The Bat & the Cat
Chapter 9: Fix Me Now
October 10, 2013
The garage of the Genevieve residence
“I’m marching through the branches in a fit of wanderlust
To see you in a black hole reaching out for something just
Silhouettes of neighbors dancing in disgust.
I’m sure you recognize my noise and you heard about the pit
Been told to be afraid of everything that lives with it
But it’s much worse where you are
So will you go for it?
I have a feeling you might
Feeling you might
Somebody somewhere
Will clean out your wounds
With dirty fingers
Well bury the lie
Somebody somewhere
Will clean out your wounds
Well bury the lie
Bury the lie
Now we tumble down a hill to a fire with a crowd
The flicker becomes thicker as we bottom out
The residents don’t even notice the sudden shouts.
When your eyes can adjust and you see what’s in view
Discolored and distempered smiles that seen you
Do you realize we were all once like you?
I have a feeling you might
Feeling you might
Somebody somewhere
Will clean out your wounds
With dirty fingers
Well bury the lie
Somebody somewhere
Will clean out your wounds
Well bury the lie
Bury the lie
No, no
No one comes
Where no one goes
No, no
No one comes
Where no one goes
You recognize my noise and you heard about the pit
Been told to be afraid of everything that comes within
We can talk about it later, but I think you’ve given in
We can talk about it later, but I think you’ve given in
I had a feeling you might
Bury the lie”
As the song came to an end, Megan closed her violet eyes and let out a gentle sigh that went unheard by her bandmates over the hum of Jack’s electric guitar. Slamming her drumsticks down on the cymbals, Vivy exclaimed, “Fuck, yes! I think we just found our sound!”
The teenaged bat forced a soft smile and said, “That was pretty good, wasn’t it?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You sing Silversun Pickups better than Brian Aubert,” the giraffe girl replied. Looking over at their lead guitarist, she said, “Back me up here, man.”
“She’s right,” the komodo dragon/crocodile hybrid agreed, sitting down on a nearby milk crate. “Your voice suits their style perfectly.”
“Just in time, too,” the drummer said, no longer able to hide a grin. “We have another gig coming up we need to get ready for.”
“Oh?” the young bat asked, her ears suddenly perking up at the news.
“Yeah,” Vivy explained. “That new girl I work with, Tessa? The one that someone here thinks isn’t one of the Omen Breakers, even with the rumors that they’re attending your school?”
“Where is this going?” Jack asked.
“Speaking of the Omen Breakers, I met Jabyses last week,” Megan interrupted.
“Really? That’s badass! Why didn’t you say something?” their drummer asked, before looking over at Jack and saying, “See? I fucking told you.”
“Whatever,” the reptile said. “You were right and I was wrong. You were about to say something about a gig?”
“Well, she told me that her band had been approached about performing at the upcoming Winter Formal, but they were forced to refuse the job,” the giraffe replied. “But she showed the party committee some video footage of us performing at that birthday party, and they gave me a call. Two thousand dollars for a few hours of work! Fucking awesome, right?”
“I guess,” Megan answered, slipping her bass guitar around behind her back and taking a drink of water.
“What’s with you today?” Vivy asked. “Is something wrong? It’s that bitch, Ross, is-”
“Viv,” Jack growled. “Enough.”
“No, it’s fine,” the bat herm said as she took a seat next to her friends. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to talk about things. Yeah, it’s Ross, at least, part of it is. Her birthday was almost two weeks ago, and I tried to be nice and call her, but she sent me to her voice mail. Never called me back, either. Shocker, right? Then, when I met Jabyses, at first I thought she was Ross coming to talk to me, but I was wrong… I don’t know… What if she’s at the dance, on a date? I still love her, and I miss her… I don’t know; it’s a bunch of things, I guess. Today’s my birthday, and since it’s Thursday, Mom won’t be home until almost seven. She promised that she’d take me out for dinner Saturday night after work, but I don’t have any special plans other than hanging out with you guys.”
“You know what you need?” the giraffe girl asked as she picked up her drumsticks again and sat back down on her stool. “You need a good, angry song to get all that frustration out. It’s… fuck, what’s that word?”
“Cathartic?” Megan asked.
“Yeah,” Vivy nodded. “It’s fucking cathartic. Just something you can just wail on.”
The bat considered the advice for a moment, and then nodded. “Fine,” she said, “I’ll take your word for it. I don’t want to look back on my seventeenth birthday and remember being miserable. Jack, we’re going to try Flyleaf’s ‘I’m So Sick.”
The reptilian teen grabbed his guitar and started the opening chords of their next song, and a moment later, Megan joined in, adding her vocals to the performance.
“I will break into your thoughts
With what’s written on my heart
I will BREAK! -”
The music faded as both Vivy and Jack clasped their paws to their ears when Megan reached the first scream of the song. The windows in the roll-up garage door shattered above them, raining shards of glass down on top of them.
“BREAK!”
The sound of car alarms going off nearby snapped Megan back to attention, halting her singing. She glanced over at her friends, both of them on their knees on the cold, hard concrete floor with their ears covered. Shifting her focus outside, she could see the cracks in the windows of the cars and houses lining both sides of the street in either direction.
“I… I’m sorry,” the teen bat said softly. “I… I should probably go.” Reaching over, she grabbed her backpack off of Mr. Genevieve’s workbench and rushed down the driveway, launching herself into the air once she reached the sidewalk.
“Fuck,” Vivy muttered as she shook the glass out of her Mohawk, “I think I already know where the money’s going.”
~~~~~
At the Chimera Prep gymnasium
“Hey, Claire,” Riley said, calling out to the team captain. “Who’s the cute guy?” The aardwolf made a motion to the stands where an attractive gray squirrel in his early twenties sat, watching the girls practice.
“Oh, that’s my older brother, Jeremy,” the team captain replied. “Since Ethan had a doctor’s appointment and needed the car, Jeremy agreed to give me a ride home after practice.”
“He’s cute,” Tessa chimed in, the bearded dragon staring appreciatively at the older male. Jeremy gave them a smile before putting on a pair of headphones and pulling out a tablet. “How come you don’t bring him here more often?”
“He goes to college in Tennessee,” the squirrel replied. “He got a nice baseball scholarship down there. Mom’s birthday is Saturday, so he took a long weekend and came up to visit.”
“Too bad,” Amanda said, “I’d ask him out.”
“Speak for yourselves,” Afon said, joining the others on the court. “I’m running out of cute, single guys to fool around with around here. You think he’d be up for a one-night stand while he’s in town?”
“Maybe even a threesome?” Layla added, before looking at the river shark, “That is, if you’d be interested.”
“Eww,” Claire said, scrunching up her nose in disgust. “That’s my brother you’re talking about! I don’t want to think about him like that!”
“Alright, ladies!” Coach Pryde called out. “Enough staring at the college boy! If you’re gonna get that distracted by a nice-looking guy in the stands, we might as well just forfeit the rest of the season and save the school the travel expenses.” The group of twelve girls quieted down as the lioness continued her lecture. “This squad is probably the best I’ve ever coached, and I believe we have a real shot at winning the state championship, but not if we just take that talent for granted. We’re going to play this practice full-speed. Claire, Afon, Anna, Amanda, Rachael, and Erin against Shyara, Ross, Tessa, Riley, Layla, and Ashley. Best of five games. Let’s go!”
~~~~~
The house of Roger and Melinda Ashbacher
“Remember what we talked about,” Alice Rikkers said to her youngest daughter as the car slowed to a stop. “Just be honest with her, and with yourself, and everything will be fine.”
“I will. Thanks for the ride, Mom,” Jordan called back to the older tundra lioness as she exited the family Lexus. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to get picked up.” Shouldering her backpack, she turned to look at her best friend’s house and swallowed nervously. Things between her and Kaitlyn had felt awkward ever since Arelia’s sleepover and the ferret admitted to having a crush on her. The advice she had received from the mink and from her parents had given her a new perspective, but this was something she needed to do herself.
Walking up to the front door, she nervously reached out and rang the doorbell before wiping her sweaty paws on her skirt. Her little heart was pounding in her chest, and she realized that she was holding her breath. She exhaled, trying to calm herself down, and a moment later the door opened. She blinked, surprised to be greeted by an older ferret, about the same age as her cousin, Ross. “H-hello,” she stammered. “I… My n-name’s Jordan. Is Kay-Kaitlyn home?”
