WARNING: This story may contain content of an adult nature. If you are easily offended or are under the legal age to view adult content in your area, please exit now. This text is intended for adults only and may include scenes of sexual content or graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Yerba Maté
by TaintedThylacine and IndigoNeko

Chapter 5

Friday, September 4th, 2015

Elizabeth was practically dancing from foot to foot with nerves, staring at the mirror over her dresser, hoping the dress she’d picked out wasn’t too fancy. Not only was Chris coming over tonight, but Mother and Father had said that it would be okay for them to mate together if they wanted to, as long as it was only in her room and with the door closed. Even the stern injunction that she was absolutely not to try to convince Chris if the yapok didn’t want to had not stemmed her enthusiasm.

Suddenly she gasped as she remembered the one thing she’d forgotten: Alex. She had to call Alex. There wasn’t that much time until Chris was coming over either. In a panic she darted over to her door and yanked it open, then took off running down the hallway to the stairs. She almost managed to overcome her inertia when she hit the stairs, taking a sharp turn and accidentally bumping the guard rail as she started down the stairs, hopping them two and even three at a time. She hit the far wall of the landing halfway down with a thump, then propelled herself off, clearing the rest of the stairs to the second floor with one jump, the frilled skirt of her dress fluttering in the air. She hit the floor and wall on the second floor with yet another pair of loud thumps.

Picking up the victorian-style handset from its base on the table outside her parent’s bedroom, Elizabeth quickly dialed Alexandrea’s cell number, the only one that she knew by heart except her own. A few moments later, Alex answered “Hi, silly stoat. How’s it going?”

“Oh, Lexi... I’m sorry, I meant to call you earlier, but I forgot...” Elizabeth said, panting to get her breath back and hoping it wasn’t a bad time.

“It’s okay. I was going to call you tonight if you didn’t call me first,” the tigress on the other line said, followed shortly by a thump and the rustle of cloth moving. “They started getting serious about handing out homework this week. I’ve been doing like three hours of homework a night.”

“Really? That’s a bummer,” the little stoat said. It really was; they hadn’t had more than an hour or two of homework at most usually. Giving out three hours of homework was just mean.

“It’s not too bad, really. School’s okay, other than the fact that the bus route is like an hour each way, and that I don’t know anyone else, and... and that you’re not here,” the tigress said with a slight catch in hir throat. Elizabeth felt the same way; she missed Alex terribly.

“Oh Lexi... I miss you so much,” Elizabeth said hoarsely, suddenly near tears.

“I miss you too, silly stoat,” the tigress said with a sniffle. “I’d give anything to be over at your place right now. Not having a sleepover on a Friday night is... weird.”

“I know...” Elizabeth said. This was the part where she was supposed to tell Alex that she was having a new friend over for a sleepover, only... she didn’t know how to say it. It might break Alex’s heart. For a moment the two of them were quiet.

“Lizzy-”

“Lexi-”

The two of them spoke almost simultaneously, then went quiet again.

“You go, silly stoat,” Alex said with a sniffle.

“Oh, Lexi... I... I don’t know how to say this, but I have to tell you. Promise you won’t be mad, or sad?” Elizabeth asked pensively, toying with the coiled phone cord.

Alex sniffled again, then took a deep breath. “Okay, I promise. What happened, silly stoat? You sound like you killed someone or something.”

“Well... it’s about Chris...” Elizabeth started. It was remarkably hard to tell Alex about Chris coming over for a sleepover. Especially since it had been Alex and Elizabeth’s ritual for years.

“Yeeaah,” Alex replied, drawing the word out as if very suspicious.

“Well, she’s coming over tonight, for a sleepover,” the little stoat said, nervously. She hoped Alex wasn’t upset, especially as they’d just mentioned sleepovers.

For a moment the tigress went silent. “I’m really envious... I wish I could be there with you two.”

Elizabeth waited a moment before continuing “Lexi, I- There’s something else. It’s why I asked you to promise not to be sad... or mad.”

“Lizzy, I promised. I’ll never, ever be mad at you. I love you. I’ll try my best not to be sad, okay?” Alex said, reassuringly.

“Okay,” Elizabeth said, going quiet for a moment. This was the hard part; telling her best friend and former lover that she wanted to start having sex with someone else. “It’s... well... she’s a hermaphrodite, too. Like you... ” The little stoat went silent, unable to bring herself to actually say that she wanted to have sex with Chris. She was afraid of hurting Alex’s feelings. 

“So... you want to be... in a relationship with her,” Alex stated quietly, hir voice strangely flat.

“I- Yes,” Elizabeth confirmed, a bit surprised at how Alex just seemed to know what she was thinking. The little stoat waited, hoping she hadn’t done the wrong thing by telling the tigress.

“It’s okay,” Alex said, so quietly that it was hard for Elizabeth to hear. “We’ll always be best friends though. Right?” the tigress asked hopefully, voice cracking slightly on the last word.

“Always,” Elizabeth said, frowning as realized she’d hurt Alex’s feelings. It didn’t seem like it was too bad though; Alex wasn’t crying or anything. She quickly tried to reassure the tiger on the other end of the line. “You’ll always be my best friend, Lexi. That will never, ever change.”

“Okay,” the tigress whispered. “Best friends, forever?”

“Best friends, forever,” the little stoat replied. She stood there for a moment, wondering if Alex would say anything else, but shi didn’t. The line went silent and a moment later the call ended.

__________________________________________________

Alyssa’s Jeep pulled into the now-familiar house driveway, her paw reaching out to press the button on the intercom. Chris was sitting in the passenger seat wearing a black tank top with a ying yang symbol on it and a pair of black tights with jean cutoff shorts over them, humming softly as she waited.

After the front gate for them, Alyssa pulled into the drive and stopped in front of the house. “Now you remember what I told you. Behave,” the mother yapok ordered, leaning over and kissing her daughter on the cheek. “Te amo hija.”

“I will, and I love you too,” Chris replied, smiling as she got out of the car and went to the back to grab her guitar case and the overnight bag that she had packed before heading up the steps to the house. Alyssa waited for her daughter to enter the Stouffer’s house before she started driving home.

Charlotte, standing by the open door in a pair of sweatpants and a zip-up hoodie, waved to Alyssa as Chris walked in. “Hi Chris. Elizabeth’s... oh. Nevermind,” the teenaged doberman said slowly as the little stoat came bounding down the stairs in a white dress. After Alyssa began to drive away, Charlotte closed the door with a click.

“Hola, you two,” Chris said, waving to the two as she walked in with them. “What were you going to say?” She asked Charlotte, tilting her head a little. “Did I miss something?”

“Nope, nothing,”  the canine said slowly. “Just going to say that Elizabeth was up in her room, which apparently is no longer accurate,” she added as Elizabeth jumped to the floor of the foyer with a thump, running straight at Chris with arms open.

Chris let out a little squeak as she saw and felt the stoat running into her arms, holding her and giving her a firm hug. “Hello there, armiño,” the yapok said with a smile. “Did you miss me that much or something?”

“Uh-huh,” Elizabeth said with a muffled voice, squeezing Chris in a tight hug. Behind them, Charlotte smiled, then quietly left the foyer, heading back towards the kitchen. After a moment, Elizabeth added “Can we go upstairs? I’ve got to tell you something.”

“Sure,” Chris said, still smiling. “Though I think that it might be a little hard to walk with you hugging me so tight,” she added with a giggle. “Lead the way Noodle.”

