prologue
>a soft breeze blows luke warm air over your body
>you hear a guitar riff followed by a trombone and soon after singing
>distant, but pleasant
>the wind picks up as you realize it's Earth, Wind, and Fire's "September"
>you remember it playing last night, when you- oh god
>you shoot forward and fall onto the ground 
>you rub your hands all over your self, checking that all of you is still there
>your chest, arms, face, then legs 
>everything gets a check up
>standing up you realize you're under a tree, and your were sleeping on the hood of your car
"how the hell did I..."
>you think back to the last thing you remember before blacking out
>you were running a friend to the hospital because they'de been jumped
>the screeching tires, frantic breathing, and blood all stick in your mind
>but mostly the sudden hit
>you had been knocked off the road by a jacked up dualie
>they hadn't wanted you and your friend to simply escape betraying whomever they were
>you may have been innocent, but he was guilty
>steering wheel barely responsive, barreling towards incoming traffic doing 90
>September wasn't the best song to die listening to
>but you weren't dead
>you stand up, opening the passenger side door and looking for any evidence he'd even been your passenger
>nothing, not even a matchbook
>the 1988 Pontiac GT's paint is somehow still factory black, and no a single scratch in sight
>you're checking the trunk for your work gear when you look around, realizing something
>you're completely alone, and not in the usual poor sex life way
>the street not a few blocks from your work is dead, which is strange
>it's summer, kids should be drag racing smart cars near the park right now
>or getting mochafrappalaccachinos
>or telling you cassettes are gay, and that rock is dead or some crap like that
>the town's deader than your buddy is right now, wherever he is

hours later
>you've been driving for two hours, and no ones anywhere
>you knocked on doors
>went to gas stations
>even got desperate and revved your engine in front of the local meathead frat house, blasting a Def Leppard cassette
>nothing other than birds, a few wild cats, and a few raccoons
>you drive around town until sunset, calling anyone you can think of, texting people left and right, even going to the post office
>driving to the edge of the city limits you realize something's gone way beyond wrong
>the interstate highway ends about a mile out of town, and it just turns into dirt roads with power poles stretching out into the piney woods of Texas
>a feeling of dread rises in you, but you keep up hope
>most of the town has power, and your phone IS working, at least
>when you get home you turn on your computer to do more research, maybe get some real clues on what's going on

30 days later
>it's been what, a month now?
>no one's coming back
>your town isn't even on a map
>you aren't even sure you're in your own plane of existence anymore
>not that you care too much
>you've been living off of grocery store raids, scavenging your now abandoned town dry
>you didn't take anything that wasn't yours, or family goods at least
>an old .45 sits in your passenger seat now, saved from Honest Lou's pawn shop
>he told you he'd sold it already, but now you could just check for yourself
>you're doing alright for yourself, and really things could be worse
>you're going to just wait for someone to show up
>you know it'll happen soon
>well, at least eventually

Months later
>Stores are running dry now
>everything lost power... 40 days in?
>no wait, 60 days in
>it doesn't really matter
>you're eating whatever hasn't expired
>you're living out of your Pontiac now
>the back seat has tools and four spare tires in it
>you're holding onto your pistol in a detective's holster now
>trunk's full of oddball sized gas canisters
>passenger seat has all your food, and your personal belongings
>just as you're about to take a long trip into whatever direction that you think the closest town is in
>you're hauling as down the smooth dirt road for maybe an hour, when you see it approaching
>a black SUV followed by another two trucks and an ambulance
>their windows are all tinted just enough you can't really see who they are
>you slow down and get out, waving like a madman
>your saviors pull up near you and the driver of the convoy's lead vehicle gets out
>he's a young man, looks vaguely Hispanic
>"¿Hola, mi amigo. Cómo estás?"
>He looks very confused
>"Alright, do you speak English then?"
>he responds "that's not it man, just how long have you been in that town?"
>"I lost count, but... probably 6 months."
>he goes back to the car for a moment, puts a call onto a radio on the dash
>after a short talk he comes back and tosses you an ice cold water bottle
>you chug it like it's the last drink you'll ever have
>"Thank you so much, I needed that"
>you chuck the trash into you car and turn the ignition off, looking back over to see he's been joined by two other people now
>One's a very Cajun looking young tan man, and the other is a female tiger as far a-
>wait, what?
>the water filters you have been using to get clean water must have gone bad or something
>"this can't be real."
>the man who gave you a water walks over and pats you on the shoulder
>he assures you "this is as real as it gets."
>"alright. I need a solid explanation on what's going on then."
>he nods, and agrees on the condition you give him a tour of your town
>YOUR town
>you like the way he said it, with the emphasis on it being yours
>you explain that he's going to have to carry the fuel in your trunk so that you can let him ride shotgun so everything's easier
>he says "that's not what he was expecting, but sure"
>the female, you think at least, tiger grabs some fuel and you dump your crap into the trunk
>you move your own electronics a bit more carefully than his friends do while he buckles up as your passenger
>after making sure nothing was broken, you clamber back into your car and start the engine, doing a 180 and waiting until all of the convoy is ready behind you
>you take a more reasonably paced drive back into town, and after a few stops you reach where he wanted to be
>you spend several hours learning the basics in town hall while medical staff is looking you over, and some electricians hook up mobile generators to get city records back online

>"you're anonymous now" he states plainly
>you're here from your home, just like he is
>there isn't any known way home, and generally speaking, you're a lucky man
>you learn stories of others that have begun to arrive
>some people are found dead
>some appear during thunderstorms, falling from a story up or higher and get a rough entrance
>others are naked and afraid, in the middle of the night, unable to get help because they're so hard to find due to living in fear
>you appeared, fully intact and, along with a town in the middle of nowhere
>most people come here alone
>you brought a chunk of home with you, and legally speaking, it's all yours...
>following months of paperwork, and a lots of tests
>screw that
>"do we have a shortcut for that?"
>he nods "The factory you work at is fully intact, and emergency power kept the records safe."
>this sounds promising
>He pulls up records on his laptop and shows them to you
>he goes through a bunch of legal speak about how you are the highest ranked remaining worker in the chain of command as a foreman...
>blah blah blah, seeing as how the company no longer exists at all, you now own it all
>the factory will become yours
>you'll get to run a company
>you get to pick who works where...
>but if you do that, and settle with just that, the town isn't yours anymore
>you do get a lump sum, tax exempt, for your family property though
>You figure that's good enough and begin the much less stressful process of becoming head of a company
>he shakes your hand, and smiles
>"welcome to your new life then, anon."
>you smile back, ready to begin the new life in a new world

Chapter 1: Choking Chickens for a living
>you're sitting in the plant owner's office, your own office, and thinking of how life's shaped up over these 3 years
>you were told you were an early arrival, and one of the more talked about cases
>the town you signed away was bought into by the government, and a lot of houses got filled fast
>the town's population has one of the highest densities of Anonymous humans in America
>Anthros from all walks of life signed up to work in your chicken factory
>Conduit Farms chicken is making a steady rise in the charts, and things are looking up
>you got offered a second chance in a new life, even if you almost dying wasn't your fault
>all considered, you're adjusting well
>the agents who found you had given you a lot of advice and different documents to read
>"A Dissertation on apex predatory psycho-social behavior" read one
>"A guide to interspecies relationships" had been an interesting read
>"The Humanity of animalistic tendencies" had challenged your views on just how in control some anthros were of their instincts
>you felt kind of bad about that, since the book was full of case studies on what were deemed "problem patients"
>A female tiger whom simply couldn't help her predatory urges and regularly drew blood in arguments
>A chipmunk who had an uncontrollable need to hibernate for two months every year, which lead her to becoming obese
>A study even of a fox who was unable to love because instincts drew her to becoming a recluse to her lovers after every litter she had
>stacks upon stacks of literature to get you ready for this strange, furry world
>the female tiger whom you learned was name jasmine had bought you, in a flatteringly kind manner, non-official documents
>you flipped through the, with her eyes darting over you and the various paperbacks
>her tail twitched and her ears flicked when you were visibly eyeing "Apex Magnum"
>she was embarrassed that she bought last month's issue, with Trixxie Tackle
>a strong female tiger, whom gave tips on how to hunt for a good mate, and make him roar
>you gave her a hug and a thank you, concerned that she had strong Sapiaphilia (a fetish for humans)
>she obviously loved being your friend, but you wondered if she was simply lustful for a human embrace
>then again the case studies showed Sapiaphilia was normally extreme, so maybe she just fancied you
>she'd used trying to help you adjust to society as an excuse for a date multiple times
>every time you'd press her after the date on what she'd like to do though she began a big poofy kitten
>in her bravest moment, after teasing her at a bar, she slammed a shot of tequila and let you taste it in her mouth
>she held you tightly for what must have been nearly a minute, let go of you, only to give you a vicious hickey...
>and immediately after that she went back to her withdrawn, shy self and her courage she must have been storing for months was gone again
>she was, and in chance meetings even now, a wonderful person you'd happily let fully indulge herself
>if she could only pull the bravery together for long enough to say it and not just spill her Monterey pasta on your crotch at a fancy restaurant
>Cass, on the other hand, is a vixen in every single way that word can possibly mean
>a vixen working for the USDA, whom you'd had to gently move away from trying to inspect your meat
>on numerous occasions, to the point you told HR to ignore the reports and just let her slide by with it
>you know she's a good person, not like jasmine probably, but you don't want to make business personal
>she too, tried to go on trips with you, usually flirting in much more direct ways
>you went to Galveston with her once, and while staying in a hotel's business suite she ordered two light champagne bottles
>when it arrived she pulled one from the ice, still wet, and put it under her bikini top
>without using her hands she gripped the neck, uncorked the top, and pointer her muzzle to the sky
>though she failed to pop her bikini, which she most certainly was trying to do, she did neck it all in one go
>You hadn't had a shared bed in a while, but you really didn't want to make your life hell, so you compromised
>she got to cuddle, and (only) sleep with you, and she would stop grabbing at your crotch
>it worked for the rest of the trip, and only the rest of the trip
>you'd caught her multiple times, aroused in your office, and had to gently walk her out
>multiple times you'd found her panties in your top drawer, until you changed your locks
>now she could only flirt on the product floor, when you were too busy to even give her a moment
>you knew she was doing it because she was lonely, but damn it Cass, you're a professional USDA worker
>she needs to stop trying to grade your meat, and get a firm grasp on inspecting cocks

>you clear your entire mind of the two lovely ladies and think about the piece of paper in front of you
>it's an official statement on your role as the boss here
>you printed it out last week, but honestly couldn't bring yourself to post it
>you'd been way more hands on than other leader had been, and it showed
>no one had quit, at all, since the factory opened
>your anthro and human coworkers all got along amazingly
>after listening to complaints about how hard the body stocking like hair nets for the anthros were to use you bough reusable hazmat style suits
>each suit was sealed from head to toe, and was worn over normal clothes
>different jobs had different color suits, and you even installed an area in which you could clean the suits fully while inside
>you sigh, and nearly crumple up the 9th reprint of the same piece of paper you'd been dreading to post all week
>you know you need to do it though, so you put on your hair net and helmet, and strut onto the floor
>the break bells chime and everyone funnels through the cleaning area into the mess hall, to find you standing there
>"I have an important announcement to make ladies and gentlemen, get as close as you can to hear it well."
>wolves, foxes, humans, and beings of all stripes and spots pack in tightly near you, giving you two feet of space on any side
>"Today is friday, the last day of our five day work week. This is my last day providing overwatch to the factory."
>the crowd begins to whisper, and you hear a few concerned voices hoping you're ok
>you continue as they die down
>"On Monday, as the sole owner of Conduit Farms Chicken, I will no longer be working in this factory."
>you hear Cass let out a muffled "noooo", and she looked concerned
>"It has been a wondering working with all of you, and I shall continue to do so, but off site."
>"Any and all of the things I can handle, your supervisors can also handle. While I have certainly enjoyed working so directly with you..."
>you let out a deep breath, posting the piece of paper stating everything in simple English
>"I simply can't be here every night. I will still be managing the overhead, making sure machines are bought and repaired-"
>Cass interrupts "Do you HAVE to go? Please, we all respect how direct you've been in leading us!"
>You stare harshly at her, and her normally gently swirled tail goes limp, she knows you mean business
>"It is not necessary that I continue direct supervision, and I will leave this factory in all of your capable hands."
>The supervisors walk forward through the crowd of faces, and one by one shake your hand
>when they finish you shake the hand of your first hired worker, then the worker beside him, and continue until all 400 of your workers have shaken your hand
>you search for Cass, but she can't be found, she must have run off after you gave her that death glare
>it didn't hurt her feelings you figure but rather her pride, as she had asked it as more of a personal question 
>you head back to your office, through the wide steel hallways, and decide to take a detour off of the fastest route to console her
>when you walk in she's crying, and she snaps her chair away from you, trying to hide it
>she asks "why you came to gloat", and you gently move her chair to face you
>she has a few grey hairs peeking through her now running fur makeup
>you offer your hand to help her up, and stand open armed for a hug
>she cries into your shoulder, sad that you're going to leave
>she holds herself together to shakily ask if "it's my fault for you leaving the factory"
>you sigh, and wipe away her tears, providing her with genuine affection
>her tail is swaying a bit, and she laughs, choking back more sobs 
>"please, please don't try to cheer up this lonely old hag, I should have been acting my age this entire time."
>you put both of your hands on either side of her face, and look into her eyes
>"you're a lovely vixen, in your own ways Cass." She laughs at what she thinks is a mean spirited joke
>You shake your head
>"Cass, I'm a good deal younger than you, and it was legitimately flattering you tried to make yourself seem more spry to attract me."
>she's tearing up fiercely, and can barely choke out a "really" as she's about to break down again
>you let her go for a moment, and check the hallways near you, making sure it's clear, before coming back over to her
>she's beyond confused as you lean in again
>"yes really, Cassidy. It has always been flattering. But you have to remain professional."
>she nods, tears pulling away even more makeup and letting grey hairs peek out
>she begins apologize but you interrupt her with a finger over her lips
>you lean in an give her a passionate kiss, before leaning back out, admiring the shock on her face
>her tail is doing loops, and she's amazingly confused as you begin to speak again
>"Now, you have to remain professional after this kiss."
>she nods, before realizing what you said fully
>you kiss her much less passionately, but instead lovingly on the cheek, and then embrace her in a very strong hug
>her fur is completely poofed out now. The fishnets she uses to keep her leg and arm fur from getting loose are now ballooned out
>she's returning as much of your bear hug as possible, and when you let go she's almost fully composed again
>you wipe the tears from her eyes, and scratch her chin with a smile
>"No more funny business Cass. I know you're most likely lonely, but if you behave..."
>you rub the back of your head, almost embarrassed you're doing this after you told her to keep it professional
"I'll go, when possible, with you on dates. Nothing sexual, I'll just take you out to eat."
>Cass nods, her tail still flying around with an unusually spry speed for her age
>"If I get a mate, you'll probably be the third wheel..."
>she laughs, obviously just happy you gave her the time of day
>you begin to leave, realizing you have one last thing to do
>"oh, and cass?"
>she nods at you, and looks back over her shoulder at you
>"You can use my old office instead of this beat up offshoot closest on the condition you keep it classy."
>you walk out of the doorway, and walk make it sound like you're walking down the hall, just to hear her squee
>it causes you to chuckle, which she hears, and lets out a high pitched, more embarrassed fox noise
>it was somewhere between a "nuuu" and a "riiiii", leaning more into a "niiiii"
>you know she probably still has some deep down lonely base urges to get her hands on you still, but at least she'll behave about it
>as you leave the building, and walk into the parking lot you have a hilarious thought
>jasmine, on your next "not a date I swear" would probably get jealous of Cass when she brags about the date offers
>jasmine though, would probably fire back with her tequila tongue brawl story
>if they didn't join forces to pin you down and "eat you" it may just make them both a bit better off
>Cass would be enchanted knowing a young tigress was her competition, and she was on equal ground
>jasmine would probably get up the courage to ask you for a kiss, or something more direct than that
>for a moment, you realize in your free time you really do want to go on some dates, since it's been literal years since you had a chance
>you know if you actually find a mate, both gals would back off and leave you in peace
>you think more about them though, and your mind wanders as you step into your car, putting your seat belt on
>if you got them both into the bedroom...
>you shake your head and start the car up
>you'll wait till you're home, and alone, to really go into depth on that thought

Chapter 2: Oddballs and loose ends
>that felt good, though your bed feels empty in the so called afterglow
>maybe you really should invite one of them over one day...
>you think long and hard on it, and realize some inconvenient truths
>jasmine's a wreck, and far beyond too shy to ever start anything and take it anywhere
>she'd have to be drunk beyond all reckoning to even so much as take her shirt off in front of him, much less get in his bedroom
>she'd die of alcohol poisoning before he even got to tease her
>Cass, on the other hand, would most likely be happy to finally get your hands on you
>she'd had 3 marriages, 5 children, and was a grandmoth- 
>wait, that's not correct, is it?
>you flip open your laptop, close away all of the tabs that aren't music or chat forums, and acess her files
>Cassidy Sharon
>48
>Great grandmother
>you add up the numbers in your head, and it's right
>she had her kids at the young age of 15, her son at 16, and his daughter at 17
>Jesus, that saucy vixen was nearly half a century old, and chasing you like she was in her first heat
>At 24 when first arriving, you were now 28, 3 years and some months had passed
>you knew that Cass's marriages all ended badly
>her taste in men was poor, usually, to the point she was very badly hurting from them
>the bruises faded, the bones had long since healed, but her mind had deep scars she tried to hide
>she'd been spending the last nearly 3 years chasing you in what you realize was an attempt to simply feel alive
>no wonder she was crying
>that tender moment you gave her probably gave her a spark of hope long since burned out
>you sigh, opening up one of your tabs to go back to your Cantonese oil painting forum
>you click around, finding a hidden board, and open up a thread about dating anthros, and general tips for interacting with them
>if you're going to be dating, you will not be wasting your time with other humans, since there are so few
>as long as you don't get any fetishists interested in you, finding a real partner shouldn't be too hard, right?

>hours have passed, between shitposting, fapping some more, and ordering a pizza
>it's a comfy life in your shitty little 4 room apartment, and you like it like that
>your room is off to the left through the living room when you walk in, door for it a
>the guest room's door is a few feet to the left and directly in front of the entrance
>two feet to the right of that door, nearly smack dab across the entrance, is the bathroom door
>your life, in that regard, isn't too far from someone Jasmine help you to make friends with
>Jasmine gave you the phone numbers of a lot of other anons, to try to help you make friends
>it was a horrible idea, but it worked out a few times
>a total of 3 out of 40 isn't that bad, considering that only 2 out of the other 37 hated you
>the rest just ignored you, which really only put you back at square one

>their phone rings a total of five times before it's picked up and nearly immediately misplaced onto the ground
"H-hey man, what's u- STOP PLEASE, PHONE"
>you hear laughter and small struggle, as a female voice answers "Hey man, what's up?"
>you hear fluttering and a shushing sound as the other human is most likely being held down, or tortured
>you know this bat in particular likes being devilish, so it could be anything from jumper cables to fang nibbling
>"I was just calling to make sure everything was alright, and see how you guys are doing."
>you hear a giggle come out of her mouth, and the phone is back in human hands
>"W-we're f-fine man, just hanging out, you know, rela-(stop that)-axing and enjoy-hnnng the TV"
>you hear a loud wet pop and what sounds like a muffled moan. the bat is obviously being evil
>you choke back a laugh "I could call back later if you want."
>his voice sounds very tense and you hear gentle shuffling noises "I swear man, b-before this call she was-NO FANGS"
>you're muffling your own laughter now, and about to fail at doing so
>"Call me back when she isn't trying to suck your neck, ok man?"
>he's clearly shaking now, and the wet sounds are loud enough to be clearly heard
>he tries to stammer out a response, but you hear another wet pop and the phone is back in fluffy fingers again
>"I don't suck, I lick. And we'll talk later chicken man"
>she laughs and pulls the phone away from her ear 
>you hear a muffled "momma ruth punishes people that try to stop her from spe-" 
>click, the call goes dead
>your sides are orbital now 
>your call must have seemed like the perfect moment for her to be devilish
>if he behaved well "momma ruth" probably would have spared him the public execution
>oh well, the call can wait a few hours for them to settle down
>you wonder who else is awake at this hour, on a weekend
>you realize that it's friday night, and a certain feline is probably home alone, watching netflix
>crying into her favorite bag of beef jerky, or trying to build up the courage for a "non-date"
>it doesn't even ring twice
>"Hey! Did you need some help? Tomorrow's Saturday, that's when you, me, and romeo watch an old film together! D-did you need to cancel? I understand..."
>You don't need any help, you've been keeping that from getting out of hand all night
>"I wanted to see if you wanted to come over tonight, you know, let the TV run while we try to play match maker."
>you hear a jump and a bowl of popcorn she was balancing is now floor-corn
>"W-what do you mean a-anon? I-I... I uh-"
>you interrupt her, and respond with a laugh
>"Since the Cajun's sick and can't be with us, I figured you could help me look for some dates to line up."
>she's having a minor freak out, and you hear her tail knock an empty glass off of her table
>"W-we don't go on dates anon! Those are for you, to uh, learn about culture. Yeah! You like that kind of research."
>it may have been more Monterrey spaghetti she was dropping, judging by her response
>"With other people, goofball."
>she draws in a short breath and you can feel her begin to come back to reality
>"Oh, yeah. That makes sense. Give me an hour or so."
>you pick up a shopping magazine, and being the demon you are loudly flip the pages so she can hear the rustling clearly
>"No problemo, see you when you get here!"
>as you hang up, you don't even need to hear the fumbling she's doing, or see how poofed out she is
>as far as she knew you were taking an interesting in the female magazines she had brought you again
>you get up, going to your fridge and pour yourself a cold tea
>you doubt she had the courage to do anything tonight 
>besides, you have to keep things interesting from time to time, make sure she gets her heart rate up daily
>cardio's important to a healthy body, as is healthy eating habits, and a good sense of humor
>your pizza's warm, your tea is fresh, and you can't find your sides
>tonight's going to be great

Chapter 3: Small talk and large issues
>it's been almost and hour and a half, and Jasmine still hasn't shown up
>you scroll down thread after thread of human and anthro interactions online
>some posts are sexual advice, others tell you about people's experiences, and a hand full of them try to explain quirks
>you post a small and quick explanation of parts of Jasmine's interactions with you, detailing her shyness
>you try to avoid anything identifying, but you at least call out how she works for a federal 3 letter agency
>the replies are a pick and mix of retardation, decent insight and "FUCKER IN DA POOSY"
>you go over the serious replies and one anon thinks she may have suffered in her early life
>"predators, not all but most, tend to be more forward when they're interested in people."
>"Have you read Jonah Garr's dissertations on apex predatory behavior in society?"
>you send him a short reply saying you only knew about a single disseration, and he links to a free e-book
>"He wrote a second half in his later life called 'preying on predatory behaviour' that explains why his old writing isn't 100% true for all anthros.
>"She may have been abused by her parents, or been through some trauma in childhood that's made her far to weary of those close to her."
>makes sense to you. You've never asked about her childhood, but most of the time you spend together is spent on your life problems
>another person types out about how predators are usually cautious before a relationship begins
>you retort that it's been 3 plus years, and he honestly doesn't know what's up then
>sighing, and reading over a few stories people have written about their experiences, one catches your eye
>someone is relaying the story of another man who was dating a snow leopard, and posted pretty often about it
>he never gave too gruesome of details, but he made the knews at one point because his house got torched
>after that he didn't come into the threads too much more often, and if he's here, he's just lurking now
>you ask if they could confirm he was a full on Anonymous human case, and there's a bit of confusion
>some say that almost all humans are an anon proper, while others bitch about the name change they got
>a small flame war starts over the Anonymous Vs. Anomalous nomenclature, and someone tries to explain how it changed
>he goes into detail over the formation of the Bureau of Anomalous Human Assistance
>in short, while originally called anomalous, a fat fuck of a president renamed them after he flubbed lines on live TV
>"the walrus in chief" made them a 3 letter agency alongside giving them more jurisdiction
>he also had their guidelines written into a tangled mess, so while powerful the new BHA was a uncertain of their power
>making them into the Bureau of Human Assistance, or the "Big Horrible Accident", as another snarkily typed
>hearing a knock on your door, you knew you had to let the trainwreck continue without you
>jasmine enter carrying bags of hot food, a half eaten chicken tender hanging out of her mouth
>"I hrrd to grd frd. Thot yur wur hngr."
>she continues to munch on her chicken, setting down a bag that smelled like fire and death near you
>the only time you ever ate chicken was when she ordered it, ever day at work you watched thousands of them die
>you didn't care about them dying, really. You just hated to see shittily cut and prepared chicken
>Jojo's Bizzare Chicken-venture was amazing though, their cooks must have been made in heaven
>opening up your box of spicy ripplers, you laugh an notice she's playing with metal clackers
>"did you really ask for a toy? Those cost like 5 bucks."
>she just continues to clack them in hand hands, swallowing the tender she had been savoring
>"You're just mad because they got rid of the vanilla ice cubes for soda."
>damn right you were mad. Vanilla cubes were a fucking brilliant idea.
>"I'm going to pretend you didn't just insult culinary genius, and put something on."
>you put a boneless rippler into your mouth, and the spices crash against your tongue in a rush of hot bliss
>deciding the awkward silence isn't the best thing to have on in the background while you two eat, you open a tab
>you start up a playlist of old cartoon's you've both seen, and your ad blocker holds the front line while they cue up
>you aren't going to hear any stupid commercials or ads for how white your fur could be
>or even worse, what ciggaretes a man real man should be smoking
>futurama's theme plays through your bluetooth speakers, and you close your laptop so that the TV takes over
>you eat in a mutual silence, eyes on the television, as if you were both alone in the room
>as you eat your last rippler, and your mouth feels like it's been scorched by the sun, you look ast jasmine
>she's not touching her fries, and her mind looks like it's somewhere else
>you lightly tap her shoulder with your knuckle, causing her to jolt and snap back to reality "you ok Jas?"
>she nods, and hands you a napkin from her bag to clean your red stained fingers "just worried over romeo."
>he's been on sick leave for three weeks, and you think he may just be trying to get away from work
>he and jasmine live together, but it's obvious he has less than any interest in being around her 24/7
>you're one of the few people she gets along well with, considering how easily spooked she is with people
>"He went ahead and put in for his vacation at the end of next week right? That's a month and a half of free time."
>she looks slightly less concerned, but still very worried "True, but he's not usually so secretive. He may be bad-"
>you interrupt her with a laugh
>"Romeo's been shot before, Jasmine. The sniffles aren't going to kill him any time soon."
>she rubs the sides of her head, and combs her onyx hair back, her deep green eyes staring at you
>"doesn't mean he can't tell me what he's doing."
>she digs into her purse and pulls out a sleek laptop with the BHA seal on it
>it's an eagle holding a an olive branch behind a flag shield
>"Department of Homeland Security" sits around the decal, reminding you they're essentially an offshoot of ICE
>she logs in and begins to dig through files on her laptop, showing you a list of anthros that she's picked for you
>the file has been censored, but you're a bit creeped out about how quickly she got info on these people
"That's a bit creepy Jas. Did you just go through public files and pick random people?"
>her ear flatten and she looks away from you "n-no..."
>"then who are these people?"
>she gathers a bit of courage "They're ex friends of the BHA, or at least people I've had personal contact with."
>"Before I asked for dates, I hope."
>she stutters out and of course, and you genuinely hope she didn't just hit the random button for half of them
>at some point, you pass out on the couch, sci fi sound effects and cursewords rattling off in the background 
>you hear the occasional tapping of jasmine onto a laptop, but your dreams just find a way to add that in
>eventually the TV goes dark, and your dreams are the only thing you can hear anymore

in the morning
>hours pass in your mind, and you awaken and allow your eyes to slowly crack open
>the room is dark, and you feel warmth on your side, glad that jasmine didn't forget to cover you up
>actually, realizing the weight of your "covers" you are startled to find the softly purring tiger has decided to sleep on you
>your right arm is on her waist, and she's got her back to where the TV was facing
>looking down into the nearly pitch black room you manage to wrestle your left arm slowly free
>gently reaching down you open your laptop, and slide it closer
>it's barely 6 am
>you go to check your threads, and immediately something's off
>all of the tabs have been shifted just a bit, and they've been bumped from where you last remember them
>every single thread was being viewed for at least and hour or so after you were gone
>even the porn had updated with them
>but your laptop had been closed, that... oh god
>jasmine had decided to snoop on your laptop, and not only that, look at all the human on anthro threads you were in
>but... she hadn't left a note for you, or even seemed to care enough to head home
>she'd stayed the night on your couch, regardless of the raunchy images you'de been staring at, and people you'de talked to
>you even see a post where she's pretending to be you, and talks about how the BHA is like nuclear powered tug boat
>massive power, but can't get anything too quickly or with much real direction other than their unclear directives
>you can feel her stretch as she begins to wake up, and close the laptop silently, letting your arm drop to the ground
>you pretend to be sleeping as she gets up, and repositions herself to check the laptop and time for herself
>she doesn't even seem to notice the tab you left it on is wrong, and closes it after seeing the time
>she stretches out her back with a pop, and looking over at you, decided to lay back down
>she gently lifts you right arm and crawls under it, letting it lay down on her hip
>oh god boner, not now, please for the love of god not now
>she moves your other arm slowly under her, so that it rests on the warm fuzz of her belly
>listen here you fuckind bastard you better not dare-
>your thought is interrupted as she wiggles her waist just enough to cause you to lose self control
>comfy against your body, happily purring  in the fact you're alseep, your ticking time bomb inches forward 
>you try to pray it doesn't reach full mast, but you can already see the tent erecting
>as it pokes into her butt she shivers a small bit, and slightly shifts, and if thinking if she should get up now
>instead she just lays there, boner poking her in the ass at full mast, purring loudly enough you can easily hear now
>you can't even begin to describe the pleasure you feel right now, cuddling up against the big scaredy cat
>you look down at her, peeking into her shirt and noticing that she didn't even bother to wear a bra
>your boner twitches again twice and her hips push back and wiggle a bit
>you look back at her shirt, and can see it is beginning to get two small raises on the front
>you can't help but watch as another twitch causes them to become fully erect, making the fabric taut over her hard knobs
>resisting the urge to try something, but keeping the thought in your head that your dreaming arousal didn't spook her, you try to sleep
>part of you wishes you had stayed awake, as you experience a wet dream, and can only wonder how long you twitched against her, and how bad it got on her end
>oh well. If tonight's a measure of how brave she can be when she thinks you are sleeping, you may get the chance yet to catch her in the act
>or, at least get to watch as she resists her urges as best she can

Chapter 4: Did you know that Jasmine was inspired by the band Shy Tiger? Comment that fact and get a prize.
>you grunted, waking up to the tiger still on you, but turned around to face you now
>your hand was now on her hip, and your left arm on her round, firm ass
>her right hand was on your belly, her fingers just under your shirt, her fuzzy palm resting near your belly button
>her left arm was on your shoulder, and she was purring loudly enough to wake the neighbors
>looking over her body you noticed just how shapely she was, her figure more tapered than most tigers
>strong muscles you normally felt only during her spine cracking hugs hid under her soft fur
>forgetting she wasn't your partner for just a moment, you softly rub the fur on tail
>it was like stroking a bundle of feathers, bound onto a long muscular rope
>for as cute as she was, she was most definitely an apex predator
>your hand getting just a tad bit too close to the base of her tail caused her constant purr to turn into a trill for a moment
>she woke up with a soft groan, looking into your eyes "Morning, stranger."
>she stretches out on top of you, her hand running under your shirt and onto your chest
>you can feel her begin to stretch against you, her legs moving to straddle one of yours
>her strong hand grips at you while her left one begins to slowly slide down the side of your torso, landing on your belt
>you did it. you must have thumped her hard enough with your johnson to cause her to finally snap and get serious
>"this is a lovely surprise." You manage to say as her hand teases it's way along your inner pant loop
>"you kept pressing into me last night, and I tried to grind against you gently enough not to wake you..."
>she chuffs against your neck, feeling the heat of her breath
>"I couldn't solve it that way. The rubbing is just..." she cuts into your pants with her claw, clipping your belt off
>"I can't get enough... I'm hungry."
>as she begins to slowly unzip your pants and stare at you with her lustful glare, your head rolls back
>fucking finally. you thought Cass was going to drug and rape you before jasmine ever got the ovaries to do it
>licking your bulging boxers, she looks directly into your eyes
>"anon, you taste BRRRE BREE BREEE BREE BREEE BREEE BREEE"
>are you fucking kidding.
>ARE. YOU. FUCKING. KIDDING.

