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The Easter Virus

Chapter 2

By William W. Kelso

As we left the office at the end of the day, and were driving home, John finally said.

"Well, how was it?"

"How was what?" I innocently replied, rather smugly.

John snorted, and flicked his ears in amusement. "You know perfectly well 'what'! The whole office reeked; you might as well have hung up a big poster. And on your first day, no less! Half the employee's have been sniffing after her for months; and never even got to first base."

"None of your beeswax." I replied.

"OK, be that way then, Don Juan del Marco!" John said.

We drove for awhile in silence, but then I finally relented, and said, "It was fantastic, she came on to me, she has a thing for furries. If any of the other hares had hit on her she'd have jumped them in a second."

"Well, then that worked out nicely, John replied, I guess it takes a certain kind of human female to want to mate with one of us."

"There's nothing wrong with it! I said, defensively. It's not like we're dumb animals! She wanted me, and I sure wanted her. We're adults, so what's the problem?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong! John said, I don't have a problem with it at all. In fact if I wasn't married I might have taken her up on some rather blatant offers she's made a few times since I changed; and she's come on a little to some of the other bucks, but I think it scared them a little. A lot of us are still kind of...unsure about how to relate to humans sexually. But since she's not a doe I was able to, er, resist her a little easier. Frankly I'm glad you took care of her, er, interests for me. But a lot of humans would have a problem with it. Did you know a few states have included having sex with a 'bunny' under their bestiality laws? They say it's the same thing as having sex with a goat or other animal."

"No, I didn't know that, I replied, and that's just wrong. Hell, we're still people, and we can't even get them pregnant! And if you want me take any other amorous females off your paws, human or hare, just let me know. Be glad to help you out."

"Yeah, I'll bet!" John said, nose twitching in amusement.

Even though it was early evening it was still hot, we had the windows down, and because of that I heard something, if the windows had been up I would probably have missed it.

"John, stop!!" I squealed.

John slammed the brakes on, and we both hit the dash, or rather I hit the dash, he had his belt on. I picked myself up, and shook my head. "OW!" I said.

"What the HELL did you do that for?? John said, you spooked me, damn it! And I didn't see anything in the road either. You OK??"

"Yeah, I think so." I replied, I'd smacked the dash and windshield pretty good, right on my face too, but I felt OK, though I could have sworn I belt my skull give. A little sore, but OK. I opened the door and hopped out, and lifted myself up on my legs as high as I could, ears twitching. John joined me, and said,

"What is it, you hear something?"

"Yeah, ssshhhh!" I said.

The sound came again, a faint squeal of pain and fear. It was a doe in trouble! "You hear that!" I said.

"Sure did, which way do you think?" John replied, ears swiveling like crazy.

"That way!" I replied, pointing down a nearby narrow street between a row of old warehouses. Then I took off at a run, dropping to all fours at times.

"Wait!! John yelled, we'll take the van!" But I was already gone.

Hares are fast, very fast. Our ability to run upright; or on all fours, adds a whole new meaning to the term 'one hundred yard dash'. Or in this case it was even longer, but I made the 'dash' in record time, and wasn't even breathing heavily when I reached the origin of those cries. The cry came again; a shrill squeal of fear, as I rounded the corner of a building and entered a dead-end ally.

Five humans had a doe cornered; I doubt they'd have caught her if they hadn't been able to chase her into a dead-end. Hares leave humans eating our dust; and most other critters as well. I took in the situation in a flash. They'd stripped her, but from the scents hadn't raped her yet, though it was obvious then intended too as they were all aroused. As far as I was considered this stopped, right now!

"LET HER GO!" I said, as loud as I could.

Two of the men were holding her, trying to force her face down over an old oil barrel; but she wasn't cooperating, and her powerful kicking legs were making it hard for them, but they looked up as the other three turned to face me. One had his zipper down and his cock out. Yep, it was going to be a gang-rape.

"Well looky here; one of the men said, we gots ourselves another bunny. Too bad it's a boy; sorry, we don't have enough bunny pussy to go around. Beat it bunny boy, this bitch is ours."

"Hell, I don't care; I'll fuck it in the ass!" Another man said

"I don't think so, I replied, now let her GO!"

While we were talking the three men had been moving closer, a fact I was very much aware of. I didn't move a muscle, intently trying to determine which one was the greatest threat. They were predators; and I felt an urge to flee, but fought it down. A doe was in trouble.

The men made the first move, a lean punk wearing a vest with a 'Guns & Roses' logo on it, started towards me with a knife in his hand. He smelled like cigarettes. With a squeal I lashed out with one of my legs in a snap-kick, and his knee shattered with a nasty 'crunch!', his leg bending backwards the wrong way, and with a scream of pain he went down, hard. My next kick took the perv with his dick hanging out right in the nuts, I felt them crush, and he went down too with a sob of agony. The third man paused; I'd been so fast he still hadn't quite figured out what had happened.

"Tony? You OK?" The third man asked the one rolling around on the ground holding his nuts and moaning. Tony didn't answer, just threw up.

About that time John pulled up at the mouth of the ally in the van with a screech of tires. He opened the door before the van stopped, and came bounding towards me, ears flat and on the back of his head. He ran up to the third man, there was a flurry of kicks, and the man went down, out like a light.

"Wow." I said.

"You weren't too shabby yourself." John replied.

"Fuck this shit!" One of the men still holding the doe said, there are two of them now! Let's get the Hell out of here, Juan!" The other man didn't say a thing, but followed the smarter one, and we let them go. The other three stayed where they were, none were in any shape to follow their buddies. I thought the one John laid out might be dead, he wasn't even twitching.

I went over to the doe, she was crouched by a dumpster, crying. "It's OK, they're gone." I said softly. The next second I had my arms full, as she grabbed me in a tight hug, still crying.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, you're safe now." I said. I was very aware of her warm soft body, and her scent, and decided I liked being hugged. Fine by me, she could do it as long as she wanted. I nibbled her ears and made soft soothing sounds, and she clutched at me desperately.

John flicked his ears nervously, and said, "We'd better get out of here, they might have gone for reinforcements. What about these three?"

"What about them?? I asked, fuck them, their buddies will be back for them sooner or later, or the rats will get them."

John looked at the three punks, two were unconscious, and the one with the shattered knee was sitting up holding his knee and sobbing.

"Holy crap, I said, did WE do that?"

"Oh yeah, John said, guess we don't know our own strength! Come on, let's GO!"

The doe kept clinging to me, her paws gripping handfuls of my fur, and skin, as we walked to the van. She was digging in her claws a little, her face buried in my chest fur, but I didn't mind. I nuzzled her neck, and said,

"It's OK, we'll take care of you. Those assholes got what was coming to them."

"T-They wanted to...to..." She tried to say, but started crying again.

I was also very aware she was nude; her clothes had been torn to shreds, but with hares that wasn't as big a deal as with human females. John yanked the 'Guns & Roses' vest off the moaning creep; he didn't complain, and handed it to me as we left. But she wouldn't let go of me yet, so we just got into the van and left. John in the driver's seat and the doe in distress in the back on the bench seat with yours truly.

