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Sheep-Dog

Chapter 9 - The Many Eyes of Argus

Bobby's head was spinning. Prince Argus had just told him that Barbara's father was not only the single most important and powerful ram in Pastoria, but that he was also raising an army to invade the Territories and take her back.

Argus had said that nowhere in the Territories was safe now for Bobby and Barbara. Because there were sure to more like Renny the fox, he supposed, and the Pastoria army would simply follow wherever they went, leaving destruction in their wake.

"This isn't your fight." He told the Prince. "Barbara and I will go back to Pastoria. Someone is sure to report our return, and then Drystan Dorset will have no need for an army. Maybe we can lose ourselves in some crowded city, keep head of his agents."

"Not likely. I hear that he has more spies watching the citizens of Pastoria than he has watching us. He'll simply use the army to surround whatever city you are spotted in until someone gives you up."

Bobby wrung his paws. "What should I do? I know that if I tell Barbara she will want to surrender herself to her father rather than bring war down on your heads."

The Prince scratched his chin. "Maybe we can solve two problems at once. The Pastoria army is not what it once was, when all the canines were loyal and proud to serve. Meanwhile, our ranks have grown, thanks to disgruntled dogs like you. It will take time for Drystan to raise his army and in that time, we can raise one to oppose him. With luck we can defeat him, leaving Pastoria defenceless."

"Then the wolves take over again?"

"No, then the citizens of Pastoria rise up and take back what they lost - their rights. We wolves and wolf-dogs have become quite used to the north, but we would not mind being able to trade freely instead of using smugglers, maybe open a few businesses, and travelling openly would be nice."

"Sounds like you are going to need a lot of luck."

"Luck is where you make it, Bobby ... and that is where you come in."

"I'm listening."

"Like you said last week, many dogs with more fighting experience than you have crossed the border. Most will fight with us if it means a chance to go home as free dogs and the ones that don't will help train our people. But we'll still be outnumbered. There are two things that can help level the playing field, so to speak. The first is a campaign to discourage the canines and other servant species from joining the army."

"The Dorset and their allied flocks will force all the workers on their farms to join anyway." Bobby interrupted.

"Yes, but their moral will be poor, and many of the ones in the cities and large towns will find excuses not to go if it looks like there is a real chance they might get hurt."

"There is still the sheep, they outnumber the rest a hundred to one."

"But they are mostly ewes. The rams don't let them fight, and from what you have told my guards in my absence the rams themselves are not very good at fighting."

"Do you really think that you stand a chance of winning?"

"I will with the help of the second thing - intelligence. Defeating a numerically superior enemy requires fighting on your own terms, at a time and place of your choosing. If I know what their intent is then I am sure that I can maneuver them into a trap. But no wolf or wolf-dog can infiltrate the Borderlands now, the security is just too tight. And even if one could get through no dog, horse, pig or cat would listen to them; they all think that were up here licking our chops waiting to enslave them and barbeque the flocks."

"There are some that know different." Bobby said, thinking of Dan and a number of others that had dealt with the wolves in the past.

"And you know some of them, don't you?"

"Well, yes." Bobby suspected where this line of conversation was going, and he didn't like it.

"As I said last week, what I need is a dog with enough spark to start a fire. You don't give yourself enough credit, but I think that you are that dog. In short, I want to send you back into Pastoria to spy for us. I want you to sew dissention and doubt among the species as you go but most importantly, I want you to see if you can find someone with inside information on what Drystan plans to do." Prince Argus paused. "And since he continues to run the Assembly while he raises and trains his army that information will be had in Ariesborough."

Bobby's mouth fell open. "You want Barbara and I to go back to Ariesborough?"

"No, Bobby, I want to go back to Ariesborough alone. A collie travelling with an ewe that looks anything like a Dorset would be too suspicious. Besides, if Drystan is set on recovering his daughter we can use her to lead the army where we want them to go."

"You would use her as bait?"

