FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Clover Mesa - 18 Miles

She felt relief when she saw the sign, not having seen one for thirty minutes. She definitely wasn't a fan of these path-beaten dirt roads.

Her license swung to and fro from her rear-view mirror when she hit an uneven stretch. When it was over, it settled, her name and the dead-pan expression of her mug facing her.Grace, Amaryllis, was printed in some anti-forgery manner that looked ugly. She was told not to smile, so her picture looked like she was stoned.

But, she was proud of it. She had gotten it only a few weeks ago, and it served as a symbol of her freedom. Her independence from overprotective parents, who didn't believe she had the wits to make well-thought decisions.

Her mom seemed more obsessed with her breasts than_she_ was. Ever since she had started blossoming a few years ago, it was like she must suddenly be a raging nymphomaniac.

Two years of oppressive, suffocating insecurity that only resulted in the exact opposite of what her mother tried to avoid. While she had managed to play with them, she was restrained from boys. But all she had to do was replace the_b_ with a t, and she was just as satisfied. Besides, boys were dumb bricks most of the time. Ordinary pocket lint made better attempts to get into her secretly-worn lace panties.

Especially now, down this long and muddy road, she could rely on her extra accessories to help slake her if she so felt inclined. A good orgasm or two usually quelled the bit of homesickness she had been guilt-tripped into feeling whenever she didn't sleep in her bed.

Though this was no sleep-over or anything like that. Her mother was to assume she was going to a new friend's house, and whether or not she found out it didn't matter. Wouldn't be the first time. This... was actually business.

His name was Cornelio de Agosta. The mink was an absolutely adorable poof, but a gentleman. His Italian accent danced--or rather fumbled--over the line of intriguing, and a little exhausting to follow. He was nearly twice her age, and appeared to have a bit of wealth in his pocket.

She met him at a fancy coffee shop, on one of her little cruises looking for new places to drive to in town. She had no idea the place was so expensive, and she was embarrassed at how she couldn't afford anything but the minis.

He was in line behind her, and asked her what she was looking to get. She meekly replied, and he ordered two. At first her hackles were raised, thinking he was a sleazy old perv trying to hit on her. Especially with his accent, it was like he was going Super Saiyan, but with warning-lights and bad vibes.

But then, when they sat down at the table, he just started working on his Macbook.She had to break the awkward silence and get his attention to start a conversation. Somehow, she didn't get any more impression that he had any intention of getting into her pants, and then she wound getting offered a job as a chauffeur.

However, not for him. Thankfully.

The trees, whirring by in a blurry streak, gave way to a grassy, flowery field. The overcast afternoon sky gave the flowers a pastel kind of look, making the petals vibrant and the greens dull.

Suddenly, an alarming squeal came to her ears, making her jump.

"...olice still looking for S-- ... --ear old girl, who went mi-- ... --ths ag--"

When she collected herself, she punched the radio off. She had forgotten it was on, having fallen out of range of her favorite station some time ago.

The road began to twist and turn now and again, navigating around sharp rises in the landscape. It was only an hour's drive out city limits, but it looked like a whole 'nother world.

She spotted it. It played peek-a-boo with her from behind a rise. Another few minutes, and she had arrived.

There were six houses on the mesa, miles apart. His was, according to him, one of the more conservative. He had shown her pictures, but seeing it in person was... a little breath-taking, to put it lightly.

The front face of the house, or quite possibly mansion--or the closest thing she had come to one--was made of a deep orange-red stone. Even beneath the overcast sky, the stone gave the perpetual appearance of a twilight sun shining upon it.

From the grass to about four feet up, a flight of stairs stretched from one end of the patio to the other. At the top of the stairs, small sections of wall helped to give the patio a slightly more enclosed feeling. Each of the walls had stylized, chiseled holes in them to balance their otherwise solid and bland appearance.

The patio proper had enough space for a small outdoor gathering party, with five standing tables for socializing.

Four fans idly swirled overhead: one over the entrance from the stairs, two aside the middle, and one at the back by the front door. Their blades were carved to look like large leaves.

Upon the tile were dozens of flowers depicted in a_trompe l'oeil_ style, that appeared to stand up out of the sandy color. But, as she neared them, they turned into abstract, elongated streaks.

The tamping of her sneakers had a peculiar echo that she was not expecting, that made her lift her ears to listen to it bounce gently about off the stone walls. She also picked up a curious wind, that sounded hollow and somber, as if she were inside an ancient tomb.

She approached the mahogany doors, and curled her fingers about the brass_heutoir_, giving it a tentative tap. She winced at the surprisingly loud echo that snapped through the enclosed foyer. But surely, it was too soft a sound for anyone inside to hear. Holding one hand up to one ear to at least dampen the noise, she gave several loud raps.

They sounded like gunshots.

With her hearing a little muffled and her heart beating a bit faster from the loud reports, she took a few steps back from the door.

A moment later, the heavy clatter of the door-latch giving way also made a ruckus through the quiet foyer.

From the thin rift that was allowed, a small amber eye peeked through. Then, came a gasp, and the door opened. "Oh, you're here!" Exclaimed the girl.

"Sophia," called the familiar, yet foreign, voice, "Chi è alla porta?"

Even as he asked, his voice approached, and the door opened wider to reveal the girl and the mink. "Hey," the Corgi bid to the older mink, waving.

"Amaryllis,ciao," the mink greeted with a smile, beckoning his guest in. "I did not eh... hear bell ring," he commented.

"She knocked, dad," replied the girl who had first opened the door. "Everyone does, because the bell is too hidden" She leaned to the corgi, as if speaking aside, "Everyone misses that the beetle is actually the doorbell, and knocks," she straightened up, and shrugged.

"Begh," he gestured, dismissing the comment. "Vai a prendere tua sorella," he instructed, pointing.

"Yeah-yeah, I'll get her," the girl said with a bit of excitement, skipping off sideways, "be right back!" She waved to the corgi.

Ama waved back with a smile. "It's nice to finally see one of them," she said, if a bit stiltedly.

The mink smiled. "They have been, eh... very excited to meet you," said the Italian, his English a bit hesitant and carefully spoken. "Come, come,seguimi," he extended his hand, "we go to, eh... den. Mie figlie meet us there," he nodded.

She took his proffered hand, noticing that he was lapsing into his first language a lot more often than she was used to. "I love your home," she complimented.

"You had any, eh... trouble finding?" He asked, leading her past the stairs, and passing through an open threshold into a rather cozy lounge. "Please, sit."

"Not really," she answered, sitting at the near end of the leather sectional, which settled with a rather agonizing groan when she committed her weight to it. She coughed, to distract from it, "I, uhm... just followed the directions you gave me," she elaborated, sitting up a bit straighter. "Just glad it wasn't too far up the mesa," she admitted.

The mink waited patiently, still standing with his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the entrance of the den as if in deep thought.

A few seconds of silence passed before Amaryllis heard the clapping of soles upon the stone floor. They neared rapidly, and the girl returned, in the company of her younger sister.

Amaryllis caught a quick glimpse of the rabbit before the girl took in a big gasp and squealed with excitement, rushing over to her. The corgi found herself in a tight hug with the doe. "Hello, there," she giggled.

"Hi!" The rabbit said back, bouncing on her toes. "You're Ama, right?" She asked.

"Yup," the teenager replied.

The girl hopped back, pulling her hands behind her back in the same manner of her father, "I'm Trinity," she greeted.

Trinity appeared to be about half the corgi's age. Though she was lagomorpha in almost every respect, her fur was definitely from a canine, and by the look of it a black-and-red German Shephard. Most of her forehead, muzzle, chin, and neckline from shoulder-to-shoulder was covered in the black fur, while the round of her cheeks and temples, circles about her eyes, ears, arms, and legs were covered by the light-brown, reddish fur; save for a few dashes of peppered coloring here-and-there.

The rabbit's ears tilted with the cock of her head. "I thought Corgis were golden," she observed.

Amaryllis smiled, "and I thought rabbits were white and brown," she countered.

"Trinity," the mink admonished.

"It's fine, I get it all the time," Amaryllis said to the Italian. "It's_Blue Merle_," she clarified.

"I think it's pretty," the doe-mix said, taking a step back. "Sissy's plain ott'," she replied, thumbing to Sophia, who folded her arms and returned a stink-eye.

Cornelio cleared his throat. "Have you two finished, eh... chores?" He asked.

"Almost," the otter replied, her posture relaxing.

The Italian clapped his hands.

"Oh, um..." Amaryllis interjected. "I have to... use the restroom?" She asked, bashful at having to ask so quickly, but it had been a while since her last stop and she was about ready to do_the dance_.

"Sophia,mostrarle al bagno, si prega di."

"Si signore," the otter replied, and waved her hand in beckoning, "c'mon."

Ama gingerly stood and followed the young girl, who was at most a teenager. Either a late-bloomer teen or just a really proper tween; Ama noticed, as she followed the girl down the hall, that Sophia had something like a Victorian-era aura of dapperness about her.

Not in a prissy,holier-than-thou kind of way. It was more just in subtleties, like her posture and the way she walked, which was miles different from Trinity. She also came across as the quiet type, either because that's just who she was or because her sister--the obvious hyperactive type--sapped her energy and required a great deal of patience in order to tolerate.

Or, perhaps, because she was the oldest, and by a few years, Cornelio has instilled in her some lady-like principles that had been relaxed when Trinity came along. It felt like that was probably the right answer, just from first-impressions.

"Just down the hall, door on the right," the otter said, after taking her through the kitchen.

"Thank you very much," Ama said, feeling the need to meet the girl's polite atmosphere just in case it was a cultural thing, or something like that.

"Yuppers," the girl replied before turning back the way they came, as if reading the corgi's mind and dashing all those thoughts right away.

Amaryllis followed the hallway, looking about. She passed another hallway that sprouted to her left, and wondered if it was down there, before realizing she had gotten her rights-and-lefts mixed up again. It seemed correct at first, aside from the obvious, because at the very end of the hall there was a door.

However, it was not quite a normal door. It was normal in the sense that it had a frame and hinges and all the other doory-things one might expect. But, it was scaled down to about a third the height of a typical door, like it was made for a dwarf.

"Hey," came a voice from behind.

She glanced back, to see Sophia approaching.

"C'mon, it's this one over here," the otter said, walking past.

Ama followed, and once again thanked Sophia for showing her where it was, as the girl stepped in and turned the light and fan on.

"Yeah, sorry. The house is kinda a maze," the otter replied.

Ama went in and shut the door, engaging the privacy lock. As she did her business, she took a bit of time to look around. The whole house gave her the impression of an old Italian-style home, and then anything that didn't contribute to that was begrudgingly tolerated.

The wall opposite her had several framed paintings, many of them flowers. The wall was split in half horizontally, with the bottom made of white wood and the top covered in wallpaper with several soft shades of olive-green and cream-white in a brushy pattern.

Then there was the shower-tub, with checker-board tile and a shower-curtain that had_Loony Tunes_ characters on it.

Oddly enough even the toilet seat stood out, made of wood instead of porcelain. The bathroom was rather chilly, in fact, and she had also noticed that the wood didn't have that terrible cold-seat shock.

What most exemplified the juxtaposition was the_Scooby Doo_ soap dispenser, which had a soap that smelled like a bottle of well-aged wine.

She stepped back into the hall, and heard conversation in the kitchen. It was low, between Cornelio and Sophia by the sounds of it. They were speaking in Italian, so she had no idea what they were saying. She passed by a book case, and saw it had all kinds of aged books, with titles in other languages.

Then, she came upon the little hallway.

She paused.

The hallway was a dead-end.

The door that she had glimpsed a few minutes ago was gone. Or, maybe it hadn't been there in the first place. It had been the same color as the wall, so maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, for now all she saw was a plain wall with a sconce protruding from it.

She was distracted when the conversation lowered, and the tone seemed to change toward something like frustration or urgency.

"E 'il piano di sopra è pulito?"

"E 'quasi fatta. Non ci aspettavamo di lei così presto."

"Si sarebbe dovuto fare questa mattina."

There was a pause, one that brought Ama back to when she was getting a right-good scolding from her own parents.

Se lei fa qualsiasi... commenti... poi si sa cosa sta per accadere.

Amaryllis wasn't quite sure if there would be any good moment to walk in, but then her body decided now would be a perfect time to let out a nervous hiccup after holding her breath. She heard a distinct silence come from the kitchen, and so decided it was best to show herself.

"Hey," she entered, as if she didn't expect them to be there. "I like your soap," she blurted, as if she didn't already feel awkward enough. "It smells nice, I mean."

Cornelio and Sophia exchanged glances, with the mink relaxing and taking on a smile. "You like wine, then?" He asked.

"Um... Y-Yeah," she said, though it was a bit of a white-lie. She was more into vodka mixed with raspberry or pomegranate.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Oh, no thanks, I don't drink this early."

Cornelio tilted his head.

"She thinks you're offering wine, dad," Sophia explained.

The mink's face rose up and his hand pressed out to gesture his realization. "Oh, no-no-no-no-no-no," he chuckled. "I just eh... meant normal drink. We have water, tea, eh..."

Sophia cut in, "we have sodas," she offered.

"Eh... why not offer Bellini?"

"She doesn't want alcohol," the otter replied.

"No-no, I made last night is eh... what is it you call?"

"Oh... you made a mocktail?" Sophia asked, opening the fridge.

"Aha, yes, mocktail," he said, uttering each syllable as if trying to commit it to memory.

"I'll try it," Amaryllis agreed.

"Versare una anche per me, per favore."

As Sophia was retrieving one cocktail glass, her father spoke, and so she plucked another from the cabinet. She made quick work of pouring the Bellini from the plastic pitcher, the liquid making a soft chirp as it went through the slats. Carefully holding the glasses by their stems, she went to her father.

"Grazie," he thanked, "but, is most polite to give to guest first."

"Oh..." She bit her lip in a bit of disappointment. "Mi dispiace," she mumbled, and shuffled over to the corgi. "It's a sweet drink, so hope that's okay."

"Sounds great," she said, accepting the glass. She took a sip. It was sweet, with a strong peach flavor.

"Well, let us go back to den to talk," Cornelio said. "Sophia does not like anyone in her kitchen when cooking," he chuckled.

She wrinkled her whiskers and folded her arms.

