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Starfall: Chapter 20: Evidence

Slumping her shoulder’s Angela closes the front door behind herself. ‘I really screwed up, didn’t I? Steven must be angry at me and, well Charlie and Balto go without saying considering how I treated them. Let alone everyone else in their pack. Am I still mad at Usako though? I mean she did apologize and I did go off the handle…’

“About time you got back Angela. Any later and I would’ve had to leave the place unlocked as I don’t have a copy of your house key.”

Blinking, Angela looks over to the couch. ‘No you wouldn’t have left. You have your kit out, files laying on the coffee table, phone, and laptop out. You look like you were about to stay here all night if you had to just to keep an eye on this place for us. Sigh, you’re a better friend of our family than I deserve right now Frank.’

Angela collapses onto the recliner upon entering the living room. “Thank you, Frank. You didn’t have to stay you know.”

Placing his phone on the coffee table next to the laptop causes the few year off modern brand to register the presence of the phone nearby. A window on the holo-screen opens, mirroring the contents of the phone’s screen as the phone shuts off its screen.

Looking over to Angela, Frank gives her a fatherly smile. “Considering how you’ve been acting, and all that’s happened. I think I should stay for as long as you and Steven need me too. You’ve had a terrible half a year and the last thing I should do is leave you alone with your thoughts.”

As Usako and Charlie enter, the sound of them opening the front door draws both the youngest Mercer sibling and the aged medical professional’s attention.

Smiling, Usako looks over to the couch at Frank as Charlie looks around the room before picking up where he left off from his cleaning earlier this morning.

“Good, you’re still here Frank.” Approaching where he’s sitting, Usako keeps her tail still to not betray her nerves. “Considering you’re the closest thing to a general practitioner I have right now, I have a few questions to ask you.”

The second Angela notices Charlie working, Angela shoots to her feet, rushing over to him. “Hey wait! No don’t do that! I should be cleaning this place up. YOU sit. I’ve had you do ‘enough’ work.” Reaching for the trash in his hands that she made from her bender last night, the young Bio-Morph freezes in place.

Only for Charlie to pin his ears back and raise his lips at her in an aggressive snarl. [No! You don’t get to order me around anymore, even if you want to help! I am not your slave anymore!]

Backing up, Angela gulps as Usako’s ears focus on the young Bio-Morph, A moment later she turns to face Angela as she sighs and backs away from Charlie. “He doesn’t want you to order him around any more Angela.”

Slumping her shoulder’s, Angela, looking defeated, turns her attention to Usako. “It’s my mess though, I should clean it up.”

Raising his ears back up and lowering his lips, Charlie returns to cleaning as Frank politely coughs, drawing the youngest Mercer’s attention.

“Angela, I’m glad you realize you’ve messed up.”

Turning to face him, Angela grumbles under her breath. “I feel a ‘but’ coming on.” Only for Charlie’s ear to twitch upon hearing it.

Glancing over to Charlie, then back to Angela, Frank nods. “But… What you did is going to take more than treating him nicely to undo. Not to mention the worst of what you did is still fresh in his mind. Just… Treat him like any other Human. Give him some space to think, let his anger fade a bit with time. Then come back to him with your figurative tail between your legs, and he’ll most likely listen to reason. This is your best bet.”

Looking between Frank and Angela, Charlie huffs, then nods in Frank’s direction before carrying the trash in his arms out of the living room and to the kitchen’s trash bin.

Clenching her hands into fists, Angela grits her teeth, only to relax a second later. Letting her anger at herself and this situation cool down. “I just want to do SOMETHING to make things right! Sitting and doing nothing only makes me feel WORSE about what I did!”

Snapping her attention to Angela, Usako growls. “You want to help!? Go find whatever you didn’t shoot, burn, or bury that I had on me when I crashed here. Stuff, which can be used to prove to the courts that I’m who I say I am!” Ears slightly folded back, tail raised but not thrashing about, Usako puts her hands on her hips and stares down Angela.

As good as someone about three feet and change can to do someone taller than her.

Returning the zootopian’s stare, Angela says nothing for a moment, before looking away. With all the sense of a human running with a proverbial tail between their legs, Angela heads upstairs. Usako’s ears track her footfalls after she ascends the stairs, then follow her footfalls till she reaches her room.

Turning her attention back to Frank, Usako sighs. “I guess that’s about as much as I can expect from her. Just running off and pouting like a kit.”

Looking back down at his medical kit, Frank shakes his head. “Still as stubborn as she’s always been. Only this time I can’t get her to behave herself with a piece of candy like when she was eight.”

Picking up a small black pouch out of his suitcase full of gear, he places it on the coffee table, then slides it towards Usako. “If I was a betting man, I think this is what you want me to provide for you? Am I right?”

Tilting her head a bit, Usako blinks in confusion as her tail sways back and forth. “Um… I’m not Diabetic. I need either a pregnancy test or some sort of future sci-fi like medical gear that you have that can do the same thing. Like that scanner of yours when I first arrived.”

Chuckling mirthfully, Frank zips open the container. What’s inside only furthers Usako’s confusion momentarily. The plain beige plastic and black lettering on the device though betray its actual purpose.

‘Why does a pregnancy test look like a diabetic test meter?’

“I get that you’re confused Ms Chasoifto, your from your point of view in your version of Twenty-Nineteen this hasn't been invented yet. It wasn’t till the twenty forties in our world that it was and became available to young women who are in a situation like yours. It looks like a diabetic test meter because at its core it functions similar to one.”

He taps the lancet pen. “Just like a diabetic test meter, you need to prick yourself to draw blood with this.” Taking it out, Frank slowly loads it, showing Usako the steps to take, like he would any other young woman in his care. Then he hands it to Usako.

What looks like a small, thin pen in Frank’s hands. Looks normal sized in Usako’s smaller hand-paws.

Picking up the ‘meter’ and the cylinder of test strips, he takes a pink plastic strip out of the latter as Usako’s ear twitches upon the sight of it. ‘For a pregnancy test device, why is the only pink thing with it the test strips.’

Frank slots the strip into the top of the meter. “The test strip will draw a bead of blood through a tiny ‘lab on a chip’, which gets its power from, and sends the results to the meter to display.” He pauses for a moment to make sure the meter will actually turn on.

‘Oh good the batteries are still good. Haven’t had to use this in a few years as the families around here already have their own.’

“There are, to be blunt, baser hormones and chemicals that appear in a mammals blood when a female of any species that gives live birth becomes pregnant. It's considered more or less the universal set of hormones for gestation.” Frank hands her the meter.

“It is all absorbed by the kidneys, and thus aren’t in urine. So they’d never show up in a test your used to. It wasn’t even till the Twenty Thirties they were discovered.”

