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Later that day, Alex finds the hard way that some secrets can't be kept.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "David awakens a bit earlier than usual and makes a disturbing discovery. Later that day, Alex finds the hard way that some secrets can't be kept.", "writing": "[color=red]WARNING[/color]: This story may contain content of an adult nature. If you are easily offended or are under the legal age to view adult content in your area, please exit now. This text is intended for adults only and may include scenes of sexual content or graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.\n\nRevelations by IndigoNeko\n\nChapter 26 – Too Many Secrets\n\n[b]Thursday, June 4th, 2015[/b]\n\nAs usual, David’s mind was slow to make its way from a dormant state to one of wakefulness. The white tiger twitched, took a deep breath and blinked a few times before realizing that the room was still dark. Strangely, he felt totally rested for once. The first glimmer of the encroaching daylight through the blinds was more than sufficient to let him see, if only in monochrome. He glanced at the clock and sighed; two hours until he normally woke up. Slowly, carefully, he sat up in bed. Alex was still lying atop Raenne, looking absurdly content with her head between his wife’s breasts, rumbling gently in her sleep. He shook his head in amazement that it was possible for a tiger to purr at all, much less that she could do so in her sleep, and carefully pulled the covers off and got out of bed so as not to disturb them.\n\nLast night had been mind blowing, in more than one way. The sex had been fantastic, but the nagging part in the back of his mind had kept insisting over and over how wrong it was. It had been so bad when Alex had first started by giving him a blowjob that he’d been afraid that he was going to have a nervous breakdown. After they’d had sex though, she’d given him the biggest, most contented and loving smile he’d ever seen, and thanked him in a voice so full of satisfaction that it was impossible to believe he’d done anything wrong. After that, the nagging feeling had completely vanished, replaced with a tender sense of pride that he had managed to bring her such happiness.\n\nThen Alex had gone on to have sex with her mother while he watched, and somehow his mental picture of Alex as a daughter had broken down. Hell, that was an understatement; he felt like God had graced him with a vision, a sense of transcendental understanding beyond the ken of mere mortals, and an insight into the inner workings of the universe. It was impossible for him to see Alex as just female anymore. Referring to Alex as simply ‘her’ or ‘she’ was just [i]wrong[/i]. He made a mental note to look up third-gender pronouns.\n\nDavid snagged his boxers and put them on, then quietly padded out of the room, pausing for a moment at the doorway to look back at his wife and child. Seeing them in such an intimate embrace [i]should[/i] have made him jealous, but somehow it didn’t. Maybe it was that Raenne was so possessive of him. Maybe it was that Raenne was already pregnant. Maybe it was that Alex wasn’t a threat to their marriage. The reasons didn’t matter; all that mattered was that he wasn’t jealous in the slightest. All he felt at the moment was a deep satisfaction and contentment that they had shared their love with one another so completely. Kisses and hugs and saying ‘I love you’ didn’t hold a candle to the experience of sex and the intimacy that followed.\n\nWith a smile on his face, David turned around again and headed downstairs. It was still way too early in the morning, and he figured he’d spend a little bit of time surfing the web, maybe hit up imgur or reddit for some laughs. Illuminated by the pre-dawn light, the living room was a peculiar shade of blue, just barely sufficient to make out the video game controllers and cords strewn across the floor. He stepped into the office/den and flipped the light switch, blinking against the glare of the overhead lights, then hit the button on the PC tower and sat down on the computer chair while he waited for it to boot.\n\nAfter the desktop was up, he opened a browser window and typed in imgur. As usual, the front page was a mix of feral pet photos, memes, and humorous pics. He spent a few moments clicking through the popular list before he remembered a post with recipes he thought he’d faved the day before. It wasn’t in the favorites section though. Frowning, he opened the browser history.\n\nOne URL in the history practically jumped out at him. The fact that it was twice as long as any other in the list and ended in .onion practically guaranteed it would come to his attention. He tapped it, launching a completely new app. Strange. He didn’t recall having installed any other web browsers on this machine. He wondered if it was a virus. If it was, he’d just wipe the drive and reinstall Windows like he did every year or so anyway.\n\nA few moments later, the strange web browser sluggishly loaded up a webmail page that was apparently still logged in, under the name SniperPrincess0475. God, what a terribly cliché username. It definitely wasn’t his, and he seriously doubted it was Alex’s. For a moment his curiosity warred with concern for privacy. Curiosity won and he clicked the inbox, showing the first message in the list.\n\nTo: sniperprincess0475@silkroadjobsnawzetnyjx.onion\nFrom: x.tony.x@silkroadjobsnawzetnyjx.onion\nSubject: Job Offer\nMessage: Name Guillaume Bazoge. Residence 153 Rue de la Roubine de Lattes, 34070 Montpellier, France. Payout 80,000 USD to UBS AG account. Proof required.\n\nWhat the [i]fuck[/i] was he looking at?\n\n[center]__________________________________________________[/center]\n\nAlex felt something shift underneath her, just enough movement to awaken her from the pleasant dreams she was having of floating underwater. It took a moment to clear her eyes, during which time she realized that her mom was gently rubbing the back of her head. She smiled, and the quiet rumble in her chest kicked into high gear.\n\n“Good morning, kiddo,” Raenne whispered.\n\n“Mmm...’Morning, mom,” Alex whispered back. “I slept really well last night.”\n\n“Me too, kiddo. Unfortunately, it’s time to get up,” Raenne said, glancing to the side. “Looks like your dad is up already, and I think I smell french toast.”\n\nAlex glanced over at where dad normally slept, then sniffed the air. It did indeed smell like french toast. Actually, it smelled like [i]delicious[/i] french toast. It smelled good enough that she was already crawling off the bed and picking up her crutches before Reanne had a chance to sit up.\n\nFollowing her nose downstairs in a haze of sugar and cinnamon scented delirium, Alex soon found herself in the kitchen where her dad was busy dusting a third plate full of French toast with the origin of those wonderful smells. Without any conscious thought on her part, she found herself standing next to dad, waiting anxiously for him to finish.\n\nDavid started, then laughed when Alex appeared next to him, still naked as the day shi’d been born. “Didn’t even take the time to put clothes on before coming downstairs, hmm? Go sit down, love. I’ll bring it out for you.”\n\nPouting, Alex turned and walked out into the dining room and sat down at the table, awaiting his appearance. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long. Mom appeared a moment after he’d set the last plate on the table, and both of her parents sat down as well. Unlike herself, mom had taken a moment to put on the sweatshirt and sweatpants she’d worn last night.\n\n“So, what’s the occasion?” Raenne asked as she sat down, taking a sip of the orange juice her husband had set on the table.\n\n“You mean other than knowing you’re pregnant and that it’s nearly our ten-year anniversary?” David asked, then shrugged. “I just woke up early. Decided to waste some time on the computer, then fix breakfast. I was curious to see if the smell of french toast alone would be enough to wake Alex here,” he said, pointing a fork at the little tigress who was currently stuffing hir face. He smiled at the smudge of powdered sugar dusting Alex’s nose.\n\n“Well, it certainly woke me up,” Raenne said, taking a bite. It was much better than the french toast she made herself, and understandably so. David was the one who had taught her how to make it in the first place. Cooking hadn’t exactly been her forte when they’d first met.\n\nFor a minute or so, the three tigers ate in relative quiet, interrupted only by the clink of utensils on dinnerware. David was eating slowly, and just as Raenne was about to comment on it, he spoke.\n\n“By the way,” David said quietly, looking deliberately down at his plate while cutting off a small square of french toast, “you forgot to logout of your silk road webmail.”