"Come, come," he said, turning.

Sophia stuck her tongue out as he turned.

Ama smiled at the girl, who smiled back, and followed Cornelio toward the den. She caught a glimpse of several more paintings on the wall, all of flowers. "You have a lot of flower paintings," she commented.

"Ah, yes," he replied, as if expecting her to bring it up at some point. "Mia madre was eh... fond of flowers," he pushed open the door, and gestured to the couch where she had sat before. As she took her seat, he went to the window to adjust the lighting so it was a bit brighter. He then eased into the leather seat that was near the window, setting his cocktail glass on the little table beside him. He then changed his posture so that his calf rested upon his other knee, and rested his hands on either armrest. He looked up for a moment, and then took in a breath.

"So... what do you think of my girls?" He asked.

Impulsively, Amaryllis had a thought that it almost sounded like he was going to try arrange a marriage or something, but then felt silly of the thought because it was more mean-spirited toward his accent and English.

"They're better than I was at their age, that's for sure," she joked, getting the mink to laugh.

"They are adopted," he stated.

The corgi let out an awkward chuckle, sipping the Bellini. "Oh...uh, do they know?"

"Oh, yes." He replied, as if sensing her unease. "I adopted them not long ago," he explained. "Would you like to hear? I think it would be good for you to know."

Certainly foreign, awkward and everything. He made it sound like a secret or something, but maybe that was just the way it was coming off. It was probably difficult for him to figure out how to introduce them the best way.

"It's not bad, is it?" She asked, just to be sure that wasn't why he was sounding so ominous about it.

"Oh, no-no-no. It is eh... just hard for them to open up about, so I wanted to eh... break ice, I think is how you say." He leaned forward, changing his posture again, sitting forward and a bit hunched. "You see...mia madre grew up in orphanage, way back in Italy," he said, raising his hand as if to turn the hands of time and distance back. "Mio nonno--Oh, my grandfather," he said, clarifying his words, "lost his wife to illness in early marriage. They wanted daughter, but he did not want to remarry. So, he went to orphanage."

Amaryllis couldn't help but find it quaint the way he pronounced orphanage,orophana'j, but that only made her want to listen more closely.

"There was young girl who was picked on. Quiet, but with manners that did not suit the rags she wore.Mia nonno adopted her, and she found out just how fortunate she was very soon," he said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?" Amaryllis asked.

"Oh, my grandfather had many monies. He committed to working after his wife passed, was several years between that and adopting_mia madre_."

"Oh, I see," Ama said with a sip. "So... he gave her a nice home?"

He grinned. "Best home in Italy," he boasted. "But, she is eh... humble woman. Very sweet. Is actually why am here," he gestured to himself, sitting up a bit more. "Is eh... family business. I am helping expand into America."

"Oh, that's interesting," Ama lied. He had said what he did, but honestly it had passed in one ear and out the other.

"But," he said, interrupting the flow of his story, "as handsome and ladies-man," he back-handedly bragged, "I am eh... much busy to find anyone. More," he sat back, "American women not really happy with way I speak. Is eh... hard to listen to."

"I don't think it is," she replied, without realizing it made her sound like she interested.

He chuckled. "Grazie," he thanked, "but, you are not eh... my kind of girl, I think is how you say."

She blushed, sipping her drink.

Thankfully, he waved his hand. "So, brings me to_I miei angioletti_," he reached for his own drink. "After some time living here, felt... quiet. Lonely. Could not keep up with house, and spent nights at bars just eh... getting drunk off ass," he said, chuckling at the mature word. He took a deep breath.

"After talking with_mia--_my brother, he got idea in my head. Would adopt girl, just like my grandfather. Have someone to help around house, and have reason to be eh... more responsible."

Ama sipped her Bellini just for the virture of not blurting out her thought. To her, it was quite a leap to go from "it's kinda quiet" to "now I have two daughters." Maybe that was a cultural thing, too. Or maybe he just wasn't explaining it very well; it certainly didn't seem like they were in a bad home.

"Could not find orphanage, but eh... foster home. Went to many.Begh," he scoffed. "People, taking in children for government monies." His opinion expressed, he relaxed. "Was looking for girl like my mother. Did not take very long to find her."

"Sophia?" The corgi tried to predict.

He nodded. "She was eh... abandon. Her father is in prison. Mother left her in bed in trailer-home one night; never returned." He inclined his muzzle somberly. "Other kids try to reach out, some pleading others bribing. But she... not say word. Just look... sad. Broke heart," he said, patting his chest. "Remember I say she does not like anyone in kitchen?" He asked.

Amaryllis nodded.

"She was cook for them. Oldest girl, most responsibility. I had dinner with, to see. Mean kids, making messes without caring, knowing she would have to clean up. Just want peace, and quiet."

"That, I can agree with," Amaryllis said, though a bit awkwardly.

Cornelio smiled, then, looked up. "Was... almost year ago. Eight month," he recalled. "Took three month just to get her to say more than few words."

"She's definitely in a better place," the corgi said.

"Grazie," he said sincerely.

"So... what about Trinity?" She asked.

Cornelio chuckled. "Adopted Sophia so would not be so lonely," he repeated. "But... then, am not always around. So... wind up with Sophia feeling like myself." He took another sip of his drink. "After time, quiet_too_ quiet. Is quite turn to go from house filled with dieci bambini to being only one, and sometimes all alone when I am away on business."

Amaryllis nodded. "Like, you lived out here, then?" She asked.

He nodded.

She shivered. "I would freak being alone out here," she admitted.

"Sophia is brave, but is safe. So, take Sophia with me to other foster home. She does not get along with many of the girls, they all see her clothes and judge her." He took a deep breath through his nose, as if trying to get angry at the memory. "Then... meet Trinity. She is like eh... bouncy-ball. Zoom-zoom-zoom, everywhere!" He chuckled, his hand zipping back and forth in a zig-zag.

"Trinity right away call Sophia eh... 'big Sissy,' like is already decided." He shrugged. "Was... not...really excited," he said softly in admittance, "but, was for Sophia. And I learn," he sat back, "hey, not always get exactly what you are looking for, eh?" He smiled.

"Well, they fooled me up 'till this point," Ama said, though it was more or less just to have a conversational reply. "They sure act like sisters from birth."

He nodded. "Sophia is wonderful big Sissy," he complimented, using the term Trinity had used. He then rested his hand on his chest, "think that Sophia needed younger sister like I needed Sophia. Someone to keep company and be responsible for."

"Sounds like everything's hunky-dory," she stated.

"Hmm..." He said, in a way that implied his dissent. "Is better, but not best," he replied. "Am realizing that adopting girls is more complicated than first thought."

You don't say.

"Need... education. Friends. Sleep-overs and birthday parties." He rattled on, rolling his hand as he listed things that leaned more toward social interaction than basic needs. "Am looking at houses in town, while there on business. Do not tell, girls do not know, yet," he said, his finger moving to his lips. "But, is why I ask you here."

Amaryllis smiled. "I was wondering when you'd get to that part," she said, leaning forward.

He smiled back. "Am taking time looking for good home. In meantime, I do not want my girls have to wait. So... when I eh... ran into you at coffee shop, and you say how much you like driving, I got idea." He tapped his head. "Sure young woman like yourself knows fun things to do, maybe has little brothers or sisters." He shrugged. "But, in any way, was hoping that you would maybe like to take them to have some fun," he explained. "Get to drive around, which I know you like to do," he gestured to her. "And, my girls get to see town and do fun things. And, if it is okay with parents, maybe they could spend night."

He leaned back in his chair. "But," he lifted his hand and waved, "am not expecting something right away. Is just thought, really. But, when I talk with you at coffee shop, I get impression you may not only would like to help, but eh... would be good role-model for them," he said in a complimenting way. "Something like bigger Sissy. You know, could have probably found anyone looking for buck to drive girls around. But," he looked to her with a sincere tilt in his head, "if want them to have friends, why not you be one, too? Close in age, looking for excuse to get out of house," he held up his finger, "not get in too much trouble," he said with a smile.

She smiled back. "Not too much," she replied.

"Well, now you know full why I invite you here," he said, spreading his arms. "I wanted you to see girls, and come to know them." He stood. "Hoping soon you not have to drive so far out of your way, but eh... if you decide is something you want to do, then I make sure is worth your time," he said with a wink, and extended out his hand.

"Yeah, no problem," she shook it.

He smiled, "was meant to take glass," he replied.

"Oh," she blushed, and handed him the empty cocktail glass.

"Come, see if girls are finished with chores."

As they emerged from the room, a squeal broke into the air, followed by a loud clatter that lasted for a couple seconds. Cornelio burst into a dash, with Ama following suit. She was glad she was a bit slower; she didn't feel like running flattered her physique at all.

In the kitchen, Trinity stood amidst several pots scattered about her sandaled feet. She held one in her hands, and was standing tensely facing her sister.

Sophia had her hands balled into fists, and she emphatically took a deep, calming breath through her nose.

When the others entered, Trinity flinched, her ears swiveling back, and her shoulders scrunching up. She looked at everyone, and her face took on a big goofy smile. "Helping?" She said, before trying to take a step. But a pot-handle swiveled just under her heel, making her lose her balance. She tried to catch it, letting go of the pot in her hands to slap her palms on the ground.

The pot settled between her and her sister.

Sophia went to pick it up, and sternly set it on the stone.

"Sophia, be gentle with cookware. Not break it."

"Uh-huh," she said, clearly biting her tongue at her impulsive thoughts.

"Sorry, Soph..." Trinity mumbled.

"It's fine, I'll clean it up later." She said, curtly.

Trinity knelt, whimpering like she was about to cry.

"Nah, don't worry, I got it," Amaryllis said, stepping in. She paused when Sophia glanced her way, but relaxed when the otter went back to the stove and turned the knob. The gas ignition clicked a few times before catching and sending a low hiss through the kitchen.

"Okay, so little pots go in big pots," Amaryllis said, squatting down and beginning to stack them. The doe-canine mix quietly and somberly helped, obviously distraught that her attempts to help had wound up making her sister angry.

Amaryllis heard Cornelio's shoes tap on the tile, and she glanced to see him slinking away, either because he was sensitive to Sophia's mood or because he wanted to give Amaryllis an opportunity to take control.

Certainly made the corgi nervous, and definitely made her feel like a stranger trying to quell a family feud. But the sisters' silence, one tersely and the other skittishly so, made it a bit easier. It didn't take very long to stack the pots, and the silence was only broken when Trinity instructed her on where they went.

Cornelio must not have gone far, or just had really good timing, because just as they were done he entered the kitchen once more. "Excuse me, Amaryllis, but, do you eh... need help to bring in anything?"

The corgi huffed as she stood up, dusting off her capris. "I have a duffel bag, yeah."

"Trinity, come with me, we help Amaryllis bring her things in, no?"

"Si, daddy," the rabbit said with a marked lift in her mood.

The adopted daughter skipped out of the kitchen behind her father.

As Ama started to leave, Sophia caught her attention.

"Hey, um..."

Ama turned back, Sophia glancing back to her cutting board as she sliced several carrots.

"Thanks for... helping to clean up," she said.

"No prob," the corgi said with a wave. "Don't slave away too much, okay? I wanna sit and chat, or whatever."

"I know," the otter replied. "I'm just gonna do a few things here and there 'till I've actually gotta cook the main dish," she explained.

"If you need any help, lemme know," she offered, before realizing it was probably not something the otter would really be keen on. Thankfully, the girl just nodded.

Ama made her way from the kitchen toward the front door.

If she ever got lost in the house, she could at least wander around until she heard or spotted Trinity. As it happened, their attire also matched the theme of old-Italian to modern-American.

Cornelio had on his black slacks and dress-shoes with a button-up shirt. He looked like he had just come from, or was about to go to, an important meeting.

Sophia had worn a casual dress with autumn colors, and blue tennis-shoes with bubble-gum highlights on her feet.

Then, there was Trinity. Dressed in hot-orange shorts, lilac tank-top that gave just a little peek at her belly, and turquoise-and-pink thong-sandals that clapped on the tile with every wayward step.

Ama could certainly see what reservations and differences of opinion Cornelio might have with Trinity, but obviously he showed an understanding by allowing her to express herself in her attire and mannerisms.

The corgi was sure she would get along with the doe-mix, despite not having seen or talked to her very much, yet. It was like looking at herself, back when she was that age. Blissfully austere.

As she approached, Cornelio opened the front door and motioned with a slight bow of his head.

Prego."

Before Amaryllis could take the first leave, Trinity skipped forward with her hands floating in the air, declaring, "Grazie," and waltzing out the door.

"Trinity!" He admonished.

Amaryllis slipped past him catching onto Trinity's hand as the rabbit's feet stepped about the floral illusion under her sandals, each step clapping softly. The corgi chuckled as Trinity used her hand to balance and lean back, lifting a leg up. Ama noticed that the foot was rising a bit too high, though, and caught the rabbit before she toppled backwards, her sandal clattering to the ground.

"Dizzy," Trinity said woozily as Ama helped her to her feet.

"Playtime later," Cornelio said with a paternal sternness, leaning over to pick up her sandal and offer it to her.

"No_fun_," she said, timing her emphasis of the word with the snatch of her sandal.

They made their way back down the steps, toward Amaryllis's van.

Cornelio whistled. "Is eh... large for young girl, no?" He said with a somewhat dopey grin.

The corgi smiled back. "My granddad's old van," she replied. "Kind of a hunka junk, but it gets me places."

"Good for driving friends around," he pointed out. "Things in back seat?" He asked, reaching for the car door.

"Ohnowaitdon't--"

He pulled on the handle, and the door slid a few inches before the frame suddenly dropped askew. "Uh-oh..." He muttered with concern.

"It's okay," she insisted, ushering to take his place. She squatted down, holding the door's frame. "It's just...hmmmmf!" She lifted, and there was a sort of crunch as the door popped back into place. "It gets off its track easy," she explained. "You have to sort of press up and in to keep it stable," she demonstrated, using her body to brace the door.

"That's weird, why's that?" The girl asked.

"The rails broke a long time ago," the corgi replied. "Heck, the whole door is falling apart. It doesn't even have a lock," she jiggled the door-handle. "It jammed a long time ago, and we just took it out. Didn't bother putting in a new one."

