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A Sanctuary in the Woods (original Crystal Angel)

Part 2: Company

"Uhm..." She licked her lips as she thought of the right words to say. "I'm Valentine. What's your name?"

It took a moment for his brain to kick itself into gear as for several long seconds, he was like a feral deer caught in headlights of a car. "Uh... Yeah... It's Yahto. Yahto-Ashwin."

"Hi Yahto," She said with a sweet voice, though he could hear a touch of nervousness there too. "Uhm... Do you think...? Could you... Ummm..." She gestured towards him. It took a few seconds before the realization that she was pointing at him sank in.

"Hm?" He glanced down instinctively. He was standing naked in front of her with everything on display! "SHIT!" The curse flew from his lips as the large towel that was around his head was quickly relocated to being wrapped around his hips. "Sorry..." He apologized sheepishly.

"It happens." She said lightly as she repositioned herself in the tub, causing the water to slosh some. "Do you think...?"

Before she could finish, he unintentionally interrupted her. "Hm? Oh. Yeah... I'll just..." He kept his eyes down to the floor as he stumbled backwards to the door.

"Wait." His eyes looked up at her. She was sitting up so that more of her wet fur was exposed. He could see the little heart shape patterns that were on her chest and her average size breast even though her arm was covering her naughty bits still. She bit her lip before she spoke, "Could you, uhm, grab me another towel before you go, please? Since you're... Err... Wearing the one I was planning on using?"

"Huh?" He looked down sheepishly again at the towel he had wrapped around his waist. "Uhm... Of course. One sec." He quickly went to the linen cabinet to grab another towel for Valentine. "There..." He said as he came back with the extra towel and hung it on the towel rack. "I'll just be..."

"Yeah..." both said in unison as he stumbled out of the bathroom.

Yahto closed the door and stared at the wood as what just happened sunk in... 'Oh my god...' He thought to himself. 'Did that really happen...? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...' His hands cupped his cheeks as he replayed the situation back in his head. How in the hell did he miss her? Talk about getting caught with his pants down. Now his wet clothes were in the bathroom with her and the only thing he had on was the towel around his...

"Uhm..." Valentine's meek voice came from the bathroom door that was slightly ajar. "Yahto?"

"Err." Her voice brought him back to reality. "Yes?"

"Do you think you could find me a robe or something to wear?"

"Wear...?" He could have slapped himself for repeating her. "Uh, yeah sure. Just give me a moment."

"Thank you." The door made a click as it was shut again.

'Oh boy...' He thought to himself as he started to walk over to the bedroom, stumbling over the towel that had dropped to his feet. 'God what a day this is turning out to be. She'll probably accuse me of something and kick me out, and I'll have to ride the rest of this damn storm in my car. So much for first impressions...'

He stopped and collected his thoughts inside the bedroom, 'Okay ... first thing first. Something for me so I'm not just in the fur...' He started to pull the dresser drawers open, looking for something for himself. He ended up finding and putting on a grey muscle shirt with a pair of dark sweatpants that both were a few sizes too big, but not something that a pull string couldn't fix.

Now for Valentine.

"Is everything ok?" He heard her ask from the bathroom.

"Yes." He replied as he spied a bathrobe in the closet and grabbed it off the hanger. He walked around to the bathroom and tapped on the door. "Sorry I took so long." He said as he pushed the door open a little further to allow his arm that was holding the robe in.

He felt her grab the robe and he pulled his arm out, letting her shut the door with a click. He was already walking away when he heard the door open back up. He looked back and got his second look at her, this time in the bathrobe. The thing was really too big for her, she had to hug it to her small frame in order to keep it on. She looked rather cute if uncomfortable in the robe. He didn't realize he was staring at her till she spoke.

"Is something a matter?"

"Hm? Oh!" He looked away sheepishly, certain that his face was almost a bright red under the fur on his face. "Sorry..." He stepped deeper into the kitchen area. "Would you mind if I fix us something to eat?"

