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Chapter Two

Long Way Home

BEN GRIMACED, PULLING A bolt from his left shoulder as he slumped into sitting in the water, painful tingles spreading from the wound. Lia, standing next to him, her head slightly higher than his now, took it and gave it a sniff, and her lip curled.

"Wolfsbane," she reported, putting one paw to Eli's chest - the wolf sitting the other side of her - to draw on his energy, and the other to the fox's injury to start healing. "I should have the antidote. Check my supplies, Lupe; this'll take a while. Usual place." She twisted toward him as much as she could.

"Right." Eli opened her vulva with one hand then slipped two fingers of the other inside her vagina; they soon found a leather flask the size and vaguely the shape of a chicken's egg; easing it out he looked up at her. "Which number?"

"Three - foxbell essence. Give him half of it."

Nodding, Eli tapped the vessel with a thumb, and the number etched into it shifted from a one to a two; another tap produced a three. He pulled out the wood and leather stopper then, reaching round Lia, put the flask to Ben's lips. Though the tingling had now spread to most of the fox's body, and an uncomfortable numbness was setting in, they managed to gulp down the needed dose. Lupe sealed the vessel back up, but kept hold of it.

"How long's it...gonna take?" Ben asked, faintly, his voice tight.

"Could be quite a few minutes." Lia lifted her paw from the fox's now sealed wound, washed it thoroughly in the stream they'd taken refuge in, then cleaned his shoulder just as assiduously. "That bolt was_laden_ with wolfsbane, which is why I scrubbed up. _Nasty_stuff."

"When you need to be absolutely, positively sure your target is very, very dead," Eli muttered, with dark humour. "Does it grow here?"

Lia shook her head, settling herself against the wolf as they waited for the antidote to work. "No. According to the herbal records it can only be found on a few of the Hackleridge Islands - the mountain meadows on the wildest isles. Do you think the hunters came from there?"

"Either there or somewhere with links to Hackleridge...if anyone still has any, that is." Sighing, Lupe ran a paw through the fur of Ben's chest and stomach, while looking quizzically down at Lia. "What I really don't get is why they were hired to kill you. What could you possibly know to warrant that...?"

"Must be linked to Ironcliff." The fox's voice was a little stronger, but he didn't try to move. "And Elarra..."

"Whoever killed her is after me, now," Eliana reasoned, rubbing her muzzle and frowning. "But why now? It's been years, and besides, she didn't tell me anything of import, nothing secret or sacred; at least, I don't think she did. She didn't give me anything, either...except..."

"Except what?" Lupe gently prompted, after a moment's silence.

"Except...just before the attack, she was weaving a spell. I never saw what she did with it. She patted my back, though, so just maybe..."

"Elarra hid it in you," Ben finished for her. "And well enough for it stay hidden for years."

"Is that even possible?" Eli queried.

Ben nodded. "Myles could sink a spell into someone that you'd never be able to detect, not without knowing exactly what you were looking for, and he wasn't alone."

"Would Kyra know what to look for?" Lia wondered. "Or Sherwood?"

"They'd certainly be more likely to than most; we'll get them to look you over later." Ben pushed himself into a sitting position, gratified to note his head swam only very slightly as a result. "We'd better get moving; I doubt it'll be long before the hunters try again."

"Oh, we don't have to worry about them any more," Eli snickered. "I don't think they're as comfortable skyclad as we are."

"What?"

Lia eased the fox over to the bank of the stream, and propped him up just enough for him to see over it. The three hunters - the weasel he'd tangled with earlier, a rough, cock-eared wolf and a wiry female shrew with patches of fur missing and a milky eye - were visible some twenty feet away, huddled stark naked on the grassy ground, silent and sullen.

Ben turned uncomprehending eyes on Lupe. "How...?"

"When you got hit, I got angry; threw most of the magic I had left at them in one blast. Guess I was thinking about wanting them to feel as vulnerable as us, as it completely disintegrated all of their armour and weaponry...just dusted it out of existence. They didn't react well."

"I can see. Surprised they haven't run off, though."

"Maybe you should ask them about it," Lia suggested, half-seriously.

"You know, I think I will...among other things."

Lia leaned closer. "How're you feeling?"

"Numbness is gone, and only a little tingling left. I'm fine." He kissed her mouth, grinning. "Thanks to our lovely potions expert. You check on the cart, the two cubs and the horses while Lupe and I talk to the hunters, okay?"

The lizard nodded, snatching a kiss before hopping out of the brook and padding away. Ben climbed out with care, standing up slowly then taking measured steps toward the hunter trio, Lupe attentively close behind. The weasel and the wolf took one look at the duo's approach, scrambled to their feet and bolted from the scene, paws still clamped over their groins. The shrew, in contrast, simply gave them a resigned stare, pulling her legs closer to her body, her ears drooping subtly.

"I'd ask you ta be gentle, but..." Her tone was laced with bitterness.

"I'm...sorry...?" Ben's was filled with confusion, his ears twitching to cock-eyed angles.

Hers shot up. "You're not gonna...r-rape me...?"

"Rape_y..." Vulpine eyes widened in horror. "No! _Never! Why would you even...? That's just..." He shuddered, sickened by the very idea.

"And you're not gonna kill me, either?"

"_Kill_you?!" Ben's voice jumped almost an octave in his shock. "Not in a million..." He took a long breath, calming himself. "A Dunblane hasn't taken a life for four generations, and I'm not about to break that run."

"But that's..." Her arms loosened, and her legs slid forward, revealing part of a broad and ugly scar across her chest, before she noticed what she was doing and clamped tight again. "That's...nothin' like what we were told. They lied..."

"Who?" Ben asked, sinking into a crouch.

The shrew flinched away, face dropping lower behind her knees. "I...I don't know. We jes' got all their instructions, an' that vicious-looking seekin' dagger, from t' boss; we never met the client. This was our last chance, too. Go back, an' the _boss_will kill me..."

"Then come with us. Always room for one more."

Her head shot up, her small ears vertical with shock, eyes wide and uncomprehending. "You're serious? I tried ta kill ya..."

"And Lupe, and especially Lia, but under orders, and besides...I don't think your heart was in it." He patted his shoulder. "You kept pulling your shots."

The shrew chuckled darkly. "Why d'ya think this was me last chance, mate? Could never make th' kill shot, no matter how much the pelt on th' sharp end deserved it." She frowned deeply. "Or, we thought they deserved it. Sira's tail, I coulda killed an innocent..."

"But you haven't." Ben held out his paw. "The cart's waiting. There's clothing, too, if you need it."

"Why..." Her face began to retreat behind her legs again. "Why won't you jes' leave me? I'm too broken..."

"She doesn't know you very well, does she?" Eli chimed in, the wolf grinning expansively. "If Ben sees something in you he's not letting you go; ever."

That seemed to spark something in the shrew, for she suddenly leapt up onto her feet and flung her arms wide, eyes challenging. "I'd really love ta know what he could ever see in this..."

Ben regarded her now fully revealed form quietly for a moment, not letting any expression slip. The scar he'd glimpsed earlier proved to be a broad, angry one at an angle across her chest, pushing and twisting her petite left breast up and out, and the larger right one down. Small patches of her coat were missing on all her limbs and in several places across her torso, while a couple more - one on her right foot and the other over her navel - were tinted a burnt orange. The fur of her vulva was almost pure white, and her tail glittered subtly, like it was dusted with flecks of metal.

"A survivor," he eventually told her, staring right into her dark brown eyes, and holding out a paw again. "And hopefully a friend."

The shrew's arms dropped to her sides, and she shook her head with a small upward quirk of the lips. "Mebbe." She reached out to take his hand. "But I'm not goin' anywhere with you just yet; got a few things ta tidy up in Portbridge."

"Okay," the fox conceded. "But, at least let us give you some clothes, and maybe a horse, if she's willing."

"Deal. Lead on."

"Great!" Ben flashed a brilliant smile, turning to move off.

Lupe paced the shrew, noting her slight limp. She gave an answer to his question before it had even finished forming.

"One o' those big grey foxes in the tomb got a good crack in on me knee. Undead bastards can fight."

"They're Guardians," the wolf corrected her, "and they better still be alive."

"No worries - we couldn't even scratch 'em. That's why we left and set up an ambush for ya." She rubbed her nose. "Funnily enough, they took off, too...though where they'd be goin' down there..."

"Doubt it's important." Ben led them over the stream, scooping up the potions flask on the way. "Besides, too late to go back and ask." He gestured ahead of himself. "And we have more immediate things to attend to."

At the cart Lia was in the middle of strapping Lupe's horse Ginger into the throat-girth harness; small as she currently was the reptile had to sit astride the equine's back to tighten the main top tie. The original, and Ben's steed Copper, browsed a patch of tufted grass nearby.

"The horses are fine," the lizard reported, not looking round, "and so are the cubs. We've lost all our supplies, though."

"Garman an' Teagan took them," the shrew piped up, hesitantly. "As spoils. An' weren't you...older, earlier?"

Eliana spun round, startled, then cocked her head. "And weren't you trying to murder us earlier?"

"Easy, Lia!" Ben held up a paw. "She's not a threat any more, if she ever really was."

"She tried to poison you!" Eliana protested, gesturing angrily toward both the former hunter and the fox's injured shoulder.

"Poison? But-but...I don't p...Teagan..." The shrew growled. "Oh, that bastard..."

"One of your...friends poisoned _your_crossbow bolts?" Lia had flipped moods in an instant, now confused and curious. "Why would he...?"

"He's always playin' with poison; he's _obsessed_with it. He wanted ta coat me bolts but I wouldn't let 'im. Guess he did it anyway. Damn that bloody wolf..." Her paws had curled into fists and her teeth were showing in a half-snarl.

"A wolf that loves wolfsbane." Ben shook his head. "A darker irony I can't imagine..."

"You're telling me." Eli shivered, eyes haunted. "Maybe it's his twisted idea of poetic justice."

"Let's not dwell on it." Ben held the potions flask out to Eliana. "You forgot this."

Lia hopped round to sit sideways on the horse's shoulders, facing the others, then leant back and spread her legs. "Would you...?"

