{"sf1_id":794039,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Girls’ Weekend Out","author":"assilsasta","words":14365,"posted_at":"2014-12-10T10:04:00.000Z","tags":["American moose","Bike ride","Clean","Female","Fireing range","Guns","Herm","Hermaphrodite","Kangaroo Mouse","Liger","Male","Moose","Morotcycle bike","Mouse","Otter","camping","chinchilla","pranks","river"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/794039-girls-weekend-out","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/794039","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=794039\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nDark Riders\nof Marblecliff\n09 Girls' Weekend Out\nBy\nAssilsasta\n  \n??????????? September 14, 2013 ???????????\n??????????? The ass-crack of Dawn\n???????????\n \n \nThe rest of the group was finishing up their predawn prep\nfor the camping trip. Most of the supplies had been loaded into Susan's jeep,\nand Hank was checking the 'comms' to be sure they were all on the same channel.\nShe wasn't quite sure what Daisy was doing, but it had to be something\nimportant for her not to be checking on her constantly. She slipped the license\ninto the clear plastic pocket on the reflective vest she wore over the thick\nleather jacket Daisy had gotten for her. \n\"WHAT THE FUCK!\" Susan could be heard yelling through the\nhouse. \"I'm going to kill you Boomer!\" Cecily ran to the foyer as she heard the\ncommotion. High on the catwalk balcony, Susan chased the eagle stopping short\nas Alex jumped over the railing. She tossed the leather jacket down at her as\nshe shouted, \"You're going to fix that shit or I'm going to pluck your feathers\nout one at a time. We're going to have American Bald Chicken for Thanksgiving\nthis year.\"\n\"I di'n't do it,\" Alex protested as she caught the jacked\nand landed on the floor below. She held it up and looked at it before she\ndropped and let out a screeching laugh. \"Bu' I wish I t'ought of it.\"\n\"What's going on?\" The moose herm asked as she walked up\nbehind Susan.\n\"That cackling chicken fixed\nthe callsign on my jacket.\" The chinchilla made air quotes as she talked. She\nturned and looked down at the eagle who was now literally rolling on the floor\nas she laughed. \"There is no way in hell I am going to wear a jacket with Fluffy fuckin' Muffins on it.\"\nTrying as hard as she could to keep the grin from her face\nDaisy said, \"well that explains why this,\" she said holding up the original\ncallsign label in her paw, \"was laying in the kitchen floor this morning. I\njust figured you got pissed and ripped it off since you didn't really like it\neither.\"\nSusan snatched the tag out of Daisy's paw as she turned and\nheaded back to her room, \"You can all kiss my ass.\"\n\"All asskissing aside, we about ready to get out of here?\"\nLilliana walked into to the foyer from the back hall. She looked up at Daisy\nand gave her a quick wink as she added, \"And everyone is going to be dressed\nfor this outing. We're going out as a team, we're going to look like a team.\nDaisy went to a lot of trouble to get these jackets for us.\"\n\"Yea I did, it's not like anyone just happened to have a\nbunch of back patches with a black horse and rider laying around. Those damn\nthings had be custom made to order, and were a long damn way from cheap. You\nthink I worked myself half to death at the bakery to make my insurance payments\nand shit? Hell one weeks paycheck a month takes care of that shit.\"\n\"I'm ready,\" Susan said from her room, \"But I'm not going to\nbe held responsible for what happens to anyone in their sleep this weekend.\"\nCecily smiled as she watched the exchange between the women\nof the house. The longer she stayed with the group, the more she felt safe and\nloved, even with the drama that they made for themselves. Susan and alex\nreminded her of the classic sisters she had watched on TV sitcoms. All of them\noverly protective of their younger sibling, which she felt just fine filling\nthat position. \nThe small mouse started to walk up stairs to get the last of\nher gear from her room. As she walked up to her girlfriend she smiled and said,\n\"I think this is going to be a fun trip.\"\n\"Looks that way...\" Daisy said watching the two women going at\neach other in their usual manner. \"At least for once it's not me in the hot\nseat. Let's go grab the rest of our stuff and hit the road short stack, I want\nto feel the wind in my face one more time at least before it gets too damn cold\nto ride.\"\n \n??????????? The Edge of Civilization ???????????\n \nCecily rode in the middle of the pack, Lilliana in front,\nDaisy to her left, shielding her from the oncoming traffic, Alex and Susan\nbringing up the rear in the jeep. Her small custom made mini-bike had no trouble\nkeeping up with the full sized motorcycles that flanked her. The sun had just\nstarted to peek over the horizon as the liger's voice came over the built in\nheadset of her helmet. \"Okay, this is going to be a relaxed trip, Comm\nprotocols are not required, and we have one last stop for a kitchen cooked meal\nbefore we hit the wilderness. Any suggestions on a place?\"\n\"I'd like any place dat 'as some goo' fluffy muffins,\" The\neagle's voice said over the radio just moments before Cecily saw the Jeep\nswerve in her rearview mirror.\" She couldn't help but snicker at the comment.\n\"Doesn't matter much to me,\" Daisy said over the\ncommunication device. \"As long as I can watch it being cooked, and served is\nall I give a damn about.\"\n\"Waffle House it is then,\" Lilliana replied as she flipped\non her blinker and turned into a parking lot, almost as if the question and\nanswer were timed, and the destination was pre-determined. \"Good choice Mouse\nBait.\" \nCecily followed the Honda Shadow into the parking lot\nfollowed by Daisy on her classic Indian Chief. The trio pulled into a single\nspace by the entrance of the yellow building, the two larger bikes dwarfing\nCecily's as they dismounted. Soon the Jeep pulled into another space, Susan\ndressed moderately warm with the leather jacket and pants, while Alex sat in\nthe passenger seat wrapped in an extra blanket; not much more than her beak\nvisible as she tried to shield herself from the cold morning. \nCecily watched, thinking just how impressive they must look\nin the new jackets as they walked up to the door, Alex even tossing off the\nblanket, revealing her's underneath. She wondered just what everyone inside the\ndiner was thinking as the group entered. An older Llama waitress looked at the\ngroup as she sat plates at one table and said, \"Sit anywhere you want, I'll be\nright with you.\" Cecily followed the group as they lined up down the bar,\nClimbing one of the stools almost like a toddler as she sat between Daisy and\nAlex and opened the oversized menu. She knew what she wanted, but continued to\nlook for what she needed to keep Lilliana from adding to her order. \nSoon the llama walked from behind the counter and approached\nthe group as she asked, \"Will this be separate checks or all on one bill?\"\n\"One bill today,\" Lilliana replied, \"And I think we can\nstart with seven coffees.\" She looked down the counter at the group as she\nadded, \"Unless someone wants something else.\"\nThe lama looked across the group also and asked, \"What about\nthe little one? Coffee for her as well?\"\nCecily kicked her legs a little as they dangled off the\nstool. After a moment she sat the menu down and said, \"I'll have a hot\nchocolate with marshmallows. And I'll have the pecan waffles with scrambled\neggs, and bacon.\" She smiled at the waitress as she swished the stool back and\nforth with her hips in a slight childish manner. \n\"I guess I'll have the triple hashed browns smothered,\ncovered, chopped, diced, peppered, chunked, topped and country... and if you have\nanything else meat wise, put that on here too,\" Lilliana said as she slipped\nthe menu between the salt and pepper shakers. \"Not sure what the other kids\nwant though.\"\n\"Give me the two egg combo, over easy, hash browns and a\ndouble side of wheat toast. While I'm thinking of it could I get a large OJ\nwith that too please,\" Daisy said before putting the menu back and stretching\nout a little.\n\"Sure thing sweetie,\" the llama said with a smile as she\nlooked to the last two in the group, \"And for you ladies?\"\n\"Sausage egg and cheese wrap for me,\" Susan said as she put\nthe menu down.\n\"Wha', ya not gettin' da sausage back 'ome?\" Alex asked as\nshe jabbed the chinchilla with her elbow. After she got a growl in reply the\neagle said, \"I'll 'ave da muffins an' gravy.\"\n\"It's Biscuits and Gravy, Boomer. Biscuits!\"\nCecily smiled as she saw Daisy stifle a chuckle at the eagle\ngoading the chinchilla at every opportunity. She leaned over to her girlfriend\nand whispered, \"Just wait till after they've been in the jeep for a few hours.\"\n\"It could be funny as hell,\" the moose herm said, \"they\nhaven't had a lot of time to go at each other with everything going on at the\nhouse and work. I just hope we don't have to haul anyone to a hospital or\nanything.\"\n\"Susan should be able to handle almost anything that happens\nthis weekend,\" Lilliana said as she started to pour cream into her coffee. \"\nBesides, She is talking about trying to go for her nursing degree again, so she\ncould use the practice.\"\n\"I know a chicken that will need a doctor if she keeps this\nshit up,\" Susan said as she downed her first cup of scalding hot black coffee.\n\"If they can find her that is.\"\n\"Don't worry, I left with five bodies, I will return with\nfive bodies.,\" Lilliana said, coldly, \"Just won't guarantee the condition of\nthem.