FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Billy groaned, still half asleep, but something was wrong. He didn't know what yet, so he started taking inventory. He moved his arm; yep, there was Mutt, his friend and companion. He forced his eyes open; no moon to see much, but no rain, either. Nobody yelling or kicking at them, so still good. He lifted the sheet covering them and started to slip out. Then he noticed the wet spot and groaned again.

He crawled out, thankful the fox tended to sleep late, and sniffed at the spot behind him. It didn't smell like pee. He noticed his own crotch was damp and wondered if he did it, but what happened? He used the corner of the sleeping cloth and dried his fur as best as he could.

Soon, the fox stirred, "Uh oh. I think I made a mess." The young kit got up awkwardly trying to avoid the wet sheet he had been lying on. "I'm sorry, Billy, I didn't feel it at all this time and I went before bed, you saw me."

"I know, its okay" He didn't feel right letting his friend take the blame, but it was easier than trying to explain something he didn't understand himself.

"Is something else wrong?"

"No, I was just thinking."

"About yesterday?"

Billy smirked, good choice, "Yeah, about yesterday."

"I don't know what happened, either. I thought he was going to let us stay."

"You scared him when you started talking about how much you liked his things. He thought we were going to rob him in the night."

The fox drooped and looked pitiful, "Really? I was just trying to be nice and make convershaysun."

"Well, let me handle the conversation from now on." He noticed Mutt's face out of the corner off his eye and sighed, "Come here. I still like you; I'm not mad." He pulled his friend over and hugged him, then ruffled his ears. "Now let's get packed up and find something to eat."

"At least his daughter gave us some food stuffs before he sent us away." Mutt bundled up their two sheets and put one in each bag.

"Yeah, she was nice." Billy thought about how she had acted and how being around her made him feel wobbly inside. If her father hadn't gotten upset at Mutt, he might have said something himself that would've made him furious.

"They were both looking at you a lot."

"I know. They probably hadn't seen a porcupine before." He wondered if the father had seen his daughter petting him. He shook that thought away; obviously not, since they were still alive.

"Oh okay" Mutt handed Billy his bag. "Why are there so many different types of foxes, but you're the only porcupine?"

Billy smirked, used to these types of questions, "I'm sure there are other porcupines around somewhere, but you'll have to ask the creators about the foxes." He gestured to his friend and headed out of the alley, just as dawn started peeking over the row of houses.

As they walked down the block, they noticed someone sitting on their front steps. A little closer and that someone noticed them. A shouted whisper and they knew who it was. "Billy!" She jumped up and ran to them, stopping short, then clinging to Billy's chest. "I was so worried. I couldn't sleep, so I went out looking for you, but I guess I didn't go far enough. I'm so glad you're okay. Daddy didn't hurt you, did he?"

Billy tried to gently push her off of him, without much success, "We're fine. You should go back to bed before your father notices you gone."

"I don't care about him. I want to go with you. I've got camping stuff and I can get lots of food. I can cook and be useful, too. And at night, you can sleep with me." She pressed her cheek against Billy's chest, then smiled at the fox, "Hi Mutt."

Mutt gave a little wave, happy to be noticed, but not gong to say anything this time.

Billy pushed her back and caught her eye, "If you come with us, your father will look for you and when he finds you, he'll blame us, have us locked up and throw away the key. If he doesn't kill us first."

She shook her head, "I won't let him. I'll protect you."

"He doesn't seem very good at listening. To you or anybody else."

"No, I can..."

"ELISE!" The booming voice woke all the dogs in the neighborhood and they started barking. "Get away from those two and get back here right now!"

"No daddy, I'm going with them."

Billy shook his head urgently, trying to think if how to convince him it wasn't their idea.

"Like HELL you are!" He came down the steps and started toward them. Billy started backing away. "You're going back in the house and I'm going to beat the fur off these two if they don't get out of here."

"Daddy no. I'm old enough to do what I want and you can't make me stay." She stamped her foot to punctuate it.

"Shutup! Some people are still trying to sleep this early," a coyote was leaning out his front door nude.

"You shutup! I'm trying to save my daughter." the man gestured wildly, "and put some clothes on, you freak."

