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Danielle tries to figure out how to wear clothes.\n\nI've done my best to make sure its self contained, but technically this follows on directly from deadly diner. There might be a few accidental retcons for my characters given the last thing I wrote was multiple years ago. Turned out a lot more emotional than I intended. And longer than expected. In fact this is just the first third of what I wrote, but it had a good stopping point and I got worried about not finishing so I cut it off. Hopefully the rest of it comes together well and its not another 3 years for me to put up the next piece.\n\nNo proof reader or editor, so if you spot a mistake shoot me a message and I'll try and get it fixed. I apologize for all the spelling mistakes in advance, I write in notepad so there's no spellcheck ", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Kyle and Rick struggle with their relationship. Danielle tries to figure out how to wear clothes.

I've done my best to make sure its self contained, but technically this follows on directly from deadly diner. There might be a few accidental retcons for my characters given the last thing I wrote was multiple years ago. Turned out a lot more emotional than I intended. And longer than expected. In fact this is just the first third of what I wrote, but it had a good stopping point and I got worried about not finishing so I cut it off. Hopefully the rest of it comes together well and its not another 3 years for me to put up the next piece.

No proof reader or editor, so if you spot a mistake shoot me a message and I'll try and get it fixed. I apologize for all the spelling mistakes in advance, I write in notepad so there's no spellcheck ", "writing": "Rick was grumpy. It was his default state of being after all. In this paticular instance though it was because he could not seem to adjust to sleeping on the bench seats of the school bus that was seemingly now his home. He briefly broke through his mood with a chuckle. Out of everything currently wrong with his life, not having a proper bed should have been the least of his concerns. After all, from his previous life as a police officer he now found himself somehow magically enslaved to some immortal freak dog and his pet spirit. \n\nSaid freak dog was currently piloting the school bus down one of many empty highways stretching out endlessly in the middle of nowhere, one hand on the wheel and all black left arm hanging out the window. The dirty blond furred german shepherd guided the bus basically by autopilot, his thoughts stuck on what he was going to do with the green and red lizard that he found himself stuck with. Not for the first time he found himself wishing he could just let the lizard go, but that just wasn't in the cards.\n\nThe third member of the trio found herself incredibly bored. Danielle would never have guessed that being a ghost could be so boring, but there it was. Well, she tehnically wasn't a ghost but the manifestation of a bound soul. But in the end she was dead, couldn't interact much with the world, and looked like a pale see-through version of the deer girl just past the cusp of adulthood that she had been so... ghost. And currently she was bored out of her little ghost skull. \n\nSo it was that the disembodied deer floated over to the lizard at the back of the junker schoolbus and tried to start up conversation with him.\n\n\"So like, whatcha thinking about?\"\n\nRick smply grunted in response, not even redirecting his unfocused gaze from out the window.\n\n\"Ya know, it wouldn't kill ya to be a little social since we're gonna be spending time together anyway.\"\n\nThis time Rick did turn \"I'm stuck in this magical bulllshit freak show against my will with zero control over my life anymore, what is there to talk about?\"\n\n\"Geeze, sour much?\"\n\nThe lizard just glared at her.\n\n\"Try to focus on the positive. You're alive, get to see all sorts of exciting new stuff, and you haven't been mind controlled which is apparently the normal thing to do with a thrall\" \n\nThe lizard once again didn't respond, but the dagger sharp glare disappeared as he processed what the blond deer had said.\n\nIt took a bit longer than should have been necessary for him to turn the information over in his mind, as thoughtful consideration had never been his strongsuit. But his normal approach of lashing out violently at whatever was confusing him had proven distinctly ineffectual. \n\nAfter a handful of minutes, during which Danielle floated several laps over and partially through the bench seats in front of them, the lizard voiced a question. \"Why?\"\n\nThe deer stopped halfway through a seat \"Why what?\"\n\n\"Why not make me a mindless drone? I've killed him twice now. And it turns out it really fucking hurts\" Rick said, referring to a week prior where he had cut off the canine's head while their minds were linked and there first meetin where he had shot the canine during a traffic stop when he was still a cop, before his life got turned upside down. \"He's gotta be mad, why not take revenge?\"\n\nDanielle shrugged at that \"Maybe cause, like, he's not you. I dunno, Kyle's a strange guy. Or maybe its a magic thing.\"\n\n-----\n\n\nThe bus coasted to a slow stop on the shoulder, air brakes letting out a hiss as it settled in place. Kyle let out a sigh of relief as he pred himself out of the driver's seat, joints audible popping from being locked in place for so long.\n\nHe moved over to the middle area of the old school bus, whe most of the benches had been removed to make space for a large matress as well as various trunks, dufflebags, and milk crates full of the canine's possesions, such as they were. He picked up an old grimoire that would have looked more at home behind glass in a museum than in the faded plastic bin it had currently ocupied. After a moment a thought occured to him and he commented \"We're gonna be here for a bit\" not paticularly directed at anyone but just generally informing the bus.\n\nThrowing the large red lever Rick popped open the emergency rear door of bus, activating the door alarm in a silent alert from its long broken buzzer. Hopping down, The lizard enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his green and red scales. He may not have been as cold blooded as his ancestors but he couldnt deny they had been right about some things. His loose black teeshirt flapped lazily in the slight breeze.\n\nFor her part Danielle simply ascended through the roof, taking the oppurtunity to get some height and take stock of their surrounding. She had thought they had been in the middle of nowhere before, but there was genuinely fuck all except for the deserted remains of a completely abandoned old west looking town, and town was being generous. Given how few buildings there were it couldnt have been little more than a way stop on the trip out west for gold rushers and resting point for the occasional cowboy or outlaw who had gotten completely lost. \n\nThat was more than a few miles off the side of the highway, and although it wasnt quite over the horizon it was far enough the doe doubted she would have spotted it without the extra height.\n\nAfter a bit Kyle emerged from the bus, book in one hand and a cheapo cinch bag bearing some theme park logo that had half flaked off due to cheap printing. Rick regarded the canine from his position leaning against the rear of the bus, but Kyle didn't so much as spare a glance his way.\n\nThe canid focused on the task at hand, setting his bag down near the front right wheel before retrieving a manual scissor jack from an external compartment on the bus's mid section. Sweating a bit as the direct sunlight baked his fur while he worked, he positione the heavy duty jack near the front of the bus before crouching down and starting to slowly raise the bus with the manual crank.\n\nAs the lizard watched the canine work, what Danielle said earlier suddenly stuck him. He was the guy's magical slave for all intensive purposes, but here he was standing around enjoying the weather while his 'master' performed physical labor. He pondered the situation. Did he need to offer to do it? Was he obigated to? Did he need to do stuff without being asked? Other than explaining to him why he was there Kyle had pretty much left him alone. Certainly he hadn't explained any rules or explination beyond \"Hey you're my slave now, I can make you do shit with magic\" and after proving it he hadn't even done that. Why was he even here?\n\nThen Rick jerked back with a start and banged his head on the bus. So lost in thought had he been that he hadn't noticed that Danielle had floated back down and was spreading her crotch right in front of his face. At his reaction she laughed and did a flipped. \n\n\"So you do have emotions other than grumpy\" she lightheartedly taunted him as he burned with embarassment.\n\n\"What the hell is wrong with you?\" Rick snapped back at the giddy doe\n\n\"I'll make you a list later. Besides, its not like its real\" Danielle shot back, dropping her projected appearance so she was once more a loose blob of spirit energy approximately the size of a basket ball and completely invisible to the naked eye, although the lizard found he could still somehow 'see' her energy, yellow as she enjoyed herself.\n\n\"Whatever. You still look like a slut. Put on some not real clothes or something\"\n\n\"Man you have got to loosen up. The three of us are gonna be together for a while and its gonna suck if your just gonna be a dick the whole time\"\n\nRick just grunted and looked back over to where Kyle was. For his part the canine had the front of the bus in the air and was laying under the driver's side tire, rotating it periodically as he slowly drew weird shapes on it with chalk. They made ricks head swim when he tried to focus on them.\n\nKyle's mind was barely on the task at hand as he drew strange impossible lines on the tire's rough tread. It was just some basic stuff to help the aging tires with grip and durability. As his paws moved seemiingly independant of his mind he wondered once again about the lizard. He couldn't just avoid interacting with Rick forever. Could he? It seemed unlikely that the lizard would be content to live on the rear bench of the bus indefinately. Besides the obvious issue of boredom, Kyle could tell Rick was already starting to develop back pain from sleeping on the seat. How much did he need to take care of the lizard. Ostensibly he was a grown ass adult who could take care of his own needs. On the other hand though the lizard basically belonged to him the way a pet would and lacked any resources. How much agency did he even have? Just because he wasn't taking control didn't mean that the lizard would be completely unaffected. He already knew he couldn't just dump the lizard off and go their seperate ways as their connection would compell the lizard to find him or else drive him to madness. But was that really his problem?\n\nKyle paused his musing for long enough to move to the rear of the bus, making sure to walk around the side that gave the most space between him and the lizard. He sloppily tossed down the bag with his chalk and dropped the jack with a clatter before he rapidly cranked it up. It wasnt long before he was laid under the next wheel, his favored sleeveless red duster provided only mild barrier to the rocks digging into his back.\n\nAs Kyle started on the next set of runes Rick felt an incorporeal change in the space around him, like the air was a different texture, and he realized that it was because of what the canine was doing. He found himself watching the canines work closer, trying to make sense of it.\n\nSeeing that she was out of conversational partners Danielle found heself with little to do. If they had been anywhere she would have explored, but there was only the bus. She'd never really thought about the fact that she was naked before. It just seemed normal for a ghost or whatever Kyle had said she was. Kyle had certainly never said anything about it, nor had any of the, addmittedly very few, others who could see her.\n\nThe deer reassumed the projection of her former body. How would clothes even work. Not like she could ask Kyle to kill some jeans for her and wear its ghost. The deer floated in a low circle thinking. Put on some fake clothes the lizard had said, as if she could just imagine them into existence. Suddenly her psuedo-pacing stopped. It couldn't actually be that simple, could it? Her face scrunched up as she began to seriously concentrating, trying to hold an image of a shirt in her mind.