\" She glanced at Daisy for a moment before tossing back the cup of coffee.\n\"Well that's reassuring... not,\" the moose herm muttered as\nshe took a healthy pull from her own cup of coffee.\nCecily reached into her jacket and pulled out a small black\nbook and flipped it open. \"We're going to Crow's Nest Campground. They have\nboating, fishing, hiking... I think it's too cold for swimming, but they do have\na pool.\" She looked through the small notebook for a moment before she added,\n\"and there are several Caches in the area also. Should be some good scenic\nphoto ops out there.\"\nLooking at her girlfriend as she cocked her head to the side\nDaisy said, \"Now where have I heard that before?\" Reaching over and poking the\nsmall mouse in the side playfully she smiled broadly and added, \"you know... it\nmay be a bit too cold for some of those... photo ops this time short stuff.\"\n\"The cache was there, it's not my fault you forgot to get\nthe coin after... the photos.\" the small mouse smiled as she put stars next to a\nfew GPS coordinates in her notebook. \"Maybe you should pick the... treasure for\nus to hunt this time.\"\n\"I'm fine with you picking the hunt squeaker, but this time\nwe see what's in the cache and not what's under each others clothes. I think we\nboth have that part pretty well memorized by now,\" Daisy said with a soft\ngiggle tapping her lover on the end of the snout.\nCecily smiled at the moose as she whispered, \"I'm sure there\nwill be plenty of time to think of new ways to keep each other warm.\"\nPressing her nose to the small mouses Daisy asked, \"What am\nI going to do with you hot pants? You're incorrigible, you know that?\"\nThe small mouse picked up the warm cup of cocoa and sipped\nat is as she said, \"I don't know what you're thinking, I was talking about\nsitting in front of a campfire making s'mores.\" She innocently spun on the stool\nas the rest of the group snickered. \n\"That sounds good to me short stack,\" Daisy said with a\ngrin, \"I think I like the idea of being able to see all around me at once.\"\nLeaning back a little in her seat Daisy smiled broadly, \"I don't care what we\ndo this weekend, it's just nice to finally get one off from the bakery and\nspend it with you and the crazy crew.\"\nSusan leaned over and put an arm over Daisy's shoulder as\nshe whispered in her ear, \"You want to get back at Boomer for the pink fur\nthing? I think she needs a little... fun this weekend.\"\n\"Nope,\" Daisy replied shaking her head slowly. \"Might have\nbeen her idea, but I'm certain you all had a paw in that one. Besides, if I\nretaliate it'll just make the next one even worse. I'll just pass. Thanks anyway.\"\nTurning to look the chinchilla in the face she added, \"Besides, no matter what\nI do or don't take part in, it'll be blamed on me anyway, so what's the point?\"\n\"If you're going to get blamed for it anyway, why not have a\nlittle fun?\" The chinchilla glanced over at the eagle as she added, \"And I'll\ncover for you. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.\"\n\"Hmmmmmm... no thanks. I may just be a mountain hick to you\nall, but I didn't fall off a turnip truck. You and the rest of the Dark Riders\nare trying to teach me something, I get that Susan, but I'm not gonna make\nthings harder on myself than I have to,\" Daisy said with a solemn look on her\nface.\nSusan patted her on the back as she said, \"Lighten up. it's\nall in fun. Unit cohesion and all.\"\nQuickly the eagle added, \"Besides, e'ah undah ordah not ta\n'urt ya... Much.\"\n\"Yea, I guess me bleeding to death or with broken bones\nwould be a little hard to explain, but otherwise it's open season for moose,\"\nDaisy said cracking a bit of a smile. \"You two are up to something, I can see\nit in your eyes again. But since you can't hurt me much I think I might survive\nthe weekend... maybe.\"\n \n??????????? The Real adventure begins???????????\n \nDaisy looked down at the GPS mounted on her handlebars as\nthe group rode for what seemed a long time to get to a campground not far out\nof town. Up to that point she had not really paid much attention as she watched\nCecily, seemingly fully relaxed as they weaved through the country roads. The\nscenery was beautiful, but what had caught her attention was the fact that they\nwere headed into the mountains, which should have still been miles from the\ncampground. She tapped the intercom button on the helmet attachment and paused\nas she didn't hear the beep telling her it was working. After a few more taps\nwith no response she glanced in her review and Alex pointing at her and saying\nsomething to Susan and laughing. \n\"God damn it,\" the moose muttered into her helmet. \"Really\nAlex? Of all the shit to fuck with you pick the comms? Fuck it then, I'll just\nwait and see where we end up instead,\" she said to herself as she closed the\ngap between herself and Lilly a little more. She watched as Lillian taped the\nintercom on her own hemet then signaled her to get closer. As she pulled up\nnext to the liger, a bit nervous about being so close on a mountain road,\nLilliana flipped up the visor and looked over at her and mouthed something the\nmoose could not hear over the road noise.\nDaisy tapped the intercom device on her helmet then shrugged\nat the liger, making a gesture with one paw while shaking her head trying to\nindicate that she couldn't hear what the woman was saying.\nShe saw a now familiar look of anger in the liger's eyes as\nshe just pointed forward, waver her paw in a curving motion to the right, then\nclenched her fist and held it straight up. A moment later, still looked at\nDaisy she tapped the intercom on her own helmet then wiggled her paw as if she\nhad some tool in it before she nodded. Then she slapped her visor down and\nrocketed forward, followed closely by Cecily.\nDaisy glanced in her review as saw Alex stand up in the jeep\nwith a look of confusion on her face. With a smile hidden by her helmet she\nsped up to follow the other two motorcycles around the bend of the forested\nmountain road. After a few she followed her girlfriend and the liger off onto a\ndirt road that ran down a small slope into the wood out of the view of the\nroad. Soon she pulled to a stop beside the other two, who were taking their\nhelmets off.\nAs Daisy pulled off her own helmet Lilliana looked at her\nand said, \"They know better than to mess with my comms. I think the dynamic duo\nmight not enjoy this weekend as much as they think they will.\" She reached over\ntoward the moose and added, \"Let me see.\" As she looked at Daisy's intercom\ndevice she smiled. \"You two are actually going to have an eventless weekend if\nI have anything to do with it.\"\nCecily looked over and asked, \"What did they do?\" as she saw\nLilliana start to removed the padding from Daisy's helmet.\n\"Just a few cut wires, I'll have you fixed up in a minute\nMouse bait,\" the liger said as she started dismantling her own helmet to swap\nthe intercom inserts. As she worked she started to mumble, \"Fuck with my shit...\nwe'll see who has the last laugh this weekend.\"\n\"So I just have to ask Lilly,\" the moose herm said as she\nwatched the liger making the repairs to her helmet's intercom. \"Do they do this\nshit because I'm the new kid, because they're just juvenile delinquents at\nheart, or are they trying to teach me just how not really ready for the shit\nthat's going to be hitting me in the face I am?\" \n Lilliana looked up at\nthe moose as she answered, \"To be honest Daisy, For Alex it's about fifty fifty\non that, she is having a lot of fun with the fresh meat, and if you get her and\nSusan in the same room long enough they come up with stuff. The real question\nis, are you getting the big picture here?\" \n\"Maybe not all of it yet, but some of it yes,\" Daisy said\nleaning back against her motorcycle a little more. \"I get that some of these\nkids that may show up will be messed up as bad as Sisy was when we first met,\nand maybe even worse. Could even be a lot worse in some cases. I get that what\nsqueaker wants to do is give them a safe place to be, and even if only for a\nlittle while for them to have the family they maybe never have had before.\"\nLooking over to her girlfriend, a sad look passed over the moose's face. \"I get\nthat some of them will be harder to get to, and to get them to open up to\nanyone even a little and that because of her age... and mine, part of that will\nfall on us like a bus.\"\nLilliana slapped the reassembled helmet into the moose's\nchest as she said, \"Yeah, you're getting some of it. And you haven't run home\nyet, so you're doing fine. Besides, your mother loved the shade of baby pink,\nthough she thought I should have left you in it longer.\" \n\"For some reason that does not surprise me one bit,\" Daisy\nsaid almost snickering at the thought of her mother making exactly that\ncomment. \"And thanks for at least letting me know I'm on the right track. I\nknow I'm not there yet but I am trying, and I'll keep on trying until I get\nthere, or those two,\" she said jerking a thumb over her shoulder towards the\nroad, \"either kill me, or drive me stark raving mad.\"\n\"Oh, I don't think you get it, this is your weekend to get\nback at them.\" Lilliana smiled at the moose as she continued, \"messing with a\nsolos comms is out of bounds, if you were in a car or something, different\nstory. But if you had a real issue out here on the road, you couldn't have\ncommunicated it to anyone in a timely manner. If you don't do something about\nit, I will, and none of you will like it if I have to take action.