Looking down at the device, then up to Frank, Usako tilts one of her ears to the side.

Nodding with a smile, Frank motions to the device. “Go ahead, this is exactly what you wanted, a device to tell if you’re pregnant so soon after conception.”

Looking down, the featherlight devices gain the weight of the heaviest weights she’s ever trained with as her tail twitches with hesitation.

Pulling the primer back on the lancet, Usako holds it, and the meter in one hand-paw. Bringing a paw-pad against the lancet from the other her claw tip hesitates over the button on the device.

‘You’ve never flinched at needles before, why now?’

Folding her ears back in concentration, her tail curls around one of her own legs after dipping between them. She presses the button while exhaling, only a minor twitch of one of her ears shows to Frank that she hated the sharp sting of the needle.

Dropping the lancet onto the coffee table Usako uses her free thumb and fore-finger to coax a drop of blood onto the test strip.

As the only signal that the meter got enough blood, it Beeps loudly, then displays a fully animated hour-glass rotating in place for a few seconds. ‘Of course, my luck couldn’t be any worse can’t it?’

{PREGNANT}

Reading the word multiple times Usako lets out a whine, dropping the meter onto the coffee, Usako falls to her knees.

From his silent vantage point just outside the kitchen, where he was standing after stuffing the kitchen trash bin. The noise draws Charlie further into the room and picking up the device. Whining loudly upon seeing the word the pregnancy tester displays, he sets it back down while sympathetically looking at Usako.

Sitting down cross-legged next to her, he sighs, touching her shoulder sympathetically. [Dad was right, we’re going to have to talk about this.]

“Yea, I guess we do.” Looking at Charlie, she turns her gaze to Frank. The sole Human in the room though thins his lips and shakes his head.

Picking up the tester and it’s peripherals, he packages them back up and sets the soft case into his suitcase. “Before you ask, all I can do legally is make sure you stay healthy during the pregnancy. The ‘other’ options you have will worsen this mess with you, the Mercer’s and the leaser, Aquis, unless your life’s threatened that is. At which point I’m bound by my oath and willing to risk the legal consequences in saving your life over the cubs. After all you survived to get here, it would feel like a slap in the face to die to a pregnancy.”

Tilting his head a bit in confusion, Charlie looks between the two. [What are you talking about?]

Ignoring Charlie, Usako stares back at Frank. “That thought did cross my mind for a moment, but I won’t terminate it. The cubs are innocent in all this, they shouldn’t be punished just for being created by a non-consensual act.” Sighing, Usako looks down at her belly while moving to sit cross-legged next to Charlie.

Opening her mouth, Usako shuts it upon hearing Angela exiting her bedroom. Both her and Charlie’s ears track the youngest Mercer till she reaches the stairs. Then both tilt their heads in that canine fashion at the sight of Angela carrying a new-ish looking plastic container in her arms.

Sneering back at the Zootopian, Angela reaches the ground floor. “What’s with that look Usako? You told me that if I wanted to help I should get whatever I didn’t destroy that’s evidence you’re an alien.” Walking over to her and Chalrie, she places the container on the floor in front of Usako, removing the lid a moment later.

“What!?”The fur on Usako’s tail stands on end, before groaning and facepawing. “I’m such an idiot sometimes. I should’ve REALIZED you wouldn’t have been able to burn my Flight-suit considering it’s supposed to be fire-proof!”

Angela chuckles at this earning a confused and somewhat angry glare from Charlie. “Hey, you said it, not me.”

Flattening her ears, Usako growls back at Angela.

“Stop it you two!” Barking out as good as a human can, Frank slams his hand against the coffee table. “What’s actually in the container other than her space suit Angela?”

Shaking her head and raising her ears, Usako pulls out her torn up and slightly singed around the edge's combination space and flight suit. Only to stare at everything underneath. “Looks like contents of my medical and survival pack along with some smaller pieces from the cockpit section of my craft.”

Only to fold her ears against her head again. “Along with my Six millimeter service pistol. Where did you find it Angela?” Glancing over to the youngest Mercer sibling, Usako gently deflects Charlie’s hand as he reaches for the firearm.

The Bio-Morph’s curiosity distracts Usako, allowing Frank to retrieve one of the syringes in the bin. He turns it over and reads the directions.

“I found it in Steven’s room. Instantly knew it was yours because there’s no gun manufacture here that makes a Six millimeter pistol, too little stopping power. Nor one named smith and weasltone either.” She gestures to the firearm as Usako picks it up.

Picking up the six millimeter, Usako checks it for damage. ‘The safety’s on, that’s good.’ Using a claw-tip, she ejects the magazine. Placing it on the table and slides it out of Charlie’s reach. Then pulls the carriage back twice, first to eject the round in the chamber, and the second time to make sure the weapon is actually empty before placing it on the coffee table.

Picking up the ejected round, the zootopian idly fiddles with it in one of her hand-paws.

“Interesting, they segment dosing by species and size where you’re from.” Usako and the others look at Frank while he reads the packaging of the syringe out loud to himself.

Shrugging, Usako turns her attention back to the bin as Frank turns his to Angela. “So where is Steven?” Only for Angela to look away.

[With my dad and the pack most likely. That’s where they were going before Usako and I headed inside.] He glances over to Frank, then back to watching Usako look through the container.

Wanting to know what the Bio-Morph said, Frank puts the sealed medical implement down, turning his attention to Usako.

Upon hearing it, Frank scratches the back of his head nervously, opening his mouth. Only for Charlie to politely cut him off before he can speak.

[I can’t say anything for the rest of the pack, but I know me, my father, mother and my sister didn’t have any ill will towards you Frank. Dad made it clear to us you’re what’s called a ‘Doctor’, someone who heals and is bound by an oath not to hurt even if the healing they do is painful to the patient.]

Lowering his hand, Frank smiles. “A rather simplistic explanation of my job, but correct nonetheless.” He pauses for a moment.

“I’ll stay till Steven gets back then. I have to hand him what he needs to give to his lawyers for the discovery phase of this legal mess, considering I gave a statement to the police earlier today.”

Turning back to Angela, he looks at her sternly. “Is this everything that was with Usako, outside what you buried six months ago Angela?”

Taking a seat next to Frank, Angela’s eyes briefly fall upon the computer in the living room. An action that doesn’t go unnoticed by the Bio-Morph and the Zootopian. “It’s everything I found so far.”

Tilting her ears back Usako grins as she remembers something she saw earlier in the day. ‘The extra folders on the computer desktop…’

Staring at the younger Mercer sibling, Usako aggressively makes eye contact with her. “No it isn’t. This morning when I went over to talk to Steven as he was searching through paperwork kept at the desk over there.” Pointing to the computer desk with a claw tip.

