Midwinter Miracles
by IndigoNeko and Cormenthor

David Andreyev, Raenne Andreyev, Alexandrea Andreyev, Elizabeth Stouffer, Terrence Stouffer, Julia Stouffer, Charlotte Schneider, and Hikari Arakaki are © IndigoNeko

Allison Garland, Sebastian Mendelssohn, Aaron Reynolds, James Brady, Erin Dewitt, and Charles Waymire are © Cormenthor

WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR ANYONE READING THE     ONGOING REVELATIONS NOVEL BY INDIGONEKO.

=^.^=

Tuesday, Dec. 22nd, 2015

David winced as loose paper and curses filled the air. His wife was becoming more and more frustrated, and understandably so. All three architecture firms in the Winter Creek and Prairie Flats area had declined their unusual request, stating that it was something that they were ‘unequipped to handle’. The dozen or so private architects they’d called up had said pretty much the same. The only assistance they’d gotten so far was from the one firm actually in Winter Creek, which had given them a list of the required design factors and items required for the building plan review, which they hadn’t been able to find online.

Unfortunately, neither of them had any clue what the listed design factors meant. Seismic Zone, exposure, roof snow load, wind load, frost depth, ground snow load… the list seemed to go on and on. Looking some of it up online had enlightened them as to the basics, but the real meat of the calculations were… complicated. They were going to have to either spend a few months reading textbooks on architectural engineering, or hire someone from out of town to do it for them.

“Love, are you absolutely sure that it has to be a Japanese style building?” David asked hesitantly. He’d already asked twice now, and wasn’t sure if asking a third time was going to put him in the proverbial dog house, but at this point he couldn’t see any chance of this ever happening. “I mean, we already looked at that warehouse downtown, and it wouldn’t be that-”

“Shut. Up,” came the angry response from the dining room. Raenne’s black and orange striped tail twitched behind her like an angry snake. For a moment, the house was silent, with neither of the two tigers wanting to make the situation worse with an argument.

Raenne curled her paws into tight fists, barely noticing as her claw-tips dug into her palms. After a moment she pushed her chair back from the dining room table and stood up. She stretched a moment, bemoaning her all-too-obvious pregnancy, and decided to take out some of her frustrations in a more constructive fashion than throwing paper around.

The lack of any kind of gym or dojo in the local area was driving her stir-crazy. There were a few dojos in Prairie Flats: generic tae kwon do and karate run by unaccredited “black belts” who weren’t part of any national or international organizations. As far as the tigress knew, they’d ordered their belts on Amazon. There was a halfway decent MMA training gym, but they didn’t give a damn for tradition or discipline; just the ability to beat the shit out of people.

The solution? Start her own dojo. One that would make her old master proud.

Anyone except her husband would probably have said she was irritated, watching her stalk across the living room and pulling open the door to the garage. David, however, knew from over twelve years of marriage now that his wife was absolutely furious. She’d been making calls for three days now, trying to find anyone that could help them.

Money wasn’t an issue; they’d sold their old house in Tualatin within two weeks of putting it up on the market. Since housing out here was perhaps a quarter the cost of housing back in Tualatin, they had enough funds to buy their new house three times over.

The new house almost 800 square foot larger, with two more bedrooms, a full-sized office, and a den, but it didn’t have any sort of basement they could use to practice in. Consequently, all their exercise equipment and gym mats were crammed into the tiny two-car garage and their SUVs were sitting in the driveway. Which was where his wife had gone. A few moments later he heard several loud thumps coming from the garage; the sound of someone beating the hell out of the one punching bag they’d hung from the support beam in the garage.

David chewed on his lower lip, wondering if there was anything he could do that might help. Alexandrea would have been able to calm Raenne down...except that shi was currently two thousand miles away, visiting hir best friend back in Tualatin now that it was winter break.

Frowning, the monochrome tiger picked up the book sitting on the coffee table in front of him, one he’d found in the local bookstore on the self-help shelf. It was almost as old as he was, but the mathematics of structural and mechanical engineering didn’t exactly change. It couldn’t be that hard to write a simulation that would calculate wind load and roof snow load... once he figured out the equations.

=^.^=

An hour later, Raenne found herself wandering through downtown Winter Creek. How she’d gotten there was kind of a haze, but at least she’d had the sense of mind to throw on a coat, gloves, and hiking boots. That was definitely a good thing since the sidewalks were starting to become slippery.

The reason was obvious: snow. Just enough to dust everything in white. However, it was more than cold enough to stick, which was the problem. The cold didn’t bother her, but the combination of cold and snow...well...it would probably be best if she headed home now, before it became downright dangerous. The last thing she wanted right now was a sprained ankle, and slipping and falling while in her third trimester could potentially be much, much worse.

The downtown strip that she had found herself on was a riot of colorful store-fronts, all of them flush against the sidewalk and without so much as an inch of space between them. Some were single-story, some two-story, but not a single one was higher. If she had to guess, there was probably some stupid local ordinance limiting the height of buildings. Some towns in Oregon had such laws. Corvallis, for example, prohibited buildings taller than the courthouse in the downtown area.

The storefronts were about as colorful as you could imagine. White and pink, yellow and teal, red and yellow, olive and beige, white and brick...Everywhere she looked was some other combination. Hardware store, flower shop, butcher’s shop...

That was when she spotted Aunt Alice’s Sweets and Treats. The shop looked like some kind of bakery, and now that she was thinking about it, smelled like one too. Hmm. Going home could wait a few more minutes. Actually, maybe if they had someplace to sit inside she could simply call her husband and have him come pick her up. If they didn’t, well...it wasn’t that cold out here. Not for someone whose ancestors came from northern russia. But right now, she could kill for a decent donut.

Being careful not to slip on the snow, the tall tigress walked over to the front door of the bakery, turned the doorknob, and pushed it open. A bell hanging above the inside of the door jingled slightly, and the mustelid behind the register looked up as she stepped in. Raenne had no idea exactly what species she was, and at this point didn’t care… she was too busy staring at the awesome variety of baked goods concealed in this tiny store.

The shop had that unique small-town mom and pop store feel, with a couple of tables and chairs on one side, and a glass display that ran the length of the store on the other. There were so many different baked goods on display that she couldn’t name more than a quarter of them, and the smell, dear Lord the smell... if she didn’t know better she’d have thought she’d died and gone to heaven.

Practically salivating, she walked along the display, stunned at how many varieties of baked goods they had. The combinations of shapes and sizes, frostings and toppings, were incredible. Spotting something that looked interesting, a piece of pastry that looked like it had been braided, glazed, and topped with powdered sugar, she looked up, only to see the cashier had been following her progress with a smile and was right there in front of her.

“Good afternoon, and welcome,” the pine marten greeted the tigress as she approached the counter, “anything in particular you’re looking for, or would you prefer to browse a bit more first?”

“No, I was just browsing. This thing right here looks good though,” she said, pointing at the twist. “Does it have any filling in it, or it simply just glazed?”

“Both actually,” Allison Garland replied with a soft smile. “We make them with several fruit fillings as well as plain glazed, chocolate filled and Bavarian cream filled.”

“What kind of fruit fillings?”, Raenne asked cautiously. “Do you have any...um...unusual flavors?” Right now she was craving something strange. At least she hadn’t reached the point of begging her husband for pickles and shrimp-flavored ice cream or something bizarre like that.

Allison chuckled slightly, her smile growing a bit more as she shook her head a little. “Yes we do, ever since the private high school down in Prairie Flats started that weird sex ed class we’ve been getting some… unusual requests. In fact the girls are just about finished with a batch of, well, less traditional fruit filling combinations.”

The tigress blinked at the mention of high school sex ed, then narrowed her eyes. “What exactly do you mean by ‘weird’ sex ed classes?”, she asked. “And do you happen to have anything with mango or papaya?”

“Well… unconventional, I should have said. Like any other class of that type they cover the usual topics. But to me having barely teenage girls going around in those… “ she said trailing off.

“Sim-suits mom,” a younger, nearly mirror image of the woman said as the younger female emerged from the back of the shop, a large tray of the twists in her paws. “They’re called simulation suits. Seriously mother,” the late teen girl said rolling her eyes, “it’s not that crazy of an idea for a girl to experience what can happen if she’s not careful.”

“Maybe not, but the whole idea of pairing them up with a pretend mate for a year… and those robotic infants… tell me you don’t think that’s way off the wall?”

“Not to me it isn’t,” another young female pine marten said emerging from the back as well, the mirror image of the first girl. “Michelle thinks it’s a little strange, but honestly if they had done this class two years ago, maybe Candy and Teresa wouldn’t be in the mess they are now. Here’s the last batch of the twists, mango, persimmon, papaya, passion fruit, and pineapple.”,

To raenne, this sounded like some crazy idea to simulate pregnancy. It was probably a good idea, actually. Right now though… she hadn’t had persimmon since she was in Japan for her last belt test. “Is that Japanese persimmon or American persimmon? Actually, it doesn’t matter,” she said, waving her hand. “I’ll take one.”

“Yes ma’am,” the younger pine marten said sliding the tray of sweets into the display case, taking up a tongs and plucking one of the confections from the tray and placing it on a small stoneware plate. “I know you and a lot of the other parents think having the kids paired up like that is strange, mom,” the younger female said as she sat the order on the counter. “But look at it this way, is it better for them to find out now at the least some of what it means to be a couple, and parents? Or is it better to just have it slap them in the muzzle out of the blue because they messed up?”