"Is not good," Cornelio stated, folding his arms. "Could get stolen."

She laughed. "Nah, who'd steal this thing?" She kicked the bottom.

Trinity hopped in, crawling about inside and looking in some of the nooks and crannies.

"Hm... Is not good if you are to drive my girls," he insisted. "I know gentleman. Big, meaty guy. English eh... not as good as mine, but is like eh... wizard," he said, gesturing as if casting a spell, "with automobile. Can fix up your van."

"Oh, thank you," Ama said, holding up her hands, "but, we don't have really have the money to fix this old thing. I'm just driving it to the ground while we save up for something else."

"Begh," he said, dismissively waving his hand. "I pay."

"No, really, it's not worth it."

He shrugged. "Then, maybe I buy new van. Will probably want to anyways, loan to you for personal use while you are helping take girls around town," he suggested.

Ama tried her best not to look too overwhelmed or uncomfortable at the thought.

He waved again, pushing the thought aside. "Is just idea, only if want, for now... Trinity, can have bag?"

"Huh?" The girl asked, her head popping up from behind the back seat. "Look! I found a quarter!" She held it up.

"Is Amaryllis's quarter honey. Now,per piacere, hand bag over."

The girl crawled over the back of the middle seat, and wiggled the bag up from behind the driver's seat. On knees, she pushed the bag forward, to let it slide into her father's waiting hands.

"Grazie," he said, with patience in his voice.

"Look!" Trinity declared, catching their attention. Her hand touched the back of the seat, and she ran her palm from the top to the bottom. "Dark," she said, and then moved her hand up; "Light!" Where her hand had gone, sheen of gray-blue fabric did change slightly from dark to light.

"Is very good eh... observation,mia tesero. Now, come-come, we go back inside."

The doe-mix crawled to the edge of the seat, and switched to sling her legs forward and stand hunched upright. She held onto either side of the door-frame, and hopped out with a few skips to end her landing. "I like it," was her final judgment.

Amaryllis chuckled as she carefully slid the door back into place. "I'm glad. Grandpa would be, too."

"Would be?" Trinity pointed out, walking backwards but looking beneath her raised arm as she walked up the steps. "He passed away?"

"When I was about your age," the corgi replied.

"Aww," Trinity said, in a way that did not sound that sincere, but where Ama could tell the sentiment was there in its own little way. "I'm sorry," she said, turning to open the door.

"Thanks," she replied, both for the sentiment and for getting the door.

"Si, now," Cornelio slid the duffel back off of his shoulder, and squatted down with it in his hands. "Please take up to guest room, and meet in kitchen."

"Kay," Trinity said, throwing her arms into a brief star-burst flourish before holding them out with a bow. The duffel bag was settled across her forearms, and she curled them to hug the bag against her chest. "Lighter than I thought," declared, turning about and heading toward the stairs.

"Not snoop," her father warned.

"Mnnn!" She stuck her tongue out as she turned the right-angle and went up the rest of the flight.

From the kitchen, a loud commotion of rhythmic punches and light ratcheting came from the basin of the sink. Sophia stood over the basin, arm mechanically mashing the pump of the salad spinner. Then, she pressed the button that abruptly halted it.

In small glass serving bowls on the table were cubes of carrots, cucumbers, and ham; there were slices of red onion and tomatoe; chopped cauliflower; diced black-olives; shredded cheese; croûtons; and what appeared to be home-made dressings, as none had a brand or label.

"Wow," Amaryllis said as she entered, seeing the arrangement and catching the otter's glance. "You've been busy."

"I get a lot done when people_stay out of the kitchen,_" the girl replied, placing the lettuce she had been spinning into the bowl already half-filled. Then, as she picked the bowl up and carried it to the table, revealed: "Most of it was already cut in the the fridge."

Cornelio pulled out a chair, motioning for the corgi to sit.

"We eh... often eat salad for lunch," the mink explained. "Sophia has eh... system, like machine."

The otter smiled and rolled her eyes in the same expression. She thanked her father when he pulled her chair out, taking the seat with a graceful adjustment of her dress.

Cornelio then pulled out the third seat, and a stillness came to the room.

Amaryllis met eyes with the otter, exchanging a smile.

Sophia flicked her whiskers, and tapped her sneaker against the leg of the chair in a_tic-toc_ tempo.

Then, after a moment longer, came the claps of sandals across the tile, along with a long-winded low tone that pulsed with Trinity's every step. She ran into the kitchen with her arms spread, stopping on a dime a few feet from the chair and clapping her hands to her sides. She turned about, stuck her rump out with her spaded-tail poised in the air, and shuffled back until her rear met the seat.

"Took bit longer than expecting," the father said patiently, scooting her in. "Were not snooping?"

"No-wuh," she protested. "I had 'ta pah-dee," she elaborated, almost in a hushed whisper.

Cornelio took his seat, and rested his elbows on the table. "Very well," he clapped his hands together, pressing his forehead to his thumbs.

The other girls inclined their muzzles, clasped hands in their laps.

Amaryllis respectfully followed as soon as she understood what was going on, a few syllables into Cornelio's low-toned blessed.

"Il Re dell'eterna gloria ci faccia partecipi della mensa celeste. Amen."

"Amen," the girls softly replied, with Amaryllis staying silent.

"Buon Appetito," Sophia said.

"Ah-ah," the father was quick to admonish his youngest, whose hands began reaching. She froze at his interjection, fingers curling inward as she reluctantly receded. "Is polite manner to let guest before self," he reminded the girl.

"Then tell that to Soph," she pointed to her sister, who was reaching for the salad tongs.

"I'm serving the lettuce," she replied flatly, clutching a tongful and setting on Ama's plate. "More?"

Trinity silently_hmph'd_ in posture.

"Yes, please," the corgi requested. Salad was not ever something she found filling, burgers did that a lot better, so she knew she would need to eat a bit more to last until dinner. She felt a bit guilty when the otter had put basically a quarter of the salad bowl on her plate, but she wasn't given any odd looks.

Next to be served was Cornelio, who ushered the corgi to pick her fixings.

Then Trinity finally got her share.

To the corgi's surprise, the rabbit-mix got just as much, if not more, than herself. She wondered if it was because the lagomorpha in the girl genuinely liked what she was about to eat, or if the canis in them shared the same train of thought.

* * *

"Si, now bellies filled," the mink said, patting his stomach, "Amaryllis, would you like to go on eh... grand tour of humble home?"

"Sure," the corgi replied.

Bene," he said, all standing in unison. "You have seen eh... kitchen," he pointed down, "is back hall over there, not really lead anywhere," he pointed to where she had been led by Sophia earlier, "and out there is, eh... of course den and foyer."

"Yep, got those down," she nodded.

"Come, we start at front door," he beckoned.

Sophia quietly began collecting the bowls and cleaning up the leftovers, while Trinity hopped out of her chair to walk with them.

"I bought house because I like eh...estetico," the mink said, as they walked back toward the entrance. "Also, is a bit isolated like home back in Italy. Grew up in way that was eh... like country-side, here," he explained.

"So," they stopped at the front entrance. "Foyer, that way you have seen," he pointed left to the kitchen. "Outside is sort of eh... 'party area,'" he pointed to the front door, referencing the patio. "Then, we go right," he pointed, leading the way toward the right side of the house.

Immediately, they entered a room with rather dark-brown walls, dim lighting, and a projector-screen. He flicked on a light to illuminate the otherwise shadowy pocket of the house.

"This is eh...sala cinema."

"Movie room," the rabbit translated, taking center-stage in the room as if she was the tour-guide. "We like to watch movies. But most of ours are kinda old. You ever see_The Beauty and The Beast?_" The girl questioned.

"Oh yeah," Amaryllis replied. "That's like, one of my favorites."

Trinity's muzzle curled in a knowing smile, and she swiveled as she revealed her deceit: "I'm not talkin' 'bout the Disney one. I mean the old-old--old one; the black-and-white version."

"Mia tesero," her father said in a paternal tone. "Is not good to tease guest."

"Who's teasing? I've seen_La Belle et la Bête_." Ama said, crossing her arms with a smirk, despite her French not being very good.

The doe-canine mix grinned and giggled. "Got me," she shucked.

"Come-come, more to see," he bid, leading them to another hall. They passed a few more flower paintings, turning right into a small dead-end hall that had another doorway, which they entered. "This is eh... studio," he said.

The room was fairly bright, with peach-colored walls. In the room were various microphones and a few cameras.

"Daddy's hobby-room," his daughter began. "He likes to take pictures and some movies," she went to the shelves of cameras. "He also records his singing in here," she explained, pointing to the microphones. "You should hear him, he's got an awesome singing voice."

The mink smiled, a bit humbly. "Was part of choir when boy in Italy," he elaborated. "Once had dream of being singer, but is just fantasy," he dismissed with a wave.

"Guess what his favorite song is?"

Ama tilted her chin up in thought, letting out a few_hmms_ before shrugging, "I give up."

"Twinkle twinkle, little star," the girl sang, swaying in a bit of a dance. "But he sometimes makes up his own words."

As they left the room, Sophia came round the corner. "Papà," she called.

"Si?"

Telefono," she said, pointing with her thumb back toward the kitchen. "It's Mr. Singh."

"Hmm..." Cornelio said with a bit of disappointment. "Sophia, Trinity; please continue tour. I will eh... be right back," he walked away, gesturing to his daughters.

"This way!" Trinity said, pointing to the hall they had yet to go down, and taking rigid-legged steps in an exaggerated march toward the door.

Her sister trotted ahead to get the door.

"This is daddy's room," the doe-mix said, stopping at the door.

"We probably shouldn't go in," Sophia interjected. "But, it's just a master bedroom," she explained.

Amaryllis peeked in, seeing the same-colored walls as the studio, with a king-size bed, dresser, and armoire. "I'd love to have a bedroom half as nice as that one," she stated, stepping back into the hall.

"The guest bedroom is really nice," Sophia said. "If Trinity cleaned it," she added, bapping her sister's arm with the back of her hand.

Trinity stuck out her tongue. "I cleaned it." She assured. "C'mon, let's go back to the stairs and wait for daddy." She took the corgi's hand.

Amaryllis walked with the girl, her hand swaying dramatically as Trinity marched toward the stairs. She took the time to try and count all the flower paintings she could see. There were twelve, each one different. "Did your dad paint all of these?" She asked, pointing to one of the paintings.

"Some," Sophia replied. "Most he just found. He likes flowers."

"So I heard," she nodded.

"I painted this one," Trinity said, reaching up and tapping the bottom of one of the frames.

It was a pink flower against a dark-blue background, and looked to be finger-painted, but with more intent than just random smears. It was still rather crude and childish, but as Ama looked at it she couldn't help notice that it looked... vaguely like something else. The inner petals made a narrow oval shape rather than circular like a normal rose, and with the pink coloring...

Ama wrinkled her brow. She felt silly, her mind falling into the gutter like that. Trinity surely didn't intend anything like that; it was just an imperfect and crude flower. Nothing more.

"It's pretty," Ama complimented. "Pink and blue go good together."

"Yup," the girl agreed.

Behind them, they heard a throat-clearing. All turned to see Cornelio.

"Amaryllis, I am sorry," he said with disappointment. "There is... emergency meeting. Eh... happens, sometimes. I... have to leave."

"Oh," the corgi said, the news making her look about as if getting her bearings. "Um..."

"Does that mean Ama has to go, too?" Trinity asked.

Cornelio struggled with the thought, before shrugging. "It... is okay with me, if you want stay," he finally said.

"I guess..." She looked down at Trinity, giving her some combination of doe-eyes and sad-soulful puppy-dog eyes that was impossible to fight against. "I guess it's okay, I mean... they'd be alone otherwise, right? That's no fun."

"Hmm..." The mink rested his hand on his chin and crossed the other arm oer his belly. "Maybe is good chance to get to know each other," he thought. He gave a dismissive wave, "If can drive out her alone, can decide if want to stay. You are big girl, very responsible," he complimented with a smile. He went to the jacket hanging by the front door. "Do not know when I will be back. May be late," he explained. "Do not worry, is eh... quiet, here." He donned the jacket, patting the pockets and finding his keys. He looked at Trinity. "Be good," he charged.

She nodded.

"Si, thank you for coming, sorry have to go." He apologized.

"No biggie," Ama said. "Hope it's not urgent."

The mink gave an unreadable expression, before opening the door and stepping out.

"So... Wanna see upstairs?" The doe-mix said right away.

"Sure," the corgi replied, unceremoniously in charge of the house.

The stairs went up straight away from the door and then split right and left. Trinity led them up the left side. "This is the upstairs," she said, stepping into the open room and turning about with her arms outstretched. "This is the common-area, and out that way is the upper patio," she pointed to a sliding-glass door that led out to a patio similar to the one just below it, except just a little smaller.

"Over here is our bathroom," she skipped over to the small hallway that had an open door. Then, she pointed to another door further down. "That's our room."

Ama glanced into the bathroom, then followed the girl down to glance into their bedroom. The bathroom looked pretty fancy, but the bedroom looked fairly plain. She was then led to the other side.

As they crossed, there was a sudden bang, and a series of what sounded like gunshots. Ama glanced around as the sound receded.

"Daddy's car," the rabbit-doe demystified. "It's a bit tooty," she whispered with delighted giggle.

"This is our study," the otter continued, opening the door.

Inside, Amaryllis saw a couple of desks with pencils, pens, and other school supplies on top. "You're home-schooled?" She asked.

"For now," Sophia nodded. "Trin and I are... used to it."

"Were you home-schooled in foster care?" She questioned further.

The otter and rabbit exchanged glances, and their postures relaxed, as if tension had been eased.

"Daddy's a better teacher than they were," Trinity said. "He can afford better books, too. He's really rich."

"Trin," Sophia hissed.

"What?" She threw her hands up. "He is."

The otter shook her head.

"But, he wants us to go to a school, so he's been preparing us more for that than teaching us new stuff. It's kinda boring," the rabbit admitted. "Anyway, last room."

The group went the few feet from the study to the other door on that side of the upstairs.

"This is the guest room, where you'll be staying," Sophia said.

"Oh yeah," Ama smiled as she walked into the room, seeing her duffel bag set upon the queen-sized bed. "I'm definitely into this."