When we got home we turned the still rather distraught doe over to Tina; John's wife, literally having to pry her off of me, and they disappeared into another part of the house with our 'guest' in tow, nuzzling and licking her to help calm her down. John and I got a drink called a 'Ginger Fizz' that was made especially for bunnies. Forget alcohol, it messes us up-as in makes us sick as Hell. That's one 'advantage' to being a hare, no alcohol problems, and no smoking. We hate tobacco; at least smoking it, a few of us do eat it on occasion but it's not to my liking though. Too damn bitter.

"Well, John said, that was...exhilarating. Never knew I could move that fast, or kick like that."

"We couldn't before, I said, so much for the cute harmless hare's reputation. If we were still human they'd probably have mopped up the alley with our furry little butts."

John snorted, "I don't know, you always knew how to handle yourself, if I remember correctly you usually saved my ass when the bullies picked on me."

"Well, you more than made up for that today, I replied, did you know you actually hopped up in the air and kicked him with both feet, wham-bam-drop dead asshole, before you even came back down. It looked like something Bruce Lee would have done; it was as impressive as Hell."

John flicked his ears in embarrassment, and said, "I don't know what happened for sure, when I saw you and the doe in trouble like that I kind of freaked. It was more instinct then anything. Defending the family kind of thing, I guess. I didn't even realize how scared I was until later."

"Well, I'm glad you 'freaked'. I don't know if I could have taken all five of them."

"Did the doe tell you anything, John asked, I heard her mumbling a little bit, but couldn't quite catch what she said."

"Not much, she was kind of rambling a little. Did you smell her scent, she was scared to death! Poor thing. Those creeps must have slapped her around, and they'd been chasing her, she was exhausted. I'm glad we got there before it went any farther."

"Yeah, it was kind of obvious, John said, the whole van smells like terrified hare now. I'll probably never get it out of the upholstery. It'll make the workers nervous, at least the hares."

About that time Tina came back, our 'guest' in tow. She was dressed liked Tina now, in shorts and a kind of tank top, and Tina had groomed her so she wasn't so disheveled looking. I looked at her and I twitched my nose to take in her scent, and her nose was busy too. She'd calmed down quite a bit, and was a pretty little thing, grey live myself with a white belly and black highlights, but she was a lighter color. I guessed she was a few years younger than I was.

"Are you OK?" I asked in concern.

"Thanks to you two, yes." She said. "Thank you so much, those horrible men, they...they chased me, cornered me, and where going to...to..."

"OK, said Tina, enough of that. Tell them your name dearie. The big one is my mate, John, and that's Peter, his brother."

"Hi Peter, hi John, it's so nice to meet you. My name is Zoe." She replied. "You were both so brave, if you hadn't come along, well, I might not be alive right now."

"What were you doing in that part of town? John asked; it's not safe for females on their own, human or hare. Heck, even males aren't safe."

"I was on my way to work, Zoe said, when one of them offered to give me a ride, he was alone and seemed nice enough. It was quite a ways to where I work, at the 'Clover Patch Café', so I let him pick me up. But he drove me to that old warehouse area and his friends were waiting. They started kissing me and...tearing at my clothes, and when I ran they chased me, at first I thought I was going to get away, but they cornered me in that alley, but then you came along. I guess it was a stupid thing to do."

I didn't voice my opinion about that; it WAS a stupid thing to do. "Do you have any family we can call, let them know you're all right? And you might want to call the café and let them know why you didn't show up for work."

Zoe shook her head sadly, ears drooping dejectedly. "No family, at least none that will acknowledge I even exist anymore. My folks were real hard core 7th Day Adventists, and when I started changing they said I'd been cursed for my sins to be a beast, and would be dragged down to Hell. They threw me out before I even finished changing. I haven't been back since. I was kind of religious too, but not anymore. If God wanted me to be a beast, so be it."

"Zoe, I said, that's stupid! God had nothing to do with the change, it was a manmade virus. I know; it started where I was working. You're no more evil then the Pope. You just got...sick, is all. It's like condemning someone because they caught the flu!"

"Do you want to stay here for the night, dearie? Tina asked, we have plenty of room, and wouldn't mind at all. John can take you back home in the morning. You're welcome to join us for dinner too; I got some lovely clover down at United earlier today, and we have plenty."

"That would be nice, Zoe replied, I live at the 'Bunny Hostel' over on 5th and Cedar, at least that's what they call it now. It's the old 'Windsor Hotel'. Their rates are pretty reasonable, and hardly anyone other than bunnies stays there now."

"That place is a dump!" John snorted.

Zoe scrunched up her nose in a smile, "It's not so bad, we kind of look after one another, and we fixed it up nice. The rooms are big and comfortable, and it's about the only place in town that will let bunnies rent rooms. I rent a room with two other doe's, we save a lot of money that way. Most of the other newer places won't rent to bunnies. They have signs up saying 'No Dogs or Bunnies Allowed'.

"I hate that word, I said, we're not damn 'bunnies', we're hares! They're too damn stupid to even know that! Assholes!"

"Nothing we can do about it, John said, we're stuck with it. Most humans couldn't tell the difference anyway."

"Most humans are retards!" I said angrily, nostrils flaring.

"Hey, John said, don't insult retards!"

"Enough chatter, Tina broke in, John; you come and help me get dinner ready. I need you to wash the veggies for me while I get the fixings ready. I'm going to make a nice lentil stew, with fresh carrots and onions."

"Can I help, ma'am?" Zoe asked.

"Good Lord no, you're a guest! Tina said, and call me Tina, for goodness sake." Then she chased John into the kitchen.

Zoe smiled at me, and said, "They're so nice."

"On yeah, I said, they are great, aren't they? They took me in after I got out of quarantine. I doubt I could have found anyplace decent, you're right about most humans not wanting to rent to 'bunnies'. It's like we're filthy, or diseased, or there's something's wrong with us. Bigots."

"We're not human; at least not anymore, that's why, Zoe said. They're scared I think; they don't know what to make of us. Were you really in one of the quarantine camps?? It must have been horrible!"

"It wasn't so bad, I replied, they took pretty good care of us, especially since a lot of soldiers caught the virus too. The worse was it was pretty crowded, but after the first couple of weeks that wasn't a problem anymore. We needed each other by then, it was nice to be able to be with others like myself. We started sleeping in groups, males and females. It was kind of weird at first, but we got used to it. Then when the females started to go into...well, you know."

"I guess I was lucky, Zoe said, a friend let me stay with her while I was changing, I caught the virus pretty late, and they weren't rounding us up anymore for quarantine by then, so I was never picked up. My friend was great, but she had to move back home after college, so I got a job and a room at the Hostel."

"You said you worked at a restaurant?" I asked.

"It's called the 'Clover Patch Café', Zoe said, they serve only vegetables and other 'bunny' food. No meat. We get a few vegans; and curious 'sightseers', but most of our customers are hares. The food is great though, I'm a 'salad chef'. It doesn't pay much, but meals are free and I eat there most of the time. An older mated pair runs it and they've been good to myself and a few other loners who don't have any place to go."

"You don't have a mate?" I asked, and then my ears drooped a little as I realized what a dumb question that was.