\n\nThen all of a sudden behind her there was loud thud and the squeaking of old suspension springs as the bus finally slipped off the poorly positioned jack.\n\n-----\n\n\nLater that evening the bus rumbled across the barren landscape, headlights cutting a swath through the dusk and enchanted tires doing little to calm the jolts and bumps from the offroad adventure. It was pointed more or less straight at the town Danielle had spotted off in the distance, altho there was no chance they reached it before it was too dark to drive. \n\nThe events from earlier replayed themseleves in both Kyle and Ricks minds. The canine had just wrapped up the enchantment of the last tire and was getting ready to shuffle his way out from under the bus. Rick spotted the way the jack was tilting and with everything seeming to move in slow motion he had grabbed the canine's ankles and dragged him backwards from under the tire just the jack completely tipped and dropped the bus, the massive tire barely missing crushing Kyles head into mush. A cloud of dust billowed up from the landing of the bus as Rick fell back onto his ass, his spine giving him a sharp jolt of pain as he landed. As the dust had settled both men got to their feet and looked at each other, unsure what to say. The awkwardness only lasted a moment before both spotted the apparition of a t-shirt bearing large cartoon eyes and the tension of the moment disolved as everyone broke into relieved laughter at the absurdity. Danielle made a face at them before returning to her normal naked self. \n\nThat had been then, but getting underway the humor wore off and left both men again unsure of where thing stood. Both stewed at their respective ends of the bus until darkness fell and even with the aid of the headlights the terrain became more difficult to navigate than it was worth. Stopping the bus Kyle killed the headlights. The sudden darkness left everyone blinded as their eyes slowly adjusted to see by the dim light the stars and sliver of moon cast. \n\nThis far away from civilization there was nary a spec of light pollution to drown out the night sky, and once their eyes adjusted the group could see stars without number and even the sweeping cloud of the milky way. For a shared moment the group felt small, personal issues forgotten in the face of the scale of the universe. \n\nAfter a couple minutes the canine shook his head and moved to the middle of the bus casting aside his duster as he move the the makeshift living space that was the several rows of removed benches. The queen mattress had a moving strap running across it at each end, securing it well enough that it didn't slide around while he was driving. \n\nThen the canine suprised himself by moving straight past and toward the back of the bus, passing several more rows of seats and their various contents. Rick turned from the window he had been staring out of as his 'master' approached.\n\n\"What?\" \n\n\"I uh... well I didn't say thank you before. I appreciate it.\" \n\n\"Does it matter?\" \n\nThe canine let out half a laugh \"Just cause I wouldn't have died permantly doesn't mean it wouldn't have sucked.\"\n\n\"Ok. Well don't get used to it.\"\n\n\"Sure.\" Kyle turned, then suprised himself again by turning back. \"Hey, I know those bench seats are hard on the back. The matress will fit 2 if you want.\" Kyle felt as suprised as Rick looked. Up til now he had at best been planning on picking up an air mattress or sleepingbag the next time they reached a town. He certainly hadn't planned on offering to share his bed.\n\nRicks mind raced. Did this canine think that just cause he hadn't let him get crushed that he liked him? Or was Kyle going to use him for sex. It seemed unlikely the offer was genuine. Even if he had saved him that still left him in the negative after two to three murders, depending how you counted. Many scenarios blew through Ricks mind as he straighted up to voice his refusal, only to be silenced by a lance of pain up his spine. Aparently falling on his tail had comepletely done in his already ailing back. And the canine was right about the benches. \n\n\"Fine, but keep your paws to yourself pervert.\"\n\nKyle put on a mockishly melodratic voice feigning offence \"Me? A pervert? The very thought! The very notion!\" He flashed rick a genuine grin \"you have no idea, but I pinky promise I'm not doing anything but sleeping tonight\" He held out his paw, pinky extended. \n\n\"Lol, a pinky promise and sarcasm. I must be rubbing off on you boss.\" chimed Danielle from where she hovered over the seats nearby, having finally managed to manifest some skimpy cut offs and a middrif exposing tee. The clothes didn't move correctly, acting more like they were fused with her skin than seperate items, but at least it was something. \n\n\"And if you do end up having gay sex bring me out first. I promise I won't be a bother while you bang\" The deer added with a wink before dissolving back into a blob, which Kyle put his hands on either side of and pulled into his body. Her first night with him as a bound spirit had been exceedingly boring, and after getting over the existential dread of it she found she preferred to just not exist for the durations he was asleep. Sometimes she hung out in his transport setup he used for his bounty hunting gigs where he had to bring back the person's soul, but even that wasn't a good option after the first two. It turned out there were only so many times one could hear revenge threats before they lost all meaning.\n\nRick watched Kyle as the canine dug a second pillow out from a random chest before moving back to the mattress, getting under the thin blanket and laying down with his back to the center of the bed. Rick wasnt sure if this was meant as a weak reassurance or if that was just how he slept, but after stifling a yawn he found he wasn't actually that interested in the motive and was just glad that it was. He was however less than thrilled that the canine had tossed aside his underwear as well as his pants.\n\nMoving slowly rick climbed under the blanket, then immediately grimaced as the discomfort of the various buttons and seams of his own pants press into his skin. It didnt hurt or anything, but it was just annoying enough he knew it would bother him all night. He guessed he just hadn't noticed over the ache in his lower back before. \n\nHe waffled back and forth for a minute before deciding that fuck it, if the canine didnt care and the girl wasn't here then why should he. He kicked out of his pants and dropped them out the side of the blanket.\n\n\"heh, pervert\"\n\nRick sat up and looked over, seeing the canine hugged to a teddy bear he hadn't spotted. The canines eyes were closed but he had a small grin. Maybe if he hadn't been tired he would have had some angry response like he normal did, but as it was after a second he just laid back down on his back and started to drift off.\n\n-----\n\nIn the smoky neon haze the night club rick leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his drink in his white buttondown and black slacks. This was how it should be, relaxing with his earned reward at the end of a hard week at work. \n\nHis favorite dancer, A zebra with huge breasts gyrated directly in front of him wearing a skimpy bikin. As he watched her hypnotic curves sway back and forth he could feel that tingling and growing heat in his crotch. He knew before the night was done he was going to have his way with her once again.\n\nWith a twirl the Zebra removed and flung aside her bra in one fluid motion. The rest of the night club seemed to fade away as Ricks attention narrowed on her, tracking arcoss her lucious lips, her large soft breasts, the piercing in her navel, the occasional flash of the folds between her legs as she moved towards him. \n\nOnce she got close enough, the jet black jaguar knelt down in front of him and looked up \"what dould sir like from me this evening. After all, the head special detective gets whatever he wants.\"\n\nRick didn't respond, instead grabbing the gray fur around the she-wolfs waist and pulling her into his into his bare lap. The dancer began to move on his lap and he felt his member slipping from his slit and hardening against here underside.\n\n\"Sir please, I've never done anything like that before, Rick said wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back to his chest as he ground against her before slipping inside and feeling her incredible warmth. \n\nAs rick started thrusting the night club faded as the dream disappeared. But the warmth didn't fade. Laying there in the darkness behind his eyelids Rick instinctively continued to thrust his hips, but as the fog started to clear off his brain slowly he realized he had his arm clutched around something warm he was holding to his chest and that the sensation around his dick hadn't faded.\n\nHe felt the pressure and knew he was already past the point of no reuturn. Trying to fight off the realization of what the situation was as well as the desperate churning need in his tightening scrotum, he found himself helpless to stop either and with a final thrust between the canines thighs Rick exploded, painting the canines balls, taint, and the insides of canines thighs with the lizards seed.\n\nAs Rick lay there, the darkness seeming cold and uncaring as he grappled with what he should do, what he had just done. He wasn't gay. That hadn't just happened It wasn't his fault he was so pent up. He hadn't jerked off in a while because of his situation, and that deer girl had been flaunting her rather attractive body around comepletely shamelessly. \n\nHis softening dick pulled back into his slit, wiping clean on the canines thighs. Oh god, what was he going to do about all the cum. There was no way the canine wouldnt notice all the dried jizz in his fur when he woke up. How had he even slept through that? He needed rags. No those wouldnt do any good, the canine would surely wake up if rick was toweling off his crotch. Maybe he should kill the canine and run while he regenerated, take his chance with the desert night. \n\nAs soon as the thought of killing kyle and leaving crossed his mind pit of his stomach felt like it had dropped out. He felt sick. He couldn't just leave. Maybe he should wake the canine and explain. But the canine might think Rick was into him. \n\nGrinning in the dark Kyle opened the connection between them and quieted the racing thoughts in the lizards racing mind and returned him to a gentle sleep. Rick could deal with that later. Then he reached out into the darkness near the matress and grabbed a rag he knew was there, wiping himself clean without moving from the spot. Dropping it to the side, he snuggled back into being the small spoon, the molesting lizards arm still wrapped around his waist. Being woken by the sensation of the lizard's dick thrusting between his thighs had been a suprising development to be sure. It was probably going to be a problem for future Kyle, but for now he returned to sleep held by another for the first time in quite a while. His last waking thought was that he would have to tell Danielle about this, she would absolutely lose it.\n\n-----\n\nThe sun was already high in the sky when Rick opened his eyes again, and he could tell by the vibration and occasionaly bounce that the bus was moving again. He rolled onto his back and stretched, arms over his head and toes reaching out with a delicious pull. He didn't think he'd ever slept that well. Even as the rest of reality came to he, he felt better than he had in a good long while, possibly even before his old life was upended. \n\nHe lay on the mattress staring at the ceiling just enjoying the sensation when Danielle floated past. She was wearing a loose teeshirt noticably too big for her which completely failed in its task of covering her as it hung from her horizontal position. \n\n\"Hey, look who's finally awake\" the deer commented, reorienting herself to be 'standing' and causing the shirt to drop, altho not before Rick got yet another eyeful of her crotch. It didn't bother him the way it had the last few days. It did cause half a thought to form, but he couldn't nail it down.