“So,” the older girl said with a warm smile, “you’re the Jordan I’ve heard so much about. I’m Kaitlyn’s older sister, Kiki. It’s very nice to meet you, Jordan. Please, come inside. Kaitlyn’s downstairs waiting for you.”
“Th-thank you,” Jordan said nervously as she ducked inside. It was her first time visiting the Ashbacher residence, but she was certain that Kaitlyn had mentioned her sister was still in foster care, not adopted by the sable couple. “Where are Mr. and Mrs. Ashbacher?”
“Oh, Melinda doesn’t like to bring her work home with her, and Roger typically doesn’t get out of the office until five,” the older ferret girl explained. “I pick her up from school and stay until they get home. At least that way, she and I still get to spend some time together.”
Jordan nodded, imagining how it would be if she only got to see Elena on such a limited basis. “I think I understand,” the hybrid girl said. “After what happened with your parents, she’s all you have left.”
“Exactly,” Kiki confirmed, regarding Jordan with a gentle smile. “Okay, I’ll stop holding you up. You’re not here to see me,” she said. Jordan gave her a nod and turned to walk down the steps to the basement before her sister’s friend added, “Please, don’t break her heart. I can’t stand to see her suffer.”
Jordan managed a weak smile before going downstairs, still completely clueless about what she was doing…
~~~~~
Back at Chimera Prep
“Hey, Ross,” Shyara said, nudging the tundra lioness while waiting for Tessa to serve the ball, “looks like ya got yaself an admirah.” The sugar glider pointed to the stands, where the gray squirrel was watching intently, tapping his footpaw in time with the music coming through his headphones.
“Whatever,” the all-white feline muttered, rolling her eyes. “I’m not interested.”
“Ya gotta let her go soonah or latah, Ross,” the sugar glider said as the ball sailed over the net, only to be met by Erin, who bumped it into the air. “Ah can tell ya now, Jeremy’s a great guy.”
Amanda moved into position and used her fingertips to send the ball back up and towards the net, where Afon crouched in anticipation. “I can’t, Shy,” the lioness said, “it hurts too much.” The river shark leapt into the air and delivered a powerful spike, only to be met by Shyara, who blocked the hit, sending the ball back over to the other side. Rachael dove for the ball, trying to save it, but missed by a fraction of an inch.
“Good try, Rach,” Shy said, cheering on the tabby. “Yer gettin’ bettah.” Turning to look at her friend, she continued, “Sometimes tha best way ta ferget tha pain is ta find somethin’ or someone ta distract ya. Just think about it, ‘kay?”
“Fine. If I let him take me out, will we all just shut up about my love life?” the tundra lioness grumbled.
“Ah ain’t sayin’ ya’ll need at get hitched or anythin,’” the sugar glider replied. “I’m just sayin’ that until ya let yaself move on, ya ain’t gonna feel any bettah.”
“And you’ve been a bit of a bitch lately, too,” Layla remarked. “You really need to get laid. If you don’t ask him out, I will. I bet he’d be a great fuck.”
“Layla!” Claire shouted, blushing a little.
“Coach, can we take a quick break?” Ross called out to the older lioness.
“Five minutes,” Coach Pryde answered, “Only so you girls can get whatever the Hell it is out of your system and focus on practice. You’re not going to win States by talking about boys during a game.”
Ross walked over to where Claire’s brother sat, listening to music while he apparently worked on some of his college coursework. When her shadow fell across the screen of his tablet, he looked up at her and smiled as he pulled the headphones off. “Hey, I’m Jeremy,” he said, introducing himself. He reached out with his paw and added, “What’s your name?”
~~~~~
The apartment of Megan and Lucinda Conroy
“Megan,” her mother called, knocking gently on her door. “Honey, are you okay?” After several seconds without a response, Lucinda opened the door to her bedroom and peeked inside.
The teen bat sighed, setting down an old issue of SPIN magazine, and muttered, “Because nothing says ‘come in’ like a closed door.”
“I’m sorry,” the older woman said, though she didn’t leave the room or close the door. Instead, she walked over to the bed and sat down at the end. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“You already know what it’s about,” Megan sighed, sticking her muzzle back between the pages of the magazine. She wished they had never stopped printing; the feel of the paper was so much more personal than reading it online.
“Still, I’d like to be here for you, if you need me,” Lucinda said, reaching out to stroke her daughter’s hair. Megan reflexively flinched and tensed up, but didn’t pull away. Ever since her mother started working for Marblecliff Electric, things had gotten better between them. The abuse had stopped, both physically and emotionally, and her mother had stopped drinking altogether. Still, the memories remained, and the instincts to brace for a slap or punch weren’t so easily corrected. She felt a little guilty when her mother sighed and whispered, “Megan, I’m sorry.”
She didn’t know what to say - what she could or should say - so she just remained quiet, pretending to read the magazine in her paws. She could see in the corners of her eyes that her mother was crying, and she placed a paw on top of hers as a sign of support.
Lucinda sniffled and wiped the tears out of her eyes with her free paw, and looked down at her daughter beside her. “I know it wasn’t your fault that your father left me. I’ve always known…” Several seconds ticked by as the older woman pushed through her emotions, trying to hold back her sobs and formulating her next words. “I never should have started drinking. It was a crutch to help me cope with the loneliness. But I was never alone. I had you the entire time, didn’t I? And I just ignored you when I could. And when I couldn’t, I…” Her body shook and trembled as the pent-up emotions burst through.
Megan said nothing as she sat up and wrapped her large wings around her mother, pulling her in for a comforting hug. This wasn’t the first time they’d shared an exchange like this; over the past five months, Lucinda had apologized countless times for the neglect, the abuse, for pissing away her money on booze so that they were forced to live in the small, run-down apartment, for making Megan get a job to help support the two of them. She had busted her ass to get that scholarship at Chimera Prep while her mother spent her nights in an alcohol-induced stupor. And all of these things the young bat was willing to forgive her for.
But there were still some wounds that would not heal, and these she was having a much more difficult time letting go of. If not for her mother’s negligence, Megan never would have become friends with Kristin. She never would have become the ferret girl’s sexual plaything. She wouldn’t have been cruelly exposed as a herm to the entire school on video. She never would have met Ross. And she would have never had her heart torn out of her chest and trampled on. Until Megan could find a way to piece it back together, forgiveness would be impossible.
~~~~~
The Ashbacher Residence
It was eerily quiet in the Ashbacher’s basement as Jordan reached the bottom step. A dim light came from beneath a door at the far end of the open space, so the young cheetah/tundra lion mix figured that was where her friend was waiting. She padded quietly across the house to the door, unsure of why exactly she was being so careful not to disturb the silence, since she was expected and no one was sleeping. When she reached the door, she knocked softly and said, “Kait? Can I come in?”
“Yeah, the door’s unlocked, Jordan,” her best friend said quietly. She turned the knob and entered a quaint home theater, where the young ferret was sitting on a loveseat, cuddled up in a fleece blanket. “Hey,” she said, setting down the remote.
Jordan walked across the room and sat on the couch next to her friend, absent-mindedly staring at the screen. “Wha’cha watching?” Jordan asked, trying to avoid the topic she was dreading until she found an appropriate opening.
“Fantasia,” Kaitlyn said, gesturing up to the screen where a hippopotamus ballerina was dancing with an alligator. “It’s my favorite movie ever.”
Jordan broke out in a big grin at their mutual interest. “I love Fantasia! Elena never really got it… but this was one of Disney’s most brilliant works by far. Have you seen anything else done by Leopold Stokowski? I love watching him conduct.”
“Unfortunately, no,” her friend sighed. “There’s not a lot of video, and he died back around the time my dad was born. But have you seen Peter and the Wolf? That’s probably my second favorite animated musical.”
Jordan nodded. “Of course! Mom took us all to go see that live at the theater once. You know, it might be a little cheesy, but my favorite musical would have to be the Music Man. Have you ever seen that one?”
Giggling, Kaitlyn said, “I hope you mean the original, with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones, and not the Matthew Broderick remake.” It was nice to see her smile after weeks of awkwardness between them.
“Trust me; the original is near and dear to me! But I did grow up on the remake, so… I like that one better. God, that’s terrible, isn’t it? Haha!” Jordan giggled.
“My dad says that Matthew Broderick ruined Inspector Gadget for him,” the ferret said, “and that he should have stuck to Ferris Bueller. I don’t know, I like the sincerity and creativity of an original. Remakes just seem so… I don’t know, lazy, I guess.”