Looking to the tigress, rolling her eyes Allison said, “Will there be anything else today ma’am?”

“No, that’s it. Thank you,” she said, pulling a credit card out of her small purse. “Although...what do they do for children who are LGBT or aren’t gender-binary?”

Malinda looked back at the tigress. “Actually that’s one of the things I think is kind of cool about the class. If two kids are already kind of sweet on each other or dating, or whatever, they pair them up that way. If not then It’s up to them to find someone in their class to pair up with.”

“As far as herms or ‘non standard’,” the other of the twin girls chimed in throwing up air quotes in emphasis, “they can pair up with whoever they want. Prairie Flats Prep is kind of neat in the way gender is handled.”

“Interesting. My oldest won’t be in high school for a couple more years. Hopefully they’ll have worked out most of the issues with the program by then,” she said, handing over her credit card. “Oh, and by the way, do you know anyone in town that might be able to help with... unusual building design, construction, and permits? I’ve called practically every architect in the phone directory and they’re all unwilling or unable to help.”

“Sebastian Mendelssohn,” Allison said with only a moment of pause. “If anyone around here would get his paws in unusual architectural design it would be him. He had a paw in designing that spaceship house over around Golden,” she added scribbling the man’s info on the back of a strip of receipt paper. “He’s been a regular customer for the last few years, always bugging me about a new design for the shop too. Doubt the town council would approve a giant cup cake in the middle of downtown though.”

Raenne blinked again. It was almost as if she’d been drawn here by fate. She certainly hadn’t seen that name in the phone directory listing, and she would have remembered; she absolutely loved classical music. “Uh...Thank you very, very much. But what do you mean about the council? I thought that you just needed to submit a few copies of the architectural plans, and if they were up to code, you get a permit.”

“Generally speaking it would be that simple. But someone on the council has an asinine idea about what is and isn’t acceptable in downtown. Folks around town say because who ever it is with a feather up their butt doesn’t want downtown looking tourist trappy. For my money… I’d say it’s just one of the three old farts on the council that seem to think the town should look like it did sixty years ago,” the pine marten replied while running the credit card and printing out a receipt. 

If Raenne were even remotely inclined to believe in providence, fate, or destiny; she’d have taken this as a sign from God...or the Lady, as her daughter would have said. As it was, she took it as incredibly good luck. As she signed the receipt, she quickly scribbled $50 in the tip line before handing it back, keeping the slip of paper with Sebastian’s information. “Do you think he’ll be available this time of day?”, she asked, picking up the plate and pastry.

“If he’s not passed out in a food coma,” one of the twins piped up as they walked back towards the kitchen area of the bakery.

With a little snicker Allison added, “He should be. The last project that I know of he finished over a year ago. He doesn’t take many projects on these days. Most people aren’t open to his ideas, or his ways of doing things. Just tell him Alli sent you. If what you have in mind gets him going, he’ll help make it happen.”

“Thank you very much,” Raenne said once again, taking the pastry and walking over to one of the small tables. She snagged a couple of napkins from the dispenser in the middle of the table and sat down, then picked up the twist to take a bite. Normally she wasn’t a huge persimmon fan, but at the moment the sweet jam filling tasted absolutely divine. Hopefully her taste buds would return to normal after her own pair of twins were no longer occupying her belly. Last night she’d eaten three hot dogs covered in sweet relish… and she normally hated sweet relish. 

=^.^=

“My God, this is good,” Raenne muttered to herself, taking yet another bite. It was just what she’d been wanting. Or rather, one of the things she’d been wanting. The other thing was written down on the back of the slip of paper sitting on the table. She read his information, checking if Alli, as she’d called herself, had included a phone number along with his name and address. Seeing a number, she quickly pulled out her phone and dialed it, waiting for a ring tone.

Sebastian Mendelssohn was just pouring himself a cup of Earl Grey tea when the phone began to ring. With a slight frown at the interruption he retrieved the handset, ”Mendelssohn residence, to whom do I have the pleasure of forgoing my tea to speak with?”     

“Uhh...My name is Raenne Andreyev. My apologies for interrupting your tea, Mr. Mendolssohn. If this is a bad time I can call you back later,” the tigress said, not wanting to make a bad first impression.

“Quite the contrary madame. However, if you would indulge an old mink for but a moment whilst I retrieve my cup, you may bend my ear for as long as you see fit.” Without waiting for a response he lay the phone handset on the kitchen counter and walked across the room, returning a moment later. Taking the receiver in his paw and bringing it to his ear again, he spoke. “Now Miss Andreyev, to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing such a wonderful voice?”

Slightly taken aback by the rather formal tone he took, and wondering just what it was with the number of mustelids she came across, she took a second before answering. “Well, I was given your contact information by a very kind lady named Alli, here at the bakery downtown. Me and my husband recently moved into town, and have had scant luck in finding a suitable place to teach martial arts in the area. There’s a warehouse close to downtown that could be remodelled, but I was hoping to find something a bit less… umm… tacky. Since we haven’t, I started looking into seeing if a proper japanese dojo could be built in the area, but none of the architecture firms here in Winter Creek or Prairie Flats or any of the independent architects have been either willing or able to help.”

After listening quietly as the woman explained the situation Sebastian took a shallow breath. “A dojo... in Winter Creek. An interesting proposition. Unless you are speaking of yet another one of those appalling storefront excuses for a martial arts academy that seem to spring up in Prairie Flats like weeds.” He fell silent for a moment, pondering the possible challenge the voice on the phone might be posing. “Now something more traditional and in keeping with the heritage of the arts, that would be something far more interesting.”

“I was hoping to have something built that was more traditional. Now that I think about it, that may be why the other people we’ve called have declined. Alli here said something about the council refusing to grant permits for buildings that didn’t match the rest of the town’s… um… decor.”

“That may indeed be part of their reason,” the older mink replied. “Though I would imagine an equally large part lies in the fact that the idiots can’t begin to fathom how they are going to make a design like that work while fulfilling the current code requirements. After all, the traditional design is quite fitting in a climate such as Japan. Here in the Rocky Mountains, there are many more things that have to be taken into account: wind speeds, wind shear forces, the stress of     snow on a structure comprised of paper walls. Not to mention a roof made up of ceramic tiles.”

“I...uh...actually, my husband and I were starting to look into that when we realized that nobody else was willing to help. I mean, about the wind load and snow load stuff.” The tigress said, almost forgetting about the pastry on the plate in front of her as she got into the conversation. “But when we realized how windy it gets around here, we started to wonder if the rice paper walls were even possible. I was thinking we’d have to use plexiglass with a film over it...”

“An interesting idea, though I do have an alternative in mind,” Sebastian replied accompanied by the sound of creaking leather. “Tyvek. It’s used for many consumer products and packaging. In the housing industry it is used as a house wrap to reduce air flow and heat loss. Fortunately, I know of a manufacturer that will supply the material without the usual printed in markings, and may be able to change the finishing process enough that it could mimic rice paper.”

“Is that the stuff they use for hazmat suits?” she asked curiously. “I think I remember someone saying something about that when I was in the army. I thought it was always bright white.”

“Yes, it is. The bright white is a standard coloration, to make damage or cuts more visible. It can be dyed or printed with nearly any pattern and even be textured.” Pausing for a moment the older man tapped a pencil on his desk in thought. “The roof… I would have to look into a few methods that I have used before, but I believe that encased hidden steel beams in strategic load bearing members would take care of the weight and wind stress problems.”

“Hmm...You mean using steel H-beams for support and putting wood paneling around them?” She asked, sounding more than a bit hesitant. “That doesn’t sound as...traditional as I was hoping, but if there’s no other way to meet seismic and load bearing requirements...”

“Yes to using steel beams, but no to simply paneling them in. There is a local artisan… James… something. His last name escapes me at the moment but I do have his contact info. He’s figured out a way to insert steel beams into wooden beams or pillars. What you end up with is the traditional wood look, with the increased load and stress bearing capabilities of a steel beam.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing. But what about the main roofing material and ceramic tiles?”

“That I will have to look into a bit further,” the mink replied. “The building codes are tight, but there are still a few things one can wiggle with as long as the core design is sound. Within the downtown area it would be tough, but if your dojo were more removed from that area… we could gain enough leeway to satisfy the building codes with traditional materials and design.”

“At first I just wanted it closer to downtown, simply to get more students. But now that I think about it, I’m not sure I want more students so much as dedicated students. And putting it a bit further north, up the mountainside a bit, might make it easier to get around the council. Especially if it’s got a few large trees around it to sort of obscure it from sight down in the valley here. If we could find a large enough flat spot, we could include a courtyard to train outdoors in the summer...maybe with some of those cherry trees you see in hokkaido...” she said, trailing off a bit, sounding somewhat wistful.

“That would take some of the pressure off. Current building codes will still need to be met, though not being in the main business area would eliminate the council's interference. North, or northwest would be a likely area, the slopes are more gentle and there are several nearly flat parcels that may suit your needs,” Sebastian said, a more cheerful tone to his voice.

“Yes, that would probably work…” Raenne mused, before catching herself. “Wait, here I am talking as if this was a done deal. My apologies. It sounds as if you’re interested in the project. Would you be willing to take this commission?”