\n\n\"You must have gotten caught up in that stormcloak ambush, like us and that horse thief over there\" \n\n\"I haven't stolen a horse in at least a hundred years\" came a yell from the drivers seat.\n\nRick shook his head and sat up \"What are you on about\"\n\n\"Not the video game type huh?\"\n\n\"No. Is that some sort of suprise?\"\n\n\"I guess not\" This time it was Danielle who shook her head. \"We'll have to find a way to get you caught up\"\n\nRick let out a small chuckle \"I'll pass\"\n\nDanielle shrugged \"Well at least you seem in a much better mood.\"\n\nRick stretched one more time and then reached over to grab his clothes from where he had tossed them \"Yeah, I guess not sleeping well was affecting me pretty severely.\" He didn't fully believe that, there was something else to it but he just couldn't think of it.\n\n\"Does that mean you're not pissed at Kyle anymore?\"\n\nRick started slipping his pants on under the blanket. \"I was never mad at him. I was mad at a lot of things, still am. But I couldn't feel that way towards him.\"\n\n\"Aww, that's sooooo cute. You do like him\" Danielle said, suddenly giddy. Rick could practically see her imagining all sorts of gay nonsense.\n\n\"That's not what I mean. I used to get angry so easy, but after I felt his death...\" Rick trailed off for a second before picking back up \"After the diner I just can't. I don't hate him, I'm not angry at him. I should be, but I'm not\"\n\n\"Hmm\" Danielle looked at him \"I don't know how to respond to that\"\n\n\"I do. I need food.\" \n\nSitting up and casting off the blanket, the now clothed lizard spotted the teddybear out of the corner of his eye. It was a basic light brown thing, but he almost felt like the small black circles of its eyes were judging him. Again he felt something nagging at him but he just couldn't pin the thought down. \n\nDanielle drifted back to the front of the bus while rick steadied himself against the remaining bus seats and moved to a bench containing sever coolers and a pile of boxes of various ready to eat dry goods. Kyle wasn't one for cooking it seemed. Reaching into a couple of boxes he came up with a handful of various granola and fruit bars. Not the best breakfast but good enough for now. Peeling the first one, he moved up to the empty bench at the front of the bus's passenger side, right behind where the door let on.\n\n\"Where we going?\"\n\nKyle glanced back at him briefly before returning his gaze to the road \"And good morning to you too. Or afternoon actually, I guess.\" Kyle said lightly and with a weird grin that made Rick suspicious. \"Actually, I'm going home\"\n\nRick was about to comment but Danielle cut in \"Since when do you like, have a house?\"\n\n\"hah I don't. Not as such anyway. Y'all are gonna get to see whats left of the town were I was born.\" the Canine indicated with a claw the direction they were travelling. By Danielle's best guess that was where the small clump of buildings she had seen the prievious day had been.\n\n\"We'll either get there by nightfall or early tomorrow depending on how rough the track is right now\" \n\nDanielle groaned \"God, why don't we just, like, teleport there?\" \n\n\"Because teleportation increases in complexity exponetially the more you try to bring and likewise requires exponentially more energy the farther you go. Naked to a location arguably inside walking distance with a beacon to help the calculations is about the limit of what I can do actually. It's not easy.\"\n\n\"At least we're not doing it by horse or on foot. You wanna talk about slow travel.\" Kyle put on a comic old man voice and shook his fist in mock indignation \"Back in my day we walked everywhere, always uphill. Just getting to the grocery store took a week and by the time you got back the milk had spoiled so you had to turn around and go again\"\n\nRick couldn't help himself and snorted at the canines antics. If he had to be a magic slave then at least this guy seemed to not be the worst in the world. He rubbed his neck where he had felt the knife as it cut through Kyles throat as their minds were fully linked together. \n\nWell he thought, he hadn't actually died and Kyle had taken care of him while he was recovering from it so in the end even that could have been worse. And how many could say their experienced death and lived. \n\n-----\n\nThis day seemed to roll by much faster, conversation helping to move the time along. The old bus didn't make it as far as the town, but they could see what was left of it in the distance by the time they stopped. Realistically they could have pushed to make it into town that night, but Kyle had said they were just going to be sleeping in the bus anyway if they did so there wasnt much reason. \n\nAs it was the trio began to began to bed down for the night. Danielle was getting better with the clothing and decided she wanted to show off, changing her mostly realistic projection of clothing into a nightgown. \n\nSaid nightgown appeared a good foot to her left and the deer eeped, covering herself with her hands reflexively to the chuckles of her audience of 2. \n\n\"What? Suddenly have a sense of modesty?\" Rick said. \n\nDanielle blushed then straightened up, deliberately removing her arm from covering her breasts and hand off her groin \"It's different if its an accident!\" \n\nKyle laughed again. \"Give it a bit and I'll make nudists out of both of you. After years of useless worring about modesty I realized it was all stupid beyond the convience of pockets and protection against the elements.\" \n\nKyle started to shimmy out of his pants, shaking his rear more than was strictly necessary in the process as could feel he had caught both his companions attention. As he did he continued \"And the world agrees. Its taking foorever but clothing has been simplifying and shrinking as time's gone on. Especially for the ladies. There's hardly any clothing at the stores anymore that wouldn't have been scandalously indecent back in the day.\"\n\nWatching the canines ass wiggle Rick found he couldnt look away. Suddenly the thought that was nagging him all day finally planted itself front and center in his mind and the events of the previous night came back to him. He stepped back a little and had to brace himself against the back of one of the benches for support. Even when the canine turned around and Rick found he was staring at the canids sheathe and balls he couldnt move his gaze as his mind raced.\n\nKyle waved at him \"Earth to Rick, are you alright? You look like you say a ghost.\"\n\n\"Hey!\"\n\n\"You look like you've seen another ghost.\" Kyle amended with a grin at Danielle. \n\nRick took a deep breath and forced himself upright again. That had to have been a dream. If it had been real then there was no way the canine would have not know. Kyle would have said something at the very least, and more likely outright torturing or killing him.\n\n\"Yeah, I'm ok. Just remembered a weird dream I had.\"\n\n\"Well alright then. But if your gonna keep staring at my dick like that I might have to do something with it.\" Kyle added a little hip thrust for emphasis.\n\nRick finally managed to tear his gaze away. What was wrong with this guy? What was wrong with himself? A growled \"Fuck you\" was the best retort his distracted mind could manage in response, the growing erection in his boxers only making matters worse. There was no way he could be that desperate.\n\nDanielle was practically vibrating with excitement listening to all this. Only her fear of breaking the mood kept her from squealing. When Kyle lazily waved at her from where he lay she found herself starting to object before she thought better of it. She collapsed heself Kyle grabbed both her and his teddybear, pulling both to his chest and making her disappear. \n\n\"Maybe if you ask nicely\" the canid tossed over his sarcasticly sholder from where he lay. After a beat he quietly added \"this time\"\n\nRick barely caught it ad was certain he must have misheard. \"What?\" he managed to croak out into the dark after a minute \"What's that supposed to mean?\" but no response came from the canine.\n\nRick decided that he was just not thinking straight, hearing things because he was tired. Keeping an eye on the canine he lifted his shirt over his head before he pulled down his jeans. His pale slick tapered shaft was on full display and caught a glint of moonlight. He really needed to find some privacy and jerk off he decided. Maybe in a little bit once he was positive the canine was asleep he would sneak to the back of the bus. Had he really been reduced to that? Sneaking around and jerking off in the corner like a teen with overly religious parents? \n\nGetting down on the matterss he lay there, looking at the canines back where it hadn't fully been covered by the blanket. Mental images of the canines sheath ran through his head. The lizard tried to push them away but he couldn't. Instead his renegard brain started to imagine what it might look like when then canine was in the mood. How big was it? What color? What texture? What was his knot like? \n\nWhat did it taste like?\n\nAs the unwanted phallic images danced through his mind the lizards raging boner felt harder than it ever had before. His memory flashed back to expiramentally mastubating with a classmate in highschool, a memory long buried by an ashamed adult mind. Only now he could only picture Kyle, legs entangles as he gripped their shafts together jerking them both. In his mind he saw his past self lifting his hand to his mouth, curiousity overriding any thoughts of worry about orientation.\n\nRick's eyes shot back open. At some point he had apparently fallen asleep. Despite the desert chill the bus maintained a passible room tempature, whether by really good insulation or magic he didn't know. Apparently not getting under the thin blanket hadn't bothered his busy mind. He wasn't sure what time it was, or how long he'd slept. His member stood in the darkness, silent evidence against things he thought he knew for sure about himself. \n\nLooking over he saw that Kyle had apparently had a more restless night than the previous, one arm and leg each hanging over the edge of the mattress, other arm tossed above his head and other leg spread to what would have been ricks side of the matress if there had been any sort of arrangement. Somehow during the process his stuffed bear had ended up sitting against a crate near the canines head, silently watching its owner. He could see the canine's sheathe and tailhole on full display\n\nShuffling around being careful to let the sleeping dog lie, the lizard looked at Kyle in full. The naked canine looked like he was still in his early adulthood, with a frame that could possibly be described as athletic with a little bit of work. Rick had so many mixed feelings about him, none of them what they should be.\n\nEver since he had experienced dying vicariously through his connection to the immortal canine he felt all mixed up. It wasn't normal, this inability to hate him. Rick knew he should hate him, and he was good at hating people. But the canine was growing on him faster than anyone he had ever met in spite of the situation. And there was something else.\n\nRick shuffled onto his knees. \n\nThere was all this horny stuff. He'd never felt interested in guys before, single instance of horny highschool expiramentation aside. And he was pretty sure he still wasn't. Casting his mind across the supposedly hot male moviestars he could picture he didnt feel even a flicker of interest. But even as he did so he found himself bracing his hands on the mattress as he leaned over the canines body, head now so close to the canines crotch that he could smell it. His hot heavy breathing caused it to stir and the lizard watched, practically hypnotised, as the tip began to poke from Kyle's sheath.\n\nAll thoughts and questions of what and why and who fled his mind. Suddenly he knew he needed it. Needed him. All of him. The rest didn't matter. That was the old him. The one that had died. But because of the canine he was still alive.