Pins and Needles, Part X
#19 of Patterns of the Grand Design
The following story is a work of fiction. It contains adult themes and situations and should not be read by anyone under the age of eighteen. The characters depected are copyright Radical Gopher. No character in this story is under the age of eighteen.
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PINS AND NEEDLES - Part X
George Leonard was getting angrier by the hour. It was bad enough that a fucking Lappe had gotten him arrested. Now, one way or another, he'd awoken to find himself in some kind of rusted, cylindrical vault half filled with encrusted dirt. A filthy, translucent ceiling made of plastic stretched about four feet above him. Holes provided a little ventilation, but it was hot and uncomfortable as hell.
He thought back, trying to remember how he'd gotten here. His last clear memories were of being in the interrogation room at the local police station. The detective had been questioning him about an outstanding murder warrant from several months back. He'd almost laughed in his face. Everyone knew you couldn't murder constructs. They weren't human, but then this particular detective was rather dimwitted.
George's head had started pounding something fierce and he remembered the officer leaving to get him an aspirin and some water. After that, there was nothing. Nothing except some vague dreams of turning into fucking Godzilla, smashing his way out of the station and chasing a couple of furry assed females across a field. One of them, a blue furred Zorr, turned herself into a giant and had picked him up, ready to eat him. Then he'd woken up here... wherever here was.
Hours had passed, yet he could find no way out of his prison, nor had anyone come to check on him. The funny thing was he felt neither hungry nor thirsty. Frustrated, he kicked angrily at the curved wall, not expecting much more than a sore foot. To his surprise a small hole appeared where he'd kicked the metal. Examining it closely he noticed it was heavily rusted. The more he kicked, the larger the hole became. He examined the metal closely. The rusted part of the wall seemed to correspond roughly to where a large pile of encrusted dirt had been heaped against it. Using his hands, he began to claw at the earth, hoping to uncover enough of the corroded wall to kick his way out. It was hard work, but George had nothing else to do and lots of time to do it in. People who knew him agreed he wasn't a nice person to know, but when the need arose, he could be quite tenacious.
* * * *
"So..." asked the red-furred Zorr. "How did you and Vic meet? He wrote me about his change of address and the wonderful mate he'd found, but he didn't go into too many details."
Sapphire sipped calmly on a cup of tea and smiled. "We met at the museum. Victor was working in restorations and I sort of wandered into his workshop. I'd never seen a todd as handsome as him. Things just kind of clicked from there."
"Like magic?" Pepper interjected.
"Exactly," the blue-furred vixen replied, a playful look glinting in her eyes.
"I never did believe in magic," the detective replied, refilling both her and Sapphire's cups.
She dropped a couple of sugar cubes in her tea and stirred it thoughtfully. "I still can't get over that absolutely gorgeous blue fur of yours. It almost looks like someone dipped you into a vat of blue dye. Is it natural?"
"Yes," Sapphire replied simply.
"How on earth did you get it to grow out blue?"
"It's a family secret," the djin chuckled. "If I told you, I'd have to have you adopted into the family so you couldn't tell anyone without invoking an ancient gypsy curse."
"Well I am Vic's cousin. Doesn't that count for something?"
"It counts for a lot," Sapphire replied, smiling. "But it's still a secret."
"Careful," Saul Blackthorn said. "The surest way to trigger her hunting instinct is to dangle a juicy secret in front of her. One whiff and it's whoosh... She's out the door with deerstalker, calabash and magnifying glass in hand."
Pepper gently elbowed her partner and laughed. "Oh come on now... I'm not that bad. I just have a natural sense of curiosity. I'm sure you've seen Vic when he has a new artifact to examine."
"Yes I have," the djin replied, "He can be quite passionate about his studies... and other things."
"So I see," giggled the vixen as she looked at the slight bulge in Sapphire's abdomen.
Now it was Saul who gently nudged Pepper. "Don't pay any attention to that innocent act," Saul replied reaching for a cookie. "She the best good cop, bad cop artist in the department."
"You two sound more like a couple than partners," the djin observed. The human's cheeks flushed slightly and he glanced up toward the mantle, trying to avert his gaze from that of the blue vixen. Sapphire smiled at his response. "Looks like I'm closer to the mark than I thought."
"Well... Let's just say its something we'd like to keep private for now," Pepper admitted, returning the djin's smile.
"Subject change... What brings you to our neck of the woods?"
The red furred vixen hunched over slightly. "We were suppose to pick up a local prisoner for transfer back home, but when we arrived this morning he'd escaped."
"Really?"
