Farm Life
Hashtagpurr is a city kid through and through.
To teach him some important life lessons, he gets his butt sent out to a farm, far, far off.
It's a different and difficult place to settle, especially with that dang rivalry going on.
Warning: This is a long one. BRACE.
Farm Life. © Tsumi Moogle '17 Characters Themselves.
'You won't be able to play that when you get there.' had been his father's stern warning as he'd packed his 3DS. The feline stared at the blinking red power-light, determined to prove those words wrong. He could just recharge when he arrived. As though intent on raining on the geoffery's cat's parade, the blinking ceased. The system unresponsive with the last of its battery drained. He probably shouldn't have wasted it on the trip out here, Taggart scowled as he snapped the screen shut, and stuffed the device hastily into his crowded backpack.
Lifting his gaze from the stuffy cab of the taxi, the feline blinked. The horizon stretched for ages with patchworks of golds and greens, capped on the horizon by the gentle slopes of hillocks, and bordered; segmented with tall, aged oaks and broad draping willows framing the dusty tracks that wound between the wide fields. The last glance he'd taken before immersing himself in Pokemon was a town barely worthy of the title. A bare sprawl of a place, with a dusty-expanse of a make-shift air-port. The simplicity, and almost artistic layout of the farmland, with its colours, richly contrasted by the thick blue of the summer sky and scant, yet fat wooly clouds, was shockingly striking a view.
At least until he remembered he was stuck out here for a month. His widened eyes narrowed a little, his lips tightening as the taxi turned down one of the dusty roads. The universe continued its amused game of raining on the cat's parade, as the vehicle bumped and jittered over the unlaid road. When they finally came to a stop, the cat clambered to sit up, dishevelled and trying to neaten his fur as the wizened boar glanced from the driver's seat.
'That'll be Fift'nine thurty, son.' came the thick drawl that the cat could scarcely believe wasn't put on. Tugging at his wallet, he plucked out the fresh notes his father had given him for just such a trip. And with some grubby coins returned in kind, slipped out of the vehicle, hefting his backpack.
Immediately the waft of summer heat hit him, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs and making his washed and ironed clothes feel as though they had immediately clung to every fur on his body. Squinting up from the glare of the sun, he covered his brow to look about, and splayed his rounded ears. The 'drive way' such as could be called, a wider expanse of dust, with a large, slicktly rickity shed half nestled under a large tree. Within, he could spy the slightly rust-eaten bumper of an aged truck, and several tools along the back-wall. Beside it, the tall farm-house, a family estate, no doubt, and kept in as fine repair, as the truck he had seen. Fly-screens hung from a couple of windows, with the paint peeling from sections of the weatherboarding. Green, white and a robin's egg blue hung on differing walls, looking almost freshly painted. Beyond the house, he stared out at the fields. Wheat in the nearest, with its strands high, swaying almost hypnotically in the odd warm breeze that brushed past.
The thud of his suitcase being dropped beside him, drew the cat's attention back to the taxi driver, as the boar gave an easy tip of his hat, before he slipped back into the vehicle. Taggart watched, momentarily numb. The culture shock was overwhelming. He didn't belong here. This wasn't right. The Taxi had a weird smell to it, but in its own way had been a connection to society, to a town, to people. An instant's insistance urged him to grab the passenger door and ride back to town, but some more logical part of him knew better. He watched with a droop of his ropey tail as the car bumped and rumbled from the yard in a low cloud of dust.
''Bout dang time, son! We thought y'all'd gone and gotten yerself lost!' came a rich voice from behind him, that made Taggart turn promptly. His first thought was 'Hick', but he didn't dare mouth it. The rabbit that watched him with his thumbs in the pockets of some grease-and-dirt spattered jeans, was a tall form. With fur a rustic shade of brown, white fur on his palms vanishing up his wrists. His broad shoulders and slightly heavy-set front were covered by a t-shirt that had long-since given up the hope of being clean. His feet were shod in some thick boots, the toes of which had been scuffed back to the metal caps hiding beneath. The large buck was easy in motion, surprisingly spritely for his broad nature. 'So, you're little Taggart, huh? 'bout as lanky as your pa was, back in the day.' he chuckled gruffly, clapping the feline on the shoulder. 'Welcome to your home away from home, son. Y'all can call me Avery.' He offered a broad hand, which the feline took, and was surprised by the soft fur on the buck's palm that squeezed without crushing his hand, though he surmised that would have been child's play. 'Dunno what yer papa told you, comin' out this way with all that stuff, son, but, might as well get you settled 'fore the fun begins.' He grinned, a more handsome grin than the feline had anticipated.
Avery hefted his suitcase without hassle, and crossed the courtyard. The door swinging open noiselessly, before the buck tapped his boots and scuffed them on the freshly swept 'Home sweet Home' Welcome mat. 'Mind y'all remember to wipe your feet son. The missus won't take no messy footprints through her house.' the buck grinned over his shoulder, guiding the feline through the home. it was cozy, in its own way. In far better repair to the outside and all said, a picture out of time; for the gingham curtains and table cloth; the mismatched dinnerware on a drying rack in the wood-carved kitchen; with several pots of varying eras hanging overhead, cast iron, copper and all. The living space, a mismatch of hand-knitted and crocheted covers on lumpy furniture positioned about an empty fireplace, its mantle housing several pictures of the family, both immediate and apparently extended. broad bay-windows with slightly threadbare curtains lining the dusted windows overlooking a courtyard. Up a set of stairs, 'Mind that fourth one, creaks like the dickens. Musta repaired it a halfa-ten times.' to the bedrooms. One door was closed, with several home-made pictures, and trinkets strapped to it, another opened by Avery, revealed a wide set of bunks, a table along a a wall, and a chest of drawers, holding several books regarding farming, and what Taggart found to be math books.
'You'll be bunkin' with my oldest boy, Bodean. Cooper's back across the hall there.' the buck thumbed over his shoulder to the closed door they had passed as he set the cat's suitcase down. 'Ain't much room for y'all to unpack. Might hafta live out of yer case, son. Linen closet's downstairs, front hall on the right.' Taggart simply nodded, looking out the window above the desk, out over trees, to a thicker row of them, among which he could spot the odd glimmer of water: a river.
Soon, the big bunny's bootsteps tromped back out of the room. With little else to hold his attention, the spotted cat slid his backpack down, and followed suit. The living space wasn't empty, when they reached the landing. Avery padded to a curvy rabbit doe with rich yellow-gold fur to rest an arm about behind, smiling to the feline. 'Honey, this here's frank's son. Little Taggart. We just got done settlin' him in. Taggart, S'my missus, Caroline.' He leaned to give her a warm peck on the cheek. The doe's face was warm, and her blue eyes gentle as she looked the feline over. 'A pleasure, hon. Lord, we'll be feedin' you up for sure, sugar. Lookit you, skin and bone!' she fussed good-naturedly as she stepped forward to hug the feline, who blushed brightly. 'Nice to meet you, Mrs. Caroline.' The cat mewled sheepishly, hugging back. 'Now, you boys run along. Cooper aught to be finishing up in the barn, sugar. He can show y'all the grounds.' Caroline smiled, ushering the duo towards the door, and soon enough, Taggart was once more enveloped by the thick waft of the dry summer air.
Avery gave the cat another clap on the shoulder, pointing out a slightly ramshackle path beside the nearest field. 'Follow that there path, you'll see the barn, son. I'd show you 'round, myself, but I gotta get the darn truck goin' 'fore next sunday. Oh, and son, mind y'all're back in the house 'fore sundown.' The buck gave another winning smile, before padding easily to the shady shed and vanishing from sight. Stuck in his position, Taggart finally mustered the will to brave the sunlight, and padding down the couple of steps to the dusty court-yard, following directions out towards the field.
The sweeping expanse of golden wheat softly rustled in the odd warm breezes that sighed over the sun-kissed grounds. On the opposite side, lay a tractor looking just as hard-worn as the truck he'd spied in the shed, paint peeled, and several parts rusted, though it still bore signs of recent, and hearty use. Past it, and on the corner of a dusty intersection of pathway, beside a hand-made wooden fence, the cat spied the large shed, befitting his mental images, with its rich red hue and white-painted highlights and cross-beams. He hurried towards it as he felt his fur heating under the polyester shirt. The smell of animals hit his nose before he made the cover of the barn. Cows, being the most obvious, among a few others. A richer scent of hay within.