\n\nIt wasn't just that the physical part of his death had been inflicted on Kyle instead, but afterwards. Danielle told him that afterwards Kyle had healed his body, and had taken it (with help) to the bus. And for the days after, before he woke up, the canine had cared for him, making sure his body got food and water. He'd slept on this mattress then too, next to the canine while his mind slowly figured out it still existed. \n\nBut it was more than even that. It had been violent, painful. The trauma had broken his mind. But he could remember. Somehow the canine had been in his psyche and picked up the pieces, arranging them correctly so that his body could mend them back toghether. \n\nHe lifted one of his hands and rubbed his neck again. It tingled as he thought about what had happened. Unbidden an image came to Ricks mind, one of the roles reversed, his own neck cut by the canines hand. The result would have been the same, but somehow the idea excited him now. After all, he could trust that the magic canid would make sure he was ok. \n\nA few inches of the canines penis we now exposed. He wanted it, needed it, but he stopped. 'Maybe if you ask nicely this time' the memory echoed. \n\nHe didn't know how he knew that canine was awake, magic or vibes or some sublte cues his subconcious brain picked up on, but he knew. He hovered, so close that he wouldn't even need to move for his tounge to reach, and he held, mentally working his way up to it before he whispered into the dark.\n\n\"Please\"\n\nHe felt the canines paw on the back of his head, gently guiding him down the last short distance. His tounge shot out and he tasted the canine's flavor, barely able to process it as he took the exposed portion of Kyle's penis into his mouth. It was so strange, so alien from what he knew, and yet it was right. He began his first expiramental sucks, tounge moving around the shaft. He felt the paw on the back of his head lift and after a moment he raised his head as well, chasing its presence. \n\nFinding it, Ricks tongue flicked around the tip of the canids penis before the weirdly calming gentle pressure sent him back down, a little farther as the rest of the canid penis started to free from its hiding spot. That paw gently stroked the back of his head and Rick began to bob on his own. Slowly at first, filling his head with the flavor, then beginning to pick up speed. The hand that he wasnt using to hold himself up found its way between his legs and began to stroke his own shaft. And as he seviced the canine the mental image of Kyle taking his life wouldnt leave him.\n\nIt wasn't long before both men began to feel a familiar tightness and with a final plunge rick pushed himself onto Kyle's dick, tip tickling the back of his throat even as his lips pressed against the very beginning of the knot. He gagged, but held himself there as he kept pumping his own slick shaft. Then together both men came, Rick flooding his seed into the mattress as Kyle's pumped into his throat and filled his mouth. The bitter taste was terrible, and yet at the same time he wanted it. \n\nHe swallowed.\n\nMoving slowly rick lay down on his side, his thoughts an indistinct swirl of emotions. It was too much, and finally the dam broke. Rick started to quietly cry. Then he felt the canines arms around him, holding him close. He pressed his face into the canines chest as all the supressed emotion that had been building up for the last week finally made its way out.\n\n-----\n\nKyle pet the back of the crying lizard's head, other arm clutching him to his chest. After last night he'd thought the lizard might just be pent up on top of his already frusterated, figured he'd tease him a bit and maybe they could both have some fun. Then maybe he'd relax and they could start to work out the situation.\n\nWhat had happened was very much not that.\n\nFrankly he didn't know what had happened. That had been emotional, intimate. Stuff he wasn't great with at the best of times. Now he felt lost and conflicted. Resting his muzzle on the top of the lizard's head, the canine worried. He was so used to being the on top of any given situation, able to trust that he could figure things out even if he didn't have a plan. Now, he had no clue. \n\nThat hadn't been just lust, it wasn't love, and it definately wasn't just fooling around. Staring off into the infinite distance beyond the walls of the bus he could only think of one way to describe it.\n\nNeed.\n\nRick had needed him. How or why he did not know. It didn't come from being a thrall. It didn't come from any magic he knew of. You could overwite someone's will with your own, take over their body, or make powerful suggestions the way a hypnotist did. With a good enough link you could even manipulate surface thoughts like he had the previous night putting Rick to sleep. What you could not do was change who they were. \n\nWhere did this even leave them?\n\nRick lay pressed into his his chest as Kyle stared through the window at the rising sun, searching its light for answers.\n\nWhat now? \n\n\n-----\n\n\nEventually Kyle decided he needed to get up despite his lack of sleep. Releasing the sleeping lizard, he grabbed his teddy bear from where he had set it, extracted Danielle, and poffered it to Rick who immediately took it in his arms and buried his face into it. Kyle watched him do so, blankly staring.\n\nNot bothering to grab his clothes or glasses Kyle opened the door and stepped off the bus, pulling it closed behind him. He started to restore Danielle but decided against it, instead returning her essence to himself. He needed some time alone to think\n\nHe sat, back against the front tire of the bus. He considered leaving, just walking off into the desert. Wouldn't be the first time he'd roamed this area running from his problems. He let out a soft laugh. His current problem would follow him better than a horseback possee looking to hang him ever could have.\n\nEventually the door to the bus slid open and Rick stepped down, dressed and seemingly well rested, and by his appearance nobody'd ever guess that anything had occured. He moved over to where the canine was and leaned back against the cold rubber of the tire as well.\n\nFor a while, niether of them spoke. The only sound was the blowing of the wind and occasional sounds of the native wildlife. Kyle couldn't have said how long they sat in silence. Could have been moments, could have been hours.\n\nEventually Rick broke the silence. \"So.\"\n\n\"So.\" the canine echoed.\n\nThe silence that returned was louder, nearly deafening in it lack of noise.\n\n\"We're gonna have to talk about it eventually.\" said Rick, voice not betraying how he felt. Kyle knew he could have just looked, but even the idea of it felt wrong right now.\n\n\"Yeah, I know. I don't have any answers for you though. At least, none that matter.\"\n\n\"Well answer me anyway.\"\n\nKyle hung his head. \"Sure\"\n\n\"Did you mess with me at all, make me think things? Feel things?\"\n\n\"I helped... made you fall back asleep after the first time, but other than that no.\"\n\n\"Why?\"\n\n\"Well you seemed to not be taking it well and I figured\"\n\nRick cut him off \"No. Why didn't you? Why AREN'T you? You have all this absoute power over me.\" His voice rose as he went \"You can mind control me, order me around, you could very easily have been fucking me every night no matter what I wanted.\" his voice dropped \"Instead you make a huge fucking display what you can do and then proceed to ignore me. You don't even talk to me again until I save your life.\" His last sentence was barely audible compared to before as the lizard seem to lose all his energy \"What do you want from me.\"\n\nThe canine went to put a hand on the lizards shoulder, but then halted and pulled it away. He stared at the black fur, completely mismatched to the rest of him. This was the question. The one he knew was coming and still couldnt answer. \"I don't know.\"\n\nRicks head snapped up and the anger that had been missing til now flared ferociously. \"The fuck is that supposed to mean. My entire life is gone and you don't know. Is this some kind of game to you? Just enjoying your power over us puny creatures? Twisting up who I am just to have a fuck buddy chasing after you?\"\n\nKyle hugged his knees to his chest and buried his head against his knees. Suddenly several things the canine had said finally clicked into place and the returned anger Rick felt vanished again. In an instant he no longer saw a 200 something year old wizard who knew everything all high and mighty among the mortals. Now he saw a someone who had been alone and isolated by his nature for multiple centuries who was completely out of his depth, put into a dynamic he had never wanted. \n\nRick put his hand on Kyle's shoulder \"Sorry, that's not fair. You said at the diner I was given to you and you had to accept. You didn't choose this. Its just a lot for me.\"\n\nKyle lifted his head and looked over at Rick. \"Not like you chose this either. None of this is fair. It's not right. Free will is all anyone really has. How can I just take that from someone? How can I be okay with that.\" Kyle threw his hands out in front of him\n\nHe had been putting up a good front, Rick realied, but this had clearly been eating him.\n\nKyle's voice dropped almost to a whisper \"I was almost a puppet too. That's what an avatar is supposed to be you know. Just a convienent body for one of them to control. Easier than making something from scratch. Just bam and there you go, a prisoner behing your own eyes for the rest of your existence so they can have a meat suit to walk around in. How could I ever be ok with doing something like that to someone else.\"\n\n\"Don't go aressting yourself for a crime you haven't comitted.\"\n\nThe two sat in silence again.\n\n\"I really fucked your thighs and you werent gonna say anything?\"\n\nThe sudden massive shift in mood caught Kyle off guard \"Y-You seemed like you needed it.\" He stumbled out.\n\n\"Yeah. I guess I did. The way you were wiggling your ass around last night seems like you wanted more too.\" Rick teased the poor canine\n\n\"I was trying to help you be less of a pent up dick in an act of supreme selfelessness\" the canid said, seemingly starting to recover his normal self and even a bit of his sense of humor, even if it was clearly forced.\n\n\"Oh, is that so? That's all? So you'll object if I do this?\" \n\n\"whaAA\" Kyle half yelped as the supprisingly strong lizard reached over and dragged the canine into his lap so Kyle's back was againt the lizard's chest.\n\n\"I'll allow it. It kinda cold out here.\" Kyle said, snuggling backwards.\n\n\"heh\"\n\nMore silence prevailed, more comfortable and softer this time.\n\n\"You know I'm not gay right?\"\n\n\"Could have fooled me.\" Kyle looked up at the lizard and winked\n\n\"I'm serious. That wasn't normal. Even if you're not as bad as I first thought that's not me.\"\n\nKyle frowned \"Yeah, I know.\"\n\n\"If it wasn't you messing with me-\" \n\nHe stopped when the dog shook his head\n\n\"I don't know.\"\n\n\"Am I just gonna throw myself at any guy I come across? I just crave dick now\" As he said it Rick realized he already knew the answer to this one \n\n\"From what saw it'll be just me. I think.\" \n\n\"I guess that's something.\"\n\nThat suprised Kyle. Frankly the whole thing suprised Kyle. The ex-cop lizard who shot him dead and burned his corpse over a simple traffic stop not that long ago seemed like almost an entirely different person. He'd expected a yelling, anger, a fight. Maybe for the lizard to kill him again. Instead here Rick was cuddling him and seemingly not even upset.\n\nHe hated to risk breaking the mood, but there was something else that needed address. He took a deep breath, then exhaled.\n\n\"You know Danielle was watching right?\"\n\nThe lizard paused a moment before resting his head on Kyle's \"I do now.\"\n\nSuprise again. \"You're not mad?\"\n\n\"hmmm. I guess I'm not. Weird\" The lizard said after a bit more introspection. \"What was she watching for?\"\n\n\"Like i said, just blowing off some steam. You saw how excited she got thinking about us fooling around.\"\n\nRick paused and thought about it. Finally he said \"You know she's gonna be insufferable about it?\" \n\n\"Hah. Probably.\"", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Rick was grumpy. It was his default state of being after all. In this paticular instance though it was because he could not seem to adjust to sleeping on the bench seats of the school bus that was seemingly now his home. He briefly broke through his mood with a chuckle. Out of everything currently wrong with his life, not having a proper bed should have been the least of his concerns. After all, from his previous life as a police officer he now found himself somehow magically enslaved to some immortal freak dog and his pet spirit.  