“I noticed there were some new folders on the desktop of your computer, which weren’t there the last time you had me in the house and it was on.”

Charlie nods and joins in with staring at Angela. [I grew up with you Angela, I know when you’re lying about something. You look at it like you just did with the computing machine.]

Usako doesn’t bother translating considering the look on Angela’s face shows she can guess what he said.

“What’s on the computer Angela.” Frank moves to face her his tone even and stern. ‘Glad we caught this, any half decent lawyer would tear their case apart using this kind of information.’

Sighing, Angela puts her hands in her lap, trying to avoid everyone’s gaze. “Um. About two weeks ago I saw one of those shows about airliner crashes. Specifically the one about the Airbus five-eighty that crashed into the Rocky Mountains two decades ago and it took them another decade to find the plane’s flight data recorders. They described the harsh weather conditions and the forces of the crash both boxes went through and still were functioning perfectly upon recovery. So I went out, dug up the two black boxes your craft Usako and checked if they had survived my rash attempt at destroying them on that day six months ago.”

Pointing to the computer, she sighs. “They did, despite the bullet holes and scorch marks. So I copied everything onto the computer and reburied them. I did it because…” She goes quiet for a moment, a small tear falling down her face. “Because the video of your craft staring down the ship Mark was on, it’s the last few moments of Marks life. I wanted something to remember him by that wasn’t his refusal to come to our parent’s funeral less than a week before he had to get onto that ship.”

Lowering her ears in shame upon seeing her start to cry, Usako lets out a small sympathetic whine. Frank puts a reassuring hand on Angela’s shoulder. “So why lie about it Angela? It won’t help the case you and Steven have to fight. In fact if you didn’t tell us, and they found out, it could’ve sunk it. They could’ve put in reasonable doubt that you may have altered it to make it look like Usako’s an alien to get out of paying your debts.”

Regaining her composure, Angela grits her teeth for a moment, then relaxes. Placing her hand on Franks, her eyes harden a bit. “Because I don’t trust that bitch of a representative as far as I can throw her! I’m not stupid, I know how discovery works! I don’t want her to get her hands on the data on those black boxes even though I know it would be under the observation of a court official. She’ll do something to them, anything to get her to win the case, and then we’ll lose the farm as a result.”

The Bio-Morph and the two Humans in the room look stunned as Usako bursts out laughing. Gently hitting her own leg with a hand-paw as she gets the mirth out of her system.

‘I don’t find this funny in the least?’ Frank blinks a couple of times before turning his father like stern gaze onto Usako.

Once she calms down, Usako smiles at the three of them, full teeth on display. “Oh you don’t know how right you are Angela with that ‘bitch’ comment!”

Creasing her brow in confusion, Angela glances at Frank, then Charlie. Only to look at Usako. “What do you mean?”

Grinning, Usako taps her nose a couple of times. “Foxes may not have the same sense of smell as wolves. What we do have is enough though. I spent six months in a container with both male and female wolf breed Bio-Morphs. I ‘know’ that scent. Ms. Aquis representative isn’t one hundred percent human. She had the scent of a female wolf breed Bio-Morph no matter how much perfume she used to cover it. Not only ‘that’, she also went to great lengths to hide showing any of her teeth, which was another red flag to me.”

Usako taps her own with a claw tip. “Just like I was taught how to if I was ever in the presence of prey mammals who hate seeing these pointy pearl's” Then running her hand-paw through her own fur on her leg.

“On top of that, her body language was something I instantly recognized to! She looked like she felt constrained in those clothes. Like I was when I had to wear a suit, mid winter, even with my winter coat shaven down to barely nothing. To top it off…”

Angelia sits up straight as things click in her mind. “Those fingernails! Something that would look better on a stripper. They weren’t clear either, and they curved forward. She was using them to hide her finger-tips.”

“A hybrid?” Frank quirks a brow curiously. Angela, Usako and Charlie look at him.

“A few years ago I had a couple of interns who took minor’s in Genetics. They were talking about barriers between species during lunch one day and at what point can you call something a new species. Bio-Morphs and Humans became the focus of conversation for some reason. The youngest of the pair used to live in Canada before transferring here due to cost, swearing he met such a thing as a Human and Bio-Morph Hybrid. A vulpine pleasure model breed Bio-morph with Caucasian colored fur and human like eyes working at the university's lab he attended in the genetics department.”

Usako glares at Angela. “Well, unless there’s a trend now where Human females want to smell like the Bio-Morph slaves you keep, then I wasn’t imagining it.”

Angela clenches her fists, resisting the urge to yell at the Zootopian as Frank lets out a disapointed sigh. Hearing this, Usako lowers her ears and holding up her hand-paws defensively.

“Okay, Okay, that remark was over the line.”

Glaring angrily at Usako, Angela relaxes. “You don’t need to rub in the fact I treated them poorly ‘lt.’ Usako.”

“Sorry.” Lowering her hands. ‘Yea I didn’t, even if it’s her fault we’re in this mess.’

Glancing between the two, Frank idly keeps track of Charlie sniffing the other parts in the bin. Just to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. “Okay, back on the topic at hand.” Looking over at Usako’s ‘hands’ Frank um’s… “Hand-paws, um Paw hands. Whatever.”

Reaching out, Frank gently grabs another one of the packaged syringes, this time from Charlie’s hands before he could open it. The curious Bio-Morph lowers his ears in response. “It does complicate things though. Angela, when you and Steven get your lawyer for this shit show of a legal issue. Be sure to mention you don’t trust the other party with access to the evidence. Same with telling him you made a backup of that data. The judge the case gets assigned to should be able to set up some kind of system to protect everything while allowing both parties access to form their cases.”

Nodding once, Angela quirks a brow. Watching Frank preemptively remove a pill bottle from the container before Charlie could grab it. “What’s in that?”

[That’s what I want to know. Why do they smell interesting?] Charlie points to the bottle and the syringes, though Frank misinterprets it as him reaching for them and gently swats Charlie’s hand away, causing Charlie to lower his ears a bit.

Standing, Usako picks all the medical supplies up and looks them over one by one. “Um, hmm. The bottle is Canidae safe oral antibiotics. The sweet scent is from the swallow dry coating in case I have to without water. The syringes are Canidae safe morphine and a Canidae safe local numbing agent. If my medical pack wasn’t sheered off the ejection seat, I would’ve used all that to treat that impalement injury you found me with Frank.”

“So what was your pistol for” Angela picks up the firearm, marveling at the detail of the construction. ‘Such a small gun, looks cute in a way to be honest.’

Lowering her ears and letting her tail move between her legs, Usako sighs. “The obvious reasons considering what I was doing. Protection in case I ended up on some alien planet. Also the quick way out if I faced starvation, suffocation, or freezing to death, either in the ship or outside it.”