The coyote started towards them and other doors on the block opened.

"I don't need saving daddy. You treat me like such a baby."

Mutt was watching with amusement. Then he noticed Billy was down the street, gesturing frantically at him and he scampered to catch up.

The man pointed at his daughter, "You, go in the house." And at the coyote, "You, get back in your house!" Then waving wildly, "All of you get back in your homes!"

"I called the Guard," came a voice from down the street.

"I AM the Guard!" The man yelled.

"So am I" a tiger roared, "and I out rank you."

Billy decided it was a good idea to be someplace far away from there, maybe another planet.

They put as much distance between them and that neighborhood as they could before the porcupine slowed and ducked around a corner, panting heavily.

"That..." he tried to catch his breath, "was crazy."

Mutt looked back around the corner, "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"He won't hurt her," he braced himself against the wall. "She might be staying home more than she wants, but he'd never hurt her."

"I think it'd be fun if she came along."

"Nah, she's better off where she is. We'd be better off in a house, too. Just not that one." Billy pulled himself away from the wall and started back down the street, "Come on, let's see what more excitement we can get into today."

They walked for hours. People weren't as friendly as usual. They seemed nervous and unsettled. For a while, Billy thought the man had somehow told the whole town that they were bad news, but that seemed a bit paranoid, so he tossed that idea and tried to stay positive.

They stopped for lunch and ate some of what the girl had given them: some crackers, a couple tins of meat. Not really worth all the hassle, but it made a meal. Eventually, they heard the real bad news: America had elected a new president and she didn't like morphs. Everyone was worried about another war. The first one hadn't been won so much as aborted, so if another one started, it could get very ugly.

The day lagged on. No opportunities had presented themselves, so Billy decided he needed to get more aggressive if they were going to eat anything decent today. There were some scraps in their bags, so it wasn't urgent yet, but the young porcupine wanted something more filling. A quick glance of the row of homes crammed together and he had a plan. They were old buildings; been through their ups and downs and were on their way back up. Many had been repaired and remodeled, though a few struggled to keep up with the neighborhood. Most were empty, being middle of the day with most of the residents busy at work, earning money to spend on their homes.

However, this did leave a spouse or two waiting at home, sometimes needing help around the house. Billy spied one such doe, sitting at an open window, looking bored and forlorn. He looked back at his younger fox friend and gestured for him to follow as he headed with purpose for the doe's house, trying to look non-threatening.

"Excuse us, ma'am"

Startled, the doe quickly got up and started too close the window, "I'm sorry, I'll close it right away. I just wanted to air out the house a bit."

"No ma'am, we have no problem with that."

The doe cautiously swung the window open again, seemingly trying to hide behind it. As she did, Billy caught a whiff of a scent that washed through his body like hot cocoa on a cold day. He quickly moved his shoulder bag around in front of him before he continued.

"Actually, we were wondering if you could use some help around the house in exchange for a meal."

"Well, now's not a good time for me to have male visitors," the doe nervously eyed the young porcupine adjusting his stance.

"We're just a couple kids, trying to find some work, ma'am. We're no threat to a beautiful, young doe, such as yourself." Billy started to wonder about that statement as the aroma persisted and thoughts began drifting through his head and other parts.

The doe chuckled, no longer a naive little fawn, "Beautiful, huh? I really shouldn't fall for such obvious flattery."

"Oh, no, ma'am. In my position, I've found that being polite and honest can make things go smoothly."

She smiled, trying to decide if she could trust the young prickly talker. "So, which was it? Polite or honest?"

Billy felt put on the spot, afraid that the doe had already decided to send them away. He knew the right answer, but felt he had to really sell it to stay in the game, "Oh, definitely honest, ma'am. When I saw you, I likened you to a fairy princess from a storybook and said to myself, 'If she is as beautiful inside as she is on the outside, we'll surely get help there.'"

She laughed, he had her there. She turned her attention to his fox companion, "Looks like your friend is a little preoccupied."

Billy looked around to see Mutt randomly sniffing the air with a confused look on his face and elbowed him. "He's got a good nose, but never learned what to do with it."