Said freak dog was currently piloting the school bus down one of many empty highways stretching out endlessly in the middle of nowhere, one hand on the wheel and all black left arm hanging out the window. The dirty blond furred german shepherd guided the bus basically by autopilot, his thoughts stuck on what he was going to do with the green and red lizard that he found himself stuck with. Not for the first time he found himself wishing he could just let the lizard go, but that just wasn't in the cards.

The third member of the trio found herself incredibly bored. Danielle would never have guessed that being a ghost could be so boring, but there it was. Well, she tehnically wasn't a ghost but the manifestation of a bound soul. But in the end she was dead, couldn't interact much with the world, and looked like a pale see-through version of the deer girl just past the cusp of adulthood that she had been so... ghost. And currently she was bored out of her little ghost skull.  

So it was that the disembodied deer floated over to the lizard at the back of the junker schoolbus and tried to start up conversation with him.

"So like, whatcha thinking about?"

Rick smply grunted in response, not even redirecting his unfocused gaze from out the window.

"Ya know, it wouldn't kill ya to be a little social since we're gonna be spending time together anyway."

This time Rick did turn "I'm stuck in this magical bulllshit freak show against my will with zero control over my life anymore, what is there to talk about?"

"Geeze, sour much?"

The lizard just glared at her.

"Try to focus on the positive. You're alive, get to see all sorts of exciting new stuff, and you haven't been mind controlled which is apparently the normal thing to do with a thrall"

The lizard once again didn't respond, but the dagger sharp glare disappeared as he processed what the blond deer had said.

It took a bit longer than should have been necessary for him to turn the information over in his mind, as thoughtful consideration had never been his strongsuit. But his normal approach of lashing out violently at whatever was confusing him had proven distinctly ineffectual.

After a handful of minutes, during which Danielle floated several laps over and partially through the bench seats in front of them, the lizard voiced a question. "Why?"

The deer stopped halfway through a seat "Why what?"

"Why not make me a mindless drone? I've killed him twice now. And it turns out it really fucking hurts" Rick said, referring to a week prior where he had cut off the canine's head while their minds were linked and there first meetin where he had shot the canine during a traffic stop when he was still a cop, before his life got turned upside down. "He's gotta be mad, why not take revenge?"

Danielle shrugged at that "Maybe cause, like, he's not you. I dunno, Kyle's a strange guy. Or maybe its a magic thing."

-----


The bus coasted to a slow stop on the shoulder, air brakes letting out a hiss as it settled in place. Kyle let out a sigh of relief as he pred himself out of the driver's seat, joints audible popping from being locked in place for so long.

He moved over to the middle area of the old school bus, whe most of the benches had been removed to make space for a large matress as well as various trunks, dufflebags, and milk crates full of the canine's possesions, such as they were. He picked up an old grimoire that would have looked more at home behind glass in a museum than in the faded plastic bin it had currently ocupied. After a moment a thought occured to him and he commented "We're gonna be here for a bit" not paticularly directed at anyone but just generally informing the bus.

Throwing the large red lever Rick popped open the emergency rear door of bus, activating the door alarm in a silent alert from its long broken buzzer. Hopping down, The lizard enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his green and red scales. He may not have been as cold blooded as his ancestors but he couldnt deny they had been right about some things. His loose black teeshirt flapped lazily in the slight breeze.

For her part Danielle simply ascended through the roof, taking the oppurtunity to get some height and take stock of their surrounding. She had thought they had been in the middle of nowhere before, but there was genuinely fuck all except for the deserted remains of a completely abandoned old west looking town, and town was being generous. Given how few buildings there were it couldnt have been little more than a way stop on the trip out west for gold rushers and resting point for the occasional cowboy or outlaw who had gotten completely lost.

That was more than a few miles off the side of the highway, and although it wasnt quite over the horizon it was far enough the doe doubted she would have spotted it without the extra height.

After a bit Kyle emerged from the bus, book in one hand and a cheapo cinch bag bearing some theme park logo that had half flaked off due to cheap printing. Rick regarded the canine from his position leaning against the rear of the bus, but Kyle didn't so much as spare a glance his way.

The canid focused on the task at hand, setting his bag down near the front right wheel before retrieving a manual scissor jack from an external compartment on the bus's mid section. Sweating a bit as the direct sunlight baked his fur while he worked, he positione the heavy duty jack near the front of the bus before crouching down and starting to slowly raise the bus with the manual crank.

As the lizard watched the canine work, what Danielle said earlier suddenly stuck him. He was the guy's magical slave for all intensive purposes, but here he was standing around enjoying the weather while his 'master' performed physical labor. He pondered the situation. Did he need to offer to do it? Was he obigated to? Did he need to do stuff without being asked? Other than explaining to him why he was there Kyle had pretty much left him alone. Certainly he hadn't explained any rules or explination beyond "Hey you're my slave now, I can make you do shit with magic" and after proving it he hadn't even done that. Why was he even here?

Then Rick jerked back with a start and banged his head on the bus. So lost in thought had he been that he hadn't noticed that Danielle had floated back down and was spreading her crotch right in front of his face. At his reaction she laughed and did a flipped.

"So you do have emotions other than grumpy" she lightheartedly taunted him as he burned with embarassment.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rick snapped back at the giddy doe

"I'll make you a list later.  Besides, its not like its real"  Danielle shot back, dropping her projected appearance so she was once more a loose blob of spirit energy approximately the size of a basket ball and completely invisible to the naked eye, although the lizard found he could still somehow 'see' her energy, yellow as she enjoyed herself.

"Whatever. You still look like a slut. Put on some not real clothes or something"

"Man you have got to loosen up. The three of us are gonna be together for a while and its gonna suck if your just gonna be a dick the whole time"

Rick just grunted and looked back over to where Kyle was.  For his part the canine had the front of the bus in the air and was laying under the driver's side tire, rotating it periodically as he slowly drew weird shapes on it with chalk. They made ricks head swim when he tried to focus on them.

Kyle's mind was barely on the task at hand as he drew strange impossible lines on the tire's rough tread. It was just some basic stuff to help the aging tires with grip and durability. As his paws moved seemiingly independant of his mind he wondered once again about the lizard. He couldn't just avoid interacting with Rick forever.  Could he?  It seemed unlikely that the lizard would be content to live on the rear bench of the bus indefinately.  Besides the obvious issue of boredom, Kyle could tell Rick was already starting to develop back pain from sleeping on the seat. How much did he need to take care of the lizard.  Ostensibly he was a grown ass adult who could take care of his own needs.  On the other hand though the lizard basically belonged to him the way a pet would and lacked any resources.  How much agency did he even have?  Just because he wasn't taking control didn't mean that the lizard would be completely unaffected. He already knew he couldn't just dump the lizard off and go their seperate ways as their connection would compell the lizard to find him or else drive him to madness. But was that really his problem?

Kyle paused his musing for long enough to move to the rear of the bus, making sure to walk around the side that gave the most space between him and the lizard. He sloppily tossed down the bag with his chalk and dropped the jack with a clatter before he rapidly cranked it up. It wasnt long before he was laid under the next wheel, his favored sleeveless red duster provided only mild barrier to the rocks digging into his back.

As Kyle started on the next set of runes Rick felt an incorporeal change in the space around him, like the air was a different texture, and he realized that it was because of what the canine was doing.  He found himself watching the canines work closer, trying to make sense of it.

Seeing that she was out of conversational partners Danielle found heself with little to do. If they had been anywhere she would have explored, but there was only the bus.  She'd never really thought about the fact that she was naked before. It just seemed normal for a ghost or whatever Kyle had said she was.  Kyle had certainly never said anything about it, nor had any of the, addmittedly very few, others who could see her.