"As you wish." The fox carefully returned the vessel to its hiding place, then warmly kissed dark green lips. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Once or twice." Lia rolled forward, paws gripping Ben's shoulders, and pushed off from the horse, curling up into a handstand atop the fox. She held it long enough to lightly lick Ben's upturned nose, then let her hips lean her into a graceful backward and downward roll that landed her tidily and without a rustle of sound on the grass.

She straightened up to find the shrew staring at her, unblinking eyes wide in stunned stupor. "Couldn't ya have put that back in yerself? An' why keep it in-in there in th' first place?"

Lia grinned puckishly at her. "Never occurred to you us females have a perfect little personal pocket? A friend showed me it's a great place to keep little things you'd rather stayed secret and safe. I mean, who'd think or dare to look there, besides the ones you trust the most?"

Ben nodded, his hands settling on lizard shoulders. "When you're as close and intimate as we are it makes a lot of sense, especially with things that some people would kill you to steal. If our habits make you uncomfortable, by the way, feel free to walk away and forget we exist."

The idea did seem to pass through the shrew's mind for a moment, if the pause in replying was any guide, but then her jaw firmed up. "No, I think yer all worth rememberin'. Clothes are in th' cart, I guess?"

"Yeah; just take what you need." Ben indicated the cart with a flourish of his left paw. "Don't touch the bags in the front right, though."

As the shrew nodded and hopped up Lia turned round and caught hold of the vulpine's muzzle, studying him very closely. "How are you feeling now?"

"A little lethargic still, and pretty sore, but the tingling's gone and my magic's starting to recover. I just want to get back to Oakden and a nice, long, lazy soak."

"I hear that. Mind if I ride in the cart with you?"

"Not if Lupe doesn't mind taking steering duties."

"Happy to!" The wolf climbed onto Ginger's back, patting the horse's neck. "Next stop, home wonderful home."

"Oh, that brings back memories." Ben's expression turned wistful and fond as he helped Lia into the cart. "When the transit carts used to run between the town and the villages."

"Thought this island had seen better days," the shrew mused as she dropped back to the ground; she was now clad in knee-length black breeches, a sleeveless black jerkin and simple leather shoes. "How'd it get like this?"

"My father died," Ben answered, bluntly. "Which left my mother with a simple but difficult choice - focus on the needs of the island or those of her son and the daughter she was pregnant with; as much as she wanted to she couldn't do both."

"An' she chose you," the shrew surmised.

"Yeah, so things outside Oakden kinda came apart, but..." He loosed an optimistic smile. "We're working to pull everything together again, as best we can. After that, we'll pick up where my parents left off and see what we can do for the rest of the Archipelago."

"You'll have a job on," the shrew warned him. "Yeah, some places are in a decent state, but a lot are strugglin' an' a few are so far gone you likely won't ever get 'em back, and 'sides...why even try?"

"Because I like a challenge...and my family are the reason everything went so wrong in the first place." Seeing the questions forming on her lips he held up a stalling paw, then beckoned her to follow him to the new horse. "Not now. Maybe when we meet up again...if you _want_to meet up again, that is."

"Happily." The shrew extended a paw to the mare, and was gratified to get a short, friendly nuzzle in response. She swung herself onto the equine's back. "Where?"

"Woodlea Inn and Tavern," Ben answered. "In three days."

"Sira Day." The shrew nodded. "I'll be there in th' evening, all goin' well."

"Works for us." Ben offered his paw, which the shrew took and shook firmly. "Until then..." He trailed off, looking at her with brows raised.

She caught the none-too-subtle hint. "It's Mayla; I'll see ya in three days, fox."

The shrew gently spurred her mount into a canter; the fox watched until they were a good distance away then turned to the cart, hopping in as Lupe and Ginger got going, Copper trotting alongside. Instantly Lia latched onto his arm and pulled him over to the bags at the front right, where a highly curious Nick was waiting. She opened the first to reveal the ginger kitten - still visibly unsettled, though thankfully not nearly as distressed as when they'd found her - and the second, after a glance over her shoulder and a knowing grin, to reveal an older cat child whose appearance had Ben rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

She was blue, from head to toe; a rich sky-blue shade for the bulk of her coat, a paler blue on her belly, chest, throat and the pads of her hands and feet, and an even lighter shade for the insides of her ears, her ten nipples - two atop her shallow buds of breasts, the rest dotted neatly down the sides of her modestly round stomach - and the inner labia protruding between her outer ones. The only other colour was the vibrant green of her large, wide-with-worry eyes.

"Well, aren't you striking," the fox breathed, with a soft chuckle, then snapped into focus. "Best get you both cleaned up and freed, huh?"

Noticing that the two cats had soiled themselves enough for the fur of their hindquarters to be glued to the fabric of the bags quite firmly in places, Lia and Ben set to weaving simple cleaning spells.

"Just so you know," the lizard warned the felines as she and the fox leaned over, "these will tickle."

The orbs were rested gently upon ginger and blue bellies, just below matching, small navels; they quickly expanded to swathe the cats from waist to knees in a film of cloudy white. A few moments, and much facial twitching by the two felines, later the spells shrank back to their original forms, taking the grime with them to leave largely clean fur and skin behind. Ben and Lia took up the orbs and threw them out of the cart to dash to dust, then got rid of the bags, bundling them in the other corner.

The reptile's paw then returned to the ginger kitten's belly, hovering just above it, sweeping back and forth in a focused manner. "I swear I felt...there..." She lowered her hand onto a spot just to the left of the navel, between tiny dots of nipples; when it lifted again, a spell came with it. Lia brought it to her face, staring at it with her eyes narrowed in a frown. "Obedience spell. Check if Blue's got one."

"Already am." Ben's questing hand found and withdrew an orb hiding on the right side of the elder cat's stomach. He frowned at it. "Nasty thing. Luckily, easy to get rid of."

Two paws snapped closed, bursting the spells. After a pause to brace themselves as the cart clattered over a shallow ditch and onto a dirt road, fox and lizard leaned over the felines again, this time focusing on their faces.

"We're going to free you, now," Ben told them, softening his voice to a gentle murmur, "so please don't panic. You're safe with us."

He and Lia rested a hand apiece on the cat's necks, then as one lifted them away, drawing spells with them. These were dispensed with via a series of rapid, almost rhythmic taps on their surfaces, much to the interest of the vulpine.

"Huh - different methods." He tapped his muzzle. "Which must mean different people wove these two sets of spells. That's curio-"

He was abruptly cut off by a blue-furred form thumping into him, her arms clamping round his middle and her muzzle burying itself into the crook of his neck. "Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!"

Lia was totally swamped by a weeping ginger kitten gushing gratitude and squeezing her waist enough to hurt. She patted neat ears. "Happy to help. Do you need anything? Drink, food, clothes?"

"Something to drink, please," the elder cat answered, her voice quite scratchy and faint. "So thirsty."

"All right." Lia eased the kitten away, then retrieved the flask from its hiding place; she noted with curiosity the total lack of reaction from the cub. Tapping to number one and pulling the stopper she handed the vessel over. "Water."

Lavishing her with thanks, they sipped lightly of the contents, visibly relishing every drop. The blue feline took a turn afterwards, being just as sparing, her paws trembling. As much as Ben wanted to hold her, the fox kept his hands to himself, simply watching.

Once done drinking they returned the flask to Eliana, who replaced the stopper then tucked the vessel back into her vagina. The ginger cub wrapped herself around the smaller lizard a second later, clinging to her. Uncertain and concerned expressions from both Lia and Ben were met with a pleading one from the elder cat.

"Hold us," she begged, in a whisper. "Please."

That crumbled all restraint; Ben and Lia wrapped their arms and tails around the felines, cradling them close, while Nick pressed himself up against the kitten. The fox rested his muzzle tip between the blue cat's ears, his gaze drawn down the trail to the ever more distant Portcastle, whose gate, he could just see, was still closed, no trace of activity, let alone pursuit, in evidence.

"Huh; he's letting us off lightly," the fox mused. "That's not like him."

"Maybe he thinks we're trying to draw him out into an ambush," Lia suggested. "Kyra did say he could be pretty wary sometimes."

"True," Ben agreed, "but after what we did to him, and what we've robbed him of, to get no reaction at all just...doesn't feel right..."

"What, not been chased and attacked enough today?"

"More than enough. I just can't help but wonder..."

---

He was still wondering when the cart rattled into Woodlea, so deeply lost in thought Lia had to tug his ear quite sharply to snap him back to reality. Storing the mystery away for later Ben gently nudged the cat in his arms, who'd been dozing for the entire journey. She stirred quickly, giving him a shy but grateful kiss on the cheek, then getting up to look around, her sister joining her.

Woodlea wasn't an especially large place, only a couple of dozen low and rambling wooden buildings nestled between the road, a large, lazy river flowing south-west, and a vast green swathe of ancient forest to the north. It was, however, truly bustling with life, particularly where they'd drawn up, a modest open space surrounded by a woodworking shop, a small trade store, a cookshop, a clothiers and a potters.

The sheer variety and volume of sound and scent filling the area took them aback, as did the stares the older cat drew from the many people bustling around. It was therefore with more than a little trepidation that they followed Lia off the cart and over to a nearby bench, where she gestured for them to sit, then squeezed their paws in an attempt to reassure them.

"Don't mind the gawkers - they're just never seen someone quite as striking as you, Blue."

"Don't you count?" the elder cat asked.

"Hardly; they've known me for almost as long as you've been alive, so I'm boring by comparison."

"But...you're..." the older feline stammered, she and her sister equally confounded. "How...?"

Lia grinned, though the expression was a little wan. "The vagaries of magic. Now, would either of you like something to eat? Or wear?"

"Eat, yes; wear, no," the elder feline replied. "We're happy skyclad."

"If you're sure. Stay here, and I'll bring you some food."

They watched the lizard stroll off toward the bakery, weaving through the many other pelts, most of whom she only came up to the waist of, and some of whom she swapped greetings with. Once she'd vanished from sight they looked back to the cart in time to see Ben hop over the side and practically clatter into a stout, half-apron-sporting mole with particularly plush fur and a pastel green bow behind one ear. Before he could get his bearings he was swallowed by a hug that smothered the breath out of his body. He patted the velveteen, lightly greying head resting on his collarbone.