\"\n\"Oooookay,\" Daisy said slowly with a concerned tone in her\nvoice. \"I'll have to come up with something fitting,\" she said turning and\nwalking back towards her bike. \"Because I find that statement just a little\nfrightening,\" she muttered under her breath.\n\"At least you know who to be afraid of,\" Lilliana said just\nloud enough for Daisy to hear, \"and they do too. Now lets catch back up to\nthem.\" The liger sat her still dismantled helmet between her legs as she\nstarted up the motorcycle, and revved the motor to let the rear wheel push the\nbike around on the dirt road to head back the way they had come. \nDaisy and Cecily struggled to keep up with the liger and\nmaintain what they thought was a safe speed as she weaved through the winding\nmountain road. It didn't take long for them to catch up to the pair in the\njeep. Daisy got a little worried as the liger pulled up next to the jeep on the\ntwo lane mountain road and tossed the helmet filled with detached padding into\nthe eagle's lap. The two teens Swiftly maneuvered around the jeep as Susan\nslammed on the breaks. All Daisy could see in her rearview was a moment of\nshock or terror on the pairs faces as they looked up from the floorboard of the\njeep, she really wasn't sure which as she had never seen that expression on\neither of their faces before.\n \n??????????? Less Than Expected Conditions ???????????\n \nLilliana led the way down the narrow dirt path into what\nfelt like untouched wilderness. Even though the sun was still high over head\nthe tail almost felt like they were walking through the early hours of dusk.\nEach of them hauled a large pack on their back, Daisy carrying about two thirds\nof the total gear that She and Cecily had brought for them. Daisy smiled a\nlittle even under the bit of extra load as she thought about the extra rocks\nshe saw Lilliana adding to the other packs. As they walked Daisy asked, \"So,\nwhere exactly are we going?\"\n\"Ask Fluffy Muffins back there. the change in venue was her\nidea,\" The liger said as she consulted her portable GPS.\nThe chinchilla huffed as she spoke, \"Its a secluded clearing\nmy sister and I used to come to when we were young. I don't know how she found\nout about it but it was always fun when we went camping. It took me about two\nweeks to find it on the map.\" She huffed again as she leaned against a tree.\n\"Can we take a break Sarg?\"\n\"Are we there yet?\"\n Susan grunted as she\nstood back up and continued, \"No Sarg.\"\nAs the group continued Cecily looked up at her girlfriend\nand said, \"I think Lilly is really mad at them right now. I've never seen her\ndrive them this hard.\"\n\"Yea I think you're right short stuff, \" Daisy said with a\nlittle chuckle. \"All I know for sure is if this is Lilly mad, I don't want to\nsee it aimed at me.\" Walking along beside her girlfriend Daisy asked, \"how you\nholding up sweet stuff, everything okay?\"\n\"I'm okay,\" the small mouse said. \"I told you I can carry\nmore, it's just hard to get this backpack on with the cast.\" She lifted the now\ndingy pink thing that covered her arm. \"I'm glad we get to go in next week and\nsee if I can get it off, it itches like hell. I'll atleast get a new one. I was\nthinking neon green next time... since I will be awake to get it.\"\n\"Yea, that first time around I just told them whatever when\nthey asked,\" Daisy said with a little bit of a sheepish grin. \"I was way more\nworried about the way you just passed the fuck out than anything else.\"\n\"Yeah,\" The small mouse said sheepishly herself, \"It kinda\nhappens a lot. Some things hit me really hard and others hardly do anything.\nIt's kind of hit and miss if you know what I mean.\" She looked up at the moose\nagain and said, \"I heard a rumor that Omen Breaker will be having a show at the\nschool some time this month. You think we can go?\"\n\"Maybe, it's a lot easier to get time off at the bakery with\nthings slowing down a little,\" the moose herm replied mussing her lover's hair\nwith one paw.\n Cecily bounced\ngiddily as her girlfriend agreed to go the the concert, even if the band wasn't\nsomething she was into. Before her excitement could die down Susan spoke up\nfrom behind them on the trail. \"This is it,\" she huffed, The clearing and river\nshould be just ahead.\"\n\"Okay,\" Lilliana said pushing through the last bit of brush\nrevealing the lush, grass-covered clearing. The afternoon sun shown down,\nlighting the place up like some kind of dream. Cecily fumbled with her camera\nand started snapping pictures as the rest trudged past her. \"Tweedle Dee and\nTweedle Dum, Firewood, tents, latrines, go. Squeaker and Mouse bait, drop your\nshit and relax.\" She let the pack slide from her own back as she started to\nwalk out onto the soft sand the willed the bend in the wide, slow flowing\nriver. \"I think Fluffy may have made up for a little of her share of the prank.\nit might not have wifi or showers, but this is just the escape we needed.\"\nLowering her pack to the ground at her footpaws Daisy looked\naround the green carpeted open space. \"Yea, it is a nice spot, kind of reminds\nme of some of the places we used to go to back in Colorado\" Stretching her arms\nover her head she said, \"at least here though there's a real river instead of\nthe shit they call rivers out there.\"\n\"Soak it up now,\" Lilliana said as she laid down in the sun,\n\"In a month or two this will be snow.\"\n\"Now that sounds like home,\" the moose said as she sat down\nbeside her pack and started to rummage around inside it. \"Then again, by then\nmy winter pelt will be in and I won't give much of a shit either way.\" Looking\nover to her small lover Daisy started to giggle madly as she rolled onto her back.\nCecily smiled as she started snapping rapid pictures of the\nmoose rolling care free in the grass. Wanting to join in she flopped down on\nthe ground and started to struggle her way out of the backpack she had on. \"I\nhate casts,\" the small mouse grunted as she used her one free paw to loosen the\nstraps to free herself. As she broke free she rolled over toward the moose and\nspread out on her back. She looked over at the Herm and asked, \"So, what are\nyou thinking about?\"\n\"I was just thinking about how you are with the whole\nsnuggle bug in my fur thing. With it getting thicker with winter coming... I was\nthinking how funny it would look walking around with you plastered to me half\nburied in my fur.\"\nCecily sat up wide eyed as she pressed both her paws, and\ncast into Daisy's fur as she asked, \"It gets thicker? Is that even possible?\"\nShe smiled as she kneaded the soft fur of Daisy's bellyin her fingers before\nlaying down on her like a pillow. \"That would be like adding fluff to a cloud\nor something.\"\nGiggling at the small mouse, Daisy lay a paw on her\ngirlfriends belly. \"Yes it get's thicker, the big reason I didn't wear a heavy\ncoat even in Colorado. The only real downside to it is it takes longer in the\nshower or when I take a bath. Then again, I never had a little mouse scrub\nbrush before to help me get the soap out.\"\nCecily rolled over and smiled as she whispered, \"But it's so\nmuch more fun getting you all soapy and slick.\" She slowly crawled up and\nstraddled the moose's abdomen as she added, \"That's like ninety percent of the\nfun of a shower with you. Slipping my paws into places that make you squeal.\"\nHer tail whipped excitedly behind her as she looked down at her lover.\n\"Yea... I think you enjoy that as much as I do pinning you to\nthe wall and making you squeak nibbler,\" the moose said reaching up and taking\nthe small mouse's face in her paws. \"And I don't just mean when we get wild in\nthere either, a lot of my fun in the shower with you is seeing how much I can\nmake you giggle and squirm.\"\nThe small mouse laid down on the moose's chest as she said,\n\"Do you know how good it feels to know you have furs that care about you? It's\namazing... and frightening at the same time. I know you'll do anything for me,\nbut I feel so helpless when you and Lilly aren't there with me.\"\n\"You do huh?\" Daisy said slowly rubbing her girlfriends back\nwith one paw. \"Then tell me something short stack, what do you think would help\nyou to deal with that?\"\nThe short mouse sat up again and looked down at Daisy. \"I\ndon't know, maybe being bigger than a second grader. All I really have going\nfor me naturally is great speed and cornering, maybe a five foot vertical. but\nthat doesn't help when someone has you trapped.\" Her mind went back to their\nfirst day of school as she lifted up her arm, \"and being half crippled doesn't\nhelp either.\"\nDaisy wrapped one arm over her midriff behind the small\nmouse's rump as she sat up slightly. Her free paw went for her backpack to drag\nit closer as she leaned against it using it as a backrest. Looking her\ngirlfriend in the eyes with a blank expression she said, \"Yea, I guess when you\nput it that way you're just totally fucked. No sense in trying to fight back at\nall. May as well just lay down and take whatever anyone wants to do to you\nhuh?\"\nCecily snickered a little as she said, \"Okay miss reverse\npsychology, You're six feet with a broken arm and someone who is literally\ntwice your height, with the build to match has you in a corner. They have that...\nlook in their eyes that you've seen a million times, and that sound...\" She\ntrailed off as her body started to quiver. \"It... it's different when everyone is\nbigger than you are, when you haven't eaten for days and anything you do isn't\nmuch more than the effort of a small child struggling to get free...\" tears\nstarted to form in her eyes as she lost the metaphor among her own memories.\n\"You either run, or find a way to forget.