\n\nRaenne paused, her fork halfway between her plate and mouth, looking over at him. She swallowed, though nothing was in her mouth. Some of the junk mail she got there was disturbing, to say the least. If he’d seen any of it... hell, it was a wonder there weren’t police marching her to the back of a squad car right now.\n\n“When Alex is taking hir shower, could we talk for a moment,” he asked, quietly but seriously, looking Raenne straight in the eyes.\n\nThe look in his eyes was one that she’d never expected to see. It was the look of a man who’d been utterly betrayed: hurt, angry, vengeful, and looking for answers. Raenne winced. He’d definitely seen something. At least he’d given her the chance to defend herself instead of simply calling the police.\n\nAlex had looked up at the subtle difference in pronunciation. Only doctors called her that. “Dad? Why’d you say ‘hir’? You sound like Dr. Nez.”\n\nDavid looked back at Alex and his serious expression was replaced with a gentle smile. “I got to thinking after I woke up this morning. You dress up as a girl for school, but you’re not [i]just[/i] a girl. You’re more than that, and it’s really not fair of me to think of you as one. I guess that hit home for me when you were playing with your mom last night. You two looked like you were enjoying yourself last night.”\n\nAlex felt a flush run from her nose to her ears and looked down at her plate. “Yeah... playing with mom was fun. So was playing with you, only different. Like strawberries and oranges. The best though... well that only happened once when I was playing with Lizzy and she made me... umm...” she said, concentrating, trying to remember the polite term. Orgasm? That was right. “She made me orgasm with both my boy and girl parts at the same time.”\n\n“Huh. I wish I could know what that feels like,” David said, wistfully. “Anyway, my point is... you’re [i]more[/i] than just a boy or girl. If you were just a boy or just a girl, you wouldn’t have made your mom and me nearly as happy as you did last night.”\n\nAlex gave a wide grin, proud of herself, then stuffed the last bite of french toast in her mouth.\n\n“Okay, kiddo. Your dad and I have to talk,” Raenne said as her daughter finished her breakfast. “Go take your shower; I’ll clean up after you,” Raenne said.\n\nDavid watched as Alex picked up hir crutches and left the dining room, tail swaying along behind hir. He smiled, staring at his daughter’s cute butt until shi was out of sight before looking over at his wife. She was staring down at her plate.\n\n“You’re right, by the way. It’s not fair to think of Alex as just a girl. I might be a bit more aware of hir masculine side than you are, but I still fall into the habit of thinking of hir as a girl, especially when she- [i]shi[/i] wears skirts and capris,” Raenne said as she stabbed the last piece on her own plate.\n\nDavid nodded, setting down his knife and fork on the plate. That was when Raenne realized that he’d barely touched his food. She set her own utensils down and was about to say something when he looked at her again with that look of betrayal.\n\n“Raenne, do you kill people for money?” he asked quietly.\n\nShe kept his gaze for a moment, then shook her head. “No.”\n\nThe hurt expression on his face deepened. She knew he didn’t believe her, even though it was true. No doubt what he’d seen in that silk road email account had him completely convinced that she was a contract killer. She sighed; there was really no way to convince him but to explain literally everything, in painstaking detail. “Look, the silk road jobs website is an anonymous forum where people can post resumes and job offers, just like Monster or any other job site. The only difference is that some people use it for gray and black market services, because it can’t be traced. I have my own resume listed there, so anyone who’s interested in my services can send me messages. I probably get two or three spam messages a month-”\n\n“What [i]services?[/i]” he interrupted, angrily. “You’re a karate teacher! Or that’s what you’re [i]supposed[/i] to be, anyway. Those job offers sure as hell didn’t look like they were asking for a [i]karate teacher[/i]. But you know what they [i]did[/i] look like? They looked like offers for an [i]assassin[/i]. You were in the military, an Army Ranger no less, and you’ve already told me you killed people. Was that the car sitting out in our driveway purchased with blood money? ‘Cause I [i]know[/i] you didn’t earn that money teaching martial arts. You barely clear a thousand a month after paying the rent on the dojo!”\n\n“I didn’t earn that money by [i]killing[/i] people, you idiot!” Raenne spat back. “I earned it [i]rescuing[/i] them, like the job I did in February! You didn’t even bother to check my outbox, did you,” she stated accusingly, lowering her voice.\n\n“Of course not! I saw the first few messages and closed the damn thing! I’ve been spending all morning trying to decide if I should call the F.B.I.,” he shouted. He took a deep breath, lowering his voice. “What did you do in February? You said you’d gone to visit a friend in Washington.”\n\nRaenne pursed her lips. Confidentiality agreement be damned, she thought, this was way more important. She sighed and started explaining. “A pair of L.D.S. missionaries over in the D.R.C. got kidnapped by some jokers claiming to be part of the L.R.A., so the kid’s families hired Academi, A.K.A. Blackwater, to help rescue them. Academi flew me out to the D.R.C. to assist the C.N.P. as a hostage rescue consultant, since I’ve done similar work for them before. Five grand for a low-risk five-day op. It’s all right there in my silk road outbox messages. Which you [i]didn’t[/i] read,” she added, rolling her eyes with a sigh.\n\n“What the [i]hell[/i]... Blackwater? Hostage rescue?” David said, sitting there with his mouth open for a moment as he struggled to wade through the acronyms she was throwing around. His wife was moonlighting as a private military contractor. That was worse than still being in the army. David planted his elbows on the table, running his fingers through his head-fur. “[i]Seriously?[/i] Why the [i]fuck[/i] would you risk your life like that? Don’t you have any idea how Alex or I would feel if you got [i]killed?[/i] Jesus...”\n\n“I wasn’t in any danger; I was a [i]consultant[/i],” she argued, trying to calm him down. He was right though; some of the other jobs she’d taken [i]had[/i] been dangerous. She went silent, staring down at the table. She’d thrown basically the same argument at him when he’d pulled that stupid shit in the shower over the weekend, and it hit her twice as hard. It may have helped out those two kids, and the four german tourists before that, but Academi had hundreds of other contractors they could have sent to do the job. There was only one of her, and she had a family. A family that loved her. She rubbed her stinging eyes, wishing once again that she could cry.\n\n“Look, I... I’m sorry, David. I figured that helping save people was worth the risk.” She swallowed and took a deep breath, rubbed her eyes again, then looked back up at him. “You’re right, though, it’s not fair to you or Alex for me to take those kinds of risks. I’ll call Academi and tender my resignation.”\n\nBoth of them were silent for a few seconds, before David spoke again. “I looked up some of the names in those emails you got. Both of them came up in news headlines. One murdered, the other missing. I know you didn’t do it; you’re here all the time, and both of them were in Europe. Still...”\n\n“I’m sorry,” Raenne said. “I hate that spam mail. It creeps me out too. The first few emails I saw like that I forwarded to the F.B.I. myself. They never responded. The targets in the U.S. never make it into the news though, so I assume the F.B.I. must be doing something. Anyway, I’ve got to get ready and take Alex to school. Read the correspondence in my outbox if you want. It’s against the terms of the N.D.A., but... well... it might help you feel better to know about the jobs I did. All of them were during the times I visited that ‘friend’ in Washington. I can fill you in when I get back from dropping Alex off.”\n\nDavid sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know if I want to know or not. I never imagined…”\n\nRaenne stood up and knelt next to him, giving him a hug. “I’m sorry, love. I should have told you but... old habits die hard, and keeping secrets is one of mine. It’s not that I don’t trust you; I do... it’s just...”\n\n“It’s okay, love. I understand,” he said quietly. “If what you said a few days ago about your childhood was true, you’ve got a lot of secrets. I just... I’m your [i]husband[/i]. We’ve been together for nearly [i]ten years[/i], and I’m just now learning that you were abused as a child, that your parents were mobsters, and that you’re a private military contractor? Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?” he asked, trying not to cry from frustration.\n\nRaenne sighed. “No,” she replied quietly. There wasn’t much she could add to that. She gave him one more hug before standing up and grabbing her and Alex’s plates, turning towards the kitchen.\n\n“Raenne?” David asked quietly.\n\nShe paused, looking back at her husband while balancing a pair of plates. “Yes?”\n\n“What you said, about getting mad and killing people... was that true?” he asked. “I didn’t find anything online. Just a few articles on a murder-suicide. After what I found this morning, I... I had to know.”\n\nRaenne looked down at the floor. She’d never thought that killing rapists and mob enforcers something she’d ever have been ashamed of, but now she was. “I’m not surprised. Someone’s probably issued D.M.C.A. take-down requests to hide the news reports from casual searches. Too much bad press for the city. Search for my maiden name in the New Jersey State Library newspaper archives from February, 2003. I’ll fill you in on that too when I get home,” she said. Then she turned around and walked back into the kitchen to drop the dirty dishes off.\n\nDavid sat there with his head in his hands, staring down at his now-cold breakfast. The past two weeks were starting to become more than he could bear. Too many secrets, too little time.\n\n[center]__________________________________________________[/center]\n\nAlex swung herself into place at the end of the line of kids next to Lizzy, looking forward to afternoon recess even though her paws were hurting from being on her crutches so much. It wasn’t like she could play wall-ball or anything, but she liked being outside.\n\nLizzy stayed with her until she’d taken a seat to watch the other kids play wall-ball, then ran to the line so she could get a turn playing as well. Alex simply sat, watching. It might not be the same as watching x-games, but it was more entertaining than playing some stupid game on her phone.\n\nFor the past week, they’d been playing singles since Lizzy didn’t have a teammate anymore. Losers had to get back in line, winners stayed up to three turns. The only kids who really minded were Maria and Estella, the chinchilla twins, since they both did way better as a team than individually. \n\nIt was strange, watching everyone play rather than being the one playing. She’d been noticing things that she normally didn’t pay any attention to, like how Cedric was always watching Rob, and how Josh and Andy had somehow become way closer friends since spring break.\n\nSince she’d started watching the anteater and wildcat, she’d started getting the feeling that they were more than just friends since spring break. They were just a bit too touchy-feely when they thought other people weren’t looking. Not that she minded; she thought the fact that they might be in love was kind of cute.\n\nIt was strange that Cedric was always watching Rob though. At first she’d thought it was just that the smaller chamois looked up to the bigger, older mountain goat, but that didn’t seem to fit. Cedric was actually better at most things than Rob was, especially sports. She knew they weren’t in love, and Rob was constantly showing off for girls, even herself. The chamois was awkward around girls like most boys his age, but that didn’t mean anything. She just couldn’t figure it out; it was a mystery.\n\nSpeaking of being awkward around girls, Alex glanced around the playground. Sure enough, Danny was still following Madelyn around the playground like a lost puppy dog. The border collie had been tripping over his own feet trailing behind the golden retriever girl around since the beginning of the school year. Madelyn was finally starting to pay attention to him though, instead of simply ignoring him. Poor Danny should have had his picture in the dictionary for the phrase ‘puppy love’, she thought, giggling to herself at the irony.\n\nAlex sighed, crossing her legs and leaning back against the round cement pillar. The feel of sun-warmed stone on her back felt wonderful. If the ground wasn’t covered with loose asphalt grit, she’d have been tempted to lay on her side and curl up. Instead she had to make do by sitting indian style, trying to relax without pinching her tail, and simply let her mind wander.\n\nToday had been a good day, except for the dull ache of her broken leg. Reading was fun, math had been easy, and she’d gotten a bit of time in drawing with colored pencils. For once the school had served a halfway decent lunch, without any of the usual brown, green, or grey goop. They’d served swiss cheese sandwiches (ham optional), ranch salad, and tomato soup. Yum. And breakfast had been perfect; Dad made the best french toast. Actually, literally everything about the day had been good, especially waking up in Mom’s arms.\n\nIf today had been good, last night had been amazing. Lizzy was absolutely right; sex as a girl was better than milk and cookies, or pizza, or kissing, or birthday presents... or pretty much anything. It had definitely stung at first though, cause daddy was huge. It wasn’t bad though, just a stretchy feel, like trying to reach past your toes. But feeling someone inside you was Totally Worth It. Especially having dad inside her. For a moment she wondered if it would be possible to mate more than one person at once. Mating with mom and dad at the same time would-\n\n“Hey, Alex! What the hell is that?”\n\nAlex blinked, looking around. Robert’s obnoxiously loud voice was impossible to miss. That, and he was walking over to her.\n\n“What, Rob? I was trying to nap.”\n\n“Yeah, I realized that, cripple-cat,” the big goat-boy said, standing over her. “What the hell is that under your skirt? Hiding something from us?”\n\nAlex looked down even as the fur on the back of her neck went up. Her hand shot over her crotch to hide her boner, but it was too late. Panic started to set in when she realized just how bad this was.\n\n“Hah! I was right! You’re a boy!” he said loudly, pointing at her crotch. “So why do you wear skirts and shit to school, girly boy? Are you gay? Or just like to pretend you’re a girl? Freak.”\n\nAlex pulled her legs in, shaking. This couldn’t be real; she must be dreaming. It was just like the nightmares she had. Only it felt far too real to be a nightmare.\n\n“What’s the matter, freak?” The big goat asked acidly. “Cat got your tongue?”\n\nBoth Elizabeth and Cedric ran up at that point, both panting from their brief run across the paved courtyard from the wall-ball court to where Alex was sitting. Elizabeth looked angry and Cedric looked concerned.\n\n“Alex isn’t a freak, you big jerk,” Elizabeth said loudly, getting stares from several other children, and attracting a small crowd.\n\n“Yes, she is, runt. Or should I say ‘yes, [i]he[/i] is’?” Robert said loudly, sneering.\n\nAlex sat there, hugging her knees to her chest, quivering as panic overwhelmed her. She knew she should say something, defend herself, but somehow she couldn’t. This was too much like the nightmares she’d had over and over for years now. The only difference was she wasn’t naked.\n\n“What the hell are you talking about, goat boy?” One of the fifth graders asked pushing through the crowd of children that had started to form from nearby areas of the playground. The badger stood head and shoulders above the smaller third and fourth graders that had this recess period.\n\n“What do you think I’m talking about Dennis?” Robert spat out, pointing down at the tigress huddled against the cement pillar. “Freak here has a dick. He’s no girl at all, he just dresses like one. Bet he watches My Little Pony and plays with Barbies too.”\n\n“Leave Alex alone you [i]bully[/i],” Elizabeth yelled, running at the bigger boy in a flurry of lace and petticoats.\n\nRobert dodged to the side, shoving the much smaller stoat hard as she went by, sending her rolling across the asphalt towards the big badger, who reached down and picked her up by the back of her now torn and filthy dress.\n\n“Let me go, you big meanie!” Elizabeth yelled as the badger held on to her.\n\n“I don’t think so, pipsqueak. Fighting is against the rules. I should know... I’ve been sent to the principles three times in the past two weeks,” Dennis said with a mean smile as Elizabeth began seriously struggling to get away from the large badger. “But if you insist...”\n\nThe badger let Elizabeth go, pushing her forwards and sending her sprawling across the asphalt next to Alex. Elizabeth yelled as she hit the ground, then began crying, holding one of her wrists.\n\nAlex pushed herself to her feet, angry enough to have overcome the panic that had overwhelmed her, balancing awkwardly on her one good leg. She looked back and forth between the large badger and her best friend lying on the ground, unable to decide who to deal with first: friend or foe.