Approaching the doorway, he turned about the corner, only to impact with an oddly textured wall of something. Stumbling back with a yelp of shock and thudding on his rump. An almost sheepish snicker drew his attention up to the grinning face of a third rabbit, this one, like Avery, was taller than himself, if only by a little bit. Dressed in a pair of over-large and faded jeans, the knees of which were patched over several times and the hems scuffed away to threads. About his neck was a piece of thicker gingham, worn like an ascot. 'Sorry there, y'all must be the cityslicker ma 'n pa have been gushin' on about. Though, I kinda thought cats was s'pposed t'be bigger than rabbits.' the young buck grinned, stooping to offer a hand and get the cat back to his feet. Taggart's rounded ears laid slightly as he pursed his lips, eyes lingering along the bared torso of the taller male: The snowy fur covering it doing nothing to hide how the harder nature of farm-life had well-shaped the lapine. Though he wasn't heavy-built like his father, the tone was aparent on the slight swell of those pecs, and taut abdominals.
'Are you Cooper?' Taggart finally managed to voice, trying not to let his eyes linger on the way the snowy fur blended into the richer brown along the bunny's shoulders, or how one of his ears seemed to insistantly flop, partially obscurring the buck's face. 'Yessir, I am. Normally take care of the cows, and help pa with the plowing. And what about yourself? I mean, I'm fine with Cityslicker, but Ma'll prolly swat my behind f'I do that.' The mental image of that brought a grin to Taggart's face, and he puffed out his chest. 'I'm Taggart, uh, nice to meet you.' 'Likewise. Mind, S'a right old funny name.' smirked the buck as he rubbed a work-worn hand on the side of his jeans before offering to the cat to shake. Unlike his father, the buck apparently had less of a mind for restraint, or was simply playing as he squeezed the feline's hand to the point of making the cat wince. 'S'ppose I should probably introduce you to Hayseed too. C'mon, cityslicker. And mind the cow pies. Been meanin' to clean up.' He chuckled, as Taggart obligingly hopped out of a couple of such blots on the landscape, shaking his hand gingerly.
Cooper guided him through the barn, flecks and beams of light peeking between the boards of the walls, falling over the light strewing of hay along the main walk. There were a number of racks with an assortment of aged tools hung up as neatly as they could be. Several pails, and the odd bit of harness strapping, though Taggart couldn't much imagine what use they'd have with a cow. Chest-high sections, fenced off, held a couple of cattle, standing idle with their tails flicking to the buzzing of flies, as they grazed from troughs. One lifted its head to regard the rabbit and feline walking by, and gave an idle lowe of what the cat assumed to be greeting.
Once more the heat of the day renewed its attack as Taggart followed Cooper out the far side of the barn. The bunny's ears adjusted, shielding his eyes from the adjusting glare as he peered out over the wheat fields, and shook his head. 'Dang Lazybones.' he tutted, as Taggart squinted, lifting his hands to soften the light and peek about in the direction Cooper was looking. 'Hey! Hayseed!' the taller boy called out, his voice almost booming from his chest. And if not for the way 'Hayseed's head quirked, so differently to the idle waving of the golden sea, the feline more than likely would have missed him.
He was leant on the white-painted fence surrounding the edge of the field. Comparing him to the height of the fence, Taggart could tell he was easily a head taller than his brother. His form was broader, closer to their father in size, but thick around the shoulders, as opposed to the sturdy middle. The faded blue of his over-alls was contrasted by his fur, a hundred shades of summer, softly rippling like the wheat-fields in the breeze that lightly touselled his slightly longer hair. If the large rabbit heard his brother, he paid it no attention. Cooper gave a huff and padded towards his sibling, whilst Taggart followed almost in a daze. The closer they got, the easier he could make out the shape of the muscles under the buck's gorgeous pelt. The heavier drape of the overalls couldn't quite hide Hayseed's legs strong build, or his heavier hips. 'Hey! Farm to Hayseed!' Cooper finally gave his brother's shoulder a thump when he was close enough. Hayseed finally blinked and glanced over the duo, face spreading into a grin of welcome.
Like his old man, the golden-bunny had a gorgeous smile. His youthful face, handsomely shaped, with the barest lingerings of his childhood softness. The warm brown of his eyes held the cat as Hayseed eased off the fence, and strolled up to the cat to offer a hand proudly. 'Dang, awful small for a cat, ain't he.' The bunny grinned as Taggart shook his hand on autopilot, still staring at his new acquaintance's face, uncertain if it was the heat of the sun on his cheeks, or his own blush. 'S'what I said! Hayseed, this is Taggart, Taggart, this is-' Cooper grinned, only to be talked over. 'I can make my own innerductions, Patches.' Hayseed smirked at his brother who pursed his muzzle. 'Pleasure's mine, Taggart. M'Bodean. Most folk jus' call me Hayseed.' Taggart nodded and became aware of his hand still hanging in the air where the warm and strong grasp of the taller bunny had given his up already. 'Reckon the sun's got to him?' 'Reckon so. C'mon.' Hayseed said, grasping Taggart's hand and stooping to heft their guest as easily as he would a sack of grain. Soon balancing the cat over his shoulder and marching easily towards the farm. The cat came to his senses for a moment, to protest, before his eyes glanced down, finding the slack of the rabbit's overalls baring the shapely back of the tall bunny, down to his shapely rump and wriggling tailspade, scarcely shadowed within the loose depths of the age-worn denim. He was certain the heat in his cheeks wasn't the sun's fault now.
It wasn't the way back to the farm that he recognised. They passed no tractor as the two bunnies walked easily down another path, soon getting shadowed by those tall, thick-foliage'd trees. The cat's gaze peeking out as he tried to brace himself on Hayseed's back, mrewp'ing in shock when the bunny adjusted him with an easy shrug. Passing along through the trees that sectioned off one stretch of farm, was the windy river he'd spotted from Hayseed's window. A couple of large out-reaching branches with rope-swings, and a couple of patches along the shore that showed some consistant use. 'So why were you jus' starin' off into the blue?' He heard Cooper quip of his older brother, as Hayseed finally eased the cat down to his feet. 'Keepin' an eye on the fence-line. Thought I saw somethin' out there.' The gold-furred buck said easily, unbuttoning his overalls. 'Y'might think to drop them fancy duds, Cityslicker.' he added with a chuckle, letting his overalls slither free from his form and whump dully over the patchy grass. Where cooper was sleeker, with budding suggestion of the strength of farm-life, Hayseed was well-versed in it. He was proudly built, with his shape finer cut, and thicker. Taggart found his eyes falling past those pebbled abdominals, but tugged his gaze away after a glance at the thick-set weight of the buck's heavy sheath and heavier balls.
Hayseed didn't seem abashed in the slightest, as Cooper did like-wise, soon stepping out of his own jeans, the duo taking their clothes to hang over a low-branch, before running on towards the glittering water. Taggart gave a gasp as their combined splash got several thick pellets of water pelting his form, and snapping from his bashful reverie, he shook some of the water from his fur, and finally obliged in slipping out of his clothes, hopping a little to tug off his shoes, and stir out of the pants, and his button up shirt. 'Now that's a cityslicker.' laughed Cooper as he spied the cat's wirey frame, treading water and smirking at their 'guest' as Taggart squirmed in his underwear. 'H-hey! Shuttup! I don't live on a farm!' the cat retorted, pursing his lips, only to get a direct splash from the bunny. 'Well, I reckon you do right about now!' Cooper teased, as Taggart padded towards the water to dip a foot in carefully. By comparison to the heat of the day, the water felt quite cold indeed. He waded his way in slowly, slipping on a couple of exposed tree-roots, before finally sinking in as Hayseed lunged from the water, wrassling with his younger brother.
The cat found himself dragged into the mayhem as the duo struggled and tangled and grappled, splashing and laughing. Doing his best, despite his evident lack of comparative strength, he found himself grinning, managing to clear his mind in lieu of just having fun, pouncing atop Hayseed from the banks, tangling and almost hugging on the rabbit, Hayseed grinning as he wrangled and occasionally pinned the cat, squeezing him to his chest and getting him in a firm noogie. Cooper was first out of the water, letting it stream off him before wringing himself off and shaking a little, tugging on his jeans, and then his neckerchief carefully. He glanced back to the cat and older bunny, Taggart catching his eye for a moment and blinking at the odd look on the buck's face before he padded back towards the house.