\"\nDaisy put a paw on the side of her lover's face and said, \"I\nknow that was your past, and I understand more now than I did before about you\nand what it's like to be you, Sisy. There is no shame in running... ever. Even a\nsix foot loud mouthed moose with the attitude of a wood chipper has to learn\nwhen to turn tail and haul ass out of a bad spot. But what you think is nothing\nis your greatest strengths. The real issue is not being able to keep calm\nenough to think things through when you really need to. With your speed and all\nthere shouldn't be hardly anyone that could corner you in the first place.\"\nTaking the mouse's casted arm in her paw daisy tapped on the fiberglass cocoon\nlightly. \"This won't always be there,\" she said looking the smaller girl in the\neyes. \"But this,\" she said tapping her lover lightly on the forehead, \" this\nwill be. It's learning to use your head without thinking about it that makes a\ndifference. I see that kind of thing in the rest of your family. They do things\nwithout thinking about it all the time. Yea it's not huge things but it's the\nway they operate. Sweet lips, you've dealt with being small your whole life,\nand you survived a shit ton of things no one should have to deal with. I don't\nsee anyone so determined to stick around giving up so easy. So I'll ask you\nagain. What can the rest of us do to help you be what and where you want to\nbe?\"\nCecily laid against the moose's chest as she mumbled, \"Just\nbe there when I need you. That's all I want. That's all I have ever wanted.\"\nAs Daisy wrapped her arms around Cecily's small frame she\nsaw the liger watching her intently from the river bank. She wasn't sure how\nmuch Lilliana had heard for even been paying attention to. She had given up\ntrying to interpret the feline's expression, but felt confidant she was doing\nsomething right as the liger laid back down and continued to sunbathe.\n \n??????????? What's for Dinner ???????????\n \nThe group had gathered around a small fire they had set in\nthe sand near the water, as the air chilled toward the evening. Alex lay\nstretched out on the sand in nothing more than a bikini bathing suit while the\nothers sat in folding camp chairs, Cecily snuggled into Daisy's lap as she\nsketched away in her book.\nLilliana let out a mild roar as she stretched and looked\ndown at the the obviously exhausted eagle and said, \"So what's to eat Chicken\nsoup? Or does flufball get to cook today?\" All she received as a reply was a\nnon verbal screech, which made her chuckle. \"Okay then. How about you Mouse\nBait, any ideas on what to cook over a campfire? Don't know how well cakes do\non an open fire.\"\n\"Cakes not so well,\" the moose herm said with a giggle. \"At\nleast not without the right kind of equipment for it. But I think I've got us\ncovered for the most part tonight,\" she added patting the small mouse on the\nleg lightly. \"Let me up sweet meat so I can get some grub going.\"\n\"But I will lose my angel and I am so close to done,\" Cecily\nsaid as she leaned back against her girlfriend. \"Just another hour or two\nshould be good,\" she added with a smile.\n\"Well if you can give me about ten minutes to get things\ngoing you should have that long while it cooks hot stuff. But the sooner I get\nit started the sooner we all eat.\"\nWith a quiet huf the mouse closed her sketchbook and slid\nout of the moose's lap. Her false protest was given away as her stomach churned\nloudly. She placed her pink cast over her abdomen and gave a sheepish smile as\nshe said, \"can you get me some trail... um... nut mix?\" \nDaisy bent down to her small lover with a grin on her muzzle\nand said, \"sure thing hot lips,\" before kissing her briefly. \"Back in a couple\nof minutes.\"\nDaisy returned a few minutes later, her arms laden with a\nlarge olive green bag and two smaller brown ones. Setting them to the side as\nshe knelt by the fire she dug into the larger green bag and pulled out a\nziplock baggie and tossed it to the small mouse. \"One nut mix,\" she said\npulling out another small bag and tossing it to the liger. \"Thought you might\nwant some beef jerky to chew on until supper is ready.\" Turning back to the\nfire she pulled out a folded metal grate and unfolded it setting it over the\nsmall fire. She then pulled out a folding shovel and set about enlarging the\ntrench they had set the fire into so that it was large enough to spread the hot\ncoals out under the entire grate. \"Need someone to grab a little more wood for\nthis fire to keep it hot enough please,\" she said digging into the bags again.\nLilliana kicked the eagle in the leg and said, \"Chef Daniels\nsaid more fuel for the fire tender strips.\" \nAlex rolled over on to her chest and started to groan and\ncrawl toward the stack of wood they had gathered. \n\"School play isn't for another two months, Boomer. Cut the\ndrama,\" the liger said as she slumped a little farther into her chair.\nAs she giggled softly at the adults antics Daisy pulled out\nseveral vacuum sealed packages and said, \"I know it's red meat for Lilly, so\nred, white or fish Alex?\" she asked as the eagle tossed wood into a small pile\nbeside her.\nThe eagle perked up for a moment as she blurted out, \"Fish.\"\na moment later her eyes narrowed and her tone changed as she said, \"Why are ya\nfixin' mine separate?\"\n\"Not just yours Alex, same choice goes to you too Susan,\"\nDaisy said as she turned to look at the chinchilla. \"You're up next squeaker,\"\nshe added as she dug into the bag again. \"And Alex, the stuff is separate to\navoid anything spoiling in transit. It's a trick I learned a few years ago\ncamping in the back woods of Colorado.\"\n\"Ah no ya don',\" the eagle said standing up quickly, \"I\nain't gonna wake up no funny colah in da mornin'. I'll make my own foo'.\"\n\"Suit yourself,\" Daisy said tossing the package of fish back\ninto her bag. \"Same go for you Susan?\" she asked over her shoulder.\n\"I'm too tired for that shit. I'll take whatever's handy,\"\nthe chinchilla said without moving as she laid her head back in the chair.\n\"Just as long as I can keep it down and don't get the hot trots from any special\nseasoning, if you catch my drift.\"\nLilliana snickered as she said, \"I think they might be a\nlittle paranoid. She's smarter than that ladies, if she was going to do\nsomething, it wouldn't be anything you've already done to her. I'd be more\nworried about the fact that Fluffy got us out here in the middle of nowhere\nwith a moose that you guys have been pushing for two months. I know I can stay\nup for three days, what about you two?\"\nDaisy could hear nothing but the sounds of nature as she saw\nAlex looking at Susan for a long moment. Shaking her head as she cut open the\nvacuum packed steak in her paws she said, \"Sisy, come on over here and pick out\nwhat you want while I get Lilly's started. As for you two eat or don't, no fur\noff my ass either way. But I'll tell you the same thing I told Lilly, even if I\nwant to get even I know it'll never happen. If I pull some prank on you two\nyou'll just do it back at me even worse, so what the fuck is the point of a\nbattle I can't win?\"\nAs Cecily sat by Daisy and looked through the large duffle\nshe commented, \" It's almost like looking through one of hank's boxes of\ndismantled MRE leftovers. I almost want to look for two slices of wheat snack\nbread, a pouch of jalapeno cheese, and a beef patty, just to say I had an MRE\nburger.\" After a moment she pulled out a small pouch of chicken. \"I'll have\nthis I guess.\"\n\"Works for me sugar lips. Grab me a couple of those pork\nchops and ummmm, there should be a bigger bag of mixed veggies in there\nsomewhere. Grab that too.\" Daisy pulled one of the small duffles over to her\nand dug out several pots, pans, and skillets with folding handles and set them\nup on the fire grate as she began to prepare the meals for herself, Sisy and\nthe liger. \"Last chance, speak now or cook for your damn self.\"\nCecily walked over, sat by Daisy and leaned against the\nmoose as she cooked. \"You know you kinda have a double standard .\"\n\"What do you mean?\" Daisy asked as she let the cooking\nequipment warm up. \nCecily tilted her head to look up at her lover without\nmoving it from her side. \"Well, you think I should try to stand up for myself\nmore, not let people... push me around, right?\"\n\"Yea,\" the moose replied as she wrapped one arm around the\nmouse. \"You're stronger than you think. And you have people that love you and\nwill look out for you.\"\n\"So... Why aren't you?\" Cecily looked over her shoulder at the\ntrio that lounged not far away. \"You know, Alex is worried that you have\nsomething big planned, but Susan doesn't think you have what it takes to do\nanything about it.\"\n \n\"True enough short stuff,\" Daisy said nodding slightly. \"But\nhere's the thing, no matter what I might try to get back at those two, they're\njust going to keep on doing shit to me. So which is worse, letting Susan think\nI don't have the guts, or just giving up when I know there is no way I can win\nand keep this stupid shit going for months and months?\"\n\"They're going to do stuff anyway,\" Cecily said as she\nlooked back up at Daisy, \"Did you and your brothers ever pull pranks on each\nother?\"\n\"For a couple of years non-stop actually,\" the moose herm\nadmitted as she glanced over to her girlfriend. \"Mom tried to put a stop to it\nmany times. Dad... he just let us have at it. He figured at some point either me\nor the boys would give up and admit defeat. The problem was they were as hard\nheaded as I am usually. It ended the day it went too far and all three of us\nended up in the ER getting stitched up.