"And you know what to do with yours?" she looked down at his bag with a thoughtful gaze, but he didn't notice.

"Oh yes, ma'am. I do my best to keep it out of trouble," though he wondered if he was about to get into some as his mind struggled between two trains of thought. "His, too," he quickly added.

The doe chuckled, amused by his display of innocence, "Alright, come on in. I think I can find something to keep you busy for a while." She closed the window and disappeared for a moment, then the door opened and she beckoned them inside.

The house was nice, more finished on the outside than the inside. It was tidy except for a couple places that were obviously under construction. The doe led them down the hall to the kitchen, "Have a seat and I'll get you some water. Its starting to get warm out there." She took a couple plastic tumblers from the counter and filled them from the tap, then set them on the table in front of the two boys and sat across from them, looking at the fox, "So, what are you two good at?"

Mutt hopped into his seat and drank happily. Billy shuffled in the seat to hide his lap under the table, "Well, I'm a quick learner and can do most anything you need. Mutt has little fingers and good eyes, so he's good at fixing little things."

"Really?" She turned to the porcupine, then got up and moved to open a cabinet. She pulled out a box and carefully set it in front of the fox, then set a tube of glue beside it. "This got broken while we were moving things and I haven't found the patience to put it back together, yet." She pulled a couple larger pieces out and put them together, setting them in front of the fox. "Think you can manage it?"

Mutt enthusiastically accepted his task, pulling little ceramic pieces out of the box and lining them up on the table. Billy tried to reach in and help, but the doe put her hand on his shoulder, "I have something else you can help me with." She guided him up some stairs and to the master bedroom.

A brief brush and the doe marveled at his quills, "Those things are really sharp. I bet nobody tries to make you do anything you don't want to."

"They always try, but we usually come out okay."

"Usually?"

"Mutt's not much of a fighter; great runner, but when they catch him, I'm stuck until I can find a way to get him safe." Billy almost got lost in memories, but quickly tried to change the subject, "And quills aren't much good when they're wet." He immediately felt he probably said that too loud.

"Really?" The doe pondered a new idea. "They're not sharp when they're wet?"

"Not really. They get soggy and limp." He regretted saying it at all, "And really heavy."

"Let's get you cleaned up before you help me." she guided the porcupine to the master bathroom and closed the door. "Why don't you put your bag down. Nobody will steal it here." she pulled the strap from his shoulder, but he held the bag tight against his front a moment longer before letting it fall, revealing a bold erection pointing up at her that he quickly tried to cover with his paws.

The doe smiled, "You really were being honest." She slipped her light dress off and hung it on the back of the door behind her, then turned around and decided to tease the young porcupine, "Still think I'm beautiful?" She posed and giggled at his slack-jaw reaction.

"I, uh," Billy had seen plenty of naked women of various species, including does, since there were no laws requiring clothes, even though most adults did wear them. He didn't wear any, himself, since clothes were expensive, especially for his unique anatomy. But somehow this was different. His body tingled all over, just looking at her, and his brain went numb.

"I'll take that as a yes," she giggled and leaned over to turn on the water. "Let's get you in the shower."

Billy stared for a moment at her short, fluffy tail twitching about on top of her round and fluffy rump. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, her tail was nervous or excited or scared or something, but mainly because he couldn't think.

The doe looked over her shoulder and smiled, giving her tail an extra visceral flick, "Climb on in."

Startled, Billy felt a little guilty for staring and quickly climbed in the tub, eager to escape the uncomfortable situation.

The shower falling down on him was refreshing. The smell of the water helped clear his mind for a moment. The entire situation washed over him and he tried to convince himself that, despite his body's insistence, everything was innocent and there was nothing to be afraid of.

After rinsing his face and front, he turned away from the water to rinse his quills. He raised them and slowly leaned forward, letting the water penetrate the hairs to reach his skin underneath. Leaning all the way over to hug his legs, turning his quills upside down in the artificial rain, he raised his tail and took a moment to clean between his legs. His erection had relaxed a bit, but still hung out like it had someplace it would rather be. He rubbed down his legs and washed his feet, then decided he was clean enough.