"Yes," the human replied. "There was some kind of gas explosion under the police station and in the confusion our fugitive got away."
"We have to wait a couple of days to see if the local police can find our prisoner again, then we head back home."
"Good," replied Sapphire. Victor should be home by this time tomorrow, so he doesn't have to miss your visit. Maybe we could have dinner together, tomorrow evening. I'm sure you'll find your suspect without too much trouble."
"That would be nice," said Saul.
Something in the djin's response didn't strike the right cord with Pepper. She couldn't quiet place the feeling, but she'd learned long ago to trust her instincts. Vic's mate was hiding something. She decided to listen more carefully to what was being said.
A small bell rang from somewhere upstairs. Everyone glanced toward the sound then Sapphire looked across at her guests. "That would be Gwen," she explained.
"Who?" asked the red furred vixen.
"The young woman who rents our carriage house apartment. She's been feeling under the weather the past few days so we had her move into one of our guest rooms so Victor and I could look after her."
"What was the bell for?"
"I put one next to her bed so she could ring if she needed anything."
"Rather old-school, isn't it?"
"Yes... Perhaps, but it's quaint all the same. Would you excuse me while I see what she needs?"
"Certainly," replied Saul.
The blue furred vixen exited the living room, moving with both a grace and seductiveness that neither detective could avoid watching.
"What do you think?" asked Pepper.
"About what?"
"This place, this set up. Somehow it doesn't ring true, especially that part about Vic being away until tomorrow."
"I think you're letting your instincts work a little too hard," Saul responded. "Sapphire's your cousin's mate. You should cut her a little slack. We dropped in unannounced and she still treated us like visiting royalty. I don't know about you, but I kind of like her."
"That's the annoying part. I like her too," Pepper asserted. "I hate it when I like someone and my instincts for something being wrong kick in like this."
"You could always let it go," offered her partner. She gave he a rather skeptical look. "Or not..."
"Come on Saul. Isn't anything kicking in about this set up that bothers you?"
"Well," he admitted slowly, "I kind of wish I had their cleaning service. This house is almost inhumanly immaculate."
"You see what I'm saying?"
The big detective shook his head. "No, not really. Last time I checked, cleanliness wasn't a crime. Besides, this is your family, or the closest thing you got to one. Shouldn't you be a little more introspective when it comes to sorting out your instincts."
Pepper sighed. Saul was always a good foil when it came to evaluating her instincts. More than once his input had saved her from running off on dead-end crusades. "You're probably right," she admitted, standing and straightening out her skirt.
"Where are you off to?"
"To find the little vixen's room. I need to fluff my ruff, among other things."
"Pepper..."
"Oh don't worry, I won't snoop," she said, flicking her tail as she left the room.
Saul leaned back on the couch and took another sip of tea. Glancing over to where his partner had been sitting his brows furrowed slightly. They'd both been sharing a cream colored couch, so when she left, he half expected to see a few stray strands of red fur on the fabric, yet there was nothing. He wondered about that.
Pepper quickly found the bathroom and preceded to take care of business. Finishing, she went over to the sink and washed her hands. That was when she noticed the large, vacuum-sealed mason jar of amber liquid sitting beside the toilet. Curious, she picked it up and examined it. It looked like urine. Just to be sure, she uncapped it and took a tentative whiff of its contents.
* * * *
Things were not going well with Gwen at all. Sapphire had reached the bedroom to find the skunkette moaning softly and curled into a near fetal position. The bed cover was soaked. The djin knew the magically induced pregnancy was accelerated, but until now she hadn't appreciated how quickly it was progressing. The birthing process, which should have been hours away, was occurring here and now.
"I'm sorry," the dancer whispered between clenched teeth. "I know you have company but I just couldn't wait. I think my water broke."
"How long ago?" she asked soothingly.
Gwen took a deep breath and tried to relax. "I'm not sure. Maybe ten minutes or so." Her body trembled as a contraction took hold. She gripped Sapphire's hand fiercely; tears of pain rolling down her cheeks. The spasm passed. "Oh God, I've been so stupid. You warned me about throwing magic around wildly. Now just look at me."
"Hush now! Don't worry about it. Mistakes happen. It's all part of learning magic. Everyone makes them from time to time. Yours wasn't fatal and will soon right itself, so you can just consider it a lesson learned and go on from there."
"Easy for you to say," the skunkette moaned.
"You're right. It's easier to talk about than go through it." She smiled, "Someday I'll have to tell you about Merlin and the goofs he made while learning magic."
"Merlin? He was real?"
"As real as you," Sapphire chuckled, "less fur... more beard."