\"\nCecily stifled a giggle as she asked, \"Who did what to end\nup there?\" She paused for a moment as she leaned against Daisy again looking at\nthe fire. \"Susan is a medic, and believe it or not, they do think about all of\nour safety... most of the time. And... and they are waiting for you... There is a\npool going on whether you will do something or not.\" She glanced back up at the\nmoose as she said, \"I'll split it with you.\"\nLooking down at her lover with a smirk on her face Daisy\nsaid, \"so you've got that I will do something on this trip and you're trying to\nhedge your bet?\"\n\"I just can't help you do anything,\" she said softly. \"The\npool is up to nearly eight hundred I think.\"\n\"Wait... so the longer I don't do anything the more they slap\ninto the pool? Maybe I should wait a little longer and get you more to work\nwith short stack. After all christmas is coming up in a couple of months,\"\nDaisy said giggling softly.\n\"Don't worry,\" Cecily said with a smirk, \"there's always a\npool going on something. I think they even have one going on when I will get\nsomeone else to pose nude for me. I'm trying to hold off until I can get Ralph\nand Zoe. It might be Thanksgiving, if we get the house finished. Thats another\ntwo months. I think you can get in on that one if you ask.\"\n\"Well it would be tempting, but pool or not I'm just already\nsick of the war of stupid. Between those Susan and Alex, that asshole across\nthe street, and all the shit at school... I'm just tired of all of it,\" Daisy\nsaid taking care of the cooking as she leaned over a little bit into the mouse.\n\"Honestly, I have enough shit to deal with as it is. Trying to plot and scheme\nretaliation on that pair is just not that important.\"\n\"Okay,\" Cecily said, with a slightly disappointed tone. \"I\njust thought you might actually get them good. I mean you had two brothers to\npractice on and they are a bit out of practice. But I understand not wanting\nto. I mean its not like they will get bolder when they figure out they can get\naway with just about anything they want. I mean really, they just dyed you\npink, sent you to school in skirts. If it wasn't for Hank, who knows what they\nwould have done to your car. The whole messing with your helmet thing. It's not\nlike they are trying to see how far they can push you.\"\n\"Yea I know they are, just like every other piece of shit\nbully I've ever had to deal with Sisy. That's the whole point of it to me. Giving\nin to them and letting them push me too far just lets them win, and honestly\nI'm not letting them win like that. They can either get the fuck off my back\nand stop or kill me, either way it'll end.\"\n\"I guess I get it,\"the small mouse said with a sigh. \"I was\nkind of hoping to see them get some pay back. They won't let me get involved in\nany of it. They treat me like the baby sister. I mean, it's great and all until\nthey go and say, let me do that, you\ncould hurt yourself. I've fired a potato gun before, it's not that hard.\nAnd I can still climb a ladder and paint, even with the cast on.\"\n\"As far as working on the house Sisy, welcome to\noverprotective families, that's what they do, girl. On the other paw, between\nme and the dork twins... they keep you out of it so there isn't any hard feelings\nbetween us to mess things up, We've already got enough to deal with between us\nwithout that kind of shit.\" Satisfied that their dinner was nearly finished and\ncould be left unattended for a few minutes Daisy turned to her girlfriend.\n\"Sisy, I know they are trying to see how far they can push me before I crack. I\ndon't know...I just don't let their shit get to me like that kind of stuff used\nto.\" Wrapping her arms around the small mouse and hugging her tightly she added,\n\"besides, I've got a lot of other things to deal with that are a hell of a lot\nmore important to me than getting even with a couple of adult juvenile\ndelinquents.\"\nCecily snuggled into the moose as she said, \"I guess you're\nright. I still have a lot to catch up on in my classes, and trying to figure\nout where the Omen Breakers are going to do their next show. But at least I got\nmy Driver's License.\" She pulled the plastic card out of her pocket again and\nheld it in her paws. \"It was so cool of Mister Burke to sign off on the\ntraining paper early.\" \n\"Yea it was, and kind of surprising to be honest,\" the moose\nherm said nuzzling into her girlfriends neck a little. Looking back up to the\ngrate over the fire she said, \"looks like dinners done, wanna grab Lilly and us\nsome plates sweet stuff?\"\n \n??????????? A Good Morning ???????????\n \nCecily finished tying the last knot just how Lilliana had\nshowed her. She giggled a little as she looked at the oblivious sleeping faces\nof her new family. After a moment she looked over her shoulder at the liger who\nnodded back at her. \nBacking away from the three tents, she took a deep breath to\ntry and steady herself as her heart raced in her chest. The feeling was\nexhilarating to think about what she was preparing to do. It was so akin to\npanic, but the rush had a different intensity; not making her want to run away,\nbut watch. \nThe small mouse closed her eyes and screamed with the best\nmimic of panic she could muster with the excitement that was still building.\nAlmost instantly the three figures in the tents scrambled into action, fumbling\nas the tried to get their bodies out the small opening. In a quick succession\nthe three were snatched into the air as their first limb made it out of the\ntents, each screaming at the unexpected upward motion shocked them.\nAlex, Daisy and Susan each hung from a rope suspended in the\ntrees. After a moment of the three bouncing and turning, Daisy and Susan\nhanging by their arms and Alex by one foot, the chinchilla started to giggle\nwhich quickly built into a laugh, followed by the eagle. \n\"Boomer,\" Susan managed to say, \"You looked like a\nThanksgiving turkey on display.\"\nAlex quickly stopped laughing and said, \"I'ma 'urt ya\nfluffy.\" as she started throwing punches into the air that only managed to make\nher spin and bounce more.\n\"Goddamnit,\" Daisy said a moment before she started laughing\nas well. \"It's been a long time since anyone pulled this one on me. I give you\ncredit Lilly, you're better at this one than my brothers. At least this time my\nheads not dragging in the dirt.\"\n\"I told you that you didn't want me to do something about\nthis,\" The liger said as she sat looking up at the group. \"Have we learned\nanything yet?\"\n\"Don't mess with the comms,\" the two older women said in\nunison.\n\"That all three of you are crazy as hell, and you can all\nkiss my furry ass. I got more than my fill of this shit dealing with my\nbrothers and assholes that thought the herm is always the target. Five years of\nshit way the fuck worse than this when I was a cub in New York taught me one\nthing,\" Daisy said scowling at the liger. \"No matter how hard I might try some\npeople will always see me as a target because of what I am. They don't give a\nfuck who I am, just that I'm different so that makes me their target.\"\nLilliana stood up and walked over to the moose. She looked\nup at the herm and asked, \"And just how much of that fancy rant do you really\nthink applies here? Do you think any of us give a shit about your gender? So\nfar, since you have gotten out here you've managed to do a damned good job of\ncontrolling your temper, and doing what you think is right... most of the time,\nother than getting caught up in what ever really happened at the Toy Box. And\nto be honest, I actually like you, and that's saying a lot.\"\n\"Da wha', When?\" Alex struggled to try and turn her body to\nlook in the direction of the moose and Liger. \n\"Can it Boomer,\" the liger said, \"That's between me and\nher.\" She looked the moose in the eyes. \"So, be honest with me. Do you really\nthink anything we do has anything to do with your gender? Or are you having\nproblems with it elsewhere?\" The look in the feline's eyes was a confusing mix\nof angst and concern.\n\"No I don't think my gender is the issue with you or the\ngoober twins, that shit is mostly contain to school and it's not that big of a\ndeal even there. I learned to deal with most of the shit people can come up\nwith a long time ago,\" Daisy said looking the liger in the eyes. \"No with this\nbunch of nut jobs it seems to be more about finding my weak spots and trying to\nmake me crack. Either that or those two,\" the moose said jerking a thumb\ntowards the eagle and chinchilla, \"really are a couple of five year olds\ntrapped in grown womens bodies.\"\nLilliana smiled as she said, \"I think Mouse bait has you two\npegged.\" She walked past the moose and pulled a knife, \"I like that, Goober\nTwins, We'll have to get that on their nametags.\" She cut the rope, letting the\nmoose fall the short distance to her hooves as she added, \"We'll let the Goober\nTwins hang out for a while. Let the lesson sink in a little longer. You two\nwant to do some shooting? I bought a few small arms, fifty cal. and below.\"\n\"You're kidding right? I mean me, with a gun in my paw? Is\nthat even remotely smart?\" Daisy asked a little wide eyed as she stared at\nthe liger.\nLilliana looked back at her as she asked, \"Do I look worried\nabout you with a gun? Or are you telling me that you don't know how to handle\none?\"\n\"An idiot back in Colorado once talked me into firing a\ntwelve gauge and just slapped it in my paws and said have at it,\" Daisy said\nlooking from the liger to her girlfriend. \"Short of it is I slapped myself\nbetween the eyes with the butt of it.