\n\n“Whatcha gonna do, cripple-cat?” Robert taunted, walking up to her and poking her in the chest, shoving her back against the cement pillar she’d been resting against. Alex grabbed at the pillar behind her trying to keep her balance and not fall over, then snarled at him, baring fangs.\n\n“Leave her alone, Rob,” Cedric said loudly from behind them. “She never did anything to you.”\n\nRob turned around, glaring. “She? [i]She?[/i] Did you not hear me? Pussycat here doesn’t have a pussy. [i]He[/i] has a dick. Here, I’ll show you,” he said, quickly turning around to the tiger cub holding onto the pillar behind her. He grabbed her skirt and yanked hard, pulling it down around her knees, where it caught on the top of her cast. \n\nAlex clawed desperately at the pillar behind her to keep from falling and accidentally hitting her broken leg, even as the goat grabbed the top of her panties and yanked them down too. The tiger-cub abandoned her struggle to keep her balance, quickly throwing her hands down to cover herself even as she collapsed onto the unforgiving asphalt, yelping as her elbow and cast hit the blacktop. The pain was enough to make her start crying too.\n\n“Stop it!” A loud voice screeched instantly silencing the playground, as Mrs. Eaglantine and a huge bison in a pantsuit pushed through the dense crowd of elementary students. The bald eagle knelt down on the crying tiger cub, immediately picking her up and standing her upright before pulling Alex’s panties back up. Many of the students gathered around began whispering; for a moment many of them had glimpsed with their own eyes what the goat had been ranting about.\n\nThe bison took hold of Rob’s horns, holding them in a grip so strong that the ten-year old goat couldn’t move his head so much as an inch. Then she caught sight of the badger inching back into the crowd. “Why am I not surprised that you would be involved in this as well, Dennis?” she said, crossing the gap between them and taking hold of the badger’s arm as well. “Looks like you’ll be making another trip to my office.”\n\nMeanwhile, Mrs. Eaglantine had finished re-dressing the bawling tiger cub and managed to get Elizabeth on her feet as well. “Cedric,” she snapped after glancing around to see if any of her students were nearby. “Get Alex’s crutches and follow me, I’ve got to get Alex and Lizzy here to the nurse’s office. Can you walk, Lizzy?” She asked, turning back to the sniffling stoat who was still holding her injured wrist. Elizabeth nodded.\n\n“Okay then. Follow me. Alex, I’m going to pick you up and carry you. Is that okay?” the slender eagle asked.\n\nAlex nodded, tears streaming down her face. \n\n“Good. Hold on tight to my neck, okay?” she asked, waiting for a response. With Alex’s second nod the teacher slung one of Alex’s arms over her neck and picked the tiger cub up, cradling her by the knees and back. A moment later both faculty members and five cubs were on their way to the main office, leaving dozens of other students behind on the playground, all of them whispering about the fight and the skirt-wearing tiger-boy.\n\n[center]__________________________________________________[/center]\n\nRaenne sighed, relaxing on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa. David had been over an hour late leaving for work, but he’d left content in the knowledge that she’d been justified in almost everything she’d done. Or that’s what he’d said, anyway. She was pretty sure that the poor man was getting more than a bit frazzled; understandably so given the events of the past week or so.\n\nShe took a sip of the rich chocolate beverage, savoring the sweet cocoa and faint hint of raspberries. Chocolate always helped her feel better, and honestly, she needed it. Spilling her guts to David had definitely taken some effort, especially while trying to convince him that she hadn’t been putting herself at risk. The unsanctioned in-extremis hostage rescue missions she’d undertaken for Academi hadn’t been [i]that[/i] dangerous; she’d been a member of the Special Forces for God’s sake. Sure, she’d been out of the army for a while now, but that sort of shit wasn’t something you just forgot.\n\nNow, though... that was all behind her. She’d finally closed the book on that chapter of her life. Her email accounts and profiles had been deleted, and she’d gotten off the phone with Academi only ten minutes ago, telling them she was retiring. It was kind of depressing though, knowing that she was only a soccer mom and martial arts instructor now.\n\nThere was only one last part of her ugly past left to deal with: her family. There was no way the Kaminski’s were going to simply drop all the sordid, bloody, and highly lucrative criminal activities they had their fingers in. Even after she’d-\n\nThe chiming of the phone on the coffee table interrupted her musings. She set her mug of hot cocoa down, taking up the phone instead, swiping to answer it. She held up the phone to her ear. “Hello?”\n\n“Hello. This is Principal Sihásapa of Byrom Elementary. Is this Raenne Andreyev?” she heard the voice on the phone say.\n\n“Yes. What is it?” the tigress asked, starting to become slightly worried.\n\n“It appears that your daughter Alexandrea was involved in an altercation during afternoon recess, and was injured. She’s currently in the nurse’s office. It’s possible she may have re-broken her leg. Would you like us to have her taken to a hospital, or wait until-”\n\n“Keep her in the nurse’s office. I’ll be right there,” Raenne interrupted, hanging up the phone and pushing up off the couch.\n\nLess than five minutes later, Raenne was pulling into the rather tiny Byrom parking lot, pulling into the last open slot. The car door slammed behind her as she ran up to the front doors, yanking them open and stepping across the small foyer and into the school office. The secretary behind the desk looked up.\n\n“May I help you?” the young finch asked.\n\n“Yes, I’m Raenne Andreyev. I was told my daughter was injured,” the tigress answered.\n\n“Ah, yes,” the secretary said, standing up and walking to one of the doors lining the office’s left wall. “She’s quieted down, but we kept her in the nurse’s office as you asked,” the finch said as she pushed the door open.\n\nInside, Alex was sitting on a padded table with her leg propped up on a pillow. Surprisingly, Elizabeth was sitting on a chair along the back wall, and both of them were talking with a large bison in a pantsuit and a field mouse wearing a white doctor’s coat. All four of them looked up as the door opened.\n\n“Mom,” Alex cried, practically sobbing with relief.\n\n“Hey kiddo,” Raenne said, quickly walking over to her and giving her a hug. “You doing alright?”\n\n“Kinda...” the tiger-cub said, sniffling.\n\nThe bison turned around. “Ah, you must be Mrs. Andreyev,” the tall, broad woman said, holding out a massive hand. Raenne let go of her daughter and shook the principal’s hand, noticing the odd fingertips, each of which ended with a hard black hoof-like tip. \n\n“I’m Sarah Sihásapa, the principal,” the bison said before waving a hand at the field mouse in the doctor’s coat, “and this is Nancy Gardner, our nurse. Alex here was being bullied today during second recess. Elizabeth here tried to defend her, and wound up getting pushed around. Her mother Julia should be arriving shortly.”\n\nAs if mentioning her name had summoned her, Julia stepped into the small nurse’s office, which was getting decidedly crowded at this point. She immediately went over to Elizabeth, kneeling in front of the tiny stoat and asking what had happened.\n\nTwo minutes later, everything had been explained. Raenne’s face was a mask of barely contained anger. “So, you’re saying that these two boys assaulted a mere slip of a girl,” she said, gesturing at Elizabeth, “and my daughter, who has a broken leg?”\n\nThe principal held up a hand, trying to placate the angry tigress. “I wouldn’t put it that way. Nobody was seriously injured, after-”\n\n“No, I’m sure you [i]wouldn’t[/i] put it that way, since you don’t want the school to be held responsible. Regardless, that’s exactly what happened,” Raenne said, pulling out her cell phone, and tapping on the device, raising it to her ear after a moment.\n\nThe bison’s expression fell as the woman began speaking, obviously talking to a member of the local police department. She sighed; this was going to require way too much paperwork.", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "WARNING: This story may contain content of an adult nature. If you are easily offended or are under the legal age to view adult content in your area, please exit now. This text is intended for adults only and may include scenes of sexual content or graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Revelations by IndigoNeko