Jordan thought about it for a moment. “Mhh, maybe, though if you think about it, most symphonies are remakes, aren’t they? Every conductor is putting their spin on an older song, unless they wrote it themselves, using the brass, strings and everything else they have in a way that sounds right to them.”
“Yeah, but Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Mozart all lived in a time before CDs and MP3s,” Kaitlyn argued. “It’s not as if we can actually hear recordings of them personally leading the orchestra. If not for the conductors, we’d never hear those masterpieces. The original Music Man is still available on Amazon video.”
Jordan tilted her head and tried to come back with a counter. She usually won discussions when she and Kaitlyn had a disagreement, but when it came to music Kaitlyn was always on point. “Yeah, you’re right. Nostalgia just has me hung up on the remake, but that’s no excuse for not liking the original in this case.”
Jordan let that linger in Kait’s mind before giving her a big playful grin. Kaitlyn stared at her a moment before finally asking, “What?” Jordan jumped off the couch and hummed to herself to find the right pitch while trying super hard to remember everything she needed. Kaitlyn shifted in her chair, amused and interested by Jordan’s sudden change of attitude.
Finally, Jordan began singing and dancing.
“Weeeeeell, a woman who’ll kiss on the very first date
Is usually a hussy;
And a woman who’ll kiss on the second time out
Is anything but fussy...
But a woman who’ll wait till the third time around-
Head in the clouds, feet on the ground!
She’s the girl you’re glad you found,
She’s your shipoopi.”
Jordan stopped singing and held out her paw to Kaitlyn, indicating for her to take the next part of the song. The ferret girl grinned and shook her head at the cheetah’s antics, then with a sigh, took the offered paw and allowed Jordan to pull her up to her footpaws before joining in.
“Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi
The girl who’s hard to get
Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi
But you can win her yet.
Walk her once just to raise the curtain
Then you walk around twice and make for certain
Once more in the flower garden
She will never get sore if you beg her pardon.”
While Kaitlyn wasn’t as good of a singer as Jordan, she wasn’t terrible, either. Jordan was impressed by Kaitlyn’s knowledge of the dance as well; it had taken the cheetah several dance lessons and some independent study to pick up the steps, but Kaitlyn followed her in time without pause. Jordan sang out the scales and Kaitlyn joined in at the chorus.
“Do re me fa so la si
Do si la so fa mi re do.”
“Now little ol’ Sal was a no-gal-
As anyone could see.
Lookit her now - she’s a go-gal
Who only goes for me.
Squeeze her once, when she isn’t lookin’
If you get a squeeze back, that’s fancy cookin’
Once more for a pepper-upper
She will never get sore on her way to supper.”
“Do re me fa sol la si
Do si do.”
“Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi
The girl who’s hard to get
Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi
But you can win her yet.
Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi
The girl who’s hard to get
Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi
But you can win her yet, shipoopi.”
Jordan was having such a blast she had completely forgotten her reason for coming around. They danced and twirled with each other for a good while until Jordan came to the musical interlude of the song. Invisible music danced in her head and Kait followed along, until Jordan grabbed her friend by the waist and spun her around through the air. Kaitlyn eeped and giggled at the move, Jordan’s trance broken by her surprised yelp. They met eye-to-eye, Jordan’s paws at Kaitlyn’s waist and the young ferret’s arms around her shoulders. Jordan felt her heart racing as they stood there, close and breathless. Kaitlyn stared fondly into her eyes, and Jordan stared back with a mix of emotions she couldn’t define. Her heart nearly stopped as Kaitlyn leaned in, her lips lined up with hers. Time slowed down as Kaitlyn tried to kiss her, Jordan frozen in place without a single thought in her head. Finally a rash action brought her back to reality as she pushed softly on Kaitlyn’s chest.
“Wait, no… Kaitlyn, listen. W-we need to talk.”
“Jordan,” her friend said softly. “I’m scared, too. But I’m even more scared of not trying.”
“Kait…” Jordan said firmly. “I know this isn’t easy… b-but I don’t think I’m ready. Please understand, I don’t even know what I’m looking for yet, let alone if I’m interested in girls. So… do you think we can just be friends for now?”
Kaitlyn’s hurt expression tore at Jordan’s heart. “Jordan… What would you do if you were told that something you want, something you love, could never be yours again?” Tears began welling up in her friend’s eyes, and she let out a little sniffle. “Like, what if you hurt your paw and could never play an instrument? How… how would you feel watching other musicians perform?” Kaitlyn sniffled again, and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her shirt, but didn’t stop talking even as the first tears rolled down her cheeks. “It would suck, right? That’s how I’d feel seeing you every day and not being able to hold you, to kiss you. For God’s sake -” At this point, Kaitlyn lost control of her emotions completely, her voice cracking and raising in pitch a little. “You haven’t even noticed how badly it’s hurt me to just be friends for this long. I can’t keep waiting for something that might never happen.” Once her rant was out of her system, she dropped back down on the loveseat and pulled her blanket back over herself, her face mostly hidden by the material. “Just go,” she muttered.
Jordan just stood there, visibly shaking as she too started crying. Her whole body ached with her heart, like she had been slapped repeatedly across the face. She tried to say something, ANYTHING to ease the hurt, but her mind failed her as tears trailed down her muzzle. Finally, she couldn’t bear to see her friend - no, her ex-friend - suffer any longer and ran full sprint out of the room and up the stairs. Her vision was blurred by tears and she didn’t see the other person until she ran headlong into the older ferret. Kiki caught her, forcing her to a complete stop. Jordan looked up at Kaitlyn’s sister, both amazed at how she managed to catch her without falling over and begged her for help with her eyes.
“What happened?” the older girl asked, concern for her little sister heavy in her voice.
“I- She- We-!” Jordan cried more and more, unable to do anything but look sadly at the older girl. She glanced back at the room, where she left Kaitlyn crying.
“Come with me,” Kiki said, gesturing towards the back of the house. “You and I need to have a talk.” Jordan followed Kaitlyn’s sister towards the kitchen, and sat down in a chair that the older girl pulled out for her. “Can I get you something to drink? Water? Milk? Hot tea?” she asked as she walked towards the cabinets.
Jordan stared blankly at the older teen, the change of energy leaving her feeling tired. “Uh, tea I guess…”
The house was quiet as Kiki prepared the drink. Jordan sat there, wrestling with her thoughts and emotions while she waited for the older ferret to finish. She almost didn’t notice when the mug of hot liquid was placed in front of her and Kiki sat down. “You turned her down, didn’t you?”
Jordan’s ear’s flattened in response, nodding at Kiki’s accusation. “What else could I do? She’s a girl, and I’m not…” Jordan struggled to find the polite way to say what she was thinking.
“Why does that matter?” the older teen asked. “Forget about boys or girls. Do you like Kaitlyn or not?”
“Of course I like Kaitlyn! She’s my best friend. Except Lucas, but… it’s complicated…”
“Why? Is Lucas your boyfriend?” Kiki asked. “Do you love him?”
“NO!” Jordan said loudly. “He’s like a brother to me!”
“Do you even know what love is?” the girl asked.
Jordan opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. It was a question that had been plaguing her for a long time, especially since she had met Prichard and been tricked by his boyish cuteness. The honest answer escaped her and she gave Kiki the best she could muster. “I... Don’t think I do. It’s so weird thinking about other people, and I felt for the longest time that I’ve been missing out on something everyone else has. How am I supposed to know if I’m ready or not, if I can’t even define it?”
“I don’t think anyone can define it,” the older girl said as she took a sip of coffee. “Love can make us happier than we’ve ever been just as easily as it can destroy us. People have abandoned causes in the name of love while others have moved Heaven and Earth. You don’t define love. Love defines you. Tell me… Are you afraid of what your parents would think if you dated a girl?”
Jordan shook her head. “No, not really. Dad can be difficult, but he’s really understanding. Let’s just say, for a moment…” Jordan was bewildered by the turn this conversation was taking. “I do date a girl… I’m more scared of what people at school would say. Not for me, but for her. Because I... I…”
“You care for her,” Kiki finished for the young tundra lion/cheetah mix. Jordan silently nodded. “In case you didn’t notice, the only opinion that really matters to her is yours. And as far as she’s concerned, it’s not a very good one.”
Jordan looked down at her tea, untouched and no longer steaming. She had done a crappy job of being there for Kaitlyn, but she had gone as far as she could just being friends. Now Kaitlyn wanted more, but Jordan hesitated. A weird feeling welled up inside her, for how sad seeing Kaitlyn miserable made her. She cared about her friend in a way that was way different than how she cared about Lucas. A new fear welled up in Jordan: what if it wasn’t enough? What if she really didn’t like girls, and this whole ordeal was nothing but an embarrassment for both of them? That thought was soon suppressed by another one, the first thing Kaitlyn had said about all this: ‘I’m scared, too. But I’m even more scared of not trying.’
