WARNING: This story contains sexually explicit material involving adolescent children and incest. This story also contains violence and profanity. If such content is illegal to view in your area or you are not of legal age to view such content, close your RTF reader now.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Assam Chai
by IndigoNeko and TaintedThylacine

Chapter 3

Wednesday, June 1st, 2016

Both Ravi and Alex padded anxiously across the stone courtyard, followed by David and Raenne at a more sedate pace while carrying Nick and Kate in their baby slings. The dojo’s shoji doors silently slid open as they reached the door sensor’s detection range, and Alex and Ravi stepped across the wood floorboards to the edge of the mat while Raenne and David turned and headed downstairs to the lounge.

Dafydd Owen knelt in seiza in the middle of the mat, dressed in a black robe of a style that neither Alex or Ravi had seen before, and with two similarly colored piles of clothing in front of him, both carefully folded. The panther was completely still; even his tail lay motionless, curled on the floor around him.

Both Alex and Ravi bowed and walked across the mat. The panther looked up as they approached and gestured to Alex, then pointed in front of the clothes to his right. He then gestured to Ravi and pointed in front of the clothes at his left. Both tiger cubs bowed and knelt where he’d indicated. 

“Before we begin, you should know that the kenjutsu uniform is different from the standard karate gi,” Dafydd explained. “There are four pieces: the hakama, dōgi, kaku obi, and soto obi. In kenjutsu and other japanese sword styles like kendo and iaido or iaijutsu, we wear loose fitting pants called hakama to disguise our footwork from our opponent. Footwork is just as important as your ability to swing a sword. Get the footwork wrong with a live blade and you can accidentally remove a sizable chunk of your leg.”

Both Alex and Ravi nodded, then followed along as Dafydd picked up the various pieces of clothing, showing them the order in which to put them on and how to wrap them around themselves. 

“Note how it doesn’t impede your movements and it also conceals your footwork,” the panther explained as he demonstrated how the pants hung around his ankles. “This makes it harder for an opponent to predict your next technique from your stance. Not that you should be telegraphing your techniques anyway, but every advantage you can get in a real fight, right?”

Once the two of them had demonstrated that they had the basics down, the panther shooed the two cubs downstairs to get dressed, following along just in case they had questions. A few minutes later, having assisted both of  them in getting dressed, Dafydd led Ravi and Alex back upstairs, this time carrying a long bundle wrapped in black cloth, while Alex carried hir bō staff.

The panther carefully placed the cloth-wrapped bundle at the edge of the wooden flooring surrounding the mat, then bowed and stepped forward, taking several strides across the dojo before turning to face his students.

Both Alex and Ravi guessed what he was waiting for. Alex placed hir staff on the edge of the wooden floor and then bowed, stepping onto the mat. Ravi did the same. Both tiger cubs walked across the mat and lined up in front of him, getting the tiniest nod of approval as they did so. 

“Seiza,” Dafydd instructed quietly, then sank down into a kneeling posture. Both cubs attempted to do the same, but the unfamiliar hakama didn’t flow as they were expecting, bunching strangely at the waist and knees.

“Stand up and, before you try again, watch me carefully. You both know the seiza posture from your karate training, but getting there from standing wearing hakama has a little extra quirk.” Dafydd demonstrated the way that his right hand flipped between his knees as he sank down, flaring the hakama to the right and left. “Now, you try.”

With a few repetitions, both Ravi and Alex finally got the hang of where to press the center of the hakama to get it to fold correctly as they knelt, eventually sinking into seiza without any awkwardness.

"Now, preparation. Again, you will be familiar with this exercise. We begin as you do in other martial arts with mokuso,” the panther instructed. “Mokuso. Begin.”

Minutes passed in silence, both tiger cubs leaving their eyes closed as they attempted to clear their minds in preparation for the lesson.

“Mokuso yame,” Dafydd said, gracefully standing up from seiza. He quickly strode across the dojo mat, the two cubs heads turning as they followed him with their eyes. From the other side of the training floor, Dafydd retrieved three of the cloth-wrapped bundles, two long and one short. He then turned and knelt once more upon the mat near the edge. Untying the bundle’s cords he revealed a yari, a naginata, and a katana. He laid them in front of him. “Come over here and sit comfortably.”

As the two tiger cubs joined him, he slid the wooden sheaths, called saya, from the three blades and laid each one by its corresponding weapon. “Take a good, close look,” Dafydd said, slowly waving one hand through the air above them, as if revealing a treasure. In a way, they were. 

“These are the three weapons that my class will teach. These are my blades. In due course you will earn your own. The yari,” he explained, pointing at the first polearm, a spear with a double-edged narrow blade, “was, in feudal Japan, the primary infantryman’s weapon. A body of spearmen is a formidable force when it comes to taking and holding ground. It was also a weapon practiced by the samurai as well as the common footsoldier. It is the first weapon you will learn.” 

Dafydd paused for a moment, then continued. “With it, you will learn precision and control. A yari is not a thrown spear. It is primarily a thrusting weapon, much like the pike in western tradition. However, the edges of the blade are also extremely sharp. In later classes you will learn to use those to cut when the opportunity presents itself.”

The panther moved his hand to rest it on the shaft of the naginata, the second polearm. This one had a heavy curved and single-sided blade at the end. “Formidable as a body of spearmen may be, they are vulnerable to cavalry, particularly on their flanks. This is the weapon placed on the flanks of the spearmen to fend off cavalry attempting to flank them. It is harder to master than the yari and requires greater strength. You must reach a certain level of proficiency with the yari before I begin to teach you this one. In modern kendo, the naginata is much lighter, and is considered a woman’s weapon. As you can see, this weapon is no lightweight. It was, however, favored by female samurai. With this weapon it is possible for one person to defend their home from several swordsmen.”

He paused, as if considering how to phrase the next part. “On the battlefield however, it was ideal to counter a cavalryman. Its reach can take the rider down before they are within swords length of its wielder. It can also take out a horse by the simple expedient of removing the horse’s legs. A cavalryman without a horse is a poorly equipped light infantryman.”
 
Alex swallowed. Shi didn’t like the idea of killing an animal just to take out its rider, but nodded nonetheless. Ravi nodded as well.

Dafydd nodded back, his stern expression and the tightness in his eyes reflecting the darker memories of his combat experience.