"Some food does sound wonderful right now." She responded. "But, why ask me? This is your place. Right?"

Yahto stopped in his tracks and looked at her dumbfounded. "My place? I thought it was yours."

Valentine looked at him with her own stunned look. "But..." she started to stutter reflexively pointing around. "But... Uh... But..."

"Uhm... Valentine," He pointed at her, drawing her attention to the robe that was starting to slip off her shoulders.

"Shit!" She cursed as she wrapped her arms tight around herself again, forcing the robe back on her shoulders.

He tried to stifle a chuckle. "Might want to check the bedroom for something you could wear, at least till the storm lets up enough to go out and wash our own clothes." He pointed her in the direction of the bedroom.

"Thanks." Valentine said as she quickly disappeared through the door, shutting it as soon as she was inside .

He couldn't help but smile to himself as he set himself to his task. Thankfully he knew where things were already because of his earlier explorations, so grabbing the can of stew and opening it wasn't hard. The hard part was keeping the sweatpants from falling down to his knees. They were made for humans, not for any type of Anthro Hybrids like him and Valentine was generalized as. As it was, it felt like he had to stop every 10 seconds to keep them pulled up cause his tail prevented them from fitting around his waist like they're supposed to be. After the dozenth time, he finally stopped what he was doing and pulled them up and forced his tail down into a pant leg. Now unhampered by the sweatpants falling down his legs, he returned to preparing the stew.

Humming to himself, he barely noticed when Valentine came out. She just stood back and watched him for a bit before she couldn't help but to let out a cute chuckle. He looked back at her and smiled as he put a lid on the pot to let it simmer. She had managed to find a white, short sleeve t-shirt that drooped past her waist, almost to her knees along with her own pair of light grey sweatpants. Her uniquely long fluffy tail swished behind her. At least unique for any kind of canine he had ever seen.

"Lunch, well, supper will be ready in 20 minutes or there about..." He stopped when he noticed that she was still smirking and giggling at him. "What?" He asked as he tilted his head confused.

"Well... How should I put this?" She giggled. "Is that a tail in your pants or are you happy to see me?"

He looked down at his leg, he didn't even think anything of it at first. Then he realized that his tail was wagging in the open space of his pant leg, and with his back turned towards her...

"Oh... Ha. Ha. Ha..." He laughed sarcastically, she couldn't hold back a laugh then. "What was I supposed to have done? I was looking for something for you, remember? It's not like I had a lot of time like you to find something to wear." He instantly regretted saying it because it sounded crueler than he intended

One of her heart shaped ears twitched and her expression changed to a more apologetic look. "Sorry..." She said softly as her eyes dropped down to the wood floor.

His own ear folded back as he thought 'Oh man...' It wasn't his intention to sound so harsh and he felt so guilty in that moment that he wanted to kick himself in the ass. "Hey..." He said softly as he walked up to her. He placed his paws on her shoulder. "Listen, I'm sorry. That came out wrong and a lot harsher than I actually intended." He let out a soft sigh as he gave her shoulders a soft rub. "We are probably going to be stranded together till this storm lets up and the snow melts enough so we can leave. With that in mind, let's try and make the best of things ok?" She nodded still looking at the floor before her gaze raised to meet his, a small smile back on her face. He returned her smile with one of his own "That's better" He said softly.

Valentine tapped a finger on his nose. "Boop." They let both let out a chuckle. He turned back and went back to the stew to stir it when she spoke up again. "That can't be too comfortable."

"Hm?"

"Your tail, in your pant leg."

"Hm? Oh." He looked back at his leg, the bulge from his tail was going side to side like a pendulum in a grandfather's clock. He shrugged. "Eh, yeah, it's not the most comfortable feeling, but it's better than stopping every few seconds to pull up these stupid pants."

"Yeah" She nodded in thought for a second. "I kinda figured." She walked behind him and kneeled. "Hold still for a second."

"What are you...?" He heard a sound that could only be a pair of clippers. "Hey! WAIT!"