Jordan sighed, pushed out of her fantasy world by the need to act. She lingered at the table, comfortably feeling sorry for herself. Kiki was sizing her up, perhaps waiting to see if she was going to do anything. Finally, Jordan stood up out of the chair, grabbing her tea and downing the lukewarm drink.
“Thank you for the tea,” Jordan said, before turning and heading back to the entertainment room.
~~~~~
Megan’s Apartment
Megan was jerked awake by the sound of someone buzzing to get let into the building. Her mother was curled up in a ball, still in her arms, and the insides of Megan’s wing membranes were damp with the older woman’s tears. The teen bat sighed; this was a scene she had awakened to on many occasions over the past few months. She carefully and gently rolled the older woman onto her back, sliding her arm out from beneath her while trying to not wake her mother up.
Once she was freed, she walked to the window and peeked outside, but no one was there. She started off towards the bathroom to pee, but a knock came from the front door. Peeking through the peephole, she saw Vivy waiting for her, talking to a slightly older cheetah woman that looked vaguely familiar. She slid the chain off the door and turned the deadbolt, opening the door to greet the two women. “Hey,” she said, sounding confused, “What are you doing here? Look, I’m sorry for breaking all those windows earlier, I didn’t mean -”
“Nah, don’t worry about it; most of the neighborhood is blaming the Dark Rider House for it, anyway. We’re here to take you out for your birthday!” the teen giraffe exclaimed. “It’s fucked up that you’re turning seventeen and not doing anything for it, so I got to talking to Yvette - oh yeah, ‘Vette, this is Megan, our singer; Megs, meet my girlfriend, Yvette. Anyway, we got to talking, and I thought maybe you’d like to come out with us and maybe get a new piercing. My treat. I was planning on getting my sexy cheetah here some new bling, anyway.”
“We’ve met already,” the cheetah woman said, confirming Megan’s earlier notion that the woman looked familiar. She was tall, athletic, and beautiful, and spoke with a thick African accent. “It’s nice to see you again, Megan.”
“Wait, hold the fuck up. You two know each other? How?” the teen giraffe asked.
“Sorry,” the bat herm apologized. “I remember your face, but I don’t know why. Are you related to Xavier Rikkers?”
“Ah, I see,” Yvette said softly. “Yes, it has been a few months. We met briefly at one of my brother’s cookouts.”
“You’re his sister,” Megan nodded. “That’s right.”
“Who’s Xavier Rikkers?” Vivy asked as her friend exchanged words with her girlfriend.
“Ross’s uncle,” the bat said flatly.
“Oh, fuck,” the giraffe muttered. “Of all the fucking luck. Look, Megan, I’m sorry, I didn’t know. If that makes it awkward, we can do this another night, or ‘Vette can head home and just you and I can - “
“It’s fine,” Megan replied as she opened up a nearby closet and pulled out a vest jacket. “You’re right, I need to get out and have some fun, and a little pain sounds perfect. Besides, I don’t have any problems with the Rikkerses. Xavier gave me my mom back. Just, let’s not talk about Ross, okay?”
Vivy gave her trademark grin and clapped Megan on the shoulder. “That’s the fuckin’ spirit! Come on, I’ll introduce you to my pierceologist. You’re gonna love her.”
~~~~~
The Ashbacher basement
The basement was pitch dark and eerily quiet when Jordan went back downstairs; the dim glow emanating from under the door of the home theater room was gone, and no sounds escaped from inside. Jordan pressed her ear to the door, wondering if maybe Kaitlyn had retreated to her room. Her heart sank even more as she could make out the hushed sobs of the ferret, still upset by her earlier actions.
Jordan paused, unsure of how to proceed. She contemplated knocking, but decided to softly open the door and peek inside. Kaitlyn was still on the loveseat, curled up in a defensive little ball beneath her fleece blanket. Only her long, tapered tail hung out, flicking every once in a while and striking the microfiber cushions with a frustrated, perhaps even angry, thud.
Jordan sighed and flicked on the light switch, the lights giving an angry buzz to the otherwise quiet room. Kaitlyn froze, her tail stopping it’s beating of the loveseat, but otherwise remaining silent. “Leave me alone, Kiki. I was wrong… I… How… What do I do now?”
Jordan rubbed her shoulder, guilt welling up in her gut as she spoke out to ease it. “How about you give me a chance to apologize…” Jordan’s voice lacked volume, but Kaitlyn immediately flinched at the sound of her voice, her tail retreating under the under the covers.
“What can you say to make me feel better, Jordan?” she whined. “First we danced and sang, and then we got close, this close -” Her little paw shot up from beneath her fleece sanctuary, two fingers just centimeters apart. “- to us kissing, something I’ve been aching to do ever since I poured out my heart and soul to you in your bedroom, and something was there. I felt it, and so did you, Jordan. I know you did, and I could see it in your eyes. I thought for sure that song was about the way you felt about me, like I was supposed to be your shipoopi, and then… then… God, you ruined that movie for me forever, Jordan! How do you apologize for that?”
Jordan sat down on the sofa, talking to Kaitlyn without looking at her. “By saying how wrong I was…” Jordan started out, unsure where her own train of thought was going. Kaitlyn’s posture slacked, evidently willing to hear the cheetah out. “I- fuck…” Jordan swore. “Kait… I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing! But I’m so, so sorry… just for you, to say that to make me feel better… for being... difficult.”
Kaitlyn sat up and pulled the blanket down from over her head, staring at Jordan with angry, hurt eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She’d already said everything she needed to say, while the young cheetah hybrid struggled to find the words to express everything her heart wanted to say.
“Kaitlyn… I didn’t want to hurt you… but I’m not sure if I can’t; you’re asking me to suddenly try dating a girl! And that shook me, probably worse than it should have. Cause… I don’t… well, shouldn’t have, cared about that… I care about you.” Despite the somber feeling in the room, Jordan felt warmth rush to her pale yellow muzzle as she started to blush at what she was saying.
Kaitlyn’s eyes were wells of tears and emotion, obvious hurt, hope, and fear staring questioningly at the cheetah-lion mix. Jordan tried to smile, though it felt foreign and weak on her lips. “I care enough about you to come back in here, throw caution to the wind and ask you for a chance to try again. Will you let me?”
“Only if you promise me that you won’t run away again if you get scared,” the ferret said. “I’m scared, too. Talk to me, let me know how you feel, what you feel, and we’ll get through it together.”
“What if… that’s not enough?” Jordan frowned, her dark thoughts catching up with her. “What if I’m really not into girls? What if-”
“I don’t know what I’m into, either,” Kaitlyn interrupted her. “Only who, and that’s you. And here you are, talking to me, admitting that you care for me. Like I said, I’m more scared of not trying at all, and never knowing, of always wondering. So what if we break up? People break up all the time, and it’s not the end of the world. But do you know what else happens all the time? People regretting missed opportunities. Something is there between us, and you know it, Jordan Rikkers.”
Jordan’s ears flattened, an instinct to having her full name called. Jordan dug her feet into the carpet, pushing away those awkward feelings for as long as she dared to. Finally she caved, speaking sweetly for the first time. “I am scared… of how much I care about you.”
“If you really care about me, then don’t push me away,” her friend insisted. “I’m not asking you to do anything you don’t want to do. I’m just asking you to be honest with me… and with yourself.” She reached over and put her paw on top of Jordan’s and gave it a squeeze. “I’ve been nothing but completely honest with you since the day we met. Don’t I deserve the same thing from you?”
Jordan froze at Kaitlyn’s choice of words. “Now hold on! You tried to sneak a kiss from me at Arelia’s; that’s not honest!”
“I only tried to sneak a kiss because everything else I tried to get your attention didn’t work,” the ferret said, blushing. “But it’s not like I did it while you were sleeping or anything like that. I was trying, and failing, and I needed to step up my game. You’re so dense sometimes, but that’s one of those things I think is irresistibly cute about you. Don’t change that at all.”
Jordan puffed out her lip in a half-hearted frown. “Yeah… well, I’m well aware now… I’ve been completely honest with you as well, especially since that day we first hung out at your place. I felt... not bad, uh, lonely for you, because I always saw you by yourself. Turns out you had more friends than me back then…”
“Jordan,” the little ferret said softly. “Can I… can I kiss you?”
