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MISTS OF THE MOUNTAINS: COMMON GROUND

When a particular goal needs to be achieved, that requires the effort of multiple participating individuals, it helps that everyone understands exactly what is being achieved and what is required of them individually. Sometimes great effort needs to be made, in order for this to happen. Then there are other times little effort is required and everyone involved understands their role in the task. They mutually understand the situation and the nature of the elements involved. This moment of cohesive thinking is a wonderful thing.

Jim was getting the last of the equipment put up and getting the stable ready for it's calmer night shift, when his ears picked up the sound of rapidly approaching hooves. He looked towards the stable exit and out down the road into the woods with anticipation. Then his eyes spotted the movement within the shadows, being created by the sinking afternoon sun lowering behind the anchor buildings. It was mere seconds and the detectable movement manifested into the clarified form of a man riding a galloping horse. Their rapid approach towards the edge of Anchor Georgia, revealed it to be Sam returning home. The stable boy casually walked towards the open exit, as the man and horse slowed to a trot the rest of the way up to him.

“How was the trip? You get to your friends on time?" He asks the Ranger.

“Got to the house in plenty of time and got to stay over for a bite to eat." Sam replies, as he dismounts the horse and hands Jim the reins. “Now on to the next task. Thanks again for the horse Jim." He comments with a pat on the man's back.

Sam is quick to extract the scroll from the saddle bag and proceeds to walk around the horse towards the Ranger base camp at the edge of town. Usually the Ranger encounters at least three people along the way in the evening. Not this one.

“People must be turning in early today." He comments to himself.

By the time Sam reaches the base camp, he notices most everyone is gathered at the commissary tent. No sign of Jacob. Perhaps at the other tent. He gets a wave from his own squad at a table and waves back, as he approaches his tent. The moment he ducks inside, he spots Jacob sitting at the table and slightly reclined in a chair, while staring up at the center glow crystal and casually playing around with an empty mug. Jacob notices his entrance and sits back up straight and turns himself to face him. Sam pulls out a nearby chair and sits opposite of him, then sets the scroll down between them.

“Any thoughts about our new assignment?" He asks.

“I'm not sure where to begin." Jacob grabs the nearby coffee pot and refills his cup. “I had to read that damn thing ten times and still left with this feeling we are not being told something."

“Not just you. Huh."

Jacob grabs a second mug and fills it for Sam.

“Kind of makes me glad this will be the last one for us. I like the work, but I really don't like dealing with people like the Archive Council." He adds, after putting the pot back on the hot plate.

“I myself sometimes think they live too comfortable of an existence within those fortified archive walls. They need to travel outside them once in a while and do some information fetching of their own." Sam comments.

“Of that, we are in agreement my friend." both tap their mugs together and take a few sips.

“You know Matt will have some choice words about this, once you read it." Jacob taps the scroll lightly, before setting his mug down and getting up from the table.

“That boy has choice words for just about everything that doesn't agree with him."

“True." Jacob walks over to the large wooden chest setting between the sleeping cots and opens it. He pulls out a large tube and brings it back to the table.

“Maybe after this excursion, we can finally get an updated map of the mountains?" Sam asks.

“Providing the map maker has finally found an apprentice he hasn't sent away in tears."

“Bit of a perfectionists is he?"

“That and he is a big organization freak too."

Sam chuckles into his mug, before taking one last drink and empties it. Jacob empties his mug as well, before taking Sam's and setting them both in the nearby wash tub.

“We should get going to the tavern. It's now dark outside and the town folk should be wrapping up whatever socializing they have been doing there all evening." Jacob suggests.

Sam nods and gets up, before grabbing the scroll and map tube, then leads the way out of the tent. The rest of the squad were already outside themselves and beyond the base camp entrance, walking towards the tavern. Both squad leaders decided to just hang back and let them get there first. They spent the duration of their entire walk, simply catching up on recent community gossip. Once they reached the tavern, the other six squad members were already seated and chatting. As soon as they walked through the entry door, Mike the owner greeted them. He still had his everyday clothes on. The dimmed interior lighting made his brown hair and beard look dark enough to match his eyes.

“Got the boys settled in and mugs filled. I trust you two can handle the rest and clean up afterwards.?" He ask both of them.

“Of course we can Mike." Jacob assures with a clap on the shoulder. “We appreciate you donating the space for the meeting tonight. How is Jesse doing?"

“He is actually a little better this week and even went out with the other boys on a trail hike. Certainly came back home in better spirits."

“That is great to hear." Sam complemented.

All three both looked towards the bar counter and waved at Jesse, who waved back and finished wiping it down. Aside from having no beard yet, the kid was practically a physical copy of his dad when he was younger himself.

“Well. Would like to chat longer, but I had a busy day and my son had quite the lengthy hike. The boys were out all day."

“Of course Mike. Both of you get some much needed rest."

All three exchanged hugs, before Mike departed with his son up the stairs beyond the counter. The six squad mates ceased their chatting and stood up respectfully at the sides of the long table near the fireplace. Sam approached the one open end opposite of the fireplace and pulled out his chair, while Jacob walked around to the other end. Once both were in their spots, everyone quietly sat down. The tavern remained quiet for a moment, before Sam finally set the map tube down vertically and placed the scroll on the table in front of him. They all waited for him to speak first.

“This here scroll has inside it the rather vague contents of our next assignment as a squad. This one will be a little different than our usual excursions and hopefully more peaceful than the last one. Everyone hold your questions, until I am done reading it."

With that Sam grabbed the rolled parchment and began reading it. The expression on everyone's faces was a mix of disbelief and annoyance. Once he finished reading it, Matt was the first to speak.

“Someone mind telling my why this couldn't be taken care of on the other side of the mountains by the Rangers at Anchor Ken itself?"

Sam really wanted to give that answer, but felt now was not the time. He was now in possession of a lot of new information, that added profound context to what was just beginning to happen around the communities and in relation to the Others directly.

“We debated for days on who to choose and eventually voted unanimously on your excursion team. Absolute confirmation of this new development is needed and we trust no one else to complete this task." He read again. “That is all the clarification given in the letter. I'm not sure how to read that any differently and sound better to you Matt. But I do agree that it does seem like a waste of resource on their part. Maybe they will tell us later, after the completion of the assignment, the precise reason we were picked out of all the Ranger squads of the region."

“Look. We can sit here and debate all night why this even happened and get nowhere." Jacob suggested. “Or we can do something a little more constructive and begin bouncing ideas off each other, on how to effectively navigate territory that no human has seen for generations. Thankfully, Sam was able to get his hands on an old map of the mountains. It was created before the mist was there and shows us where all the major ancient trails and roads are located. The primary focus of this meeting tonight is chart and plan the safest course up the mountains."

Sam gets up and uncaps the end of the map tube, then carefully extracts the old parchment.

“Okay. First, we need to make sure to keep the mugs at the edge of the table. I get mead stains or any stains on this parchment, my ass will get nailed to the wall. Now, get on your feet and help me out with this thing. In fact, since we will be standing, set your mugs behind you on the chairs and keep them there. It will certainly put my mind at ease." Sam adds.

He hands the map to the twins and then motions for the other four to help out, as he grabs his mug and joins Jacob at the opposite end of the table. Both of them set their mugs together on the one chair nearby. Once the map was flattened out, Jacob and Sam did a quick refresher on everything they knew about the Forbidden Mist Mountains and referenced a few specific things on the map itself. Little did they know, there was a captive audience listening in on their conversation from above in the dark loft. The brown wolf man was being very careful about remaining as still as possible and grateful for the open layout of the loft, that gave him plenty of room to stretch out and be more comfortable. Klaus borrowed a couple blankets to wrap his paws and keep them silent, when he occasionally shifted his position a little and switch to the other ear against the floor. Although he kept his eyes closed most of the time, to focus on the conversation in the tavern below, he would occasionally open them and look over across the loft at the other two wolf men, Han and Fred. They were both laying on their backs and currently keeping Mike and Jesse occupied with nursing syrup from the canine cocks in their mouths. The meeting progressed as expected and wrapped up by the time the father and son developed bulging bellies. Klaus sighed with slight annoyance, when he heard the two men belch and then whisper an apology. Although they couldn't see much in the dark, he could see them just fine. They had stopped feeding on the syrup for now and were simply sitting together and rubbing their bellies. Han and Fred were remaining in place and just lounging, while watching the father and son engage in a hushed conversation. Klaus watched for a while himself, then closed his eyes and directed his attention back to the tavern below him.

“Hey Jacob. What would you say to going solo on the trip tonight?" Sam casually asks, while rolling up the map of the region he brought from the table.

“I would say that you be fortunate this isn't being asked of the other six." Jacob quips from behind the counter, while proceeding to wash the mugs.

“You're not going to give me a hard time about protocol are you?"

“No. Just being subtle and you know why."

“Would it sweeten the offer a little, if I told you arrangements had already been made to meet the Scribe at a nearby farm house that is up the mountainside?"