"See?" Trinity elbowed her sister. "I cleaned it."

"Yeah, yeah." The older sister rolled her eyes. "You did okay, I guess."

"I think you did a great job," Ama complimented. "Maybe I can get you guys to clean_my_ room, huh?" She chuckled.

"Hundred bucks," Trinity opened.

Sophia bapped her arm again, "Nuh-uh, don't even start."

Trinity blew her sister a raspberry. "So... whadda we do now that the tour's over?" She asked.

"Homework," Sophia said with a sisterly stare.

"Begh!" The young girl said, just like her father. "Can't we do that tomorrow?"

"Work before play," the older sister retorted.

"Isn't it also rude to do our own thing and not entertain our guest?" Trinity protested.

Sophia started to say something but then her words got a little caught. "Well..."

"I think it's better if you do your homework," Amaryllis said, taking sides with Sophia.

"Whaaat? You too?" The rabbit sulked.

"It'll give me a chance to make myself at home," the corgi replied. "Besides, homework gets worse in regular school, and trust me: you don't want it looming over your head."

Cornelio did say he wanted her to be like a bigger sister to them. No better time to start than right away. Though, she did feel silly, considering she was putting off her own homework, and even some make-up work that she had let pile up.

"Foine," the rabbit-doe hmph'd, saying the word in a cute manner. "But after that we get to do what I wanna do."

"Deal," the corgi said, extending her hand.

Grinning, Trinity shook.

Sophia quietly left the room, Trinity following. They shut the door so that it was just ajar.

Amaryllis took in a deep breath, smelling old wood and dust. It was homely. The room had light-blue walls, and a window with curtain that had both sheer-fabric and a more solid fabric, to both diffuse and completely block out the light. She fiddled with it until she managed to open the curtain all the way.

She didn't actually have anything to really set out. She did retrieve her toiletries from the duffel bag, and just made sure everything else was present. Stuffed into one side, hidden inside her pajamas, was the only questionable thing she had brought.

She had mostly brought it out of habit, or out of the idea she might get an opportunity to use it. She might still, if she absolutely_needed_ to. Her bedroom was on the complete opposite side as the others, and she was talented at being as quiet as possible considering she hadn't yet gotten caught even with her parents watching TV just a room over.

But, surely she had the will-power to resist for just one night. She couldn't be_that_ pathetically helpless to her hormones. Still, it was present and accounted for, and she would have had to bring it to keep her parents from finding it, anyway.

Setting her duffel bag on the carpet, she ran her hand over duvet, gently squishing the down inside. The duvet was a dark navy color, with violet and orange flowers laying within diamonds of ripples, like they were floating upon water.

Next to the bed, on the side table, was a small clock that_tic-tocked_ away. According to it, the time was just past three. She wasn't used to the sound, and hoped it wouldn't keep her up, but otherwise this room was royalty compared to her own messy room.

Then, the eerie quietness set in. She felt like she had gone back in time, back to the colonial era. She could see this being a house built in the seventeen-hundreds, with how isolated and silent it was.

She peered out the window again. She could see the road she had traveled up from. She tried to find Cornelio's car, and though she could see for some distance she couldn't spot it. Maybe he had driven like a bat out of hell to get to whatever meeting it was in a reasonable amount of time.

As had her nose near the window, a sudden_thunk_ made her flinch and shriek. She stumbled back to the bed, clasping a hand over her heart.

The girls gently pushed open the door. "Ama?' Trinity asked.

"You okay?"

"Y--yeah," the corgi replied. "Just... something... uh... the window..."

Trinity went to the window, peering out. "Huh..." She pointed. "There's a weird smear, right here."

Just then, they all looked up as they heard a scratching sound.

Ama fought not to whimper, and when she heard one she couldn't really tell if it came from her or from one of the girls. "You guys uh... have ghosts?" She asked.

"Oh yeah," Trinity said. "Tons."

"Trin," Sophia grumbled. "C'mon, I know what this is." The otter beckoned them.

Ama followed the girls as Sophia led them out to the upper patio. The wind blew in as the otter opened the door, catching Amaryllis with a chill that, when she breathed in, took her breath away.

As they stepped out into the open, the low, gutteral cawing could be heard. They stepped out a ways and turned about, Sophia pointing up. "Look."

Ama shuddered. "That's... creepy," she said nervously.

On the roof, dozens of crows had gathered. They lined the edge, and more were still coming from the air, settling and fighting for a perch, and even heading for the railing of the patio. Their heads flinched about, their beaks letting out the grating, toneless song.

"I didn't think they'd migrate this early," Sophia muttered. "Cornelio said this would happen when he showed me out here after he adopted me," she explained.

"Well, great," Ama said, still creeped out. "So we just have a flock of crows hanging out. That's not ominous."

"Not flocks," Trinity said. "Crows don't fly in flocks, that's geese."

"Oh... well, whatever they fly in," Ama said, as the wind blew and the birds continued to bicker and croak with one another. "What is a group of crows called, anyway?" She questioned.

"It's called a..."

The corgi looked down at the rabbit, who had a very sinister expression on her face.

"Mur...der...," she said, her vocal cords clicking as if she was an old woman. The creepiness ebbed when she burst into a fit of giggles at the creeped-out expression that came onto Ama's muzzle.

"C'mon, sis," Sophia admonished. "Stop freaking our guest out and let's finish up our homework."

"Yeah, let's get back inside," Ama agreed. "Let's just hope they move on soon."

* * *

"Actually," Sophia said, with an inflection of authority, "I think it's_bath_ time."

The rabbit mix hung her head so that ear ears dangled with dismay, "awww, do we have to?" She protested. "We were having fun."

"We'll have fun, still," the otter said, taking her sister's hand. "We just gotta take a break to wash up."

"Hey, wait," Trinity turned toward the corgi. "Um..." She held up her finger, as if trying to come up with some tactice for delay.

"Uh-uh," Amaryllis said, leaning over the young girl. "Don't look at me for a way out."

Trinity giggled. "Actually... I was wondering if you'd take a bath with us!"

"Dulcy..."

The corgi straightened up. "Um... I dunno if that's..."

"C'mon," she said with a jump and a clap. "Soph and I take baths together, and we're all girls."

The corgi exchanged glances with the otter.

"But, she's a little older..." Sophia tried to reason.

The rabbit stuck her tongue out. "Then I'm not bathing!" She shouted, and tried to scurry off.

"Oh no ya don't!" The otter shouted, chasing after.

"Hey, no--" Ama tried to say, but they both already dashed away. She sighed, chasing after them. Guided by their footstops, giggles, and barks, she quickly made her way to the first floor. She took a quick jog around to see if she could catch them at a pass. Traveling to the living room, she took the right, and trotted across into the cross-hall. She passed the first hallway, and was about to keep going when something caught her eye.

At first she thought she was just having one of those visual flukes that would clear up on a double-take. But as she leaned against the wall and caught her breath, she realized that what she saw was not some kind of quirky illusion. Even more, it was the same hallway as that door.

She could once again swear she had seen it. The little dwarven door that looked like it went into Wonderland. It was still gone, but now something else peculiar caught her attention about the hallway. The wall was just as it had been when the door disappeared: wallpaper from floor to seeling, save for the small painting of grapes on a vine. Except that it looked slanted, like the corners were not right angles, but the right oblique and the left accute.

She looked from ceiling to floor, and felt an eery tingling at her hackles. She took a step into the hallway.

"Ama! Cut her off at the kitchen!"

The corgi's ears raised up, and she hesitated for just a second before departing the hallway, and letting her curiosity fall there. She dashed back from whence she came, turning toward the kitchen. She heard the giggling and yipping approaching her, and hid behind the wall. She listened until it sounded like the girl was_just_ about to pass her.

"Ah!" The rabbit-mix squealed as she was lifted up.

"C'mon you," Ama huffed, easily able to carry the petit bunny, despite squirming and protesting. "Sophia! I got her!" She called, stepping into the kitchen.

"Phew!" The otter said.

Amaryllis turned about, seeing that the girl was behind her. "Oh, there you are," she said, half-way wary that it was strange the girl had come up from behind. She was expecting her to come through the kitchen, presumably still chasing her sister.

"No more running, Trin," the older sister ordered, extending out her hand. Her younger sister took it, and their temporary guardian set her back down on her feet. Sophia tightened the grip.

"You two go get your pajamas," the corgi said. "I'll get the bath ready,capisce?"

"Si signora," said both girls, one dampened with acquiescence. The otter tugged, beckoning her sister to follow.

Amaryllis took in a deep breath and watched as the skampered down the hall. She was glad she could trust Sophia to help keep her sister in line. It was a little sad to see someone so young act so grown-up, in a way; but she couldn't imagine having to chase_both_ of them down.

She looked down the hall where the door had been, and just briefly went to take a peek. The peek lasted for a moment longer as, upon re-examining the end of the hall from the entrance, it did not have that curious optical illusion that it had before.

Her hackles prickled again, and her curiosity--abandoned at this very spot--tugged at the leg of her carpis. She denied it attention, and turned about, heading to the stairs. She heard the girls giggling and bantering in their room, but payed little attention as she made her way to the tub.

She had gotten a glimpse of the upstairs bathroom on her tour of the home, but as she flicked the light on and saw her reflection in the full-body mirror, she had not quite gotten to appreciate how luxurious it was the first time.

It had ample space for one to walk around in. She and the seven others she ate lunch with at school could comfortably fit in the room. And it was absolutely adored by the little girl inside of her heart.

The walls surely could not have been, but they felt and looked like they were made of seashells and smooth rocks. The flooring took on a similar_trompe l'oeil_ effect as the one from the open foyer. This time, the tile looked like it was a pane of glass over a slice of ocean, with all manner of fish and sea-life. As she walked over the image and gazed down at her bare feet, it looked like she was really about to step amidst the school of clown-fish. She almost felt guilty, like she was defiling a work of Machaelangelo's.

The magic sort of ended there. Otherwise, it was a typical bathroom.

On the left side was a vanity and, of course, the porcelain throne. Across from those was the full-body mirror, and the entrance to the shower.

Finally, at the back of the room was an impressive garden tub that was shaped like a four-leaf clover. To her, it would be more or less a regular tub, if a bit roomier. But if she was as old as Trinity, or even Sophia, the tub would be like a miniature pool. Not enough to swim around in, but certainly enough to float in, and maybe get a one stroke in across seats.

The tub was large enough, in fact, that there were two faucets. She started drawing the bath, scenting the familiar sulfur hint on the water. It heated up rather quickly, and was about at ankle-level when the girls made their way into the bathroom.

Ama glanced over to them, "this is one heckuva tub," she commented over the rush of the water.

"Oh yeah!" Trinity agreed, "It's_meraviglioso_, for sure."

The girls set their clothes on the sink, already in the nude.

Sophia's brownish-tan fur was sleek and did little to hide her curves; rather it almost accentiated them. Even for a barely-blossoming girl, she had arcs and curves to her shoulders, waist, and legs that Amaryllis_wished_ she had.

The corgi had to remind herself that otters were rather curvy. Plus, the girl's hips were a bit wide for her age, and that would probably become more pronounced.

The otter's chest was already budding, her areolae at the stage where they were darker and pronouncing. No doubt she was already wearing training bras, and might need a real one within the next year.

Trinity, on the other hand, was still very much a little girl. Her time would come in a couple of years, yet, but for now she had some tell-tale pudge to her belly and her overall stature carried that hint of pre-pubescent androgyny. And yet she was very much a girl. The patch of light-tan that spread out over her mound in a spade-pattern was like a flashlight of fur shining on her groin. No doubt the pattern was due to her German Shephard side. She also did not have the sense of modesty that her sister did; her stance was wide, as if to proudly show off her blush-pink labia, which still kept their childish puffiness.

"Be right back!" Said the rabbit-mix, as she turned about on her heels, flashing her light-tan rump and like-colored bottom of her spaded tail as she scurried out of the room.

"Where's she going?" Ama asked, as the older sister straightened out the clothes.

The otter's tail settled by her ankle, and she just let out a sigh.

Trinity quickly returned, carrying another bundle of clothes. "I brought your jammies too, Ama," she said with cheer, using her heel to kick the door shut.

The corgi shook her head. "Trinity," she said, with the kind of inflection her mother used on her when she was pushing something her mother dissented with.

The girl groaned. "Please?"

"I don't know if it's appropriate," the corgi admonished.

"Why," the young rabbit inquired, "just cuz you gots boobies?"

"Trin!" Her sister said with shock, but then tried to hide her giggle.

"I don't see what the problem is," Trinity commented, folding her arms. "We're all girls, and you said it was a heckuva bath, so why not take a bath with us?"

"And then what if your dad comes back?" The corgi countered, surprised at how well she could pull off the rational adult tone of her voice--and it wounded the teenager in her to acknowledge that. "What do imagine he'd think if he saw me in the bath with you two?"

The otter replied, "actually... he wouldn't care," she admitted.

The corgi wrinkled her brow in confusion at the older sister, silently questioning why the girl was going against her reason. Maybe the girl wasn't as mature as she thought, after all.

Sophia shrugged. "Trin and I came from foster homes," she explained. "To be honest, I took a bath with a girl older than you when I was younger than her," she revealed, thumbing to her sister.

"Besides," the rabbit said, using the opportunity to team up with her sister, "you don't wanna take a bath in the morning. The water settles and then the sulfur smell is really strong--it's gross. The water's been moving all day, so it doesn't smell as bad."

"Plus, you don't have to worry about dad," the otter added, "he probably won't get home until after we go to bed."

"All right, all right," the corgi huffed, reaching in to shut off the faucets. The quiet was almost unsettling. "I'll take a stinkin' bath with you."

"Yay!" Trinity exclained, raising her hand to high-five her sister, who lazily held up her hand in response.

"But just this once," the corgi finished. "Now, c'mon, hop in," she ushered.

Trinity dashed up to the tub, carefully climbing in and making her way to one of the far benches. "Careful, Soph, water's pretty warm."

"Is it too warm?" The corgi asked with concern, but was given a lop-eared-flinging head-shake.

Sophia went to the bench her sister was in from the outside, and dipped her ankle in, letting out a shiver as the heat made the rest of her feel cold by comparison. She settled in next to her sister.