'Patches might have the right idea. Gettin' on, cityslicker. C'mon. Gotta get dry 'afore dinner, or Ma'll tan our hides.' Hayseed grinned, slipping from the cat's grasp to get out. Taggart waded for several moments, watching the rabbit as the water cascaded from his body. That gorgeous golden pelt matted flat, hugging every curve of his tall body as Hayseed stretched out. Spotted rays of the afternoon sun gleamed and bounced off portions of his frame, before the rabbit traced his farm-worked hands along his form in a reminiscent manner of the smaller buck, wringing out a good deal of water, before he shook out too. 'Comin'?' the bunny peered over his shoulder at the awestruck cat, grinning. His focus broken again, Taggart sputtered and sank for a moment, before remembering to swim, and soon clambering ashore, coughing some as he awkwardly shook and squeegied his fur down. Thicker than the rabbit's, and holding more, he pulled a face for how wet he still was, tugging his shirt on. It clung to the moisture, though at least now it wasn't with that suffusing heat. Truth be told, he felt pleasantly cool. Wriggling into his pants, he watched the rabbit tugging the straps of his overalls over his shoulders. 'D'you wanna help out feedin' the cows, cityslicker?' 'Sure! And hey, call me Taggart! Or Hash-tag! I'm not cityslicker.' 'Hashtag?' drawled the bunny. 'Sounds like a breakfast item.' 'That's a hashbrown. Hashtag's my nickname!' Hashy snapped, scuffing a foot. 'Fair enough, Hashbrown, c'mon.' 'Hmph!' grinned the still rather enthused cat, though not for the thought of the cows as he followed after the rabbit.
He hadn't been sure what to expect of food from the rabbits. Part of his mind imagined carrots, and wasn't disappointed, wholly. The polished wood of the seemingly hand-carved table was laden under a number of dishes. Steaming carrots, potatos, okra, beside skillet cornbread, pulled pork, sausages, and several other dishes that left Hashtag nearly comatose in his chair. It was clear Caroline was an accomplished cook, and delighted in feeding her boys up well. He'd finally had to hiccup out an appology and refuse another slice of pecan pie, mewling faintly as he was sure he felt his waistband straining. The quiet cool air of the evening replacing the heat of the day brought a comfortable feel to the air. The quiet sounds of insects chirping away in the fading daylight, and the chatter of the family had the cat smiling quite dopily. 'Reckon your old man didn't expect you smilin' quite so soon.' Avery said, turning his attentions to the cat, who squirmed, trying to sit up, and not belch. 'Jus' wait 'till you get a full day's work behind you too.' He chuckled heartily. 'Speaking of, sugar, Patches, be a doll and help with the dishes.' Caroline smiled as she got to her feet to start scooping up plates. 'What about the cityslicker?' the youngest bunny interjected almost haughtily, earning a sharp swat about his ears and a slight scandalized look from his mother. 'Hon', it's his first day, and he looks plum tuckered out. Now quitcher bellyachin'!' she said with a hand on her hip and a dangerous look in her eye. Patches' arguments faultered, and he hurried to collect the plates, though he still gave the feline a side-long squint as he passed.
'Y'all look just about ready fer shuteye, Hashbrown. C'mon.' grinned Hayseed, coaxing the cat to his feet, and up the stairs. He heard one underfoot creak audibly, and winced softly. He had to try and remember that one. Soon the familiar take of the buck's room filled his vision, and he padded to the lower of the bunks, settling with a groan on it. It was slightly lumpy, but still thickly padded. Reclining eagerly, he could have laid back without issue, and fallen asleep then and there.. But the tall buck settling at his desk, tugging over a couple of books drew his attention, making him grin softly as the young farmhand got to counting on his fingers, and murmuring to himself, scratching away with a pencil, and occasionally erasing answers. 'Honest truth, Patches' got the booksmarts.' Hayseed groaned after a while, dropping the pencil. 'Pa reckons all the numbers're important, but me, M'no good with 'em.' He turned his head to look at the feline, grinning that handsome grin of his. 'Eh, they're not for everyone. Besides, someone's gotta do all your farming stuff.' Taggart said, glancing aside sheepishly from that gaze. He could feel his ears burning a little again.
The scrape of the chairlegs on the floor made him wince slightly, before the smooth thuds of Hayseed's heavier footsteps lead over the floor to his large window. Leaning on the sill, he watched out into the night, with the feline soon watching over him, noticing the glitter of stars out in the dark sky. 'Jeez, we don't see a sky like that back home.' he said as he stood beside the bunny. 'No? Well shoot, c'mon. Let's get you a better look then. But keep quiet, Hashbrown. Not supposed to be out after dark.' the buck winked to the feline, smirking as he eased onto the sill, and carefully started climbing his way down.
Perking his ears, the feline hurried to the window to peek out, watching the way the farmhand so easily worked his way down a sturdy trellis leading to the ground. Glancing about the room, the feline awkwardly followed suit, uncertain in the holds, and cautious in working his way down. He could see through one of the windows, through a pair of those slightly faded curtains, the shapes of Caroline and Avery settled on a couch together, unawares. Finally, he felt the warm ground underfoot, and stepped back, to admire his own handiwork at making it down, before he bumped into Hayseed. 'Oop, sor-' He promptly had a hand clapped to his muzzle, the bunny placing a finger to his own lips and turning to hurry out along the path towards the barn.
The farm almost had an eerie feel, in the dark of night. The loom of the shadow trees, and the figure of the tractor and tools looking a little like misfigured hunched forms.. But as they stepped out near the wheat fields, Taggart's eyes widened, taking in the whole, star-speckled sky. Glittering and winking, in a way that the sky back home could never hope to emulate. He turned, taking in horizon to horizon, smiling in awe. 'Yeah, some o' the nicest views out here. According to Pa' nodded the rabbit, speaking softly as he rested his thumbs in his pockets, enjoying the view as well. 'Never get tired of 'em.' 'How come he doesn't want us out after dark though?' the cat asked curiously, drawing his eyes away from the soft glow of the stars. 'Got some unfriendly sorts come snoopin' after dark sometimes. Don't reckon we'll be seein' 'em for a little though. Kinda worked out a pattern.' The rabbit grinned, and headtilted. 'C'mon, got somethin' else y'might like, Hashbrown.' 'It's Hashtag!' Taggart sputtered, blushing and unable to help his grin as he followed the rabbit towards the barn.
Hayseed was careful in opening the door. It could make a heck of a noise, according to the farmhand. And they didn't need Avery charging out with his rifle. Inside, the smell of hay and animals remained, cows quiet, dozing in their pens, as Hayseed lead them inside. Swinging a leg over into one of the empty stalls, he inclined his head to the cat and beckoned, before he eased against the far wall. In the gloom, broken by what starlight seeped through the slats of the barn, Hashtag made his way, crawling over the stall to pad up beside the rabbit, looking about uncertainly for whatever it was he was supposed to be seeing. His ears picked up the faint sound of brushing, making him peek along the way they'd came.. The cows were still.. Nothing there.. He thought, until his eyes caught movement in their peripheral vision. It was Hayseed. His arm was inside his overalls, stroking, the feline realized. 'Oh jeez! Hayseed!' The feline sputtered, looking away. 'What's wrong, cityslicker? Not hurtin' anyone.' 'But- ...here?' 'Sure. Ma'd flay us raw if we did it in the house.' the buck chuckled gently, groaning softly. 'And what makes you think I'd like it?' the feline managed to sputter out some, heart picking up, pounding a little in his chest. 'Jus' a hunch.' came the buck's warm voice. In the gloom, Taggart could almost see the smirk on his large friend's face. 'Y'all wanna join?' Hayseed rumbled, adjusting his free arm, and soon undoing his overalls, and letting them pool about his ankles on the hay.
Biting his lip, the feline moved to lean against the wall with the rabbit, undoing his own pants, to grope at his own peeking shaft. In the cooler air of that quiet barn, he leaned his head on the wooden planks, listening to the low puffs of breath from the handsome bunny, the brush and slow stroke of his hand on what he was seeing more as his eyes adjusted in the gloom to be a rather impressive hardon. His own rising easily in kind, he panted low, stiffling a mew as he breathed in the mix of hay, cool evening air, and the masculine scent of rabbit.