>your arm shoots out from under the covers, and you smash at the sound that awoke you
>your alarm shuts off with an harsh plastic crunch, and you glance at it from under your warm cover nest
>11am. That wonderful woman who was so thirsty she was practically leaking took you back to your room
>you sigh, and pull back the covers to start to fix your bed for later tonight.
>you're somewhat surprised to see a very small wet patch, and tiger fur in between the sheets
>huh. She'd actually had the courage to sleep in your bed, for a while at least
>she didn't have the courage to wake you up for a pounding, but maybe that's why she moved you
>maybe she got up the courage to put you and her in your bed, but then you didn't wake up, soe she gave up
>swiping some fur off the bed you're surprised to see how many black white and orange hairs dotted your bed
>was she shedding? 
>it wasn't even close to winter yet, so that doesn't seem right
>swiping the floof free of your bed, you decide you'll just wait until later to finish it
>you wipe some fur off of your arm and decide you should shower
>gathering up a fresh pair of boxers, jeans, and an obscure band T-shirt you head out towards the bathroom
>you stop and look at the couch, noticing that jasmine left a rough indention of where she had been with fur
>maybe she just hadn't brushed herself in a while? That seemed like more fur than other anthros left around
>you get to the bathroom door, and your hand is on the knob when you hear squeeking and gentle panting
>you better not be asleep still. You'de be furious.
>creeping over to the guest room door you can certainly hear it still
>you can hear the entire concert going on in the bed, the squeaking springs, panting, and a horribly wet shlicking
>holy fuck. she sounds like she hit her limit, and went to deal with it herself
>taking a risk and peeking through the small old fashioned lock, you catch a poorly lit view of her ordeal
>you can make out what looks to be a pink glowing tube in her hand, and she's staring dead on at the door
>your boner is telling you to rush in and leap on her, but your brain is thinking you should strip down first
>that tiny annoying voice in the back of your head tells you she looks like she doesn't want to be caught
>gah. if you could see her better you could read her facial expressions, and consider charging in
>you can't read if she's hoping you barge in, or fearful you could catch her
>not wanting to possibly spook her into leaving though, you and your pocket monster head to the shower
>you turn on the water, and for the last time try to get a read on how she's doing
>with the water blocking her out a bit she's really into it 
>You hear a faint "g-grip-p-p m-my- t-tail" and regret not jumping her and attacking her hips
>oh well. This shower should be wet and warm enough for now

>the entire shower you catch the occasional noise from inside of her room
>you're smashing the fash the entire time, getting more intense every time you hear something
>a few whispered words? crank the lever harder
>a volley of harder squeaking? one handed guitar solo time
>you fucking lose it completely when she moans about how fur on skin feels
>you're seconds away from finishing when you hear it "i-inside... please a-non..."
>you cum so hard your head spins and you aggressively grip the glass door handle so that you don't fall over and die
>while your logical centers are trying to explain to you why it was smart not to jump her your boner screams
>you think about how she goes crazy for the little 5 inch glow-rabbit she keeps in her purse
>grabbing your slowly fading cervix puncher you wonder how she'd handle you
>"she wouldn't be able to..." you smirk, getting out to dry off.
>dry enough, dressed save for your shirt you sit on your couch and open up your laptop to lurk again
>the only tab that updated since you last checked was the human anthro porn thread
>Stay classy, Jasmine.
>half way into typing out a post on how she tried to rub you down, you hear the guest room door open
>almost immediately you hear jasmine dart into the bathroom, and the shower clicks back on
>an intense smell of hot tigress hits you like a truck
>jesus, how long had she been at it?
>you enjoy the smell as it dissipates, posting your story and waiting for the responses
>you go through a back and forth with a lot of confused people
>some think she's purposefully trying to bait you into pouncing
>another person thinks she's just too shy to jump your bones, ever
>another guy thinks she is using the knowledge you could walk in any second to psyche herself up
>about 70 people are screeching you need to slam jam her clam
>you honestly don't know what to do, and continue to argue semantics until jasmine gets back out
>she no longer smells like she was just in a five feline orgy, and the gentle smell of lilac hits your nose
>stopping in the doorway, and staring at the scars on your chest, she seems awfully chipper
>"hey anon. Have you been up too long?"
>you remember for a moment that visible scars on an anthro are hot to most predators
>they weren't too many for a normal human, but any visible scar to an anthro was a lot
>all of the barb wire fenc jumping gashes you had on your chest was probably exciting her...
>you realize she gets braver when really horny, and normally she'd only glance at your bare chest 
>all the sex she was having by herself must have really thrown her timid nature aside
>you're glad you murdered your boner, otherwise you'd have flipped the table by now
>you tell her you only just woke up and showered, watching her chug a jug of tea
>taking the moment to ask her a question, you ask the least sexual one you can think of 
>"Are you alright Jasmine? The couch is covered in fur, and when I woke up in my bed I nearly coughed up a hairball."
>she finishes the jug, putting the jug into the trash, before wiping her mouth and slouching down on the couch opposite to you
>"You know how my fur always seems a bit off? Well, my latest fur dye fried my coat."
>she runs her paw over her arm, causing a small storm to roll off
>"I used to have a discoloration with my fur when I was young. I use dye to fix it."
>makes sense to you, but you still want more details
>"like, dark patches? Or dark orange here, light orange there."
>she shakes her head, saying it was much worse
>"I had a bunch of white spots all through my fur. I got it from my dad. It either goes away in later life, or it gets worse."
>she fishes a picture out of her purse, which looks like she got rolled through a cotton patch
>she'd be too hot to handle if she died her fur white, you'de be as nervous of her beauty as she was of you
>"I can see why you dye it then." 
>annnd there's some possible childhood trauma. Kids probably teased her about it a lot.
>"Kids are cruel, Jas."
>she sighs, nodding. "Little demons. The lot of them."
>she takes a peak over at your laptop, going from sullen to excited in seconds
>"ooh! Ooh! You know how that thread talks about the guy with the snep and crispy house?"
>she's really excited, pulling out her phone, and a GPS map of your town to another place a few states away
>"I mayyyy have tracked him down! Don't you dare say I'm a creeper! That's my job! Sort of. Not really..."
>you pat her on the head, getting a somewhat aggressive chuff in response 
>"So what then? I should head out on Monday?"
>her smile turns into a frown "Staying over was lovely, but I need to get back to my house."
>you start to realize she has a gentle smell of heat under her shampoo
>you grab on of her hands and squeeze it tenderly "you're always welcome here jasmine."
>she turns away, her fur poofing out, her tail rattling around
>"I-I can't... I'de love to... but I have to re-dye my f-fur."
>damn it kitten "that's a real shame then."
>you lean over and give her a peck on the cheek, catching her off guard 
>"I'll get dressed then, and maybe get there before it's too late to do anything."
>you take your laptop and head back to your room, putting a shirt on over your bare skin
>you decide to half ass your bed, and grab some essentials for the road
>your pistol, wallet, CC license, a few condoms (you never know), and your phone
>you also pack your plant manager outfit, which was an jumpsuit that read "PLANT OWNER" and a matching coat
>the big shield with a 4 point star on the back made it obvious it was a Conduit Farms outfit
>opening up your door and about to head out, jasmine steps into your path 
>"you don't escape that easily!" She says, sneaking in a kiss on your lips before hugging you and stepping back
>"You got me first, and besides, you need some good luck for the road."
>you laugh, patting her on the head again and starting your descent from the second floor to the ground floor parking lot
>you wonder how long she'd spend in your apartment now, just having fun alone
>you mindlessly shuffle from the stairs to the parking lot, your thoughts evolving into a dye'd white tigress going at herself
>you sit down for a moment, and think about your situation, and hers
>she was stubborn, but your compliments could easily reach her and get some leeway in some things
>if you worded it just right, maybe, just maybe, she would go white for a while
>popping in a cassette, you smile
>that might make her just the slight bit more confident, and she might finally get her hands on you
>or she'd be even more scared, you think with a bit less of a smirk
>you'de need to know more about her family before you really jump into that
>pulling out of the complex, and away from home, you hop onto the road leading  to the exit your GPS was pinging
>that's a talk you could try to have when you get back for now your mind was on finding the possible anonymous man
>if he was born here, you may be able to get a grasp on just how many humans are out there like you
>plus you could get tips on how to get jasmine to open up, since he obviously knew how to get a femme fatale into his bedroom

Chapter 5: On the road again, but with less starving this time.
>you'de been driving for close to 4 hours straight now, with no stops or interruptions
>the nonstop driving was really, really starting to kick your ass
>you spot a rinky dink 2 pump gas station, and pull up into one of the two open spots
>an elderly German Shepherd waves at you from in the gas station, and you walk in to talk
>"Howdy stranger, nice old car you got." He says, mouth sound gummier than you expected 
>"My son has one of those, yessir. His is red though, and he has more dings than your beauty!"
>you smile and laugh, knowing the old man was trying to butter you a bit so he didn't lose a sale
>"I'm sure I'm a bit odd with just how much care I put into it, but it's all I have left of my ol' folks."
>you take a shot inventory of all of the pre-packaged crap, bottled sugar, and piss beer the store has to offer
>it feels so much like home in here you can't help but buy 4 packs of gum, and an iced tea for the road
>filling up your tank from the 3/4 full mark, and getting a pink mouthed smile from the old man, you head back onto the road
>another 3 hours and you finally catch the exit sign for the city anon and Clara live in
>chewing on the last piece of your 2nd pack of "wumber's original marmalade chewing gum", you turn in
>this place isn't what you were expecting at all, even in your wildest dreams
>you see a lot of humans walking the street, anthros too, way more humans than you've seen before in one spot though
>you remember this city is one of the ones Jasmine talked about, saying it was a non anonymous human city
>in the back of your head you wonder how many people must have fled here after showing up, and how they made it
>this place would be a haven for humans you think, sitting in traffic and watching a human family quickly crossing the street in front of you
>continuing through town though, you notice cracks in the societal "blanket"
>a human gets into a fight with a wolf over him dating another anthro, while people just ignore it
>a group of three street punk lions are following a group of mixed anthro and human girls, literally cat calling and being a nuisance
>at another point you watch a gang of hyenas beating a human in an alley, hearings shots go off as you pull away
>this place may be a human hotspot, but it looks like things were tense here, nothing like home with the happy smiling faces

>trying to get your bearings, you pull to a stop in the parking lot of a grocery store near the arthros district
>your phone is taking it's sweet time to adjust your GPS location in town, and it's getting on your nerves
>stepping out of your car, and sitting on the hood, you walk towards the front doors, hoping to get help from a cashier
>you hear a screaming female voice telling you to "stop that kid!" as an anthro no younger than 6 runs closer to you giggling
>grabbing the kid by the torso and hefting him up, she looks a bit shocked at how fast you responded
>she runs over, abandoning her cart, and holds out her arms to get her baby serval back
>nearly losing the squirming kitten as he kicks at you and manages to bite your palm, she takes him back
>and immediately pulls a belt out of her purse with one hand, holding her kid's arms with the other 
>you can hear the good old fashioned maternal beat down chiding as the kid begins to tear up
>holding the two pencil sized punctures on your left hand, she says he only acts this way when he's not feeling well
>"I understand. Kids have a hard time behaving when they're sick, or just stressed out."
>she seems happy that you understand all children are 2 foot tall demons with a sweet tooth, and goes back to shopping
>walking into what you have now realized is an entirely anthro store, you simply ask if they can point you to the hospital
>a wide eyed wolf cashier nods and points at the road, giving some directions along with a bunch of hand gestures
>taking a free cloth rag someone handed you, you go back to your car and put your hands on the wheel
>now you don't need an excuse to go to the hospital and find Clara, at least

>taking little time in getting to the hospital, you flash your wallet at the receptionist in the ER and ask for some help
>the BHA badge in the wallet isn't exactly yours, but it was so rare seeing a BHA agent you figure no one would check
>actually no, that was wrong. Literally no one had ever checked, ever.
>you guess no one would second guess a human working in the BHA, much less one packing heat and wounded
>they whisk you through the red tape everyone else is wading through an into a room
>before the orderly can tell you a nurse is on the way, you ask if you can see a specific nurse
>"I need to see a snow leopard named Clara, wound aside this is still official BHA business"
>the orderly seems a bit confused, but nods to you "she'll be here in a minute sir."
>you dig around in the cabinets for wound cleaning supplies, only to hear the door almost immediately open 
>"I was told an armed federal agent with combat wounds needed to see me?"
>she looks incredibly worried, and has an emergency first aid kit and needle nosed pliers in her hands
>you laugh while turning to face her, showing off your hand
>"Sorry for the spook, mam. I got bit by a young cat on the way over, but only only managed to nip the top of my palm"
>she relaxes a bit and makes you sit down on the hospital bed, pulling out wound cleaning supplies
>"You know, agent, you don't need to get wounded to come and talk with people at the hospital."
>"force of habit." you say with a smirk as she puts hydrogen peroxide into your hand piercings
>you grit your teeth in silence as she goes through, inspecting your hand and wrapping it in gauze
>"So, small child fight club wounds aside, what did you need to see me for?"
>you pull out your phone, showing a picture of her significant other's old torched house
>"I need to see your... boyfriend. To ask him some questions."
>she goes from cheery to concerned in a second, she doesn't seem too fond of you now
>you start to try to explain your situation to her, but your phone starts to go off
>this is the perfect time for jasmine to call and make sure you aren't dead
>answering, and telling her you've just met with Clara, she demands to speak to her
>"I literally just... Fine, jasmine. I'll hand her the phone."
>you hand Clara the phone, noting her wedding ring, and feel like an idiot
>you just sit there, watching as they talk for a while before Clara excuses herself to the hallway with your phone
>oh great, now jasmine is having a moment with Clara. perfect.
>when clara walks back in, she seems a lot more confident and happy
>"Your... very close friend Jasmine told me everything, Officer."
>she uses her big floofy paws to put in an address for you, and hands your phone back with a smile
>she brushes a few tiger hairs off of your jacket's shoulder and pats it twice 
>"You better make sure to take care of her! She sounds like a really lovely person."
>what the hell did jasmine tell her? 
>she went from looking like she wanted to flee, to being beyond pleased to let you know where she lived
>"Thank you mam, and I'll probably see you again before I leave town."
>she smiles, leaving a few pain killers on the counter for you, and goes back to work
>studying the map on your phone, you get the feeling she thinks you and Jasmine are a thing
>that's fine for her to think, but you weren't hoping to get into the dating world for her sake
>you head into the hallway, noticing as Clara points at you, talking with a few other nurses in the hallway
>they giggle a bit, and she tells them to quiet down while you walk back towards the parking lot
>you hope meeting her life partner leads to a few answers, and not so much gossip

>one the way you take extra turns and going down roads you don't have to so you can really think
>this may very well be your first time meeting a non anonymous human, and you aren't sure how this is going to go down
>"Oh hi there, yeah I'm that guy who you talked with for about a month on that Laotian basket weaving forum. You know the one who was asking about what it was like dating a snow leopard, but seemed like he was really confused about the threads? Yeah. That's because I thought it was all some goofy RP thread. Now I'm here to talk with you IRL about how to score!"
>yeah. you're going to have to think of something better than that
>but that was the truth, to an extent at least, right?
>your interest in finding this guy was only half wanting to figure out what he knew about anons
>the other half was tips for trying to get Jasmine to open up to you, which she seemed to be slowly doing on her own, every few months
>was this really even about asking him if he was an anon?
>what did you care if your good friend was shy about wanting you and just stayed like that forever?
>you come to a stop at a red light and continue to ponder it all, feeling someone ashamed you may be here for dating tips
>wait, yeah. Why the fuck did you care what the tiger wanted when you had an entire world of people to try and hook up with!?
>you go through the green light, down another side street, just a few blocks from where your final destination was
>in the back of your mind you know why you care so much, and the thought slowly festers to the point you can't help but address it
>you want her to get that out of her system because you cared for her, maybe more as a friend
>she really was the best friend you could have, and you'de allowed her to cry on your shoulder many a times
>you didn't think you loved her, or even that she wasn't just lustful for you, but you'de never thought about that
>was she nervous because she was so tense trying to find a way to communicate her interest in you?
>you knew she obviously wanted to take you for a wild ride, but maybe that had a powerful undercurrent of passion
>you wouldn't exactly hate if she was your best friend on top of being your lover, she was cute and interesting enough to easily keep you
>what about you though?
>not only were you a fish out of water here, you were also vintage weirdo who still listened to cassettes and drove a classic muscle car
>she loved listening to your "hairy music", and the guitar riffs sent shivers up and down her spine, but what else did you have?
>you were a pretty boring guy, and didn't even know what she would like about you
>you never gave even half a shit for sports since it was mostly just there to sell people shit and let meatheads bash skulls legally
>you'de been hitting the gym to keep in shape, but jasmine still kicked your ass when you sparred
>your sense of humor was absolutely and completely horrible
>your favorite comedians were self degrading or would rip at society in ways that seemed almost like attacks on modern society
>you were just a weird anon trying to find love in this jungle of a world, and you brushed aside the thought she loved you
>you knew you had some kind of feelings for her, but it wasn't exactly clear what it exactly was you thought of her
>pulling up outside of your target's house you clear your mind of all of the confusing static and get your shit together
>you don't have time to bullshit around and wonder what she thinks of you at her very core
>you were here for advice to get her to opening up to you, and get answers on life, the universe, and everything
>getting tips to have her express her self would have to wait on the much easier existential questions
>pulling up into the driveway and making sure your jacket was hiding the heat you always carried
>you kept your family's 1911 in a pelican case under your bed, choosing to carry a Jericho .45 on you at all times
>it wasn't just because it was Spike Spiegel's gun, and that you got some kits to make it look the same...
>that was certainly a plus though
>"alright ground based non-space cowboy, time to go and knock on the door and get this shit over with."
>you tread with a pep in your step toward the door, knocking twice before realizing there was a door bell
>there was also a note above the doorbell "please knock, baby is sleeping"
>you felt like a bit of a idiot savant for not having smacked it like it was the exterminatus button on an imperial warship, and noted you probably shouldn't get loud with what you assumed was a baby snow leopard inside
>after a few moments you heard shuffling, and were pretty sure that the person on the other side was looking at you through the peep hole
>you open it up to see a toned youngish man with a stance that told you he was probably ex-military
>you show him what is technically your badge, and introduce yourself
>"My name is anon, but you can call me Mous. You're... strong? Strong as in your old nickname. I'm certain you're fit."
>he looks a bit confused, but his eyes light up and he smiles "People call you chickenman right?"
>"Mous. Please don't call me chickenman. I'm surprised you even know my later nickname. Thought you stopped posting a while back."
>he smirks, shaking his head. "naw. I just lurk now. Go ahead and come on in."
>you follow him into his house, somewhat excited at the fact he knew you since that would make things easier
>it also meant that he knew about Jasmine, if his smirk was anything to go on
>throwing that thought aside you sit on his couch, putting away your wallet and trying your best to look relaxed
>he brings you a diet coke, and you thank him before offering him a stick of chewing gum, which he pockets
>"So Mous, what brings you here? That BHA badge looks like it's a lot more serious than pussy problems."
>you run your hands through your hair "I'm going to have to start at the very beginning to even get somewhere"
>he nods, patiently waiting for you to begin, as you take a swig of the soda to coat your throat
>">Be me, pretty sure I just died, but waking up on the hood of my car under a tree, Earth Wind and Fire's September playing..."

Chapter 6: Pussy Problems
>you get through the short summation of your life, even letting him know exactly what caused your wreck in the first place
>he takes it all in and thinks about it "Lucky, in a sense, but I can see why you can't exactly tell what she's thinking."
>you nod. "She isn't so simple to really figure out, but before we can cover that I have some stupid official questions I'd get slapped around for if I didn't ask for a certain tiger's sake."
>you pull out a small piece of paper, taking another swig of your half full soda
>"1. Are you Anonymous?"
>simple question, and his response is immediate
>"I am not technically anonymous I'm just a human who was born here so I'm a descendant"
>you nod "This one's kinda already answered, but I'm just reading this piece of paper man."
>"2. Are any of your older relatives anonymous?"
>He ponders the thought almost sarcastically, then gives a direct answer
>"my grandfather was anonymous, he was transported during the other worlds era of "World War 2"."
>That surprised you, but with the disappearances and oddities during WW2 it made sense a few may have "vanished"
>"3.Do you know about the anonymous arrival (1500's being the start of any humans in the anthro world) theory?"
>He shrugs "I don't know the theory behind the transporting, I just know that im alive here now because of it all"
>You nod, crumbling up the piece of paper and pocketing it "same boat as you man."
> "Last stupid official question. 4. Do you know of any anons in the area that need help?"
>he actually takes a moment to think this time, before giving an honest answer
>"As for anons in the area a few college students are trying to start new relationships, and are unsure."
>you'll probably leave that to them, their hormones will eventually push them into one another
>you chug the rest of your soda, wishing it had been something a bit stiffer
>"now it's time for the stuff I'm not entirely sure I'm prepared to get answers for, but since I'm here I might as well go for it."
>you comb you hair back with one hand, putting your hands on either side of your nose and rubbing near your tear ducts in frustration
>"Since you know about Jasmine, far more than any one else would or will most likely, do you know how I can get her to open up?"
>you weren't even sure that you should be here right now, but as his guest strong gave you the courtesy of a response
>"people love to talk about themselves, its one of the things they are most comfortable with, once you show a little interest they unravel, after that its up to you what to do with the information they give you."
>that actually hadn't occurred to you, since most of your talks with jasmine were about you and your life
>any time you were on a date she was trying to explain the culture to you, or doing her best to try and familiarize you with their shows
>"I'll make sure to do that. Now that I think of it...How did you meet Clara, and how's that been for you? You only ever posted so much info, without the BHA you would be a ghost to me." 
>his face goes from more serious to a relaxed smile, and he looks like life has treated him well and he's happy for it
>"I met Clara at college after the Military discharged me for my eye injury, we were in a basic math class and we hit off with our love of video games, things have been awesome since"
>you were right about ex-military, which wasn't too surprising since it seemed a lot of humans were floating towards working for the feds
>"I have one last, and final question. I'm sure you already know what it is."
>he shrugs "Not entirely sure, but I have a pretty solid guess."
>you clear your throat, and look down at your steel toes, unable to catch his glance
>you refuse to recognize the fact that you're blushing as you talk, and the embarrassment is going to kill you
>"I feel like I'm going crazy a bit over this, but do you think Jasmine has Sapiaphilia, or that she actually likes me?" 
>he lets out a light chuckle, and it causes you to stare at directly at him
>you weren't expecting such a confident slip out of him, especially with what he knew about her, and how she acted
>"If she took the time to research human and anthro relationships she obviously must have an attraction beyond Sapiaphilia, sapiaphila is just the feeling and the most basic desire; Actually learning what humans like via research and even just being in your place so happily and often with your smell, since felines do have a much stronger sense of smell than dogs after all, means shes far more attracted to you than you even know."
>your stomach lifts up, and you feel a burden lift form your back, even if doubt is at the very back of your mind
>"Thanks strong. I've felt like a madman trying to read body language I just don't fully get. I mean... I know on some level she's always been interested in me, and she's always been super interested in my well-being, but she's such a shy kitten about everything that I just don't know how to approach her about it. If I was too direct I know she'd pull back out of nervousness, but just sitting here waiting for her to take years at a time to get up the courage to admit we've been on dates, and she has an interest in me outside of friendship..."
>your head rolls back, and you let out a long deep sigh. "I just needed to hear someone else, since I've not seen signs of relationship stress before, and I've lost people I could have loved to it, or didn't realize that the relationship was already all but dead. I've actually tried to date like, 5 different girls since I got here. She doesn't know, but the only sexual contact I've had since I got here was road head from a cheetah who I learned had Sapiaphilia so bad she took meds to keep her pants on. Haven't really felt too good about that, since I feel like I was using her without realizing it, but now I may have a chance at a real relationship."
>you pull the crumpled up piece of paper back out, ripping a clean strip off and write your phone number down for him
>"This is my personal number. You call this if you need anything. If I can't get it for you, I have friends in the BHA that'll do what they can for you."
>your face lights up with a cocky smirk "I know a few people who could babysit if you ever needed a date night as well, so don't hesitate to blow up my phone when you need a favor. I honestly can't even begin to explain to you how nice this is to have someone help me and not feel like a nut bar."
>he keeps your number, and nods about you mentioning favors "If I think of anything, you'll know."
>with that you say your goodbyes, and leave for your car
>sitting down in the diver's seat you start it up with a solid grasp on what you are going to be doing next

>it's a bit late, but not quite 8 PM yet, so you head towards the college and walks slowly towards reception
>the campus is way nicer than you'd suspect for such an integrated school, remembering your years way back when you tried to go Lamar college
>that was the biggest shit show you'd ever seen, with gang members around every corner, and a glory hole in every other stall
>someone even had the balls to drill a glory hole behind one of the soda machines which was on the other side of one of the small private teacher break rooms
>apparently whichever teacher it was on the other side would do her side work for free, so at least whoever did it has bet on the correct room to drill into
>if they had drilled into one of the two ex-navy PE teacher's offices they would have probably ended up with their dong in a cast
>your mind snaps back to attention as you recognize as group of three lions from your earlier drive walking towards you, in your direct path stopping you from reaching the reception desk
>one is carrying a bat, while another is carrying a sack of something, and the last one just has their hands in the straps on their backpack
>"hello there, you boys need some help?"
>the break up from the tight formation, one of them taking your left, one of them beginning to circle to your right
>"Saw that nice car of yours, and was wondering if you could take us for a ride." The largest one says, directly ahead of you
>you don't have time for this shit, and pull out your badge and gun
>"BHA. Step back and away or you might not-"
>the two lions that were going around you throw their hands up,making sure to get back into your clear line of site and the one in front of you pulls out his wallet and tosses it at your feet, the bat rolling towards you a second later
>"We don't need any trouble man. We just don't have a ride, and we were hoping you could give us one! Don't pop me man, I'm fresh out of carpentry class!"
>the one with a bag drops it, and you hear heavy books clack on the sidewalk
>they all looked terrified of you, and you realize you probably shouldn't be so tense just because they were predators
>you knew jasmine, and she wasn't like that. So it was sorta rascist to assume they were a gang
>or was it species-ist? Anthroist? 
>it was a bit rude, whatever the word for it was
>"Sorry, just a bit tense. I heard someone get shot today, and watched two wolves beat the shit out of each other over petty bullshit. If you guys need a ride I have room in the uh... (whip? yeah, that sounds right) whip, for all three of you."
>you holster your pistol, picking up the bat and wiping it off, looking at the engravings
>they're absolutely stunning proper african tribal art, ashanti tribe if you remembered freshman year cultural studies
>you toss the bat back to the lead lion, getting a brace mouthed smile from him
>the other one checks his bag to make sure his advanced placement books were all in order
>the one with the bag is visibly shaken, and his pupils are the size of bottle caps
>great, you were picking on the fucking nerds. Good going Chad Thundercock.
>you walk slowly back over to your car and the squeeze into the front and back seats
>they all seem to calm down a bit when in your car, and they're more or less stunned by your car's interior
>you hear whispers in the back of how they never got to ride in such a nice car, or even see an older car not in shambles
>you laugh and pop out a cassette from underneath the driver's seat
>"you boys ever listen to any old classic rock?"
>you get three solid no's, and one of them asks what makes rock classic versus just normal rock
>you get excited, and start to explain some of the rules for what "classic" rock is vs normal rock, and throw a "best of" mix tape of everything from Hendrix, to Zeppelin, with a bit of random bands throw in like some original promotional EP's from Ratt and Dokken