All the while, Amaryllis began removing her clothes. She didn't directly face the children as she pulled up her shirt and unbottoned her capris, but she felt the littest one's eyes on her. She felt a bit guilty at letting them glimpse her G-String, but thankfully they didn't say anything about her skimpy underwear. Last to be discarded was her bra.

Letting go of her thoughts about their age, she turned toward them.

"Oh wow," Trinity said. "You look pretty, Ama."

The corgi blushed, watching the little rabbit ogle her unabashadly, while the otter did so from only a slightly disguised angle. Despite them being girls and younger, the element of having someone else see her melons in all their glory tugged at her teenaged hormones. The compliment only waxed the feeling.

She was confident of her breasts. She filled a B-cup, and that was beginning to get a bit snug. If she was anything like her mom, she would probably fill out just a little bit more before she finally stopped. Some guys stared at her chest, but she usually felt more eyes on her rear. She may not have been overweight, but her chest wasn't the only thing that had filled out.

The corgi was eager to get into the water, if only because it would make her more modest. She remembered when she was much younger and went to sleepovers with other girls. She wasn't a stranger to the mutual behaviors that went on in those situations; heck, some of them were specifically organized for certain purposes. But, considering she was on the older end of the spectrum, and in the company of girls she was put in the charge of by a trusting father, and for the first time, no less; she maintained that nagging at her hackles that this was improper, despite the desire of her youthful heart to just relax.

"T-Trin, stop," the otter mumbled.

Amaryllis opened her eyes, the warm water having soothed her to relax a bit. She saw the two adopted sisters fidgeting. Trinity was pestering Sophia, and at first the corgi thought it was just sibling bickering, until Trinity said just above a whisper:

"But you like it."

Ama sat forward. "What's going on?"

There was a quick splash as the two sisters sat upright. "Nothing," the lapine-canine replied. "Just... um..."

Sophia began to blush, reaching for the shampoo and washcloth on the side of the tub. "Washing," she finished, dipping the soap in the water and lathering it on the cloth.

Trinity stuck her tongue out at her sister, and departed from the seat. She crossed the tub, approaching the corgi. "Hi," she said, as she submurged her shoulders in the water.

Ama let out a nervous giggle. "Hello," she replied, adjusting on the bench. She noticed the girl's eyes flicking down to her chest with every few blinks. "Can I help you?"

"Will you wash me? Sis usually does, but I want you to, this time!" She said, hopping up and splashing the water a bit.

The corgi let out her quietly bated breath. "Okay, go over to the bench," she pointed to her left. While the rabbit did so, she retrieved the shampoo and washcloth from the tray between the benches. She want to the rabbit, he was kneeling on the bench, facing her.

"Okay, dip your head underwater real quick," Ama instructed.

The rabbit held her breath, and did so. She remained submerged for a few seconds longer than the corgi thought necessary. When she rose up out of the water, the canine in her shook the excess off a little--and hid the fact that her eyes were open when she came back up.

Ama lathered some shampoo on her palms, and went to the rabbit's scalp. She rubbed and massaged the foam in, taking care to gently go over the girl's ears. However, while she was in the midst of doing so, she suddenly felt the stroke at her breasts, and the gentle squeeze. She let out a squeal and stepped back. "Trin!"

"What?" She muttered. "Did I do something wrong?" She waved her hands in front, "I can't see, where'd you go?"

"She's not falling for it, sis," the otter said from her bench.

The canine-rabbit opened one eye, to see the corgi with her arms crossed over her chest, and an unamused frown on her muzzle. Trinity slouched forward a bit, and mumbled, "Sorry."

"You should've asked, first," the canine muttered, the inner-conflict coming to a resolution. She relaxed her expression when the rabbit's ears twitched as her head perked back up. "Otherwise it's just rude," she finished.

The rabbit giggled, wiping the foam from her eyes. "You mean... I can touch 'em?" She said with a bit of suppressed excitement.

Ama dropped her arms, letting her bosom free once again. She sighed, the inner-struggle giving way to her teenaged hormones and desires, and the rationalities that she made in her head. "It's not like in a few years you won't have your own to play with," she shrugged.

"So... can I touch 'em?" Trinity asked, directly.

"Just don't make it look like you're enjoying it too much," the corgi said with a smirk as she stepped back to the rabbit.

Trinity giggled, squirming a little as the Ama neared. While the canine began tending to her scalp once more, she tentatively raised her fingertips to touch the swells.

Amaryllis listened as the rabbit-doe giggled, her touches becoming more wanton. "Don't squeeze too hard," she warned, "otherwise they'll pop."

Trinity gasped, "Really?" She asked.

"No," Ama chuckled. "But, it wouldn't be nice," she admitted. It was a little odd to feel the girl's explorative hands heft and begin jiggling her melons. "Hey, now, I'm trying to wash you, here," she commented, when the jiggling started to disrupt her actions.

She continued to wash the rabbit while her breasts were fondled. Admittedly, she was beginning to adore the attention; she felt almost like some kind of role-model, in a weird kind of way. But as time went on and the washcloth cleared the suds from her scalp, the rabbit's exploratory gropes became more directed.

Her thumbs found the corgi's nipples, flicking over them and gently pushing them in different directions when they became pert. The corgi's hands went from her muzzle to her shoulders, sudsing up the fur there. The fingertips grazed over them, and went back the other way, pushing against the fur.

"Hm?" Ama's fingertips felt something peculiar on the skin of the rabbit's shoulders. As her fingers brushed over the curious contour of the doe's skin, Trinity suddenly pushed on her bosom and nearly bashed into her. She stepped aside, watching as the rabbit went to her sister.

Sophia wrapped her arms around her sister when Trinity's muzzle pressed to her latent bosom. Her sister nuzzled and whimpered, hiding in the security of her comforting hold. She looked to the corgi.

"What's the matter?" Ama questioned.

The otter looked down at her sister. "She noticed them?" She asked. When she felt her sister's nose nod over her sternum, she looked back up at the corgi.

"You... touched her shoulders, right?" She asked.

The corgi nodded. "I was washing them, yes," she replied.

"Felt anything?"

Ama looked at the otter. "What's the matter?" She questioned again.

Sophia took in a breath. "Is it okay if I tell her?"

Amaryllis watched as the sister's had a bit of a silent conversation, by touch and secret cues. Then, Sophia looked up once more, and Trinity slipped free of her sister's hold. The corgi followed the rabbit-doe's approach, looking down as the girl looked up just in front of her.

Then, Trinity titled her neck to the side, and used a hand to spread the fur on her shoulders.

Taking the cue, Amaryllis squatted to look at the girl's shoulder, and saw the depressions in the skin. "What is it? Some kind of condition you're worried about?" She asked.

"They're scars," the rabbit replied, meekly, showering the corgi the other shoulder, where more were visible beneath the fur.

"Oh my goodness," Ama muttered, looking at the subtle grooves in the girl's skin. "What happened?"

The rabbit took a step back. "Are you... sure you wanna know?" She asked, ominously.

The corgi hesitated, meeting the girl's surprinsgly serious gaze.

"Daddy adopted me from a pretty lousy home," Trinity began, stepping back to lean against the median between the two back benches. "They made it look all sunshine and puppies, but it wasn't," she explained. "It was just me... and seven other boys... older than Soph," she gestured to her sister, the water splashing and dripping off her arm. "I wasn't actually supposed to be there, it was just the only place I could go while they looked for another one.

"At first, the boys were just mean. They'd leave me out of their games and made me do some of their chores cuz 'that's what girls are meant for,'" she grabbed her ear. "But, then... one of the boys snuck into my room in the middle of the night... said he wanted to show me what else 'girls were meant for.'" Her hand went from her ear, to rub her shoulder. "He liked to bite, when he... y'know.

"Daddy doesn't know," Trinity finished, her hand falling back into the water. "Only sissy... and you." She said, going to her sister.

Amaryllis felt cold, despite the warmth of the water. She didn't have any words for it, her mind reeling and fighting not to believe what she was actually hearing. But she couldn't help it, putting two-and-two together about her age and when Cornelio mentioned he had adopted them.

Her thoughts were distracted when she heard the muffled murmurs. She blinked, and looked to the siblings. Their lips were tightly locked in a kiss that no two sisters, bound by blood or law, could morally get away with. "G-Girls," she said.

Trinity broke the kiss, looking back. "Have you ever done it with a boy, Ama?"

The question itself was not innocent at all, but the way the rabbit managed to ask it was. The corgi's stomach bubbled. "Trin, that's not an appropriate question," she admonished.

The girl sighed. "I saw your toy," she admitted. "I found it when I was getting your jammies," she explained.

Ama squatted into the water a bit, as if trying to hide from the girl's revelation.

"It's bigger than the real thing," the rabbit commented. "Right, Soph?"

"I don't think Ama likes talking about our past," the otter said.

"Why?" The rabbit-canine asked. "Everything's okay now. We make each other feel good without the hurt, so it's okay."

Ama quietly rose up out of the water. "Both of you...?" The canine asked before catching herself. She was given a sideways look from the bunny.

"Thought it wasn't appropriate," she said with a smirk.

Sophia nodded. "Yeah... both of us." She admitted. "It was different for me... I was the older one, not by much. We were... just curious." She blushed. "It felt good, after the first time..."

Amaryllis swallowed, stepping over to them. "Guess... that makes three of us," she admitted with a blush. "Sorry, Trin... that that happened to you."

The rabbit-mix smiled bashfully, half-hiding behind her sister. "Thanks, but I'm okay, now." She repeated. Then, she startled the water as she stood up on the bench. "I think I'm all done, and my fur takes forever to dry, so..." She walked about the tub, her feet slapping on the tile, no doubt leaving little puddles as dripped. She yanked a towel off of the rack, and begun vigorously drying herself. Once or twice she shook herself, as her canine side was wont to do.

"Dad doesn't like it when you do that, y'know," Sophia warned.

"If you don't tell him he won't know," she replied, wrapping the towel around herself. "See you guys when you're done," she bid, swiping her pajamas up and scampering out the door.

Amaryllis leaned over the wall of the tub, watching as the hyperactive girl departed the room. She let out a sigh. "Does she ever get tired or run out of energy?" She mumbled, absentmindedly to herself.

"There's... one way," the otter said from behind.

The corgi turned, almost forgetting Sophia was there she was so quiet. "Tell me your secrets," she said with a mystical inflection. "I thought for sure that little chase we had would have, but it didn't make a dent."

The otter bit her lip, squirting another dollop of shampoo on her palms and sitting up on the tub to wash her legs. "You sure you wanna know?" She asked, almost ambivelantly.

The corgi felt a bit uneasy. "Well... it's not like you're gonna say to hit her over the head or something," she replied.

The otter sat upright, her cheeks still a bit red. "Give her an orgasm," she said with a nonchelant shrug. "Puts her right to sleep, most of the time." She went back to washing her legs, lifting her feet up out of the water. "Does that bother you?" She asked.

Ama reached for her own bottle of shampoo. "It probably should... but, I guess I wasn't much older than you when I started playing around," she admitted. "On one hand I know your dad would probably be upset if we were talking about stuff like that."

The otter dipped her foot back in. "On the other?" She said, lifting up her other foot, as if to exemplify her question.

"I'd kinda be the pot calling the kettle black." The corgi finished, ducking to submerge her head underwater, and wash the lather out of her hair. As the warmth surrounded her scalp and muffled her ears, she felt peaceful and tranquil. It was like being in a jacuzzi, but more cramped and without a bathing suit.

She rose out of the water, standing upright, and gently shook herself off--not enough to spray the water everywhere. When she had settled, she noticed that Sophia had gotten back into the water, and was standing just against the wall.

Ama shifted to lower down, but just barely. She could feel the bottom curves of her breasts resting in the water, her nipples submurged. She noticed the hesitant, but calculated look the otter had.

After a moment more, the water gently swished as Sophia slowly closed the gap between them.

Ama's cheeks began to blush. She held Sophia's gaze, and sensed the unspoken message that carried from them. When the younger girl was just close enough to touch without reaching, Amaryllis rose fully out of the water.

The otter licked her lips. Water rushed down and dripped from underneath the corgi's breasts, some of which dripped straight off of her nipples.

Before Ama could say anything to deter the girl, her left nipple was taken. She gasped when Sophia latched on, and gently suckled. It hadn't been the first time someone had dry-nursed from her, but the manner in which Sophia did made her heart flutter more with adoration than pure lust.

Sophia closed her eyes, her head tilted inward so that her nose rested toward her bathmate's sternum. She held the corgi's breast up with her right hand underneath, and her left reached up to rest on Ama's shoulder, as if to discourage her from jerking away.

Amaryllis shuddered with pleasure, letting out a relaxing sigh and lifting her hand out of the water to hold onto the back of Sophia's head, steadying the suckling otter in place. She could feel her own heartbeat in her pert nipple, and the otter either consciously or accidentally began timing her suckles to the beat. The gentle tugs were relieving, in a way, like a massage working the tension out of a muscle.

The otter's suckles grew earnest, her lips pressing firmly to the supple flesh to tighten the seal. The wanton sounds of her nursing filled the room for a few more moments until, at last, she detached with a rush of held breath and sucked in a fresh helping of air. She stumbled back a step, the surface of the water trembling with her motion.

The girls stood in mutually awkward silence as the water settled.

Sophia, her face red as a raspberry, looked bashfully aside, but caught glimpses of the corgi, who was just as flushed. Even the white fur about the attended nipple, now swollen and jutting out much further than normal reaction to arousal alone, was colored a soft, sensual pink.

"Y--you could have told me to stop," the otter pointed out, finally braving the act of looking at the older girl. She had spoken with a suppressed inflection that had no reverberation, despite the tile in the room.

"I know," Ama replied, her voice in the same manner.

"We... should dry off," the otter said, making an awkward dash past the corgi to get out of the tub on the opposite side to where she had originally bathed. She got out in a hunched manner, which left her rear and nethers, still dripping with water, exposed to the cooler air and in view of the canid girl. She stole a glance back to see, and felt her heart hasten when she confirmed Ama was watching her retreat.

Ama followed the girl out of the tub and over to the towels, accepting the one Sophia proffered to her with a thanks.

The otter, her fur sleeker and thinner, dried much quicker and more easily than the corgi. She waited patiently for Ama to finish, insisting the teen take her time. She went to her pajamas, and began dressing in them. They weren't much, and to a certain extent she was barely wearing anything.