Jacob briefly stopped the mug cleaning and looked up at Sam.

“I didn't think anyone lived outside this anchor. How far up the mountainside?"

“He is an old friend of mine. His place is the same distance from here as the observation post."

“I can work with that. How soon should I leave town?"

“After we finish with the clean up here."

Jacob nods and resumes his cleaning, as Sam secures the cap on the map storage tube.

“By the way. The road at the back of the public horse stable, should take you to him."

“Mind if I ask what is so important for you to break night travel protocol?"

“There is something really important I need to discuss with Hank. The twins' father."

“Anything I need to know about at the moment?"

“It can wait until after the excursion."

“Really?" Jacob asks flatly, after finishing the mugs and looks up again.

“Yes really. Don't be such a worry ward." Sam leans over the counter and smirks.

Jacob sighs heavily and simply stands in place. A moment of silence passes between them.

“This better be important enough to justify the last minute change in travel plans."

“I genuinely need to talk to him about the twins and no it can't wait. We both know this next excursion is their final training one and we want to be sure they are ready, physically and mentally."

“Well if this has to do with what I think it is, then you should talk to him about it tonight."

“Okay then."

Sam grabs the tube and walks to the door. Just as he opens it, a whistle from behind motivates him to turn back towards the counter.

“You owe me for this one." Jacob reminds him, while walking from behind it.

“Name it."

“I'll think of something on my trip tonight."

“Done." Sam then walks through the door.

“Don't be late yourself."

“Cute Jacob." Sam calls back from beyond the closing door.

He looks ahead and spots Hank appearing at the public horse stable entrance, along with his Belgian stallion pulling the large two wheel cart he was riding on. The night time amber glow from the street glow crystals, made it look like the man was sitting in the cart itself naked. Once Sam was within twenty paces, he could see it was a simple trick of the eye and it was the traditional farmer's tunic that made Hank appear naked from a distance. Both just waved to each other.

“You got my map?" Hank was quick to ask at eight paces.

“Nope. Thought I would do you a favor and just burn that outdated rolled parchment in the tavern fireplace, while all of us just drink mead and chat about the good old days. Then come back to you with just the empty tube." Sam teased in mean spirited fashion.

Once he was within four paces of the wagon, The brown curly haired man leaned over and offered his hand to help Sam up into the cart. The occupied tube was laid down on the floor board.

“Well. I guess we will put that empty tube to new use then." Hank suggested.

“I'll bite. What use you have in mind?"

“Oh. I can use it to open up your ass up enough to let my stallion fuck you balls deep."

“You must think that is real charming."

“Charming enough to snag me a wife, that could give me two strong sons. Twins at that."

Both got a good chuckle out of that comment and waved back at Jacob, down the street and through the large tavern window. Hank then emits two clicks from his mouth and the stallion begins to walk forward. By the time they reach the town edge, the stallion has picked up the pace to a full trot. Two dark horses as large as Hank's stallion, with white blazes and hoof tufts, appear up ahead at the edge of the woods. Both of them remain in place and stand opposite of each other at the edge of the road. Once the cart passes in between them, they immediately assume a trotting gate and keeping pace alongside the men.

“Meet my horse man buddies." Hank casually announces. “The darker and bigger one on my side is Duke. The lighter one on your side is Brook. They have been my out of town traveling companions, when the boys were away on assignment with you and Jacob. The company is much appreciated, for both night time safety and simple companionship. They will be joining us for our chili dinner tonight as well."

Sam notices both horse men bob their heads and wicker in perfectly timed response.

“How does your stallion feel about the extra male equine company?"

“You can see that for yourself." Hank responds defensively.

“You have the reins. He knows to behave under the circumstances."

“You will see, once we get back to my farm."

The rest of the short trip to Hank's farm was spent in silence. No tension in the air. Just two men and three horses soaking in the night time ambiance, as they casually made their way along the road. Sam's eyes then spotted a small familiar animated orange presence in the distance, about where Hank's farm should be and gets the impulse to jump off the cart and going running towards it. Hank spots the subtle movement and stops him. They both look each other in the eyes.

“Relax. That little fire is already being tended to by another guest, who volunteered to get the chili started for us. All I have to do is make sure the seasoning is balanced properly." Hank assured.

Just as the large cart clears the treeline, the familiar scent of boiling chili finds it's way into Sam's nostrils. He inhales deeply and quietly sighs. The clearing also showed that the moon had finally begun to rise and bathe the rolling landscape in soft silvery blue light. This made Hank's old traditional two story farmhouse stand out even more among the scattered trees. At one time, there were multiple rows of fences, keeping this animal and that animal separated. Now all that remained, was the large fenced area sitting near the house and woods. Just beyond it was the remaining burnt skeleton of the huge horse barn, that was once home to many horses. They were gone now and thus the rest of the fences are now gone as well. Hank still had the one stallion and it was enough for him and the boys. Sam then chuckled to himself, remembering the strange creative solution the three men created to help them move on past the tragedy of loosing so much and looked towards the trotting Belgian in front of him. It took him a while to wrap his head around the concept of a animal that big being house trained. Life could indeed be very interesting. The Belgian then took the cart off the road and up the long drive towards the house. Sam closed his eyes and breathed in one more time. First he smelled the Chili, then he smelled mint and lemon. By the time he opened them again, they were nearly upon the house and he spied the fuzzy outline of the grassy bushes surrounding the farmhouse. The cart soon came to a stop at where there used to be double entry screen doors to a wraparound screen porch. The screen and doors were now gone, along with the screen and floor of the porch. Only the roof remained. The escorting horse men soon changed in front of him, getting their arms and hands back. Both began disconnecting the Belgian from the cart and then removed the towing gear. The stallion then followed them out into the open harvested hay field. He then looked towards the small fire and boiling chili, by one of the nearby oak trees and noticed a familiar large white figure standing near it, stirring the pot. Wait...

“Go ahead and go say hello." Hank whispered into his ear, before hopping down off the cart.

Sam went to look back at Hank and ask him a rather obvious question. All he got was a view of the man's back, as he walked away with the map tube in hand and through a doorway, that no longer had the attached double entry doors. The man quickly disappeared from view and left the Ranger to divert his attention back to the fire and... well... might as well so hello... again. He jumped down from the cart and walked on up to the white wolf man. They both looked right into each other's eyes.

“Hello Sam. How did the meeting go?" Lucius asked.

“Oh. The expected flurry of questions over the new assignment. Along with Matt being all pissy about the Archive Council."

“Any discussion opportunities arise to let you share new information?"

“New or additional information would have been greatly appreciated and it certainly would have made the reading of that damn letter go a lot smoother."

“Perhaps new context could have helped them." Lucius suggested.

“As I told Matt... Oh." Sam then realized what the wolf man was subtly referencing.

“Maybe add the context later." Lucius hinted.

Sam said nothing and folded his arms.

“We can discuss that after the chili." Lucius adds.

Both then look away from the boiling pot and behind Sam, towards the rattling sound of Hank carrying a stack of ceramic bowls and spoons. The man obviously saw it fit to leave his tunic behind in the house and emerged in their presence naked. Sam then walked with the man to a nearby large round table and helped him set everything down. Hank then stepped back and briefly looked Sam over.

“Well this is a new one. Usually you are the first one to ditch your clothes. You must have a lot on your mind tonight. Perfect for chili conversation." The man observes.

“I do actually and talking with you about some of it will help a lot."

Sam decides the table itself is as good of a place as any and sits down on a nearby stool, to begin taking off his boots and socks. He then rises back to his feet and quickly gets the rest of his clothes off, letting them just fall to the ground by the stool itself.

“Better?' He asks with arms stretched out from him.

“Much better. Well, I better get the chili finished."

Sam walks back over to the boiling pot and lets his mind drift a little, while standing opposite of Lucius and watches the spoon move slowly through the chili. Hank grabs a big brown squat glass jar out of one bowl, then walks over next to the wolf man and motions for him to hand over the large stirring spoon. Lucius complies and then shuffles over next to Sam. The naked cook then plants the jar between one arm and his side, then pops off the wood lid. He reaches in and pulls out a closed hand, dusted with multicolored earth tone powder. The man slowly opens his hand and jiggles it side to side, while moving it in circular motion over the boiling chili. Scents of cinnamon, cayenne and mesquite pop into the air around the pot. Everyone allows themselves a brief moment of guilty pleasure, by closing their eyes and inhaling deeply. When Sam opens his eyes, he finds himself flanked opposite of Lucius by one of the horse men. The illumination from the fire showed him to be the lighter colored one and a rather stunning two legged version of a Clydesdale. The other darker one was standing between Hank and Lucius. The fire light reflected off his hide more and showed it to be completely black. He could hear the Belgian hovering nearby and simply staying out of sight. The naked cook took a couple test tastes, after stirring the chili some more and nodded with approval, before capping the glass jar. He then handed the jar to Duke and resumed stirring, as the horse man walked out of sight.