\"\n\"So you went shooting with a moron,\" Lilliana said with a\nsmirk., \"Yyou\never seen an expert marksmen? I'll show you how to do it right, and we won't\nstart you off with a hand cannon.\" She looked over at Cecily and said, \"Get the\nkeys to the jeep, they won't need it.\"\n\"If it doesn't end in me trying to explain two black eyes...\nthen I'm in,\" Daisy said with a grin.\n\"I can shoot a derringer fine,\" the small mouse said as she\ncrawled back out of the chinchilla's tent. \"A lot of the other stuff has too\nmuch... kick?\"\n\"Not with that cast on,\" Lilliana said matter of factly,\n\"You'll have to wait till you get it off before trying anything bigger again.\" \n\"So we have a moose that lived out in the mountains that has\nnever really fired a weapon headed out to a firing range with a small mouse and\na sniper, what could possibly go wrong?\" Susan said as she struggled to untie\nthe rope that held her off the ground.\n\"Wait... so that rumor going around school is true?\" the moose\nasked wide eyed as she looked from Susan to Lilliana.\n\"What rumor?\" Lilliana asked looking at the moose.\n\"Just some rumor going through the school grapevine that a\nteacher that had military training was a sniper. Since you're the only one I\nknew that had that kind of training I figured they were talking about you. But,\nto be honest, I figured the sniper part was just\nadded to make it sound more scary or some shit,\" Daisy replied.\n\"I prefer Long Range Precision Marksmen,\" the liger said as\nshe started walking back down the trail toward where they parked, \"It sounds\nmore professional.\"\n \n??????????? Things that go Boom ???????????\n \nLilliana pulled the jeep into the dirt lot as the sound of\ngunfire could be heard in the distance. After parking she stepped out and\nwalked around to the back and pulled a duffle back to the tailgate. \"First\nthings first,\" the liger said as she pulled out a few pairs of protective\nglasses and over the ear noise covers. \"Safety. You'll keep these on all the\ntime out here,\" she said as she handed them to the moose and mouse. \"Nnext,\nwhat do you want to shoot?\" As she asked she started to pull out items, each\nwrapping it a slightly damp oiled cloth, laying them out across the back of the\njeep. \"I only brought handguns, so there is nothing really big.\" \nWhen the liger finished talking she pulled out one cloth\nwrapped firearm that Daisy thought had to be at least a foot and a half long.\nWide-eyed the moose herm said, \"I thought you said you didn't bring anything\nbig. What the fuck is that, a sawed off shotgun?\"\n\"Thats just my toy, not really all that useful for anything,\nbut fun to fire,\" the liger replied as she unwrapped the long barreled hunting\npistol. \"Tthe\nSmith and Wesson Bone collector fifty caliber five shot hunting revolver, with\ntactical rail in the barrel for easy mounting of a scope. A great intimidation\npiece. Should have seen the look on the face of the last person I pulled it on.\nI bet her husband still remembers. I didn't know a collie could run that fast.\"\nLowering her voice Daisy looked at the liger and said, \"then\nit was you that went after Mark and Ariel. Your lucky that the grapevine gets\nshit messed up badly. No one knows who it was and he's not telling anyone. Last\nI heard the story is that he was mugged by midget penguins.\"\nLilliana snickered at the comment as she said, \"I'm pretty\nsure mister Jameson knows who I was, or has a good idea. Just like we have a\ngood idea about him, possibly more than even his closest friends know. But\nwe'll just keep that between us.\" She glanced over at the small mouse who was\nstanding off to the side taking pictures of the scenery. \"Besides, he's already\nmoved to Prairie Flats, and closer to where your brother is.\"\n\"My brother? What does my brother have to do with anything?\"\nDaisy asked tilting her head a little. \n\"What does the well being of the family of the herm my\ndaughter is in love with have to do with anything?\" the liger asked glearing at\nthe moose, \"Do you want to ponder that question again?\"\n\"Okay, point made,\" Daisy said taking a deep breath before\nsaying anything else. \"But I think you're not giving me much credit for\nworrying about my own family. But hey, that's just me. If you and the gobber\ntwins want to be helpful... maybe you can find out more about what the hell is\ngoing on with the other one than I am.\"\n\"We're looking into it,\" Lilliana said softly, \"Their\nsecurity is pretty tight so right now your bison friend and mother are the best\ninfo we can get.\" She turned back to the selection of weapons and asked, \"Do\nyou want to start with a twenty-two? They are easy to handle and should only\nhit you in the face if you're chewing on it when you fire.\"\n\"Funny...no I think we can start a little bit bigger since I\nknow it's not a shotgun. Which now I know you put firmly into your shoulder not\na foot away from it. So what else have you got?\" Daisy asked looking over the\nselection of weapons thinking how much it looked like a gun shop on wheels.\n\"The 22 is the smallest, other than the derringer, which is\nmore of a cap gun than a weapon. I have two Desert Eagles, one a forty five and\none a fifty, don't really like them, but they were gifts. I have a nine mil. I\nusually bring the Lapua, but I left it behind this time.\" \n\"Okay, let's try that nine... thing then,\" the moose herm\nsaid, showing just how little she knew about the weapons.\nThe liger picked up the pistol and pulled back the slide\ntilting it to one side as she looked down the barrel. \"Just so you know, you\nfire it, you clean it. All magazines will be loaded by you and all brass\ncollected. Hank reloads everything, and gets a little pissy if the brass count\nis off.\"\n\"Okay, I assume you're not talking greek and that someone\nwill show me how the hell to clean that thing because I have no idea what any\nof that means,\" Daisy said flatly.\n\"Susan will show you how to clean it, it is hers after all,\"\nthe liger said with a smirk as she handed the gun to Daisy, \"I can't stand\nanything that small. As for brass, that's the shell casings left after you fire\nthe round. Let them sit until we are done for the day, it'll give them time to\ncool off.\"\n\"Okay, so what about the gun safety talk that I'm sure I'm\nin for since I'm the new kid in the group here,\" Daisy said waiting for the\nliger to continue.\n\"Squeaker,\" Lilliana called out to get the mouse's\nattention, \"Give your girlfriend a lesson on the finer points of this firearm.\"\nCecily walked back over to the pair, setting her camera down\nby the other handguns. She reached up and said, \"can I see it?\" Daisy handed\nher the pistol, and the mouse repeated the same simple actions the liger did\nwhen she first picked it up. \"Always check that your chamber is empty, but\nstill act as if it is loaded,\" the mouse said with her eyes on the pistol.\n\"this is a basic glock nine mil.\" as she started explaining the handgun she\npointed to each part and demonstrated the operation. \"This is the safety lock,\neasy thumb movement for on and off...\" Cecily went over every inch of the weapon,\nand explained everything she could remember before looking up at the liger. \nLilliana looked over at the moose as she asked, \"did you\ncatch most of that? I figure you know the dangerous end, Never point it at\nsomeone you don't intend to kill, or piss off using that. and I will be right\nnext to you the entire time.\" \nHolding the still empty handgun in her paw with the muzzle\npointed to the ground Daisy said, \"yea I think I caught most of what she said\nbut still glad to know you're gonna be close by. So now what,? do we sign in or\nwhat?\"\n\"Open Range,\" the liger said with a smile, \"I brought some\npaper targets, nothing fancy, just thought it was about time to get you started\non this stuff considering the arsenal in the house. You will be expected to\nunderstand the basic use of each weapon eventually, except my Lapua. That's my\nbaby.\" With that the liger handed the moose and mouse two boxes of ammunition\nand grabbed some paper targets out of the back, then led the way toward the\nsound of gunfire.\nThe trio spent the next few hours firing the pistols, Lilliana\ngiving the moose pointers as they went, eventually moving her up to a .38 as\nshe got more comfortable with the weapons. They lost track of time as Cecily\nended up taking photos when Lilliana started showing off with almost every\nfirearm they had brought. Daisy watched as the liger seemed more collected and\ncontrolled with the weapons in her paws. \nAfter firing the Bone Collector out of ammunition, the beast\nof a weapon visibly pushing the liger back with each shot, Lilliana said, \"and\nthat is how it's done. Whether you are six feet or a mile from your target.\"\n\"I'll take your word for that, I'm just glad I didn't shoot\nmyself in the hoof. And while I'm glad I guess that you want me to know the\nweapons in the house and how to use them, I hope that I never have to do that,\"\nDaisy said with a serious expression on her face.\n\"Trust me,\" the liger said returning the look, \"I never want\neither of you to need to pick up a weapon for anything other than practice. But\nwith these in the house, and what our plans are, you need to know who to use\nthem, and how to be safe around them.\" She smiled as she added, \"And really,\nyou're not half bad for your first time shooting. It's Alex you have to worry\nabout, She would rather get up close and personal than shoot you.\"\n\"Between you, me, and the fence post,\" Daisy said dropping\nher voice, \"Alex is the one that scares me almost as much as you do.