Zoe flicked her ears, and tucked her head a little bashfully, "No, I haven't found a life mate yet. Of course I've mated when I was in season, but they were just casual and the males always used protection. I don't have any kits. Most of the other does don't either, we're being really careful about that."

I wasn't that surprised; after it became apparent that human/hare hybrids were just as fertile as normal hares we were pretty careful to use protection when we mated with a female, at least when she was in heat. Having an average of six to eight kits at one time made for quite a large family. In the wild it worked, but without a buck to help support the family a doe with a large litter was in trouble. Fortunately the federal and state governments had helped out some, but who knew how long that would last. Not to mention it had only been about a year since the virus ran its course, and most hares that had kits were still learning how to handle such large families. A doe's pregnancy only lasted about four months, and they were fertile again as soon as they gave birth, so we had learned to be very careful. Unless the intent was to get a doe pregnant we always used protection when they were in heat. When they weren't it was safe. Plus Zoe talking so casually about sex didn't shock me either. Hares have a very different perspective on non-reproductive sex then humans to. With us it's as much a necessity as for pleasure, we need it just as much as humans do. And a doe in heat has NO problem finding a mate until her heat has died down.

"You can have my room for the night, I said, I'll sleep on the couch."

"No way, said Zoe, I'll be glad to sleep on the couch. I don't want to put you out anymore then I already have. You've all been so nice."

"Our pleasure, I said, I'm glad we came along when we did. We need to make a report to the police tomorrow; that was assault and attempted rape."

Zoe gave a soft snort, and said, "Won't do much good, it's always the bunnies fault. We've had a few instances at the restaurant and Hostel, and the cops always side with the humans. They think we're a bunch of lowlifes."

I grimaced, and said, "Well, we still need to report it, you could have been killed!"

"Well, OK, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I think they were members of a gang that been causing us a lot of trouble. They like to pick on hares; they think it's funny, that we're all a bunch of animals."

"Hmmph, I snorted, they're the animals! Bet they don't think we're so cute and harmless after today though!"

Zoe gave a soft squeal of agreement, "Yeah, you really kicked their asses, literally! That was amazing! You some sort of Kung-Fu expert, or something?"

"Me? Gosh no, I said, a little embarrassed at her obvious admiration, I just heard you calling, and well, it just happened. I don't like bullies, and we couldn't just leave you like that. And by the time we could have gotten any help they... I mean, it might have been too late."

"Well I'M certainly glad you came to my rescue." Zoe said.

"I am too." I said, very aware of her musky scent. A little nervously I leaned over, and we started to rub noses and she reached up and gently touched the side of my muzzle.

"OK you two, dinner time!!" Tina called from the doorway, startling us both.

As I followed Zoe into the dining room I couldn't help by take another deep sniff of her scent. She smelled nice, the scent of her fear having faded. She knew I did of course, and flicked her ears back at me for a second.

Dinner was a big success, Tina had outdone herself. The lentil stew was superb, as was the big clover and fresh greens salad with grated radishes, cabbage, and little bit of cheese. We pigged out, pretty much just using our paws. We used spoons for the thick stew; that was about it as far as utensils. The stew as the only thing that had been cooked, everything else was raw and fresh. Perfect. We didn't use much in the way of seasonings either, no dressing on the salad, and just a little salt in the stew. We had a kind of coarse bread too, kind of like a rye. Of course they call it 'bunny bread'. It's a lot coarser then most humans like, almost like a cornbread. We love it with just a dash of butter.

After dinner we talked for awhile, ears and noses twitching, and watched the news and some shows for awhile. I got kind of mad when they said some idiot senator had come up with a bill proposing that all "infected military personnel' be given honorable discharges, and basically kicked out of the service. One of the senators who had been 'infected' gave a rather loud squeal to let his 'esteemed colleague' know what he thought about his bill, and we all gave little squeals of laughter as the senators squeal had been rather rude; in hare terms anyway. It was a hare insult involving an impossible physical act in which you shoved one part of your anatomy up another, but it doesn't really translate very well. We knew what he meant though. It really made me mad though, after all we were still citizens. If they kicked all the hares out of the military then what next? Civil and State service too?

After I calmed down it was time for bed, we were all fat and happy, and I for one was totally exhausted. It had been one Hell of a day. I'd mated with a human female, gotten in a nasty fight, saved a doe in distress, and had one of the best meals ever, and I could hardly keep my eyes open. Tina was outraged at first when Zoe announced her intention to sleep on the couch, but Zoe as insistent. Tina finally gave me a 'you dirty bum' look, and went to get Zoe a pillow and some blankets. Then John and Tina gave Zoe little nose rubs to say good night, and I did the same, taking a little bit longer. Zoe nibbled my lip a little too, which was nice.

A short time later I went up to my garage apartment; after helping Zoe make the couch as comfortable as possible. I didn't take a shower; bunnies aren't much for that sort of thing. Basically I took my shorts off, groomed myself a little, brushed my teeth; we are big on oral hygiene, and turning out the light hopped in bed. John and I had agreed we'd stop at the police station on the way to work to make a report, so we'd leave fairly early.

About an hour later I tensed; instantly awake, as I heard the door to my room open, and then relaxed when I caught Zoe's scent. I was sleeping on top of the covers as usual as that's one advantage of having fur, and Zoe crawled onto the bed, and asked,

"Do you mind? I don't want to be alone tonight."

I just lifted an arm, and she snuggled up next to me. I pulled her close, and we nuzzled a little, licking one another for awhile, then she fell asleep. I could feel her heart beating, and her soft naked body next to mine felt wonderful, but there was nothing really sexual about it. She didn't want that right now, she just needed comforting, and I was flattered she trusted me like that. I have no doubt had I tried to couple with her she would have let me, but I wouldn't take advantage of her trust like that. Besides, just having her warm soft body next to mine was enough. I nuzzled the back of her neck and buried my nose in her fur, and closing my eyes tried to go back to sleep.

Despite the fact we are sexually prolific, it's usually the females who decide when to have sex. Not that it's all that hard to find receptive females. But rape to a hare is as vile an act as it is to humans; we still share that moral standard. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it is rare, and a male who forces himself on females is shunned and/or turned over to the police for prosecution. Rape is rape, human or hare.

I finally feel asleep, the wonderful scent of my nest partner filling my nostrils, her warm soft body curled up tightly against my own. I woke up once during the night when she gave a soft squeal, and kicked a little. I knew she was having a nightmare, so I hugged her a little closer, and licked her ears until she calmed down. Those bastards, I thought, next time I'd do more than just kick them a few times.

When I woke up the next morning I was sad to find Zoe was already gone, but then I heard her in the bathroom. I stretched and yawned, then hopped out of bed and gently knocked on the door.

"You OK, Zoe?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, Zoe replied, you can open the door, I'm not doing anything."

When I opened the door she was standing in front of the mirror running a comb through her chest fur, and was still naked. I'd be liar if I said I didn't take a good long look at her, and I was naked too. But it's just different with hares, humans might have been a little embarrassed, but it didn't both us at all. We did look though, each liking what they saw. She had 'human' breasts, fairly flat and firm like most doe's, as well as teats on her lower belly. But due to her fur about all I could see were her nipples, which was just fine with me. Her rump and tail fur also mostly concealed her sex. If anything I was far more 'exposed' then she as.