The deer reassumed the projection of her former body. How would clothes even work. Not like she could ask Kyle to kill some jeans for her and wear its ghost. The deer floated in a low circle thinking. Put on some fake clothes the lizard had said, as if she could just imagine them into existence. Suddenly her psuedo-pacing stopped.   It couldn't actually be that simple, could it?  Her face scrunched up as she began to seriously concentrating, trying to hold an image of a shirt in her mind.

Then all of a sudden behind her there was loud thud and the squeaking of old suspension springs as the bus finally slipped off the poorly positioned jack.

-----


Later that evening the bus rumbled across the barren landscape, headlights cutting a swath through the dusk and enchanted tires doing little to calm the jolts and bumps from the offroad adventure.  It was pointed more or less straight at the town Danielle had spotted off in the distance, altho there was no chance they reached it before it was too dark to drive.

The events from earlier replayed themseleves in both Kyle and Ricks minds.  The canine had just wrapped up the enchantment of the last tire and was getting ready to shuffle his way out from under the bus. Rick spotted the way the jack was tilting and with everything seeming to move in slow motion he had grabbed the canine's ankles and dragged him backwards from under the tire just the jack completely tipped and dropped the bus, the massive tire barely missing crushing Kyles head into mush. A cloud of dust billowed up from the landing of the bus as Rick fell back onto his ass, his spine giving him a sharp jolt of pain as he landed. As the dust had settled both men got to their feet and looked at each other, unsure what to say. The awkwardness only lasted a moment before both spotted the apparition of a t-shirt bearing large cartoon eyes and the tension of the moment disolved as everyone broke into relieved laughter at the absurdity. Danielle made a face at them before returning to her normal naked self.

That had been then, but getting underway the humor wore off and left both men again unsure of where thing stood. Both stewed at their respective ends of the bus until darkness fell and even with the aid of the headlights the terrain became more difficult to navigate than it was worth. Stopping the bus Kyle killed the headlights.  The sudden darkness left everyone blinded as their eyes slowly adjusted to see by the dim light the stars and sliver of moon cast.  

This far away from civilization there was nary a spec of light pollution to drown out the night sky, and once their eyes adjusted the group could see stars without number and even the sweeping cloud of the milky way. For a shared moment the group felt small, personal issues forgotten in the face of the scale of the universe.

After a couple minutes the canine shook his head and moved to the middle of the bus casting aside his duster as he move the the makeshift living space that was the several rows of removed benches.  The queen mattress had a moving strap running across it at each end, securing it well enough that it didn't slide around while he was driving.

Then the canine suprised himself by moving straight past and toward the back of the bus, passing several more rows of seats and their various contents. Rick turned from the window he had been staring out of as his 'master' approached.

"What?"

"I uh...   well I didn't say thank you before. I appreciate it."

"Does it matter?"

The canine let out half a laugh "Just cause I wouldn't have died permantly doesn't mean it wouldn't have sucked."

"Ok.  Well don't get used to it."

"Sure."   Kyle turned, then suprised himself again by turning back. "Hey, I know those bench seats are hard on the back.  The matress will fit 2 if you want."  Kyle felt as suprised as Rick looked.  Up til now he had at best been planning on picking up an air mattress or sleepingbag the next time they reached a town. He certainly hadn't planned on offering to share his bed.

Ricks mind raced.  Did this canine think that just cause he hadn't let him get crushed that he liked him? Or was Kyle going to use him for sex. It seemed unlikely the offer was genuine. Even if he had saved him that still left him in the negative after two to three murders, depending how you counted. Many  scenarios blew through Ricks mind as he straighted up to voice his refusal, only to be silenced by a lance of pain up his spine. Aparently falling on his tail had comepletely done in his already ailing back. And the canine was right about the benches.

"Fine, but keep your paws to yourself pervert."

Kyle put on a mockishly melodratic voice feigning offence "Me? A pervert? The very thought! The very notion!"  He flashed rick a genuine grin "you have no idea, but I pinky promise I'm not doing anything but sleeping tonight" He held out his paw, pinky extended.

"Lol, a pinky promise and sarcasm. I must be rubbing off on you boss." chimed Danielle from where she hovered over the seats nearby, having finally managed to manifest some skimpy cut offs and a middrif exposing tee. The clothes didn't move correctly, acting more like they were fused with her skin than seperate items, but at least it was something.

"And if you do end up having gay sex bring me out first. I promise I won't be a bother while you bang" The deer added with a wink before dissolving back into a blob, which Kyle put his hands on either side of and pulled into his body. Her first night with him as a bound spirit had been exceedingly boring, and after getting over the existential dread of it she found she preferred to just not exist for the durations he was asleep. Sometimes she hung out in his transport setup he used for his bounty hunting gigs where he had to bring back the person's soul, but even that wasn't a good option after the first two.  It turned out there were only so many times one could hear revenge threats before they lost all meaning.

Rick watched Kyle as the canine dug a second pillow out from a random chest before moving back to the mattress, getting under the thin blanket and laying down with his back to the center of the bed.  Rick wasnt sure if this was meant as a weak reassurance or if that was just how he slept, but after stifling a yawn he found he wasn't actually that interested in the motive and was just glad that it was. He was however less than thrilled that the canine had tossed aside his underwear as well as his pants.

Moving slowly rick climbed under the blanket, then immediately grimaced as the discomfort of the various buttons and seams of his own pants press into his skin. It didnt hurt or anything, but it was just annoying enough he knew it would bother him all night. He guessed he just hadn't noticed over the ache in his lower back before.

He waffled back and forth for a minute before deciding that fuck it, if the canine didnt care and the girl wasn't here then why should he. He kicked out of his pants and dropped them out the side of the blanket.

"heh, pervert"

Rick sat up and looked over, seeing the canine hugged to a teddy bear he hadn't spotted. The canines eyes were closed but he had a small grin. Maybe if he hadn't been tired he would have had some angry response like he normal did, but as it was after a second he just laid back down on his back and started to drift off.

-----

In the smoky neon haze the night club rick leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his drink in his white buttondown and black slacks. This was how it should be, relaxing with his earned reward at the end of a hard week at work.

His favorite dancer, A zebra with huge breasts gyrated directly in front of him wearing a skimpy bikin.  As he watched her hypnotic curves sway back and forth he could feel that tingling and growing heat in his crotch.  He knew before the night was done he was going to have his way with her once again.

With a twirl the Zebra removed and flung aside her bra in one fluid motion. The rest of the night club seemed to fade away as Ricks attention narrowed on her, tracking arcoss her lucious lips, her large soft breasts, the piercing in her navel, the occasional flash of the folds between her legs as she moved towards him.

Once she got close enough, the jet black jaguar knelt down in front of him and looked up "what dould sir like from me this evening. After all, the head special detective gets whatever he wants."

Rick didn't respond, instead grabbing the gray fur around the she-wolfs waist and pulling her into his into his bare lap.  The dancer began to move on his lap and he felt his member slipping from his slit and hardening against here underside.

"Sir please, I've never done anything like that before, Rick said wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back to his chest as he ground against her before slipping inside and feeling her incredible warmth.

As rick started thrusting the night club faded as the dream disappeared. But the warmth didn't fade. Laying there in the darkness behind his eyelids Rick instinctively continued to thrust his hips, but as the fog started to clear off his brain slowly he realized he had his arm clutched around something warm he was holding to his chest and that the sensation around his dick hadn't faded.

He felt the pressure and knew he was already past the point of no reuturn. Trying to fight off the realization of what the situation was as well as the desperate churning need in his tightening scrotum, he found himself helpless to stop either and with a final thrust between the canines thighs Rick exploded, painting the canines balls, taint, and the insides of canines thighs with the lizards seed.

As Rick lay there, the darkness seeming cold and uncaring as he grappled with what he should do, what he had just done. He wasn't gay. That hadn't just happened It wasn't his fault he was so pent up.  He hadn't jerked off in a while because of his situation, and that deer girl had been flaunting her rather attractive body around comepletely shamelessly.

His softening dick pulled back into his slit, wiping clean on the canines thighs. Oh god, what was he going to do about all the cum.  There was no way the canine wouldnt notice all the dried jizz in his fur when he woke up.  How had he even slept through that? He needed rags.  No those wouldnt do any good, the canine would surely wake up if rick was toweling off his crotch. Maybe he should kill the canine and run while he regenerated, take his chance with the desert night.

As soon as the thought of killing kyle and leaving crossed his mind pit of his stomach felt like it had dropped out. He felt sick.  He couldn't just leave.   Maybe he should wake the canine and explain.  But the canine might think Rick was into him.

Grinning in the dark Kyle opened the connection between them and quieted the racing thoughts in the lizards racing mind and returned him to a gentle sleep. Rick could deal with that later. Then he reached out into the darkness near the matress and grabbed a rag he knew was there, wiping himself clean without moving from the spot.  Dropping it to the side, he snuggled back into being the small spoon, the molesting lizards arm still wrapped around his waist.  Being woken by the sensation of the lizard's dick thrusting between his thighs had been a suprising development to be sure. It was probably going to be a problem for future Kyle, but for now he returned to sleep held by another for the first time in quite a while. His last waking thought was that he would have to tell Danielle about this, she would absolutely lose it.

-----

The sun was already high in the sky when Rick opened his eyes again, and he could tell by the vibration and occasionaly bounce that the bus was moving again.  He rolled onto his back and stretched, arms over his head and toes reaching out with a delicious pull.  He didn't think he'd ever slept that well. Even as the rest of reality came to he, he felt better than he had in a good long while, possibly even before his old life was upended.

He lay on the mattress staring at the ceiling just enjoying the sensation when Danielle floated past.  She was wearing a loose teeshirt noticably too big for her which completely failed in its task of covering her as it hung from her horizontal position.  

"Hey, look who's finally awake" the deer commented, reorienting herself to be 'standing' and causing the shirt to drop, altho not before Rick got yet another eyeful of her crotch.  It didn't bother him the way it had the last few days. It did cause half a thought to form, but he couldn't nail it down.