“Interested? Most definitely Mrs. Andreyev, but as of yet I have no idea what kind of a budget you would be working with.”

“Um...around $400,000. Maybe a bit more if I can convince my husband to help with the finances.”

“Excellent. Give me a day or two to work out some of the details before we meet in the fur and discuss things. That will also give me time to… persuade a few old acquaintances that owe me favors to be more amenable to such a project.” Sebastian said, what almost sounded like a chuckle in his voice.

She waited a second, then asked the one major question that had been nagging her. “Do you really think it’s possible to build something like a traditional japanese dojo out here, especially on that kind of limited funds? I mean, $400,000 doesn’t go very far at all…” She said, thinking of the housing costs out in the Portland Metro area.

A quiet chuckle escaped his lips before he answered. “One thing you will learn, Mrs. Andreyev, is that better class architects and building contractors are far more concerned with their reputations than they are with financial gain. One thing I have learned in my time living in this area is to put some faith in something the locals say. They say that the cosmos will provide what we seek, if we’re attentive enough to see the opportunities when they come. I have had the good fortune to be witness to that on several occasions.”

“Huh...that sounds like something some of the kids my daughter has been hanging out with might say. About the cosmos providing what we seek, I mean,” she said, nibbling her lower lip. “In either case, if you think it’s possible then I shall put my faith in you.” Since you’re the only one who has been willing to help thus far, she thought to herself, I don’t exactly have a choice. “Thank you,” she added.

“You are very welcome. It has been far too long since a project has tickled that part of me that loves a challenge. Believe in your dreams, we will do our best to make them reality.” After a short pause the mink added, “Good afternoon Mrs. Andreyev.”

“Have a good afternoon as well Mr. Mendelssohn.” she said, waiting for a moment before hanging up. She stared blankly into space, feeling as if she was stepping into the vast unknown, and yet somehow relieved. The mink had sounded both eccentric and professional, and somehow she had the feeling that if anyone would manage to make this project a reality, it would be him. She glanced down at the rest of the pastry on the plate in front of her and smiled, picking it up and taking one last delicious bite of her glazed persimmon twist.

=^.^=

Friday, December 25th, 2015

“Hey, wake up sleepy kitty! It’s Christmas!” the little stoat-hybrid said, shaking her best friend awake.

The tiger cub groaned as shi was shaken into wakefulness, blinking more than a few time to clear the sleep from hir eyes.

Once Elizabeth was sure that Alexandrea was awake, she threw back the covers and crawled to the foot of the bed to retrieve her nightgown, which she hastily threw on. Alex, not being nearly as much of a morning person, groggily rolled over, slipping off the side of the bed and and bending down to retrieve hir own nightclothes while Elizabeth slipped out of the room and headed towards the bathroom.

After dressing, Alexandrea took a few moments to rub the sleep from hir eyes and do a few stretches. By the time shi was done, Elizabeth had appeared again, anxious to head downstairs. “Come on! I wanna see what we got for Christmas!”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” the tigress said, following hir best friend as she darted down the two flights of stairs to the ground floor. Alex was still getting used to how much more active Elizabeth was now.

Lizzy had gotten much, much better since they’d last seen each other in August. Healthier, more active, stronger...probably because of all the swimming she did. It made Alex glad shi’d gotten the little stoat into doing laps and timing herself, rather than simply bobbing around in the pool like she had been over a year ago.

On the other paw, Alex had grown over two inches since then, whereas Lizzy hadn’t grown hardly at all. Shi was nearly a half foot taller than the little stoat-hybrid now, halfway between Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s mother Julia in height. Another year or two and shi’d probably be taller than Julia was. That wasn’t all that surprising though...hir own mom was over a foot taller than Julia was, and hir dad was taller still.

Alex heard Elizabeth’s exclamation of surprise as she turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs, standing at the doorway leading to the living room. A moment later, Alex caught up to her, and gasped as well. The tree they’d all decorated after Alex had arrived was all lit up, and tons of presents were piled underneath.

Neither of the cubs heard the door open on the second floor, or the muffled footsteps of Elizabeth’s parents. But before the two cubs had managed to do more than start looking at labels, Terrence and Julia appeared in the doorway, both wearing bathrobes and with a camcorder in the male ferret’s paws.

By the time about a third of the presents had been unwrapped, accompanied by much delighted yelling and giggles, the doberman housemaid, Charlotte, had joined them along with her current boyfriend, a japanese macaque named Hikari. Both of them sat together on the couch, snuggling and watching the two cubs gleefully tossing wrapping and packaging about, and occasionally getting tossed gifts of their own to unwrap.

For Hikari, this was a first. His own family was much, much more subdued when it came to Christmas celebrations. Truth be told, his parents were both visiting their own families in Japan. He had declined, opting instead to stay home this year. He didn’t get along particularly well with his cousins across the Pacific, and even less so with his aunts and uncles and the other family elders. They were constantly pressuring him to become a doctor or lawyer, which he had no intention whatsoever of becoming. Actually, the only two things he was interested in right now were Charlotte and archeology, especially now that he had his black belt. Finally.

Once all the gifts had been unwrapped, leaving the two cubs with piles and piles of loot, and both Charlotte and Hikari with their own tidy pile of stuff (dvds, books, candy, clothes, games, skis and snowboards, lift tickets for Mt. Hood, and so on) the six of them headed into the kitchen, where Charlotte and Alex set to making pancakes and waffles for everyone.

Over the summer, Alexandrea had developed a much greater appreciation for cooking and anime, thanks mostly to her enforced inactivity while her leg healed, and become good friends with Charlotte. Thus it was no surprise to anyone that the two of them decided to cook breakfast for everyone else.

When breakfast was over and the kitchen and living room had been tidied, the six of them went their separate ways. Charlotte and Hikari returned to Charlotte’s room, Julia and Terrence retired to their own room again, and Alex and Elizabeth decided to take a bath together before getting down to the more serious business of playing the newest video game that Elizabeth had picked up...a cute indie game about someone who had fallen into a cave filled with monsters.

Snagging Alex’s paw in one hand, Elizabeth raced up the stairs once the kitchen and living room had been cleaned, dragging her up both flights of stairs to the third floor where Elizabeth’s bedroom was located.

“Come on, it’ll be fun. Once we’re dressed we can play Undertale,” Elizabeth said, outlining her plan for the day’s activities. “Then watch a movie.”

“Okay, okay,” Alex acquiesced, pulled along behind the much smaller stoat hybrid.

Both cubs were panting slightly by the time they reached the top floor. Alex quickly dug through hir suitcase and pulled out a set of clothes, hir standard outfit of capris and babydoll tee. In deference to the winter chill in the air outside, shi also snagged a zip-up hoodie before following the little stoat into the bathroom.

Elizabeth was already in the process of filling the tub, having dropped her own outfit on the counter: jeans and a sweater-dress. Once she was satisfied with the temperature, she locked the drain and quickly shucked her nightgown, tossing it on the floor and then sitting on the edge of the tub, staring expectantly at Alex. Alex took the hint and quickly pulled off hir pajama top, dropping it on the floor before removing hir pajama pants as well.

“I still can’t believe you got boobs before I did,” Elizabeth said, grumbling and staring at Alex’s chest, which had developed a pair of small but noticeable bumps in the past six months.

“They’re not boobs...Mom said it’ll probably be like another two years before they’re really boobs.”

“Whatever. I still don’t have anything,” Lizzy said, rubbing her paws down her chest.

“Well, your mom’s boobs aren’t really big, but she’s got like...six of them. Are you going to have six boobs?” Alex asked, lifting one leg over the edge and straddling the wide lip of the tub for a moment before sitting down on it, lazily running hir toes through the warm water.

“Mother has eight, actually. You can’t really see the last two...they’re completely flat,” Elizabeth said, letting her tail droop into the water, the black tip creating a strange cloud of swirling darkness in the tub behind her. Once again, all of her fur save for her tail tip and the hint of a mask on her face had turned pristine white when her winter coat came in near the beginning of November.

“Well?”

“Well what? Oh...umm...I don’t know. Probably. I found a second pair of nipples...at least I think they’re nipples,” she said, rubbing the fur near the bottom of her rib cage. “But it doesn’t mean I’ll get more boobs. Or that’s what mom said.”

“You know, it’s really weird that you don’t have boobs. I mean, your anemia’s from estrogen toxicity, which means you’ve got a ton of estrogen. And that’s what makes boobs grow. So why don’t you have boobs?”

Elizabeth opened her mouth for a moment, then shut it again, frowning. “You know, that’s a good question…Maybe I just need to eat more.”

“Yeah, you do. You’re still skinny as a rail, and all that swimming isn’t helping,” Alex said, poking at Elizabeth’s side where the edge of her ribs was clearly visible despite her fur. “Dad’s making me eat more too, but it’s just making me taller.”

“Okay, I’ll try eating more and seeing if that helps,” she said, testing the water now that the tub was over halfway full. Reaching over, she flipped the faucet off and then carefully slid into the tub, sighing in delight. Alex did the same.

For a minute or so, both of the cubs simply soaked in the tub, Alex periodically dunking hir head in the water and pushing hir headfur out of the way. It was a couple of inches long, now that shi’d decided to grow it out a bit, though shi hadn’t decided whether to dye it black or orange yet, or simply keep it natural, matching hir fur pattern.