"Get my back, will you please?" Zoe asked, and handed me a comb.

I ran the special comb through her fur, smoothing it out, and her pelt was smooth and sleek, and I admired it as I combed it. She wasn't shedding, so the comb didn't get any clumps of fur in it. Contrary to popular belief we don't leave hair all over the place, and we only shed twice a year, when our winter and summer coats come in. She didn't give any signs of unease when I nuzzled the back of her neck, and I buried my nose in her fur, enjoying her scent. I groomed her head and ears with my tongue a little bit, and she turned her head and groomed me in return. It was very nice. Then she combed my back fur while I gave little squeals of pleasure, oh man that felt good!

Our grooming finished we slipped on our clothes; such as they were, and headed down to the main house. As soon as I entered I could tell John and Tina had been at it hot and heavy during the night; good for them. I think they were kind of surprised that Zoe and I hadn't been mating as well, but I could tell Tina approved. She knew it would have been easy for me to take advantage of Zoe. Breakfast was a repeat of dinner, leftovers, with some nice fresh crunchy carrots. As we were finishing up the doorbell rang, and Tina went to answer it. A short time later she came back, her ears flat with worry.

"John, it's the police, they want to talk to you!"

"What in the Hell?" John said, and I went with him to see what it was all about.

The cops just looked at us, and John said, "Good morning officers, what can I do for you?"

"Do you own a van with the logo 'Triple AAA Lawn and Landscaping Service'? One of the cops asked. I thought it was a pretty stupid question; the van was sitting in the driveway.

"Yes officer', it's a company vehicle, John replied.

The other cop looked at a notepad, looked at us, and said to his partner. "Looks like them, a brown and a grey."

The first cop said, "We need you to come with us down to the station to answer a few questions about an incident in the old industrial district yesterday evening."

"We were planning on stopping by on the way to work, John said, we need to file a report of an attempted rape."

The cops looked at one another, and the first one said, "Please step outside so we can talk about this."

When we did the cops put cuffs on our wrists, and we were too startled to do anything but cooperate.

"What's going on, officer?!?" John squealed in surprise.

"You're both under arrest for suspicion of assault and attempted murder." The cop said, and read us our Miranda rights.

"WHAT!" I shrieked, and Tina and Zoe came to the door, holding one another and squealing in distress. "This is BULLSHIT!" I raged.

"Take it easy buddy. The cop said, you can come quietly, or we can cuff your ankles too."

Well, I went quietly. It's very painful to a hare to have their arms cuffed behind their backs; our arms bend a little differently than humans, and it was even more uncomfortable sitting on them. By the time we got to the station I was in pain, it felt like my arms were being pulled out of their sockets, and I could tell John was suffering too, and he squealed in pain when the cop helped him out of the back of the squad car.

As we were being booked the desk sergeant said, "Hey, take their cuffs off and put their arms in the front, didn't you get that memo?? You can hurt them cuffing them like that."

Well, too damned late now, I thought. We tried to protest, but were told to be quiet, and after being 'processed' we were taken to different cells. I got put in one with a couple of humans. One was a drug addict; I could smell it on him, a kind of unnatural sour smell from the drugs he was sweating out of his system. The other guy said,

"Hey, don't put this stinky animal in here with us! Show us some respect already!"

You should talk, I thought, he smelled like he hadn't taken a shower in weeks. In short, he stank. I didn't say anything though, just sat down on a bunk as far away from the two humans as possible. The bunk stank too; evidently they didn't wash the linens and blankets very often. I just wrinkled my nose and glared back at the human who'd complained, the junky was asleep.

After a couple of hours a cop came, opened the cell, and took me to a observation and interrogation room, one of those with the one-way windows. It made me mad when one of my legs was cuffed to the chair; which was riveted to the floor. They let me stew for a few minutes, and then a couple of tired looking detectives came in. I looked at them, and they looked at me, and one said.

"Would you like a coke, or a carrot, or something?"

"Fuck you, monkey boy." I said. I was NOT in a cooperative mood.

I guess they were doing a good cop/bad cop kind of thing, because the other one said, "Hey Bob, you know they don't like coke, and offering one a carrot is kind of an insult."

"Oh yeah, right, sorry." The other one said.

I could tell he wasn't, but I just stayed quiet.

"OK, let's get this over with, the second cop said. We need to ask you about your part in the altercation that took place yesterday. Three men were badly injured; one will be crippled for life. They say you attacked them for no reason, and there were witnesses."

"Bull, I replied, did they mention they were trying to gang-rape a female, a doe, at the time? We asked them to stop; nicely, but they wouldn't listen to reason. When we repeated our request, they attacked us. All we did was defend ourselves."

"And where is this, er, doe?" One cop asked.

"At my brother's house recovering, we took her there last night since she didn't have anywhere else to go. We were going to come in and make a report today, but it looks like the assholes beat us."

It went on like that for a couple of hours, and they kept trying to trip me up, but it didn't work. There was nothing to trip me up over, I had nothing to hide. Even though I was royally pissed off I answered their questions respectfully. When it was obvious I was cooperating they stopped the bad co/good cop routine and got down to business. Finally they called it quits and I was taken back to my cell. My 'cellmates' were gone, and I had the whole thing to myself. At least it didn't smell as bad. Then about another two hours later a cop came to get me; but he didn't cuff me, and took me to a real office instead of an interrogation room. The nameplate on the door said 'Deputy Chief Drovers'. A rather portly middle aged man said,

"Sit down and make yourself comfortable, Peter."

After I sat down, he got right to the point, and said,

"I'm cutting you lose; along with your brother, on personal recognizance. This isn't over yet, but I don't think the charge will stand up. All of the supposed 'victims' have mile long rap sheets and are real low lives, but you and your brother are clean. I also know hares rarely start any fights; you're a pretty passive bunch. Plus your brother's wife brought in the attempted rape victim, and her story correlates with yours perfectly. I'm going to have a little talk with the, er, victims and make them an offer. If they drop their charges we won't press assault and attempted rape charges in turn. I have a feeling they'll agree to that. A couple of them are two timers, one more strike and they go away for life. But watch out, that gang is pretty vindictive, they like to get even. You're free to go, and I'm sorry for the hassle.

"Well, thanks Chief", I said.

"My pleasure, I wish more people were as well behaved as hares." He said, and escorted me to the front door.

As I walked down the steps of the station I saw Tina and John waiting in the van, and the side door opened and Zoe hopped out and literally flew into my arms. She grabbed me and rubbed her nose against mine, squealing in pleasure. Tina soon got into the act with John, and the little scenes got some smiles and chuckles from passing cops and civilians.

"Peter, I was so worried! Zoe said, I couldn't believe they arrested you!"

I rubbed her nose back, and said "I had a hard time believing it too, I guess it was our word against humans, but they believed us this time. Thanks for coming down and telling them what happened, that was brave of you."

"I wouldn't call it brave, Zoe said, it was the least I could do! I mean, you saved my life after all."

She leaned on me all the way to the van, which was nice. I helped her up into the back, and she leaned against me again all the way back home, which was even nicer. I nuzzled the back of her head a little bit, taking in her scent, and she nuzzled my chest.