Everyone except Usako flinches at the last bit.

“Yea, lets move this conversation to a lighter tone.” Frank swallows, then looks over to Angela. “What do you plan to do now?”

Angela blinks. ‘Good question.’

“I know what I’m going to do.” They all look over to Usako as she grumbles a bit at the dress she’s in. “I need to get something lighter on than this. It’s too damn warm in here with my winter coat of fur.”

Shaking her head once, Angela stands up. “Give me a minute. I recall having a kids light t-shirt and shorts somewhere, since you seem to be just the right size for my wardrobe when I was nine and our parents never threw away our clothes for some reason. It’s the least I can do for you now.”

---

Bio-Morph enclosure at about the same time.

---

Anna the retired Alpha Female glances at Steven, then to the still locked residential container. Staring at it for a moment, she turns her attention back to her mate and the former Alpha Male. [Before you go, can you unlock the container they put our Pipi in with that one tail-hole of a male? I don’t want her locked in there anymore. Even if she isn’t out of heat yet.]

Following Anna’s gaze, Steven sighs. ‘I don’t need a translation to know what she wants.’

“You want the bar removed from that residential container don’t you Anna?” Pointing to the one on the upper level with the locking bar across the front of it.

Both elderly Bio-Morphs look at each other, then nod yes at Steven simultaneously.

“Okay! Give me a minute you two. I’ll need to fetch the spare keys in the barn.” Holding up a finger while talking, out of habit of telling bio-morphs to wait for a moment. He heads for the furnished barn, disappearing inside once the door closes behind himself.

Gently and lovingly Balto drapes his arm across Anna’s shoulders. [I told Charlie he needs to talk with Usako over what happened this morning. If Usako is pregnant, those cubs are partly his responsibility even if she and him don’t want to be together as mates. In which case they’ll have to work something out over how much Usako wants our son in their lives.]

Reaching up and gently taking his hand in hers, Anna’s left ear twitches idly. [I meant what I said to him honey. I didn’t want grand-cubs like this! I wanted them by their choice, not forced upon them like the slaves we were treated like. It wouldn’t be fair to the cubs and would eat away at our children as they raised them.] She lets out a small whine.

[Charlie is a good boy though, I know he’ll make the right choice in this situation. It’s the tail-hole Angela shoved in the container with my heated daughter that I’m more worried about right now. He’s always been lazy and never worked well with the Mercers.]

Letting out a small whine as well Balto returns Anna’s gentle hand squeeze. [What’s done is done my darling mate, we can’t change it however much we want to. We’ll just have to move forward and give our children and grand-children the love they deserve regardless how the latter came into this world. As you said, it’s not their fault.]

Letting out a sigh, Anna nods once. Balto’s and her ears perk up, swerving to focusing in on the sound of Steven exiting the furnished barn. [I, find it kinda funny to say this considering the position we’re in right now Balto honney, but do try to take it easy as you dig that stuff up. We’re getting older, and I know you’re not as spry as you used to be.]

Chuckling a couple of times Balto causes Steven to raise a brow in confusion upon approaching the two. Seeing this, he hugs Anna tightly before letting go. [Don’t I know it! I fell it every time I wake up in the morning and on cold days all day.]

Looking between the two, Steven sighs as he approaches the elder Alphas. ‘Wish I could understand them.’ Holding the key by the toothed end, he presents it to Anna. “Here you go. I don’t need it back once you’re done with it, so do what you want with it. I’ll never lock any of you up in your containers again.”

Taking it, Anna smiles while moving closer to Steven. Looking down at her confused, he watches as Anna embraces Steven in a motherly hug.

Letting go and stepping back, she turns and quickly marches right for the locked container. Wagging her tail a bit as she hears Balto and Steven walk away. ‘You grew up to be a nice person Steven and I don’t hold how you treated us against you.’

Lowering her ears, Anna hardens the look upon her muzzle upon reaching the metal stairway before gripping the single handrail. ‘The pack member locked in with my daughter is another story all together.’

Climbing the steps, she hears the sound of a vehicle spring to life, before heading down the road with something heavy in tow. Turning to look, she nods once recognizing the heavy machinery on the flatbed trailer. ‘At least Balto won’t have to work to hard if Steven is going to use that large metal self moving shovel, and he won’t wake up stiff the next day like after Angela forced him to do it by paw.’

Tightening her grip on the key she faces the locked door. Her ears straining to hear anything through the metal. ‘Pippin is not going to be happy with me. I kept pushing her to find a boyfriend before something like this happened, so the Mercer’s wouldn’t force it like this. Yet they did and I did little to stop it. Not that I could do anything to stop Angela that wouldn’t have risked the lives of the pack I care about. Usako be damned, I’m not going to run at a human armed with one of those firearm things.’

Taking the lock in one hand, Anna inserts the key using the other and turns it. With a click the lock drops to the walkway grate. Grabbing the bar, Anna removes it like Balto did the put on their own residential container to keep Charlie and Usako inside. Shifting it from one hand to the other due to its weight, Anna uses both her arms to tosses it to the ground beyond the walkway’s railing.

Now with it removed, Anna grabs the door and swings it open.

The sheer wall of the scent reeking of sex slams into her as she steps into the florescent bulb lit container. ‘There are bloody sheets scattered about, though less than I was expecting considering Pippin wouldn’t want to have sex with him willingly even if she ‘was’ in heat…’ The elder Alpha Female’s gaze falls upon her daughter, Pippin. Curled up on a cot and wrapped in the sole remaining intact and clean blanket. Pippin returns her mother’s gaze with one having some anger in it but mostly pain.

A sliver of movement snaps Anna’s attention to the sitting form in the back of the container. Smirking just a bit, at the sight of her target. ‘There’s the source of the blood. A few gashes across his chest. Most likely more across his back. My Pipi didn’t submit quietly to her heat.’ Hardening her gaze into one of an angry Alpha, she barks out a laugh as the male takes an aggressive stance.

[Drop it Garth. You know better than to raise your hackles and your lips at your Alpha female.] Anna shoots out one of her arms, pointing to her daughter without breaking eye contact with him. [Pippin, honey, go back home and shut the door, don’t come out no matter what, no matter what you hear till I or your father return. Things have changed and I’ll explain later.]

‘Mom’s angry….’ Silently Pippin drops the blanket, slipping out of the container with a pronounced limp in her step.

Letting out a low warning growl, Anna stares Garth down. [That better be just because of the fucking…]

[You have NO right!] Barking loudly, he interrupts Anna. He pushes himself up onto his feet. [You retired, and you’ve been hounding her to have cubs since! I did nothing wrong considering our ‘owner’ decided I was good enough to get an Alp…]

Crossing the gap between them, Anna surprises even herself at the speed she traversed it to violently backhand Garth. Sending him back, back first into the divider wall with a resounding thud.

