FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Lucy didn't even slow as they passed the Pokemon Center. All thoughts of this morning's complaints were swept aside by competitive spirit, and Max really couldn't complain. At first he'd been somewhat worried, afterall he didn't want Lucy to be hurt, but it would have been doubly bad to be stuck in a cave with a sick sibling. But now that he had a better idea of what was troubling her, Max was wary of getting too many answers. He didn't really get how all that cum had stuck around inside his sister for so long, or why it suddenly came pouring out during their walk, but Max was pretty sure he didn't want to share that info with Lucy just yet, let alone Nurse Joy.

But now there was a new goal to achieve, and what wasn't a direct impediment was cast aside. Lucy was a force to be reckoned with and she would not let some spontaneous expulsions get between her and victory.

"Aren't we going to at least stop and drop off our bags?" Max called out half-heartedly. He knew what the score was, but a sense of normalcy made him at least voice the ideas he knew he should be having.

"No way!" Lucy called back, "We can come back later. I don't want to miss this."

Beyond the unmistakable red roof, Max could see the peak of the Nacrene Museum. He'd visited it when he was younger, though at the time he wasn't terribly excited about skeletons, rocks, and dry accounts of dig sites. Now though he felt a kind of double pull, not only did the Museum double as Nacrene City's gym, but it also housed an extensive library. If experience couldn't teach him what he needed, maybe he could find something among the books.

It was just a few blocks, but by the time they'd arrived Max was feeling winded. Lucy was never phased by this kind of exertion, but Max couldn't quite muster the same endurance. Opening the door brought with it the pleasant tranquility of a big building that needed to be kept at just the right temperature. They'd only spent a couple of nights total on the route, but Max couldn't get over the allure of buildings and their niceties. As Lucy raced over to the signin desk, Max took a seat in the spacious entry. Max recalled the Museum being crowded, but now it was quite still with only a few people who didn't obviously work there popping in and out of rooms and ailes.

In no time at all, Lucy was back, bouncing on her feet in stark contrast to the sedate pace everyone else seemed to be keeping.

"I'm signed in. The guy said I have an hour until my battle." Lucy reported.

"Oh yeah? What should we do until then?" Max asked, still luxuriating in the simple comfort of cushioning.

"Well I am going to go run drills with Speck and Sprig. What about you?" Lucy seemed to pick up on Max's reluctance to return to the outdoors.

"Oh, yeah good idea. I was thinking I might check out the library," Max responded. "I think they might have some stuff on pokemon breeding, you know."

"Nice. Well just don't forget what time it is, okay?" Lucy said.

"Yeah, of course, I'll be in here anyways. You go worry about Sprig and I'll keep an eye on the clock too." Max wasn't going to miss his sister's battle for anything. Even if he didn't want to be a trainer, he wanted to support Lucy.

And with that Lucy took off for fields unknown, at least to Max, and after a moment he stood up to begin his own training.

Getting started wasn't too difficult, but Max soon found that he was going to need to be clever in his approach to getting the answer he sought. When he'd walked over to the library entrance he found a young woman behind the directory desk who'd seemed all too happy to help him find the books he was looking for. However, when Max had told her he was trying to learn more about pokemon breeding, the librarian had not been quite as helpful as Max was hoping.

She'd left him at a table while she went to pick out some titles, but upon her return, Max could see that these weren't going to be particularly helpful texts. The top of the pile was titled Working the Farm: Raising and Bonding with Work Pokemon. A quick flip through told Max all he needed to know, these books were perhaps age appropriate, but did not contain anything specific enough for him. Max knew what it meant to be a pokemon breeder, what he wanted was answers about what one did to breed pokemon and how pokemon mate. Given the other titles in the pile he'd been brought, however, Max figured he wasn't going to get those answers from this librarian.

He thumbed through the other books for a while, picking up some information about hatching eggs and rearing young pokemon. Some of these were certainly interesting given the two eggs he was carrying around, but nothing about how eggs were made, let alone the specifics of pokemon species and their mating processes. Max had a little while left, so he returned to the counter, a new question in mind.

"Hi. Um, do you have any books that are like really detailed about pignite?" Max asked, really trying to get across that he wasn't looking for a beginner's guide to the species.

The librarian looked up from her work and considered. "Well I'm not sure if we have anything on pignite specifically, but we do have something on common starter breeds, if that would be helpful."

Max's face lit up as he nodded, lost for words at the possibility.

"Let me go look, we just got it in, so I'm not even sure if it's out in circulation yet. Give me a minute and I'll bring it over to you."

Max felt a little like skipping as he made his way back to the desk he was using. It was maybe a long shot, but if nothing else, maybe he could come out of this day with at least one real answer.

Before long the librarian reemerged and deposited a massive text in front of Max. The cover proclaimed, Starter Pokemon: An Account of Species and Evolutions in striking font on top of a colorful image of the world.

Max began flipping through the pages of the book, enthusiasm restored now that the information he sought was so close. As he riffled, Max caught glimpses of other starters that were popular in other regions, grotle, totodile, delphox, and others, but they barely registered as he looked for that telltale orange and black of the tepig line. Then he found it, the first page contained an illustration of a tepig and its subsequent forms arranged almost like a strange family picture. The text that accompanied this illustration was dense, but Max did his best to skim quickly.

The first chunk was primarily concerned with competitive aspects of the species, what moves they could learn, strengths and weaknesses in battle, general information that would likely be useful to a trainer, but not what Max needed. Flipping further, he found a description of behavioral traits, again not quite what he was after. Then on the next page there it was, "Breeding." Max immediately began reading.

The tepig line is generally valued for its bulky nature and ability to return blows that would fell lighter pokemon. When considering breeding a tepig, it is important to match your female with a compatible species who can offer useful moves and aspects not normally found in less acculturated lines. A male tepig may make a great stud for trainers looking to introduce powerful fighting and fire moves to their partner's offspring. Both males and females of the tepig line tend to be versatile as they do not often run into physical constraints with other compatible species. Male tepig tend to have long, thin phalluses with a noteworthy twisted tip, often described as a corkscrew. This allows them to successfully mate with pokemon of various sizes without concern for injury. Similarly, female tepig have relatively narrow vaginal canals, but their bodies are resilient and flexible, allowing copulation with partners of varying sizes.

When first breeding a tepig, as with all other pokemon, it is best to first establish a familiarity with their potential partners. All attempts at breeding should be carefully supervised in order to ensure...