"Peter, John said, I need to get to work and see what's been going on. I called Ruby and she was upset, another worker quit and we lost some more contracts. She was worried about you too, but I said you were OK. Why don't you stay here with Zoe and Tina, I really don't want to leave them alone, not after what happened.

I could see the logic behind that, so said "Sure thing, just call if you need me for anything. I'll see if I can be of any use around the house."

"Thanks Peter, but be careful, Tina will put you to work if you give her a chance.", John said, and hopped back in the van and took off. I followed the doe's back into the house, and we had a late lunch. They were both still stressed out, Hell, I was too, but eating helped calm us down; and our scents returned to normal after awhile. I tried to help Tina clean up the kitchen, but got shooed away. Guess she was afraid I'd wreck the joint. 'No males in my kitchen!' she insisted, good naturedly.

Zoe was watching the TV, but after watching with her for a few minutes I got pretty bored, so went up to my garage apartment to clean it up a little, and trim my claws. Damn things grow like weeds. I was sitting in a chair with one of my large hind paws resting comfortably in my lap; trimming away, when a knock came on the door. I flicked my ears, and said,

"Come on in, it's not locked."

It was Zoe, I'd guessed it probably was. She opened the door, and stuck her head in.

"Want some company?" She asked. I just nodded my head, nose twitching. It was obvious what she meant by 'company'. When a doe is sexually interested in a buck they really can't hide it. I was flattered, and also interested, very much so. I had been ever since she hugged me for the first time, she was a beautiful doe. And at this point words weren't necessary. We both knew what we wanted.

I got up and sat on the bed, and she shed her clothes and joined me, and I was already naked. Like many hares I don't wear clothes inside my 'nest', at least when I'm alone. It's just more comfortable that way, especially in the summer. She hopped up on the bed and we snuggled together, licking and 'nobbling', as we explored one another's bodies, and she gave a soft squeal of pleasure when I nibbled her ears a little. I ran my hands over her breasts and teats, all her nipples swollen and hard, her scent strong and sensual as I snuffled her fur. I was already rampant, my penis extended and hard, and she dipped her head and licked my penis, and I held her ears and moaned in pleasure as her warm wet tongue slid up and down my shaft. Our foreplay didn't last very long; our need was too intense, and soon she rolled onto all fours, and I mounted her immediately; hilting after a few powerful thrusts, both of us squealing in pleasure. I took her fast and hard; our first coupling more like natural hares, as we needed to work the 'edge' off our mutual lust. Satisfy the beast in us, so to speak. It was marvelous, I buried my nose in her neck fur, and as we climaxed she gave a high pitched squeal of ecstasy, my own squeal muffled. We weren't done yet though, and I serviced her two more times before dismounting, each of us reaching full blown orgasms each time. It didn't take very long the first few times, but the pleasure was incredibly intense, almost overwhelming as we rutted.

After I dismounted we lay side by side panting for awhile, cooling off a little. We don't sweat, so need to pant to help maintain our body temperature. Sex really heats you up if you're covered in fur. After a few minutes I gently started licking and sucking her nipples; my tongue and saliva wetting down the downy fur so her nipples peaked through, and she ran her hand through my back and neck fur and nibbled at my ears. Her nipples were large and rubbery, and I sucked on them happily, enjoying her sweet taste, and she gave little grunts of pleasure. Then I moved lower and she spread her legs for me with a soft squeal of pleasure, and as I moved between them she draped them over my shoulders so I could roll her hindquarters up a little. Hares aren't made for coupling with a female lying on her back; unless it's on the edge of the bed or a table with the male standing. We can do it; it's just not very comfortable. But that doesn't apply to oral stimulation. I smoothed down the soft white fur around her wet pink sex, and gently licked her lips and clitoris, her smell rich and enticing, heady. Her sex was a little smaller then a human females, and her clitoris was at the 'bottom' instead of the top, the same as with most animals with their own version of a clitoris whose normal method of mating was for the male to mount them from behind, but it wasn't entirely an animal's vagina, it still had very human characteristics. Plus most animals don't 'eat' their mate's pussy. She kicked her legs a little, squealing softly and grasping at my head and ears as my tongue licked over her sex, and then slid inside her. She was so wet and slick; and the taste of our mutual pleasure was incredibly stimulating. I moaned as I 'ate' her, my tongue plunging the depths of her sweet sex, her hands gently stroking my ears, both of us trembling in ecstasy.

"Peter, ch-ch-churrr, ee-eeek!" She moaned and squealed, licking her nose and kicking reflexively.

I was enjoying myself immensely, she tasted so sweet, and her scent; to a buck it was pretty damn close to heaven. I rubbed her swollen sensitive clitoris with my nose as my tongue explored the depths of her pussy, and she grunted and feebly kicked her legs, panting and grunting.

"P-Peter, eee-eee, please! Ah, ahhhh, eee-eeeek!!" Zoe gasped. She kicked weakly, "Ugh, uggghhh, ee-eeek-eek! I-I need you! P-Please!! EEeeekkk!"

I knew what she wanted, what we both needed, so I gently rolled her onto her stomach and pulled her to the edge of the bed, then I mounted her again, and coupled with her slow and gentle, nobbling the back of her head and neck, licking her ears while we both shuddered in sexual bliss. I would speed up and slow down, drawing it out, giving us as much pleasure as I could before I reached my limit, and then finishing with rapid thrusts until we both squealed in pleasure as we orgasmed. We reached mutual release four more times before we finished, and the last time was so intense I clenched my eyes shut and gave a loud squeal of pure ecstasy as I orgasmed, and she arched and gave a guttural moan, her cry muffled by the sheets she was tightly gripping. For some reason hares almost always climax at the same time, I think that maybe the males ejaculation helps trigger the females own release, plus we cum a lot more often too, but whatever the reason it makes for fantastic mutually pleasurable sex, and we never leave our partners wanting. Afterwards I lay across her back for awhile, just nosing and licking her while she made happy little sounds, then pulled out and flopped down next to her again. We were soon both fast asleep; Zoe curled up in my arms, both of us spent and very contented.

After that night there was no doubt about it, I'd found a mate. We both just knew it. What started as just sex for pleasure became something else at some point. John and Tina didn't even have to ask, our scents told them all they needed to know. John had a big grin on his muzzle, and Tina was pretty happy too. When I was still human they're tried some match making, trying to get John's 'bachelor brother' to settle down. Frankly I'd been pretty much a loner and confirmed bachelor, but that had changed. My whole life was Zoe now, and I was hers. When a hare takes a life mate it's pretty much a done deal. We don't put much emphasis on the human concept of marriage, and if; after awhile, a mated pair decide to part and find new mates, well, that's just fine. It doesn't happen very often though, we're usually perfectly happy with our chosen mates. We'd go down to file at the courthouse, but that was just to make it 'legal' as we still lived under human laws.