As he slides down the wall to a sitting position stunned, Anna smirks. ‘Yup, Pippin got his back to with her claws.’ Eyeing the small streaks of blood on the wall. Only to pin her ears back again with a snarl as Garth launches himself at her with his mouth in a snarl.

Upon contact, Anna roots her feet to the floor as she’s grabbed by her shoulders. Reaching up, she grabs his wrists in response. Digging her claws into them as Garth digs his into her shoulder’s. ‘My parents taught me how to fight as well as Balto…’

The instant she feels his claws loosen. ‘Wrists are more sensitive than shoulders.’ Anna pulls Garth’s hands off of her. Then yanks them down while as she brings one of her knees into his chest with a resounding thud through the container.

[You’ll never be good enough. If it wasn’t for the fact Angela went nuts since the hot season, you’d never have a chance with a female like my daughter!] Growling, Anna grabs Garth as he’s gasping for breath, by the nape of his neck in one hand and his shoulder by the other.

Lifting him up, she heaves him through the thin, aging plastic privacy wall of the shower. Sending him onto the floor between the cots in the front of the container and plastic shards everywhere in the confined area.

Instantly curling up upon hitting the floor, Garth moves to protect his head, only for Anna to drop onto him snarling. Using her claws on her feet to pin his legs in place as they dig into his calves Anna digs her elbow into his back between his shoulder blades, pinning him.

The move robs Garth’s arms of their strength as he flails one of them about. Only for Anna to use the hand on her other arm to pin it to the floor next to his body.

Growling, Anna lowers her head down to one of Garth’s ears. [Even before you came of age, you barely did what Mercer’s wanted of us. Later, after you came of age, you spent the rest of the time not working making passes at all the female members of the pack who are without mates. Including my daughter, no matter how many times she said no to you.]

Returning Anna’s growl, he struggles, only to get the elbow buried deeper into his back. [We’re slaves to them! Slaves despite the fact we are just as strong as them, we can see better than them, hear better, smell better. While having sharper teeth and claws than them. Why should I break my back for them instead of enjoying myself? If anything they should be our slaves! We’re only theirs because we were born with a collar around our necks and not them!]

Digging her claws into his legs a bit deeper, Anna huffs. [Before today they treated us with more than enough respect in that situation compared to other places that own Bio-Morphs Garth. Don’t believe me, ask my mate. He was Human once and has seen how bad other Bio-Morphs are treated.]

Anna inwardly grins. ‘After he knocks the shit out of you as well…’

Letting up her legs a bit so her claws don’t do too much damage. ‘A good Alpha won’t lame a pack member over a disagreement. No matter how much full of shit they are.’

Then she continues. [They know now though. They realize we can think like they do and will treat us better in the future, though there is a catch. They’re in some kind of fight to keep us and keep the land we live on. Our home, the one YOU, Garth, were born and raised on. Because of that, they can’t manage us and run this place at the same time. We are going to have to run it FOR them, so we can all keep this place. If they lose, we’ll most likely be sold to another, worse, owner than the Mercers.]

Thrashing his head about, Garth snaps his jaws at her. In response Anna jerks her head back to get out of range. [Why should I listen to you? You retired Anna, the pack has no Alpha Female and your son only got his position because Balto handed it to him! ‘I’ have pups in ‘your’ daughter who’s obviously going to be an Alpha Female by how strong-willed she is. I have a stronger claim than Charlie and I say fuck the Mercers. Fuck Humans in general. We should tear these collars off, tear their throats out and take this place as our own as it should be!]

Letting out a guttural growl, Anna lifts her weight off the male, just enough, so she can grab his head. Then slam it onto the container floor. Placing her hand on the floor to raise Garth up to do it again, Anna yelps as he kicks one of her legs out from under her.

Falling onto him, a melee of limbs follows as Anna and Garth both struggle to subdue the other enough to be able to stand up.

Both realize the confines of a residential container is not a good place to be in a flat out brawl. Wanting space to maneuver and avoid blows.

The banging, barking and growling draws the entire Mercer owned pack out of their containers. Only the ones living in the neighboring containers on either side gather enough courage to peek inside to find the cause.

If just for a moment before they too head to the yard in front of the containers, away from the two brawling Bio-Morphs.

Anna slices her claws across Garth’s back the instant he manages to pull away from her. He retaliates, using a foot to hit her across her muzzle and her eye. Managing to stand, he grins, but doesn’t even get to make a step for the door as Anna leaps onto his back. Sending both of them rolling out the container, then onto the grating of the upper walkway.

Any of the pack lingering on the elevated structure hastily retreats as Anna tries to pin Garth on the walkway grating like before, but the holes in the metal give him enough leverage to stop her. At the cost of a toe-claw. Garth knocks Anna off his back, sending her rolling towards stairs at the opposite end of the row of containers.

Sensing each other’s desperation, both scramble to their feet. A short chase of Garth running from Anna results as he heads for the stairs opposite her. Garth, winning the scramble, stumbles upon reaching the dirt. The gouges in his legs made by Anna tear further open from the strain, shredding some muscle with it.

Followed shortly by Anna landing on his back as she leaps off the stairs at him, growling, claws forward and mouth agape with bared teeth. Sending them both rolling through the grass and dirt, and away from the containers.

Everyone else in the pack scrambles to get out of the way of the chaotic scene, preferring to push against the chain-link fencing than get close to two warring Bio-Morphs.

A scene that is a primal lupine fight of dominance combined with the body, thought, and skill of a drunken Human bar brawl as fists and claws fly.

The melee comes to a sudden head as Anna receives a bite on her arm from Garth as she jams it into his mouth to stop him from biting her neck, while Garth gets a return bite from Anna on his shoulder, less than an inch from his neck. Locked together, both roll through the dirt. Each of their limbs get just as many cuts and scrapes from the rocks in the enclosure as each other’s claws from their free limbs.

But as quickly as the peak’s reached, it ends. Not from Anna’s aged and tiring muscles, but the fact that Garth’s so young. Inexperienced in feeling pain on the level Anna’s bite is causing, he yelps out. Forcing him to let go of her arm. With a further squeeze of her jaw, Anna forces him to the ground.

A split moment later, heaving and bleeding from multiple points on her body, Anna bites and squeezes her jaws around Garth’s throat causing him to go limp. Her body on all fours and not knowing when she lost her minimal clothing, Anna presses down onto him, trying to push him into the dirt with what reserves of strength she can muster in her injured state.