“I can see neither of you particularly like that idea. Good. But if the person trying to kill you is mounted and you shrink from attacking their mount, it can cost you your life. Losing your life can cost the lives of those you are trying to protect. Remember that these are as much weapons of war as a rifle or a pistol.” The panther pointed at the last of the weapons in front of him. “This is the katana. Kenjutsu is the art of the sword, but we’ve got a way to go before you pick up a katana,” he said, waiting for a moment before wrapping up his introduction.

“We will start with the spear. A yari looks simple. It is only simple in comparison to other bladed weapons. This is my yari. Note that it has a double-edged leaf blade, triangular cross-section, and is about seven inches long,” he explained, pointing at each part on the spear. “The shaft is just over six feet in length. On the ishizuki, the butt end, there is a heavy knob, which is both a counterweight and a striking surface. You will begin by practicing with bare shafts, lacking either blade or ishizuki so they will remain properly balanced...” He paused then continued. 

“Burn this into your heads now and do not forget it. When you are training with bare shafts, imagine that there is a blade on the end. If you are sparring and the business end of your opponent’s stick is within six inches of your body, the blade would be inside you. So you would definitely be bleeding and quite possibly dead.” He smiled slightly, his eyes sparkling. “Let us begin.”

_________________________________________________

By the end of the Kenjutsu lesson, the two tiger cubs had only managed to work through five basic techniques with their ‘spears’: a basic thrust to the chest or throat with a twisting recovery, an inside block to redirect an incoming spear thrust, a strike to the head with the back-end of the spear, and an overhead block against a downward strike, and another block against a strike from the right. Apparently there was more to the last one, which could be used to disarm an opponent, but they had run out of time before the end of class.

“You’ve both done well,” Dafydd said, praising the two tiger cubs. He wouldn’t have expected the same level of discipline that Alex showed out of another ten-year-old, but given what he knew of hir history, it was understandable. “Those five techniques are starting to take root in your muscle memory. We will practice them in the coming weeks to make certain of that. Then we will start to combine them, and let you discover how they can flow into each other. After you get home, I strongly recommend the hottest shower or bath your body can handle comfortably.

“Tomorrow morning you will discover muscle aches in places you didn’t think you were exercising today, not just your core and your arms as you might expect. One of the hardest things about teaching any martial art is to push your students hard enough for them to advance, but not so hard that they haven’t fully recovered by the next session. These early experiences as a student will form the foundation of your own methods in the future, should you become a teacher in your own right.” 

Dafydd bowed to his students and held it while they returned it. “Class dismissed. Same time next week.”

__________________________________________________

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016

Ginnie could barely hear the pastor speaking over the rush of blood through her ears, so excited that she could hardly breathe. It was time. She turned to Bradley and held out her hand. He gently held her wrist and slid the gold band over her finger. The diamond center stone glittered in the sunlight overhead. A moment later the red-backed thrush lifted the veil over Ginnie’s face, and they rubbed beaks together before embracing. The rest of the wedding ceremony passed in a blur: the speeches, dances, dinner, toasts, the cutting of the cake...

Evening came far too quickly. The hotel room door clicked shut and Bradley led Ginnie over to the wide bed, with a fluffy white comforter and a half-dozen pillows. Together they somehow managed to remove the complicated wedding dress, leaving it in a rumpled pile on the floor while she lay in bed, watching her new husband remove his black jacket, tie, cumberbund, and eventually his white dress shirt. Ginnie watched with baited breath as he let his pants fall to the floor before stepping out of them, panting with arousal; she had been waiting for this for so long.

As Bradley’s boxers fell to the floor, all she could see was the mottled black and white feathers she knew red-backed thrushes had on their chest and belly. Ginnie frowned, wondering why he wasn’t erect. Did he not love her? She leaned back as he climbed up onto the bed with her, staring up at him in confusion. “Brad? Where’s your, uh, your thing?” she asked.

“What thing?” her husband asked, equally confused as he lay down next to her.

“Your... penis,” Ginnie answered, blushing furiously at having to say it. 

Bradley blinked, clearly confused. “But... Ginnie, we’re passerines. We don’t have those,” he said, rolling onto his side and spreading his legs for her to see, revealing a filthy cloaca. Ginnie was horrified; the very last thing she wanted was for that... that thing to touch her.

Her terror grew as Bradley shifted his hips towards her. “What’s wrong, chica?” he asked. “We’re not mammals. We don’t have sex; we kiss.” 

Ginnie couldn’t move and his foul vent kept coming closer and closer. She screamed.

Everything went black, and Ginnie heard the tinkling of shattered glass. She was back in her bedroom and under her covers, but still unable to move. The thought that Bradley might have an inherited cloaca was truly horrifying. She blinked, trying to get the disgusting thought out of her head, then tried again to move under the comforter. 

Ginnie almost cried out in agony as her muscles protested, then went limp, panting at how painful this ‘delayed onset muscle soreness’ was. Rapid thumps sounded from outside her bedroom. The hallway light turned on and her dad appeared in the doorway.

“What’s wrong?” Hank asked, feather dust drifting around him. “Are you okay?”

Ginnie stared at her dad for a second, still panting. “It... Uh... Yeah. Just a nightmare.”

“Same one?” the older thrush asked, toggling the light switch just inside her room. The light fixture overhead went brilliant white for a split second before popping and going dark again. A glowing red ember dropped to the floor like a falling star, extinguished before it reached the carpet. “Uh... don’t get out of bed. You broke your ceiling light again. I’m going to go get a flashlight and vacuum.”

“Okay, daddy,” Ginnie agreed; she was too sore to move anyway. “I might have broken the window too,” she called after him as he vanished into the hallway. She sighed in frustration. At least it hadn’t been the same nightmare she usually had. The memory of the snarling Italian mastiff sitting across from her in the courtroom would probably haunt her for the rest of her life.

__________________________________________________

Alex wrinkled hir nose at the banana-like smell of the Hoppe’s No. 9 bore cleaner. At least it didn’t have the eye-watering chemical burn that the CLP did. Shi held the pistol’s slide up with nitrile-gloved paws and carefully used the squeeze bottle’s needle-tip applicator to apply a thin line of clear oil along the bottom rails of the slide.