“Sorry,” the little stoat said, letting go. Forgoing the stairs, she headed over to the lift, tapping the button. A moment later the frosted glass door slid open, and she stepped in. Once inside, she hit the button for the third floor.

“So... did you do anything interesting today?” Chris asked as the two rode in the lift, the yapok humming to herself softly.

“I think... I think I made a mistake,” Elizabeth said quietly, looking down at the floor. “A bad one.”

“What do you mean?” Chris asked, her humming coming to a stop. “Is it something that I can help with?” she asked, putting her arm around the little stoat.

“I... I dunno,” Elizabeth said. A second later the lift dinged and the glass panels on the front slid opened. The little stoat shrugged off Chris’s arm and quickly stepped out, turning the corner and heading down the hallway to her room.

“Well, ummmm,” Chris replied, a bit off put by having her arm shrugged off so abruptly, but following the stoatling. “I’m going to need details if I’m going to help or something.”

Once the two of them were in Elizabeth’s room, the little stoat closed the door behind them and then ran over to her bed, jumping onto it and grabbing a large tiger plush. She wrapped her arms around it and sat there for a moment before explaining. “I told Alex you were coming over today, for a sleepover. I think... I think I hurt hir. I made hir promise not to get mad or sad, but...”

“Wait,” Chris said, setting her guitar case and bag down before walking over to the bed and sitting next to Elizabeth. “Why would she be hurt by us having a sleepover? Why would she be mad?”

“Because we were dating.” Elizabeth said quietly. “I was hir girlfriend.”

Chris was a little confused, it took a moment for what she said to sink in. “Wait... you were her girlfriend? But she broke up with you?”

“No. I mean... It's complicated. We kinda sorta broke up when shi moved, but agreed to stay best friends. Anyway, I told her you were a hermaphrodite today, and shi asked me if I wanted to go out with you. Which I do, so I said yes. But then shi asked if we could still be best friends, and of course I said yes. But then she just... hung up,” Elizabeth said, holding the tiger plush tight. “I just... I know I hurt hir.”

“You probably did... but...” Chris was at a loss for words. It was a bit of a shock learning that the little stoat had been in a relationship with her best friend and at the fact that Elizabeth wanted to go out with her.  “I think I can see why she would be hurt.  Relationships are tough and I think that they would only get more tough with distance.” She flopped back onto the bed, turning to look at Elizabeth. “Are you ok with the relationship going back to just best friends?”

“No,” Elizabeth stated, shaking her head. “I love hir,” the little stoat said, suddenly choking up. “And I know shi still loves me too. I don’t want it to end, and I know shi doesn’t either. Only, it has to...”

“Well, just cause you stop loving someone in that way, doesn’t mean that you have to stop being friends, or that you can’t still be friends. Sometimes a relationship isn’t meant to be one of love like that, sometimes it’s just a really close friendship,” she said with a sigh. “I might sound bad for this, but... I just can’t see a long distance relationship working. Not just for you two, but for anyone. But that might be just me. Dios mío, necesito dejar de hablar.”

“I know long-distance relationships don’t work,” Elizabeth choked out through the tightness in her throat. “Both of us knew that. That’s why it had to end.” For a moment the little stoat was silent, black eyes glistening as tears began to drip down the fur of her cheeks. “Would you hold me? Please?” she asked plaintively.

“Of course,” Chris said before sitting up and scooching up to the little stoat, wrapping her arms around her and holding onto her as if her life depended on it. The little stoat leaned against her new friend, quiet sobs shaking her tiny frame.

__________________________________________________

Charlotte stepped out of the lift outside Elizabeth’s room, sighing. The vicodin that she’d been prescribed was doing wonders to keep the pain in her muzzle to a minimum. Unfortunately, it did nothing for the nasty taste of iron in her mouth from the incisions the surgeon had made to remove the metal plates. It also made her feel like she was floating.

Dinner was ready, and she hadn’t heard anything from either cub since shortly after Chris arrived. She was hesitant to potentially interrupt the two cubs, as Julia had informed her that Chris and Elizabeth might be... doing things. She didn’t hear anything though, so they might be asleep. After a second of indecision, she knocked gently at the closed door.

“Come in,” Chris said softly, looking up at the door, still clinging to the little stoat and whispering to her that things would be okay.

Charlotte opened the door and peered in. “Dinner’s ready...” the doberman started to say before she realized that Elizabeth was sobbing and her fur was wet with tears. “What happened?” she asked as she walked across the room and knelt next to the bed. She nearly lost her balance and quickly put her hand on the comforter. “Elizabeth? Are you okay?”

Elizabeth nodded quickly, hiccuping. “I- I’m o- okay. Just- Alex...” she trailed off with a sniffle.

The doberman looked up at Chris, raising one eyebrow slightly.

“She and Alex broke up,” Chris said, giving Elizabeth a squeeze. “So, we’ve just been cuddling.”

“Oh no...” Charlotte said, stunned. She’d known that Alexandrea and Elizabeth were sexually active, but hadn’t known they were actually dating. Then again, with some of the questions Alex had asked, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. The teenaged canine didn’t know what to say. Perhaps there was nothing that she could say. At least not anything that would help the little stoat feel better. “I’ll tell Julia and Terrence. You two can come down and have dinner whenever you’re ready. Or if you want, just call down and we can bring it up here. It’s the right-most button on the intercom,” Charlotte finally said, pointing at the panel next to the light switch.

“Thank you,” Chris said with a little smile. “Elizabeth, sweetie... you hungry or just want to snuggle some more?” Her tone was soft and caring as she held onto her friend.

“I- yes?” the little stoat said, unable to make up her mind.

Charlotte nodded, reassured that everything was about as okay as it could be, given the situation. She quietly stood and left the room, closing the door with a click.

“It’ll be ok, sweetie,” Chris said, leaning in and nuzzling the stoat. “I can stay here with you as long as you want me to. Whatever you need.”

“No, I- I’m fine. Food sounds good,” Elizabeth said, looking up. After a few moments she set the tiger plush to one side.

“Well then, shall we take care of that?” the yapok asked, softly smiling as she stretched. “Food might help. I know that ice cream helps me.”

“Ice cream does sound good,” Elizabeth said, leaning back. “Thank you for holding me. Alex would hold me too, when I was sad,” she added with a sniffle.

Chris brought a paw up to cup the side of Elizabeth’s face, saying “Anytime, sweetie. You're too pretty to be sad.” The yapok blushed at her own comment; it was the sappiest thing she’d ever said in her life. “Ummm... So, dinner?” she asked, before mumbling “cerebro, eso fue un pensamiento interno.’

“Dinner,” Elizabeth said, blushing slightly as well, both from the words and Chris’s gentle touch. “Charlotte made lasagna. Or that’s what she said she was preparing, before mother took her to the hospital.” With that, the little stoat rolled off the bed, heading over to the door.

“Sounds good to me,” the yapok said, following the stoat. “Wait, why did she have to go to the hospital?  Is she ok?” Chris asked, tilting her head slightly as the two left the room to go to dinner.

“Some boy broke her muzzle last school year, and she needed to have metal plates put in to hold everything together while it healed. She had the plates taken out today and she’s going to have her replacement teeth put in tomorrow,” Elizabeth explained as she walked into the lift and pressed the button for the first floor.