"Hey, Gwen," he wheezed. "Got some stuff for ya."

The mole stepped back and beckoned curtly to a mouse and rat who had been waiting nearby. Both were well-built and wearing midnight blue waistcoats, the latter pairing his with short breeches of a lighter hue. "Rufus! Aiden! Check the cart!"

"Aye!"the duo chorused, jumping in and setting to, Eli aiding them.

"Now, gonna introduce me to your new friends?" Gwen asked, hands gesturing toward the young cats.

"Of course!" Ben led her over. "Gwen, meet...uh..."

"You haven't asked their names, have you?" She gave him a stern, yet knowing look.

"Well, no, but..."

"Hopeless." She shook her head, even as she tipped the cats a wink, then crouched before them. "I'm Gwen. You are...?"

"J-Jessica and Lisa," the blue cat replied, timidly. "We're sisters, from D-Dyllia."

"Happy to meet you! What brings you cuties to Woodlea?"

Two feline heads dipped, ears wilting. Ben whispered explanations to the mole, whose face steadily fell.

"Oh, you poor dears," she sympathised, scooping them both into one big maternal hug. "You've fallen into the right paws, though; no better place to fetch up than the generous bosom of the Dunblanes."

"Says the mole with breasts that could smother a horse," Ben teased, jumping out of the way of her equally playful slap.

Giggles rose from the chest in question, a sound the mole and the fox took great delight in.

"That's more like it!" Gwen cheered, easing back. "And just in time for your food, too."

Lia trotted up, and proffered a small pie to Lisa. "Chicken. If it's not to your taste, w-" She was interrupted by the cub snatching the food and biting into it with a crunch. "Never mind."

Jessica was about to ask after her meal, only for it to appear in front of her face, resting in a bright white hand with palest pink finger and palm pads. The paw proved to belong to a vixen her age, whose frame possessed a healthy measure of fullness, whose coat was entirely the colour of morning snow, and whose shining eyes were a truly stunning shade of blue.

A small bronze choker hung round her neck, set with an amethyst at her throat, the base of her lush tail was graced by a matching bracelet, and her waist was circled by a thin chain with another amethyst tucked into her navel. As far as the feline was concerned, this young fox was the most beautiful person she had ever seen, and all she could do was stare in wonder.

Her reverie was shattered by snickers and giggles from four separate sources, her own sister included. Blushing fit to burn she snatched the pie and attacked it, not daring to look at anything other than her own feet. She heard and felt the vixen sit alongside her, but didn't submit to the urge to look. When a paw laid itself on her thigh, though, her head snapped up and round, bringing her nose-to-nose with a broadly smiling young vulpine girl.

"Hey, Blue-tiful," she greeted, warmly, her voice as clear and liquid as a brook. "I'm Jenna."

"J...J...Jess," the cat stuttered, transfixed by the aquamarine orbs now so close to hers. "P...P..."

"The pleasure's all mine." The vixen licked Jess' muzzle tip softly. "I'd really like to get to know you."

If the cat had been red before, now she was crimson. "Are...are y-you t...teasing me?"

"Why would I do that?" Jenna asked, looking genuinely confused.

"B-because everyone at home did." Jess turned back to her pie, ears drooping. "Because I'm a f-freak."

"Because you're blue?"

"Yes. B-because I fell into magic dye as a cub and got s-stuck like this for ever. I'm a freak and a j-joke." Her pie eaten, she bundled her arms dejectedly in her lap.

White paws took hold of hers. "No, you're not."

Jess shook her head. "I am."

White arms drew her into a soft embrace. "No, you're not."

"I_am_." Even in the face of such tender evidence to the contrary, her self-doubt was far too deeply ingrained to budge without a fight.

White hands cupped her face, and vivid blue eyes stared keenly into her doubtful green ones. "No, you're not. You're..."

"Jenna!" The call came from the woodworkers. "Need your help!"

The vixen sighed, then brought one of Jess' paws to her lips, kissing it lightly. "I'll see you again soon, all right?"

The cat nodded, mutely, then watched as Jenna stood up and walked away, mesmerised by her grace. This didn't go unnoticed by the young fox, who smiled over her shoulder, the fluid, counterpoint sway of her hips and tail growing more pronounced. A passing male fox took less than respectful pleasure in the sight; not even looking, Jenna aimed a finger and sent a zap of magic into his backside, grinning wickedly as he yelped, jumped, and toppled into a water trough.

"Well, isn't this interesting," Gwen remarked, delight in her dark eyes.

"It's_wonderful_!" Ben sang, dancing a gleeful jig next to her. "Finally, finally, fina-WHOA!" He fell over the foot the mole had surreptitiously stuck out, thumping face-first into the dirt. "Ow."

"Don't get carried away, now," Gwen admonished. "Early days."

"I know, I know." Ben got back up, holding his bruised muzzle, yet still smiling. "I'm just ecstatic she's connecting with someone else at last!"

"Sh-she could just have been humouring me," Jess demurred.

"No." Lia shook her head firmly. "She's seen something in you, believe me. She's not normally that forward with strangers."

"If y-you say so." Not wanting to think about it, the cat made a clumsy attempt at changing the subject. "So, d-do you live here?"

"Here? No." Ben laughed. "We'd drive poor mossy-mounds mad!" He dodged a smack from Gwen. "We live in Oakden, in the forest."

"And you'd better head back there afore I box your pointy ears!" The mole warned him. "Mossy-mounds, indeed."

"But they are!" Ben cupped her breasts in both paws, squeezing them together. "Big, full, round, soft, mossy-furred mounds!"

Jess fully expected the fox to be slapped across the face hard enough to leave an imprint of a hand, but the mole just chuckled wryly, a twist of melancholy seeping into her smile.

"They're saggy shadows of their former selves, and you know it," she corrected him, easing his paws from her chest. "Now, the boys and Eli look like they're done, so you'd better think about heading home."

"They do?" Ben span round, Jess following his gaze, to discover Rufus, Aiden and Lupe had indeed emptied the cart and were now escorting the horses across the road to an extensive meadow, Nick rippling along behind. "They do! Time to move, ladies! Boat's awaitin'!"

"Boat?" Lisa asked, latching onto her sister's paw as they stood up.

"You'll see!" Ben teased, a little hoarsely since he was being given a farewell rib-cracker of a hug by Gwen. He smacked a kiss on the top of her head, snatched up Lia, then took off energetically. "This way!"

Scooping her sister into her arms Jess hastened to follow. The fox led them to a jetty alongside the fishery, where they were joined by Lupe and Nick, the sprite noticeably agitated by all the activity. The wolf held a rectangle of worn, fairly faded red fabric out to the elder cat.

"This smells like it belongs to you," he explained.

"My shawl!" Jess' eyes lit up. "I-I thought I'd lost it! C-could you tie it on for me...please?"

"Happily." Lupe pulled two corners together about her neck, knotting them tight at her throat, the garment draping itself over her shoulders and just over halfway down her back. "I'm Elijah, by the way. Sorry for not speaking to you sooner, but someone's got to do the work."

"And you'll get your reward!" Ben threw in. "If you care to join us for the trip home, that is."

The fox, still holding Lia, was now standing near the stern of a sturdy, twenty-foot river barge that was quite broad at the beam and tapered smoothly at both ends, and loaded with a cargo of stoneware urns and carafes. Next to him, long pole resting on his shoulder, was a water vole of dapper appearance - a shallow, broad straw hat sat atop his head and his thick fur was immaculately groomed - that belied much underlying strength, his eyes ceaselessly twinkling.

He doffed his headgear toward the others and swept out a welcoming paw. "Please, step aboard."

With help from Lupe the two cats did as bid, all of them settling on a pair of benches by the fox and vole. Ben sat down alongside Lupe, Lia lying on her back across their laps, Nick curling up by their feet, and indicated the boat owner.

"Meet Graham, or Ratty to his friends. The quiet one up front is his daughter, Matilda." A female vole, lean and sleek, standing at the bow inclined her head in acknowledgement. "Together they make the best barge team on the Willow."

"Maybe," the male vole demurred, waving a paw. "Everybody ready?"

Nods all round.

"Then we're off." He and his daughter untied the holding ropes. "Push away, Tilly!"

Expert pole-work from both rodents eased the boat off the jetty and out into the river proper; from there they settled into a steady, smooth rhythm of co-ordinated pushes against the flow, propelling the barge forwards at a decent pace. Jess watched as Woodlea gradually grew smaller behind them, the trees of the forest they were entering hiding it bit by bit, until only the jetty was visible.

That was when a familiar white figure ran out onto it, barely stopping before the end, arms flailing as she came within inches of toppling into the water. Once secure on her feet Jenna stared after the boat, then subsided into sitting on the end of the pier, feet dangling, elbows on knees and muzzle held in her paws, looking a picture of frustration.

"Ooh, better luck next time, Pudge!" Ben grimaced jokingly, the jetty and the young fox disappearing from view. "Still, another boat'll leave soon; very busy this time of day." His amused eyes lit on Jess. "I think I know why she was in such a hurry, though."

The blue cat shook her head, colour returning to her cheeks. "I don't b-believe that."

"When she first saw you she stopped dead," Lia put in, eyes closed as she luxuriated in the stroking attentions of the fox and wolf, their paws gliding over the scales of her stomach and chest. "And she asked to be the one to give you your pie. Believe me, she's as struck by you as you are by her, and not just because you're blue."

"I-if you say so." Again she fumbled to change the subject. "How long until we reach Oakden?"

"Less than half a tick," Graham answered. "Not nearly long enough, if you ask me."

Jess cocked her head. "Why?"

The vole beamed expansively. "Because, my dear young friend, there is no time better spent than time spent on the river, and nothing half so much worth doing..."

"As simply messing about in boats!" Ben, Lupe and Lia chorused, then dissolved in laughter.

"Exactly." Graham's smile widened even more. "This, to me, is bliss."

As the barge glided through crystal clear water dappled with shadows from the massed canopies of the trees lining the banks, leaves rustling in the breeze and delicate birdsong trilling amongst the branches, Jess found it very hard to disagree. Cuddling Lisa closer, she let herself be lulled into a contented doze, dreaming of pure white fur and dazzling blue jewels of eyes...