“So tell me about my boys. They wouldn't say much when they were at the stable earlier today and received word they were deploying with you again." Hank invited.

“They seemed okay during the assignment briefing and were quite engaging with everyone else. Neither Jacob or I could see any sign that they were the least bit apprehensive about it. After discreetly watching them closely myself, they appeared to have finally worked past all the bitterness they carried with them since that disastrous excursion last year."

“I was a little concerned that the recent fire this year might have done repeat emotional damage. It was tough loosing all them horses and that beautiful old barn earlier this year."

“To be honest, I think you have done a great job of managing everything afterwards."

“The new job helped."

“The anchor horse stable has never had a better manager."

“I know you and Jacob have been very supportive of their recovery since last year. How has the rest of the squad treated them?"

“They actually treat them like older brothers."

“What about Matt?"

“What about him?"

“Didn't he hold them responsible for the death of his father and the... well... his brother?"

“Matt has moved passed that in his own rather interesting way. If I honestly thought he was going to be problem, I would not have allowed him back onto my squad. Believe it or not, the twins recent sexual exploits ended up being the ice breaker between them."

Hank stopped stirring and looked right at Sam for a brief moment and then burst out laughing. Sam and the others couldn't help but join him. Everyone enjoyed the brief moment of levity, as the man slowly extracted the stirring spoon and gave it firm taps at the end. Duke came back with a stack of bowls in his hands and a ladle hooked on his forearm. Hank took the ladle and began slowly spooning out chili into bowls being carried back to the table by Lucius. Sam decided to follow Lucius on the fourth bowl and spotted a glow crystal setting in the middle of the table. Duke must have retrieved that.

“Everyone go ahead and sit down. We got our bowls." Hank announces while carrying his bowl.

Sam sits in the stool he used earlier, with Lucius sitting on the ground to his right. Brook sat on the ground to his left, with Hank setting next on his stool and finally Duke setting between him and Lucius. The horse men were actually the first to dig in. Sam was still not sure what to think of horses eating chili and wondered if these two had taken to eating meat. Upon biting in and tasting the meat chunks himself, he got that answer real quick. It wasn't meat. He then paused.

“When did you get the meat substitute?" He asked Hank.

“Oh, not long after the clean up from the fire. A month maybe. My boys and I were needing a change in our lives and decided to go all in. We wanted to do what ever we could to keep what we had and make the necessary changes to make that possible. The first thing was the bold move to try out this new meat alternative perfected by the crafty farmers of Anchor Maryl."

“That change also include the house?"

“The house was part of that as well. We loved our horses and treated them like family. Drake was all we had left. He was now without a place to sleep and a herd to love. There was no real need to go through all the fuss and hard work to build a whole new barn for just one horse. So we modified our own house to make it his home and we modified our lives to become his new herd."

Sam paused again and dropped his spoon into the chili. Lucius moved to retrieve it and Sam raised a finger as a gesture to not bother. Then moved that same finger and it's hand in the direction of the farmhouse.

“So all the modification on the outside is permanent... maybe?"

Hank stopped and placed his spoon down.

“Has been permanent since one week after the fire. It was easier to remove that stuff than you would think too. Don't worry about the whole door thing. We plan on putting those back on, once the weather gets cold again. Duke and Brook have been really helpful with their own input, since joining in on the project themselves a week ago."

“So just how much modification are we talking?"

“A little more than Larry's house." Lucius finally adds, before getting up for a second bowl.

Sam was not sure what to say at that point. He gingerly fished his spoon back out of the chili, then licked it and his hand clean, before he resumed eating.

“You just keep eating there and let me finish for you." Hank offers. “Disaster is a funny little thing. Big or small, it changes peoples lives and also brings them together. My little barn fire got the attention of Larry. Yes, I am aware that we were rather bitter rivals in the good old days and didn't really get along that well. Even after retiring form our service. Thus why we live more or less on opposite ends of the anchor. Well, more like beyond them, but you get the idea."

Lucius comes back and offers to top off Sam's bowl. He politely raises his hand up and shakes his head. The wolf man sits back down, then quietly eats his chili and listens to Hank continue.

“He offered his own expertise in building structures and help to raise a replacement barn. I told him we really were not interested, but I was more open to options or suggestions for maybe changing the house to be more like his own. That way Drake could actually live with us, like we were his own herd and be right there for him. Larry was fine with that approach and the two of us began working together, planning how to accomplish that task. The day we began the work, he brought his buddy Shadow with him. The bull man had some ideas of his own and felt my house was a good fit for trying them. He in turn brought help for those modifications, in the form of Brook and Duke. They had rather specific equine insight into how we could bring the all ideas together and give us a new kind of home."

At this point Sam had finished eating his chili and was simply sitting there and listening.

“Now that is really something. You and Larry on speaking terms again." He observed.

“Like I said. Disaster brings people together."

“Well. Let's see the rest of the house then."

“One remodeled house tour coming up."

Both men got up from the table, with Hank leading the way to where he entered the house earlier. A mild breeze began blowing across the property, as they passed the cart and walked through the entrance into...

Sam got four paces beyond the doorway, then froze in both shock and awe of what he saw.

As if he knew what Sam's reaction would be, Hank made it a point to step back and wait at the doorway. The Ranger kept panning his head around the gutted open interior. Everywhere Sam moved his line of sight, he kept seeing a complete absence of walls and the second floor. The interior had effectively been modified to have the same type open space as Larry's house, with one very noticeable exception. He couldn't find any sign of wooden super structure anywhere. The expansive altered cubical living space was visually segregated into eighteen smaller identical cubical spaces, via four columns and four identical type horizontal supports, intersecting with each other and the four columns in the middle. He walked up and touched one of the columns, to actually confirm he was not imagining this. All eight supports appeared to be comprised of a densely packed mass of various sized vines, peppered with many white glowing closed flower buds the size of his fist. The attached heart shaped leaves were roughly the same size and just as numerous. Interior illumination was currently at a comfortable dim level and worked in combination with the silvery blue moonlight, that was pouring in through the intact large windows. At least those were left alone. Sam then focused his line of sight on the walls and walked back towards the doorway next to Hank and examined the modified vertical slatted wood panels more closely. The wood itself was a vibrant mix of orange and brown in color. It also appeared to be... reanimated?... alive? This motivated him to look down at the floor boards he had been walking on and noticed they were in the same peculiar organic condition.

“Pretty awesome, huh." Hank whispered into his ear.

“That is one word for it."

“Go ahead and browse some more. I have dirty dishes to fetch. Any questions you have about the changes, Brook and Duke can answer them."

Hank then walked out the doorway and was replaced with the appearance of the two horse men. Sam politely smiled and nodded, before turning and walking back towards the middle columns. He stopped once again at the one he touched and let his line of sight skim over the opposite facing side of the space. The next pair of columns doubled as corners for the four rooms occupying the the two corners of the open space itself. He could see that the two ground floor rooms appeared to have the same type walls, but were different in color. While the room on the left was the same vibrant color as the outer walls, the room on the right was a vibrant green color instead. The sculpted double wood stairwell, that resided in the middle of the four central columns was gone. Two orange glass walled rooms... it at least looked like glass... set on top of the other rooms and appeared to be illuminated from the inside. Access to them was achieved via walking up two wide heavy looking ramps, that ran in between the bottom rooms and along their walls. The ramps, connected to the facing outer wall beyond them, looked to be made or... grown?... from the same vines as the columns. He had trouble seeing the entrance to the upper rooms at the end of the ramps. Entrance to the lower rooms was up front and in the middle of the walls, with normal looking double entry doors on both of them. He couldn't help but let his eyes drift back to the curious looking upper rooms and linger on them.

“Duke. Brook. Where does anyone sleep in this house now?"

“The orange rooms are the sleeping rooms." Came the unified response.

“Which one of the lower rooms is the bathroom then?"

“The green one." Brook said, as he passed Sam and walked towards it. “As you can see, it is the same size as Larry's and I can assure you, put together the same way inside."

Sam decides to follow the Clydesdale into the room, while Duke remained outside and walked over to the solid wall section on the left, in between the supports. There were two vertical lever like handles positioned in the middle and at the height of a man's head. He grabbed both and then pulled them down, triggering the wall section itself to animate.

“Time to let in more of that glorious moonlight." He mumbled to himself.

A noticeable thumping sound was heard near his feet and far above his head, before the wall itself emitted a organic splitting sound and then began cleanly splitting as well. A thin line of silvery blue moonlight appeared and connected the flat ceiling to the floor, before slowly widening and becoming an opening. The split halves of the wall section buckled and folded horizontally in two evenly spaced middle locations, then finished folding flat onto themselves. Duke walked over to the opposite wall and opened it as well. The breeze blowing outside began moving through the house. His ears then swiveled to behind him, as they picked up the distinct sound of four hooves connecting with the floor boards. He turned around and walked up to Drake and began giving the stallion rubs and scratches all over. He spotted Hank and Lucius approaching the house with the empty bowls and pot.