Backs against the wall, the duo worked in their own rhythms, stroking steadily, panting, and occasionally shifting. Taggart's eyes glanced over at the rabbit, with his head laid back, eyes lidded and a casual smile on his face as he savored himself. The broad body on display, muscles rippling under that golden pelt.. That hefty length drooling slowly over the hay.. The image was steadily being burned into his mind, making his balls ache as he picked up the pace. He tensed as he felt Hayseed ease his free hand behind him. The buck slowly drew the smaller form across, half against, half beside him, and slowly nudged the cat's hand away to take hold with his broad mit of a hand. Taggart's fur stood electrified, his head laying back against the broad form. One hand holding against the strong arm supporting him, as the other slowly groped, feeling along that hefty shaft, to start stroking in kind. He felt a little awkward barely able to close his fingers about that length, but the shudder from the buck said Hayseed was enjoying it as much as he was.
Being closer to the rabbit, Taggart drew in lungful after lungful of the buck's scent. The rising smell of arousal between them making his toes curl in the hay. The steady squeeze and pump of the well-worked hand milking his shaft, spreading his pre about his length in a well practiced manner.. He trembled a little, eyes fluttering as he squeezed at the rabbit's length, groaning low and biting his lip as he seized up slowly, and bucking his hips, began spurting several ropes over the hay. Hayseed wasn't far behind at all, his free hand closed around Taggart's, to keep up the pace, as the feline had slown to a stop as he'd orgasmed. He grunted and muffled what the cat was hazily sure would have been quite the yell if he'd been free to, as his cock throbbed and gushed with considerable force. He sagged a little, panting thickly as it abated. Supporting the feline, he grinned, just spending a few moments, fur mingled with the cat's, before his grasp relinquished. Taggart blushed as he slowly dropped his arm to his side, tilting his head to nuzzle into the rabbit's fur. 'So.. Did you like that, then, Hashbrown?' the bunny murmured breathlessly. Taggart could only nod, words beyond him, breathless as he was. 'M'glad.' Hayseed's voice continued, closer to the feline's face. Blinking his eyes open, Taggart looked up to Hayseed, who had bent down some, closer to his level, peering into the feline's eyes, with a soft intensity to his own. There was something about his face, his whole demeanor, that for the first time, Taggart recognised as 'nervous.' he realized why, as the rabbit leaned in a little closer, tilting his head.
And the feline's fur puffed out as the buck's soft lips pressed against his own, in the most meek, almost timid kiss. The burly form trembled some as he let it linger for a couple of seconds, before easing up, swallowing and smiling. '..Sorry. Don't get much chance to uh, try that.' Hayseed murmured almost ashamedly. 'It's, it's okay. I liked it.' The feline smiled, making the buck perk, that winning smile soon spreading on the rabbit's face. With a questioning tilt of his head, Taggart nodded, quirking his own head as the farmhand leaned back in once more.
Careful as they climbed back the way they came, Hayseed peeked over the edge of the windowsill, before climbing up the whole way to help the feline in behind him. '...Do me a favour though, Hashbrown, don't tell Patches.' the golden buck glanced at the doorway with a shake of his head. 'Not sure how he'd deal with it.' He grinned as the feline mimed zipping his lips. It wasn't too long before the duo clambered into their respective beds, Hashtag petting along the patched and repatched quilt, looking up towards the underside of the bunk over him, able to hear the rabbit above, shifting occasionally, and the creak of the hand-shaved planks holding him aloft settling. With a soft cool breeze drifting over him from the window, he found sleep taking him, his mind, normally intent to race and explore the day, lulled by the excitement.
He was sure his eyelids had barely closed, before the sound of a cock crowing had him murmuring and groaning. Rolling over to turn his back on the green glow on the horizon. The sound of the bunk above shifting, creaking, and Hayseed's thick feet thumping down the ladder leading to it. 'C'mon hashbrown, s'time t'get up!' The rabbit sounded more alert than anyone at that hour had any right to be, Hashtag thought, as he tried to tug his pillow overhead. With a chuckle, the rabbit snagged the blankets to tug them away from the groggy cat. 'Ain't gonna have time fer breakfast if y'all're tucked up all morning. Nothin' worse than a full day's work on an empty stomach, c'mon!'
The cat opened his mouth to argue, before he felt the buck's broad hands easily heft him up, and for the second time in as many days, toss him over his shoulder. The buck all but marching out to the bathroom off the back of the house. The splash of a cold bucket of water near brought a screech from his lungs before the buck beside him doused himself likewise. The impish grin on Hayseed's face said he took great pleasure in keeping to his schedule as he scrubbed himself with a soap-bar. 'M-more w-warning..!' the geoffory's cat sputtered, trembling as he soaped up, twitching his sopping ears to the door opening, and the lighter steps of Patches announcing the smaller rabbit tugging out a loofah. He at least, the cat noticed, had a sufficiently squinty-eyed take to the morning. 'Mornin'.' Hayseed grinned over at his sibling, rinsing off easily and taking a towel to himself,. 'Barely.' conceded the smaller bunny, wiping his face and watching Hashtag as the feline was distracted by the golden bunny's small display. With an idle bump of his hips, he grunted. 'Gonna be plenty to do today, Cityslicker. Hope you're up for it.' 'Already?' the cat pouted, glancing up to the other rabbit. Patches chuckled, adjusting his ascot. 'Everyday.' the shorter of the two bunnies straightened up, trying to puff out his chest a little as he dried up. The dripping cat's attention had returned to the taller of the bunnies. At least until Patches threw his towel at him, obscuring his vision as he padded off to breakfast.
Hashtag wasn't sure if they had been bathing that long, given the extent that breakfast lay out before them. Caroline was still bringing several platters out to the table as he made his way back downstairs from snagging clothes. He adjusted his T-shirt, sniffing the air over the morning's smorgus board, and no sooner had everyone settled, and the murmur of grace passed around, than the clatter of slightly mismatched cuttlery and crockery filled the familiar room. A little more expectant of it, the feline found it easier to snag his share, though the bucks seemed to pile their own plates rather more considerably than he had imagined. He got to smirk when Patches got a swat around the ears for talking with his mouth full, and Hayseed had to be reminded at least once to keep his elbows off the table. She was intent to raise her boys with as much etiquette was allowed in such a place. The cat's tail waved, as he worked through his food, pausing only when he found Avery's eyes fixed on him. 'Did I do something-' he began, before the buck looked aside from him. 'Patches, y'all got somethin' better for little Taggart to wear? He'll about dang fry in them clothes.' Patches mouth was almost open, with his mouth full. He caught himself, eying Caroline's hand poised near his ears. He promptly swallowed, earning a sagacious nod from his mother. 'S'prolly gonna be awful big on him, but I reckon so.' 'Good, don't need the boy fainting on his first day of real yard work.' Avery nodded, as the feline swallowed a little. 'So, what am I actually going to be doing?' he cautioned, imagining for a moment, trying to haul bags of manure, or lunking around tractor parts.. 'I reckon you'll be shadowing Patches for now. He can get you settled in. Hayseed, I need a hand with the tractor again. S'makin' that noise like an angry raccoon again.' 'Y'all should really just take it into town, dear. Remember what happened last time we let it get so bad?' Caroline interjected kindly. 'Near didn't make our harvest!' 'Well, another set of hands on the ground, we might not have any worries there.' Avery rumbled, his eyes holding Hashtag with an unfamiliar gleam. Was it pride? Maybe expectation. 'I doubt it.' came the Patches' murmured tone, smirking over his fork at the cat. Hashtag's lips pursed with a retort, before the smallest of the bucks jumped and winced, glaring at his older brother who continued to eat, looking a little too interested in the bacon rashers on his plate.
Once breakfast was dutifully handled, the feline saw to the dishes, before being lead back to Patches room. He noticed the buck walking with a slight limp, and occasionally brushing his shin. Opening his door, he permitted the cat to follow, revealing a number more books than Hayseed. There were a couple of posters and pictures as well, movies that were a few months old, but it appeared the buck tried to keep up with things in the city. The bunny padded to his closet and tugging it open, rifled through several drawers until he found what he was after. A pair of smaller overalls in his hands, clearly timefaded, and worn, they, like his current pair, were well patched, several times. Handing them out to the cat, the buck brushed passed him. 'Hurry on over to the barn when you're changed, Cityslicker. And don't dawdle, we've got plenty to do.' Patches said, the attempt in his voice to sound in charge clearly new. Letting the overalls unroll in his hands, the cat's nose twitched for the slight musty smell of clothes that hadn't seen daylight in a while. At least there were no moths, he thought, as he tugged his shirt over his head.