"I bet he never made himself pregnant."
"If he did, he certainly never told anyone about it."
Gwen chuckled a little, then gripped the djin's hand again as another spasm rocked her body. "I thought you said the tea you gave me would help dull the pain?" she gasped as it faded
"Under normal circumstances it does, but this is somewhat unusual. I'll do what I can for now with my magic, but I thing you're going to have to put up with this until we can get Victor out of you."
* * * *
George Leonard had been working for several hours now, and the hole he'd kicked in the can was about half the size it needed to be for him to get out. The metal edges were too jagged for him to risk squeezing through such a small opening, so he kept pounding away with one of the larger rocks he found in the dirt pile. Bit by bit the metal flaked away from the wall. It would take a while, but he was now convinced that he could get out.
He let his mind wander as he worked, thinking of what he'd do once freed. First thing would be to find the Lappe responsible for spraying him and having him tossed in jail. He would pay her back ten-fold for what she did, and when he was finished, he'd cut her tail off and add it to his collection. The only question was how to do it. He didn't worry though, he'd think of something.
* * * *
"Pepper?" Saul knocked gently on the bathroom door. "Pepper? Are you alright in there?" She had been gone for nearly ten minutes and the few soft whines and whimpers that filtered through the door had him worried.
"F-F-Fine... I'm fine," she gasped. "Now go away... please." The vixen looked up at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were so dilated she had been forced to turn off the bathroom lights because they hurt. She was breathing hard and her heart drummed within her chest. She moaned softly, jamming a small towel in her mouth to muffle the sound. If she didn't know better, she would have thought she was high on crack.
She hadn't experienced anything even remotely like this since her first heat. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. Her skin tingled as if it were covered with ants, crawling slowly through her fur and converging between her legs. She pulled at her clothing, torn between keeping it on and yanking it off so she could feel cool air wash against her body. One hand snaked down and lifted her skirt, brushing against her panties. They were completely soaked. The vixen shuddered as she touched the fabric and a wave of pleasure washed across her whole being. She whined and moaned into the towel.
Making a decision, she twisted out of her clothes, trying not to damage anything too badly. She threw them into a far corner and reached for the bathtub spigots. She twisted one and was rewarded with a heavy stream of cold water. She stretched, reaching for the drain plug even as another orgasm racked her body. She almost screamed, choking off the cries of ecstasy with the towel.
Pepper watched as the tub slowly began to fill. When the first waves of lust had started, she was fearful that someone had activated the Stromboli program again.** This however was different. Except for the extreme heat cycle, she knew she was in full control of her body and her actions. Her mind was not clouded as it had been under the influence of her puppet plug, though her ability to think with absolute clarity was more than a little affected.
She glanced back towards the offending mason jar that had started this whole problem. She'd managed to seal it again after her first initial whiff, but not before spilling a small amount of it on the bathroom floor. As she had thought, it was urine, but there was something obviously mixed in with it that was producing the current effects. She'd opened a window before being wracked by the first orgasm, but she'd be damned if she was going to let anyone see her so out of control, not even Saul.
Pepper tried breathing quickly in an effort to overcome her estrus, but it wasn't working. She bucked as another orgasm ripped through her. When the tub was about a quarter full the vixen pulled off her bra and tossed it in the corner with the rest of her clothing. She quickly stepped into the tub then lay flat, letting the cold-water wash over her stomach and between her legs.
The cold water helped, but the vixen still desperately needed to feel a release that just wasn't coming Pushing her panties aside she began vigorously massaging her clit, jamming one finger after another into her passage. There! She could feel it building, slowly at first, than faster and faster. Her fingers brushed against her g-spot and she shuttered, raising her hips to meet the thrusting hand.
Pepper slid her free hand across her breasts, kneading them and drawing her claws lightly across the nipple of first one, then the other. She was close, so tantalizingly close, panting wildly, moaning and yipping at the approaching climax. When it finally hit it felt as if she had jammed her tail into a light socket. It was like every strand of fur were standing on end, her back arched and she screamed into the towel
Flashes of light danced in front of her eyes and her body convulsed, splashing water out of the tub and onto the nearby bathmat. It lasted a full minute, then the vixen's eyes glazed over and she slumped into the tub, one leg dangling languidly over the side. Her eyelids drooped and her lashes fluttered closed as she heaved an exhausted, and satisfied sigh. Her jaws slowly parted and the towel plopped into the tub.
The cold bath water climbed gradually, inexorably towards the unconscious vixen's now open mouth.
To be continued
** As told in "Mind Games"