“Sam and Brook are in the bathroom. You two sticking with the plan tonight?" He inquires.

“It will be best if Sam experiences how we sleep in this house with Lucius." Hank admits.

“You sure he can handle such an experience yet?"

“He handled the overfill experience with me at Larry's house like a champ." Lucius assures.

Both of them walked over to the row of floor cabinets occupying the wall next to the huge open door Drake walked through. Hank set down the stack of bowls, while Lucius set the pot down in front of a large pedestal basin, attached to the adjacent wall. The wolf man reached up to the wall mounted faucet hovering over it and directed the attached hose into the pot, before filling it. Hank presented a clear corked bottle of some orange gel and added a few drops of it to the water, before grabbing the nearby bowls and dropping them into the rising water. Duke watched with mild interest, as the wolf man and human began cleaning up the bowls.

“Don't forget to make sure Han and Fred keep to their appointment in the morning and are on site for the splitting of the squad, once they cross over into our territory." Lucius advises.

“How long will you and Brook be keeping the boys at your stable?" Hank asks.

“It takes a full week to properly breed and change a man." Duke replies.

Hank and Lucius pause their washing and look at each other for a moment and then nod, before going back to the task.

“Things here in Anchor Georgia should be far enough along to make their return easy enough. They can blend in with the other horses at the town stable during the day and oversee the initiation of new stable boys during the night." Hank comments.

All three chuckle in response to the suggestion.

“That would actually work for beginning the conversion of Anchor Georgia next." Duke admits.

“Glad to contribute in my own small way." Hank returns, as he extracts the bowls.

The man uses the basin to begin rinsing the bowls off, while Lucius focuses on the pot itself. Everyone then looks towards the bathroom, as Sam and Brook finally emerge.

“That certainly took longer than expected." Duke teases the Clydesdale.

“Maybe you should have been in there too." Brook returns.

“Actually plan on going now myself. You can take over giving Drake attention."

Brook leads the stallion over to the previously unnoticed sitting area and fetches a horse brush, to begin grooming him. Sam joins Hank and helps him finish the bowls, by volunteering to dry them. Lucius leaves the house with the pot and promptly returns with it empty, then helps with drying it out.

“If it is alright with you Hank, I want to get an early start on my sleep and be ready for tomorrow. I have a bed and a woman waiting for me."

“Megan said you could stay here tonight." The man quickly adds.

“Wait. She said what again?"

“I explained to her that the house remodel was done and wanted to show it off to you, but was having difficulty getting you to come over and finally see it. So when I got word, that you needed to talk about the boys, I thought it was as good of an opportunity as any to arrange for you to simply stay the night. She was actually fine with that and said for you to have a good time." Hank admitted.

“There are some days I have to pinch myself and check that my life is even real, with a woman like her sharing it with me." Sam admits.

“Treasure it while it lasts my friend." Hank then gives him a hug and pat on the back. “I think Drake and I will be turning in for the night as well. We both had quite the day and could use the rest."

“Anything special I need to know about what I presume are the bedrooms upstairs?"

“Lucius can handle showing you the features."

“I planned on spending the night here with you anyway." Lucius adds.

“Well then. Lead the way wolf." Sam invites and motions towards the ramps.

At that time, Duke emerges from the bathroom and looks out beyond the house and spots the moonlit night time mist beginning to descend from the mountains in the distance.

“Looks like it is just about patrol time for Brook and I. Everyone take care of yourselves."

The horse men exchanged hugs with everyone and watched them depart for the sleeping rooms. Hank gets Drake's attention and has the horse follow him up the one ramp and into the room on the left. Lucius looks at Sam and nudges his head towards the other room, before ascending it's ramp himself. The Ranger looked around the radically altered house interior one more time and then follows the wolf man upstairs. Upon arrival at the top of the ramp, he could see why the bedroom door was so hard to find. The orange glass looking sides had a very rough crystalline appearance and had an almost seamless flow across the surface. Closer inspection showed the wall to actually be comprised of multiple sections the width of a wagon, stretching from floor to ceiling. He then saw Lucius push near the house's outer wall and witnessed that panel dislodge and swing inward, towards the bedroom beyond the crystalline wall. Sam looked across the gap between the ramps and saw Hank do the same, as the section dislodged from the wall itself and swung inward. He looked back at Lucius and saw the wolf walking through the opening and followed him inside. His nose was immediately assaulted with both a cinnamon smell and a familiar potent maple smell as well. Sam noticed the floor had a rather soft organic feel to his feet and the bedroom itself was completely devoid of any furniture. He then looked up at the upside down glowing dome on the ceiling and saw that it likely gave the room the orange look. Further confirmation of this was made obvious with seeing the wolf man's fur appear orange inside the room as well. His eyes spotted multiple puckered organic orifices peppering the ceiling above them and lining the bottom edge of the walls around them.

“So what do you think so far?" Lucius asked him, while keeping the door open.

“Not much of a bedroom. It looks more like a strange giant orange lit shower, than a place to actually sleep."

At this point he noticed his cock was beginning to get firm and throb. He swore he could see some of the wolf man's cock peak out of his sheath as well.

“Although it's form seems strange, One can definitely sleep in here. Watch and do as I say."

With those words, Lucius finally let the door swing shut. The thin barrier that separated the individual panels sealed against it and the status of the air began to change. The previous two smells gained potency, as puffs of mist began dropping down out of the puckered orifices in the ceiling. The wolf man walked up to him and leaned down to whisper into his ear.

“Remember earlier today. When I said that if you really want to know more, that can be arranged under better conditions. Just let me know when you are ready to experience that again?"

The puffs of mist become long wisps.

“Here? Now?"

The wisps become streams reaching to the floor.

“Here. Now."

Mist begins rolling out of the floor orifices along the walls.

“What about sleep?"

Sam feels his thinking change in a familiar way and simplify, like back at Larry's house.

“That will follow. We don't have to think about it."

Lucius then straightens back up and gently places a hand against the back of Sam's head, before pulling it towards his dripping tip. He sighs with satisfaction, when he feels the man's mouth wrap around his canine shaft again and begins nursing on it. He watches the air around them continue to change, as the visibility level begins dropping rapidly. Sam is oblivious to this change and had his eyes closed from the moment he tasted the syrup flow over his tongue. His simpler thinking is focused on taking in more syrup and inhaling more of the infused air. The wolf man then spots some of the ceiling orifices begin to flex and dilate, to belch out even more mist. Visibility begins dropping faster and soon the room fills up with the mist, leaving only the light source itself visible as a vague orange glowing shape. He then spots movement within the mist and chuckles to himself. It is time. He gives Sam a polite tap on the shoulder to stop nursing and lowers his head down for better visibility. Lucius could see it in the human's eyes, that he was already half here and half deep inside his simple lust fueled thoughts. He made sure they were both looking right into each other's eyes.

“The room has changed now and soon you will be having an experience much like the service chambers my people created for you Rangers. These tendrils are different. Their purpose is to fill us with the syrup and use us. Remember how amazing it felt to have me fill you back at Larry's house?"

Sam simply nodded his head.

“Well this will feel even better. Just relax and let things happen. It will also be best if I am already inside you. That way you don't initially get overwhelmed. Then once the syrup begins steadily flowing through both of us, we ride the flow into our dreams. Understand?"

Sam nods again and somehow briefly rationalizes he needs to somehow climb up onto Lucius. The wolf man spots him grabbing and tugging on him a little, then obliges by picking the man up and holding him against his chest.

“Put it in me." He hears Sam say softly.

Lucius begins to slide the man down, until he feels his canine tip make contact with the butt cheeks. He feels the human cock throbbing fiercely against his belly, as he eases the man further down and begins sliding past his anal entrance and over his prostate. The movement in the mist clarifies and manifests in the form of familiar tendril types. Different thicknesses and tip structures for different parts of the body. The wolf man reaches down and frees his slowly inflating knot from the sheath, before letting the man slide all the way down to it and stopping. Sam moans and flexes his legs, to try and wrap them around the wolf's waist. Instead they just end up hooking onto the buttocks. Good enough. He carefully angles the man away from his body a little, then frees up a hand to begin grabbing and guiding tendrils to their proper locations. A anal tendril secures itself across his buttocks and in between his legs. He then feels the internal extension plunge into his ass and begin filling his guts. The wolf man immediately lets his own syrup supply begin flowing into Sam. Sight of a more slender one is spotted and he guides it to the man's cock, where it swiftly latches onto his front and catches the ejection of the first orgasm. Lucius then spots the long tapered tips of a feeder tendril.

“You ready to plunge all the way in fuck toy?" He asks Sam. The man only nods. “Open wide."

