Ch. 17
The story continues!
It took more than a little getting used to. For all of us. Cocoa was an early riser, up before the dawn, and without her usual routine, was a little tense, agitated. I milked her, daily. But not as much as she was used to. We both kept trying every day, and she never missed a chance to let Mira have a turn. But she still admitted how frustrating it was to feel so full all the time. Short of milking her down the drain, which neither of us liked the sound of, I didn't have a lot of ideas, however.
Without the usual farm work to tend to, she began to obsess over the simple domestic details. Cleaning almost every part of the cabin she could reach, and finding creative solutions to the places she couldn't. It seemed she just couldn't stand sitting still. It was a feeling I understood all too well.
Despite her frustrations though, never once did she make me feel as though it were my failing. It was, but she never made notice of it. Maybe it was just that she didn't have to. I already knew.
As the weather held and things began to dry up, I was able, at least, to get us outside for some fun and exercise. I was even able to join in for some of the training. Tempest and I tossed my old backpack, full of twigs and branches, back and forth to each other for some strength training. Cocoa got in on it, but had a lot of trouble actually throwing. I tried to teach her how to push, to use the spring in her legs to help lift the weight, but the motions seemed to elude her.
It was something that ended up taking a lot more time and practice than I'd have guessed, but eventually, she began to get the hang of it. To her credit, she never asked me to make the bag lighter. She just kept trying until she started to get it.
I kept trying to work with her, but she got winded and fatigued so quickly it seemed all but impossible to teach her much of anything. I tried not to push too hard, but she kept wanting to try. So I kept trying, hopeless as it might have seemed.
Mira spent a lot of time looking after her, I found. When she got frustrated by all the things she couldn't do. I tried not to make any show of it, one way or the other, how I felt about it all. I know that Claire and Mira knew though, how tiresome I had begun to find it. Every single day making what felt like no progress. But more than that, I felt guilty. That I didn't know how to help, how to make a real change.
It amazed me how quickly the weeks had passed. Taking care of four girls, not to mention the daily training and the workouts I was once again forcing myself to get, kept my time well occupied. I'd gotten a lot better at getting milk out of Cocoa, though Mira was still the reigning champion in that regard.
Mira was, to her credit, not getting pudgy, instead burning off all the energy sparring with Tempest, who welcomed the challenge. Claire and Tempest seemed closer than ever, sharing moments of private humor and affection wherever we went.
It spilled over to our time alone, the two of them were practically inseparable, and that meant our intimacy had taken a different depth. They were lovers, and they were rivals, both competing to please me. It was, to put it lightly, utterly exhausting keeping up with them.
Claire was as insatiable as always, but she'd grown even dirtier, I found. Seeming to revel in the idea of Tempest going first while she watched, just to find herself sandwiched between us, after I was finished with her lover's body. As for Tempest, she got something from our lovemaking that she wasn't getting from our day to day, and as rough as our passions were, always wanted more. She made no secret of it, her masochistic drive leaving her begging me to bruise her.
She also loved rough anal sex, it was something we already knew, but I hadn't quite understood the extent until she openly begged me for it one day, climaxing so hard that her clenching ass bruised me. She also loved it when Claire was buried halfway up her forearm inside her, and the night we did both? She was a puddle in our hands.
Claire and I decided to make that a regular part of the fun. She loved watching me stretch out her lover's tight holes, and I loved doing it.
They kept me well occupied, during those weeks, but were very careful to make sure that Mira had time with me to herself every day. It seemed no bother to the pair, they were as happy to be alone together as they were to be with me. But I was still grateful for their consideration. Doubtless, Mira was too.
Our own affections were very gentle. Tender and sweet. We cuddled and held each other far more frequently than we made love. When we did, she seemed to always end up on top of me, her ribbons guiding me how she wanted. I didn't object, she never left me wanting for long.