‘SUBMIT DAMN YOU’ Screaming in her mind as all that comes out of Anna’s throat is a blood curtailing growl, silencing any noise from the crowd of her pack as they gosip.

Garth returns the growl, and for his trouble, she tightens her hold on his neck. Just barely breaking the skin. Yelping in response, Garth finally lets out a submissive, but quiet whine. Anna doesn’t relent and squeezes further.

A moment later Garth lets out a deeper and louder whine. Announcing to the pack he has submitted to Anna’s authority.

Slowly and hesitantly Anna removes her jaw from his neck, the moment Garth’s free, he curls into a fetal position, whining and crying like a cub.

Looking around herself, Anna pants and rises unsteadily onto her feet Not bothering to dust off her dirt covered fur coat. ‘Everyone saw this except Pippin…. Well, reasserting my authority as the Alpha Female should’ve been easier than this, sigh, can’t be helped. The only thing this tail-hole is right about is my son’s grasp on being the Alpha Male is not as strong as if he won it in a duel.’

Looking around at her pack who’re all staring back at her, ears lowered and tails tucked between their legs to show they don’t want to join Garth on the ground.

At least the ones not hiding behind others.

Anna takes a quivering deep breath, then spits out some of Garth’s blood. [I’m coming out of retirement, so is my mate Balto.] She pauses for a moment and looks at the weeping bite wound on her arm.

[Our situation has changed, a little for the better, a little for the worse. The Mercers will no longer treat us like slaves. They know that we are like them and like my mate and Elder Alpha Male, made from them, this is the good part. Balto has informed me though, as a result of them learning this, this land… Our home! Their home! Is at risk of being taken from them by other Humans. The Humans that sold us to them.]

She glares down at the one who put pups in her daughter, sneering with a growl. [For them to keep it, Steven and Angela must fight. For them to fight it, ‘WE’ must run this place willingly in their stead. That’s why Balto and I are returning as Alpha Male and Female. I know Angela hasn’t treated us well since Steven left in the hot season. Another piece of good news that you can tell from how I’ve been speaking, is that Steven has returned unharmed, so Angela’s treatment of us will obviously stop.]

Fighting the urge to wince and whine as adrenaline fades from her system, Anna glares downward and spits onto Garth. [As for what just happened, this ‘pup’. He challenged my authority, I know you all know him, especially the females.]

She pauses, letting a few of the younger adult females in the crowd surrounding her laugh.

[Except now Garth thinks he lucked out and has a claim on pack Alpha Male and this place. He would rather hurt the Mercer’s and face the wrath of the other humans outside our home. I know some elder pack members remember what it’s like outside the Mercer’s farm. How are kind have been treated.]

‘Sigh, I’m getting too old for this. I’d rather just enjoy the remainder of my life with my Balto…’ Mentally grumbling Anna through sheer force of will keeps her knees from buckling as the pain fully hits her.

[I’ll only say this once. Those of you who’re willing to continue working as we have before today, just under me and my mate’s oversight rather than the Mercer’s. Step to that side.]

Anna points to the right side of the enclosure, smiling as nine out of ten of the pack walk over. Some with their ears up, some with their ears down, but all with their tails still while staying silent.

Turning to look at those remaining while hardening her gaze, she holds her wounded arm to stop it from visibly trembling. [Now, those of you who would still like to help the Mercer’s, but rather not work like we have done up till today. Step back! Let your pack mates who have decided not to help at all stand alone in their decision!]

Grinning larger, Anna shows all her teeth as all but three of the pack take several steps back. Ears lowered, tail between their legs and their posture hunched over in a full submissive display to her. Not a one of them willing to meet Anna’s gaze nor speaking.

The three remaining, two females and one male, glare daggers back at Anna as they refuse to move. Their ears folded aggressively against their heads and a hint of a snarl gracing their muzzles. Only their tail, held between their legs with their overall posture gives what little submissiveness they have towards Anna at this moment.

Despite her pain, Anna returns their snarl with a growl and every ounce of dominance she can pour into her body language. [I’m sure you three have talked with the ‘pup’ on the ground over this? Over hurting the Mercers and taking this place as your own? Over claiming your own superiority against those that grew up alongside of us with only this metal cage keeping us apart?]

Silently waiting, she gives a deeper growl as none of the three speak up before yelling. [ANSWER ME!]

The three of them nod as one while glaring daggers back at Anna.

Grinning, ears up and forward she looks over the rest of the pack. [Listen well! These four are now restricted to this enclosure.] Anna points to Garth on the ground and the three standing in front of her.

They look like they’d jump Anna, if it wasn’t for the entire pack staring at them.

[They’re not allowed to leave their container or containers, which ever they choose. Unless escorted by two others, nor are they allowed to leave the enclosure no matter what the reason except if Balto and I or Frank say so. If any of them attempt otherwise, you have my permission to bring them back here by any means necessary, the only exception is you may not kill them.]

Pausing to gauge the reception of this, Anna looks over her pack. [For us to keep our home we must work with the Mercers, not against them in this So the sooner they win the quicker our lot in life will improve.]

Glaring down to the three still standing in front of her, to which they shrink back, she loudly huffs. [Pick the ‘pup’ up and take him back to his container, you three can stay with him till further notice or be locked alone in your family’s container. Your choice, but you’ll not be allowed to change it later.]

Finding their spines, they growl at Anna, only for her to silence them with a bark louder than her frame betrays that is possible. Slowly moving forward, the three help their fallen dissenter to his feet, before dragging him to the stacked rows of residential containers.

Not caring who at this point, Anna points to eight of the larger members of her pack from the initial group. They quickly move forward, standing still in front of her. Ears up and forward, tails unmoving, but their fur and hackles raised defensively and not aggressively. [Escort them and two of you stand guard at the entrance of the container they go into. I don’t care what container they use, we’ll figure out sleeping arrangements for the pack later. Just keep them from leaving. I’m going to go to the Mercer’s house, so if my daughter wonders where I am, escort her there.]

‘Hopefully Frank’s here right now, or they can get him here shortly. Neither my, nor Garth’s wounds are fatal, as long as they get the attention they need from a ‘doctor’.’

She watches the group of eight catch-up to the four dissenters before giving the rest of her pack the ‘what are you doing here’ look. Causing them to disperse to their containers or some other part of the enclosure, anywhere but where they were or near her.

Cradling her throbbing arm to her chest as lances of pain shoot from each puncture wound, Anna lowers her ears and tail. Ignoring the growing pain in her right leg and hip, she limps through the enclosure gate. Turning her sights in the direction of the Mercer’s house, she mentally whines.

‘So close, yet it feels so far away now.’