He grabs the tapered one and guides it right to Sam's open mouth. It swiftly splits open, then extends its phallic appendage and breathing tubes. Lucius guides it into place and grins at the sound of the man closing his eyes and moaning around the appendage in his mouth. He feels tendrils snake around his paws and begin to move up his legs. Not much time left. A particular large feeder one is spotted and is seized in his grasp, before being guided to his open muzzle. It splits and extends it's breathing tubes, along with an oral appendage structured to fit his muzzle. He closes his eyes and begins to ease up on his control of the syrup coming out of his balls. Lucius then uses both hands to grip Sam's shoulders and pushes him down, until his knot pops inside the human's guts. The ranger moans loudly. That anal ring convulses through a second orgasm and begins milking the knot. His ears pick up on the gurgling sound that begins to come from both of their bellies. The tendrils traveling up his legs begin wondering all over his and Sam's body. They begin gripping and cradling them, as the two are finally lifted off the floor. He let's go and allows his syrup to flow freely into Sam.

“Sounds like everything is working properly in here." Duke observes, while keeping an ear to the wall of the room where Hank and the Stallion were being filled and milked together.

“Same over here." Brook confirms with his own ear to the wall of the other room.

Duke pulls his head away and begins walking down the ramp. He is soon joined by Brook at the bottom, who happens to be displaying the same fully extended flaccid swinging cock. Both look down and then lock eyes and chuckle. Brook then points beyond Duke and the horse man turns around. Both of them see the mountain mist rippling and crawling across the field on the property.

“Time to go and meet the boys." Duke suggests.

“Indeed."

The two horse men walk out towards the open field and then turned towards the nearby woods.

“So which one of us will be the bait?"

“I will volunteer. I know a spot the Nomad brothers frequent on their mushroom hunts. It's a nice tranquil location for me to layout and lounge on the remains of an ancient drainage tunnel."

“Very well. I will remain hidden within the treeline shadows and wait until they are actively engaged with you."

Both gave each other a supportive clap on the shoulder and picked a noticeable break in the treeline, then walked into the woods down a visible path.

Sam was prepared for many things, when the tendril began milking his cock. He knew what to expect, when his second orgasm expired and then the third perpetual one crashed into his hormone addled mind. He was however not prepared for how addictive and mind shattering the experience would be inside the sleeping chamber. The combination of continuously cumming and being refilled by a knotted cock in your ass was one thing. But also having it milked right out of you at the same time, was quite another. This was new and sent him plunging into the depths of the lust abyss faster. He no longer cared about anything else, but to remain attached and be milked. The man then felt that familiar warm fuzzy feeling of slowly loosing consciousness and briefly wondered if he was going back to that horse stable. Sam soon completely let go and perceptually experienced only the briefest moment of darkness and then was opening his eyes again. He blinked them and saw that he was looking up at a huge cloth banner flapping in the night time breeze and spanned between to large poles, a space wide enough for four wagons. The moon was in the sky beyond it and full. There were some lettering on the banner and actually readable. Anchor Carol Craft Fair. He was definitely no longer inside the sleeping chamber or had a huge knotted wolf cock lodged in his ass. Something felt a little off though, as he began patting himself down. He was wearing clothes again, but they felt different. Sam looked down and noticed he was wearing the basic attire of a stable boy. He also had this subtle feeling like he was slightly disconnected from his surroundings. There was also the presence of thoughts he sure were not his own. What was happening here?

Sam began moving his head around to visually take in the surroundings. It appeared to be night time and there were still a few people around, whom were getting the last of their stuff packed into wagons or shuttering fair booths. He spotted mist rolling across the fields in the distance beyond the fair area. He then looked towards the nearby anchor and saw the rippling mist rolling through it was denser. Perhaps he should get on home as well and make sure his younger brother made it back home. Brother? He didn't have a brother. Sam shook his head and began walking through the fair area, past closed display wagons and booths, before coming across another identical flapping banner. It marked the town entrance into the fair area. In this case, it was his exit for getting back home. At first he was not sure which street to take, but he somehow knew and was grateful for the presence of the glow crystals to show where he was stepping in the thickening mist. Sam found himself stopping at a door, within the covered porch of a particular house and was ready to step through, before his ears picked up on some moaning coming from the bedroom directly above the porch itself. He could have sworn it was his brother making the sound. He listened again and it definitely was coming from above him.

“So much."

He walked inside the house and noticed the glow crystal column directly in front of him, that marked the beginning of the railing for the stairwell, was still on. Actually, it looked like all the glow crystals throughout the ground floor were still on. His brother conveniently forgot to switch them off again. The man turned left into the living room and took care to turn each glow crystal lamp off on the end tables. He then went into the dining room behind it and glided his hand over the one wall sconce crystal, switching all four of them off, before turning right and stepping into the kitchen. Sam panned his head around and was pleased to see the kitchen itself was at least clean, then turned it's sconce crystals off as well. Next was the ground floor bathroom and mud room. He looked left into the mud room and made sure the back door was closed, then tapped on the overhead crystal and turned right to check the bathroom, before tapping on the horizontal crystal over the sink.. Upon returning to the dark kitchen, he turned left and walked out into the humble service hall. Better check the basement. A quick opening of the door under the stairwell on the left revealed it to be completely dark downstairs. He closed it and walked back towards the entry door, before hearing the moaning again. Upstairs it is. Since it was just the men living in the house, there was no need to be modest. Sam quickly removed his boots and overalls, then followed with his shirt. After tossing them into a nearby chair in the living room, he walked back into the entry and stopped at the foot of the stairs, before gliding his hand across the crystal column. The ground floor was now properly dark, save for the moonlight that was now pouring in through the entry door and living room windows. He then quietly began ascending the stairs and see if he could find out who his brother was entertaining tonight in their shared bedroom. Things had changed quite a bit around the household, ever since the younger sibling had his sexual awakening and began exploring his options with invited late night friends. Sam was curious who it would be this time. Boy? Girl? Both? Who ever it was, they were doing something right to please the young man. He carefully picked his way over the individual steps and skipped the noisy landing, before turning left into the wide hall separating the two upstairs bedrooms and quietly ascended a few more steps. There were now three doors. Their shared bedroom on the left and likely source of the moaning, the bathroom directly ahead and then the door to their dad's... bedroom. The door was open and the interior lit. He was home from his trip already? He quietly turned right and peaked into the room, spotting a travel pack on the bed and discarded clothes on the floor. Dad was definitely home and must be the one in the other room. It would be great to see him again. Perhaps the moaning is actually from his brother being sick instead and their dad was taking care of that. He was good at that stuff.

“Almost there."

Wait. That didn't quite sound like dad. The voice was a little deep. Sam decided to walk over and remain outside the door, while listening quietly with his ear to it. He then heard his brother belch and moan some more. Sam waited a few seconds and heard nothing else. Wait. There it was. Faint. It sounded like gurgling. A potent smell then leaked from around the door and was sucked into his nose. The scent was inviting and made him think of morning pancakes. Smelled just like maple syrup. He couldn't help but breath in more lung fulls of that enticing scent.

“Good boy. I'm going to fill you full like a good little pig."

Okay. Brother is not sick and it sounds like he is being fucked. But something doesn't seem quite right and was giving Sam mixed feelings. This could be their dad and his voice just seems different, due to whatever is happening on the other side of the door. If it is, why didn't they wait for him. If this isn't dad, then it sounds like the brother has taken a liking to more daddy type sex partners. The latter seemed more likely. His ears then picked up on some squelching sounds. So many images were now going through his head and so many sex positions were manifesting. At least his brother was having a healthy sex life. Sam couldn't resist but to reach down and begin stroking a cock that was already hard and dripping. There may not have been much talking, but what little his ears could perceive was giving him plenty to have a good yanking session. He breathed in more of that scent and stifled a moan with the other hand, hoping nobody heard that. The squelching sounds stopped. Uh oh.

“How about you come on in here and finally join us son. Plenty for both of you."

Shit. He really hoped his brother didn't mind him spying on them. This man most definitely sounded like the daddy type. Sam sighed and slowly lifted the handle latch, then pushed the door open. He made it two steps in and froze. Laid out near the foot of the bed to his left, was the younger brother on his back and his legs folded, a visible foot resting on the ass cheek of a... black?... boar man. He remembered their dad teaching them about his own past Ranger encounters with the Others. As well as working closely with a few on assignment. The stories were packed with details, that painted a very vivid picture of these people. Enough for him and his brother to fantasize about... sometimes sexually.

“Glad you are finally home. Your brother tried to wait up for you, but simply got too worked up over the idea of having my boar cock inside him." The huge moonlight silhouetted form commented.