The baby-doll top has a built-in brasseire, which was opaque, but the rest was sheer and translucent, the fabric concealing her in just a light, white hue. The split just above her navel did nothing to conceal her groin, and she would have been laid bare were it not for the skimpy g-string that she wore, colored white with just faint shade of pink.

Ama was drying her face and hair at the time, and as she finished she caught sight of the otter's nightware. "Holy smokes," she said, her brow raising. "That's... kinda skimpy and fancy for sleeping in," she commented.

The otter covered herself defensively. "Well... I mean, if_you_ grew up with only tattered shirts, torn pants, and underwear that never fit, wouldn't you wanna wear fancy, frilly stuff like this?" She countered, blush returning.

The corgi went for her own pajamas. "Do you... like, walk around Cornelio in that?" She questioned, reaching for her large, baggy sleep-shirt that was one of her father's and had the faint wafts of some suave cologne.

"No!" She said emphatically, as if astounded that the idea would even cross anyone's mind. "I put sleep-pants on if I have to go downstairs or something," she explained.

Ama tugged the shirt down, pulling the neck-hole over her head. "Okay, okay," she chuckled, snagging her own underwear to slip on. "I just know if_my_ dad saw me walking around in that, even if I was two years older, he'd throw a fit and demand to know what preverted boy I was skanking up for."

The otter giggled, and then protested, "this isn't skanky! It's..." She looked herself over. "...Maybe it is... a little too... sexy for me," she admitted, a bit disappointedly. "I'll find something else back in the room.".

"Hey, wait," Ama back-pedaled, tugging her yoga pants up. "I didn't mean it that way. I'd love to wear something cute like that, heck I would have worn something like that here if I had anything. I just meant, like, as a first impression or whatever, it's kind of a surprise." She rested her hand on Sophia's shoulder. "But looks pretty and makes you feel pretty, right?"

Bashfully, the otter nodded, letting her covering arms relax to show off the body that the translucent and hued fabric teased.

"Then that's what matters, so you rock it, 'kay?" Ama leaned in, giving the girl a kiss on the cheek.

Sophia giggled, flinching and raising her shoulder, shying away from the gesture. "C'mon," she took Ama's hand, "if we're lucky, Trin's already asleep."

Ama took the otter's hand, and followed out into the hall. They crept quietly toward the room, but as they neared Ama heard--almost felt--some odd noise that she couldn't quite place. She looked about, trying to see if she could localize it to a vent or maybe even a light.

Then, her heart lept and she balked when a sudden squeal burst from the open door several feet away. A heartbeat later, a loud crash and pop made the girls flinch and tighten their hand-hold. The light in the room suddenly went out.

"Trin!?" Sophia said urgently, and dashed forward.

Ama was just a footfall behind, and when the otter turned on the overhead light to the room, the corgi was both shocked, and a bit upset.

There, on the bed and twisted to try and hide her head, Trinity lay upon her covers. The lamp on the floor must have been knocked from her bedside table, and with the third thing the corgi noticed it was most likely a casualty in a desperate act to hide the rabbit-mix's activities.

Trinity squirmed and shivered, the gentle buzzing solving the mystery of the noise Ama had tried to put her finger on moments ago. Then, the young girl let out a sensual moan that started off bashful and bated, but quickly turned into indulgant and climactic. She shuddered on the bed, the borrowed toy within her quieting and revving back up in response to her muscles rythmically contracting and forcing it to settle, and then relaxing and allowing it to stoke her pleasure.

As Sophia approached her sister, Trinity rolled onto her back and scooted back as if to get away. She only managed to find a more relaxed position in which to enjoy the throes of her orgasm, her rear lifting off the bed as she struggled to hold onto the last fleeting tingles of her ebbing orgasm.

She slumped back down when her sister flicked the switch to turn the toy off. Breathing heavily, she rested her cheek upon the pillow, her immature chest and pert buds nudging up and down as her belly swelled with each exhausted breath. She clenched and whimpered with sensitivity as the toy was tugged and removed from her loins.

Ama was still frozen at the door, and felt a mix of unease and astonishment as her personal toy, stolen by the rabbit, was removed from the petite flower. She amazed firstly that the toy had fit at all! As it was coaxed free, and especially with her own knowledge of its length and girth, it was evident that the young rabbit could barely handle fitting it in.

She was overwhelmed with dread when she wondered if Trinity had hurt herself. She would definitely get into some kind of nasty trouble if Cornelio discovered that his youngest daughter had been harmed in any way because she negligently brought a plastic, vibrating penis that was the centerpiece of her pre-slumber rituals.

But she was then given a spark of relief when she saw the bag she had stored the dildo and its lube lying on the bedside table, the lube out of the bag and the cap just settled and not fully closed.

In the back of her mind, Ama got the impression that either this wasn't the rabbit-canid's first experience with a dildo, or she had a lot of common sense to use the resources she was given. Either way, she was further relieved to see that there was no evidence of blood on the fake purple dong; nor on the feminine-soaked sheets; nor around or in the puffy petals of the blushing, well-tended flower.

"Okay,first of a--"

"Shhhhh!" Sophia shushed emphatically, cutting the corgi off. When Ama gave her a wrinkled glare, she merely pointed at her sister.

Ama remembered, just then, as she saw how Trinity became relaxed and started to breathe easily, of what Sophia had mentioned earlier. She blushed, coming to realize that the girl was much like herself: with the simple desire to settle down, have an intimate moment with her ladyhood, and drift off into a soothing, deep sleep.

Sophia tapped the corgi's arm to catch her attention. She held up the dildo, her first two fingers and thumb holding it by the slippery shaft, and offered it to the older girl.

Ama took it, and then went to the bag. She gently snapped the cap of the lube closed, and nestled it into her armpit, while she picked up the back with the rest of the contents in her other hand.

She stepped out of the room, back down the hall, and toward the bathroom. She set the dildo on the counter, coming to terms with the inability to set it on some tissue right then and that she would just have to let whatever touched the marble touch the marble. She set the lubricant down on the opposite side, and fetched the bottle of unscented soap from the bag while turning on the sink.

Sophia entered the bathroom as the water began to warm up, and met the corgi's eyes. As if requiring a reason to step foot inside, she mumbled, "forgot to drain the tub," and shuffled past the canine. Indeed, she had forgotten to, and so she released the drains and the water began to gurgle down.

She started to walk back toward the door, but paused as she passed Ama. She looked at the corgi, matching eyes in the mirror, and then stepped up beside the older girl. "What're you doing?" She asked.

"Gotta clean it," she replied. "Trin's lucky I don't have any bugs..."

"Bugs?" The otter asked.

"STDs?" She half-asked, half-clarified.

"Oh, right. I kinda forgot about those..." She watched as Ama reached to the water to feel the temparture, and then take the dildo in her other hand and pump out a helping of soap over it. "Sorry," was all she could say, as the canine began cleaning her toy.

Ama took in a deep breath, and let it out. "Guess I can't blame her... she_did_ say she found it, and I shoulda realized she would use it."

"Now I get why she split so fast," the otter said, shaking her head. She watched as Ama cleaned the dildo, blushing as canine's hand pumped up and down almost like she was jacking it off.

"Honestly," the corgi said, shutting off the water and flicking the plastic penis to dry it off. "I would've felt better if she had just asked," she revealed. "I'm just glad she didn't get hurt."

Sophia nodded. "Me, too." She replied.

Ama turned to the otter, and then offered the dildo.

Sophia accepted it out of reflex, but then looked up at the corgi nervously, "Uhm..."

"You can try it, if you want," she tempted, smiling coyly. She rested her hand on the otter's shoulder, leaning to her ear. "Just put it back here on the counter when you're done, okay?" She instructed.

Sophia, blushing profusely, nodded. Then, she held her breath with a chitter as the canine's lips met hers. She tensed for a brief moment, and then melted into the kiss.

"Use plenty of this," Ama instructed lifting up and setting down the bottle of lube, "and try not to enjoy it_too_ much," she cautioned; "You're just borrowing. I'm taking it back."

The otter nodded, clutching the fake penis to her chest, as if eagerly guarding it in anticipation for when she could cut loose with it.

"Good night," she bid, stepping out of the bathroom and turning off the light.

Sophia gulped. "G'night," she bid back.

* * *

Ama stared up at the ceiling for what felt like hours. She glanced at the clock on the far wall, and saw it was around ten-thirty. She wasn't really the thinking type, but somehow for the last while she had been so recluded in her own mind that she lost perception of time, and in the wrong direction no less.

She wondered if maybe Cornelio had come back. He had been gone for hours, and it would be crazy to think whatever business he was tending to was still going on. If he wasn't back by now, he would have to be any minute.

The corgi threw off the covers and slid out of bed. She picked up her yoga pants from off the floor and pulled the legs through to the right side. She pulled them on, shimmying them a bit as she pulled them up to her waist, and snapped the band about her hips.

She made her way downstairs, and it didn't take her long to be pretty certain Cornelio had not yet returned. Her bare feet brushed over the cool tile, sending a chill up her back, despite that the air was rather warm.

Not only had nothing been disturbed, but the coat he had taken was still absent. The halls were still dim, lit primarily by the moon setting the sheer curtains aglow. She recalled the moment when the crow had startled her. She half-expected a shadow or something to suddenly appear on the wall.

She took calming breaths, fighting the part of her that frantically tried to freak her the hell out. She felt like she needed to come up with a reason to be down there, to help calm her nerves. There was no TV and she wasn't about to read, but she was a bit thirsty.

She put on a bold face and made her way through the halls to the kitchen. At first she flinched and her heart began revving when she saw the light, but then she recalled that they had never turned it off since before the bath.

It was just quiet, and she would have to learn to appreciate quiet. It wasn't her home, and she would just have to learn to appreciate that, too. She was practically an adult, and if the girls saw her they'd either make fun of her or just try to startle her that much more.

She retrieved a glass and poured herself some of the peach bellini. As sips turned to gulps, the sweet drink did being to settle her nerves. Enough that she looked out the other entryway, and recalled the oddity she had seen earlier, when chasing Trinity.

Licking her lips to clean the traces of sticky sugar from them, she set the cup of pink ice down and wasted no time returning to the hall of curiosities. Only this time, she would be damned if something distracted her from it.

She stepped into the little dead-end hallway, and made for the right side of the back. Sure enough, the wall_was_ askew, and not just an illusion. She reached out, tracing her fingers along the crack. She pried a couple digits in, and tentatively tried to pull. It quietly scratched and stuttered as she coaxed it further out. She reached up and held onto the sconce, using it to help balance the false wall and help keep it silent as she moved it along.

It was like finding a secret passageway behind a bookcase, or fireplace. When the space she had made was at least wide enough for her to comfortably pass through, she peeked behind it.

Silly how she thought she would be able to see anything right away; the light from the kitchen was barely bright enough to light the hallway, and she hadn't turned on any other lights. But, she wouldn't have to go far for a light source. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out her keys, gripping them tightly to keep them from jingling. She managed to work her car key free, and pinched the glove. The tiny light within sparked to life, and the little door was revealed to her once again.

She almost wanted to proclaim aloud, but thought better of it. She panned the light over the little door that vlidated her sense of sanity and self-assurance. She pointed it at where the doorknob should be, but found something else instead. The light glinted and shined off of not a brass knob, but just truncated brass cone jutting out in the same place, like a toddler's primitive replication of the mechanism. It had a key-hole, and for a second she was about to be satisfied with her find and return the wall to its place and be on with her life.

But her other hand, as if with a mind of its own, had to go and tug on the knob.

Rather than staying shut, a noise like the soft crunch of snow came to her ears, and a dim light broke through the rift.

Her heart jumped to her throat, and she quietly turned off her light. She remained still for several moments, the door just barely ajar, and focused on the dim, wavering light within. She could hear her pulse in her ears.

This was eerie.

It would be one thing if the little half-door was just unlocked. But why did there have to be a light on inside? What else was in there?

It was just a storage place. That had to be it, like an attic. Just a little storage closet, and someone forgot to turn the light off last time they were in. The false wall was just for vanity; no one would want to have to explain to every visitor why there was a dwarf-door in the middle of a hallway. It wasn't anyone's business.

She would just take a peek inside to find the lightswitch and turn it off--it was the right thing to do. Save the electricity, keep from causing a fire. Five seconds, ten tops; then, she'd shut the door and put the wall back where it was supposed to go, and even make it flush.

She still glanced behind her. To see if there were any shadows or dark figures that had suddenly appeared. To reassure herself that, if she needed to, she could book it if what was inside was not worth the prudence she had rationalized.

She took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door wider. Whatever was inside--if anything was--it was now aware its sanctuary had been discovered. Nearly a dozen ideas of what lay before her flashed through her mind: a gigantic spider dripping with acidic poison; a pile of decapitated dolls, with their heads slowly turning to look at her; a deformed sibling, kept chained and fed scraps to stay barely alive; a satanic shrine, used for summoning demons; an opening to a basement, cave, or laberynth where some monster lurked about eager for a hunt; a secret lab for performing unlawful experiments; a torture chamber; an alien teleporter; a hole that opened up directly to hell.

She crawled on palm and fist, still clutching her keys, and tentatively peeked into the room. Spotting some kind of motion within, she flinched and receded back out, breathing heavily. She expected to hear some kind of roar, and for the earth to tremble as whatever was inside spotted her.

When nothing happened, she scolded her childish imagination, and tentatively looked again. This time, she saw the source of motion: a ceiling fan, lazily turning about its axis. The light was sourced from a bulb jutting down from its base like a uvula. The fan was unbalanced, and had a wobbling cadence, which simulated a flicker or wavering at the right angle and distance--one such that she was at.

She took extra care to ensure the room was empty, at least of people, monsters, and demons.

As she surveyed the room, and braved the commitment to enter it, she began to see more of what it was. It did indeed store things: bottles of water, cans of food, and some other boxes. But it also had some elements of a small den, most notably from the table and stool near the back corner, and the small TV and VCR set upon it.

She stood up, as much as she could anyway, and started to make her way to the table. Just a few hunched over steps in, and she turned back to the door. She felt vulnerable with it open, and turned back to close it. Now, she felt claustrophobic.