"If need be." Argus leaned forward with a grunt of pain and put a reassuring paw on Bobby's shoulder. "Don't worry, she won't be in any danger, obviously Drystan needs her alive and well for whatever political marriage he has arranged. But we'll only surrender her to him if all else is lost, you have my word on that."

Bobby knew that Prince Argus was right, and from what he had learned of the Prince in the last week he was a wolf as good as his word.

"Can I have some time to think this over?"

"No, not really, I'm afraid. Time is of the essence now. If you are going to get down to Ariesborough and back with any valuable information you will have to leave almost immediately. Dozens of my agents will be setting out to spy out the land both near and far and those going the furthest must be prepared and leave first."

Bobby thought quickly, a genetic trait in his breed. What the Prince said was true, and Bobby knew that it was the right thing to do. His father always said that inaction was a form of cowardice, although he was referring to taking the time and effort to chase down wolves rather than hoping they would run back across the border when he said it. It seemed to fit this situation also, still, he dreaded having to tell Barbara.

"Alright. I'll do it."

"Do what?" Barbara asked as she returned with fresh bandages, hot water and a poultice.

Bobby opened his mouth to speak but could not make any sound come out. Seeing his stricken face she turned to the Prince and read the sadness and determination on his features.

"It's my father, isn't it?" She said as she began pulling the bloody bandages away.

"Yes." Argus replied between clenched fangs. "He is raising an army to fetch you."

"And you've asked Bobby to fight for you."

"No." Bobby said from behind her. "He's asked me to go back to Ariesborough alone to spy on your father."

She paused in cleaning the gash, staring at the wall as she absorbed that information. After a moment she returned to her nursing duties, although her hands moved more forcefully on the wound than before.

"You're no spy, Bobby Collie. You're too honourable for that."

"I'm not a very good liar, so I suppose I'd make a terrible spy, but I do know some people who lie almost for a living."

"Who? That scoundrel Dan? The slut who works for the Commander?"

Bobby shrugged and hung his head. "Yes, them ... and a Sheltie I used to ... used to know."

She gave him a hard look that softened when she saw distress fighting duty there.

"Someone from your home farm?"

"Someone I once hoped to make my mate. But that ship has sailed."

"You really can't lie, can you?"

"Not to you."

"And I can't go because I would be putting you in danger."

"That's right."

Barbara turned to the Prince and cinched the new bandage around his waist tight enough to make him cry out. "If my Bobby does not come back, you'll answer to me."

"I just hope that your father is not half as dangerous as you are."

"When does Bobby have to leave?"

"Tonight, before dawn anyway. I want to sneak him out while most prying eyes are asleep."

She continued to tie the bandages, a little more gently than before, and the Prince took her silence as acquiesce with his plan, albeit reluctantly given. He addressed Bobby softly over her head so that only they three could hear.

"We have real identification papers from a collie your age that was supposed to join the army but fled north instead. His farm and family do not know that he never reported for duty, and the army's administration is so bad they probably didn't miss him. His name was James, and you will go by that name from now so you can get used to it when folk call you that."

"What if I get stopped away from this James' home and questioned?"

"We have forged papers of leave from the army, giving him permission to travel to see his sick mother in the Borderlands. Depending on where they stop you just show the papers and tell them you are on your way north to see her or on your way back to your unit south of Ariesborough after her funeral. Can you do that ... James?"

"I suppose I can."

"You'll have to James, otherwise you'll be boned."

"Boned?"

"Fucked, yiffed, shafted, screwed."

"Oh! So, if I am not a good spy I'll be boned?"

"Yes. Boned, James, boned."

Barbara boke the mood by standing up between them. "The cut is clean and not too deep. You should be well enough to fight in a couple of weeks, but only if you do not strain yourself meanwhile."

"I'll be sitting right here mostly, planning our defence with my commanders."

"Don't forget to get some rest too. Rest is good medicine for a wound."