Jordan felt her body go numb except for the beating of her heart. “We’re… dating now right?” Jordan asked.
“Only if you want us to,” Kaitlyn answered. “I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Then… okay…” Jordan whispered.
Kaitlyn shifted closer on the loveseat, moving her paw from Jordan’s up to the cheetah/lion hybrid’s cheek. Closing her eyes, she leaned in, pursing her lips and pressing their muzzles together softly. Jordan trembled at Kaitlyn’s touch, their lips held together for the second time. Slowly, Jordan started to relax, moving in from merely touching to pressing her muzzle against Kaitlyn’s. She sighed at her friend’s heat; her time under the blanket seemed to radiate from her into Jordan, filling the tundra lion mix with warmth. She shuddered as they parted, her eyes opening though she couldn’t remember closing them. Kaitlyn was staring back at her, those deep orbs staring into her being.
“That was…” Jordan wanted to say ‘weird,’ but stopped herself mid-sentence for Kaitlyn’s sake, “Something else…” She mused.
“It was wonderful,” the ferret sighed, resting her head on Jordan’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
Jordan huffed, feeling conflicted and relieved at the same time. She switched seats, moving in on the loveseat with Kaitlyn as they snuggled up together. Kaitlyn sighed in appreciation, pressing herself closer into Jordan’s side.
“Can I get to ‘On Demand’ for Hulu or something using this remote?” Jordan asked.
“Yeah, why?” Kaitlyn asked.
Jordan nuzzled Kaitlyn’s face, making the ferret blush. “I don’t feel like getting up right now, and there’s a musical I want to watch.”
~~~~~
Long Wok on Beech Family Chinese Restaurant
“...and then my mom walks in and catches us in bed together! God, I was so embarrassed, I must have looked like cotton candy,” the tundra lioness explained as they walked towards the exit. “But that’s how I ended up here in Marblecliff, living with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Mom thought I was too much of a bad influence around my little sisters.”
“That is pretty bad, but I think I can beat that… The last time I expressed any interest in a girl, she ended up being my cousin I hadn’t seen in like sixteen years,” the squirrel boy confessed, before quickly adding, “I don’t think Claire knows about that part, so can we keep it between us?” He pushed open the door to leave the restaurant and held it open for her.
Ross couldn’t help but laugh at Jeremy’s admission. “You’re kidding, right? How does something like that even happen?” She had to admit to herself, she was having a good time. She wasn’t sure things would ever go anywhere between the two of them, but she felt much better than she would if she had gone home and moped. Dinner had flown by, and now they were casually strolling back towards her Civic as they talked.
“So I’m out having a good time, and I see this girl dancing and looking like she’s having fun, so I approach her. She’s dancing in real close, grinding against me,” the squirrel explained, “and we get to talking. I tell her a little about me, and she says I remind her a little of her cousin, Jerry. I tell her that Jerry was my nickname as a kid, but it doesn’t click at first because we’re in Tennessee and I grew up in another state. Not to mention that it had been sixteen years and my family all believed she was dead. Anyway, we keep talking as she’s dancing and grinding up on me, and more and more details are revealed, and pretty soon it’s obvious…”
“That’s hilarious,” Ross giggled slightly, “but there’s no way that story is more embarrassing than mine. It was just a freaky coincidence; my own mother walked in on me having sex.”
“Well, there’s a little more to my story,” Jeremy admitted. “My cousin’s a stripper, and we were at her work.”
“Okay, okay,” the tundra lioness said. “Getting a lap dance from your cousin is about good enough to tie with my story. Call it a draw?”
“I dunno, let’s see if the rest of the story is embarrassing enough to win,” the gray squirrel countered. “So as we both realize that we’re cousins, she tells me that she can’t just stop in the middle of a dance, and she has to go until the end of the song. So, that was awkward enough, but we keep talking, even while she’s giving me a lap dance. So there I am, in a strip club with my cousin grinding her ass down on my crotch, telling me how big I’ve gotten…”
“Okay, you win!” Ross laughed, clutching her sides. “I can’t even imagine…” She clicked the remote to her car, unlocking the doors.
“Right,” the older boy replied as he opened the passenger side. “Teenagers get caught having sex by their parents all the time. It’s not like nobody else knows what that’s like. Not many people can say that they received a lap dance from their cousin, though.”
“So, do you go to strip clubs often?” Ross asked playfully.
“That was the first, and probably last, time,” he said with a shrug. “I mean, I know the chances of running into another long-lost relative are pretty remote, but it kind of put a damper on the experience for me, you know?”
The drive was short, and was only made faster by the pleasantness of his company. Before either of them knew it, she was turning her Honda Civic onto the street they both lived on.
“Well, here you are,” she said as she pulled up in front of his parents’ house.
“Thanks, Ross,” Jeremy said, unbuckling his seatbelt, “I had a great time tonight. I’d like to see you again sometime, if you don’t mind.”
“Jeremy… I… I’m not looking for a relationship right now,” she replied, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. “I’m still trying to get past my last one.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, resting his paw on her shoulder reassuringly. “No pressure from me. I go to school fourteen hours away from here, which would make dating a challenge. But I had a great time, and really would like to do it again next time I’m in town.”
“I think I would, too,” she said. “Claire has my number. Call me.”
“Okay,” he said, opening the door and stepping out. “Good night, Ross.”
“Good night, Jeremy.”
~~~~~
Pierceology
Yvette parked her BMW in front of the piercing parlor and the three ladies climbed out of the vehicle. Megan still hated traveling by car, and took a moment to rotate her arms to loosen up her stiff shoulders. She looked up at the studio, and was impressed; it was definitely one of the nicest shops she had ever seen, and was much more professional-looking than some of the holes-in-the-wall Kristin had taken her to. It was the type of place she’d always wanted to go, but could never afford on her own while supporting her mother.
As they walked in the front door, they were greeted by a very attractive mare adorned with several piercings in each of her ears. Looking at the tight tank top the woman was wearing, Megan could also see that she had both of her nipples pierced as the imprints of a pair of metal hoops strained against the fabric covering her breasts. A little further down, her eyes met a cute navel piercing peeking out over a pair of form-fitting low-rise jeans.
“Maykere!” Vivy called out as they entered the parlor. “It’s good to see you again!”
“Vivy!” the equine woman said, walking up to the teen giraffe and giving her a hug. “Welcome back, girl. It’s been awhile. Are you here for some new body ornaments?”
“Kinda,” Vivy replied. “I’m here to get my girlfriend a nice belly ring, and while I’m at it, something nice for my friend’s birthday.”
“Hello,” the cheetah said shyly, blushing cutely through her fur. “It’s nice to meet you. You’ve done all of Vivy’s piercings?”
“Indeed I have,” Maykere said, walking behind the counter. “Ever since she was twelve, and her mother took her to my old job - a kiosk at the mall - for her first set of earrings. Of course, now that she’s older, she’s gotten a few more piercings that her mother doesn’t need to know about.”
“I can’t wait to see them some day,” Yvette said, looking at the giraffe.
“You two haven’t had sex yet?” Maykere asked. “She must be crazy about you, to be taking it slow. How long have you been together?”
“About three months,” Vivy answered. “The anticipation is killing me, but she’s worth it.”
“That’s quite admirable,” the mare replied, then looked over at Megan. “You’ve got quite the collection of piercings going on there. So tell me, what will it be for the birthday girl?”
“Hmm,” Megan said, pondering her options for a moment. “I don’t have much left that I want. Either my belly or my clit. Which would you suggest?”
“Well, what do you think your mate would enjoy more?” Maykere asked.
“I’m kind of in between relationships at the moment,” the bat answered flatly. “My recent breakup is part of why Vivy brought me out tonight.”
“Oh, well then, I’m sorry if I struck a chord. I didn’t mean to,” the woman remarked.
“No, it’s fine. I know you were just asking to help me decide,” the teen herm said sullenly. “You know what? Fuck it; I’ll go with the clit ring so it can be healed up by the time I get into a new relationship.”
“That sounds like a solid plan,” Maykere said, ringing up the charges. “Well, since Vivy’s paying, and she’s such a loyal customer, and it being your birthday, I’ll give you guys a discount. What would you like…? Sorry, I don’t know your names.”
“Oh, fuck, that’s my fault. ‘Kere, this is Yvette,” Vivy said, hugging the cheetah closely with one arm and gesturing to Megan with the other, “And that’s Megan. She’s the lead singer in my band.”