\" Pulling\nthe slide back and checking the weapon in her paws before handing it butt first\nto the liger she added, \"You, because you're Sisy's mother and protective of\nher. Alex, because that bitch is crazy as a loon.\"\nLilliana stifled a snorted laugh as she said, \"If only you\nknew. She is a hot head, but one of the best ones to have on your side in an\nargument. Now lets police up the brass and get back to camp.\"\n \n??????????? Best Served Cold ???????????\n \nThey rest of the day went by quietly, Susan and Alex not\nsaying much at they prepared dinner and the rest of them cleaned the handguns.\nDaisy had an easy time falling asleep as she cuddled up with the small mouse,\nthe sound of music bleeding from her earbuds. Just as the sounds of the world\nstarted to fade away, she felt a nudge at her hoof. A whispered voice rolled\ninto her tent, \"get up bubble oh moose breath.\"\n\"Now what,\" Daisy muttered as she carefully unwrapped\nherself from her small lover and left the tent quietly.\n\"Hows the arm?\" Susan asked as she rubbed her own wrist.\n\"Still feels like I was arm wrestling a bison... and lost. So\nwhat's up Susan?\" Daisy asked with a curious look on her face.\n\"We kind of need your help with something,\" the chinchilla\nsaid as she looked over her shoulder at Alex, \"can you lift your share of about\na hundred and seventy-five pounds? Without waking it that is.\"\n\"Wait a second, you want me, to help you get back at Lilly?\nAre you two out of your minds?\" Daisy looked at the other women as she added,\n\"I've been trying to keep her from killing me and you two want me to do\nsomething that will make her do it....\" Shaking her head slowly she answered\ntheir question. \"Damn it I know I'll regret this but I'm in. Just make sure\nthey spell my name right on my tombstone.\"\n\"Comon Daisy,\" Alex said as she walked over to the pair, \"If\nanyone's safe 'ere it's you. I bet ya could string 'er up in a tree by da\nankles and getaway wit' it. All we needta do is carry 'er over to da river an'\nput 'er on da raft.\"\nSusan leaned in and added, \"Tent and all. We have some\nplanks under it already, just need to lift them up and move it.\"\n\"Oh God... she'll skin us alive for this. Oh well who wants to\nlive forever anyway, let's go.\" the moose herm said falling in line between the\nother pair.\n\"She loves the water,\" The chinchilla said with a smile.\n\"we'll be doing her a favor by getting her closer. The question is, you want to\nbe up to see her wake up?\"\n\"Only if I can hide behind a tree or some shit,\" Daisy said\nwith a little bit of a giggle. \"I've pulled this one a few times before and\nit's usually funny as hell when the victim wakes up. I just worry about her\nripping my head off is all.\"\nAlex glanced at Susan then back to Daisy, \"Ya don' 'hafta be\nda fas'es' runner, just not da slowes'.\"\n\"So just faster than one of you two? I think I can pull that\noff,\" the moose said glancing over her shoulder at the chinchilla. \n\"Wait,\" Susan said looking at Alex, \"Maybe we need to come\nup with something better.\"\n\"Ya can't chicken out now Fluffy,\" the eagle replied with a\nsmile, \"Ya already got da moose in on it.\"\nEach of the three lined up around the liger's tent and took\nhold of the board that had been barely covered with leaves. \"On tree.\" the\neagle whispered\n\"You guys sure this is going to work?\" Daisy whispered as\nshe sat there couched by the tent.\n\"If it don't remembah, Ligers ken climb trees,\" the eagle\nwhispered back before she started to count, \"one... two... tree.\"\nAs the group lifted the tent off the ground Daisy felt the\nweight shift within. The entire group froze and listened for a few moments\nbefore Susan whispered, \"I think we can move now. Take it easy.\" Slowly the\ntrio moved toward the river where an inflatable raft was awaiting them.\nCarefully they maneuvered around so that the tent was generally centered over\nthe raft and set it down.\n\"Now to get it out into the water,\" the chinchilla said as\nshe started to push the small portion that was logged on the shore to hold the\ncraft in place. \"I swear to god she is getting heavier.\"\n\"Don' le' 'er 'ear ya say dat,\" the eagle said stifling a\nsnicker as she moved to help her push.\nHelping the other women push the raft out into the water\nDaisy whispered, \"I'm gonna die, I just know I'm gonna end up being the one she\nrips the face off of for this shit.\"\nAs the raft broke free of the land and started to drift with\nthe current Susan said, \"You remembered to anchor it right?\" As the eagle\nlooked back with obvious shock in her eyes, the chinchilla said, \"Um... I think\nwe should go ahead and start packing.\"\n\"Wait... what?\" Daisy said as she watched the raft drifting\naway with the current. \"Mother fuck,\" she muttered a little louder, \"you mean\nto tell me we just set her adrift? What the fuck?\"\n\"She'll be okay,\" Susan said as she started back toward her\ntent. \"I just wouldn't want to be here when she gets back.\" The eagle followed\nher, quickly leaving the river bank.\nDaisy glanced from the retreating women to the tent floating\naway on the raft a couple of times trying to decide what to do to keep her pelt\nintact and on her body. \"Goddamnit, she'll kill me either way...\" she said\nstripping off her shirt before diving into the rushing water and swimming after\nthe raft.\nFrom the shore she heard a \"What the fuck is she doing,\"\nnearly shouted as she swam through the cold water. As she reached the drifting\nraft she grabbed ahold and started to push it toward the bank. She breathed a\nsigh of relief as she felt the raft nudge against the soft shore. Getting her\nhooves set on the river bottom she pushed the raft far enough inland that it\nwouldn't drift away again then crawled onto the shore and flopped onto her back\nto catch her breath.\n\"You know,\" A familiar voice said from above her, \"It's way\nmore fun to watch them panic. But now you have them worried about you too, and\nthey can't leave until they know you're okay.\" Daisy looked up to see Lilliana\nstanding over her. The Liger smiled down as she said, \"But it is refreshing to\nsee you acting more like part of the group.\"\n\"I.... God damn it Lilly,\" the moose whispered as quietly as\nher breathing would let her.\n\"Push it back out into the river and come with me. They'll be chasing it for\nthe rest of the day,\" the liger said as she reached down to help the moose up.\n\"you can't let those two get the upper hand.\"\nTaking the liger's paw and pulling herself to her hooves the\nmoose herm looked the woman in the eyes and asked, \"and why does that sound so\nfucking easy when you say it?\"\nLilliana smiled as she replied, \"How hard can it be to stay\none step ahead of two loud mouths that like to hash over their plans before\nthey do them? It's like listening to high school kids talk about their plans\nfor the weekend.\"\nShaking her head as she pushed the raft back out into the\nriver daisy said, \"maybe around you they do. But it's not like I have nothing\nelse to do but sneak around after them ya know? I do have school, and homework,\nwork at the bakery, and a mouse that needs me and her crazy ass family that would\nrip my face off if anything happened to her to deal with.\"\nLilliana led the moose away from the river onto a narrow\npath in the woods as she said, \"I never faltered you on anything you've done.\nI'm actually surprised how well you're keeping your grades up with everything\nyou got going on. Maybe you should take up a sport so Sisy has an excuse to get\nmore action shots of you.\" She looked over her shoulder as she added, \"Other\nthan the ones she has. Can't really show those off in art class. And I don't know\nif you want her dropping them out of that sketchbook of hers either.\"\n\"You're serious?\" Daisy said looking at the liger as if the\nwoman had grown a second head. \"Right, let's add practice a few times a week\nand games every damn week to what I already have. It's not like I need to sleep\nor anything right?\" Muttering to herself for a few moments she added, \"I think\nI've lost my mind but I guess I'll look into it. If nothing else it will keep\nme away from that pair more,\" she said jerking her head towards where she\nthought their camp should be.\n\"That's one way to look at it,\" the liger said as the sound\nof yelling came from behind them. Daisy could almost make out her name among\nthe gibberish that the eagle squawked. The liger continued as she turned more toward\nthe camp, \"The one thing is you will have to wait till next season, most of the\nteams are set for this one. So you have some time.\"\nDaisy followed the liger through the brush until they got\nback the the camp, coming in to find it all but vacant. Cecily sat in a camp\nchair by the river, apparently oblivious to everything around her as her head\nbobbed to some tune. Lilliana stopped and glanced at the moose as she asked,\n\"What's wrong with this picture?\"\n\"You mean other than a mouse that seems to be far too calm\nfor all the ruckus that was going on a couple of minutes ago? The one that is\nsitting there in that chair like nothing is going on even though Alex and Susan\nhad to have been freaked the hell out when I didn't show back up before they\ntook off?\" Daisy asked looking the campsite over again.\n\"Fuck, you haven't figured out the music thing to calm her\ndown yet?\" the liger asked as she scrunched her face looking at the moose. \"How\nabout the fact that I don't see a chinchilla or chicken, but I see Squeaker\nstill sitting there?