>they originally just wanted to grab some food from any fast food place you'd ride them by, so you also introduce them to the burger and shake diner experience
>it's about 8:30 when you roll to a stop near the dorms on campus, singing together to Rush's "Limelight" while they each played an air instrument
>they each pile back out and their leader, Clyde, leans in through your rolled down side window to thank you for the ride and great time
>you remind him of your tips for getting the girls to answer on about their interest in them, and he nods, heading off in a group discussing how lucky they were to find a cool guy to get advice from
>you? cool? 
>they must have confused you with someone else
>heading back to reception to ask someone who works on the college's help line if they know of the room numbers of the local anonymous students so you can talk with them
>a very waifish female cheetah literally rises from under a landslide of random assorted documents, chirping at you "*Chirrup* I'm awake. I swear!"
>you can't help but giggle as she scrambles to rapidly move papers, so they don't fall off of the desk and ruin her night, since she is probably going to be up all night working to catch up on them
>"I was going to ask if you could point me to where your local anonymous students are." 
>You, feeling as if you should wear it on your jacket for how much you flash it, pull out your badge once more
>"Oh god! Did Micah do something stupid! I told him to behave! HeshouldstopdoingallofthatonlinediggingitcouldgethmintrublnthnIcunttlhmIluv-" 
>you snap your fingers to get her attention, and she nearly jumps out of her seat at the sound, chirping nervously again
>"He's fine! They should all be fine! I just need to talk with him, and the others."
>"Library! *chirrup*" She says, trying not to have a breakdown
>you walk over quickly, leaving her to have a freak out, and probably eventually calm down
>a group of three young human males are sitting in  a corner, focusing on computer images and throwing banter back and forth
>one is wearing a beanie, and his hair is poking out from under it just enough to know he isn't bald
>the one to his left has a short and tight military cut, and is wearing old surplus
>the one furthest to the right is wearing plaid, and one of his arms is a prosthetic
>you tap him on his real shoulder, ignoring the straight up porn they're editing on their computers, and throw your badge on his keyboard
>"BHA. I was told this is where all of the anonymous humans are?"
>you watch as the other two rapidly minimize their windows, whispering about how the feds found them and how their patreon art zip files much have been traced back to them
>"Y-yes sir. Just us. Last year about 5 other anons graduated. We're all that's left."
>Not surprising so few were in town, nor that they would all buddy up
>"Which one of you is Micah?" You say picking up your badge, hopefully for the final time today
>the middle one with the beanie responds that's his name
>"the secretary cheetah in there was very concerned with your well being. Go talk to her. She has some strong feels for you, and I assume that's goes both ways."
>he quickly saves his images to a USB and bolts
"Alright iron man, you next. You got anyone to party with tonight?"
>he stammers out about how someone invited to stay the night and study, but he told them he'd be in the library for a while with his buddies
>"Good job, Casanova. You better go and accept that invite before she gets too bored and lonely."
>the BDU wearing sole remaining human thinks about what he has going on, and takes his files and leaves on his own
>"I was an idiot to not realize she wanted me to exercise HER abs. Thanks for the heads up Mr. Fed."
>you nod and walk around campus until you find a vending machine
>you put in some quarters and get yourself a nice, refreshing Diet Dr. Pepper™
>chugging the liquid form of victory from the 20 ounce bottle, you walk back towards you car. 
>you see a car in a nearby parking garage bouncing up and down on the shocks, hearing distant sensual groans, moans, what sounded like dubstep (or a fax machine having a seizure), and... chirps?
>Good job Micah, hope you make the most of the education system as well as your car's back seat
>finally sitting in your car's driver seat, having done even the optional side chores you didn't exactly need to complete in order to skip town, you check your phone for the time
>12:52am, just a bit under an hour after midnight, and a the start of a new day
>the smart thing to do would be to find a hotel and buy a room so you could sleep and relax
>your brilliant self decided sleeping anywhere but your house was some kind of monstrous crime however, and you pop another stick of gum into your mouth
>you decided to wake up a bit though, and pull to a stop on the edge of town, open highway right in front of you
>you give a proper fucking rev to the engine, and 800 horses scream out from under the hood
>your engine had gone to shit not long after arriving, and pulling some favors you managed to get your hands on the next to last V8 Pontiac were making for their next sports car
>you had most of this car rebuilt from head to toe, favor by favor by a certain jackass who all but cranked your neck about getting his... girlfriend? Fucktoy? ... Whatever she was, a job
>there were other favors you helped him with, which wouldn't be mentioned in polite company, but in the end you had your car
>new frame, engine, wheels, brakes, lights (though you kept the doofy retro-futuristic pop up feature), seats, and even some fucking anti-bounce cupholders
>the only thing you didn't have the balls to gut was the dashboard, which you instead had dutifully restored
>you felt somewhat bad about usually just putzing around in it, since the car was only technically even the original model at this point
>but tonight was different, and by whatever heavenly force put you in this new world, you were going to rip ass down a fucking highway tonight

>you had hundreds of miles rolled off today
>your car spits acrid smoke as it blasts forward onto the open road
>signs lose their meanings, minutes tick away. Dirt roads to interstates, you felt like you must have drove them all
>the only thing you feel like stopping for are the four basic metalhead food groups
>cigarettes, and burgers, caffeine, and alcohol
>drive until daybreak, always on the go
>you remember your youthful adventures in this old bucket with a smile, which are much like tonight
>life on the freeway, night shift till dawn patrol 
>"Driving fast makes me feel good" you howl like a hungry wolf, feeling like the speed of light trapped was under your hood
>even with your dangerous and rapid pavement assault, you only cleave 2 hours off of your commute
>you never caught the sight of any cops, or they simply didn't have the balls to try to catch up with your black streaking demon
>letting all of the power rest again, you pull to a stop in your parking spot, grabbing a bag containing... 
>two greasy all american burgers that were probably more chemical than beef, which made them all the better since you fucking loved vintage Americana trash
>a twelve pack of rip its, since you weren't sure if you would have the time to sleep before a certain feline decided to break back into your house
>a crate of mystery drinks, which you bought on a whim, since it was like a big ol' loot crate for the alcoholic side of yourself you kept shoving back under the "I need a job" trap door in the back of your head
>and an entire display case of candy cigars, because you were obligated to fill out all of the food groups, and you didn't smoke except for major celebrations
>haphazardly balancing your crap in one hand you head back into your apartment, carefully setting it down and placing the goodies in their various proper places
>you're about to throw your clothes all over your living room and walk into your room for the nightly "wank and then cry yourself to sleep" routine you had grown accustomed to when you get a strange feeling in your gut
>your living room is still a horrible shitty mess, exactly like you left it
>the pizza in your fridge you were going to throw away was gone, as if someone had eaten it
>the guest room was not only still a mess, but the door was cracked and it the harsh odor of feline heat was blowing into the living room
>before you can even begin to think about why everyone's favorite kitten left in a hurry, your bedroom door opens and a groggy cat wearing nothing but a hoodie you had in your closet saunters out
>"what's the fucking racket abo- oh. I uh... I didn't expect you... to come back at all while I was here."
>her fur is bright pink, and she has what look like a pair of cheap sunglasses covering her eyes
>she feels a gentle breeze from the open front door, and realizes you have been able to see more than one pink cat for as long as you've been staring
>she darts back into your room, and you hear her screaming into a pillow
>fucking great, 12 seconds of being home and you've already made her have a panic attack
>under more optimal circumstances you'd spend a while talking through the door to coax her back out
>you're tired as shit though, and barge into your own room to find her cowering under you sheets, peeking out at you with a somewhat shocked expression
>"Look Jas. I get it. I saw pink fuzz. That startles you,and you didn't mean to do it, but honestly with me waking up to cuddling you the other night... I could care less if you're in my bed or not when I'm sleeping in it."
>closing the door behind yourself, you stumble around your room, pulling off all of your own clothes save your boxers, and climb into your bed
>the sexual thoughts swimming in your head would normally make a boner blast through your underoos, but you're tired and self conscious enough to make sure it stays under check
>jasmine doesn't smell horribly of hear, shaking with tension as you cover yourself and lie down on your back beside her
>she nervously scoots away form you, but your sleep deprived self has had enough bullshit, so you turn onto your side, grab her by the hips and force her closer to you
>she gasps in a mix of excitement and fear, and you feel her shake even more as your hands slowly crawl across the fur on her sides, her back against your chest
>you gently let your right hand slide under and around her, gently grasping her belly, while the other one goes above her chest and strokes at her chin
>slowly but surely she begins to relax, and eventually purr against you
>her joyous vibrations reverb in your chest, and you can feel them slowly making you drowsier, and comfier
>"Goodnight Jas. If you want to go back to your room when I pass out, feel free..."
>you rub her belly up and down, minding not to get anywhere near anything sexual with her
>"but you make an amazing cuddle partner."
>you aren't sure if she responds to you as you drift off into dreamland, but you can feel her body heat stay with you under the covers the entire time you're asleep
>this definitely wasn't what you had planned in trying to get her to finally open up, but it seems that in an unlikely event, your "I give negative fucks" sleepy attitude and loving nature simply forced all of the fear and restraint away from her for long enough for her to also throw her inner voice to the wind and just enjoy it for once
>sometimes the best plans are simply not having one, it would seem.

Chapter 7: Best of friends
>your bed is an incredibly comfy and warm nest now, with the tiger still huddled up close to you and purring fiercely, even in her sleep
>her tail has wrapped itself around your leg, and she's pressed up into you as closely as can be, enjoying your warmness and softness as much as you were enjoying hers
>you slowly and gently move your hands in order to scratch her chin, and rub her hip so that you can gently wake her
>her purring intensifies, but it seems that she's either still sleeping or just enjoying it so you slowly work your hand over to her tail and brush it very gently and carefully
>her ears immediately perk up and she tenses for a moment, obviously awake now but not telling you to stop, or even moving much as if she's unsure if you should continue or not
>you however, have decided to continue to lightly brush her floofy brush of a tail, and she doesn't seem to have much of an intent to stop you from doing it
>your hand carefully and slowly continues to slide up and down her tail, minding not to get too close to the base, getting a chorus of purrs with every second you continue to rub as close as you can get away with to her erogenous zones
>finally letting her tail go, it gently uncurls from your leg, and she stretches out with a yawn, opening the curtains to your room to allow light in
>the afternoon sun floods into the room, and you begin to make out her form as your eyes adjust
>her shapely frame is perfectly kissed by the sunlight as she stretches out and basks for a moment in the light, letting her nude body catch rays that only serve to make her look more heavenly
>you take a moment to think and realize she's a properly beautiful creature to you, her 5'11 frame is a fair bit shapelier than you figured when she had clothes on
>she has an hourglass shape to her, but underneath the basics of such an exciting shape is a much rougher body being hidden by her soft fur, which the light is doing its absolute best to push away and show off her toned muscles underneath
>she is most definitely still an apex predator, and if her strength and muscular structure were anything to go by, the only thing holding her back from being a perfect 10 was the fact she was so nervous about social interactions outside of work
>and yet, here you were
>she was basking happily nude in the sunlight after you just got away with brushing an area most people would get beaten for even touching; the brushing had followed an amazing night between you to as well, since you're pretty sure you hadn't slept that well since you got here
>You smile, and decide to tease her "Was it good for you too?"
>she lets out a sharp giggle, and leans back onto the bed, one arm covering her chest
>"That was the absolute best sleep I've had in ages. You pushed your luck pretty far, but I think I'll take you up on the cuddle offer."
>she moves her arm from her chest, and slowly motions over the rest of her body, before using it to cover up her crotch, leaving her chest exposed
>"You behave enough, and I'll let you brush my fur like that more often."
>she gives you a gentle smile and moves to get up and out of bed, moving about the room without her hands covering herself at all, your eyes looking away out of respect for her
>wait a second, she didn't say you couldn't look, just that you had to behave...
>you slowly turn to watch her searching the room with a minor huff or two as she moves some of your dirty laundry on the floor hunting for her clothes
>she picks up one of your shirts and gives it a sniff, throwing it over into a pile near your clothes before going back to the closest she had been hiding in
>she looks inside before having a eureka moment, and bending over to pick up her clothes, trying to take her sweet time gathering all the things that had spilled from her pockets and putting them into her purse tucked just out of sight behind the doorframe
>you were staring right at her generously firm and shapely ass, watching her bountiful rump wiggle to and fro while she picked up clutter from the ground and placed it back inside of her bag
>suddenly, without warning, her tail went from carefully guarding her pink lips, to exposing them to the air and almost waving invitingly at you while you take notice that she's got a very gentle wet streak making small sticky strands between the two heavenly slips of her labia
>she must have come over at the start or near the middle of her heat, because she'd been here and horny for three days now, and though she was trying to hide and control it, she still had her usual unstoppable horny urges as long as she didn't deal with them
>her tail puffs out and she huffs in annoyance as she seems unable to locate her panties, tail angrily swishing up in the air and honestly making you wonder if she was doing this all on purpose
>your eyes continue to wander until she pulls a pair of shorts up, beginning to stand back up and crack her back, causing you to reflexively turn your head away hoping she hadn't noticed you gawking at her nude form
>your face is stuffed into your pillows when she looks over you, and you hear her let out a small thank you alongside a comment about how you're a true gentleman
>you're a bit busier trying to hide the screamin' demon under your boxers to really pay her back a compliment when she leaves the room, and she yells a comment about making linner for the two of you for a change
>linner? Lunch dinner? That sounds great, actually
>you throw on some pants and a t-shirt after forcing your way out of bed, making sure to keep the beast snugly locked away behind the zipper and under your boxers
>she may want sausage for breakfast, but you had the patience to wait until she had her nerves up to ask for it
>you sit down on the left side of your couch, enjoying the small moment of rest and thinking about how life was seeming to shape up for you
>kitten who was finally brave enough to sleep in your bed with you in it, an old vixen whom you may have finally shook off, a new anon to talk with from time to time, and a good amount of uncertain booze from the old man who sold you that weird gum you wanted more of
>you wonder about how your old family would have made it in this place, and a suddenly sad streak hits you, making you feel incredibly depressed 
>literally everyone you knew was gone, dead, or simply unable to be reached; your entire past life, save for some spare items you had with you in town, were unreachable in the most literal sense
>Jasmine seemed to take note of your one-man pity party, and sat down near you setting down your two hamburgers on plates in front of you
>without a word, she pulls you in onto her shoulder, and you can't help but feel the need to cry 
>you’d buried yourself in your work so much you only ever thought about what you lost on the way over, and the tears flow like rain as you sob into her shoulder, gentle pats assuring you everything will be alright
>you aren't sure how long you moped as she combed your hair, waiting for you to finally calm down so she could ask you what was wrong
>you spill your guts like someone rammed a claymore through your chest, and just ripped it out through your hip
>"I just can't remember them all. My friends. Family. I can't always remember my mother's voice Jasmine. I know how she spoke, but by god if it doesn't hurt to know that I simply vanished into thin air, and everyone who loved me is slowly but surely going to be less and less of a memory in my mind..."
>you try to get up and away from the large feline, feeling as if you're just a stone's throw away from making her uncomfortable to the point of pulling away from you, or finding an excuse to leave
>the steel grip that pulls you back in for an almost vicious hug tight against her own body is surprising, if not the most comforting thing you have ever possibly experienced
>her gentle voice flows like a silk ribbon behind a gentle breeze, her whiskers gently brushing your face as she whispers gently into your ear
>"You told me that you would always let me sleep in your bed by your side. That's something I didn't realize I had ever wanted from you, to be so close to you, and able to cherish a pure and innocent moment with you any night I choose. I might not have the courage to sleep in your bed every night, but I'll certainly let you pull me into it. I trust you, anon. and I want you to know that I will afford you the same level of trust with anything."
>she gives you a very gentle nuzzle on your neck, and begins to purr with you in her arms
>you move your arms around her so as to be able to give her an embrace fitting of such a loving statement, and she happily submits to your counter hug with even more purring and a deep smile
>after a while of just lying there and cuddling, you figure now is a better time than any other to ask the question you've been meaning to ask her, especially since she had pulled you into her comfort zone
>Hey, Jas. I have just one thing to ask you. What am I to you?"
>she gently runs her hands through your hair, and gives you a somewhat toothy grin
>"I don't think that there's a word for bestester friend, anon. So, you're my closest friend I could ever hope for. You've put up with my shit for long enough that I finally realized I need to pull myself together around you, at least a little. Y-ya know. "
>you pull your body free from her embrace enough to just be leaning on her shoulder, and ask an almost predictable follow up
>"So what does that make you to me?" You say, with a gentle drip of sarcasm coating your words, cutting through the previous tension and sadness like a knife
>she pulls your hands away from her sides, and places her hands flat against yours, fingers locking together with yours, her fur ruffled as if she was flustered
>"well anon..." she says, voice barely audible even in the still air
>"I'm a jungle cat, you goof!" You're shocked as you are suddenly very literally floored because she pushes you off her shoulder, and down onto the carpet between the table and couch
>she starts to laugh, pinning you to the ground with her hands under your shirt "I'm a very dangerous predator!"
>she growls, hands moving from your chest to the floor, her mouth darting to your chest and blowing a thick raspberry over your sternum
>"DANGER CAT STRIKES AGAIN!" she screams, blowing more raspberries as you try not to shout your giggling frustration into the air, and push her weight off you
>she manages to pin you completely down with her arms though, and blows a very long raspberry on your neck, before nibbling at it for a few moments
>the nibbling is much gentler, and she continues to do so after licking your cheek, with a gentle tremor of a purr sounding from inside of her chest
>building up courage, with her breath gaining just a bit of a heat and weight, she suddenly latches onto your neck and delivers a might strong hickey, leaving a clear wet spot on your neck
>the gentle fur on her belly is resting on you, and the soft warmth only makes the experience so much more enjoyable for you
>you feel her hands slowly move away from your arms, and back onto your chest as she seems to finally be building up the courage in the perfect moment to finally let the nagging voice in the back of her head have its way with you
>her breath is gaining heat and weight by the moment as she begins to gently and carefully plying her hands over your soft skin under your shirt, tracing the scars that wind it carefully and purring even more harshly by the moment
>she's really having an enjoyable time of it, from what you can tell, and you hear a very gentle noise of her shorts oh so carefully and gently being unzipped by her limitedly prehensile tail
>her hands grasping your chest, she begins to work her tongue on your neck again, grooming you ever so gently as she starts up another hickie that ends with a very sensual tugging at your neck with her teeth
>the underlying tension between you and her, with the smell of heat once more beginning to rise in the air give you the courage to return the favor and slowly wind your hands up and onto her waist, rubbing her figure carefully and causing her to chuff happily at you
>jasmine's tail runs from her now unzipped pants to yours, and you can feel it brushing your pants in an attempt to gain enough leverage against your forming bulge to make the zipper go down and really get to business
>green light, all engines are go, everything's fine, and it finally looks like it's time to settle that primal urge burning in her hips
>this is it. no stops. no hold ups. you're about to smash into her hips so hard you bust her pelvis.

>well, this would have been it, if life hadn't decided to sucker punch you in the side of the head with an interruption to this unfortunately short wild ride you could feel building up
>unfortunately, a heavy thumping on your door spooks the courage she had been building up right out of her, and within a moment you hear her zipper fly back into being closed
>she knocks your arms away, and leaps off you with an almost panic in her eyes, jumping onto the couch, then rushing on all fours back into the safety of your bedroom
>if your luck with dates and women kept up you may as well just buy a nice blow up doll and store them in the guest room
>you roll over on the carpet, pulling your shirt back down and wiping your neck on it so you don't look like you just walked out of a partially complete female shower
>you open the during a volley of knocks, a large framed Texan looking at you with a somewhat confused glance, wearing his favorite Stetson
>"Whatcha up to? Look like cha just woke up with a serious hangover, if yur angry expression is anythin ta go by."
>rubbing the bridge of your noise, you sigh and mumble on about how your house may as well become a safe house for feds, before giving a proper response
>"Same old same old, ya know. I'm in my shitty little apartment, lonely and hoping that the little voice in the back of my head can stop me from chugging moonshine until I literally explode."
>Romeo’s laugh was a deep, hearty chuckle you absolutely couldn't fucking stand right now
>it absolutely wasn't his fault, and he couldn't have known that kitten was purring her way into a more serious situation on your carpet, but you couldn't help but be peeved with his happy go lucky attitude and stupid god damn "HAW HAW HAW" laugh
>when he stopped chuckling, he immediately got to business "Is tha big old kitteh hur? I gots to say summen en I don't want 'er to catch'n to what I'm doin'. I've been using ma vacation days and sick leave ta avoid 'er and try ta get on with ma busy-nass with 'er purring up and trying ta get all over it."
>taking a moment to translate from "TEXUN" to english, before asking if he can give you a bit less southern draw, since you just woke up and all
>"HAW HAW HAW, I'll try ta keep muh voice in check, pardna"
>you can feel a slight rise in your urges to bathe in a shower of blood and send offerings to chaos gods, but choke it down and just accept that he's going to be bugging you and forcing jasmine to hide for a few minutes why he shovels his bullshit on you
>"What brings you over here anyhow? You said you had to hide from jas on something?"
>he gives you a solid yup, and takes his hat off, revealing his combed back greasy hair
>"I'm not sure yet, but I'ma thinkin' I'm gonna get married some time soon, bucko."
>well that wasn't really what you were expecting at all
>you had figured his accent had finally burrowed as deep as it could into his body and was laying eggs, meaning it would only be a few months before his inner Texan burst out of his chest and started up a swarm of yeehaws somewhere near Laredo
>"What's the reason you've been hiding from Jasmine then?"
>his face goes from the cheery southerner you've always had the ability to tolerate, to a much more serious and sober person you're not sure you know
>"I can only tolerate he meddlin' so much. She's a nice cat, but she was a bit too insistent on trying to help me find my last lover, or trying to help them adjust to me. It's a rather nice thing to try to do, but really, I can do that myself."
>that sounds about right since Jas really wanted to help everyone she possibly could in life, even if she was trying to do her best to be helpful
>"I just wanted to make sure you knew about what I'm up to and not worry about it. And, well..."
>he doesn't look directly at you anymore, almost like he's ashamed of something
>"With how territorial cats can be about where they live, and the fact she's a new cat and doesn't seem to like the tiger from what she's heard of her, you may get stuck with her soon. You and I both know I can't force her to go anywhere, but realistically, where else is she gonna go to?"
>well, there goes your chances of slowly eating jasmine- 
>wait, no. bad brain. stop that right now
>easing her into staying over more would have to essentially be thrown to the wind in an attempt to carefully let her know she can move in and stay
>he was completely right though, since she would absolutely come to you first about having to move out, and would most likely take up your guest room no matter how awkward it was
>that was, assuming she wasn't listening in right now and unable to argue for herself or else get caught coming from your bedroom all but nude, in which case last night's intense cuddle session out of the blue would just have caused a massive shift in how comfortable she was here
>the question was now if it was a positive or negative one, since she seemed to only have so much bravery to pull from in regard to trying to express herself, and last night you pushed pretty far into her comfort zone
>you think on it for a moment and Romeo honestly looks like he's pretty distraught by having to do this, though he didn't like being bugged by jasmine he didn't hate her, having her move out wasn't his idea though if his cat comment was anything to go by
>"I'll talk to her about moving in when I have a chance Romeo. Do you have anything else to say?"
>he simply asks if you have any ideas about what you could get for a feline as a gift, and you think as hard as you can on the subject, but you don't know the girl he's going to start a new life with, so you can only really tell him a stupid joke
>"Well, women love attention, time, and cash. Nothing says, 'I'm really interested in seeing where this will end' like marching 40 elephants straight over the alps like an absolute madman."
>in response he just laughed and shook his head, "I'm not sure if I want her to think about Hannibal every time we're alone together. That probably isn't a good thought to leave in the back of her head."
>he gave you a weak one-handed salute and said his goodbyes, leaving you to whatever it was you had been doing
>closing the door behind you, you rub your temples, knowing that the next few minutes of talking would be an annoying battle in trying to convince her to stay here with you
>you can't help but feel like her previous bravery and statements about how close you were to her would be lost in her usual shy demeaner, but continue towards your room because you know it has to be done eventually
>you open the door to find her on the other side, hands on her hips with a displeased look on her face "I heard it all, anon."
>"Why did you hide then?" You ask, throwing your hands up to show your frustration and confusion
>she gives you an almost displeased glare, and scoffs at the word hide
>"I wasn't hiding. I was staying behind the door so that if someone tried to harm you, I could run out at a solid moment to protect you. I’m far more dangerous with the element of surprise on my side than without it. Even as strong as I am, some big cats can get all the deadlier with a bit of cover."
>was that her getting mad because she was trying to play your big bad scary predatory cat guard?
>"Fair enough Jas, but what about you staying here?"
>she looks away from you, towards your bed, and then back to you
>"You basically told me that I can sleep in your bed whenever I feel like, right? Well, if I'm going to move in..."
>her body motion is uncertain, her tail is twitching, and her ears are flat now; she's back to square one scaredy cat
>"I was just going to s-share your bed... U-until you bring home a date one night. If she doesn't want me here, I guess I can m-move into an apartment... somewhere in this complex probably."
>her admitting she wanted you to still go on dates was odd, but made sense to a certain degree, if she was more interested in being close to you as your best friend instead of your lover, you’d certainly have no issue with that
>"I'd love to wake up every morning with you by my side, Kitten."
>you can swear you see a blush as she gives you a return hug, before motioning over to the food left on the table in front of the couch
>"Let's not focus on that now, anon. We have a f-few d-days before you even get ready for your first blind date, so d-don't fret it!"
>you agree, and go to sit down in front of the farther plate, picking up the still warm burger, and motioning for her to join you
>swallowing a bite you tell her that you still have all of today to relax, at the very least, and turn the TV on to a random channel
>eating your later lunches together, watching the TV, and slowly getting her to calm down you stay up all night and she eventually passes out against you
>you carefully move and lift her into your bed, deciding to head back into the living room and handle your horrible thoughts from earlier nefore getting back into bed
>you leave the bedroom door open just enough to make sure she isnt stirring as you mercilessly smack one out on the couch, thinking about if she decided to keep her hair light, but colored her fur normal
>you could probably directly tease her enough to slip her into some naughty clothes, tie her up, and get away with it...
>your mind goes on about what you'de do to her for several minutes, before you finish, clean up and slide in beside her with a smile
>this was still awkward, and you had to test out exactly what you could get away with as her closest friend, but at the very least you had an idea of what to expect in the future
>with the dates coming up soon, though it may jeopardize where she would be staying, at the very least you might be able to find a lover somewhere out there in the world
>even if not, sleeping and cuddling alongside your favorite kitten wasn't so bad, was it?
>as you finally start to drift away your mind goes back to an old thought you figured must have been buried
>if anything else, why couldn't she be your mate if it came down to it...

Chapter 8: Party city
>you woke up a bit early, at 8 am on the day of your very first day of your attempts to find someone out in this crazy world
>you had let a week pass without a date while jasmine moved her stuff over to your new place
>crawling away from jasmine you grab a set of clean clothes and head towards your bathroom
>you pull out all of the grooming items you're going to need today from the various drawers around the sink, and slowly arrange your tools so you can make yourself look better
>the first thing you grab is the electric razor, going to work on your beard which had grown out into a fuzzy mess again
>every stroke through your messy facial growth cleaves inches away from your face, months of lazy growth that you just never bothered to do much more than comb down when it became too annoying
>you run your hands along your newly evened stubble and trace where you find small scars on your face
>little memories that are tied into your very skin dance in your head as you remember each one
>a particularly vivid one is etches into your jaw line, and you trace it as your mind wanders
>you remember the smoke of that room vividly, the needle dancing in your hands as you wonder if you should just enjoy another jab and relax
>the needle made you feel safe, happy, warm...
>the man who threatened you with a knife while you were just sitting there, unable to do much but stay awake
>your brother rushing in to fight him off, coke literally coating his nose
>you can't help but watch as he just beats him senseless on the ground, his fast-paced high making him a real danger to everyone
>you didn't do coke because it would make you a jittery asshole
>the needle just made you able to forget about life, and what your brother was dragging you into
>you just wanted to relax, and escape it all
>you come back to reality after a moment, shaking your head and realizing you’d already trimmed your hair shorter on your head
>you wipe your face clean and stare at your arms, rolling them over to look over all of the imperfections on your arms
>blemishes here and there, small mole spots, a few minor cuts, and scars
>all of your previous drug signs had left you when you arrived here
>no train spots
>no burns
>just wounds you earned later, in fights
>whatever sent you here gave you a second chance at a real life
>you didn't want to go back to that... 
>no.
>you COULDN'T let yourself sink down to that level again
>the scars you earned from struggling were still marked deep into your flesh
>the scars from when you were weak and gave up had been cleansed
>the resolve you felt knowing that your rebirth had lifted away the marks of your failure have you a new lease on life and how you handled things in this new world
>you were going to stab, beat, and crush anything that would stand in the way of a real life in which you could experience happiness
>if whatever force brought you here had the gall to select you out of the other fine members of your town, you were going to push forward like you had a holy war to fight
>or you at least would if someone tried to threaten your path to enjoyment
>maybe getting violent on a first date wasn't the best choice of how to make a first impression
>save that for the third date if you can convince them to spar with you in a gym
>female wolves like a tough man to reign them in, which is something you weren't entirely unaware or unwilling to do for them
>finishing up the washing and cleaning of your face, you glance back towards your room and the innocent tiger fast asleep under your covers
>she was the exception to that rule, out of respect for the kind of woman she was
>you didn't have it in you to force her out of her comfort zone until she was ready to walk out of it willingly, even if her incredibly obstructionist way of trying to work out how she wanted things was starting to grind your gears
>you didn't think she'd be able to handle you being incredibly direct right when you realized she had some sort of feelings for you, and besides that it may simply be her sexual desires that yearn for you, rather than her mind wanting to love you like that
>you knew that heat for some anthros was such a strong mind killer they ‘de literally take off of work to avoid jumping on a coworker that they only had a passing interest in
>that was the truth of it, whether you wanted to admit it or not
>you wanted to get closer to her, but you were just as afraid of realizing it was all just nerves and excitement attracting you to one another
>chasing a new high that would crash the second you pushed it too far, and everything would crumble away in your hands like your past life fading into the wind
>the dates were just as much to try to find you a proper lover in someone else as it was trying to give the both of you an excuse to push the envelope just an inch further, bit by bit
>putting on a jacket, you leave your home without saying goodbye, and strut slowly towards your car, and the day ahead of you
>no matter how fleeting today may seem, everything would be playing out as slowly as time could crawl along in front of you
>you decide to drive around and kill a few hours before taking to your date's pickup spot at noon
>can't get into too much trouble with so little time to ride around town, especially not with someone waiting on you to show up and see if you could make them happy