Now there was one right here in their bedroom, standing across their shared bed and had the window behind him. The moonlight was pouring in and highlighted the visible hairs of his massive outlined form. His arms were raised up and bent, with the hands gripping the overhead cross beams and serving to keep his body hovering over the brother... who appeared to have a rather rounded gurgling belly. The sibling's cock was nowhere to be found and likely pinned in between their connecting bellies. He then looked down and saw the look on his brother's face. His gaze was directed towards some unseen point to Sam's right, staring off into empty space. The younger sibling appeared to be completely out of it and had his arms simply laying to his sides. Something told him his brother was experiencing tremendous pleasure from the breeding session and simply living in the moment. A minor squelching sound was heard and brought his attention back to the connecting flesh. The entire surface of his brother's belly was glistening and the maple scent from earlier was quite heavy in the air and causing his own cock to throb a little harder. Was it somehow coming from his brother? What exactly was happening here? He slowly stepped closer and reached out to touch his brother. The boar man moved to gently grab it, before guiding it onto the glistening skin of the rounded belly and letting go of it. Sam pulled the hand back and sniffed it, inhaling more of that enticing maple smell into his nostrils. He then proceeded to lick it and found that he wanted to keep licking until there was none left on his hand. There was no way this could be his brother's precum. He knew what that tasted like and this was not it. Something was coming out of him and it tasted way better.

Another gurgling sound then got his attention and he looked down to his brother's face. He was finally growing a full mustache, that was now hovering over an open mouth. Was he trying to say something now? The maple smell began to gain more intensity, as the same clear stuff began to trickle out of the open slack mouth. This whole scene had now become so surreal, that he began to wonder if he smacked his head back at the fair and was experiencing this sex fantasy in a dream. All that was missing, was to have their dad here with them. His peripheral vision caught movement and he looked back towards the black boar man, who had a familiar looking butt plug in his hand and was moving it down to where the two of them were connected. Sam watched the black sex beast slowly pull away from his brother and couldn't help but step a little closer, then focus on the multiple stretchy strings of that syrup that manifested between their bellies. He then got visual confirmation of the source, as more of that syrup continued to come out of his brother's hard cock. It took advantage of the open air and began slapping his inflated belly. His eyes then focused on the long glistening shaft sliding out of his brother's ass and couldn't help but suck in more of that enticing maple scent, as it reached overwhelming potency. He then watched the corkscrew style tip finally surface and licked his lips hungrily, while watching it twitch and drip in the open air. The butt plug then swiftly came into view and was pushed into place inside his brother. The boar man then gently gripped his brothers legs and lowered them down to hang off the edge of the mattress. He watched his siblings cock slap that belly some more and then noticed his own cock was now throbbing hard enough to slap his own belly. A large black hand glided into view and then gently gripped his chin, before tilting and turning his head to face the boar man. They both locked gazes and something inside Sam motivated him to keep looking into those eyes. A flash of recognition then hit him, when he looked deeper.

“D... Dad?"

The boar man nodded and snorted, then leaned forward and used his hand to line up their mouths, before pushing his broad porcine tongue right in. Sam reacted on reflex and began pushing back with his tongue, while caressing the sides of his father's altered face. Then they separated and simply looked into each other's eyes again.

“How?" Came his hushed question.

“The same way as what I just did to your brother of course."

“You mean..."

“Yes. I was fucked and filled by a boar man until my belly was round many many times. It felt amazing and now I want to share that experience with my boys. So what do you say son?"

“Yes. Fuck me. Fuck me and fill me just like my brother."

“Go ahead and get comfortable next to him then. My dripping flesh drill is ready."

The boar man then stepped back from the bed a little and waved his hand towards the spot between the syrup bloated brother and the pillows. Sam wasted no time in accepting and proceeded to walk around the corner past his sibling. He made it as far as bending over the mattress, then was stopped with a hand on his ass and the sensation of feeling the boar man hovering over him. He froze where he stood, as that the muzzle hovered close to his ear.

“It's so good to be back home with my boys. I know this is something you both have been secretly wanting and now I can give it to you myself. I plan on making up for my time away and make you both..."

Sam felt the twitching tip of the cork screw cock slide between his ass cheeks.

“...very..."

He then felt it push in past his anal entrance and glide across his prostate, then stop.

“...happy."

An arm glided across his chest and gently hugged him close to the boar man.

“Fu-...!" Came his broken response to his dad.

Sam gasps as the twitching flesh stimulates him in such a new and exotic way. Cum immediately begins shooting out of his cock, as the porcine shaft then resumes it's slow path deep into his guts. He simply stares forward at absolutely nothing.

“Easy there boy. Your brother had the same reaction himself. Just breathe and let me slide all the way inside you. I will be going quite deep with my drilling pig tool."

Sam then felt exactly that happen and was grateful he had plenty of room inside himself.

“You may be empty for now, but that will soon change and I can't wait to see that special look appear on your face, when you realize just how much you can hold inside you."

With those words, Sam felt the boar man finally bottom out inside him and those huge boar balls make contact with his own smaller more humble human balls. Then he felt a warm presence touch him deep inside and began spreading throughout his guts. He knew what this was and looked forward to seeing it come out of his own cock. His dad then helped him up on the mattress and then very carefully get turned around onto his back, while somehow managing to keep that boar cock buried all the way inside his guts. His dad then got his legs into their proper folded position and set his feet down onto those huge black muscled ass cheeks. All of the movement briefly shook Sam out of his initial stupor and he found himself looking directly into his dad's eyes, as the muzzle pushed against his mouth and they kissed passionately. He tried to push as much of his tongue into that muzzle as he could manage and then pull as much of his dad's blunt porcine tongue into his mouth. The affect of the maple scented air was swiftly eroding at his rational mind. All he wanted was to feel that cock continue to twitch inside his guts and fill him to rounded belly capacity. He then lost himself to a second orgasm, as he felt an ambient warmth begin to consume his entire lower body. Sam let his arms fall to his sides onto the mattress. The boar man chuckled and began using his free hand to begin slowly massaging his belly, as it began to bulge and gurgle from all the syrup being dumped into him.

“If I don't do this, you get too much gas build up and then the breeding gets very uncomfortable for you. Feel free to belch, because you will do it a lot son."

At those words, he experienced his first maple scented belch and the immediate air around his face took on that intense enticing scent. His cock throbbed hard and slapped his gurgling belly, as he sucked it in through his nostrils and licked his lips.

“Is my little piggy ready for his breeding?" His dad asked.

Sam only nodded and felt that large hand begin massaging his belly more thoroughly, as a lot more of that syrup began flooding into his guts and his belly began expanding more. That ambient warmth then swiftly spread up his body and wrapped everything but his head in it's presence. He began loosing conscious control of himself, as he belched some more maple gas and his head slowly rolled to the side. His eyes were no longer processing his surroundings, as his mind began to process only what he was feeling inside his guts and his cock. Then there it was. He felt his own belly begin to grow round, as a third orgasm began to approach his body. This one had greater intensity, but felt somehow smoother. It didn't feel at all like the expected surge. Instead it felt more like a steady flowing force, as the first of the syrup began coming out of his throbbing cock.

“That's my boy. Just let it go and let it flow. Experience the bliss of cumming continuously."

With those words, Sam swiftly felt the last of his coherent thoughts leave his mind. There was no more need to think anything. Only feel and cum.

“Loose yourself to becoming an extension of my cock little piggy."

He then felt the presence of the syrup fill his stomach, before it began to travel up his throat. There was no more person here now. Only a living fuck toy to be filled and used by his dad. Then the syrup finally found it's way up to his slack mouth and began trickling out of it.

“Good little piggy. Just lay there and let daddy fill and use you."

He could feel his consciousness begin to fade and wondered if he was about to become his father's own twitching corkscrew cock. Sam realized he didn't care if that actually happened. All that mattered was to continue feeling this good and just let that amazing warm syrup continue flowing through him. Then everything went black.

Sam then felt the distinct sensation of a large warm textured tongue licking his face, then around his neck and down his chest. The tongue soon traveled down his belly and found his hard cock and began licking around it. This got his attention and motivated him to open his eyes, just as the licking stopped. Looking down at him was the large head of a white wolf and the face of Hank. Behind them was a background of tree branches and oak eaves.

“Yup. He is awake now. Back to the morning chili." Hanks face commented and disappeared.

Sam said nothing and focused his vision on Lucius.

“How was your first sleeping chamber experience?" The wolf man asked.

The Ranger groaned a little and slowly sat up and then realized he was laying on a table. Lucius helped him remain upright and offered him a cup of water.

“Thanks." Came the only words out of his mouth, before drinking the water.

The wolf man then sat on the ground and waited patiently. Sam began panning his head around and saw that it was still very early in the morning. The stars were just beginning to fade and the sky turning slightly purple.

“It has been quite a while, since I slept that well." Sam observed.

“I am glad to hear that."

The ranger went through his usual morning motions of stretching and popping, then sat silent some more and watched the stars slowly fade into the changing purple sky. He sniffed the air and smiled to himself. Hank reappeared with a bowl of warm chili. Sam nodded a silent thank you and began to slowly eat it, as Lucius took the second offered bowl with a polite nod. Both sat at the table and began eating in silence, before Sam stopped and took a couple more drinks.

“This may seem like I am somehow repeating myself, but that wasn't exactly a dream. Was it?"

He looked right at Lucius and the wolf man noticed and stopped eating.