"Hold... Still!" Valentine pushed his hips against the counter top and left her elbow against his back as she started to feel his behind. He could feel her pull at the fabric and hear the tail-tale snip-snip of the scissors as she cut a cross incision into the fabric for his tail. "There," she said as she sat the scissors off to the side and started to do something else with the pants. "And, almost..." He felt the fabric being pulled again and the light snip of the clippers. "Done." She said triumphantly. She stood back up and let him go. "Not the best job in the world, but it should be good for a while."

Yahto felt where she had cut into the fabric, feeling the cuts and threads that she added to keep the material from ripping out. He gave a sigh. "You know, these clothes aren't ours, they're somebody else?"

"Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."

He let out another sigh. "Thank you."

"Welcome." She smiled and walked away.

He checked and stirred the stew again. Turning the burner down, he walked over to the bathroom. "When I get out it should be ready."

"Okay."

He closed the door and pulled the sweatpants off to look at her handy work. He couldn't help but marvel at it. To his eye, it was as good if not better than some of the store bought stitching. Aside from the fact that the red thread stood out from the dark color. Putting them back on was still a little bit of a chore, but so was most clothing made for hybrids.

The wolf-mix came out and found the table set with Valentine sitting patiently waiting for him. She smiled when she spotted him. Nodding with a smile in a silent thank you, he went to the stove and turned the burner off. Bringing the pot over and setting it on the table. "What would you like to drink?" He asked before sitting down.

"Hmmm, do we have any chocolate milk?"

Yahto went to the fridge and opened the door. After a few seconds of looking he looked back at her. "Afraid not, we do have regular milk, but no chocolate syrup."

He could hear the disappointment in her voice. "Oh... Okay. Maybe a bottle of water then please."

"Hmm" He murmured in thought as he closed the fridge door and went to a cupboard. When he started to rummage through it and pulled out a box, which confused Valentine.

"What are you doing?"

He grabbed two mugs and heated up some water. "We might not have chocolate syrup, but..." He turned around and showed her the package he was fidgeting with. "We do at least have packets to make some hot cocoa."

Her eyes lit up. "Oooooh! Yes, please." He smiled as he finished and brought her the drinks. She took it and took a long slow sip. "Mmmm, delicious"

"And now, the main course." He declared as he pulled the lid off the pot and allowed the steam to escape, showing off what was inside. Pale lumps of dough that was floating on top of the dark brown liquid of the stew.

Valentine looked at the contents, wrinkling her nose. "Uh... what is it? I thought we were having stew?"

"We are," Yahto responded as he stirred the stew with a ladle. "It's a special kind of stew." He grasped her bowl and poured two scoops in, making sure that there was both stew and a lump of dough in the bowl before setting it in front of her again. "Try it."

Valentine poked the dough ball with her spoon with uncertainty, finding that it was soft and squishy as she played with it. Her nose wrinkled as she looked across the table at Yahto, who had already served himself and was sitting across from her. watching her reaction as he waited for her to try what was in front of her. She pushed through the gooie outer layer and exposed the more familiar bread like appearance on the inside. Scooping out a little bit with some stew, she brought it up and hesitantly took a bite. Valentine's sour expression slowly started to melt as she savored the tiny spoon full.

"Good?"

She took a larger bite before she answered. "Yes, very." Taking another spoon full, she asked "What is it?"

"Beef Stew and dumplings."

"Dumplings?" She poked the cooked dough in confusion. "I thought dumplings were filled with fruit."

Yahto ate a mouthful before answering. "Some are. But these however, have more in common with biscuits."

"Oh." Valentine nodded to herself and continued to enjoy the meal.

They both went on eating the stew, even having a second helping. When they were done, Yahto located a smaller container which he poured the remaining stew into and sealed it up, putting it in the fridge for another time as Valentine placed the soiled dishes in the sink. He walked over to the radio and turned the power on so he could have some music playing as he did the dishes.

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful

"But the fire is so delightful

"And since we've no place to go

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

"It doesn't show signs of stopping

"And I brought some corn for popping

"The lights are turned down low

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..."