---

She was stirred from her nap by a hand shaking her shoulder gently but insistently. Eyes blinking open, she discovered the paw belonged to Lia, the lizard crouched beside her, looking rather different.

"You got older," Jess observed, just a little dazedly.

"Vagaries of magic." Lia spread her arms and span slowly round. "This is the true me. Like?"

The cat took her in, noting there was now little difference in height between them. Most of her willowy, trimly shapely form was swathed in rich green scales, deepening to a rust-red in a broad streak from the back of her head to the top of her muzzle, a patch covering most of her upper back, two over her buttocks, and a strip along the top of her tail. The front of her torso was a much paler pastel green, tinted pink on belly and throat, contrasting the darker hue of her nipples and the apex of her vulva.

All things considered, Lia was easily the second most beautiful female Jess'd met that day. "Very much. Are we there, yet?"

"That's why I woke you. It's just around the next bend."

"Ooh!" The blue cat sat up straighter, her gaze racing up to where the river curled right. The terrain was hillier here, quite steep banks heavy with trees rising either side, ensuring she could see not a trace of what lay ahead. A heron regarded the barge implacably from a low-hanging branch, while a sprinkling of mallards drifted around them, frequently upending themselves to dabble while keeping up a stream of quacking chatter. In one of the few places where the bank was shallow a rugged boar drank warily, tail flicking. "So much life..."

"Welcome to Deepdell Forest!" Ben, still sitting with Eli, cheered, his eyes shining. "And, more importantly, welcome to Oakden!"

As he finished speaking, the ground to the left rose dramatically, up and up into a huge, broad-shouldered hill smothered with trees. Jess raked it with her eyes, but at first saw nothing.

"I don't..." Her eyes widened to encompass most of her face, and her jaw sagged. "Oh..."

Ahead, the river swelled out into a small bowl of a lake, reaching into which were a mirrored and elegant pair of T-shaped, two-toned - light oak in the centre, richer cherry around the edges - wooden jetties; to her, they looked not unlike simple antlers. They both extended from a triangle of warm, yellow-white stone set into the base of the hillside, the paths of light wood converging in the middle of it.

At its landward apex two tall, curving leaves of carved stone created a teardrop border for a duo of similarly-shaped doors; between the tops of the latter and the meeting point of the former was set, Jess could just make out, a cloudy orb of white crystal. All of this was framed by, and this was one of the things that drew such awe from the blue cat, a waterfall that cascaded down the entire face of the hill to split around the stone leaves, and rush along curved channels into the lake.

At the top of the falls, on the very highest peak of the hill, stood the other reason for Jess' stupefaction, an oak three times the size of any other, its trunk broader than the barge was wide, its immense canopy almost a forest unto itself; a matriarch among trees. In its shadow, by the right side of the falls as she looked at them, she spotted a wooden platform with a figure positioned tight on its edge, a vixen as imposing in her own way as the oak, with shining white fur.

As Jess watched the fox leaned forwards, rising up on her toes, arms spreading wide and, incredibly, white-feathered _wings_unfurling from her back. For a second she hung in place, angled over the hillside with her head tilted to the sky and her eyes closed...then she fell, rushing down in front of the tumbling water, legs pinned together, arms tight to her sides, tail rippling. Her wings beat into life two-thirds of the way to the bottom of the hill, driving her into a low, perfectly controlled swoop over the entrance to land, on hand and knee, right where the wooden paths met in the middle of the triangle.

At close quarters she was more impressive still, taller than even Lupe, with a strong, shapely figure and a powerful bearing; the cats actually found her quite intimidating. As the barge settled against the jetty, the voles and Eli industriously setting to tying up and unloading the cargo, she walked toward them, showing little expression beyond a quiet kind of curiosity. Lia and Ben managed to coax the felines onto the jetty, if only to huddle together, trembling, gazes fixed on their feet.

After a moment, large yet gentle hands nestled under their chins, and lifted their eyes past the fox's now crouching body to her face; instead of the forbidding visage they'd expected, though, they were greeted by crossed eyes, randomly-canted ears and a loosely hanging tongue. It was so absurd a sight they couldn't help giggling.

"Much better!" The vixen's voice was as clear and gently musical as Jenna's, if markedly deeper with a smooth undercurrent of husk. "I'm Kyra. and I'm really not scary. Promise."

"Don't you believe it!" Ben called out, impishly. "She's terrifying!"

The vixen's paw shot up to latch onto his muzzle, pulling him down to fix him with a pointed stare. "Only on rare occasions." She then kissed him between the eyes, and her hand shifted to stroke the underside of his snout. "This isn't one of them."

Ben's blissful expression drew even more laughter from the cats.

Kyra turned a warm gaze on them. "So, who might you two be?"

"J...Jessica and L-L-Lisa," the blue feline replied, blushing and inwardly cursing her stutter. "F-from D...D...Dyllia."

The vixen took up and squeezed her hands. "Easy, there. Just breathe and relax...and take your time...then tell me where on Dyllia you come from, all right?"

Jess nodded, following her advice. "We're from...Feddon...on the east c-coast."

"Feddon?" Kyra thought a moment. "Don't think I know it. I'll have to ask Dad when he returns..."

"Well, it's very...small," Jess explained, gaining confidence. "About the s-same...as Woodlea...and a long way from...anywhere else."

"Ah. I see. And how did you get from there, to here?"

Feline ears began to sag, and tears prick her eyes. "I...d-don't...think I can talk about it..."

"Too difficult?" Kyra nodded understanding; she sat cross-legged on the jetty then drew them onto her lap, the elder feline's head pillowed by one of her generous main breasts, the kitten's by one of her smaller secondary ones. She nuzzled their brows, and caressed their backs. "I promise we'll listen when you're ready. Right now I think we all need a good, long bathe."

"Bathe?" Both the felines in her embrace looked up, their fear largely washing away at the thought of water.

"You have a p-pool?" Jess asked.

"Lots of pools!" Kyra jabbed a thumb toward her back. "Climb on and I'll take you there."

"On your b-back?"

"Uh-huh."

"You're sure?"

"Yup!"

"A-all right." Jess got to her feet.

Grinning, Kyra rose back into a crouch. At the same time, Lia picked up Lisa, setting the kitten securely on her shoulders. The elder feline rather tentatively pressed herself to the white vixen's back, and even more tentatively reached round her front, not at all sure where to hold on. Chuckling, Kyra guided blue arms into crossing themselves around her second-breasts, effectively cradling them.

"Don't be afraid to hold on, all right?" The fox gripped the underside of Jess' knees and smoothly stood up, lifting the cat with no noticeable effort. "Light as a feather!"

Ben, meanwhile, had latched onto Lupe's arm, hauling him away from the barge. "You're coming, too, even if I have to carry you!"

"But we're not finished unloading everything!" he protested, trying to prise himself free.

"They're not, you are." The fox persisted, still pulling. "Besides, I have a promise to keep."

"You do? Oh!" Ears snapping upright and a mad grin forming Eli took off at pace, yanking Ben off-balance in the process; the fox hit the floor for the second time that day, just missing Nick as the sprite bounded after the wolf. "Best get moving, then!"

"As if I don't have enough bruises already," Ben groused, rubbing his right hip as he got up. "I'm one big sore spot."

"I swear I'll make up for it!" Lupe called back.

"You'd better!" The fox scrambled into a run, racing after the lupine.

Kyra rolled her eyes, as she and Lia followed the boys at a much more comfortable pace. "Remind me why we put up with them?"

"I have no idea." Lia smiled up at the kitten paws and chin resting on the top of her head. "Girls are so much easier to live with."

Both cats giggled, a lot more relaxed now. Jess studied the entrance as they approached it, thinking its form familiar, but struggling to know why. She was distracted from her musings by the orb glowing pastel yellow, and the doors moving apart silently, sliding almost entirely into slots in the stone. Beyond lay a broad passage that took the same kind of teardrop shape as the entrance, if with the bottom flattened out; a path of wooden slats ran down the middle of the floor, and many small crystal orbs were spaced along the narrow roof, casting a warm, quite sun-like light. Jess found it welcoming.

The same was true of the family of stoats they passed about halfway along the corridor. The pair of adult males, their paws linked, waved and smiled at the group, while the trio of near-identical and dizzyingly energetic cubs - two girls and a boy - zipped around them for a brief time, chattering their excitement without any noticeable pause. One of the girls patted Jess' foot, as if unsure she was real, then gave a mile wide, slightly manic grin.

"I like you!" she chirped, before rushing off after her siblings.

The blue cat watched her go, her smile growing. "I think I could grow to enjoy it here."

"Would Jenna have a little something to do with that?" Eliana asked, teasingly.

Jess flushed, while the vixen carrying her perked right up. "So you've taken a liking to my daughter, hm?"

"W....I....Uh..." Words completely deserted the cat, her tongue tied up with embarrassment and worry. If she'd been able, she'd have bolted.

"A liking? She's smitten!" the lizard-girl was more than happy to reply for her. "And I've a funny feeling she's caught Jen's eye, too."

"Oh,really?" Delight fair crackled within Kyra's voice, the vixen first through the next pair of doors; they came into a circular, domed room that obviously served as a crossroads of sorts, three other exits visible and a smattering of people wandering around. "Interesting. I wonder what she sees in you she hasn't in anyone else?"

Jess couldn't even begin to think, let alone answer, instead looking up at the apex of the dome as they passed under it; instead of a crystal to provide light, a broad shaft ran to the surface. She could see, just, that it was now overcast and raining, yet not a single drop made it down to them; she assumed, therefore, it was being collected by some subtle, magical means.

"No answer?" Kyra prodded, as they moved into another passage on the right.

Jess forced her mouth to open. "I d-don't...n...know. M-maybe s-she just...fff-found me a...a...amusing."

"Jenna?!" The disbelief and shock in the vixen's voice had the feline's ears flattening. "Why would you even..." She paused. "Oh. You really think that little of yourself?"

"Ev-everyone else d...does..."

"Then they're bloody idiots," Kyra stated, vehemently.

"B-but..."