Max couldn't bring himself to read any further. He'd been so sure he might find out something about his pignite and Lucy, but this book was more concerned with the battling applications of breeding than anything useful. Here he'd been so excited, ready to take charge of this thing that had so recently frightened him, but he had nothing to show for his efforts.

Max's wallowing was cut short by his sudden realization that he had somewhere to be soon. Looking up, Max saw that it was fast approaching time for his sister's match. Hurrying to the front desk, Max deposited his freshly picked through stack and with a brief, if half-hearted thank you to the librarian, hustled out the door and back to the lobby.

The next few minutes went by in a blur. Max emerged into the entry as Lucy came in, looking energized.

As they came together, Max asked, "Are you ready?"

Lucy just nodded, seeming particularly focussed. She was always driven, but Max could tell that his sister was in a different headspace right now.

Without any further conversation, the siblings turned and headed towards the arena.

The space was very similar to the Striaton City Gym, a large open space made of a compact earthy substance.

At the other end of the hall stood the gym leader, Lenora. As the two passed through the entrance, the tall, dark-furred feline woman stepped towards them calling out in greeting.

"Hello! Who's the challenger today?" She said in a clear, loud voice.

Max stopped short of the field as Lucy strode on towards her competition.

"I am." She said simply.

"We-ehll, what's your name darling?" Lenora responded.

"Oh, uh I'm Lucy. I'm, uh, a trainer." Lucy said, clearly taken aback at the leader's disarming tone. It seemed to Max that Lucy had been focussed more on getting into the battle than who she was talking to.

"Well welcome Lucy. Do you want to go ahead and get started?" Said Lenora, smiling at the young girl's sudden awkwardness.

Lucy was never one to let things get to her, and with a quick pivot, she continued as if nothing had happened, "Oh, yes please Ms. Lenora."

The leader stuck out her hand, "Just Lenora is fine dear. Now let's have a great battle."

Lucy reached out and shook the older woman's hand, then with a practiced ease, both trainers turned and walked to their respective zones. And with that the battle began.

Max was having trouble following the proceedings. Lucy, like in her other battles, was relying heavily on her drills with Sprig, coaching the little cat in a fast paced way that belied their extensive training. The purrloin was merely a streak of purple before Max's eyes, darting, stopping, retreating, and jumping in a manner that looked both polished and dynamic. To anyone else, Lucy would have sounded more like a cheerleader, with her loud calls and occasional shrieks of excitement, but Max knew from listening to her tireless calls along the route that each utterance was an instruction which Sprig dutifully carried out. Well maybe not the shrieks, but who could hold it against her.

Lenora, for her part, was much more subdued, but Max could tell that she was no less engaged in the battle. Her party consisted of a herdier and then a watchog. The herdier went down quickly, succumbing to Sprig's lightning quick jabs. Lenora had stayed quiet for much of the first half of the battle, but once watchog came out, she began to speak. Max couldn't make out Lenora's words over Lucy's shouting, but he could tell that the leader was communicating some sort of plan to her pokemon. It seemed that Lenora was more of a reactive battler, but now she had Lucy's number, and, as Max watched, he began to notice that Sprig was no longer the fastest force on the field.

Despite it's gangly figure, Lenora's watchog was now playing a game similar to Lucy's typical strategy, darting in and out, delivering hits where it could. Sprig was giving as good as he got, but he was already tired from the first fight and now was starting to flag. Lucy could see this too, and was trying to switch up the game plan, calling for more dodges and fewer attacks. Max wasn't sure this was going to work out, however, as the watchog was still managing to land hits on occasion and didn't seem to be weakening as quickly as Sprig.

After a few minutes of hit and run, Lenora seemed ready to end things. Raising her voice for the first time all match she called out, "Watchog, crunch!"

The watchog was fast, but Lucy was faster, "Sprig, sand attack, now!"

Faster than Max had ever seen a pokemon move, Sprig turned and lashed out with his back legs, driving up a spray of dust and pebbles in the oncoming face of Lenora's watchog. The unfortunate 'mon didn't stand a chance of avoiding the spray, having dove headlong at its opponent. Now it found itself taking a face full of dirt for its efforts. Crucially, the distraction was enough and the watchog missed its attack, landing face first in the ground. It was back on its feet in an instant, but the tides had turned. Sprig was now in control, both in terms of confidence and sight. Watchog was trying to clear its eyes when Sprig's first blow landed. The tall rodent whirled around, but Sprig was rotating as well, continuing to land hits against his opponent. In another moment the fight was over and Sprig had won!

With another shout, this time of joy, Lucy rushed the field to scoop up her victorious partner. Lenora was slower to join the excited girl, but as she walked over, Max could see she had a smile on her face. Lucy was twirling Sprig around in the air, laughing as her tired and floppy friend purred his satisfaction. Max could see that Lenora was about to hand Lucy her newest badge, when a bright light turned everyone's attention back towards Sprig.

It took Max a beat to realize what was happening, but as he collected himself, he realized that Sprig was evolving. The bundle of purple that had been in Lucy's hands was now stretching out, turning from a little bundle to a longer, lither form. After a moment, Lucy was no longer holding a purrloin. Her first pokemon had transformed into an elegant Liepard!

Lucy was through the roof. Not only had she won her battle, but her pokemon had evolved. She hugged Sprig close and the big kitty nuzzled up against her. However, the newly grown pokemon quickly became too much for Lucy's slight frame to hold up and the girl was forced to set Sprig down after a moment. Sprig appeared quite tired and simply lay down where he was dropped and seemed to drift off. Lucy, to her credit, took the hint and pulled out his ball, returning Sprig with a flash of red.

With the excitement now abated somewhat, Lenora proffered the newly won badge. "Congratulations, that was an excellent fight. You and your leipard are quite the force."

"Oh thank you, that was such a fun battle!" Lucy responded, immediately returning her attention to the rest of the room. Max couldn't help but marvel again at the speed with which Lucy jumped from interest to interest without any sort of down time or need for transition. It seemed she was just the kind of person who was going to do what she needed to do, as long as what she wanted to do was what needed to be done.

"Haha yes, well you've certainly earned this badge. How many gyms have you faced now?" Lenora asked, seeming genuinely interested in Lucy's accomplishments.

"This is my second. We just fought in Striaton City a few days ago." Lucy answered, looking very pleased at the fact.

"Oh my, you really are making some good headway aren't you? And what about your friend?" She said, turning to look at Max.

"Oh this is my brother, Max. He doesn't want to be a trainer, but he's coming with me on my league journey." Lucy was quick to respond.

"Don't want to be a trainer eh? Well, Max, what do you want to be?" Lenora asked the quiet boy.