“Well that would explain why she was talking slow and acting a little weird. Ella tiene las pastillas para sentirse bien,” Chris muttered, smirking as she thought back to how the doberman was talking and how out of it she was.

The two of them took the lift down to the first floor, and Elizabeth walked over to the door under the staircase that led to the dining room. The moment she opened the door, both her parents stood up. Terrence was closest, and knelt down in front of Elizabeth, wrapping her in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, princess.”

“I’m okay, father. Thank you though,” she said, returning the hug.

“Mmmkay. If you want to talk with your mother and I about it, we’ll be in our room after dinner,” he said, letting her go. “Are you sure you want to eat right now? You can wait until later if you want.”

“I’m fine, father. Honest,” the little stoat protested before waving her hand at the yapok behind her. “Having Chris here helped.”

Both Julia and Terrence looked over at the marsupial in the doorway. “Good,” Julia said. “Thank you, Chris.”

“It was no trouble,” the yapok said with an awkward smile, her paw coming up to rub the back of her head. “I know how bad something like that can feel....”

“I’m sorry,” Terrence said, sympathizing. “I suppose that’s part of life, though.”

Just then, Charlotte stepped through the door from the kitchen, wobbling slightly as she carried an enormous baking dish with a pair of oven mitts. The doberman set it down in the middle of the table and took off the oven mitts, then picked up a knife and cut through the crispy cheese crust atop the lasagna, slicing it into large squares. “Take a seat, everyone. It’s best when it’s fresh out of the oven. Just don’t burn your mouth,” she said, putting down the knife and then picking up a spatula and an empty plate.

__________________________________________________

After dinner and dessert, Julia and Terrence volunteered to clean up the dining room, telling Charlotte to go get some rest. The two cubs went back upstairs and Charlotte followed them, at least as far as the second floor, where she bid the two cubs goodnight and headed down the hallway to her own bedroom. Chris and Elizabeth continued up the stairs to the third floor, heading to the little stoat’s bedroom once again.

“You were right, ice cream helped,” Elizabeth said with a slight yawn as she walked into the room and turned the light dimmer to about halfway. Then she walked over to the computer and flipped it on, pulling out the computer chair.

“Play all the things?” Chris asked, spying the chair over at the vanity, then picking it up and bringing it over to the computer desk to join the little stoat. “And ice cream is the best thing; it fixes most everything.”

“I just wanted to look at this website Charlotte told me about called imgur...” Elizabeth started to say.

“Oh that site is a blast,” Chris interrupted with a grin, “You’ll laugh yourself silly.”

“We can play games too, if you want. Or we can go downstairs and play Nintendo, or watch movies, or go swimming, or play tennis, or-” Elizabeth said, starting to list all of her favorite things before Chris interrupted her again.

“Video games and movies are fine, but I don’t think swimming would be smart this close after dinner,” the yapok said, patting her belly. “Though one day I wouldn’t mind learning to play tennis.”

“Yeah, mom says not to go swimming after eating, cause you can get cramps and stuff. Tennis is probably the same too. That’s why I like to play games and stuff after eating instead,” Elizabeth said, pulling up the internet browser.

“And that would be really bad,” Chris said, leaning in a little. “I don’t want a repeat of that time at the lake,” she added, snickering. “Good thing that I float.”

“What happened? Did you get a cramp while you were swimming?” Elizabeth asked, glancing over at Chris even as she pulled up the website she’d mentioned.

“I dove in and everything was good for a few minutes... then ‘boom’.” She paused, thinking of how to explain it. “It was like the worst stomach ache hit suddenly,” she said, watching the stoat looking through the site.

“Huh, I guess mother was right,” the stoat said before giggling at some of the pictures that came up. Chris started laughing at some of them too.

After a few minutes of laughing at memes and silly videos, Elizabeth sighed. “I kind of want to watch a movie. Do you have any favorites? I mean, as long as it’s not rated R or something. We don’t have any of those, and Mother says I need to ask before watching anything PG-13.”

“I don’t really watch that many movies, but I guess that I would be okay with anything,” the yapok said with a shrug. “It’s the same with TV.”

“You don’t? So... what do you do then? Just play video games?” the little stoat asked, puzzled.

“Play games, read a little, practice... other boring things like that,” Chris said, shrugging.

“Practice what?” Elizabeth asked, spinning around on the chair. “Your guitar, you mean?”

“Yup, the old seis cuerdas. Though I am learning the bass... you would think with less strings that it would be easy to pick up,” Chris mused.

“Oh. I can play piano, and I can sing. Mostly just Disney songs though. Oh, and I can play the recorder too. I don’t like it that much though; it hurts my ears.”

“Oh, there’s a Disney remix you need to hear,” Chris said with a grin. “Mind If I borrow the computer? It’s nothing bad, or loud.”

“Sure,” Elizabeth said, pushing the chair over to make room.

“Awesome,” Chris exclaimed as she pulled up YouTube and started looking for a certain video. After she found it, she hit play. “This is it,” she said as the music started up.

A few moments after the video started to play, Elizabeth perked up. “I recognize this; it’s from Mulan! I love that movie!” she exclaimed. “It’s... really different though.”

The two of them listened to the music for several minutes, Elizabeth fighting the urge to sing along with the song. She didn’t know the lyrics well enough, though. She’d never listened to music that had such a strong drumline. “What’s that instrument he was using that looked like a guitar, the one that was making the high-pitched noises?”

“That’s an electric guitar, it’s like an acoustic one but more fancy and louder,” Chris beamed as she turned and motioned to the guitar case that was leaning against the wall next to the dresser.  “It's kind of like the one that I have, mine is an acoustic and electric hybrid.”

“Oh. I’ve never heard one before. What makes it electric? Do you need to plug it into the wall?” Elizabeth asked.

The yapok laughed as she got up and started walking over to her case. “In a way, you would.  You need to plug it into an amp and then plug the amp into the wall. I don’t have my amp, but I have my phone. Would you like me to serenade you, chica?”

Elizabeth nodded, curious what kind of instrument would require a phone. She was mentally picturing plugging her mom’s victorian style rotary handset into the guitar; the concept was absurd.

Chris picked up her case and sat it on the bed before opening it and pulling out her midnight blue guitar and setting it to the side.  She then reached into a side pocket and pulled out a long, thick wire that she plugged one end into the guitar and the other into her Android before fiddling with it for a moment. “Elizabeth, look up tabs for Mulan.”

Elizabeth tilted her head slightly. “What’s a tab?”

“It’s like... sheet music for guitar players that are too lazy to learn to read sheet music,”  Chris muttered as she fiddled with something on her phone.

The little stoat shrugged and turned around on her chair again, pulling up the browser again and searching for tab music from Mulan. She found one a few moments later and brought it up. She stared at the strange notation, then turned back around. “Is this what you were talking about?”

Slipping her shoulder strap on and walking closer to look at the screen, she studied it for a moment and said “Perfect.  Let me just look at them a sec.”  Her fingers started moving along the neck of the guitar, mimicking the movements. “I don’t know how good this is going to be,” she said before she pulled a pick out from under her shirt. The electric guitar sounds played from her phone as she began to strum the strings of her guitar, running her fingers across the frets.

Elizabeth listened intently, impressed at the variety of sounds that the electric guitar could produce. The sound was very similar to what she’d heard in the music video they’d just watched; obviously the same song, ‘I’ll make a man out of you’. “Wow. I really want to sing along. I just don’t remember the lyrics,” she said, watching the yapok’s fingers run across the strings. “Maybe... I could try memorizing the lyrics for next weekend. I could sing while you play...” she suggested tentatively.