"But_nothing_; I trust my daughter's judgement." The vixen was being firm, but a long way from unkind. "My son's, Eliana's and Elijah's, too, for the matter of that. Well...about you, at least; about what's a good idea for a prank, not so much..."

"How were we supposed to know you'd walk in on us before we were ready?" Lia protested, laughing. "Panicking seemed the sensible thing to do, at the time."

"W-what prank?" Jess asked, not about to let such a golden chance to switch the subject slip by. Her curiosity was spiked, too.

"Sticking spells!" Lia proclaimed, eyes sparkling. "We were gonna try and stick Dawn and Kyra together, but Kyra walked in before we were ready. We panicked, dropped all the spells, and ended up sticking our own tails together."

"They were trapped like that for two days!" Kyra snickered.

"T-two_days_?" Jess was caught between giggling and wincing, as was her sister. "Why didn't anyone r-release them?"

"We couldn't," Kyra responded, exchanging nods and paw-grips with a lean and muscular female otter whose peg leg didn't seem to hinder her in the slightest. "They'd made too much of a mess of the spells."

"That's what she says." Lia shared a grasp with the otter, too. "_I_think they just wanted us to suffer, maybe even learn a lesson."

Jess glanced about as they moved through another crossroads room, noting that the doors opposite where they'd entered, as well as those to the right, led into what looked a lot like markets. The group headed to the left doors, and into another passage; she was starting to sense Oakden was pretty large, and apparently entirely underground.

"Except you didn't suffer, did you?" Kyra rejoined. "I still can't believe how well you three adjusted to being joined like that; I swear you were almost enjoying it."

"It certainly helped us grow a lot closer." Lia's smile had bloomed with warmth. "Made a real trio out of us."

"I'll say! Three parts of a whole, you are, to the point we often have a strug...yes, Weaver?" She was distracted by a fairly portly badger-girl in a short, white linen shirt so thin as to be partially transparent, who had come up to her looking agitated; they whispered into her ear. "Ah, all right. I'll be with you once I've dropped off Jess, here."

The badger nodded, and followed them mutely through the next pair of doors. The blue cat slipped from the vixen's back when asked, and was immediately drawn, along with Lisa, to the main feature of the big rectangular chamber they were now in - a pool, broad and quite deep, its water clear, a much larger skylight directly above. How it was kept so clean and fresh wasn't immediately obvious to her.

"Weaver has something to show me," Kyra told them, one paw on the badger-girl's shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as I can; I want to talk with you, Ben and Eli about today, Lia. All right?"

"Aye." The lizard nodded.

The vixen and Weaver hastened along a path flanking the pool to the left, and through another exit. Eliana led the pair of cats a short way along the northbound path to the first of two single doors in the right wall. Past it, in a cosy little room with just the one crystal light, was a much smaller and quite shallow pool, at the far end of which a fox and a wolf were entwined, kissing and licking each other's muzzles. Curled up asleep behind them was Nick.

They separated as Eliana guided the cats down shallow steps into the water, watching until the lizard-girl got close enough then lunging out to catch hold of her, reeling her in by tail and hips.

"Feel free to relax," Ben told the felines, as he and Lupe ensnared the giggling Lia tightly. "We're just gonna take a few moments to spoil our favourite scaly beauty rotten."

While her sister took to lazily sculling round the pool, it being just too deep for the kitten's toes to touch the bottom, Jess set aside her shawl then settled on a ledge that ran along the edges, letting loose a long breath. Tension drained from the blue cat, seeming to seep into the pleasantly cool pool, until she was so at ease she nearly felt like dozing off. She set to scooping up pawfuls of water and massaging it through the fur of her chest and stomach, more to soothe than to clean.

Across the pool Ben and Lupe were doing the same for Lia, treatment she was visibly revelling in, draped across them with eyes closed and the most dreamy look on her face. The canines were being thorough indeed, not missing a single scale anywhere on her sleek form, and as gentle as a mother with a cub. Jess had to admit she was just a little jealous of the lizard-girl, quietly wishing she could know how it felt to be caressed like that. She could almost imagine the white paws...

She flushed, shaking her head. How could she possibly be so affected by that vixen so quickly? The soft rustle of someone sitting next to her drew the cat from her thoughts; she looked up, expecting to see Lisa, but instead being transfixed by blue eyes and snowy fur.

Oh.That was how.

"Y-you g...got here qu-quickly," she managed to stammer out.

"Another barge team took pity on me," Jenna explained. "Apparently I looked pretty pathetic slumped on the jetty."

"You did!" Ben confirmed, brightly.

His sister shot a pulse of magic at his head; Lia blocked it with a quick barrier. The fox started to thank her, but she cut him off by tweaking his whiskers, getting a nice, sharp yelp for her troubles. She then gave Jenna a wink, and mouthed something Jess couldn't quite read.

The young vixen obviously could, though, from the subtle reddening of her ears. She took a breath, then the blue cat's paw. "W-would you like to look around Oakden? Tomorrow, maybe?"

"With you? Yes!" The words rushed out before she could stop them, and their eagerness had her blushing furiously and clamping a hand to her muzzle. "I...m-mean...i-if you don't...m...mind..."

"If I did, would I have asked?" Jenna chucked lightly, musically. "We'll go as soon after breakfast as we can, all right?"

"All...r-right." Self-consciousness was getting the better of Jess again, choking her voice and hitching her breathing.

Jenna's free paw cupped and stroked her cheek. "Easy, Blue; no-one's going to judge you here. Even if someone does, they'll have me to deal with...and likely my tall, scary mother, too."

The cat giggled at this, beginning to calm down. She took her time in replying, pacing herself. "I'm just...so used to...being...laughed at...and r-ridiculed...for everything..."

"And who's so cruel as to do that?" Faint undercurrents of incredulity and anger laced through the vixen's voice.

"My...family. And all of the...villagers. To them I'm just...a joke...and a f-freak." Her tones were starting to waver. "If I d-didn't have...L-Lisa I'd h-have...have..."

The words faded as she felt arms curl loosely around her waist, and a slim muzzle nuzzle her cheek. Jess was filled with an urge to cuddle up to the vixen, one she gave into pretty quickly, leaning against the fox's warm form, and weeping into her neck. At first Jenna simply held the cat, hands linked on one blue hip, chin resting atop her head, but after a while she started to hum. Jess didn't recognise the lilting, soothing tune but she was entranced by it, not least since the fox-girl possessed a pure, clear, utterly beautiful voice.

And then she began to sing.

O-o-oh, I'd give everything I am,

To see your tail up high once mo-o-ore...

O-o-oh, I'd do anything I can,

To see the smile I so ado-o-ore...

Jess settled more comfortably against the vixen, eyes closing, her lips curving upwards as she relaxed.

In me, in me,

You can find your peace in me.

I'll be, I'll be,

All the comfort that you need.

You'll see, you'll see,

Everything you mean to me.

In me, in me,

You can find your peace in me.

Jenna sang softly, but with real verve; it really sounded like she meant every word of it. Jess started to doze a little.

O-o-oh, I'd caress you by firelight,

Just to hear you sigh in harmony-y-y...

O-o-oh, I'd hold you closely through the night,

Just to keep you safe and warm with me-e-e...

Footsteps padded into the little room; Jessica cracked an eye open to see Kyra slipping into the pool. She scooped up a sleepy Lisa and settled opposite, joining in with the song, her voice deeper, with a rich, smooth huskiness.

In me, in me,

You can find your peace in me.

I'll be, I'll be,

All the comfort that you need.

You'll see, you'll see,

Everything you mean to me.

In me, in me,

You can find your peace in me.

The two vixens practically whispered the last couple of lines; the two cats applauded and complimented as best they could when struggling to keep their eyes open. Kyra deflected them politely.

"I know it's a little early," she told them, "but I think you two need to sleep. Jenna, take them to the dens and settle them in, all right?"

"Aye." The younger vixen coaxed the blue cat into standing, returned her shawl, then took Lisa from Kyra. Settling the kitten on her right hip her free paw waved drying magic over the felines then took Jess'. "On to comfy nests."

As drowsy as she was Jessica didn't register the journey all that well, beyond it retracing most of their way in. They deviated at the original crossroads by heading straight across, a slightly longer passage leading to yet another junction. A trio of pelts had set up an impromptu band in the centre, whipping up a jolly tune with fiddle, pawdrum and wood whistle, several others bouncing around them and clapping their paws.

Jenna skipped out a fluid little dance as she led the cats past, getting cheers from everyone else, and a few requests to join in. She declined, though not without reluctance, moving to the south and into a tunnel lined with doors on both sides, and livelier than any area before; pelts of all ages bustled about, many swapping greetings with the trio.

"These are the Dens," Jenna explained. "We've got about eighty or so people living here right now, but they can hold two hundred and fifty; three hundred at a squeeze. Our dens are a little further on."

They turned right at another crossroads room, this one with a blank wall on the left side. At the mid-point of the last passage she drew the party to a halt by some double-doors, and addressed the others.

"Fair warning: the Rabble can be pretty boisterous, especially if they take a liking to you."

"Got it." Jess nodded, not as nervous as she might have been. "L-let's go meet them."

Jenna squeezed her paw and gave her a small but warm smile, the cat feeling her cheeks heating up just a touch in response, then took them inside. The blue feline had just enough time to register the impressive size of the room, the curtained-off areas lined around the edges, and the wide array of tables, chairs, plump linen bags and chests arranged within it before she, Lucy and Jenna were surrounded by half a dozen excited young pelts.

"Everybody!" The vixen called out, her voice projecting with a volume and strength that took Jess aback and silenced the chatter instantly. "I need you to give a warm welcome to Jessica and Lisa; they'll be staying with us for a while. Line up!"

As Jenna set Lisa down the sextet of youngsters organised themselves shoulder-to-shoulder facing the cats, with much playful jostling.

The fox moved behind a shy, very small cub lynx with especially tall and fine ear tufts and a tan, knee-length smock, crouching to share a nuzzle. "This retiring cutie is Bryony, Ben's daughter-in-all-but-blood."

"H-hello." The cat waved timidly.

Jessica knelt to murmur greetings; she got a giggle and a peck on the nose in reply. Lisa followed her sister's lead, with the same response.