“Very nice,” the woman replied. “It’s nice to meet you both. Anyway, what kind of piercing would you like for your clitoris, Megan? Vertical Hood? Horizontal Hood? 14-Gauge Double Gemmed Curved Barbell? 12-Gauge Captive Bead Ring?”
“Oh... Uhm, which would you recommend?” Megan asked.
“More women prefer the VCH because they say it feels better,” Maykere explained. “And I’d recommend a double gemmed curve with a captive bead ring, because if your partner goes down on you, he or she can get a better grip on it with their teeth and give you a playful tug... If you’re into that sort of thing, that is.” A demure blush spread across her cheeks as she spoke.
“That sounds like fun,” the teen bat said with a playful smile, perhaps the first time she had genuinely smiled in weeks. She joined Yvette at the display case, leaning over the glass counter to browse the selection of jewelry. It took a few minutes, but she found the ideal barbell for what she wanted: a black titanium anodized barbell with a matching notched ring with a pair of purple cubic zirconia beads. “I’ll take this one, please.” She then turned to look at her friend and said, “Thanks, Viv. I really appreciate this. Today was a disaster up until you bailed me out.”
“Don’t mention it,” the giraffe said with a dismissive gesture of her paw. “You’re my friend, and I hate seeing you miserable. Plus, the way I see it, if we can get your head straight, then we can get this damn band up and running. Think of it as a birthday gift and a business expense. I’ll ask my parents’ accountant if I can write this shit off or something.”
“Still, I appreciate it,” the bat said. “What are you getting, Yvette?”
“I don’t know. I was just looking through the case to see if there was something else I might like, in case I decide to get more piercings later. Vivy had mine picked out before we got here,” Yvette explained, a nervous smile on her muzzle. “I’m excited to see what it is, though.”
“Okay, so which of you two ladies is first?” Maykere asked, passing Vivy back her credit card and a receipt.
“If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to go first,” the cheetah volunteered. “I think getting your… clitoris…” she blushed cutely as she said the word, “pierced sounds pretty painful. I don’t want Megan’s pain to make me back out of this.”
“Fair enough,” the equine woman said, setting up her workspace. “Megan, Vivy said you’re the singer for your band? Would you mind singing for us while I work?”
The teen bat perked her ear to listen to the music playing overhead, but didn’t recognize the song being played. “Is there any way to change the station? Maybe if I find a song I know, I can.”
“Oh, it’s all on my laptop, over there,” Maykere said, gesturing to a nearby stainless steel surgical cart. Megan walked over and looked through the woman’s music collection, impressed by the diversity of her tastes. She saw several artists that she was familiar with, but she wanted to show off a little for the equine woman. Finally, she spotted the perfect thing. “You like Garbage? They’re my favorite band.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty good. I’ve seen them twice in concert. Amazing! Shirley Manson does a good job of keeping you on your toes by switching up the lyrics from time to time,” Maykere said as she adjusted the chair to a reclined position so that Yvette’s athletic, toned stomach would be more accessible. “Go ahead and sing me something by them.”
Megan compiled a short playlist of a few tracks she knew by various artists, and hit play. The opening chords of ‘Fix Me Now’ kicked in, and she bobbed her head slightly, eyes closed, softly singing:
“Things don’t have to be this way
Catch me on a better day.”
The guitar riff kicked in and she spun on the heel of her right footpaw, winding her body and shimmying her hips in time to the music.
“Bury me above the clouds
All the way from here
Take away the things I need
Take away my fear.”
Maykere gave an approving smile at the song choice and turned her attention back to Yvette as she gently trimmed the small patch of fur around the cheetah’s navel.
“Hide me in a hollow sound
Happy evermore
Everything I had to give
Gave out long before.”
The pierceologist then shaved the remaining stubble away using a razor and shaving gel, nodding along with the singing, and adding her voice to the chorus as Megan sang for her.
“Fix me now I wish you would (fix me now)
Bring me back to life (fix me now)
Kiss me blind somebody should (fix me now)
From hollow into light.”
Next, the mare put on a clean pair of latex gloves. Using a cotton swab, she thoroughly cleansed the bald patch with some rubbing alcohol while the teen bat continued to sing and dance.
“Crashing silent broken down
Falling into night
Who gave up and who gave i
I’ll go without a fight.
Cut me down or cut me dead
Cut me in or out
Kiss me blind time after time
Take away my doubt.”
Maykere lined up the holes with a pair of forceps clamps, and carefully drove the receiving tube through the exposed skin, then capped the upper end with a bit of cork. The mare deftly grabbed the curved barbell and used it to slide the tube the rest of the way through, leaving the exposed end of the barbell poking through the top hole. Before Yvette knew it, the other bead was attached, and she was finished.
“Fix me now I wish you would (fix me now I wish you would/fix me now)
Bring me back to life (fix me now)
Kiss me blind somebody should (kiss me blind somebody should/fix me now)
From hollow into light.”
The cheetah woman rose up from out of her chair and walked over to a full-length mirror and admired what her younger girlfriend had picked out for her. It was a double-gemmed barbell similar to what Megan had chosen, but surgical stainless steel with an aquamarine at the top and a topaz at the bottom, and a monogrammed ‘V’ pendant hanging from the lower bead.
“Things don’t have to be this way
Catch me on a better day.”
Yvette clapped a paw over her muzzle, tears welling up in her eyes, before turning and wrapping the teen giraffe up in a loving embrace. The two females exchanged several short, sweet kisses while Maykere prepped her workspace for her next client.
“Nowhere only down from here
Pick me off the floor
Take away the things I dream
One time one place one more.”
The mare woman reached over and grabbed a spray bottle, squirting down the seat and then wiped it down thoroughly with a clean cloth before tossing it into a nearby basket.
“Fix me now I wish you would (Fix me now somebody should/fix me now)
Bring me back to life (fix me now)
Kiss me blind somebody should (fix me now somebody should/fix me now)
From hollow into…”
Maykere changed her latex gloves then walked over to her cart and retrieved a fresh set of piercing tools, unwrapping a clean needle from its packaging. She looked over to Megan and smiled, giving the seat a soft pat.
“Fix me now I wish you would (fix me now somebody should/fix me now)
Bring me back to life (fix me now)
Kiss me blind somebody should (fix me now somebody should/fix me now)
From hollow into light.”
The bat walked over to the seat as she concluded her song, unbuckling her belt as she went. She sat down on the chair and removed her boots one at a time, then pulled her jeans down, exposing a cute pair of light blue bikini cut panties and a rather prominent bulge.
“Things don’t have to be this way
Catch me on a better day
Things don’t have to be this way
Catch me on a better day.”
Megan blushed slightly as she used her footpaws to lift her hips up off the seat and slide her underwear down and off, leaving herself naked below the waist in front of this stranger and her friends. It was the first time anyone so unfamiliar had seen her so exposed since when she was with Kristin, and it excited her. A small drop of pre leaked from the tip of her cock, and she could feel her pussy getting wet.
“Well, now, aren’t you just full of surprises?” the mare giggled. “I just thought you were a cute girl, but then you went and sang me a song. You have a lovely voice, by the way. And now I see that you’re not just a girl, but a herm… with a lot going on downstairs. It’s a shame you’re single, Megan.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me,” the bat grumbled. “My girlfriend and I broke up a few months ago over something stupid I did a while ago.”
“That’s too bad,” Maykere said. “Spread your legs a little, please.” Megan felt the mare’s paws on her scrotum, lifting her balls up and out of the way. “The important thing is that you learn from your mistakes, and you go forward from there.” Maykere’s fingers explored and parted her labia, and the bat herm had to suppress a soft giggle as the entry and exit points for the piercing were gently marked with a marker.
“I have,” Megan said with a frustrated sigh. “I learned the lesson, and thought I had moved on. I thought I had received my punishment, and served my senmphhff -” Her words were cut off as Vivy clamped her muzzle shut. She glared at her friend, who just grinned back down at her.
“The last time you screamed, all the windows within a block shattered,” the giraffe explained just as Megan felt a sharp sting from the receiving tube pinched through the sensitive flesh of her clitoral hood. Her hips bucked up off the seat and she gasped, but the pain was thankfully brief. As the sensation died down to mild discomfort while Maykere inserted the barbell, Vivy released her muzzle and chuckled, shaking her head. “You’re either tougher than I expected, or you get off on pain even more than I thought.”