“I think it might take a little longer than a week to memorize them. There’s a reason that I go to band practice all the time,” Chris said proudly, happy with how entranced the stoat was with her playing despite her occasional fumble. “It can be our little project if you want. I can help you memorize the lyrics; Ashlyn has taught me a few tricks to remembering lyrics.”

“I’d like that,” Elizabeth said with a bashful smile. “Right now though... Have you seen Frozen?”

“Is that the one with the snowman?” Chris asked, tilting her head a little. “No, I haven't seen that one.”

“Oh, it’s great!” the little stoat exclaimed, hopping up and walking to the door. “It has one of my favorite songs in it.”

“Is this a song that I should look into learning too?” Chris asked as she got up and followed the stoat, smiling. 

“Definitely. There’s lots of great songs in it,” Elizabeth said as she walked over to the lift and stepped in, hitting the button for the first floor. “They make me happy,” she said with a smile.

“Well, mom did say something about me needing to learn more happy songs,” Chris muttered to herself as the lift started moving, taking them to the first floor.

__________________________________________________

It was about halfway through the movie and Chris was actually enjoying it, though she’d never admit to her other friends that she’d seen it, much less enjoyed it. “You know this is a pretty nice little movie,”  she started saying when her belly let out a strange sound.

“Are you okay?” Elizabeth asked, picking up the remote and pausing it.

“I am,” the yapok said, forcing a smile. To be honest, she didn’t feel good at all; her heart was racing and her throat felt tight.

“Are you sure?” Elizabeth said, worried. Somehow Chris’s protest rang false.

“I...” Chris started to say, then paused, shivering a little. “It’s nothing big; solo necesito vomitar. Where’s the bathroom again?” she asked, panting.

“Uh, there’s one in the foyer. It’s the door just at the base of the stairs,” the little stoat said, nibbling her lower lip.

“Th- Thank you,” the yapok said, getting up and making for the door. She suddenly heaved and covered her muzzle before picking up the pace, running for the aforementioned bathroom. She yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind herself.

At that, Elizabeth got up from the couch, heading into the kitchen where she tapped one of the intercom buttons. “Mother? I think Chris might be sick.”

“I’ll be down in a moment,” Julia replied through the intercom a half minute later. She stepped out of her room, straightening the polo shirt and skirt before heading downstairs and into the entertainment room where Elizabeth was waiting. “Where is she?”

“Uh, she’s in the foyer bathroom right now. She looked like she was going to puke.”

“Okay...” Julia said, walking back into the foyer and tapping on the bathroom door. “Chris, are you okay?”

There was a moment of silence before a squeak and some rather disgusting sounds, splashing and then soft pants. “Yes ma’am. I’m okay,” the yapok said, flushing the toilet. “Just needed to use the bathroom.”

“Okay. Just call out if you need something. Elizabeth and I will be in the entertainment room,” Julia said. The older stoat stood there a moment, then walked into the room where Elizabeth was sitting, nibbling at her finger-claws. “I’m going to call Alyssa. Keep an ear open in case Chris needs something.”

With that, Julia walked into the kitchen and picked up the victorian-style phone, flipping open the notepad next to it and quickly dialing Alyssa’s number.

The sudden sound of a phone ringing caught the older yapok off guard. She fell off the sofa that she was lounging on and the book that she had been reading went flying. “Hola. Esta es Alyssa. ¿Cómo puedo ayudarte?  I mean hello,” Alyssa said, picking herself up off the floor and answering the cordless phone that was sitting on her coffee table.

“Alyssa, this is Julia. Does Chris have any allergies other than beef?” she asked in a rush, looking at the notes in the notepad next to the kitchen phone, all written in Charlotte’s elegant cursive handwriting.

“Any red meat; beef being the worst.” The older yapok replied, glancing around for her missing book. “Anything with alpha-gal. Is something the matter?” Alyssa asked as she picked up the book and tossed it on the sofa before heading to the bedroom.

“Shhhhoot,” Julia said, nearly swearing. “We had lasagna. Charlotte knew about the beef allergy, so she fixed it with lamb instead. How bad is the reaction? Do we need to take her to the hospital?”

“It would be for the best I think. I know that the last time she had a run in, she hacked a lung up and then started going into anaphylactic shock. Though that was with beef, not lamb,” she said looking through one of the drawers in the bedside table. “I don’t see her epi-pen here, so she should have that in her bag,” she said, taking a deep breath. “So... I guess I will meet you at the E.R.?”

Julia sighed. “Guess so. Legacy Meridian Park Hospital. It’s the one just across the highway, down Sagert street.”

“I will meet you there,” Alyssa said, hanging up the phone to start getting ready.

“I think I’m better,” Chris said, panting as she walked into the room, the fur on her forehead matted with sweat. 

“Nope, you’re not. Is your epi-pen in your bag?” Julia said, walking in as well.

“It is,” she wheezed. “Do I have to go to the hospital? I don’t like that place,” she said, then coughed.

“Unfortunately, yes. Elizabeth, can you please go get Chris’s bag and bring it down to the garage? We need to go to the hospital.”

The little stoat nodded and ran into the foyer, headed for the lift.

“Come on. We’ll take Terrence’s car. The blue one,” she said, walking into the kitchen. She reached over and tapped the intercom as she did. “Terrence, I’m taking your car. I’ve gotta get Chris to the E.R.”

A moment later, Terrence responded. “Okay, angel. Call me if you need me.”

“Will do,” she responded, then looked down at Chris. “Okay, let’s go,” the older stoat said, leading the way into the garage.

“O- Okay,” Chris said, nodding. Her throat felt so tight it was getting hard to breathe. “I- I think it might be a smart idea,” she said, panting. “I- I think I... need my pen.”

“Elizabeth’s getting it,” Julia said, leading the kid around the car and pulling open the front passenger side. “Hop in, and buckle up,” the stoat said, helping Chris into the car. Once Chris was sitting down and her tail inside the vehicle, Julia shut the door. Elizabeth was just coming into the garage, carrying the yapok’s pack.

“Into the back seat, princess. Quickly,” Julia said as she got into the driver’s side. “And watch your tail.”

“Okay,” Elizabeth said, pulling open the back door and hopping in. She quickly closed the door behind her and pulled her seatbelt on. “I’ve got your backpack, Chris,” she said, pushing it up to the front seat while Julia opened the garage door and started to back the car out.

“Th- Thank you,” Chris wheezed, taking the bag and opening one of the side pockets. “No sleep for me,” she choked out as she pulled out the epipen, setting it down in her lap before wiggling and pulling the hem of her jean shorts up. She popped the safety cap off the epipen, then pressed it against the side of her thigh, hoping that the tights she was wearing wouldn’t interfere. A soft click sounded as she held it there for a moment before pulling it away, capping it, and sitting back. “Mierda. That hurts.”

“Hold on dear. We’ll be at the hospital in a jiffy,” Julia said waiting anxiously as the wrought iron gate opened. There were several very good reasons she’d decided to take her husband’s car rather than her Lexus for this. The fact that it had over five hundred horsepower was just one of them. The moment the gate was open enough to let them out she hit the gas pedal, making the tires squeal as she turned onto the residential road, managing to hit the speed limit in under two seconds and quickly surpassing it.