Yahto couldn't help but to let out a groan at the song playing over the radio as he looked through the window to see the whiteout conditions returned outside. He couldn't help but to think that the two of them were going to be stuck in the cabin together for some time.

The blueish wolf-mix shook his head with a sigh before going back to the sink and started to wash the dishes. Valentine joined him by helping take out each dish in the rinse water that he had placed in there and putting them in a strainer. He couldn't help but to smile as she hummed and swung her hips to the music on the radio, which thankfully changed to a better tune with a nice beat.

When they were done, Valentine excused herself and went into the bathroom. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he wasn't sure where it was coming from. The aroma of a rose perfume was fresh in the air, along with another underlining scent that tickled his nose. The scent was still light in the air, but it seemed a little stronger suddenly than before. It was irking him to the point that he wanted to do something, but what? He shook his head and sighed, trying his best to put it out of his mind.

What little that remained of the day had flown by barely without notice and the sun had gone down not too long ago. Yahto had turned on the lamp in the living room but made the mistake of looking out of the nearby window, he couldn't help but to let out a sigh as he did. The little light did nothing to cut through the blackness of the night and the only indication of the falling snow was the snow those that got close enough to reflect the light and congregate on the window sills. The cabin creaked and groaned as the wind howled outside. He could only imagine how the trees might be swaying out in the woods.

Yahto hated to think what might have happened if they didn't find the cabin in the storm. At least the two of them were safe in the confines of the cabin. The pellet stove heated the square building up nicely, although occasionally he had to keep Valentine from the controls as she had a small tendency to try and crank the heat up and nearly sweat him out. Still, Yahto was glad that he had found this cozy little place.

His attention drifted around the room with his thoughts. While he didn't take note of it before, he had noticed that the inside of the cabin was nicely decorated for the holidays. Festive garland strands not only outlined the contours of the room by being draped along the top of the walls and falling down at the corners of the room, but also glittered from the lights on the tree and strands of lights that were also placed along the top of the walls. There were also other smaller decorations around that had been tastefully placed, not too extravagant or gaudy but had just the right balance in his mind. The malamute-wolf had spotted two stockings earlier, but they were just generic stockings with no names on them nor did they contain anything.

His attention shifted along the wall to the corner bookshelf. Browsing the selection of maybe 50 or so books. He lazily glanced through the titles, finding different types of books from hunting guides, nature watching and feral animal identifications to different fictional novels of Sci-fi and Fantasy. His brow perked when he spotted the title of one book and picked it up so he could read the book's description

"What 'cha looking at?" Valentine asked, walking over to stand by him.

Yahto looked up to see Valentine looking at him like he had some kind of treat. "A book."

"I can see that." She said as she puffed out her cheeks in some annoyance. "What's the title of the book?"

"Let's see..." He closed the book and flipped it so it was facing away from her as if he was actually reading the title of the book. "Fifty fool proof ways to get laid."

"Oh... Ha... Ha... Ha..." She mocked. "What is it really?"

"I think I've heard of it, but only in passing, 'Fifty Shades of Tan." He held the book so she could see the cover.

"OHHH!" She exclaimed "I've heard of it too. About a lovely island otter girl who goes on a world tour and have a variety of erotic adventures in the process. I've been wanting to read it for a long time but never had the chance." She went to grab the book only for Yahto to pull it away so it was out of her reach. "Hey!"

"I don't know," He teased with a grin as he pretended to look at the back, watching her reactions. "This says it's for adults only, 18 years or older." He used his height again as he moved the book out of her reach as she started to lean over him in another attempt to grab the book. "Are you 18 years or older?"

"Yes I am."

"How would I know," He picked. "You could be 16 as far as I know."

"I will have you know that I AM OVER 21, since September 16th two YEARS ago!"

"Can you prove it?" Yahto teased as he turns to face her. "As right now, I only have your word and to me you look rather young. I wouldn't sell you any kind of alcohol without IDing you."