After Alex closed her eyes, leaning against the back of the tub, Lizzy swam the short distance over to hir, until her nose was almost touching the tigress’.

“Hey, sexy kitty. I’m kind of horny.”

Alex’s eyes popped open, blinking at how close Lizzy was. “Again? Didn’t you get enough last night?” Alex asked almost incredulously.

“Well...yes. But that was last night. This is this morning,” the little stoat said, gently taking hold of Alex’s testes underwater, squeezing them ever so gently before letting go and reaching a bit further down, running her middle finger through Alex’s feminine folds. The tigress twitched slightly, then gasped as Elizabeth curled her finger up, pressing slightly. Almost effortlessly, the stoat managed to get her finger all the way up to her second knuckle, wiggling it around inside the tigress’ flower before pulling it back out and adding a second finger.

Alex moaned as Lizzy fingered hir and hir masculine parts begin to stiffen as well. Elizabeth managed to get hir aroused with almost no effort at all, despite the two of them having spent over an hour mating the night before. Elizabeth had even managed to get hir to a dual-climax the last night with the nifty little feline-shaped dildo she had.

“Mmm...fine, I suppose I’ll have to help you out then,” Alex said with a smile, then leaned forward to give hir best friend a kiss.

Elizabeth smiled, pulling her fingers out of the tigress’ flower, then pushed her upper half back, leaning toward the front of the tub while reaching toward Alex with her toes. Alex quickly snagged Lizzy’s legs as shi leaned forward as well, pulling them together. The little stoat grinned, pressing her heels to Alex’s butt and pulling their hips together. It was no surprise to either of them that Alex’s penis was already fully stiff, rubbing against the stoat’s folds as their bodies came together.

Alex gripped Lizzy’s hips, holding her in place as shi tentatively bucked her hips. With their fur floating loose under the water it was almost impossible to see...but shi had no problems feeling when shi was in the right spot. Once shi thought shi’d found it, shi glanced up, meeting Lizzy’s big, glistening, black eyes. Elizabeth nodded, so shi pushed hirself forward, sliding an inch into the stoat’s flower. Shi gave a few more slight jerks, going a little deeper with each one.

It was surprisingly difficult to have sex underwater, shi thought, holding still for a few moments once shi’d gotten all the way in, hir sheath flush against the stoat’s folds. Lizzy wasn’t nearly as slippery as normal, probably because of the water. They were still a perfect fit for each other though, hir tip just barely touching the end of Lizzy’s passage.

“C’mon, sexy kitty, I’m hornyyyy!” the little stoat complained after a few moments, squeezing Alex’s hips with her legs.

“Okay, okay,” Alex said, pulling back out a couple of inches and pushing back in. A few moments later shi was thrusting in and out at a fairly decent clip, making waves in the tub.

Elizabeth loosened her legs a little as the tigress started to get up to speed, and lay back in the tub. Once Alex had gotten into a rhythm she relaxed, luxuriating in the warm water around her and the feel of her best friend inside her, even if she wasn’t nearly as slippery as normal. This last week had been absolutely wonderful, especially since she didn’t have to rely on her little toy when she got horny; Alexandrea was perfectly happy to take care of her when she wanted it.

Last year it hadn’t really bothered Elizabeth that father didn’t mate with her when she wasn’t in season. The itch was gone, so there wasn’t any need. This year...well...it didn’t seem to matter that the itch was gone; she was still horny after her season ended, and father flat out refused to mate with her out of season. The feline-shaped dildo in her private drawer had seen a heck of a lot of use since school started.

“Mmm,” the little stoat moaned as her insides began to tingle, signaling her impending orgasm. Alex knew exactly how fast to mate her, and managed to reach every last inch of her insides without being too big. Elizabeth had long-since learned just how sore you could become by mating with someone who was too big. Having a bruised cervix was not fun.

Alex began panting after about two minutes. Having aquatic sex with someone was a surprising amount of work, even if all shi was doing was holding onto Lizzy’s hips and moving hir own back and forth. Still, it was totally worth it...seeing Elizabeth’s contented smile afterwards was one of hir favorite things.

Elizabeth was starting to pant too; the tingle in her loins continued to grow as she focused on the feel of her tiger-kitty’s bumpy penis rubbing against the deepest parts of her flower. Alex had the perfect pace; just slow enough to feel those tiny bumps against her insides and fast enough to keep that funny feeling in her tummy growing.

Another minute passed with the sounds of water splashing about and the occasional soft moan as both of them came closer and closer to their respective climaxes. Elizabeth finally decided she was close enough and moved a tiny paw over her groin, resting a finger to either side of her clit and moving them up and down. That last, tiny bit of stimulation was just enough to get her over the crest. She let out a high-pitched keening noise as her insides clamped down around Alex’s length and her entire body began to shake.

Alexandrea grinned, feeling hir best friend’s passage tighten around hir length, but didn’t stop thrusting; shi was still quite a ways from hir own orgasm. Shi kept the same pace, drawing the little stoat’s orgasm out, and trying not to giggle as her face scrunched up. After a few moments, Elizabeth’s face relaxed into that contented smile that shi loved so much.

Elizabeth just lay there, blissfully relaxed as Alex continued to slowly thrust in and out of her passage, nerves on the verge of overstimulation. That was something she’d gotten used to in the past week though. Somehow Alex had learned how to keep going after shi had squirted, with only a short break to catch hir breath. As far as she knew, the tigress could keep going all day long. She wished Father could keep going all day long. Usually after the second or third time, he was done for the night.

It was perhaps another minute or so before Alex felt hir own orgasm approaching, and picked up the pace a little bit, making the waves around the edge of the tub. Finally it hit, hir insides tingling and hir balls drawing tight as hir penis begin to twitch. Shi pulled Elizabeth’s hips tight against hir own, the tip of hir length touching the very end of the little stoat’s passage. Jets of warm, white semen squirted against Elizabeth’s cervix, coating her insides and eventually leaking out into the water that surrounded them both.

After a few moments, Alex sat back on hir heels, pulling Lizzy with hir. Elizabeth grabbed Alex’s shoulders, pulling herself upright and hugging Alex tightly. “Thank you, sexy kitty,” the little stoat said, resting her head against Alex’s collarbone.

“You’re welcome, sexy stoat,” the tigress said, wrapping hir arms around Lizzy’s chest. “We should probably finish our bath though...the water’s going to get cold.”

Elizabeth sighed, then pushed herself back, reaching for the shampoo. 

=^.^=

Downstairs, on the second floor, Terrence followed his wife into their bedroom, closing the door behind them. A moment later, Julia turned around, wrapping her arms around him. Terrence returned the hug, holding her tight and wondering slightly what had prompted it. Then he felt one of her paws reach around his front and tug at the belt of his bathrobe.

Terrence leaned back slightly, letting his wife work at his belt. “Again? You didn’t get enough last night?”

“Oh, I think I did, but I just wanted to be sure,” she replied, finally getting the cloth belt undone. She quickly reached for her own, yanking on one end and causing the bow tie to unravel. Both of their bathrobes landed on the floor almost simultaneously.

Terrence gave his now-nude wife a deep kiss, gently cupping one of her lower breasts in the process and rubbing his thumb over the nipple there. She moaned into the kiss, reaching around his back and pulling him tighter. She hesitantly stuck her tongue out, licking his lips. Once he realized what she wanted, he opened his mouth slightly rubbing his tongue against hers. He wasn’t big on french kisses, but didn’t object.

Julia pulled back a moment later, then quickly turned around and sat on the bed, scooting backwards and resting her head against the pillows. Already aroused, she palmed both of her uppermost breasts, squeezing them slightly as she rubbed her legs together. Terrence smiled down at her, then joined her, crawling across the bed and laying next to her.

Knowing how much she loved having her tits played with, he bent over her chest, nuzzling at her lowest pair of breasts and licking at the tiny nipples poking out of her fur there. He cupped one of her middle breasts and began kneading it, then reached between her legs with his other paw. He gently rubbed his fingers against her damp slit, playing with her clit for a few moments while he suckled on her nipple.

Julia moaned, then gasped as she felt him nibble against one of her nipples. They were always absurdly sensitive the week before her monthly flow started, but it felt sooooo good to have them played with, and Terry knew exactly how to tweak them.

After a few moments, Terrence pulled back, blowing slightly on his wife’s now damp nipple before lavishing similar attention on the opposite one. He loved how they perked up when he played with them like that. When he glanced up at her face, her eyes were closed as she moaned and groped her uppermost tits, pulling at her nipples. Smiling, he moved his hand between her legs a bit lower, pushing his middle finger inside her.

“Oh God. Terry...you have magic hands. Don’t stop,” she said, now focusing more on the fingertip wiggling around inside her.

He had no plans of stopping at this point. Julia was wet enough that he didn’t need any lube for just one finger, and continued to rub her insides, pushing his finger in all the way to the third knuckle. He wiggled it around for a few moments, then pulled back and added a second finger to the mix.

After the last few months playing with those absurdly large toys she’d gotten over the summer, he had no problems getting multiple fingers inside her, with or without lube. After spending a few moments pumping his index and middle fingers into her, he pulled back out and leaned back.