Chris held onto the door handle as the acceleration threw her back into the seat. She held the epi-pen in her other hand as she felt the car getting up to speed. “Okay,” she said.

Julia sped through the twisty neighborhood roads at nearly twice the posted limit, barely slowing for the many stop signs. In the back seat, Elizabeth was holding onto the handle of the car door for dear life, trying to keep from screaming as the centrifugal forces threw her against the seatbelt whenever her mom went around a corner.

__________________________________________________

After they’d arrived, Julia explained that Chris was having an allergic reaction and had already injected an epi-pen. The yapok was quickly accepted into the E.R., leaving Elizabeth and Julia in the waiting room where they told the nurse that the child’s mother would be arriving soon to answer any questions. Alyssa arrived a minute later, where she started answering the nurse’s questions and filling out forms. After that, the nurse took Alyssa back to the room Chris was in. Chris was laid up in a medical bed, oxygen mask over her muzzle and an I.V. fluid bag hanging over her. Alyssa took a seat in the chair next to the bed.

“Can I go home...or anywhere but here?” Chris asked, looking at her mother. “I hope I didn’t scare Elizabeth and Mrs. Julia,” she said with a soft sigh.

“No, you can’t. Trust me, I don’t like being here anymore than you do.” Alyssa sighed, turning to look at her daughter.  “I’m sure you gave them a scare, but thankfully Julia handled it well, so make sure you thank her.”

“I will. I hope they’re not mad. I mean, I forgot all about it,” Chris whispered, looking down to the foot of the bed.  “I’m so used to not having to think about it.”

“I know. That’s ‘cause I, the school and most everyone else is well informed. It’s partly my fault too; I should have explained it better to them,” Alyssa stated, her eyes looking up at the door as she heard it open. A male red panda wearing scrubs and a white coat stepped into the room staring at papers on a clipboard in one hand.

“It’s looking like everything is were it needs to be, we’re just going to keep you for a bit longer to make sure that nothing else pops up,” the doctor said warmly as he looked up from the charts.

“That's good. Do you mind telling the two stoats in the waiting room they can come back and see her. I’m sure her girlfriend is worried.” Alyssa snickered at the nasty look that she got from Chris.

“I’ll send them back,” the red panda said, turning and heading out of the room.

Once the doctor was out of the room Alyssa turned back to Chris, smiling.  “So, did you actually make it to the bathroom this time, or was it like that time at the Burgerville?”

“Mom, I swear to God if you tell that story, you will be sleeping on the sofa till I move out.”  Chris huffed.

That was when the door to the room opened, revealing Elizabeth and Julia. Elizabeth ran across the room to the bed and leaned across it, trying to give Chris a hug even though the bed was almost too tall for her to do so. Julia followed Elizabeth into the room. 

“Please don’t die,” Elizabeth wailed. “I don’t want to lose another friend!”

“Don’t worry, Noodle,” Chris said smiling, snickering as Alyssa picked up Elizabeth and set her on the bed. The moment that the little stoat was on the bed, Chris pulled her into a hug. “I’m not going anywhere. Estás atrapado conmigo, linda.”

“I’m sorry Julia. I should have thought to give you a better warning about her food allergies,” Alyssa said with an apologetic smile. “I hope this didn’t interrupt anything.”

“Nothing that can’t be continued later,” Julia said, shrugging. “I’ll just make sure that Charlotte knows Chris is allergic to all red meat. I’ve got to be honest though, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Peanut allergies, dairy allergies, sure... but meat? That seems odd. Especially as a carnivore.”

“Well, it’s anything that has alpha-gal in it, including milk. But fish, and poultry are fine,” Alyssa explained, leaning back into her seat.  “As for the cause, when she was four or five we were visiting family and we had found a tick stuck to her tail. That was the start of it. We didn’t know what it was at first. The first time that it happened, we thought it was a case of food poisoning, but we were wrong, it was AGS.  It’s apparently pretty rare; it took several hospital visits and a lot of testing to find out what it was.”

“Huh,” Julia said, sitting down next to Alyssa. “So how long is she going to be stuck here on oxygen?”

“Well, for just a little bit longer. Although...” She turned to look at the younger water opossum. “If she isn’t more careful with the spray-painting, then she might be in trouble,” she said, turning back to Julia. “And we all should be able to go home in an hour or maybe less. I can take her home, but I don’t know about breaking that up.” She motioned to the stoat and yapok on the bed snuggled up.

“As long as she’s stable, I don’t mind her sleeping at our place still,” Julia said. “If anything else happens, well... You know how fast I managed to get here.”

“She did. Holy shi- snot does she drive fast. She might give you a run for your money, mom,” Chris said, poking her tongue out.  “I think she would make for a good ambulance driver. Then Mr. Terrence can chase them.”

Julia raised an eyebrow at the chasing ambulances comment, wondering exactly what that meant.

“Gee, make me look bad,” Alyssa said, shaking her head. “And as for anything else... nothing should happen. That’s all that she is allergic to. Has she told you about the parasomnias?”

Julia shook her head. “Is that like insomnia?”

“No.” Alyssa paused for a moment to think of how to explain it. “They are, by definition, things that happen when you’re falling asleep or waking up. With Chris, she tends to have hallucinations and sometimes paralysis when falling asleep. Most of the time she has sleep paralysis when she’s waking up. As for the hallucinations, most of them are visual or auditory, sometimes both.” Alyssa paused again, this time looking at the little stoat. “Elizabeth, do you remember what I did to help Chris when she was falling asleep?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Elizabeth said. “Just held her hand, right?”

“That was part of it. Petting her or holding her and whispering to her is too. Just talking to her, saying things will be ok, or just talking about your day.  She just needs something that she can focus on, a voice that she knows, or a touch from someone that she knows is real,” The older yapok said, smiling softly.

“I can do that,” Elizabeth said, still leaning against the yapok in the bed.

“Then it looks like everything is all set,” Alyssa said, smiling and leaning back. “Thank you, Julia.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Julia.” Chris said as well. “I’m sorry that I scared you.”

“That’s alright,” Julia said with a small smile. “I’m just glad it’s not as bad as it could have been.”

“Pardon me, ladies,” a red panda in a lab coat said, stepping into the room. “Just need to check a few things and we should be able to get you out of here,” the doctor said, walking up and looking over the readouts on the machines, smiling and nodding. “Well, it looks like we can start getting you out of here,” he stated, turning and starting for the door. “I will send in the nurse to remove the IV and we will have a new epi-pen for you before you leave.” he added, stepping out of the room.

__________________________________________________

It was almost forty-five minutes later when Julia finally pulled back into their garage, putting Terrence’s BMW in park and killing the engine with a sigh. “Well, we’re back. It’s getting late, so... If you two want to get ready for bed, that would probably be best. You have all day tomorrow to get into more trouble.”

“Yes, Mother,” Elizabeth said, pushing the car door open and stepping out.

“Oh God, that sounds like heaven,” Chris said with a little yawn. “Though... Could I steal a shower? Being in a hospital makes me feel gross,” she said, tugging the top of her shirt open to look at the shaved spot where one of the monitor things had been stuck.

“I don’t blame you,” Julia said. “Last time I was in the hospital, I felt like I hadn’t showered for a week and it was only twenty-four hours,” she added, holding the kitchen door open as the two cubs headed into the house. “You’re welcome to use Elizabeth’s bathroom if you want, or the one in the basement. Actually, speaking of showers, we should probably have a conversation about that, seeing as you’ve already shared one,” Julia said. “Why don’t you two have a seat in the entertainment room.”