Jenna grinned, moving onto a bright squirrel boy half her height and clad in a red linen vest; she patted his chubby stomach with both paws and dabbed a kiss upon his upturned muzzle. "Rupert - lovable softy and bottomless pit."

He didn't hesitate to hug the blue cat, his grip light around waist and hips. "Happy to meet you!"

She kissed his forehead, warming to him quickly. "Likewise!"

While the squirrel greeted Lisa, Jenna picked up the next in line by their waist, holding them out; a stoat toddler in baggy trousers of dark brown that looked padded around the trunk, he waved at the blue cat with a goofy smile. "This bundle of cute is Kay."

Jess took hold of him, arms under his bottom, and kissed his nose; he clamped his tiny paws round her neck and nuzzled her, giggling.

"Pwetty-giwl," he piped.

The blue cat blushed, handing the stoat down to her sister. "No, that's Lisa's sp-speciality."

"Runs in the family, I'd say." Jenna opined, standing behind a golden mouse girl; they were a bit younger than the fox, with a willowy figure and a glossy coat painted with dark green swirls. A short, light cloth of pale green linen was about her waist, barely reaching halfway down her hips, and a huge thatch of whiskers twitched inquisitively. "This painted sweetheart is Willow."

"L-lovely patterns," Jess told them, getting a smile, a light hug and a kiss on the side of the muzzle in response.

"Thank you," Willow murmured with a bow of the head, crouching to embrace Lisa. "Would you like some?"

"I'll think about it," Jess promised.

"They'd look good on you," put in a silvery, faintly fey voice.

Jess stood up and turned to the speaker, a young otter with a sleekly feminine form swathed in impeccably-groomed, quite pale fur, a light and delicate face, and matching lavender bows tied behind the right ear and about the base of the tail. Only the penis peeking from a puff of fur between their hips gave away their physical sex.

"They'd look b-better on a g-gorgeous girl like you," she responded.

They beamed fit to burst, lunging forward and crushing the cat in a hug that almost burst her it was so strong. "Thank you!"

"That's Lynnett," a laughing Jenna explained. "Boy in body but girl in spirit, if insecure about it, and thank you so _so much_for seeing it. Oh, and she can usually hand Ben his tail in a fight."

"So I'm f-feeling," Jess husked with a chuckle, still having a modicum of trouble breathing. "You're much stronger than you look."

"Oh, sorry!" The otter pulled back, fussing over her. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, no, no!" the cat reassured, putting a hand to her chest to push her off gently but firmly. On feeling fur that made velvet seem rough in comparison her paw lingered, stroking back and forth. "So soft..."

"She's a rudder-tailed pillow, is what she is," interjected a peppy voice with a strong lilt, as a black-furred hand petted the otter's hip.

"Mmm," agreed Jess, now cuddling Lynnett to her, their face pressed into her small breasts. "Can I keep her?"

"Can't see Rissa going for that," the owner of the dark paw replied. A vixen Willow's age with a rounded figure and pert breasts fractionally bigger than Jen's, she had mischief written in every crease of her face and pale gold swirls across her fur. "She's picking her up in a tick."

"Then I'll j-just have to keep you, instead!" Jessica let the otter go and swept the fox-girl into her arms, pinning her firmly in place.

"We'll see about that!" declared the vixen; her paws began exploring the blue cat's sides and back, probing the fur in many spots.

"That's Sable," Jenna put in, a curious quirk to her smile. "Maker of mischief and Mistress of the tickling arts."

"Tickling?" Jess' eyes widened in horror, a split second before fingers dug into her right armpit and the top of her left buttock. She literally collapsed with laughter, and would have hit the floor pretty hard if not for the white arms that caught and steadied her. Jenna held her close while she recovered.

"Sorrysorrysorry!" yelped a startled and worried Sable, leaning in to nuzzle the cat in supplication. "Never doing that again, I swear!"

"I don't mind!" Jess was quick to assure her, kissing the black vixen's nose and patting her back. "Just be sure I'm not standing, next time."

"All right!" Much relieved, Sable turned her attention to Lisa, kneeling to smother the kitten in a hug.

Jenna's liquid tones chuckled in Jess' ear. "Can I keep you?"

The blue cat's cheeks burned anew, along with her ears, and it took a while for her to find enough voice to reply. "I-I...su-certainly w...w..."

"Can I retch now? This is getting too damn sappy." The speaker was a lean, slightly unkempt stoat with a cold face that seemed permanently fixed in a scowl. He was leaning in the far right corner as Jess looked, a surly shape half-visible in the shadows.

"That's Nye, Kay's bigger brother." Jenna frowned at him. "He insists on being a grump and a spoilsport, but won't ever say why."

"None of your bloody business." Nye thumbed his nose with a sneer, then pushed through the curtains of the alcove to his immediate right.

"Anyone else to meet?" Jessica asked, keen to move on.

"Only Susy and Geremy, but they're probably...busy." The white vixen flicked her eyes toward an alcove at the end of the left side. "Best we don't disturb th...Sable!"

The black fox-girl was bounding toward the alcove; Jenna made a wild leap to intercept her but missed, fetching up against one of the smaller tables in a tangle.

Sable stuck her head through the curtains. "Suze! Ger! Stop mashing muzzles and come greet the newbies!"

"Sable..." growled a fairly high, but strong female voice. "Get. Out."

"They're really something!" the vixen went on, oblivious. "You won't_believe_ their fur colour!"

"I think we'd better go and say hello," placated an anxious male. "It's only polite."

"All right, all right." The female half-growled, half-sighed. "Let's go. I hope they're worth it."

Sable danced back, chuckling in anticipation.

First to emerge was a subtly curvy and strongly-coloured yellow-neck mouse-girl a little older than Jenna, her white linen shirt and breeches just a touch askew, who scowled at the black fox. She was followed by a male yellow-neck of muted hue nervously trying to smooth down his heavily rumpled fur and rub away several patches of damp; he flashed Sable a grateful look. Jess couldn't help giggling at the whole situation, which caused their heads to snap toward her.

"Good_grief_..." Susy's eyes looked just about ready to pop free of their sockets; she patted the black vixen's scalp. "Sable, you're forgiven." In a flick of a tail she was alongside the blue cat, poking and prodding her arms and face, expression rapt. "You're actually real, and actually and really blue. That's fantastic! I'm actually kinda jealous."

"What...?" Jess stared at her in blank disbelief. "But..."

"Susy's always getting Wils to paint her," a quite smug Sable supplied, as she wrapped her arms around Willow, nuzzling the mouse's ear, "so to see someone fully coloured is pretty exciting for her."

Jenna, one paw rubbing the small of her back, gave the black fox-girl a wry smile, a roll of the eyes and a pat on the bottom. "Don't get too full of yourself, Sae; you won't always be so lucky."

Sable grinned wide. "We'll see about that!"

"I certainly feel lucky," Geremy put in, patting her shoulder. "Suse was getting a little too...enthusiastic...for my liking."

"I can hear you, you know." Susy glowered at him, paws on hips. "I'd have stopped if you'd asked."

The other mouse held his hands up, keen to placate her. "I did try, but you kept shushing me."

Jess wanted to giggle, but as fatigue was washing over her again she ended up yawning instead, wavering slightly where she stood.

"Easy, there." Jenna's paws caught her hips, angling her toward the middle alcove on the left side of the room. "Unless you need to relieve yourself, I suggest some sleep."

"I need to go," piped up Lisa.

"This way!" Sable led the kitten over to and through the bottom right curtains. "Latrines in here."

Jessica, meanwhile, was escorted into her alcove by Jenna. It proved to be mostly taken up by what she could only describe as a huge oaken bowl with flat, squared-off sides, some six feet across and two feet in depth, and filled with numerous plump pillows. Recesses were set into the side and back walls, while the subtly domed ceiling had a socket in the middle, filed by a crystal orb.

"Climb in!" Jenna urged, all-but bundling the blue cat over the lip. "If you need a little light, just say."

Jess sprawled out across the cushions, sighing happily. "We do need a faint light, i-if that's all right; Lisa doesn't like the dark very much."

Jenna nodded, a roll of her fingers producing a spell; she stretched up to place it In the crystal. A warm, soft glow bloomed forth. "Good?"

"A l-little less," Jess requested. "Just enough t-to see."

"Okay." The light dimmed to the level of a full moon night, if in pastel yellow. "Anything else?"

The blue cat had curled up, half-buried in the pillows. "Just Lisa."

Well-timed footfalls drew a grin from Jenna. She stood aside as Sable helped the kitten into the nest, then leaned in to brush a kiss on Jess' cheek. "Sleep well, Blue-tiful."

Jessica took one last look at the vision in white before gathering her sister close and letting her eyes drift shut. "We will."

---

Kyra, sitting on the pool steps, hadn't uttered a word for more than a minute, contemplating in expressionless silence, her muzzle resting on steepled fingers, elbows on her knees. Ben, Lia and Eli, seated at the back of the pool, watched and fidgeted, unsettled as always by how little they could read of her thoughts. Even the white vixen's tail gave nothing away, lying neatly beside her, motionless.

Keen blue eyes flicked to the statuette and the disk sitting on the lip of the pool close by, regarding them intently for most of another long minute, then shifted to fix on a certain lizard-girl. "Lia - come here."

The reptile waded over to stand in front of her.

"Turn around."

The vixen set her paw upon Eliana's shoulder, then began to stroke it steadily, methodically back and forth, dropping a few inches with each pass. She came to a halt at almost the exact centre of the lizard-girl's back, her other hand joining its fellow, while her brows drew in.

"Definitely something here," she reported. "I'll need Sherwood's help to remove it, though."

"Is it...dangerous?" Lia asked, anxiously.

"No, just stubborn," Kyra assured her. She slid her paws down to the reptile's hips, revolving her back around, then stared thoughtfully into her pale green, still worried eyes. "You're _positive_you can't remember anything that might tell us why Elara left this in you?"

"Nothing." Lia shook her head. "I just saw her weave the spell before the attack, and remember her patting me before she drew the hunters away. She didn't say anything about it."

"All right." Kyra sighed, then pressed a kiss to Eliana's mouth before ushering her away. "We'll deal with it tomorrow. Right now I need to severely reprimand my son."

Ben's ears drooped. He swallowed. "Oh."