The morning sun held nowhere near the ferocity he knew it would by the time lunch rolled around. It was a comfortable stroll along the path to the barn, the sounds of the animals stirring and being stirred, within. He was no sooner past the wide doors, before Patches had him helping in letting the cattle out, and cleaning out stalls. The buck's easy nature of the job spoke of having done it every day since he could walk, the geoffory's cat imagined. He didn't cringe at having to shovel the cow pies, and the itch of the fresh hay didn't seem to bother him, the way it had Taggart hopping about and swatting at himself. Working the pump for fresh water for the livestock, and seeing to 'fresh' food for the pigs, the cat was aching before the call for lunch had even been thought of. The best that could be said, he supposed, was Patches seemed to get so into his rhythm of chores, that he didn't have time to spare to tease his new assistant. He was fine with critique though. 'C'mon, Cityslicker. You can pick up more than half a shovel at a time. Hop to!' The buck occasionally interjected into the silence, as Hashtag grit his teeth, fingers aching. Arching his back with a soft clench of his teeth, he squinted up at the rabbit clambering into the loft. 'Lay off! I'm new to this!' he snapped back, before giving an exasperated yowl as a thick arm-ful of hay was unceremoniously dumped over him, making him itch anew. 'And y'all can pick up more than half a shovel!' The rabbit smirked, tossing more hay down to muck out the stalls.
The cat was still picking hay out of his fur as they walked back to the house for lunch, grateful to wash his hands, and sit down, aware of how hungry he was. There was no time to savor though, as straight after, they were out, milking the cows, where Patches smirked, tilting a teet to squirt the cat in the face with a jet of milk. The sputtering feline glared, coughing a little bit, and licking his lips despite himself. With a tilt of his head, the buck moved to let the cat sit on his stool, kneeling behind him to teach him how to properly milk. Patches' broad hand easing about his own to guide, with his firmer chest pressed against his back as he talked him through the motions. Cheeks and ears a little flushed, the cat glanced side-long at the farm-boy, who seemed to be intently focused on his training. Fixing his eyes forward, the geoffory's cat perked his reddened ears for the sound of the milk jetting into the bucket. It wasn't so bad.
He was scarcely aware of dinner as the day faded through the haze of all their chores. His body pulsed achingly, through his joints and back. He couldn't even compliment Caroline on her as-usual exquisite cooking. He was grateful to be excused, to wash off from the day. The chill of the water was both a welcome reprieve from the ache, and an ache of its own, though the hay being rinsed out of his fur was the best reward of all. Leaden steps saw him upstairs, and easing into Hayseed's room, he clambered onto the patched quilt over that lumpy, yet comfortable matress, and almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, the cat was out like a light.
He found, as the days continued, waking with the sun, and working hard among the animals, under that heavy sun and thick, hay-scented air, that it was getting easier. Fitting in at the farm, goofing around with Patches and Hayseed on the odd afternoon dip in their little pond. Actions were familiar, his body more and more used to the ache and strain of the chores, compared to his normal city life. Sure enough, Caroline's cooking ever left him heavy and lethargic, but that seemed a familial thing, the way Hayseed, Patches and Avery all reclined in dozey hazes in the late evenings, with the fireflies drifting in the cooling evening air. Resting his hands on his belly, and watching the sunlight ebbing into the inky encroach of night, Hashy found his eyes wandering across to Hayseed, whose warm brown eyes lifted from their own quiet place of contemplation, or silent savoring. It was hard to tell. The gaze they shared though, he could understand easier. The cat's tail swished gently behind him as his ears darkened slightly. No one else seemed to notice.
After having been excused, and the nightly preparations, of washing up, and watching the rabbit chew on the tail-end of his pencil as he went over his schooling, that unspoken time fell on them, when Hayseed closed his book, and rested the pencil down, to pad to the window. Working with Patches all the time, Hashtag felt he rather rarely got to simply be with the golden-furred bunny. He watched the well-built frame leaning on the window sill as he gazed out into the night. Ears still perked and alert, nose pad twitching quietly, before he turned to the geoffory's cat. 'Up fer a stroll, Hashbrown?' the bunny offered, lifting a finger to his lips and grinning as he clambered his way down from the bedroom. With his cheeks burning a little, and his heartbeat pounding a little heavier, the cat followed, slipping through the night and into the barn again.
He was more familiar with the lay-out of the barn, having been kept busy there through the week. Enough to lead Hayseed in a little deeper. The tall buck smiled as he followed after, to consider the wall they'd lazed against the first time as Hashtag slunk towards it, moonlight brushing over his form in slim lines from the wood panelling. Stepping after, he didn't make for the wall, as the cat so readily did. The buck stepped instead, infront of the cat, wetting his lips softly and reaching to carefully unbuckle the feline's overalls. Hashtag swallowed meekly as he raised his hands to do likewise for the handsome buck. And as the soft sound of denim crumpling into the hay abated, Hayseed leaned in. One hand resting on the rough, cool surface of the wall above Hashtag's shoulder, and the other slowly cupping the cat's orbs, the farm boy tilted his way in to press another soft, awkward kiss to the feline's lips. Hashtag could feel the tremble in the buck as he met the kiss. His back arching, not just for the electric feel of the warm hand fondling his balls, but the delight in that prolonged kiss. His body stirred to meet the bunny's, his hands finding purchase about the larger form's nape, and the other to awkwardly stroke along Hayseed's larger length. Their breaths mingled, as soft pants slipped through the kiss. Bodies grinding, lengths pressing, as they explored, seeing little more than silvery strips of one another.
Hips rolling first in that exquisite exchange, the feline groaned gingerly at the soft squeeze of the buck's hand, firm and sure and steady in motion. His own tracing along the bunny's warm fur, kneading along the shape of work-defined musculature, and almost mewling for the rabbit's touch bringing him up to an arching, toe-curling peak. Eyes aflutter, Hashtag spasmed, as the buck's hand cupped, and caught a good deal of that slick mess. Wringing, milking him as effortlessly as the feline had seen Patches with the cattle. His cheeks flushed for that tiny thought that he was being -milked-, before he slowly sagged. Hayseed panted, as he lifted that slicked hand, to groom a tongue along his fingers, cleaning the feline's spattered, sticky ropes, before easing his hand back to his shaft. Bracing against the wall, as he heard, more than felt the cat slumped on the floor, he kept softly pumping. Until the touch of something silken along the head of his shaft made his eyes pop open. Glancing down, he watched the feline leaning, and grooming at the head of his shaft. The buck carefully eased his hands free as Hashtag's rose to take up the slack, and having been given the reins, opened his mouth to sink over the head of that pulsing spire.
The bassy tone of Hayseed's delighted groan of shock was an exquisite pleasure all its own to the cat. He bobbed steadily, grooming his tongue on that thick flesh as his hands kept in motion. Fingers squeezing, wringing that length whilst the other paw weighed and gingerly squeezed those heavier balls. He was rewarded well with the jets of pre over his tongue, purring low as he doted and tended that shaft with every ounce of know-how he possessed. The quaking farmer, new to the whole sensation, had to bite on one of his ears to muffle himself from hollaring in pleasure as that silken flesh bobbed and suckled and groomed over his length, working deeper. With every inch the cat claimed, the rabbit felt himself slipping rapidly for the edge. His breaths grew haggard, and his muscles began to tense and seize as he rolled his eyes back. Hashtag closed his own eyes and prepared himself, as he sank his muzzle forward, and claimed the head of that length into the satiny embrace of his throat, which pushed Hayseed over the edge. Instinct claimed the bunny, as his hips began to piston. His free hand braced the back of the cat's head as he reamed, and felt himself unload as he could scarcely remember doing so before. Hashtag felt the insistant bump of the rabbit's balls thudding his chin as he held in place. His head swam and stars blinked before his eyes, as the rabbit slaked himself over the course of several achingly long moments.
And when he was sure he could feel the edges of his consciousness ebbing for the lack of air, that length tugged free, permitting him to swallow and gasp, coughing softly. The ache in his jaw made itself known before he felt the warm weight of Hayseed's head on his shoulder, and he realized the large rabbit was kneeling over his legs, as weak and utterly spent as he had been. Lifting his heavy arms, the cat gave a soft hug about Hayseed's neck, purring gently and smiling as he felt the lethargic snaking of the farmer buck's arms squeezing him in kind. 'S-sorry 'bout that. Ain't never- ...never felt nothing like that before.' the bunny slurred. 'Shh.' Hashtag murmured gently, swallowing again and smiling as he brushed cheeks with the rabbit.