“It was a dream... in the sense one part of your mind rested, while you got shifted to the other part and experienced that special moment in your head. That special moment really did happen, but was not a remembered moment this time. You experienced that at the same time as the other person."

“Wait. Like the sort of mind linking things that the people of Anchor York can do?"

“Yes. But this was assisted by the interconnecting network of tree roots, between here and Anchor Carol, instead of clasping hands."

“How? Never mind. I thought trees were just trees and couldn't... do that."

“They are also living things, with parts that can transport information."

“Now you are starting to sound just like one of them Anchor York citizens or a Nomad."

“I will take that as a compliment." Lucius replied and began eating again.

“I see. You are going to make me work for this one. Alright then." Sam sets his bowl down. “Judging from what you just told me, I was somehow linked to another person somewhere else, via a huge network of interconnected tree roots. My own direct connection to that network being through Hank's modified..."

“...remodeled..." Hank interrupts from out of site.

“...remodeled house." Sam finishes and twists around to give the man a dirty look. Hank shrugs.

Lucius clears his throat and the Ranger returns his attention back to the wolf man.

“So how was that connection between the person and the trees maintained? It's not like he was walking around with a vine tethering him to a potted plant or something. Or was he?"

Lucius snickers.

“Nothing as impractical as that. The connection between him and the tree root network is of the same nature as them ancient devices called radios. Same principal, different tool." He answers.

“So the trees can do that too?"

“They always could. People just stopped listening for a few centuries. During that moment in the ancient past, they created devices that polluted the air with their own noise. Now those things are silent and the trees can speak freely again."

Hank finally sits at the table and begins eating his bowl of chili, while politely listening.

“Going on what you just described, how did the connection remain so strong within the house?"

“Have you not been to Anchor Carol and seen their communal housing setup?" Lucius asks.

“I had been there only once and it was strictly business at the stable. Is there something special about their homes I need to know?"

“Nothing you would give a second thought about, when seeing it from the horse stable itself. Their homes are setup like very large buildings and surround a central courtyard. Each courtyard has a single tree in it. The roots of these trees are connected to each other and in turn connected to the larger network outside the anchor."

“Okay, that makes a bit more sense. But wouldn't that mean the signal would experience some loss of strength, when he was moving from the craft fair to the house?"

“Some and thus why you likely don't remember much of that walk. Do you?"

“Actually, now that I think about it, no. I certainly remember what happened in the house very vividly and want to talk about that next."

Lucius finishes his bowl and sets it down on the table and patiently waits for Sam to finish his last remaining bites himself, before setting his empty bowl down next to it and sighs heavily.

“I still remember what you and I talked about yesterday and still having a little difficulty articulating what I feel about that. Don't get me wrong, I am practically ecstatic that someone finally found a solution to a generational problem, that is now obviously far bigger than any of us bothered to consider. But why has the solution taken on such a potent sexual form and what is the connection to all that is beginning to happen around us?"

“Remember your lessons in school about the ancient past and the terrible war that erupted between Human and Other?"

Sam nods.

“Do you also recall the persistent generational rumors about how the war really ended?"

Hank choked on some chili and politely excused himself to cough it out away from the table.

“I think just about every man and boy alive knows of some version."

Lucius and Sam allow themselves a moment of levity and chuckle together.

“There is actually truth buried in those rumors. We were forced to find an effective way to preserve our existence, in the face of the crippling damage done by one of those ancient bio weapons."

“The one that ended up also doing damage to us and limiting how long our women live?"

“Correct." Lucius assures.

“The reason any of you are still around has been a favorite discussion topic among Rangers around night time camp fires for generations. As usual, the logical possible answers end up yielding to answers born of the generational rumors."

“Now that you have experienced that buried truth last night, how do you feel about where something like that could lead your people?"

Sam huffed and got down from the table and paced a little.

“Okay. You are basically saying the interaction between that father and his two sons is what actually led to the end of the war and helped your people beat the imposed population control measure created by the same bio weapon that also affected us?"

“We did not exactly choose that option. It was more of a accidental discovery, among those who dared to defy the existing social taboo. The conditions were right for this to happen towards the end of the war. There was little left to fight with. The ancient war machines no longer had the resources to power them, or the people to use them. The physical devastation caused by all the previous weapons, destroyed all records of how to even create new resources..."

“Yeah. Yeah." Hank interrupted after returning to the table. “All of us retired Rangers know that old sing song, about how it came down to us basically throwing sticks and stones at each other. There simply was nothing else left to fight with in the war."

He then notices the Ranger and wolf man stare at him.

“It's true. So is the dirty little secret behind the generational rumors. Allow me to give you both a history review with what my own ancestor experienced." Hank offered.

“This should be good." Sam observes sarcastically.

“Just give it a chance." Hank politely pleads, while sitting back down at the table. “With what you just experienced. I think you would be hard pressed to ignore the implications." He directs towards Sam specifically. “By the end of the roughly one thousand year long war, both sides had become disenchanted with why they were even fighting to begin with. In fact... the only ones that were still motivated to keep fighting, were the ones in the densely occupied areas. As we all know, there were not many of those left. The rest of us fighting, were very isolated and operating on orders that were literally delivered by pigeon. This disenchantment acquired strength as fighting resources in these isolated regions became depleted. It was even assumed that they had become forgotten. Then the other essential resources were becoming depleted. Truces were forged, for the sake of simple basic survival. These truces were based on the possible reality that they could very well be the last of their kind and thus the motivation why they were fighting became invalid. Truces eventually gave way to tense friendships. The tension vanished in the face of successful mutual survival. The friendships grew more potent and developed into actual relationships. The rest is no different than what is rumored to happen today with retired Rangers and their long term Other combat companions. Considering what Sam has witnessed and experienced recently. I personally think it wouldn't be too hard to figure the rest out. But, I will let Lucius take it from there."

Hank excused himself. Then got up and walked away out into the field to be with Drake.

“I would have been less blunt about explaining that part of history, but he is correct. What soon followed after that was something of a revelation for those isolated soldiers. The ones that took to having very frequent sexual contact with us, ended up slowly changing themselves and eventually became like us." Lucius explains.

Sam finally stopped pacing and set back down on the stool.

“They became Other." He volunteers.

“Yes. This in turn became the solution for the problem of our depleting numbers. Unfortunately, that created a new problem after the war ended and both people agreed to leave each other alone."

“Right." Sam shakes his finger in the air. “The establishment of the Zones. Well, the first two anyway. Then later on, the other two.."

“Yes. My people finally had a much needed solution to continuing our biological legacy."

“We... my people... never found out definitively how much damage we actually did to you."

“We eventually lost all of our female companions. So when Nature presented us with an option for continued existence, we embraced it and did whatever was necessary to make it succeed."

“Even with this new option, the isolation of our two peoples for so many generations had to make it challenging to execute. I'm not saying there likely wasn't a lack of willing men back then. But if what Hank said abut the geographical isolation is true, the actual availability of people at all was severely lacking. Which explains the developing conditions, that led to us Humans becoming divided about how to go about the preservation of our own biological legacy. Disagreements led to severe disputes. Those led to most leaving the ruined cities and finding their own way out in a changed wilderness, that had it's own unique survival challenges. We lost a lot of people during those early years. Some died. Some just seemingly vanished."

Lucius puts his hand on Sam's shoulder.

“Some of those vanished people became us. We found them stranded in the wilderness and nursed them back to health. That part was not very easy. Some joined us, others recovered and remained in the wilderness to find their own path."

“Eventually joining others, that wanted nothing to do with Anchor or Scavenger living. Those that we know today as the Nomads. Which led to the establishment of their Zone." Sam added.

“The Nomads and us became strong mutual survivors. Many of my people started out as Nomads. But we knew we couldn't rely on them alone to keep us going and eventually we had to seek an additional source."

“Is this where the alliance between Anchor and Other started?"

“We both had a mutual enemy and we both had something the other one needed."

“You needed new people and we needed someone capable of taking on the more aggressive Scavengers that were manifesting form the ruined ancient cities."

“We were careful and only selected those willing to join us after retirement from service. Taking and changing those still in service would have attracted unwanted attention."

“From the those on other side of the mountains?" Sam suggests.

“Especially them."

“Explains your policy concerning the Scribes."

“Thus why we also kept our selections limited to the men."

“Definitely a wise move. People would notice a woman missing under suspicious conditions a lot sooner than a man."

“Now basic survival dictates we extend the invitation to the women."

“My mind is having a little trouble with the biology involved here. Since your kind is obviously all male and don't make sperm any more, what point is there to acquiring female members now?"

Lucius retracts his hand and chuckles.

“We found out that changing a few willing women changes them completely into one of us. They cease existing as both human and female."

Sam's eyes got quite big in response.

“How is that even possible?"

“We are not completely sure and believe it is linked to the syrup's ability to change an existing man into one of us, via the same breeding process experienced in the dream. When you think about it mechanically, it would be easier and simpler to change a female to a male. Instead of the reverse."

“I'm not sure how to even articulate a response to that."