Chapter 26 – Too Many Secrets

Thursday, June 4th, 2015

As usual, David’s mind was slow to make its way from a dormant state to one of wakefulness. The white tiger twitched, took a deep breath and blinked a few times before realizing that the room was still dark. Strangely, he felt totally rested for once. The first glimmer of the encroaching daylight through the blinds was more than sufficient to let him see, if only in monochrome. He glanced at the clock and sighed; two hours until he normally woke up. Slowly, carefully, he sat up in bed. Alex was still lying atop Raenne, looking absurdly content with her head between his wife’s breasts, rumbling gently in her sleep. He shook his head in amazement that it was possible for a tiger to purr at all, much less that she could do so in her sleep, and carefully pulled the covers off and got out of bed so as not to disturb them.

Last night had been mind blowing, in more than one way. The sex had been fantastic, but the nagging part in the back of his mind had kept insisting over and over how wrong it was. It had been so bad when Alex had first started by giving him a blowjob that he’d been afraid that he was going to have a nervous breakdown. After they’d had sex though, she’d given him the biggest, most contented and loving smile he’d ever seen, and thanked him in a voice so full of satisfaction that it was impossible to believe he’d done anything wrong. After that, the nagging feeling had completely vanished, replaced with a tender sense of pride that he had managed to bring her such happiness.

Then Alex had gone on to have sex with her mother while he watched, and somehow his mental picture of Alex as a daughter had broken down. Hell, that was an understatement; he felt like God had graced him with a vision, a sense of transcendental understanding beyond the ken of mere mortals, and an insight into the inner workings of the universe. It was impossible for him to see Alex as just female anymore. Referring to Alex as simply ‘her’ or ‘she’ was just wrong. He made a mental note to look up third-gender pronouns.

David snagged his boxers and put them on, then quietly padded out of the room, pausing for a moment at the doorway to look back at his wife and child. Seeing them in such an intimate embrace should have made him jealous, but somehow it didn’t. Maybe it was that Raenne was so possessive of him. Maybe it was that Raenne was already pregnant. Maybe it was that Alex wasn’t a threat to their marriage. The reasons didn’t matter; all that mattered was that he wasn’t jealous in the slightest. All he felt at the moment was a deep satisfaction and contentment that they had shared their love with one another so completely. Kisses and hugs and saying ‘I love you’ didn’t hold a candle to the experience of sex and the intimacy that followed.

With a smile on his face, David turned around again and headed downstairs. It was still way too early in the morning, and he figured he’d spend a little bit of time surfing the web, maybe hit up imgur or reddit for some laughs. Illuminated by the pre-dawn light, the living room was a peculiar shade of blue, just barely sufficient to make out the video game controllers and cords strewn across the floor. He stepped into the office/den and flipped the light switch, blinking against the glare of the overhead lights, then hit the button on the PC tower and sat down on the computer chair while he waited for it to boot.

After the desktop was up, he opened a browser window and typed in imgur. As usual, the front page was a mix of feral pet photos, memes, and humorous pics. He spent a few moments clicking through the popular list before he remembered a post with recipes he thought he’d faved the day before. It wasn’t in the favorites section though. Frowning, he opened the browser history.

One URL in the history practically jumped out at him. The fact that it was twice as long as any other in the list and ended in .onion practically guaranteed it would come to his attention. He tapped it, launching a completely new app. Strange. He didn’t recall having installed any other web browsers on this machine. He wondered if it was a virus. If it was, he’d just wipe the drive and reinstall Windows like he did every year or so anyway.

A few moments later, the strange web browser sluggishly loaded up a webmail page that was apparently still logged in, under the name SniperPrincess0475. God, what a terribly cliché username. It definitely wasn’t his, and he seriously doubted it was Alex’s. For a moment his curiosity warred with concern for privacy. Curiosity won and he clicked the inbox, showing the first message in the list.

To: sniperprincess0475@silkroadjobsnawzetnyjx.onion
From: x.tony.x@silkroadjobsnawzetnyjx.onion
Subject: Job Offer
Message: Name Guillaume Bazoge. Residence 153 Rue de la Roubine de Lattes, 34070 Montpellier, France. Payout 80,000 USD to UBS AG account. Proof required.

What the fuck was he looking at?

__________________________________________________


Alex felt something shift underneath her, just enough movement to awaken her from the pleasant dreams she was having of floating underwater. It took a moment to clear her eyes, during which time she realized that her mom was gently rubbing the back of her head. She smiled, and the quiet rumble in her chest kicked into high gear.

“Good morning, kiddo,” Raenne whispered.

“Mmm...’Morning, mom,” Alex whispered back. “I slept really well last night.”

“Me too, kiddo. Unfortunately, it’s time to get up,” Raenne said, glancing to the side. “Looks like your dad is up already, and I think I smell french toast.”

Alex glanced over at where dad normally slept, then sniffed the air. It did indeed smell like french toast. Actually, it smelled like delicious french toast. It smelled good enough that she was already crawling off the bed and picking up her crutches before Reanne had a chance to sit up.

Following her nose downstairs in a haze of sugar and cinnamon scented delirium, Alex soon found herself in the kitchen where her dad was busy dusting a third plate full of French toast with the origin of those wonderful smells. Without any conscious thought on her part, she found herself standing next to dad, waiting anxiously for him to finish.

David started, then laughed when Alex appeared next to him, still naked as the day shi’d been born. “Didn’t even take the time to put clothes on before coming downstairs, hmm? Go sit down, love. I’ll bring it out for you.”

Pouting, Alex turned and walked out into the dining room and sat down at the table, awaiting his appearance. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long. Mom appeared a moment after he’d set the last plate on the table, and both of her parents sat down as well. Unlike herself, mom had taken a moment to put on the sweatshirt and sweatpants she’d worn last night.

“So, what’s the occasion?” Raenne asked as she sat down, taking a sip of the orange juice her husband had set on the table.

“You mean other than knowing you’re pregnant and that it’s nearly our ten-year anniversary?” David asked, then shrugged. “I just woke up early. Decided to waste some time on the computer, then fix breakfast. I was curious to see if the smell of french toast alone would be enough to wake Alex here,” he said, pointing a fork at the little tigress who was currently stuffing hir face. He smiled at the smudge of powdered sugar dusting Alex’s nose.

“Well, it certainly woke me up,” Raenne said, taking a bite. It was much better than the french toast she made herself, and understandably so. David was the one who had taught her how to make it in the first place. Cooking hadn’t exactly been her forte when they’d first met.