>you stroll in the public library well dressed for the occasion, your nice jacket covering up a dark grey Hawaiian shirt with sparse and light enough designs on it to just barely get away with it not being a proper plain shirt
>you spent the last 20 minutes sitting in the parking lot and meticulously trying to get every tiger hair off, but there are at least one or two that cling around in spots you just couldn't quite see them in
>your date still isn't here yet, so you walk into the foyer and take a seat on a bench, hoping that she will eventually show up so you can get this show on the road
>sending a couple of texts to the only person who would really ever bother you on your phone, convincing her that you'd stay safe on a date that she set up for you, it's clear you wouldn't have to wait all together that long
>a few more quick texts happen before you can hear the distinctive sounds of raised sandals clacking across the tiles in your direction
>a beautiful black and white hourglass of a female husky walks towards you carrying herself with a dangerously serious demeanor, and asks if you were the person who was supposed to be taking her on an adventure today
>stealing a glance, you can't help but make out a pair of very solid and perky C breasts under her tube sweater-dress, which seems to fit just tightly enough to stay on regardless of the straps
>her hair is moderately short in the back, with her bangs parted to cover up one of her baby blue eyes in the front, all punctuated by a just barely visible labaret piercing
>she's a rather beautiful girl, and you honestly can't help but wonder why she'd bother with you and your moderate appearance
>"I guess so, but I'm shocked that someone so pretty would be interested in me."
>she lets out a calculated laugh and gives you a look over in exchange for your earlier one
>"Chinos, loafers, a nice dress shirt that has just a bit of flair, well shaven, well kept, a nice deep voice, assertive enough to contact me directly and ask for a date... I dunno hot stuff, maybe I'm just one of those kinky girls that likes humans, and likes men who are assertive enough to not sperg out when they see me."
>that made some sense to you
>most girls wanted a guy to be direct and show interest, but you had been a bit ballsy by calling her directly, telling her she could pick where you two had your date, and even asking her if she wanted to go to a proper fancy restraunt you could make reservations for
>she offers you a hand up, and you accept it with your own stifled laugh
>"I guess I'm not the only one who likes someone a bit more assertive miss... Jezzel, right?"
>she looks a bit surprised, and her serious mask cracks just a bit "That most definitely isn't what you called me in our call, so I'm going to guess you realized who I am, and what I do as my job?"
>she did voice acting for some games at one point, but she mostly streamed stuff online last you checked, though admittedly you didn't remember exactly what her name actually was or what she streamed usually
>"You stream a lot of smash, right?"
>she lets out gentle giggle "Yeah, something like that, buddy."
>cute girls like her could probably make a lot of money playing on a camera for a large enough audience, not that knowing she was a minor celeb online was going to change the fact that you still wanted to at least see if you two had chemistry
>"Yet you're still interested in a date with me, habibi? My oh my, you really are a brave man."
>"Why would I change my plans on learning you're a star? If I'm in for a penny, I might as well be well in for a pound."
>she looks incredibly flustered at that comment, and her tail is wagging like crazy as if you'd just lit her waist on fire with a blowtorch
>"Save some of that for the date Casanova! Don't blow me out of the water just yet! GAH. I don't want to lose my mind before we even get start our date!"
>you take note of how she can't handle compliments like that so well as her mask cracks fully, and store it away for later in the date for if she starts to get a bit distant
>speaking about the date though "Where did you want to go, Jezzel?"
>she smiles, tail going from zero to 60 all over again in time that would make a lambo's headers spin
>"I have so many ideas! Bar, Mall, Gun Range, Park, Fast food... Just say a place, and we'll trade off picking where we'll visit today. I don't want this to be a normal boring single place date. Let's make this a real adventure, ya know...ahem. Like you said on the phone."
>she is really god damned excited about your date, and you can't help but let that infect you just a bit
>a really hot chick is literally bouncing around happily because you're taking her on a date she's making some weird little adventure out of, and she seems stunned that you didn't freak out after recognizing her
>when she sees your car she has to stop herself from hopping around again
>"A vintage muscle car? Looks restored. Well damn habibi, are you having an affair I'm not aware of with this beauty?"
>she runs her hands along the seats and dash, sitting on her tail a bit so it doesn't start dusting off the fabric
>"I can't help but feel a bit under dressed for... well, a man. The last dates I went on with fans, whether I knew or not, always started off awkward and just got worse from there. Yet here I am, sitting side seat in a stranger's car and I can't help but want to flutter away because now I'm afraid I'm going to be the one feeling awkward on a real date."
>you crank the engine to life on while reaching for the gear shift, and for a moment you accidentally grab her hand as she goes to inspect the shifter up close
>taking the moment to show that you're a fucking MAN and not a neet, you hold it tightly while shifting into reverse, whipping out of your parking spot and into the parking lot
>leaving the parking lot in short sprinting bursts causes the engine to purr and very obviously excite her, perhaps even sexually a bit
>the correct response to sitting side seat in a fucking American muscle car that sounds like it has the power sitting under the hood to sear a third world nation in less than 4 seconds of direct full throttle burning
>letting her take her hand back, and putting your left over the blinker, you ask where she wants to go
>"Let's head to the bar. I want to drink just a bit. Not get drunk, ya know, just have a beer or two and play their pinball machine."
>the lady has spoken, and you peel out headed east towards the only bar worth a shit in town so she can grab a solo cup or two and get her fill of playing with some balls

>"The Saltmine" was a very odd bar, to say the least
>a western theme in the south wasn't usually the best to keep people coming back, but it didn't feel like it had been done in a way that wasn't meant to appeal to actual southerners
>a "straighter shooter" bar sat at the back where you could sit directly in front of a bar tender and drink, or you could order a drink and walk back to one of the many tables in the main room
>a smaller room off to the side had a pinball machine and other basic bar machines lining the walls
>dollar claw machines, a couple of redone token-to-quarter tip proof arcade games, a couple of old beater arcade games, and the somewhat infamous twilight zone machine in the back
>the machine was flashy enough to catch the eye of a few drunk people who would happily try it, but never longer than a few minutes
>the two of you hog it for nearly 3 hours, talking to one another happily and getting to know one another better with a near constant back and forth
>she had been born into a small basic family of huskies, and was one of the few who could say that they were from a family of purebred huskies
>purebred dog anthros didn't seem as common due to how easy it was for them to interbreed with other dog anthros, much like pet dogs had been back in your world
>"The amount of inbreeding in some families to keep the blood pure is crazy considering how many anthros are on this planet. You’d think that they'd give up and just settle in with another dog, or some other anthro. No. They're so stuck in their ways that they absolutely have to be 100% pure. My mom and dad weren't like that, oh no. They just met at a frat party one night and things kicked off fast from there. 5 years later, just a few months after the wedding, and I suddenly greet the world."
>her folks, judging by what you knew of them from the hours of chatting, were some real stand out folks, and she herself had answered most everything you wanted to know about her without even having to ask
>the biggest question you really had to ask about her past was her link to the BHA, which was through her father who was a former agent that retired in a sense to become a park ranger
>"He's a good man in all the ways a father should be, and if I wasn't doing what I do to pay my bills I may have just chased the path he did. It isn't like it won't be open an open door I can't walk through if this doesn't pan out, right?"
>she's absolutely correct about that; since the first arrival of a couple of towns from nowhere the BHA was always accepting new recruits to stem the flow of new anons into this world
>after losing a ball to a random bounce from one of the stage obstacles she swears and looks over to you
>"So I have my own questions now. I know where you're from, that you're an anon, that you have some good taste in music... etc etc. But what I want to know about you, is why you're here. With me. On this date with a machine that's determined to take at least 40 dollars worth of my money in quarters."
>simple question to start with, and easy enough to answer
>"I'm looking for love in all the wrong places, I guess. I've been here for 3 years, and I just figured I should stop being so damned lonely. I've got good friends here and there, but knowing I can come home to someone who's happy to be there and stay with me forever in my arms is just the kind of sappy dream I'm hoping I can find the right person to settle in with me."
>her tail was wagging a bit before, but now the wagging has stopped
>"Sounds like you're pretty lonely. I don't think I was the best choice in first dates, anon. Really, who would even want to pick up a woman like me who spends 8 or more hours a day when she's working entertaining a bunch of lonely men? Chicks watch too from time to time, but I know my demographics."
>you know about spending time in front of a laptop and being lonely, since it's how you send in what you need done and changed to work
>her tail is swaying just a bit, and she's smirking now "Not like I work, I'd assume? Not that you wouldn't have the body for it... Heck, why don't you at least join me one night to stream with me? I'm sure we could get into all kinds of trouble together, and the chat would love to get cucked as long as it means they can put themselves into your lucky shoes."
>she bites her lip and looks back at you for a moment, bumpers holding the ball in place so she can stare at you for a few seconds
>well damn mam, why not just yell out "I THIRST FOR YOUR BLOOD FILLED, FULLY ENGORGED SIN SWORD, NOW RUN ME THROUGH FAIR WARRIOR" 
>it'd be a bit more subtle than telling you she wants to watch you play around on camera and how you have a nice body that would make a bunch of randoms jealous
>hell, if this wasn't a date, but rather just you trying to get laid for the hell of it, you’d be tempted to raise that little swirl of a tail right here as the only two interested in the arcade room during the week, and just take her to town
>that wasn't why you were here though, so you let her be a tease, and await her next question
>"Alright. Jobs aside, who found me for your first date? I'm not a bad catch, but I'm rather interested in exactly who cast out their line to reel me in for you."
>oh boy, time to explain the can of worms that is the pussy that lives with you
>you carefully word every single phrase you use to describe her to Jezzel so that it doesn't come across as what it really is to a certain degree
>you don't mention that she cuddles with you on the couch and in bed, nor do you mention how she's your "bestest friend", but with how you explain the current situation to Jezzel she seems to catch a few glimpses of what you aren't quite saying about her
>"So it sounds like she's a good friend to keep if she set you up for all of this, not to even begin about how she cares enough to understand how you getting someone could make her get her own place to live. She must have your best interests in mind if she is actively trying to find you anthro dates that don't mind humans. Kinda sad, that. I never figured out why some anthros turn up their noses at human dates, as if they're any better or more of a person than you are. Hell, you may as well just be an odd species of monkey anthro, so what's wrong with taking you out for a date or two? Just makes me mad that so many nice people see a human whose interest in them as some kind of degrading thing, ya know? It isn't nearly like it used to be, but it does bug me that they still have anything above single digit percent support."
>you nod, watching as she loses another quarter to the pinball machine when the ball zooms between the bumpers
>"Damn it. This really is a tough machine. I'm just about at my limit for this thing taking my quarters and I'm about 2 beers away from starting to dull up a bit, so whatcha say we head to where you want to go before I start to get unbalanced, handsome?"
>you check the time on your phone quickly and have to do a double check on the wall clock to make sure you aren't seeing things
>huh, seemed like you just arrived, but the clock surely enough read out 15 minutes to 4pm
>you let her run out her last ball while you try to figure out where you want to go, and you hear the failing noises from the machine as you make your decision
>with a short walk from the arcade room, to the bar's entrance, back to the parking lot, the second leg of this "adventure" was under way

>the mall was probably the cheesiest choice of a date for you to continue with, but it was a nice experience to let her window shop just a bit
>you go through every single store she has even a passing interest in, and she does buy a couple of pieces of underwear in one store, before going to another to find a matching set of something that was probably made to be single pieces
>she wants you to look at them on her, and asks you at one point if you want to join her in the dressing room to take a peek, but the last store's cashier gives you a glare that tells you to not attempt making the gendered changing rooms unisex
>she takes a few pictures with her phone instead, and says she'll send them to you later before she struts back out with you towards the center of the mall
>she seems one of those bungee jump trampoline rides and can't contain her giddiness for it
>"Oooooooh! A jumper! Hey hey hey. If we both jump on that for like, a half hour or something, then I'll let you have the next choice in where we go. C'mon! I haven't seen one of these in forever!"
>you happily give in to a chorus of "yee yee yee" as she bounces over and tells the operator to suit you up first, since you're paying
>you get onto it, and after he straps you in and takes your card to pay for a 45-minute ride for the two of you across from one another, you begin to leap into the air
>these things were very well designed to make you feel way more weightless than you should be on them
>you start out with basic height gaining tricks, but after a just a few hops to attempt a backflip and manage to stick the landing
>your date claps as she's buckled up into hers while you do more and more tricks in the heavily strapped swinger
>as she begins her own ride and the timer for both of you starts you can't help by talk across the gap with her about random crap
>no one's really around you two, and so the ride operator just jams out to whatever his earphones are playing as you two chatter with one another about life and how fun this was
>when she finally gets to excited she also does some tricks, but starts out a bit more careful than you
>even with all of her twisting and rapid movement somehow, her tube top dress hybrid thing is holding itself on like it was glued to her, and the bouncing ride is pretty enjoyable for how basic it is
>you do a few more tricks as the bungee cords roll up and down side to side, holding you just barely off of center no matter how you jump in the trampoline
>this is some real, innocent fun, and she seems to be enjoying herself as much as you hoped you both would
>noticing that you're watching her a bit more intently than she though she does a wide arced backflip with the starting roll facing you, and you can suddenly notice she is most definitely not wearing panties under her dress
>this is fucking great now
>this entire date has been going better and better by the second
>a hot chick who's super-duper into you, has a job she can stay near you with (that she's invited you to join in on), may want this date to end with a very sudden but easily doable happy ending, and on top of that she's clearly the kind of girl you can drag around town to have more exciting dates with
>this was clearly the start of something amazing, and nothing could ruin this moment
>wait, what was that bungee cords?
>stress point failure?
>sounds like fun
>you come back down hard at an angle and crash down on the tiles, and before you even realize what's happened you're out cold

>when you come to you're in a hospital bed, and a small basket is next to you
>you aren't hooked up to anything that would monitor your vitals, so you must have just been knocked out
>turning over on top of the bed you grab a hold on the basket
>a letter written in very nice handwriting, with a couple of signed and recently printed pictures for you wrapped in a silk wrapper
>very tasteful pictures from Jezzel
>"Sorry that things didn't work out! I can't even begin to say sorry for everything! This date didn't end too well, and I may have let excitement get the better of me, but we should go out on some more dates when you have a chance to! XoXo Jessabelle "Jezzel" Katrina P.S. Check your phone for some more personal photos."
>you look at the silk wrapping, and it unfolds into a pair of very nice red panties
>you turn the paper over to find that she's written a URL and the password and username info for a VIP account to a site you can remember visiting once or twice as you're suddenly blasted by who exactly it was you were dating
>you had been correct in assuming she was a cam girl of sorts, but all that flirting and excitement of you joining her made more sense now
>you'd seriously have to give that idea a chance, provided the grim reaper didn't stiff arm you again
>"damn it death, you have to stop cock blocking me and being a tease. If you're going to kill me, fucking do it already."
>a doctor comes in to check on you as you fold up the paper and pocket your silken prize
>"Hello sir. I just wanted to see if you were up yet. You're free to go whenever you feel like, and your insurance covered this little visit fully. That giant, thick skull of yours completely stopped any real damage from happening."
>he hands you a card for a custom milliner and gentleman's attire shop
>you begrudgingly take it and he simply walks back to the door "You can go to the cafeteria if you want and get some free food, you stayed here long enough to have it count as a proper visit."
>rubbing your sore head you trudge through the hospital and back to your car
>she must have driven you here, since your seat has a very mild wet spot in the driver's seat
>sighing to yourself and cursing your luck to begin the long and lonely drive home back to your waiting and worried kitten
>when you walk through the door and explain what happened she makes you sit down and puts some ice packs on your sore head
>after a little bit of careful cuddles and her being worried for you, she eventually says she's going to turn in and get some rest
>waiting until you hear her gentle and steady breathing, you check your phone, pull out the panties, and go absolutely fucking apeshit
>Jesus Christ her poses in that little room were telling you she would have wrecked your pelvis if you went into it with her
>a short but incredibly amazing one-armed prayer ends as violently as it began, and you clean yourself up before heading into your room
>you throw the panties and pictures into the top drawer of your dresser, your personal drawer, and crawl in beside the pink cat who was more concerned about you than she had been in telling you she nearly blinded herself when dying her fur pink
>you cuddle her closely to your own body, and her uncontrollable purring kicks in to lull you to sleep
>you drift off to dreamland with your new favorite white noise vibrating through your chest and in your ears
>hopefully your next date with Jezzel, or your next dates in general would be better

Chapter 9: Old vices 
>your eyes slowly open to find yourself on the couch, Jezzel sleeping tucked in your left arm, jasmine's butt in your right with her head on your lap 
>two months and a week had passed and all of your dates went alright, though only alright   
>every last one of them turned out to be "we don't work out, sorry" situations and it was really starting to make you sad that your first date with Jezzel didn't go well either 
>you wished, in the deepest parts of your heart that their bodies draped in only shirts and panties hinted that you were gifted with a glorious and amazing experience last night, but the title screen of a Jay and Silent bob movie told anyone who knew better that it was just a normal Saturday movie night 
>in the short time that had burned away behind you Jezzel had a single date more with you, and then started to hang out with both you and "your kitten" when she wasn't streaming 
>while she was still a bit flirty with you, the visits she had almost every day made you think she must have it in her head that jasmine was trying to play the long game with you, and so she backed off to just being a tease 
>you were somewhat annoyed by that, but at the same time things had gotten strange as of recent with exactly how jasmine was acting with Jezzel around 
>her cuddles where a lot more commanding of your time, and any time she was close to you she would hook under your arm, grab it and lean in close, or even let you rest on her shoulder 
>last night you had begun to nod off and fall on her chest, and instead of forcing you up she just leaned back so you could use her chest lumps as a set of nice firm D pillows 
>it was heavenly until Jezzel said she wanted to cuddle with the two of you, and so you shifted around to try to accommodate the both of them 
>her teasing demands had been a bit less serious since becoming Jas's friend too, but you think you knew exactly why she was also a bit nervous when asking you for affection 
>your mind goes back to just a week ago when she caught you in the shower, going at it 
>she went in to grab some of her fur balancing dyes she left under the sink, but after noticing you were going at it in the shower she lost herself and ran out of the bathroom, closing the door harshly behind herself 
>oddly enough, when the kitten caught you masturbating just an hour or so before Jezzel came over yesterday she took time to stare at it for a moment 
>you didn't let up going at it even know you knew she was there from the second she opened your bedroom door, but instead scooted over on your bed to invite her to join you 
>she just watched for a few more moments, flustered and unsure of how to respond, before leaving the doorway and doing her best to sneakily listen to you doing it 
>you wouldn't have noticed she hadn't fully left unless her tail hadn't playfully dancing into the light of the cracked door a few times, and even now you wonder if she was hoping you'd make up her mind for her and pull her in 
>you doubt that she would have the courage to have done it, sigh, and come back to reality 
>the two ladies haven't woken up yet, and your mind hatches a devious plan that will make you happy at the very least, and bluebell everyone who doesn't know better 
>you slowly but carefully reach for your phone, and hold it as far as you can from you, capturing the two girls in a selfie shot that just barely leaves out their panties but shows off their shirts well enough 
>your post joking talks about how you swooped in and convinced the kitten to have a fun night, and here you were with some rando husky and the tiger 
>the thread explodes almost immediately as you simply laugh about what you've started 
>your laugh causes Jasmine to stir and move off of your lap to lay back against the couch; with a yawn she goes back to sleep again, her tail swishing gently as Jezzel sleeps in your arm like a log 
>slowly pulling away from the sleeping husky, you walk the short distance to the kitchen and begin to make breakfast for your small party 
>you open the fridge and retrieve some pre-seasoned meat to make sausage patties 
>after giving them a solid shape, you throw them into a pan and head into the icebox once more to get eggs out  
>you crack them quickly but carefully, and before long the room is filling with the smell of southern breakfast 
>the sound of frying meat and cooking eggs rouses the husky first, and she wakes up with a wagging tail 
>"You're such a sweetie." 
>your mind focuses on getting the two ladies their early morning hot and steamy meat injection, so you don't respond 
>Jezzel doesn't seem to care though, and she gently wakes up the other female on the couch and whisper into her ear 
>before long the two ladies, still in only underwear and shirts, sit at the small table in the kitchen and patient wait for you to finish up and give them their treat 
>you hear a whispered argument from the two of them, and Jasmine is quickly getting flustered and repeating phrases that are all along the lines of "not gonna do that" or "no, he's just being nice" 
>you finish up preparing their breakfast, and both ladies get an even share of your hot thick sausage to even out their warm and waiting eggs 
>while Jasmine is peckish about starting up her morning experience, Jezzel may as well have just unhinged her jaw for how readily she was eating 
>you sit down in front of them and pour yourself a bowl of Froot Loops and milk flavored shot mix like an adult, and just listen as their formerly whispered argument turns into aggressive texting 
>at a certain point Jezzel just laughs and starts to browse the internet on her phone, showing something to jasmine while she gasps and waves at her too put whatever it was on the screen away at the table 
>jezzel just flips across more pictures, then points to you directly and a massive smirk before she whispers something into the flustered Kitten's ear 
>you listen as well as you can, and you hear very faintly that she says "he's probably like that, but a bit meatier." 
>dicks at the breakfast table? Really? 
>"You've both seen it directly, you numbskulls." 
>Jezzel's fur poofs out more than usual and she crosses her arms in an angry embarrassment mumbling about how she most certainly hasn't  
>"I have, it it's rather nice~" 
>Jasmine purrs happily and winks at you as the husky collapses into her chair in embarrassment, due to the fucking puffball that hid from her own shadow having just roasted her 
>you know it's an act, but you can't help but feel he moment of bravery has some real undertones to it as you finish your cereal 
>a small amount of hanging out on the couch and watching the chaos unfold in your favorite chat group yields to an alarm on your phone 
>almost noon, and that means it is time to hit the road for your date 
>you wave goodbye to Jezzel as she bundles up in shame under a comforter on your couch, while Jasmine runs over to give you a proper goodbye hug and a good luck blessing by smacking you with her tail 
>you look at the picture of the skunk-tiger hybrid you were supposed to meet at the bar and can't help but feel this is a set up 
>you may have met Jezzel, and gotten to know her, but this gorgeous beauty surely couldn't fancy you, could she? 
  
>hour pass as you patiently wait for her to show up 
>thirty minutes late is just a traffic problem 
>an hour is them preparing last second on the way to see you 
>an hour and thirty is absolute emergency fuck up and they're an idiot for forgetting the date 
>two hours with not a peep though, and you knew you'd been stood up 
>you mope into the arcade room and throw quarters at the various machines before ordering 8 shots of "the octopus party platter" and a waitress brings your 8 shots along with a candy squid (they ran out of octopi), and sets them down on a folding table 
>you murder time and money, hoping this "Zig Zag Zumbrowski" lady shows up, but she never does and you order another half 'pus to really get this show on the road 
>you waste a total of 2 hours drinking and gambling quarters alone, before heading to the bar to drown your sadness in proper amounts of liquor 
>the seats nearest you are filled by all kinds of randomly gathered patrons, but you can't help but feel all alone as you don't see any friends in their cold shoulders 
>since you're the only human at the bar you start your count over again, smashing down shots like you're an M60 doing a gun run over the Tô Lịch river during the Vietnam war 
>anthro alcohol is a disturbing amount lighter than the human stuff, and because you hadn't called ahead they don't have the good stuff on tap, so here you are slamming down your 13th shot of weak alcohol and making everyone around you look like a they need a testosterone booster 
>your 14th shot rolls in and a hand clamps down on your shoulder "Come on now, I didn't think you'd take all of your time off moping in a bar and trying to figure out how many shots you can take before you can't drive home." 
>you recognize that elderly vixen's tone anywhere "Good to see you too Cassidy. If I don't have an excuse to be here then what are you doing in this place?" 
>Cass yoinks your shot from your hand as an older human comments to her on how they'll see one another later, to which she waves with her tail and says that she'll see what she can do 
>"Trying to get my life back on track, believe it or not. That guy's the first date I've had since you left work, and I convinced him you were my son so he would go back to where he came from. Really nice man, but he's too much of an old fudd for me to have more than a passing interest." 
>this can't be the Cassidy you worked with, because she's too laid back and not trying to hump your leg for this to actually be her 
>she rubs your hair and smiles at you, taking the seat next to you at the bar and waving the bartender away as he tries to reup you so she can talk to you and not the booze 
>"I actually wanted to thank you, Chick. If you hadn't have shown me actual affection right then, and instead just fed my desires..." 
>she clutches your forearm and hand in a motherly fashion and you can tell now that the short time since you have last seen her must have been a real shift the trajectory her life was going to be headed in 
>"I can't really think about it. I needed to focus more on my family, and being a great grandma now. My youngest little one has been in my life for almost a year now, and I've not been the best about acting my age or doing my duty to visit every chance I can." 
>wow, Cassidy was actually going to turn her life around and become a proper person now instead of a walking talking begging vixen 
>far behind her were the days of chasing you around a plant full of dangerous machinery in an attempt to pin you into a corner and unbutton your pants 
>no more would you panic at the sight of only you and her in the lunch break room with at least 30 minutes spare before you could escape from your required time off the floor and get back to work 
>long gone were the days when she would put a hand on your lap and ask if you wanted mommy's help with something 
>your train of though is abruptly interrupted as she taps your thigh, and tells you that "Mommy is here to help with everything I can now, for her and you too." 
>okay, long gone were the days when she would do that and mean she wanted your manhood 
>your second 14th shot rolls over and becomes Cassidy's second as she glares at the man behind the counter, as if daring him to send another down  
>"Bad influence sitting behind the counter aside, why did you come here? It isn't like you to come to a place like this alone just to mope. What's on your chest buster? Tell Momma Cass." 
>you wave at her to leave you alone, but she clings to you like letting go of you would make you die 
>"If you share you can ask me anything you want to know. One question or several. All up to you." 
>you ponder the idea for a moment before sighing and 
>you lead in first with your dating life, and how all of it has been two months of absolute horse shit leading up to today's pay off with nothing 
>she nods her head and listens to you carefully as you let your heart bleed out over how much it hurt to not have anyone who gave you the time of day to even attempt a second date after you tried your best after every single one 
>twenty fucking dates, and 19 people who didn't care, and Jezzel who was being reined in by how Jas seemed to feel 
>"That's the worst part too Cass! Every time we talk now she's gone from potential lover to just a friendly tease. That's fine and all, but she hangs out with Jasmine every moment she isn't with me. So, I just don't know what's going on anymore." 
>the elder vixen speaks up, telling you that life is full of surprises and sometimes love isn't always the best at finding you or even staying around 
>"Tell me about it. Not only did Jezzel back off, but Jasmine's been acting more commanding of my time and person space, but she's still way too timid to try anything. I can't help but feel like she pushed Jezzel away so she could make an attempt but then just failed to get the courage up for it. And now today. My date didn't even bother to call and say she couldn't make it. She just didn't show up." 
>Cass taps the bar table for another drink, and you can't help but feel that your sadness may be spreading to her as she cries softly but silently 
>what she had hinted at earlier hits you like a brick, and you suddenly realize she was talking fondly over one of he many failed marriages, which made you wonder just which lover she had fond memories over having lost 
>"Cass, if you feel like sharing it... what happened to him?" 
>she looks down at the grain on the table, and you can tell the memories are painful for her to share, but she does so whether it hurts or not because she promised to share if you promised to share 
>"I was only 15 when I got pregnant. Very young to be having a kid, and he was the father. On my 15th birthday he stayed over one night and we finally let ourselves go at it like we had always wanted. I was very young, but he was too, and there was nothing I regret about that night. When I got pregnant, I figured it must have been some kind of mistake. There was no way that test was right. But I took two more, and the result was the same twice. When I told him he was very supportive, and immediately dropped out of school to find a job. His parents were supportive of it, even if he was a bit young for it all. After a while, I gave birth to my first son Bingle. I know, I know! Horrible name. Absolutely horrible. But it was his grandfather's name." 
>you want to laugh, but you can hear the stress in her voice as she's speaking, and know that there isn't going to be a happy ending to this 
>"We lived together just fine for about 4 years. An amazing 4 years, I might add. Little Bingle grew up fast, and he got his mother's looks but his father's taste for adventure. Unfortunately, that's where the fun stopped. After a rather long day of work he came home to what was supposed to be an empty house. I decided to take bingle to the park to play with other kids while we waited on his dad to come home, and just lost track of time. Three anti human extremists ambushed him and he managed to take two of them with him... but the third one had a shotgun. When we arrived he was already hauled off to the hospital, and the third extremist's body was being dragged out of our front door by the police, a shotgun blast having taken off his face. We thought that papa was going to die, but he managed to pull back. After a grueling 4 days fighting for his life, with daily visits from us, a fourth person arrived with a knife. His funeral was held on our anniversary, and I was told that when cops found the man who killed him they simply open fired." 
>the fact that she had been chasing you so much suddenly made a lot more sense to you, and at the same time, became a much more painful thought 
>she runs her hand along your face, tears forming behind blue eyes "you have beautiful hazel eyes, chick. I wish that my son could have been blessed with his beautiful hazel marbles too, maybe in the smallest of chance even have skin instead of fur, but instead he took after that midnight black mess of a mop he always had and stubborn decided to be born male on top of that. So much worse too, because that's his fur. Gah. Not any less of a lady killer for it either." 
>she lets out a weak laugh and makes a half-spoken comment about how he was always a handful, but you can't help but stand up and hug Cass on her bar stool 
>she leans in to the awkward hug and cries for a moment, the bar tender taking the moment to very softly place down two glasses of water near you 
>his attention aside no one else is looking at the two of you directly, but you can feel the room has died down and the pain didn't just cut you deeply 
>Cassidy wipes her tears away and waves the bar away from looking at her with her hands 
>"Don't let this sad old granny ruin your drinks, boys. I came here to drink too, so don't pretend I'm not the only one here that's got some wounds that hurt when the open air greets them." 
>after a tense moment, someone loads some change into the jukebox and a song starts up 
>doesn't matter what song it was to anyone, because as it kicks up the rest of the bar goes back to the same old song and dance they normally did 
>Cassidy happily returns your hug from just a few moments ago, before you ask her if there is anything you can do before you decide to head home for the night 
>"Well if you want to help me you could show up the day after tomorrow at my house. I'll be watching the kids, and I'll count that as our first date you owe me if you show up and help." 
>you happily nod at the silver marked vixen, and begin the long ride home 
  
>when arrive you go through the usual motions, and Jasmine crawls into the bed happily beside you after everything settles down 
>though you feel a deep and bitter sting of loneliness, you push it aside and focus on what you do have 
>a very affectionate (if not a bit daft or scared) Kitten as your closest friend, Jezzel acting as the new third wheel to your group, and Cass seemed to be getting her life back on the wrong track 
>on top of that, you would soon have a "date" with the silvery vixen that would let you meet her family, so it couldn't be all that bad, right?