“There you go,” Raenne said approvingly, watching from the chair on the other side of the coffee table. They were both sitting in the dojo’s ‘Employees Only’ area, which was basically a fully-furnished studio apartment. “Everything’s cleaned and oiled. Now we can reassemble it. Start with the slide, then pick up the barrel and put it into the slide. Next, take the guide rod and recoil spring and fit them into the socket under the barrel, then push it forward to compress the spring and rest the guide rod against the recoil catch on the underside of the barrel.”

The young tigress did as hir mother instructed, step by step, carefully reassembling the newly-cleaned and oiled Beretta 92FS.

“Now pick up the frame and rest the slide on the top of the frame, just in front of those two rails. Move the slide all the way to the back... Oh, make sure the safety is off,” she added when the slide got stuck. “There. Now that it’s all the way back, rotate the takedown lever back so that it’s flush with the slide. Rack the slide once or twice to make sure it’s fully operational, and turn the safety back on. Well done, kiddo,” the tigress said, holding out an empty paw. “Good job.”

“That wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” Alex said, as shi handed the pistol over, then peeled the thin blue gloves off hir paws and dropped them on the table atop the pile of used cleaning patches.

“Nah. That one’s pretty easy to clean; it’s why I chose that one for your first gun,” Raenne said, taking the pistol and wiping it off one last time before placing it back into the gun case. She carefully closed the gun case, dropped the hasps over the latches, threaded the padlocks through the loops, and locked them. “So, how did you like shooting this time with all the targets I set up? Not afraid anymore?”

Alex shook hir head, brushing hir head-fur out of hir eyes. “Nope. It was pretty fun actually. I know why Jerome likes Airsoft now.”

Raenne raised an eyebrow. “The mountain lion?”

“Yeah,” Alex confirmed. “Jason told me that Jerome plays Airsoft games with some high schoolers.”

“Hmm,” Raenne hummed to herself, wondering if that would be a practical way to get some tactical shooting experience. She made a mental note to look into Airsoft. In the meantime... “Do you remember all the drills we went through?”

The young tigress thought for a second, mentally going over every exercise they’d done that afternoon. “Malfunction clearing, Bill Drill, Mozambique Drill, El Presidente, Moving while Shooting, Box Drill, and... Chaos Drill?”

“Exactly,” Raenne said, nodding with satisfaction. “We’ll go through each drill twice a week. On Tuesdays I’ll teach you how to use a new gun before drill and then on Thursdays I’ll teach you how to take it down, clean it, and put it back together after drill.”

Alex raised both eyebrows at that, wondering just how many guns Mom had stashed under their bed. “Uhh... Just how many guns do you have?”

Raenne frowned. “Uh, let’s see: Glock 19, 92FS, P320, MP5, MPX, M4A1, SR-25, SCAR, and the M4,” the older tigress said, counting on her fingers. “So that’s three pistols, two SMGs, three rifles, and one shotgun, though the last one might be a bit much for you.”

Alex shook hir head, blinking in amazement. “Oookay. You’re sure it’s fine leaving the twins here while we’re out shooting?” shi asked, gesturing across the room to the playpen where Katherine and Nicholas were currently tussling with each other.

“Of course. Same as when we’re teaching Karate,” Raenne stated, clearly unconcerned. “We’ve got two cameras watching them and plus the Owlet monitor straps. It’s barely a five minute walk from the range we’ve set up, so if anything happens we’ll know immediately and be able to get back here in under two minutes tops. Now go take a shower to get the gunpowder and gun cleaner smell out of your fur while I get this stuff put away.”

Alex sighed with relief and stood up from the table, heading for the dojo’s locker room showers. Shooting was fun, but the smell of gunpowder and chemicals was not.

__________________________________________________

Friday, June 3rd, 2016

Kayson sat on the bench in the dugout, watching the game through the chain link fence. His team was up to bat again, but he’d already had his turn and it was going to be a while until he was back on the field. He’d already done his part, earning yet another home run for the team... if only Dad could have seen him. Mom was obviously proud of him, but didn’t have the same enthusiasm for the game that Dad did. Kayson’s throat tightened at the thought, wishing Dad would come home.

The young mangrove monitor shifted his tail and leaned against the back rest, watching the rest of his team lounging about the dugout... Particularly the red eft, Phillip, and the coal skink, Jared, who went by Jay. All three of them had slightly shorter limbs than their mammalian teammates, which made base running a bit harder. They all held their own though, and Phillip was one of the best pitchers on the team. They were also the best looking members of the team, by a long shot.

Phillip’s brilliant red skin was peppered with small black spots, including a few under his chin and neck. You couldn’t see them while he was in uniform, but Kayson knew the eastern newt had black rings on his back on both shoulderblades, the middle of his back, and lower back. He’d watched the eft change shirts in the stadium parking lot after a game a few weeks ago. 

A flash of blue caught Kayson’s attention and he turned his head. Jared was standing at the chain link fence that protected the dugout with his hands up, fingers threaded through the links while he watched the game. The skink’s brilliant blue tail thrashed slightly in irritation... they weren’t doing that great this game, and Kayson hoped Jay wouldn’t be in a bad mood during their sleepover tonight.

Kayson’s gaze followed the blue tip up towards Jared’s butt, where his coloration shifted towards an iridescent green speckled with brown. At the sides of Jared’s tail-base, a pair of yellow stripes started that Kayson knew went all the way up the larger boy’s back and neck, and over the top of his head where they met on his forehead. Jared’s iridescent scales shimmered in the sunlight, speckled with shades of green, brown, and yellow. 

You couldn’t see it, but Kayson knew Jay also had bold black stripes on his sides that went from hips to his neck, following the thin yellow stripes along the edges of his back. Unfortunately, most of Jared’s hide was currently hidden under their black and yellow uniform...

A painful tightness in Kayson’s pants made him look down. His hemipenes were swollen, straining against his pants. He stared at them for a second, confused; they’d never done that before. Kayson quickly leaned forward to hide the fact, hoping nobody else had noticed. 

A crack sounded across the field and Kayson looked up, spotting the ball sailing through the air towards the left outfield. Maybe they weren’t doing as badly this game as he’d thought.

__________________________________________________

Alex sat on the living room floor, wincing as tiny claw-tips pricked hir skin. Hir baby sister Kate was crawling up hir back and onto hir shoulders while Nick tried to pounce on hir tail-tip. The young tigress twitched hir tail tip just in time to avoid hir baby brother’s sharp teeth, and he let out a frustrated growl and went back to stalking the swaying tail. 