Julia’s eyes popped open, wondering why he’d stopped. He was kneeling over her, reaching for the lube atop the shelf that was part of the head of the bed...and his dick was bouncing only a few inches from her head. Feeling slightly naughty, she reached out and gave it a lick, making him gasp. He sat back down before she could lick it again, then popped the lid open and squirted a generous portion of lube into one hand.

Tossing the bottle back where it came from, he quickly rubbed his hand down, all the way to the wrist. Julia’s eyes went wide, seeing that. “Wait, are you planning…?”

“Mmm-hmm,” he hummed, a wicked smile creeping across his face. 

Julia bit her lip. “Are you sure that you can fit your hand…?”

“You have no problems with that equine dildo now. I’m sure you can take my hand with no issue,” he said, sitting back down next to her hips.

Julia didn’t say anything, though her insides were practically tingling with anticipation. By the end of summer she’d managed to take the flared equine dildo for the first time. Now it was no problem at all, either width or length. Maybe he was right...she probably could take his fist at this point. What a wonderful Christmas gift that would be if she could, she thought, spreading her legs wide and absent-mindedly squeezing her uppermost breasts.

Terrence rested one hand atop her pubic bone, gently rubbing her clit with his thumb, then pressed the tips of his fingers against her opening. He’d carefully filed his claws down last night in preparation for this, dulling them and buffing them smooth. Pressing his index and pinky together, he closed all four fingers tight together before pushing them into her. It was remarkably easy, up to his palm. At that point she became very tight, gasping slightly. He stopped, waiting as her flesh clamped around his hand, waiting for her to relax. 

Julia couldn’t believe how big his hand felt. It didn’t feel like it was that much bigger than the latex equine shaft, but it definitely wasn’t round like the dildo, nor as flexible. A few seconds later, it felt like she’d relaxed enough to get a bit more in. “Okay...just a bit more.”

Terrence nodded, pressing slightly, feeling the tip of his thumb slip into her. Millimeter by millimeter, his hand slipped further inside of her, encouraged by the gentle pressure he was applying. By the time the last knuckle of his thumb pressed into her, she was panting and moaning, occasionally gasping. Once her labia slipped over that last knuckle, he paused, holding his paw inside her. It was a decidedly strange experience for him, and he had no doubt it was equally strange for her.

“My God your hand is so huge,” Julia said once she caught her breath. Having something so large inside of her was frighteningly arousing. She could already feel her orgasm starting to build, pushed along by the gentle stroking of his thumb against her clit.

“You know, this would probably be good practice for you...assuming I can still sire any children.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Julia said, flashing a glare at him. “The doctor said we’ve got a chance, so we’re going to do it. Period.”

Terrence didn’t say anything. The chances were so low that would be a miracle if it happened. Instead, he rotated his hand clockwise and back a bit, then started pressing his hand further into her. A few moments later he stopped, eyes wide. His hand was literally buried all the way to his wrist inside his wife. “Well,” he said with a grin, “it fit.”

Julia didn’t say anything, too focused on the incredible feel of having something so large stuffed inside her pussy. She was on the verge of orgasm already, both from having his hand in her and from that relentless stroking on her clit. Then she felt his fingers curling inside her, rubbing against her inner walls, searching for that slightly rough patch just behind her pubic bone. 

When he didn’t find it at first, he sighed, then moved his paw around, pressing upwards a bit. Her belly bulged slightly just above her pubic bone, showing the end of his fist. He felt his dick throb. Sooo hot. He pumped his fist slightly, pushing against her tummy from the inside, watching it move under her hide. Julia let out a gasp with every push, then let out a long moan.

Terrence stopped moving his hand around once Julia began wailing, feeling her insides tighten. It was so absurd, so strange, knowing his hand was actually inside her. He held her pelvis down with his other hand, preventing her from rolling around too much as she thrashed. It seemed like the bigger the object stuffed in her cunt, the bigger the orgasm she had. It almost made him wish his dick was bigger. Except that he wouldn’t be able to take care of Elizabeth if it were.

Eventually Julia’s orgasm came to an end, leaving her panting for breath and with a huge smile plastered on her muzzle. “God that was good,” she said between gasps. “Okay, take that hand out of me and replace it with that wonderful dick of yours, stud.”

Terrence smiled. “As you wish, angel,” he said, carefully, slowly tugging his paw out of her. It took a while, but once his knuckles passed her labia, the rest of his fingers slid out with a squelch. He watched for a moment as her gaping pussy slowly closed. It was always so strange to think that something that could take something so large could tighten back up again so quickly. 

Even after stuffing her cunt with over a foot of equine dildo, a minute later she’d be tight as ever. Too bad they wouldn’t be able to do that if she got pregnant...it was hot as hell seeing the flared tip pressing against the inside of her belly all the way up to her lowest pair of breasts. He wondered if he’d be able to get his fist all the way up inside her womb one day. That might not be a good idea though; at least not without latex gloves.

After snagging the hand towel from where it sat next to the lube, he wiped his paw off, then moved between his wife’s legs. He leaned over her and gave her a quick kiss, then pressed his tip against her pussy, sliding all the way into her with one quick thrust. He was already horny as hell from fisting her. It didn’t take more than a few thrusts before he blew his first load inside her, even as loose as she was. His dick felt like a fire hose for the first few shots, spraying his hot cum deep inside her. Gradually it tapered off, his dick continuing to twitch long after he’d run out of juice. 

He let out a deep breath, then reached back and hooked his arms under her knees, pulling her legs up around his shoulders. Then he leaned over her, staring his beautiful wife in the face, letting a grin make it’s way across his face. She blinked, then gasped as he began pumping in and out of her once again.

The two of them continued to mate with short, quick thrusts, Julia’s butt resting against his thighs, her feet in the air over his shoulders. As they mated, Terry’s semen oozed down the last inch of her passage and through her thoroughly-loosened cervix, coating the inside of her womb and eventually washing over a tiny egg that had been sitting there for the past two days. Against all odds, one of the few thousand sperm which managed to make it through his recently repaired vas deferens just happened to make contact, burrowing inside.

=^.^=

The door to Charlotte’s room swung open and the teenaged doberman strode in, tossing the last of her Christmas presents into a pile next to her bed. It had taken three trips to get it all, even with Hikari’s help. For a split second she debated taking a shower and putting on something other than pajamas...but it was Christmas day, the one day you were really supposed to relax, unless you intended to go to church, which she most definitely didn’t. Pajamas all day, it was.

Charlotte flopped onto her bed, sighing. Breakfast had been fantastically delicious, and now she had a huge pile of new anime to watch, along with tons of other odds and ends. She reached over the side of the bed, snagging one of the manga from amidst the pile of Christmas loot next to her bed.

Hikari joined her, lying down on his back next to her, also wearing pajamas. The bed was barely wide enough for two people. Not that it mattered; he’d been sleeping in the guest bedroom just down the hallway. 

He had to admit, it was awfully strange to be dating a girl who was living in someone else’s house. The Stouffers were very accepting of his presence though, which was a huge relief. Terrence and Julia were very nice people, and their daughter Elizabeth was an absolute doll. He kind of wished he had a younger sibling, especially one like her. Her friend Alex...his previous sensei’s daughter... was nice too, but tended to be a bit quieter, more introspective. Even in the past week, it had become obvious just how quick the little tigress was...both mentally and physically. He’d walked her through a few kata that she was supposedly learning earlier in the week and she’d picked them up far, far faster than he had...and then gone through them at full speed nearly as quickly as he could.

Charlotte nudged him, breaking him out of his reverie. “What’s this mean,” she asked, pointing at a few kanji.

“Artificial. Or mechanical, in this case.” he said.. 

“Oh. That makes sense. He’s a cyborg, I think.”

“Yup. I still can’t believe you haven’t read that yet. They’re actually making an anime out of it. The whole premise of it’s ridiculous...a hero association that fights mysterious beings? Please.” Hikari snorted in disgust. “But the characters are amazing,” he added, throwing his hands up. “I think Saitama is my spirit animal.” 

Charlotte smiled, then turned back to the manga in her paws. She flipped the page after a moment. Hikari relaxed, meditating. He still hadn’t quite decided what he wanted to do for college. Geography, history, and anthropology were the biggest fields that led towards becoming an archeologist, his dream job. Once past the undergraduate tedium, graduate studies involved a mix of all three, most heavily focused on anthropology.

Time passed pretty quickly as he mentally debated the pros and cons of each.     If he didn’t make the cut, at least he could focus on geography, which was arguably the most useful of the three degrees in the private sector. By the time Charlotte had turned the last page in the manga, he’d tentatively settled on doing a dual-major; geography for business and history for pleasure. He’d have time to catch up on anthropology when he was in grad school.

The japanese macaque’s head jerked as he felt something tap his shoulder. Charlotte was staring at him, a slight smile on her face. 

“If you stared any harder, you’d be burning a hole in the ceiling,” she said. “What were you thinking about?”

“College,” he said, looking back up at the ceiling.

“Oh,” she said, going quiet for a moment before explaining her own plans. “I’m pretty much settled on going to Oregon State. Easy to get into, cheap, fairly good school...and they have a decent biology program, with a genetics option. If I go beyond that, get a master’s degree or doctorate, Terrence said that Pacific BioTek will cover my student loan payments as long as I’m working for them.”