Argus smiled. "I Promise I will, and so should you ... James. From what my servants report neither of you have been getting much sleep lately, and Lord knows when you'll get a chance to close both eyes again. I'll send Captain Asher to fetch you when it is time to leave. He will have everything you need for the trip. Now, you must excuse me, I have to brief a dozen more agents tonight and I'd rather none of you knew who the others were, in case ... "

"In case we're captured."

"Yes."

Bobby and Barbara were shown out of the great hall. They asked the chief steward to send their supper up to their room so that they would not have to answer any questions from the guards or staff in the barracks dinning room.

"Will you be needing any hot water, towels or ... other things?" The she-wolf assigned to them asked with a wink when they arrived at their chamber.

"No, that will be all for tonight, and we plan to sleep in so there is no need to wake us for breakfast." Barbara told her in a tone so casual that Bobby had to remind himself that she was under as much stress as he was, maybe even more so.

"You should be the one going on this mission." Bobby told her after the door closed behind them. "You are a natural actor."

"It's a survival skill when you grow up in Drystan Dorset's house." She said as she stepped into his reassuring arms. "I should have told you who my father was, but I was afraid that if you knew you would be scared off."

"Probably." Bobby shuddered at the thought of being discovered and brought before the ram with the worst reputation in the land for being cruel and vindictive.

Barbara squeezed him tighter when she felt him shake. "There, there. It's going to be alright Bobb - ... James."

She giggled, and he was happy to hear it. "If you are going to be James then I should have a spy name too."

"Harriet?"

"Ugh, no. My Mother's name is Harriet and she is even more ruthless than father when it comes to protecting the Dorset estate. How about Penny?"

"You want to be a type of money, Penny?"

"No, silly. It's short for Penelope. She was the wife of an ancient warrior that got lost at sea for decades. She waited patiently for him to return, refusing to have another suitor until the tapestry she was weaving was done. But what she wove during the day she unravelled at night, so she would never finish and thus remain faithful to her mate forever." She put a finger to his lips and looked deep into his eyes. "Just like I will for you... James."

The mood had changed from sombre to gay to serious in quick succession, and it just needed a nudge to become sensuous. Bobby put his lips on hers and provided that nudge.

It did not take long for them to progress from light caresses to passionate kissing with hands and paws up and under whatever clothing they could not peel off while pressed so tightly together.

The knowledge that this could be their last night together provided an urgency they had not felt since the early days of their relationship. She dug her fingers into the thick fur around his neck and pulled his mouth hard against hers while he marvelled at the smoothness of her skin under her blouse, still fresh and clean of wool from the shaving earlier that week. He could feel his cock rising up from its sheath with the knot already swelling and he was sure that she could also. She was so close to him he could barely get a paw down inside her panties to rub the source of a most intriguing scent, but he wedged it in there and was delighted to find her already wet and receptive.

The digits of his right paw rubbed and squeezed and probed inside her as he pulled her blouse off with his left so that he could get at the hard little nipples with paw and tongue. She did not bother with his shirt but concentrated instead on the buckle of his belt and the buttons of his trousers. When she had undone enough to pry them open she turned a bit to one side, making it easier for him to rub her twat and also allowing her room to pull his swollen cock out.

She stroked his thick, hot rod while he forced two digits inside her and sought that soft spongy pad that grew inside her when he touched her just right. He found it and alternated rubbing and tapping it with the thick pads at the end of his digits, being careful not to poke her insides with his sharp claws. Meanwhile she took her mouth off his and let a large glob of spit drip down on his prick, catching it between her hand and his shaft to lubricate it until enough pre-cum formed to do the job.

They came almost at the same time. An urgent, frantic, little squirt on his part and a minor flooding of the love canal on hers. Neither was particularly satisfying, being driven more by desperation than lust, but in their aftermath they were able to slow the pace and the familiar tenderness that marked their lovemaking returned.

Releasing her grip on his cock Barbara loosened his trousers enough so that they dropped to the floor and he could step out of them. In turn he gently took off her blouse and undergarments, only breaking away from her lips to spread kisses down her torso as he knelt to remove her sodden panties.