Chapter 10: Ashes in your mouth
>fire dances around you slowly, the ashes floating in the air around you like fireflies in the woods you explored in your youth
>a building burns before you while firefighters do their best to put it out, but only manage to contain it to the old decrepid building
>a smile cracks your beaten, almost zombie like face as you light a Cigar and watch as it slowly burns to a husk
>a hand limply grasps a doorframe as you look on, and after a few moments the rest of its body appears
>a charred corpse slowly shuffles towards you, ashes blowing off of it in the hot wind as firefighters try to extenguish the skeleton of the house behind it
>"You didn't smoke a cigar here, you absolute bastard."
>you puff a cloud of smoke into its face and laugh
>"Correct, but I smoke to celebrate things. So I smoked at your funeral, right next to your coffin. Managed to sneakily put it out on your chest when everyone was mourning elsewhere."
>the charred remains shake their head at you, as if dissapointed
>"Is that really what you wanted? You and I both know that what you did to me didn't bring her back."
>you roughly gouge where it's eye should be with a cigar, and produce another one as it screams in agony
>"You're an ash-hole. Made me waste a good cigar on your pale self. Do you at least got a light? Wait no, I got this."
>you walk towards the husk of this demon's abode and grab a piece of ashen timber with your bare hands, lighting your cigar with the shank of crispy wood in your palm before trudging back over to the now still corpse
>"Made me feel better in the end buddy. That's all that counts."
>you smash the timber across it's head as the entire log explodes into embers, and your eyes catch on a pale figure standing in the trees with their eyes locked on you
>your body tenses up, you take a solid drag on the cigar and walk over to them, joy creeping into you like a warm summer shower
>as you approach the being slowly they fade away silently, as if they had been called away to a better place by a voice and had to return from wence they came
>"Not even in your wildest dreams will she come back."
>the ashtray on the ground laughs as you begin to stomp back over, ready to cave its head in
>a galeforce wind slams into you and the monster on the ground, causing him to fade into ash and you to feel parts of yourself begin to fade into the breeze
>you hold your arm up to try to resist the destructive jetsream, but you watch thin strips of yourself slowly being eroded by the wind
>you try to hold a hand into the forming hole on your arm, but soon the powerful storm is tearing you to naught but a moving stream of silt
>after a moment of nothingness and a cold chill clinging to your body, your eyes slowly crack open
>your bed is empty, your sheets are on the ground, and the cool september air is biting at your uncovered body like it was trying to slowly devour you
>in the worst possible moment, when you feel like you need someone the most, you are totally and utterly alone

>you roll out of bed and allow the impact with the floor shock you into proper consciousness
>even with the powerful thump to shake the sedative of sleep from you, the ground still seems to be your preferred destination for the moment
>slowly but surely you force yourself to stand, and clothe yourself for today's events
>a red shirt screams out at you to be worn, and you hope that whatever stabs you in the neck today appreciates that you wore the right colors for this occasion
>you think about not wearing pants and just saying you were too sick to visit, but instead decide to fish around for some jeans so you don't make Cass blowing her last date off a bad choice on her behalf
>when you enter the living room a note is left for you, by a pan on the burner
>the burner is on very low to just keep the pan and meal they left you warm
>"Going shopping with Jezzel today. Going to be out until later tonight. Call me if you need me, XoXo Jasmine. P.S. I borrowed your pistol, Jezzel wanted to shoot it at the range, I'll make sure to buy you some Remington Golden Sabre to replace the hand loads."

>well fuck you, there went the chances of blowing your brains out, and with your favorite +P's on top of that
>you could grab your old 1911, but if the grabbed your mags and jericho they damn sure grabbed it or all of the ammo you had
>with no other choices really, you sit down at the table, slap a chair under you ass, and eat the food right out of the pan
>the eggs are scrambled, which is decent enough though you prefer a nice yolk
>the sausage is overdone, but Jezzel has zero idea about what to do with meat other than beating, riding, and sucking it
>the toast is actually perfect, and you know Jasmine had to have made it like you made it every morning
>god bless her for making this meal edible with her wondering breading skills
>after staring at the plate for a moment in silence, and hoping they would return, your thoughts wander to how busted up your life used to be
>you can't even begin to measure how much better your life is now compared to back then
>but even with that truth solidly in your heart, you can't help but feel the sting of the cold breeze even now
>the slow ache in your body, wanting to just be loved
>you hadn't done drugs because you wanted to be loved before, and they would never offer you that
>you just had to do what you had to do in order to cope with losing so much so quickly
>the gas can and zippo made you feel happy for a few minutes but even then, revenge had never filled that void in your heart, the ashen demon was right in what he had said
>no matter what you do she would never come back, and the cigar you smoked that day in the heavy fog around his coffin didn't warm your insides like you had hoped
>you take a bite of the still warm meal that jasmine and jezzel left for you, clawing away at it with a fork and hoping that this sign of affection would make you feel something
>but all you can taste is ashes in your mouth
>out of respect you eat the entire plate, piece by piece
>even the shitty sausage Jezzel must have tried her hardest at cooking to fail to make well
>you walk out of your distant and cold apartment, hoping that the warmth of the sun would give you some comfort
>you hold your arms out and bask in the light for a moment, pulling in a strong breath and holding it
>you can feel a deep gouge letting it all out though, and just continue on to your car
>maybe Cass can help you feel something today

>the road melts away underneath you as you drive, every mile passing like the breeze over your hood
>as you ride in silence a pain begins to grip at you silently, going form a dull ache to a vicious axe splitting headache
>you try to focus and wonder if this was some kind of delayed hangover, but the searing pain makes you stop thinking and pull into a gas station parking lot
>slamming into a parking spot, you march inside, grab a soft drink and some pain killers
>you throw a 20 at the cashier and tell him to keep the change as your skull feels like it's splitting open, your focus barely there
>stumbling into the parking lot and back into your car you throw back more than twice what you were supposed to take in the medication, and chug what is appearently some kind of all natural peach hippie drink like it's holy water
>minutes fade into nothing as the pain slowly pulls away from you, the ability to think properly making its way back to you over the course of nearly an hour
>pulling out your phone to check your messages, it becomes clear because of the volume and frequency of texts she sent Cass is very concerned about you being late
>"Did you wake up late? I'm here with the kids, and they are excited to meet you."
>"Are you sick? Did your car break down? Do you need me to send a cab?"
>"I heard a car pull up, and a lovely woman dropped off a visitor. I though it was you. When I get here you two can run the errands while I watch the children."
>at least 4 more messages that registered, possibly more if reception was spotty
>her caring cocnern jolts you for a moment, as even if Jasmine did certainly love you and feel concern for you... this was Cass we were talking about
>cass at one point would have just oggled your junk and
>her care seemed to come from the familial warmth of a family, and felt pure and clean
>her horny spark had been snuffed out, and a gentle fire of honest to god care and concern as a mother was all you could feel from her now, letting a gentle ember reach out to make sure you were still alright

>the ember ignited your soul, and the slow and somber state you had felt gripped by was boiling over into a near rage, feeling betrayed by the traffic that was keeping you away from honest compassion
>slowly the tar like resin your blood felt like it consisted of began to boil and run hot like streams of flowing liquid napalm
>you send her back a text that you had car troubles and leap back out into traffic, cutting someone off and giving them the finger as they honk at your angrily
>you slam on the gas and waeve in and out of traffic, pushing every gap you find and causing the drivers in your immediate path to back away sheepishly
>under normal cicumstances you would have just continued on normally and not been so reckless, but her concern for you gave you a spark of hope for... something
>you shift gears harder, dancing bewteen cars like a ballet dancer high on speed, and see the exit sign for the final leg of the journey to her house in the distance
>your rage slams the gearshift a notch further and your roaring engine threatens to crush the pruis in front of you as it dances daintily out of your way
>smart thing too, because you had enough weight and power in this beast to throw him off of the road and into the trees
>a few short turns and traffic has completely dissipated, suburban streets leading you to a straight road ending in a cul de sac
>you stop for a stop sign out of respect of the law before slowly sauntering the last couple of hundred feet to her driveway
>the air is silent save for the gentle songs of birds in the trees, and a crow that seemed to be yelling at them to all shut up
>you pull your car alongside the jeep in the driveway, noticing that a 1993 zephyr 750 was wedged between the closed garage door and her normal ride
>how strange, you thought that minus the kids she was watching, that surely she would be alone
>you exit your warm car, take a short walk in the brisk midday air, and stride on over to Cass's front door
>knock knock
>"I'm respecting your rights as a homeowner and knocking, but if you don't answer in a few seconds I'm coming in anyway."

>you wait for someone to respond, but no one comes, and so you walk in under your own power
>you smell a slight crispness to the air, and smoke is billowing from the kitchen
>you hear small children screaming, and you abandon all sense of urgency as you run towards danger
>a black furred anthro is doing his best to catch one of the screaming children as they act like he's going to murder them
>instincts kick in and you pull him by the arm towards you, putting him into a vice like headlock
>"Anyone else come here with you to torment this house?"
>the assailant trapped in your grasp struggles to do so much as even breath under the strength of your grip, and you hold strongly to him after deciding that he should fear for his safety a bit before he answers
>you see the small child he was trying to catch peek around the corner, laughing and and waving towards other kids who must be hiding around the corner
>"Uncle Chicken got da bingie!"
>Bingie? 
>oh shit, you're choking Bingle out right now
>you let him go and he clatters to the floor, his vulpine frame struggling to take in oxygen for a few moments as he just lays there
>"Sol... oh... gahhhhh.*wheeze* Solid grip... good job."
>he continues to wheeze as a child runs over to the oven and starts to fan it open and closed, smoke rushing in and out rapidly
>Bingle glares at the child from the floor, his unusually musculed and defined fox frame adding to his distate with the small floofy creature disobey what you assumed was a rule or order he set
>you step over him, bustling the small crowd of fox kits back into the living room and turning the TV on for them
>"Sit here and watch the TV while me and Bingle talk adult things. If you mind then I'll buy you all ice cream."
>you hear gekkering as you leave, and assume they were all happy by the fact they weren't growling or running about
>shocking how close to wild animals children are
>not even just anthro kids, but kids in general
>Bingle is now sitting on a chair, looking out the window at your car
>"I'm going to hazard a guess you're the one and only chickenman? Cass calls you Chick for short."
>so that's why she called you by your name like that, rather that anon
>made sense to you, and it was better than calling you the full phrase
>at that exact moment Cassidy made her entrance into the kitchen, telling him not to ask obvious questions
>this time she's wearing a very plain long sleeved grey dress that seems to blend in to her now all natural fur
>from what you can see about her fur-
>"stop oogling my mom."
>cass snaps at him with her hand while threatening to, and you aren't paraphrasing
>"belt 'cha for not letting him indulge in the sight of my natural colors for the first time" 
>which is a very polite way of saying "fuck off Bingle"
>her formerly orange fur is now all a soft gray, small ember like patches of orange pushing their way to the surface from under her smoky and fluffy fur
>she was a looker before, but age hadn't robbed a day from her body in any way you could see
>if anything the cool smoke clouds snuggled against her body only made her more beautiful, as if they were the final stage of a literal smoldering beauty that even now burned fiercely
>harsher smoke rolls out of the oven and she coughs as she pulls out a plate of overly crisped pizza from the oven, a second smaller pizza being cracked open to salvage at least parts of it for a snack
>without turning, as her eyes are on pulling workable chunks of pizza out of the husk of the failed one, she asks a favor of you
>"Since Bingle showed up, as a surprise mind you, would the two of you mind running errands for me real quick? I was going to run them and have chick watch the kids, but you know how this house runs Bingle. So it would just be easier to have the two of you run them and get to know one another."
>Bingle groans, but you quickly agree to it, and she smiles over her shoulder at you after shooting him a death glare
>"Thank you so much sweetie! I promise you our date night tonight will still happen. I just need you to get some basics so I don't have to rush out in the morning to grab them. Also some extra pizza. The kids put this one in after making it themselves, and all I could salvage was a few pizza bites worth of workable crust, sauce, and toppings."
>Bingle mumbles he didn't agree, but sighs and stands up and walks towards the door
>Cassidy struts over to you before you can turn away, giving you a kiss on the cheek and placing a baggie of small pizza crust bites in your hand
>"We'll have our night tonight. I promise. I'll also set up another one later, for just the two of us when I won't have any kids to bug me. Or Bingle, to bug you."

>when you walk outside he's seemingly over having been choked by you, and is now more interested in your car than anything else
>"I look at this beautiful vehicle sitting the the driveway, and I see that it's gotta be some kind of beast I want to spend the rest of my life begging to tame. Something's missing though, hot shot."
>good to see he's got a positive demeanor so quickly after you choked him, at least
>"How the hell do you not have it filled full of chicks man? Seriously. Strong human male. Tough dude. Armed to the teeth, though you wield dual pythons so sick I'm tempted to call the vet on you! No spares in the back though. How come you don't have all kinds of ladies in the ride? I get today, maybe you don't want to bring more people over to a crowded house, but I never really hear about you tearing ass down a highway with thirty points worth of wild women in the back and a solid eleven out of ten in your passenger seat."
>it now seemed that he got over it pretty fast because he was a little movie star in his own head
>you felt bad about not choking him harder now, the little bastard
>"You have quite the mouth bingle. What do you do exactly? Some kind of telemarketer?"
>the two of you get in and buckle up, the fox just laughing at you
>"No man. I'm a porn star. I spend all day making ladies scream. The reason I'm here now is because the boss gave me some time off, and flew me back home so I could see my mom for a while."
>oh great, he's a fucking pay-per-view gigolo
>you pull out of the driveway in silence, and do your best to continue this trend while driving towards the first objective, a small whole foods mart
>he still hasn't shut up
>this entire time he's been rattling off about his co workers names, species, cup sizes...
>you freeze up when he mentions that they're not all of much compared to the picture's he's seen of jasmine
>"I beg your fucking pardon?"
>he goes from passively smug to fully smugged out in a matter of seconds, and faces you more directly
>"I was just saying that you've got some real hot friends, ya know? If you're not going to take a shot at the two of them, I may as well weasel my way into-"
>you shift gears rapidly, accelerating into the passing lane while hitting the button to unlock the doors so you can open them before telling him to remain silent
>"If you so much as make a swipe at Jezzel or Jasmine I swear to god I'll tie you up, gun it right alongside an 18 wheeler, then push you out so you taste pavement and get shredded by the trailer wheels. You fucking comprehend that, Johnny Knoxville?"
>after a quick and scared yes he goes silent, and remains so for the rest of the car ride to the store
>he runs in alone while you listen to the radio, and comes back out with his hands full of groceries
>when he gets back you pop the trunk and help him to put the groceries in
>everything after that up until you're back on the road is almost awkward, up until he tries to crack the ice again
>"Alright. Let's start over. Hi, my name is Bingle. I'm Cassidy's son. I'm in my thirties, and I figured my dumb humor would maybe help us get along, since rambling about myself didn't."
>so it he isn't entirely brain-dead about how he was acting
>"I just wanted us to try to get to know one another better since we only have today to really talk. Mom always described you as a tough as nails businessman who had it all. I kind of assumed that you were like most of the males I work alongside. Lots of flash, not a lot of much else."
>his assumption was highly incorrect, but he seemed to be more relaxed after your earlier threat
>not even close to what you were expecting from Cass's son, but better than the person you thought he was going to be
>"Next time you meet someone start out slow maybe. Assaulting my ears with who you are, prattling on like you're on a movie set, and then bragging about how you would try to court my friends was the quickest way to make me angry."
>he nods and sits there in silence again until you reach an electronics store, and takes the reigns to get everything alone again
>it doesn't take him long to come back with a few cords, a fan, and two packets of gum
>the fox puts everything except for the gum in the back seat before climbing into your passenger seat
>"Ok. So if you don't want me to just ramble on, why don't we both introduce ourselves one by one to one another. You can go first since I'm sure you know about my father, and how young I was when he left."
>and so you went over your story once again, starting with the car crash and ending with you choking out Bingle 
>the fox laughs as you conclude your story, the air between you much calmer than before
>"That son of a bitch sounds like he's a real hollywood square."
>you smirk for a moment before it dies back into a frown, closing in on the final stop before you get back to Cass's house
>the two of you head inside of a local candy store to get ice cream for the children and he begins his tale
>not much you didn't know really, just that he was homeless for a while after leaving home
>no job, no help, and he already lost his son to the state and his ex-mate after she claimed he raped her
>pretty harsh stuff, but the rape accusation never stuck if she had even wanted it to
>she seemed to have done it so that the later judge in the custody battle would take her side when she played the victim
>for a moment he seemed sad, but when he look at your own somber expression he did his best to make a few jokes to cheer you up
>you laughed them off a bit, but it was clear that sharing pain wasn't helping you feel any better
>you both returned home in silence, Bingle seeming to have regretted telling you of his own woes and breaking the illusion that he was a playboy bunnie hunter
>you both load the groceries into the house while Cass calls from upstairs that she's putting the children to sleep, and so you pour yourself a nice tall glass of tea and relax in the living room
>Bingle joins you just a moment later, carrying a jar of chilled coffee and pouring both of you a glass before running it back to the fridge
>rushing back in, he plops down beside you and immediately tries to open up conversation again
>"So what's eating you alive man? You seem out of it. Walking around like some kind of husk. I know you're there but you don't seem to really want to be there. Or here. Or anywhere."
>you respond by telling him that he should know life isn't always good to you, and no matter who you have there for you sometimes things just hurt
>"Mom always said you were a fun person to be around, so I can't stand to see you not at what she would say is your best. When I threatened to smooth talk Jas and the husky you really got a fire in your belly, so you can threaten me again if you want. I need some strong masculine role model attention."
>you shake your head and want to shoot him down fully, to tell him to just stay away from you
>instead you just ask him why he think's you're a good role model for him
>"The sports car, the fucking armory she says you have, two chicks with you most of the time, a tongue sharp and vicious enough when need be to push a startup to a major business in less than half a decade... Shit, you may be younger than me but you're the closest thing I think I have to a father, much less a fucking role model. So whatcha say ol' sport? Threaten to whip me like an irish step child for getting fresh? OOOOOH. Better idea. Choke me harder, daddy."
>does he absolutely have to be this strange about how he wants affection from you?
>"Strange way of being affectionate? Man, I'm a fucking porno actor. I have more ladies spending more time spitting in my mouth and riding me like I'm a bucking bronco, which is fine by me, than I get time with people that hold me close or have honest to god small chat with me. That's why me and Zig have our odd relationship. Sorry about stealing her by the way, didn't mean to start it up days after you called in a date offer on her. She flaked after she realized you weren't trying to nail her to the bedframe, just because she didn't want to get into something that would have a destined failure at some point. If that makes sense to you."
>now it all makes sense why he's here
>Zig Zag flaked due to him being with her, and sent him to meet up with his mother in the hopes of talking to you and saying sorry
>that was awefully kind of her, if not akward at the least
>"You don't want me to be your dad. I'm a really bad person pretending to be a human, and keeping a lot of strange company. You have a very bad time of judging character Bing."
>he takes a sip of coffee and shakes his head at you in denial of what you said
>"I mean it. You really are a good person. Maybe, like you say, there's something very dangerous underneath all of your good lucks and charm..." 
>that pun physically hurt you to the point you chug tea and hope that it'll calm down the headache it was starting to give you before it reaches critical levels of pain
>"But that's for the best. You're a wolf, in a certain way. The kind of man that would lay down his life to protect someone, push another person through to the other side for trying to hurt his family, but further still someone who knows when to reign it in. You wouldn't have threatened me if you didn't think I was Carlos California coming to try and fuck and roll on your best friends. You also didn't drag me out of your car and beat the ever loving shit out of me when I was being an ass. That sudden flare of anger had me concerned I may have... earned it, if I'm being real."
>that was true, and he did deserve a solid fisting at that point in time, but not now
>after even more tense dead air, he pipes up asking if you want more details on what happened after he left home
>sounds like a decent next step in what to talk about until he decides to leave, or Cass shows up

>"I started off as a Janitor. I may have had all the looks in the world, but I just wanted an honest job. A place like Zig's sea fortress is definately a strange place to work. I got paid good cash to clean out nutty sheets, torn carpets, and even fetch snacks for the real stars. I always figured the compliments were just that, ya know. The kind of fluff you let any good worker have so they don't pack it all up and leave. "Good job on making the room look neat, hunk",  "Thanks for the help! You're always welcome to come by and have a go if you're bored, you sweet thing", "If you're ever bored then we can run onto a set, set up the autocams and have a private session for just the two of us." And I finally realized it was real one day when I took a nap on one of the stage beds and woke up with Zig cuddling me. It was surreal, ya know." 
>bingle took a moment to drink some hot cocoa, and let his chatterbox rest for a second before continuing
"She was everyone's mother more or less, not minding how her "sons and daughters" would regularly plow her on set. I told her I wasn't trying to skip out on work and she just asked if I was alright. She was afraid that I was bottling myself up emotionally, and not letting myself join in on the fun because I was so angry. Oh boy was I angry too, at her. I let her have the entire fucking book hit her on the head with how I felt about life treating me and my mother before all of this. How hard she was having to work to keep us afloat, and how much of a bitch it was to constantly be on the outside of real normal relationships that didn't amount to "oh hurr durr, yura hooman beby's son. Wiya even tryin to be normal. Hurby durby yura poor little spineless heel-licker." And she said point blank that I needed to take up the reigns like a fucking man then."
>bingle slowly scratched at the back of his neck and seemed almost flustered as he stopped his story suddenly
>"and then what?"
>he smiled deeply, looking at you as if he had been waiting for you to take the bait
>"She kept poking at me and telling me that someone who wanted to prove they were a man would have given a solid performance, even in private, to any of the lonely beggars who approached asking for it. They'de gamble their pride for a wild ride, and a chance to prove they couldn't be beat. So I told her I was going to, and began to march towards the door for one of the bigger ladies who had propositioned me before I realized she had challenged me. So I did what she wanted, pulled my pants down, bolted the door shut, rolled the fucking film and jumped up on the hickory frame."
>he leapt from the couch up onto the coffee table, sitting and facing you as his tale began to heat up
>"I told her that my name's Bingle and it might be a sin, I'd take her bet, and was she gonna regret it 'cause I'm the best there's ever been. So I lubed up my pole by rubbing against her hole, and said I'd start this show. She was like a raging fire under my finger tips, and I swear on my life her heat was so bad it made a freakin' hiss. When I was done with my bodily assault that she-demon couldn't lift her head, and I knew she'd faced defeat by the divine strength of my hybrid meat. When she finally got her senses back she took out a phone, I pulled free of her, and she was back down on the sheets again. I picked it up, took a few victory pics, and she couldn't do much but grin. So I covered her up, pulled my pants back up and left a scribbled her a note with a loose pen. A short little thing, that said "Just come on back if you ever want to try again. I done told you once, I'm a son of a bitch, and I'm the best there´s ever been." Took her a 6 hour nap before I saw her again."
>you can't help but laugh at him, sitting there and very gently whistling the tune that inspired his rhyme to the wind
>he continues on talking about himself without caring, or possibly noticing
>"Yeah, that's really it on what I did. She teased me, I got angry, and then she turned my anger into a hate-fuck that made her pass out from how amazingly I performed. Then I got a job. My name being... Peppercorn Starshake."
>you are dying now, your sides have left for orbit
>this was definitely the best way to get to learn who he was you could think of
>you may actually run out of oxygen as Starcorn shakes you angrily to get you to stop laughing
>"It's a native name! Chicks dig that shit! Feed them that rough corn from Doctor Pepper!"
>biting back your laughter you just smile at him, lost in the moment
>why did you even need to know that hilarious fact?
>"Because the point was to point out how I may look like Jose Hollywood, and may have overextended a bit in acting like that to you, but I'm just a fully grown kid who's still unsure of where he should be in the grand scheme of things. Meanwhile, you're younger than I am, showed up three-ish years ago and clawed your way to the top like an absolute madman. You're honestly the best role model I could have." 
>he smiles and puts his hand on your shoulder, looking at you in with admiration in your eyes
"So before I get out of your hair, let you go to hold back my mother's lonely advances, and go to my room to sleep for the morning when I get mercilessly assaulted by an army of my relatives... I only want you to do one thing for me. Promise me one, single thing."
>an affirmative nod tells him to ask away, and so he speaks
>"Take care of her, she's all that's holding us together. That's all. Your feline friend too! If you're that worried about her being around a scumbag like me, then you have to be some kind of hero to her by now. She'd be crazy not to love you on some level."
>a firm handshake seals your silent deal with the black fox, so he gets up and struts away from you silently towards the room he grew up in
>Cass descends the stairs at the same time, wearing a white logo tee and pajama bottoms
>time for your date with the vintage vixen

>she struts past the couch, fiddling with some wires in the TV before pulling out a gamecube and turning it on
>smash brothers starts up in the disk tray, and you laugh as she pulls over two controllers to play with you
>"Really Cass? You and me playing video games?"
>she giggles and sits down beside you, hooking an arm around you and causing you to feel her fur against your arm
>she was as soft as a cloud floating gently on the breeze, and warmer than a summer morning
>"I remember a time when the first Galaxian cabinet came out, and I was one of the few little sprouts with the skill to actually finish it. I made so much money in college when I went to arcades and wiped people flat in fighting games. So I bet I could stomp you silly."
>so begins the fight
>she picks fox (of course she would) and you pick captain falcon
>"Oh really? You're chickenman?"
>ok, that may have been a bit clever of a joke on her part
>the fight is actually pretty fast and dirty, considering you didn't expect much from her
>turns out anyone who plays fox on smash bros is probably pretty good at it
>a proper smile crosses your face when you are both at an even 100% each with no stocks left
>she gets serious and takes her arm away from you, before you pull her in closer to you, causing her to get frazzled and stop moving
>you walk falcon over to the other side of the stage while she adjusts to a comfortable position under your arm
>she thanks you for being a gentleman and you both clash with only a single life left to settle this comfy little battle
>you could care less though, and the properly caring attention she's giving you is amazing
>it isn't like when Jasmine's trying to be controlling over your space around Jezzel
>or when she shares the night with you for more comfort
>this is about the two of you, embracing on a couch, and innocently enjoying one another's company
>not to say that captain falcon didn't just fist a fox so hard he exploded, giving you a victory
>you let the controller clatter to the floor in victory, and just lay down on the couch beside the old vixen, letting her enjoy your warmth like Jasmine normally did
>she happily makes a soft noise not unlike a coo, but more of a "vruuu" if you had to place it
>"What do you call that?"
>she laughs and just says it's fox purring, pulling herself closer into your arms and silently laying beside you
>though odd, you can't help but enjoy this moment of love with her
>it isn't the kind of love you had expected to find in her, as really any love was more than you had once hoped, but this was nice
>she was your odd little grandma fox
>and Bingle was your little brother...
>the slow sting of knowing you don't have a family anymore save for Jasmine, Bingle, and Cass hurts deeply
>but you push it away and lay with Cass in your arms, closing your eyes and simply enjoying the moment
>you didn't even realize you fell asleep, when an hour or so later she wiggles out of your arms and tells you that you can't really stay all night to cuddle
>besides that, she wants an answer to something that has always bugged her
>you pull her back down by your side, and scratch your chin gently as she continues to speech with a happy tremor in her voice
>"What exactly happened in that hotel room? I mean, I remember waking up in your arms... but..."
>you pat her on the head, sitting up on the couch as she adjusts to rest her head on your chest
>"We cuddled and shared a bed, but that's all that happened, Cass. I don't mean to sound like I spurned you hatefully, but you know that I'm not looking for sex with someone when I'm interested in them. I want a proper relationship."
>you run your hands in her graying hair, gently brushing out knots as you continue to speak
>"I enjoy what we are now, Cassidy. You're my step granny, and I'm Bingle's Bigger but still littler brother. Somehow."
>she nods, her tail as her tail slowly waves behind her
>"I enjoy what we have."
>slowly, but surely she rises from you and stretches out before standing up
>"And I will always enjoy your company, when you can stay longer at least."
>she struts her way up the stairs and you just sit on the couch for a moment, staring at the walls before deciding you should go home

>the ride home is bleak, and every second you feel the familial warmth and love they gave you fading
>darkness is pulling closer by the moment as you climb up the stairs to your apartment, hoping that you can at least hold Jasmine tonight...
>another note, which you're too lazy to really read, is on the kitchen table
>no meal this time though
>Jasmine still has your guns, and only stopped by to tell you she won't be home tonight
>she's going to stay at her old home for the night before getting her things together and moving the last of it into the guest room in your apartment
>no matter how warm your room was, when you slip into bed it feels empty
>nothing works to get you to sleep, and when you check the clock it's only 10pm somehow
>since you can't feel Jasmine' warmth in your bed tonight, and probably won't until morning... you have made a painful choice
>against your own better judgement you slowly assemble dirty, disheveled clothing
>you wear a consealing beanie, dark glasses, and a thick coat to hide your somewhat familiar body from prying eyes
>if the sadness if threatening to chill you to the core tonight, you're going to find that warmth elesewhere
>even if the needle is only a fleeting comfort

Chapter 11: The right to go insane
>you struggle to walk down the streets alone, feeling empty
>the wind bites at your back harshly, and you can't help but wonder if somehow what you've done in the past has lead up to this now
>this new world wasn't a helpful hand to you, but rather a vicious curse
>it took everyone you cared for away from you and threw you to the mercy of a world you barely understood
>and here you were, walking down a few blocks to a rougher neighborhood hoping that you can score a hit tonight
>every step feels like you have to lift lead weights on your ankles to move forward, grinding your feet into the asphalt to gain a few inches at a time
>you grind your way slowly to a cheap and beat down gas station, taking note of the guy standing in the shadows to the side of the buildings
>you walk towards him like you were hard wired to self destruct, and he asks if he can help you with anything
>"I'm chasing a horse. Help me catch it."
>you throw him a twenty and don't give half a shit what he sends back your way
>you catch your night's entertainment and begin to drag yourself back home
>a text pings your phone, and you groan as you pull it out
>of course it would be the kitten...

~~~~~~~

>you, are Jasmine
>a nice tiger who is a friend to almost anyone you've ever met
>a few bad apples here or there stain your memories, but for the most part everyone loves you
>you are currently sitting in your old, beat up yellow Volkswagen on what was once your shared home with Romeo
>you never cared for him as anything more than a friend, but his bitch of a Jaguar and you never got along
>your hands steadily plop a text to your favorite human while you hope that Romeo comes home so you can grab some stuff to take home to him
>you accidentally mention that a certainly slutty bitch cat is annoying you, and you get a simple question as to why you would even bother going over there
>stuffed animals are a perfect excuse
>you had all sorts of beanie babies in your room
>a-and a rooster
>he was the best stuffed animal you had
>you took the buttons off of an old shirt that Anon let you have, made them his eyes, and sowed the shirt over the chicken
>it looked cute, and smelled just like he did
>and now that FUCKING SLUT wouldn't let you get your 'lil chicky
>Rachel opens the front door and yells at you to leave her property before you get hurt
>is this bitch serious? 
>you step out of the car and tell her she needs to let you into a house that's still in your fucking name
>YOU pulled the strings to get the house on the cheap for you and romeo
>YOU asked for a loan from big chicky until you could pay him back later
>YOU were there every night even though Romeo spent more time at the bar than he did in that fucking place
>out of respect you let him have it to himself and his mate, so long as he slowly payed you back the money you put into it, which he was doing monthly
>"I said get out of here you fucking stripey bitch!"
>you ask her politely one last time to let you inside the house you legally fucking own, just to grab some junk and be out of her hair
>you approach slowly and cautiously so she knows you aren't a threat
>you even take a less threatening stance so that you didn't appear to be on the offensive
>Rachel swipes at you with her claws out and threatens to spill blood if you take another inch
>really?
>when she goes to swipe at you again you grab her by the arm and pull as hard as you possibly can
>she comes tumbling forward, and you grab her by the legs
>this bitch fucked with the daughter of a Siberian fucking tiger
>a woman who was from the caliber of men and women who RAZED THE FUCKIN' CZARS
>you throw her viciously into the road, and she skids across pavement before standing back up, shaking and bleeding from the slide
>you angrily grab your things as she limps back at you, hissing and trying to swipe into your belongings
>"Your stupid junk is only as strong as your spineless fighting! You don't even have the strength to tell your crush you like him!"
>you firmly grasp the chicken in your left hand as she runs at you, and your knee rearranges her face when she's foolish enough to dance within grabbing distance
>you slam into her face in thunderous strokes, allowing her a moment of rest only to use your free hand to lift her into the air by the neck
>she struggles against you, gasping for air as you lift her entire frame off of the ground
>"I could break you in half if I wanted to. I respect the fool who decided you were a worthy mate though, and he is the only reason you will continue to draw breath."
>with a strong overhand throw she flies into her open door, and you slam it shut behind her as she lies on the floor, bleeding and confused
>you hope she's dumb enough to try to call the police tonight and press charges
>the only reason you stopped is because if you broke her limbs then she might get some lenience in court
>you crawl into the back of your hippie van, looking for a change of clothes as you realize it's almost midnight already
>you aggressively change into something so much more comfortable and not covered in slut blood, making sure to put on the correct matching upper and lower pieces
>if you're going to make this gift arrive on time, you gotta go as fast as this old hunk of junk will take you