Hikari’s eyebrows crept higher and higher as she revealed her plans. “Damn. I wish I could get a sweet deal like that. Too bad archeologists aren’t in high demand like that. Even if you find something big on a dig, the local governments always sweep in and appropriate it as a ‘national treasure’.”

“I still don’t get why you want to be an archeologist. It’s nothing like Indiana Jones. You spend most of your time writing grant proposals and cataloguing fossils. Or digging in hot, wet, mosquito-infested jungles. Or digging in hot, dry, scorpion-infested desert.”

“I know. But I can’t help thinking...nobody knows how anthros came about. Like, we know about the Assyrian and Mesopotamian civilizations and stuff, but they only started in 3500 BC. And there are anthro fossils that date back to 30,000 BC, but before that? Nothing. Then suddenly thousands of species of anthro peoples. There’s gotta be something that explains it…”

“Someone will figure it out eventually,” Charlotte said, staring up at the ceiling as well. “But I doubt it’ll be in our lifetimes. We’ve been digging up fossils for hundreds of years now and haven’t found anything. Maybe those crazy scientologists are right. Aliens.” she said, throwing her hands up like that crazy guy on the History channel.

The both of them cracked up over that for a few moments, then went quiet again for a minute.

“Hikari, do you like me?” the teenaged canine asked out of the blue.

The monkey turned his head to stare at Charlotte again. “Of course I do. You think I would spend my Christmas break with someone I didn’t like?”

“No...I mean...do you like like me?” she asked, turning her head to face him.

“I...yes. I do. If I thought you’d accept, I’d ask you out in a heartbeat,” he said cautiously.

“What made you think I wouldn’t accept?” she asked, incredulously.

“Well...Diego-”

“Diego was a conceited asshole, a stoner, and an insufferable jerk. That’s why I refused to date him. You’re the exact opposite of him.”

“But, I’m not a canine,” he said quietly.

“Hmm… that is a slight problem… but I’m sure you’ll manage to make up for not having a knot somehow.”

“Wait...what? Not having a not? What are you talking about?” Hikari asked in confusion.

“A knot. A bulbous gland. You know, like feral canines have?”

Hikari shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh,” she said with a slight blush. “Well, feral canines have something called a bulbous gland at the base of their dicks that swells up when they mate, locking them inside the female.”

“That sounds...uncomfortable,” he said. “I think I remember something about that in sex ed, years ago, but I wasn’t paying much attention.”

“I suppose for most anthro females it probably would be uncomfortable. I’m… uh… a little better built for it,” she said, skirting around the subject slightly.

“You mean you’ve got a heritage trait?” he asked, curious. “Do you go into heat too, or is it just cosmetic?”

Charlotte relaxed. She thought for a moment he might be disgusted, but he certainly didn’t sound like it. Just curious. “Um...yes. It’s just cosmetic...mostly,” she said.

“Huh. All I’ve got is my weird foot-hands,” he said, twisting to show off his finger-toes. “The rest of me is pretty normal.” He paused for a moment, then added, “If you’re not squicked out by the thought of dating a monkey, complete with foot-hands...well...would you go out with me, Charlotte?”

The corners of Charlotte’s mouth turned up in a wide smile. “Yes. Definitely, as long as you’re okay with the thought of dating a dog, complete with foot-paws and a weird-looking pussy.”

“Awesome,” he said, turning back to face the ceiling with a smile. He reached out and took her hand in his, twining their fingers together.

For a moment, his mind was blank, floating amidst the thought of actually dating such a beautiful girl...not to mention well endowed. That thought led to others, and he glanced over at her. Now he was genuinely curious about what she’d brought up. “Um...just how weird-looking is it? It’s not like something out of Aliens is it? No fanged mouth going to jump out of it and bite something sensitive off?”

Charlotte burst out laughing. “Hah, no. Crazy monkey.” 

To be honest, this line of conversation had her feeling...puffy. Knowing that Elizabeth and Alexandrea were probably fucking each other right now, like they had been for the past week at least three times a day, had her horny as hell. She was tempted to show him, just in the hopes that he might be willing to have sex with her despite her...weirdness. Had she so much as glanced down the bed, she’d have known exactly how willing he was.

“Well?” he asked again, already thinking more with his dick than his brains. Hikari hadn’t fapped in the last week, not since he’d joined the Stouffers for Christmas break. The thought of masturbating in someone else’s house was just weird. Unfortunately, that meant his libido was stronger than it had been in the past four years...ever since he’d discovered how.

“Well wha...oh…” Charlotte started to ask, then realized what he’d meant. She turned her head to look at him almost at the exact same time he turned to look at her.

“I...er...sorry,” Hikari stammered. “That crossed the line, didn’t it? I apologize,” he said, loosening his grip on her hand.

Charlotte blinked. At this point she really didn’t care if it crossed the line or not. She didn’t say anything, instead tightening her own grip on his hand. Almost without thinking, she pulled his hand over to her crotch, pressing the back of his hand against her pajamas there. Then she loosened her fingers, pulling her paw back over his wrist.

Hikari took a shallow breath as he stared at her, his mouth open slightly. “M-may...may I?” he asked hesitantly, slowly turning his hand over, palm resting on her pubic bone.

She nodded quickly, almost hesitatingly. Charlotte had never had a boy touch her before, and wasn’t sure exactly what to expect.

He glanced down as he ran his fingers over her pajamas, between the crease of her thighs. “I...uh...I’ve never, um…touched someone...”

Somehow that made Charlotte feel much, much better, knowing he was a virgin like she was. “It’s okay. I haven’t either.”

For a few moments, both of them lay there, panting slightly as Hikari ran his long, dexterous fingers across the cloth covering her groin. Charlotte was already damp, and growing wetter by the second. Hikari, on the other hand, was throbbing. His dick was literally harder right now than it had ever been in his entire life.

It wasn’t much longer before Hikari looked back up at Charlotte’s face, meeting her gaze. He moved his hand up a few inches, over the band of her pajama pants, and asked again “May I?”

Charlotte smiled. This was exactly what she wanted. No, that wasn’t quite it...They’d known each other for almost half a year, become as close as friends could be. Now that they’d finally gone beyond friends, she wanted to see his length, to feel it inside her. To take that final step.

Hikari was startled slightly when she sat up, brushing his hand away. For a moment he was worried he’d gone too far. Actually, he already knew he’d gone too far. But then she grabbed the bottom hem of her pajama top and pulled the entire thing off in one smooth motion. For a second he was stunned. There she was, without a single thing covering her above the waist...and she was without a doubt the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his entire life. Her breasts were absolutely perfect. Perfectly shaped and covered in short, smooth, black fur except for her quarter-sized pink areolas and her tiny, puffy nipples.

For a second it felt like his heart had stopped, like he’d died and gone to heaven. Then she tossed her pajama shirt off to one side and quickly took hold of the hem of her pajama pants. She lay back down next to him, lifting her butt off the bed. He almost missed it, distracted by the bouncing of her big, beautiful breasts. By the time he managed to tear his eyes off her boobs, her pants and underwear had just barely reached her thighs...and they kept going, almost to her knees.

He never knew exactly how she managed to get them all the way off, distracted as he was, but a second later she rolled onto her side, exposing her entire, beautiful body to him. She was right...instead of a slit topped with a tiny clitoris, she had a slightly puffy lump. He was so focused on absorbing the sight of her that he didn’t hear what she said.

“Looks weird, but it works just the same,” she said, lifting one knee up to expose herself, reaching down with both hands. She tugged the oversized clitoral hood up with one hand and used her other hand to spread her puffy outer lips, exposing her wet, pink insides. 

Hikari didn’t say anything, sitting up so that he could get a better look. It was different, for sure, but other than that she was hot. One of the hottest girls in the entire school, especially if you had a thing for canines. He didn’t exactly have a thing for canines, but he didn’t have anything against them either.

“Your turn, monkey-boy. I want to see what you’re hiding under that impressive tent there,” she said, pointing at his pajama pants.

After a moment of hesitation, he pulled off his own shirt. He didn’t hear her gasp when his abs came into view, tugging his shirt the rest of the way off and dropping it on the floor, though he did see her sit up, tucking her legs and kneeling in front of him. He was almost shaking with nerves as he started tugging his pants off...he couldn’t believe he was doing this.

“You’re not circumcised?” she asked, tilting her head slightly as he finished pulling his pants off.

“Uh...no. I’m not. Is that bad? I mean, I keep it clean. I promise.” he asked, looking down, shaking slightly. It wasn’t cold or anything, but he was shivering.

“No, it’s not...I’ve just...never mind. I haven’t seen someone who doesn’t have a sheath up close before,” she said, watching his member swell slightly in time with his heartbeat. He was about the same size as her dildo, except without a knot. It was smooth and pink, with a few thick veins hidden under the skin. As she watched, he took hold of it, tugging his foreskin back to reveal the slightly darker rounded glans that anthros without heritage traits had. She’d seen that much in porn, at least.

Hikari looked up, but she was still staring at his dick. Actually, her mouth was open slightly and the tip of her tongue stuck out slightly. He thought it was kind of cute. Right now though...he was literally shaking with the combination of anxiety and arousal, wound so tightly that he felt like he was going to explode from sheer nervousness. 