"Um, I want to be a pokemon breeder," Max responded.

"Huh, pokemon breeding is great work. So you like pokemon then?" Lenora seemed quite curious about what Max and Lucy had to say. Max supposed that curiosity was a good trait for someone who headed a museum to have, though he wasn't used to adults having so many genuine questions.

"Yes ma'am. I love pokemon, but I just don't think I like battling, so I guess breeding is another thing to do with pokemon." Max felt like it was a lame answer, but it was true.

"It certainly is!" Lenora excitedly responded, as if sensing Max's hesitance. "Pokemon breeding is an important part of training and raising pokemon, whatever purpose they serve. My family has a small farm and we have a pokemon breeder who comes by every now and then to help us out. We couldn't keep up with all the particulars if she wasn't around to help us out now and then. It's great work and I hope you are learning a lot while you're out on the route!"

At that, Max felt his face grow a bit hot, but he tried to downplay his reaction. "Oh, uh, yes. I'm learning a lot."

Lenora beamed at him, "Very good. Now tell me, where are you two staying tonight?"

The question caught Max a bit off guard and in the time it took him to collect his thoughts, Lucy had responded. "We're gonna stay at the Pokemon Center, but we came here first."

Lenora nodded, "Yes, that makes sense, but those places aren't so comfortable. Well, I suppose they're better than a tent, right?" Max and Lucy nodded, they were both looking forward to something a bit more comfortable than bed rolls. "But how would you like to spend the night with my family? We have a guest room and everything, plus you can get something other than route rations. What do you say?"

Max turned his head to look at Lucy. Her eyes were beaming with excitement. It seemed she liked the idea very well. Looking back to Lenora, Max said, "Um, if it's not too much trouble we would love to." Max wasn't exactly sure about this, but it seemed harmless and it would at least be as comfortable as the Center.

"Wonderful!" Lenora chimed, "Oh I can't wait for you to meet my kids. They're just about your age. They'll be so excited to meet some new trainers."

And with that Lenora, Max, Lucy, and Speck left the museum and headed towards the south side of Nacrene City.

It was not a very large city, Max thought. It seemed about the same size as Accumula, just with higher buildings.

After a short walk, they came up to a paved path that ran along the railroad tracks that Max had seen on their way in. Lenora turned and began following the path towards an older looking house. It was separated from what seemed to be the edge of the city by a narrow strip of grassy field. Behind the house, Max could see a small barn and a couple of other outbuildings, which he figured made up the farm Lenora had mentioned.

As the small group made their way up the path, Max saw the front door of the house swing open and a young boy ran out.

"Momma!" he shouted as he ran up and jumped into Lenora's arms. Max figured that the kid was about Lucy's age.

"Well hello to you too mister!" Lenora said, laughing. "Now why don't you introduce yourself to our guests."

The young boy turned his attention to Max and Lucy, wearing a big, warm grin. "Hi! I'm Mikey."

The rest of the short walk was spent making introductions. Once they reached the door, Max saw another head poke out of the door way.

"Mikey, don't go leaving the door open! Oh! Hi there." The girl in the door had caught sight of the group. Max thought she looked like she was about his age. She was a bit taller than him, and wore a pair of large blue overalls, and it seemed that may have been all she had on.

"Anna what have I told you about shirts!" Lenora began scolding, while Mikey giggled.

"I'm all covered mom. I'm fine!" Anna responded, somewhat indignantly. Max found himself agreeing with her, but decided to keep that observation to himself.

"Well go put on a shirt anyways and come back, we've got guests." Lenora said in a tone that brooked no disagreement.

"Alright, I'll be right back." And with that Anna retreated, soon to be replaced by a tall, slim man.

"Lenora, who is this you have with you?" The tawny feline man said warmly, as if this wasn't the first time Lenora had invited trainers to her home.

"Hawes, this is Lucy and Max. Lucy just the Basic Badge in fine form. And her brother wants to be a pokemon breeder." Lenora said with practiced ease, confirming for Max that this was indeed not the first time she had hosted impromptu guests. Turning to the siblings she said "This is my husband Hawes." Hawes gave a small wave, "And you briefly met my daughter Anna. But please welcome to our home. Make yourselves comfortable."

In time with the invitation, Anna made her reappearance, now wearing a white t-shirt under her overalls. "Hi, I'm Anna! Who are you?"

Lucy, as usual, was the first to speak. "I'm Lucy, and this is my brother Max."

"Nice to meet you both, I'm sure." Anna said beaming down at Lucy.

"Anna, have you taken care of the miltank this evening?" Lenora interjected.

"Not yet mom. I was going to go do it when Mikey went flying out the door." Anna responded, not quite annoyed by the question, but clearly feeling like she was being put on the spot.

"No worries honey, I was just going to ask if you'd show Max the barn. That is if you're interested of course?" Lenora said, looking at Max. "He wants to be a pokemon breeder and you always help out with that, so I thought he might be interested."

Max was starting to feel like he was lagging a sentence behind what seemed to be a very energetic group, but at the mention of pokemon breeding, he perked up, giving a nod in the affirmative.

"Alright then, follow me." Anna said without further question. "We'll be back in a bit mom!"

"Okay, here Max I'll take your pack. Lucy you too, and Mikey would you be willing to show Lucy around while I get the guest room set up?" Lenora asked, taking the bulky packs like they were weightless.

"Okay, momma! Hi Lucy, lemme show you..." And with that the two youngsters took off into the house.

Now relieved of his burden, Max turned and followed Anna back out the front door.

"So you want to be a pokemon breeder?" Anna asked over her shoulder.

"Um yeah. I, uh, I don't like battling, but, um, I want to work with pokemon, so..." Max responded lamely. He felt like his head was spinning, so much going on, and now trying to talk to Anna felt more complicated. Of course, he didn't really know why it should have been any different from talking to Lenora.

"Fun!" Anna continued, not even seeming to have noticed Max's tied tongue. "Yeah when our breeder comes, I help her out cause I'm the one who likes working with the miltank. We don't have to do much, just keep them milked, but they're real fun to be around."

"Yeah?" Max asked, thankful that Anna seemed willing to do the talking for both of them.

"Yeah, they mostly just sit around so they don't take much minding. And then when they do get up and around they waddle and it's so cute. Plus I've known all of them since I was little. Dad mostly took care of them, 'cause mom's in town, but when I got old enough he let me take over. Then we had the pokemon breeder come and do some check ups and stuff, so we even have some younger ones coming and she let me help with that a bit."