“Y- yes ma’am.” Chris’ ears dropped a little as she turned and went to the entertainment room, taking a seat. “Did I do something wrong?”

Elizabeth hopped up next to Chris, looking rather guilty. 

Julia sat down on the chair adjacent to them. “Kind of. Elizabeth definitely did. She’s already had her punishment though. Elizabeth shouldn’t have asked you to shower together, even if she thought you were a girl at the time. It’s improper. However, she shouldn’t have asked to see your privates, as it’s very rude, and you shouldn’t have shown them to her. Most importantly, she shouldn’t have felated you,” the older stoat said, taking a breath before continuing. 

“Now, I know you’re kids, but you shouldn’t do that with someone you’ve just met. It’s not safe, it’s not sanitary, and it’s not socially acceptable. Once you’ve become good friends, maybe showering together is okay with bathing suits on, but... the rest is something you should only do if you’re in a relationship with the other person. Okay?”

Elizabeth nodded; Mother had already chewed her out for what she’d done.

“I have one question,” Chris said tilting her head a little, ears dropping lower. “What is ‘felated’?”

“Felated... uh... it’s when someone touches another person’s genitals with their mouth,” Julia said, slightly awkwardly.

“Oh, so it’s a mamada,” Chris said, nodding.

Julia raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what that means. In any case, it’s something you’re only supposed to do with someone you’re in a relationship with. That brings up another thing,” Julia said. “If you two start dating, you two are to be exclusive to each other. No having sex with any other kids, got it? Having sex with someone else while you’re in a relationship with someone is called cheating on them, and it’s one of the worst things you can do to someone else. It’s betrayal of the worst kind.”

“Uhh... What if they know about it? Is it still cheating?” Elizabeth asked.

“Well... if the other person is aware of it and is okay with it, I suppose it’s not cheating,” Julia said, after thinking for a moment. There was an entirely different term for that.

“I wouldn’t do anything like that,” Chris said firmly, shaking her head.

Julia nodded, satisfied, then frowned and turned back to her daughter. “Elizabeth, you came down to dinner in tears because you broke up with Alex, which means you hadn’t really broken up with Alex when you two did that stuff in the shower last time. You were cheating on Alex. If I ever find out that you’ve cheated on someone again, you’re going to be grounded for a year. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mother,” Elizabeth said very quietly. She’d never in a million years have thought cheating was that bad. The fact that she’d done it to her very best friend... she didn’t know what to think. She was sort of in shock.

“I’m sorry too,” Chris said in a near whisper. “I should have behaved... but I just kinda got really caught up in the moment,” she said, looking up at Julia. “But I promise that I won’t cheat, or do anything that could hurt Elizabeth,” she said, meeting the older stoat’s eyes.

“Okay then,” Julia said standing up. “I’m glad we had this conversation. You two have a good evening. Try to get to bed within a reasonable hour. No later than ten o’clock, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” Chris said, nodding.

Julia nodded in return, stepped out of the room, heading upstairs. 

Chris blinked, then turned to Elizabeth. “You okay?”

“I- No.” For a moment Elizabeth sat there on the couch, not saying anything. Then she spoke, quietly. “Is cheating really that bad?”

“It’s bad, yes.... but we aren’t gods; we all make mistakes. The thing that would make it really bad is not learning from them,” Chris said, giving Elizabeth’s paw a squeeze. “And I have a feeling that you and Alex will still be the best of friends, no matter what,” she said, her other paw reaching up to cup the stoat’s cheek.

Elizabeth’s lower lip quivered slightly. “I hope so. I love hir as much as Mother and Father. I hope shi’ll forgive me.”

“Oh, I’m sure that shi will,” Chris said, stroking Elizabeth’s cheek softly. “Shi sounds like a really cool person, so I don’t see why shi wouldn’t. And remember, no matter what, I’m here for you, Noodle.”

“Thank you,” the little stoat whispered. After a moment she took a deep breath. “We should go get ready for bed.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” the yapok said, getting up and holding her hand out to the stoatling. “I’ll use the shower in the basement and meet you back in your room,” she said, bending down to grab her bag.

“Okay,” the little stoat said, standing up and walking to the foyer to take the lift.

Nodding as Elizabeth left, Chris walked through the kitchen to the dining room, digging through her bag and pulling out a pair of panties and a long shirt. She pulled open the basement door and started walking downstairs while closing and zipping her bag up. Then she paused when she saw who was already down in the den. “Oh. Hello, Mr. Terrence,” she said with a little nod. “I came to nick the shower for a bit.”

“Oh,” Terrence said, adjusting his bathrobe as he looked over at her. “That’s fine. I’m just watching a movie. Are you okay? Julia said she had to take you to the hospital.”

“I’m fine, sir,” she said, leaning on one of the empty chairs. “Just had an allergic reaction to the lasagna. I kinda forgot to tell Charlotte and everyone that I’m allergic to all red meat, not just beef. Other than that and a few needle pokes, I’m fine.” She nodded a bit. “You know, they all die at the end.”

“I sort of guessed they did. Wait, how do- Does your mom know you’ve seen this?” Terrence asked, shocked that Chris had seen the horror flick he was watching.

Chris snickered. “Sorry, I was joking. I haven’t seen this before. It’s kind of a running joke... I don’t watch a lot of movies or TV....so...I was being silly. I really don’t watch horror movies... but I do read Stephen King and Clive Barker.” The yapok grinned.

Terrence squinted at the yapok on the other side of the couch with suspicion for a moment, then shrugged. “Is Elizabeth getting ready for bed too?”

“Yes sir, she is getting ready... I think today’s been more rough on her than me.”

“I figured as much. Breakups are tough, and she’s been best friends with Alex for years now. I’ll go say goodnight to her,” he said, getting up and walking over to the lift near the base of the stairs. “Take your time, we’ve got a tankless water heating system, so it’ll never run out.”

“I might just have to do that, cause it’s going to take a lot to get this sticky stuff off my chest,” she said, smiling and peeking into her shirt. “And thank you for letting me stay the night and everything,” she added before turning on her heels and heading over to the bathroom.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, stepping into the lift. “Have a good night.”

__________________________________________________

Terrence was sitting on Elizabeth’s bed, one arm wrapped around his daughter’s shoulders when Chris entered.

“Just call her tomorrow, princess. I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”

The little stoat sniffed. “Okay. I will. Thank you, father. Love you.”

“Love you too, princess. Sleep well,” he said, giving her a kiss and then standing up. “Sorry, Chris. Let me get the trundle bed out for you,” he said, bending over and pulling on the handle of what looked like a drawer at the bottom of the bed. The bottom of the bed slid out, revealing yet another bed, already made and ready for sleeping in. Terrence stood back up, grabbing two of the pillows from the base of Elizabeth’s bed and set them down on the second mattress.

“There you go, Chris. You sleep well too,” he said, patting the young yapok on the shoulder as he walked over to the doorway.

The yapok’s eyes went wide at the sight of the hidden bed, then she let out a squeak at the unexpected hand on her shoulder. “Thank you sir,” she said, leaning down and pressing a paw into the bed. “Oh wow. This feels nice,” she muttered to herself before sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Sleep well yourself,” Chris replied to the ferret standing by the doorway.