It was several minutes before they could muster the strength to get dressed and make their way back to the house again. Hashtag smiled as he considered the feel of the rabbit's lips on his own. His tail swayed all the more as he clambered back up to the window.
The feline felt plenty refreshed the next day, smiling wider for the farm's fresh morning air, as he padded towards the barn. Falling into rhythm easily, working through the check-list he'd almost fully memorized under Patches' tutelage: feeding, cleaning, tending, and mending. The rabbit didn't even need to nudge him about his tasks, which the feline felt all the better for. If not for glancing on occasion at the wall he and Hayseed had sank against the night prior, he'd have been wholly invested in his work. Hashtag instead got broken out of his little reverie from a whistle up in the loft of the barn. Blinking, he gazed up, and carefully clambered his way up the aged, and work-worn wooden ladder. He blinked at Patches grinning at him, settled on the hay, almost like a little throne.
The air in the loft was a little more stiffling than on the ground, as the roof bore the brunt of the morning sun. 'Yeah? What'd I do?' Hashtag asked, quite expecting some sort of aside. 'A good job, that's what, Cityslicker.' Patches inclined his head, grinning wider for the shocked look on the cat's face. The rabbit idly petted the hay beside him invitingly. Stepping up, the cat slowly settled down beside the taller male, aware of the small nudges of hay in against his back. He was sure he'd be itchy before long. 'Really? I'm just doing what we normally do.' 'S'right, but yall're doing it on your own, I didn't have to hollar at you or nothing. And you did it well. So, we get a break.' Patches reclined with his arms up behind his head, sinking in the hay slightly. Hashtag blinked, but taking the praise, followed suit, and settled back.
The heat was bearable, the soft sweet scent of the hay and the warm wood scent of the barn, along with the sun beams peeking through the wood panels and shingles over the stalls and open barn doors was a curiously enjoyable, peaceful sight. When a small breeze wafted through with the summer smell of the trees and crops, hashtag found himself almost lidding his eyes. At least until one of Patches' arms draped down along his shoulders, to tug him idly, but just barely insistantly in against his side. With the rabbit's scent in against him, Hashtag's ears twitched, his cheeks flushing for the closeness as the buck gave an idle churr. 'Don't mind me none, Cityslicker. Just real proud of how far y'all've come. Reckon when I go to the city, I'd kinda like to meet someone like you.' The rabbit continued in an idle drawl. Hashtag's side-long glance at the rabbit found colour in Patches' cheeks and ears as the rabbit spoke, before the mingled blue-brown of Patches eyes darted towards him a moment, and again when he realized the cat was watching him. 'If that's not too forward to say.'
Somewhat stunned, Hashtag shook his head, and otherwise stared as the rabbit adjusted in the hay, leaning in towards him and giving him a soft squeeze. Near holding him in place, Patches nibbled his own lower lip, as if in consideration, before pressing the last few inches between them in a small kiss. The cat's ears flattened as the rabbit, like his brother, lead. It was something more hungry, slightly more forced, and after a moment, the cat's muzzle shied away, cheeks burning. Silence hung between the duo as Hashtag gave a small smile, but tried wordlessly to put the appology he couldn't quite find. Patches' eyes in kind, searched and realized, before the bunny eased back. Almost a moment before Hayseed's head peeked over the top of the ladder.
'There y'all are,' the taller buck grinned, as Hashtag's ears perked up with a smile. 'hidin' away up here. Pa wants a hand movin' the tractor out. C'mon.' Hayseed then slid his way down, Hashtag quick to spring to his feet to follow, seeing as Patches rose slower. The rabbit still watching him, face unreadable. Save for the slight dabbing of his tongue on his lips. The cat swallowed as he reached the bottom of the ladder, and hurried after Hayseed's golden form.
As the days continued, Hashtag kept himself hard at work. Half because he was, though he'd never admit it to anyone back home, enjoying it, and the half to distract himself from the gaze of Patches' blue-hazel eyes. He couldn't pick whether it was anger, sadness, or something like betrayal, but the cat wasn't eager to up and face those potentials. The smaller of the rabbit boys even found reasons avoid the afternoon pond-swims. Such as waving Hayseed off with remarks like 'Got a lot to read an' study.' Which the cat cautiously found fortuitous. Giving himself and Hayseed plenty of time to rough-house and drift in the cooler waters. They were never more than playfully fraternal during the daylight, though they snuck their way to the barn every couple of nights.
It was one such night, when the feline had been sure: the rabbit leaning on the window sill with that thousand-yard stare, like a lord over his kingdom, body both on display and unabashedly hidden in those faded overalls of his would look over his shoulder, and beckon him into the inky, startlit night. But Hayseed's ears were oddly perked. His eyes stared into the gloom, with the barest narrowing of his gaze. His tailspade twitched, agitated as he stood, seeming to search for something. 'Hayseed?' the cat cautioned, only for the rabbit to lift a hand and gently beckon him beside his form. 'Listen.' The rabbit said quietly, not shifting his attention from the window. The geoffory's cat tilted his own attention out over the silvery tops of the dark trees. The still, mirror-like surface of the pond and stream. His ears twitched, listening intently, before he heard it. Faint laughter out on the farm grounds, before someone hushed the laugher. 'There, hear it?' 'Yeah, who is it?' The feline turned towards Hayseed, who was straightening up. 'S'the reason y'all ain't allowed out after dark.' The buck said with a darker tone, already starting to swing a leg over the window sill. 'Stay here 'till I get back.' 'But-!' 'Don't y'all worry, Hashbrown. I'll be fine.' Hayseed's warm, brown eyes, and the handsome smile that spread over his features made the cat falter, with a trusting smile of his own. He nodded as the rabbit clambered down the trellis, and silently vanished in the dark under the trees.
He stood at the window, in almost the same position the rabbit had been in. His ropey tail swayed and twitched behind him as his triangular ears twitched and angled, desperate to hear something, or anything outside the house. He almost jumped any time part of the old building creaked or groaned, or a breeze whispered the leaves. The intensity of the complete nothingness of his senses, the uncertainty, weighed steadily on his mind as he glanced this way and that into the unmoving landscape. Bandits, thieves, lowlives, dangerous and surrounding that handsome rabbit. What if something happened to Hayseed, out in the dark, and no one knew..? Surely he should have told Avery. He could have up and done something. Bigger and much more intimidating as he was.. The cat nearly turned to make for the door to do just that, before his ears heard the faintest of yelps from the farm. Straightening up, he gripped the window sill tighter, before he began to hurry his way down the way Hayseed had gone. His feet landed silent on the still-warm earth and he hurried in the direction of the yelp.
His heart pounded as he moved, eyes wide, alert and wary of the slow shift of shadows from the trees. Listening anxiously for anything. Footsteps, breathing, chuckles, whimpers. He was certain he would be caught off guard by the thumping in his ears as he crept his way forward. The barn-door was ajar, and as he hurried his way to it, he heard a sputtering curse, and anxious, heavier footsteps pounding away into the night from the other side of the rickety building. The cat pressed himself against the wood, and stood frozen for several moments, before he heard the unmistakable sound of Hayseed, moaning in what sounded like pain. The feline slipped through that door swiftly. 'Hayseed!' he whispered anxiously, aware of a number of tools on the floor, and a few things looking upturned. '...Hashbrown?' came the reply, confused, and concerned, if still a little woozy sounding. Hashtag's footsteps hurried past the stalls, glancing about, until he saw the silhouette of the rabbit, settled on the floor by the wall. Scrambling forward, the cat grasped at a shoulder. 'Are you alright?! Who was that? What-' He paused though, as his free hand had gone to checking the rabbit over. And found not trim, toned abdominals under denim, but a gravid, lumpy mass, and Hayseed's fur directly. Fur that pushed against his touch in an impossible manner. The first muffled whimper reached his ears from the buck's gut. 'Holy-!' The cat nearly cried out, before the rabbit's broad hand clapped over his muzzle, silencing him.