~~~~~~

>as you cross a silent road on the way home, you're you're the only chicken doing any crossing tonight
>the slog is just as slow and dreary one way as the other, and with Jasmine reminding you she won't be with you, it's all the more painful
>as you walk into the parking lot, a surprising amount of action is going on
>a few people are actually moving around in the night air of your apartment complex, staring at you
>two black SUV's are parked next to your car, and you stuff your bag down a bit further in yoru pants before walking to the door of your apartment, two suits knocking and calling your name
"We just wanted to make sure you were alright, Agent. You may not be a normal operative, but you are a great help when we need to relocate people. You find them jobs, write us about them an-"
>you tell them tonight isn't the night to chat with you
>you're all alone tonight, it's apparently a few minutes to midnight, and you don't have time to the dull grind of asking your underlings how they feel at the moment
>"call up HR if you have a bug in your ass about who's who and where they are."
>the two suits nod and apologize as they nearly bowl of one another to leave
>not even the fucking government would stay out of your fucking hair tonight
>you wait for both SUVs to leave completely, down the road and away from your home
>they don't stop at a gas station, turn into a spot to monitor you, or even so much as slow down for yellow lights
>good, you're don't want to be bugged for another second tonight with any bullshit but your own

>you open the door to your home, still empty and cold as when you left
>your phone dings like you have a message, and when you go to check it a sad message greets you
>"Happy birthday from Purrzola mobile! You have..."
>you could care less what bullshit the phone company was trying to send you to put a smile on your face
>corporate recognition of your birthday was only there to convince you they were friendly enough to buy their products
>at one point you remember sending out letters to stores that were interested in your chicken, hand written and talking about what you remembered in person
>it was a flattering thing to do to them, and it made sales boom fast
>when you just google names and make general statements like "happy birthday" or "Best of luck on recovering from X" it always rang with a hollow pang of fake corporate bullshit
>no one out there cared for you right now, much less a fucking company
>speaking of company...
>you take a look out into the night and hear an old motor winding it's way towards the complex, but otherwise everything's dead
>your phone has no new messages on it, so you guess Jasmine was arguing with Romeo's less that amazing "Juliet"
>you clear your thoughts and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you won't be interrupted by anyone's bullshit anytime soon
>only one thing on your mind that could help you right now to reach that nice comfy feeling you need so desperately right now


>you warm up the spoon and prep your arm for the needle while your one man happy meal warms up
>you found it a bit dumb when people called it "souping up" but it wasn't the worst way of putting it
>whomever called shooting heroin "taking a vein train to flavortown" was real piece of work though
>when it's been cooked to perfection to load up the syringe and grab the tubing wrap, putting it in a loose grip on your arm so you can tighten it in a sec when the needle is just about into place
>your door slowly swings open and you nearly drop your night's activities when you see Jasmine walk in, her eyes drawn to your hands immediately
>without saying a word she runs over to you, grabbing for the needle and pulling the wrap off of your arm without saying a word
>you sit in dead silence at the realization that she came back to be with you for the night
>on your birthday
>and you decided to fold under your sadness and dope up to feel better
>your head drops like your neck had been broken, and you look at the floor in shame
>she's enraged with you, and her somewhat calm demeanor when she came in has dissipated
>"What the fucking hell anon!? When did you suddenly pick up a smack habit?"
>you don't want to respond, but much like old wounds tearing open, you gently let out that it was something you hadn't done since before you came here
>she's fuming and trying to control her emotions, but you can tell she wants to smack you across the face
>"Is this the first time you've done it since you came back? What else don't I know about you?"
>you mumble about how "I'm a monster, and I've held a lot inside", and the face of the man you killed haunts you for a brief moment
>guilt swarms your body and you shake softly under her gaze
>this isn't how tonight was supposed to go
>this was so very much worse

>she tries to think about what to say next to you, so you fill the air with a pitiful apology
>"I know you must think pretty lowly of me. Sorry if I failed in being someone you can look at with a feeling of pride."
>she sighs, holding up the needle and wrap she had taken from you, gripping them firmly in one hand
>her anger seems to be gone, but you think that it can only be replaced by disgust
>"I don't care what I think about this. What I think about drugs... I want to know if you need them. Why did you pick them up again? Do they help you? Is this really want you want?"
>no.
>that's not what you need
>in all of the thousands of moments you spent high, in every single fleeting spark or single drop of rain in the thunderstorm of your former tumultuous life, you used the needle to get a feeling that you never had in a way you wanted; the needle hugged you tightly when you wanted someone close to you but didn't have the means or the power to get it, when you were all alone in the world save for the ticking time-bomb of a psychopath of a brother it hit you the worst of all, when you doused that monster of a man that stole your closest friend from you and robbed the only person you ever loved from your hands ounce by precious ounce... the abyssal void that made you go from sad vagrant, to the nearly terminal path of rancorous intransigent blood-the-same-temperature-as-a-nuclear-core hate and vengeance could never give you back the thing you realized you had always wanted, but could never have again
>"I just want to be loved."
>you hear her swearing loudly, and the sound of the syringe exploding in the sink causes you to flinch, but you don't look at her
>you wait for the impact of a punch as you hear her heavy footsteps stomping towards you...
>but the crushing and almost painful embrace of a death grip like hug envelopes you
>her body is convulsing in tears, and you can feel her shaking as the weight of her actions towards you recently dawn on her and threaten to make her violently ill
>your words hurt her like no dagger could possibly even begin to, twisting deep into her very soul as her instincts kick in and she wants to run
>your lack of any attempt to stop her, as you stand there barely a shell of a man, hits her again as she makes it to the apartment door frame to leave
>the door slams shut so hard you see cracks in the frames as she marches back over to you, picking you up in her strong arms, and carrying you to your shared bed
>she carefully puts you in your spot beside her, and your body responds as if you had rammed the entire needle into your arm already as you go limp
>a more pressing pain tugs at you as she climbs in facing you, covering the two of you in a blanket so that you can both hide from the world as the confused and hurt children you both feel like
>her tears are almost uncontrollable, and she can barely speak to you, so she simply holds your sullen hearted body close to hers, giving it a warmth you can't even imagine is normal anymore
>she's doing her best to choke out how she's been such an idiot about all of this, and how she's just ruined everything and hurt you so bad that you don't know who you are
>she's shakes you a moment and angrily declares that you should have slapped her for all of her dumb antics, and you respond with a weak and gentle rub of the side of her face
>"I can't hurt you. I wouldn't live it down."
>she cradles your arm tightly to herself, and just continues to cry for a while, holding you as closely to her own body as she can while her nearly self destructive convulsions of nearly terror filled despair rock her
>when she finally gets the nerve to speak she tries to ask you what she can do to make it all better, and if she should give in to the little voices in the back of her head and let you have her way with you
>"I always wanted to let you fuck me. I just figured it must be heat. But I always dragged myself over her before heat started... in the hopes you might just pin me down and make me not choose... can we maybe-"
>no 
>"I refuse."
>her confusion runs into anger, and she angrily asks for the truth on if you think she's not being earnest, if her tears aren't real enough, if her offer is supposed to be a joke
>"No. I don't want your body. I just want someone who loves me. If we do that..."
>you feel a gentle ember of hope in your breast ignite your soul and it burns so hot you swear she can see the fire in your eyes
>the want in them isn't physical
>you don't want sex, otherwise Jezzel would have already been your slut toy to play with and throw away
>"I want to know, Jasmine. I want to know you love me, and YOU want that before I could ever bring myself to so much as kiss you on the lips."
>her slap is so gentle she may as well have simply put her hand on your face 
>her tears blocking her bloodshot vision make you know she is angry you won't punish her stupidity as she speaks
>"Even if I clam up every other time after this, I want you to tell me to say it, alright? I'm a fucking idiot for not saying it earlier. I'm a fucking abusive idiot who strung you from place to place for months upon years because I didn't have the courage to tell you that you didn't have to play gentleman and wait for me to speed things up. I swear to god I need a vicious beating for what I've put you thr-"
>you stop her rambling with another softly tempered gentle hand on her face, and she wipes her eyes in silence as she looks at you
>"I love you, anon. I should have taken the opportunity to be real about it much sooner, since every girl that got close to you I managed to convince to stay away from you so I could just maybe get my courage up.-ah, I have to stop rambling. I love you. I love you so much. I'm an idiot. and idiot that loves you. Knock knock? Who's there? I love you. That's a shitty joke? I know right, love makes you do silly things."
>she hugs you and you hear a strange noise you don't think any cat you've ever known about has made
>"That means I love you in idiot. Forgive me for my stupid. I just... love you. I mean that. I should have let you know way before I started playing around with you like I have been..."
>she looks at you, waiting for your response and the darkness lifts enough for you to smile back at her
>"Cool, because I love Jezzel."
>her arms quickly move from your sides to your neck, and she legitimately tries to choke the life out of you as she shakes you like Michael J Fox giving a handjob to a paint shaker
>you choke out that she's alright too and she very literally roars at you with an enraged passion you have never seen before
>her face inches closer as she yells before she sucks in a massive amount of air
>"brace for impact, loverboy!~"
>here comes the bo- wait, what?
>her face locks onto your like she's trying to rip your head off with the force of her passionate kiss alone
>while surprised by how quickly she's suddenly moving forward, you grab onto her sides as if she was the only thing holding you from floating off into the night, and return her passion tenfold
>after a minute or so passes she finally pulls away, her fiery courage lingering as she gets up and pulls you out of bed
>"Date. Now. you. me. Date. I'll dress comfy. You dress comfy. It's your birthday. You like the fair right? Let's fuck around and do nothing there like we have something to do. Let's both get our pasts off of our backs and make the other person be forced to endure them. If I have nothing to hide, and we both share the same weight then we can't be nervous about it, and I can't be so fucking timid because of it."
>she moves about and continues to mumble to herself as she looks around for a shirt to match her jeans, but ends up giving up and just grabbing one of yours to wear
>"When we get back... I dunno. At worst I'll cuddle you as closely as I can and just purr because I'm so fucking happy. I know this is dumb, but I want this to be our first real fucking date. Nice. Romantic. No way I can say it isn't. You get the picture. Please indulge the stupid. Please go on a real honest to god date with me?"
>you are almost surprised by your own laugh and get up to find your pants, not even annoyed by her almost textbook silly nature when it came to avoiding things
>she did however admit that it would calm her final fears of you if you knew her pain, and bring her closer in knowing yours, so fuck it
>fuck all the sadness and heartache, if she really loves you and she wants to finally embrace it because she hurt you... that's pretty fucking amazing on her part, and you support her fully
>you rip out all of your emotions and hangups you've been catching yourself falling on recently, pulling in the warm feeling she's suddenly thrust upon you
>a spark in your chest ignites slowly as you stand up, feeling it intensifying and multiplying every second
>your cold body goes beyond joy, and a radial bliss fills every inch of your body as if you had been pulled back from the edge of death by her caring offer
>as you get dressed she hurries into the bathroom and you hear annoyed yelling as she tries to get her pink fur dye to even out, and comes back out with it in a different shade than before
>"I did this quick. Get me on the road now. Let's go. If I get nervous about this date, or try to wander off remind me I'm handicapped."
>she throws you a piece of oddly shaped cloth, and you unfurl it to realize it was a nice new lacy bra... 
>which she was wearing on your birthday turning hour... 
>or at least was until she wanted you to know she was going to be free-boobing it, so that you could remind her that her clothes were a bit thin sans her topsie underoos 
>and she had probably gone to romeo's house to get the last of her comfy clothes and favorite stuffed animals to get her courage up just a bit more
>this poor little nervous kitten had been trying to get the courage up to go at you YET AGAIN, but now she had the wind in her sails proper after she realized how much her former actions hurt you, and she can't do anything in her own mind to make it right except take action
>you are beyond euphoric now
>your blood has become a supercritical fluid comprised of hope, and nothing can pull you back down from this new high
>as you walk to your car and let her in the passenger seat she's all smiles, and hardly a single nervous thing about her
>though you doubtfully think it had to be at least half an act, and the other half was probably how tired she was and stressed, when you reach over the middle console after crawling into your car to give her a proper kiss she doesn't shy away from it
>much more gentle than her passionate grab earlier, but somehow thousands of times more heated, you simply let your lips lock on to one another's for a minute or two before giving each other back their rights to breathe and spark the car's engine
>even if there was a lot of sad moments being discussed at the fair, the thought that you will carry one another's burden gives you strength
>she had a point in that misery loved company, but the two of you could handle anything life could throw at you if you did so together
>you reach for her arm, and she extends it to you, letting your grip her firmly for support
>you move your hand over hers, putting your fingers around her palm, facing downwards over the gear shifter
>she enjoys holding your fingers for a moment before you both place your shared grip on the shifter
>as a single being, you both gently and methodically shift gears, exiting the parking lot and slowly moving towards your first real date together

>she purrs gently as buildings rush past you, the fairgrounds closing in more and more by the second
>every time you glance over to you she's using her spare hand to text someone rapidly, and while you can't take the time to really focus on her, she seems overjoyed
>you finally pull into the parking lot to glance at her phone, and she's just showing you the screen out right
>texts between here and clara are short bursts of excitement, silly feline memes, and emojis
>that devious little snep must have been giving her an awful lot of moral support for how pleased she is with the two of you finally going on a date
>you step out of the car with a burning heel, and walk over to her side, helping her out of the car as she purrs like she's living in a dream
>she takes your hand back into hers quickly, and gives you a reserved peck on the cheek, causing you to blush like a cherry tomato
>with a firm grasp, and a gentle squeeze you can tell tonight is simply going to be amazing

Chapter 12: Train of Consequences
>after a quick check at the entrance to get tickets and arm bands for the rides, you and your very happy tiger were now walking the fair grounds, unsure where to really start with things
>"So... we can just roam around and talk for a bit, but how should we do this? Start off happy and roll into the sads stuff, or clean our plates then cheer one another back up?"
>Jasmine's ears twitch as she wonders exactly what she wants to do first
>"We could... ride the rides and just not chitter chatter at all!"
>you tug Jasmine close to you and put your arm around her shoulder, causing her to flinch, but wrap her left arm around your waist
>"If you want, I could go first Kitten. No problem in that, I just thought you might want to be the first to let their feelings out. I may have problems, but you have a lot of them I have only seen the sad side effects of."
>Jasmine sighs, squeezing your side and laying her head against you for a moment as you guided the two of you around the people walking to and fro in the night
>"It's only fair that I go first. You put up with me for 3 years, and you need an explanation as to why I'm so skittish."
>the two of you eye rides while she begins, starting with some basic stuff you could have guessed, but didn't know
>"I was bullied a lot when I was young. They teased me about my fur and about my parents. Because of them I inherited a lot of rare genetic defects, like my slowly fading orange fur, my tongue doesn't have any grit to it so I can't groom fur well, I have denser muscles than I should..."
>she mumbled something about how it always made her heavier than she felt she should be before going back to speaking properly
>"I can purr, even though a normal tiger shouldn't be able to, and worst of I can't use heat medication or birth control effectively! I have to suffer through heat alone, with no one to help me work it out! At least now I have you! I don't care now since you can take me when you want to an finish insi-I uh... I mean..."
>she stops walking and hides her face from everyone around her, even though no one seemed to hear her comment
>after a moment she finishes her statement, ignoring her slip of the tongue.
>"Being a hybrid isn't too common, and has a lot of odd health side effects and some unfortunate realities. If I take the recommend control for tigers then it may cause me to experience a lot of the negatives associated with the pills on a larger level. If I take smaller cat birth control I may not work. Though... You uh... yeah. You k-know what I s-said. The only problem with that is the normal 7% sticking rate isn't totally out the window. Only a percent of a percent's percent for human and hybrid couples, while anthros only get the luck of just under a full percent for anything to stick. They do actually have fertility drugs though! So we can really raise our chances one day if you want to. Otherwise the chances of... ya know... are so low we may as not bother with the contraceptives. I-If! Y-yeah."
>she holds your arm tightly as her fur poofs out, but you can only think about her being a hybrid
>"I thought your mom was a tiger though?"
>Jasmine pipes up that she most certainly is, and an insanely large Siberian one at that
>"My Dad is a puma from Michigan. Mom was smuggled in when she was young, stayed with Dad's grandparents while learning english, then met him several summers later when they were both 17. She was very direct with how she liked his company, and I know for a fact that she made my bigger brother a few months after they met. I was 3 years later, when they had settled into our old home. Now their old butts are only a year younger than Cass."
>you thought that Jasmine was older than you, and were surprised, if you math was right at least, that she was a year younger than you
>"The whole massive societal stigma of being a hybrid is luckily out of my way because I look like any other tiger out there. Some anthros are actually meaner to us than they are to human anthro pairs... Now to get onto the part I want you to relax at. Alright? Let's go sit down and you should get something to eat while we talk about it. This is something that's pretty touchy. I really, really don't want you to be standing up for this."
>well holy hell, what did she think was so bad that you had to sit down for it?
>you walk over to a vendor and he pipes up immediately as you get to the window
>"Welcome! Got a selection of good things on sale, stranger; What are ya buyin'?"
>you tell him you just want to get a corndog, watching him pull a freshly made one out of a vat of boiling liquid and hand it to you stick first
>"A wise choice mate. The choice of an avid fairground food eata'!"
>you give him a ten dollar bill while telling him to keep the change, and the carnie smiles at you from under his hoodie as if you had freed him of his bonds as a slave
>"Hehehe. Thank you!"
>you walk over and sit down next to your waiting date, and she has a plate for you to sit your phone down on
>taking a few nibbles, minding to not let your right hand get dirty, you set down the food and hold her hand again
>"Ready when you are kitten."
>she sighs, and grips your hand firmly as she prepares herself to share what she considered such a loaded secret to tell you
>"Now, it's no secret I'm not exactly the most amazing woman out there when it comes to possible mates to have."
>she's wrong, but you don't interrupt her as she speaks out of respect
>"However, a lot of my older boyfriends were much worse. I have dated 5 males in the past and each and every last one of them, save for one who luckily only left me due to it not working out, were absolute monsters. The kind of men no one should have to meet. I was dumped by 3 of them after they had very poor and short sexual encounters with me at certain points in the relationship, and the last one tried to assault me when we reached that point in ours and I told him I wanted to wait. Not directly though, oh no. He took me to a heat party when I was in the middle of a strong heat, and I figured that it must be some weird kind of party thrown so females in heat could just hang out in a room together and chill. Nope. They're pretty much orgies. Orgies where men are brought in to fuck the women mercilessly as they line up and wait for their turns. Not my kind of party, but that's just where the fun starts. It was a stag heat. That means the men picked who they fucked, and the ladies would bring them their pick. All of the my exes were there, and picked me. I was dragged into a room and held down while they tried to pin me down to rape me. The only reason I escaped is because my mom was told by one of the bimbos there via a phone call that I didn't look like I was having fun at the heat party. She drover her lada up to the front, marched into the club with a Mosin-Nagant in her hands and a purse full of loaded clips. I was told she was screaming angrily in her native tongue as she marched through, firing shots into the ceiling and demanding to know where I was as patrons hid under tables out of fear of her wrath. She managed to reach the room and stop before they had done too much, but I was naked and cowering when she threatened to kill my violators and saved me. I'm pretty sure the only reason she didn't was because she didn't have much ammo on her that day. They got probation for it, but that wasn't the end of their troubles in life. I just... didn't know how to deal with it. Mom was always there for me, but I never talked to anyone about it until I met Lilith through you. We've shared a lot of time together."
>you didn't even realize you had let go of her hand and had made a fist when grabbed it back, opening it and squeezing it slightly
>"Hey now! They're in all in prison now, save for one. And he's supposedly reformed. No parties, no dragging women off into alleys. None of that. Don't you worry about my safety. They're long gone. But some of the scars they left still sting. I have had a lot of talks with Lilith to try and help wrap my mind around how to trust a man again. That's part of why I was so distant and didn't let you in until now. No matter how much she told me you were a trustworthy man I had nothing to worry about... I was just an idiot and kept pushing you back until I hurt you too."
>her grip tightens on your arm as you take a bite out of the corndog you got, and offer it to her to hopefully give her a bit of comfort after such a dark thing was thrust upon the two of you
>she sheepishly nibbles at it for a moment, before taking a solid chunk out and chewing it as her tail begin to sway again as if she hadn't just said anything
>"Wysh furgrund food suh guhd?"
>you pat her on the head as you slide the plate to her, letting her take a break and devour the greasy meat on a stick, arm around her waist and head on her shoulder as she purrs and eats quickly
>"Oh gosh. I don't even know how they make something so disgusting smelling taste so amazing! How!? It smells like hell, but tastes like heaven."
>she leans herself on you for a second to simply enjoy the moment of pure bliss you were sharing with her, before swinging her legs around to stand back up
>"I'd love to have some more food, but let's find a ride to take part in while we walk around, yeah?"
>you know she's also preparing for what you have to say to her, so you agree happily and saunter off with her leading for now
>she looks around for only a few moments before spotting the Ferris Wheel, and walking over to it, speaking gently as she leads you to the line
>"While it isn't a dark secret, I wanted to say that I've been nervous around you since I first saw you. You may have only been a normal boring human to me then, but you just looked so... dangerous. You spent 6 months in a situation many people would have been much worse off in, and came out the other side no worse tan when you entered. After learning that help wasn't going to come you decided to risk leaving what little you had behind and forging your own path. That takes courage. You may not realize it, but you haven't only inspired me or some of your close friends..."
>she motions around to the many anthros and humans walking around, in much more happy and mixed company than in other places
>visiting Clara's city woke you up to the knowledge that a lot of places weren't like here at all; most cities that dotted the USA that had mixed anthros and humans treated one as an upper, and the lesser occupying group as a lower class
>"If your company didn't start here, and you didn't essentially berate the government for only sending you anthros when so many anons needed help... I don't think this little slice of paradise would exist. There are places where people would attack us for walking together so openly in love with one another, chick. This world needs people like you, and your mechanic, and some of the people you've met! You bring people hope, because if you can make it this far..."
>Jasmine takes a moment to rub her head against your chest, loving nuzzling into you
>"I'm pretty sure that anyone's dream can come true. That's all I really have to say on that, so go ahead and lay your problems out to me. It isn't fair that I make you carry my burden."
~
>the ride begins to unload and load on new passengers as you curse under your breath, the small crowd around you slightly too big for a single fill up of the next riders as you walk forward
>might as well start while it spins up and goes through the motions so you can have the privacy of a small pod to talk in about the big one
>"While none of this is technically my issues per say, my brother did an awful lot of drugs and started and awful lot of shit that got us into trouble when we got older. Dad died when we were I was 16, and my mother did her best to raise us as well she could, but to no avail."
>you're aware that Jasmine is tight to your side as you speak, her silence and lack of purring telling you she's not going to let a single work escape her ears
>"I actually had a lot of steady jobs, and didn't really have too many drug problems at 18. I smoked weed a bit, but my brother had it so much worse. He started doing party drugs, moved out of the house like I already had, and got into a lot of trouble. He picked up a really bad coke habit, and I took time off of work to try and help him to no avail. I did my best to continue working, and working, and working... but at some point his troubles became mine. I all but quit, signing on as a call-in only worker, so that I could take the hours I wanted. I usually managed 20 odd hours a week, but following my brother around to keep him safe slowly spiraled out of control until the point I might barely pull 8 a week, then barely 12 the next. I relied more on selling drugs and picked up heroin to cope with how bad my life was becoming. I used it to cope for a long time, until I got so fucked up that at one point HR put me on sick leave, and I was told not to come back until I was clean. I had a lot of friends I made as a druggie to help me through it, but that's were the real pain starts."
>the Ferris Wheel operator announces that the next boarding has begun, and you shuffle with your feline friend forward and onto the ride
>you climb into the fully enclosed windowed pod and she slides in next to you, the operator tuning a switch that must relate to how it balcnes the pods, before closing your doors to the outside world
>the ride clicks a pod over and begins to load the next one as you begin the next part in your sad tale
>"Her name was Meredith, though she always called herself Merideth. Absolutely loved thrash metal. She hung around with us after being homeless for a while, got her shit together, got a job, and hung out as much as she could with me. She did do drugs, but only smoking for the most part. Until our dealer offered her some heavier crap that he just got from Cuba. Don't even remember what it was, I just remember that he gave her some of it to enjoy while I was away, and I came back to find my girlfriend was dead. I began to freak out, have someone take her to the hospital as I fumed over what happened, and I... I just..."
>Jasmine leans into you, hugging your arm and giving you the strength to continue
>"I... I killed him. I went to his home the night she died, took several gas canisters in with me, doused his house, and then doused him before leaving the house and throwing his lit zippo lighter into a puddle of fuel. Felt it was the best way to send him off. Next time I saw him I was at his funeral, smoking a cigar as if I was mourning, putting it out on his chest when the few people that cared to show up left. I'm pretty sure they didn't even check in his casket before they buried him, so the other half of my cigar is probably still with him."
>she seems confused at your statement, her ears twitching as if she didn't understand
>"Normal people don't just sit there and die. Was he on something?"
>that was all she had to say about you killing someone?
>now very perplexed, you go through the state you found him in as you doused him to her in great detail
>no clear drugs on him, eyes bloodshot, very much awake but silent as he watched you prance about the room and douse his things one by one
>"Sounds more like he was OD'ing and you just finished the job. You may not have thought of it, but maybe he didn't fight back because on some level he knew he deserved it..."
>she scoots as closely as she can to you, holding you in place with a tight hug as you try to scoot around the half moon seat away from her
>"Besides, I'm not afraid of you."
>is she being serious?
>she huffs at you angrily as you give her the look of a madman calling the kettle a screeching loon
>"I don't think a normal anthro would be fine with hearing their love interest put someone in the dirt... but as a really weird Apex predator hybrid cat that is concerned that one day I may have draw my weapon as an awkward triple letter law enforcement agent... knowing that in a strange way my potential mate one day has the capability to pull a trigger in a serious situation..."
>she is doing all she can to not look at you, her tail's tip spasming back and forth like it was full of bees
>"It's only a bit concerning to myself that it's hot. I blame my instincts! Please don't leave me because I'm crazy!"
>it takes you a moment to register what she said, but as you do you hold her as closely to you on top of the Ferris wheel as you can, looking out over the night with her
>"I'm just happy you didn't run away from me. And I assumed you were crazy. I just took that risk because you're a dangerous jungle cat, ya goof."
>she looks confused for a moment before busting out laughing, playfully nibbling at your neck for a second
>"Fear me, human!"
>she purrs happily before retreating and twiddling her thumbs in a nervous embarrassment
>"Oh? Fear you? How could I fear such a silly cat? You don't even know my last name yet!"
>she looks properly embarrassed as you whisper it in her ear softly, pretending you said nothing
>"You're Anon Mous. I totally knew that off the top of my head. Y-yeah."
>you nibble her ear softly as she slinks away slightly from you, tail twitching like mad at your teasing intimacy
>"Well then, you don't even know how to do one of those cliche ferris wheel moments right!"
>you pull her in for a sudden kiss, and she happily shares the awkward moment with you, her tail wrapping around your waist as you gently put passionately kiss under glass filtered starlight
>you break away from the kiss as the wheel lurches, the evident repairs finally completed
>she hugs you the entire time, her tail wildly flying around in the air behind her before it's time to exit the ride, finally
>she composes herself back into a somewhat professional manner, and guides the two of you off of the wheel with a smile on her face
>"Now that our bloody, lustful, and horribly painful secrets are over we can talk about the stupid happy stuff! Also play fair games. I didn't come here to just mope. Let's have some fun!"