“Do you think...maybe...we could have sex?” Charlotte whispered, finally looking up at him. “I mean, if you’re not too grossed out...” she asked resting one hand over her crotch. Another canine probably wouldn’t be grossed out, but Hikari obviously wasn’t a canine. She was afraid he’d be disgusted or something.

“Could we?” Hikari asked incredulously. “Charlotte, half the population has at least one heritage trait of some kind...it’s the spice of life. You’re absolutely gorgeous, with or without a feral… canine… thing. I’m the exact opposite of grossed out. Do you even see how hard I am right now?” he asked, gesturing at his crotch with both hands.

Charlotte giggled, reassured. She leaned over and gave him a kiss, which he returned with gusto.

“Wait,” he said when they separated. “I don’t have any condoms. Fff-” he started to swear, then stopped, clenching his fists.

“Shh,” she said, holding one hand up to his face, rubbing the side of his face. “If you’d paid attention at all in biology, you’d remember that you’re a primate, and I’m a canine. We’re both mammals, but that’s the only thing we’ve got in common...on a biological level.”

Hikari blinked. “Oh. Right. I mean, it could happen though…”

Charlotte snorted. “Sure, if we’d been having sex for years, trying to get pregnant. At this point I don’t care. We can go to a pharmacy later and get a pill. Right now…”, she said, leaning forward and giving him a deep kiss. “I want you inside me, monkey-boy,” she said, rolling sideways and pulling him down on top of her.

Hikari still couldn’t believe this was happening. He was in bed. Naked. With arguably the hottest girl in school. And she wanted him to fuck her bareback. He blinked, then pushed himself up and looked down at her, taking in the beautiful sight. For such a large pair of tits and ass, she was remarkably slender. As his gaze reached her waist, she spread her legs, revealing her puffy canine pussy once again. Strange, to be sure, but it wasn’t gross...just different. Carefully he maneuvered himself over her, then knelt between her legs. She spread her legs even wider as he did. 

It was actually even stranger, with her legs spread so widely. Her puffy pussy actually looked kind of like a fortune cookie near the top, like an inverted Y. He sat back, curious, and reached out with one hand. He stopped halfway there, and looked up. “May I?”

Charlotte hesitated a moment, hands on her belly, then nodded. She almost thought about asking him to be gentle...but he’d never been anything but gentle with her, and his hands were surprisingly soft. 

Slowly, carefully, he reached out, rubbing his thumb against the puffy, dark skin of her vulva. It felt tight, almost swollen, and very, very warm to the touch. As delicately as he could, he ran his thumb around it, feeling the surface. It glistened in the gaps. Adding his other hand, he gently spread the sides of her swollen labia like she had earlier, revealing her wet pink insides. 

Charlotte waited impatiently as he explored her with his hands, bringing her own up to her chest and rubbing at her breasts. She could literally feel herself getting more puffy with every passing second. Her entire vulva felt swollen and inflamed, much more than it normally did the week before her monthly cycle. “Hikari?” she asked, waiting until his eyes met hers. “Please…?”

“Sorry,” he said quickly, pulling his hands back and leaning over her. He braced his hands beside her chest and pushed his legs back, carefully moving his hips to hers, bringing the tip of his dick into contact with her slit. He looked up again, meeting her eyes, and she smiled, giving a quick nod. Both of them looked back down to where their hips were touching, though neither of them could see much. Hikari pushed.

With how wet she was, the tip of his length slid into her without any effort at all. For a moment he didn’t move...the sensation was so totally different from anything else he’d ever experienced. Warm...almost hot. Slippery and wet. A moment later, he pushed again, sliding a tiny bit further, almost halfway in. Now it was hot, wet, and tight. 

He pulled back slightly and pushed again, gaining another half inch...and again...and again. Eventually he was all the way inside her, his hips flush with her puffy canine pussy, and so aroused that he knew he wouldn’t last long at all. He held still, afraid he was going to nut before he’d even gotten started. He took a deep, shuddering breath.

“You’re about to come already, right?”, Charlotte whispered. “It’s okay...I sort of figured you wouldn’t last long the first time.”

Hikari’s face burned. “I...uh...yeah. I haven’t jacked off in over a week. Sorry.”

Charlotte gave him a small smile, trying to reassure him. “It’s okay. I knew that you wouldn’t, and I wanted your first time to be inside me, rather than just giving you a handjob or a blowjob or something. Just come, wait a bit, and we can go again. Think you’re down for that?”

“Jesus… am I ever down for that… I’d have sex with you a hundred times a day,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “Charlotte, you’re the most beautiful girl in the entire school.”

This time Charlotte blushed, then wrapped her legs around his tight, cute butt. She reached up and pulled him down against her, kissing the side of his face. “Good. Then come in me already. I wanna feel you squirt...and after that, I wanna see what you can really do.”

“Mmm...Charlotte...Your wish is my command,” he said returning the kiss. Then he began rocking his hips. By the time he’d started to work up something approximating a steady rhythm a few seconds later, he felt his dick begin to twitch. “Char..” he started to say, then trailed off as his dick began to squirt rope after rope of thick, white cream into her.

Charlotte could definitely feel it, hot and sticky, coating her insides just past the tip of his dick, slowly filling her up. She smiled to herself, waiting as his penis continued to pulse inside her. He lasted a surprisingly long time, his length continuing to twitch long after she thought he’d be done. While she waited for him to finish, she ran her paw through the thick, silvery fur at the back of his head. 

For a minute or so he lay atop her, panting, warming the fur on her shoulder with his breath. Then pushed himself back up, staring her in the eyes once again.

“Was it good?” she asked, giggling slightly.

He blinked. “God, yes,” he said, then gave her a quick kiss. “Charlotte? I think I’m in love with you.”

Charlotte smiled at that. “Good, cause I think I’ve been in love with you since the end of last school year,” she said, pulling him back down for another, much longer kiss. They both gasped for breath by the time it ended, and Hikari could feel his dick starting to swell once again inside her.

“Need a bit longer to recover?”, she asked, rubbing the side of his jaw. “Cause I still want to see just what you can do.”

Hikari’s dick hardened even further at the sultry tone, and he gave a tentative thrust. He was a bit sensitive, but had no doubt he could go again. “Nope, I’m good,” he said, rocking his hips again and working his way to a steady rhythm. ”Your wish is my command, my love.”

=^.^=

Monday, December 28th, 2015

Raenne cautiously pulled open the door to the little italian bistro, trying not to slip on the thin layer of snow that dusted the sidewalk just in front. It seemed strange to meet for a business luncheon at such a...well...she hesitated to call it a dive, but it seemed awfully small from the outside. Once the door close behind her, she relaxed, taking a deep breath...and suddenly realized exactly why they’d chosen this place for lunch. The rich smell of ripe tomatoes, italian sausage, and fresh garlic convinced her that, if anything, this was going to have some absolutely amazing spaghetti. She was going to have to take Alex here at some point.

A moment later, the door swung open again behind her as her husband entered as well. He quickly shucked his sports jacket, hanging it on the hooks just inside the door, and took hers as well. Both of the tigers, orange and white, looked around, admiring the decor. It was highly reminiscent of an old-country italian farmhouse, like you might see in the movies. Several small booths lined the walls, and dark, polished mahogany tables and chairs filled the space between. Despite the frigid weather and dusting of snow outside, the place was nearly packed. 

Before either of them could do much else, a brown bear waitress walked up to them. “You must be Mr. and Mrs. Andreyev, yes?”

“Yes,” David said, nodding. 

“Excellent. Please follow me,” she said, leading them to a small room off to one side. Just inside was a long table, capable of seating ten people with ease. Sebastian Mendelssohn was already seated at the table, along with three other furs that neither of them had met yet.

As the tiger couple neared their table Sebastian cocked his head to the side a little . “I believe our potential clients have arrived gentlemen, and lady,” the older mink said rising from his seat and nodding towards the approaching couple. As the tigers drew closer he smiled broadly, offering his paw to the female of the pair. “Sebastian Mendelssohn, and a pleasure to see you at last Mrs. Andreyev. Mr. Andreyev I would presume?” he added nodding to the larger male tiger as he shook paws with Raenne. 

Before either of them could respond he continued, “The slightly constipated looking old grump to my left is Aaron Reynolds,” he said, pointing at a golden falcon, “the fur that will be your general contractor if the terms can be hashed out, and at the risk of his head swelling too large for the entranceway, one of the area’s best and most detail oriented building professionals.” 

Turning slightly he gestured towards a honey badger seated to his right. “That cantankerous old bag of fur and claws is James Brady, a talented perfectionist that works magic when it comes to combining materials to acquire the exact look that is desired. The toothpick to his right is Erin Dewitt, one of Winter Creeks most studious, and pig-headed building inspectors.” Each of the small group nodded in acknowledgment as they were introduced, only the meerkat actually responding.

“Overlook the gentlemen,” the slender dark haired woman said smiling softly at the pair of much larger tigers. “He’s a wonder at design and making impossible things a reality. But sometimes I think he has the social grace of a brick,” she said, offering her diminutive paw to the tigress. “It would have been nice,” she added, leaning her head to the side and cutting her gaze to the mink man, ”if you had mentioned that Mrs. Andreyev was expecting, you old briar patch bunny.”