It felt good, the way she touched me. Soft, silky fur sliding over my bare skin, teasing me all over before wrapping her warmth around me. She would tease me all day long on the days she intended to have me. No secret of her intent, and if it got to be too much, she'd take the pressure off, all I had to do was ask.
She never objected to my painting her soft fur, and never seemed in a rush to clean up after. That was, I discovered, my job. Of course, sometimes I wasn't in a hurry either. She looked good wearing it.
Cocoa didn't make mention of any of it, though we'd never gone particularly far out of our way to keep her from being aware of our activities. In her mind, it had nothing to do with her, therefore it was not worth mentioning. I was her trainer, that was the end of it. That was fine by me, of course. I wondered, in some ways though, if it would have helped us find any kind of rapport or rhythm. We struggled, as pokemon and trainer. I knew it, she knew it. We all knew it. But she kept trying, so I did too.
I had begun to wonder, though I'd never have let myself think it, let alone express it any time any of the girls were around, if training Cocoa was something I could even do. She was a sweet girl, but I had been spoiled on the raw aptitude the others had given me.
Claire was smart enough that simple observation could teach her things even if I couldn't quite articulate them. Her whole method of fighting was beyond that of muscle and sinew. Her psychic assaults were intense, painful, and disorienting, and her fire? The knowledge of what she was capable of was frightening, and awe inspiring.
Tempest was every bit my match and stronger every day. Her whole body was lithe, strong and agile. She could take my best shot, and get up grinning. I was well more than twice her weight and she could literally lift me from the ground if she had to. She could jump and climb and swim better than I'd ever be able to. Training her was a matter of getting her to slow down, she had no trouble speeding up.
Mira on the other hand was neither Claire's intensity nor Tempest's ferocity. She fought a very different kind of fight, easily wearing down the opposition by simply outpacing them. She was fast and agile, and seemed to just flow around the weight of their attacks. Her own assaults weren't killing intent. She was a harrier, and on a good day could even wear down Tempest's savagery until she was breathlessly cussing about not being able to land a hit.
Cocoa? Well…. We loved Cocoa. But a fighter she was not. She wasn't even much of a walker. It was impossible. It was aggravating. It was enough to make me wonder if I was even really a trainer. It showed me a lot of horrible, glaring deficiencies about myself. I hated how frustrated it made me, but I couldn't do anything to fix it. Couldn't just not be frustrated. I did my best to make sure they never saw it, but I knew it was impossible to keep things from Claire, and Mira knew my moods better than I did.
It was with those thoughts in mind that I sat alone one night, the girls happily oblivious in their pokeballs so I could have a little time alone. I had such a headache, all I wanted was a little silence, a little time alone.
I was almost seething, I couldn't figure it out. What it was going to take. What it was going to take to even get her started. I knew, in my heart I knew it was unfair to her, but in my mind, all I wanted was for her to be even a tenth of what the others were. To be able to even start with actual training.
I had been flipping through pictures I'd taken before I left. Things I thought I'd miss and want to keep. A photo of my belts and trophies. A picture of a picture, from my first regional tournament, one of my masters beaming proudly at a much younger me while I held up a trophy. I didn't win that tournament, of course. But even the smaller trophy was still such a big deal to me.
She used to call me bean sprout. I was a bit of a scrawny, gangly kid. I certainly hadn't filled out with the muscle and resilience I'd grown into later, by that point. Bean sprout. It took me back, to another time, long ago.
She didn't have a lot to work with, I realized, looking back on it. I used to get frustrated back then, too. From the other side of the equation. I hated knowing how I was supposed to do something, knowing all the motions, all the how and why and just not being able to do it. I used to cry. Not in front of them, of course. But when I was alone, I used to cry a lot about that.
I remembered… I was watching one of the “Blaziken Brawl" trilogy, there was a line in it that just made things click for me. Stopped my crying, made it all okay.
“You are trying to do quickly what you cannot do well. Do it slowly. Do it right. Quickly will come. Start over. Start slowly. Start right."