>you are lead all over the fairgrounds, running through various games and collecting tickets as she happily speaks about the good things she's had happen to her since you arrived
>for starters, she has a lot of solid friends now, not entirely due to you, but you were a major bridge
>she met Clara, Lilith, Cass, and so many other females through you should could easily bond with
>while she was normally afraid of males, she made exceptions for the ones you trusted, like the strong anon and your mechanic
>Clara and Lilith had been her two biggest supporters, Clara in how she was so happy to give her full support in going after you, and Lilith in healing wounds so you could have the chance to get a little bit closer
>"What about Jezzel?"
>Jasmine actually hissed angrily, her fur standing on end as she fumed
>"That bitch made a fucking bet with me! She said she'd give me room to make you my man, but I only had until christmas to make my move or she'd sprig on you and do her best to make you hers! Fucking hussie ass husky."
>you cant help but laugh as she takes the tickets from a ring toss game, and grabs your arm tightly as she clings to your side, giving you the right to lead again
>in the distance, a strength testing ring the bell game all but abandoned by the crowd so you know what you want to talk about and where to do it
>taking her in your hand you lead her towards the game, eyeing up the three challenge levels as you talk
>"Not much to really talk about that you don't know. Just some boring family moments we can talk about later, same as your personal family memories, but I do have some fun jobs to talk about! At one point I have been a cashier, a bouncer, worked every position in the chicken plant that wasn't a manager position, was an exotic dancer for a club located inside of a casino called a "Para-dice city", and I even worked as a railway worker at one point which is how I'm going to win this here game!"
>you look over the winnings, and notice that behind a glass case sits the one thing you never thought you'd see
>a honest to god chrome plated Foreigner 1983 tour "silver slayer" novelty belt, with the words "GRAND PRIZE" embroidered into the silk just above where it sits in the case
>you shush Jasmine as she has a moment of complex interest in why you were working the poles in a casino, and ask the game operator what you have to do to win it
>he smiles a black-toothed grin and motions to the three levels of bell ring games sitting at the end of his booth, in the open air of the night
>"You have to take the hardcore driver challenge! You have to ring each of them bells with the right hammer, 3 times in a row. You get one retry only. 10 swings total. If you land all 9 of 'em, or even manage the tenner, then you win the grand prize and the belt is yours!"
>his smile nearly breaks his face as he pulls the display case upright, showing off a finely finished hickory handle
>"The entire display, alongside a second box made of engraved oak. But it's 50$ to try. Most people don't got the balls son, do you?"
>you hand him a crisp Benjamin and pick up the smallest hammer for the weakest game, slapping it hard for three rings in a row
>"That's the fuckin' spirit!"
>Jasmine steps back to watch you go at the second bell game, with a different and slightly heavier hammer in hand as you speak to her through the night air
>you give it the first solid ring, your hands firmly grasping the shaft as you smash down into it viciously
>"I'm a bit odd in that even as an anon, knowing she can't get them, I text my mother like I'm sending her letters every week. They're huge messages that cover all I can, and I generally do my best to keep it short, and send her a picture."
>you slam down the hammer for a second solid ring as the operator laughs, changing the song on the speakers to Aerosmith's dude looks like a lady
>"Jokes on you buddy, you're playing head games with me, but if you think that's gonna stop me..."
>the hammer rings thrice the bell of victory, and you plop down that hammer to grapple with the biggest one there
>a beast that the operator offers gloves to let you wield, but you refuse
>"20kg" is stamped on the steel head, and you slowly but surely lift the beast into position to let it down, the kitten waiting for you to speak
>you slowly find it's balance as you speak
>"I always send her a text every week. Always. I'm thinking about sending her a text this week with you wearing one of my leather jackets, a nice band T-shirt..."
>the hammer falls like a bomb, sending sparks flying as it smashes into the metal plate on the ground, the bell softly ringing in the night air
>"and a really fucking awesome belt. For you."
>the operator laughs as you shoulder the metal beast again
>"I'll count that, you brave bastard! 2 to go!"
>good, because you're gonna hit it till it cries out into the night proper
>Jasmine is cheering you on as you make sure your grip is tight, preparing yourself again to strike
>"She may not ever see me again, but I want to make sure she knows I'm doing her proud. She was very concerned about me before I left. Ooh, a penny!"
>you slam down hard into the plate, causing a louder ring to emanate in the air, and pretend to pick up a coin off of the ground
>you can feel sweat dripping down your body, and pull your shirt off, throwing it to the proud feline who is cheering so loud that onlookers are staring at your form now
>you know exactly what you'd going to do as you shoulder the beast one more time, music blaring as the carnie worker sounds the alarm that we have a winner about to go for his final strikes
>"I would have to say that my dad would have been sad with me. I've have 3 girlfriends, had 4 total times I've given someone a mouthful of my herb's and spice, and yet I'm still a god damned virgin."
>you slam down with a tectonic force, sliding the hammer down onto the ground, grip facing the sky as a crisp ring feels the air again
>the crowd cheers on your victory as you smile, but you stop the stunned carnival worker as he begins to give you your wager money back, as well as your prize
>"I just wanted to say, that what I'm about to do is risky, and you should leave the swinging to a trained professional."
>you run back towards the hammer, picking it up in your hands firmly in a solid motion, sliding to a stop on your feet at the edge of the plate's striking zone, and use all of your power in your body to bring the hammer down one last time on target
>unlike the somewhat gentle rings before, the metal ringing sled flies up and bashes fiercely into the metal, causing a gong like bong to resound in the air as the crowd cheers and you collect your prize
>Jasmine, flustered by the crowd and your display of super masculine vitality, is unable to stop you as you sweep her off her feet and kiss her, case in hand
>you hold her against you for a moment, before leading her through the crowd towards the exit

>not a single person followed the two of you as you escape the fairgrounds together, all of the males of various sizes rushing in to take their shot at the challenge to win whatever second pick items he had back in storage
>you lead your positively buzzing kitten towards the parking lot as she simply  clutches your shirt in her hands, smelling deeply into it
>on the way out you notice a cheetah family walking along with an anon son, talking about who was going on the ride next, while the mother and daughter argued with their son about who was going to go in what order
>you're a bit confused on what ride they're trying to all queue up for so close to the exit, but you guess they must be talking about plans for tomorrow or something
>you help her into the car as she is near catatonic, taking back your shirt and smiling at her as you put it on from inside of the car
>"So which part of the ending stunned you so much? My display of masculine authority, the kiss that said you were mine, or learning that I'm some kind of dork for saving myself for you?"
>she giggles as her tail tries to break your car windows, buckling her seat belt with your help as her mind wanders
>"Yesssssssssss."
>that's good enough for you
>letting her continue on in lala land, you peel out of the parking lot and begin a mad dash home


>when you finally return home with her you race to the door, throw caution to the wind, toss the vintage belt prize you won her onto your bed, and in seconds are both on the couch besides one another
>all of the previous dumb tension is gone, and she's happily latched onto your arm from how enjoyable the (admittedly awkward) night of talking was for the both of you
>you can feel the sensual tension as you sit beside her, and decide that this moment is perfect, finally to make a move on her
>you know she actually loves you
>you know she threw out the small voice of stupidity in the back of her head that was telling her that her actual mating instincts, that were rabid enough to nearly make her force you down on her multiple times that she admitted to, were definitely correct in picking you to be her mate
>that final moment at the fair was enough you probably could have just thrown her ankles on your shoulders the second you were into your shared home
>but you have a much better idea, so you start the moment off as best you can
>"knock knock."
>"who's there?" she responds with a giggle and a fluttering tail
>without saying anything, you suddenly leap onto her and pin her to the couch as you both make out wildly
>thoughts race through your mind as her animal instincts seem to be pushing her own desires further by the moment, going from face fighting to full on tongue mortal kombat
>true to her word, her tongues was a soft as silk, and it glid around in your mouth to the wonderful vibrating sound of purring from her strange and wonderful hybrid body
>science aside, also ignoring that you two are getting really hot chemistry going on the couch, you hear her very loudly undo her belt and let her button on her pants go
>you simply ignore it as the long tonsil hockey duel ends and goes into much more animalistic neck nibbling, carefully gentle with her sharp fangs but rabidly excited none the less
>you return favor grooming her fur with your mouth and bite into her neck, causing her to shudder with arousal and just a tinge of nervous excitement
>both of your hands find their ways into her pants and fiddle around in her underwear, rubbing everywhere but nowhere in particular as she wildly searches for something to grab on you
>within seconds her claws dig into your belt slightly, but she stops and moves them onto your shoulders before going right back to sucking on your tongue again
>after letting her get her fill of what your mouth tastes like you break away to suck in precious  oxygen, and ask softly if she's ready to go further
>she looks nervous for the first time in hours, and bites her finger while looking away
>"I... n-need to take a shower."
>you sigh and can feel that your balls beginning to blue up, though you're happy that she at least had the courage to let you go this far with her and make it clear she very much did eventually want to push it all the way
>"I'll be right back then. Gonna head to the store to get some stuff."
>she tells you to not be gone for too long, and you just nod your head
>you'll still get cuddles when you get back at least, maybe share a nice kiss, or maybe just maybe she'll let you be a devil and paint white stripes on her fur for your birthday if you were lucky
>why else would she have the naughty nightwear, if not for a devilish photo op at the very least?

>your short ride to the liquor store and back scores you some crown royal, Captain Morgan, and a 2 liter of fall themed "taste of autumn" Dr. Pepper
>whomever thought of adding just a tiny dash of fall to Dr. Pepper was a genious, and along with the new "cola mixer" Captain morgan release, probably an alcoholic
>you return to find that the bathroom and guest room doors are open and the lights are on in both, showing they were clearly empty
>guess it's time for her gift to be revealed
>you turn the lights off, pouring yourself a half shot of Captain Cola and Fall Pepper
>without even pausing you slosh it back before slipping the two containers back onto a table and out of the way
>the tastes blend so well together you can't help but feel that the alcoholic conspiracy theory of them being crafted for one another had to be true
>that's some good shit.autistictigerscribbles
>walking into your room, your window table sports a very shapely figure only broken by what is most likely one of Jezzel's tube tops
>you make out the gentle curves of Jasmine on the table as your eyes adjust, her Jade stare burned into your eyes as she lifts up a hand to playfully claw at the air and becon you closer
>something flies at you and you realize she chunked it your way, and hadn't simply clawed at the air playfully
>you bend over to pick it up as the kitten crawls slowly and carefully over and onto your bed
>you pick up the odd bit of fabric, and your heart begins to pulse at near sonic speeds as you recognize Jezzel's panties she had gifted you
>Jasmine had been wearing them, and her body had created an almost boiling hot to the touch wet streak down their center
>your mind clicks into place as you hear a playful wet noises and purring coming from the feline who is now perched in the dim light on your bed
>the only thing still confusing you is that you don't see a pink glow, and are confused for a moment before you hear her smacking her lips down on her hand as loudly as possible
>...

>all bets are off now
>your boner rockets out of your pants so hard the button actually suffers from a stress failure and flies across the room and into the wall
>the crotch rocket propelled disk of death flies so fast you swear it goes right through the wall as you hear a car alarm in the distance
>no time for possible causalities now, you gotta grab life by the horns!
>with a few more moments of near demonic abandon for the stranger's vehicle and or life, you tear the poor kitten's stole clothing with your teeth and she seems surprised at your testosterone fueled man-rage
>by the glory of all that is holy this sweater tastes like ass, and not the kind that's fun to eat
>you spit out the fur dye flavored shirt and now you're calm again
>okay, you're still hornier than a satanic horny toad hopped on viagra after doing a line of coke off of a stripper's ass in the handicap stall of buffalo wild wings, but you ran out of small objects at crotch level to possibly kill people with
>you grip your large dangerous object at crotch level in hand firmly, looking over to Jasmine wiggling around with excitement on your bed
>she looks so critically hot and bothered you have a legitimate concern that she's nearly in a feral heat, which makes sense since she's never had someone to help her get rid of her urges before
>an anthro in heat that is a predator with no lover for some time, or having their first experience can be very dangerous to their partner, even if they don't want to be
>Jasmine probably couldn't hurt you if she tried to, but you have to respect that she's pretty close to causing herself to burst into flames, so you need to take precautions
>"Jasmine. I swear to all of the mighty beings that exist that I'm about to do VERY evil things to you. Unspeakable amazing things, but I have to turn on the light to find something, ok?"
>she purrs loudly, and you can hear her playing with herself again on your bed, as if to sate her for a few moments while you go about your tasks
>"It wouldn't be enjoying your gift in full if you couldn't see what I've learned about myself just a few days ago... please turn the lights on, Mous."
>she's calling you by your last name, and not your dumb nickname
>holy shit she's gotta be roasting herself by now
>your boner gets so hard you feel light headed, but march over to the switch so you can find her sensual restraints faster
>when you glance over at her the sight on your bed shocks you, but it only makes you search harder and faster

>"you were right about my fur, my love. I thought it was silly that it would even out at some point..." 
>a moan breaks her words as she continues to go at herself, wet strands linking her wet lips and fingers like she had just been swimming in a her own heat
>her figure is a soft blanket of frost covered by gently laid charcoal streaks in her fur that only days ago was stained pink with her soft fur healing dyes
>this angelic creature had been hiding under a fake coat her entire life for fear of her irregular fur coloring issue, but since you complimented her lighter fur and made her wonder about how evenly it was now...
>"I feel so exotic with snowy fur. The white coat doesn't make me feel strange anymore. Now that it covers me entirely, and you're the first to see me like this..." 
>she pauses to unleash deliciously deep moan and a shiver, her snowy fur rippling for a moment with ecstasy 
>"I can't help but feel like this is the me that I should have been all along; With you, love."
>you find the silk shibari ropes that Jezzel had teasing left, as part of an offer to let you tie her up next time she was in heat after visiting at one point, deciding to use them to fasten your lovely tiger down on top of your shared bed 
>when you finish she's on her knees, her legs are held as if she was still sitting on them, her arms held behind her back, and the chest section managing to use her breasts to hold it all together and in place
>while the normal tie is supposed to have her tail held up, you gave it a lot more slack so that she could get it free if she felt like it, since you figure she wouldn't be able to do much but rub you with her it, or wrap it on your neck like a collar either way
>while you are trying to think of how to start, you begin to look for a condom before what she told you at the fair strikes you on the back of the head
>she doesn't use birth control or heat medicine because she's a hybrid, and because the only person she could see herself with is you...
>she doesn't care where you finish, even if you finish inside due to her genetics (and probably the desire to be bred by you)
>your statement about your boner getting harder earlier was a lie
>you are at defbone-1 now
>deciding (admittedly selfishly) you should get a birthday treat to start out the night, you roll around to her tied front end and she happily begins to lap at you without saying a word
>her head bobs gently and loving around your rigid member, purrs providing a gentle vibration which feels just as good physically as it does emotionally
>she seems excited by how the ropes hug to her body, and at least a bit relieved since she won't be able to easily hurt you at the start of all of the fun
>your mind wanders as you push your hips forwards to make it easier for the bound tiger to help herself to a taste of her newest bedtime allowance, and you already feel a tingle you only ever hoped she would make you have
>it doesn't take more than a few minutes of purring and happily lapping at you before you burst into and all over her mouth, causing her to loudly lick her lips and compliment every single quality of it she could find
>taste, smell, volume, all of it
>as far as she was concerned you were her guy fieri, and you had just taken her to flavor town
>moving back around to her backside, you don't even bother to clean your still hard tiger treat cream covered rod before teasing the entrance of her hot, slippery, dripping mess of a hot lady lovebox
>as you press into her body you can feel a resistance and pressure not unlike what you assume being stuck inside lava must be like, though with a bit more tiger and pleasure involved
>you take the time to let her adjust to your length, and she can't help but moan and cherish the moment
>"I know I've seen it before... and all of those mmmmhhh "bred" videos on the chans always over exaggerate how it must feel to let a human go to town on you... but even knowing that I can't help but feel like I'm already seconds from coming from the mere feeling of being full of you. The size is driving me crazy, but the fact that it's you..."
>she lets out a very harsh and aroused purring roar into the silent night air
>"You better keep me tied down for the first time. I don't think I can physically hurt you even if I wanted to... but I may be enjoying the idea that I'm being forcefully bred like in those images... or maybe just that I'm being bred by you.~"
>well that settles your thoughts early pretty damn well
>slowly and gently you move back and forth, causing her to gradually coat your crotch in sticky webs of her hot fluids as she slowly adjusts to you pushing on her insides
>after hitting the the very back, you pull out to a mix of whining and purring, begging you to stick and back in and at least wiggle it a little for her if you need to go slow
>she continues to beg and whisper your name as you happily rub between her lips, causing her to become somewhat desperate
>because you aren't a monster you start lining up your shot after a few short second, ramming your way all the way to the end of her hot body, smashing roughly into her cervix and causing her to shudder and convulse internally with excitement
>two more rough thrusts cause her to openly drool with pleasure, and you go back to short gentle thrusts so she doesn't lose her mind just yet
>"Just tempting you a bit is all, Kitten. Wanted you to know you had all I had to give inside before I started to really get this show on the road."
>she purrs while you hold your hips still, teasing her for a moment
>taking your tease as a challenge, she wiggles back and forth just enough to get an inch or so in and out of her, making her smile and look at you over her shoulder
>she's making it clear that even if you stop at some point, she'll be damned if she won't happily do what she can to take over...
>to put it simply, no matter what tonight's wild ride is going to feel amazing for the both of you

Chapter 13: Take no Prisoners

>Jasmine's fur is as supple and warm as she is right now, bathing you in a feeling of intense comfort alongside intense pleasure
>Every thrust you make into her somehow feels more sensitive than the last one you made, as if she was somehow increasing the pleasure you were feeling manually
>Her insides were much warmer and inviting than you could have expected to have felt
>Every inch of movement you made felt like moving back and forth into a personal sauna only you could enjoy
>He breathing slowly went from dense and powerful inhaling to ragged moan punctuated pants
>This was everything you could have every hoped to enjoy with her taken to a level you couldn't have imagined 
>But... in the back of your mind something bothers you about the way she's moving
>Her body is shaking a bit with each thrust, which you assume is normal because of how pleasurable the experience was
>You focus less on sex and focus more on paying attention to her body language
>Jasmine's tail was free of the loose bindings and tucked under her body
>Her head is fixated looking forward even though she could easily turn it to look at you or move it around and bite a pillow
>The hair on her back is all up and her whiskers seem to be back more towards her body than normal
>Combined with realizing that her body isn't shaking but instead shivering while her ears are back and flat on her head...
>Jasmine's terrified

>Yesterday's talk comes back up in your mind as you try to figure out why she's so scared
>Jasmine was a victim of some rather heinous things, and it dons on you she may be having old memories dragged up by doing this with you
>On top of that she's tied up on her knees in a dark room, and you're some she has fully trusted at several points who may as well be stopping her from leaving
>A wave of guilt smashes into you as it dons on you that she may have fantasized about this before, but fantasy and reality don't always see eye to eye when you can't let go of bad memories
>She may be getting aroused by all of this and is no doubt enjoying it on some level, but unfortunately doubts are making this entire thing hard for her to handle
>You're hurting her in a way she can't help but feel because of something she did admittedly seem to want you to try with her
>Jasmine is shaking with fear in what should be a moment of safety and shared compassion between the two of you, and that just isn't right
>Despite how much your heart tells you to work through it and try to continue that just won't work right now
>So you slow down your thrusts delicately and gently over time, making sure you don't seem to be abandoning the entire scenario with her
>Once you're finally down to a delicate and deliberate tempo, you carefully pull yourself back and outside of your lovely kitten
>Jasmine takes a moment to realize what's going on, and seems a bit sheepish since she knows you noticed her fearful reaction
>You feel a bit bad as she seems to be crying softly, looking for words to encourage you to keep going so that she can do this with you
>A careful tug on a part of the binds on her arms free them but she stays crouched like she was, still encouraging you with gentle whimpers to keep trying
>After pulling the ropes off of her legs and freeing her of the binds she lets out a final plea as she struggles to find word of encouragement for you
>Without a word you pull Jasmine close to you and into your caring arms
>Tears flow gently as she does her best to apologize for messing everything up
>You pull her as close as you can, moving sheets around to cover the two of you while you hold her body against yours
>Jasmine's muscular frame is shorter than yours, but much more dense and trained
>Even if she was a bit more lazy in her free time it seemed her lineage made it so that it was easy on her part to stay fit
>She was the result of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution into an apex predator species with few competitors at her level
>And yet nothing about her besides her physical strength would have told you that
>Jasmine was every bit the kitten you called her as playfully, and one that had been hurt in ways that you couldn't understand
>You walked a long painful road because you made mistakes on your own, not because someone forced their will on you
>You and only you decided to try to save your brother from himself
>You and only you became a shadow of a monster as you began to step into the shoes your father left behind for you
>The kind of man who used violence as a solution for almost every problem that didn't happen under his own roof
>He was the reason back in the day people started calling you Chick, and why the name "Chickenman" stung so much when anyone called you that
>His last gift to you were his blood stained clothes, jacket, and a shotgun
>Those were the only remaining pieces of the legacy of Hawk, outside of painful memories you realize even now you had been pushing away and hiding from
>Unlike Hawk though you knew when to be gentle and when to be rough
>And right now Jasmine needed you to be as gentle and as caring as you could possibly be

>Jasmine mumbles to herself as you hold her close to your chest
>She nuzzles you softly as she cries, still trying to apologize to you
>"Why would you apologize to me Jas? You- no. WE tried. That's what matters."
>You bring her face up to look at you as tears streak through her bright frosty fur like snow melting in the rain
>"We can take all the time you need. We don't have to do this tonight, sweet kitten. I want you to be as comfortable as you can be in doing this."
>Jasmine's crying makes way to anger as she yells back at you seemingly out of nowhere
>"NO! I'll puss out if I don't do it now! I'll never get up the courage again! I'll just keep pussing out every time because I'm a big pussy about this kind of stuff! I trust you chick! I trust you as much as I could trust anyone! It's... I just... I-I.."
>Jasmine throws her arms around you for comfort and cries against you about how she's sorry for being a failure, causing you to grab her by the chin and look directly into her eyes
>"Don't you ever say that Jasmine. Ever. You're a beautiful woman who's had a tough life. You carry some scars that take time to heal, and if we can't go at it right now because those wounds keep opening up then I'll step back and give you the space you need."
>She tries to dry her tears with a finger and kisses you on the cheek for a moment
>"You're very sweet Chick. But I need to figure out some way to get over this. I-If not tonight then I don't k-know when. I want this Chick. I really, really do. I just... I dunno."
>She holds herself close to you, rubbing her furry face against you
>"Let me try to clear my head a while Chick. If you have any ideas on what to do I'll give them a try. I... I just don't want this to end like this ya know? Not happening is one thing..."
>She shifts her weight closer to you and whispers about not wanting to be a failure as she tried to calm down
>Minutes slowly tick by
>What feels like hours melt away as she shifts around, facing away from you and letting you wrap your arms around her so she can feel a bit more safe
>You feel that the two of you are just about to give up when inspiration strikes you from out of nowhere
>"Do you mind if I try to calm you down a bit Jas?"
>She gives you a somber look, but sighs and nods before nuzzling against you with her fuzzy body again

>You slowly roll Jasmine onto her back and rub her belly, causing her to huff at you with minor indignation
>"N-no. Don't rub my belly! T-that's silly..."
>You slowly work your palm through the soft and delicate fur over her abs, kissing her on the neck softly
>The echo of very faint purrs catch your ear as you rub away at her belly, Jasmine slowly seeming to become more agitated as you rub her abs softly and slowly
>"Seems to me that it's not that it's silly, kitten. You obviously enjoy it a lot."
>Jasmine attempts to pipe up another complaint but you playfully nibble on her neck when she goes to whine
>Purrs quickly escape from her throat as she finds herself unable to properly contain them or even complain
>Slow methodical minutes pass as you ruffle the fur on her belly and slowly nibble at her neck in between soft kisses to bring her closer to a calm and happy state
>Her soft purring becomes hearty and deep, every bite you land causing her to chuff at you a bit louder until she's can't stop from purring and chuffing constantly with every nibble
>Her shakes slowly stop and
>Nuzzling into her neck and letting your hand rest on her belly, you playfully ask if she's more relaxed now
>Jasmine narrows her eyes and rolls over to pin you down for a moment as she contemplates revenge
>"Oh no. I hated it soooo much. You handsome devil."
>Jasmine licks your neck lovingly, her silky smooth tongue gliding up your neck at a constant pace
>When you move your hand to scratch her tail she grabs both your hands and pins you down, continuing to lavishly and slowly lick your neck
>The feeling becomes surprisingly enjoyable as it slowly turns to playful nibbles
>Every few nibbles Jasmine sneaks in a kiss on your cheek, before going back to purring and grooming while teasing you with the occasional peck
>You turn you head towards her lips when she moves to kiss your cheek again and catch her entirely off guard
>Even without being able to move your arms you keep her in place by locking your lips on hers and starting a slow passionate kiss with her
>Without a thought in her mind she returns the favor and kisses you lovingly on the lips
>Minutes pass as her large lips latch onto yours and allow for her purring to permeate your face
>Out of nowhere you push your tongue into her mouth while doing your best to flip her off of you and regain control
>Jasmine's body reacts of it's own accord and you find yourself in a tongue fight with your favorite kitten as you pin her down
>A solid minute of Tongue Deathmatch and Jasmine finally breaks to catch her breath
>A devious smile crosses your face and Jasmine's eyes go wide as she sees your face darting to her neck again
>Unable to stop you from doing it, you clasp onto her neck playfully and hold on gently but firm
>The deep guttural moan she releases in response probably should have startled you, but a different feeling seems to fill the both of you as you pull away and look at the panting tigress laying underneath you
>Without a word you let go of Jasmine's hand and crawl off of her, letting her move pillows and covers back around to act as a ledge of sorts to lie on as she assumes the unfairly named doggy position
>With an already firm member in hand, you aim towards your waiting kitten's inviting folds and slowly press forward
>Unlike last time you methodically press forward so as to let her acclimate and enjoy the feeling of running out of room with a bit more lethargy than your last attempt
>A very gracious shudder welcome you as you fully hilt yourself inside of your loving mate
>After a few more gentle prods of your full length you give her a bit more gas, grabbing her hips and moving with a tad bit more urgency
>An uncomfortable shiver or two running up her spine alongside her ears twitching  and the other symptoms flaring up again almost take you out of it
>Almost, but not quite
>A wicked plan strikes you in the moment and you move back and forth inside of Jasmine's loving body as you politely ask a question
>"Hey kitty, can you do me a favor and hand me my phone?"
>Jasmine turns to face you with a look of confusion and a small tinge of fear as she simply gives you a confused glance
>"I'm trying to break the ice a bit! Can you trust me for just a second to do something silly?"

>Jasmine takes her time to grab for your phone, but nods and smiles at you before quietly telling you she can trust you completely with a single caveat
>"As long as you tell me what you're doing."
>You punch in a phone number and lean back while slowly bringing Jasmine up to your level
>Jasmine takes a moment to rebalance herself as her fear gives way to confusion while you grip her hips to support the shift in position
>A picture of your Mechanic's contact info shows up on screen as you explain what in the hell you plan on doing
>"I want to break the ice a bit, and play a prank on our buddy. He's been really getting on my nerves with telling me I need to take better care of the car, and working on getting me and you to be a thing one day. All I need you to do is keep your purring steady so we can try to outsmart him."
>Jasmine takes the phone into her hand as you gently move back and forth inside of her, breaking her concentration a bit
>She loves playing jokes on people, but clearly the idea of callign someone during sex is a bit odd
>In an attempt to bring out her playful nature you nibble on her whiskers and make her giggle and try to move her neck and face to dodge your silly bites
>opening her neck up again for a critical attack which makes her go from gentle purring and shaking into a harsh vibrating purr that somehow resonates through her insides into you
>"F-f-fuck... I-I mean fine. Y-yeah, I'm game. J-ju-uuuuuuunnnff-fffucccckkkk~"
>Jasmine interrupts herself with a moan as you bite down on her neck a bit more harshly and take the moment to give her stronger thrusts as you break her defenses wide open
>Instead of trying to stop you Jasmine grasps onto your hair and loses herself in the moment, moving her hips away when you pull back and harshly into yours when you rush forward
>You take this opportunity to grasp her hips and pump her viciously against yourself with a distinct lack of mercy
>She starts shivering and shaking again but it's clear to you that the spasms she's suffering at the moment are brutal semi-orgasmic pulses from the sudden and powerful fucking she's unable to stop
>Jasmine licks her lips and starts to slam back against you when you thrust to make it all the more powerful, making sloppy wet slaps when she fully hilts you
>The gentle heat of her body begins to glow more powerfully inside of her to the point that you feel like you're feeding your wood into a furnace that runs on pleasure
>Every inch you feed her coats you perpetually in more of her feminine lubrication, making every next thrust just the smallest bit easier with a slightly louder wet slap
>A few minutes pass by as she pants and slaps her shapely butt against your pelvis, before catching herself and sticking a finger in your mouth so she can move your devilish nibbles away from her vulnerable neck
>You realize suddenly your're a bit closer than you thought you were and attempt to make a mad dash or sorts towards the finish line
>Caught completely off she lets the fucking pan out for almost an entire minute before trying to move her hips forward and back in sync with you to minimize the pleasure and speak
>It doesn't work entirely, but she's doing her best and you can't help but find it endearing and cute
>"B-Bad Chick! G-gah. That's  v-very sensitive spot. Start the call before I get too angry and lose myself again."
>Oh, so that was anger?
>Seemed a bit more like an almost feral desire to take more inches on the pound express, but you know better than to argue
>You decide to slow down a bit and don't push your luck with finishing up before the call even happens, letting your still somewhat distance release fall back into the abyss for now
>"Follow my lead Jas, and try to keep your purring as even as you can make it."
>You move into delicate and slow thrusts against her, letting her slowly sync back into supplementing your movements as she tries to steady out her purring
>Traces of her nervousness flare up every couple of thrusts, but a gentle kiss on the neck evens her out as she steadies her purring and you start the call
>As she fully evens out you grind to a halt and let Jasmine sway her hips against you so she can maintain whatever pace she needs to keep
>A few moments of ringing and your favorite mechanic answers, the sound of his creeper rolling out from under a car muffling his hello
>"What's up?"