“Um, it’s not his fault,” Raenne interrupted. “I didn’t tell him over the phone, and this is the first time we’re meeting in person,” she said, taking the slender meerkat’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“Likewise,” the white tiger beside her said, offering his own hand to each of the other furs one by one, giving them a firm handshake. Once that was over with, he pulled a chair out for his wife and helped her take a seat, awkward as she was being seven months pregnant with twins. Then he took his own seat next to her.

“Thank you all very much for at least taking the time to hear us out,” Raenne started. “We’d asked pretty much everyone else in town, and in Prairie Flats, and hadn’t gotten anywhere. If it weren’t for Mrs. Allison, over at the bakery, I wouldn’t have met any of you...and from everything I’ve heard, you’re the only ones who might be able to do this at all.”

Just as she finished speaking, the waitress appeared at her side with a pair of thin leather booklets. “Here are your menus. Do either of you want anything to drink, besides water?”

The orange tigress shook her head. “Just water, thank you.”

The white tiger glanced at the menu. “Chianti, please. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo if you have it, or another Sicilian red if you don’t. Grazi.”

The waitress nodded and vanished back into the larger dining room once again, leaving them to continue their conversation.

“I’d have to thank you as well Mrs. Andreyev,” the golden falcon spoke up as the tigers settled into their seats. “When Sebastian called to pester me I was shocked. When he told me he had a potential project it didn’t even get a blink outta me. Until he told me what it was, then I thought he was pulling my leg. A traditional Japanese Dojo, in the Winter Creek area. Swear to God I thought he’d finally lost his mind.”

Raenne blushed slightly. When put that way, it definitely seemed outlandish. But she really didn’t want to teach traditional shotokan karate in a warehouse or gym again. It just felt...wrong. Like teaching a history class on a basketball court. “Well...at first I was thinking in town, just to get students, but once I started talking to Sebastian, it kind of dawned on me that just wasn’t the right thing. Either for the dojo or for the town. Building it at the foot of the mountains, at least a couple miles out of town, would be better. Someplace where students could focus or meditate without any distractions…” The tigress trailed off, realizing that she’d interrupted them. “Sorry.”

“For what?” the honey badger across from the tigress asked raising one eyebrow slightly. “For having a dream and speaking it? No ma’am, don’t be sorry for something like that. Fur face told me what you have in mind. Sounds like one hell of a challenge, but this old badger never backs down from a challenge.”

“That I can attest to,” Erin Dewitt chimed in. “Thirty years is it now?” she asked, the older badger nodding his assent. “Not once have I ever known you to not complete a project James, on time if not before.”

“True enough,” Aaron Reynolds added. “This time a lot of this is going to ride on your back James. My guys can handle the construction, no doubt about it. The real question is whether or not you can brainiak up the materials that will work, pass the building codes, and not look damn butt ugly.”

Raenne nodded. Since she’d had time to think about it, she’d realized that was exactly the case. “Yeah, getting stuff that will look like traditional rice paper walls, tatami mats, cherry wood beams, ceramic tiles, and the rest, and still meet the wind load, snow load, and other building requirements is probably going to be difficult. If Sebastian hadn’t brought up Tyvek, I didn’t think it would be possible at all. I’m still not sure it’d be insulating enough for a Colorado winter. Even if it is possible, I have no idea if our budget would come even remotely close to covering it, even for a one-story building. Much less for one that’s two stories with an open atrium, like the vision I had of it,” she said, glancing at her husband.

David didn’t say anything. He was extremely hesitant to part with the emergency fund he’d been building over the last ten years.

“With the right people involved anything is possible,” Sebastian said with a chuckle. “Now as I told all of you, one of Mrs. Andreyev’s biggest concerns is staying within her budget…”

“Budget my big furry ass,” James said scoffingly. “A friggin Dojo in these mountains isn’t going to make any kind of damn budget and you know it.” Turning to Aaron he asked, “if, and I mean if I can come up with the primary structural members to meet the codes and look right, can you and your crew handle the rest of it? And keep it as close to true traditional Japanese architecture? Materials and all?”

“You figure out how to keep it standing, my guys and I will worry about making it look right,” the honey badger said slightly indignantly. “We know Erin is going to be up our asses every inch of the way.”

“Like it would be any other way.” the Meerkat queried, cocking her head to the side. “Last time I turned my back on you lot for ten minutes… we ended up with some joker intentionally building the kitchen area upside down. I still want to know how the hell you managed that one.”

“So the one remaining question to my thinking,” Sebastian said leaning back in his seat, “is exactly where are we going to place this masterpiece?”

“You said on the phone that you had a few ideas for places that would be up in the mountains,” Raenne said quietly to Sebastian. “I know the town’s rather particular about making sure buildings fit with the rest of the style here, but I figured if it was far enough away and had a bunch of trees around it, nobody would mind too much, even if there was a small courtyard with some japanese mountain cherry trees.”

David glanced at her at the mention of those cherry trees. As much as he loved them he was kind of worried. “Love, I still don’t think the cherry trees are a good idea. They may be cheap, and beautiful, but they’re not an indigenous species.”

“I don’t know about him,” Erin interjected, “but I know of one place that would be perfect. Three miles outside of town on the East side. There’s just one thing we may have to deal with.”

“Charles? What makes you think he would be a problem?” James inquired placing his elbows on the table before him, resting his chin on his intertwined paws.

“I did not say he would be a problem, only that we would have to deal with him. There’s no way to get around it, he has the perfect piece of real estate for this one.”

Raenne was looking around the table, waiting for someone to give her a clue as to who this charles person was. When nobody said anything for a few moments, she spoke up. “Who, exactly, is Charles?”

Before anyone else could speak up, the waitress returned once again, this time with a tray, a bottle of red wine, a goblet and a glass of water. Without speaking she set the glasses down in front of the two tigers and held out the bottle of wine. “Will this suit, sir?” she asked.

David glanced at the label and raised his eyes. “I take it you didn’t have the d’Abruzzo. That, however, is much, much better. I wholeheartedly approve.”

“Excellent,” she said, setting it down and pulling out a cork screw. A moment later she was pouring the glass of wine for him, then left the bottle on the table. “Are you all ready to order?” she asked. When both the tigers nodded, she asked “What would you two like for lunch,” she asked, pulling out a notepad.

“I smelled garlic and italian sausage,” the tigress said. “If you happen to have a garlic and italian sausage ragu and farfalle to serve it on, that would be absolutely perfect.” 

“I believe we do,” the brown bear said, scribbling quickly. “And you, sir?” she asked the white tiger next. “I’ll have the same. Sounds quite good,” he replied, handing their menus to the waitress.

“I believe it is safe to assume the rest of us are ready for our meals now correct? I know I certainly am,” James chimed in, a slight smile coming to his muzzle.

“Yes, please if you would be so kind my good lady,” Sebastian said, nodding to their waitress. “We do appreciate the patience of your staff this afternoon for holding our orders so long, and apologize for any inconvenience we have caused.”     

“Charles,” Erin interjected as the older mink dealt with their meals, “would be Charles Waymire, a local resident, some say he’s akin to the unofficial mayor of Winter Creek.”

“Not sure about that one,” James piped up. “Do know he’s pagan, and that he owns that piece of property. I tried to get it from him a few years ago, planned to build a workshop there. Wouldn’t sell it to me though, kept saying he was ‘waiting for the one the mother had ordained it for’, or some such weird crap,” he said making air quotes and shaking his head.

“Charles, or as the locals call him more often, Star Dreamer, is an odd one. But a fairer person I’ve yet to meet,” Aaron added. “If that one falls through, there is another spot about a mile further out that would be nearly as perfect. That one I know we can get on the low side.”

Both David and Raenne glanced at each other upon hearing the name Star Dreamer. “I think I’ve heard that name before…” Raenne said. ”Star Dreamer, that is. I think Alex mentioned it at some point...shi’s been hanging out with a few kids at school that are pagan. I don’t remember how it came up though.”

Looking at the tigers with a slightly shocked expression on her face the meerkat said, “if your daughter has mentioned him and she's hanging out with the local pagan kids I’m kind of surprised that you haven’t already met that old hair bag of a polar bear.”

“Well, shi only recently did, since Halloween.” Raenne said. “Anyway, that’s besides the point. If this Star Dreamer...Charles...has the property you all are thinking about, it’d probably be best we talk to him about it, unless you all think you can convince him to sell it.”

“I’d like to talk to him regardless,” David said with a frown. “Find out more about this pagan religion before Alex gets mixed up in it. All the research I did before we came out here said the people here were nice, polite, and very accepting of alternative lifestyles. But there’s dozens new age religions out there,” he said, adding under his breath “and some of them aren’t so nice.”

“Actually, knowing Charles as I do, it would be best to have both of you present when we approach him regarding the property.” After a moment of thought he turned to the white tiger again as he spoke. “If you have any concerns about what your child may be getting involved with as far as the pagan faiths, Charles is the one fur here you want to speak with. His schedule will probably be terrible until the first of the new year. It would depend on your own schedules also.”

“Our schedules are pretty much completely open,” Raenne said. “I don’t have a dojo to teach in yet, and David telecommutes. As for waiting...I don’t see how a few more days will make any difference one way or the other.”

“Excellent, then I will see when would be most convenient for Charles to meet with us,” the mink man said as a broad grin spread across his muzzle. “It appears our meals are about to arrive. I for one look forward to hearing what that old fur ball has to say, but for now I think we should enjoy our meal, and then discuss some of the more boring details.”