The tigress carefully reached back and tried to remove hir baby sister as the kitten started chewing on hir left ear. “No, Kate. Please don’t chew on my ear... Ouch!”

Raenne sighed and set her book down, then picked the baby tigress off her eldest daughter. She set Kate back down on the floor and picked up the book again. 

“Thanks. I think we need to trim their claws again,” Alex said, twitching hir tail out of the way again as Nick pounced on it once again. “Do we have any of those feathered cat toys?”

Raenne raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Like, it’s a stick with a string and a feather on the end. Azalea has them for her pet cat,” Alex explained, gently pushing hir baby sister away after Kate tried to climb up Alex’s side again.

“You mean... toys for pet ferals?” Raenne raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” Alex confirmed, using both paws to hold the twin kittens at bay.

“Huh.” The older tigress frowned, thinking about it. “Actually, that might be a good idea. Want to go shopping?”

The younger tigress raised both eyebrows, surprised. “You mean, like, right now?”

“Sure,” Raenne said, setting her book down and walking over to the door where the carry slings were. She tossed one to Alex before putting the other one on herself. “We can go get lunch while we’re out.”

“Ohhh-kay,” Alex said, pushing both Nick and Kate away again before standing up to put the carry sling on. “Do you think we could stop at a skate shop and get a skateboard while we’re at it?”

“Since when did you start skateboarding?” Raenne asked, picking Katherine up off the floor and tucking the kitten into her carry sling.

“Jason taught me how on Tuesday. It’s pretty close to snowboarding, actually,” Alex explained as shi picked up Nicholas and put him into the carry sling shi was wearing. “I’ll need kneepads, elbowpads, wrist braces, shoes, and a helmet, too. My biking helmet isn’t the right thing for skateboarding.”

Raenne thought about this as she waited for Alex to step out the door, and shut it behind them. She followed her oldest daughter down to the black Murano where they transferred the kittens to their car seats and buckled them in. “So... You want a skateboard, a full set of pads, and a helmet. Do you happen to know where we can get all of this?”

“Yep,” Alex said, pulling out hir phone as shi climbed into the front passenger seat, making sure hir tail was safe before shutting the car door. “Jason gave me the name of the skate shop that he goes to. They’ve got everything.”

“Let me guess. It’s over in Prairie Flats?” Raenne asked with a long-suffering sigh as she buckled her seat belt and turned the engine on.

”Well, duh,” Alex said, as if it were totally obvious, unlocking hir phone and pulling up the address to the skate shop.

“Well, if we buy everything in Prairie Flats, then at least we won’t have to worry about our immediate neighbors accusing me of being a terrible parent because I’m facilitating one child’s death-wish and playing with my other children using toys for ferals,” Raenne mused as she backed the SUV out of the driveway.

Alex grinned. “You could just stay in the car while I go grab the feather toys from a pet store. I know what they look like... I’ll just say they’re gifts for Azalea’s pet cat, Micro. Nobody will ever suspect a thing.”

”You’re devious, you know that?” Raenne asked, glancing over at her daughter as she started driving through the suburb on their way out of Winter Creek. “I approve. Now, how much is a skateboard, all the pads, and a helmet?”

”Uhh... I think two to three hundred, depending on what brand of board, shoes, pads, helmet... oh, and a wrench set for repairs and maintenance,” Alex said, mentally running through all the gear and the prices for everything shi had looked up on Amazon.

Raenne raised an eyebrow as they drove through the suburb. “Wait, why do you need shoes?”

“The flat-soled shoes that skaters wear are made to help grip the skateboard. That’s why they’re called skate shoes,” the young tigress explained. “Airwalks and Vans are the two most popular, but there’s a few others as well.”

“Okay. I’ll bite, but I have one condition,” Raenne stated. “The twins are going to be literally crawling all over the place now that they’re past the six month mark. They’re gonna start talking any day now, too. I want you to actively play with them and talk to them to keep them stimulated over the summer. For two hours a day.”

Alex squinted at hir mom. Shi liked playing with Nick and Kate, but two hours was still a long time. “Hmm. That sounds a lot like babysitting...”

Raenne grinned. “Okay then. If you babysit them, including changing their diapers, for two hours a day, then I’ll get you your skateboarding stuff and I’ll pay you ten dollars an hour.”

The younger tigress was starting to think this was a trick. Then shi remembered the mountain bike and wondered if Mom would spring for racing armor as well. “If you’ll get me some downhill enduro racing armor too, then you’ve got a deal.”

The tigress sighed. At least Alex was thinking about staying safe while having fun. “I suppose I can get you some enduro racing armor too... Okay. Done,” Raenne agreed, holding one paw out over the center console.

Alex slapped their paws together and shook them. “Done.”

__________________________________________________

“Yes, Mother. I know.” Beth sighed, mentally kicking herself for having not replaced the corded phone with a wireless one. “I know that we can use it anytime,” she muttered, trying to get the point across. The squirrel glanced into the living room, smiling at the sight of her wife and  daughters sitting on the couch. Along with Willow, they were all waiting for her so that they could start the movie.

“Mom!” She said in a tone that she had used with Azalea and Jenny a few times, “I’ll tell you what: Azzy has a girlfriend and some friends that might like to come. So, let me talk to them and then I will get back to you and Dad about it. I need to get off the phone; Cora and everyone else are waiting on me to start the movie. Love you too.” Beth sighed, hanging up the phone and heading to the living room.

“Your mother harping you about taking a vacation?” Cora asked, holding up the blanket for her wife to snuggle under with her.

“Yes. Wanting to make sure that we know that we can come down anytime. Speaking of...” Beth shifted a little as she picked up the remote. “Willow, if it’s okay with your parents, would you like to join us at the beach house? It would be for about a week, give or take. You and your parents wouldn’t have to pay for anything at all.”

“Oh? A week at the beach with Azzy? How can I say ‘no’ to that? I mean, she’s going to need someone to get the sand out of her tail fluff.” The field mouse giggled, playfully nudging her girlfriend. 

Azalea poked her tongue out. “Don’t worry, I just got a new brush for that.” The younger squirrel-hybrid leaned over, kissing Willow on the cheek while the mouse was busy typing something on her phone.