'One of those dang fox boys.' The rabbit murmured in an aching, yet pleased tone. 'One of 'em weren't so sly this time-' Hayseed hiccuped and panted. 'T'weren't a hole in the fence he dang clambered his way through.' The rabbit's hand drew the cat down against him. Hugging the feline's back to his stewing, heavy middle. He rested his chin over Hashtag's ears, panting in what the feline realized was abating exertion, and that unyieldingly full feeling one had after thanksgiving. 'A fox-' Hashtag murmured in awe when the rabbit's hand finally released his muzzle. 'And you-.. But you're a bunny!' the cat sputtered softly, gawping a little as that gut gave a thick burble, as if to say ?So?? to his remark. 'A bunny who ain't got- hic! No place on his farm for a buncha greedy, thievin' hooligans.' 'Looks like you've got a place for them here though..' Hashtag swallowed as he wriggled his back against the bulges of the vulpine. 'True, S'fortunate I take after pa'. Don't reckon Patches could do somethin' like it.' 'Isn't your dad gonna freak at this..?' Hashtag asked uncertainly. Hayseed was silent for several moments. '...Be more upset at the mess they all made, I reckon.' he said vaguely. 'What about you though? Thought I told you to wait 'till I got back!' 'I know!' Hashtag mewled. 'But I got- I dunno, I freaked out. Thought you'd been hurt, or coulda been in trouble!' He admitted, wriggling about to hug on the rabbit as best he could, finding his cheeks burning for the continued writhing and struggling against his front from that trapped vulpine.
Hayseed heaved a soft sigh as he draped his arms around the cat. His nosepad brushed softly against the feline's as he held him in place. 'I appreciate that, Hashbrown. But s'gunna make it a bit weird when we head back. Gotta tell Pa 'bout it. An' sooner's preferable.' 'Why didn't you tell him when you first heard them?' the feline asked softly, feeling the struggles abate under him. The silence following his question hung rather more heavy this time. He felt Hayseed give a little quiver, and squeeze him tighter. 'Cause of Cliff.' The rabbit finally said, pecking the feline's forehead. Hashtag looked up, hoping for elaboration, but when he saw a beam of moonlight on the rabbit's face illuminating a pained, side-long gaze, he dropped it.
At last, the rabbit staggered to his feet, needing a hand to haul himself up. Padding together in silence, the summer night had regained most of its magical charm, with that fear having abated. The house came into view, with the living room still lit, Avery in view, reading through a magazine. As they knocked on the door, he looked up sharply, only for his jaw to drop, and then almost immediately shut, and clench. Opening the door, there was almost a thunderous air of anger about the huge rabbit. His eyes passed from rabbit, to stomach, to cat, and back to his son, reading accurately as he stepped aside to let them in, pointing to the couch. He gave a swat to Hayseed's ears, making the buck cringe and grunt, rubbing them as he settled on the worn upholstery.
'Y'all know better'n to make a boneheaded move like that, boy!' Avery said sharply. 'And to take Taggart out there with you! Both of you're damned lucky you're alright!' Hashtag blinked at the sharper language, but he kept himself quiet as Avery glowered at his son. The worst of the blistering seemed to be out of the way though, as he leaned back in his own chair.
'What'd they do?' The larger buck sighed, rubbing his forehead. 'Reckon they done something down by the stream, they were hollarin' about that way. When I went out to chase 'em off, they were heading for the barn.' 'The animals?' 'All in their pens. They were mighty riled when I got in there. Them fox boys were tearin' the place up. Thought I smelled a lick of kerosene, but they didn't manage anythin' else when I ...chased 'em off. And fer what it's worth, I told Hashbr- Taggart to stay inside. I didn't want him involved in none of it.' Avery nodded to himself, and turned to the geoffory's cat, the stern gaze softening. 'You alright, son? Didn't get hurt, I hope? Your old man'd probably want you on the next flight home. Rightly so, of course.' 'Nah, I'm okay, Hayseed had them all scared off by the time I found him.' The cat reached beside him to pet the rabbit, blushing as his hand found the rabbit's engorged middle by accident. Avery's eyes followed his arm. 'And.. 'that'?' The rabbit said a little tersely. 'Don't agree with it, and to be sure, you know you're in trouble, boy. Go on, git to bed. And don't wake your ma' up.' Avery warned the smaller buck. Hashtag swallowed. 'It was crazy to see, when I found him, but- I know it's a thing.' The sound of the rabbit's gut burbling idly filled the silence of the room as Hayseed got to his feet to pad upstairs, leaning on the railing with a puff. 'Never seen it before, but, you were just protecting your stuff, right?' 'Not the way we should do.' Avery nodded, before Hashtag cleared his throat. 'Can I ask who Cliff is?' The feline asked awkwardly. The rabbit blinked at him for a moment, before his ears and eyes turned towards the space upstairs where a door had just very quietly closed.
With a slow exhale, the older rabbit leaned, and plucked a picture off one of the side-tables, to offer it over to the cat. It was the family, several years earlier, going by the way the boys all looked several heads shorter. All three of them. Hashtag's ears splayed. 'Cliff was our youngest,' Avery rumbled. 'Few years younger'n Cooper. Real sweet boy. ..Them foxes set up a shack down past the farm when he was probably about 4. They were a right pain in my you-know-what from day one. Never figured they'd go as far as they did, though. I'd taken Bodean up into town, and they must have heard the truck. Time I got back, Caroline was near talking in tongues. Them fox boys had found Cooper and Cliff down the stream. Only blessin' being Cooper managed to get away.' Avery softly took the picture from the cat to look at, before settling it back on the table, and slowly standing up. 'They won't be back for a right long time now though, since Bodean.. took the initiative. Anyway, Sorry things got so heavy, son. You head on up to bed, alright? Farm's gotta get on.' He gave the cat a soft pat on the head, ruffling the feline's ears with a soft flash of that more charming smile. Hashtag strained slightly to return it, as he padded up the stairs. For a moment, he caught sight of Patches' door standing ajar, and the younger rabbit looking at him from it. There was something knowing about that gaze, before he closed the door with a bland 'Night.'
Padding to Hayseed's room, he stepped in, closing the door behind him. The light was still on, and Hayseed was sitting on the lower bunk, a hand rested on his gut. He lifted his attention to the cat, and inclined his head. 'Would y'all mind if I bunked down here with you tonight, Hashbrown?' There was almost something guilty to the handsome rabbit's voice. The nickname though, sent a small shiver down the feline's spine as he undid his overalls, flicked off the light and padded to the bed. 'No, that's okay. I get it.' The cat said as Hayseed eased himself back to make room, easing himself under the blanket. Clambering in after and settling in, the cat found Hayseed's arms softly scooping about his back to draw him in. Whether intentional or not, he softly mooshed his belly against the cat as he rested his chin atop Hashtag's ears. The geoffory's cat could only lay in place, his cheeks softly burning as that gut continued its thick churning and steady softening against his form. While Hayseed was out in minutes, it was an effort on several fronts for Hashtag to will the peaceful embrace of sleep to take him.
When his body roused automatically at the unknown hour, the cat stirred under his heavy blanket. The haze of his dreams, awkward and uncertain shadows that were fading before his blinking eyes. His attempts to get up were hampered not by his blanket, he found, but the bunny acting as it. Hayseed's sleeping form had rolled atop him during the night. The thick weight of that invasive former fox had shrunk considerably, though it was still very noticeable, molded atop and against his form as the rabbit shifted and murmured. With a slightly strained grunt, Hashtag wriggled an arm free to nudge and gently shake the rabbit's shoulder. Hayseed's warm eyes drifted open, and with a groggy 'Sorry, Hashbrown.' He rolled off the cat, but was no sooner on his back, than he was back to sleep. The feline could only imagine what the torpor must be like.
He got to his feet, to fetch his underwear for the day from his suitcase, his overalls, and a towel, making for the bathroom, though his head swam with thoughts, and images from the night before. He winced for the thick creak of the fifth stair underpaw, and hurried his way out to clean up. Caroline was ready with breakfast as ever, greeting him with a warm smile as she laden the table with breakfast foods. 'Should I go get Hay- er, Bodean, Miss Caroline?' the cat offered. She shook her head gently. 'No sugar, it's alright.' There was a slight edge to her tone, suggesting it wasn't. 'He'll probably be asleep for a bit longer yet. Lord knows Avery'll keep him busy every waking moment. Tuck in, hon. Big day.' She finished, whisking back off to the kitchen as the cat dug in.
The soft thump on the stairs told Hashtag of Patches' arrival, the rabbit vanishing into the bathroom and shortly after, began ladening his plate. His gaze was determinedly on his food, and the front door when it swung open to permit Avery's heavy bootsteps. 'Mornin' boys. Y'all have a fair chunk o' work ahead of you today. Looks like we'll be cleaning up fer most of it. Dang foxes made a right mess of the barn, and that pond ain't gonna be good to swim in fer a while, I'm afraid. Not to mention they look like they made off with some parts from the tractor. Gunna take your ma and Bodean into town so he can carry what we need back.' 'Aww pa, c'mon. He's always going into town!' Patches piped up. 'You'll get yer turn, Coop'. I need you boys to get things cleaned up here, alright?' He clapped his boy on the shoulder as the rabbit huffed mutinously.