"You must have gotten caught up in that stormcloak ambush, like us and that horse thief over there"

"I haven't stolen a horse in at least a hundred years" came a yell from the drivers seat.

Rick shook his head and sat up "What are you on about"

"Not the video game type huh?"

"No. Is that some sort of suprise?"

"I guess not" This time it was Danielle who shook her head.  "We'll have to find a way to get you caught up"

Rick let out a small chuckle "I'll pass"

Danielle shrugged "Well at least you seem in a much better mood."

Rick stretched one more time and then reached over to grab his clothes from where he had tossed them "Yeah, I guess not sleeping well was affecting me pretty severely." He didn't fully believe that, there was something else to it but he just couldn't think of it.

"Does that mean you're not pissed at Kyle anymore?"

Rick started slipping his pants on under the blanket. "I was never mad at him.  I was mad at a lot of things, still am.  But I couldn't feel that way towards him."

"Aww, that's sooooo cute. You do like him" Danielle said, suddenly giddy.  Rick could practically see her imagining all sorts of gay nonsense.

"That's not what I mean. I used to get angry so easy, but after I felt his death..." Rick trailed off for a second before picking back up "After the diner I just can't. I don't hate him, I'm not angry at him. I should be, but I'm not"

"Hmm" Danielle looked at him "I don't know how to respond to that"

"I do. I need food."

Sitting up and casting off the blanket, the now clothed lizard spotted the teddybear out of the corner of his eye.  It was a basic light brown thing, but he almost felt like the small black circles of its eyes were judging him. Again he felt something nagging at him but he just couldn't pin the thought down.  

Danielle drifted back to the front of the bus while rick steadied himself against the remaining bus seats and moved to a bench containing sever coolers and a pile of boxes of various ready to eat dry goods. Kyle wasn't one for cooking it seemed.  Reaching into a couple of boxes he came up with a handful of various granola and fruit bars.  Not the best breakfast but good enough for now. Peeling the first one, he moved up to the empty bench at the front of the bus's passenger side, right behind where the door let on.

"Where we going?"

Kyle glanced back at him briefly before returning his gaze to the road "And good morning to you too.  Or afternoon actually, I guess." Kyle said lightly and with a weird grin that made Rick suspicious. "Actually, I'm going home"

Rick was about to comment but Danielle cut in "Since when do you like, have a house?"

"hah I don't. Not as such anyway. Y'all are gonna get to see whats left of the town were I was born." the Canine indicated with a claw the direction they were travelling. By Danielle's best guess that was where the small clump of buildings she had seen the prievious day had been.

"We'll either get there by nightfall or early tomorrow depending on how rough the track is right now"

Danielle groaned "God, why don't we just, like, teleport there?"  

"Because teleportation increases in complexity exponetially the more you try to bring and likewise requires exponentially more energy the farther you go.  Naked to a location arguably inside walking distance with a beacon to help the calculations is about the limit of what I can do actually. It's not easy."

"At least we're not doing it by horse or on foot. You wanna talk about slow travel."  Kyle put on a comic old man voice and shook his fist in mock indignation "Back in my day we walked everywhere, always uphill. Just getting to the grocery store took a week and by the time you got back the milk had spoiled so you had to turn around and go again"

Rick couldn't help himself and snorted at the canines antics. If he had to be a magic slave then at least this guy seemed to not be the worst in the world. He rubbed his neck where he had felt the knife as it cut through Kyles throat as their minds were fully linked together.

Well he thought, he hadn't actually died and Kyle had taken care of him while he was recovering from it so in the end even that could have been worse.  And how many could say their experienced death and lived.

-----

This day seemed to roll by much faster, conversation helping to move the time along.  The old bus didn't make it as far as the town, but they could see what was left of it in the distance by the time they stopped.  Realistically they could have pushed to make it into town that night, but Kyle had said they were just going to be sleeping in the bus anyway if they did so there wasnt much reason.  

As it was the trio began to began to bed down for the night. Danielle was getting better with the clothing and decided she wanted to show off, changing her mostly realistic projection of clothing into a nightgown.  

Said nightgown appeared a good foot to her left and the deer eeped, covering herself with her hands reflexively to the chuckles of her audience of 2.  

"What? Suddenly have a sense of modesty?" Rick said.  

Danielle blushed then straightened up, deliberately removing her arm from covering her breasts and hand off her groin "It's different if its an accident!"  

Kyle laughed again. "Give it a bit and I'll make nudists out of both of you.  After years of useless worring about modesty I realized it was all stupid beyond the convience of pockets and protection against the elements."

Kyle started to shimmy out of his pants, shaking his rear more than was strictly necessary in the process as could feel he had caught both his companions attention. As he did he continued "And the world agrees.  Its taking foorever but clothing has been simplifying and shrinking as time's gone on.  Especially for the ladies.  There's hardly any clothing at the stores anymore that wouldn't have been scandalously indecent back in the day."

Watching the canines ass wiggle Rick found he couldnt look away.  Suddenly the thought that was nagging him all day finally planted itself front and center in his mind and the events of the previous night came back to him.  He stepped back a little and had to brace himself against the back of one of the benches for support.  Even when the canine turned around and Rick found he was staring at the canids sheathe and balls he couldnt move his gaze as his mind raced.

Kyle waved at him "Earth to Rick, are you alright?  You look like you say a ghost."

"Hey!"

"You look like you've seen another ghost." Kyle amended with a grin at Danielle.

Rick took a deep breath and forced himself upright again.  That had to have been a dream. If it had been real then there was no way the canine would have not know.  Kyle would have said something at the very least, and more likely outright torturing or killing him.

"Yeah, I'm ok.  Just remembered a weird dream I had."

"Well alright then.  But if your gonna keep staring at my dick like that I might have to do something with it." Kyle added a little hip thrust for emphasis.

Rick finally managed to tear his gaze away. What was wrong with this guy? What was wrong with himself? A growled "Fuck you" was the best retort his distracted mind could manage in response, the growing erection in his boxers only making matters worse.  There was no way he could be that desperate.

Danielle was practically vibrating with excitement listening to all this.  Only her fear of breaking the mood kept her from squealing. When Kyle lazily waved at her from where he lay she found herself starting to object before she thought better of it.  She collapsed heself Kyle grabbed both her and his teddybear, pulling both to his chest and making her disappear.  

"Maybe if you ask nicely" the canid tossed over his sarcasticly sholder from where he lay.  After a beat he quietly added "this time"

Rick barely caught it ad was certain he must have misheard. "What?" he managed to croak out into the dark after a minute "What's that supposed to mean?" but no response came from the canine.

Rick decided that he was just not thinking straight, hearing things because he was tired. Keeping an eye on the canine he lifted his shirt over his head before he pulled down his jeans.  His pale slick tapered shaft was on full display and caught a glint of moonlight.  He really needed to find some privacy and jerk off he decided. Maybe in a little bit once he was positive the canine was asleep he would sneak to the back of the bus. Had he really been reduced to that? Sneaking around and jerking off in the corner like a teen with overly religious parents?

Getting down on the matterss he lay there, looking at the canines  back where it hadn't fully been covered by the blanket.  Mental images of the canines sheath ran through his head. The lizard tried to push them away but he couldn't.  Instead his renegard brain started to imagine what it might look like when then canine was in the mood. How big was it? What color? What texture? What was his knot like?  

What did it taste like?

As the unwanted phallic images danced through his mind the lizards raging boner felt harder than it ever had before. His memory flashed back to expiramentally mastubating with a classmate in highschool, a memory long buried by an ashamed adult mind. Only now he could only picture Kyle, legs entangles as he gripped their shafts together jerking them both. In his mind he saw his past self lifting his hand to his mouth, curiousity overriding any thoughts of worry about orientation.

Rick's eyes shot back open.  At some point he had apparently fallen asleep.  Despite the desert chill the bus maintained a passible room tempature, whether by really good insulation or magic he didn't know. Apparently not getting under the thin blanket hadn't bothered his busy mind. He wasn't sure what time it was, or how long he'd slept. His member stood in the darkness, silent evidence against things he thought he knew for sure about himself.  

Looking over he saw that Kyle had apparently had a more restless night than the previous, one arm and leg each hanging over the edge of the mattress, other arm tossed above his head and other leg spread to what would have been ricks side of the matress if there had been any sort of arrangement. Somehow during the process his stuffed bear had ended up sitting against a crate near the canines head, silently watching its owner. He could see the canine's sheathe and tailhole on full display

Shuffling around being careful to let the sleeping dog lie, the lizard looked at Kyle in full.  The naked canine looked like he was still in his early adulthood, with a frame that could possibly be described as athletic with a little bit of work. Rick had so many mixed feelings about him, none of them what they should be.

Ever since he had experienced dying vicariously through his connection to the immortal canine he felt all mixed up. It wasn't normal, this inability to hate him. Rick knew he should hate him, and he was good at hating people. But the canine was growing on him faster than anyone he had ever met in spite of the situation. And there was something else.

Rick shuffled onto his knees.

There was all this horny stuff.  He'd never felt interested in guys before, single instance of horny highschool expiramentation aside. And he was pretty sure he still wasn't. Casting his mind across the supposedly hot male moviestars he could picture he didnt feel even a flicker of interest. But even as he did so he found himself bracing his hands on the mattress as he leaned over the canines body, head now so close to the canines crotch that he could smell it. His hot heavy breathing caused it to stir and the lizard watched, practically hypnotised, as the tip began to poke from Kyle's sheath.

All thoughts and questions of what and why and who fled his mind. Suddenly he knew he needed it. Needed him. All of him. The rest didn't matter.  That was the old him. The one that had died. But because of the canine he was still alive.