“Would it help if you eventually got to meet the women that have already been changed. Women that you may know?"

“That would actually be pretty awesome."

“I will see what I can do about that then."

“You do know that this changes a lot of things and possibly not in a favorable direction for some people. Ever since the alliance between the Anchor and Other people was established, there has always been this small disparity among the Anchor residents. As a result, the mountains became a dividing line between those that accepted it and those that thought it was a mistake."

“Those that don't care to associate with us, stick to the anchors on the other side. We are aware of this curious condition. As a result, we avoid them if possible and rarely encounter any of them."

“Of those rare encounters, how many are on peaceful terms?"

“All of them. Are you aware of their policy for exiling certain individuals?"

“Yes. It is a little known punishment enforced on individuals, that desire a change to our way of living for their side of the mountains and attempt to make it happen. They end up exiled from the anchors on that side and end up at the anchors on this side. It is known that some people over there feel it is too lenient, then take additional measures themselves and chase the exiles up into the mountains."

“Those people became part of us."

“Considering they were raised to think being exiled into the mountain mist was the end of their existence, I'm sure it was a tremendous relief to find out that it was just the beginning of a new one."

“Indeed. In return for them joining us, we have gained a lot of fascinating information about the developing uncomfortable situation with the Archive Council."

“Uncomfortable? How so?"

“They have been gathering specific information through the dedicated drivers of the Scribes that come over to this side. Remember, those drivers are their eyes ans ears over here."

“Us Rangers are more aware of this than anyone else. What information are we talking about?"

“The exiles."

“Now that is interesting. I wonder what them book worm cronies are up to."

“We wonder as well and have established our own eyes and ears on their side."

Sam folds his arms and smirks.

“No offense. But something like you is easy to spot. Your snooping would be very limited."

“We can take on human form when it is necessary." Lucius reveals.

“So not just some campfire story."

“No. This ability has allowed us to establish our presence among the stable boys and thus gain crucial access to the dedicated drivers. They are worked very hard and like to chat."

“So I heard."

“The driver that was supposed to transport the Scribe to Anchor Georgia yesterday has been working for many years. In fact the trip was to be his last one and then he could retire. One of us had a functioning social relationship with him, established under the conditions of him frequently traveling to Anchor Carol. This last visit from him was something of a revelation for us and presented an opportunity we could not pass up. What he had to say simply confirmed our concerns with the Archive Council. He also announced that his retirement had already been processed. All that remained was for him to find a new home and he preferred living on this side of the mountains in Anchor Carol. He has also persistently hinted to becoming quite disenchanted with the goals of the council."

“A sentiment that is shared."

Sam shifts his posture and puts his hands on the knees.

“A sentiment that was proving to be increasingly dangerous to his well being. His retirement was a welcome event. We rewarded his boldness over the years, by making him aware there were other like minded stable boys on the other side. They would listen to him and be of use to his travel needs, in return for letting him speak his mind about everything he knew related to recent Archive Council activity. When he then mentioned he was retiring, we decided to offer additional reward in the form of assisting with his relocation."

“Clever arrangement. You mentioned an opportunity."

“Yes. Through a series of conversations with him, we were made aware of the council's desire to know everything they could about us and were conducting special elimination evaluations of Scribes with very specific backgrounds. The Scribe that is traveling with you later today, was the one they felt most capable of carrying out the task of establishing direct relations between the council and my people. The nature of this recent development, in combination with what we know about the new motivations of the Archive Council, makes us uncomfortable. They knew exactly how to insure word of their intention made it to our ears and simply waited for our response to reach back to them."

“That explains the vagueness of what was written in the message scroll."

“We are aware of these curious things happening around us and decided to take action. The sequence of events that occurred yesterday morning is the beginning of that action."

'The embarrassing accident?" Sam hints.

“Yes."

“I remember no mention of anyone being hurt."

“He was not harmed. It was a prearranged scenario of a spooked horse taking off with the cart, while he was occupied with a road side piss break outside Anchor Carol. The horse was actually one of us and got a little carried away with his performance of fleeing the scene. The cart ended up completely destroyed. The rest went as planned and the driver walked on into town and reported the incident right away. Everything from there has proceeded as planned."

Sam folded his arms again.

“So what is the plan?"

“Making sure the Scribe doesn't return to Anchor Ken and joins us."

“You do realize something like this could put your existence in jeopardy again."

“We have reason to believe they don't have complete faith in this endeavor succeeding and thus why they chose this particular Scribe. He is not connected to any ongoing important research projects and is fairly new to the trade."

“They really have no idea what they are sending this poor bastard into."

“That is why we orchestrated the accident. This would force the condition of him seeking temporary transport and then get authorized escort travel by you to the the destination."

“Well, that was a little unrealistic of them."

“This we also knew. The only place that exists between Anchor Carol and Anchor Georgia along the road is Larry's farm. The Scribe would have to use that as a way point, one way or another."

“Oh wow. You really have no intention of letting the Scribe return to Anchor Ken. One night at that house and the Scribe everyone knows ceases to exist, while giving Shadow a new fuck toy."

“We had Shadow occupied with patrol duty last night. The Scribe will get changed later."

The reality of what is likely to happen on the planned excursion trip finally set in.

“Oh. Oh. Oh fuck me."

Sam then got up and walked around the table a few times, reviewing everything he had been told and combining that with what he knew his squad would be doing up in the mountains. He then set back down and looked Lucius right in the eyes, with an expression of total astonishment.

“You have any idea what it takes to orchestrate something this ambitious?"

Lucius open his muzzle to say something and was stopped.

“No. Wait. First we have the cute little spy network of planted anchor stable boys, that are actually members of your people. Then we have the singular and willing inside man feeding you the really important information. Next comes the clever little cart accident, to set things in motion. This of course is where I come into play and unwittingly help with the progression of the plan itself. That now brings us to here and the revelation that my entire squad is being implicated into this ambitious caper to... what? Oh that's right. Kidnap a Scribe."

Sam plops his ass back down on the stool and drops his face into his open hands. Lucius simply reaches over with a hand and rubs his back. Hank walks up to the table, with Drake right behind him.

“Is Sam okay there big white wolf?" He quips while picking up the empty bowls.

“He will be fine. He just needs a little time to process everything I just told him."

“Wait. You told him everything?"

“Most everything."

Sam's head thrusts into the air and he looks right at Hank.

“There is more?"

Lucius sighs.

“Oh, there is more buddy." Hank answers for the wolf and then walks away towards the house, with the stack of empty bowls and whistles to himself casually. Drake right behind him.

Sam watches them walk away and then catches himself lingering on the stallion's swinging balls. He briefly distracts himself with trying to visualize how Hank handles taking on an animal so... big. He then shakes his head and looks back to the wolf man. He takes a deep breath and exhales.

“I'm not about to play dumb and ignore the general version of how this excursion will likely proceed and end. After all, the Archive Council is giving us an entire week. Based on what little you have shown me about this other project, I'm expecting none of us coming back the same men and returning to one very changed town." Sam admits.

“Well, you know your own men better than any of us and we trust that you will know how to manage them on this excursion. Just simply be prepared for when the nature of the assignment itself changes. I could spend a whole day trying to explain what you will encounter, once you go beyond the established patrol barrier. But then that would only serve to make your job of preparing them for those encounters even more challenging. The only thing you really need to know, is that none of you will be harmed. Mentally and physically challenged... most definitely. But not harmed."

“Anything else I need to know?" Sam asks while looking up to the changing early morning sky.

“We have been strategically swapping out the Suppressors for fake ones, as part of our initiative to get you Rangers on board with us first."

Sam lowered his gaze back down.

“Along with select and obviously useful civilians of course." He finishes for the wolf man.

“Of course." Lucius confirms with a grin.

“Is Jim and Mark among the useful ones?"

“Jim is already changed and part of the spy network. One of the first ones. Mark recently ended up being useful himself. Jim is taking care of his transition to our people as reward for his dedication."

“No challenge with getting Mark to join. He was already a man overtly fond of stallions."

Both of them had a satisfying chuckle, before Hank and Drake reappeared. The man was carrying a stack of familiar looking clothes in one arm and boots with the other hand.

“There they are. I was walking around the table earlier and couldn't find where I had tossed them last night." Sam greets Hank and takes the clothes. “Any special instructions for me and my men?" He asks while looking towards the changing eastern horizon.

“Just follow standard Ranger excursion procedure and stick to the deer trails. That way things don't get interesting too soon. We know exactly what we are doing and have this thoroughly planned out. I will also be meeting you again later today."

E P I L O G U E

Sam gave everyone a hug and thanked them for the rather unique evening experience. He then proceeded to walk across the harvested hay field, towards a break in the nearby treeline. The path beyond it was a frequently used shortcut path that led right to the Ranger base camp. Sam found it particularly useful this morning, since he was not quite ready to put his clothes back on. He paused at the path's beginning and turned, to wave at his friends in the distance by the house. They waved back, before he turned and walked into the woods.