“It’s not that bad, honestly,” the bat said as the mare attached the beads and wiped away the marker dots. “Nowhere near as bad as I expected. I’m surprised you don’t have yours done, Viv.”
“I keep telling her,” the mare said, sitting back up in her stool and removing her gloves. “But she keeps giving me different reasons not to. I think she’s just a little nervous and won’t admit it, but maybe after watching you get yours, she’ll change her mind. What do you think, Vivy?”
“Fine, if you’re all gonna ride my ass about this shit, I’ll get mine done next time,” the teen giraffe said, throwing her paws up in the air. “But only if ‘Vette gets her nipples done.”
The older cheetah woman blushed sweetly and said, “If you want me to, then okay.”
As her friends walked back over to the display case, Maykere told Megan, “Why don’t you go check it out in the mirror? I think it looks pretty sexy.” The bat tenderly walked over to check her new jewelry, holding her ball sack up and out of the way so that she could see it better. She had to admit it looked great, and she was excited to find out how it would feel during sex after healing up. The thought sent a delicious tingle along her spine, and she could feel her cock growing hard in her paw.
“You’re beautiful, Megan,” the mare said as she walked up and gently rested her chin on the bat’s shoulder. “You know, nobody should be lonely on their birthday. I hope this doesn’t come across as being too forward, but would you like to hang around until I close up shop, and I can buy you a nice birthday dinner?”
“You don’t have to do that, Maykere,” Megan said, shivering as the older woman’s breath tickled her ear. “But I appreciate the offer.”
“No, I don’t,” Maykere agreed, “but I want to.”
“In that case,” the bat herm said, turning around to face her companion, “I’d be honored. Thank you.”
~~~~~
Maykere’s apartment
Megan finished washing her paws and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She still wasn’t sure why she was here. She had gone out with her friend to get a new piercing because it was preferable to going to bed before nine o’clock on her birthday. She hadn’t expected to wind up in the apartment of a total stranger, even if she was someone Vivy had known for years and trusted. The sting from her clitoral piercing had faded away into mild discomfort, though it would still be awhile before she would be ready to touch herself, or be touched, down there. But that’s not the part of her body her hostess had expressed interest in.
Megan turned off the bathroom light and stepped into the adjoining bedroom. Her nostrils detected the faint scent of spicy incense, and as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw Maykere standing at the side of the room facing toward her as she rolled up the second of a pair of stockings up her left leg. The mare looked up and gave her a soft smile, and beckoned Megan to join her. The teen bat took another step into the room and Maykere walked over to her, gentle paws reaching out and pulling her into a welcoming embrace.
“It’s okay,” the older woman whispered softly, her sweet breath tickling the inside of Megan’s large ear. Maykere’s paws roamed up the bat’s back to her shoulders and gently pulled her vest down her arms. The young herm knew that she should leave, that her irresponsible sexual history is what had cost her her relationship with Ross, but the excitement of the situation and the comforting nature of her hostess outweighed logic.
Maykere draped the vest over the back of a nearby desk chair then turned back toward Megan. She stood in front of the bat and reached up, grabbing the hem of her t-shirt and slowly pulling it up, exposing Megan’s flat tummy and bra-encased breasts. The teen herm could hear her own nervous breathing, but she didn’t hear a sound from the mare in front of her. The equine woman seemed completely calm and in control.
“Maykere...” Megan whispered as the gentle paws starting removing her pants. “Why…?”
“Because,” the woman whispered back as she knelt down in front of the bat and removed each leg before standing and laying the pants behind her. “You and I both want this, but you’re still hurting and scared. Trust me.”
“I do,” Megan whispered as her head spun. She never would have imagined that the shy, demure mare from the piercing parlor would be so daring and confident. “I’m just surprised to see you so bold.” Two fingers lowered on her lips, and the woman walked around Megan, wrapped her arm around her shoulder, and stepped up against her back.
“Believe me,” Maykere said softly as she pressed her breasts into Megan’s back. “I’m a nervous mess right now. I’m actually very submissive.” As she slid one paw around to Megan’s tight abdomen, she let the two fingers of her other paw slide down the teen bat’s chin. She encircled her paw around Megan’s throat, and with one finger, she pushed her head back and exposed her neck.
“You could have fooled me…” Megan gasped as she felt a pair of soft, wet lips come down on her lower neck. She felt an immediate stirring in her gut as heat spread down her face and neck. The paw around her neck moved down her chest and cupped around one of her breasts while the other slid down her stomach stopping just short of her panties. The feeling in her stomach had now become an ache between her legs. The bat let out a low moan and lifted her arm up, wrapping it around Maykere’s head and held her as she continued sucking, biting, and licking on her neck.
“Now that I have your attention, can you take the lead?” the equine whispered as her tongue licked along the edges of Megan’s ear.
“Yes,” Megan moaned as she slowly turned around until she was facing her new lover. She brought her paws up to Maykere’s chest and let her fingers lightly graze across the soft, silky fabric. She felt the mare shiver from her touch before she reached around the woman to release her bra. She pulled the shoulder straps down slowly, letting her fingers tease all the way down both arms before finally dropping the bra to the floor.
Megan took a moment to admire the woman’s gorgeous breasts, each capped with a quarter-sized areola and a stiff little nipple pierced through with a golden captive bead ring. “You’re beautiful,” she said sweetly, taking hold of one of the mare’s paws and guiding it to the bulge in the front of her moist panties. “Look what you do to me.”
As soon as the equine woman realized where her paw was she pressed it in tighter to the lump trapped by the soaked underwear. She squeezed the material around the thick length of flesh, earning a low, approving moan and a grin from Megan. The bat’s own paw began pumping up and down, stroking Maykere’s delicate fingers along her shaft.
Megan released her grip on the woman’s paw and grabbed her by the hips, walking Maykere backwards until they came to the bed. With a gentle push she guided the mare to take a seat on the edge of the mattress. The teen herm reached behind her own back, unclasped her bra, and tossed it aside. She looped her thumbs in her panties and removed them as well. She found the mare’s paws again and brought them up to her bare, slender hips. She kept her paws over her lover’s as they slid around to her ass, up her bare back, and came around to slide across her own pierced nipples. She stilled the roaming paws there and squeezed them against her breasts. She let them linger only a moment before placing them both back in the equine woman’s lap. Megan gently placed a paw on the mare’s chest and pressed her onto her back.
“Slide up,” Megan requested as she hooked her fingers into the woman’s panties and pulled them off, leaving her naked except for her stockings. Maykere pulled herself up the bed, and the young bat crawled after her. As she got over the top of the mare, she lowered her body and slid her hips up between Maykere’s spread legs. A pair of paws almost slammed down on her ass and pulled her pelvis tight against the mare’s waiting pussy. Megan was unable to hold back the shocked breath or the soft moan when she felt Maykere grinding against her engorged cock. She realized that play time was almost over, but wanted to know how far she could push the equine woman before she was begging to be taken.
She eased herself all the way down on top of Maykere, took her face in her paws, and crushed their muzzles together in a passionate kiss. Her lips were frantic as she licked, sucked and nibbled at Maykere’s mouth. Only when the mare finally slid her long tongue between her lips did Megan finally pause and take in the full feeling of being kissed by someone again. She moaned and slid her tongue alongside her lover’s in a wet, slow dance of want and need.
Megan pulled herself up over Maykere’s hips and slid her paws down across her hard, sensitive nipples. The equine woman arched into her paws as her body ached for more. The bat teased her fingers around each nipple slowly and gently. As she got closer and closer, she could see Maykere anticipating her next move. Her breaths were coming quickly, her full breasts rising and falling. Their eyes were locked as Maykere tried to read what she was about to do. Megan clamped onto the mare’s nipple rings tightly and twisted them as she slid her throbbing dick against the damp equine cunny.
“God,” Maykere screamed as Megan twisted and pulled her nipples. She knew it was coming, she had to have, but Megan couldn’t believe the reaction she was receiving. Maykere’s breasts were likely more sensitive than most other women’s, and she seemed like she was about to cum by simply having her nipples played with. The mare’s back stayed arched off the bed as Megan continued the pleasure-pain that she triggered in her body. The ache in her lover’s nipples must have subsided just enough for her to register that her wet pussy was sliding and grinding against Megan’s cock because she pulled her knees up behind the bat’s back and tilted her hips upward. Megan responded by quickly grabbing Maykere’s knees and used them to help pull herself tighter against the waiting heat.
“Please,” Maykere begged as she stared up at the bat. Megan had never wanted to cum so badly in her life, but she was so close to her goal. She just needed to be a little more patient.