The small television and VCR gripped her curiosity. She looked at it once more, and made her way toward it. Her footfalls sounded like drumbeats, and she felt that ears were listening. But she was just paranoid, for sure. No one was in the room, and the girls were still asleep; and she would certainly hear Cornelio's noisy car.

At the table, she reached for the VCR, lifting up the protective cover of the tape bed. There was a tape already inside. Curiosly, she pressed the eject button. The electrical whirring and mechanical clattering as the VCR coughed up the tape was unsettingly noisy for her liking. It presented to tape to her, though, and she slid it out.

It was blank, save for the narrow-face label. On it,Home Movies was written in black. But, in a very faded red, almost pink, appeared to be three _X_s across the original title, as if it had been repurposed.

Of course she had to watch the tape. Just a little bit. Just to see if anything was even on it. It wouldn't be anything crazy, this was just where they stored the tapes and probably had this set up to do some quick organizing based on what was on them.

She turned on the TV, and suddenly a loud roar of static burst in the room. She could feel it pummelling her, and she dropped the tape and went limp in shock and panic. Staring at the glowing, snowy screen, it took her five agonizing seconds to finally jam her finger to the power-button.

It felt like minutes had passed.

She looked to the door, catching her breath. It took minutes for her to clam down, and all that time nothing came to bother her. The blasting noise had gone unnoticed. But, just to be sure, she went to the door.

Peeking out into the hallway, or what she could barely see, there was nothing but shadows. She strained her ear, listening for anything, but heard only the gentle gust of the air-conditioning unit.

Satisfied, she closed herself back in.

Back at the small television, this time she held her hand over the speaker on the bottom right. When she turned the television on, she immediately went to the volume button to turn it down. Her hand muffled the blast of static considerably, but it still spiked her pulse as she felt it vibrate her palm.

The volume was at its lowest setting, the static barely a whisper. But it was still causing her anxiety with its constant hiss, and so she put the tape in, hoping to silence it. The mechanical and electrical clatter added to the anxiety of all the commotion, and then as it began to spin to life the screen let out a muffled thump as a blast of solid white went from corner to corner, and then black.

A few wisps of static crackled across the screen, like fireflies flitting by in the midnight sky. Then, it blazed red, and settled into an image. There was a windmill, amidst a field of grapes. The wind whipped, and as the scene panned she could hear a crackling like the camera itself was rattling.

Then, it went black again, but this time the black was not due to some break in the tape. It was still filming, she could tell, for there was a silhouette, barely visible. For a moment, she almost thought that maybe this part of the tape had gone bad, and she was just seeing the ghostly imagines of what remained, but then what she saw came to clarity.

She gasped, covering her mouth.

There, slightly younger, on her knees, and very naked, Sophia winced and turned away from the light.

"Look at me, bitch."

The voice was low, but commanding.

Despite the obvious discomfort--maybe even pain--the light was giving her, she did her best to look toward the camera. Her lids winced and struggled between wanting to close and forcing to stay open.

"It's been over a day and a half." Said the voice.

She recognized it, somehow. She had never heard it before, and yet it was familiar.

"You ready to give up?"

Her lips moved, but either the volume was too low or there was nothing that came from it.

"Speak up, cunt!"

Ama flinched as the camera suddenly went right up to Sophia's face.

"Peas..." Or, at least, that's what it sounded like her rhaspy voice said. "Waher... peas..."

Ama dared turn the volume up just a little, to hear better.

"You askin' for_this?_"

The camera receded, showing a full bottle of water, out-of-focus.

Sophia's lips parted, and she breathed desperately, nodding, and rattling what must have been chains that kept her restrained.

The bottle disappeared, and several deliberately drawn-out gulping sounds could be heard. The bottle whipped past the view once again, and the unseen voice let out a sight of relief. "That hits the spot." He chuckled. "Here, I'll let you have some," he said with a menacing inflection.

The image blurred as the camera stepped forward and angled downward, to get better fantage of the otter from above. She looked up, opening her mouth and raising up on her knees, eyes filled with a sudden flare of determination and hope.

Then, the bottle blurrily zoomed into view once again, colliding with her face and emitting hollow thumps as it clattered and rolled into the darkness.

The voice laughed with genuine delight, an ashy laugh like leaves scraping across cement. The camera bobbed, but the change of expression on Sophia's face was still clear despite the bit of motion blur.

"You can't even make tears to cry." He pointed out. "How long are you gonna fight it? Just give in. You know how you can get a drink."

She shook her head, looking back up, trying to muster defiance.

"Hmph. Fine. See you tomorrow..." The light shut off. "If you're alive, that is."

"Wait!"

The outburst was loud enough to make the corgi flinch, her finger going to the volume button.

The light came back on.

Sophia was looking down, and then she looked up, eyes closed. She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, as if trying to touch her chin with it.

"So you_do_ want a drink, huh?"

She nodded.

"Open your eyes. Look at me like a sad puppy-dog. Beg for it."

She did so, her pupils wiggling back and forth. It was then that the corgi noticed her eyes were rather pale, and not reflecting the light as they normally might, and that that wasn't because of the quality of the image.

Suddenly, the camera angled to point almost straight-down, but kept Sophia within the top half of the view. A blurry, unfocused tan-colored blob took up the bottom portion of the screen. After a second, it came into focus, and Ama fought on whether or not to turn away.

The tan was the color of fur. Bare, naked fur, and part of the blob that now came into focus was an unquestionably endowed penis. A hand, also covered in the same tan fur, reached down to cup Sophia's cheek.

"Do anything stupid, and you die of thirst. Understand?"

She nodded, fear replacing the act her eyes and been giving until now.

"Wider." He commanded, using his fingers to coax her jaw to his instructions. He then carefully slid the tip of his penis over her tongue. "Close."

Her lips sealed about the head.

A moment passed.

"Well? It ain't just gonna happen. Cunts have to work for their drink."

Sophia winced, but thought better of closing her eyes. Muffled noises, barely audible, came from the speaker. Then, a relaxed sigh came from the man, and the otter grimaced, and began lurching in digsust.

"Good little cunt, drink it like a bottle."

As the moment went on, Sophia's raction became more erratic. Finally, the penis pulled from her lips, and liquid dribbled from her lips.

"Better not throw up. That'll just make it worse."

As he said this, she began retching, and trying to force her lips closed. Her cheeks puffed and she swallowed, convulsing and writing with disgust and sickness. All the while, the cameraman laughed again, but the feed cut to another scene.

Ama's eyes winced, as the sun suddenly blazed in the camera's lense. It panned down and left, over man-made canal, and caught a ferry along its path. It doubled-back, focusing on the ferry. The ferryman waved, and then appeared to go unsteady. He gripped his oar, squatting down, and worked to steady the boat.

Then, the feed transitioned again.

This time, it appeared to be set up in a bedroom. It took Ama a moment to understand what she was looking at, and from what perspective. She could see a bed, the camera presumably on a high shelf. The vantage meant that her eyes were focused on the bottom half of the screen, as the top half was looking at a window.

The person in bed stirred, and she saw the dark head upon the pillow lift up. The light turned on, and the ears were what helped Ama recognize the person on the bed as Trinity. The rabbit-girl threw the covers off, revealing her nude body.

A lion boy, about Sophia's age, appeared in the lower-right corner. They appeared to be talking, but there was no sound. The boy climbed onto the bed, kneeling at first. He was wearing briefs.

Trinity reached out, and pulled the top of his briefs down, exposing his boyhood, but there was definitely not enough detail to see anything--thankfully. The boy then proceeded to pull off his underwear, tossing it out of view.

Trinity ogled and touched him for several moments, the grainy image just giving the impression she was fondling him and jerking him off. Then, he suddenly pushed her away. She scrambled back, resting her head on the pillow and spreading her legs.

The boy went in. The details were obscured by her legs and the angle, but he appeared to be fingering and licking her. Based on her mouth and the way her head leaned back, she was giving him encouraging moans.

After a while of eating her out, the bow then crawled up. She started to lean up, maybe to kiss him, but then he aggressively slammed her down by the shoulder. She squirmed, but he held her steady. Then, her whole body appeared to tense, and she turned away from the camera.

The boy's pelvis pressed against hers more and more, and she began to squirm and wriggle, her head whipping to the other side and her hand gripping her ear. Then, her muzzle opened wide and body went limp.

The boy leaned in, either kissing or licking her. His muzzle dipped lower, began licking over the area where her nipple was. His hips began to move again. He rutted her, starting off slow but then got rather aggressive. She leaned up on her elbows, jaw hanging slack but bobbing as she panted.

The motions lasted for two minutes, the boy's chin raising up in concentration before slowly lowering back down to her shoulder as he frantically humped. Then, his jaw clearly clamped down on her far shoulder. She turned toward the camera, her face twisted in pain, and then her whole body began to squirm and writhe. The boy's rump and tail abruptly slowed, relieving his tensions into the quivering rabbit-mix.

Just as it appeared their orgasms were winding down, Trinity's near-arm slipped beneath the pillow. Her hand whipped out, and went to his neck.

They burst into motion, a violent struggle. The boy's hands tried to grip at Trinity's but she resisted his attempts. The struggling was erratic for several seconds, but then it slowed down. The boy's fingers tried to hold onto anything, but then relaxed and the boy went limp.

They rolled over, and the boy tumbled off the bed. Trinity stepped up, and disappeared from the view of the camera. A second later, the room jiggled, and the scene itself moved.

The camera lowered down, facing the girl. It caught a glimpse of her shoulder, dark red staining the light-brown highlight, where a bite-gash could be seen. The camera was oriented away, and looked at the shelves from which on one it was perched. Then, it moved toward the boy, and went to focus on his neck.

A white handle stuck up from him. Trinity's hand grabbed it, and yanked it out. A puddle of blood was still spreading on the wooden floor. The razorblade and the base of the box-cutter's sheath were stained with blood. She turned the blade, orienting in a way she saw fit, and set the silver point against his shoulder.

Ama winced as the blade cut into the skin. Then, the blade went an inch to the right, and cut again. She cut both of the boy's shoulders several times, before dropping the blade. Then, her fingertips pressed to one of the cuts, rubbing between the severed flaps of flesh. She lifted them to the view of the camera, showing the blood that coated her finger-pads. Then, they disappeared out of view behind the vantage of the camera, and the feed cut.

Ama ejected the tape.

The VCR crunched and clattered, as if old and weary and not at all concerned for her urgency. She begged it to hurry in whispers, her fingers whipping rapidly in a gesture for it to deliver the tape to her.

Finally, it coughed out, and she slipped it free. For a second, she wondered what to do next, her mind reeling at the footage she held in her trembling hands. She had to get this to the police. If nothing but to get some kind of help--what the hell kind of help could that even be?

Lifting her shirt, she fitted the tape against her belly and secured it by tucking her shirt into her capris. Trying to steady her breath, she crept on hands and knees toward the door. She saw the lightswitch, and reached to flick it off. Blood racing, she pushed it open, wincing as it gently bumped against the false wall. She crawled out, looking out into the hall.

She gasped, and froze.

The light from the kitchen barely revealed the highlights of the rabbit-mix's fur. She looked almost like an illusion, or a ghost what with the white, chiffon sleeping gown.

Ama remained still, hoping the girl hadn't noticed her and would give up shortly. Or, maybe she was sleep-walking. Instead, her hackles were sent rigid when the girl's voice softly called her name:

"Ama..."

"T--Trinity, you s-scared me," the corgi admitted, shuffling out from behind the wall..

"I was looking all over for you," the rabbit-mix said, though her voice sounded unamused, as if she had heard a hurtful joke.

Amaryllis stood up, her joints cracking from being so tense. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't kn-know you were still awake," she replied.

"What were you doing in the store-room?" She asked, her voice leaning more toward rhetorically accusing than curiosity.

"Wh-well, I was in the kitchen, a-and I heard a buzzing noise. I tracked it down to here, wh-where the light was turned on." She stepped to the rabbit, though her balance was unsteady from having been in such a bad posture for the last ten minutes. "Wh-what are you doing up?"

"I woke up when I heard a weird hissing noise," she said.

The corgi's heartbeat hastened, her vision flickering with bits of static like the television--and this reminded her of when she had first turned it on. Could that be the noise Trinity was referring to?

...Did Tinity know?"

"H--how long have you been there?" The corgi asked, sweetly, trying to quell her nerves and agitations.

"Not long," the girl said, reaching up. "Will you tuck me back in? Maybe sing me a lullaby?" She asked, wiggling her hand so that the long sleeve settled down at her forearm.

"Sh--sure," Amaryillis replied, taking the hand. She allowed herself to be led by the girl back toward the stairs, silently coming up with a plan.

She would tuck Trinity in, and make certain the girl was asleep. Then, she would carefully sneak to her car, and then she would be home free. She'd take the tape to the cops, and...

Tell them what? She didn't even know how to interpret what she had seen. Only that it was terrible--horrible. The kids needed help; someone to talk to, or something. Cornelio... what did he know?Did he know? Who was the man in Sophia's video, and why was his voice--

Ta-clack!

"Huh?" Ama's thoughts were caught off guard when something hit her foot. It clattered and rattled as it bounced a few feet away, and settled on the ground. Even in the dim light coming from the stairwell, she could see exactly what it was.

A box-cutter.

"Well... shit," the rabbit grumbled.

Amaryllis wasted no time. She darted for the box-cutter, but her foot was grabbed, and yanked. She kept herself from hitting the tile outright, pitching to take the brunt on her buttocks. The landing did send a sharp pain through her leg, which gave the rabbit enough time to dash for the blade.

The corgi scrambled to her feet, taking the next best option: run. Hide.

She dashed back toward the kitchen, hearing Trinity giggling rather far behind. She paused at the other entryway, tempted to make a break back around for the front door.

"Ama..."

Her heart thundered, and she hastily, but quietly as she could, dashed off into the hallway, holding her keys in her pocket to keep them from jingling. She passed the hallway of the false wall, and ducked into the hallway to the right. She grabbed one of the books off of the book-case, and threw it as far as she could down the hall store-room hall, in an attempt to distract the rabbit and make her think she had fled back to the store-room.

She then dashed toward the bathroom, and quietly shut the door almost-closed. She took out her keys, and used the light to navigate the room to find a hiding place. Only two options: the cupboard, and the bathtub with a shower-curtain.