By this point Anna and Max had arrived at the barn door. It wasn't a terribly large structure, maybe half the size of their house, but with big sliding doors. As Max finished trudgin up, he saw Anna fiddling with a lock before unlatching and sliding the big doors open. The smell of alfalfa and dirt hit Max's nose, quite potent, but not unpleasant. For a brief moment Max was reminded of Speck's sheith and that powerful odor it had, it wasn't the same, but it was a similarly outdoorsy kind of smell. Pushing aside that memory, and its inopportune physical effects, Max walked in after Anna, who slid the doors shut behind him.

Max heard a small click and then a louder one as the lights came on. The barn's interior was not quite what Max would have imagined. It was clearly an outdoor, used building, but it seemed like someone kept it nice and orderly. The floor seemed to be compact clay and, while there were some wisps of hay scattered about, the interior seemed well kempt. Along each side of a center walk were sets of 3 pens. As Max listened he heard the sounds of pokemon in the pens and also a low humming from a machine which stood back, just beyond the last pens. Max could see that there was a kind of second floor, and that running along the underside of the floor was a series of tubes, leading from the pens to the machine in the back.

Stepping back into the lead, Anna came up to the first pen and peaked inside. Max moved to join her and was greeted with the sight of a healthy looking miltank sitting inside, chewing cud and looking quite pleased with the state of things. The tubing Max had noticed before ended, he now saw, in elongated cups which were fastened to the four, prominent nipples of the bovine pokemon.

Having apparently noticed Max's stare, Anna began, "I like to put the hoses on 'em when they come in for the day. I don't turn on the pumpin' machine until later though cause they aren't producing much right now, so I don't need to run if for long, but they seem to like it. Plus if they are feeling squirmy, it let's 'em relax a bit first."

"Oh. That's smart," said Max, again feeling like he had somehow messed up.

"Haha! Well I think so. Glad you agree, now come over here and I'll show you something." Anna said without missing a beat.

Max followed her over to the machine at the back.

"So this is the pumpin' machine. It sucks their milk out and puts it in this." Anna said, indicating a hatch on the side of the machine. "It's what makes the milk clean and then keeps it cold. I have to clean it on the weekends, but we don't usually have that much."

Max was nodding along with her explanation, but found himself looking at Anna more than the machine. Like before he noticed that she was taller than him. Before, he'd been too shocked by the energy everyone had had upon arrival to really pause, but now he was able to pause. The shirt Anna had put on was bright against her darker fur, darker than Max's at least, and it was somewhat tight. It looked like an undershirt, the kind Max had to wear on the few occasions that called for dressing up, but it looked so natural on her, hugging her shoulders in a way that Max thought looked quite nice.

As Max was taking in the view, Anna turned and smiled at him. "So do you wanna see it?"

Not really sure what she was talking about, but not wanting to appear rude for having not been paying full attention, Max just nodded. With that, Anna turned and flipped a switch on the main console. The machine's low hum suddenly kicked up and the sound of a fan filled the room. Turning back to Max, Anna grabbed his shoulder and swung him around, pointing up at the tubing. As Max followed her gesture he saw a white fluid fill the tubes and come flowing towards the machine. Just barely he made out the sound of a few of the miltank giving off a faint moo over the mechanical din.

Max was mesmerized by the sight of the milk flowing down into the clear tracks. It wasn't terribly exciting, especially as the tubing became more full of milk, making it difficult to tell that anything was moving along them, but Max was transfixed. He stood there, gazing up at this unique sight for several minutes, until he heard the machine wind down.

With the spell broken, Max turned to see that Anna was manipulating a dial of some kind which seemed to be slowing the suction. After a moment, Anna turned and walked towards the nearest pen, indicating for Max to follow.

When she reached the gate, Anna opened it and stepped inside. Max felt his step falter at the threshold, not sure what he should do. Anna had walked over to the Miltank's side, where she seemed to be waiting for him. Taking the queue, Max walked in and over to where Anna stood.

Leaning in closer than Max was expecting, Anna spoke over the sound of the machine. "We gotta take the cups off now, while the machine is still running."

Max nodded that he understood and then watched as Anna knelt down next to the large pink 'mon. Now right up next to it, Max could see that the miltank was bigger than he'd first thought. It was a head or so taller than Anna and its body was wide and plump. Its udder, with the four prominent nipples was about as wide as Anna's shoulders, each nipple about a hand length or more. Max could see a trickle of milk coming from them as the machine continued to pull. Anna set one hand at the base of the nipple, grabbing the clear cup in her other hand, before pulling straight up.

Machine and pokemon parted with a loud "schlorp," like the kind of sound Max remembered his vacuum cleaner would make if stuck to a hand or tummy. He could see a few drops fly out, but most of the liquid was carried along the tubing. The miltank's now free nipple had a small trail of milk running down it, but otherwise wasn't notable. In quick order, Anna freed the three remaining nipples.

Standing up again, she moved over to where Max was standing and, once again, leaned in close. "Do you want to try?"

Max, still out of his depth, simply nodded before following Anna out of the pen and over to the next one. Max noticed that Anna walked past the middle pen, instead entering the further pen on that side. Inside the pen, Anna signalled for Max to kneel down next to her.

"Okay, it's really easy. Just make sure to make it a single motion," Anna spoke into Max's ear, indicating where he should place his hands. Following her guidance, Max took hold of the cup, and moved his other hand to the udder, trying to mimic what he'd seen Anna do before. Then, Max pulled upwards.

Except it didn't really go as he'd imagined. Rather than coming off, the cup remained steadfastly where it was, a small hiss of air and a confused glance from the miltank were the only indication that he'd done anything. Next to him he heard Anna giggle faintly and Max felt his ears grow hot. It seemed that there was a lot more force holding the thing on than he'd anticipated.

"Don't worry, don't worry, just try again." Anna was saying, "Now you know how hard it is, so you'll get it this time."

Max didn't really think of himself as someone with an ego, but he did find Anna's words of encouragement pleasant. He took a moment to shift his footing and get a better grip. Then, pulling as vertically as he could, Max took another pull, this time rewarded with the slurping sound he'd heard Anna make when she successfully detached a tube.

"Good job! I'll get the others though, we gotta be quick once the cups are off. Otherwise the pump might break." Anna was saying. Again Max felt a twinge in his chest, this time at the suggestion that he wasn't fast enough, but he wasn't going to argue the point. He did understand what she was saying, but Max couldn't help but feel like he wished she hadn't needed to say it.

Returning to her practiced stance, Anna soon had the second miltank free. Max continued to follow her as she repeated the procedure another three times, before jogging over to the machine and flipping the switch off.