Kyra crooked a finger in a beckoning gesture, expression implacable.

His tail flat against the backs of his legs, his entire posture sagging, he moved across to the elder fox. She didn't speak at first, preferring to thoroughly examine him with eyes and hands, taking in the scar on his shoulder, the singed fur of his back, the bruises and scrapes, and the cut along the base of his scrotum. Then she pulled him firmly down to sit sideways against her, locking her arms around his waist and looking down at the face now pillowed on her main breasts.

"So, what exactly happened to not being seen?" she asked. "You were_supposed_ to be in and out without Short ever knowing."

"Well, uh..." Ben cleared his throat, looking at the nipple tickling his nose rather than her face, his left hand looping about her back to meet his right on her hip. "The hunters trying to kill us all didn't help."

"A fair point," Kyra accepted, evenly, "but I was referring more to the events in the Portsea manor house. You didn't explain why you left Lia or how you ended up on the roof."

"Ah." Ben shifted uncomfortably. "We heard people coming and, well, we panicked. We didn't want them finding Lia so we fled through the closest door, hoping they'd follow. They did, but we'd gone into the main hall...where there were lots of people. Luckily, we were close to the stairs and managed to flee up them. Unluckily, all the commotion disturbed Short, who came storming after us. We scrambled our way up a guardroom ladder onto the roof, then jumped off to meet Lia."

"In our defence," Elijah put in, delicately, "between the hunters and the Guardians we'd been rattled pretty badly. We weren't thinking at all clearly."

"Obviously not," Kyra concurred, a little sharply, but still in a level and focused tone. "You could have ducked into the storeroom with Lia...or hadn't you thought to cover your scents? I taught you the spell, Ben."

"We forgot," Ben admitted, faintly, swallowing again. "_I_forgot."

"It's fortunate the grille had been removed," Kyra mused, a subtle but keen edge to her voice, "or Lia would be in Short's possession. Equally, it's fortunate that horse and cart appeared when it did, or none of you would have made it home."

"I know." Ben's tones quavered. "We were lucky."

"Of course," Kyra continued, "the other side of forgetting to hide your scents is that Short will now know how you got into the manor house; where you came from."

Ben started shaking, eyes dampening. "Oh, Dama...we've given him the_tomb_..."

"Exactly." Kyra's voice hardened. "All the history, all the heritage, all the knowledge, all the riches, given to Short on a plate."

"Oh, Dama," Ben repeated, nearly sobbing. "I've ruined it all..."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lia pleaded, quite distressed herself. "Surely the Guardians wouldn't have let the passage to the house be dug without a way of closing it off? A way of...protecting it?"

Lupe's ears shot up. "That's why they left..."

"Explain," Kyra ordered.

"Mayla, the shrew hunter, said while she and the other two ran out of the tombs, the Guardians raced deeper in," Eli answered. "I think they were running to close the passage."

Kyra nodded, demeanour softening a degree. "They were. We have a journal written by the builder of the tunnel, that notes the whole roof of it could be lowered down, sealing it off completely."

"So I haven't ruined it?" Ben looked up at her, hope dawning.

The white vixen shook her head. "No, but it is now closed off, and we have no idea how to get it open again."

"Maybe it'll say in the scrolls we found," Ben suggested.

"True." Kyra held out a paw. "Lia."

The lizard-girl removed the spell that held the scrolls from her breast and handed it over; Kyra slipped it into one of her second-breasts. "I'll go through them with Sherwood and Forrest tomorrow."

"I just realised something." Ben was looking perkier. "If we hadn't_got ourselves in a mess, and ended up fleeing in a cart, we wouldn't have found Jessica and Lisa, and _they'd be in Short's possession. I hope that balances things out a little."

"It does." Kyra let a small smile slip. "The same is true of Mayla; she's potentially a very useful ally. However..."

Ben deflated, gaze dropping back to his mother's nipple.

"You were reckless, and thoughtless. You were almost killed, as were Lia and Eli. This time, you got lucky, and got away with being careless, but next time...you won't." She lifted his snout up, so he had no choice but to look right at her. "Never...overlook...anything. Don't ever forget anyone. Don't think something insignificant and dismiss it, as chances are that's what'll come back to bite you on the tail the hardest." She sighed heavily. "Believe me - I know; what I overlooked cost sixty-one lives...including your father's."

The way her voice tightened and trembled subtly at the end was too much for Ben; he pressed his muzzle forward to lick, nuzzle and kiss at hers, while his hands kneaded her hip. Eli and Lia hastened over to the foxes, squeezing in either side, embracing them both as best they were able. Kyra's eyes glistened.

"Death weighs on you," she murmured. "You should know that well, Ben. Every person you lose takes some of you with them, leaves a scar that never properly fades. Every person you cause to die, whether you intend to or not, is another millstone hewn from guilt to hang around your neck. Death isn't easy, or clean, or quiet; it always_makes ripples, _always comes at a cost, for you and for others. I don't want any of our cubs to know it any more than they already do, and I don't want any of you to know it more than you really have to, so please...be careful."

Eli nuzzled her cheek. "After the day we've just had, careful is the only thing we'll be. I'll make sure of it."

Kyra gave him a softly grateful smile, and a kiss on the mouth. "Thank you. Being purely selfish, I'd hate not to be able to enjoy moments like this again."

"Me too." Ben shuddered, pressing closer to her. "Let's just not go out ever again; never leave Oakden."

Kyra nudged his nose with hers. "As tempting as that is, you can't hide from your responsibilities. Just...approach them better prepared, and you'll be fine." She stroked a lick over the end of his muzzle. "I'll let you ignore them for tonight, though."

"Good." He responded with a kiss. "I believe I owe Elijah and Eliana a little...attention."

"Then I'll leave you all in peace." Kyra slipped free of the others, her son settling in her place. The vixen clasped each of their heads in turn between her thighs, her lower lips kissing the curve of their foreheads and muzzles, then collected the disk and statuette and left, murmuring to herself as her tail gently swayed.

Ben chuckled softly. "Methinks our record-keepers are in for a _long_night."

Warm forms, one furred and one scaled, cosied up to him from either side, a long muzzle nosing his right cheek, a short one his upper left chest. Two hands rubbed into his belly fur under the water, and two pairs of hopeful, if mischief-flecked, eyes stared into his.

The fox half-groaned, half-laughed. "You two really wanna make me_choose_?" He curled an arm round each of his companions, setting one hand to kneading Eli's hip, and the other to stroking Lia's rose-tinted stomach. "That's asking the impossible. Could_you_ choose?"

"No," the others chorused, Lupe's paw drifting over to caress Eliana's thigh, while the lizard gathered up the wolf's tail, running her fingers through the length of it.

"Exactly." Chuckling, Ben gave them both warm licks across the end of the muzzle.

Both responded in kind, Lia lifting herself up to nuzzle in properly; the fox slipped his arm beneath her tail and around her bottom to support her. She and the wolf set their paws to roaming the vulpine's front from the base of his neck to the top of his groin, with frequent visits to each other's flanks. A light murr rose from Ben's throat.

"Ben!"_Jenna's voice cried in his head, startling him. _"Sable's loose again! Coming your way!"

"Balls!" the fox spat, out loud. "Sabe's making a break." Surging to his feet, Lupe, Lia and Nick in close attendance, he hastened out, thinking a curt query to his sister. "Where's she going?"

"Sunken Barrow again, I think." Jenna replied. "Weaver and I stopped her taking the west exit. She's heading your way, now."

"Going for the north exit, then." Drying himself and Eli, Ben hid to the left of the passage connecting to the markets, while the wolf took the right. Lia guarded the shorter path out. "We're ready."

"She's taking the Hall," Jenna reported.

Lia tensed, as pattering steps raced closer. A black form tore in, the lizard lunging for it but just missing, fingers brushing fur. The fox-girl made to skid round the pool but Ben leapt out to tackle her, twisting so he hit the ground first. She fought to break free, bucking wildly, and lashing out with hands and feet. The older fox was forced to roll onto her, pinning her to the floor with most of his weight. One flailing paw caught the side of his snout.

"OW!Sable!" he barked. "That's enough!"

She fell still. Warily, Ben propped himself up on both elbows, staring down at the vixen with narrow eyes and a deeply-etched frown. She folded her ears back, a whimper rising from her throat, and lapped his mouth. The elder vulpine sighed, sitting up - though staying carefully astride her - and rubbing the bridge of his muzzle.

"Are you ever going to explain why you keep trying to get to the damn Barrow?" he asked, tersely.

"I left something there," Sable answered, voice wavering. "Something of Willow's. I want to get it back for her."

"You really do dote on her, huh?" Ben observed, softening. "But, the Barrow is unsafe and off-limits to everyone until it's been stabilised, so please...just...wait. We'll get Willow's 'something' back sooner or later, I promise you."

She sagged. "A-all right."

He patted her chest, relieved. "Good. Now you just need to apologise to Jenna for..." He paused, looking around. "Where is_she?" He called out mentally. _"Jen?"

"Hit someone," came the curt, breathless reply. "Outside the Hall."

Alarmed, Ben jumped up to his feet, pulled Sable to hers, and made haste down to the Market junction, then along to where a familiar girl huddled on the floor. She was cradling one of her second-breasts, it and all its fellows, along with her groin, smooth. A bank vole boy in a plain brown skirt knelt by her, concerned and very apologetic, while a lean polecat swathed in velvet robes of an especially rich purple stood over them both, cradling a sheathed sword and glowering murder.

"Stupid little vixen!" the latter snapped, viciously. "Watch where you bloody run! You could have broken it!" He thrust the extremely ornate blade toward her.

"You do realise how ridiculous that sounds, Marven?" Ben interjected as he and the others joined the trio, his voice gaining a keen edge. Eli, Lia, Sable and Nick hung back as he knelt to his sister, setting an arm on her shoulders. "What happened?"

"I was so fixed on Sable I didn't see Jules coming," Jenna replied, her voice still a little strained. "I tried to dodge but the pommel still caught me; knocked all the breath out of me."

Ben turned to the vole, who was wringing his paws, distress creasing his face. "How were you carrying the sword?"