I borrowed the company van from John, and Zoe and I went over to the so-called 'Bunny Hostel' to pick up her stuff. The big old Windsor had been a five star when it was new, now it was maybe a one star. I was surprised how clean it was though, and an older doe gave us the key to Zoe's room, and it was clear she was fond of Zoe. Zoe stopped to rub noses with some other hares; both male and female, on the way up to her room. I wasn't jealous though, it's the way we say 'Hi' to friends. No doubt some of the males had been her lovers at some point, but she was my mate now, and that's all that mattered. Her scent told other males she was mated, we just knew. Along the way I saw new repairs, and it smelled like fresh paint, and my estimate of the place went up, maybe a two star. One of her roommates was home, a very pretty all white (rare) doe named Fluff. All white rabbits are common, with hares it's rare unless it's their winter coat, and since it was still summer it was obviously her year round color. It was striking. I knew Fluff wasn't her original human name, but a lot of hares have taken new names. Usually just one, no last name. I liked my old human name so I kept it, but I did get tired of 'Peter Cottontail' jokes. Turns out Zoe was my mates original human name, it was short for Phoebe. I did like Zoe better though; Phoebe was just too...odd.

Fluff was a hoot, she flirted with me from the start, but it was just for fun; she wasn't serious, but we both knew it would have been if Zoe and I weren't mated. She was overjoyed that Zoe had found herself a 'buck', and teased her by saying I looked half starved, and she needed to fatten me up. Fluff had on shorts, but was topless as had been most of the females I'd seen in the hostel. We have no moral problems with topless females, or even the few females and males that were completely naked. Just doesn't bother us, though males enjoy the view, and I'm sure the doe's do too since more than one male was sans shorts. Fluff had rather large top breasts for a doe, almost approaching human average in size, which was rare. Most doe's are rather flat and firm. Fluff was firm, but definitely not flat, and she got second looks wherever she went, topless or not. We did some friendly nobbling while Zoe gathered up her rather few belongings, which didn't take long. We don't seem to have the human habit of accumulating lots of stuff we don't really need. Other than a few changes of clothes, some toiletry items, and a small jewelry case, that was it. We both rubbed noses with Fluff, who came down to the lobby with us, and said goodbye.

"You two behave yourselves, Fluff said, nose quivering. If you don't take good care of my little sister I'll whup your ass, Peter!"

Laughing, I rubbed noses with her again, and replied "Yes Ma'am, I'll take good care of her, I promise."

Fluff held my hands for a second, and said softly in my ear, "I know you will, she's had it hard, and I've never seen her so happy before. She's lucky, thank you."

"I'm the lucky one." I replied, and gently rubbed noses with her again, her big eyes looking in to mine.

As we drove back to the house I said, "Fluff is really something Zoe, you're lucky to have her for a friend."

Zoe smiled, and said "I don't know what I would have done without her. I was pretty traumatized by what happened at first, and she took me in. All my other roommates were pretty much basket cases like me, but Fluff helped bring us around and show us how...wonderful it could be, to be a hare, that we weren't freaks. Being around so many other hares helped too, we all kind of took care of one another. One buck tried to kill himself, but Fluff took him as a lover and that snapped him out of it. I want to go back in a day or two and say goodbye to my other roommates, they'll be there over the weekend. Is that OK?"

"Well, sure, I said, I'll be glad to drive you back over anytime you want, and tell your friends to come and visit. I'm sure John and Tina would love the company, they don't get many visitors anymore."

"Fluff works at 'The Clover Patch' too, Zoe said, she's the head waitress. If she helps pay for the gas do you think we could give her a ride to work? I hate to think of her having to walk every day, especially after what happened. It's a couple of miles to the Café."

"Sure, no problem, I replied, I'll have to get a car though, John needs the van for work. I've got more than enough saved up though. I need to take van to work after I drop you off though, so maybe after work we can go look at some used car lots or something."

"OK, then we can go to dinner at the Patch; I need to check in anyway. The owners told me to take as many days off as I needed, but I'd like to get back to work starting tomorrow. I enjoy it, and have lots of friends at the Patch."

When I dropped off Zoe at the house we told Tina we'd be taking her out for dinner tonight, and she got all excited. She and John hadn't been out on a 'date' in a long time, and she'd heard about 'The Clover Patch', and was looking forward to 'checking it out'. In the meantime she'd help Zoe get settled in, and they both pretty much ignored me after that, chattering like a couple of magpies.

As I pulled into the parking lot at work I was feeling pretty good overall. The trip to jail had sucked, but it had turned out OK in the long run, but most of all I was thinking about Zoe. When I opened the door I froze for a second as Ruby's scent hit me like a big wet pillow. How could I have forgotten about my, our...relationship! I had to tell her about Zoe; if John hadn't already. But I figured he knew better then to make that big of a mistake. Sure enough, Ruby was all smiles when she saw me. Oh crap, I thought, I'm not going to enjoy this. She got up as I came in, and running over gave me a kiss on the nose. She couldn't smell what other hares could, that I was mated. I nibbled her ear a little, and rubbed her nose with mine. I really did like her, a lot.

"John here?" I asked hopefully.

"Nope, he's out trying to save one of our biggest contracts with the county to mow and maintain the grounds of some public buildings, Zoe said, if we lose that one we might as well just shut down. Seems some assholes were complaining about the country employing 'bunnies', when humans need jobs. Assholes, don't' they know hares need to eat too?"

"They probably think we live in holes in the ground and eat weeds", I said drily. It was another misconception most humans had about us, in the wild most 'normal' hares have nests on the surface, its rabbits that burrow. Dumbasses. But, truthfully, we DO eat what many humans consider weeds. Dandelions are delicious.

"You know, Ruby said, he'll be gone for hours, and it's pretty quiet right now, all the other workers are out on jobs until closing. You want to, um, take a break with me in the lounge?"

I closed my eyes for a second, and said "OK". Might as well get it over with; the sooner the better. I hoped she didn't freak, I didn't know if I could handle that, and I'd really hate to hurt her feelings.

"Look Ruby, I said, you know about Zoe, right?"

"The doe you and John rescued the other day, Ruby replied, John told me the details. That was really brave of the two of you."

"Well, she and I are mates now, I said. It just happened; it does pretty fast with hares. We just knew. I've had other doe's for lovers, but with her it was...different."

"You, you mean you're, like, married, or something? Ruby said, just like that?"

"Pretty much, I replied, like I said, it happens a lot quicker with hares. We're not that much into dating or long drawn out courtships. We're kind of like...well, animals that way, I guess."

"Does that mean you're not...interested in me anymore?" Ruby said quietly, and I could sense her disappointment.

She's taking it a lot better than I had hoped, I thought. I reached over and took one of her hands and licked it. "Not at all Ruby, I still like you, very much. It's just that I wanted you to know, I didn't want to hide anything from you. I'm not human Ruby, but I do still want to be your lover, if you still want me."

"What about Zoe?" Ruby asked, reaching over and fondling one of my ears.

"She knows, I said, she could smell your scent on me, but she didn't even say anything. We're different like that Ruby; we just don't mind that much if our mates take other lovers every now and then, as long as it's just for pleasure. I guess we are kind of promiscuous like that. But honestly, we usually stay pretty faithful. But I do value our relationship very much, and Zoe won't mind, honestly."