"Thanks for the help. Haha, sorry I didn't warn you about how stubborn those things are," Anna said, turning to Max with a smile.

"Um, no worries." Max responded, "It was interesting to see you work."

"Haha well we're nearly done, just one thing left to do and we'll be able to head back." Anna said, wiping a bead of sweat from her cheek. With the quick pace, many bodies, and machine running, the barn had begun to heat up and Max was also feeling the effects.

"So the last thing we have to do is milk this girl over here," Anna was saying as she walked past Max towards the pen she'd skipped over before. Inside was another miltank, not too different from the others, except that her udder seemed much more full to Max. It stuck out further, and seemed almost taught, where the other miltank had seemed more soft.

"This is the miltank that our breeder took care of last time she was here. This one had an egg and so she's producing more milk than the others," Anna explained as she picked up some tubing similar to what was attached to the ceiling. "The breeder told me that she'll be more sensitive for about a month after, so I can't milk her with the pump."

Max was nodding, picking up details here and there - that miltank produce more milk after they have an egg, that they're udders are sensitive. It wasn't particularly revelatory, but they were nice little things to know, he figured. As Max was considering what Anna had said, she began to attach the tubes to a kind of bucket. It looked about like any other bucket Max had seen, but with a lid that allowed the tubes to be fitted on, and an odd looking contraption at the bottom that looked kind of like a pedal.

Glancing up and seeing where Max was looking, Anna gave a quick explanation, "This is what we use to milk 'em when we can't use the machine. It's basically the same idea, but the suction is much lower. You have to pump this thing here with your foot, while someone presses on the udder to get the milk out."

Anna was miming the motions as she explained, "It's a lot harder normally, but this one is making so much milk that she doesn't need much help. Still, it'll be a lot easier with you here."

Max liked to hear that he was going to be useful. Anna had finished fitting the tubing onto the contraption by this point and had turned her attention to the miltank. It lay on its back, seeming content. Approaching it with one tube in hand, Anna took hold of one of the protruding nipples, standing it more upright, though that wasn't needed nearly as much as Max figured it was for the other miltank, and pressing the long, form fitting cup over the pink appendage. In similarly efficient fashion to before, Anna oriented and then covered two more nipples.

At this point, Anna paused, wiping her head again. Then, without more than a quick glance at Max, Anna hooked her hands under the straps of her overalls, sliding them off her shoulders and, in the same move, grabbed her t-shirt and pulled it up over her head. Max was frozen, staring as he once more caught a glimpse of Anna's chest, though this time with much less obscuring his view. Anna didn't have boobs, the way his mom or Melanie did, but her chest was more padded than Lucy's. Like before, Max found himself admiring her form, taking in her sturdy shoulders and, now, the way her chest complimented form. Max couldn't find it in him to say anything, but that wasn't really much of a problem, Anna seemed more than willing to do the talking right then.

"Oh sorry, I hate wearing that thing, but mom is so snippy when I don't have a shirt. Just don't tell her alright?" She said with a quick wink. As she spoke, Anna had pulled the straps of her overalls back over her shoulders.

"Uh, um, al-alright." Max stuttered. Internally, Max couldn't really figure why he was so struck by what had just happened. He'd seen Lucy naked and Nicky too, but this felt different, Max felt differently about Anna, though he didn't really know why.

"Haha! Hope I didn't freak you out." Anna said with a laugh, before bending over again to pick up the last tube. Once again she made to attach the cup, but here she paused, hand above the last miltank nipple.

In a low voice, a tone Max hadn't heard from Anna yet, she turned to look at Max, saying, "Hey, as long as we're keeping some things between us, do you know the other way to milk a miltank?"

Still reeling from the earlier exposure, Max could only shake his head. He hadn't known anything about miltank before today, so he wasn't sure what Anna could possibly mean.

"Well, um, so you see it's basically what I was tellin' you before." Now it was Anna's turn to haltingly speak, no longer looking at Max, eyes focussed on the floor. "Last time the breeder was here, she showed me another way to milk 'em. She said it was a pokemon breeder secret. She showed me though and it was really fun, but, um, she... she said I couldn't do it without someone else around to help and since it's secret I couldn't do it without her. But, um, it was really fun, you know, and you want to be a pokemon breeder, so I think it'd be okay to show you. Right?" As she came to her rambling conclusion, Anna looked up with an almost desperate look in her eyes.

Max had no idea what Anna was talking about, but he felt compelled to go along with what she wanted, and this seemed to be something she really wanted. Again without being able to muster the words Max gave a nod.

"Okay, um, just remember, this is a secret, so don't tell nobody, right?" Anna asked. She looked a little more relaxed, more like before, but Max could tell she was still nervous about whatever she was hoping to do.

"Yeah. Uh, promise, yeah." Max said.

Anna nodded, "Alright." And with that, Anna again moved her hands under her overall straps and, with a smooth, practiced motion, flipped them off her shoulders. As Max watched the straps fall, he noticed that Anna's hands were following the strips of fabric down, now hooking onto the waist of her overalls. WIth that, she pressed down, bending a bit to guide the garment passed her hips.

As Anna straightened back up, Max could now see clearly that she was naked. Not wearing-panties naked, but buck naked, standing fully exposed in front of him, looking back at the stunned boy.

"I, um, hope you don't mind..." Anna said in a soft voice, so dissimilar from the tone of energetic confidence she'd had earlier.

Again at a loss for words Max just shook his head, eyes never leaving her form. "Um, I'm going to get ready. I'll, uh, let you know when you need to start pumping." She said, turning to walk over to the miltank, leaving the tube where it lay. As she walked away, Max couldn't help but notice how she moved with a kind of confidence, despite her hesitant demeanor. Her stride was still long and graceful, her hips and shoulders swinging gently in time with her gait. Max had been feeling a familiar tightness in his pants since Anna had shown him how the pumping machine worked, but he hadn't really paid much attention to it until now. His cock was throbbing, as if calling out to Max some truth that he'd been missing. In the brief moment of Anna's travel, Max came to a realization, she was beautiful. Her body, her face, her manner all captivated his attention in ways that Max had never before experienced. Max had known what it was to feel desire, Lucy and Speck had shown him that much, but here before him now was someone whose presence was enchanting for reasons that Max could not completely explain. And not only that, but she was now fully naked in front of him, awake and able to speak with him, experience him even as Max was experiencing her in this moment. It was this realization which excited Max so much in this moment, not the fact that someone was naked in front of him, not the excitement of mystery that lay in her still unclear actions, but the fact that for the first time in his life, Max was sharing this experience with someone.