It wasn't just that the physical part of his death had been inflicted on Kyle instead, but afterwards.  Danielle told him that afterwards Kyle had healed his body, and had taken it (with help) to the bus.  And for the days after, before he woke up, the canine had cared for him, making sure his body got food and water. He'd slept on this mattress then too, next to the canine while his mind slowly figured out it still existed.  

But it was more than even that. It had been violent, painful. The trauma had broken his mind. But he could remember. Somehow the canine had been in his psyche and picked up the pieces, arranging them correctly so that his body could mend them back toghether.

He lifted one of his hands and rubbed his neck again. It tingled as he thought about what had happened.  Unbidden an image came to Ricks mind, one of the roles reversed, his own neck cut by the canines hand. The result would have been the same, but somehow the idea excited him now. After all, he could trust that the magic canid would make sure he was ok.

A few inches of the canines penis we now exposed. He wanted it, needed it, but he stopped. 'Maybe if you ask nicely this time' the memory echoed.

He didn't know how he knew that canine was awake, magic or vibes or some sublte cues his subconcious brain picked up on, but he knew. He hovered, so close that he wouldn't even need to move for his tounge to reach, and he held, mentally working his way up to it before he whispered into the dark.

"Please"

He felt the canines paw on the back of his head, gently guiding him down the last short distance. His tounge shot out and he tasted the canine's flavor, barely able to process it as he took the exposed portion of Kyle's penis into his mouth. It was so strange, so alien from what he knew, and yet it was right. He began his first expiramental sucks, tounge moving around the shaft. He felt the paw on the back of his head lift and after a moment he raised his head as well, chasing its presence.

Finding it, Ricks tongue flicked around the tip of the canids penis before the weirdly calming gentle pressure sent him back down, a little farther as the rest of the canid penis started to free from its hiding spot. That paw gently stroked the back of his head and Rick began to bob on his own. Slowly at first, filling his head with the flavor, then beginning to pick up speed. The hand that he wasnt using to hold himself up found its way between his legs and began to stroke his own shaft. And as he seviced the canine the mental image of Kyle taking his life wouldnt leave him.

It wasn't long before both men began to feel a familiar tightness and with a final plunge rick pushed himself onto Kyle's dick, tip tickling the back of his throat even as his lips pressed against the very beginning of the knot. He gagged, but held himself there as he kept pumping his own slick shaft. Then together both men came, Rick flooding his seed into the mattress as Kyle's pumped into his throat and filled his mouth.  The bitter taste was terrible, and yet at the same time he wanted it.

He swallowed.

Moving slowly rick lay down on his side, his thoughts an indistinct swirl of emotions. It was too much, and finally the dam broke. Rick started to quietly cry. Then he felt the canines arms around him, holding him close.  He pressed his face into the canines chest as all the supressed emotion that had been building up for the last week finally made its way out.

-----

Kyle pet the back of the crying lizard's head, other arm clutching him to his chest.  After last night he'd thought the lizard might just be pent up on top of his already frusterated, figured he'd tease him a bit and maybe they could both have some fun. Then maybe he'd relax and they could start to work out the situation.

What had happened was very much not that.

Frankly he didn't know what had happened. That had been emotional, intimate. Stuff he wasn't great with at the best of times. Now he felt lost and conflicted. Resting his muzzle on the top of the lizard's head, the canine worried.  He was so used to being the on top of any given situation, able to trust that he could figure things out even if he didn't have a plan. Now, he had no clue.

That hadn't been just lust, it wasn't love, and it definately  wasn't just fooling around. Staring off into the infinite distance beyond the walls of the bus he could only think of one way to describe it.

Need.

Rick had needed him. How or why he did not know. It didn't come from being a thrall. It didn't come from any magic he knew of. You could overwite someone's will with your own, take over their body, or make powerful suggestions the way a hypnotist did. With a good enough link you could even manipulate surface thoughts like he had the previous night putting Rick to sleep.  What you could not do was change who they were.

Where did this even leave them?

Rick lay pressed into his his chest as Kyle stared through the window at the rising sun, searching its light for answers.

What now?  


-----


Eventually Kyle decided he needed to get up despite his lack of sleep. Releasing the sleeping lizard, he grabbed his teddy bear from where he had set it, extracted Danielle, and poffered it to Rick who immediately took it in his arms and buried his face into it.  Kyle watched him do so, blankly staring.

Not bothering to grab his clothes or glasses Kyle opened the door and stepped off the bus, pulling it closed behind him. He started to restore Danielle but decided against it, instead returning her essence to himself. He needed some time alone to think

He sat, back against the front tire of the bus.  He considered leaving, just walking off into the desert.  Wouldn't be the first time he'd roamed this area running from his problems. He let out a soft laugh. His current problem would follow him better than a horseback possee looking to hang him ever could have.

Eventually the door to the bus slid open and Rick stepped down, dressed and seemingly well rested, and by his appearance nobody'd ever guess that anything had occured. He moved over to where the canine was and leaned back against the cold rubber of the tire as well.

For a while, niether of them spoke. The only sound was the blowing of the wind and occasional sounds of the native wildlife. Kyle couldn't have said how long they sat in silence. Could have been moments, could have been hours.

Eventually Rick broke the silence. "So."

"So." the canine echoed.

The silence that returned was louder, nearly deafening in it lack of noise.

"We're gonna have to talk about it eventually." said Rick, voice not betraying how he felt. Kyle knew he could have just looked, but even the idea of it felt wrong right now.

"Yeah, I know.  I don't have any answers for you though. At least, none that matter."

"Well answer me anyway."

Kyle hung his head. "Sure"

"Did you mess with me at all, make me think things? Feel things?"

"I helped...  made you fall back asleep after the first time, but other than that no."

"Why?"

"Well you seemed to not be taking it well and I figured"

Rick cut him off "No. Why didn't you? Why AREN'T you? You have all this absoute power over me." His voice rose as he went "You can mind control me, order me around, you could very easily have been fucking me every night no matter what I wanted."  his voice dropped "Instead you make a huge fucking display what you can do and then proceed to ignore me. You don't even talk to me again until I save your life." His last sentence was barely audible compared to before as the lizard seem to lose all his energy "What do you want from me."

The canine went to put a hand on the lizards shoulder, but then halted and pulled it away. He stared at the black fur, completely mismatched to the rest of him. This was the question. The one he knew was coming and still couldnt answer. "I don't know."

Ricks head snapped up and the anger that had been missing til now flared ferociously. "The fuck is that supposed to mean. My entire life is gone and you don't know. Is this some kind of game to you? Just enjoying your power over us puny creatures? Twisting up who I am just to have a fuck buddy chasing after you?"

Kyle hugged his knees to his chest and buried his head against his knees. Suddenly several things the canine had said finally clicked into place and the returned anger Rick felt vanished again. In an instant he no longer saw a 200 something year old wizard who knew everything all high and mighty among the mortals. Now he saw a someone who had been alone and isolated by his nature for multiple centuries who was completely out of his depth, put into a dynamic he had never wanted.

Rick put his hand on Kyle's shoulder "Sorry, that's not fair. You said at the diner I was given to you and you had to accept. You didn't choose this. Its just a lot for me."

Kyle lifted his head and looked over at Rick. "Not like you chose this either. None of this is fair. It's not right. Free will is all anyone really has. How can I just take that from someone? How can I be okay with that." Kyle threw his hands out in front of him

He had been putting up a good front, Rick realied, but this had clearly been eating him.

Kyle's voice dropped almost to a whisper "I was almost a puppet too. That's what an avatar is supposed to be you know. Just a convienent body for one of them to control. Easier than making something from scratch. Just bam and there you go, a prisoner behing your own eyes for the rest of your existence so they can have a meat suit to walk around in. How could I ever be ok with doing something like that to someone else."

"Don't go aressting yourself for a crime you haven't comitted."

The two sat in silence again.

"I really fucked your thighs and you werent gonna say anything?"

The sudden massive shift in mood caught Kyle off guard "Y-You seemed like you needed it." He stumbled out.

"Yeah. I guess I did.  The way you were wiggling your ass around last night seems like you wanted more too." Rick teased the poor canine

"I was trying to help you be less of a pent up dick in an act of supreme selfelessness" the canid said, seemingly starting to recover his normal self and even a bit of his sense of humor, even if it was clearly forced.

"Oh, is that so? That's all? So you'll object if I do this?"

"whaAA" Kyle half yelped as the supprisingly strong lizard reached over and dragged the canine into his lap so Kyle's back was againt the lizard's chest.

"I'll allow it. It kinda cold out here." Kyle said, snuggling backwards.

"heh"

More silence prevailed, more comfortable and softer this time.

"You know I'm not gay right?"

"Could have fooled me." Kyle looked up at the lizard and winked

"I'm serious. That wasn't normal. Even if you're not as bad as I first thought that's not me."

Kyle frowned "Yeah, I know."

"If it wasn't you messing with me-"

He stopped when the dog shook his head

"I don't know."

"Am I just gonna throw myself at any guy I come across? I just crave dick now"  As he said it Rick realized he already knew the answer to this one

"From what saw it'll be just me. I think."

"I guess that's something."

That suprised Kyle. Frankly the whole thing suprised Kyle. The ex-cop lizard who shot him dead and burned his corpse over a simple traffic stop not that long ago seemed like almost an entirely different person. He'd expected a yelling, anger, a fight. Maybe for the lizard to kill him again. Instead here Rick was cuddling him and seemingly not even upset.

He hated to risk breaking the mood, but there was something else that needed address. He took a deep breath, then exhaled.

"You know Danielle was watching right?"

The lizard paused a moment before resting his head on Kyle's  "I do now."

Suprise again. "You're not mad?"

"hmmm. I guess I'm not. Weird" The lizard said after a bit more introspection. "What was she watching for?"

"Like i said, just blowing off some steam.  You saw how excited she got thinking about us fooling around."

Rick paused and thought about it.  Finally he said "You know she's gonna be insufferable about it?"

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