“And Azzy, why don’t you ask your tiger friend? I’m sure shi would love to get out to the beach.  I’m sure a sporty cub like that would love to try surfing.” Beth smiled, watching her youngest daughter pull her cell phone out.

“There’s a joke in there somewhere about cats, the beach, and litter boxes.” Azalea joked. She stopped while pulling up Alex’s phone number, a smile spreading across her muzzle. “You know... We could give hir some catnip tea and just let her go wild...”

“No!” Both parents said simultaneously. 

Azalea sighed, then hit the call button on her phone. The phone line rang for a moment before Alex answered. 

“Azzy? What’s up?”

“So this is going to sound crazy and a little last minute, but... Want to go to the beach house with me, Willow, Moms, and Jenny?” Azalea asked. “Don’t worry. There won’t be catnip tea.”

“I... uhhh... When?” Alex asked, obviously surprised by the offer. “And how long?”

“It would be July second to the fifth, in Newport Beach, California,” Azalea explained, lazily petting her pet cat, Micro. “You wouldn’t have to pay for anything. Grandma and Grandpa cover evvvvverything.” 

“I, uh... I’m not sure...” Alex said, clearly hesitant. “I had plans with Ravi and Aruna...”

“I mean if you want to stay here and kiss them, you can. Or you can bring them with you and kiss them on a beach.” Azalea smiled, then had to hold back laughter at the sound of her mothers facepalming in the background.

Alex was silent for a moment. “Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny. They’re just friends, okay?” the tigress huffed, then paused for a moment. “Seriously, though. Ravi and Aruna could go with us?”

Azalea held her phone out and tapped on the screen, setting the sound output to ‘speaker’ mode. “Mom A, Mom Two... What is the judgment call on Alex bringing her friends?”

“As long as it’s okay with their parents, there is plenty of room at the beach house,” Beth said. “We would be able to give them a room of their own, or set up the sleeping arrangements according to their parents’ wishes... What friends?”

“Ravi and Aruna. Ravi’s the older brother and Aruna’s his younger sister. They’re thirteen and nine, I think,” Azalea explained.

“Ravi and Aruna and I can share rooms, if needed,” Alex suggested, trying to be helpful.

“I mean, if that’s what you want and it’s okay with their parents... But as it stands there’s going to be a spare bedroom or two.” Beth paused a moment, counting the rooms. “Yeah. Me and Cora, Jenny, Azalea and Willow, you, and then Ravi and Aruna. Everything works out just right, so you wouldn’t have to be crammed in a single room together.”

“Really?” the tigress asked, somewhat surprised and clearly excited. “I... uh... I can go ask Mom, then. And I’ll text you Ravi’s phone number and the Bassi house phone number.”

“That works perfectly. Just let us know as soon as you can that way I can let Mom know and get her off my back,” Beth said, then cut back a bit on the sass. “I mean so we can get everything set up.”

The sound of rapid thumps could be heard over the phone, followed by a bellow. “Mooom!? Azzy’s family is going to the beach and they’ve invited me, Ravi, and Aruna! Can we go?”

“When and for how long?” came the much quieter voice of Alex’s mom over the phone speaker.

“Uh... When was it again, Azzy?” Alex asked, in a much more reasonable volume.

“It would be July second to the fifth, down at Newport Beach, California.”

“July second to the fifth, over in California!” Alex bellowed.

A moment passed in silence before Raenne answered. “The fourth of July weekend? Sure, that’s fine by me, but Ravi and Aruna will need their parents’ permission.”

“Wohoo!” Alex yelled, then spoke quietly again into the phone. “Mom’s okay with it, but Ravi and Aruna will need their parents’ permission.”

“That’s awesome. Just pass our number along to their parents and let them know they can call any time if they have questions.” Beth paused for a moment before asking “Alex? Have you given any thought to singing or yodelling?”

“Kinda? Mom and Dad didn’t want me taking the same electives over and over, so I picked Choir for one of ‘em...” Alex said. A moment later Azalea’s phone dinged with an incoming text message showing a pair of phone numbers.

“I’m sure you will do great at it with the set of lungs you have,” Beth commented, snickering. “I think that covers everything. We got the Bassi’s phone number, and you can give them ours. Everyone is ready to start movie night here,” she said, leaning back and snuggling with her wife.

“Cool. Thank you Mrs. Winters... er, Beth, I mean. Have a good night everyone!” Alex said.

“You too,” Beth replied.

“Talk to you later Alex. I’ll send you some photos of the beach house and stuff so you can show Ravi and Aruna’s parents,” Azalea said.

“Okay. Later!”

__________________________________________________

Isabel poked her head into Kayson’s bedroom. “It’s almost bed time. Have you brushed your teeth?”

“Yes, mom,” Kayson replied, watching from his bed as Jared’s football team kicked the ball towards the opponents goal. “We brushed after dinner,” he said, just as the five minute timer appeared at the top of the television screen.

“Good. Lights out in ten,” Isabel said before turning to go put Emily and Madison to bed.

Jared sighed. Kayson knew why too; there was no way he’d be able to finish the match before the television turned off. “Just pause the game and leave the console on, Jay. You can finish it tomorrow.”

The skink kept at it for another minute before finally pausing the game. The larger boy stood up and put the controller back next to the television before turning it off, then turned and yawned, covering his wide mouth with one scaly hand. Jared walked over to his backpack next to the door and unzipped it, pulling out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before stepping outside, heading towards the bathroom.

Kayson leaned over and set the timer on his heated blanket, wishing he was warm-blooded like Jay. He looked up as the skink returned earlier than expected.

“Your sisters are in the bathroom,” Jay explained, closing the door behind himself. “I’ll just change in here, if that’s okay.”

“Fine by me,” Kayson said with a shrug, then rolled off his bed and tossed back the blanket before sitting back down, sliding partially under the covers. He glanced back up, and stared. Jay had taken off his shirt, and his scales shimmered in the light from the lamp on Kayson’s nightstand, the skink’s hide stretched taught over the muscles on his back.

Jared didn’t put on his shirt as Kayson expected... Instead, his jeans and boxers fell to the floor, standing naked in the middle of Kayson’s room. The larger boy was facing away, but for some reason Kayson couldn’t look away, staring at the curve of the other boy’s butt just below where his tail met his back.