Valentine stuck out her tongue. "Of course I have ID, it's in my purse."

"And where is your purse?" Yahto asked, watching her suddenly squirm a little at the question.

"I... Uhm... I left it in my car..."

Yahto snorted a laugh at the answer. "A really good place for it. Hope you at least locked the doors"

"Of course I locked the doors to my car. It's not like I want any random stranger going through the contents of my car."

"What do you take me for?" She huffed. "A dumb blonde?"

"You said it, not me" Yahto automatically said right before Valentine slapped him hard in the arm, surprising him that it was strong enough that he was almost knocked down. "Ouch! That hurt." He whined as he pulled away from her. "Someone should be on Santa's naughty list for that one."

Valentine stuck out her tongue at him. "You're the one who should be on the naughty list for teasing me like you are."

"Says the girl that could probably KO a guy twice her size." Yahto said as he walked around the coffee table and sat down. If he had to guess, the comment had the pinkish red dog blushing under all of her fur. His attention returned to what he had in his hands and opened the book to the first page.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up at her quizzically. "What does it look like? I'm reading."

She puffed out her cheeks. "But I want to read it too."

"Well, I spotted it first. Then there's that display that you just did. Think that I'm going to let someone that punches me get away with it?"

She let out a low growl. "But there are other books. Besides, you kind of deserved it too."

"Touché." Yahto said as he went back to the book. "But, at the moment, there's none there that I currently want to read." He looked up to see that she was trying to give him that sad puppy dog look. That one that animals give humanoids to make them cave and give in. Yahto groaned before returning his gaze to the book. "While I will admit that I was teasing you, I am not able to relent until you apologize."

"Fine..." Valentine sighed as she rolled her eyes "I'm sowies." She said in as cute of a voice as she could and laid on the puppy dog look even thicker.

"Alright..." Yahto rolled his eyes as he adjusted how he was sitting. "If you want to read it, then sit next to me and read it"

"Fine." She said, letting out a huff as she flopped on the couch next to him. He positioned the book so they both could read it.

It was kind of irritating at first, as Yahto seemed to be a faster reader than Valentine. By the end of the first chapter, however, they had gotten into a decent rhythm with each other. She had slowly picked up speed reading the pages and he'd wait for a few seconds before turning the pages. By the end of the 3rd chapter, she had snuggled up against his arm and was using it as a pillow. He didn't mind, it Kind of felt good despite it being still a little sore from the slap earlier .

It was around eleven when he noticed the time. He looked over at Valentine and couldn't help but to let out a light chuckle. She had nodded off and was using his arm as a pillow, her own arms gently wrapped around his as she snuggled it in her sleep. He put the book down lightly and tried to delicately unlace his arm from hers. She let out a soft moan as he moved, shifting to another position to try and get resituated. He turned off the lamp and was thankful that the christmas lights around the room illuminated the cabin enough that he could still see. As he stood up, he did his best to let Valentine down gradually as he got off the couch.

Walking around to the bedroom first, Yahto turned down the blankets before returning to Valentine. He did his best to pick her up without disturbing her too much. Her response to him moving her was her nuzzling into his shoulder as he carried her around the wall into the bedroom. She let out a groan as he sat her down and immediately wrapped herself tightly in the blankets when he pulled them over her body.

After filling the pellet stove, he grabbed the blanket he used last night and wrapped himself up as he finished the chapter he was on. He yawned as he finished and put the book down. As he laid there, Yahto watched the falling snow hit the window, reflecting the twinkling lights before melting against the glass. As he laid there watching the storm out in the darkness, his mind wandered; going through the events that led him to where he was now. Part of him thought of the "what ifs" that he could have done to avoid the current situation, but there was another part that was glad he was where he was because of meeting Valentine. His thought slowly shifted to his SUV, wondering how much of a snow pile it was turning into and the angel pendant that was hanging on the mirror.

"Good night buddy. Try and stay warm." He whispered into the night as he drifted off.