The young porcupine pushed his quills back and slowly raised his head, opening his eyes just in time to come nose to nethers with the doe. While he was showing, she had come around and quietly sat on the end of the tub with her legs spread. He froze as his nostrils filled with her overwhelming scent, reminding him where he was. His erection remembered, too. His gaze moved slowly from her open vagina, up her body, to her big smile.

"Like what you see?

Billy stood up so fast, he almost slipped and fell. "Um, hi."

"Are you alright?"

He nodded, though it was a lie. He was frozen with fear in the warm shower. His body was screaming at him to do something, but he couldn't understand what it was saying. His mind was telling him to do something, but didn't have any suggestions what. He was just starting to feel more awkward standing there than anything he could think of doing, when the doe spoke again.

"Are you ready to help me?" She eyed his erection with a smile.

Billy could only manage another nod as he tried to avoid staring at her spread sex, but failed.

"Do you know what estrus is?"

Billy tried to pull his thoughts together, "Um, its a fancy word that companies use to get women to buy pads that absorb stuff and hide your scent."

She giggled a bit, but liked his answer, "Close enough. It comes different times for different species and its my time now. It can be hard to think, because all my body wants to do is make a baby."

Billy started to get scared, though his erection never faltered.

"But I don't want a baby right now. You can see the house isn't ready for one yet." She rubbed her thighs nervously and Billy couldn't help but stare. "I'm hoping you'll help me, since we're different species, we won't be able to breed."

Billy relaxed a little, but tried to hide his erection, "How can I help?"

The doe smiled and moved her hands to frame her vagina, "Come back over here, between my legs."

The porcupine quivered, then steadied his nerves and stepped forward.

"Kneel down, so you can get a better look."

Curious, he got down on his knees and sat on his heels. She took his paw and singled out a finger, then noticed his round claws. "Be careful with these." She carefully turned his paw and slipped the finger into her vagina, then moved her hands to his shoulders. "Now, use your finger and tongue to find the spots that feel good and that will help me."

Billy didn't really understand, but started wiggling his finger and exploring inside her. She began to make happy noises, like Mutt when he eats ice cream, so he decided he was on the right track. He searched around inside her, pausing to rub in places that made her noises louder, satisfied he was succeeding as she kept saying yes. When his claw stroked a spot that made her gasp and shudder, then moan 'oh yes' he decided that was where he needed to be. It was difficult to manage and he wondered if she would mind him putting another finger in for a better angle. He tried it and she seemed to enjoy the results very much. He rubbed his two claws carefully over this spot as she writhed and moaned, then he remembered that she had said tongue. So, he leaned in and started licking between his fingers. She tasted pretty good: a little salty, a little sweet, a lot of how she smelled and something more. She obviously liked this, as she stroked his face and ears. His nose ground against her clit as he tried to lick deeper and she grabbed his face, holding it in place. He struggled to keep his nostrils free, but continued licking and rubbing. She started moving her hips, pushing her vagina into his face, then suddenly froze with a moan and shuddered as she began to squirt into his mouth. He tried to pull away, but she held his face firm as she spasmed and arched her back, so he did his best not to drown in it. It tasted like her, but much stronger. Suddenly, his bladder decided to drain. He didn't think this was a good time, but was glad he was in the tub. As she relaxed, she pulled his face up to hers and he stood up with it, thankful he was done peeing, but wishing his stiffy would go away. She bumped noses, smiling, then kissed his lips.

Billy put his paws on her sides, then she slipped and slid into the tub, knocking him over. The young porcupine landed on top of the doe with his face between her petite breasts and as she felt his erection brush against her vagina, she shifted her hips until it slipped inside. Billy gasped in surprise, then moaned at the new pleasure. He moved and enjoyed it even more. Then his body took over and he began thrusting into the doe. She moaned happily and stroked his sides as he humped her, beginning to grunt excitedly. She was already tender and she quickly neared another climax, but just before she peaked, the porcupine gave a small squeal and pushed hard into her as he ejaculated. A few squirts and he lay panting on top of her, but the thrill drove her to her own orgasm, convulsing under him and squeezing his erection until they both lay panting. He moaned and looked up at her, "Did I do it? Did I help?"