It was awkward to pad out to the barn with Patches in such a bad mood on top of everything else. The buck kicked at stones as he strolled, muttering all the way. He seemed to leave it behind when they reached the barn though. They could see paint had been used to graffiti the barn sides, the inside was even worse of a mess than Hashtag could have seen the night before. Sacks torn and thrown over the floor, the hay pushed out in heaving bundles, and even crowding stalls. Tools were everywhere, and a couple buckets of some tarry mix had been splattered out along the inner walls.
Hashtag eyed the mess with apprehension, but it seemed this wasn't the first time it had happened. Patches had a rake pressed into his hands promptly. 'Get on rakin' this mess up. I'll see to the animals. We'll go from there.' He was short and direct, but he seemed to have worked his priorities out, as the cat got to work, nudging fallen tools out of his way. The bunny kept up his orders in between the normal tasks. Direct, but organized, and steadily, everything started looking the way it should. He padded over to show the cat how to organize and bundle the hay, helping him haul them back to the loft, before they heard the distant rumble of the truck sputtering to life and trundling out.
Amidst his carefully scrubbing the tarrish mix from the walls and floor, Hashtag watched the rabbit standing by the door, watching the small dustcloud that followed the truck from view, twitching his spade. 'So, uh.. how come going to town is such a big thing for you?' Hashtag finally asked, trying to break the awkward silence. 'There's like nothing out there.' 'Still plenty more than there is here.' the rabbit gave the barn door an annoyed shove, before he continued his tasks. 'Thought you'd have got that much.' 'Well, I've been kinda busy learning all this farm stuff, and all. It's totally different! I haven't had time to think about it!' Hashtag retorted, putting aside the bucket he was using and getting to his feet, hands brushing on his thighs. 'Fair bit of time to sneak out at night with Hayseed though.' Patches said, crossing his arms sternly. Hashtag felt a small chunk of ice slip into his stomach. 'You boys aren't as quiet as y'all seem to think.'
'He was just showing me the stars, that's all!' Hashtag said with betrayingly red cheeks. 'I'll bet.' Patches huffed with a glowering gaze at the cat. 'And I wonder what you were showing him.' 'What're you so mad about? You kissed me, too!' Hashtag spat defensively, before his eyes widened. 'I mean- not that he did!' Patches' face said everything though. 'I wondered if that weren't the reason you shied away.' The rabbit said stepping towards the cat. 'You had a real cute look on your face that first day when we met. S'a dang shame.'
The feline swallowed as the rabbit stepped up closer. 'What's a shame?' he sputtered, glancing about nervously as Patches soon pushed him up against the wall under the loft. Those blue-hazel eyes were fixed on him, dangerously. 'That he ain't gonna know where you went to. Real dang shame them foxboys came back so quick, lookin' for revenge.' growled the rabbit as he grasped Hashtag's overalls, unclipping the buttons with his thumbs easily.
Hashtag's chest rose and fell swiftly as he panted with rising terror. 'Oh, they won't be back till after dark, Hashbrown. Won't be nothin' left by then.' The grin on the rabbit's face was wicked, dangerous as he clapped a hand to the cat's muzzle, and tugged him about as the feline tried to struggle and thrash. Despite his efforts on the farm, he was easily outclassed by the life of solid work framed in the rabbit's solid form, and broader arms. One was all it took to wrangle his arms to his sides, as patches angled the cat's face up. The geoffory's cat could only watch, struggling and twitching in that overwhelming strength as the rabbit's jaws yawned. He realized what that fox the night before had seen, as that dark cave of a maw, framed by those well cared for teeth sank almost luxuriously down. Patches' hand moved aside the moment before his jaws pressed over the cat's muzzle, in a touch far more, and far less intimate than their kiss. The cat's yowling noise of terror was audible for just a second before the buck had him silenced within the stiffling, steamy heat of his mouth proper. His tongue lazily slathering through the cat's hair, mashing his ears, as the buck bent slowly and wormed his jaws with some considerable effort further.
The flesh that his muzzle slid into was slimey, slick and insistantly undulating. The buck swallowed greedily, like he hadn't eaten for a week. The thick squishing sound, so alien to his pinned ears, had the whimpering cat spasming as the reality of his perilous situation was made abundantly clear. The cloying heat of the buck's jaws inched over his slimmer shoulders, gnawing, nibbling and pushing down over his torso as the rabbit groaned indulgently. The succulent ache of the cat being pushed deeper sated some need, primal and personal. When he felt the rabbit's arms adjust to grasp his wrists to his hips, the cat cried out against the flesh endlessly wringing down his form in those cloying depths as the world inverted, and he felt his own weight traitorously sink him deeper.
Feet pedaling, kicking in the air, the cat writhed and twisted to no avail, except Patches'. Every lurch sank him deeper before the smothering walls mooshed back in about his form. His muzzle pushed against a taut sphinctre of flesh, that spread into a barely looser space. A lungful of heavier, acrid air made the cat cough and sputter as he could do nothing against the forces compacting him in. His eyes darted desperately in the gloom, his sputtered yowls for help heard by only one person.
Patches smirked as he felt the vibrations of the desperate cat. Swallow after swallow sinking more of that spotty hide down. Part of him wondered if he might get a spot or two from the cat. If not, he could always filch one of his shirt, and make a new ascot.. Trusting the binding of the feline's arms to his gullet, he turned to lean on the warming wall of the barn, grasping those anxiously kicking legs at the knees. Another hold and push seeking to pull him deeper whilst his gut ached with the steady distending of his taut abdominals. It was going to take a whole mess of sit-ups to work the cat off.
Curling over himself, Hashtag tried to push at the slimey, rubbery walls. The wavey, rippled texture squidging between his fingers, distending barely as more of him was forced in atop himself. He shook his head desperately, feeling every inch that the rabbit claimed. Gulp after gulp after eager gulp, his thighs were slurped up, his knees nibbled. Those soft fuzzy hands grasped his feet, pushing whilst the rabbit's swallows steadily saw his calves sluicing past those lips. And then, he felt his heart pound as the jaws clicked shut about his feet, sealing him wholly in that impossible, sticky heat. The buck's tongue slathered, and nearly lavished along his soles and toes, before one simple, final swallow bundled him in entirely. That gullet compacted him down, wringing, squeezing, working in tandem with that laboring stomach to pack the cat in, sealing him into Patches belly, curled fetally.
At once, Patches groaned. He panted heavily, resting his hands on his hefty belly, grinning as the cat sloshed and squirmed under his touch. 'What a dang shame, them fox boys came back, bold as brass and clear in daylight, too!' the rabbit smirked, nudging his gut about as the indentation of the feline's hands and feet and face pushed out anxiously. 'Oh, that cityslicker was real brave, went right up to tell 'em off. I tried to stop him. ...Just like little Cliff. But that big'n, with- with the crook ear... He didn't like what y'all did to his friend, Hayseed. Gulped him up 'fore I could get there. Got one of his friends, though.' The bunny crooned, chuckling as he almost rehearsed.
Hashtag whimpered in that gut as the bunny's voice rolled over him like those arhythmic waves of flesh. He could see the bunny lying to the big handsome rabbit and Hayseed's big brown eyes. He writhed as furiously as he could, even as that potent heat sapped his strength, his head swimming in the thinning air. The jostling of the bunny's footsteps, and then the uncomfortable thud of what he realized were the loft ladder's wrungs against his form. Patches made no effort to keep him from bumping against them as he clambered laboriously up into the loft. Sinking into the hay, the buck groaned contentedly. He panted and lidded his eyes. The sunbeams warming patches of his fur as he reclined with an arm behind his head. Softly dabbing his lips with his ascot, he hiccuped softly, grinning.
The feline struggled as best he could in that thin air, groaning weakly as he sagged, head swimming as the smaller buck continued lazily rubbing him in circles. 'Worst part is, I won't be able to enjoy ma's cookin' for a few days.' the bunny yawned, near dozing from the torpor the cat was bringing on in him. 'Wonder if they'll let me have that game thing of yours, not like you'll be able to play that no more.'
--Fin.