For a minute or so, the three tigers ate in relative quiet, interrupted only by the clink of utensils on dinnerware. David was eating slowly, and just as Raenne was about to comment on it, he spoke.

“By the way,” David said quietly, looking deliberately down at his plate while cutting off a small square of french toast, “you forgot to logout of your silk road webmail.”

Raenne paused, her fork halfway between her plate and mouth, looking over at him. She swallowed, though nothing was in her mouth. Some of the junk mail she got there was disturbing, to say the least. If he’d seen any of it... hell, it was a wonder there weren’t police marching her to the back of a squad car right now.

“When Alex is taking hir shower, could we talk for a moment,” he asked, quietly but seriously, looking Raenne straight in the eyes.

The look in his eyes was one that she’d never expected to see. It was the look of a man who’d been utterly betrayed: hurt, angry, vengeful, and looking for answers. Raenne winced. He’d definitely seen something. At least he’d given her the chance to defend herself instead of simply calling the police.

Alex had looked up at the subtle difference in pronunciation. Only doctors called her that. “Dad? Why’d you say ‘hir’? You sound like Dr. Nez.”

David looked back at Alex and his serious expression was replaced with a gentle smile. “I got to thinking after I woke up this morning. You dress up as a girl for school, but you’re not just a girl. You’re more than that, and it’s really not fair of me to think of you as one. I guess that hit home for me when you were playing with your mom last night. You two looked like you were enjoying yourself last night.”

Alex felt a flush run from her nose to her ears and looked down at her plate. “Yeah... playing with mom was fun. So was playing with you, only different. Like strawberries and oranges. The best though... well that only happened once when I was playing with Lizzy and she made me... umm...” she said, concentrating, trying to remember the polite term. Orgasm? That was right. “She made me orgasm with both my boy and girl parts at the same time.”

“Huh. I wish I could know what that feels like,” David said, wistfully. “Anyway, my point is... you’re more than just a boy or girl. If you were just a boy or just a girl, you wouldn’t have made your mom and me nearly as happy as you did last night.”

Alex gave a wide grin, proud of herself, then stuffed the last bite of french toast in her mouth.

“Okay, kiddo. Your dad and I have to talk,” Raenne said as her daughter finished her breakfast. “Go take your shower; I’ll clean up after you,” Raenne said.

David watched as Alex picked up hir crutches and left the dining room, tail swaying along behind hir. He smiled, staring at his daughter’s cute butt until shi was out of sight before looking over at his wife. She was staring down at her plate.

“You’re right, by the way. It’s not fair to think of Alex as just a girl. I might be a bit more aware of hir masculine side than you are, but I still fall into the habit of thinking of hir as a girl, especially when she- shi wears skirts and capris,” Raenne said as she stabbed the last piece on her own plate.

David nodded, setting down his knife and fork on the plate. That was when Raenne realized that he’d barely touched his food. She set her own utensils down and was about to say something when he looked at her again with that look of betrayal.

“Raenne, do you kill people for money?” he asked quietly.

She kept his gaze for a moment, then shook her head. “No.”

The hurt expression on his face deepened. She knew he didn’t believe her, even though it was true. No doubt what he’d seen in that silk road email account had him completely convinced that she was a contract killer. She sighed; there was really no way to convince him but to explain literally everything, in painstaking detail. “Look, the silk road jobs website is an anonymous forum where people can post resumes and job offers, just like Monster or any other job site. The only difference is that some people use it for gray and black market services, because it can’t be traced. I have my own resume listed there, so anyone who’s interested in my services can send me messages. I probably get two or three spam messages a month-”

“What services?” he interrupted, angrily. “You’re a karate teacher! Or that’s what you’re supposed to be, anyway. Those job offers sure as hell didn’t look like they were asking for a karate teacher. But you know what they did look like? They looked like offers for an assassin. You were in the military, an Army Ranger no less, and you’ve already told me you killed people. Was that the car sitting out in our driveway purchased with blood money? ‘Cause I know you didn’t earn that money teaching martial arts. You barely clear a thousand a month after paying the rent on the dojo!”

“I didn’t earn that money by killing people, you idiot!” Raenne spat back. “I earned it rescuing them, like the job I did in February! You didn’t even bother to check my outbox, did you,” she stated accusingly, lowering her voice.

“Of course not! I saw the first few messages and closed the damn thing! I’ve been spending all morning trying to decide if I should call the F.B.I.,” he shouted. He took a deep breath, lowering his voice. “What did you do in February? You said you’d gone to visit a friend in Washington.”

Raenne pursed her lips. Confidentiality agreement be damned, she thought, this was way more important. She sighed and started explaining. “A pair of L.D.S. missionaries over in the D.R.C. got kidnapped by some jokers claiming to be part of the L.R.A., so the kid’s families hired Academi, A.K.A. Blackwater, to help rescue them. Academi flew me out to the D.R.C. to assist the C.N.P. as a hostage rescue consultant, since I’ve done similar work for them before. Five grand for a low-risk five-day op. It’s all right there in my silk road outbox messages. Which you didn’t read,” she added, rolling her eyes with a sigh.

“What the hell... Blackwater? Hostage rescue?” David said, sitting there with his mouth open for a moment as he struggled to wade through the acronyms she was throwing around. His wife was moonlighting as a private military contractor. That was worse than still being in the army. David planted his elbows on the table, running his fingers through his head-fur. “Seriously? Why the fuck would you risk your life like that? Don’t you have any idea how Alex or I would feel if you got killed? Jesus...”

“I wasn’t in any danger; I was a consultant,” she argued, trying to calm him down. He was right though; some of the other jobs she’d taken had been dangerous. She went silent, staring down at the table. She’d thrown basically the same argument at him when he’d pulled that stupid shit in the shower over the weekend, and it hit her twice as hard. It may have helped out those two kids, and the four german tourists before that, but Academi had hundreds of other contractors they could have sent to do the job. There was only one of her, and she had a family. A family that loved her. She rubbed her stinging eyes, wishing once again that she could cry.

“Look, I... I’m sorry, David. I figured that helping save people was worth the risk.” She swallowed and took a deep breath, rubbed her eyes again, then looked back up at him. “You’re right, though, it’s not fair to you or Alex for me to take those kinds of risks. I’ll call Academi and tender my resignation.”

Both of them were silent for a few seconds, before David spoke again. “I looked up some of the names in those emails you got. Both of them came up in news headlines. One murdered, the other missing. I know you didn’t do it; you’re here all the time, and both of them were in Europe. Still...”

“I’m sorry,” Raenne said. “I hate that spam mail. It creeps me out too. The first few emails I saw like that I forwarded to the F.B.I. myself. They never responded. The targets in the U.S. never make it into the news though, so I assume the F.B.I. must be doing something. Anyway, I’ve got to get ready and take Alex to school. Read the correspondence in my outbox if you want. It’s against the terms of the N.D.A., but... well... it might help you feel better to know about the jobs I did. All of them were during the times I visited that ‘friend’ in Washington. I can fill you in when I get back from dropping Alex off.”

David sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know if I want to know or not. I never imagined…”

Raenne stood up and knelt next to him, giving him a hug. “I’m sorry, love. I should have told you but... old habits die hard, and keeping secrets is one of mine. It’s not that I don’t trust you; I do... it’s just...”

“It’s okay, love. I understand,” he said quietly. “If what you said a few days ago about your childhood was true, you’ve got a lot of secrets. I just... I’m your husband. We’ve been together for nearly ten years, and I’m just now learning that you were abused as a child, that your parents were mobsters, and that you’re a private military contractor? Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?” he asked, trying not to cry from frustration.

