurt..."

She squeezed them both tighter.

"You are an angel, Leanna. A true little angel."

She beamed and nuzzled both of them, her fin flipping happily.

Jared looked into both their eyes. "You two wanna know the most wonderful paradox in the world?"

"What's that, Dad?" Jason asked.

Hearing that word again filled him with joy, as he knew it would no matter how many times he heard it. "It's that I know there's no possible way in the universe that I could possibly love you more than I do now. And yet, tomorrow I know I will. No matter how much I love you to the absolute maximum possible limit, I'll always love you more the next day. And the next. And the next, and the next, and the next, next, next, next, next! Love's funny like that."

With that he opened his arms wide and glomped his two beloved furballs. They squealed with laughter and he proceeded to snuggle, tickle, nuzzle and smooch them all over.

Tails wagged and laughter rang from the big canopy bed.

~ ~ ~

Soon, Mike, Sarah and Rosie returned, carrying two big bowls of cherry ice cream apiece, each with a spoon to the side and whipped cream on top. "We made sure you two got the biggest scoops," Sarah said, as she presented Jason and Leanna with their heroes' reward.

The bed was more than wide enough for all five cubs, plus their proud daddy, to sit side-by-side while they ate their ice cream. In between slurps and 'Mmm!'s and dribbles on the sheets, there were questions and jokes and many, many cherry-flavored kisses.

And of course, all that ice cream in their bellies made them chilly afterwards. Shivering deliciously, they all bunched together, knowing that the very best cure was a large dose of cuddling.

Jared reached down to the foot of the bed to pull a burgundy blanket up and over them all. Warm and cozy, like six little wrapped-up burritos.

He tapped the silver panel on the wall and the room dimmed to calming darkness, as comforting as the blanket itself.

For a while there were sounds of playful physical affection, tiny whispered giggles, and paws shuffling on sheets.

But eventually they subsided, leaving only peaceful silence.

~ ~ ~

This time, Jason slept soundly all the way till morning.





The End.
(For now)



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Gushing, heartfelt, lick-your-shoes-type thanks go out to the illustrious Alfador for his illustrious editorial prowess. Despite having some serious sniffles, he managed to proofread this twice. If there was a porn editor hall of fame, it would be nothing but hundreds and hundreds of portraits of him. :)
Equally large thanks go to the artistic amazingness of Asuraludu, whose interest in this project and adorable fanart was exactly the bite on the tail I needed to get the ball rollin' and get this finished. Muchas gracias, amigo mio.

"Jason's New Home"
Started ??/??/03, Finished 01/30/10, Editing completed 02/06/10