As Max was having this realization, Anna had reached the miltank. The girl reached out and, like before, took a firm hold of the long, pink nipple, supporting it in her hand. Here, though, the actions started to deviate. Anna bent down, giving Max quite the view of her as Anna's cheeks parted just slightly. From this glimpse, Max could see a sheen surrounding her pussy, much like Lucy's, but now clearly not the result of Speck's determined licking. Max's attention was diverted, however, as Anna opened her mouth and took in the tip of the miltank's teat. Slowly, in a motion that reminded Max of his own exploration of Speck's dick, Anna enveloped the appendage, sliding down along the length before bobbing back up. She repeated the motion several times until, with a slight popping noise, she let the nipple slip from her lips, covered generously in saliva, glistening in the light of the barn.

Anna then turned, facing away from the miltank, one hand still grasping the teat behind her. As she faced him again, Anna's eyes rolled up and down Max, settling on the bulge in his pants.

"You can take those off if you like." She said, with a nod at Max. "Um, that is if, uh, if you want to. You don't have to though." It was as though Anna had made the offer without thinking, and now, having heard herself, Max could see the self consciousness on her face. He felt something similar himself, but, wrapped up in the energy of the moment, Max found his hands moving to his waist. Without allowing himself to think about what he was doing, Max pulled down his pants, setting free his erect penis. Looking down, he saw that his cock was bouncing along in time with his pulse, doing quite the dance as his heart raced with excitement. Max quickly pulled off his shirt, leaving him as naked as Anna or the miltank. Looking back up, Max saw that Anna seemed quite as interested in his nudity as he'd been in hers.

"I've never seen one like that." Anna said, as if to herself before remembering that someone was attached to the penis before her. "Oh! Um, all stiff like that, I mean. I've seen dad's and Mikey's before, but, um, not. Not like yours."

Mind still racing, Max simply said the first thing that came to mind. "Same."

With words exhausted, and their respective excitement straining to be transformed into action, Anna reached her other hand down towards her crotch. Using her fingers, Max watcher Anna spread her pussy apart, much like he'd done to Lucy on so many occasions. Anna was now bent over, looking back through her legs at the pokemon behind her. She shifted her rear, aligning herself with the sopping nipple in her hand, and without further formality, sat backwards.

The slick teat made contact with, and then slid into Anna's vagina. Thanks to her own juices and the treatment she'd given it, miltank glided up into the girl, a tight, but not uncomfortable fit in her young pussy. Then, as Anna's weight came down onto the overfull udder, the real magic began.

The first warning Max had was when miltank's three other nipples began squirting milk into their respective tubes. Without really thinking about it, Max began pumping at the peddle, creating a vacuum in the collection bucket and drawing the miltank milk along. He's efforts were quickly forgotten however, as Anna let out a moan.

At the sound, Max looked back, eyes snapping first to her face, and then when he couldn't detect any distress, lower down. Anna had leaned backwards slightly, and now with her legs spread, Max could see more clearly what was going on. Anna's pussy, and in particular her clit, stood out clearly against the pastel pink of the miltank below her. As she rocked her hips slightly, Max could now make out that Anna had actually inserted the teat and was now grinding along its length, as well as pressing her hips forwards to rub against the smooth skin of her miltank's udder.

The gentle, yet insistent undulations of his new friend had Max riveted, eyes focussed on this intimate intersection. The surprises, however, were not quite finished. As Max looked on, he noticed another, more opaque liquid starting to seep from between Anna's hips. In a flash, Max realized that the coupling wasn't just forcing milk from the three cupped udders, but into Anna as well. It seemed that the miltank had filled what space remained within Anna, and the continued flow was now emerging to drench Anna's crotch and thighs with warm, creamy moo moo milk. Max wasn't sure what it was, but this new knowledge filled him with more waves of excitement, a kind of energy which felt balled in his chest, making his breath hitch. He'd always found Lucy's used pussy somewhat fascinating, but then so did Speck. That plus the fact that he was usually very tired after his preferred nightly activities meant that Max hadn't really considered the pleasing visual component of mating. Now, however, seeing Anna filled to the brim in such a clear way was making Max think back on those other moments. The first night staring at Lucy's vagina after he'd mated with her, the visible wet mark on Nicky's costume after umbreon had its way with her, Lucy sitting on the side of the route, squeezing pignite cum out in flowing gobs. These memories flitted around the edges of Max's mind as he watched Anna ride her miltank.

As the flow and motions continued, Anna's breath now came in quick audible moans. She'd closed her eyes at first, reveling in the sensation of fullness, the spreading warmth, and the stimulation she felt within and without. Now, as her pleasure grew, Anna opened her eyes and saw Max, standing there, eyes glued to her body, to her vagina. She'd thought Max looked nice when he'd come to the door. She'd enjoyed his nervous manner, when she'd brought him to the barn. Now, though, she was finding a deep, driving excitement at the thought of him looking at her in this way. She saw that his penis was still standing stiffly at attention, one of his hands idly playing with the fleshy rod, even as his own breathing grew more rapid. This wasn't her first time doing this, but Anna was feeling so many more confusing and elevated emotions than she'd had before and so many of those were tied into the feeling of watching and being watched by someone who was both a stranger and, she hoped, a friend. Then, her mind went blank.

Max saw Anna's body stiffen, her legs bending, pulling her down and forward. Then a beat later, Anna let out a shuddering sound, almost like a laugh, but drawn out. She remained in this position, hunched and occasionally twitching inwards, for a few moments, breath now coming in heaving gasps. Max realized that his friend had just cum, and hard.

Anna kept her position for a short while, until she seemed to come down from her peak and, with a deep contented sigh, flopped backwards against her miltank. The teat was drawn back out as she lay down, until just a little remained inside Anna. Now fully exposed, Max again appreciated the contrasting tones, miltank's light pink against Anna's dark pink lips, making both the appendage and the milk dribbling out around it stand out in sharp relief to Anna's warm folds. Then, with a quiet sucking sound, the nipple popped out and a veritable stream of moo moo milk came with it. The creamy liquid pooled in the depression Anna made in her miltank's udder, creating a small puddle between her and the 'mon. Max, however, was more interested in the brief, but heavy flow of milk that was exiting Anna's pussy.

Without thinking, Max moved forward, closing the distance between him and Anna. Anna was lying with her eyes closed, luxuriating in the afterglow, so she didn't see Max come up to her. Now standing before her beautiful, milk-drenched form, Max took an action that he might not have otherwise. Placing a knee on the miltank's belly, Max levered himself up and over Anna, guiding his cock up and into her pussy.