Raenne sighed. “No,” she replied quietly. There wasn’t much she could add to that. She gave him one more hug before standing up and grabbing her and Alex’s plates, turning towards the kitchen.

“Raenne?” David asked quietly.

She paused, looking back at her husband while balancing a pair of plates. “Yes?”

“What you said, about getting mad and killing people... was that true?” he asked. “I didn’t find anything online. Just a few articles on a murder-suicide. After what I found this morning, I... I had to know.”

Raenne looked down at the floor. She’d never thought that killing rapists and mob enforcers something she’d ever have been ashamed of, but now she was. “I’m not surprised. Someone’s probably issued D.M.C.A. take-down requests to hide the news reports from casual searches. Too much bad press for the city. Search for my maiden name in the New Jersey State Library newspaper archives from February, 2003. I’ll fill you in on that too when I get home,” she said. Then she turned around and walked back into the kitchen to drop the dirty dishes off.

David sat there with his head in his hands, staring down at his now-cold breakfast. The past two weeks were starting to become more than he could bear. Too many secrets, too little time.

__________________________________________________


Alex swung herself into place at the end of the line of kids next to Lizzy, looking forward to afternoon recess even though her paws were hurting from being on her crutches so much. It wasn’t like she could play wall-ball or anything, but she liked being outside.

Lizzy stayed with her until she’d taken a seat to watch the other kids play wall-ball, then ran to the line so she could get a turn playing as well. Alex simply sat, watching. It might not be the same as watching x-games, but it was more entertaining than playing some stupid game on her phone.

For the past week, they’d been playing singles since Lizzy didn’t have a teammate anymore. Losers had to get back in line, winners stayed up to three turns. The only kids who really minded were Maria and Estella, the chinchilla twins, since they both did way better as a team than individually.

It was strange, watching everyone play rather than being the one playing. She’d been noticing things that she normally didn’t pay any attention to, like how Cedric was always watching Rob, and how Josh and Andy had somehow become way closer friends since spring break.

Since she’d started watching the anteater and wildcat, she’d started getting the feeling that they were more than just friends since spring break. They were just a bit too touchy-feely when they thought other people weren’t looking. Not that she minded; she thought the fact that they might be in love was kind of cute.

It was strange that Cedric was always watching Rob though. At first she’d thought it was just that the smaller chamois looked up to the bigger, older mountain goat, but that didn’t seem to fit. Cedric was actually better at most things than Rob was, especially sports. She knew they weren’t in love, and Rob was constantly showing off for girls, even herself. The chamois was awkward around girls like most boys his age, but that didn’t mean anything. She just couldn’t figure it out; it was a mystery.

Speaking of being awkward around girls, Alex glanced around the playground. Sure enough, Danny was still following Madelyn around the playground like a lost puppy dog. The border collie had been tripping over his own feet trailing behind the golden retriever girl around since the beginning of the school year. Madelyn was finally starting to pay attention to him though, instead of simply ignoring him. Poor Danny should have had his picture in the dictionary for the phrase ‘puppy love’, she thought, giggling to herself at the irony.

Alex sighed, crossing her legs and leaning back against the round cement pillar. The feel of sun-warmed stone on her back felt wonderful. If the ground wasn’t covered with loose asphalt grit, she’d have been tempted to lay on her side and curl up. Instead she had to make do by sitting indian style, trying to relax without pinching her tail, and simply let her mind wander.

Today had been a good day, except for the dull ache of her broken leg. Reading was fun, math had been easy, and she’d gotten a bit of time in drawing with colored pencils. For once the school had served a halfway decent lunch, without any of the usual brown, green, or grey goop. They’d served swiss cheese sandwiches (ham optional), ranch salad, and tomato soup. Yum. And breakfast had been perfect; Dad made the best french toast. Actually, literally everything about the day had been good, especially waking up in Mom’s arms.

If today had been good, last night had been amazing. Lizzy was absolutely right; sex as a girl was better than milk and cookies, or pizza, or kissing, or birthday presents... or pretty much anything. It had definitely stung at first though, cause daddy was huge. It wasn’t bad though, just a stretchy feel, like trying to reach past your toes. But feeling someone inside you was Totally Worth It. Especially having dad inside her. For a moment she wondered if it would be possible to mate more than one person at once. Mating with mom and dad at the same time would-

“Hey, Alex! What the hell is that?”

Alex blinked, looking around. Robert’s obnoxiously loud voice was impossible to miss. That, and he was walking over to her.

“What, Rob? I was trying to nap.”

“Yeah, I realized that, cripple-cat,” the big goat-boy said, standing over her. “What the hell is that under your skirt? Hiding something from us?”

Alex looked down even as the fur on the back of her neck went up. Her hand shot over her crotch to hide her boner, but it was too late. Panic started to set in when she realized just how bad this was.

“Hah! I was right! You’re a boy!” he said loudly, pointing at her crotch. “So why do you wear skirts and shit to school, girly boy? Are you gay? Or just like to pretend you’re a girl? Freak.”

Alex pulled her legs in, shaking. This couldn’t be real; she must be dreaming. It was just like the nightmares she had. Only it felt far too real to be a nightmare.

“What’s the matter, freak?” The big goat asked acidly. “Cat got your tongue?”

Both Elizabeth and Cedric ran up at that point, both panting from their brief run across the paved courtyard from the wall-ball court to where Alex was sitting. Elizabeth looked angry and Cedric looked concerned.

“Alex isn’t a freak, you big jerk,” Elizabeth said loudly, getting stares from several other children, and attracting a small crowd.

“Yes, she is, runt. Or should I say ‘yes, he is’?” Robert said loudly, sneering.

Alex sat there, hugging her knees to her chest, quivering as panic overwhelmed her. She knew she should say something, defend herself, but somehow she couldn’t. This was too much like the nightmares she’d had over and over for years now. The only difference was she wasn’t naked.

“What the hell are you talking about, goat boy?” One of the fifth graders asked pushing through the crowd of children that had started to form from nearby areas of the playground. The badger stood head and shoulders above the smaller third and fourth graders that had this recess period.

“What do you think I’m talking about Dennis?” Robert spat out, pointing down at the tigress huddled against the cement pillar. “Freak here has a dick. He’s no girl at all, he just dresses like one. Bet he watches My Little Pony and plays with Barbies too.”

“Leave Alex alone you bully,” Elizabeth yelled, running at the bigger boy in a flurry of lace and petticoats.

Robert dodged to the side, shoving the much smaller stoat hard as she went by, sending her rolling across the asphalt towards the big badger, who reached down and picked her up by the back of her now torn and filthy dress.

“Let me go, you big meanie!” Elizabeth yelled as the badger held on to her.

“I don’t think so, pipsqueak. Fighting is against the rules. I should know... I’ve been sent to the principles three times in the past two weeks,” Dennis said with a mean smile as Elizabeth began seriously struggling to get away from the large badger. “But if you insist...”

The badger let Elizabeth go, pushing her forwards and sending her sprawling across the asphalt next to Alex. Elizabeth yelled as she hit the ground, then began crying, holding one of her wrists.

Alex pushed herself to her feet, angry enough to have overcome the panic that had overwhelmed her, balancing awkwardly on her one good leg. She looked back and forth between the large badger and her best friend lying on the ground, unable to decide who to deal with first: friend or foe.