"Oh, don't worry, Ruby said, I'm not giving you up that easily. I know I could never be your wife; and that we couldn't have kids of course, but I'm perfectly happy to be your lover as long as your mate doesn't mind. You can give me what I've always wanted, I've never had a better lover before, and if our relationship is mainly physical I'm happy with that."

"Thanks Ruby, I said, hugging her and snuffling her hair. I do love you, you know, in my own way."

"I love you to, Peter." Ruby said, reaching down and stroking my crotch.

I smiled as I felt my penis stirring, and rubbed her breasts through her light blouse, nibbling and lipping her hair and face. For a human she smelled so very nice, and I truly did love her.

I stood up, and she pulled my shorts down and I stepped out of them, my penis now fully extended and rampant. After last night with Zoe you'd have thought I'd have been too spent to perform again so soon, but hares are not humans. I was more than ready, and definitely willing. Our balls are larger in relation to our body size then a man's; and I think they produce sperm at a much faster rate as well. Which was just fine with me.

I ran my hands through Ruby's sweet smelling hair while she licked my cock and fondled my balls, gently kneading them inside their tight furry scrotum. I had my ears back; eyes closed, and was churring in pleasure. Oh yes, mating with a human female definitely had some perks you didn't normally get with a doe! I groaned as my need peaked, and with a shudder I climaxed wonderfully, Ruby sucking and tonguing me the whole time as my cock pulsed.

"UGGGHHHH, ECCKK-EEEEKKK-EEEKKK!" I gasped, oh God that was fantastic!

Ruby looked up at Peter, and smiled. She really didn't mind if he'd taken a doe for a mate, she was happy for him. But as long as he was interested in her she'd be happy to be his lover. This wonderful; gentle, male who satisfied her as no one else ever had, it didn't bother her he was as much an animal as a human. She gave his cock one more slurp, then pulled back and let it slide from her lips, slick with her saliva.

"Ruby, that was...I..." I started to say.

"Shhhh", Ruby said, as she slipped out of her clothes, Peter watching her intently, more pre welling from the tip of his erection. She sat on the couch and leaned back, "My turn".

With an eager chuff I crouched between her spread legs. It was amazing how much like a doe's her sex was, yet so different at the same time. The shape was a little different, and she was certainly larger, and no fur. I put my arms under her legs and pulled her a little closer, and ran my tongue over her nether lips, then gently nibbled on her clitoris, and she gave a gasping moan and started pulling gently on my ears. Oh GOD how I loved that! I slid my tongue inside of her and lapped at her sex, and she tasted and smelled different from a doe too, but it was a nice different, like the difference between two fine wines. As I tongued and rubbed my nose against her clitoris she bucked a little and squealed, pretty much just like a doe. I knew she wanted me to make her cum, so I sucked and licked her sex until I felt her vaginal muscles clench and quiver, and was rewarded by a flow of her sweet sexual juices, and kept sucking and lapping at her while she orgasmed. By that time my own lust was raging, her wonderful blow-job had done little to satisfy me, and in fact it had pretty much just primed the pump.

I grabbed her under her knees and stood up, pulling her down further on the couch, and leaning over her I mounted her with a guttural grunt of pleasure, and started fucking her with rapid thrusts. She hissed between her teeth; her own pleasure at being mounted so soon after a powerful orgasm intense; and she pulled my head down on her breasts, and I was soon happily licking and nibbling at her rigid nipples. The feel and taste of her rubbery nipples in my mouth and against my lips was exquisite, her breasts so large and soft. I came fairly soon, squealing in ecstasy, but didn't stop other than to slow down for awhile as my cock throbbed, and then kept fucking her. Unlike a doe I knew it would take longer to bring her to her own orgasm, and that I'd have several for every one she had, which just made it even better as far as I was concerned. She ran her fingers through my fur, moaning deeply as I serviced her, and it was wonderful. What a female!

Ruby looked down as Peter's lips and tongue gently licked and lathered her breasts, his cock pounding into her much faster than a human males. She moaned in pleasure as she felt him climax, his hot cum feeling wonderful against the sensitive folds of flesh lining her vagina, but she didn't cum, not yet. She fondled his ears, her eyes straying to the sight of his rapidly pistoning rump, his cute little tail flicking and flagging as he serviced her. The feeling of his large furry balls rubbing her under her pussy felt so very wonderful, as did the opening of his sheath as it pushed against her nether lips every time he hilted, the head of his penis penetrating her cervix with every thrust. She gave another moan, and let her head sag back, eyes closed in pure bliss. It didn't get any better than this!! The pleasure was incredibly intense, and just kept building in wave after wave of increasing ecstasy. He could pleasure her better then several human partners! Having sex with him fulfilled her deepest sexual fantasy of actually mating with a real furry anthro, a human/animal hybrid. She opened her mouth and gasped, then sobbed in ecstasy as her orgasm washed over her as he came inside her again, his hot spurting seed prolonging her own release for what seemed like forever.

"P-Peterrr!! UGH, OHHH, OH-OH, UGGHHH, AAAHHHHAAAIIEEEE!!!"

I smiled; then squealed in ecstasy, as I felt Ruby suddenly heave under me, her heels drumming on my back as she climaxed, and the sudden hot rush of her fluids triggered my own orgasm almost simultaneously, and we rode our waves of pleasure together, my muzzle buried between her breasts as I squealed, her hands rubbing and grasping my back, digging into my fur in a most delightful way. I rested for a minute as our orgasms faded, then she gave a happy moan as I started thrusting again. I can be a very demanding lover, but then so could Ruby, and she gave as good as she got. Frankly I think every human should have a hare for a lover, and every hare should have a human. We're just go so well together, and despite my new 'species' I was still very attracted to human females. I gave a deep moan as I came again, my cock straining and throbbing, and Ruby arched under me and gave a loud gasp, her tongue licking over her lips as I nuzzled her.

An hour or so later I was finally spent, and dismounting I sat down next to Ruby who was still moaning, eyes closed with a big smile on her face. I licked the sweat off her face and ears with gentle laps of my tongue, and she smiled, and said,

"You know I can never go back to men now, at least human ones. You're ruined me, Peter!"

Feeling a little proud of myself; talk about a compliment, I gave a pleased little squeal and rubbed her nose with mine, gently rubbing her breasts with my fingers.

"You're special Ruby, I said, any buck would be honored to have you for a lover. It's so nice to have a lover who accepts me for what I am, and doesn't think I'm nothing but an animal that can talk. It means a lot to me."

Ruby smiled and stretched, and said, "Well, as long as you want me, you know where to find me. I feel like sleeping for a thousand years, but better get back to work. The boss doesn't mind a little messing around, but I think we might be pushing it a bit."

I had to concur, so while Ruby got cleaned up I groomed myself, and then had fun helping her get dressed; and she had to chase me around the break room to get her panties. I forgot to put my shorts back on, she had to remind me; with a giggle, when I followed her into office still 'naked'. I tucked my ears in embarrassment, and went back and got 'decent'. What would a customer think if they walked in and found a naked male running around? Humans did NOT share our views on nudity.

When John got back a little later he took one sniff, looked at me; I smiled back, and rolled his eyes. He didn't say anything though; he knew I'd just be a wiseass about it. He does know me. I followed him into his office, and as soon as I shut the door, he said,

"You're going to hurt yourself, you know!"