Anna's eyes flashed open as she felt something slide against her vagina. Before her knelt Max, and lower down she saw his penis which he was guiding into her. Anna knew what he was doing from the pokemon breeder, but Anna had never considered putting a penis in herself before. The thought wasn't bad, afterall she liked the feeling of having miltank in her, but at the same time, Anna knew that this was something, well maybe something else, that she wasn't really supposed to do. The question, however, was now more of a hypothetical, because as Anna was realizing what was happening, Max had thrust forward, into her.

The feeling, Anna thought, was not that different from miltank, but was made more exciting by the weight of Max on top of her. For Max, the experience was also both recognizable and new. He'd never really had this kind of experience. Lucy didn't know what he did to her every night, and while Nicky had been awake, she was hardly someone that Max felt any meaningful connection to at the time. Looking down and having Anna looking back up at him was something new and exciting. It also didn't hurt that Max was about as aroused as he'd ever been.

With a kind of practiced ease made possible by a combination of practice and blinding excitement, Max pushed himself in and out of Anna, reveling in the feeling of the milk that filled her as it flowed around and along his shaft. With each thrust a small wave of the liquid erupted from between the two kids, adding markedly to Max's enjoyment. Anna, for her part, was still coming down from her own orgasm. Max's energetic motions served more to prolong her pleasure. Rather than building again to a crescendo, Anna felt herself enjoying the sensation of friction within her, taking note in small ways of the differences between Max and her miltank.

Then, almost as fast as it began, Anna felt Max stiffen and heard him take a sharp breath in as he pushed himself as deep as he could. Max had wrapped his arms around her and was now squeezing himself close to her chest, face buried between her budding breasts. A beat passed, and then Anna felt a new warmth enter her vagina as Max came inside her, the new liquid gift churning around and mixing with the milk that remained.

After what felt like minutes to Max, he came back to his senses, now feeling Anna below him, breathing quickly. She'd wrapped her arms and legs around him, as if to pull Max closer, but as he relaxed, so did Anna. Max slowly raised his head, looking up to see Anna's face, afraid he may have crossed a line. Instead, he found Anna beaming down at him.

"Wow! Never tried that before." She said with a tired chuckle. "That was certainly something."

"Yeah." Max said simply, not at a loss anymore, just tired from his own exertions.

"Well then. What say we get cleaned up then. Don't want someone to walk in do we?" Anna asked in a teasing tone.

Max, though, did not pick up on the joke. The young boy bounced up, pulling his softening penis from Anna with a loud "schlorp" and hurrying over to where he'd abandoned his clothes. As he bent to pick them up, however, Max was stopped by the sound of Anna cackling behind him.

"Haha, no wait, ha, hold on, haha, it's okay." Anna was gasping between peals of laughter, which Max did at least manage to notice was causing more liquid to come pouring out of the brimming girl. It took a moment for her to calm down enough to continue, but then she continued, "haha, oh boy, don't worry. I locked the door when we came in. Haha, no one can come in so don't worry. Besides, I still need some help here."

Max found himself feeling embarrassed once again, though with perhaps a better reason this time. "Oh, uh, okay. What do you need me to do exactly?"

Still giggling she responded, "I need you to help me get this milk out. Ms. Melanie said I can't let it sit or it might make me sick."

At the last statement, Max's ears perked up. "Huh? Who's Ms. Melanie?" Max asked.

"She's our pokemon breeder," Anna said matter of factly. "She's the one who showed me this. She said I had to keep it a secret, cause it's a pokemon breeder thing and cause I need someone to help me clean out the milk."

"What does Ms. Melanie look like?" Max felt a tickle in his mind, like pieces were coming together in a kind of puzzle.

"Oh she's kinda younger. I don't know, she looks nice, pretty. Oh! She has the cutest daughter too. Nicky! She and Mikey like to play pokemon when she visits."

Max couldn't believe what he'd just heard. The pokemon breeder who taught Anna to ride a miltank like a cock was the same woman who'd taught Max about breeding? On the one hand, Max felt like that made sense, but then again it was such a coincidence that he was having a hard time keeping the ideas straight.

Anna hadn't noticed that Max was having a moment and instead kept on talking, "But yeah, when she came last time to check up on the miltank, she told me how to do this and helped me clean up. She said if I leave the milk in there too long I might get sick and I'd get real itchy. So will you help me?"

At the question, Max returned his attention to the matter at hand, setting these new revelations aside for another time. "Uh, yeah, what do you need me to do though?" He asked, walking back over to Anna.

At this question, Anna looked truly sheepish for the first time. "Well, you see, um, you need to, to suck it out." She said quietly, not daring to meet his eyes.

Max, however, was unphased by the request. "Oh, yeah sure. I can do that." He responded, already getting down onto his knees. He'd never really tried to do this to Lucy, what with Speck laying claim to that particular morsel, but Max had done similar things for worse reasons, so he didn't really have any qualms about helping Anna out now.

Anna, however, still seemed a bit embarrassed by her request. "You're sure?" She asked, drawing her legs in a bit, as though to shield herself. "It's not too gross or anything?"

Without thinking Max responded, "Oh no, I like milk."

At this, Anna burst out into another fit of laughter. "Haha, oh, oh man. If you say so!" And with that she again relaxed her legs, giving Max an unobstructed view of her crotch.

With that Max set to work. From his kneeling position, Max hiked Anna's legs onto each shoulder, using them to pull her closer to him. Now positioned on the edge of her temporary miltank bed, Max now spread Anna's legs apart and reached forward, pulling the edges of her pussy aside to reveal that place of perennial interest. There was still a trickle of milky liquid seeping from her vagina when Max looked, causing his penis to jump up again in excitement.

Bending forwards, Max stuck out his tongue and brushed it up against Anna's vaginal opening. Max felt her jump a bit as he made contact, but didn't let that dissuade him. Dragging his tongue up, along her folds, like he'd seen Speck do, Max took in Anna's flavor. There was a kind of bitter, saltiness to it, not unlike Speck, but without the same kind of outdoorsy musk that he'd enjoyed on the big dog. Instead, his taste buds were overcome by the flavor of cream, the heavy sweat flavor filling his mouth as he traced over Anna's pussy. Then, at the top, Max flicked his tongue across her clit, the little bud protruding from her arousal. At this, Anna gave a startled noise seeming taken aback, if excited, by Max's explorations.