\"\n\"Lilly, I've known about the music thing for a while now,\nbut I also know that she doesn't always have both ear buds in too. I'm pretty\nsure even with it turned up she couldn't have not heard the other two screaming\nlike they were unless she went deaf. As far where they are... Susan said\nsomething about not being here when you woke up on that raft. Though with that\npair I wouldn't put anything past them. Not even them hiding out in the woods\nto see if either of us came back. And I highly doubt that Alex would leave Sisy\nsitting there by the river like that if she went very far,\" Daisy said looking\nmore closely at the trees around their camp.\nLilliana smiled as she said, \"You've never seen those two\nreally panic when they think they've screwed up. I'm sure they never expected\nyou to jump in the river. Quite impressive move I might add, Moose don't swim\nthat well.\" The liger looked around the camp then back to the moose, \"How does\nWaffle House sound for breakfast?\"\n\"Sounds okay to me,\" Daisy said with a little grin on her\nmuzzle. Without raising her voice at all she added, \"that work for you radar?\"\nThe mouses ear twitched a moment before nodding her head.\nShe turned around in the chair as she said, \"I've got more than enough pictures\nof this spot.\"\nAs she started to walk over to her girlfriend Daisy looked\nto the liger and said, \"we're not a hundred percent yet Lilly, but we're\ngetting there. She and I still have some things to work through and deal with,\nbut we're beginning to understand each other a lot better.\"\nLilliana shook her head and smiled. She looked back at the\nmoose as she asked, \"How far are you willing to go to panic that pair? As of\nnow they probably know I am not in the tent, but they don't know you're not in\nthe river.\"\n\"Before today I would have not given much of a shit about it\nto tell you the truth,\" Daisy said as a sly smirk came to her face. \"But after\nthis, and leaving short stack behind... this one they pay for. Count me in for as\nfar as you think it needs to go.\" \n\"Are you willing to leave that sweet ride of yours behind?\"\nLilliana asked, her head cocked to the side. \"I can guarantee they won't leave\nit. I just can't guarantee that they will come straight back to the house when\nthey think they lost you with their prank.\"\n\"If it'll make them think that then sure. You don't live\nnear Denver with a bike like that without taking precautions. ever piece of it\ncan be tracked nine ways from sunday and there are more than a few GPS trackers\nin it,\" Daisy said looking over to the classic road cruiser. \"Another favor\nfrom a friend with similar interests I guess you would say.\" Looking back to\nthe liger she added, \"so whatever you have up your sleeve let's do it.\"\nAs the moose agreed Cecily walked over and held out her paw\nto the liger. \"I told you she wouldn't make it through the weekend.\"\n\"Doesn't count Squeaker,\" the liger said with a smile, \"She\ndidn't do it on her own. She's still just following along.\"\n\"Hmmmph,\" the moose huffed a little at the ligers words.\n\"Yea you're right I guess Lilly,\" she said scooping up the small mouse in her\narms and hugging her tightly before setting her on her paws again. \"Go get your\ngear squeaker and meet us down by the trail okay?\" When Daisy turned back to\nlook at the liger she was grinning from ear to ear. \"At least I chose the right\none to follow.\"\n \n??????????? If You Build It ???????????\n \nDaisy climbed off the back of the bike and stretched.She\nwasn't sure how long she had been huddled behind the liger as they followed the\nmouse on what must have been the longest, most winding route back to the house\nshe could find. She'd ridden along in general peace as the Cecily's music\ncollection played over the intercom system into her helmet, almost lulling her\nto sleep at times.\nThe trio walked into the house to find Hank and Detlev in\nthe great room relaxing in new log wood couches that the otter must have made\nover the weekend. Hank looked over at the group as they entered and said, \"How\nlong are you going to let them try and dredge the river looking for her body?\"\n\"Nice couch,\" the liger said, apparently avoiding the\nquestion, \"Did you get any worthwhile renovations done?\"\n\"I did a little something up stairs,\" he replied. as he\nturned back around and took a sip from a glass of ice tea.\n\"But I thought everything upstairs was done,\" Cecily said\nsoftly. \"What did you do?\"\n\"Don't worry, you can't miss it Squeaker.\"\nLilliana growled just a little as she said, \"Go ahead and\nrun your stuff up to your room. You and Daisy can go out and have some fun\nbefore the others get back.\" She walked over to the otter and started whispering\nin his ear, the look on her face not one that either of the teens liked seeing.\nThe smirk on Detlev's face was the only consolation that they had that there\nwas really nothing wrong, yet Daisy still worried what he might have done, and\nwhether it was aimed at her.\n\"Come on Sisy, let's go drop this stuff and get out of here\nbefore the other two show up,\" Daisy said nudging her girlfriend towards the\nstairs. A few moments later when they go to the door to their room Daisy said,\n\"Umm, you know what, hold up right there a second short stuff and let me get\nthe door,\" as she set her gear down and carefully opened the door to the room.\nSticking her head in and glancing around a little she looked back to the small\nmouse and said, \"well the furniture isn't nailed to the ceiling or anything so\nI guess it's safe enough.\" Throwing the door open the moose grabbed her stuff\nand walked in heading towards the bed before she froze in her tracks wide eyed\nand said, \"what the hell is that?\" looking towards their sitting room.\nCecily walked around the moose and paused as she said,\n\"It's... a... doll house?\" The pair stood for a long moment as they looked at what\nappeared to be the front facade of a half scaled townhome. Slowly the mouse\nwalked over to the unpainted wood shingled wall that replaced the opening of\nwhat was their sitting room. She glanced back over her shoulder as she\ncautiously got closer to the faux two story structure. \"I don't know, but it\nlooks neat.\"\n\"Yea it does kinda,\" Daisy said walking over closer and\nsitting on the floor at one of the window openings and looking inside. \"You\nknow.. I don't know if he did this as a joke or what, but it could be kind of\ncool if he finished it out.\"\nCecily walked through the door opening into the  smaller room, almost perfectly proportioned\nto her short stature. She walked to the far end where the large bay window let\nthe afternoon light in from outside. \"I... I like it. It's like it was made just\nfor me.\" She walked up the small staircase to the second floor as she looked\naround. \"It... It just needs furniture. A desk over there,\" she said as she\npointed. \"Maybe make a sitting room or something.\"\nSticking her head through a n opening on the second floor\nand looking at her lover the moose said, \"yea and since the door is your size\nno one bigger than you by much could even get in there if they wanted to. Your\nown little get away inside the house where you can be left alone by everyone,\neven that aggravating, pesky ass moose that follows you around all the time.\"\nThe small mouse ran over and put  both paws on the moose's snout as she pushed\nher back out the opening. \"Make yourself useful and get Hank. It needs windows\nand a door.\" The giddy mouse pranced around the open space as she mentally\nstarted decorating the walls. \"I'll put the... hiking trip photos over there... And\na table, I need a table to put stuff on.\"\nGiggling at her girlfriends enthusiasm Daisy got to her\nhooves and went out to the overlook of the stairs. \"Hey Hank, boss lady wants\nto see you up here about your little surprise,\" she hollered down to the group\nin the keep.\n\"I can take it out in under an hour,\" the otter replied from\nthe distance, \"It's only  tacked in the\nwith a few screws in the studs.\"\n\"Hahaha, take it out hell, she wants to tell you what\nfurniture she wants for it. She's in there working out her decorating scheme\nnow,\" the moose yelled down to the otter. \"Wouldn't keep her waiting long if I\nwere you.\"\nHank walked up the stairs as he said, \"That's just scrap\nwood left over from finishing up the dorm rooms. It was meant to be a joke.\"\nFrom within the room Cecily yelled, \"Joke or not, get the\npaint swatches, you have a lot to finish.\" As the two looked into the room at\nthe house, she leaned out and added, \"I love it.\"\nThe otter looked at the moose as he said, \"Not the reaction\nI was expecting. She is usually a little self conscious about her size.\"\n\"The joke ended up on you Hank, it's the fact that it's just\nher size that makes it great for her,\" Daisy said patting the otter on the\nback. \"Whatever your reason was, you ended up giving her something special, a\nplace in this house she can truly call completely her own.\"\nHank shrugged and said, \"If that's what she wants I better\ndo it right. Let me get  the tools. That\nsecond floor will need reinforcing.\" He then turned and walked back down the\nstairs.\n As the moose sat down\non their bed and watched the mouse trotting in and out of the small private\nspace  taking stuff in with her, she\nsmiled. \"If that's a doll house, does that make you a doll sweet cheeks?\"\nCecily leaned out one of the windows as she replied, \"As\nlong as I can play dress up with you for the concert when it happens, I'll be\nyour doll.\" She smiled and winked before disappearing into the  little structure like a young child with\ntheir first play house.\n \n \n \n \n\n\n\nNonsensical sentence.\n\n\n\n"}