Naked, illuminated only by the firelight and glistening with sweat they moved toward the bed. When they reached it Barbara sat down on the edge and put her hands on Bobby's hips, pulling him forward and opening her mouth to accept his still stiff rod. She slathered it and sucked it for a few moments and Bobby was content to let her do so, until it was as long and hard as it had been earlier.

Once his knot was firmly locked in place outside his sheath he pulled out of her mouth and pushed her back on the bed. Knelling on the thick carpet that kept the stone floor from getting too cold he lowered his head between her legs and lapped at the swollen mound that even now was open to show the pink interior. It tasted sweet, and fresh, and it only took a few licks to make the little button of flesh at its apex stand out for more personal attention.

He rolled his tongue around and over her clit, seeking the hidden folds and cervices below it, but he did not let it get carried away. This was just the appetizer, not the main course. When she was rocking her hips in time with the circling of his tongue and pulling on his ears he stood up and urged her to roll over with his paws.

She turned over onto her knees as he caressed her flanks, hanging her feet off the edge of the bed and pressing her butt against his groin, massaging his erect shaft between the firm cheeks of her ass and tickling it with her woolly tail. Then she lowered her shoulders until they were pressed against the mattress, presenting her sex to him.

Bobby rubbed his cock between her cheeks one last time then slid it between her thighs to let the juices flowing from her cunt lubricate it before putting the tip between the protruding pink lips. With a gentle push he sank the tip inside while she reached back around to caress his balls. Each sway and swing of his hips drove him further inside her, bringing satisfied gasps and moans. After a half dozen he was as deep as he could go without knotting her, so he pulled almost all the way back out and then drove it in again with as much strength as he could muster, making his testicles slap the back of her thighs.

She gripped the sheets as he drove into her more and more forcefully. He gripped her hips to steady them as he watched his cock slide in and out of her. Each time he pulled back her cunt stretched like it was trying desperately to hold on. When he thrust forward the tender flesh folded back inside as if she was being turned outside in.

They lasted longer than they did the first time, long enough for his knot to pop in and out of her a dozen times before they came with more force than ever before. She clamped down around his knot first, trapping him against her. Then Bobby filled her with an almost continuous shot of spooge that made his balls ache while she came with a spurt that shot out from around his knot like an explosion.

Barbara collapsed on the bed when the tension in her muscles disappeared all at one. Bobby followed her down, even though he could have easily held her up and walked around the room with her impaled on his knot. He took some of his weight on his elbows least he smother her, but she was still trapped against the mattress as they lay, chests heaving, fighting for breath.

Neither spoke for a time, not until their respective parts had relaxed enough to break the connection at their loins. Then Bobby rolled onto his side and toyed with the tuft of wool on her head.

"You'll wait for me forever ... Penny?"

"Yes, James. Until there I have no more wool to weave into our tapestry."

Bobby responded with a kiss on the corner of her mouth. Then he rolled her over and they made love again.

Afterwards, a very hungry Booby opened the door to their room to call the servant to inquire as to what had happened to their supper. But before he called out he found it, stone cold on a tray outside the door. Fortunately, the servant had selected meats and side dishes that went down well cold. She knows us better than we do, he mused as he bent to retrieve the food. They ate in silence and snuggled together under the blankets when they were done.

Barbara was snoring softly within minutes, but so many thoughts were filling his head that Bobby was sure that he would not sleep a wink. He was proved wrong, however, when a noise woke him. It was a soft tapping at the heavy oak door of the chamber. Wrapping a blanket around his waist he rolled out of the bed, padded across the room and opened the door a crack.

Captain Asher stood in the hallway. He was dressed in ordinary clothes and had a bundle slung over his back. There was no sign of his troop or any of the castle servants

"It's time ... James."

"I'll be right out."

Bobby closed the door and turned to find Barbara standing in the middle of the room holding his travelling clothes out.

"Come back to me soon ... Bobby."

"I will, Barbara. I will.