"Twinkle... twinkle..."

The light shook as Ama heard the sing-song voice, oddly calm. She crept toward the bathtub, hiding behind the shower curtain, pulling it just so that it covered her, standing away from either wall. Maybe that would throw the girl off. If she had spread the curtain all the way out, or pulled it to one side, surely that would look like an obvious hiding spot, but maybe with it not quite being so convenient, the girl would not even think to look there.

"Little star..."

She must have been in the other hall. Ama's hand shook, and she squeezed it tensely to keep the keys from jingling.

"I think... I know..."

The corgi became dizzy, Trinity's voice sounding both so close and yet far away.

"Where... you..."

She tried to keep her breathing even, but it was difficult. She sucked in a breath, and held her other hand over her muzzle to hold it in. Her ears began to ring, and she struggled to listen. Her head pulsed, and her lungs started to tickle. She let a finger slide away from her nostrils, to try and let some air eek in and out.

Then, she let out a squeaky hiccup.

"Are!"

Ama screamed as the curtain was suddenly yanked aside, and felt a punch against her gut. She was pushed back against the wall, and felt the pressure of the blade dig deeper into her--but there was no pain.

The box-cutter was jiggled, and the tape against her stomach followed.

"Huh?" The rabbit questioned.

Ama took her chance. She grabbed the rabbit's ear, and yanked as hard as she could, while raking her keys across the girl's face.

Trinity shrieked, letting the box-cutter go to cover her stinging face, and it clattered to the ground.

Ama pushed the girl aside, and dashed to the door, but the rabbit grabbed her by the wrist, trying to tug her back. The corgi took hold of the rabbit's ear again, pulling her head forward, and grabbed the doorknob with her free hand. She swung the door in, hitting the rabbit enough to loosen the hold. Then, she grabbed the back of her assailent's skull and changed from the knob to gripping the door itself, and smashed the two together as hard as she could.

Trinity groaned, and collapsed to the floor.

Ama wasted no time; she raced out of the bathroom and across the house as fast as she could. She pulled the handle of the front door, yanking, pressing with her thumb as hard as she could. Realizing it was locked, she undid the bolt and it gave way, letting in a gentle gust of crisp air as it broke the conditioned seal with a soft hiss.

Her feet trampled upon the_trompe l'oeil_ flowers, heels kicking the desert sand high into the air. She could hardly see, and so nearly slammed into one of the stone walls.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmy--mmf!" She droned her words in a breathy disbelief, as if they alone were able to keep her calm in the face of near-death. They were cut short when she misjudged the final step, and twisted her ankle. She hit the grass, a sting shooting up her wrist, but fear didn't keep her down for more than a second.

She shambled to her car, opening the passenger door in a panic, and shut it behind her. She clambered over the passenger seat, uttering gasps and whimpers of pain and fright. Barely situated in the diver's seat, she fished in her pocket for her keys, her wrist now beginning to burn, making her fingers dumb when she needed them most.

The light in the car went out.

Using her other hand, she awkwardly tried to fit the key in the ignition, but with the odd angle and lack of muscle-memory, it desperately scratched and caught in the hole for a few seconds too long for her heart.

And at last the key was in!

She turned it.

Pur-ru-ru-ru...

She gritted her teeth.

Pur-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru...

She opened her muzzle, shrieking as loud as she could: "Start you mother-fucking_piece of shit!_

Pur-ru-ru-ru...

Suddenly, she heard a heavy clatter, and the van shook. The light overhead burst on. She turned her head over her shoulder, and felt her blood turn to ice.

Trinity stood at the sliding door, which had fallen off the rails when she had opened it. She held her hand against her head, and stared blankly at the Corgi. "Where are you gonna go?" She asked.

Amaryllis somehow found her voice. It was oddly calm. "To the city. To get you help," she replied.

The girl giggled. "Okay." She removed her hand from her head, and gave a wave. "See you soon." She bid, and tried to close the door. When she couldn't, she hit it with a growl, and took a few steps back into the shadows.

Seven heartbeats passed before Amaryllis turned the key.

Pur-ru-ru-ru-r--vooooorhuhm!

With her heart racing as fast as the pistons in the engine, she gunned the pedal, her tires peeling for a full second on the damp grass before traction caught. The road ahead was a blur to her, the only thing she was truly conscious of was her own ear-splitting shriek as all of the adrenaline began to melt away as she finally felt she might be free of the sudden nightmare.

Not a thought about the girls. Not a thought about where she was going. Not a thought about going to the police or anywhere else. Just_get away!_

After several moments of blind driving, she began to calm her vocal chords. Her breathing was hoarse, rapid and shallow. She could barely feel her limbs, and her wrist felt as though a shard of glass and worked its way into the muscle and bone. Eventually she had to pull over--but surely she was far enough away that she couldn't have been followed.

She slowly came to a stop at an incline, engaging the emergency break once she was still to keep the van balanced. She tried to finally catch her breath, to think, to even_begin_ comprehending what had happened.

The van beeped as she killed the engine, and a few moments after the light over the dash went off.

In a way, she felt maybe she had done something stupid. That maybe the girls had just pulled a wicked prank on her. That she had just made a gigantic ass of herself at the shenanigans of someone almost half her age!

But what about Sophia? She suddenly felt the adrenaline start to kick in again. Sophia must have still been upstairs--was Sophia nuts like Trinity, or... Had she just left a tortured girl in the hands of a child murderer?

"I... I can't go back," she said aloud. She rummaged at her stomach with her left hand, prying the tape from her pants. The plastic covering between the reels was punctured, and the tape had been crinkled. For a second, she was afraid the movie she intended to show had been damaged, but it would be around the reels.

"What do you have, there?" Came a familiar voice.

She gasped, and then felt something smother her muzzle. She tried to scream, but it just came out as a muffled whine. She reached forward, her stinging hand attempting to turn the key of the car, all the while her body started to go numb and feel heavy.

Pur-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru...

* * *

Incessant rattling. Coins dropping from the sky like rain, hitting marble.

High-pitched whining, two rubber balloons hooked together, endlessly rubbing against one another.

A low buzzing, like someone had turned on a Tesla-coil.

She felt heavy. Her cheeks and temples throbbed with her heartbeat. Her teeth were sore; her arms and legs were there, she could feel them, but they felt cold and tingly. She tried to move her hands, but then a lancing pain came from her right wrist. Then, the most agonizing feeling, like shards of glass were flowing in her bloodstream.

She managed to open her eyes, and at first the images they received did not make any sense. Just bleary blobs of light and shadow--mostly shadow. But as the pain in her limbs stirred her awake, she began to make sense of what she saw.

Trinity. The German Shephard rabbit-mix stood naked, her bright spaded tail sticking out amidst her chocolate-colored rump. She was standing before her sister.

Sophia was also naked, positioned upright by an iron frame on which her hands, feet, and neck were bound by chains. Her voice was kept in check by what appeared to be a large dildo, crammed down her throat--large enough that her neck and muzzle strained to keep it from outright choking her. All that she could vocalize where high-pitched shrills.

Upon the otter's cream-colored fur that exemplified all her femininity, were several patches of what appeared to be tape. Most notably, were the patches affixed to the nipples at the end of her developing breasts, the patches that were set on either side of her navel, and the smaller patch that was positioned over her groin.

Taking a few seconds to figure out where she was, Amaryllis tried to look about.

She regretted it immensely.

In a mirror to her right, she saw her reflection. Her tongue began to feel the bite that her muzzle was clamped down on. Now that she was aware of the steel ball between her teeth, it only made them hurt all the more. She was strapped to a frame, akin to Sophia: her arms were stretched out ahead of her and obliquely. She was on her knees, with her rear lifted up a bit high like she was a common feral presenting herself to a mate.

"You want me to turn up the voltage,mia cara sorella?" The rabbit doe asked.

A shrill whine came from the otter, as she trembled and rattled the chains.

"As you wish," Trinity said contentedly, stepping over to a box with several dials on it. She turned one. "How is the one touching your clitty? Maybe..."

The otter stretched out, craning her neck and writhing more erratically on the frame.

"How is she?" Came a rather crisp voice, almost as if asking of someone who was taking a nap.

"She's having a blast so far, daddy," the rabbit doe replied.

Ama's vision trembled with horror and she began to feel dizzy as she saw the handsome stoat step into the light. She could see every detail of his naked body; from his thick, sinewy calves; to the muscles of his chest and stomach, that almost appeared as though they were chiseled by Michaelangelo himself; to, and especially, the nine inches of rock-hard manhood that stood proudly above his golf-ball sized testicles.

He let something plastic drop from to the ground. It crackled as it rolled into the shadows.

"You have no idea how exhausting it is to hold it in for so many hours," he said, almost with desperation.

Ama now recognized why the voice in Sophia's video was so familiar. It was his voice, without the fake Italian accent.

"I've had to go so bad ever since before that stupid little cunt showed up."

He patted Trinity on the head, and stepped over to his other daughter. "Soph, you about ready?" He questioned her.

She made some semblance of focused movement, but it was barely indistinguishable amidst her seizing movements.

He grabbed the base of the dildo, and rather violently ripped it from her muzzle.

She let out a relieved groan, but it was short-lived when his hands clasped about her throat.

"I said:Are. You. Ready?"

"Yes!" She begged, "yes, please, daddy! I can't take it anymore!"

The stoat let go of the girl's throat, taking a couple steps back. "You," he said, looking at his lop-eared daughter. "Point me at her."

"Si, signore," the rabbit replied, approaching him. She stepped up on tip-toes and twisted her neck to the side. With her far hand, she pointed his tip toward her sister, and set the underside within her open lips like a gun-rest.

"Please, daddy!" Sophia said with desperation.

A moment passed, and then something caught the light.

"Oh_yes!_ Daddy! I love you so much!"

Trinity hummed with delight beneath his shaft, her pinkie pressing against its base, causing the stream of urine that sparkled in the light to shoot more strongly for a few seconds.

Sophia let out grunts and moans as the room filled with the slight musk of ammonia and stale coffee. Then, her body abruptly went still and her chin pointed toward the sky, before she let out a strained grunt and then a series of pleasured moans.

"She's cumming, daddy," her sister replied. "She's such a dirty little girl, isn't she?"

"Yes she is, sweet-heart."

"Does that mean you like her more than me?" She questioned, as his stream weakened and she held out her hand to catch some before it turned to little dribbles.

"Of course not. I love the both of you equally. Now..."

"Yes, daddy," Trinity said with a grin, as she pointed the tip down.

Sophia still trembled in her bonds, slumped forward in exhaustion. Tears streamed down her eyes, and a puddle of her father's urine and her passion stained the floor a darker color.

Trinity slipped the head into her lips, and suckled, cleaning off the urine from his tip. When she finished, she nuzzled his manhood and testes, giving them kisses. "Will you fuck me now, daddy? It's been so long since I've been fucked_that_ way..."

"Of course, sweet-heart. Pull up the chair."

With a squeal of delight the rabbit dashed into the shadows.

Cornelio--if that was even his name--went over to the box where Sophia's wires were attached, and turned some of the dials. "Just enough to keep you horny," he muttered, and then turned.

Ama's vision went blurry when she met the stoat's eyes.

"Oh, look, our visitor is awake. Bring the chair to face her,mia cara."

"Of course, daddy. She'll love to watch. She's a slut, too," said his youngest daughter, dragging the chair into the light and positioning it a short distance from their captive's nose. She patted the seat, looking at her father.

He approached, erection bobbing with each step, and sat down on the chair with his knees wide. "Come sit in daddy's lap, baby," he said, patting his thigh.

She climbed up, and turned about, using her hands on the arms to lift up higher. She positioned his tip right to her sex, and he gently placed his palms on her hips.

"Squeeze me while I go in."

"Of course, daddy," she said, giving his chin a kiss. "I know just how you like me."

He grunted as he entered her, Ama forced to watch as his head pressed against her labia and then abruptly sank in amidst her delighted coo.

"Oh,daddy!" She moaned, as her lips kissed his base. She reached down, pressing her hand on her tummy, and gasped as he started to move within her. "It's so big, I can feel it against my tummy..."

"Shut up and stay tight," he barked.

She giggled, hands moving to the arms of the chair and knees pulling together as she started to squeeze him. "Like that?"

"Oh, baby, daddy won't last lost like this..."

"So pent up," she cooed. "Go on, you know how to push my button. I'll be right along with you, when you're ready."

He started breathing heavily, pumping in and out more erratically. He started grunting, his breath hitching, and then at last he lifted her up almost all the way off, and then slammed her all the way back down.

She moaned, and then screamed as his teeth sank into her shoulder. Her body writhed, leaning forward a little as if to get away from the pain, but then back in as she squirmed with pleasure.

The squelches of their orgasms made the Corgi sick. Even worse, the stoat's semen dribbled and gushed out as he wetly humped the underaged girl. After several moments, he released her shoulder and she lied back against his chest with a sigh.

She reached up to touch his cheek, gazing up at him as he looked down. "That was wonderful," she said dreamily. "I wish I could cum like that without the biting."

"At least you don't have to stick a razor in my neck," he chuckled.

She giggled back. "Maybe one day I will."

"Nah." he said, licking her wound, the blood trickling down her chest. "You'd have a hard time finding another guy like me. Besides, you owe me for helping you get rid of the body."

"Hmm..." She replied, sleepily. "Will you sing me a lullaby, daddy?" She requested.

"Of course," he said. "Anything for my baby."

She giggled. "Her that, Ama? He's gonna sing a lullaby for us," she said, in a taunting way. "Daddy's a good singer."

The stoat clared his throat, and rested his hand upon the girl's immature chest, fondling her as he started to sing in a soft, sweet voice.

* * *

Trickle, trickle, little flow'r Oh, your nectar, sweet-and-sour Blooming petals spread so wide Show off all the way inside

Bet in there you feel like silk Soft and smooth from tip to hilt Warm and moist, snug and tight Hope we get to play all night

Bound and gagged in case you struggle While I want to kiss and snuggle Just be patient, please don't gripe I'll pop your cherry, red and ripe

Pound your cervix 'till it's numb Fill your womb with lots of cum Best of all, to add some thrill: Once I'm through it's time to kill

So trickle, trickle, little flow'r I can't wait 'till midnight hour...