As for Max, he was once again feeling quite aroused himself, the opportunity to tour Anna in this way causing his penis to harden with desire and curiosity. As Max continued to lick Anna, he in turn pressed his hips up against the miltank that supported her. The 'mon was covered in fine, silky hair which felt lovely against his shaft, however, as Max pressed himself against the bovine pokemon, he noticed that the base of his cock was touching something different, something with less covering. Pausing in his ministrations for a moment, Max looked down and noticed a darker slit that he hadn't seen before. Not one to let a lack of information stop him from examining a new crevice, Max reached down and pulled the slit open. Inside was a deep pink, fleshy, and very moist looking crevasse. Max knew what he'd found, this was a miltank's vagina, and it was right there in front of his cock. Not thinking any further, desperate to return to Anna, Max quickly angled his cock down a touch and pressed forwards. His actions were rewarded with a warm, wet embrace, as well as a low moo from the miltank, who seemed to not care about his intrusion. The miltank wasn't as pleasant as some other holes that Max had tried, too wide to really clutch at his penis, but it would certainly make due for his purposes just then.

Diving back into this task, Max moved his effort down to Anna's opening. Spreading his lips around her, Max sucked in, and was greeted by a small torrent of milk, cum, and Anna's juices. The combination was an odd one, not entirely bad, but, Max thought, probably not as good as just the milk on its own. He swallowed the mixture and took another pull, with similar results. Max repeated this twice more before the flow had dried up. Then, just for good measure, Mas stuck his tongue into Anna, as far as it would go, wiggling it around, dragging the muscle along her walls to get as much out as he could. As he was doing this, Anna had continued to moan and Max had continued to push as deep as he could into the miltank. Having done what he could, Max decided to return to Anna's clit, having enjoyed her evident pleasure from his earlier attentions.

Sliding back up, Max once again flicked his tongue lightly across the sensitive nub. Anna, for her part, gave out another small squeal of pleasure. With that, Max began working on the bundle of nerves, pressing his tongue on and around the spot with increasing intensity. His licking was soon augmented by the motion of his hips thrusting into the miltank as his own pleasure began to build. This kept building, with more energy driving both Max and Anna to the edge until, with a final thrust at both ends, Max came. It was not as big as his first orgasm in Anna, but Max was carried aloft by the pleasure of release, spilling himself into the bovine pokemon. Right along with him, Anna climaxed, wrapping her legs around Max like before, but this time it was an involuntary act brought on by the rolling waves of pleasure that were traveling through her body. As her pussy spasmed, a last little trickle of various fluids came flowing out, dribbling down Max's chin and her body as she gasped for breath.

Max once again found himself in a position of being both sexually satisfied and unable to breath for the second time in as many days. His head cleared significantly as it became apparent that Anna was not going to let go of her own volition. Reaching up, Max put his hands under her legs and pushed up, sliding himself out of her vise grip and gasping for breath. After a few moments Anna too returned to her senses.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Anna apologized profusely once she realized what had happened. By then Max and Anna had put their clothes back on and were trying to get back to looking presentable.

"It's fine," Max reassured her, feeling pleased that she would be concerned about him. "You just can't control yourself much when you cum."

"Cum?" Anna responded with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, um, yeah that's what Melanie said it was called," he responded.

"Wait. Melanie? Do you know Melanie?" Anna asked, a look of confused excitement on her face.

"Uh, well I think it's probably the same Melanie, yeah." Max said sheepishly. "She, uh, well, she's the one who taught me about breeding and mating and stuff and that's what she called it when you get like that. It's also called an orgasm."

"Oh wow. I didn't even know. She just showed me that and told me to keep it a secret, she didn't tell me anything about it except that I couldn't do it alone and all." Anna looked thoughtful, as though she were putting some pieces together, herself.

"Yeah? Well I kinda knew about mating before I met her, but she told me the words and some stuff like that." Max continued, "Like she showed me that we could mate with pokemon and some other stuff."

"You've done this with pokemon?" Anna asked, now looking amazed.

"Uh, yeah. Like I did it with your miltank while I was cleaning you, see." And with that Max bent over and pulled the miltanks lips apart, revealing the sticky mess he'd left inside.

"Oh, wow, was that what I looked like?" Anna asked without any reservations.

At this Max felt his face flush again. "No, um, you. You looked a lot nicer."

"Aw, thanks!" She said, beaming at Max. "But aren't you worried miltank might have an egg?"

Now this gave Max pause. "Uh, no? I don't think so." Max said, now feeling unsure of himself. Melanie had said that Nicky couldn't get pregnant since she was too young, but she'd never actually said whether or not they could make babies or eggs together.

"Cause, like, Ms. Melanie used her umbreon to breed miltank, I think, and miltank had an egg. But you don't know if we can do that with pokemon?"

Max was still reeling. Once again he found himself in a situation where he only had enough knowledge to know that he didn't know enough about pokemon breeding yet. Max felt that he needed to know more, otherwise how was he going to progress. But then he had a realization, he now knew an actual pokemon breeder! Melanie could answer his questions!

With confidence, or at least a feeling of hope, again returning to him, Max turned back to Anna, letting miltank's slit close. "No, I don't, but now I know who I can ask."

With that the two left the barn and headed back to the house. Chatting about this and that, getting to know more about each other, their interests, the friends, their family. Back in the house, Hawes had set out a large dinner spread and, after Anna took a quick and, as Max knew, quite necessary shower, they all sat down to eat. The meal was quite pleasant, everyone chatting about different things, popping in and out of conversations to hear from the others. Max heard about Lucy's tour around the house, and then listened as Mikey and Anna talked about their school days. Lenora chit chatted about the museum and Hawes talked a bit about his research. Overall, it was a fantastic meal, one that Max felt he'd remember for a long time.

After the eating and conversations had wrapped up, Lucy, Mikey, and Anna showed Max the way to the guest bedroom. The four sat on the bed, mostly talking about Lucy's battling accomplishments and plans. It was the kind of easy, comfortable evening that Max hadn't experienced in a while, and he was loath to let it end, but eventually as the sun set it did come to an end.

Lenora came to get Mikey put to bed and Anna got up to go with them, seeing on her new friends' faces that they were both starting to flag. As her mom left the room and Lucy was getting ready to sleep, Anna stole up next to Max and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. Max looked up as Anna pulled back, his face a mixture of confusion and embarrassment. It was a look that Anna was beginning to quite enjoy. "Good night buddy."

And then with a skip, Anna was out of the room and off to her own bed. Max watched the doorway for a moment, and then, feeling the exhaustion of the day creeping up on him, he undressed, turned off the lights, and got into the big bed that he and Lucy would be sharing.