“Say it,” she whispered as she wet her fingers between Maykere’s folds and lowered them back down to her abused nipples, giving them another solid tweak. It felt good to be in control for once.
“Please make me cum, Megan. I need to cum.” The teen herm released the mare’s nipples, but she didn’t make any other movements. A moment later, Maykere blushed as she realized that she hadn’t said quite what the bat wanted to hear.
“I need you to love me, Megan. I need you to make love to me and make me cum. God, please,” Maykere said as she arched her breasts up toward the bat’s paws.
“Good girl,” Megan praised as she sat up and stroked her length back and forth several times between Maykere’s puffy, glistening labia, causing the mare to moan and whine with anticipation. She leaned back slightly and placed the tip against the equine pussy, and the woman shivered with arousal. She held onto Maykere’s hips as she pushed the tip just inside, then ran her paw through her lover’s juices and lubricated her dick even more before she pushed it in further. Despite being genetically designed to take the cocks of stallions, she felt hot, slick, tight, and smooth around Megan’s length. The teen herm let out a pleasured groan as she slid her cock all the way inside of her new lover.
“Oh God, yes,” Maykere moaned as she was finally filled completely. When Megan pulled back out slowly, the mare waited impatiently until she started forward again, and she pressed back against her. She gripped the woman’s sensitive breasts and started pumping her cock into her harder and harder. Maykere met each thrust with gusto and pushed back, ramming the base of Megan’s cock against her clit.
The bat pinched and twisted the mare’s breasts causing a slight scream to escape her parted lips. Thrust after thrust, she could hear Maykere grunt every time she rammed into her. When the grunts rose in pitch, she slowed her hips down and pulled almost all the way out before pushing in just as slowly. Her lover’s head fell back onto the bed and she fought to get her breathing under control. Megan slipped her paw down and brought two fingers up on either side of Maykere’s clitoris, pressing them together and sliding them up and down with the sensitive bundle of nerves pinched between them.
Maykere’s head shot back up as Megan started stroking her clitty from both sides, the tight pressure and movements overwhelming the mare’s senses. Maykere pushed herself back until her hooves could touch the floor. She propped herself up on her elbows and pushed back against the cock that was still inside of her. It hit exactly where she wanted it to, and she started riding Megan’s cock again, every thrust pressing it into her upper wall.
“That’s it, Megan, just like that,” the woman panted through gritted teeth.
“Are you ready to cum?” Megan asked near her ear. She was ready as well and wanted them to climax together.
“Yes, God, yes,” the mare moaned.
The teen bat no longer held back. She brought her left paw up to Maykere’s shoulder, and left the other one between her legs where her clit was still trapped between her digits. With all the strength she had left, she pushed into her equine lover time after time. She maintained the pressure on either side of the fleshy pearl and it was being pushed against her paw with every surge forward.
“Yes, yes…” Maykere moaned over and over again. “God, Megan, yes, almost...” She arched her back up hard against Megan and rammed the base into her clit repeatedly. Every time she bottomed out inside of her pussy, Maykere would grunt and gasp into her ear. “Oh god, yes, I’m going to cum.”
Megan’s hips went into overdrive, and thrust after thrust, the mare’s cries grew louder and louder. The teen herm slid her paw down from Maykere’s shoulder and pinched one of her nipples tightly. She started twisting and pulling again and that got Maykere screaming. Megan couldn’t hold out much longer, and luckily, she didn’t have to. The older woman’s climax hit full force, and her body continued to hump her hips up against Megan’s erratic thrusting.
“Oh, God!” her lover cried out as her inner muscles squeezed down, desperately trying to make the bat cum. A spray of her juices squirted out around the base of Megan’s cock, drenching her swinging testicles.
“I-I need to... p-pull out,” Megan panted, only to have Maykere’s legs lock tightly around her, holding her in place.
“It’s okay,” the mare said softly, caressing her cheek. “I can’t get pregnant.”
“No,” the bat said, shaking her head, edging dangerously closer to her release as Maykere worked her hips, grinding her silken walls around the pulsing, twitching cockflesh. “I need... t-to pull out. I already... ha-have a kid… I need to pull ooooouuuuttt, f-for my own p-peace of mind.”
“On my belly, then,” her woman said, releasing her leg lock on Megan’s buttocks. As the bat withdrew the length of the shaft, Maykere lifted both legs high into the air, pressing her thighs together and pulling her knees down towards her chest. “Use my stockings to finish yourself off.”
Megan shifted slightly, raising her body up far enough to slide her pussy-slicked member between the small gap between Maykere’s nylon-clad legs. She gave an experimental push forward, and shivered with delight at the foreign sensation. She had already been on the precipice of a massive orgasm and in a matter of seconds she was pounding away at the makeshift pussy, panting and moaning softly as her climax rapidly built up inside of her. As Megan’s breathing became ragged and her thrusting erratic, she looked down and stared right into her lover’s eyes. Maykere smiled back up at her and mouthed the words ‘cum for me, baby.’
“Oh, fuck!” the teen herm cried out as she buried her shaft between the mare’s thighs. Her body went rigid for a second before she shuddered and shook. The first few jets of her cum landed on Maykere’s stomach, some of it pooling in her navel, while the sixth, seventh, and eighth spurts landed above her well-fucked cunny. As her orgasm subsided, Maykere parted her legs, allowing Megan to lay back over top of her cum-covered body.
“Oh, god,” the equine woman remarked, “you were pretty pent up, huh?”
“Fuck, that was good,” the bat panted. “I needed that.” She ran her fingers through the gobs of spilled seed that matted the mare’s fur and held them towards her lover’s muzzle. Maykere craned her head up and accepted her sticky digits, swirling her long, flexible tongue around the offered fingers, cleaning them of Megan’s cum. “Don’t swallow it. Not yet,” Megan instructed.
She pulled her paw away and the mare craned her neck up as far as she could, determined to get all of the bat’s sticky treat. When she couldn’t lean forward any further, Megan’s digits slipped free with a wet slurp. With a playful grin, the teen herm gathered up more of her sperm and brought her paw to her own lips, making a teasing show of sucking her digits clean. She let the sweet, pearly liquid pool on her tongue and leaned forward, pressing Maykere to lay back on the bed as she mashed their muzzles together once more. The mare eagerly and hungrily accepted the kiss this time, and the pair swapped the her cum back and forth between them as their tongues danced in each other’s mouths. Time lost all meaning as they made out until Megan needed to breathe. Breaking the kiss, she said dryly, “Okay, you can swallow it now.”
The mare smiled sweetly back up at her and swallowed deeply, savoring the sperm as it slid down the back of her throat. She smacked her lips lightly and said, “It was a lot sweeter than I expected. Delicious.”
“My diet is almost entirely fruit-based,” Megan explained as she rolled over onto her side. Maykere followed suit, scooting back so that they were spooning with her firm, round butt pressed snugly against the bat’s deflated erection. With a happy sigh, Megan draped her wing over her lover’s body and held her close. She was completely satisfied and worn out, and the smell of sex filled the room.
“You know,” Maykere said after several minutes, breaking the silence, “I’ve always wanted to try sex with a partner that had a Jacob’s ladder. If you’re interested, I’ll sell you the barbells at cost, and do the piercing for free. That is… only if you’re interested. I know how you enjoy the pain.”
“How can I say no?” Megan said, giving the mare a soft kiss while lightly teasing one of her breasts.
“Of course,” the mare giggled, “that’s going to take two to five weeks to recover before you’re ready for sex… Well, penile intercourse. But I do have plenty of toys we can use to indulge your female half until then. We’ll just have to wait until that VCH finishes healing up.”
“That sounds… wonderful.” She smiled and nuzzled in tightly behind the older mare woman and began softly humming. The duo remained still, basking in the afterglow of their climaxes. For the first time in months, Megan felt safe… secure… happy. After humming through the first two verses of the tune in her mind, Maykere figured out which song it was and began quietly singing along.
“My weakness
You know each and every one - it frightens me
But I need to drink
More than you seem to think
Before I’m anyone’s
And you know...
It’s a question of lust
It’s a question of trust
It’s a question of not letting
What we’ve built up
Crumble to dust
It is all of these things and more
That keep us together.
Kiss me goodbye
When I’m on my own
But you know that I’d
Rather be home.
It’s a question of lust
It’s a question of trust
It’s a question of not letting
What we’ve built up
Crumble to dust
It is all of these things and more
That keep us together…”
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