Then Jay bent to pull his sleeping shorts on, and Kayson felt his heart start to pound as the other boy’s tail lifted as a counterweight while he stood on one leg. He’d never really thought of it before, but Jay was... beautiful.

After pulling his shorts up, the skink turned around, still shirtless. His chest showed the same degree of musculature as his back, with clearly visible pectorals and abdominal muscles. Kayson blinked as they were covered, and met Jay’s eyes. The other boy’s gaze suddenly fell, staring at Kayson’s waist.

“Kay, you... you’re…” Jared started, and Kayson looked down, wondering what Jay was looking at. 

Both his hemipenes were swollen again, pointing straight out from his crotch, absolutely unmistakable beneath his thin cotton shorts. The tip of his left one was sticking out almost an inch from the hem, bright pink in the lamp light. 

Kayson jerked, throwing his hands down to cover his waist in horrified embarrassment. “Sorry!” he yelped. “I dunno why they’re doing that! They started earlier today and I have no idea what’s causing it; it’s not like I can control them or anything, and it’s really weird. I’m sorry-”

Jared’s hand on his shoulder made Kayson go silent, looking up. There was a knowing smile on the skink’s muzzle. “Kay. Stop. It’s alright. I’m like you.”

“It... You... What?” Kayson asked, even more confused.

“I like boys too,” Jared said, tears forming at the corner of his eyes. “I’d hoped you were gay, but I didn’t dare ask,” he said, smiling happily.

“I, uh...” Kayson stammered, wondering what Jared meant, so he asked. “I don’t know what you mean. What’s ‘gay’ mean?”

Jared tilted his head slightly, blinking... the smile on his face vanished, replaced by worry. He licked his lips and turned, sitting down on the bed next to Kayson. “You really don’t know?” he asked.

Kayson shook his head. “I thought it’s an insult, like stupid or dumb. But you don’t mean it like that, do you?” he said. It wasn’t a question, really; Jared definitely hadn’t said it like an insult, so Kayson had no idea what it meant.

“No,” Jared said, shaking his head. “It means a guy who likes other guys... as, uh, boyfriends.”

The whole world suddenly shifted beneath his feet. Only it wasn’t the world, it was the way Kayson saw it. He’d had no idea that it was possible for guys to ‘like’ other guys that way. He took a deep breath, his heart racing faster than it ever had before, even when he was sprinting for home base. There was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he looked up at Jared. “That... You, uh... I had no idea... that was, uh, a thing,” he stammered.

“It is,” Jared confirmed, a smile spreading across his muzzle again. He shifted, turning to face the mangrove monitor, and slowly leaned forward. “I like you, Kay. And not just as a friend.”

Kayson’s heart continued to thunder as the larger boy reached up to his face, running a thumb against his cheek, then reached behind his neck and slowly pulled him closer. A moment later their lips met, and it felt like Kayson’s chest was going to explode. 

It felt like an eternity, and yet it was over too soon, as Jared leaned back. “I’ve wanted to do that since we started fifth grade,” the skink said, his eyes twinkling.

He couldn’t help but smile in return. Kayson had never kissed anyone before, except his family, and this... this was different. His heart was slowing now, but his lips were tingling.

Jared glanced at the closed door. “Your mom’s going to come check on us if we don’t turn off the light,” he whispered.

Licking his lips, Kayson nodded, and reached over to tap the button at the base of the lamp. The room went dark except for the nightlight in the corner and a handful of LEDs around the room. They were both quiet for several seconds, waiting as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Kayson took a deep breath. Light glinted on Jared’s eyes, barely visible in the darkness. They shifted slightly and Kayson felt Jared’s hand on his own. It felt strange, but welcome. 

He’d never have dared to ask, before tonight, but he’d always wanted to. “Would you, uh, be okay with sleeping in my bed? To keep me warm?” Kayson whispered, hoping that Jared would say yes. “I’m, uh, cold-blooded.”

“I know,” Jared whispered back. “I’d love to.”

Kayson took a deep breath, the fluttering in his stomach growing stronger. “Cool,” he said, reaching over to turn off the heated blanket, their hands separating. The bed shifted under them as Jared crawled over and climbed under the blanket. A moment later Kayson did the same. 

Lying next to someone in his bed was probably the most awkward thing he’d ever experienced. He wanted to hold hands again, but was hesitant; he didn’t know what was appropriate or not. Just before he’d worked up the courage to do so, Jared whispered in his ear. “Roll onto your side. Away from me.”

Wondering why, he did so. A moment later Jared reached an arm over Kayson’s waist, pulling him against the larger boy’s chest. Kayson could feel Jay’s hips flush against the base of his tail. Jared’s warmth spread across his back and it felt like the most natural, most wonderful thing in the world.

__________________________________________________

Saturday, June 4th, 2016

The last piece of french toast, crispy on the outside and dusted with powdered sugar, still warm and gooey on the inside, practically melted in Alex’s mouth as shi chewed. Shi swallowed, then set hir silverware back on the plate, already planning what to do for the next few hours.

Next weekend Mom and Dad were flying out to Philadelphia and the Bassi family had agreed to let Alex stay with them over the weekend. As a consequence, they’d all agreed to let Ravi and Aruna spend this Saturday night with the Andreyevs despite it being the second weekend in a row, rather than taking turns like they’d planned. Unfortunately, that meant Alex couldn’t lounge about all day; there was cleaning to be done. 

“I’ve gotta go get dressed and clean the upstairs,” the young tigress announced, standing up from the table. “Love you.”

“Okay, love,” David said, picking up his glass of orange juice and taking a sip. Raenne waved a fork in Alex’s direction while shi took hir plate into the kitchen. “Love you too,” the older tigress called after hir.

Alex licked the last remnants of powdered sugar from hir lips as shi headed back upstairs to hir room, leaving hir parents to finish breakfast and clean the kitchen. Not that there was all that much cleanup to do; shi was pretty good about putting stuff in the dishwasher as shi cooked. 

The tigress reached hir room and pulled a pair of black capris and a teal baby-doll t-shirt from the closet, followed by black sports bra and matching boxer-shorts, then snagged hir phone and headed back out into the hallway and then into the upstairs bathroom. Alex set hir clothes and phone on the counter to the left of the sink then grabbed the toothbrush from the cup along with the tube of toothpaste and promptly spent the next minute brushing every square centimeter of hir teeth. Shi finished up with a brief gargle of mouthwash before spitting in the sink and washing everything down the drain.