>You put your hand over the the mic so he can't hear you laugh with Jasmine as you make a calm response to him
>"Just wanted to have you play a little game. Figured you might be bored. I'm riding something right now and just wanted you to have a guess at what it was."
>You slowly and carefully press the mic up against Jasmine's back letting her smooth deep purrs fill the mic as she gently teases the two of you with gentle sways
>Your mechanic seems to take in the sound for a near minute as he mumbles ot himself and even flips through a book of some sort to see something
>"Well... Is it a V8? That's pretty damned hearty, but it doesn't have the same kick as your car. Doesn't whine like Jasmine's rust bucket of a hippie wagon."
>Jasmine laughs into her hand before moving it over her shoulder with fingers wiggling to show you she wants the phone
>You let her take the phone, causing her hips to give you a slow and steady rocking motion to replace the swaying as your reward for the moment
>"Well hi there. Want to take another guess, or hand Lillith the phone?"
>You hear the mechanic say she's in the living room followed by confused and almost angry mumbling, before you hear rustling noises as the phone moves into Lillith's hands
>"I was told I was supposed to guess what Chick is riding right now. How the hell would I know?"
>Jasmine puts the phone on her chest for a moment, pulling it back to hear a bunch of almost immediately excited squeeing from Lillith
>You can hear her joyous noises clearly as they lead into chiding her husband
>"How could you not know that one you dolt? That's the god damned noise you've been yelling at Chick for ages to hear!"
>Jasmine lets out a hearty giggle as Lil' and her husband argue in a silly manner before he gets the phone back and asks what you called him about since the game is getting on his nerves a bit
>"Just thought I'd call to give you the good news. Now I can finally stop having you riding my ass about riding Jasmine's!"
>You laugh and hang up as you hear him become even more confused for a moment, Jasmine palming your phone and muting it bending over to place it face down on the night stand
>She takes the moment fully bent over to stretch out her back and playfully moved her fuzzy rump back against you again
>Not taking the bait immediately causes her to act coy to what she's doing as she tries to pretend to stretch to entice you a bit more
>When you don't take the bait she laughs and rises back into the position you were railing her in before, wiggling her hips against you playfully and putting one of your hands on her hip
>She turns to face you and you lock lips with her again as your right hand grabs for her supple breast
>She matches you by gripping her left as you continue to lock lips and slowly spin up the battering ram again inside of her
>Even though not a word has been said since she put the phone down you can tell that your lovely Kitten feels safe and playful enough to finally take this ride all the way
>You pull your lips away from hers and ask if she's ready to start back where she interrupted you the last time
>Without a word Jasmine swipes her hair out of the way and presents it to you as she starts to loudly purr
>She lets out a solid chuff as you rush her insides with a rapid thrust that quickly turns into a rhythmic pistoning
>The chuff transitions into a deep moan as you nibble her neck again to prey on her exposed weak spot
>Time to get this party started

>Jasmine's body reacts quickly this time as it heats up to what feels like a boil
>Her insides constrict on you like a vice with each thrust, supple lubrication being the only savior from grinding you to a halt inside of her
>Every pound you lay into her gets a resonating thrust backward in return, her hand grasping at her erect nub in one hand while the other rests on top of the hand holding onto her hip
>You punctuate the nibbling and kissing with very occasional hickies, causing your kitten to momentarily freeze up out of surprise and pleasure every time
>You could spend an eternity like this, having kitten help you go at her while kneeling on the bed in a cooperative loving embrace
>After a few minutes of solid thrusting Jasmine falls onto the bed and holds up her hand to signal you to stop for a moment as she finds it hard to communicate with words
>Although worried she's going to stop again, you capitulate for her sake and let her pull herself off of you as don an unsure but seemingly confident smirk for her sake
>Rather than ending the fun however Jasmine pushes all of the pillows and into a pile behind her as she lays facing you on her back, grabbing her calves and presenting herself to you
>You leap into the dominant position on top of her and let her pull you into a passionate kiss
 >After a few seconds of thrusts attempting to get inside of her without any help she uses her hands to spread herself and guide you in
>A shudder runs up her spine as you begin to thrust confidently back and forth into her, ratcheting up the power this time since you know she's relying on you to provide as much pleasure as you can
>Her legs move up onto your shoulder as you pound her from above, allowing you to lay against her muscular frame to pound with a bit more ease
>As thanks you immediately ratchet up the strength a bit and her eyes roll back into her head as you viciously thank her
>Her legs violent shake and her fingers grip the sheets as if she was at risk of being thrown off as she struggles to keep her body firmly in place for you
>Every second ticks by like an hour as thrust after thrust seemingly threatens to break the apex predator under you in half
>All of the pounding you've done up to this point though is catching up to you, and as the first trickle of pre-cum finally escapes into her she changes positions so that she's has her legs pumping your hips
>Your member twitches wildly as you get closer and closer with each thrust while Jasmine pulls you as close as she can with her hands and legs
>You try to stutter out that you're about to finish as Jasmine firmly pulls you directly into her fuzzy body, hands gripping your back viciously as you detonate inside her like a megaton bomb
>Months of pent up frustration and a lack of fapping saved a massive load for her, and you pump her vigorous with it as her eyes go wild
>A few thrusts into the explosive climax of your own and you feel Jasmine's walls suddenly shudder and violently constrict you
>Rather than stop though, you push yourself harder as you try to rid yourself of every drop your body was saving for her
>You feel claws pressing into the skin on your back as Dr. Cord's foremost tip on apex predator anthros and hybrids who are having a first time they've been anxious about blasts into your mind
>"Even the tamest of female anthro can fall victim to their instincts in their first true moment of passion"
>You probably should have bit down harder on her neck so you could have pistoned her full of hot love before that call and avoided this
>But you know what they say about experience life in the moment 
>Hindsight is 20/20

>Claws tear into your back and you pump the last of yourself into her with a pained grimace
>You ponder if you came harder because of that or because you wanted to make you drained yourself into her
>That thought is interrupted as the pain hits like a freight train
>You scream bloody murder into her shoulder as she licks your neck lovingly, her mind floating somewhere in the stratosphere because of the hot blast you just filled her with
>She hold you tightly and laps at you slowly, only stopping to be confused as blood trickles into her mouth
>She licks one or two of the large gashes in your back for a few moments before reality hits her and her eyes go wide
>"JESUS CHRIST CHICK! I'M SO SORRY!"
>She scrambles to move out from under you, sliding off the bad and nearly tripping as her legs are still weak from the mostly happy experience that the two of you just shared
>You do your best to crawl off of the bed on your own as your rather terrified kitten rushes to your side to help you move towards the bedroom door
>She pushes open the door and begins to hyperventilate as she guides you to the bathroom
>Kicking the door open she almost throws you into the shower and turns the cold water on, blasting your wounds with what feels like ice as she holds your hand for strength
>Whether or was for your strength of hers you can't be entirely sure
>After the wounds begin to slow down their bleeding she looks at them better and cursing when she finds that they're still too bloody to check properly
>"Since it's clear they're not so bad I'm gonna bleed out or anything can we just put a towel on my back, maybe try to get some sleep until the morning when everyone shows up?"
>Jasmine can't seem to hear you as she digs through the small cupboard underneath the Sink looking for medicine
>"Jas? Did you catch that?"
>She panics more as she throws old moldy containers out and looks like she's freaking out even harder than she has been
>"Kitten!"
>Her eyes shoot over to you, pupils the size of dimes
>She stutters something at you and you repeat your question to her, causing her to nod and grab a towel before helping you out of the shower
>Jasmine gently dries you off with one towel before grabbing a dry one to drape over your back, guiding you back into the bedroom
>She helps very slowly slide into bed, and slides into her normal spot facing you and still a bit shaken
>"I uh-uh we uh... what do you... huh I... I uh..."
>You move some pillows around so you can prop up on them partially, laying down with your face on Jasmine's belly
>"This will work just fine Kitten."
>She stutters out an apology as you shush her, telling her it's fine and that you should both get some sleep
>She gives a very quiet acknowledgement of that before she does her best to get some rest, passing out after a few minutes of laying there silently
>Her purring slowly fades in as you get closer and closer to dreamland, feeling as if you fall through her into soft clouds as you finally pass out on top of her

>The dream that haunted you the other night makes itself known as you walk through a formerly cheery dream
>Gumdrops and literal sugar canes burn away to reveal ashes and death
>A wind of destruction brings smoldering ashes towards you and threatens to ruin your dreams
>When the smoking monster makes it's way towards you something different happens though
>Jasmine's purring begins to get loud enough you can hear it in your dreams, and your dreams slowly fade back to normal
>Ashes make way to sugar again, and your favorite feline prances through the sugary snow like the kitten she is always lovingly referred to as
>Your alarm goes off after a bit of exploring and you wake up slowly to find that your face is now buried between two snowy mounds
>It seems at some point Jasmine moved you to be between her breasts for a bit more support
>You rub your face gently int her chest fuzz and you hear a trill purr followed by Jasmine yawning
>A few moments pass as the rich smell of tiger fuzz with a gentle sprinkling of last night's passion dance in your nose
>Jasmine laughs and teases you a bit as she squeezes her chest around your face
>"Enjoying the view?"
>You can't help but nod and rub your face around in her fuzz for a moment before she stretches out some and slowly helps you off of her
>"Fair enough. We still have that thing I did yo you to deal with before anyone shows up though..."
>Her voice trails off as she slowly peels the towel off of your back, rubbing her fuzzy paws over the wounds wlowly and carefully
>"The scabs didn't form up evenly enough to see the proper size of the wounds because of the towel. We have to go and open these bad boys up again to clean them out so they don't get infected. A-and sorry again-"
>You cut off Jasmine by kissing her on the cheek and telling her it's alright
>She sighs under her breath and makes a comment about how she's still stupid for not controlling herself in that moment
>Part of you wants to nod but you know it's just as much your fault as it is hers
>She leads you into the shower and turns the water on luke warm so the scabs can be washed away when you flex your back waiting for her to grab some proper medicine
>You hear the front door to your apartment open and closed followed by her van's doors opening as she searches for a med kit or something
>In the mean time you go through the scattered supplies on the floor and strike gold when you find some rubbing alcohol
>You pop the cap and flex your back in the warm water, letting the scabs come free in the shower as you brace for the stinging solution
>Jasmine opens the apartment door and notices you already at work on your wounds
>You give a weak smile as you spray the rubbing alcohol over your back, causing Jasmine to freak out and slap the container from your hands
>"Jesus Chick! You aren't in the hood anymore! I have proper medical supplies to treat you!"
>She pulls out a can of some kind of aerosolized can with government markings on it and a bright green cross
>She sprays the oddly warm liquid over your scratches and immediately the pains dulls a considerable bit
>A smile crossed Jasmine's face as she shows a smaller can of the stuff to you and gives it a happy endorsement
>"This is some good shit Chick."
>The can reads "PROPERTY OF US GOV. M-3 medical spray" and goes on to list some basic ingredients and drugs in it that can be used on most basic wounds
>Seems oddly useful for a government issued item but then again the anthro world government seemed to be way better about this kind of stuff than the one back home
>"Better than pouring liquid pain on my wounds I guess."
>Jasmine smiles and pats you on the head before heading back to the kitchen and rummaging in a bag sitting on the counter
>"If I left you alone with your wounds I bet you'de chug bone hurting juice because it 'builds character' or something like that."

>Jasmine comes back in with medical gauze and tape in her hands, looking at your back with a regretful and pained look
>"It's bleeding very slowly. I'm gonna clean the wounds out and hope that they aren't as deep as they look. I don't want for my first present to you today to be stitches."
>Jasmine's fuzzy paw reaches over to the water knob and turns it off at once before offering a hand to you
>Slowly and gently as possible you get out of the shower and she dabs your back wounds with gauze
>After running gauze in them carefully for a minute or so and staring at your back she takes a few pictures before handing you a mirror
>"I mean... it could be worse. But hey, no stitches this time."
>Looking at your back you see the wounds aren't nearly as deep as you thought
>If they had crossed one another you'd be forced to go to the hospital, but luckily Jasmine's claws never traced over one another
>Jasmine sliced a clean set of scratches from near the bottom of your trapezius to the top
>For a moment your face shows off how horrified you are that your shoulders could have been wrecked last night, but you quickly grin and look at the very self conscious kitten standing beside you
>"Hey now. This isn't that bad really. I mean hell, check my ribs for a second. This isn't even the worst shape I've been in."
>Jasmine looks in the dim light at your ribs and traces her finger over a set of three inch wide stab scars
>Her fuzzy hands slowly and carefully move over your body tracing all of the small lines and dots life drew on you over time
>Her face goes from sad to concern as she carefully pulls you close to her, hugging you around the waist and whispering softly
>"I'm sorry Chick. I shouldn't be adding to all of the damage you've suffered..."
>Guilt smashes your teeth in with a right hook as you move an arm to lift Jasmine's chin to look directly into your eyes
>Tears slowly drip from her eyes as you kiss her on the cheek and nuzzle her
>"Really Kitten. It's nothing. Don't beat yourself up over something you couldn't entirely control. I don't want for you to feel miserable over something I'm not even torn up over."
>Jasmine sighs and whipes tears out of her eyes, looking at you with an unsure but hopeful glint in her eyes
>She doesn't even have to ask as you kiss her on the head and she nuzzles you in return
>"Life is full of things like this kitty. This is the first step in a long life together. Or at least the start of what I hope will be an amazing relationship."
>Jasmine gives you a weak smile and slowly moves you around to get your wounds handled
>She gently sprays your wounds accurately with the medical spray again, laying gauze strips over your scratches and carefully taping them down
>With her help you slowly bend over an touch your toes, holding the position as she carefully adjusts the bandages on your back so they don't come undone when you move around

>A few careful pats and your back is now officially dealt with
>Jasmine hands you your phone and you glance at the time for a second
>Somehow it's only 9:30am
>Checking your phone's more advanced settings it looks like you muted it at about 4:40am
>Being super generous about what you know was probably a pretty quick a brutal ride, you stretch the clock to 5am as the rough guess for when you fell asleep
>Four hours or sleep seems way off for how absolutely amazing that rest felt
>Checking the date shows you didn't sleep in through your entire birthday somehow
>You waltz over to the fridge as Jasmine cleans up the bathroom and announce that it's almost ten to her while pouring a glass of Dr. Pepper™ and Captain Morgan®
>You hear her formerly slow cleaning become frantic as she throws anything that isn't nailed down into the cupboard and slams it shut
>Jasmine starts cussing as she runs around like she's being chased by a roomba with a landmine strapped to it
>You take in the taste of fall in a glass for a moment and watch as she runs over to you with a shirt clutched in her hands
>Jasmine takes your glass out of your hand and clamps down on it while trying to help you into your shirt
>She gets your arms through both holes and begins to button up before accidentally taking a sip of your drink
>The look on her face says it all as she hands it back to you and looks around for something flavorful to cancel out the overpowering taste in her mouth
>"Ha. I haven't drunken too much yet Jas. If you want you could kiss the taste out."
>She gives you a glare for a moment and marches over to you with an angry look on her face as her ears twitch
>You hear a bit of a growl as she leans in and looks you dead in the eyes
>Oh come on now, the jokes wasn't that bad
>You lean in to give her a kiss on the cheek and Jasmine smirks as she grabs your face and starts to affectionately kiss you for a second
>Much to your surprise she actually starts to slide her tongue across yours as if you were serious, and you return the favor until you hear someone clear their throat from the apartment's front door
>"Ahem. Happy birthday Chick. I hope I didn't break up a moment you two were having."
>Jasmine nearly bites your tongue as she pulls away and looks towards the vixen in your doorway with a shocked expression
>"N-no! I was just y-ya know grooming Chick a little. Y-yeah."
>Cass smiles and walks over to give you a hug after setting a small package down on the counter top next to the medical supply bag Jasmine brought in
>You hold onto her for a second as she pats your back causing you to flinch in pain
>After giving you your hug she moves towards Jasmine letting you get a better look at her
>Something seemed off since Cass came into your apartment and you immediately notice what's wrong
>Her movements are slow and unsteady as she talks softly with Jasmine about something
>Her normally rich smoky coat looks thin and wiry, revealing her thin frame more than usual
>When she breaks from her hug with Jasmine she immediately moves towards your couch and all but collapses onto it 
>"Are you feeling alright Cass?"
>It takes a few too many moments for her ears to perk up and for her to respond to you, looking at you with eyes that don't seem able to focus entirely on you
>"I'm really tired from watching all of the kids. I didn't want to just come over and leave after giving you a gift though. That would be so very rude of me! I don't want to come off as unloving or uncaring like that."
>Jasmine walks over and sits next to Cass on the couch, putting a hand on her knee and smiling at the exhausted vixen
>"If you need to get some rest you can use the guest room Cassidy. I don't want you to pass out trying to keep us company because all the tods and vixettes are tiring you. Neither of us will be insulted if you need to sleep a bit Cass. Showing up shows you care for both of us."
>The old vixen slowly cracks a warm smile while looking to you for assurance it's fine
>You smile and nod back at her, Jasmine helping her stand up and walking her towards the bedroom
>She stops at the door and turns around to face Jasmine with a waggish grin
>"I'm not treading on anyone's toes by sleeping in your room, am I Jasmine?"
>Jasmine's fur poofs out and she twiddles her fingers with a nervous giggle as Cass's grin grows more by the second
>"I figured as much Kitty. I knew you wouldn't answer it directly though. If I'm not awake by 4 then please get me up, because as much as I would love to stay longer I know the kids won't sleep in too much past 3 and Bingle can only handle them so well."
>One last hug from Jasmine and Cass closes the door behind her to get some much needed rest on her part

>The next hour waiting for someone to show up passes in a haze as Jasmine does her best to quickly get the apartment tidied up for company
>In the meantime you had opened Cass's gift and were surprised to find she gave you a plethora of vintage anthro world music
>Official 8-track releases of "Quanta" and "Juitz" which two hair (fur?) metal bands that were somewhat popular in the 80's
>Three Cassettes of a short lived anthro hardcore punk rock band called "wartoad" that eventually became a thrash metal band as their style changed over the years
>The best one by far was a single live Cassette of a band that Cass sung on at one point called "Sugar Rose"
>Her vocals carry a strong presence over the top of solid instrumentation, and you wonder why she didn't go further with such a solid group backing her
>It stings a bit when you hear her singing a love duet with a distinctively non anthro man
>They compliment one another almost perfectly as they sing back and forth with one another
>Their voices carry all the energy of the emotions they felt for one another
>When their duet ends a bit of blank space plays before an older Cass sings alone, plucking at a guitar softly
>"I said hey goodbye to romance yeah. Goodbye to friends, and to you. Goodbye to all the past. I guess we'll meet, we'll meet in the end..."
>Jasmine hugs you close on the couch as the song plays, the raw emotion in the room making you tear up
>Part of you is glad she doesn't know why you're crying right now
>The gift has more weight than you could even imagine such a small box might possibly hold in it
>Cass gave you a slice of her life that no one outside of you knew anything about or be able to understand
>They have a powerful value that no currency has the power to bring you
>Enjoying the moment Jasmine slowly tilts her head onto your shoulder, laying down against you and closing her eyes to relax with you
>The weight goes from your shoulder into your back and causes a bit of a dull ache in your kitten scratches, but the sheer comfort of the situation diverts the thought of telling her to move
>Minutes pass slowly and calmly as Jasmine eyes flutter open occasionally and she cuddles you ever tighter
>Her breathing slows down gently until you're certain she's almost asleep
>"Did the nap not give you enough sleep time sweetie?"
>Jasine yawns and nuzzles you softly
>"I feel fine Chick. Cats close their eyes around people they trust. I just sometimes get sleepy when I do that. You making an amazing cuddle buddy doesn't help."
>You attempt to start an argument over who was comfier to cuddle when someone knocks on the door in small rapid bursts
>Jasmine calls out for the excited visitor to come in and Lilith bursts through the door with a cardboard box in her hands
>Your favorite kitten leaps off of you and towards Lilith, jabbing you in the ribs on the way up
>The two of them embrace the other and excited yammer to one another about how it "finally happened" with Lil dropping a subtle joke about Christmas coming early
>Jasmine's fur poof up to the point she looks like she's made of marshmallows and Lilith laughs while saunting over to you
>"I'd love to stay a while, but unfortunately my lovely husband needs some help with a car. I'm not supposed to know he's going to surprise me with a nice candlelit dinner when I get back, but I guess he should also get better at hiding his plans from everyone's favorite nosy kitten."
>Jasmine beams happily as Lilith places a large undecorated box in front of you
>"I was gonna wrap it, but I really want to catch him off guard and see if I can't be the best kind of distraction while he does his best to cook."
>The box's loose flaps open easily and reveal an elegantly decorated bottle of alcohol
>A brilliantly etched glass bottle made to look like it's covered in smooth scales
>Amber liquid inside slightly blurs a drawing of a viper coiled inside of the bottle that floats as you inspect it
>Wait a second... drawings don't float like that
>Holy shit there's an albino snake inside of your drink
>Lilith smiles and shows you the front of a smaller cardboard box that it probably came in
>"It's a really new kind of Habushu made with the american market in mind. Instead of rice alcohol they use american made and brewed whisky, but they keep a traditional Habu viper as the special flavoring. It isn't even really snake wine at this point but americans don't even know what normal Habushu is so they have a solid time to try to figure out a new name for this stuff."
>You look over the cardboard flap in your hands to see that it's 140 proof and the snake is labeled as having a "snake" proof
>A few higher proof versions are listed with different snakes in their bottles as being available for early batch orders
>The one you got is "Whitesnake lightning", and the highest one listed on the proof list is 180 proof "Death Adder Tequila"
>You're tempted to call up the number listed on the package to order a bottle to keep and bottle to water down and share with Jasmine
>Then again the last time that Jasmine had tequila it was the bottle of 60 proof she polished off
>A single glass of DAT would probably be an entire night of drinking for her
>You tuck that idea away for later and pick up two DVD cases from inside of the box
>One is the entire run of some soap opera show called "Wolf Lake" and the other is a Jay and Silent Bob movie you've never seen
>"Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie? Where did you get this from Lilith? I've never even heard of it."
>Lilith smiles pulls out her own phone to show you some pictures of what looks like a garage sell of sorts
>A bunch of humans are milling around looking at what seem to be mundane objects scattered about on someone's lawn
>"Someone arrived from your world and brought their house with them! They decided to have a garage sell of their old stuff after living here for a while, and so just kinda grabbed what I though you and Jas might like. I remember you mentioned those silly stoner humor movies and wanting a good old human earth horror movie to watch, so I got them both for you!"
>Laughter consumes you as you struggle to not run out of oxygen at her thinking that Wolf Lake was a horror film
>Lilith looks confused as you hand her the DVD and let her read the back side of it's case
>She actually laughs a fair bit herself as she realizes her mistake, but you assure her it's fine
>"The show's writing will probably provide all of the horror we need"
>The shapely raccoon assures you she'll find a proper horror B or C movie at some point before an alarm on her phone goes off
>"Crap! That's my maximum time I can waste before I have to hurry back to catch him in the act of being too nice! I'll see the two of you later!"
>Lilith heads for the door after giving the both of you a short hug, waving goodbye and gliding down the stairs to head back to her own loving home
>As if they had been waiting in line outside Clara walks in with a small wooden box in her hands with her husband right behind her wearing a beanie
>How strange, it's not even nippy outside

>Clara puts the box down on the table in the kitchen before heading over to Jasmine and speaking softly into her ear
>Jasmine and Clara whisper to one another for a moment before darting out of the door to speak in the hallway for a moment about something
>Putting away the snake alcohol you pour yourself a more normal drink and offer some to Strong, which he refuses
>"I wish I could man, but I'm the one driving today. Clara's tired as hell from work."
>It nearly slipped your mind that Clara was a Nightingale, and that being awake during the day was probably a bit odd for her
>"I bet you too have plans though. Getting a day off just for me would be silly."
>Strong nods and smiles "But of course."
>He pulls out a phone with a slightly cracked screen, turns the screen away from you for a second and asks you to try to spot what's odd in the picture that Clara is in
>A deep smile paints her face as she stands in front of a wall modeling off her very plain nurse scrubs, playfully jabbing at the camera with a toy scalpel
>Nothing looks off at all to you
>"I don't see anything out of the ordinary man."
>Strong has an incredulous look on his face as he glances at the photo then back to you
>"You don't see the ropes?"
>You look closely at Clara's fluffy body to try to spot any cord lines breaking her somewhat chubby figure, but nothing looks even remotely off about how she normally looks in scrubs and a partial body fur net
>"Yeah, no. I just see Clara. Being fluffy. In a nurse outfit."
>Strong looks confused for a moment before flipping over an few images on his phone
>"My bad. How about now?"
>A picture of Clara wearing a snow leopard fur matching collar and some kind of restraints that cause her fur to look slightly off catch your eye
>Strong's face lights up with a grin as he tries to start explaining the gist of his plans tonight, but a sudden pain in your head makes it hard to focus
>It feels as if someone decided to try to split your head open with an axe all of the sudden, causing you to grimace and get up to head to the bathroom to find some pain meds
>Strong takes note of your sudden change in behavior and asks if you're feeling alright
>At least you assume he did, you can't focus with your skull being broken open from the inside

>A few seconds of struggling in drawers nets you a few extra strength rapid activating painkillers, which you pop like tic tacs before doing your best to focus on what Strong has to say
>Unfortunately you only catch half of what he's getting at while hoping the drugs kick in a bit faster
>He flips through his phone to show your a few more pictures, quickly skipping over some tasteful but still lewd photos of Clara here and there
>By the time you reach the cherry pie, whipped cream, and fuzzy handcuffs the medicine is just barely starting to push the pain back down
>Your apartment door opens up as the two giggling felines hold two cupcakes in their hands with candles sticking out of them
>One of the two candles has tiger stripes while the other has a crudely drawn human face
>"Yeah, sorry about that man. Clara decorated those yesterday and we had no idea that Jasmine was going to dye her fur up special for today. You look good in white by the way Jas, way better than pink."
>You throw a questioning look at Jasmine and Clara before realizing that Jasmine's fur problem was something she normally didn't talk about, even with her closest friends
>Even if she had told them, which seems unlikely, she probably didn't even know her fur was white until she took that shower right before the two of you went at it last night
>You cover for Jasmine as you pick up the box Clara brought with her for you
>"To be fair that may have ruined the surprise. Speaking of which, mind if I open this present? Not super hungry right now."
>Jasmine and Clara immediately respond with puppy dog eyes while closing on on you
>"But we haven't even sung the birthday song yet! We at least have to do that! Please?"
>Oh god no, no matter how much you love your Kitty you don't want to be treated like a kid
>"Pleassseee?"
>They crank the puppy dog eyes up to 11 and Jasmine starts to quiver her lips like she's going to cry
>Looking to Strong for help gets you nothing, he looks like he knows better than to try to argue with his wife
>Jasmine grabs your hand and hugs your arm close to her, looking into your eyes and softly asking if they can sing the song
>With a sigh you let them have their fun and they immediately start bellowing out the words
>Strong joins in a half-assed way, singing softly compared to their near roaring chorus
>A few minutes of torture later and they finally light the candles for you to blow out
>You immediately let out a quick gust to end the singing, only for it to lead to somehow louder cheering from Jasmine and Clara
>You'd probably enjoy the singing if your head wasn't throbbing like it was
>Jasmine notices your pained expression as you all move to sit down and chat on the couch
>She hugs you closely and asks if you're alright, to which you respond that you just have a headache
>Jasmine nods and hands you the box that Clara brought you for your birthday
>"Alright sweetie. Let's get this out of the way then so we can all just hang out and relax."
>You give a weak affirmation as you slowly open the box to find a broken bayonet inside
>Clara doesn't say a word as you inspect it thoroughly, picking it up and rotating it to grasp the finer details
>It's a 1907 SMLE bayonet that looks like it broke about halfway down the blade
>Someone took the time to attempt to sharpen the end of the blade into a decent point with mixed results
>Although the metal is clean it's clear that it's vintage by the aged look of the steel
>Your hands slowly run over the bayonet's cracked and worn out handle to find a set of markings too precise to be an accident
>Scratched into the left hand side of the grip is a set of faded numbers you can just barely make out
>18-3-1915
>Gallipoli didn't happen in this timeline though, a different set of operations occurred around that time in the anthro world
>Clara quickly explains as she points at the blade
>"That was something I found at an antique shop during a little trip that I went on a few years back. A fifth gen anon had put it up for sale and no one wanted to take it off of their hands. I decided to buy it in the hopes it had some value to it, but the broken blade and his great grandfather's attempt to fix it got rid of any cash value it had. I just figured that you could appreciate it more than I could. A small piece of history from your world that managed to survive not just one but two wars."
>You thank Clara for the gift and tell her that it means a lot for her to offer something so nice to you even though you haven't known for more than a few months
>Clara poofs out and says that you're a great friend regardless of how long you've known one another, which Strong backs up with a smile before starting to joke about how life recently has been pretty nice
>Everyone continues to chat for a while about life before the headache cuts through the medicine again
>This time Clara starts a round fo questions about your health and you say you're probably just tired from last night
>She checks her phone and says that you two should probably get some more rest since you had a long date last night
>"It may only be 3, but you two could use the extra rest. I know that things have been stressful for you guys recently but that's no excuse to get less sleep than you should."
>A few minutes pass of medical advice before Clara and Strong decide to let you get some rest
>They leave with a large exchange of hugs from everyone before Cass pops out of the guest room with a yawn
>"I hope I didn't miss too much."

>It doesn't take long to explain how the day went to Cass, explaining all of the gifts that everyone brought you and how much they meant to you
>Cassidy brushes her tail while she listens and slowly heads towards the door as you list off how the day has gone so far
>"I'm so happy that you've had a wonderful day Chick. I'm dreadfully sorry I couldn't spend more of it actually catching up with you, but I have to get back to the house and watch the kids before Bingle gets overwhelmed."
>Cassidy turns away to head back home to the kids, but you grab her by the hand and hold her for just a few more moments so you can ask something that has been at the back of your mind since she gave you her gift
>"Wait just a second Cass... Why would you give me your old tapes Cass? Those are memories of your youth. I almost feel bad for taking them when I feel that other people could deserve them more."
>Cass shakes her head and smiles at you with tears forming slowly in her eyes
>"Who else would I give it to Chick? Few other people want to listen to anything that was before their time. They toss it to the wind and forget it. I wanted to give them to someone I know cares about things that happened back in the day."
>Cass gives you a tender hug before heading out of your door and officially ending the day's festivities for you and Jas
>Jasmine looks at the table covered in various gifts, a warm smile slowly taking over her face
>Without a word you saunter over and put your hands gently on her sides and nuzzle her softly from behind
>"Feels good to have family like them behind me."
>The fuzzy white slice of heaven standing in front of you purrs and takes your hands into her own as she sways back and forth in your arms
>"I mean, I could probably get a better lover in front of me, but I think this one will work for now."
>Jasmine shakes her head and sighs but continues to smile and purr
>The two of you stand there for a few moments as the person you hope to spend the rest of your life ignores your horrible joke
>Eventually though she softly pushes you away with her firm rump, holding onto one of your hands and leading you back into the bedroom
>She helps you get undressed before undressing herself and giving you a questioning glance
>You consider if you're up for another romp, but honestly Clara was right about you needing to catch up on rest with Jasmine
>One firm head shake is all she needs before she crawls into bed with her tongue teasingly poking out at you

>A warm smile slowly crawls across your face as you crawl into bed beside your snowy furred  kitten
>You slowly slide your face between the mounds of her supple chest as she gently purrs and softly rubs the non bandaged part of your back
>Sleep engulfs you quickly as you begin to think about just how odd it is going to be to meet Jasmine's parents
>They already assumed you and Jasmine were closer than friends to the point they sent you a gift this year
>What were her brother and sister like?
>Did her dad mind that you were human?
>The thought that they're probably old fashioned Russians worries you a bit since you know they have strange history about making "pure" children
>The steady purr of your favorite feline wipes your worries away as you slowly get dragged into dreamland
>A single thought comforts you as a fuzzy white dream kitten joins you at the table of a stuffed fantasy restaurant
>It's impossible for them to be even remotely as bad as your old family was
>You can only hope they're as amazing as your new family is right now