Limping down the dirt road, Anna keeps looking forward rather than down at herself. ‘Just a simple patch job, shouldn’t take Frank that long to do it and head over to do the same to the tail hole Garth. It’s not like he hasn’t patched Pippin or Charlie up after roughhousing when they were younger more than once.’

Making it to the paved main road, she winces as each footstep on the hard tarmac sends a jolt of pain up her right leg. Focusing on taking each step as the next slowly becomes slightly more painful, she keeps looking forward.

‘Almost there. I can see where they put those car things Balto knows about.’

Whining loudly by the time she reaches the front porch, Anna grips the railing like a vice as she barely pulls herself up onto the porch.

‘Just about made it…’

Only for Charlie to fling open the front door [MOM!] Rushing over and lifting her up, he carries her back inside the house.

‘She looks like someone beat her up.’ [What happened?]

Usako, Frank and Angela freeze in place. Both Humans instantly launch themselves off the couch to Charlie’s side to help him carry Anna. Usako shoves anything off on the coffee table not related to Frank’s medical or personal equipment then moves out of the way.

Collapsing in their arms Anna gives a lop-sided grin. Exhaustion quickly takes its toll on her now that she’s no longer focused on walking. [Got pipi… Got your sister out of the container, and away from that tail-hole!] Her voice warbles as she speaks.

[He thought because he was allowed to fuck her…] A nonsensical growl erupts from her throat. [And had a claim on the pack over you my little Charlie and my honey bun Balto boy…]

Angela’s resists slumping her shoulders from Usako’s translation till Anna’s placed onto the couch and a pillow placed under her head. With speed earned only with experience, Frank’s upon her with a shaver from his kit and the only nearby towel. Wiping the fur and debris from Anna’s open wounds.

[Your mamma showed him his place though! Told the pack my honey buns and I are coming out of retirement to help you my little pup…] Anna tries to keep her head up and looking at Frank as she speaks, but he gently moves it back down against a cushion.

“Stop talking, you’re moving too much for me to not accidentally nic you with the shaver.”

[Don’t worry too much about me, you should see how bad I got him!] Anna giggles.

[Which means Franky boy, can you go and check on that tail-hole Garth after me? Even though he and three others refused to help, I don’t want him to be lamer than he already is in the hea…]

Charlie whines in distress as Anna yawns. [Char Char? Wake me when your father gets back…] Closing her eyes and exhaling, she’s sound asleep a moment later.

Reaching to grab her, Frank to gently bats Charlie’s hands away. “Don’t want to jostle her more than she’s already been just in case she has internal injuries.”

Gently taking Charlie’s hand, Frank guides it to the side of Anna’s neck. Showing him she still has a pulse. “Anna’s just unconscious, understandable considering how old she is and one hell of a brawl she just had considering her injuries and what she said. I’m going to need to give her multiple stitches on various parts of her body, I’ll also have to check for broken bones and other internal injuries. Part of me also wants to wake her in case of concussion but if she doesn’t have one, her being asleep will make treating her other wounds simpler.”

Looking over to Angela, Frank removes his outer shirt before rolling up the sleeves of the inner one. “Angela, like it our not, you’re going to act as my nurse. We’re going to need more clean towels and a pot with some boiled water. All those wounds need to be cleaned all the dirt and pebbles before we can disinfect them. We’ll also need some wood for splints, at her age she’s most likely broken a few bones.”

Glancing over to Usako and Charlie while shaving more fur off from around one of Anna’s wounds. “Now would be as good time for both of you to go somewhere else and talk about those cubs.”

Nodding with determination, Angela hastily dashes for the kitchen to fill a pot, then put it to boil before retrieving everything else.

The Bio-Morph and Zootopian look at each other before Usako motions and heads for the front door, Charlie quickly follows. Stepping out onto the porch and closing the door behind himself, Charlie lowers his ears. Glancing down to Usako, he nods to a set of deck chairs near the far end of the porch.

[About as good of a spot as any.]

Walking over and climbing up to the chair before sitting down on the edge of the seat, Usako watches Charlie. “What a day, and it isn’t even over.”

Rubbing his arms nervously, he slides the chair around to face Usako before sitting down. [Yea, look I did try my best…]

Usako cuts him off by holding up a hand-paw.

“Look, it’s not your fault, I don’t blame you and I apologize about my snappiness this morning, today and possibly tomorrow as well. I’m always moody after my heat ends, and this one was a bad one. Seems the wives' tale of stress making heats worse has a sliver of fact to it.” Lowering her hand back down into her lap, she sighs upon feeling her tail twitching against the backrest rather than it listening to her to be still.

Moving to put his elbows on his knees and his muzzle in his hands, Charlie unintentionally mimics Usako’s sigh. [I’m still responsible though. Love me or hate me, those cubs are still half me. I’ll still help you raise them even if you decide someone else is actually your mate by the time they’re born.]

With her ears fully forward and muzzle slightly agape, Usako stares at him. ‘Why does this Bio-Morph have to be more devoted than any of the male mammals I’ve met back home? Sure my parents loved each other and were devoted to a degree, but I’ve had friends or casual acquaintances end up with lesser mates…’

Blinking a few times, Usako’s jaw figuratively hits the floor as it hits her. Only to hide her muzzle in her hands a moment later. “Oh fuck you Karma, you really ‘are’ a bitch!”

Tilting his head in that look of canine curiosity, Charlie stares worriedly at Usako. ‘Moody is an understatement. She seems like she’s lost it with how quickly her mood just bounced all over the place.’

Looking back up at him, Usako widens her eyes. Then waves her hand-paws defensively between herself and Charlie. “No, um it’s not what you think. At least it’s not what I think you’re thinking from that look of yours. I just remembered something from back home, more or less the newest hot button issue in the news and gossip circles.”

Sitting back up, Charlie quirks an ear. [Do I even want to know what that is?]

Mimicking his ear movement. “You should.” Sighing, Usako takes a moment to compose herself. “As I’ve told you, everything in the Mammal family is sentient where I’m from. Well, I guess it’s obvious in hindsight right now, but… Love can happen between to intelligent beings even if they’re different species.”

Usako’s ear flicks once. ‘Like ‘that’ fox and the token bunny for example. Rabbits are usually the most specist towards foxes, yet there they are…’

Forcing her ear to stay still, she continues. “Well, um, when that topic of conversation came up with other mammal’s on the base I was stationed on. I kinda liked saying ‘wait till they find out they can’t have children, we’ll see how long the love still lasts after that.’ Now here I am, carrying kits that are part Arctic Fox, part Bio-Morph, and by extension, part Human. From someone, I neither hate, nor love, but someone I could consider a good friend.” Softening her gaze with a sigh, Usako covers her lower belly with her hand-paws from underneath her borrowed shirt.