I remembered just… spending a little while listening to that delivery. It was before a big rivalry battle in the movie, one I'd watched a hundred times. I loved the way it was captured, the scene, the action. But that day, I didn't end up watching the movie all the way through.
I needed it then. I realized, with a smile, that I needed it now. So did Cocoa.
She seemed surprised when I pulled her out of her beautiful pokeball. It wasn't very frequently that it was just her and I, for any reason. I grinned, my hand coming to rest on her head as it frequently did. She just smiled up at me, waiting for whatever it was I had wanted.
“I know it's been a rough few weeks. For us both, I'm sure. I just want you to know that it's okay. It's okay to do things slowly. We'll focus on doing them well. I'm sorry that I lost sight of something so important. We'll start over tomorrow, okay? I'll make sure we take our time and get it right."
She nodded at that, her hands taking mine, shaking it, like we were closing a deal. I supposed, in a way, we were. I felt as though a burden had been lifted. As though we were one step closer to understanding one another. Time would tell if it would be enough.
It seemed that the time had gone by so quickly, but looking back on it, it also felt as though it had taken forever to finally get to the day I was looking forward to. Getting the boot off my foot was a great feeling. I still felt tremendously lopsided, but just being able to walk around without it. To really walk around. It was, in my mind, a day to celebrate.
The weather had even cooperated, holding up enough that the roads weren't iced over. Water seemed to drip off of everything, glimmering droplets adding to the brightness I felt in my heart. My arm was knitting better than they'd expected, no doubt in thanks to the steady stream of fresh milk I'd been getting since Cocoa joined us.
There wasn't anything particularly urgent that needed doing, so we decided to spend the morning just wandering around the sleepy little town. I was feeling enthusiastic, and energetic. It wouldn't be long until we were back out there, and I was looking forward to the idea of another gym challenge. A real one this time.
That would be, I realized, much easier said than done. I was worn out by the time we'd made it to the corner store, I'd never felt as though I'd taken walking for granted before, but I realized how much I had as I slumped down against the wall, stretching and massaging my weakened leg.
Cocoa sat beside me as Claire and Tempest went to pick up a few things from the vending machines. Mira slumped between us, her ribbons wrapped partially up my arm. The loving gesture was a balm to my frustrations. It was hardly the first time I'd been hurt, of course. But it was an immensely dissatisfying feeling to realize how much of a setback it really was this time. This one was pretty far up there on the list of ways I'd managed to hurt myself.
We sat for a bit, enjoying snacks and drinks, in the shade of the building. It was an oddly quiet moment that left me feeling strangely frustrated with myself. Of course, I only had one answer to it.
“I don't think I can stand to wait for my arm to heal. We need to get back on the road, already. If only for my sanity." I more growled than said, reaching down to rub my aching leg.
“Figured as much." Tempest said, snacking on some kind of jerky. “Your leg going to hold up?" She asked, looking over at me with a knowing grin. “Or am I going to have to drag you up the hills?" She teased.
Claire was quiet, but shared a worried glance at Mira, who offered a shrug of her ribbons. “Don't look at me. He's the boss, he says go, I'm with him." She paused, looking at me. “I'm with you, but don't push yourself too hard. Oh who am I kidding… That's the first thing you're going to do, isn't it?"
Cocoa on the other hand just laughed. “It's like tryin' to tame a tauros. It'll either make a man out of him, or kill him. Maybe both. All we can do is wait and see who's more stubborn." She nudged me with a playful grin. “I got a feelin' he's more stubborn, though."
“And you'd be right." I replied with a chuckle. “Everyone, keep your bottles. Cocoa and I are going to fill them up tonight, they'll be breakfast in the morning. We're leaving at first light. I want to be over the pass by this time tomorrow, come hell or high water."
Claire still looked a little concerned, but there wasn't anything to debate about it. We had the supplies, my arm was as protected as it could be. We'd stick to the roads, and head on to the next destination.
I, for one, had had enough of mountains, snow, and slush.