Next shi popped the orange pill bottle open and shook one Spironolactone pill out into hir paw. Other names for it included titty skittles, fem-n-ems, anti-boy-otics, tit-tacs, and breast mints. ‘Breast mints’ was a particularly apt name, since they were almost as minty as toothpaste, but with a nasty aftertaste. After nearly a year of taking them, the anti-androgen pills had allowed hir to finally look more like a girl, rather than a boy that occasionally wore skirts. The small pill went down the hatch, followed by a paw-ful of tap water.

Last shi peeled off hir dad’s old t-shirt, which was so big on hir that it hung nearly to hir knees. It was one of several that shi had rescued from being thrown away and repurposed as night-gowns. Shi didn’t wear them to bed anymore (or much of anything for that matter). Instead they were hir preferred lounge-wear whenever nobody was expected to visit; just an oversized t-shirt and maybe a pair of boxer-shorts, like shi was wearing right now.

Alex stared at hir reflection in the mirror. Shi smiled, looking at hir chest. Shi didn’t care that Willow had called them ‘mosquito bites’; shi wasn’t as flat as a board anymore. Most people probably wouldn’t notice them, especially with fur as thick as hirs, but Alex did. Shi tilted hir shoulders and puffed hir chest out, then grinned and crossed hir arms, flexing hir pectorals. It was definitely not a boy’s chest anymore.

Maybe in another three or four years shi would have boobs like Mom’s. Well... like they had been before. Mom’s boobs had grown like two sizes during the pregnancy and had stayed that way, since she’d been breast-feeding the twins. Alex didn’t want boobs that big; they looked heavy and awkward. Hopefully hirs would be just big enough that it would be obvious shi wasn’t a boy. That was all shi really cared about.

It was also about time to shave back hir cheek-ruffs, too. Shi sighed and pulled the clippers out of the drawer, plugged it into the wall outlet, twisted the top so the guard was at maximum length, and turned them on. The signature buzzing noise the clippers made was loud enough to make hir teeth itch, and shi quickly ran them over hir cheek-ruffs a few times before shutting them off. The small pile of fur in the sink went in the garbage pail and the clippers went back in the drawer. Shi looked hirself over in the mirror with satisfaction; much less boy-ish. Especially with the spiky white anime-style head-fur.

Alex ran hir paws through hir hair, making a mental note to buy more hair gel and another bleaching kit; it was just about time to bleach it again, as it had grown out enough that hir natural black and orange was starting to show. Bleaching it had been one of hir best decisions yet; the contrast between hir white hair and black and orange fur was perfect. Aruna would probably be willing to help bleach it again, though the younger tigress probably didn’t have any experience with bleaching or dying fur. She’d probably love it though, given how much she liked other cosmetics like nail-polish and fur-shine. 

Figuring shi had wasted enough time in front of the mirror and should probably take a shower, Alex undid the velcro strip over hir tail and stuck hir thumbs in the waist of hir underwear. Shi pulled them down, dropping them to the linoleum tile beneath hir. Then shi blinked and nudged them with a toe-claw as shi saw a dark mass that shouldn’t be there. A nickel-sized spot of dark red glistened wetly in the middle of the pink and white fabric. 

“God damnit!”

__________________________________________________

For the first time in days, when Ginnie woke up she wasn’t in pain; most of the soreness had faded. Between the Tylenol, extra protein, and three solid days of bed rest, she actually felt pretty reasonable now. Throwing back the covers, she staggered upright and lurched over to her closet to get out a vest, skirt, and fresh underwear. She was in desperate need of a shower though, and decided that was the first order of business. Feather-care could wait.

Half an hour later, the young thrush stepped out of the bathroom, having ensured every single red and black feather on her head and arms had been steamed and straightened. She still felt a bit tired and weak, and decided that her pediatrician’s advice was probably worth following. She’d been on a low-calorie diet for months, trying to keep her figure trim. But now that she was going to be actively exercising, the doctor had suggested drinking three to four smoothies a day instead of her usual two or (rarely) three, and with extra protein. The ever-present hunger wasn’t something she’d miss.

Once again scrounging in the pantry, Ginnie decided on dried peaches and chickpeas this time. A minute later the blender started whirring and the young thrush added twice as much milk as usual, along with a scoop of soy-based protein powder that her mom had picked up earlier that week. Supposedly vanilla was the least obnoxious flavor, but it still added a strange chalky texture to her smoothies that she wasn’t a fan of.

Figuring her mother was probably out in the back yard, after Ginnie finished cleaning the blender she walked through the living room and pulled open the sliding glass door, poking her beak outside. As she’d suspected, her mother was tending to the small flower garden that ran along the perimeter of their back yard, both along the house and the wooden fence that surrounded the rest of it. 

“Hey Mom,” Ginnie said, walking across the lawn while sipping her smoothie through the wide flat straw designed for beaks. 

“Good morning, Genevieve,” the older thrush said, not looking up. “I’m surprised you’re up this early.”

Ginnie’s eyelid twitched at hearing her birth name. It just felt wrong now, like calling Dad ‘Harvey’ or calling Mom ‘Guinevere’. As tempting as it was to correct her, Ginnie knew it would do nothing except start a fight, since they were safe using their real names in private. After a second she answered. “I... uh... I fell asleep at ten-thirty or so.”

“And you didn’t wake up in the middle of the night?” Gwen asked, turning to look up at her daughter, an expression of hopeful confusion on her face. 

Ginnie shook her head, confirming what her mother suspected. “Slept all night. Woke up about a half hour ago and took a shower.”

“Huh,” the older thrush said, shaking her head in amazement. “Well, since you’re awake now... I’m going to finish this up and start my Jazzercise workout video.”

After a moment of silence, Ginnie asked “Can I join you?”

Gwen slowly turned her head, looking up at her daughter again. “Who are you and what did you do with my daughter?”

__________________________________________________

Alex spent half hir time in the shower crying and the other half angrily punching the fiberglass shower liner... at least until Mom pounded on the bathroom door and demanded shi stop. Alex had spent all week looking forward to having sex with Ravi tonight. But it would be gross having sex while on hir period. Shi was absolutely certain he would find the idea just as gross, if not more so. By the time Alex got out of the shower, shi had grudgingly accepted the fact that shi wouldn’t be getting laid this evening. 