She chuckled and stroked his thoroughly soaked quills, "You certainly did do it. Thank you." She reached a foot up and turned the water off.

Billy tried to get up, but felt too weak and too heavy, so the doe helped him onto the edge of the tub and stepped out, herself. "You weren't kidding, they do get heavy."

"They trap a lot of water." He was happy for something else to talk about, his mind was on an endless loop, replaying what just happened and making him dizzy.

"Let's get you dried off, so you can stand up."

"I can stand, see." He crawled over the edge of the tub, then stood up, wobbled a bit and promptly sat down on the edge, his quills dropping into the tub, "I'm okay."

"The doe giggled and pulled a hair drier from a drawer beside the sink. She plugged it in and stared drying her own fur. Billy watched carefully as she dried her fur. After a while, she picked up a washcloth and unceremoniously wiped her vagina clean, then pointed the drier between her legs and made some more happy noses. She noticed him looking and turned the drier off, then gestured it at him with a smile, "Are you sure?"

Billy took a breath, "Okay."

The doe smiled and stated the drier again, moving to point it at his quills. At first he didn't feel anything, but eventually, the heat made it through his thick hair and he began to enjoy it. When his quills finally started to perk up, she moved to dry his front. Writing her way down his chest and belly, she blew over his crotch, which made him gasp. She smiled and did it again, knowing how she enjoyed the warm air there, but he squeaked and quickly covered it.

She turned off the drier again and looked at the young porcupine she had just seduced. He seemed more uneasy than she had expected. She knelt in front of him and looked into his quivering brown eyes, "Was that your first time?

Billy inhaled and looked away from her for a moment, trying to decide if this was a time to be inflated or honest, then nodded. The doe placed her hands on his cheeks, smiling softly, then leaned in and kissed the young boy deeply.

Downstairs, Mutt carefully placed the last piece and leaned back to examine his work. He exhaled and smiled, quite pleased with the results. It had turned out to be a cat with its paw on a little mouse atop a green mound. He carefully slid of the chair, making sure not to bump the table, then took his cup to the sink and refilled it. After a gulp, he realized he had probably had too much already and wondered where the toilet was. Deciding to ask, he started looking for the doe. Her scent was pretty strong everywhere, but he found the most recent scent with Billy's, going up some stairs. He followed it down a hall next and into a bedroom. He heard a whirring sound coming from another door and listened against it to be sure. It stopped, "Was that your first time?" It sounded like the doe. He worked up the courage, then knocked.

The doe broke the kiss, her ears swiveling to the door.

"Hello? I finished putting your cat back together, but I think I drank too much water. Where can I pee?"

Billy dropped his head. The doe giggled, got up, slipped her dress back on and opened the door. "You can come right in here. We're just finished.

Mutt slipped past the doe and saw Billy with still damp quills, "Did you get messy helping the doe?"

Billy sighed, feeling instantly like the older brother again. He pointed, "There's the toilet, do your thing," and walked out past the doe who was stifling a giggle.

That's when Mutt noticed the heavy scents in the air: definitely Billy with another scent that was similar and a little familiar; the doe, with her other scent extra strong, reminding him he needed to pee; and also a buck.

She closed the door behind the porcupine, then put her hand on his shoulder, "He's a little different. How did you two get together?"

Billy relaxed, having told the sorry enough times he had decided on an acceptable brief version, "Both our parents died and we decided to help each other out."

"He seems much younger than you."

"I don't know, really. We kind of lost track. I think we've been together four years. Usually, it seems like he's 20 years younger than me, but sometimes he'll say something that makes him seem so much older."

"But you're what, 16, 17?"

"I guess."

The door opened and the young fox walked out.

"Did you wash?"

Mutt showed Billy his clean paws. The porcupine noticed his bag on the floor and went to get it, then followed the doe and his friend downstairs.

"Oh, its perfect!" the doe squeed, "You can hardly tell there are any cracks at all. Thank you." She scooped the young fox into a hug with his face buried in her breasts. Mutt stroked her back in return, murring happily, his nose filled with her scent. She let go and ruffled his ears as she turned and moved to the fridge. "I promised you boys a meal, didn't I?"