"Yeah, but at least I'll have fun doing it", I said. Frankly I was amazed, and very pleased, by my new sexual stamina and capability. I guess the term 'fucking like bunnies' didn't come around for nothing, it was based on truth, and we'd gotten that part of the hare genes. The best part as far as I was concerned.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"What?" John replied.

"You know; the county contract?" I said.

"Oh, I saved it. John said, they had to admit the quality of the our work hadn't changed since we did, and I pointed out that 'bunnies' had been declared a new minority, so did they want civil litigation for violating our civil rights because they fired us because of our 'species'? I think that made more of an impression than anything else. You should have seen them trying to figure that one out!"

I gave a chuff of amusement; that would have been interesting! I had a feeling the courts would soon have a new civil rights nightmares on their hands! John looked pretty smug; he must have really given them a going over. He was a sharp businessman, person, or bunny, or whatever. Businesshare, that sounded good!

I helped him clean up some mowers and other equipment, met a few of the other hares who worked for him, and the few humans who still did. They were all good folks, and I didn't detect any resentment in the humans. The hare's were just glad to have a decent job, and John told me they were all good hard workers, the humans as well. It was a good crew. I noticed one doe seemed to be attached to one of the human males, and turns out they lived together. Good for them, I thought. Turns out they were married, and she caught the virus, but he didn't. But they'd adjusted, they still loved one another no matter what had happened.

As we drove back to the house I informed John of my decision to find a good used car, and he knew a couple of used car lots that were owned by hares, so figured I might get a better deal there, or not. I bet used car dealers were pretty much the same no matter their species. We got home, picked up Tina and Zoe, and headed over to 'The Cotton Patch Café'. Zoe was going to eat with us, then stick around the rest of the evening and help them close up. She had already arranged a ride, so I was OK with that. I would NOT have let her walk home alone, or Fluff either.

The place was 'hopping', it was a big old renovated turn of the century store, all beams and red brick, lots of wood paneling and old fashioned fixtures. I fell in love with it the minute I walked in, it felt more like a home then an ordinary restaurant. Fluff met us at the door with a squeal of delight, and rubbed noses with everyone, then dragged Zoe and Tina off to do some unfathomable female stuff, no males allowed. John and I were seated at a table by a pretty young; mostly black, doe that was very friendly, and flirted openly with both of us. Hares are like that, we're pretty uninhibited even in public, especially when no humans are around. That was what I liked about the place, I realized, no humans, or hardly any. The place was packed with hares, and while there were a few humans they were greatly outnumbered for a change, and frankly they fit right in as their attitudes and scents told us they had no problems with being around a bunch of 'bunnies', and most were obviously seriously involved with a hare. On the recommendation of the waitress; and Zoe, we ordered the 'House Salad Deluxe', and it was a feast to make any hare drool in delight. I also got the lentil stew, I love the stuff. Add a ginger fizz and I was in hare heaven.

It was a wonderful evening, surrounded by others like myself, my mate sitting close to me; or later in my lap, and leaning over to nibble at my ears every now and then, everybody having a great time. It was kind of lively too, hares are a little more spontaneous in showing their feelings, but we didn't mind it being loud and pretty rowdy at times. We all cheered and chuffed in amusement when a couple of does got up on a table and did an impromptu river dance, or tried too. We all gave them an 'A' for effort. It was pretty funny though; they couldn't get much purchase on the slippery table top, and ended up falling in a delighted bucks lap. It was a different kind of rowdiness though; there was no alcohol or drugs, so it was more just the thrill of having such a good time and unwinding like we couldn't do around humans. But; a little surprisingly to me, the females all wore their tops, and there was no public nudity. What we did at home was one thing, in public it was another, even with mostly other hares. Despite our rather lax sexual practices we did not couple in public. However, I would find out later that 'The Patch' had some upstairs rooms set aside for the use of couples who became enamored of one another and couldn't wait to get home. One night; or one hour, stands as a hare are nothing unusual.

A couple of hours I was about to fall asleep due to my overstuffed stomach, and Zoe was nodding off too, her head on my shoulder. John and Tina were nobbling, and though it had gotten pretty quiet the place was still crowded. Most of the couples had paired off for some quality time, grooming and nobbling. It was rare to see such a large congregation of hares in one place, and we were all reluctant to go back out in the 'real' world. That was until there was the loud sound of breaking glass, and a shrill squeal of fear. Every ear in the place snapped to attention, and along with several other bucks John and I headed for the front of the restaurant, which was where the sounds had originated. We went from tired and lethargic, to intense awareness, in a few seconds.

As we reached the front of the place I saw the owner's wife, a pudgy little grey doe named Trixie; she was standing behind the register counter with her hands over her muzzle, and there was broken glass everywhere, a brick lying on the floor. I heard the sound of a revving engine, loud catcalls, and tires screeching. I followed some other bucks out the front door, just in time to see a car accelerating out of the parking lot. It was full of human teenagers, and they were laughing and jeering.

One of the bucks grabbed a large stone out of one of the decorative planters flanking the front door, and bending almost double he whipped the stone after the car in a pitch that would have made Cy Young proud, and it bounced off the rear windshield with the sound of breaking glass, and the car sped up and disappeared around a corner.

"ASSHOLES!" squealed one the bucks, the same sentiment being echoed by other rather rude comments from other hares.

Brent, the owner, was hugging his mate when we came back in, and said, "That's the second time this month, why can't they just leave us alone??"

"Want me to call the police, Brent?" Fluff asked, her ears twitching in anger.

"No, don't bother, Brent said, it never does any good. Even when we give them the license plates they never do a damn thing. Unless someone really gets hurt they just don't care."

Don't bet on it, I thought, remembering Zoe's near gang-rape and how we were the one's who'd gotten in trouble for defending her, but at the least the Deputy-Chief was a decent sort.

Well, that was it for the night. Zoe and Fluff stayed to help Brent and Trixie clean up the place, and John, Tina, and I decided to hang around too, and make sure Fluff got back to the hotel safely. I helped stack the chairs on the tables to make it easier to sweep up.

Brent already had a piece of particle board cut to fit the window; he'd saved it from the last vandalism, and we nailed it into place. After that the seven of us sat around a table and had a last ginger fizz. Fluff had decided to spend the night with Brent and Trixie, turns out they lived upstairs. Our moods considerably dampened by what had happened we finally said 'good night', and left. The drive home was quiet; Zoe lying with her head and my lap as I gently rubbed her ears, and whenever another car passed our eyes lit up; which was kind of spooky.

Zoe and I went straight to our apartment over the garage, and John and Tina went into the main house. We were pretty worn out by all the excitement, so Zoe and I just hopped in bed and cuddled, licking and grooming one another. I smiled as I heard faint sounds of pleasure from the house , looked like my brother and his mate still had an active love life even though they'd been married something like twenty years, or nineteen as humans, and one as hares. Absently I brushed my hands over Zoe's breasts to find her nipples were raised and hard.

"You sure?" I asked, nibbling one of her ears.

Her only answer was to pull my head over and rub her nose against mine, her tongue licking my lips. This time she got on top, and took me to heaven and back, four times.

The End

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