Terrence twisted the dimmer switch on the wall until the lights above were no brighter than Christmas tree lights, then closed the door behind him as he stepped out.

Elizabeth hopped down off her own bed onto the lower mattress, straightening her nightgown a bit, then turned around and turned down the edge of her comforter. That taken care of, she sat down on the lower mattress, next to the pillows. “Is it okay if I hug you while you fall asleep? Or should I hold your hand?”

“I would like for you to hold me,” Chris replied with a little blush, “but if you want to just hold my hand, that’s okay too,” she said, smiling and moving along the bed before sliding under the blanket.

“Okay,” the little stoat said with a matching smile. Once Chris was under the covers, Elizabeth lay down next to her, laying one arm across Chris’s chest. “Want me to tell you a story or something?” Elizabeth asked quietly.

Chris felt the butterflies starting to flutter around in her tummy as she felt the stoat’s arm coming to rest on her chest, even with that feeling, she felt nice, peaceful even after their busy afternoon. “Well, you could just tell me more about yourself... or a story. Just as long as I have something I know is real,” she said with a yawn, sleepy eyes starting to look around the room, though she didn’t move.

“Okay. I guess... I can tell you about myself then. Where to start. Oh, I know. My very first memory was when my mother and father were taking me to get my blood tested at the clinic. The doctor was this brown-furred river otter. His name was Dr. Nez. Apparently he’s known me since before I was born, since he took care of Mother when she was pregnant with me. He’s actually the reason I’m still alive, cause he figured out what was wrong with me when I was a little tiny cub. Anyway, they had to stick me with a needle for the blood test, and back then I was afraid of needles. So he played with me for a few minutes and completely distracted me. I didn’t even realize when he’d stuck me with the needle, and I didn’t know until he said he was all done... It didn’t hurt at all...”

Slowly Chris’ eyes stopped darting around the room, looking at the things that she thought that she was seeing.  The sound of Elizabeth’s voice and the feeling of her body and warmth helped as Chris’ breathing became a little more normal, slowing to that of someone that was sleeping.  

Elizabeth continued the story for another minute or so. She could feel the moment that Chris fell asleep, her body loosening, no longer tense with fear or other worries; she was out like a light. With a small smile, Elizabeth pushed herself up, trying to keep the bed beneath her from moving. A few moments later, she finished crawling into her own bed and lay there for a moment, listening to the soft breathing coming from the lower bed. A few moments later, she too drifted off to sleep.

__________________________________________________

Saturday, September 5th, 2015

As usual, Elizabeth was one of the first in the household to awaken. She lay there for a moment, blinking and peering into the barely-lit gloom of her bedroom, trying to make out the clock on the far side. After a moment she yawned, showing a mouthful of tiny, sharp teeth, and then reached out to her bedside table where her 3DS was sitting. As she did, she saw the trundle bed beneath her, and remembered that Chris had spent the night.

She almost giggled at the sight of the yapok laying on her back, covers thrown clear off the bed. Chris’s shirt had somehow ridden all the way up to her chest, revealing her matching sports bra and panties, both in hot pink with what looked to be little polka dots on them. There was something odd about them, and Elizabeth leaned down, trying to see what the dots were. When she was close enough, she realized what they were: tiny cartoon skulls of various species. Elizabeth frowned at that. It was rather... um... disturbing.

The little stoat rolled back over onto her back, flipping open her 3DS and turning it on. Maybe this time she’d be able to catch the last few pokemon she didn’t yet have.

The world slowly started coming back to the little yapok, early morning light sneaking through her eyelids. Noises and sounds started to come back as well. She let out a yawn as she gradually remembered where she was. She wasn’t sure if her roommate for the night was up. Carefully sitting up and peeking over the side of the bed, her ears twitched she saw that Elizabeth was already up. “Morning.”

Elizabeth flipped her 3DS closed, satisfied with her progress on capturing the last few pokemon she was missing. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

Nodding and smiling a little, Chris adjusted her shirt. “I did. How about you?” She asked, resting her muzzle on the side of the bed. “Feeling any better?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth said, setting the 3DS down on the nightstand. Then took hold of the covers and pushed them down while sitting up.

“That’s good,” Chris replied with a smile. “And I’m still here if you need to talk or anything,” She added, still watching from her bed. “Do you always get up this early?”

“It’s not that early. We slept eight hours,” the stoat pointed out. “I always get about eight hours of sleep though, so I don’t need to sleep in on weekends. Alex used to stay up late and get like six or seven hours during the weekdays and then sleep twice that long on the weekends. Crazy cat.”

“I don’t know how much I sleep,” Chris said, tilting her head a little. “I go to bed at like ten and then it’s when I wake up... there is no hope of going back to sleep,” she said, flopping back onto her bed. “Once I’m up, I’m up.”

“Yeah, me too. Though sometimes I manage to fall asleep after swimming in the afternoon. Naps are nice.”

“After swimming... I can see naps being really nice. Snuggle into a pile of pillows and just be a lump,” the yapok said, sitting up and resting her muzzle on the side of the bed again.

“Yup,” Elizabeth said, pulling her feet out from under the covers. “Anyway, whatcha want to do before breakfast?”

“Umm... I’m good with anything,” Chris replied. “Is there anything that you want to do? Snuggle, sing, dance... Actually, I think that I have one of my doodle books,” she said eagerly, flopping back and rolling to the side of the bed, starting to look through her bag.

Elizabeth stepped down onto the trundle mattress behind Chris and leaned up against her as she dug through her bag. “Snuggle?” she whispered with a gentle smile.

Chris let out a little squeak that turned into a smile. “Umm... that would be nice,” she said, her bag falling to the floor. “My bed or yours?” she asked, wrapping an arm around her friend.

“This one’s closer,” Elizabeth said, wrapping her arms around Chris and falling onto her back.

Giggling as they fell back into the bed, their heads landing on pillows, Chris muttered “That works.” 

“You kicked all the blankets off last night,” Elizabeth stated after a second.

“Sorry. I can’t help it. If it’s not cold or I’m not naked, I don’t tend to stay under blankets,” she said, blushing slightly.

“So... umm... why do you have skulls on your bra and panties?” Elizabeth asked, tucking her head next to Chris’s collarbone. “They’re kind of creepy.”

“Well... I got them, like, last halloween,” the yapok said, holding onto the little stoat, nuzzling against the top of her head. “I have nicer panties. I might have some with lace, somewhere. I’m sure that I can talk mom into getting me some more,” she said, one of her paws coming up to hold onto Elizabeth’s.

“I think plain ones are fine, but the silk ones feel better,” Elizabeth replied, shifting slightly and wrapping her legs around Chris’s.

“Well, I’m sure that I have some silk ones, though they can be a little...” she paused, her tail wrapping around Elizabeth’s waist. “Well... teasing,” she finished, her blush growing deeper.

After a moment of silence, Elizabeth said “So, I was telling you about myself last night, but you never told me about yourself.”

“Ummm... is there anything in particular?” she asked with a little tilt of her head.

“No... not really. I just want to know about you.”