Billy saw Mutt's goofy grin, then noticed something sticking out that shouldn't be. He spied the fox's backpack sitting by the chair and quickly snatched it, shoving it at his friend's crotch with a glare.

Mutt gave a pleading look, trying to say, "Do we have to leave already? We didn't even get food," accented by his stomach growling. Then he reluctantly swung his bag over his shoulder.

Billy shook his head sternly and discreetly pointed at the fox's crotch.

Mutt swung his bag back down with a confused expression, then looked behind it and saw the red tip of his erection peeking out. He tried using a finger to push it back in, unsuccessfully.

Exasperated, Billy sighed and looked back to the doe.

"I figure I might as will have you stay for dinner, since my husband should be coming home soon. He's a nice buck, I think he'll like you." She continued talking add she lined things up on the counter, washed, chopped and prepared. "Do you like broccoli and cucumbers? I found this recipe online that I want to try and I... Do you know about the internet?"

"Yes ma'am. Though we don't have much chance to use it."

"Of course. I know I shouldn't spend as much time as I do on it, but there's just so much to find and I've met so many good people. I know there's bad stuff out there too, but you just have to decide to stay away from those places just like the rest of the world. Just the other day..." She kept talking and Billy looked back to Mutt.

The fox had slid into a chair and was hugging his bag in his lap, looking very guilty. Billy walked over and pulled the bag from his lap. Mutt resisted a little, but gave in to his best friend. They both looked in his lap to see his little red tip had slipped back into is sheath and they smiled at each other.

"Listen to me ramble on. Here, eat this snack to keep you until dinner, then I'll show you something to keep you busy until then." She placed a sandwich in front of each of the boys then set about tidying up the kitchen.

Mutt bit into his sandwich hungrily, a little disappointed to find just lettuce in the bread, but ate it anyway. After they finished, the doe led them out the back door to a small yard. Most of it was a garden.

The doe handed them a basket, "Here are some gloves and tools. Just tidy up, look for weeds, try not to bruise anything. I'll probably give you some when you leave, but that's just between us, so shh." She giggled and flicked her tail at them with one last look at the porcupine, before she went inside to wave at them from the kitchen window.

Billy waved back uneasily, while Mutt fiddled with the gloves. They poked around the immaculate garden, not finding much to do, but tried to look busy.

"I'm sorry I spoke, Billy, but I had to pee. Do I mess anything up?"

Billy sighed and looked at his friend, "No, you didn't mess anything up. I..." he tried to think of something he wouldn't need to explain right away, "was just embarrassed that she insisted on giving me a shower..." but that might not be enough, "and something else I'll tell you about later."

"Oh. I know you don't like getting too wet, 'cause your quills get heavy and it makes you grumpy. Was the other thing 'cause your other prick was sticking out? Did you pee in the wash again?"

"I..." he caught himself and looked around to see if the doe was listening then gave the fox a stern look, "I'll tell you later."

"Oh, okay" Mutt looked a little disappointed, but went back to looking for bugs and weeds.

The front door opened and a buck walked in. He put his bag down and started taking off his shirt, "Its too hot for this."

The doe peeked into the hall, "You're home!" She squeed and ran up to catch him with a hug and passionate kiss.

"Well. You're in a better mood. I like it. Did I miss something while I was away?" he sniffed, catching a bit of fox and something else.

"We have company," she bounced against him.

"Company? In you're state?" he held her down for a moment to look at her.

She smirked at him, "I feel better. It was just what I needed."

"I smell fox; is it the one from up the road?"

"They're just kids, Arie, nothing to be scared of."

"I'm not scared. I'm just worried for you're safety."

"Oh Arie, they wouldn't do anything I didn't ask them to. They just wanted to work to earn a meal." she pulled at his arm, "Come look, I have them tidying up the garden."

"The garden!" the buck sounded worried.

"Oh Arie, its fine, look." she pointed out the window at the two young boys carefully searching between the plants.

The buck sighed, "Okay, they can stay."

The doe squeed and hugged him tight, "Oh and look what the fox did for me." She pointed to the figure on the table.