“Whatcha gonna do, cripple-cat?” Robert taunted, walking up to her and poking her in the chest, shoving her back against the cement pillar she’d been resting against. Alex grabbed at the pillar behind her trying to keep her balance and not fall over, then snarled at him, baring fangs.

“Leave her alone, Rob,” Cedric said loudly from behind them. “She never did anything to you.”

Rob turned around, glaring. “She? She? Did you not hear me? Pussycat here doesn’t have a pussy. He has a dick. Here, I’ll show you,” he said, quickly turning around to the tiger cub holding onto the pillar behind her. He grabbed her skirt and yanked hard, pulling it down around her knees, where it caught on the top of her cast.

Alex clawed desperately at the pillar behind her to keep from falling and accidentally hitting her broken leg, even as the goat grabbed the top of her panties and yanked them down too. The tiger-cub abandoned her struggle to keep her balance, quickly throwing her hands down to cover herself even as she collapsed onto the unforgiving asphalt, yelping as her elbow and cast hit the blacktop. The pain was enough to make her start crying too.

“Stop it!” A loud voice screeched instantly silencing the playground, as Mrs. Eaglantine and a huge bison in a pantsuit pushed through the dense crowd of elementary students. The bald eagle knelt down on the crying tiger cub, immediately picking her up and standing her upright before pulling Alex’s panties back up. Many of the students gathered around began whispering; for a moment many of them had glimpsed with their own eyes what the goat had been ranting about.

The bison took hold of Rob’s horns, holding them in a grip so strong that the ten-year old goat couldn’t move his head so much as an inch. Then she caught sight of the badger inching back into the crowd. “Why am I not surprised that you would be involved in this as well, Dennis?” she said, crossing the gap between them and taking hold of the badger’s arm as well. “Looks like you’ll be making another trip to my office.”

Meanwhile, Mrs. Eaglantine had finished re-dressing the bawling tiger cub and managed to get Elizabeth on her feet as well. “Cedric,” she snapped after glancing around to see if any of her students were nearby. “Get Alex’s crutches and follow me, I’ve got to get Alex and Lizzy here to the nurse’s office. Can you walk, Lizzy?” She asked, turning back to the sniffling stoat who was still holding her injured wrist. Elizabeth nodded.

“Okay then. Follow me. Alex, I’m going to pick you up and carry you. Is that okay?” the slender eagle asked.

Alex nodded, tears streaming down her face.

“Good. Hold on tight to my neck, okay?” she asked, waiting for a response. With Alex’s second nod the teacher slung one of Alex’s arms over her neck and picked the tiger cub up, cradling her by the knees and back. A moment later both faculty members and five cubs were on their way to the main office, leaving dozens of other students behind on the playground, all of them whispering about the fight and the skirt-wearing tiger-boy.

__________________________________________________


Raenne sighed, relaxing on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa. David had been over an hour late leaving for work, but he’d left content in the knowledge that she’d been justified in almost everything she’d done. Or that’s what he’d said, anyway. She was pretty sure that the poor man was getting more than a bit frazzled; understandably so given the events of the past week or so.

She took a sip of the rich chocolate beverage, savoring the sweet cocoa and faint hint of raspberries. Chocolate always helped her feel better, and honestly, she needed it. Spilling her guts to David had definitely taken some effort, especially while trying to convince him that she hadn’t been putting herself at risk. The unsanctioned in-extremis hostage rescue missions she’d undertaken for Academi hadn’t been that dangerous; she’d been a member of the Special Forces for God’s sake. Sure, she’d been out of the army for a while now, but that sort of shit wasn’t something you just forgot.

Now, though... that was all behind her. She’d finally closed the book on that chapter of her life. Her email accounts and profiles had been deleted, and she’d gotten off the phone with Academi only ten minutes ago, telling them she was retiring. It was kind of depressing though, knowing that she was only a soccer mom and martial arts instructor now.

There was only one last part of her ugly past left to deal with: her family. There was no way the Kaminski’s were going to simply drop all the sordid, bloody, and highly lucrative criminal activities they had their fingers in. Even after she’d-

The chiming of the phone on the coffee table interrupted her musings. She set her mug of hot cocoa down, taking up the phone instead, swiping to answer it. She held up the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hello. This is Principal Sihásapa of Byrom Elementary. Is this Raenne Andreyev?” she heard the voice on the phone say.

“Yes. What is it?” the tigress asked, starting to become slightly worried.

“It appears that your daughter Alexandrea was involved in an altercation during afternoon recess, and was injured. She’s currently in the nurse’s office. It’s possible she may have re-broken her leg. Would you like us to have her taken to a hospital, or wait until-”

“Keep her in the nurse’s office. I’ll be right there,” Raenne interrupted, hanging up the phone and pushing up off the couch.

Less than five minutes later, Raenne was pulling into the rather tiny Byrom parking lot, pulling into the last open slot. The car door slammed behind her as she ran up to the front doors, yanking them open and stepping across the small foyer and into the school office. The secretary behind the desk looked up.

“May I    help you?” the young finch asked.

“Yes, I’m Raenne Andreyev. I was told my daughter was injured,” the tigress answered.

“Ah, yes,” the secretary said, standing up and walking to one of the doors lining the office’s left wall. “She’s quieted down, but we kept her in the nurse’s office as you asked,” the finch said as she pushed the door open.

Inside, Alex was sitting on a padded table with her leg propped up on a pillow. Surprisingly, Elizabeth was sitting on a chair along the back wall, and both of them were talking with a large bison in a pantsuit and a field mouse wearing a white doctor’s coat. All four of them looked up as the door opened.

“Mom,” Alex cried, practically sobbing with relief.

“Hey kiddo,” Raenne said, quickly walking over to her and giving her a hug. “You doing alright?”

“Kinda...” the tiger-cub said, sniffling.

The bison turned around. “Ah, you must be Mrs. Andreyev,” the tall, broad woman said, holding out a massive hand. Raenne let go of her daughter and shook the principal’s hand, noticing the odd fingertips, each of which ended with a hard black hoof-like tip.

“I’m Sarah Sihásapa, the principal,” the bison said before waving a hand at the field mouse in the doctor’s coat, “and this is Nancy Gardner, our nurse. Alex here was being bullied today during second recess. Elizabeth here tried to defend her, and wound up getting pushed around. Her mother Julia should be arriving shortly.”

As if mentioning her name had summoned her, Julia stepped into the small nurse’s office, which was getting decidedly crowded at this point. She immediately went over to Elizabeth, kneeling in front of the tiny stoat and asking what had happened.

Two minutes later, everything had been explained. Raenne’s face was a mask of barely contained anger. “So, you’re saying that these two boys assaulted a mere slip of a girl,” she said, gesturing at Elizabeth, “and my daughter, who has a broken leg?”

The principal held up a hand, trying to placate the angry tigress. “I wouldn’t put it that way. Nobody was seriously injured, after-”

“No, I’m sure you wouldn’t put it that way, since you don’t want the school to be held responsible. Regardless, that’s exactly what happened,” Raenne said, pulling out her cell phone, and tapping on the device, raising it to her ear after a moment.

The bison’s expression fell as the woman began speaking, obviously talking to a member of the local police department. She sighed; this was going to require way too much paperwork.", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Revelations - Chapter 26: Too Many Secrets", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/rtf", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "1", "rating_name": "Mature", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "2", "name": "Nudity", "description": "Nonsexual nudity exposing breasts or genitals (must not show arousal)", "rating_id": "1" }, { "content_tag_id": "3", "name": "Violence", "description": "Mild violence", "rating_id": "1" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "15", "views": "465" }