Pads were gross too, and shi didn’t have a choice about wearing them either. Shi had to wear underwear to keep the pads on for the next few days, and wearing undies while having sex was just... strange. Like wearing socks with sandals. Doing any kind of sexy stuff at all was probably a no-go, either with Ravi or Aruna. The tigress frowned, then sighed, then suddenly remembered that shi had tampons. Those might just work; those were only gross when you took them out.

Figuring this was as good a time as any to try them out, Alex dug into hir hygiene products drawer and pulled out the package of tampons that Mom had bought hir a month or two ago. The young tigress carefully read the instructions on the side, remembering Mom’s demonstration on how to use them. The instructions were simple: Slide the applicator barrel inside, press the plunger at the bottom while holding the bottom of the applicator barrel. Then slide the applicator barrel down and out while holding the plunger still. Finally, remove the applicator. Most importantly, leave the string alone, except to remove the tampon. Alex sighed, and took one of them out. 

A minute later Alex quickly discovered that tampons were a pain in the tail for hermaphrodites; hir balls got in the way of seeing what shi was doing. Eventually shi gave up trying to see what shi was doing and simply felt around until shi knew shi was inserting it in the right location, then followed the steps: 

1) Push the applicator barrel inside, aiming backwards. Shi winced at the chilly plastic.
2) Push plunger up. Shi could definitely feel it, but it wasn’t what shi had expected.
3) Grip the barrel and pull down while holding the plunger in place... and done.

Alex straightened back up and shifted slightly. It didn’t feel like it was moving around inside, but shi definitely knew it was there. Hopefully shi wouldn’t notice it as much after a bit. Speaking of... Alex held hir phone up from the counter. “Siri, set an alarm for two hours from now.” Hopefully that would be about the right amount of time between changes, but shi had no idea.

Five minutes later, Alex finished snapping the buttons on hir capris and pocketed hir phone, then carefully wrung out the underwear that had been soaking in the sink. Sighing, shi snagged the nightie as well and made hir way downstairs, heading towards the laundry room. “Mom?” shi yelled, “Where’s that bottle of enzyme cleaner stuff?”

__________________________________________________

“Boss, I don’t think that lizard is doing so well,” Liam said quietly. “Do you want me to do anything? Take him somewhere, drop him off, and call nine-one-one? Or I can just dump him in the river.”

Ivan looked up at the rhinoceros, eyes narrowing. “Mmm... He still hasn’t told me whose name the trust is in. Give him some coffee and morphine, and I’ll check in on him in an hour. And make sure he drinks the damn coffee so he doesn’t fall asleep this time.”

The tiger watched as the bulky African walked away. As familiar as he was with people wearing track suits, it just looked wrong on the rhinoceros. Ivan sighed and stood up, walking over to the warehouse doorway and pulling it open to step outside for some fresh air. Not that any air in Devil’s Pocket was particularly fresh. The river was filthy and smelled of chemicals, probably dumped from one of the dozen chemical plants in the area. Most were further downstream, thankfully.

The old electrical power plant, Station A-2 or something, was a few blocks south of them, which didn’t help. Ivan wasn’t sure if it was still active or not, since didn’t see any plumes rising from the ancient smokestacks, but it stank of rust and oil. The sound of construction from the high-rise that was being constructed to the north of them was quiet today. He frowned for a moment, before remembering that today was Saturday and the construction crews were probably at home.

Ivan watched traffic go by through the rusty chainlink fencing for a few minutes before turning and heading back inside the warehouse, then headed up to the manager’s office. The most annoying part of his day consisted of planning the distribution of the week’s product. Not that there was all that much to distribute now; his network barely consisted of a dozen dealers. The difficult part was finding territory that wasn’t occupied by the Italians, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, and Mexicans. They were all relatively new gangs who had all moved in to take a slice of the pie after the Brotherhood had fallen to the FBI’s sting operation years ago.

About an hour later, Ivan threw his pen across the dingy office in frustration, wishing he had someone to do all the distribution shit for him. He knew better than to ask for help from the Brotherhood; this mess was his fault to begin with and his problem to deal with. Ivan wasn’t cut out for the management side of the business, though; he was a mafia soldier at heart. 

What he really needed was to find someone to take over the business side of things so that he could focus on the bigger picture of retaking the Philadelphia area for the Brotherhood, and eventually the eastern seaboard. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the soldiers or the guns he needed to retake his territory. That took money, and he couldn’t get money without selling product, and he couldn’t sell the product without territory to sell it in. It was a vicious cycle.

The tiger stood up from the worn office chair and stalked downstairs, walking over to the lawyer who was currently lying on a filthy mattress next to the wall. Only the rise and fall of Mr. Pullman’s chest indicated he was still alive. Ivan walked over to him and nudged the lizard’s foot with his boot. When the lawyer’s eyes opened and he looked up, the tiger squatted next to him. “So, have you remembered the girl’s name yet?”

“No,” Heinrich said, glaring up at the tiger.

“I suggest you try harder,” Ivan said, holding up the lawyer’s wallet. “Normally I don’t like to threaten someone’s family, but I must admit you’re being particularly stubborn and I’m starting to think you need a bit more motivation.” The tiger flipped open the wallet and pulled out the lizard’s license. He read the address aloud. “That’s your home, yes? What would we find there? A wife? Children?”

The lizard hissed again, this time with fear, then whimpered as Ivan reached out and prodded his broken arm. “Stop being stupid,” Ivan chastised, “and tell me who she is.”

Heinrich shuddered in pain before blurting out “Alek-an-rea? I tol’ you I ‘an’t remem-er her name. Anry-shomet’ing. You shu’d fucking know, she’s your... niesh.”

Ivan leaned backwards on his haunches, stunned by the realization that he was an uncle. He had no idea that his traitorous bitch of a sister had any children. Then again, he’d had no way of knowing, since the last he’d seen or heard of her was when she’d burned down half his empire and murdered most of his soldiers. 

The tiger narrowed his eyes, thinking rapidly as a plan began to form in his mind. This was the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Well, with one bullet, anyway. He could regain his standing with the Brotherhood, avenge their fallen soldiers, and if he was Alexandrea’s last of kin he would become her legal guardian... and the Kaminski fortune would be his.