"Laid out across my paws," Jules answered, his voice silken, if tinged with guilt. "Master wanted to be sure people could see it."

"Of course he did." Ben looked up at Marven, cold anger tautening his face and tone. "Never miss an opportunity to flaunt the wealth, hm?"

The polecat bared teeth, biting his words off sharply. "That sword is_unique_ and irreplaceable. It had to be transported with the greatest of care. Hardly my fault if the fat little _bitch_wasn't paying attention."

Ben bolted up, shoving his face into Marven's. "Don't...you..._dare_talk about Jenna like that," he seethed, fists clenching, brush flagging.

The polecat started violently backwards, hissing, his fur standing on end, his bristling tail pushing up his robes; the sword slipped from his grasp to crash to the floor. He jostled Lia, nearly knocking her off her feet; a sneering glare flashed her way as she moved aside.

"Ben." Jenna reached up to touch her brother's hip. "Please don't."

The older fox nodded, taking a step back and a deep breath. His tail and hands relaxed, mostly. He stooped to collect the sword, regarding it quietly. The scabbard was rich red leather with curlicue-etched steel fittings; a bulbous, rugged dragon's head with real gold eyes served as a pommel; the grip matched the sheath; the crossbar was a pair of thin, curving, scaly wings; and the blade itself was double-edged with two blood channels and a keen point.

Ben tested it for balance, and rolled it once round his left wrist, then slotted it back into the sheath and held it out to Marven. "It's superb."

The polecat made a show of smoothing out his fur and robes before reclaiming his property. "It's more than a match for your family's little knife, that's for damn sure."

Ben tensed up, but a glance at Jenna settled him. "That's a matter of taste." He gestured toward the dens. "Please don't let us delay you any further."

"I_do_ have better things to attend to." Marven strode away, sword clasped vertically, and tightly, to his body. "Promptly to my den in the morning, Julian; we've a lot to do."

"Of course, Master." The vole inclined his head. Once his employer was out of earshot - which took just a moment - he added, acidly, "we should start with prying your head out from under your tail."

Laughter rippled round the others. Jenna stood up, her nipples and the crease of her vulva fading back into existence as she lightly hugged Jules. "Don't let him get to you."

"Oh, if only it were so easy." A wry, if pained, grin showed as he gave her a clinch back. He nodded respectfully to everyone. "I really must be going - I owe George some decent quality time."

"Take care!" Jen and Ben chorused, the group waving off the vole.

The older fox looked to Sable. "I'd better take Trouble here home."

The black vixen moved to his side, ears drooping and tail limp.

"I think I'll go back and soak a while longer." Eli turned to leave, Nick by his side.

"And I feel like visiting the Wellspring," Lia decided. "Do you want to come, Jen? Stretch a little?"

The white vixen nodded energetically; she kissed Ben and Sable then joined the lizard, linking their arms. They strolled away through the all but empty market, Jenna's eyes lingering on a vacant trader's alcove as they passed it.

Eliana smiled. "One day, hey?"

"With luck."

Out the east entrance they ambled, into an overcast but dry evening, a light breeze tousling fur and stroking scales. From a waystone paths wended off in many directions; Jen patted the marker twice, then they took one that curved gradually to the south-east. Tall, thin oak posts topped with loose curlicue brackets were spaced along the trail, the spheres of delicate, hollow latticework hanging from them filling with light as the pair approached, then fading as they moved on.

One didn't respond to the duo, so Jenna paused to check it; finding the spell had faded she quickly wove and set in a replacement. This little routine repeated four more times on the fifteen minute walk, the last atop a tidy, time-worn little humpback bridge of mossy stone that crossed a cheerfully bubbling ribbon of a stream.

Just beyond it the path curved up a rise to a clearing, where a modest circle of eight broad stones stood. Clouds of motes, glowing brilliantly, danced about them, while in their midst a shining pillar of quartz rose from a round, luminescent pool.

"Ahhhhh..." Lia spread her arms, basking in the waves of magic rolling from the Wellspring.

Meanwhile, Jenna produced a spell from her right hip, dissolving it to free six more motes, who zipped off to join their fellows. She watched them with a smile. "Glad I noticed you."

"Ben forgot, didn't he?" Eliana asked, dryly, stretching one leg up in front of her, balancing easily on the other.

Jenna giggled, rising onto tiptoes and bending right back, her arms stretching out until her fingers brushed her shins. "Benny would forget his own tail if it wasn't fixed to his backside."

Chortling, Lia fluidly swapped legs, tail curling high. "He's lucky he has such a thoughtful, considerate sister."

Jen's ears coloured lightly; she sank down to let her paws settle on the grass, then with a push from her feet curved up into a handstand, her legs dropping front and back into a split. "Someone's got to take care of the little things," she demurred.

"Just as long as you don't forget to look after yourself from time to time." Eliana sat against a stone, lifting her right leg to her chest then, bending and twisting her upper body forward, tucking it just behind her shoulder. She did the same with her left leg, crossed both behind her head, and settled in place, breasts bunched up slightly between her thighs, tail trailing straight across the grass in front of her, hands resting easily either side.

"Only you could ever find that comfortable," Jenna laughed, subsiding onto her elbows and forearms, and curving her back until her bottom was practically brushing the top of her head, her tail draped along her muzzle. Her legs swung out to either side, dropping a little below the horizontal. "Or could even manage it in the first place."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Lia regarded the fox-girl speculatively. "You look flexible enough to manage it, now."

Blushing again, Jenna relaxed into lying on the grass, muzzle resting on her hands. "You think so?"

"Definitely!" The lizard beckoned with both hands. "You come over here and try it."

"If you're sure..." Not looking entirely convinced, Jenna moved to sit beside Eliana.

"Just take your time," Lia advised, "and you'll be fine."

Nodding, the fox-girl closed her eyes, drew in and let out three steady breaths, then brought her left leg up to rest on her chest. She angled it wide but couldn't quite work or twist it around her shoulder. She huffed in frustration.

"Bend forward just a little more, if you can," Eliana suggested in an encouraging tone, "and dip your shoulder in."

Jenna did as much, with effort, and couldn't help letting out a small whoop of delight when her leg at last slipped behind her shoulder.

"Wonderful!" Lia cheered, clapping her paws. "Now, rest a bit; make absolutely_sure_ you're comfortable. If there's any strain or pinch, free your leg. No point risking injury."

"It pulled a bit at first," the vixen admitted, "but it's fine, now." She giggled. "Strange, but fine."

"Good." The lizard patted her companion's shoulder. "When you're ready, try the other one."

Calming herself, Jenna drew her right leg up. She was able to tuck it in place quite quickly, crossing her feet behind her head afterwards. A pause to acclimatise, then she thrust both her hands skyward, jiggling an excited dance and whooping even louder. "Did it, did it, did it!"

"That you most certainly did." Lia beamed at her, leaning in to kiss the side of her muzzle. "But then, you always were uncommonly talented."

Jenna reddened, flicking her brush to one side to stare at a patch of daisies in front of her. "So some people say."

"Speaking of, how's your little project going?"

Sighing, the vixen started picking the flowers, and weaving their stalks together. "Not very well. I barely have the time to work on it."

"Cole still not pulling his weight?"

"He's shown up twice in eight weeks." Jenna huffed. "I'm having to do all his batches as well as mine. Even when he does show I'm making up for his slack work."

"Is that because you're being told to...or because you think you have to?" Lia probed, just a hint of a knowing smile showing.

Jenna's ears dipped guiltily. "Well, I'm not...required to do it, but..."

"But you're too conscientious by half." Eliana chuckled, shaking her head. "You realise Cole could be taking advantage of that?"

The vixen nodded. "Yes, but if the batches don't get done at all..." She sighed again, plucking a dandelion from a cluster to her left.

"Tried talking to him?"

"He just fobs me off." Her voice wavered faintly. "Tells me I 'wouldn't understand'. I don't know what to do."

Lia slid herself closer, working an arm around the young fox, the hand settling on the bunched-up folds of vulpine belly, and nuzzle-licked her cheek. "Ben's spending the day in Woodlea, tomorrow; maybe he can look into it for you; get some answers."

"If he doesn't get...carried away."

"You really think Gwen'll let him?" Lia's lips quirked.

Jenna snorted a laugh, her ears lifting. "She'd drag him off by his tail before he even had a chance." Smiling softly, she held up her finished necklace of daisies, the dandelion set at the bottom like a pendant.

"Lovely!" Eliana praised. "Could you make me one?"

Jen's smile widening, she reached over to drape it round the lizard's neck. "There."

Lia dabbed a kiss on her nose. "So, onto a cheerier subject - Jessica."

The vixen lit up, a huge grin engulfing her face. "Isn't she_wonderful_?"

The other girl laughed loud. "I guess you like her, then?"

Jenna nodded vigorously, picking another daisy; she tucked the stem between the lips of her vulva, settling the flower into the crease they formed where they met. "She's so adorably shy and awkward, and that fur's just amazing, and she gets Lynne perfectly. I _really_want to make a companion of her."

"Oh, I don't think that'll be an issue." Lia assured. "I do believe she's besotted with you already."

"Looked that way, didn't it!" The fox giggled, eyes shining; three more daisies and another dandelion had joined the first flower.

"Well, you are a sight to behold," Eliana teased. "Even if you're also a little...eccentric."

"I am?" Jenna cocked head and one ear at the other girl, a full seven daisies lined along her vulva, the dandelion in the centre, while two more sat behind her ears; she was in the process of weaving yet more daisies into her tail. "Whatever makes you say that?"

"Little things." Lia feathered a finger along the flowers, chuckling. "Do you think, one you're done showing her around, Jess would be up for a swim in the Grotto Pool?"

Jen clapped her hands delightedly. "Great idea! If she likes the water then I know she's worth trying to get close to."

"Perfect!" Eliana freed her legs, then got up, stretching a hand down to the vixen. "We best get back so you can get plenty of sleep. You're gonna need it!"

"Uh-huh." Jenna's legs were a little less willing to release, but she got them loose after a couple of tugs, then bounded to her feet, all of the flowers still in situ. Grabbing the lizard's paw she tugged her into a jog out of the circle. "Let's go!"

Lia loosed a fresh volley of laughter. "A natural wonder, you are."