Zoo Keeper - ch12 - Establishing Self
#12 of Zoo Keeper
Quick heads up, I haven't really gone into too much about it in the past, but astute readers will have noticed for a long time David still refered to as 'him', this was because up until a point, 'he' still thought of himself as a male trapped in the female cat form. So too am I addressing the newest bewhiskered person :)
As I lay there, feeling my kittens suckling away, I built a plan.
"Sally, can I bounce some ideas off you?" I asked my mate.
I waited a moment, I knew she wasn't asleep, I knew exactly the pattern of purr and breathing she made when she slept. "Sally?" I asked again, lifting my head.
She lay off a bit, on her side, the floor behind her stained and damp.
"Oh shi." I slurred and managed to disengage eight still thirsty little mouths.
As I reached her I noticed Rough, leaning over her, a soft purr coming, "Well, now we are all here babe, I guess you can start popping them out." I said with a grin.
I saw her tail lift suddenly and I darted around behind her, lapping at her first little bundle. Cleaning around his nose I picked him up and carried him around to his mother who made much of the kitten, cleaning him before moving him to her chest.
Another was coming as I saw her frame shudder at the contractions.
My lovely mate bore four sons and, with her purring and them all suckling I looked up at Rough, remembering from my training what males were likely to do with the young of another male, but he seemed proud as punch for his girl, just as I was.
"And you said you didn't want me as your midwife." I snorted returning back to my own hungry pack.
A quiet voice startled me, "You needed some help with ideas?" the soldier said, moving closer to me, his lust forgotten it seems as his mind engaged.
"Yeah, was thinking we shouldn't stay here, not really safe so far as it goes, what if the army decide to drop a big bomb or something? We will be at ground zero." I proposed.
He hummed about it for a moment, I noticed one paw lazily rubbing between his legs, "Nah, our guys don't have anything big enough, we would need to call in the yanks, that could take days, weeks even. But I agree, we should move, its just..." his paw ceased and he reached out and petted one of my young, getting tired now but still occasionally sucking, I purred at the attention to my babies, proud for them, "well its just these little guys actually, if we move fast, get away, well, won't we just be spreading this faster?"
I looked at him, and it dawned on me, my instinct to protect my young, even extended to all those here, had displaced what should have mattered, making sure the country survived. "You're right, I just... I don't want to lose anyone." I looked up at him, "You may want to call me a traitor, but this family I have here, and yes you're included, it means more to me suddenly than anything else." I began to cry, mourning the loss of my last thread of empathy for humanity as a whole.
He leaned down close, cuddling me to him, "It's ok, shhhh, its ok. I can't blame you really, I would personally rather be in a safe place too." he sighed, "Even if I just can't stop thinking that that safe place would be wrapped around your boy over there. Am I going insane? At the start of today I was pretty firm in my maleness, I liked girls and that was that. But now..." I saw his eyes drift over to him again.
My kittens had all curled up now, sated at last, and I used the respite to lean forward and lapped at the soldiers exposed and puffy sex.
His answering purr was all the invitation I needed to continue, working deeper and deeper, bringing little yowling sounds from him when I hit a particular spot. So I concentrated on that point, working at it mercilessly, feeling his muscles tighten every time I hit it.
All too soon the poor girl, brain buried in a the musk induced heat, mewed loudly.
Cleaning around him I looked up, "For someone who now seems fascinated with males, you sure still enjoy a girls attentions." I said, "Names David by the by."
She looked startled, "David? Like a guy, David? You mean you were..." he seemed to get his composure back, "Jake. My name was Jake."
I looked up at his eyes, "Was?"
I caught the blush as it stained the tips of his ears, he started stammering. "After the heat is gone, if you still feel the same way, I will see about making it permanent if you really wish. For now though, you're a little too lost in hormones to be able to think clearly."
Sighing he sat back, paw-like digits working away at his slit again.
"Lets move tomorrow morning ok Jake?" I said.
Turning his head back to me he said, "Ok, you're the queen here."
-
I woke slowly, no urgency in the air around me.
Sighing I felt my kittens once again, taking their fill from me and not for the first time I wondered just where the energy came from to keep me alive now, let alone that for the kittens. Apparently I wasn't the only one.
"But I thought I would be all 'rar I need red meat'?" Jake said.
Sally's voice came back softly, "Don worr bou."
The soldier sighed again, "Still, that bacon smells nice.". The smell hit me then, someone was cooking breakfast.
I waited patiently, as all mothers are wont to, for my young to finish and thankfully they almost were.
The two fully human women came in then, plates of breakfast in hand. The teenager looked at me then away hurriedly when she saw I was watching.
"We're moving this morning." I said simply, letting the others absorb it.
Sally nodded, Rough was playing with two of my 'larger' kittens, Jake was still fixated on keeping her need at bay. It was the two humans who looked perplexed at my words.
"Why now? Surely we are safer where all those males aren't?", the older woman asked. "Oh, blast, I just realised... my names Jenny."
I glanced at the youngster. "Molly. My names Molly. Friends call me Mo." she said, and I nodded at that.