"Oh, your mom's cat." he leaned in for a close examination, "He does good work. Maybe we should keep him around for the next thing I break."

She kissed his cheek, "I'll bring them in and we can have dinner." and trotted happily to the back door. She opened the door and called out, "Time to come in for dinner, boys. Be sure to wash up at the spout."

Mutt scampered up and held out his paws, filled with little sprouts and bugs, "I found some."

The doe giggled, then pointed to the far end of the yard, "Put them in the compost bin, then come back and wash up."

Billy shook water from his paws and the doe handed him a towel. He dried his paws and they looked at each other until Mutt came running back. Then he waited for the fox to wash, dry and go in first, a little wary of meeting the doe's husband with what they did earlier still fresh in his mind.

The meal went smoothly and the recipe was a success, even Mutt ate all of his bowl. Arie asked the typical questions: Where they're from, where they're going; how they survive; what about their parents. All questions Billy had heard enough times and had fashioned brief answers for. After dinner, the boys helped clean up without being asked then gathered their things.

The doe caught them, "Oh no. We can't send you out this late. It's already dark." She looked to her husband for support.

Arie caught her gaze and smiled, "Absolutely not. You two can sleep here for the night. We don't have any extra beds or really any furniture for guests, but..."

"We can sleep just fine on the floor, sir" Billy interrupted, trying to save some trouble.

"Well, you can have your pick of rooms a couple are still messy, but there's hardwood down here and some nice carpet upstairs."

"I like this floor just fine." The porcupine slid his foot over the smooth floor.

The buck gave him a perplexed look, "The kitchen? But its just vinyl over cement."

Billy nodded, "Its firm and cool with no bumps. Should be good for sleeping"

Arie snorted a laugh and smiled, "Alright, your choice. Just use the side opposite the fridge, so I don't step on you in the morning."

"Yes, sir," the porcupine smiled

"My name is Aeric."

"Yes, Aeric." Billy complied politely.

"I'll bring down some blankets for you," the doe smiled as she went up the stairs with Aeric right behind. When they got to their bedroom, the doe turned and clung to her husband, "We can't let them go out on their own, they're too young."

The buck hugged his wife comfortingly, "We can't keep them if they don't want to stay." His wife's face said all she needed to. "If they're still here when I get home tomorrow, we'll discuss it with them." The doe squeed and hugged him, then hurried off to grab light blankets and plot things to keep the boys busy and happy.

"I like it here," the fox pulled his old cloth from his bag and spread it neatly near the back door, "Can we stay?"

"No," Billy said sullenly, "She's feeling motherly and wants to save us from the street, but he's protective and won't let us stay."

"You could be wrong. He seemed really nice," Mutt lay down and looked up at his companion pleadingly.

Billy sighed, "I hope you're right. I hope you're right. It would be nice to stay and not have to work so hard for a while.

The doe stifled a squee, catching the last bit as she came down the stairs, then announced herself, "These should do for tonight. They're old things from moving, so don't worry about them. Why don't you move over here by the wall, so you're not all cramped together by the door." She slid Billy's bag and cloth around Mutt's until they were head to head. The porcupine looked at his friend and mouthed, "motherly." Mutt just grinned like he was winning.

"Whew, these things are ripe. I'll just toss them in the wash and get you some more blankets." She knew better than to throw anything of theirs away when they had so little. A quick duck around a corner to the laundry room and she was back. "You can use these towels to lay on tonight. She spread the towels out in the places their sheets were and smiled.

"There, that's better. Do you need anything else? There's water in the tap and cups on the counter. The bathroom's in the hall, under the stairs. If you need more blankets, don't be afraid to come up and ask. We'll be right upstairs if you need anything else." She clapped her hands and looked at them, trying to contain her excitement. Then she bent down, stroked Mutt's ears back and kissed his forehead. She turned to Billy and placed her hand on his cheek. Looking a little more serious, she gently took his face in her hands and kissed his lips; a little longer than she wanted to. Blushing, she pulled away and went upstairs without another word.

Billy stood dazed for a moment, then noticed Mutt staring at him and crawled onto his towel.

"I think she likes you."

"Go to sleep."