‘At least my mom would be happy to know she’s going to have grand-kits, if she could know I’m still alive.’

Watching this curiously, Charlie folds his ears back apprehensively. [I don’t think I like this ‘Karma’ entity you keep talking about.] Looking down at his own hands he flexes them. ‘Why does she have three fingers and a thumb while I have four and a thumb? Is it because she’s an alien Arctic Fox? Usako can’t be that much of an alien if I was able to knock her up?’

[I don’t consider being forced to fuck you an appropriate punishment for you saying something like that. I may be young, but even I know that if two people love each other well enough, cubs aren’t a deal breaker. This ‘Karma’ thing seems petty because of that. In fact, it would make her the same as Angela with the way she was acting till today.]

Usako laughs mirthfully a couple of times. “Don’t let my Grandma hear that, she’d climb up onto you just to slap you across the muzzle for that!”

Wiping one of her eyes, Usako sighs. “From what I understand, Gods normally are supposed to be unreasonable, petty, and cruel while at the same time loving and forgiving.” Holding her arms under her bust, Usako looks around a bit. The sound of power equipment wafting in on the breeze causing her to look over in its direction for a moment.

“Or, with Serendipity, just plain random to the point that she makes a gambling addict look sane, if you talk to some rabbits that follow her.”

Blinking confusedly, Charlie shrugs. [Weird, but as I said, I don’t consider me putting cubs in you something of a punishment for those words. A mistake I wish I could take back and one I’ll help with the results of for the rest of my life, but not a punishment.]

Looking back at him, Usako lowers her ears. ‘Sigh Karma really has it out for me. My mother would be screaming at me to not let him go if she heard how devoted Charlie is. Hell, I can already hear her planning our wedding…’

The moment Usako lowers her ears, Charlie lowers his. Moving on the chair to look out in the direction the beeping and roar of a diesel earth moving machine echo’s from. ‘And that probably scared her with how much I want to be in her life now. I mean sure it’s my mistake, but I feel like I’m not saying the right thing here…’

“I know it’s winter, and I know it must be chilly for humans, and possibly for you? Yet I think I need my fur shaved.” She looks back at Charlie who just shrugs.

[It’s not bad, my winter coat keeps me warm enough. I just prefer spring to be honest] Again, his head tilts to the side a bit. [So um, why do you want your fur shaved?]

Standing up on her chair, Usako moves closer to him. Gently, she takes Charle’s hand. Lifting her shirt a bit, she places it on her belly.

Eyes widening while his ears go straight, Charlie stares at her. [That’s… The thickest and fluffiest coat of fur I’ve ever felt.]

Smiling, Usako lets his hand go, and he pulls it back. “Yea it’s what living as an ‘arctic’ mammal entails during winter. Outside of cities with a climate system like Zootopia with a year round arctic environment, we’re rare any farther south than Wiscowson… Um, Wisconsin here. This ‘winter’ is warmer than their summers back home, both in the engineered climates and closer to the glaciers close to the northern border of Camalfornia. So while I've learned how to deal with it back there, had to, to get through basic training. This kind of warmth’s getting a little much for what I can handle. If it wasn’t for the breeze right now I’d be panting sitting in the sun like this. Before you ask, the house is a little better with how warm the Mercers keep it.”

Hearing the sound so the heavy machinery die down, Charlie glances over in its direction before looking over to Usako. [We’re supposed to be talking about the cubs I put in you. Yet apologizing is all I’ve done so far, and you’ve talked about anything but them.]

Lowering her ears Usako sits on the chair with her knees-up against her chest and tail wrapped around herself. Whining audibly, she returns Charlie’s gaze. “I, um, kinda don’t want too to be honest. Kits were never in my plan for the future, well, my immediate future. I was hoping to get an honorable discharge and ride the fame train of being the first Mammal going faster than light. At least for as long as I could before possibly settling down and getting a normal job so that could be a possibility? As much as I love flying aircraft that are new, I know I’m rolling the dice each time I do so.”

Sighing, Usako looks up at the porch’s roof, noticing a few boards needing replacement due to the sunlight showing through cracks in the roof. “I was considering a commercial pilot’s position after the military as a possibility? I don’t know, I just knew I didn’t want to give up flying and I couldn’t get any higher than being the first to go faster than light. Though that’s all mute now being stuck here.”

Frowning and lowering his ears, Charlie nods. [Yea. You lucked out surviving the crash, which brought you here. Dad told me to never push my luck because it fails you the moment you completely depend on it.]

“Sounds like Balto knows that from experience.” Glancing over at Charlie, she sighs and places her head on her knees. “Back on the topic at paw, I… I Guess I would like it if you would be here for them. I do consider you a friend, and I would be a horrible mammal to keep you from them simply because I don’t love you like a mate.”

Pausing for a moment, she then lets out a dejected snort. “At least right now. Everything in the past six months has hammered home to me to never expect what the future will bring. So who knows, I may one day fall for your unusually devoted tail.”

Letting out a chuckling bark, Charlie shakes his head. ‘I know Mom would love that…’ [Yea, before today I wouldn’t have imagined Steven or even Angela admitting we’re intelligent and deciding we’re no longer slaves, even if all the Humans outside the farm think otherwise.]

Going quiet for a moment and looking over at Usako, Charlie stares at his own hands. [I would like that Usako, I mean. I would like to be there for the cubs, even if by that time they’d consider someone else their father. I would still like to be a part of their lives. In that light I would like to accept your offer of allowing me to be in their lives, whatever they may be once they’re born.]

The sound of the farm truck’s engine intrudes on the midday silence outside the porch. Sitting up straighter, Charlie looks over in the direction it’s coming from, ears up and forward while his tail remains still. Usako for her part slides off the chair and walks over to the porch railing to get a better look between the supports.

Standing up a moment later, Charlie joins her as he rests his hands on the railing. [Sounds like Steven and Dad on their way back from getting the crash debris.]

Looking up to Charlie, Usako flicks an ear. “Yea, hopefully the six months in the ground hasn’t damaged it. Well, any more than what the crash and fire did. I did mention the batteries in it burst into flames not too long after it made that crater, right?”

Both go silent as the truck slows to carefully turn onto the driveway before coming to a stop. The dirt covered cockpit section of her craft with the black boxes inside barely moves from its strapped position. The ejection seat’s strapped down on the flatbed next to it, and the back-hoe jostles a bit on the trailer, shaking dirt off of the hoe as Steven puts the vehicle in park before helping Balto out.

Nodding in answer to Usako, Charlie sighs. [I hope we win this court battle thing that the Mercer’s have to do. This is my home, I don’t want to lose it. I don’t want to be sold to another Human.]

Usako whines. “So do I Charlie… I don’t want to be made into a slave either.”