“Well I can do that,” Chris said, taking a deep breath. “I was born in the winter, December the second to be precise. I was two minutes from being born on the first,” she said with a little snicker. “My middle name is Angel,” she said in a near whisper. “Let’s see. Food wise... I like fish. Tuna is like the best, with a little bit of garlic and some other seasoning.” She stopped again, thinking. “I should tell you about the allergy thing. Mom and I were down in southern Texas visiting some family there, when I picked up a hitchhiker in the form of a tick. Well, he hung around for a while before we found him. There was something in its spit that caused me to become allergic to beef and stuff. That’s what led to all the medical issues, cause it took a little to find out that it was the alpha-gal syndrome,” she said, looking down at the stoat. “So now I can’t eat red meat... and I can never eat it again.”

“Well, you had some last night,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“That’s what made me sick,” she said with a little nod. “The only meat that won’t make me ralph and all that, is poultry and fish,” she said, reaching up and tapping the stoat’s nose. “I should have told Charlotte about it,” she said softly.

Elizabeth twitched, then chuffed, trying to keep from sneezing when Chris touched her nose. “That’s too bad. Did you at least enjoy eating it? I think it was lamb.”

“It was good,” Chris confirmed. “Charlotte is an amazing cook, even when she’s high. I will have to get mom to give her some of the fish recipes that we have. There is this stuff that she makes that she calls cat food, and it’s like the best snack ever.”

“You know... Now that I think about it, we almost never have fish. It’s usually stuff with beef, sometimes chicken. It’d be nice to try some new things though,” Elizabeth said. After a moment, she made a quiet noise that Chris had never heard before, like a series of soft chirps.

Chris tilted her head at the odd sound. “Umm... Elizabeth, are you okay? You’re making a strange, but cute sound,” she said, looking down to her snuggle buddy. “Is it something that I’m doing?”

“Oops, sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Elizabeth said, blushing and tucking her head next to Chris’s collarbone again. “I dook sometimes when I’m happy. I can’t help it.”

“Okay... so it’s like the stoat equivalent of purring?” She asked, smiling and nuzzling against one of Elizabeth’s ears. “And don’t be sorry. It’s really cute, and if it’s ‘cause you're happy, then it’s a good thing.”

Elizabeth didn’t say anything, trying to keep her blushes under control. “Well... I’m just happy to have a new friend I guess. I’ve been really sad since Alex left,” she said, hugging Chris tightly.

“I really don’t think that you have to worry about me going anywhere,” she said, returning the hug, holding the little stoat tightly. “Just remember, even though she’s not living here, she’s still going to be your friend.”

“I hope so...” Elizabeth said, thinking. “So... um... your mom said you had a crush on me. Was that for real? Or was she just teasing?”

Chris froze up, blushing to the point that she was sure that her snuggle stoat could feel the heat coming off of her. “She was teasing.” Her voice softened, “But I really do have a crush on you,” she said, holding the stoatling, her muzzle resting on Elizabeth’s head.

“Um... so... if we do start going out together...” Elizabeth started, then trailed off for a moment. “I don’t know if I can... I miss Alex so much. I mean, I like you, but... I’ve known Alex my whole life... we did everything together...”

“It’s all up to you,” the yapok said softly. “I wouldn’t push you into anything that you wouldn’t want.” She took a breath, giving the little stoat a squeeze “But if you gave me the chance I would do everything that I could to make sure that I was making you happy, and that means moving however fast or slow that you want.”

The little stoat tensed up as she thought of something. She didn’t know if it was possible, or appropriate. Still, she had to ask; it would be cheating, otherwise. “Would... would you be willing to share me?” Elizabeth asked quietly, hoping that Chris would be okay with it.

“With Alex?” the yapok asked, her smile faltering a little. “I’m sure that I could... I mean... I know that shi would want the best for you and everything,” she said, nodding.

Elizabeth nodded slightly; Alex was part of what she had meant, but she couldn’t tell Chris about the rest yet. “I’m sorry. I know that was probably unfair of me to ask, but... part of my heart belongs to hir, and I know part of hirs belongs to me. Even if it’s just a tiny part.”

“I understand completely,” Chris said. “It’s a lot like me and mom.” She said, that blush teasing her ears a little. “If that’s what you want, then so be it.”

Elizabeth was silent once again, the gears in her mind churning away as a plan started to take form. “There’s something else... I have something I have to tell you before we can be in a relationship.” the little stoat said, thinking furiously. “But I promised mother and father I’d never tell anyone. That means I’d have to get permission. But they wouldn’t agree to let me tell you unless...” The little stoat trailed off, then pushed Chris away a bit.

With a very serious expression on her face, Elizabeth looked up at Chris, meeting her eyes. “I promised you and your mother I would never tell anyone that you two love each other like you do...” The little stoat trailed off again, looking down, her lower lip quivering. This was all too much. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She asked herself.

“What do you mean?”  Chris questioned, a little confused at what the stoat meant. Did she have more secrets or was she just worried?  “You know that you can tell me anything and it will be safe with me, I wouldn’t want to do anything that would hurt you or your family.  You’ve all been so nice to me.”

The little stoat shook her head. “I can’t tell you; I promised not to tell anyone. But... If mother and father found out that you and your mother love each other the way you do, they might tell you. Then we could be in a relationship.”

“I-” Chris was at a loss for words, trying to think just what Elizabeth could mean.  Did she want her to tell Julia and Terrence about her and her mother?  She struggled to piece together what she could mean, something in her head telling her that it was a bad idea, that it could be a trap.  The little stoat didn’t seem like she was that devious or devilish.  Had Elizabeth already told her parents?  Was someone going to be waiting at her apartment? “I still don’t get how that would change anything, I mean if you don’t want me sleeping with my mom, that’s fair.  Or do you want me to tell them that I cheated on my mom with you?”

The little stoat shook her head again. “No, I don’t want you to stop sleeping with your mom; you love her. Just... I have a secret, and I can’t tell you. But mother and father can. But they won’t tell you, unless... Unless they find out about you and your mom. So you need to tell them. Your mother needs to be there too,” the little stoat said, thinking fast and trying to explain at the same time. “I’m going to have to talk to mother and father first. I think... I might be able to convince them to tell my secret. And then... well, then we can be in a relationship without any secrets hanging over us.”

“I think I know what you’re getting at,” Chris said, getting up and gathering up some clothes and getting changed into something other than her night clothes. “I’ll go talk to them. Mom says I need to take charge sometimes, this seems like a good time.”  She sighed as she walked to the door, her paw coming up and turning the knob. “Madre María, por favor, guíame, porque voy a hacer una locura.” 

“No, wait. First I need to go talk to mother and father. Then you need to ask your mom to come over,” Elizabeth said, rolling over and standing up.

“I don’t think telling my mom that I’m going to spill the beans is going to end well;  I’d rather not be in the newspaper as the girl that died from chancla beating.” Chris sucked in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out. “Then, let’s do this, before I lose my resolve,” she said, looking at the stoat, a soft but stern look in her eyes. “I guess I will wait here.”

“Okay. I’ll be back soon. I hope,” Elizabeth said, rolling over and standing up. “Oh, and... when does your mom wake up?”

Glancing at the clock, Chris nodded, saying “Yeah, she should be up by now.  She gets up before me to wake me up. It helps with the sleep thing,” she said, sitting back down on the trundle bed, pulling her bag into her lap and starting to dig out her phone, holding it in shaking paws.

“Okay,” Elizabeth said. She stood there for a moment, watching as Chris started to dig stuff out of her backpack, then knelt down and gave the yapok a quick kiss on the side of her muzzle. “Trust me,” she whispered before standing back up and darting to the door, pulling it open and pelting down the hallway.