"Well, Jenny, Mo. You have to understand I am worried being here for two reasons. Firstly, this is where what was likely the first military engagement occurred, meaning they may count this as ground zero." I saw both their eyes go wide at that, "Secondly, when all the females from the next town that way" I gestured with my muzzle, "has their second litter mature, well, then we are going to be hiding from another wave of big cats, not to mention those from the first wave of this town's females."
Molly said, "But if its only females, wouldn't that be only a f-" she pause as Jake got up and stalked over to her.
"Listen, Molly, I was a guy when I woke up yesterday morning. Have you checked the sex of the kittens your friends all got turned into, let me drop you a hint, no matter who they catch, what race, sex or religion, it will all be breeding material for these damn things." he delivered it a little heavy, but it was the truth.
"He's right Mo, Jenny. If those males catch you, your friends, your brothers, your fathers. Its all the same." and having said that, I motioned toward Sally and me, indicating the lifestyle of a constantly reproducing cat.
I thought for sure Molly would crumble, but I witnessed a steel grow within her, saw something suddenly draw a line and say 'that's as far as I go'.
Jenny lost it, "My... my son was at work today, in town. He... He..."
Molly turned to her, held her while she cried. But over the older woman's shoulder, I saw her look at me, not accusingly, but showing that new part of herself, daring me to tell her to step over that line.
"Where to?" Molly asked quietly, "Where can we go that's safe?"
Now that was my stumper, I still hadn't worked that one out.
"There's my army base, if we go there we might be able to help them too." Jake surprised me by saying.
I nodded, "Good a place as any, you sure they will welcome us?" I asked.
"If we take it slow, its a fair drive to get there, might take a day or two." he responded, "Hey you said this damn heat only lasts a day or two, I will be over it by the time we get there!"
"Well, much as it would be nice to just get in a vehicle and go straight there, I think we need to secure some things first. While we can deal with one or two of those bastards at close quarters it would be advantageous to not have to, so first task will be to get Jake some of his equipment." I said, looking at the feline in question, I tried to get across to him that I didn't want at least Jenny to have a weapon, not in her state of mind. Molly, I thought, could likely be trusted.
"Yeah, ok, I don't know if my paw can..." He started, flexing the paw not still working off his needs.
I purred, "It can. You won't be able to grip the trigger with your digits but if you flex your claws it will work." I reassured him. "So we will go, get some gear for Jake, get some food for Jenny and Mo and try and find us a vehicle big enough for everyone."
Jake looked at me suddenly, his self-ministrations paused, "So it will be just you and me out there?"
I nodded, "Yeah, the weapons aren't far, and I won't leave Sally here guarding the kittens alone, Rough stays here with them."
"What about me?" Molly asked.
I was about to jump in when Jake replied, "You want to end up like this? Or worse? Wait here, we won't be long."
"Get your guns, come back and get me, you will need someone to drive whatever you are planning to steal. And I can drive a truck, my dad has me help with the harvesting..." Molly said, trailing away at the end as she realised that she would see neither another harvest or her father again.
I thought she would cry, would break down, but the steel came back to her and I saw a promise that she would do anything we asked of her.
"Come on then Jake, my kittens have had their meal, they won't want another for a while." I stood, beckoning the soldier. "We will be back for you soon Mo, then we go do a little hunting ok?"
I padded out the front door, eyes scanning constantly for motion, and we worked our way down towards the site of the soldiers stand.
Working my head around the scent, I located some guns, some piles of shredded gear that looked to contain ammunition and proceeded to drag them off to Jake, gasping softly just to the side and upwind of the place.
"Anything else?" I asked him.
Gritting his teeth, working through the slightly damp piles of clothing and equipment, he eventually had a pair of the long styer rifles and a small pile of munitions. "This should be enough. A spare rifle, a ton of clips and a few grenades. Hrmm..." I saw the feline start to do something really odd, he began tearing strips from the cleanest of the clothes, rubbed them along his own dribbling sex and then tied them around the grenades. "How many do you think we could get with these?" he asked, a feral grin to his muzzle.
I just laughed, "You might want something with a longer timed fuse, but its a good thought, fight pheromones with pheromones."
"Yeah, lets go back get that little hell kitten and find something for her to drive." He replied, slinging the rifles on his shoulder and picking up the salvaged bag with all the other goodies within.
We were almost back to the house when I sensed them, a pair of big male cats, likewise stalking toward the house. "Jake, over in the grass on the other side of the drive way, you see them?"
"Way ahead of you." the soldier said, stock butted against shoulder, sighting down the scope of the rifle.
Two shots reported and I saw one of the cats drop immediately, the other stumble before another shot brought him down too.
I purred at what my kitten had done, "That's definitely an improvement over having to kill them with my own fangs." I said as the proud, slightly avenged cat picked up his load and we re-entered the house.
Plot is moving, yiff is happening... its a happy time :)
One thing though, I would like to direct people to a new writer who has astonished me with a most awesomely written first story, it involves a mouse and a non-anthro griffon and their fight against social station.
http://www.sofurry.com/page/219773
Please head over and check it out if you have the time, very rewarding piece :)